Disclaimer: They're all J.K. Rowling's creation. She's a genius!

Author's Note: Well, here it is folks: the last chapter! I again would like to thank all of you who patiently waited for the next chapters and stood firm with this story. I'm so glad that people appreciate my first fanfic! Thanks SO MUCH! I'm still debating whether or not to continue on with this…but we'll see…if I do decide to continue this story for the rest of their fifth year, then I will do that, but not immediately. I have this other story in mind that I've been dying to write about…I might do that one first before continuing on with the story…well, again, thank you for reading this little story of mine. And lastly, please don't forget to review this last chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven: An Answered Curiosity

Hermione sat in front of her dresser, admiring her reflection. The Halloween ball was minutes away and everyone had been excitedly talking about it – even the prefect. Initially, she had planned to leave her bushy hair down and wear the same periwinkle blue robes she wore last year. But two hours ago, Parvati and Lavender dragged her out of the library, intent on fixing her up. At first, the prefect insisted that she didn't need to be "fixed up," seeing as she was only going to the ball with Neville as friends. She gave up, however, when the two girls continued to drag her back to their dormitory.

"You look so pretty, dear!"

"Thank you," said Hermione to the mirror. She smiled at her reflection, eyeing her now tamed hair, its soft curls cascading down her shoulders. She wore the same robes as last year, which matched the light touch of eye shadow Lavender had applied onto her. She wore no blush on her cheeks (Lavender and Parvati thought she didn't need it – they were sure her cheeks will turn red the natural way), but her lips were painted with a glossy cinnamon red. Hermione smiled again. Wow…those two really worked their magic!

"Hermione? Are you ready to go?"

Hermione turned her head and nodded at the two other girls. "Yes."

And with that, she stood up, inhaled sharply, and followed the two girls out of the room.

~~*~~~*~~

"I wonder where Hermione is?" said Ginny, giving Harry a bewildered look. The boy gave a shrug in response, nodding at the Weasley twins, who went through the portrait hole with big grins.

"I can't believe those two!" sighed Seamus with a roll of his eyes. "Why do they do this all the time?!"

"We're going to be late!" agreed Dean.

Ron scowled, leaning against the wall. Girls…why do they always take so long, thought Ron, crossing his arms across his chest. It's only a ball. Taking so long just to get ready; it wouldn't make much of a dif—holy shit…

Ron felt his jaw drop. Hermione descended into the Common Room like a wingless angel in blue. "I'll meet you there, Harry," said Ron to Harry, who was right next to him, running out of the Common Room.

"Wow, Hermione! You look great!"

"Thanks, Ginny. So do you!" the prefect answered, beaming at her friends. "Where's Ron?"

"He's going to meet us there," said Harry.

"Oh."

"Shall we go then? Neville's waiting for all of us by the entrance," mentioned Seamus, offering his arm to Lavender.

Hermione nodded, disappointment apparent in her face, leading the group out of the Common Room.

"She'll sweep my brother off his feet!" smiled Ginny, taking a hold of Harry's arm.

~~*~~~*~~

The evening, so far, had been a blast. Everyone was enjoying themselves, dancing to the fun and beautiful tunes of the Weird Sisters (Dumbledore had managed to hire them for the second year).  Those students not dancing were either chatting happily, drinking butterbeer, or were out on the many balconies, staring at the stars.

"Shall we sit this one out?" asked Harry, a huge grin on his face. He and Ginny had been dancing the whole hour since the ball began.

"Yeah," answered Ginny, "I'm a little thirsty anyway." The two walked towards the refreshment table, Harry handing an intricate goblet to Ginny.

"Are you having fun, Ginny?"

"Oh yeah, you're a great date, Harry!" said Ginny her cheeks flushing red. "I'm glad I agreed to be your date!"

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Thanks Gin—AAH!" Harry dropped his goblet to the floor and gave a swift kick to something firm underneath the table.

"Ow! What the hell was that for, Harry?!" exclaimed Fred, rubbing his head as he came out from underneath the table, his twin sniggering beside him.

"What was that for?! You grabbed my leg from out of nowhere, you dolt!" yelled Harry, a bit nerved. "Next time you want to get my attention, just call out my name! I'll be there, you know!"

"Well, we didn't think of doing that," said George with a grin.

"Obviously," scoffed Ginny with a roll of her eyes.

"Anyway…are you two ready to do this?" asked Fred, taking a vial of pink liquid from within his robes, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Although I don't fully agree with what we are about to do – yes, I am ready," said Ginny. "Poor Neville…"

"Don't worry, Ginny. It's for a good cause. Besides, look at Hermione," said Fred, nodding towards Neville and Hermione. The prefect wore a weird expression of pain and happiness on her face – Neville kept stepping on her toes. "She doesn't look to happy, doesn't she?"

A few minutes passed, the three watching as Neville apologized to Hermione every five seconds, until the song finally ended. "Alright. He's coming over here," announced George, taking the goblet Fred had handed to him and pouring the pink concoction in the vial. "Where's Ron?"

"We haven't seen him since the Common Room. Oh hello, Neville!"

"Hello Harry! Having a fun time?" asked Neville, taking the goblet Fred or George (he wasn't sure who it was) handed him.

"Oh yes we are! Hello Hermione!"

Hermione gave the group a pained smile. "Hello. Say Neville, could you please find us a table? I really want to sit down."

Neville nodded and walked away, goblet still in hand. He stopped, however, when Draco Malfoy blocked his path, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him. "I see you've finally found your true calling, Longbottom," smirked Malfoy, wrenching the goblet from Neville's hand. "Thanks boy."

Crabbe and Goyle snickered as Malfoy drank the liquid, Neville looking on in fright. But the two boys' smiles soon faded when, with a poof of pink smoke, Malfoy disappeared. In his place was a boy, his face painted in white and his lips colored red, wearing tight black pants and a tight black shirt with the words "I like boys" embroidered in rhinestones. He ran his velvet-gloved hands through his hair, which was colored hot pink, his eyes wide-open in panic. The whole room laughed: Draco Malfoy had just been turned into a gay mime.

All the fright within Neville disappeared as he pointed at Malfoy, laughing with delight. Malfoy, unable to speak, motioned gracefully for his goons (more like boy toys…hee_) to jump Neville. And they did, slamming the poor boy onto the floor, demanding that he change their boss back.

"Break it up! Now!" screamed Professor McGonnogall (sp?), her lips as thin as paper. "Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle, and Mr. Mal—Mr. Malfoy! I demand to know what happened here!"

"I-I-I didn't do anything, professor!" whimpered Neville, his face bloody.

"Longbottom – you're injured. Go to Madame Pomfrey right now. And take Mr. Malfoy with you," ordered the stern witch. "And as for you two, follow me to my office. The rest of you, continue on with the ball!"

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" said George, watching Neville and Malfoy exit the room.

"Malfoy looked much better, didn't he?" remarked Fred. "I reckon he liked his new look!"

"Yeah – he was speechless," added his twin with a laugh. "Too bad Ron wasn't here to see that. Would've lifted his spirits, seeing Malfoy make a fool of himself."

"Where is Ron, anyway? I haven't seen him at all this evening," said Hermione with a pout.

"To be honest, Hermione, no one has seen him since the common room…"

"He was at the common room? I guess I didn't see him…well, I'm going outside then…I need some fresh air…"

The four watched as Hermione waved goodbye and exited out into the balcony.

"What in the hell? That was not supposed to happen!" said Ginny, smacking the back of her brothers' heads.

"It got Neville out of the way, didn't it?" shrugged Fred. "Besides, Malfoy looked much better with pink hair!"

Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's all up to you now, Ron…"

~~*~~~*~~

Ron took a drink from the goblet in his hand, glancing inside the hall. Hmm…wonder what's happening in there, thought Ron, as laughter rang from within the Great Hall. It's probably just Fred and George doing something…

Ron shrugged and took another drink from the cup. He had been sitting out in the balcony for about an hour, staring at the stars, left to his own thoughts. Oddly enough, his thoughts kept reverting back to the same person: Hermione. He couldn't stop thinking about her – especially how pretty she looked tonight. And he was mad that he didn't tell her how gorgeous she looked; mad that he didn't control his temper before; mad that he didn't get the chance to take her to the ball. This train of thought continued, Ron calling himself demeaning names, until the clicking of shoes onto granite caught his attention. He looked up and gasped: it was Hermione.

~~*~~~*~~

Hermione leaned against the stone banister, staring at the stars. She sighed. I wonder where Ron is…

"Where's Neville?"

Hermione jumped, startled at the sound of Ron's voice. She turned to look at the boy she had just been thinking of.

"Ron! Everybody's been wondering where you were!" said Hermione with a huge smile. "Have you been out here the whole evening?"

"Where's Neville?"

"Oh. Neville's in the hospital wing – Crabbe and Goyle injured him," replied Hermione. "They got mad because Malfoy turned into a weird mime…"

"And I wasn't there?!"

Hermione giggled. "That's what George said. I think your brothers were behind it all…"

"They probably were," said Ron with a smirk. "So…have you had a good evening so far?"

"Honestly? It's been a painful night. Neville stepped on my toes every five seconds!"

Ron smirked. "Are you alright now?"

"Yeah…I'm alright now…"

An awkward silence followed, their thoughts drowned by the music from inside the Great Hall.

"You look really beautiful tonight, Hermione – even more so than last year," said Ron, the tips of his ears going red.

Hermione looked at Ron, her mouth slightly open in shock, a blush creeping on her cheeks. "Thanks, Ron…you look really good yourself. And I see those new robes don't have any lace on them…that's nice!"

The two shared an uncomfortable laugh that led into another awkward pause.

"Listen Hermione…I've remembered what it was that I wanted to ask you at the Three Broomsticks…"

The prefect tilted her head to one side, a curious expression plastered on her face.

Ron cleared his throat. "Remember that girl on the parch—"

"Wait! You have a twig stuck on the back of your robes!" interrupted Hermione, stifling a laugh.

"Where?" Ron turned his head, trying to see. But Hermione stopped him, insisting that she brush the twig off his robes. She got on the tips of her toes (Ron's much taller than she is…), one hand on Ron's left shoulder, the other trying to brush the twig off. She over leaned and lost her balance.

"Careful…" said Ron, wrapping his arm around Hermione's waist.

"Sorry…now what about this girl?" she asked, slowly getting on her toes again and grabbing for the twig.

"The girl I was planning to ask to the ball…that girl was you, Hermione…"

Hermione froze in shock, the twig completely forgotten. She slowly looks at Ron, her arms still lightly draped on his shoulders. "What?"

"I wanted to ask you when we were out by the lake – but I lost my temper…"

Both gave a guilty look, Hermione tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ears.

"I've wanted to ask you since the announcement…and I told myself last year that if there's a ball this year, I'd take you – but I obviously didn't…you probably wouldn't have said yes anyway…"

"Why do you say that?" asked Hermione, giving Ron a bewildered look.

"Because I'm Ron – I'm not a quidditch star like Viktor or good at Herbology like Neville…I'm really not that special…"

Hermione gave Ron a sad look and raised her hand to touch his cheek, slowly bringing his face closer to hers. And in a few seconds, she was kissing him – a soft, and gentle kiss on the lips that sent shivers down her spine. "You may not think you're special…but I do…"

The two blushed.

"And I don't care if you're not a quidditch star or good at any subject…I like you for being you, Ron." Hermione gave him a sincere smile.

"Thanks…" said Ron, his cheeks as red as the tips of his ears. "Erm…Hermione…since Neville's in the hospital wing…would it be alright if…er…we…danced or something?"

"I would really love that Ron," she replied.

"Good. And umm…I was wondering…if I had asked you before Neville, would you have said yes?"

"No."

"Oh," said Ron, disappointed.

"I would have said, 'Finally!' and then I'd give you a kiss."

Ron grinned. "Well then…would you like to dance?"

"Finally!" And she pulled his face closer to hers, giving Ron a longer kiss.

"If I ask you to dance again, will you give me another kiss?" wondered Ron, breaking away from the kiss. He started walking back to the Great Hall, Hermione's hand in his.

"Maybe…wait Ron!" She got on her tiptoes and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I forgot about the twig!"

~~*~~~*~~

"Oh, isn't that beautiful, George?" said Fred, wiping a fictitious tear off his cheeks. "Those two are so cute together."

"And to think, it was our genius that did that. If it wasn't for our brilliant potion, Malfoy would not have turned into a mime and Neville would not be in the Hospital Wing…" George smiled, watching his brother and Hermione glide across the dance floor. "What a wonderful evening…"

The boys sighed.

"Not only are we the best practical jokers, but we're also regular cupids…"

"And you are also going to spend tomorrow evening in detention."

The two boys turned around, facing a not-so-happy Professor McGonnogal.

"Damn…"

~~**~~~**~~

So…how was the end? I told you guys they'd eventually end up together. I'm sorry if it was a bit too fluffy or whatever…I'm not very good at writing romantic stuff…and the whole gay mime thing was kinda weird, I think…I also apologize if I messed up the name of the singing group from the last book…I can't remember if they were called weird sisters…hee_ me and my weird brain…honestly, I was giggling the whole time I was writing this chapter…it was so cute…well, again, I thank everyone who stuck to this story like glue and didn't get tired of the short chapters and the really annoying things I threw in here. You guys rule! And I'll make a more formal thank you next time…thanks so much to all of you who helped boost a simple girl's ego by reviewing! God bless you all!

~~:azaleafaye:~~