Chapter three

Ginny was imagining herself with Harry Potter at the Christmas ball, hair up, gorgeous dress, and perfectly assembled. Harry would gaze at her lovingly as they danced, he would lead her outside to the gardens, look deeply into her eyes, declare his undying love for her and give her the most passionate kiss she would ever experience for the rest of her life...Ron quietly made his way down the stairs and sat next to her before she noticed he was even in the room.

"Ron! sheesh, you scared me to death! What are you doing still up?" she asked, clutching her chest and catching her breath.

"Well, I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd come down here and read...looks like you beat me down here, eh?" he said lightheartedly. As much as he hated to admit it, he cared a lot for his sister and couldn't bear to see her hurt.

"What have you been doing down here this whole time?"

"Oh, just thinking... about nothing in particular." Ginny added, realizing she couldn't tell him what about.

"Oh, I see..." Ron felt a little sad, he was being left out, but he decided not to press it. If she didn't feel like talking to him, he wouldn't force it. They sat there, not really knowing what to say. It had been a long time since they had really been close, back when they had been kids, and now...

"So, are you going to the Christmas ball?" Ginny asked, breaking the ice.

"Gee, hadn't really thought about it...are you?" As soon as those words left his mouth he knew he would regret asking.

"Well, I'm thinking about going with Harry, he asked me tonight...how would you feel about that?" she asked kindly.

Ron was taken aback. Since when did he care what he thought? At the same time, he felt a bit better about the situation. She actually cared! Ron smiled and turned to look into his sister's eyes.

"Look, if it makes you happy, go for it. I think it's be a great idea."

"Ginny-"

For the first time in a very long time, Ron put his arm around his little sister's shoulder and pulled her close to him. He looked at her, and right then he saw how grown up she had become. He was amazed at the fact that he had never seen her so mature before. He kissed her on the forehead and smiled. He was proud of her.

"-although I can't say I don't appreciate your concern for my feelings on this matter, it really isn't my place to have any authority on your decision." Ron was taken aback by the seriousness and maturity of his words, and hadn't realized that any of those words had even existed in his vocabulary.

"You're old enough where you can decide for yourself, and I have to learn to accept that I guess..."Ron trailed off.

Ginny looked up at him and smiled.

"Ronald Weasley, you are the greatest brother a girl could hope for."

With that she hugged her blushing Ron, said goodnight, and headed upstairs to her dormitory.

Ron was alone in the common room, thankful to finally have some time to think to himself. The more he thought about it, the more upset he became about yelling at Harry so badly. He had only looked for the worst in Harry instead of accepting the best. Even though he would still feel a little awkward about the whole situation, he decided that it was going to be okay. Besides, Harry was his best friend, wasn't he? So he obviously had to be a good guy. Not like it was Malfoy or someone like that. Ron's reeling thoughts finally slowed to a steady pace, and he began to feel sleepy. He considered retreating to his bed when he heard a creak behind him.

Ron turned around to find Hermione standing at the foot of the stairs.

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"Erm-" Hermione started. She really hadn't expected to say anything, or be noticed for that matter.

"Hi..." Ron said softly. Just as he had tried not to think about her, he found it was inevitable. She looked so cute in her pajamas...

"Ron, I--that was really sweet of you. It means a lot her that you trust her and care about her so much."

Ron wanted to say something, anything, but no words seemed right for this occasion, so he decided against saying something dumb and kept his mouth. His silence caught Hermione off guard. He seems angry...is it something I said? she wondered.

She was about to ask Ron what was wrong, but at the last second decided against it. She couldn't help but feel a little put out, but she wouldn't show it, so she looked at the fire as it began to rise voraciously. As soon as she did, Ron sneaked a glance at her out of the corner or his eye...why can't I say anything? I really am at a loss for words. Why is this happening? It's just Hermione, right? Ron opened his mouth to speak, thinking he had found something to say, but it fled his tongue and he was left befuddled, so he closed his mouth. As the minutes passed, Hermione found herself less and less unsettled by the silence, and it wasn't so awkward anymore. She gradually slid closer to Ron as the moon grew brighter and the fire calmed down to a moderate, dormant state.

Hermione was wide awake, but Ron could feel his eyelids growing heavy. Nevertheless, he tried his best to stay awake. If he couldn't talk to her, he could at least stay awake and enjoy this moment with her...

Hermione couldn't fathom how much time had passed. All she could think of was how incredibly warm the room was. She was breathing in the sweet scent of fire when she felt something hit her shoulder. She looked over to see Ron had finally fallen asleep. She could only imagine how tired he had been. She wrapped her arm around him and pulled him closer to her. She grabbed the blanket Ron had brought down earlier and pulled it across them. Suddenly she felt very protective of Ron, though she couldn't quite understand why. She started stroking his soft head and staring into the fire. The last thing she saw was the bright, full moon in the dark, starry sky, and the last thing she smelled was the clean freshness of Ron's hair.