Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I think I would be able to come up with something wittier to write here.
A/N: Okay, first off, this story is most certainly not over. No where near it actually…that last chapter wouldn't be a very good way to end a story, now would it? Anyhow, I'm in Palm Desert, California on vacation, so that's why this chapter took so long. Sorry about that. Well, thanks for reviewing and be sure to do so again! Enjoy!
In More than Twenty Countries
Ron was pacing in the corridor outside of the Charms classroom. It was his off period and, though he should be studying in the library with Harry and Hermione, he decided that he couldn't wait for what he needed to do. He stopped pacing and stood in the shadowy doorway of the room next to Charms. Nervously, he ran his hand through his flaming red hair. "I can't believe I'm doing this…you better not mess this up, Weasley."
Finally, the bell rang and Professor Flitwick let out his fifth-year class. Ron scanned the line of Ravenclaws until he found who he was looking for. "Don't be a prat. Just be cool…cool. Okay, here goes," he whispered to himself before making his move.
Swiftly, he caught Allison Morell by the arm and pulled her into the empty classroom. "Whoa baby!" she cried as he shut the door behind them. To anyone else, this may have seemed to be an incredibly shady act, but it really only looked like that because Ron was too nervous to be smooth about things.
Allison was, needless to say, completely caught off guard and didn't know what to think. Out of habit, she whipped out her wand and looked around for the danger. After realizing her kidnapper was, in fact, Ron Weasley, she lowered it skeptically. Allison's countenance shifted from surprise to confusion. "…the hell?"
"Sorry," Ron muttered. "Look, I know that Hermione probably told you to stay away from me and everything, or maybe she didn't? I don't know, but considering the fact that she caught us kissing, which was bad…well not bad in the sense that it was a bad kiss or anything, because I mean it wasn't. It was just bad in the sense that my girlfriend caught me kissing another girl. That's not the point."
"Let's hope not," Allison said, feeling utterly confused. "Why does he keep talking about how Hermione caught us and how she wants me to stay away from him?" she thought to herself.
Finally, Ron continued. "The point is that I really like you Allison. I mean, you're smart, funny, and you like the Cannons! What more could a guy like me ask for? And, yes, I know for awhile that I still wanted to get Hermione back, but I've only just realized that it was you who I've liked this whole time," he paused here, trying to read some emotion from Allison. Ron thought she was blushing just a bit, but couldn't really tell in the dim lighting.
He took a deep breath then went on. "So now I'm hoping that you'll forget the fact that it took me so long to figure out how I really felt and forget that I'm just a bumbling idiot in general. That being said, Allison, will you go out with me?"
Ron had been averting his eyes this whole time, but now he finally took a glance at her. All he could see, however, was the top of her head, owing to the fact that she was looking down. "Oh, Merlin," Ron thought to himself. "She isn't saying anything! Great, now you look like a complete dolt."
"Right," he said out loud in a slightly strained voice. "So, you obviously don't feel the same way about me so I'll just be going now!" He started to make his way to the door, blushing furiously no less, when Allison caught his arm. Ron turned around slowly and caught her green eyes with his blue ones.
"No," she voiced timidly. "I do like you, quite a bit actually. And I would like nothing more than to go out with you." During this exchange, the two teens had been unconsciously moving closer to each other. Allison closed her eyes expectantly as she and Ron finally kissed.
"Brilliant," he whispered as she giggled. With this, both of them walked out of the classroom, hand in hand.
12.12.12
The Christmas Masquerade was in four days, so, naturally, everyone was going at double speed. The teachers were all trying to cram in as much homework as they could before the break started and the students were struggling to concentrate, especially the girls, who were discussing the dance nonstop. The only person who seemed able to remain calm was Albus Dumbledore, who decided to let the day of the ball be a free day, much to the students' delight and the professors' chagrin.
The news of Allison and Ron officially becoming a couple spread through the Hogwarts halls like wildfire. No less than fifteen people asked Hermione if she was alright, and every time she answered with "Of course. I'm happy for them!" However, the comments were pushing her nerves. At some point in the day, she wondered if she should post a sign on her robes that said, "I am no longer dating Ron Weasley, and I am perfectly okay with that." Alas, she decided this might be a tad too much.
Hermione actually thought very little about Ron and Allison getting together, but more of her situation with Draco. Now that they both knew they liked each other, she wondered what was going to happen next. Even more problematic, she didn't even know if she wanted something to happen next. Her biggest fear was how Harry and Ron would react to her and Draco being something of an item. They were some of the most important people in her life, and there was no way she was going to some guy jeopardize that. After much pondering on her part, she finally decided to just talk to them about it, without revealing anything incriminating, of course. Hermione found her chance to do this the night after the last day of lessons.
"Can I talk to you guys for a few minutes?" she asked once everyone else had cleared from the common room. The trio had been sitting in a comfortable silence until now—Hermione was curled up with a book while Ron and Harry played a game of Wizard's chess. At her query, both boys looked up.
"Of course, Hermione," Harry said as he pulled his attention away from the game. Ron was a little more reluctant to do so, but followed suit nonetheless. "What's on your mind?"
"Well," Hermione started while wringing her hands. Harry took note of this action and correctly surmised that she was nervous. "I was just wondering…well I like this guy…"
At these words, Ron snapped to attention. "Who is it?" he asked, already feeling overprotective of his best friend.
"Don't worry, Ron, it's no one that will hurt me in any way," Hermione assured him with a smile. "But he's also not the most…popular guy either." She was choosing her words carefully, not wanting to give away Draco's identity. "What I'm really trying to say, I guess, is if you guys would mind or get upset over anyone that I may choose to get into a relationship with."
Harry and Ron seemed to be considering this for a few moments. Finally, Harry spoke. "Of course that would never bother or upset us. We just want the best for you, and if this guy really makes you happy, then I say go for it." Then to Ron he added, "Right?"
"Right," Ron quickly concurred. "As long as you're happy."
Hermione smiled at both of them. "So you wouldn't do anything…drastic if I went out with someone who wasn't particularly your best friend?"
"Hermione, what do you take us for?" Harry retorted in mock hurt.
"It's not as if it's Draco Malfoy, or anything," Ron added jokingly.
Hermione's throat suddenly went dry with worry, but she forced out a fake laugh anyway. Harry wasn't joining in because he could read Hermione's emotions, even if she wasn't openly displaying them. She was worried now, and it made Harry wonder about who it was exactly that she liked. However, he stuck to the fact that he would accept whoever it was as long as Hermione was happy. Besides, if this guy ever did hurt her, he knew that he and Ron would then have every right to kick their ass.
"Well, I think I'm just going to head up to bed, big day tomorrow and everything. Goodnight you two," the brunette said before gathering her books. She barely waited for the returned goodnights before she headed up the girls' staircase.
Once she got up to her dormitory, she changed into her nightclothes and sat on her four poster bed. "Well that solves it," she thought to herself as she stared at the moonlight that was spilling across the floor. "I can never go out with Draco Malfoy…I'm not sure if I would even want to in the first place." Even as she thought these words, the prefect knew that she was lying to herself, but being the person that she is, she refused these emotions. Eventually, Hermione fell into an uneasy sleep as she wondered what the next day would hold for her.
12.12.12
The day of the Christmas Masquerade dawned bright and with the promise of a great day, even for Hermione. The students woke up to a fresh layer of snow on the Hogwarts' grounds. The sun was shining, reflecting off of the thousands of snow crystals, giving the whole place an otherworldly quality. As the various students looked out at it, most of the guys were already planning an awesome snowball fight while the girls were worrying about the upcoming night, even though it was not for another twelve hours.
Hermione, of course, was woken up by a revved-up redhead who goes by the name of Ginny Weasley in more than twenty countries. Ginny ripped open the curtains of the prefect's bed, letting the morning sun spill in, and then immediately jumped on the bed.
"Wake up!" she cried as she bounced a bit. "It's TODAY! And time for us to start getting ready!"
"Get off of my bed," the older girl said crossly. "Or I might have to hex you and refuse to go to the ball altogether."
"Fine," Ginny replied as she got off the bed. "But I'm going to be downstairs waiting…breakfast is almost over." With this, the youngest Weasley exited the room, humming softly to herself.
Grumbling, Hermione pulled herself out of bed and got into the shower. She let the hot water wake her up a bit and then got dressed. When she got back out of the lavatory, she was surprised to find a package waiting for her on her bedside table. "Where did this come from?" she asked Lavender as she picked it up.
"I don't know," the latter replied. "One of the school owls brought it in—it almost didn't let me take it since I'm not you, obviously. I didn't open it either, so don't worry."
Curious, Hermione sat on her bed and carefully opened the package. Inside was a long thin box, the kind that jewelry comes in. She opened this up and gasped at the necklace she saw. A pendant of a silver crescent moon with tiny light blue gems imbedded into it hung from a silver chain. But what struck Hermione the most was the small fairy with wings set in green gems that sat on the tip of the moon. The brunette decided then and there that it was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen.
Under the necklace was a note. Hermione picked this up and read:
Consider this an early Christmas present. I couldn't wait to give this to you, and I wanted you to have it for tonight. I hope you like it.
The note was left unsigned, and she didn't recognize the handwriting. "Who would get me something so expensive?" she wondered vaguely. However, she really didn't give it too much more thought, owing to the fact that she was simply too excited to care. She reread the note again as a slow smile spread across her face.
"Well, somebody likes you!" Lavender exclaimed as she looked at the necklace over Hermione's shoulder. "Wear it tonight!"
The prefect laughed and said, "I think I will." With this, the girl put the necklace back in its box and headed downstairs to tell Ginny about it and to get some breakfast. The two girls talked about who would have sent her something like that as they made their way to the Great Hall. Somehow, Hermione thought she already knew who this mystery person was. The rest of the day was certainly looking up.
The excitement that radiated from the Great Hall was practically palpable. Everyone was talking animatedly about the ball that night. All of the girls were exchanging costume descriptions and hair and make up suggestions. The guys were mostly talking about how they were going to wear their dress robes and then make something up from there. "Typical," Hermione whispered as she crossed a group of Hufflepuff boys.
Finally Hermione and Ginny found a spot towards the end of the Gryffindor table. Ginny dug right in, but Hermione didn't have much of an appetite. She was having mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement. On one hand, she was excited about the necklace she received, but on the other hand, she was worried about going to this ball alone. What would people think? Now she was regretting turning down all of those guys.
"Eat, Papa. Eat!" Ginny exclaimed from beside Hermione, breaking her out of her reverie. The brunette turned to her and started to crack up.
"You have to be the strangest person I know," she said. "And okay, I will eat." Hermione let Ginny heap her plate with bacon, eggs and sausage. Soon, the prefect forgot all about her emotions and let herself fall into the conversation.
12.12.12
"Already?!" Hermione exclaimed incredulously. She and the rest of the girls were sitting in the fifth year dormitory after breakfast. Hermione had kept quiet until now, but what Ginny was saying was simply insane.
"Yes," Ginny replied in a much calmer voice. "If you want to look good for tonight, then we have to start getting ready now. Everyone knows that. Ask Lavender."
Lavender, upon hearing her name, dug her way out of a mountain of cosmetic products and waved away the cloud of hairspray that seemed to permanently follow her around. "Ask me what?"
"Hermione seems to think that it's entirely too early to start getting ready," Ginny stated.
"Certainly not! Four hours ahead is the perfect time to start getting together," Lavender started. "I mean, what if your hair doesn't turn out right and you have to start over. Or maybe your make up could go horribly, horribly wrong. You have to leave time for accidental work!"
"If you don't, you could die," Ginny added dramatically, one hand over her heart.
"Honestly!" Hermione cried as she threw her hands up in the air. "We are witches. It's not as if you can't just use a spell to fix it! You people are insufferable."
Sadly, no matter how hard she tried, Hermione was subjected to hairspray, eyeliner and blush for the better part of the day. Ginny insisted (for an hour, no less) on doing Hermione's hair in extravagant means, even though the brunette didn't want anything too fancy.
"No, Ginny," she said at one point. "I do not want to have my hair piled on my head with butterflies magicked to float about."
"But that would be so nifty!" Ginny protested.
Obviously, the prefect would have to bring out the heavy artillery. Yes, this meant she was going to use Reverse Psychology. "Maybe," Hermione said in mock sincerity, choosing her words carefully. "But it has nothing to do with my costume."
Now Ginny could not argue with this. Conflicting costumes were "social suicide" as she put it. "You're right," she finally admitted. "Why don't you just do it yourself, since you know exactly what your costume is."
Of course, this is exactly what Hermione thought would happen. "Okay, Ginny, if you are sure."
"Indeed, I am! You can't argue with a styling genius such as myself."
Hermione tried her hardest not to snort out loud. "No, you can't."
So, the brunette went about with arranging her hair in the way she wanted. She settled with letting it down and leaving it curly. She pulled the front pieces away from her face and tied them back with a diamond and sapphire barrette that her grandmother had given her on her twelfth birthday. "There," she said when she was finished. "That's much better."
Somehow, Ginny forgot about doing Hermione's make up too, owing to the fact that she was much too concerned with her own. She and Lavender became quick friends as the bonded over lipstick—they found they both wore the same shade! This was a huge relief for Hermione, naturally.
As she sat in the mirror studying her reflection, Hermione thought back to her Nana. She decided to do her make up the way that they would back when they put on their shows. This was also a reason why she chose the costume that she did. This year, everything revolved around the unforgettable woman's memory.
For the next hour and a half, Hermione worked meticulously to get her make up just right. She wanted a dramatic look, but nothing over the top. After this, she walked over to her closet and slid on the dress she had bought at Mon Cher. Finally, she slipped on the necklace she received that morning and looked at herself in the full length mirror.
"Wow," she breathed. The person she saw in the glass was barely recognizable, even to her. Hermione's dress fit her perfectly—hugging her curves until the waist where it fell to the floor in a full skirt. It was crushed velvet, midnight blue and done in the medieval style, complete with a corset. The dress had a square neck that fell off the shoulders and sleeves that fitted until the elbows, when they flared down and revealed a silver underlay which came to a point on the back of her hand. The corset, which was Hermione's favorite part, was done in the same color, but with silver leaves embroidered around the edges.
Hermione was the most proud of her make up. She used bluish-silver eyeliner to trace around her eyes. On an impulse, she fanned out the color from the corners of eyes and into her hairline, giving her an otherworldly look. The brunette used black mascara to add a more dramatic effect. She used a simple gloss on her lips and then used a shimmer dust over the rest of her face, neck and chest.
As she stared at her reflection, Hermione took note of the all too familiar excitement of being in costume. This was one of the things she had missed—being able to turn into someone else, even if it was only for a night. "Well, I guess it's time to meet Ginny downstairs," she muttered as she walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs.
12.12.12
"Oh, my GOD!" Ginny squealed as Hermione came down the stairs. "I can't believe that it's you! You look so great!"
Hermione smiled and looked back at the redhead. "You look pretty great yourself."
Ginny had put her hair up in a mass of curls on top of her head. She added sprigs of pine leaves, baby's breath and white lilies to it so it would go along with her costume. Surprisingly, she used very little make up and only had blush and mascara on. With her dress, she looked exactly like the embodiment of Mother Nature, which is what Ginny was going for.
Harry joined them a minute later in his regular green dress robes. He didn't seem to be in costume, but like most of the guys, he just made something up that went along with his date.
"Let me guess," Hermione said when she saw him. "Father Time?"
Harry looked down at his robes and then back at her. "However did you know?" he replied sarcastically. "Well, Ginny and I are supposed to be meeting Ron and Allison in the Great Hall. Are you going to come with us?"
"No," Hermione voiced. "I'm just going to finish up a few more things before I come down."
"Okay then. See you in a bit." With that, the two Gryffindors walked out of the portrait hole and out of view.
"Well, then," Hermione whispered to herself, thinking she was alone. "I will have fun tonight, even if I am all by myself." Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind her.
"That's no way to talk!" Hermione turned around and saw Lavender. She was all dressed up in her light blue and green dress, which matched her costume of the ocean. "Remember what I told you about being independent?"
"Yeah, yeah…" Hermione thought, but didn't say aloud. Instead she replied, "I know, Lavender. I promise not to speak negatively about myself anymore."
"Great!" The girl responded. "Anywho, I found this outside and it's addressed to you." Suddenly, Hermione noticed that Lavender was holding a piece of parchment and a single long-stemmed red rose.
"Oh," Hermione voiced, obviously shocked. "Um, thanks…" She silently took the parchment and rose and looked at it. She opened up the note first and read:
Go outside and follow the roses.
As before, the note was left unsigned and Hermione was beginning to believe she had something of a secret admirer. Suddenly, she felt a rush of excitement. She looked down at the rose and saw parchment attached to it. "You are…" she read aloud.
Hermione made her way out of the portrait hole and looked around. She saw an identical rose on one of the statues. She picked it up with a smile and read, "Insufferable."
"Who would say that?" Hermione said out loud as her smile faded. She spotted another hint of red at the top of a staircase. "Bossy."
Although she was feeling very hurt by this little excursion, she went on to find the next three roses. They said "Illogical," "Controlling" and "A know-it-all."
"What is going on?" Hermione exclaimed after she found this last one. She was now halfway to the Great Hall and was feeling very crestfallen. She was just about to give up and go back to the common room when she saw yet another rose on a torch bracket. Hermione wasn't going to even bother, but at the came time she was extremely curious. She walked cautiously over to it and lifted up the rose. She read:
Beautiful.
Now, to say the least, the brunette was utterly confused. "Okay, so first I'm insufferable, and now I'm beautiful? What the hell?!" Curiosity was most certainly taking over now. She quickly found the next three roses, which said "Incredible," "Lovable" and "Extraordinary."
By now, Hermione had collected ten roses and her smile had returned. "Who would go through all of this trouble?" she asked herself and at the same time searching for the next rose. She found it at the top banister of the staircase leading down to the Great Hall. Hermione picked it up and read:
Inspiring.
Hermione was feeling very special indeed. Not only did something think so highly of her to go through all of this trouble, but also just knowing that someone had picked her. She had a pretty good idea of who this person may be, but she didn't risk saying it out loud, owing to the fact that she didn't want to jinx it. Hermione closed her eyes in order to collect her thoughts before looking for what she knew would be waiting for her.
"This is the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me," she whispered to herself. "You know who you would like this "secret admirer" to be, but sometimes life doesn't turn out like that, so you can't get your hopes up." As she was thinking this, her smile faded just a bit. "When did this all happen?" she mused. "I mean, when did I become such a hopeless romantic? This year has been nothing but surprises from day one, but I think that it has been good for me…I know how to be myself now. Okay, I guess it's time to face the music."
The prefect slowly opened her chocolate brown eyes and looked down the staircase. A smile crawled across her face as she took in the sight. At the bottom of the staircase she found the solitary figure she was hoping for, holding the twelfth, and final, rose.
