Author Notes:

Anyone want a Muse? Mine is for sale! Be thankful you don't have one! They never leave you alone! Hey, METMA Mandy! Puke on my Muse, will ya? It's her fault! (maybe then she'll let me get some sleep ::yawn::) And, hey, you might actually like the three evil things! Why? Look at what they're about to do for Ron and Hermione! Hehe… go read and find out! And, yes, weird author = weird fic. This a very, very weird fic.

To answer * - lone astronomer - * question (How did Hermione turn into a ghoul?): The three evil dancing devils slipped some ghoul ::cough:: whatever you want to think into the potion for the last ingredient. Won't say more ^-^ I'm such an oddball ::sigh::

Usual disclaimers apply.

"Misce stultiliam consiliis brevem"

[Mix a little foolishness with your wisdom]

Dancing Devils- Part 3

By Iris Marie

"W-W-What!?!?" Ginny screeched, her back hitting against one of the standing gnomes that looked a lot like a soldier. "I... you... Queen? Me? No... got wrong...got..." She inhaled deeply, bending over and trying to get her heart to calm down. The faerie prince walked forward to help her, but she brought her hands up to stop him. "No... you stay back! All of you!"

"But Princess..."

"I'm NOT a princess!" she screamed, taking in a good look at the faerie prince. Sure, one nice specimen of a guy (in faerie terms), but he still wasn't Harry! She looked desperately around, looking for some escape. Then, a gnome that looked like a female walked forward. She was a tad bit taller then the other gnomes, more voluptuous as well… but she was still a gnome.

"She's not a princess?" It asked, staring at Ginny up and down. If Ginny wasn't so confused and scared, she would have given a good nasty stare back. "Tylens, why are you choosing her over me?"

"You better answer quickly," another gnome said, this one a tad bit chubbier then the rest. He had a sweeping red cloak behind him. "The alliance between the gnomes and faeries was meant to come about through the matrimony of the faerie King's oldest son and my oldest daughter. However, you have told us that you were to be wed already to a princess. And yet here she is and she's yelling she's not one."

Tylens looked around at the looks of anger that were now crossing the gnomes' faces. "The gnomes and faeries will have peace among them..."

"Insulting our Princess isn't a very good way to bring the alliance and show peace!" One of the gnomes yelled from the background. Ginny stared around, watching as Tylens was going awfully pale. The faerie behind him was urging him to do something.

"Once more, I can't marry your... err... Princess," Tylens said, his impeccable face once more calm. "I'm already engaged to my Princess," he offered Ginny his hand. Ginny stared at him, his face earnest for her to accept. The gnomes about her were staring at her hard and if it weren't for the supposedly 'Gnome Princess's' awful looks towards her, she might have objected. Instead, she brought out a bright smile and took Tylens's hand into hers.

"Yes, hello my Prince," she said, giving the nastiest look she could to the Gnome Princess.

"How do I work them?" Ron asked Fred and George as they, with Hermione, trudged up back to the house. Fred looked at the three dancing devils and then pointed to the amulet. "Before we get to the house, touch the amulet and say, 'Dancio!' They'll then fly to you and seem to disappear. But, in reality, they're going to help you dance. Careful, though, make sure that that amulet stays on!"

Ron nodded, his hand over the amulet. "All right," he said as they were almost to the back door. He gave one look back to the garden where Harry was by now underground searching the Gnome tunnels. "You think he's okay down there?"

Hermione snorted, her hair now tied in a bun. "You wish."

Harry looked at the tunnels, scratching his head. "Where oh where can Ginny be?" he asked himself out loud. The tunnel he had just climbed through was easy enough. He had thought that he might need to light his wand to see, but it seemed that the tunnel was lighted already... most likely by Gnome magic. "Ginny, Ginny, Ginny..." he said, shaking his head. He had thought of looking for recent footprints, but apparently each five tunnels that now branched out of the tunnel he was in was used a lot since each path was trodden a lot.

"Hi cutie pie," a voice behind he said. He jumped, turning around and almost falling over. A short gnome was in front of him, her hips swaying seductively. Only thing was, was that the little hair that was on her head was gray... and her skin was wrinkled. Her arms opened wide and she lunged herself around him, pushing his body against her. "Are you new here?"

"Can't... breath... let... please... go..." The gnome then let him go and Harry had to fix his glasses that were knocked askew. The old lady Gnome was still staring at him, suggesting him to do something naughty with her. Harry trembled in fright. "Uhh... have you seen a girl faerie in a pink gown with bright red hair?"

"Oh, the Princess?" The old lady gnome asked.

Harry's brows rose. "Princess?"

"Yeah, the Princess whose about to be engaged to the Faerie Prince."

"Faerie Prince?" Harry asked, this seeming more like a fairy tale. But then, the other words sunk in. "ENGAGED!?!? WHAT!?!?!"

"Yeah, they're about to hold the ceremony-" But, she was forced to stop as Harry grabbed her shoulders and began shaking her wildly for some more answers. She was giggling, her eyes batting to him. "Ohh... you want to do this roughly, huh?" Harry immediately let go as she now bit her lower lip and growled at him, her brows rising. He felt his insides turn over in revulsion. "Can you lead me to where she is?"

She looked at him, licking her lips while drool began to drip from her chin. Harry saw that there were no teeth in her mouth. Once more he felt him insides turn over, but he forced himself to give her a smile. "Can you?"

"What will be the price, dearie?" She asked, trying to get her voice to be husky.

Harry smiled nervously, closing his eyes and squirming. "Depends on whether or not you can handle it?" He asked, his face wincing.

The lady gnome's face lighted up, more drool dripping from her chin. "This way!" she said, already walking down the third tunnel.

Ron stood in front of the backyard door, heaving a sigh. Glancing towards the three dancing devils, he shook his head while looking up to the sky. "Please.. pretty please don't let me regret this... please!" he said. He then looked back to the three dancing devils.

"Should we tell him what is going to happen to him while under the charm?" Fred asked George. George grinned.

"And ruin all the fun?" He asked. Fred grinned back.

"Dancio!" Ron muttered to the three dancing devils. When the charm hit them, their eyes blanked out and they slowly flew to him. Ron watched in amazement as two of them sunk into each of his feet and one sunk into his heart. "Wow..." he muttered. And then, he felt an uncontrollable urge to dance. He brought his arms up, his back tilting backwards, and with a ballet kick up in the air, he banged the door opened.

Hermione gaped. Fred and George laughed. Mrs. Weasley was staring at him in shock. "Ron!" she exclaimed.

Ron did a graceful leap to her, while conjuring a rose and placing it in his mouth. "Hush, mother," he said in his new, husky voice. He had his arm encircled around her waist and his head still leaned back. George would have called the look that was on his face, 'constipated.' Hermione would have called it, 'concentrated.' Fred would have called it, 'gay.' "Dance WITH ME, MUM!" He then spun her around, doing all kinds of twisted turns and dips. That led them to the living room with Mrs. Weasley laughing with delight as Ron continued to spin her around. Fred, George, and Hermione followed them.

Ron then dipped Mrs. Weasley onto the couch, Molly laughing with uncontrollable laughter, not believing how good Ron got. However, Ron was staring at Hermione fixedly, his eyes lit. Hermi, seeing the look, took a step back but George and Fred were blocking the exit. "This, Hermione," Fred whispered in her ear, "is the effect under the charm."

"Hermione Granger," Ron said, his hands spread wide as if about to engulf her. The rose was still in his mouth and he was muttering an odd, almost romantic tune. "Have I ever told you... how beautiful you are tonight!" He asked, sliding to her side and handing her the rose.

(*Extra AN: I have this really weird tune in my head while I write this… does anyone else hear it? O-KAY… you may go back to the reading and completely ignore this ^-^)

"It's the afterno-" she was cut short as he now stuck the rose in her mouth.

"Have I ever told you, that your eyes are that of luscious chocolates and your hair," he took a bunch of it and sniffed it. He sighed, "Oh, your hair!"

Hermione couldn't help it, but she giggled. She tried to cover it up at the frown that crossed her lips. "Ron, will you-"

"DANCE with me, BEAUTIFUL Hermione!" Ron cried out, taking her in a full spin. Hermione screeched, half laughing, half in shock. He continued to spin her around, but then he dipped her… very, very, very low. Ron had his lips to her neck, his hand at her leg that had came to his side. "Beautiful, beautiful Hermione Granger," he now muttered on her neck. Hermione felt pleasant chills sweep through her. He brought her back up from the dip, but keeping sure that their bodies were still smashed together. His hand was caressing her cheek, his head bent and his mouth near her ear.

"Beautiful..." he muttered, his lips brushing her ear. Hermione closed her eyes, unable to do anything else. "Beautiful..." he muttered again, this time his lips to her cheek. "Beautiful..." once more, his lips upon her nose. "Beautiful..." he again said and this time, his face lowered, his lips going onto hers.

Hermione's eyes flew open in shock, staring towards Ron's face. His eyes were closed, his lips still on hers. 'Pull away!' But, she didn't want to. She closed her eyes again, her hands going to Ron's hair and pulling his lips harder upon hers. She distantly heard Fred and George's hoots of appraisal. And then the three dancing devils seemed to have evaporated from him, their bodies disappearing into the air. Fred and George looked wildly towards their mum to see if she saw, but she had this dreamy look and she didn't notice a thing. Once the three devils evaporated from him, however, is when Ron took an immediate step back from the kiss.

Hermione was still rather dazed, wondering why her lips had all of a sudden come from warm to cold. Upon shaking her head, she saw that Ron was staring at her with his hand to his lips. Mrs. Weasley made her silent retreat out of the room.

Ron was still feeling his lips, wondering if it were real. "The dancing things - they made me – kiss – I didn't…"

Hermione felt something in her twist very, very badly and she lowered her head. "Yeah, I figured that," she muttered, her eyes staring down at the floor. Small pricks were going through them, and she blinked rapidly to keep the moisture that was building in. However, it wasn't helping so she took a step to the stairs. "I... I'll go look up on the reversal for Ginny now," she said and then promptly left. Ron was still touching his lips, getting an odd feeling that Hermione actually didn't want him to blame the kiss on the devils. He shook his head, glaring at his brothers who were patting his back.

"What the hell happened?"

"You FINALLY kissed a girl!" Fred said.

"No! Other then that! Why did I kiss Hermione!?!"

George now grinned. "Under the charm, the devils that usually lie, would go to your heart," he now pointed towards Ron's, "and make you see the truth."

"But I don't like Hermione like that!" Ron screeched even though something inside him was screaming, 'liar, liar!' He shrugged it off. "She's my best friend!"

George and Fred shrugged. "Maybe," Fred said, "maybe not. All I know is that when I was under it, I sent an owl to Angelina while in a mid-leap. After I was off the spell, I was about to send another owl to tell her I didn't mean it… A whole fight ensued." George grinned at the remembrance. Fred was turning awfully red and George felt obligated to finish the tale.

"Yes, a fight that was soon forgiven and blown over by a kiss," George said. Fred turned even redder, elbowing his brother but grinning.

"But Hermione didn't want me to kiss her."

"Did she pull away?" George asked. Ron stayed quiet and they all knew that answer. Fred and George sighed, thinking it would be best to leave the room before their brother exploded on them. Since it was their idea to use the things. "The dancing devils will be back later on. They went to get recovered." He paused and then he said, "Oh, and nice little dance," Fred then commented. "Didn't know you were so... err... flexible." And with that, George and Fred walked out of the room.

"-so you must marry me," Tylens said, looking at himself at the mirror. "Ahh... so gorgeous," he said, complimenting himself. He snapped out of his daze and looked at her.

"I don't have to do anything," Ginny muttered, her hands to her hips. "I don't have to marry you... I'M ONLY THIRTEEN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Ginny held her anger, her wand ready to blast that mirror into smithereens.

"How can you reject this good thing?" He asked, gesturing to his body and face.

Ginny now gagged openly. "Easy. No. Now, let me out of here now! I already saved you from that group of people-"

"You accepted to marry me in front of them, so you will have to fulfill what you said."

"I only lied that one time! I won't MARRY you!"

Tylens sighed, looking at her. "You don't have much of a choice, dear."

"Yes I do!"

"Have you seen the guards?" He asked, gesturing for the doors. "Now, rules for my wife-"

"I'M NOT GOING TO BE YOUR WIFE!!!!!!!!!" Ginny now screamed and Tylens was forced to cover his ears. He watched in horror as his mirror began to crack. "AND DAMN IT! I'M NOT EVEN A FREAKING FAERIE!!!! I'M GINNY WEASLEY! I'M A WITCH! I'M A HUMANNNN!!!!"

"What's all the commotion in here?" The Gnome Princess asked, opening the door.

Ginny stopped her screaming instantly. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" The Gnome Princess asked. She walked her way, her hips swaying, towards Tylens who looked like he just swallowed a lemon. "Hey, honey," she said, her fingers trailing their way up his chest, "how are you doing?"

Tylens broke away from her and walked towards Ginny. "I'm sorry, Jalkeena, but I'm about to be-"

"GINNY!" Another gnome burst into the room, followed by an old lady gnome who was drooling a lot. The male gnome engulfed her in a hug. "I FOUND YOU! We have to hurry! I only have 20 more minutes before the Polyjuice Potion-"

"Harry!?" Ginny asked, looking at the gnome and realizing how familiar it looked. Plus the scar on his forehead. "HARRY! Oh, Harry, get me out of here! They want me to wed this prince and the other gnomes are so-!"

"Princess?" Two gnome guards came in. Jalkeena looked at the boy and then to Ginny.

"Gnome, identify yourself," she said looking directly to Harry. "As your Princess..."

"Where's my award, handsome?" The old lady gnome asked, about to take a grab at Harry's butt. He yelled, now hiding behind Ginny.

"I'm sorry, but you can't handle it!" Harry screamed, Ginny watching in mute confusion as the old lady gnome tried to grab Harry again.

"We didn't even-"

"I SAID to identify yourself, Gnome!" Jalkeena hissed, getting impatient.

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but the old lady gnome was still trying to grab his buttocks. "Come here, dearie! I need my re-war-ard!"

"Ginny!" Harry screeched, hiding. "Stop her!"

"Gnome!" Jalkeena screamed. "Identify-"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS NOISE!?!?!" The King of the Gnomes walked in, his voice quieting everything in the room.

"Father, that gnome will no respond to me!" Jalkeena complained. The old lady gnome scuttled out of the room. The King now looked at Harry.

"You new?" he asked. Harry gave a mute nod.

"He seems very familiar to the Princess," Jalkeena said, eyeing how Harry was holding onto Ginny's hand. They instantly let go. "Can you explain why you're so familiar?"

Ginny flushed scarlet. Tylens, about to come in, was hushed by the King. "Yes, why are you two so familiar?"

Ginny looked towards Harry, pleading for him to come up with something. The faerie guy in tights was giving him harsh looks and the female gnome was staring at him with something that looked a lot like hunger. Once more Harry winched. The Gnome King had his foot patting impatiently on the floor. "Well? I asked you a question!"

Harry racked his brain, feeling the anxiety build. Once more the King began to speak, "If you don't answer me RIGHT THIS MINUTE, I will personally make sure-!"

"She is MY rightful bride!" Harry screamed, the only thing that had come to his head.

"WHAT?" The room fell silent, Ginny even staring at him.

Once more Harry racked his brain, trying to think of something. And, once more, his mouth did the talking before he could plan it out. "Yeah... well... she is, you see... umm... I'm a lost heir to the throne of gnomes?"

Hermione flipped through the pages, her eyes getting teary for no particular reason at all. She wiped them away, staring harder to the pages in front of her. Dancing Demons... dangerous... used only with extreme caution... never summon unless you're a fully trained wizard. Hermione rolled her eyes, Fred and George summoning them despite all that. She skimmed the pages and fell upon the spells that Dancing Devils use.

Effects under 'Dancio':

The devils natural nature is to lie, but when their master summons them to help him or her dance, their nature is forced to reverse, but the effects are to their master.'

Hermione stared at that, her heart speeding up at the thought. So, Ron kissed her because he actually liked her? She shook her head, trying to get the thought away and then skimmed even more until her eyes fell upon the spell that Ginny was under.

Effects under 'Plecto':

Used whenever someone or something tries to touch/offer them something. Extremely advanced magic used upon the victim, causing them to shrink till they become nothing.

Reversal:

No known reversal

Hermione sighed, closing the book and massaging her temples. No known reversal, that's great. She heard the chair next to her scrap the floor. Opening her eyes, she saw Ron. He was looking at the book she had just closed, his hands fumbling with each other on the table. "Evil Creatures: Book III, huh?" he asked, giving her a grin.

She looked down, her eyes to the book. Ron then cleared his throat and pushed his chair closer to hers. "Hermione… I'm sorry…"

"It's all right, Ron," she muttered. "You don't have to apologize." 'I don't want you to apologize,' Hermi thought, but pushed that thought away. His hand took hold of hers and she looked up, quickly. He was smiling, but something in his eyes was shining.

"You didn't let me finish," he said.

Hermione felt her heart begin to race. "Maybe we should-…"

"Hermione," he began, his voice utterly soft. "What I'm sorry for is what I said earlier… about the… err…" his ears turned bright crimson and Hermione couldn't help but smile a bit. "… kiss. I… well, I did…" He ran a hand through his hair, his face easily as red as that. "I'm not very good at this," he complained. "You think there's a creature in that book that helps express how their master might feel?"

Hermione smiled now, her whole body going through warm, pleasant chills. "Hmm… maybe I should look into the Most Evil of the Evil Creatures. They might have one."
"Oh really?"

Hermione nodded. "Really."
"Oh really? Really? Oh wow? Really?" They heard a voice mutter from the door. "You two stop making me sick and kiss already!" They then heard two pair of feet walk down the stairs.

"Well, you heard the man," Ron said as he leaned forward and kissed her.

To be continued…

Oy how corny! They moved kinda fast, yada yada yada. ^-^ Next part should be the end. ::everyone sighs a sigh of relief:: Maybe then I won't be uploading so many stuff. And, hey, just watch another series make its way. ::sigh:: I'll kill my Muse… Oh, hey, and review!

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