Ron creaked open the door and peeked inside. There was no sign of Hermione. Breathing a sigh of relief, he entered and closed the door behind him and gave a low whistle. "No wonder Percy always dreamed of becoming Head Boy," Ron thought to himself in awe. The Head Room was simply fabulous. It was spacious, luxurious, and fulfilled every requirement of a normal bedroom. He suddenly realized what a great honor it was to become a Head Boy or Head Girl. There were two gigantic four-poster beds on either side of the room; the one near the window evidently occupied by Hermione, since her trunk was already resting at the head of her bed. For each bed there was a bedside table, a dressing table and a desk for the student to work on. Something, Ron would rarely use but it did add a nice affect to the room.
The bathroom was near his side of the room, since he could hear the shower running. Hermione apparently was taking a shower before she went to sleep. "Typical Hermione," Ron grumbled to himself as he approached the bathroom door and knocked gently. The door swung open to reveal a dripping Hermione, a towel wrapped around her head, wearing a silk blue nightgown, much too cold for the weather, and had her hands on her hips. Ron smiled meekly at her and asked, "Are you done?"
"Don't you know how to be patient, Ronald Weasley?" Hermione retorted. She hadn't
forgotten their argument on the train and she still seemed furious about it.
"Do you usually take a shower before you sleep?" he teased, attempting to settle the fire between them.
"Do you care?" Hermione shot back as she pushed his tall figure away from the entrance and strode over to her bed and plopped down.
"Well, excuse me for trying to make a conversation," Ron retorted sharply and slammed the door behind him.
"Damn that woman," he mumbled to himself, deeply frustrated. How he hated the way she could stir up his emotions so quickly. Then again, this was Hermione, the miss perfect little know-it-all. He, however, did not want to indulge in his frustration over her, so he quickly threw some water on his face, wiped his face dry, removed his school robes, changed into a clean shirt and was about to wear his boxers, when he stopped himself. "Wait a sec," Ron thought, hesitating. Sleeping in his underwear with a bunch of guys around him wasn't the same as sharing the same room with his best friend. Unfortunately, nothing else seemed comfortable to him, so he shrugged it off, hoping she wouldn't mind, changed hurriedly, left the bathroom and crawled into his nearby bed.
Once he was safely beneath his covers, Ron tried to become accustomed to his surroundings and the noises. The only light in the room was coming from the fire, which was glowing shyly in the fireplace and the twinkling of the stars in the starlit sky. He could hear Hermione's gentle breathing as she tried to fall asleep. He desperately wanted to make peace between them, but he didn't know if Hermione was ready to forgive him yet. He admitted that he had been a foolish git for blowing up at her, but it really wasn't his fault. Viktor Krum had a tendency to make him spark up, and he couldn't change that habit. Before he fell asleep, however, he made a resolution to apologize first thing in the morning. He didn't know Hermione was thinking about doing the exact same thing.
~*~*~*~*~
Hermione woke up reluctantly as the morning sunlight splashed upon her face. She groaned and buried her face into the comfy pillow, displeased by the disruption of her peaceful sleep. Not that the night had actually been peaceful for her; she spent most of the night tossing and turning in bed debating whether she should forgive Ron or ask for forgiveness. Either way, she finally agreed to forgive and forget, since she was going to apologize once she was fully awake and before they went down for breakfast.
Unfortunately, Ron's intent snoring was helping her in any way, so grumbling to herself she slowly crawled out of bed and glanced at her watch groggily. It was already 7:15 and Head students were expected to wake up at exactly 7 am, but since she wasn't new to this, she decided not to let this bother her. She stumbled towards the other side of the room, grabbing her school robes along the way, and carefully avoiding any chance of waking him up.
She halted at the bathroom door and surveyed him critically. He had a dreamy expression on his serene face, which caused Hermione to giggle slightly. "Wait a minute," she mentally scolded herself, I'm supposed to be angry with him, not supposed to be amused by his antics. So to punish Ron, instead of herself, for doing such a thing, she gave the front of his bed a good kick and rushed into the bathroom, just in time before he woke up.
"Go away Harry, I'm trying to sleep," Ron mumbled out loud, raising his hand as if to push the imaginary Harry aside. He turned over and faced the wall, hoping to fall asleep immediately when all of sudden memories of last night swept through his head. He bolted straight out of bed and looked around the room meaningfully. "Damn," Ron smacked himself on the head. "Harry's not here, Hermione is." He threw the covers aside and got up and stretched himself, while stifling an enormous yawn. Hermione was nowhere in sight, so he thought it was the best opportunity to change into his clothes. And besides he had to apologize to Hermione and he certainly didn't want to do that, while still in his boxers.
He had just finished tightening his robes, when the door opened revealing a very fresh Hermione. Her bushy hair had been pulled back into a ponytail allowing him to gaze at her oval face. She walked past him swiftly and dumped her nightgown into her trunk and set to work on straightening her bed, causing Ron to realize that he had to do the same thing. He really wanted to talk to Hermione because if he didn't now then he would go crazy.
Hermione was also thinking the exact thing; she too wanted to forgive and forget, but who would break the silence first? Finally, unable to stand the heavy tension between the two of them, Ron and Hermione turned around to face each other and spoke at the same time.
"Ron,"
"Hermione,"
They stopped in mid-sentence and grinned weakly at each other. Then, they began again together,
"I,"
Ron, however, held up his hand and politely added, "Ladies first."
Hermione gave him a small smile and softly replied, "Ron, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened on the train yesterday. I shouldn't have blown up at you like that and I felt so awful afterwards. I hope you forgive me."
Ron stared at her startled. Why was she apologizing? He had been the stupid git, not her.
He answered carefully, "Hermione, what are you talking about? I should be apologizing to you for bringing Vicky into the conversation," he saw her cringe at the nickname he had given to her old boyfriend, but continued, and I'm really sorry. Vicky just makes me so angry."
Hermione looked at him hard before commenting, "Ron, I was really angry that Viktor had dumped me for someone else. I didn't need someone else to remind me that I wasn't beautiful enough to qualify for Mr. Perfect Quidditch Player." Her voice trailed off leaving a sad note, but she approached him slowly and wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest to stifle her sobs.
"Hermione," Ron whispered soothingly wrapping an arm around her waist and patting her awkwardly on the head. "It's okay, really. Viktor Krum is a horrible prat who deserves only girls worse than you. You're better off without him. Don't let him get to you."
"Thank you," was the stifled remark from his chest, but he had more to say.
"And Hermione," Ron commented, lifting her face up by the chin and making him gaze into his strong blue eyes. "Don't ever think that you aren't beautiful because you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
"Really," she whispered in awe. He didn't, however, respond to that statement. Instead, he secured his tight grip around her waist, leaned forward and gently placed his lips on her own. He could feel her shock at his action, but she didn't pull away. She kept a strong hold on his neck and kissed him back slowly, while running her fingers through his combed hair.
Times seemed to have stopped for the both of them and were completely oblivious to everything around them. They didn't hear the door of their room open nor did they see the astonished look on the face of their intruder. They were, however, interrupted by a loud shout of exclamation.
"Mister Weasley! Miss Granger! What on earth do you think you are doing?"
***
The bathroom was near his side of the room, since he could hear the shower running. Hermione apparently was taking a shower before she went to sleep. "Typical Hermione," Ron grumbled to himself as he approached the bathroom door and knocked gently. The door swung open to reveal a dripping Hermione, a towel wrapped around her head, wearing a silk blue nightgown, much too cold for the weather, and had her hands on her hips. Ron smiled meekly at her and asked, "Are you done?"
"Don't you know how to be patient, Ronald Weasley?" Hermione retorted. She hadn't
forgotten their argument on the train and she still seemed furious about it.
"Do you usually take a shower before you sleep?" he teased, attempting to settle the fire between them.
"Do you care?" Hermione shot back as she pushed his tall figure away from the entrance and strode over to her bed and plopped down.
"Well, excuse me for trying to make a conversation," Ron retorted sharply and slammed the door behind him.
"Damn that woman," he mumbled to himself, deeply frustrated. How he hated the way she could stir up his emotions so quickly. Then again, this was Hermione, the miss perfect little know-it-all. He, however, did not want to indulge in his frustration over her, so he quickly threw some water on his face, wiped his face dry, removed his school robes, changed into a clean shirt and was about to wear his boxers, when he stopped himself. "Wait a sec," Ron thought, hesitating. Sleeping in his underwear with a bunch of guys around him wasn't the same as sharing the same room with his best friend. Unfortunately, nothing else seemed comfortable to him, so he shrugged it off, hoping she wouldn't mind, changed hurriedly, left the bathroom and crawled into his nearby bed.
Once he was safely beneath his covers, Ron tried to become accustomed to his surroundings and the noises. The only light in the room was coming from the fire, which was glowing shyly in the fireplace and the twinkling of the stars in the starlit sky. He could hear Hermione's gentle breathing as she tried to fall asleep. He desperately wanted to make peace between them, but he didn't know if Hermione was ready to forgive him yet. He admitted that he had been a foolish git for blowing up at her, but it really wasn't his fault. Viktor Krum had a tendency to make him spark up, and he couldn't change that habit. Before he fell asleep, however, he made a resolution to apologize first thing in the morning. He didn't know Hermione was thinking about doing the exact same thing.
~*~*~*~*~
Hermione woke up reluctantly as the morning sunlight splashed upon her face. She groaned and buried her face into the comfy pillow, displeased by the disruption of her peaceful sleep. Not that the night had actually been peaceful for her; she spent most of the night tossing and turning in bed debating whether she should forgive Ron or ask for forgiveness. Either way, she finally agreed to forgive and forget, since she was going to apologize once she was fully awake and before they went down for breakfast.
Unfortunately, Ron's intent snoring was helping her in any way, so grumbling to herself she slowly crawled out of bed and glanced at her watch groggily. It was already 7:15 and Head students were expected to wake up at exactly 7 am, but since she wasn't new to this, she decided not to let this bother her. She stumbled towards the other side of the room, grabbing her school robes along the way, and carefully avoiding any chance of waking him up.
She halted at the bathroom door and surveyed him critically. He had a dreamy expression on his serene face, which caused Hermione to giggle slightly. "Wait a minute," she mentally scolded herself, I'm supposed to be angry with him, not supposed to be amused by his antics. So to punish Ron, instead of herself, for doing such a thing, she gave the front of his bed a good kick and rushed into the bathroom, just in time before he woke up.
"Go away Harry, I'm trying to sleep," Ron mumbled out loud, raising his hand as if to push the imaginary Harry aside. He turned over and faced the wall, hoping to fall asleep immediately when all of sudden memories of last night swept through his head. He bolted straight out of bed and looked around the room meaningfully. "Damn," Ron smacked himself on the head. "Harry's not here, Hermione is." He threw the covers aside and got up and stretched himself, while stifling an enormous yawn. Hermione was nowhere in sight, so he thought it was the best opportunity to change into his clothes. And besides he had to apologize to Hermione and he certainly didn't want to do that, while still in his boxers.
He had just finished tightening his robes, when the door opened revealing a very fresh Hermione. Her bushy hair had been pulled back into a ponytail allowing him to gaze at her oval face. She walked past him swiftly and dumped her nightgown into her trunk and set to work on straightening her bed, causing Ron to realize that he had to do the same thing. He really wanted to talk to Hermione because if he didn't now then he would go crazy.
Hermione was also thinking the exact thing; she too wanted to forgive and forget, but who would break the silence first? Finally, unable to stand the heavy tension between the two of them, Ron and Hermione turned around to face each other and spoke at the same time.
"Ron,"
"Hermione,"
They stopped in mid-sentence and grinned weakly at each other. Then, they began again together,
"I,"
Ron, however, held up his hand and politely added, "Ladies first."
Hermione gave him a small smile and softly replied, "Ron, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened on the train yesterday. I shouldn't have blown up at you like that and I felt so awful afterwards. I hope you forgive me."
Ron stared at her startled. Why was she apologizing? He had been the stupid git, not her.
He answered carefully, "Hermione, what are you talking about? I should be apologizing to you for bringing Vicky into the conversation," he saw her cringe at the nickname he had given to her old boyfriend, but continued, and I'm really sorry. Vicky just makes me so angry."
Hermione looked at him hard before commenting, "Ron, I was really angry that Viktor had dumped me for someone else. I didn't need someone else to remind me that I wasn't beautiful enough to qualify for Mr. Perfect Quidditch Player." Her voice trailed off leaving a sad note, but she approached him slowly and wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest to stifle her sobs.
"Hermione," Ron whispered soothingly wrapping an arm around her waist and patting her awkwardly on the head. "It's okay, really. Viktor Krum is a horrible prat who deserves only girls worse than you. You're better off without him. Don't let him get to you."
"Thank you," was the stifled remark from his chest, but he had more to say.
"And Hermione," Ron commented, lifting her face up by the chin and making him gaze into his strong blue eyes. "Don't ever think that you aren't beautiful because you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
"Really," she whispered in awe. He didn't, however, respond to that statement. Instead, he secured his tight grip around her waist, leaned forward and gently placed his lips on her own. He could feel her shock at his action, but she didn't pull away. She kept a strong hold on his neck and kissed him back slowly, while running her fingers through his combed hair.
Times seemed to have stopped for the both of them and were completely oblivious to everything around them. They didn't hear the door of their room open nor did they see the astonished look on the face of their intruder. They were, however, interrupted by a loud shout of exclamation.
"Mister Weasley! Miss Granger! What on earth do you think you are doing?"
***