Disclaimer: kudos to J.K. Rowling...she's a genius...it's all hers
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Breakfast in the Great Hall was rather quiet the next morning. Ron chose not to speak to Hemrione. Hermione was throwing nervous glances at Ron, hoping he would talk to her. Harry was reading the Daily Prophet and sipping on orange juice. Ron continued to pretend he was interested in the ceiling, the Hufflepuff table, or anything that would get him out of looking at Hermione. This nasty silence went on for a moment until Harry set his newspaper down with an exasperated sigh.
"It's happened again," he announced to his two best friends.
"Volde - Vol - V - ?"
"Yes." Harry interrupted Ron, who had been trying very hard to begin using the Dark Lord's name. He continued to have difficulty getting the last syllable out, so Harry helped him. "His Death Eaters attacked some muggle houses somewhere in a suburb outside of London." Hermione picked up the paper with interest on her face.
"Does it say who the muggles were?" She scanned the page for a source of information.
"No, it doesn't even say where," Harry replied, dropping his chin into his hands, looking rather down. "I think the Ministry is trying not to parade the information around. You know, protecting the victims from getting put in the lime light right after they have experienced something so traumatic." Ron noticed Harry's worry.
This past summer, Voldemort had been attacking innocent muggles nonstop. Harry often knew of these incidents while they were going on. He felt his scar burn at the time. Just last night he had gone through one of his worse episodes of pain, so he was more or less expecting the newspaper's headline the next morning.
Hermione set the Daily Prophet aside when a large barn owl dropped a letter into her lap. Ron watched her brush a strand of her bushy, brown hair out of her face as she opened the envelope. He felt his morning oatmeal do somersaults in his stomach and a familiar heat rise in his face.
He and Harry casually watched her...but they soon grew nervous. Hermione's facial expression drastically altered from lighthearted...to horrified! She gripped the piece of parchment tightly, never taking her eyes off it. Her eyes popping out of their sockets, she lifted a hand to cover her mouth in surprise.
"What is it, Hermione?!" Ron was worried about her reaction to the letter. Tears were welling in her eyes. Without warning and without a response to Ron's question, she bolted up from the table and scurried out of the Great Hall. Harry and Ron stared after her. Harry's hand was halfway to his wide-open mouth, holding a piece of toast topped with marmalade.
"What in the name of Merlin?" Harry shook his head slowly in reply to Ron's exclamation.
"I have no idea! Should we go see what's wrong?" As Harry spoke, Professor McGonagall approached their spots at the table.
"Potter, would you come with me, please? I must have a word with you." Harry looked at Ron.
"I'll go check on her...you go on ahead. I'll meet you in Herbology." Harry nodded as he stood from the table and followed the professor out of the hall, leaving Ron quite alone.
However, for some reason he couldn't explain, he was glad that he was given an excuse to go see Hermione without Harry. What was he thinking? He told himself that it made absolutely no difference whatsoever if Harry was there or not...he told himself this...but it was not the truth. Ron had frequently been lying to himself more and more and he didn't know why...see there he went again: he honestly did know the reason.
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Trying not to walk to quickly or look to over-excited about having an opportunity to comfort Hermione, Ron made his way up toward to Gryffindor tower and through the Portrait hole ("snickety-bobbkins"). He scanned the Common Room. It was completely empty. Clearly all of the students were on their way to morning classes.
"Oh, bloody hell." Ron muttered under his breath. He was staring up at the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories. He had no idea how to make it up the steps without them turning into a slippery slide that would not permit him up there. He took a deep breath, thinking he would just go for it and the stairs would not turn into a slide only because he didn't want them to...not very likely...but he had no other choice. He had to go see if Hermione was alright.
He was preparing to lunge himself at the staircase, when he heard a feeble whimper behind him. He whirled around to find Hermione curled up in a ball in the corner of the room. He hadn't noticed her at first because she was hidden behind a large armchair.
"Hermione? Are you alright?" Ron cautiously approached her hiding spot and stooped down to be eye-level with her.
She sniffled loudly and didn't lift her head. When she spoke, her voice was muffled against her knees, where her face was buried.
"I - I - I got -" But what she got, Ron didn't find out yet. She sobbed louder and her speech was cut off. Ron knelt down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders awkwardly. He was never really sure how to respond to her when she cried. However, when he patted her back, she trembled slightly and leaned into him. She splattered his robes with tears and who knows what other kind of liquid substance. For some reason however, Ron didn't mind that she was crying into his robes. He hugged her tighter and rested his chin on the top of her head.
"Tell me what happened, 'Mione. What was that letter about?" For he had just noticed a tear-stained letter lying on the ground next to them. She ceased crying for a moment to tell him.
"My d-dad just sent me an owl," she pulled back from Ron and looked up into his intense eyes...it amazed her how she just fell into his deep eyes as if they were fathomous lakes. "That attack last night..." Ron nodded, helping her to carry on with the story. "...V-Voldemort attacked my mum at our house while my dad was at the office." She said this very fast as if to spit it out as fast as she could to reduce difficulty. Immediately following the explanation, she thrust her head back into Ron's chest.
Ron felt a lurch of fear! Were her parents okay? Was her mum dea- ...no, he didn't want to think about that. Hermione didn't deserve to lose her parents. She was too sweet and innocent and a too much of a good- natured person.
"What? Hermione, is she hurt badly? Is she alright?" He tried to keep the panic out of his tone so as not to further upset Hermione. She looked back up at him. Her face was closer to him than ever before.
"She's at St. Mungo's. She's really shaken up. Dad says she'll be okay and that it was more of a frightening experience than anything else. Voldemort tortured her! Why would he do that? She's innocent!" Hermione cried frantically, searching for an answer to an answer-less question. Ron could feel her hot breath on his face. It smelled like peppermint and oranges...most likely due to toothpaste and orange juice from breakfast. How utterly rude and insensitive of him to think about how much he wanted to kiss her while she was upset! Ron was appalled at himself for having such thoughts! He tried to shake them out of his head, but her eyes captured his and they were locked. He couldn't look away. She had to have him under some sort of spell! Why else would he feel this feverish and lightheaded?
"It's going to be okay, Hermione. She'll be fine." He said this, breathless. "Your dad said she was mostly shaken up." Hermione nodded and tore her look away from Ron. How utterly devious and cheep of her to think about how much she wanted to kiss him while he was doing his best to comfort her like a good friend! Hermione was appalled at herself for having such thoughts. She tried to shake them out of her head, but he was holding her in the exact way she had always dreamed he would. She let herself completely sink into his supportive arms. Why did she feel so feverish and warm? Stop it! She tried to reason with herself. Her mother had just been attacked by an evil wizard, and all she could think about was kissing Ron Weasley!
She began to sob harder and clung to Ron's robes. She looked into his eyes again and his face was impassive. Hermione didn't have any idea what magical force made her do it....
...she gripped Ron's robes harder and pulled him toward her. He delicately pressed his lips to hers. Ron's head was spinning. Hermione's head was flying. This couldn't possibly be happening. Her tears silently streamed down her face. They were barely kissing. It was no more than their lips touching each other gently. Neither Ron nor Hermione cared if the other wasn't in love with them. They were both lost in their own world. The Common Room dissolved around them and the kiss that lasted for less than five seconds felt like a slice of eternity...
Suddenly, they were very rudely interrupted by the bell to signal the start of morning classes. Ron and Hermione broke apart with a start and gazed around the room attempting to look angrily at the source of the sound that penetrated their momentary heaven.
They looked back at each other. Hermione's wet eyes were out of focus. Ron lifted his hand to wipe a stray tear that was sliding down her nose. He gave an involuntary shiver as he touched her skin.
Hermione, for the first time in her life, didn't want to go to classes.
However, Ron stood up and offered a hand to help her climb to her feet. A faint smile spread across her lips and reached her eyes. She accepted his hand and they made their way toward the Greenhouses to meet Harry _________________________________________________
*hey so there it is...I'm a novice writer and a little nervous about my first story...please give me your honest opinion... Thanks so much to Emmylou...you gave me my very first review! *tear* Next chapter on its way........
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Breakfast in the Great Hall was rather quiet the next morning. Ron chose not to speak to Hemrione. Hermione was throwing nervous glances at Ron, hoping he would talk to her. Harry was reading the Daily Prophet and sipping on orange juice. Ron continued to pretend he was interested in the ceiling, the Hufflepuff table, or anything that would get him out of looking at Hermione. This nasty silence went on for a moment until Harry set his newspaper down with an exasperated sigh.
"It's happened again," he announced to his two best friends.
"Volde - Vol - V - ?"
"Yes." Harry interrupted Ron, who had been trying very hard to begin using the Dark Lord's name. He continued to have difficulty getting the last syllable out, so Harry helped him. "His Death Eaters attacked some muggle houses somewhere in a suburb outside of London." Hermione picked up the paper with interest on her face.
"Does it say who the muggles were?" She scanned the page for a source of information.
"No, it doesn't even say where," Harry replied, dropping his chin into his hands, looking rather down. "I think the Ministry is trying not to parade the information around. You know, protecting the victims from getting put in the lime light right after they have experienced something so traumatic." Ron noticed Harry's worry.
This past summer, Voldemort had been attacking innocent muggles nonstop. Harry often knew of these incidents while they were going on. He felt his scar burn at the time. Just last night he had gone through one of his worse episodes of pain, so he was more or less expecting the newspaper's headline the next morning.
Hermione set the Daily Prophet aside when a large barn owl dropped a letter into her lap. Ron watched her brush a strand of her bushy, brown hair out of her face as she opened the envelope. He felt his morning oatmeal do somersaults in his stomach and a familiar heat rise in his face.
He and Harry casually watched her...but they soon grew nervous. Hermione's facial expression drastically altered from lighthearted...to horrified! She gripped the piece of parchment tightly, never taking her eyes off it. Her eyes popping out of their sockets, she lifted a hand to cover her mouth in surprise.
"What is it, Hermione?!" Ron was worried about her reaction to the letter. Tears were welling in her eyes. Without warning and without a response to Ron's question, she bolted up from the table and scurried out of the Great Hall. Harry and Ron stared after her. Harry's hand was halfway to his wide-open mouth, holding a piece of toast topped with marmalade.
"What in the name of Merlin?" Harry shook his head slowly in reply to Ron's exclamation.
"I have no idea! Should we go see what's wrong?" As Harry spoke, Professor McGonagall approached their spots at the table.
"Potter, would you come with me, please? I must have a word with you." Harry looked at Ron.
"I'll go check on her...you go on ahead. I'll meet you in Herbology." Harry nodded as he stood from the table and followed the professor out of the hall, leaving Ron quite alone.
However, for some reason he couldn't explain, he was glad that he was given an excuse to go see Hermione without Harry. What was he thinking? He told himself that it made absolutely no difference whatsoever if Harry was there or not...he told himself this...but it was not the truth. Ron had frequently been lying to himself more and more and he didn't know why...see there he went again: he honestly did know the reason.
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Trying not to walk to quickly or look to over-excited about having an opportunity to comfort Hermione, Ron made his way up toward to Gryffindor tower and through the Portrait hole ("snickety-bobbkins"). He scanned the Common Room. It was completely empty. Clearly all of the students were on their way to morning classes.
"Oh, bloody hell." Ron muttered under his breath. He was staring up at the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories. He had no idea how to make it up the steps without them turning into a slippery slide that would not permit him up there. He took a deep breath, thinking he would just go for it and the stairs would not turn into a slide only because he didn't want them to...not very likely...but he had no other choice. He had to go see if Hermione was alright.
He was preparing to lunge himself at the staircase, when he heard a feeble whimper behind him. He whirled around to find Hermione curled up in a ball in the corner of the room. He hadn't noticed her at first because she was hidden behind a large armchair.
"Hermione? Are you alright?" Ron cautiously approached her hiding spot and stooped down to be eye-level with her.
She sniffled loudly and didn't lift her head. When she spoke, her voice was muffled against her knees, where her face was buried.
"I - I - I got -" But what she got, Ron didn't find out yet. She sobbed louder and her speech was cut off. Ron knelt down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders awkwardly. He was never really sure how to respond to her when she cried. However, when he patted her back, she trembled slightly and leaned into him. She splattered his robes with tears and who knows what other kind of liquid substance. For some reason however, Ron didn't mind that she was crying into his robes. He hugged her tighter and rested his chin on the top of her head.
"Tell me what happened, 'Mione. What was that letter about?" For he had just noticed a tear-stained letter lying on the ground next to them. She ceased crying for a moment to tell him.
"My d-dad just sent me an owl," she pulled back from Ron and looked up into his intense eyes...it amazed her how she just fell into his deep eyes as if they were fathomous lakes. "That attack last night..." Ron nodded, helping her to carry on with the story. "...V-Voldemort attacked my mum at our house while my dad was at the office." She said this very fast as if to spit it out as fast as she could to reduce difficulty. Immediately following the explanation, she thrust her head back into Ron's chest.
Ron felt a lurch of fear! Were her parents okay? Was her mum dea- ...no, he didn't want to think about that. Hermione didn't deserve to lose her parents. She was too sweet and innocent and a too much of a good- natured person.
"What? Hermione, is she hurt badly? Is she alright?" He tried to keep the panic out of his tone so as not to further upset Hermione. She looked back up at him. Her face was closer to him than ever before.
"She's at St. Mungo's. She's really shaken up. Dad says she'll be okay and that it was more of a frightening experience than anything else. Voldemort tortured her! Why would he do that? She's innocent!" Hermione cried frantically, searching for an answer to an answer-less question. Ron could feel her hot breath on his face. It smelled like peppermint and oranges...most likely due to toothpaste and orange juice from breakfast. How utterly rude and insensitive of him to think about how much he wanted to kiss her while she was upset! Ron was appalled at himself for having such thoughts! He tried to shake them out of his head, but her eyes captured his and they were locked. He couldn't look away. She had to have him under some sort of spell! Why else would he feel this feverish and lightheaded?
"It's going to be okay, Hermione. She'll be fine." He said this, breathless. "Your dad said she was mostly shaken up." Hermione nodded and tore her look away from Ron. How utterly devious and cheep of her to think about how much she wanted to kiss him while he was doing his best to comfort her like a good friend! Hermione was appalled at herself for having such thoughts. She tried to shake them out of her head, but he was holding her in the exact way she had always dreamed he would. She let herself completely sink into his supportive arms. Why did she feel so feverish and warm? Stop it! She tried to reason with herself. Her mother had just been attacked by an evil wizard, and all she could think about was kissing Ron Weasley!
She began to sob harder and clung to Ron's robes. She looked into his eyes again and his face was impassive. Hermione didn't have any idea what magical force made her do it....
...she gripped Ron's robes harder and pulled him toward her. He delicately pressed his lips to hers. Ron's head was spinning. Hermione's head was flying. This couldn't possibly be happening. Her tears silently streamed down her face. They were barely kissing. It was no more than their lips touching each other gently. Neither Ron nor Hermione cared if the other wasn't in love with them. They were both lost in their own world. The Common Room dissolved around them and the kiss that lasted for less than five seconds felt like a slice of eternity...
Suddenly, they were very rudely interrupted by the bell to signal the start of morning classes. Ron and Hermione broke apart with a start and gazed around the room attempting to look angrily at the source of the sound that penetrated their momentary heaven.
They looked back at each other. Hermione's wet eyes were out of focus. Ron lifted his hand to wipe a stray tear that was sliding down her nose. He gave an involuntary shiver as he touched her skin.
Hermione, for the first time in her life, didn't want to go to classes.
However, Ron stood up and offered a hand to help her climb to her feet. A faint smile spread across her lips and reached her eyes. She accepted his hand and they made their way toward the Greenhouses to meet Harry _________________________________________________
*hey so there it is...I'm a novice writer and a little nervous about my first story...please give me your honest opinion... Thanks so much to Emmylou...you gave me my very first review! *tear* Next chapter on its way........
