Chapter 3

Amazingly, Ron did nothing to ruin things with Hermione in the weeks leading up to Slughorn's party. He met her in the common room every morning, getting there before Harry so they could have some time alone. Unfortunately, it was usually only five or ten minutes because however much Ron fancied Hermione he was still inherently lazy and was definitely not a morning person. They would spend these precious minutes talking and Ron learned more about her family than he had in their six years of friendship previous; five years to her, he had to remind himself constantly.

While everything with Hermione was going better than he could have ever hoped, his friendship with Harry had become strained. He couldn't distract Harry from his slip-ups by talking about getting him flowers or about the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed like he could with Hermione. He didn't think Harry noticed because he wandered the castle so often at night that their late night chats had become few and far between. Still, he could help feeling guilty for knowing all the information that Harry was searching for and not being able to help him out. Sometimes, however, things slipped out like on the night before Slughorn's party. Ron was awake when Harry came back in the dorm room. He was so nervous about the next night that his mind just wouldn't rest. Every time he began to drift off, another worry would slam into him. What if he made a fool of himself dancing? What if she took one look at him in dress robes and ran back up to the girls' dormitory? What if McClaggen asked her to dance and she abandoned him? His worries distracted him so much that when Harry tiptoed to his bed, Ron whispered "What's the vow for?"

"Ron, what are you talking about?" Ron gulped. He forgot that Harry wouldn't learn about the Vow until the next night. Quickly, he pretended to be talking in his sleep. "Teddy's a spider...Fred...George..." He trailed off, hoping that if Harry asked him about it later, he could just say he was having a nightmare about all the stuff the twins had done to him when they were younger. He added a snore for good measure. He relaxed as Harry chuckled and climbed into bed.

Ron admonished himself. He couldn't keep slipping up like that. He hoped he'd be sent back to the future after the party. He couldn't take much more of all this secret keeping. Ron managed to clear his mind of everything but Hermione: her smile, her eyes, her hair, her lips.

"Pinch me, Harry," said Ron as he watched Hermione descend the stairs from the girls' dormitory. Harry made a face, "Why?" Ron didn't respond. He'd lost the ability to form words. Hermione was wearing a blue dress that showed off a lot of leg, but had long sleeves. Her hair was pulled back halfway and was curly, but not frizzy. Ron hadn't even seen that much of her legs when she wore shorts at The Burrow during the summer. Those came to just above her knees. This dress left very little to the imagination, but Ron's imagination went into overdrive anyway. She stood inches before him and he managed to say, "Hey."

"Hey," she replied, smirking. She had a long dress robe in her arms. "I grabbed this for the walk to Slughorn's office since the castle halls are drafty." Ron stared at her for a few seconds, but came to his senses when she started to put the robe on herself. He gently took it from her and helped her into them. "You look great, Hermione," said Harry. "I'm going to go meet up with Luna. I'll see you two there."

Shit. Harry had complimented Hermione and all Ron had said was 'Hey.' Ron held out his arm for Hermione to slip hers through. "You look bloody amazing, Hermione." The butterflies in his stomach punched the air in triumph when a blush formed across her cheeks. "Thanks, Ron. You look amazing too." Ron grinned and opened the portrait door for her.

When they reached Slughorn's office, an attendant took Hermione's robe. They couldn't find Harry, so they made their way to the buffet table. They ate in silence until Ron belched. "Excuse me," he said through a mouthful. Hermione screwed up her nose in disgust. You're supposed to be dancing or kissing by now, you bloody idiot! He took a swig of punch, took a step toward the dance floor, held out his hand and asked "Do you want to dance, Hermione?" She answered by putting her hand in his. Ron spotted Harry on the other side of the room, talking to Professor Trelawney and Luna. He thought about going to rescue him, but he figured that part of Dr. Tom's rules included not interfering with Harry's night. A slow song begun just as they reached the center of the dance floor. Ron was unsure where to put his hands. Thankfully, Hermione seemed to know what she was doing. She placed his hands on her waist and put her own on his shoulders. They swayed to the music, inching closer and closer to one another until he their bodies were flush against each other. Hermione looked up and said, "Look. Mistletoe." Slughorn had put mistletoe all over the room and Ron had the sudden urge to shake his hand. He looked down at Hermione's lips after spotting the mistletoe that she was looking at. He leaned down, closing his eyes. Hermione pulled him close and then...a commotion across the room ruined his whole life. At least that's what it felt like.

Hermione couldn't really see what was going on, but Ron could see everything. Draco Malfoy had been found supposedly crashing the party and was being escorted out. "Malfoy is crashing the party, that's all." And Harry is about to overhear a discussion between Malfoy and Snape that would convince him even more that Malfoy is up to something. Hermione didn't know the significance of the moment however, and said "Oh, okay." Then she laid her head on his chest and suddenly Ron didn't give a damn about Unbreakable Vows.

They spent the night dancing, mostly to the slow songs. At one point Ron was in such a good mood that he danced with Luna and copied her every move. Hermione laughed and clapped as she watched them. She lit up the whole room as far as Ron was concerned. The size of the crowd began to dwindle and eventually Ron and Hermione left as well. Halfway to Griffindor Tower, Ron gathered up all his courage and leaned in to kiss Hermione. Unfortunately she became distracted by the sounds of other party goers walking by at the other end of the hall, so he kissed her ear.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I...I...was...trying to kiss you." Ron was pretty sure that his whole body blushed at that moment.

"Oh, I see," she looked up at him and smiled. "Do you want to try that again?"

Ron answered by tucking a stray hair behind her ear and stroking her cheek. She leaned into his hand and kissed the palm. Ron felt heat rush straight through him; his skin was on fire. He cupped her face in both hands and leaned down as she stood on her toes. Their lips met and Ron growled. She parted his lips with her tongue and explored his mouth first, but he thoroughly returned the favor. He swore he had died and gone to heaven. Her hands gripped his hair and held his lips to hers so he couldn't escape if he wanted to. But, he didn't want to; he wanted to live here. He could figure out a way to make it through school and help Harry while kissing Hermione the whole time. Hermione certainly could figure out a way. Their lips did part briefly so they could breathe, but then Hermione pushed up against the wall. Ron had never been so aroused in his entire life. Her robe wasn't fastened shut, so he could see her bare legs. He slipped his hand down from her waist to her arse, which made Hermione make the most wonderful sounds. Ron moved his mouth down to her neck and Hermione's moans grew louder since they were no longer muffled by his mouth. His erection was obvious now, so he attempted to turn it away from Hermione so he wouldn't frighten her off, but she kept pressing her groin into his. Ron was pretty sure this was what the twins had been talking about when he overheard them talking about dry humping. Whatever it was, Ron wanted more.

"Hermione," he moaned.

"She's not here yet, you wanker!"

Ron's eyes flew open. He was in the loo at The Burrow and was sporting a rather impressive hard-on. Fred stood in the doorway laughing at him. Ron slammed the door shut and splashed cold water over his head. When he exited the loo, he had determined that he had fallen asleep standing up and had the most realistic dream ever.

"I can't wait to tell Hermione that her boyfriend has wet dreams about her!" George said.

"Boyfriend? Who's Hermione's boyfriend? I'll kick his bloody ass for thinking of her that way!" Ron punched his palm which made the twins burst into renewed laughter.

"You are, you knob! Did you hit your head in there or something?" said Fred.

"Me? What?" Ron was gobsmacked. Apparently it had all been real and now Hermione was his girlfriend. Hermione was his girlfriend! Ron ran over and hugged the twins, which completely shocked them, then he ran off to his room.

"You know, George, I do think he must have hit his head in there, the poor lad."

"It made him think he'd gone to see a magical therapist called Dr. Tom just so he could make things right with Hermione. Do you think we should tell him?" The twins looked at each other and laughed. "No way! We have to watch him try to snog Hermione when she gets here!"

"I do think our new therapy daydream product has passed its final test, George."

Later that morning, Hermione was utterly confused when Ron walked up to her and kissed her until her toes curled. She kissed him right back, however, to the twins great disappointment.

Author's Note: I had originally planned to leave Ron back in sixth year for a long time, but I hadn't touched this story in over a year, but I wanted to complete it in a way that was somewhat satisfying. I hope you enjoyed it!