A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other characters!!! This is a transitional chapter, so it's kind of short. The way I see it now, there should be like 3 more chapters after this one.
The victory party raged on for the majority of the night. After the incident in the locker rooms, Hermione and Ron avoided each other like the plague. Frequently, while staring at him from across the room, Hermione would catch Ron looking at her. Both were confused; who should say what? Were they a couple? It was easier to just avoid the entire situation. However, Hermione could not stop thinking about how it felt to kiss him. His lips were so soft and warm, and when he had put his arms around her… she sighed out loud. "Are you okay, Hermione?" Ginny whispered to her, holding a butterbeer. Harry was talking to Ron and Seamus, leaving Ginny to question Hermione. "Oh, I'm fine," Hermione said, avoiding Ginny's eyes. "How did it go in the locker room?" Ginny said suggestively, winking. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Hermione said, looking up at the clock. It was well past midnight. "Time for bed, everyone! Clean up your mess and then get to bed in fifteen minutes!" she said to the whole room. Many groaned loudly as they picked up butterbeer bottles and threw them in the trash. Eventually, everyone made their way up to the dormitories, still going over the best moments of the game.
Hermione lay in bed, her eyes wide as she stared up to the ceiling. Ron had kissed her. He had kissed her and she liked it, and now she didn't know what to do or how to act. She tossed and turned half of the night, sometimes getting up to look out the window. Around 2 am, she looked out, seeing the light on in what she thought was Ron's room. She could see him pacing his room, rubbing his eyes. He was only wearing pajama pants and his hair was all over the place. Hermione's heart raced. 'Stop this!' she said to herself, getting back into bed.
Neither Ron nor Hermione handled the next few days very well. She spent the majority of her time in the library, catching up on her NEWTs studying or looking up new charms spells for the pageant. She still hadn't found the perfect charm, and it was bothering her immensely. Ginny spent time with her while she was looking for the charm, but Ginny never asked about Ron or what happened the night of the last Quidditch match. A week had passed before Hermione even knew it. There were only two full weeks before the pageant, and she had four exams: Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. She knew that Ron and Harry also had those four exams, so she decided that it would be best if she continued to stay away from Ron. 'It's not like he'll study, but I don't need to be distracting him more.'
Ron, on the other hand, was thoroughly confused. He didn't know why Hermione was avoiding him; she acted like she liked the kiss, after all. He knew that she spent most of her time in the library, but he didn't think that talking to her there would be a good idea. In fact, Ginny said it would be best if he just left her alone for a little while. Girls were so confusing. Why didn't they teach a class at Hogwarts about understanding girls?
As pageant week approached, Ron grew tired of avoiding Hermione. He finally got the nerve to sit next to her at breakfast on the Friday morning before pageant week. "Morning, Hermione," he said softly, sliding into the seat next to her. She looked up at him, a little surprised at first, but then smiled, passing him the bacon. 'So maybe Ginny was right… he actually fancies me,' Hermione thought, her stomach doing a little flip-flop. 'Oh, he smells sooooo good,' she thought, attempting to inconspicuously inch her way closer to him. "Good bacon this morning," Ron said to Harry, who looked at him somewhat strangely. "Haven't had bacon this good since the morning of the last Quidditch match," Ron continued, smiling a little and looking at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. Hermione's eyes were wide, but she concentrated on her bran muffin. Before she knew it, Ron was bumping his leg against hers. She looked at him questioningly and he said, "Sorry, didn't know that was your leg." "S'okay," Hermione mumbled. But it wasn't ten seconds later before he was doing it again. "Ron, quit!" she whispered, trying not to laugh. "Quit what?" he whispered back, acting innocent. A couple seconds later, he was at it again. "Ronald Weasley!" she said, somewhat angrily. "Hermione Jane Granger!" Ron said, mocking her. She tried to remain angry, but it just wasn't possible. Everyone stared at her as she burst into laughter, causing Ron to laugh too. "What's going on?" Harry whispered to Ginny. "Something that should have happened a couple weeks ago," she replied, joining their laughter.
To be continued…