Make Some Real Magic 7
Dance 'Till You Drop
Disclaimer: I am not the mastermind behind Harry Potter, J.K Rowling is, of course. OH and thank you for all that reviewed. I know some of you are growing sick of the Hermione/Draco romance stuff and hope that Ron will step in soon. Don't worry, I'll get to that! But Ron won't be all alone for the dance…I have a special someone just for him…
Harry was already dressed in his blue dress robes. He glanced over at Ron who had his dress robes laid over on his lap.
"You coming?" Harry inquired.
"Yeah," Ron replied. "I'll be down in a minute. Go on ahead."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Just don't hurt my sister, or I'll hurt you, understand?"
"I'll keep that mind," Harry said as he left the dorm.
Ron looked down at his maroon dress robes and sighed. He might as well hurry and get it over with. He knew for certain that tonight was going to be too long.
*****
"Don't you look gorgeous," Draco flattered as Hermione Granger stepped down the stairs. He wore a black silky dress robe.
"Thanks for the dress, Draco," Hermione said. "It's beautiful!"
"Especially on you."
Pansy groaned. It was bad enough that the guy of her dreams was going with a mudblood than to hear him flattering her. How come he never talked that way to her? After everything she did for him.
"Here," Draco said, taking out a pendant from his pocket. "Got something else for you." He put around her neck. The pendant had a silver chain and a huge emerald and inside the emerald was a dragon.
"Wow," Hermione whispered. "Thank you!" she kissed his cheek and took his arm.
"Shall we?" he asked and he escorted her down the hall, with Pansy, Vincent and the other Slytherin trailing behind them. Hermione felt that she was dreaming. There was nothing that would ruin this night for her. She was going to make sure of that.
*****
"Ron didn't come with you?" Ginny asked with a frown.
"He said he'd be down in a minute," Harry explained as they walked into the ballroom.
"It's probably not easy for him, you know." Ginny said, "Hermione going with Draco Malfoy…of all people."
"I know." He noticed everyone gasp and the music stopping. "What the?" He and Ginny turned around and saw Draco stroll in with a beauty on his arm: Hermione Granger. But to Ginny, Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor, it wasn't the Hermione Granger they knew.
"Oh my gosh!" Ginny gasped, "is that Hermione? What happened to her?"
Hermione's hair was pulled back into a French braid heavy with gel. Her eyelids were smoky and dark and her lips appeared to be bleeding. She had to be wearing at least 2 pounds of makeup and she was turning more than just Draco's head in the dress she had on. Hermione bumped into Harry, but on purpose.
She looked at him and sneered, "Why don't you watch where you're going, Mr. Potty Brain?"
"Hermione," Harry mumbled in surprise and in hurt. "That's not funny."
"Maybe not for you, Potter," Draco said with a laugh. "Look at how gorgeous Hermione is." He trailed his finger down her cheek and Harry wished that Ron were not around to see it. "She's one of us now."
"Draco Malfoy…what have you done to her?" Harry demanded.
"She wasn't happy being a Gryffindor," Malfoy bragged, "she's a Slytherin now."
"But she sleeps in Gryffindor tower!" Ginny snapped. "She's a prefect for Gryffindor, you moron!"
"Maybe the sorting hat made a mistake," Hermione suggested. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to dance with my handsome date here."
"Couldn't agree more," Draco said. "See ya around, Potter."
Ron came down the stairs but didn't enter the ballroom. He couldn't walk in there by himself. He saw Hermione dancing with Draco, a smile on both of their faces. Ron grimaced and grabbed his chest and leaned against the wall next to the doors.
"Get a grip, Ron," he told himself. "You can do this. You don't want Draco to win, do you?" He stopped his little pep talk when he heard soft sobbing. "What's that?" He followed the noise. It was just around the corner. He looked around it and down with her face on her knees, wearing a yellow dress, crying her eyes out was Cho Chang. "Cho?"
"Hmm?" she raised her head. Her mascara was smeared and her face was tearstained. "Oh…hello Ron." She wiped away her tears.
"What's wrong?"
"I couldn't go in there," she replied. "Too many memories of Cedric."
"Who's your date?" Ron asked. "I can go and get him for you."
"I don't have one," she said, sniffling. "Didn't Harry tell you?"
"No. Did you ask you?"
"Yes he did," she said, "but I didn't want him to have an emotional date, you know. Poor Harry, he has enough on his plate and it wouldn't be fair for him if I made his night miserable. Besides…I think he and your sister are a good match. You're so lucky, Ron."
"Lucky?"
"To be Harry's best friend," she explained. "He's so…nice. He tried to save Cedric. He brought him back even if there was nothing he could do for him. What a friend!" New tears welled up in her eyes and she began to cry again. "I told myself I wouldn't do this!"
Ron patted her back, "hey…don't cry, Cho. I miss Cedric too. He was a cool student. I know exactly how you feel."
"You do?" she asked.
"Yes. I had my heart set out on asking Hermione Granger to the ball," he explained, "and she's with Draco Malfoy."
"I heard about that," Cho mumbled. "It doesn't make sense to me. Hermione's such a bright girl. What would she want with Draco Malfoy?"
"That's what the whole Gryffindor Tower was wondering."
"I think you two are right for each other," Cho said.
"I wish she would figure that out," Ron sighed. They sat next to each other in silence. Ron got an idea. "Hey…we're both dateless, aren't we? So why don't we go in together?"
"That's sweet of you, Ron but--" she wiped her fresh tears away.
"Hey, just as friends," Ron said. "What do you say? No sense in sitting out here wasting the whole night, is there?"
Cho forced a smile. "All right. But just as friends."
Ron stood up and offered her his hand. "Shall we?"
She accepted it. "Yes."
Hand in hand, they walked into the ballroom. Both were trying to be strong. "See, not too hard." Ron said.
"We can still turn back," Cho suggested.
"No way," Ron said, "I'm not going to let Draco Malfoy make a fool out of me."
"There's Harry and Ginny," Cho said, "let's go join them."
"Well, you've finally got a date," Ginny said.
"Hi, Cho," Harry said, "how are you?"
She paused before answering. "I'm fine."
"Oh, look Fred," said George, "our brother has a date!"
"You missed Hermione and Malfoy's big entrance," Fred reported. "Hermione looked like a--."
"Fred!" his date slapped his arm.
"Whole different person," Fred finished in a lower voice.
Ron looked over at Hermione dancing close with Draco. It was worse than watching her dance with Victor Krum. Ron's heart sunk and his stomach turned. However, he forced himself to stay strong. His hand tightened around Cho's, unintentionally. She noticed and gave him a squeeze in return. It wasn't easy for her to stand in the ballroom with couples dancing close with each other, all the students being happier than she was. She wanted to scream. She wondered if she could ever feel happy like that again now that Cedric Driggory was dead.
'Cedric, if you can hear me…' She thought. 'I miss you.' "How about a dance, Ron?"
"All right." He led her to the dance floor and they danced together as if they hardly even knew each other. They both had their minds on someone else. It was a mistake, for they backed into the dancing couple behind them.
"Oh, sorry," Ron began. "I--Hermione!"
"Watch it, you weasel!" she hissed. She looked him over, "oh, nice dress robes, Ron." She grinned, "Maroon has always been a nice color for you! Ha-ha!"
Ron looked at his dress robe and then Draco's fancy one. He tried not to show his embarrassment.
Cho was blown away by how much makeup she had on, "Hermione…who did your makeup?"
"Pansy Parkinson. She did an excellent job, wouldn't you say?"
Draco laughed, "Ah, I'm surprised you came, Weasley. And even with Cho Chang. But I think you two are good together, since you are the two most pathetic people in the school!"
Hermione joined in, "yeah, Cho. Cedric's dead, get over it."
Ron was so stunned by Hermione's attitude he didn't want to say. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but it was Cho who told her off.
"You unfeeling, insensitive little wench!" Cho cried. "How could you say such a thing? Cedric was murdered. He didn't have to die like that." She pointed at Draco, "You're the one who should've died back there! Not Cedric! We need all the decent people at Hogwarts we can get and you're just stinking up the school! Why don't you transfer somewhere else, you rich brat?"
"Ooh, that hurt," Draco said sarcastically.
"You'll get nowhere with that attitude," Hermione said.
"Look who's talking!" Cho shouted. "At least I'm not trying to be something I'm not!" She pulled on Ron's arm. "Come on, Ron…let's get out of here!"
"Yeah…all right." He and Cho turned to leave and Draco decided to stick it to Ron.
"Oh, are you two going to go cry now? Hmm? Oh--boo-hoo-hoo! Ha-ha!"
Cho and Ron spun around, both with shocked and infuriated expressions. This time, Ron took action. He charged Draco and tackled him by picking him up by the back of his knees and then dropping him. Draco tried to get up, but Ron being the taller one, he had the advantage. Crabbe and Goyle were so stunned they didn't know what to do. Ron took hold of Draco's collar and slugged him in the nose.
Cho decided to encourage Ron. "Give him one four, Ron! Beat him into a pulp! You show him, Ron!"
"Fred, do you have a camera?" George asked in a whisper to his twin brother.
"No. But I wish I did!" Fred replied and laughed. "Ooh, that's going to leave a mark!"
"I didn't know Ron could hit so hard."
"Would you two stop it?" Ginny demanded. "Excuse me, Harry." She went to Ron and grabbed him by the waist. "Ron, stop it! Stop it! That's enough. You are embarrassing me! Stop! Stop it!" She tried tugging on him but it didn't work. "Cho…would you give me a hand?"
"I will," Hermione said and she pushed Ron across the face then pushed him off of her date. "Could you go now? Some of us are trying to have some fun here!" She bent down and helped Draco to his feet and dabbed his cut lip with her shawl. "Are you going to be all right, Dracokins?"
Pansy gasped. 'That's my nickname for Draco!' She slugged her date in the ribs, "Do something, you--"
"Nevermind, Pansy." Ginny said, finally able to pull Ron back. "We were just leaving. Ron, let's go. You've embarrassed me enough."
"I'll go with you," Cho said, seeing enough of her date beat the living daylights out of Draco, even if she had enjoyed it. She took Ron by the arm. "Maybe you'd like some tea or something."
They were almost out of the room when Hermione decided to open her big mouth. "Nice way of lifting Draco off his feet, Ron."
Ron turned his head but Ginny coaxed him to keep moving before he made another spectacle of his mouth. "Come on, Ron," she said.
"Poor guy," Cho sympathized. "I'll help you take him to Gryffindor house."
"Nah, that's okay," Ron said. "Why don't you go back to the ball? I don't want to ruin both our nights."
"Are you kidding?" Cho demanded with a smile, "that was the best thing I've seen in weeks!"
"Ahem," Ginny murmured.
"Oh, but you know fighting's against Hogwarts rules," Cho reminded. "I'd better get to back to Ravenclaw house. Goodnight." She kissed Ron's temple. "Now you get a goodnight's rest. You look very tired."
"Goodnight, Cho," Ginny said.
"Tell Harry goodnight for me, will you?" she asked Ginny.
"Sure."
Cho turned in the direction of her house and Ginny continued to walk with her brother to Gryffindor House. "Ron, you can't keep doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Fighting your feelings for Hermione."
"That's not what I'm doing, Ginny," he muttered.
"All you have to do is tell her."
"That's enough, all right?" he grunted. "Look, you don't have to walk with me all the way to Gryffindor. Go back to the ball and have some fun, okay?"
"You want me to ask Harry to leave the ball early?"
"No."
"Are you sure you're all right?" she inquired, her face filled with concern.
"Yeah. I'm fine," he lied. "Just a bit tired. You and Harry dance the night away, hear me?"
"All right," she gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. "Go straight to bed. No offense Ron, but you look awful."
"Gee, thanks." He forced a smile and turned to finish the walk up to Gryffindor house alone.
Ginny sighed and turned back to the ball. 'I haven't seen Ron this depressed since Fred and George accidentally jinxed his favorite hat. There's got to be something I could do to help. But what?'
*****
Ron trudged up the stairs and he found Crookshanks sleeping on his bed. Crookshanks stirred, yawned, meowed and stretched. Ron scratched him behind the ears, thankful that he got some greeting.
"That owner of yours is out of her head," he muttered. "You don't even know her anymore, do you?"
Crookshanks mowed and bowed his head, as if agreeing with him. "Neither do I." Ron sighed and looked at the mirror. He didn't know himself anymore either. His red hair was a mess and on his cheek was a red handprint where Hermione had slapped him. He stepped to the mirror and looked at his maroon dress robes. He remembered the awful remark Hermione had told him.
"Oh, nice dress robes, Ron. Maroon has always been a nice color for you. Ha-ha!"
Ron bit his lip. He snapped. He took hold of his own dress robe and ripped it off of him. Angrily, uncontrollably, he tore the dress robe into shreds as if his hands had grown minds of their own. He could hear Hermione and Draco's remarks. Crookshanks looked up at him in concern.
"Stupid…Malfoy…Hermione…why…did you do this to me…why?" He began to sputter out nonsense. "It's not…fair! Argh!" he dropped the shredded remains of his dress robes on the floor. He breathed in angrily. His legs buckled and Ron gave in to his emotions. The tall, redheaded, once humorous boy dropped to his hands and knees. He couldn't' find anything to laugh at anymore. No jokes to come up with. He was ready to fall apart. Ron, unable to hold it in any longer, realized he lost the only girl he would always loved to cruelest, coldest villain in the world. Tears welled up in his eyes and he finally broke down and cried. For emotional support perhaps, Crookshanks sat down next to him and purred. Ron had never cried so hard in his life and didn't care if anyone saw it. Not even Cho Chang could be hurting as much as he was this very moment. He wanted to die.
Next Chapter: I Don't Know You Anymore (perhaps will be a song-chapter by Savage Garden's 'I don't Know you anymore')
