Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the Great Hall eating their breakfasts. It was a sunny and warm day and everyone sat down around their house tables to eat. "Ron, what on earth is wrong with you? It looks as if you haven't eaten in days!" said Hermione as Ron piled pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, and toast a foot high onto his plate. "Well, for your information, yesterday I barely ate any lunch and I didn't eat dinner last night at all because of that stupid essay for Charms. Unless, of course, you would love for me to starve to death." Ron replied, who was annoyed. Harry had expected this. It was going to come sooner or later. Actually, he was becoming a little worried because they usually start bickering once they walk out through corridors.
"Ron, you know very well that Professor Flitwick assigned that essay weeks ago. Perhasp if you had done it before hand and not last minute then maybe, just maybe, you would've been able to eat your precious meal last night." retaliated Hermione and was also looking victorious. "Honestly, Ron. Sometimes you're such a lazy git." she added.
Ron looked furious at her. He didn't need a sermon right now, especially so early in the morning. No, he gets enough of it during the day. He rose his voice a bit louder and said acidly, "My deepest apologizes, 'Mione. I'm truely sorry that i'm a normal 17 year old guy who is very busy with other things and doesn't spend every waking moment thinking about homework."
"I reckon I should try to stop them before they start a greater commotion all over the hall... hopefully it will acutally work." thought harry.
"I suggest you two should just drop it. People might started staring at us because --"
"Sorry Harry, but this is between me and Ron. Go on Ron, continue on!" said Hermione angrily. "You let off at the part where i'm a person who has no life but to work on homework! Oh, may I add that sitting around and staring into space hardly counts as anything to be busy about."
Harry was watching these two and began to grin. Although he meant to keep it to himself Ron and Hermione saw him. "What?!" they said in unison glaring at Harry as if interrupting a very important conversation.
"If i didn't know any better, I would think you two --" Harry began jokingly until his voice was drowned with a louder voice that bellowed through the Great Hall. It was a voice that can silence anything, it was the voice that belonged to Professor Dumbledore.
"Attention my Hogwart's students. I would like to take the time to announce that in two weeks is Valentine's Day." said Dumbledore. "Normally we do not do anything significant for this day, but starting this afternoon we will organize a booth infront of the Great Hall doors where students may send a valentine and a singal rose to their whomever they want. Of course the gifts can be sent anyonomously, but you may state your name also if you like. You will go to the booth and collect a valentine, write to whom you want to write to, put it into this special box," - he held up a large brown box that said in big red words "Valentines" - "and then the owls will deliver them during the meal times." Suddenly the Great Hall broke out in excited whispers and giggles. Dumbledore grinned at the students and once all excitement subsided to just quiet whispers he continued speaking. "This valentine and rose sending is for all students, but I would also like it to be known that there is also a Valentine's Day ball especially for our seventh year students. That will take place on the evening of Valentine's day here in the Great Hall. That will be all, enjoy the rest of your breakfast." concluded Dumbledore and sat back down in his place at the staff table. Once again the students began to stir and were most likely discussing whom they were thinking of sending an anyonomous valentine to. As for the seventh year students, they were also talking about who they wanted to ask to the ball.
"Well, that sounds interesting and fun. Are you two planning on going?" asked Hermione cheerfully. It amazed Harry so much on how she forgot about the little agruement that happened five minutes ago. "Sure, I bet it will be fun. It is, after all, our last ball here at Hogwarts. How about you Ron?" ask Harry as he glanced over to ron who was sitting on his right. "uh, i don't know. maybe." said Ron will a bored voice and an equally bored expression. He was just staring onto his full plate and meerly picking at it with his fork. Harry turned to Hermione with a confused look, but she answered him with the same confused look and a slight shrug.
Through out the whole day there were seventh year girls beginning with giggles and bashful hellos in hopes to have a date. There was also a crowd in the Great Hall to get to the booth so that they can get a valentine and rose sent to their crush. Hermione began walking to the Great Hall after the last class ended and the students were dismissed to dinner.
As she stepped into the Hall she looked above and saw hundreds of owls with valentine's in their beaks and delivering them to whom they were addressed to. She spotted Ron and Harry and sat in the bench across from them. She noticed that they both had valentines at hand.
"Well, what do we have here? Admirers?" she said to them both. She saw that Harry had atleast ten whereas Ron had about four.
"Nothing much, mine mostly consist of fourth and fifth year girls." laughed Harry.
" I have one from Cathy Emmits from Ravenclaw, a couple sixth year girls, and one from a fourth year girl." said Ron trying not to look embarassed.
Hermione smiled at them and said, "That's great, you two were bound to get val--" until she was interrupted by a small brown owl that had three letters in it's beak. Hermione took it and gently rubbed the owls head to show her thanks. Ron gazed down to the table. "Why is it bothering me so much that Hermione might have admirers?" he thought.
"Let's see, this one's a valentine and it's from that Colin Creevy boy. How sweet." said smiled as she read the valentine. He didn't have a crush on her but he did tell her she's a brilliant student and person and hopes to be like her. She was touched but decided to move on to the other two remaining letters. "And this one's from mom and dad. Probably writing to greet me a Happy Valentine's day in advanced. I'll read this later on tonight." She shifted to the last letter. "And this one is from ..Oh!" as her eyes widened a bit with a small smile. "This one's from Viktor." she said simply.
Ron's shot his eyes from the table to her. "Viktor Krum?"
"Of course Viktor Krum. How many Viktors do we know?" she said
"What are you doing talking to him anyways?" Ron asked in an angry tone.
"Listen Ron, I've told you before we're just friends. This letter is probably just about how his days are going. Then i'm going to write about how my days are going. We're really nothing but friends and pen pals, really." she replied in a bored voice. "Now i'll just read these two letters for later on tonight." and with that she quickly put both her letters and her valentine in her school bag.
Ron glared at Hermione for some time. Why was he so upset? He didn't understand his feelings. If Harry suddenly had a girlfriend, he wouldn't mind half as much as he would with Hermione having a boyfriend. Hermione could feel Ron staring at her but chose to ignore him and not make eye contact with him. She began thinking to herself, Why does Ron get all angry whenever the subject of Viktor comes into the conversation? Harry doesn't seem to at all mind. Why can't Ron just smile. I always seem to be cheered up whenever he gives that authentic smile of his. He also has very nice eyes. When he's happy it becomes evident just by looking into his eyes. Not like I stare into his eyes all the time. Just casually glancing once in a while. That's all. She began to feel the blush creeping in her cheeks. I'm being stupid. Of course I can say Ron has nice eyes and a smile. There's nothing wrong with a friend pointing out another friend's good qualities, right? She felt more eased at mind and gave a small, quiet sigh of relief. I'm being silly, there's nothing wrong with thinking about Ron. He's great for company and if i'm sad he's been there to comfort me. That's he's funny and is always there for me. Even though we had a million arguements over the years, none managed to break our friendship. See, it's just a few nice things. It's not like i'm .. thinking about him ... more than just a friend. It's simple and no big deal. I could even add that he's handsome. Realizing what she just thought made her blush. Then she remembered that Ron was probably looking at her and it made her face even hotter.
Ron looked at her. She had beautiful brown eyes. For a while the angry sort of disappeared when he was looking at how pretty she was. As he was scanning her face, he noticed her cheeks were red and blushed. "She's probably thinking about Krum." he thought bitterly and all the angery came back. Checking to see if Ron was staring at her, Hermione looked up to find he was. Their eyes met for a second then they both broke the glance. "Listen, I'll meet you two in the common room after dinner. I'm heading toward the library to do some research." said Hermione in a hasty voice. She stood up, waved at them, and walked off. If she sat there another minute, she would become really red. She couldn't handle it. She couldn't handle the fact that she might've been thinking about Ron. Thinking that he could be more than just a friend.
Hermione sat in the library alone for about fifteen minutes just thinking, when she heard a lot of students walking in the halls. She figured dinner was over and the students were going to their house tower. She decided to get up and go also. While walking through the corridors she heard a couple other footsteps from behind that soon caught up to her.
"Hey, Hermione!" exclaimed Parvati Patil grinning at her.
"Are you going to the dance? Who are you taking? Harry or Ron?" questioned Lavender Brown.
"Great, what i need right now is Parvati and Lavender to brighten up my day." said Hermione grimmly in her head. As grim as she felt towards those two, she covered it up by saying innocently, " I don't know what you two are talking about. Harry and Ron are my best friends. Besides the ball is not until two weeks from now and i think there's still enough time to think about who i will be going to the dance with." Hermione said accompanied a false smile.
"I think you should take Ron. You're always arguing with him and you know what they say, you bicker with those you love!" teased Parvati.
"That's nonsence. I argue with Ron because he's a git." replied Hermione indifferently.
"No point in denying Hermione." said Lavender. Then she sighed as she said, "Seamus asked me to ball. He asked me infront of about seven people which was so brave and romantic of him."
Hermione was trying to grasp the point on how Seamus asking Lavender to a dance infront of seven was at all romantic.
As the reached the tower they said the password and entered into the common room.
"Remeber our little chat today, Hermione, dear. We really think that you should ask Ron because we know you like him!" said Parvati. Then she and Lavender went off into their dormitory.
"Those girls are idiots." Hermione muttered as she walked towards Ron and Harry. Ron was reading a book and Harry was watching Ron read.
"Is it just me or is Ronald Weasley actually reading?" said Hermione is a sarcastic voice. Ron gave a small grin and said, "Nothing special, just a part of a Quidditch Stratigies Book that Harry wanted me to read over."
"So Hermione, who are you going to the dance with?" asked Harry. Hermione wasn't sure if she was seeing things but it looked as if the grin that was on Ron's face slowly disappeared.
"Oh, no one yet." she said blankly then said with a very small smile, "At this rate i don't even know if i'm going."
"Can't expect much. It was only announced this morning, 'Mione." said Ron.
Harry began talking to Hermione as if Ron never spoke. "Well, fancy that! Ron just told me that he's not going. Maybe you two can go together and --" Harry began until Ron shot him a fierce look. "Um, maybe you two can go together and find dates." Harry said with a weary smile. It seemed like Hermione didn't notice what Harry was first suggesting because she just smiled with a puzzled look.
" I suppose that I should start working on my homework." said Hermione. "Oh, wait. I need to get some of my books and supplies in my dormitory. I'll be right back." And with that she left. Once she was out of earshot, Harry asked, "What's up, Ron? What was with that look you gave me earlier?"
"I just don't think Hermione and I should go to the dance together is all." said Ron simply without even looked up at Harry.
"And why is that?" asked Harry.
"Well, first off, i don't think she would even want to go with me because i'll just annoy her. And she would probably want to go with someone more better than me. Maybe someone like Krum. 'Sides, I'm not that smart, i'm not rich, nor am i brave." he said meerly.
"Sure she'll go with you! You two are friends and besides,what all this rubbish about being smart, rich, and brave? Since when did Hermione care about all those things?" Harry asked seriously. "Unless you don't want to go with her because she's not the prettiest girl in school." said Harry sarcastically bringing up the memory of the conversation the two had before the Yule Balll in their 4th year.
"Don't be thick, of course i think she's pretty --" said Ron without realizing what he just said. He sat there and stared at Harry as if trying to remember what he just said. It was quiet for sometime and neither of them spoke. Once Ron realized what just came out of his mouth he began blushing a very deep pink. Harry was also slightly surprised at Ron, but the surprised expression was soon gone and a wide grin took its place.
"Ron! Do you like Hermione?" Harry asked eagerly.
"N-no!" responded Ron a bit too quickly.
"Okay .. whatever you say, mate." replied Harry with a sly smile.
"No, I don't! I really don't!" said Ron. It seemed that he wasn't only trying to persuade Harry that he didn't have feelings for Hermione, but was also trying to persuade himself. "I don't .. I don't.." he repeated to himself quietly, ignoring Harry's teasing grin.
"Ron, c'mon and just admit it. You fancy Hermione. I'm not entirely shocked though, i had a small notion that you might like her. Why do you think i was grinning like mad this morning? Because the jam told a joke?" said Harry smiling the whole time.
"I don't know, maybe i do ... but there's no way I'm going to ask her to the dance. What am i saying? I don't like her! She's one of my best friends!" shot ron.
" Don't be stupid. Of course you do, you just admitted it to me! Besides, this isn't the first case where best friends fall in love." countered Harry.
"No, i don't.. i don't.. i don't." said Ron wearily.
"You don't what?" said a sudden voice from behind them.
"Ah! Hermione!" said Ron in a startled voice and began blushing again. Harry tried hard to keep a straight face. He had to make it seem like they weren't talking about girls or should he say her?
"Ron, what is wrong with you?" asked Hermione seriously as she put down her books and supplies on the table.
"Nothing! You just shocked me a bit walking up from behind us. Don't do that again." said Ron in a would-be casual voice, but his face was still red.
"Oh, sorry.." said Hermione unsurely which switched into a concerned tone. "Ron, are you alright? You look a bit flushed."
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I -- you know what? i actually don't feel that well. I think i need to rest up a bit." said Ron in a nervous voice. "I'll see you two tomarrow."
"Don't be an idiot, of course you're fine." said Harry. "You should stay here and work on your homework. I, on the other hand, am done and can just go right up to bed. I'll see you two tomarrow."
"Hmm, makes me wonder if studying is bad for you health." Hermione said to Ron.
They worked on at a table and Ron was sitting across from Hermione. It was quiet for a long time except for scratching quills, shifts of paper, and the cracking for the fire. Within ten minutes they were the only ones left in the common room. Hermione tried not to think that she was alone with Ron. She pretended that other people were with them in the common room so that it wouldn't feek so awkward. But Ron couldn't help feeling a bit awkward being alone with her and shifted a lot in his seat.
"Well, I think that i'm finished." said Hermione suddenly. She held up her paper and reread it. "Yes, this will do. Oh, that's right i still have those two letters from dinner." she bent down to get the letters from her bag and put them on the table. She picked one and read it silently.
Ron, who had a poorly written essay, pretended to be in deep concentration. He tried to make it look like he didn't care what the letter said. He didn't even know which letter she was reading first, but didn't want to look up. About three minutes passed and Ron was beginning to become irritated. If that was Krum's letter, it must be pretty long. Or she was just reading it over and over again. That very thought made him upset and bent his face even closer to the paper so Hermione wouldn't see. As he pretending to be working, he heard a quiet sniff. He looked up and saw that Hermione was crying. Ron pushed everything aside and asked what was wrong. Hermione tried to hide her face from Ron and tried to wipe the tears away, but more tears just streamed down her face. Although it was so sad to see her cry, she still looked so beautiful. Ron reached out his hands across the table and placed them on top of Hermione's. Without a word, Hermione handed him the letter she read. It was about a paragraph and written in a very neat handwriting. But all over the paper were teardrops and it smeared some of the ink from the letter.
To my Darling Hermione,
How are you doing, dear? I'm positive you're doing just fine and I know you're studying very hard as you always do. I'm so proud of you and so is your father. But i'm afraid that things aren't doing very fine here for your father. A month ago, you're father became sick. It seemed like the usual symntoms of a normal cold and wouldv'e felt better within a few day's rest. But the cold wouldn't go pass, not even after so many weeks of resting and remedies. Then one night, you're father told me he was having a hard time breathing so we went to seek help from the doctors. Turns out that this wasn't an average cold. It's actually serious than that ... a lot more serious than that. You're father has a very deadly virus in his blood .. and it's not looking very good. The doctors say that he might not make it through three months. And if he does, then the doctors give him only a year to live. I know this is terrible, but we both have to be strong. You're father and I love you so much. And like what I said before, we are both so very proud of you. Please write back. I love you.
love always,
Your Mother.
It was no wonder why Hermione was reading it over and over again. It was so hard to grasp. It seemed so unreal. He looked up at Hermione and saw that she had her face in her hands. Ron stood up from the chair, walked over to Hermione, and knelt down beside her chair.
"H-hermione... I'm so sorry." said Ron quietly.
Hermione took her face out of her hands. Her face was stained with tear trails and more tears were forming in her eyes. He hated seeing her like this. It was like seeing her heart breaking right before his eyes.
"Ron, this is so horrible .." she said in a whisper. She was trying hard to control her sobs, but tears were streaming down her face so fast. "My father can't die, Ron .. he just can't. He won't see me when i graduate from Hogwarts, he won't see me find my first job, he won't be able to hug me anymore.." she was shaking for trying to keep her sobs in control. Then her eyes widend as if more bad news came. She looked at Ron with fearful eyes and said, "He won't be there for my wedding ... he won't walk me down the aisle .. he won't be there for the father and daughter dance. He won't see his first grandchild, and my new family.." with that she quickly put her face back into her hands and cried. Ron didn't know what to do, so he stood up and patted her back. Hermione quickly took her face out of her hands and stood up to hug Ron. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder. Ron wasn't expecting that, but he put his hands on her back and rubbed it. He leaned his head to hers.
" 'Mione, shh .. calm down. I know this is scary and horrible... everything will be alright. Everything will be alright." cooed Ron as he gently craddled her.
This really was terrible and she really was scared. But she was glad to have Ron comfort her. She was also glad to be in his arms. She felt so safe and secure. This didn't make her forget about the unfortunate event, but it did ease her mind a bit. She was no longer crying, but had her chin on Ron shoulder while his head was leaning on hers. Ron's craddling became a small sways so it looked like the two were dancing to an unheard music. As happy as she was to be in Ron's arms, she couldn't dismiss the thought of her sick father. Without warning, the emotion flooded in again and she began to cry again. Ron heard her begin to cry and pulled her back so that he can look at her. The flame from the fireplace became smaller and was producing less light around the room. But it was still bright enough to see Hermione's face which looked so pretty. They looked in eachother's eyes for a long time, neither of them daring to look away this time. Ron slowly cupped his hand under her chin and as a tear strolled down her cheek he rubbed it away with his thumb. Hermione began to blush at his touch and Ron began to blush at the sight of her blushing. He liked seeing her blush and he love her beautiful brown eyes. I loved looking deep into them. He could feel himself moving closer to Hermione and couldn't stop. He tried to kiss her, but he missed and kissed her nose. Feeling extremely embarassed, Ron stepped back with a nervous grin. Hermione, on the other hand, was laughing and walked up to Ron. He felt his face his face burn as he watch Hermione walk up to him. She very slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and inched toward Ron. The kiss was simple and quick. When it was over they looked at eachother and smiled and kissed some more. After a few minutes later Ron suggested they should go to sleep, because it was nearly 1:30 in the morning. Although he really wished they wouldn't have to go. Hermione looked as though she didn't want to leave either, but she agreed.
"Good Night." she said sweetly. And tip-toed to kiss Ron's nose. He blushed, stilled embarassed of his earlier lack of aim. Hermione smiled, satisfied of his reaction and kissed him on the lips.
"Good Night." replied Ron and watched her go to her dormitory. Once she disappeared into the staircase, he headed to his own dormitary. He still couldn't get that butterfly feeling in his stomach to go away, but he liked the feeling. Once he entered the dormitory, he got ready for going to sleep, as he shouldv'e hours ago. He was lying in bed, just thinking about what happened over the last few hours, when he heard a tired voice in the bed next to him.
" It's 'bout time ... you kept me up, mate. What happened?" said a tired-sounding Harry.
" I'm too tired. I'll tell you in the morning." answered Ron trying to have an equally tired voice.
"C'mon Ron. You're not going to let your friend out on details when he so loyally stood up late for them." protested Harry.
"G'night, Harry."
"You lousy git." laughed Harry. "G'night, loverboy."
"Ron, you know very well that Professor Flitwick assigned that essay weeks ago. Perhasp if you had done it before hand and not last minute then maybe, just maybe, you would've been able to eat your precious meal last night." retaliated Hermione and was also looking victorious. "Honestly, Ron. Sometimes you're such a lazy git." she added.
Ron looked furious at her. He didn't need a sermon right now, especially so early in the morning. No, he gets enough of it during the day. He rose his voice a bit louder and said acidly, "My deepest apologizes, 'Mione. I'm truely sorry that i'm a normal 17 year old guy who is very busy with other things and doesn't spend every waking moment thinking about homework."
"I reckon I should try to stop them before they start a greater commotion all over the hall... hopefully it will acutally work." thought harry.
"I suggest you two should just drop it. People might started staring at us because --"
"Sorry Harry, but this is between me and Ron. Go on Ron, continue on!" said Hermione angrily. "You let off at the part where i'm a person who has no life but to work on homework! Oh, may I add that sitting around and staring into space hardly counts as anything to be busy about."
Harry was watching these two and began to grin. Although he meant to keep it to himself Ron and Hermione saw him. "What?!" they said in unison glaring at Harry as if interrupting a very important conversation.
"If i didn't know any better, I would think you two --" Harry began jokingly until his voice was drowned with a louder voice that bellowed through the Great Hall. It was a voice that can silence anything, it was the voice that belonged to Professor Dumbledore.
"Attention my Hogwart's students. I would like to take the time to announce that in two weeks is Valentine's Day." said Dumbledore. "Normally we do not do anything significant for this day, but starting this afternoon we will organize a booth infront of the Great Hall doors where students may send a valentine and a singal rose to their whomever they want. Of course the gifts can be sent anyonomously, but you may state your name also if you like. You will go to the booth and collect a valentine, write to whom you want to write to, put it into this special box," - he held up a large brown box that said in big red words "Valentines" - "and then the owls will deliver them during the meal times." Suddenly the Great Hall broke out in excited whispers and giggles. Dumbledore grinned at the students and once all excitement subsided to just quiet whispers he continued speaking. "This valentine and rose sending is for all students, but I would also like it to be known that there is also a Valentine's Day ball especially for our seventh year students. That will take place on the evening of Valentine's day here in the Great Hall. That will be all, enjoy the rest of your breakfast." concluded Dumbledore and sat back down in his place at the staff table. Once again the students began to stir and were most likely discussing whom they were thinking of sending an anyonomous valentine to. As for the seventh year students, they were also talking about who they wanted to ask to the ball.
"Well, that sounds interesting and fun. Are you two planning on going?" asked Hermione cheerfully. It amazed Harry so much on how she forgot about the little agruement that happened five minutes ago. "Sure, I bet it will be fun. It is, after all, our last ball here at Hogwarts. How about you Ron?" ask Harry as he glanced over to ron who was sitting on his right. "uh, i don't know. maybe." said Ron will a bored voice and an equally bored expression. He was just staring onto his full plate and meerly picking at it with his fork. Harry turned to Hermione with a confused look, but she answered him with the same confused look and a slight shrug.
Through out the whole day there were seventh year girls beginning with giggles and bashful hellos in hopes to have a date. There was also a crowd in the Great Hall to get to the booth so that they can get a valentine and rose sent to their crush. Hermione began walking to the Great Hall after the last class ended and the students were dismissed to dinner.
As she stepped into the Hall she looked above and saw hundreds of owls with valentine's in their beaks and delivering them to whom they were addressed to. She spotted Ron and Harry and sat in the bench across from them. She noticed that they both had valentines at hand.
"Well, what do we have here? Admirers?" she said to them both. She saw that Harry had atleast ten whereas Ron had about four.
"Nothing much, mine mostly consist of fourth and fifth year girls." laughed Harry.
" I have one from Cathy Emmits from Ravenclaw, a couple sixth year girls, and one from a fourth year girl." said Ron trying not to look embarassed.
Hermione smiled at them and said, "That's great, you two were bound to get val--" until she was interrupted by a small brown owl that had three letters in it's beak. Hermione took it and gently rubbed the owls head to show her thanks. Ron gazed down to the table. "Why is it bothering me so much that Hermione might have admirers?" he thought.
"Let's see, this one's a valentine and it's from that Colin Creevy boy. How sweet." said smiled as she read the valentine. He didn't have a crush on her but he did tell her she's a brilliant student and person and hopes to be like her. She was touched but decided to move on to the other two remaining letters. "And this one's from mom and dad. Probably writing to greet me a Happy Valentine's day in advanced. I'll read this later on tonight." She shifted to the last letter. "And this one is from ..Oh!" as her eyes widened a bit with a small smile. "This one's from Viktor." she said simply.
Ron's shot his eyes from the table to her. "Viktor Krum?"
"Of course Viktor Krum. How many Viktors do we know?" she said
"What are you doing talking to him anyways?" Ron asked in an angry tone.
"Listen Ron, I've told you before we're just friends. This letter is probably just about how his days are going. Then i'm going to write about how my days are going. We're really nothing but friends and pen pals, really." she replied in a bored voice. "Now i'll just read these two letters for later on tonight." and with that she quickly put both her letters and her valentine in her school bag.
Ron glared at Hermione for some time. Why was he so upset? He didn't understand his feelings. If Harry suddenly had a girlfriend, he wouldn't mind half as much as he would with Hermione having a boyfriend. Hermione could feel Ron staring at her but chose to ignore him and not make eye contact with him. She began thinking to herself, Why does Ron get all angry whenever the subject of Viktor comes into the conversation? Harry doesn't seem to at all mind. Why can't Ron just smile. I always seem to be cheered up whenever he gives that authentic smile of his. He also has very nice eyes. When he's happy it becomes evident just by looking into his eyes. Not like I stare into his eyes all the time. Just casually glancing once in a while. That's all. She began to feel the blush creeping in her cheeks. I'm being stupid. Of course I can say Ron has nice eyes and a smile. There's nothing wrong with a friend pointing out another friend's good qualities, right? She felt more eased at mind and gave a small, quiet sigh of relief. I'm being silly, there's nothing wrong with thinking about Ron. He's great for company and if i'm sad he's been there to comfort me. That's he's funny and is always there for me. Even though we had a million arguements over the years, none managed to break our friendship. See, it's just a few nice things. It's not like i'm .. thinking about him ... more than just a friend. It's simple and no big deal. I could even add that he's handsome. Realizing what she just thought made her blush. Then she remembered that Ron was probably looking at her and it made her face even hotter.
Ron looked at her. She had beautiful brown eyes. For a while the angry sort of disappeared when he was looking at how pretty she was. As he was scanning her face, he noticed her cheeks were red and blushed. "She's probably thinking about Krum." he thought bitterly and all the angery came back. Checking to see if Ron was staring at her, Hermione looked up to find he was. Their eyes met for a second then they both broke the glance. "Listen, I'll meet you two in the common room after dinner. I'm heading toward the library to do some research." said Hermione in a hasty voice. She stood up, waved at them, and walked off. If she sat there another minute, she would become really red. She couldn't handle it. She couldn't handle the fact that she might've been thinking about Ron. Thinking that he could be more than just a friend.
Hermione sat in the library alone for about fifteen minutes just thinking, when she heard a lot of students walking in the halls. She figured dinner was over and the students were going to their house tower. She decided to get up and go also. While walking through the corridors she heard a couple other footsteps from behind that soon caught up to her.
"Hey, Hermione!" exclaimed Parvati Patil grinning at her.
"Are you going to the dance? Who are you taking? Harry or Ron?" questioned Lavender Brown.
"Great, what i need right now is Parvati and Lavender to brighten up my day." said Hermione grimmly in her head. As grim as she felt towards those two, she covered it up by saying innocently, " I don't know what you two are talking about. Harry and Ron are my best friends. Besides the ball is not until two weeks from now and i think there's still enough time to think about who i will be going to the dance with." Hermione said accompanied a false smile.
"I think you should take Ron. You're always arguing with him and you know what they say, you bicker with those you love!" teased Parvati.
"That's nonsence. I argue with Ron because he's a git." replied Hermione indifferently.
"No point in denying Hermione." said Lavender. Then she sighed as she said, "Seamus asked me to ball. He asked me infront of about seven people which was so brave and romantic of him."
Hermione was trying to grasp the point on how Seamus asking Lavender to a dance infront of seven was at all romantic.
As the reached the tower they said the password and entered into the common room.
"Remeber our little chat today, Hermione, dear. We really think that you should ask Ron because we know you like him!" said Parvati. Then she and Lavender went off into their dormitory.
"Those girls are idiots." Hermione muttered as she walked towards Ron and Harry. Ron was reading a book and Harry was watching Ron read.
"Is it just me or is Ronald Weasley actually reading?" said Hermione is a sarcastic voice. Ron gave a small grin and said, "Nothing special, just a part of a Quidditch Stratigies Book that Harry wanted me to read over."
"So Hermione, who are you going to the dance with?" asked Harry. Hermione wasn't sure if she was seeing things but it looked as if the grin that was on Ron's face slowly disappeared.
"Oh, no one yet." she said blankly then said with a very small smile, "At this rate i don't even know if i'm going."
"Can't expect much. It was only announced this morning, 'Mione." said Ron.
Harry began talking to Hermione as if Ron never spoke. "Well, fancy that! Ron just told me that he's not going. Maybe you two can go together and --" Harry began until Ron shot him a fierce look. "Um, maybe you two can go together and find dates." Harry said with a weary smile. It seemed like Hermione didn't notice what Harry was first suggesting because she just smiled with a puzzled look.
" I suppose that I should start working on my homework." said Hermione. "Oh, wait. I need to get some of my books and supplies in my dormitory. I'll be right back." And with that she left. Once she was out of earshot, Harry asked, "What's up, Ron? What was with that look you gave me earlier?"
"I just don't think Hermione and I should go to the dance together is all." said Ron simply without even looked up at Harry.
"And why is that?" asked Harry.
"Well, first off, i don't think she would even want to go with me because i'll just annoy her. And she would probably want to go with someone more better than me. Maybe someone like Krum. 'Sides, I'm not that smart, i'm not rich, nor am i brave." he said meerly.
"Sure she'll go with you! You two are friends and besides,what all this rubbish about being smart, rich, and brave? Since when did Hermione care about all those things?" Harry asked seriously. "Unless you don't want to go with her because she's not the prettiest girl in school." said Harry sarcastically bringing up the memory of the conversation the two had before the Yule Balll in their 4th year.
"Don't be thick, of course i think she's pretty --" said Ron without realizing what he just said. He sat there and stared at Harry as if trying to remember what he just said. It was quiet for sometime and neither of them spoke. Once Ron realized what just came out of his mouth he began blushing a very deep pink. Harry was also slightly surprised at Ron, but the surprised expression was soon gone and a wide grin took its place.
"Ron! Do you like Hermione?" Harry asked eagerly.
"N-no!" responded Ron a bit too quickly.
"Okay .. whatever you say, mate." replied Harry with a sly smile.
"No, I don't! I really don't!" said Ron. It seemed that he wasn't only trying to persuade Harry that he didn't have feelings for Hermione, but was also trying to persuade himself. "I don't .. I don't.." he repeated to himself quietly, ignoring Harry's teasing grin.
"Ron, c'mon and just admit it. You fancy Hermione. I'm not entirely shocked though, i had a small notion that you might like her. Why do you think i was grinning like mad this morning? Because the jam told a joke?" said Harry smiling the whole time.
"I don't know, maybe i do ... but there's no way I'm going to ask her to the dance. What am i saying? I don't like her! She's one of my best friends!" shot ron.
" Don't be stupid. Of course you do, you just admitted it to me! Besides, this isn't the first case where best friends fall in love." countered Harry.
"No, i don't.. i don't.. i don't." said Ron wearily.
"You don't what?" said a sudden voice from behind them.
"Ah! Hermione!" said Ron in a startled voice and began blushing again. Harry tried hard to keep a straight face. He had to make it seem like they weren't talking about girls or should he say her?
"Ron, what is wrong with you?" asked Hermione seriously as she put down her books and supplies on the table.
"Nothing! You just shocked me a bit walking up from behind us. Don't do that again." said Ron in a would-be casual voice, but his face was still red.
"Oh, sorry.." said Hermione unsurely which switched into a concerned tone. "Ron, are you alright? You look a bit flushed."
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I -- you know what? i actually don't feel that well. I think i need to rest up a bit." said Ron in a nervous voice. "I'll see you two tomarrow."
"Don't be an idiot, of course you're fine." said Harry. "You should stay here and work on your homework. I, on the other hand, am done and can just go right up to bed. I'll see you two tomarrow."
"Hmm, makes me wonder if studying is bad for you health." Hermione said to Ron.
They worked on at a table and Ron was sitting across from Hermione. It was quiet for a long time except for scratching quills, shifts of paper, and the cracking for the fire. Within ten minutes they were the only ones left in the common room. Hermione tried not to think that she was alone with Ron. She pretended that other people were with them in the common room so that it wouldn't feek so awkward. But Ron couldn't help feeling a bit awkward being alone with her and shifted a lot in his seat.
"Well, I think that i'm finished." said Hermione suddenly. She held up her paper and reread it. "Yes, this will do. Oh, that's right i still have those two letters from dinner." she bent down to get the letters from her bag and put them on the table. She picked one and read it silently.
Ron, who had a poorly written essay, pretended to be in deep concentration. He tried to make it look like he didn't care what the letter said. He didn't even know which letter she was reading first, but didn't want to look up. About three minutes passed and Ron was beginning to become irritated. If that was Krum's letter, it must be pretty long. Or she was just reading it over and over again. That very thought made him upset and bent his face even closer to the paper so Hermione wouldn't see. As he pretending to be working, he heard a quiet sniff. He looked up and saw that Hermione was crying. Ron pushed everything aside and asked what was wrong. Hermione tried to hide her face from Ron and tried to wipe the tears away, but more tears just streamed down her face. Although it was so sad to see her cry, she still looked so beautiful. Ron reached out his hands across the table and placed them on top of Hermione's. Without a word, Hermione handed him the letter she read. It was about a paragraph and written in a very neat handwriting. But all over the paper were teardrops and it smeared some of the ink from the letter.
To my Darling Hermione,
How are you doing, dear? I'm positive you're doing just fine and I know you're studying very hard as you always do. I'm so proud of you and so is your father. But i'm afraid that things aren't doing very fine here for your father. A month ago, you're father became sick. It seemed like the usual symntoms of a normal cold and wouldv'e felt better within a few day's rest. But the cold wouldn't go pass, not even after so many weeks of resting and remedies. Then one night, you're father told me he was having a hard time breathing so we went to seek help from the doctors. Turns out that this wasn't an average cold. It's actually serious than that ... a lot more serious than that. You're father has a very deadly virus in his blood .. and it's not looking very good. The doctors say that he might not make it through three months. And if he does, then the doctors give him only a year to live. I know this is terrible, but we both have to be strong. You're father and I love you so much. And like what I said before, we are both so very proud of you. Please write back. I love you.
love always,
Your Mother.
It was no wonder why Hermione was reading it over and over again. It was so hard to grasp. It seemed so unreal. He looked up at Hermione and saw that she had her face in her hands. Ron stood up from the chair, walked over to Hermione, and knelt down beside her chair.
"H-hermione... I'm so sorry." said Ron quietly.
Hermione took her face out of her hands. Her face was stained with tear trails and more tears were forming in her eyes. He hated seeing her like this. It was like seeing her heart breaking right before his eyes.
"Ron, this is so horrible .." she said in a whisper. She was trying hard to control her sobs, but tears were streaming down her face so fast. "My father can't die, Ron .. he just can't. He won't see me when i graduate from Hogwarts, he won't see me find my first job, he won't be able to hug me anymore.." she was shaking for trying to keep her sobs in control. Then her eyes widend as if more bad news came. She looked at Ron with fearful eyes and said, "He won't be there for my wedding ... he won't walk me down the aisle .. he won't be there for the father and daughter dance. He won't see his first grandchild, and my new family.." with that she quickly put her face back into her hands and cried. Ron didn't know what to do, so he stood up and patted her back. Hermione quickly took her face out of her hands and stood up to hug Ron. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder. Ron wasn't expecting that, but he put his hands on her back and rubbed it. He leaned his head to hers.
" 'Mione, shh .. calm down. I know this is scary and horrible... everything will be alright. Everything will be alright." cooed Ron as he gently craddled her.
This really was terrible and she really was scared. But she was glad to have Ron comfort her. She was also glad to be in his arms. She felt so safe and secure. This didn't make her forget about the unfortunate event, but it did ease her mind a bit. She was no longer crying, but had her chin on Ron shoulder while his head was leaning on hers. Ron's craddling became a small sways so it looked like the two were dancing to an unheard music. As happy as she was to be in Ron's arms, she couldn't dismiss the thought of her sick father. Without warning, the emotion flooded in again and she began to cry again. Ron heard her begin to cry and pulled her back so that he can look at her. The flame from the fireplace became smaller and was producing less light around the room. But it was still bright enough to see Hermione's face which looked so pretty. They looked in eachother's eyes for a long time, neither of them daring to look away this time. Ron slowly cupped his hand under her chin and as a tear strolled down her cheek he rubbed it away with his thumb. Hermione began to blush at his touch and Ron began to blush at the sight of her blushing. He liked seeing her blush and he love her beautiful brown eyes. I loved looking deep into them. He could feel himself moving closer to Hermione and couldn't stop. He tried to kiss her, but he missed and kissed her nose. Feeling extremely embarassed, Ron stepped back with a nervous grin. Hermione, on the other hand, was laughing and walked up to Ron. He felt his face his face burn as he watch Hermione walk up to him. She very slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and inched toward Ron. The kiss was simple and quick. When it was over they looked at eachother and smiled and kissed some more. After a few minutes later Ron suggested they should go to sleep, because it was nearly 1:30 in the morning. Although he really wished they wouldn't have to go. Hermione looked as though she didn't want to leave either, but she agreed.
"Good Night." she said sweetly. And tip-toed to kiss Ron's nose. He blushed, stilled embarassed of his earlier lack of aim. Hermione smiled, satisfied of his reaction and kissed him on the lips.
"Good Night." replied Ron and watched her go to her dormitory. Once she disappeared into the staircase, he headed to his own dormitary. He still couldn't get that butterfly feeling in his stomach to go away, but he liked the feeling. Once he entered the dormitory, he got ready for going to sleep, as he shouldv'e hours ago. He was lying in bed, just thinking about what happened over the last few hours, when he heard a tired voice in the bed next to him.
" It's 'bout time ... you kept me up, mate. What happened?" said a tired-sounding Harry.
" I'm too tired. I'll tell you in the morning." answered Ron trying to have an equally tired voice.
"C'mon Ron. You're not going to let your friend out on details when he so loyally stood up late for them." protested Harry.
"G'night, Harry."
"You lousy git." laughed Harry. "G'night, loverboy."