Chapter 6

The day was beautiful. The sun was shining lightly through the clouds, and a soft breeze was blowing through the leaves of the Whomping Willow. It was quiet at the castle. This weekend was a Hogsmeade one, and almost all of the older students had gone. The younger students were outside, enjoying the day.

Dean was spread out on his bed, with Ginny quietly sitting on the edge. She was fiddling with the edge of her skirt, trying to tear a loose thread.

Dean crossed his arms behind his head and watched Ginny. Her face was wrinkled in frustration as she pulled at the short thread.

Dean rolled his eyes. "My gosh, Ginny, it's a piece of string." He sat up and moved toward Ginny. He grabbed a handful of her skirt with one hand and ripped the thread off with the other.

"There. You happy?" He dropped the thread on the floor and sat back again. Ginny shifted uncomfortably on the bed, looking at the ground.

Dean sighed. He was getting extremely bored. He had been trying to keep his temper and be nicer to Ginny, but he still couldn't hold back a few kicks or slaps.

He started to shake his foot, causing the bed to move slightly. He blew his hair out of his eyes. It was quiet, which it always when he was around Ginny, but since they were in the privacy of his dormitory, there were no factors to break the silence.

Dean threw back his head. "Take off your skirt," he muttered. Ginny's heart started to pound. She shook her head.

"I said, take it off." He moved up a little, trying to scare her. But still, Ginny shook her head. She wasn't going to let Dean do what he did at the start of the year again.

"GINNY!" He tried to grab at her skirt, but she turned away and stood up, making Dean grab his bed sheet instead.

"Dean, I'm not taking it off." Her voice shook, but she tried to hold her head up and look confident.

Dean smiled. He sat back again, and Ginny relaxed. It worked, she thought. She started to sit back on the edge, when Dean suddenly grabbed at her leg and pulled her down.

"Dean!" Ginny struggled to fight Dean's arm off her leg. Dean bit his lip, trying to keep a hold of her foot.

Ginny's heart started to pound again. Gathering a bit of her strength, she twisted her leg and tore out of Dean's grip.

Dean frowned and reached for her again, but Ginny, trying to gain some time, kicked him between his legs as hard as she could.

"GIN!" He doubled over in pain, giving Ginny time to stand up and pull out her wand. Breathing deeply, she thrust out her arm and pointed the end of the wand at Dean's chin. Dean looked down at it, trying to smile slightly.

"Gin." He spoke between breaths. "Why don't...why don't we just...forget about this." He tried to get up, but Ginny, who was filled with courage, pressed her wand at his chin.

Dean sat back down. Panting, he said, "Ginny. Put that away."

"No." She spoke firmly and strongly.

Dean looked down at the wand again. "Please. Put it away. I don't deserve this."

Ginny stared at him in disbelief. "What did you do to deserve this?" She pressed her lips together. "I'll tell you what you did. You hit me, and punched me, and kicked me, and forced me to do everything you wanted me to do! You forced me to kiss you and forced me to pretend I was your girlfriend. I had to lie millions of times to cover up for you!" Breathing heavily, she said loudly, "Dean! You raped me!"

Dean didn't realize how serious Ginny was. He started to worry. "Listen, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I really am. I won't do any of those things anymore, I promise, Gin, just please put the wand away.

Ginny furrowed her brow and shook her head at him. "Dean, I don't just want you to stop. I want you to stay away from me. I don't want to be with you anymore. I don't want to have anything to do with you."

"Alright! Alright, fine!" He sat back against the bed. "I promise!"

Gin glared at him. She kept the wand at his chin for a few seconds more, then moved it. Slowly, she turned away, listening to him. When he didn't move, she started to walk away. She had almost reached the door, when she heard Dean behind her.

Spinning around, she saw Dean lunge at her. Ginny started to breathe deeper. She gathered all the anger Dean had caused her. He could see the rage in her eyes, and stepped back. Ginny yelled out whatever spell had come to her mind.

"RELASHIO!" She screamed it out, letting go of all the rage and forcing it into her spell. A blinding light shot out from her wand, and wild sparks hit him square in the middle of his eyes. Dean froze for a moment, and then fell back forcefully. He banged his head against the end of the bed and was knocked out, but he started to bleed, and the blood ran slowly down his nose.

Ginny stood back. Her eyes were wide and her wand was still held out in front of her. She was panting heavily, staring at the blood falling from Dean's head. She looked at her wand, at her hands, and looked back up at Dean. She hadn't meant to hurt him this seriously.

He was still alive, but Ginny still couldn't believe she did what she did. She stared at Dean and started to back away from him. Turning the handle on the door, she ran out, tears filling her eyes.

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Ron stuffed another piece of chicken into his mouth. It was dinnertime, and Ron was starving.

Hermione watched in disgust as he grabbed his goblet and took a drink. As soon as he set the goblet back down on the table, he picked up his plate and scooped corn into his mouth with his fork.

"Ronald, can you pause even to take a breath?!" Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron had come in for dinner late. He had stayed after Charms, cleaning up a glass vase he had broken. They were the only ones in the hall, other than 3 second year Ravenclaws and a seventh year Slytherin.

Ron swallowed. "Sorry, Hermione." He grabbed his napkin and wiped his mouth. He picked up his fork and ate his food more slowly.

Hermione smiled. "Much better." She looked at the time. It was nearly 8:00. "Ron, do you mind if I leave you here? I really want to go look over my essay for McGonagall." She started to get up, but Ron pulled her back down.

"Um, actually, 'Mione, I have a surprise for you today."

Hermione smiled back, but she was very confused. "What is it?"

Ron put down his fork. "You'll see." He got up. Grinning, he said, "Come outside with me."

Hermione looked at Ron suspiciously, but followed him. He opened the door outside for her. Curtseying, she stepped out. Ron's heart beat faster and followed after her.

Hermione walked down the steps and crossed her hands. She bit her lip. "So...what's my surprise?"

Ron looked around. "Umm...let's take a walk. Around the lake." He held out his hand.

Hermione walked closer toward him and laced her fingers through his. Ron pulled Hermione to his side with his arm and started to walk toward the lake.

Hermione was dancing inside. She couldn't believe how romantic Ron could be. They were just walking, slowly, keeping each other warm. They stepped on the wet grass, looking out on the calm water of the lake.

While Hermione was enjoying the walk, Ron was sweating. He had a special gift for her, but he hoped it wasn't too much. He hoped she would like it. He was just waiting for the perfect time to give it to her.

A cold breeze blew through the air as they neared their first lap around the lake. Hermione's hair flowed behind her. She pulled her robe lower on her arm. Ron broke his hand away from Hermione and wrapped his arm around her waist. He ran his arm up and down, trying to warm her up.

Hermione sighed and leaned against Ron. They continued to walk, stumbling a couple of times, as it was harder to walk while you held someone. People were starting to go inside, and the stars were starting to shine more brightly.

Now, Ron thought. Do it now. Taking a breath, he stopped. He sat down on the ground.

Hermione tilted her head to one side and sat down next to him. She wrapped her arms around her legs, shivering.

Ron looked up at the stars. "It's really nice tonight. You can see all the stars perfectly." He smiled, congratulating himself on picking the perfect day to give Hermione his present.

"Yeah." Hermione looked at Ron and grinned. "So...what do you have for me?"

Ron chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah..." He opened up his robe and reached into his pocket. Carefully, he took out a glass vial, about the size of his hand. Inside was a beautiful scarlet rose. It was the most deep and rich color of red imaginable. The flower looked as if it were made of silk. The stem held no thorns, but one small leaf on the side. It was gorgeous.

Hermione took it gently in her hands. "Oh, Ron..." she whispered.

"See, it has exactly twelve petals. This one here-"he pointed out a petal on the outside that drooped a little lower than the rest. "-will fall off in exactly one week. In one week, we will have been together for officially one month." Hermione turned the vial slowly through her hands. "I've put a spell on it, so that at the end of every month, another petal will fall off. When the last petal falls off, the rose will rebuild itself, except it will be a white rose." He took a breath. "Then we'll know that we've been together for a year."

Hermione was touched. She'd never felt so happy – so loved before in her entire life. She looked up at Ron, who was watching her anxiously. He wasn't sure what she thought of the rose. Hermione could feel tears of joy welling up in her eyes.

Ron sighed and looked down at his feet. "'Mione, I'm sorry..."

Hermione pulled up his chin. "You made an enchanted rose for me?" she asked, her voice breaking.

Ron nodded. She looked back down at the vial, and then fell onto Ron in a huge hug.

"This is the best gift I've ever gotten in my life." She whispered in his ear. She kissed him lightly.

Ron closed his eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief after her lips had separated from his. "So you like it?"

Hermione grinned. "Ron, I love it." She cradled the glass in her hands and looked at the beautiful rose. Slowly, they got up and started to head back to the castle. Ron and Hermione walked in silence, Hermione looking at the rose.

Just as they were about to step onto the sidewalk leading to the castle, they heard a rustle in the bushes. Ron looked up suspiciously.

"Is anyone out here?" he asked. No one answered, but he still kept an eye out.

Suddenly, a blast of light emerged from the bush. It was going straight at Hermione –

"HERMIONE!" Ron grabbed her arm and yanked her back. The ray missed her, but only by inches.

Ron marched over to the bush and looked through them. He looked on the ground for a wand, but there was nothing there. Not even a footstep.

Hermione breathed. "Thank you, Ron."

Ron didn't look up from the bushes. "Who did that?!"

Hermione bit her lip. "Really, Ron, let's not worry about it. C'mon."

She pulled on the back of his robe and dragged him up the stairs. He followed her, but didn't take his eyes off that bush.

A/N: In case you were wondering, yes, relashio is a real spell. Harry tried to use it in Goblet of Fire, but he was underwater then. I'm sorry for any mistakes. I wrote this chapter right before bed. PLEASE review, review, review! They help me out so much. The more reviews I get, the sooner I update. :)