Chapter Nine
Oh, God. This is it. This is it.
Hermione drew in a deep breath and turned to face the other girls. "Well?" She asked weakly.
There was silence. Then Ginny squealed with delight. "Oh, Hermione! You look gorgeous!"
"Really?' Hermione said, flustered. "'Cause I wasn't sure if this color worked on me, and I didn't know about the way I did my hair, and I'm not used to wearing makeup and…"
Ginny laughed. "Hermione, just shut up and take the compliment. You look beautiful."
Hermione smiled. "Thanks. You guys look amazing."
Ginny smoothed her gold robes self-consciously as Lavender and Parvati began to gush compliments over everyone.
"…and Parvati, those sapphire earring are just so adorable!"
"Oh, don't you think so? And your robes, the lavender is just so cute! And with your name!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed as she and Ginny exchanged looks. Acting girly occasionally was one thing, but her two roommates took it to another level.
"Well, 'Mione, guess we better go meet the boys. I peeked out there earlier and saw Fred and Harry waiting."
Lavender and Parvati gasped.
"You're going with Fred Weasley?!"
Hermione smiled nervously. "Yeah, why?"
It was Parvati's turn to roll her eyes. "God, Hermione, you haven't noticed how hot he's gotten?"
"Those shoulders…"
"That chest…"
"Those dimples…" They chorused together.
"Eeeew!" Ginny clapped her hands over her ears. "This is my older brother you're talking about! Horrible images!"
Hermione giggled and, grabbing her by the hand, pulled her out of the room. "Are you two coming?" She called over her shoulder.
"Of course!"
"C'mon Ginny, let us have some fantasy time!"
Ginny grimaced and then smoothed her face into a radiant smile. "I'll go down first."
"Oh, for God sakes, can't we just all go in a pack? I hate being on display!" Hermione moaned.
"Get used to it. You look too good in those robes." With those words, Ginny disappeared down the stairs. Hermione grinned as she pictured Harry's reaction to his date. Ginny looked like a living candle in her robes. Harry didn't stand a chance.
Taking a deep breath, (Don't trip, don't trip), Hermione slowly made her way down into the common room. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she waited for someone to say something.
All the boys were silent, staring. Ginny was laughing silently at their expressions, and Ron's date was glaring angrily at him as he stared openmouthed. Fred recovered first.
"Hermione, you look…" He seemed at a loss for words for once. "Stunning."
Hermione blushed. Her deep red robes clung to her newly developed figure, the color setting off her brown hair, smoothed down and cascading down her back in gentle curls. Fred came forward and took her hand.
"Shall we go, oh fair lady of the night?"
She laughed as she recognized their inside joke and saw his twinkling eyes. "Of course, Prince Charming." Surveying him out of the corner of her eye, she thought that he really did look like a prince. His black and sliver dress robes were simple, yet elegant. With new appreciation, thanks to Parvati and Lavender, she noted that his physique was excellent. Probably Quidditch, she thought to herself.
Ron watched them flirt, his brows knotting together. "Wow," Harry whispered in his ear. "Hermione looks hot!"
Ron glared at his friend. "Thanks for pointing that out, Harry!" He took Melissa's arm, none too gently, and led his dejected date out of the common room.
Hermione surveyed the Great Hall with delight. It was transformed, full of light and sparkle. The largest change was that instead of the usual mass of black, her eyes were greeted with a sea of color.
Fred led her over to a table where they could see George and Katie.
"Hermione?" George's eyes widened, and Katie pretended to smack him.
"Hey, I thought you only had eyes for your fiancée?" She teased.
"Um, of course, my darling, my light, my eternal sunshine!" He babbled, all the while staring at Hermione. Katie laughed good-naturedly.
"Don't worry, Hermione." She said to the younger girl. "Once he gets over the shock of you growing up, he'll make it up to me. And you do look great."
"Thanks. You too." She was right. Katie not only looked wonderful in her amethyst colored robes, but she was positively glowing with happiness. Hermione noted, once he had recovered, that George could barely take his eyes off of his fiancée, looking continually stunned at his good fortune.
"They're perfect together, aren't they?" Fred murmured in her ear, and she grinned up at him in agreement. Harry and Ginny and Ron and his date joined them then.
"Aren't you guys going to dance?" Ginny gushed. "Wow, Katie, looking hot."
"Same back at you." Katie glanced at her fiancée. "Well, lover boy, you going to take me for a spin?"
"Of course, my dearest angel." As Katie pulled him onto the dance floor, he glanced stricken at Harry and his brothers. "Never marry," he said. They could hear him apologize to Katie as they disappeared in the crowd.
"Well, Hermione?" Fred turned to her. "Do you want a second dance?"
"Certainly." As they stepped on the dance floor, Melissa turned to Ron.
"Wait, Ron, isn't this the first dance?"
Ron frowned. "Goddammit."
Hermione twirled gracefully in Fred's arms, once again marveling at what a good dancer he was. She felt so comfortable in his arms.
"Penny."
"What?" She looked at him, confused.
"Penny for your thoughts."
"Oh. Nothing really. Just remembering the last time we did this."
Fred drew her a little closer. "Want to change your dress' color again?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Thank you, no. I like it the way it is now." She added shyly, "I like the way everything is right now."
He gazed at her, and for a moment she saw his eyes drawn to her lips. Is he going to kiss me? She wondered, half-closing her eyes expectantly.
Suddenly, two fourth year Ravenclaws collided with them, ruining the moment. Fred cursed under his breath and propelled Hermione away from the clumsy pair.
"Bad dancers, the lot of them." Hermione giggled at his annoyed expression. The music began to pick up in tempo, becoming a fast paced, upbeat song.
Fred grinned down at her. Wow, he does have great dimples, Hermione thought. Then she realized that he was saying something.
"What?"
"I said, want to show them how it's done?"
Before she could ask what he meant, he had spun her out into a wide circle before pulling her back close to him. Very close. As the infectious salsa beat rang out over the dance floor, he placed his hands on her hips and the two of them began to move back and forth very fast, neither missing a step. Hermione thought she felt static electricity passing between them as they danced closer and closer.
It soon became apparent that both knew exactly what they were doing. A crowd began to form around them, cheering them on as Fred spun her in complicated moves. The song came to a rushing climax and Hermione found herself being dipped back in Fred's arms.
The crowd started applauding and whistling as Fred raised Hermione to her feet. She blushed a deep red, and saw that Fred, for all his outward calm, was blushing slightly about the neck and ears. Aw, cute. Kind of like Ron. She thought. Fred kissed her hand and they left the dance floor and went back to their table.
Hermione dropped in her chair, panting slightly from the fast paced dance.
"Let me go get us some punch," Fred said, and she smiled her consent up at him. He moved away in the crowd, and she watched the red head of hair disappear, the smile still lingering.
"Well, you certainly put on quite the show," Ron said bitterly, sliding into a chair opposite her.
She frowned. "What are you talking about, Ron?"
"That dance!" He exploded, and some heads around them turned. "You and my brother, doing that obscene dance out there! God, are you two advertising or something?"
Hermione flushed and her eyes snapped. "Stop it Ron. Do we have to do this every time there's a ball at Hogwarts?"
"If you insist on making a spectacle, yes!"
"I'm making a spectacle?! That's real rich, Ron!" She lowered her voice and whispered angrily. "Why do you always have to do this to me? Can't I ever have fun?"
"Not when it's with my brother!" He whispered back, glaring.
"You don't have any claim on me, Ron! I'll have fun with anyone I want!"
"Whatever. Just don't expect me to accept it." He stood up angrily and strode off. Hermione leaned back in her chair, squeezing back hot tears.
"Hermione, are you okay?" She looked up and saw Fred's concerned face staring down at her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She sighed. "No, I'm not, but I don't really want to talk about it."
He sat down next to her and handed her a glass of punch, which she sipped thirstily. "It's my brother, isn't it?"
"Which one?" She said, attempting humor, but then relented at his serious face. "Alright, yes. He just…he just never wants me to be happy unless it's with Harry or him. It's like I can't even talk to another guy. He gets mad at me for helping Neville in potions, he wouldn't talk to me for an entire week when I dated Seamus, and once when I tripped and landed on Malfoy he accused me of sleeping with him. It's ridiculous! It's not like we're dating!" She let out an angry breath. "I'm sorry I'm ruining your night."
"No, Hermione, it's okay." Fred picked up her hand, and the gentle caress gave her goose bumps. "Look, why don't we dance, and I'll try to get you back into a good humor. What else am I for?" He smiled at her, and she felt her heart constrict.
"You're much more than that Fred." She blushed at her statement and leapt to her feet. "C'mon, let's dance."
A slow song was playing, and Fred encircled her gently. She gingerly placed her arms around his neck and leaned into his chest. Hermione closed her eyes as they swayed back and forth to the music. He was making her feel better already.
