Hermione yawned, and turned over. Her head hit a pillow, not a park bench like she usually slept on. She immediatley woke up and looked around, recalling the memories of the night before. Ron had found her on the streets, and she was staying in his apartment for a while. She got up, and saw a pair of jeans and sweatshirt on the chair across the room. She dragged herself over to the chair and pulled them on. She found a small bag on the table next to the chair, and looked inside it. It had a toothbrush, toothpaste, a brush, soap, and a note. She pulled the contents out of the bag, and opened the crumpled note. In scrawly writing, it said:
Herm-
Last night you got really tired so I brought you to the guest room in my apartment. I went out after that and got you these, because I thought you'd need them.
-Ron
Hermione set the note on the counter and picked up the brush. She ran it through her hair. It feels good to have something new again, she thought. She got the toothpaste and the toothbrush and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She also fished something out of her old coat and put it in her pocket. She washed her face, and pulled out am old tube of lipstick and put it on her lips. The container cracked, and half of what was left of the lipstick fell off. That's done for, she thought, as she tossed it into the trash can. It had been old when she found it in a trash can. She stretched her arms and went into the hall. The smell of eggs filled the air. She took a deep breath and walked towards the kitchen. There Ron was cooking eggs, enough for both of them. "Help yourself!" Ron said, grinning, and motioning toward the stack of plates. She picked up a white plate with a pretty flower design on the edges, and put a strip of bacon on it. She also fished a spatula from the sink and put some eggs on her plate. Ron handed her a fork, and she smiled. She set her food down at the small table. "Milk or orange juice?" Ron asked her. Hermione hadn't had orange juice in what seemed like forever. "Orange juice!" she said hastily. Ron grinned and poured her a glass of orange juice and a glass for himself. He set the glasses down on the table, one at his spot and one at Hermione's spot. He went to the stove and made him a plate of eggs and bacon. "This is really good, Ron. How did you learn to cook so well?" Hermione asked him. "I learned from my mother a long time ago. This is one of my great-great-grandmothers recipes." Ron answered her, taking another bite. Hermione finished her plate when the oven timer went off. Hermione looked at him with a confused look on her face. "The pancakes are ready! Want some?" Ron asked her. "Yes!" she said. "Lots." she added, smiling. He stacked her a plate of pancakes, and took some for himself. "This is the best breakfast I've had in a long time." Hermione said, looking into Ron's eyes. He grinned. "Well, you'll have lot's more of them!" Ron said, taking their finished plates to the sink. They finished their pancakes and took a final sip of their orange juice. Hermione took the other plates and the glasses to the sink. Ron said "Are you ready to do stuff today? Like shop for Muggle clothes, and there's this charity dance-a-thon I heard about. Maybe we could go to that!" he said with a grin. Hermione nodded. "Sure! Let's go!" she said, standing up. She followed Ron outside, and in the parking lot she saw all kinds of cars. "Which one is yours?" she asked. He showed her the way downstairs and they went into the parking lot. They stopped in front of a blue Mustang. He unlocked the doors and climbed into the driver's seat. Hermione went to the other side of the car and got into the front seat. Ron started the engine, and started to make his way to a clothing store. On the way, he striked up a conversation. "So, have you met Lily yet?" Ron asked her. "Lily?" she said, with a confused look. "Yes, Lily. She's my dog. She was in a cage in my room at breakfast. She's a Sheltie." Ron said, grabbing a framed picture from the backseat. It showed a smiling young man hugging a medium-sized dog. "That's me and Lily." Ron said, putting the picture back. "Does she get along with cats?" Hermione asked. "Of course. Why?"" Ron told her. "Well, I haven't told you this, but Crookshanks died. She also had six kittens. I sold them all, except for one. Ron, meet Shankeddy. I kept this one." she said, pulling the kitten out of her purse and stroked her back. As she put her in the backseat and she laid down immediatley to take a nap. Shankeddy was a silvery color, but her tail was black at the end. "Aww, she's so sweet!" Ron said. He pulled up in front of a store called Clothes Galore. He got out and opened the door for her. She stepped out, and they went inside. He saw the Young Adults section and pulled her over there. She immediatley started looking around. She found a denim skirt and a long-sleeved white shirt that matched. She pulled them off the rack and handed them to Ron. He held them, along with a blue dress she picked out. She found two pairs of jeans she really liked, along with a sweatshirt that said Purr-fect. She found a pink tank top and a lime green pair of shorts, and handed all of them to Ron. She found a set of colored t-shirts and handed those to Ron. She grabbed some socks from the rack and handed them to Ron, also. She found the jewelry rack and picked out some earrings and a necklace with her birthstone on it. She found a pretty ring and handed all of those to Ron. She also found some purple leggings and gave those to Ron. She turned around and saw that his hands were stuffed. She picked up a navy blue rain jacket, and said "I think we're ready to go." with a small laugh. Ron grinned, and she helped carry the stuff to the checkout register. They put it on the register and the lady rung it up. She put it in bags and they took them to the car. "Next stop, shoes." Ron said, and Hermione giggled. He drove her down two blocks to a Shoe Stop. They went in, and found Ladies 8's. He told her to take off her shoe to see what size she was. Ladies 8. She took off her shoes and found a pair of sneakers with a green design on the side. She also found a pair of pink flip-flops and a pair of white high heels. Ron found the aisle he needed for his size, and found a pair of sneakers with a black design. They took their stuff to the counter and bought it. They took those bags to the car and Hermione asked "What else do we need?" and smiled at Ron. "You need makeup." he said, driving her to Face & Skin. They went in, and Hermione went over to the lipstick, dragging Ron with her. She chose a pink color, and a deep red. Then she went to the blush section, and found sort of a tannish-pinkish color. She found the eyes section, and chose a container that had pink, silver, and tan eye-shadow. She grabbed a tube of mascara from the rack, and headed to the lip and eye-liner section. She chose a reddish lip-liner and a brownish eye-liner. She went to the nail polish section, and chose a blue, a pink, a purple, and a red. She also got a container of Nail Polish Remover. She took the stuff to the counter, with Ron following. "That was quick." he said to Hermione. "I know!" she replied, taking the bags to the car. She put them in the trunk with all of the other bags. He drove toward his apartment. They got out, and carried the same amount of bags up the stairs. When they got in, they dumped them in the floor. Hermione started to take them to her room. "Hey Herm, get dressed for the Dance-A-Thon, okay? Every hour we dance, five dollars goes to charity. After every fifty-five minutes, there's a five minute break period. All right?" Ron said. Hermione just nodded, and continued to take stuff to her room. She locked her door when she had all of her stuff in her room and undressed. She put on the baby blue dress she had gotten, and the white sandal/high heels. She took out the makeup, and put on silver eye-shadow. She put on the blush, and put on the pink lipstick. After forty-five minutes of getting ready, she walked out. Ron was wearing a really nice shirt and nice pants. He gasped when he saw Hermione. "You look great!" he said to her. "So do you." she replied. "Come on, let's go. The dance starts in ten minutes." Ron said, opening the door. She grabbed her purse and they went down to the car. He opened the door for her, and she got in. He got in and drove her to the Community Center where it was being held. When they got there, they were just in time. They reviewed the rules, then the music started. It was a fast song, and everyone started dancing, including Ron and Hermione. Soon, fifty-five minutes had passed. The music was still going but they didn't stop dancing. Everyone watched them. Pretty soon it was eleven. They had danced since seven without stopping. "This is the last dance!" said the dee-jay. He played a slow song. Ron put Hermione's arm around his neck and put his arms around her waist. When the song stopped, they danced slowly for another minute. Their faces got closer. Ron brought his lips closer to Hermione's, and Hermione did the same. Then they kissed. Hermione had never experienced that before. Ron lips tasted sweet, and Ron though Hermione's tasted like candy. Ron led Hermione to the car, and he drove her to the apartment.