She didn't eat her breakfast; she sat at the Gryffindor table and picked at it with her fork. What she had done had been a complete mistake; it wasn't supposed to go that far. One minute they were arguing about who knows what, and the next minute, he had her robes off. It all happened before Hermione could even think about it. Mind you, that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it and pushed him to go on with his actions, but she still felt guilty about it. It was going to bite her on the butt one of these days when Ron found out.
Hermione loved Ron, there was no doubt about that, but would she do the same thing with him? Would she let Ron, her own boyfriend, see her as exposed as she was the night before? That sounded ridiculous ; she wouldn't let her boyfriend see her naked but she would let the other wizard? It was hypocritical; that's what it was.
"Morning Hermione." Ron said happily, taking the seat next to her and kissing Hermione's cheek sweetly. The kiss felt like a burn to her skin, a reminder of what she had done. Ron started stuffing his mouth with bacon and eggs before he saw the dazed expression on Hermione's face. "Is something wrong?"
"What? No, sorry Ron." Hermione said quickly, sparing him a glance before gazing back at the Great Hall wall. She was so consumed with her own thoughts, Hermione didn't even notice a pretty brunette walk up to where her and Ron sat.
"Hello there." said the girl, standing across from the pair, smiling down at them. "I'm Lucy Andrews, a fourth year Gryffindor. You're Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, prefects right?"
Ron nodded his head at the girl, his eyes going slightly wide as Hermione shook Lucy's hand.
"Good to meet you. As you might know, I'm a member of the Wizard Chess Club here at Hogwarts, and we're recruiting new members. During the club meetings, we play against each other, and at the end of the year the best players play against the other houses' best players. It's really fun, and the best part is that you don't even have to be good at chess; you can learn the game there. I have put up posters for the club on the Gryffindor notice board, but I was wondering if you can give the club more of a notice. You're prefects, so people will listen to what you have to say. The chess club isn't very popular because most people think it's for dorks, but they're wrong." Lucy explained at top speed. She blew a strand of hair out of her face, still smiling at them.
"There's a Wizard Chess Club here? I didn't know that." Ron said, looking at Hermione and then at Lucy. "I'm good at chess."
"Brilliant!" Lucy exclaimed, looking at Ron very differently now. There was some sort of gleam in her eyes. "The next meeting is tomorrow night at seven in the Charms class. You should come!"
Ron grinned, looking at Hermione, who gave him a small smile that she hoped was convincing. Honestly, she didn't really care about a Wizard Chess Club.
"I'll get the notice around Lucy." Hermione said, hoping that Lucy would walk away now so she can keep staring at the wall.
"Thanks!" said the other girl cheerfully. She turned to walk away, but turned back around, pointing a finger at Ron. "If you're interested, check us out tomorrow. We could use a good player like you."
Ron smiled at Lucy's back as she walked down the table to sit with her friends. He wondered why he had never seen her before; Lucy was a very pretty girl with soft features and a light smile. Ron had even heard that she played a little Quidditch, so why had he never looked her way?
Hermione had gone back to looking at the wall, when her mystery lover passed by. He kept walking as he glanced at her, giving her a small smile and wink. She felt her heart flutter when he did, and immediately regretted how she reacted to the gesture. She shouldn't need to feel this guilty.
RHRHRHRH
Panting, Ron walked across the Quidditch pitch, up to where Hermione was sitting in the stands. She had her scarf wrapped around her neck, her ears as red as Rudolph's nose. As Ron sat down next to her with his broomstick in his hand, she turned her head to him.
"You did great out there. You're really improving." Hermione told him, looking back out at the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team walk across the pitch. Ron shook his head at her, rubbing at his eyes.
"No, I'm not. I still see Ginny glaring at me through the entire practice. I think she's trying to kill me with looks alone." Ron said, looking back at Hermione and putting his arm around her. Hermione shuddered slightly at the touch, wishing she could make this terrible feeling in her stomach go away.
"That's just Ginny; you were fine." she reassured him before standing up and announcing that it was too cold to stay outside. Ron followed her into the front hall of Hogwarts, taking her arm and making Hermione turn around to face him.
"Are you sure nothing is wrong Hermione? You've been acting strange all day." Ron asked, concentrating on Hermione's reaction. She shook her head at him, turning away so she wouldn't have to look at Ron, and started to walk away again.
"Everything is fine, Ron. Just drop it, okay?" she said shortly, leaving Ron in the front hall by himself.
RLRLRLRL
He thought there would have been more students in the Charms class when he came, but was surprised to see that it was only two fourth years, one second year, two sixths years, and one seventh year. The students were split up into pairs, each couple sitting at a table with a chess board set up in front of them. When seeing that he had entered, Lucy bounced over to Ron.
"I'm so glad you came!" Lucy squealed, flashing Ron a big smile before taking his hand and leading him over to the others. It was weird having his hand in hers; Ron wasn't used to holding any one's hand other then Hermione's. "Everyone this is Ron Weasley. He has just joined the club, and tells me he's a good chess player. He's also getting us more notice in the Gryffindor tower."
Ron awkwardly smiled at the students as they introduced themselves. As soon as they had said their names, Ron had forgotten them. He had seen them all around Hogwarts and in the tower, but it wasn't like he had actually made any contact to any of these people. It was strange for them to have a sudden meaning in Ron's life.
"So Ron we usually split up in pairs to see how well you are at chess. For the first couple of weeks we just play the game, but as the year goes on, we compete to see who our best players are. The best players are always the ones who compete against the other houses." Lucy explained, folding her hands and pursing her lips together. Ron couldn't help but notice how cute she looked when she did it. "Unfortunately, the Ravenclaw House has won the the competition for three years now, and the Gryffindor House is bloody horrible. We could really use your skills Ron."
Did Lucy really use the word bloody? The only person Ron knew who used that word was himself. It was nice hearing someone else use it.
"Great. So when do I start?" Ron said, giving Lucy a smile which she returned. She took his hand again and had him sit at one of the tables with a chess board on it. Lucy took the seat opposite of him.
"Right now." She said, and the two of them became very serious.
Ron soon realized that he liked playing chess with Lucy; she wore this really cute expression when she was thinking about her next move, and she didn't complain when Ron took a long time to make his next move. He found that she was just as good of a player as he was, and it surprised him greatly because Ron had never met someone as good at chess as he was. The fact that Lucy was so good at the game, made Ron want to be better. She was making him go crazy.
"I can't believe you won!" Lucy said with a laugh when the game had ended. Ron grinned as she ran her hands through her wavy hair, looking down at the board. "I don't even understand how that happened."
"I'm just that good I guess." Ron said casually, feeling very proud of himself. He was quite relieved; Ron was sure Lucy was going to win. "Face it; you'll never be as good as me."
"I doubt that." Lucy scoffed, meeting his gaze. "Rematch; now."
It was tempting, but everyone else in the club had finished their game already and had left, leaving Ron and Lucy alone in the room. He looked down at his old watch, and silently cursed.
"I wish I could, but I should really be going to bed. I don't want to get in trouble with Filch for being out of bed so late." he said, standing up and shrugging his book bag over his shoulder. Lucy frowned as she followed his lead, collecting her books in her arms.
"I guess you're right. We'll walk back together," said Lucy, then added quickly, "since we're going to the same place and all." Her and Ron walked out of the Charms class. Lucy closed the door behind her, the only sounds being the echoes of their footsteps.
"I really enjoyed myself, by the way. Thanks for inviting me." Ron said after a moment, keeping his eyes on the floor. For some reason, Ron felt himself go red as he thanked Lucy.
"I'm glad you did. Do you think you'll come next week?" Lucy asked him, blushing a little. Yeah, Ron was a sixth year and she was a fourth year, but that didn't stop the warm feeling in her stomach as she looked at him.
"Sure. When is it?" he asked enthusiastically as they entered the Gryffindor common room.
"I don't have a specific date yet; I have to come up with club meetings as the weeks go on. I'll let you know as soon as possible; you'll probably know by the end of tomorrow." Lucy said, scratching the back of her neck as she and Ron came upon the staircase where the boys and girls went to their dorms.
"Yeah, let me know." Ron said. The pair stood in awkwardness for a second, not knowing how to say goodbye. "Well, see you later."
"See you tomorrow." Lucy quickly said, as Ron walked towards the boy's dorms.
"Tomorrow then." he agreed, and with that, he disappeared into the dorms. Lucy smiled shyly to herself before escaping to bed.
