This Wasn't Part Of The Plan

Chapter 6

There's A Yule Ball?

By SurferChick

A/N: Hermione and Ron find out there's a Yule Ball at school, Viktor writes to Hermione.

D/C: I don't own anything except the plot. JK Rowling, Scholastic, and people who are luckier than me own everything else.


~*~*~

"Ginny, we need to talk," said Harry in the common room.

"Sure, Harry," said Ginny. "What's on your mind?"

"Ron and Hermione are acting a little…too lovey-dovey lately, aren't they?" said Harry. "I mean, you see them and then compare them to us…don't you think that they love each other more than…you know…"

"Harry Potter," said Ginny. Harry blushed. "You aren't telling me that you believe Ron's story for a second, do you?"

"What do you mean?" said Harry, confused.

"I've been thinking it over," said Ginny. "Ron still thinks of me as his little baby sister, so he'd do anything to keep me from going out with guys. Anything, including pretending to go out with Hermione."

"Oh," said Harry, relieved. "So the only reason that they're going 'out' is so then Ron can show us what a great relationship they have and how puny he thinks ours is."

"He seems to have done a good job at it, too," said Ginny, glaring at him.

"How can I make it up to you?" said Harry.

"Oh, there are some ways," she said, giggling.

"But what's in it for Hermione?" Harry wondered. Ginny's eyes widened. She reminded Harry of Dobby whenever he was about to give out secret information. "Ginny, what do you know that I don't?"

She smiled. "Lots of things. But this is something I have to keep between myself and Hermione."

"What is that 'something?'" said Harry. "Don't you keep secrets from me, Virginia Weasley."

"All right, all right!" she said. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone, especially Ron and Hermione."

"Hermione fancies Ron," said Harry.

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," said Harry. "There's something else, too."

"Ron fancies Hermione," said Ginny. "It pays to have a brother who keeps a diary."

Harry grinned. "Ron and Hermione. Who would've guessed?"

"Now about you making up something to me," said Ginny. She giggled as Harry came closer to her and started kissing her.

We will now close this section of our story to give our characters some privacy.

~*~*~

"Hey did you hear?" said Ginny and Harry, walking over to Ron and Hermione in the common room a couple weeks later. "There's going to be another Yule Ball this year!"

Hermione's and Ron's jaws dropped open. "What?" said Hermione. There was no way she was going to this ball with Ron. Viktor would find out about it and go to Hogwarts to escort Hermione there.

"You heard me," said Ginny. "A Yule Ball. With couples. You two are going together, right?"

"Sure," said Ron. "Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know," said Harry. "Just wondering if Viktor knows that it's off for good."

"Of course he does," said Hermione, who suddenly had to shuffle through all her papers. "Ron, I think I left my potions essay in the library. Would you come look for it with me?"

"Um…sure," said Ron. "See you guys later."

They left to go to the library where Ron had a very good feeling that he was going to get another talk from Hermione. "So, have you broken it with Viktor yet?" asked Ron.

"Ron, you promised that you would stop putting down Viktor," said Hermione, pacing around.

Ron started to get mad. "Excuse me, but since when is a simple question putting someone down?"

"Just be quiet for a second, I need to think," said Hermione, apparently deep in thought.

"Fine, I'll just go look for your 'potions essay,'" said Ron, sneering. "That's all I'm good for, is that it, Hermione?" She didn't answer him. She was still thinking hard. "Fine. I don't care. You go to the ball with Vicky, and we'll be setting a bad example for Ginny, who'll go out with any guy who'll have her if we break up."

"I can't break up with Viktor," she said. "He's too close to me, I just can't do it."

"You have to, Hermione," said Ron, pleading with her.

"I do not have to, Ron Weasley," she said defiantly. "Remember, I'm doing this whole thing as a favor to you. And this whole thing is going too far!"

"Please, Hermione," said Ron, putting on his best sad puppy eyes. "I'm only doing this in Ginny's best interest. Do it for her?" He put his hand on her arm. "For me?"

Hermione's skin tingled under his touch and she felt her heartbeat increase rapidly. She looked into his eyes and almost melted in them. 'Shoot,' she thought. 'How does he do that to me?'

"OK," said Hermione, reluctantly pulling her arm out of Ron's grip. "I'll break it off with him. But you are going to have to pay me back big time, buster."

Ron's face broke out into a huge smile. "Anything."

But before Hermione started to tell him her demands, an owl came fluttering into the library for her. Madame Pince looked over their way, glaring at them. "Sorry," Hermione whispered, taking the letter from the owl.

"Who's owl is that?" asked Ron.

"It's Viktor's," she said. Ron stiffened up.

"OK," he said. "I'll go find a piece of parchment and a quill for you to write him." As he was going back to his bag, he started to think. 'Why does Viktor bug me so much?' he asked himself.

'Because it goes beyond hating him because he's nineteen,' said his conscience. 'It goes all the way to the fact that you're in love with Hermione.'

Ron pushed that thought out of his head. 'No way,' he thought. 'There's no way I'm in love with her.' But that thought had been dwelling in his mind for quite awhile now. 'It just has to do with the whole pretending to go out thing,' he thought as he got a piece of parchment and a quill from his bag.

As he got back to her, he was startled to find her in tears. "Hermione, what happened?" he said. Hermione sniffed and pointed to the note that Viktor had sent to her. He picked it up. Viktor had written her a long, detailed letter. As he read it, though, it became clear to him that Viktor was taking the long way in telling her he was breaking up with her because she wasn't good enough for him.

"That bloody bastard," said Ron.

"I guess I don't have to break up with him now," said Hermione, trying to find the light in the situation.

"No," said Ron. "Nobody does that to my friend. Or my pretend girlfriend, for that matter. I'm going to go kick his as…"

"Ron, it's OK," said Hermione, cutting him off.

"It's not OK," said Ron.

"Look, at least it'll be easier to pretend now," she said. "Anyway, I was planning on breaking up with him soon. He was getting to be a real pain in the you know where."

"Really?" said Ron. "I thought you loved him."

"I thought I did too," she said. "But then I figured out I could never love him."

"Why not?"

Hermione just stared at him for a moment, as if in a trance. Instead of feeling uncomfortable, he felt all warm inside. 'Stop it, Ron Weasley,' he told himself sternly. 'This is Hermione!'

"I could never love…anyone else…" she said.

"Mione, what do you mean?" he asked slowly.

She looked away from him. "Nothing," she said. "I just can't believe I liked that jerk!" She bent over crying again. Ron hesitated, then leaned over and put his arm around her. She turned and started to sob all over his shirt. He was extremely glad that they were the only ones in the library besides Madame Pince.

"Shh," he said, rocking her back and forth. "Shh, it'll be all right." He held her there until she stopped crying.

Little did they know that Madame Pince was watching. A tear fell out of her eye and rolled onto her cheek. "Young lovers," she said quietly to herself. "I just wish they'd tell each other how they feel."

~*~*~

A/N: A Madame Pince appearance…that's not something you read every day. Please review! Thanks! The final conclusion…tomorrow!! Thanks for staying with me!