Chapter Three: Sparks! and another Letter
The first day of Hermione's stay at the Burrow, Ron, Ginny and Hermione spent most of the afternoon outside. First the girls watched while Ron flew around doing tricks, and generally looking stupid.
Then Ginny and Hermione got out broomsticks as well and flew around for a while, chasing each other and having a lot of fun.
The next day Mrs. Weasley made them all de-gnome the garden. Normally this would have been a very tedious task, but come on, this is Ron, Ginny and Hermione we're talking about! There ended up being a fierce competition between Ron and Ginny (seeing as Hermione has more brains than muscles) over who could throw a gnome the farthest. In the end, Ginny won, surprising them all, but they had a great time nonetheless.
The next few days, they thought about going into Diagon Alley, but decided to wait until Harry was with them. So instead they spent the next few days just lounging around the Burrow. Then would sit in the garden and talk, watching Crookshanks chase gnomes; or watch each other play wizards chess.
It was in the middle of the fifth day of Hermione's visit that all the excitement happened. In the middle of the afternoon, some time after lunch, Hermione headed up the stairs to Ron's room to give him a message form his mother. She walked into the room to find him standing holding an open letter in his hand, completely dumb stick
"Ron?" she asked. "Are you ok?"
Ron looked up, startled as he was brought back from his reverie.
"I..." he mumbled, unsure of what to say. "The..."
"Ron, what is it?" Hermione asked, concerned at the blank look on Ron's face.
Ron still didn't seem to be able to speak. He looked down at the letter he was still holding, gulped, and then handed it to Hermione. Puzzled, she took it and read what it said.
O.W.L. G.L.C.
Dear Mr. Ronald Bilius Weasley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have received 8 Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Here are your examination results:
Charms: E PASS
Transfiguration: E PASS
Potions: A PASS
Herbology: E PASS
Care of Magical Creatures: E PASS
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O PASS
Divination: P FAIL
History of Magic: A PASS
Astronomy: A PASSCongratulations, Mr. Weasley, on your 8 Ordinary Wizarding Levels!
Sincerely,
Grizelda Marchbanks,
Head of the O.W.L. Grading and Leveling Committee
Hermione finished reading and looked up at Ron, her mouth open. "Ron... you..." It seemed to be Hermione's turn to be speechless. She blinked several times, then smiled and laughed.
"Oh, Ron! This is wonderful!" she cried, launching herself at him, hugging him and knocking him over so that they both fell onto Ron's bed, entangled in each other's arms. They were both laughing. Then Ron reached out his hand and touched Hermione's cheek gently. They were gazing into each other's eyes. Their lips touched. Hermione reached up and put her arm around Ron's neck and rolled over so that she was lying on her back on the bed with Ron leaning over her, both of them still engaged in a passionate kiss.
They broke apart. Ron took in a huge intake of breath.
"Hermione," he whispered. "Hermione, I -"
"RONALD WEASLEY! WILL YOU GET DOWN HERE NOW PLEASE! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SET THIS TABLE FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO!"
Ron jumped up, off the bed, away from Hermione. The sound of his mother's voice brought him sharply back to reality. He opened his mouth but looked unsure of what to say. He glanced uneasily at Hermione, who had her hand to her mouth and looked as though she couldn't make up her mind whether to laugh or scream.
"I..." mumbled Ron, looking uneasy. "I... I'd better..." he blubbered.
"Um, no, it's ok. I was coming upstairs to tell you your mum wanted to see you downstairs... Sorry." Said Hermione. "You should probably go." She smiled at him and he smiled back. Then he left the room.
Hermione, who had been holding her breath, blew out her cheeks as she expelled the air. She could not believe what had just happened! She had kissed Ron! She had kissed him! She was so happy and bewildered at the same time. Of course she had thought about it, fantasized about Ron a little, but she had never expected him to come out and do anything. She was pretty sure he liked her; he had always dropped subtle hints. And now she knew. What would happen now? Oh, she was so confused...
Just then an owl flew through the window, confusing her even more. The owl hopped onto the bed next to her, and stuck out its leg. She was now very confused. No one had ever sent her mail except Ginny, Hogwarts, and –
"No!" she whispered.
The owl fluttered out of the window. Hermione stared at the front of the envelope she was now holding in her hand.
Yes... she recognized the hand that had untidily written Hermione on the letter. Why would he be writing?
She took a deep breath and opened the envelope. She took out the letter and read:
Dear Hermione,
Hello. How are you? I haven't heard from you in a while, and wondered how your summer was going.
I'm going to be in London on vacation soon. Is there any chance we can meet up in Diagon Alley? It would be really great to see you again.
Well, write me back as soon as possible, I arrive in London tomorrow. Maybe we could meet on the weekend? Let me know.
Love, Viktor
Hermione's mouth had fallen open. Now what was she going to do?
"Fuck!" she whispered softly.
A/N: Sorry this one took so long... This chapter was pretty fun to write, kissing and confusion (and I wrote it with a feather quill!) Thanks to my first two reviewers, I really appreciate it! Sorry about this cliffy ending, but the next chapter will be up soon, hopefully (I start school in three days). Hope you like it! Please review! Thanks!
-F.P.