Chapter 12:Brilliance
"Mum, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Ron as he and Hermione were reading a pamphlet on the uses of bewitched gargoyles.
"Nonsense, of course it's a good idea," answered Mrs. Weasley. "I just need you to hold them steady. They seem to scamper all over the place when I bewitch them but I can't aim the spell at them to go clean out the gnomes if they're all jumpy. It took me an hour to concentrate and even pronounce the first spell correctly before I could get it to work properly. I spent most of yesterday trying to prevent the gargoyles from running away."
Ron and Hermione gave each other a look, not sure if they should laugh or feel sorry for her.
"What do you think, Hermione?' asked Ron, wanting her opinion.
Hermione thought for a second. Then she figured it out. "We could use the incarcerous jinx on the mouth of the gargoyle, to make sure it doesn't bite us when we bring it to life. Then I can grab its arms while you grab its legs to hold it still while she uses the spell to make it go after the gnomes. Then, she can lift the incarcerous jinx once it's not tempted to bite us. That will work because if we just use incarcerous on its whole body, it might be hard to get the spell to cut through those thick ropes."
"Brilliant," said Ron. "I knew you'd come up with something brilliant."
Hermione blushed. Ron said, "What do you think, mum?"
"I think the sooner we try it, the better," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'm ready when you two are."
"Okay," said Ron. "Go ahead with the jinx. Then we'll grab it after and try to get out of the way when you bring it to life."
"Okay," said Mrs. Weasley, and with a very stern voice, she bellowed confidently, "incarcerous," directly at the gargoyles mouth, sealing the ropes around the mouth which was open but would be shut as soon as it sprung to life.
"Ready?" asked Ron to Hermione.
"As much as I'll ever be, I guess," responded Hermione.
Ron grabbed the legs of the gargoyle while Hermione grabbed it's arms, both of them leaning out of the way of Mrs. Weasley's wand path.
"Okay, here it goes!" warned Mrs. Weasley. Then she cried, "brawychus!" to the gargoyle. Immediately, it's eyes opened, but it's mouth was sealed shut by the thick ropes of of the jinx. It moved, but without as much strength as Ron and Hermione had predicted. It was actually relatively weak. The incarcerous curse had shocked it.
"Hortum holerum!" bellowed Mrs. Weasley, which appeared to not do anything. Ron and Hermione were unsure of what to do.
"Go ahead and let go," said Mrs. Weasley. "Run behind me if you feel you need to. It should just go straight to the garden gnomes."
Ron and Hermione obeyed, quickly letting go and fleeing from the spot to see what would happen. The gargoyle moved slowly at first, slow enough for Mrs. Weasley to aim at its head and bellow, "patentibus," which released the ropes from its mouth. The gargoyle immediately took off at a quicker pace towards the garden. However, the gnomes had come out and instead decided to terrorize the gargoyle. This was opposite the intended effect.
"Useless. False advertising. I bought these gargoyles for nothing..." complained Mrs. Weasley.
Ron and Hermione exchanged glances again. Ron had a look of relief on his face that this probably meant they were done helping her for the day.
"Maybe you can take them back to the shop and sell them?" suggested Ron.
"I can," sighed Mrs. Weasley. "It's just going back to Whimpleton that I don't like. It always takes longer than I think it will. I feel weird returning things back to the shop when I just bought them too."
Ron and Hermione snickered. Then they went back inside to leave Mrs. Weasley to her brooding.
"Glad that's over," said Ron.
"Me too," admitted Hermione, "although I'm glad we could help her."
"Yeah."
They assumed their usual position on the couch, snuggling up together. It was nice having so much alone time to discuss themselves. Ron could tell something was on Hermione's mind though.
"You were brilliant thinking of that for the gargoyle," said Ron encouragingly.
"Yeah?" asked Hermione.
"O'course! You're the brightest witch in our class, after all."
Hermione looked downcast. "I don't feel like it sometimes," she admitted.
"What do you mean?" asked Ron.
"Well, lately it seems like there's a whole lot more to life than just going to school and making good grades," said Hermione, as if she resented her own talents and skills.
"True. I've always thought that myself, but don't be down on yourself Hermione. That's not like you. You've always been confident in yourself. And why not? You're absolutely brilliant!" exclaimed Ron.
"I know it seems like it from the outside…" said Hermione. "But sometimes I feel like a frightened little girl who just wants to be protected and not have to deal with what's in front of me. I still get so scared of things sometimes, Ron. I know I can seem brave at times, but, I'm really not," said Hermione.
"Hermione!" cried Ron.
"What?" said Hermione weakly. She wasn't looking at him.
"Come 'ere," he said, giving her a hug. "I'm always here for you."
They hugged for about fifteen seconds without speaking. Each and every time they hugged, it felt so good. It was a rush of comfort and solace to both of them. Hermione began hugging him very tightly after a few seconds.
"Hermione, you shouldn't talk like that," said Ron, breaking the silence. "You're without a doubt down the smartest person in our class at Hogwarts. That's got to count for something! You have so much more discipline than the rest of us. You're the only girl I know who would stay up at the bloody library on a Friday night when everyone else is out getting butterbeers and playing exploding snap. You're amazing! Don't you know that? I realize I haven't told you that enough in the past. Not anymore. Hermione, don't ever sell yourself short. I know you told me that yesterday, but it looks like I have to tell you now. You're AMAZING, Hermione, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You're smart. You're brave. You're quick witted, and you have a sweet side to you as well that's full of compassion and love and friendship. You're logical and reasonable. Most wizards aren't logical like you are, Hermione. That's another thing that makes you so special."
Hermione turned to him. "Thanks, Ron," she smiled. "I needed that."
"Anytime," said Ron. "That's what I'm here for. We're here to build each other up now, not break each other down. I know I'm the luckiest man in Britain to be with you. You really are a special woman."
"Aww…" said Hermione, leaning up against him and stroking his arms in comfort. "You're the best."
"NO. You're the best, Hermione," said Ron.
"No! You're the best!" exclaimed Hermione.
'No! You are!" said Ron, who was feeling audacious. He initiated tickling her this time, to which she responded by laughing and fighting back. It was pure pleasure as they began laughing with each other before Ron finally ended up being on top of her on the couch.
"Woah," said Hermione quietly. "We haven't been in a position like this before." She was blushing again.
"Uhhh…yeah," said Ron, whose ears were burning again, not sure what to say.
Ron quickly got off of her and sat upright, looking embarrassed . Hermione sat up too, looking disappointed.
"Hermione…"
"Yes, Ron?"
"I...I know, ideally, the best thing to do is to wait until marriage to do some things…" said Ron. His ears were scarlet.
"Right. Of course," agreed Hermione.
"This is gonna be kind of embarrassing but…."
"Ron, tell me. I want you to trust me. I can handle it," said Hermione truthfully.
"I-I don't exactly know... how wizards propose marriage to witches," said Ron.
"Oh!" said Hermione. She was at a loss for words. Her heart purred at the idea of marriage.
"Hermione, I...I want to marry you when this war is over," he admitted. "I can't imagine my life without you. I don't want to imagine my life without you. You really are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Those weren't just empty words I said in Diagon Alley."
Hermione cupped her hands over her mouth. Her eyes became misty.
"R-Ron!" she gasped. "Of course! Yes! It's my wildest dream come true to marry you! Only…"
"Only what?!" asked Ron, who suddenly looked terrified.
"Only we still need to finish our education at Hogwarts first," said Hermione glumly.
"Bloody 'ell you're right," said Ron dejectedly.
"Ron, I'm crazy about you though," said Hermione. "You're all I think about now. I can't imagine my life without you either. Of course I would marry you!"
"Yeah," said Ron. "Guess it'll be a long time though," he said sadly.
"I wish it could be today," admitted Hermione.
"Me too," said Ron. "Like you have no idea."
"Like you have no idea…" repeated Hermione in a quiet, sultry voice. Her head had come close to his slowly but surely. As their heads came closer, their eyelids closed. Soon they were kissing each other again. It was ecstasy, but there was a hint of sadness in it this time, knowing they would have to wait until after the war to finish school and then get married.
Finally, their lips parted. Their heads were still close, and their eyes were still closed.
"'Mione?" whispered Ron.
"Yes, Won?" Hermione replied. Ron could have sworn he heard her call him "Won" instead of "Ron," not sure if she did it on purpose or by accident.
"Don't ever leave me. I love you too much," he murmured, still close to her lips.
"I would never forsake my true love," she whispered back to him, her eyes still closed. "Just don't ever leave me, either."
"Never, 'Mione. Never," said Ron. Hermione swore she felt something move close to the fly of his pants which was against one of her knees. Both of them were blushing furiously.
Then they pulled away from each other and sat back on the couch, both of them facing forward. Ron had to stand up to adjust his pants briefly.
"Having trouble there, Won?" she asked sarcastically? Ron was certain she was calling him this on purpose, but he loved it.
"Maybe," he said, his ears still burning as he finished adjusting his pants. Hermione giggled at him.
"Too bad we don't have a TV," said Ron, sitting back down.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Let's just sit here and cuddle and love each other."
"Hey now. I can always do that," smirked Ron.
And with that, they snuggled as tightly as they possibly could to each other, enjoying every second of time they were spending together, wishing time could stand still and relishing the progress their relationship had made in such a short period of time.