~*Love & Rumors: Part 10*~
A/N~ OK guys, it's been a while, eh? I'm really sorry to anyone who's been waiting for this, but I was super busy during school, and summer has been just as busy with fun stuff. School is CRAZY! I'd to thank my friend Elyse as well as my Partner in Crime (you know who you are...) for their tremendous help in reading and writing this part. Happy Holidays to all!
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Ron entered the Great Hall a few steps behind Harry and Ginny. The laughing couple was so distant on their own cloud that they failed to take notice of the room's sheer splendor.
Carved pumpkins were scattered strategically throughout the room. Their intricate designs glowed eerily giving the hall an orangish tint. Orange and black crepe paper drooped from the ceiling, which was littered with specks of balloons. Twinkling lights were strung along the walls giving off just enough light to see the figures and faces of the seemingly countless Hogwart's students that had come to the celebration. Magical sparkles occasionally flew into the air and lit the room as they exploded like fireworks into dazzling displays of color. Music floated through the room from an invisible source while students wrote song requests on slips of paper and put them into a hat which had been made to randomly pick a slip of paper, play the song, then dispose of the request.
Seconds after entering, Harry and Ginny branched off by themselves leaving Ron all alone. Miserable, Ron wandered over to the concession table and watched the dance from there. Two bottles of butterbeer and several pumpkin pasties later, he grew tired of watching the dancing couples, giggling and talking as they waltzed across the floor.
They were playing popular muggle music and Ginny and Harry had never looked happier before. Ron kept checking his watch but time seemed utterly longer. He finally decided to go for a walk in the courtyard to pass the seemingly stilled time.
It was a beautiful night. Stars lit the inky darkness and a full moon had risen over the horizon. It was a little on the cold side but still quite pleasant.
"If only Hermione was here too. Then it would be perfect," he said almost inaudibly. Ron sat alone, staring up at the sky for quite a while. When he regarded his watch again, he saw he had only 45 minutes left until he was to meet Hermione. As he walked inside, he passed the rose garden, and plucked a tiny pink rosebud from a bush, then carefully made his way to the hospital wing, where he quietly waited outside the door.
***
Harry had never seen Ginny more resplendent. She was robed in mint green which complemented perfectly both Harry's dress robes and her own auburn curls. She was slightly breathless from dancing and Harry was burning up but neither one wanted to spoil the moment by complaining; so they continued on for a few more songs.
"Let's get something to drink," Ginny half-panted. Harry nodded his agreement then the pair walked hand-in-hand over to the refreshment table, grabbed two bottles of butterbeer, and walked out into the enchanted rose garden. Dozens of blooming rose bushes were bathed in light cast by the hundreds of glittering fairies fluttering around them as well as the shimmering moonbeams. Harry and Ginny sat on one of the benches in a rather secluded corner, sipping their butterbeer in silence.
***
"Only five more minutes!" Hermione thought happily. She continued her work diligently, breaking chocolate into small pieces and distributing it among the ill students as she had been doing for the past hour and a half. Finally Madam Pomfrey grumpily grumbled that she was allowed to leave.
"Yay!" Hermione said and gladly handed over the chocolate bar she held. She touched up her make-up using her wand, and then went into the hall where she found Ron waiting patiently outside the door.
"Good evening Miss Granger," Ron said, bowing exaggeratedly. He offered her the rose, then his arm.
Giggling, she smiled and took the tiny rose. She hooked her arm through his and they strolled down to the ball in a very comfortable silence. Hermione could not recall a time where she had felt more at ease than she did walking arm in arm with Ron into the dancing crowd of couples at the ball. She smiled at Ron as pulled him onto the dance floor right away. The band was playing a swing song, and Hermione had taught Ron to swing dance over the summer at the Burrow. They were immediately lost in the music. This little talent they shared impressed their classmates, and many couples did double takes upon realizing it was Hermione and Ron doing the series of complicated turns and lifts. When the song ended, Ron led Hermione over to the makeshift "bar" (even though the closest thing to alcohol was Butterbeer...) and grabbed a ginger ale for her and a butterbeer for himself. Situating themselves in a secluded corner of the room, they sipped their drinks and caught their breath while laughing about old memories and their antics together. Finally Hermione's favorite Muggle ballad, "This I Promise You" came on, and Ron looked deeply into her eyes.
"Mione, may I have this dance?"
"Like what, you even had to ask?", she replied ruefully. He pulled her up and they mixed into the throngs of happy couples, swaying slowly in the night. Hermione rested her head on Ron's chest, and Ron pulled her close. Time stood still, and the world seemed to melt away. For them it was only them in the room of three hundred people. Hermione wished that the song would go on forever. As the last note sounded, Hermione stood on her tiptoes to kiss Ron. They melted into the kiss, which locked a perfect moment into place.
***
A/N~ So, what happened to Harry and Ginny in the Rose Garden? Will everything turn out perfectly for everyone? Any more midnight visits to the Common room? Find out in the next edition of.... Love and Rumors!
