a/n: hey guys, thanks for reading, sorry it's been a few days, I just
wanted to ask for suggestions to improve the story, especially this chapter
and the next. They were a little hard to write, plus my beta reader never
got back to me. I would appreciate it so much! Then I could post a new and
improved version!
"This actually isn't terrible," thought Ron, as he self-consciously led Hermione in their first slow dance. He kept thinking of things that could go wrong and concentrating on avoiding them: stepping on her feet, holding her too close, or worse, too far away, bumping heads, and worst of all, the ones he had no control over, like sweaty palms, being smelly, breathing loudly. He tried to ignore these fears, knowing it would only make him nervous; he tried to concentrate on the music, but found himself concentrating instead on Hermione. Ron was having trouble reconciling the plain know-it-all he'd once called "a nightmare" with the beautiful girl he now held in his arms. But the more he tried to pinpoint her change in appearance, the more she looked the same as he remembered. "Was she always this pretty?" he wondered. It seemed like Hermione had long been the possessor of a deep but subtle beauty, maybe so subtle that it was all too easily overlooked, and some trick of light had just shown it fully. Or perhaps Ron had only just now noticed. "I hope she's not so pretty tomorrow!" he thought worriedly. But then he smiled ruefully. "What am I thinking, of course she will be. I just hope I can ignore it!" He knew exactly how hard that would be. Maybe it was the music (it was rumored that the Weird Sisters polished their instruments with Love Potion), but Ron was finding it even harder to ignore Hermione's newfound beauty at close range. It had been easier all night when she wasn't so near, but now. he kept stealing quick glances at her, not wishing to freak her out like he had when she first came down from the girls' dormitories. And he studied other parts of her than her face, like her shoulder, that was easier to get away with. His gaze led him down her arm to where his hand held hers. "They look all right together," he thought, and for the first time since they'd touched, his hand noticed the softness in hers and his thumb ran slowly up and down her knuckle.
After awhile, Hermione noticed, and looked at their hands too. Both looking at the same thing, their eyes soon met, only in the corners at first. Then they just kept looking at each other. And looking. Studying each other's eyes like they were tiny pieces of the Mirror of Erised. Ron really saw the color and shape of Hermione's eyes for the first time; from then on he could always conjure a picture of them in his mind. It was intense, and the intensity scared Ron. He finally blinked, and in the vulnerable moment after the breaking of the bond, he felt that fear for the first time. He also noticed just how close their faces had gotten and that scared him too; he very nearly panicked. He pulled his head back quickly as a gut reaction, then after a second he moved it to over her shoulder. He had to avoid those eyes. He was actually closer than before, but it felt like nothing could be quite so close as that look.
a/n: thanks again for reading, please review! And don't be too nice!
"This actually isn't terrible," thought Ron, as he self-consciously led Hermione in their first slow dance. He kept thinking of things that could go wrong and concentrating on avoiding them: stepping on her feet, holding her too close, or worse, too far away, bumping heads, and worst of all, the ones he had no control over, like sweaty palms, being smelly, breathing loudly. He tried to ignore these fears, knowing it would only make him nervous; he tried to concentrate on the music, but found himself concentrating instead on Hermione. Ron was having trouble reconciling the plain know-it-all he'd once called "a nightmare" with the beautiful girl he now held in his arms. But the more he tried to pinpoint her change in appearance, the more she looked the same as he remembered. "Was she always this pretty?" he wondered. It seemed like Hermione had long been the possessor of a deep but subtle beauty, maybe so subtle that it was all too easily overlooked, and some trick of light had just shown it fully. Or perhaps Ron had only just now noticed. "I hope she's not so pretty tomorrow!" he thought worriedly. But then he smiled ruefully. "What am I thinking, of course she will be. I just hope I can ignore it!" He knew exactly how hard that would be. Maybe it was the music (it was rumored that the Weird Sisters polished their instruments with Love Potion), but Ron was finding it even harder to ignore Hermione's newfound beauty at close range. It had been easier all night when she wasn't so near, but now. he kept stealing quick glances at her, not wishing to freak her out like he had when she first came down from the girls' dormitories. And he studied other parts of her than her face, like her shoulder, that was easier to get away with. His gaze led him down her arm to where his hand held hers. "They look all right together," he thought, and for the first time since they'd touched, his hand noticed the softness in hers and his thumb ran slowly up and down her knuckle.
After awhile, Hermione noticed, and looked at their hands too. Both looking at the same thing, their eyes soon met, only in the corners at first. Then they just kept looking at each other. And looking. Studying each other's eyes like they were tiny pieces of the Mirror of Erised. Ron really saw the color and shape of Hermione's eyes for the first time; from then on he could always conjure a picture of them in his mind. It was intense, and the intensity scared Ron. He finally blinked, and in the vulnerable moment after the breaking of the bond, he felt that fear for the first time. He also noticed just how close their faces had gotten and that scared him too; he very nearly panicked. He pulled his head back quickly as a gut reaction, then after a second he moved it to over her shoulder. He had to avoid those eyes. He was actually closer than before, but it felt like nothing could be quite so close as that look.
a/n: thanks again for reading, please review! And don't be too nice!