She was wearing an elegant dress, made of silk and ribbon. It was black with purple roses. The slight blush and a touch of lip-gloss made her glow. She looked at her face in the mirror.

Outside she was smiling, but inside she was a nervous wreck. It was almost time for the graduation ball and the thought of going down to the Great Hall right now made her feel sick. She had been asked to go with one friend, but had turned him down for the other. Had she made the right decision? Had she hurt Harry when she turned him down for Ron? Too many questions, it was time to go to the Great Hall and very reluctantly, Hermione met up with Ginny and they started the walk there together.

"Who are you going with, Gin?" Hermione asked.

"Neville, you?"

"You don't know the answer to that already?"
"Ron?"

"Of course."

"So why do you look so upset? What's up?"

"Well, someone else asked me and I'm not sure how he took it. I didn't want to hurt him, but I had to say no."

"And who would this be?"

Hermione mumbled something that sounded more like, "Hurfgy" than what she actually said, "Harry."

"Harry? Well, its alright, I heard Lavendar asked him yesterday and he accepted, so I think he'll be fine."

"I guess so, anyway, we're here." They walked into the hustle and bustle of the Great Hall and got lost in the swarm of students. Eventually, they found the Gryffindor table and saw Harry in deep conversation with Lavendar and Ron looking around.

"See, I told you," smiled Ginny and she walked over to Neville, who was also sitting nearby.

There he is, Hermione. He's all yours, Harry isn't with you now. He can't get in your way of telling him you love him or from holding his hand, or letting him know exactly how you feel. Half of her was saying that and the other half argued back, There he is, Hermione. Don't screw up again. Don't try to think of something to argue about every time you try to tell him. You know it only pushes him away. Oh what am I saying, just because you'll be alone with him, doesn't mean you won't be the same idiot you are all the time. She forced herself to stop thinking about that and just walk over to him.

"Hey," Ron said, "Erm, you look really beautiful tonight."

Don't blow it Hermione, don't screw up. "Thanks," She swallowed hard and felt her face going red, "And you look nice tonight." Then she added shy and quietly, "You always do."

How was that? she asked herself.

"Care to.. Uh...show me how to dance?" Ron asked.

She took his hand and they went out to the dance floor. Well, for his first time dancing, he isn't half bad. I just wish I knew if he asked me to dance as friends or if he wanted to tell me something, too.

"Ron?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing."

He spun her around and then she put her hands on his shoulders again, "You sure?"

"Not completely, but I guess It'll wait till later. I don't know what you'd say," she answered.

He looked a bit confused, but smiled as if he thought he knew something. He's so sweet and all the signs all those times he cared, the time at the Yule Ball, he had his eyes glued to me. The way he looked when he found out Vicktor and me were writing to each other, the perfume he bought me. He'll say yes. Not now though. Later, outside, alone, or in the Common Room, away from prying eyes. She turned to find Harry and Lavendar beside them and on the other side, Neville and Ginny were also dancing.

"Did anyone else ask you to the ball?" Hermione asked Ron quickly.

"No, since the Yule Ball, I don't think anyone wanted to go with me," he explained with some sarcasm, "I ignored Padma and didn't dance with her. I was a horrible date."

"Well, you aren't now."

"Well, I hadn't wanted to go with Padma before, I, Erm, had someone else in mind."

She looked down quickly as she felt her cheeks burn red once more. I'm blushing like him. All of these long years, I think he rubbed off on me. Inside she laughed and then she looked up to see that Ron's ear had gone red. They danced for a while more and then got some food from the table.

"I really love balls and feasts here, great food, I'm going to miss it," he put on a fake frown that made Hermione laugh.

"Me, too," she said, "I'll miss you and Harry, too."

"What makes you think that we won't ever see each other again?"

"Won't we be doing separate things, going our separate ways?"

"We're all going to school to become Aurors and we are all in the Order now," Ron said, "We'll probably see each other so much, we'll be sick of each other."

"I doubt I'll ever get sick of seeing you," she said, but then quickly added, "and Harry."

Just then, Harry and Lavendar say down beside them. Hermione got a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"How is everything?" Harry asked, "Having fun?"

"Loads, the food's better than ever!" Ron helped himself to another cream pastry.

"I agree."

Maybe Ginny was right. He's probably really happy that I'm here with Ron and he doesn't seem upset that he's here with Lavendar; they've been talking and laughing since I saw them when I first walked in. Everything is fine, just act normal. There was an awkward silence and nobody knew what to say, if anything. Lavendar doesn't know me or Ron, Harry's probably thinking about how I turned him down, and now he knows that I turned him down for his best friend, Ron's busy eating, and I'm thinking about everything at once. This is so confusing.

"Right, then," said Harry, "Hope the rest of your night is fun. Come on Lavendar, want to go get some Butterbeer?"

Hermione watched as they got further and further away and eventually blended in with the rest of the crowd. Hermione bit her lip, but then turned to Ron.

"What's up?" he asked, seeming to sense that something was troubling her.

"Oh, nothing important. Want to go for a walk?" she said.

"Sure."

They walked outside and slowed their pace a little so that they could talk. Ron still wasn't completely sure that Hermione wasn't worried about something. When she acted weird like that, something had to be wrong and he intended to find out.

"Now will you tell me what's the matter?" he asked.

Why does he have to worry about me so much? Wait, that's a good thing, but not right now. He doesn't know that I turned down Harry for him and he doesn't need to know.

"Nothing, just something stupid."

"About me?"

"No."

"About Harry? You didn't even look at him when he came over towards us."

She paused and decided that she might as well tell him, "Ye-No."

"Please tell me. He didn't do anything to you, did he? Everything's okay?"

"No, it isn't like that. I did something, regarding Harry, that I had to do, but didn't want to do it because of how he would feel."

"Uhh.." He looked lost, "But you're sure your alright? You're positive?"

"For now I guess."

For the first time in the seven years that they knew each other, he did something he had never done before. He put his arms around her and hugged her as they sat down underneath the motionless Whomping Willow.

"Thanks," Hermione said as she hugged him back.

They sat there underneath the huge tree and stared at the starry sky. Everything was pitch black, except for the full, round moon and the stars that glittered the sky. Across the grounds, the moon and stars' reflections glimmered in the smooth water. It was beautiful. A few owls "hooted" and faint music could still be heard where they were from the Great Hall.

"Can I have this dance?" asked Ron as a new slow song started up.

Hermione took his hand and they danced there, under the sky and the leaves of the Whomping Willow. It feels a bit awkward, but I like it. Never, in a million years, did I ever picture myself on Hogwarts Grounds, alone, with Ron Weasley, slow dancing. This is one of the best nights of my life. She rested her head on his shoulder as they rocked back and forth to the music.

"You're a better dancer than Vicktor," she chuckled.

"I'm glad to here that," said Ron, "By the way, you're the best dancer I ever danced with."

"Aren't I the only girl you ever danced with?"

"Well, I was waiting all that time to dance with someone special."

Hermione titled her head up and kissed him on the cheek. This is the best night of my life.