A/N: Hi, I'm just gonna let you read, except for one disclaimer:JKR owns all characters except the ones I have created for fictitious purposes. My best friend Kris owns the "Hit and Run" kiss, as does her sleazy ex-boyfriend. Read on!

Chapter 6: Marriage Talks, Dance Battles, and a Couple Kisses

"Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order."

I spent a couple lazy days just hanging around my house. I played an insane number of board games with my dad, ranging from Monopoly to checkers to Mastermind to Risk. I even broke out an old wizard's chess set Ron had given me ages ago and showed my dad how to play (even though he'd demolished me on his first try).

We'd also watched a ton of DVDs (Dad had amassed a huge collection since I'd moved out). We'd watched everything from Miss Congeniality to Top Gun to The Wizard of Oz. Now, because of my dad's constant insistence, we were watching Star Wars: Episode II. Dad loved the movie, but I just couldn't stand the sci-fi stuff. It was just too….I don't know, out there for me. The part I loved, however, was the plotline between the Senator Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. A man and woman, passionately in love with each other, yet their love was destined for disaster….I sighed as I watched their lips meet….and again….and again….Under the Stars played, and I though of the ballet piece I hadn't started yet. Oops…

The credits began to roll, and my dad shut off the DVD player with the remote. I sighed yet again. Sadly, I was stuck in a daydream of me playing the part of Amidala and Ron as Anakin (very pathetic, I know).

"That Ron boy, he's quite a catch," my dad remarked lightly.

I sat up, startled. Had my dad read my mind?

No, that's not possible, stupid! I told myself.

"Dad, we were watching Star Wars, not discussing Ron Weasley."

"Yes, but…." My dad got a mischievous look on his face. "He's a great helper around here, and, as far as future husbands go, he's okay for you in my book….."

"Dad!" I stared at him. "I'm not getting married yet, I'm not even twenty-two!" Which was really stupid to say, since lots of people (including one of my best friends, in fact) planned on getting married before the age of twenty-two.

"Plus," I added. "I'm going to school in New York, and it's a school that requires dedication and hard work. No time for boyfriends. Finally, Ron and I are just friends. We hadn't seen each other for almost five years until a couple days ago, so we're taking it slow."

"All right, all right, I believe you!" Dad held his hand up in defeat. "I'll just have to save that particular sermon for a more appropriate time." He switched the TV to a soccer match. As I left the room, I thought I heard him mutter, "Taking it slow….", but I wasn't sure.

I walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, hoping to find something good to eat. The phone on the wall rang. I ran to answer it, but I guess my mum was quicker, since she, within fifteen seconds, yelled, "Hermione! For you!"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Who had my phone number (that I was friends with, at least)? I warily picked up the extension in the kitchen and said, "Hello?" I heard my mom's end click off.

"Hermione? You can hear me, right? Say something!"

I smiled as a sweet warmth passed from my fingertips to my toes. "Ron! Hi. Um-hi. Of course I can hear you-I'm glad you got the hang of telephoning; you managed to not scare my mum."

"Yeah, well, Harry gave me a few pointers."

I laughed. "So, what's up?"

"Oh, not too much." Even over the phone, I could detect the mischief in his voice. "Though, I have some good-or bad, depending on how you look at it-news."

"What's this?"

"Ginny found a club-wizarding hip-hop."

I laughed even harder. "You can't be serious."

"I am. Dead serious, I mean."

I paused. "So….what you're saying is you want this dancing lesson tonight, right?"

"Of course. And while you're at it," he added with a note of leisure, "give Harry and Ginny a few tips. Merlin knows they'll need them at the reception."

I rolled my eyes. "Ronald Weasley, is this your idea of asking a girl on a date?"

"If I said yes, would that change the nature of my dancing lesson?"

I looked at my reflection in the black marble countertop. I wore a smug expression as I answered, "Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

I sat at the kitchen table, waiting nervously and watching the clock as the minutes ticked by. 7:57, 7:58….he was coming to pick me up at 8:00.

My parents had been thrilled that I was going out with "that nice Ron Weasley". Oy….

I plucked nervously at one of the straps of my red halter-top. Actually, it was one of my dance costumes from a previous recital, but it would work in a hip-hop club. I'd paired it with some black drawstring capris, and I was good to go (after a pair of huge silver hoops glinted in my ears).

The minute hand finally ticked to twelve. At once, I heard the doorbell chime. I practically ran to answer it, my heart in my throat, although I knew perfectly well who'd be standing there.

"Wow," Ron commented, his blue eyes wide as he examined my clothing. "Do they always dress like this in America?" I slapped at his arm playfully, fully aware of the heat creeping into my cheeks.

"Hey, watch it, I think I'm gonna need that arm!"

I peered around him. "Where are Harry and Ginny? I'm assuming they're going, too?"

"We're meeting them there. C'mon, we don't want to be late for anything!" And without warning, he took my hand and we both Apparated. Within seconds, we were standing at the entrance to a large, smoky building with a huge neon sign over the door reading Acromantula.

"Ron! Hermione!" Ginny screamed as she dragged Harry over to us. "Let's go! I hear we're in for a dancing lesson," she joked, looking at me.

"Right, right, well, we have to get in first, you know," I pointed out.

"Fair point," remarked Harry. He turned and grinned at the bouncer, who looked oddly familiar. "Hey, Thomas, think you could get the four of us in?"

"No problem," Dean replied. I'd hardly recognized him-he had so many gold chains around his neck, I was surprised he hadn't toppled over yet. He shooed us through the door.

I gazed around the club. In many ways, it was so similar to El Cuarto Loco in New York-but, then again, it was so different. For instance, signs labeled "No Sleeping Draughts or Stunning Spells may be used within this club" could be found back in good ol' NYC. Plus, none of the drinks at El Cuarto Loco emitted clouds of purple smoke…

The wizarding factor wasn't the only difference between the two clubs. El Cuarto Loco, with its Latin music mix, had radiated sexiness, seduction, and hip-rolling. In this club, however, the dancers crowded on the dance floor oozed with confidence, attitude, and a simple love for this awesome type of dance.

Harry and Ginny headed off to the bartender (after a stern warning from me). I made to follow them, but Ron held me back by the shoulder.

"C'mon," he coaxed. "Better now than later-besides, it'll probably take me forever to pick this up, anyway."

We squeezed our way onto the crowded dance floor and found a space.

"Okay," I said, "this is your basic step. Step right, cross back with your left foot, then cross forward with your right. Do the same on the other side, only your left foot steps first." I demonstrated, and he followed. To my surprise, he wasn't that bad. We practiced in time to the music for a little bit as I called out the steps: "Right-left-right, left-right-left, right-left-right…."

"Good." I moved in front of him to face him. "Let's try it as if we were really dancing, face-to-face." I counted off, and he did it perfectly.

"See, you've got it!" I yelled. He grinned, obviously in awe of himself. "Now, there's another move that's pretty easy. All you have to do is lean forward and backward in time to the music." I reached up and guided his shoulders as he did so. "Now, when you put it with a partner, you would lean forward when I lean back. Let's try it….five, six, seven, eight! Forward, back, forward, back…." He picked it up almost perfectly (except for the time we bumped heads).

"I got it!" he shouted gleefully. I had to laugh at this not-so-sophisticated behavior in the crème-de-la-crème of nightclubs.

"Great! Now, all you have to do is let the music guide you….keep feeling the beat, and just do what comes naturally to you." I started the step combo, and he immediately followed, mirroring me. We turned in a circle and faced each other to lean for eight counts or so. Then I did something that neither he nor I expected. I turned so my back was facing him. I stepped backwards until I could feel his breath on the back of my neck and his strong chest on my back. His hands found my hips, which swayed in time to the music, and we ground together. A delicious sensation shot up my spine.

Looking back, I don't know what in the world possessed me to do such a forward thing. Blame it on the music, blame it on the atmosphere, blame it on my non-functional mind….I could feel a familiar dancing high coming on. The crowd that had suffocated us before formed a circle around us.

Suddenly, I broke free from Ron's grasp. He receded back into the circle by Harry and Ginny, determined to let me have my moment to shine.

My mind had totally shut down at that point. My body moved freely on its own, carried by the rhythm of the music, pulsating through my bones…..Why hadn't I been able to move like this in class? I knew the answer in an instant: This atmosphere-it was so open to just dancing because you possessed a passion for it-not to be perfect.

Just as I was hitting my stride and the crowd had completely gotten behind me, another girl, about my age, by the looks of her, broke into the circle and danced also, as if to challenge me. She was stealing my spotlight-I wouldn't let her steal my crowd!

When I did a move, she would try to do it double-time. If I did a coffee-grinder, she would try to top it with some sort of freakishly-body-mangling break dancing move. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Who are you?" I asked angrily.

I got a good look at this chick's face.

None other than Parvati Patil.

Her face was red and she was breathing hard, but she was still that pretty girl I'd always envied at Hogwarts.

"I saw you with Ron," she hissed in my face. "You'd better watch your back, bitch!"

I stepped back. "So what if I was with him? You're the one who broke up with him! You don't own him, you know."

"I don't care."

I lay on the ground and prepared to do the Worm. "What do you have to prove, Parvati?"

She lay on the ground, her head next to mine, and her legs in the air in the splits. I heard a crowd of guys whistling nearby. "I have nothing to prove, I just think you should know where little Ronnie's been, if you catch my meaning."

I jumped up. "What are you talking about?"

She laughed and got in my face. We leaned like Ron and I had earlier. "He's not so innocent. He's slept with at least five girls-not counting me, of course. What makes you think that he'll want an uptight prude like you?"

She ducked as I kicked my foot over her head. "Grow up, Parvati. We aren't fifteen anymore."

Suddenly, the music stopped. The DJ got on the mike and yelled, "That was one hell of a dance-off. Now, the question is, who wins? All in favor of the lady in blue, scream!" A fair amount of guys in the crowd yelled, hooted, and catcalled. Parvati threw a superior glance my way.

"And everyone who says the chica in red's the hottest-holla!" Three-fourths of the crowd exploded, to my great surprise.

"Looks like we got ourselves a winner," the DJ laughed. I smiled as Parvati stalked off, defeated. One thing was nagging me, though: Had what she'd said really been true?

After three more hours of dancing, we decided to call it a night. Harry and Ginny disappeared together (God knows where, I thought wearily). Ron decided he had to be a gentleman and drop me off at my house, so we Apparated there together, arriving at the edge of my driveway.

"You know what, I think I figured out that stuff pretty quickly," he commented lightly. "You're a good teacher." He looked into my eyes.

"Well, I had a really great student." I was so glad I hadn't frozen up.

"Dancing with you was….amazing," he replied in a whisper. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

"Of course," I said back. Then I took a (well, I guess another, for that night) chance. I stood on my tiptoes and gently brushed my lips against his.

Let me just say that this wasn't our first "official" kiss. There was an episode during sixth year during a raucous game of Truth or Dare. We were dared to kiss each other on the lips. After an awful lot of whining and pleading from both of us, we obliged-or at least tried to oblige. I turned my head to my right as he turned his head to his left (so our heads were turned the same way). The crowd roared with laughter. I turned my head to my left-then I discovered Ron had also turned his head! Everyone laughed even harder. Eventually, Ron just pecked me on the lips and ran away. For months, it was known in Gryffindor Tower-and eventually, the whole school- as the "Hit and Run" kiss. Embarrassing….but back to the present.

This kiss was sweet and innocent-a question, really. After breaking apart, I glanced at Ron through my eyelashes. I could see the smile in his eyes. He kissed me again. This kiss was rougher, stronger, deeper-it had an urgency, a hunger for more. To my surprise, I didn't back away, but went out to meet him-I was just as hungry as he was.

I had to put a stop to it, though, when I felt his warm hand inching up the back of my top to unhook my bra. "Ron," I said, trying to be firm and final, yet gentle at the same time.

He got the message. "Okay." He didn't look angry or upset. "Goodnight, 'Mione."

"Night, Ron." I walked to my door, thinking: If what Parvati had said was true, then why did I feel that those kisses were so honest and true?

A/N: Didja like it? Press the pretty blue button and tell me so! Please!

Shoutouts and brownie points to:

KateM: Did you like the dancing? Haha...I wish I had more reviews too, but I'd rather have 5 or 6 detailed, intelligent reviews (which is what I'm getting, on average) than 25 generic reviews.

ladyla: Well, George has Alicia (they're engaged), and Ellie...well, Ellie has problems... : ( I'm glad you like the story though!

Kagome: Yeah, Hagrid was one of my first thoughts too...since CoS has a lot of info about him. Oh-I love carbs too!!!! I practically live off pasta....Okay, getting off topic....

orli-enthusiast: Of course I forgive you! I actually tried to raise one eyebrow, just cuz you mentioned it, and I can...if I really concentrate....haha....anyway, hopefully I've updated in time for you to read this! Have fun in MA!

Ilikechicken: Yeah! Ron is hot! Haha...seriously, if I was to have a crush on any character in HP, it would probably be Ron...I mean, he's just so funny.....

NOW REVIEW!!!!