Description: Ron's introduction to a curious piece of jewellery. (Sixth Year, after Ron/Lavender)
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters/settings you recognise. All credit for those goes to JKR.
Word Count: 761
~ Earrings ~
Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder. Ignoring it, she continued to rapidly load bacon onto her fork and, rather ungracefully, shovel it into her mouth. Again, a tap. Then a long yawn. And finally, "You'll get indigestion if you carry on like that." Ron, she thought, containing an eye-roll. She paused momentarily to glance at his plate (which was piled three times higher than hers) and raise an eyebrow before resuming eating, only now at twice the speed. "I'm serious, Hermione, slow down!"
"I don't have time to slow down," she replied between mouthfuls. He looked around, blinking. The Great Hall was quiet, aside from a few yawns from older students and over-excited chatter from younger ones.
"Hermione... most of Hogwarts is still in bed."
"Yes, well, most of Hogwarts didn't leave their Defense Against the Dark Arts essay in the Library last night, did they?" Ron shrugged – a safe, non-committal move when Hermione was in a mood like this. "And we have Snape first thing!" she added. She pushed her plate away, only half-eaten. Ron watched her stand up, straighten her robes, and hurry out without a word of goodbye. He had only just turned his attention to other, more important matters – namely his breakfast – when she reappeared.
"Earrings," she said, as if that explained everything. As he watched, perplexed, she picked up something she'd left on the table and raised it to her ear.
"Hermione – your ear!" Ron cried, jumping up to knock the 'something' from her hands. A tiny piece of metal dropped to the ground.
"Ron! Seriously?" Hermione dropped to the floor, searching. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, I don't have time for this… accio earring," she muttered. Straightening up, she said, "My ears are pierced, Ron-"
"Pierced!? Hermione, you need to go to the Hospital Wing! You can't just stick bits of metal into them!" Before even registering what had been said, the girl opened her mouth for an automatic retort. To his surprise, she suddenly began laughing.
"You haven't heard of earrings before, have you?" she asked.
"I-I… no, I haven't," he admitted, completely bewildered. She held out her hand for him to see the small diamond studs she held.
"They're jewellery – like necklaces? Or-"
"I know what jewellery is, 'Mione," he grumbled.
"Yes, well," she continued, "These are for your ears. You get a tiny hole through the lobe – just there, see? – and you just push them through." She showed him as she spoke and he winced at the sight. "See?"
"Muggle fashion is so strange… that's so… urgh!" He shivered involuntarily.
"Witches wear them too, Ron," she pointed out. "Take Luna – she wears those plums, or whatever they are –"
"- always thought they were charmed to hover there -"
"- or the Patil twins. Always matching –" she pointed to them at the Ravenclaw table. "- even Lav-Lav wears them." She saw him colour out of the corner of her eye, but he followed her finger wordlessly.
"And it doesn't hurt?" he enquired, while trying to appear disinterested.
"Not unless you count the piercing itself, no," she smiled. "You can try, if you'd like?"
"Oh, no – no, I'm fine."
"Go on," she urged. "It's easy, just like I showed you." Reluctantly – and it had nothing to do with the teasing twinkle her eye – he took the earring from her hand. She perched on one of the wooden benches and he sat next to her, closer than either would usually permit.
Reaching up, he asked again, more quietly, "It doesn't hurt?"
"Not a bit," she assured him. He nodded and brought his hand up to hold her ear between his index and thumb, carefully pushing the earring into the tiny hole he could only just see. "Simple," she breathed.
"Yeah," he murmured. "Hermione?"
"Yeah?"
"You should probably go find that essay now." She nodded distractedly, froze, and then leapt up with an 'oh!'.
"I'll never find it on time!" she cried, sending him a look he knew all too well – the look that said This is all your fault, Ronald Weasley. Flustered, she turned to leave.
"Hermione?"
"Yes?" she snapped.
He gestured to her plate. "You want this?"
"No, have it," she dismissed quickly, already striding away.
"Oh, Hermione?" he called.
"What?" she all but yelled, eliciting irritated looks from many sleep-heavy faces.
He gave a small smile. "They look nice – the earrings." Her face softened and he let her hurry away.
When – at last – she reached the library, there was still a small smile gracing her lips.
~o~
I don't know where this idea came from or why I thought it would be cute, but I had fun writing it.
Thanks for reading! Reviews would be nice since I don't usually write this pairing (or Ron at all, come to think of it). So yes, let me know what you thought.
[Edit: The first version said Lavender was Muggle-born when she is in fact pureblood. Thanks to those who brought that to my attention :) No idea why I thought she was a Muggle!]