A Fairy Tale in Pop Music (Part 3)

            Both Ron and Hermione ran downstairs to the Gryffindor Common Room. Naturally, it was empty in these wee hours of the morning. However, seeing each other shocked and blushing made them nervous. Hermione decided she should say something. After all, she was a Prefect.

            "Why are you up? I could take points away from our house for that, you know," Hermione said, coming to the center of the common room where it was warm. Nearby the fire blazed hotly, softening the features she was trying so hard to keep steely and unaffected. Ron smiled. Mione take points from her own house? No way, she was too competitive to do that, even if she would deny it for her life.

"Yeah," he said, grinning, "You could, but you won't."

            Ron met her in the center of the room and came closer. She seemed to try to back away. "Anyway," he added suddenly, to get her attention, "I could ask you the same question."

            Hermione knew that he really did want to know why she was awake at such a time…what could she say? This was decided by reverting to the universal solution she had used in the third grade. It always seemed to make Hermione immature when she was around Ron. He just influenced her that way. Lucky her. Well, she would get him at his game.

            "I'll tell you if you tell me," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and putting her chin up proudly. That mischievous sparkle was in her eyes.

            Ron was disturbed by this answer. What was he supposed to tell her? Stick close to the truth, he warned himself, she's too smart for otherwise, she'd figure me out. He tried to look casual and sat down in one of the squashy chairs, resting his head on the arm. Crossing his arms behind his head nonchalantly, he replied, "oh, I just had a bad dream, that's all."

            "Oh."

            "Oh what?"

            "Nothing. 'Oh,' a perfectly non-committal noise!"

            "Fine, sorry. Well, why are you up? You just said that you would tell me if I told you." He looked at her pointedly.

            "I had a bad dream too," Hermione said quietly. What if that dream book was right? Could we have shared a dream? She sat down on the squashy couch, thinking about this. Not knowing what to do, she picked up a book that someone had left on the table and started to read. An awkward silence between the two ensued.

            After being tortured by this for a long time (at least five minutes), Ron absentmindedly started humming the song he had been singing to Hermione.

"Cause in a room full of people you're the only one around, and nothing in this world could ever bring us down-"

            Hermione's head shot up at hearing this and she started to stare at him in amazement, her mouth hanging slightly open. Ron had seen this, of course, and pretended not to notice for a moment. Then he finally looked at her.

            "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Sorry, I just…"

"Yes?"

"Nothing, nevermind."

"Oh, I see. I'll be quiet. Excuse me."

"No, it's okay, it's not you. You're fine."

            Hermione blushed at her last comment to Ron; that wasn't what she meant. Ron quieted again anyway, and the awkward silence returned to torment them, and they became tense. Hermione decided she would contribute to testing him. She started singing lightly.

"You're so much braver than I give you credit for…you're my best friend, best friend with benefits."

Ron looked up at her and their eyes met. His deep blue eyes searched hers for recognition of the dream. They both jumped out of their seats and were about to embrace when doubt struck and they backed away from each other.

"Hmm," Hermione said, trying to pretend to fix her hair.

"Hm." Ron answered, scratching his head. He had to ask her about it. It was necessary; he had to know.

"Was it really that bad of a dream, Mione?" He asked her nervously. She looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"No, not really. Actually, I quite loved it. I think the nightmare for me was waking up and realizing that none of it had been true," she said quietly, and looked away from him, towards the fire.

She felt him touch her face and wipe her tear away. "Do you really mean that?" he asked, approaching her.

"I do," she said. Then she burst out crying and buried her head in Ron's chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist in desperation. He put his arms around her and held her tightly.

Kissing her head, he said, "you had the same dream as I did, didn't you?"

"Yes," she sobbed heavily.

"Then why are you crying, Mione?" he exclaimed, pulling her away from him and taking her hands in his affectionately.

"Well, what did you think of the dream?" she asked him.

"To me, it was heaven. I couldn't believe it, but it was so amazing and wonderful I couldn't fight it. I only wished that you would have…"

"Would have what?" she entreated, leaning closer to him.

"I wished that you would have given me another kiss. You see, Mione, that kiss fulfilled all of my needs. If I never become anything better than my brothers, or get any attention from Harry's fans, that'll be okay, because you kissed me," he finished. Then turning a dark red color, he said, "Bloody hell, I didn't just say that."

"Yes, you did," she said, smiling. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. She could feel him grin under that kiss and his fingers entwined with hers.

She couldn't help but laugh. Surprisingly, he laughed too, and still kissing her pulled her closer. When they finally stopped, it had seemed like forever. Ron stared at Hermione and pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks for the flowers," she whispered to Ron. "They were beautiful. I'm sorry I thought they were from Viktor."

"That's alright," he replied, placing his hand on her waist and taking her hand in his other. They started to waltz.

"I hope this is how the fairy tale ends," Ron said to Hermione.

"I know it is."

~Evyfleur