"The Incentive" by Quidditch, Anyone?
And The Grand Finale...
"What's your problem, mate?" Dean asked a very nervous Ron the following morning. For about the billionth time, Ron ran his fingers through his hair is response. It might have actually looked fine afterwards if he hands hadn't been sweating so much.
"... schoolwork, I suppose," he gulped out.
"Right, Ron. And I'm worried about finding a great hairy ape in my bed tomorrow," Dean laughed. "Honestly, if you're going to lie to us, make it one we might actually believe."
Seamus and Neville chuckled. Apparently Neville had no recollection about his chat with Ron last night, otherwise he would have at least given him something like a supportive smile to calm his nerves. But instead, Ron was all on his own.
"Oh, bugger. Go ahead, guys, I think I've lost my wand," Harry told his roommates. He stared very pointedly at Ron for a moment, then looked away. Okay, maybe Ron wasn't completely alone.
"Right." The three other boys left.
"So, what's up?" Harry flopped onto his bed.
"I told you! Nothing!" Ron almost yelled, not quite looking Harry in the eye.
"Don't be a prat, Ron! I'm not stupid!"
"Well, you will be if you decide to press this any further!"
Harry looked hurt. "Fine!" he stood up suddenly. "If you want to act that way, then you're just going to have to deal with whatever's bothering you without any help," he announced. "And I know how much you hate it when you have to do something all by yourself."
That his a sore spot. If anyone knew about this weakness of Ron's, Harry did.
"I don't always need your help, you know," Ron said, trying to sound very cool and casual.
"I didn't say that! I just think you should stop being so stubborn and tell me what's up!"
Ron knew Harry's intentions were only the best, but Ron had always thought it to be... weird, telling Harry all this stuff about Hermione. It would be like Harry telling him that he liked Ginny, which would quite plainly make him cringe. But he had to say something.
"Look," he began, but couldn't continue. He tapped his foot while impatiently waiting for words.
"Yeah?" Harry coaxed in an annoyed sort of way. "Go on!"
"Look, it's just that..."
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, if you ever decide to tell me," he said, picking up his 'lost' wand. "I'll be at breakfast." With that he left Ron by himself in the dormitory.
He let out a very long sigh. Guess it's now or never, his head told him. Ron followed Harry and the others' path down to the common room, searching for Hermione. She came much sooner that he expected (and wished), waiting at the Portrait Hole.
"Hermione!" he squeaked in surprise.
"Ron, I was just going to look for you," she said in her classic concerned, mum-ish tone.
"Y-you were?" Ron's pulse raced faster than ever, something he didn't think was possible at that point.
"You and Harry were taking about forever to come eat, so I went up to look for you. I passed Harry and he said something was wrong with you." She tilted her head a little and gave him, in his opinion, a very pretty and innocent stare. "What's the matter?"
"Noth-" he caught himself just in time. Now or never, now or never, now or...
"Oi!" a voice called down a corridor. There was no mistaking it- Terry. He wasn't able to see them yet, but he just might in a matter of seconds.
"Quick!" Hermione pulled on Ron's sleeve while heading for the Common Room, only to find that the Fat Lady had left.
"Oh no!" she moaned.
Ron looked around and spotted an abandoned broom cupboard, meant for Filch but never once used. "In here!" he whispered and ran for the doorknob.
Their first impression was one word- small. It was only about the width of the door and barely half as deep. Hermione and Ron squeezed in, but barely.
"Probably gone looking for you," Ron said while peering through a crack between the frame and door. "Doesn't he know when to lay off?"
"Really," Hermione sighed inches away. They were quiet for a moment, and only then did either remember that Hermione's last words to Ron had been, "I hate you."
"Erm, Ron? I'm- I'm sorry I screamed at you before. I really didn't mean it, I promise. Just... got all flustered, I suppose."
Ron half-glanced at her and looked out the crack again. "S'all right."
"No, really, Ron," she literally turned his face right next to hers and looked him dead in the eye. "I'm sorry."
Ron wanted to gulp but was somehow afraid to. "I forgive you!"
"Okay," she let go of his face.
"Er," Ron began. He had to do it- now. Right now.
"You know about... about Terry," he stuttered.
"Yeah, what about him? Can you see him yet?" she attempted to look out the other side of the door frame near her.
"No, it's..."
"Oh, holy gollums! He's trying to pick-up Parvati!" she leaned in for a closer inspection.
"Really?" Ron looked out, too. Indeed, Parvati had just come out of the empty portrait hole and was being winked and smiled at by Terry.
"That little..." Hermione whispered.
Ron leaned back. He supposed it would be a while before Parvati and Terry finished whatever 'business' they had. Therefore they would have to stay put as well.
"You know... about... Terry and Krum- and whatever?"
She leaned back and looked at him. "Yes," she said slowly.
"Did you really- really like them, at all?" Being confined like this, he was very scared of her response.
She thought a minute. "What do you mean?"
"Well- you know... I know they liked you, but did you... ever truly like... them back?" he inquired.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because, I wanted to know..." he couldn't ask if she liked him. That was too cocky, he thought. "Because..."
"Because," she encouraged. Hermione was still looking him right in the eye.
"Because I," he broke her stare by watching the floor. "I like you. That's all."
The only sound right then was Terry's very shabby fake laugh, muffled by the door.
"Oh, Ron," Hermione barely whispered.
"I know you-" he began, but couldn't finish. Hermione had lunged herself and was crushing him in a very bone-breaking hug.
"I... you-Hermione, did-" Ron couldn't get a full sentence out.
"You stupid troll!" she said while planting kisses on his cheeks and forehead. "You know- kiss- how long I've been waiting- kiss- for you to say that? Kiss, kiss, kiss"
Although he was honestly quite pleased by the whole situation, the pictured lacked a certain supply of air. "Let go!" he choked.
"Oh!" she broke off and covered her lips with her fingers. "I'm sorry, Ron!"
"N-no, not that! I just, er, couldn't really breathe, is all..." he said lamely.
"Ah. I see." Hermione couldn't help but smile.
Ron cleared his throat. "Well..."
"So..." she leaned in closer, ready to 'Officially!' kiss him. Right when-
"Ughff!" the two tumbled out of the cupboard. They looked up to see Harry, Fred, and George waiting. Harry had his hand on the doorknob.
"Uh hi guys er yeah so what's up umm how are you what brings you by erm yeah..." the pair stupidly embarrassedly slurred out random things.
"You two, honestly!" Fred said. He picked up Ron by his collar.
"Right! If you're going to snog, at least do it in public so we can properly make fun of you!" George told them. Both Hermione and Ron turned bright red.
The other three were smiling. They seemed very unsurprised by the situation.
"Wait a minute- how'd you find us?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"Well, to be quite frank, Miss Granger," George said in a mock-professional voice. "You two are quite the loud pair when it comes to kissing each other."
"Yeah, now we know exactly what you think of Ron. That he's a big stupid troll," Fred put in. "Very well put!"
The couple were still quite embarrassed. So were Parvati and Terry, standing in the background. They hadn't exactly expected Hermione to come bursting through the walls to catch them flirting.
"So, this is what was up this morning," Harry smiled.
"Yeah. I know I should have told you, but I just..." Ron began.
"It's all right. I understand. It's like if I told you... I dunno, that I liked Ginny!" he grinned. Ron stood stone still out of fear.
"Right, well, I guess I could say we are all a bit hungry," George said to ease them all.
"Right."
The troop headed out for the Great Hall. Hermione still noticed Terry watching her. She didn't feel very right without some formal sort of closure with him.
"I'll be right with you," she said. Hermione held Ron's sleeve back, too.
Soon after the three had left (with many sniggers), Hermione started up.
"You know, Ron, you sure took long enough to tell me all this," she said loudly enough for Terry to hear. "To think, I got so impatient, I was actually dating Terry!"
The two laughed loudly and departed arm-in-arm. Terry was left were he should have been in the first place- old, unwanted, and dumped.
Yay! All done. I realized that some readers thought that the part when Terry tells Hermione the secret about Ron was a bit confusing. To clear things up, Terry told Hermione that Ron likes her, because he had practically admitted it when he said, "Thanks!" All better? Good.
HermioneG, why did you erase your story? I know you hadn't updated for quite a while, but it was too good to just scrap!
Happy New Year!