Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thank you for the reviews!

Summary: This may seem like a big jump for you, but let's pretend that it is now February 14th … yes, Valentine's Day. 

Disclaimer: The way that Ron asks Hermione to the dance is taken from Even Stevens, that awesome show on the Disney Channel. Hehe.

Secrets Kept

Chapter 9

(Ron's POV)
by happythoughts

            Ron awoke one particularly cold day.  He lifted up his arm and looked at the watch on his wrist.  5:30.  He groaned inwardly.  Why did he have to wake up so early on a Saturday?  Try as he might, he couldn't seem to get to sleep.  And it didn't help that it felt like something was nagging him in the back of his mind.  Someone … or something was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't really tell what it was.  Finally giving up, he decided to change and go downstairs into the common room … perhaps to simply reflect on everything that had been happening. 

            He quietly tiptoed down the stairs and found a seat near the fireplace.  He closed his eyes and his mind traveled back to a conversation that he had had with Hermione after they had found out that Harry had regained his memory. 

            "Ron, isn't this wonderful?" she asked him excitedly.   They were walking back from the hospital wing.  They had wanted Harry to come back with them to the common room since he was all better, but Madame Pomfrey insisted one more check up. 

            "Yeah … it's great," said Ron.  To him, his tone sounded like an almost regretful one, but Hermione fell for it.  He felt really guilty for thinking this … but without Harry, things had been really different between Ron and Hermione.  It was almost like they had grown much closer without him.  Ron just didn't know if things were going to be the same after Harry rejoined them. 

            "It's been so long without him … I really missed him.  It's going to be great to have him back," said Hermione.  She was practically dancing in the halls of Hogwarts with happiness.  "Ginny must be so happy," she added with an afterthought.

            "Mmmhmm…" said Ron.  He was walking with his head downwards, hands stuffed in his pockets. 

            "Honestly Ron.  What's wrong with you? I would have thought that you'd be a little more excited that your best friend remembered who he was," said Hermione worriedly.  She had stopped dancing and was now looking at Ron with a penetrating stare.

            "What are you talking about? Of course I'm excited.  I'm just tired, that's all," said Ron.

            "At 11 o'clock in the morning? I think not.  Tell me what's wrong with you," said Hermione.

            "Nothing! Okay, Hermione? Nothing is wrong.  Just leave me alone," said Ron angrily.  And with that, he stalked off, leaving Hermione alone in the halls. 

           

            Ron laughed at himself when he remembered that one particular fight between them.  After a few days of ignoring each other, Ron had finally apologized and they had forgotten all about it.  It was actually not hard to forget about it, after they found out who the Death Eater who had tried to kill Harry was. 

            "What is it, Harry?" asked Ron, seeing Harry stand before him with a worried expression.

            "Dumbledore told me who the Death Eater was that tried to … kill me," said Harry quietly.

            "WHAT?!" Ron and Hermione both exclaimed out loud.

            "Shhhh! They'll hear you!" ordered Harry.  He looked around the common room, looking if anyone was staring at them.  Fortunately, no one was.

            "What? Who is it?" asked Ron more quietly.

            Harry took a deep breath.  "It was Lucius Malfoy.  Malfoy's dad," he said, with a tone that sounded like a hiss.

            Ron couldn't help it.  He lashed out.  "WHAT'S THAT STUPID BLOODY ASSHOLE TRYING TO DO, EH?!"

            It took awhile for Hermione and Harry to calm him down after that. 

            It turned out that Dumbledore himself caught Lucius, and he was now trapped in Azkaban for life.  As hard as they tried, Ron, Hermione, and Harry couldn't get Malfoy expelled from Hogwarts.  People claimed that he wasn't under any circumstances part of the plan to kill Harry.  Ron had argued, saying, "How else were they to know of the Quidditch game's schedules?" but nothing had worked.  The only thing that Malfoy had been punished from was any future Hogsmeade weekends, he couldn't get any more owls, and he had to be escorted with a professor wherever he went. 

            Now that Ron thought about it, there was one good thing that came out of the whole Harry thing.  He could now be "friendly" with Hermione.  Ever since their little moment when Hermione had started crying the hall and Ron had hugged her, they were now able to "hug" each other.  Even more than that, really.  Ron would occasionally place his arm around Hermione's shoulders and play with her hair as she read a book on the sofa. 

            But the thing that really annoyed Ron was that they never admitted that they were together … going out … dating … basically that they fancied each other.  Whenever someone would corner him in the room, usually one of the boys, this is how the conversation would go. 

            "Ron, what's up with you and Hermione?" asked Harry.

            "What do you mean?" Ron would say, avoiding Harry's eyes and acting like he was extremely interested in his Divination homework.

            "Stop avoiding the subject.  I've seen you two when you're alone.  It's like watching a stupid romance movie.  What the hell is up?" said Harry, probably getting annoyed and fed up.  For Ron knew that it wasn't a good sign when Harry starting to curse.

            "It's … nothing. We've just grown closer as friends … nothing more. Believe me," Ron would say again, this time looking at Harry's face. 

            And then Harry would finally give up and go back to his homework. Yup, that's exactly how all of Ron's confrontations would occur.  Everyone in Gryffindor were fed up waiting for Ron and Hermione to admit their feelings, and to both of their happiness, they had all given up on asking them about their relationship.  They could now go back to hanging together without being bothered or talked about. 

            Suddenly, a thought occurred in Ron's mind that he had forgotten all about until now.  Today was the Valentine's Day Dance, and a fourth year from Ravenclaw was taking him.  This type of dance was different from the usual ones, for it was the girls' turn to ask the boys, which meant that the boys had to wait in agony as the girls took forever to decide who to take, giggling in little groups among the halls, while boys passed by them, looking hopefully at one of them to ask them.   It had been pure torture waiting for some girl to ask him, and the girl that he knew he wanted to go to was about to ask him, but all of his chances were ruined when she tried to. 

            "Harry, I just don't get you. How in the world do you have all those girls going after you, asking you to go to the dance? I don't know how you deal with that, plus having a girlfriend. I wonder how Ginny is dealing with it," said Ron exasperatedly.

            "Yeah, really, Harry. No one has asked me yet," said Neville miserably.

            Harry merely just shook his head. "Guys, I have nothing to worry about. There are as many guys going after Ginny as the girls are going after me. We have nothing to worry about. Plus, Ron, I know there's some girl thinking about asking you…" he said playfully … they stopped walking for a bit found a space next to the wall and started chatting quietly. 

"Shhh! She's coming. She's about to ask you, Ron.  Play it cool, okay?" said Harry to Ron, as they were standing in the halls.  Harry gave Ron an assuring grip and walked just a few feet away from him with Neville.

            Ron gulped and nodded.  He turned and watched as Hermione nervously approached him.  "Hey, Ron? Could I talk to you alone for a minute?"

            Ron smirked and leaned casually against the wall.  "Sure … I have … a minute."

            "Okay.  See … I was just wondering, has anyone asked you to the dance yet?" she asked him tentatively.  She started shuffling her feet around avoided his eyes, waiting for his answer.

            Play it cool, Ron. Play it cool. "Well, you know, so many girls have asked me … I'm just being careful … you know, seeing who's worth going with and stuff. So many girls to choose from … but hey! Whom are you going with?"

            He saw Hermione's face fall. "No … no one. I haven't asked anyone yet."

            Ron threw his fist in the air and yelled out, "YES!" Everyone turned from what they were doing and looked curiously at Ron.  "Er … sorry," he muttered.

            Hermione looked at him.  He dared to ask the question, "So, anyone in mind who you're thinking of taking?"

            He stole a glance at Harry and Neville and smirked.

            "No. I wouldn't go to that dance if somebody paid me," answered Hermione coldly.

            Maybe Ron hadn't heard right.  Had she just said that she wasn't going to the dance? But before Ron could say anything, Hermione was already walking away.  After minutes of standing there, he heard Harry and Neville cautiously approach him.  "What just happened?" he asked them in wonder.

            "I said play it cool," said Harry exasperatedly.

            "Yeah! And you played the FOOL!" said Neville loudly.  But after seeing Harry's and Ron's faces, he muttered, "Sorry." 

~*~*~

(Hermione's POV)

                Dear Diary,

                        You won't believe what just happened.  Remember how I told you about me trying to ask Ron to go with me to the dance? Well, that left me totally embarrassed, right? And remember how I said I was going to humiliate him somehow? Just look at what happened!

            I saw Ron approaching me in the hall, and he seemed kind of angry and impatient.  He cornered me against the wall and said, "Hermione, it's the last day before the dance. You don't have a date, and I don't have a date.  WHY don't you just ASK me?"

            And I was really, really surprised.  I mean, I thought that out of "all those girls" that had asked him, he would have chosen one by now, don't you think? Well, this was my time to get him back with humiliation.  I had already asked Tim, a fifth year from Ravenclaw, to go with me. 

            So I said, "Well, see Ron … there's just one thing wrong about your logic there.  I do have a date."

            And then I walked away! I wish I had had a camera with me to take a picture of his reaction! It was great! Haha, that'll show him next time not to act so bigheaded and rude to a girl. 

            Well, I have to get ready for the dance now.

            Until then,

            Hermione

~*~*~

            Hermione was standing in front of the mirror, only half listening to the girls' conversations, as they were getting ready for the dance.  She could hear some of them whispering, some of them laughing loudly, and some of them exclaiming over one girl's dress, makeup, or hair. 

            She was looking at her reflection when she saw Pavarti and Lavender come up behind her.  They both gasped in surprise.  "Hermione! You're dress is sooo beautiful!" Pavarti exclaimed, daring to touch the fabric.

            "Oh my gosh it is! Where ever did you get it?" asked Lavender with hopeful eyes.

            Hermione smiled. "I bought it the beginning of the year while I was at Diagon Alley.  See, since I was made prefect, they sent me the whole schedule of the school year so I knew about the dance before everyone else did. I just decided to get a head start.  It's really nothing."

            "Oh yes it is, it's so pretty! You know, I have a necklace that would match it perfectly--," began Lavender.

            "Actually … I've already picked something out," said Hermione shyly.  She pointed to the necklace and earrings that she was wearing.  The necklace was gold and had a ruby in the middle of it, and she was wearing golden hoop earrings.

            "HERMIONE! Where in the world did you get those?!" exclaimed Pavarti in jealously.

            "Oh … just … a Christmas present, you know," she said.  She was glad that she was wearing some blush, to hide the red that was creeping onto her cheeks.

            "From who?" they both exclaimed excitedly.

            "Wait! Don't tell me! I know who it is! It's Ron, isn't it?! I knew it!" exclaimed Pavarti excitedly.

            Hermione just smiled broadly.  "You're going to the dance with him, aren't you?" asked Lavender.

            Hermione's smile dropped.  Her voice suddenly turned cold.  "No. I'm not going with him."

            "Oh," they both muttered.  "Okay, well, we'd better finish getting ready!" and with that, they scuffled off to the other side of the room, probably to gossip about Hermione and Ron once again.

            Hermione sighed as she buckled her shoes that went with her dress.  When she took once last look at herself in the full length mirror, she told the girls that she was leaving and went downstairs in the common room to wait for Ron, Harry, and Ginny.  Part of her plan was to get ready as soon as possible, so that she wouldn't make a big entrance.  Unfortunately, her conversation with Pavarti and Lavender had kept her, as she saw Ron and Harry already standing in the middle of the room with the rest of the boys, looking a bit nervous.

            She had almost made it to the portrait door when she heard someone whistle and call out, "Wow Hermione!"

            She shut her eyes with revoltment and turned around.  "Ah, who other than Mr. Dean Thomas to call out to rudely whistle to a girl to get her attention," she said coolly, crossing her arms across her chest.  She forced herself not to look at Ron while she was talking.  Oh, but how I'm just really dying to see what he thinks of me!

            "Oh, but you just look so marvelous tonight, Hermione. You really do.  Too bad I'm not taking you to the--,"

            "Dean! I'm ready!"

            Ah, just in time, Hermione thought, as Lavender came up behind Dean and put her arms around him. 

            "What were you saying, Dean?" Hermione asked him slyly.  And with that, she left the common room amidst the gales of laughter. 

~*~*~

Author's Note: I know, I know. Not much of a cliffhanger this chapter as I usually do with every chapter.  I'm sorry it took so long to write this one. I just had to take a lot of time on it, because going from October to February is a big jump! I hope you enjoyed it! Please Review, and the next chapter may take a little longer to come out also.  ~Melissa~