Chapter 10 – Neverland
Ron stood at the bottom of the stairs, glancing up at the girls' dormitories every few seconds… He was wearing the new dress robes Fred had bought for him the previous year – and he was pleased to find that they actually made him look quite handsome. And his absolute favourite thing about them: they weren't maroon! He started pacing up and down…
What did she mean MAYBE…? He could feel the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. Is she coming or not? What if she doesn't come? What if she does? Then I have to tell her everything… he thought nervously. Where IS she!
"Ron – relax" Harry said calmly (he had been watching Ron pace for the last ten minutes and was starting to get bored) "She'll be here, okay? Ginny will make sure of it… one way or another" he grinned
"I don't know Harry – she seemed pretty upset… Wait, what do you mean one way or another?" Ron asked curiously
"I mean that Ginny's worked too hard teaching us to dance to let Hermione miss this Ball! She'll work her magic and make sure Hermione gets here"
"Uh – I'd prefer her to be here by will, not by magic!" Ron said nervously, twirling the pink rose he had in his hand.
"Well, maybe she didn't have to resort to magic" Harry said, gesturing upwards -
Ron turned and watched in awe as Hermione descended the stairs (she was followed by Ginny – not that Ron noticed). She was wearing a pretty pink gown that accentuated her curves and made her look gorgeous. Her hair was cascading down her shoulders in what Ginny called a 'down-style'. She reached the bottom of the stairs –
"Is that for me?" she asked, looking into Ron's stunned eyes. He was still gawking at her when he realised she'd said something…
"What?"
"Uh - the rose…" she said, pointing at the rose he had in his hand.
He felt his cheeks burning and he smiled awkwardly "Yeah yeah – sorry" he said, taking her hand and giving her the rose "Um – this is to say sorry… for earlier…" he said, looking at his feet "I really thought you weren't gonna come tonight…"
"Oh, Ron" she said, completely melting "I'm sorry too – I shouldn't have yelled at you…"
"Yeah – me too" he grinned goofily "Anyway - should we get to this Ball or what?"
"Yes!" she said excitedly "Oh, and Ron…"
"Yeah…"
"How did you know?" she asked
"Know what?" he questioned
"The colour of my dress? The rose matches it perfectly…"
"Oh – I didn't…" he blushed again "I just picked one that reminds me of you…"
She smiled "Well, thank you for the rose"
"Sure" Ron beamed back
Ginny rolled her eyes "Are you two coming or what?" she said impatiently, heading for the door "you can thank each other later!" she said, winking at Harry.
As Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny entered the Great Hall, they were absolutely awe-struck. It was as if they'd stepped into another world – the hall had become a woodland paradise, with tiny fairies flitting around the different trees, leaving stardust in their wake and creating the perfect magical atmosphere. The enchanted ceiling had been bewitched to show a clear, night sky with a glistening full moon and stars that twinkled intermittently. There were candles, in the shape of Christmas trees, floating around in mid-air and enchanted Christmas decorations that were slowly attaching themselves to various trees around the hall.
"Wow" Hermione remarked, unable to look away from the heavenly scene set before them. For once in her life, she was lost for words.
"Yeah" was all Ron could mumble, as he, too, stood completely mesmerised and Harry was rendered utterly speechless – he had never seen anything like this in his entire life.
"C'mon, let's find a table" Ginny said eventually, walking towards the other end of the hall. There were little round tables scattered all over the hall, just big enough to seat eight people. Harry spotted Seamus and Parvati sitting at one of them and led the others in their direction.
"Hey guys – can we join you?" He asked
"Sure" Seamus said happily "we're just waiting for two others…" he seemed to be scanning the hall "ah, here they come now…" He got up and began gesturing "Neville – over here!"
The others turned around to see Neville approaching, with none other than Padma Patil on his arm! Ron could not help grinning to himself and wondering if the two of them had been set up, it had Parvati and Seamus written all over it!
The memories came flooding back all over again - Ron remembered all too well how disastrous the last Ball had been, partly because he'd been a total pratt to everyone, including Padma. And it was all because Viktor had made him realise that he wanted something he could not have – Hermione. Well, tonight is different, he thought, tonight I'm going to make up for everything that happened last time.
"Hi Neville, Padma" Ron greeted
"Oh – hi Ron" Neville responded nervously. Padma just grinned – she'd obviously not forgotten her date with Ron at the last Ball either "If I recall correctly, you still owe me a dance Ron Weasley"
Well, at least she wasn't still mad!
"Uh sure, Padma" Ron said anxiously "it would be my pleasure" he glanced over at Hermione who did not look impressed.
"Well – sit down, girls" Seamus said, pulling out chairs for them
"Thank you Seamus" Hermione said quickly, glaring at Ron. She immediately sat down and started chatting to Parvati.
Once everyone was seated, the candles were suddenly extinguished, and the hall was plunged into darkness. There was a collective gasp and everybody froze in their seats. Immediately, people began whispering frantically What should we do? Is this supposed to happen?
"Shhhh" Hermione said firmly "listen…"
The hall was completely silent, except for a faint humming sound. The sound was drawing closer and closer, getting louder and louder, until finally there was a deafening blast as a thousand fireworks exploded above them. It was spectacular – there were flying dragons, galloping hippogriffs and spinning Christmas trees, to name a few, all in the most striking colours. This display continued for several minutes until finally everything collided with one mighty BANG! and exploded into a million falling stars. After a few stunned seconds, there was a resounding applause for the breathtaking display and with that, the candles were re-ignited and Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared on the stage, which had been charmed to make it seem like they were floating on a cloud of mist.
"Welcome, Seventh-years, to your Farewell Ball" Professor McGonagall began – the whole hall erupted with cheers – Professor Dumbledore continued "As you can see – our theme for tonight is Neverland. Now – it might seem strange to you that we would pick such a theme, a theme that suggests that children should never grow up – especially for young witches and wizards about to leave their childish lives behind them to embark on new adult adventures… Well – the reasoning behind it is this: a good witch or wizard must always remain young at heart – for it is when we are young that we are open to learning, and we are never too old to learn something new! Further more, nothing ages a witch or wizard faster than forgetting the carefree days their youth. So, do not be afraid, young ones – in these dark times – to laugh - for laughter has healing powers even I cannot begin to comprehend; to dance – wildly; to be brave, as only young witches and wizards can be; to persevere in all you endeavour and most importantly – to love – passionately and deeply – for the power of love is the greatest of all, and will see you through when you think you cannot go on. So, remember that while we must all grow up eventually, that does not mean we must grow old…" he said, with a twinkle in his eye "And now – I would like to propose a toast…" he raised his goblet and gestured for everyone to stand and do the same (goblets of sparkling Pumpkin Juice had suddenly appeared on all the tables) "To the class of 2005… Farewell, and best of luck!" he concluded, to which the students all clinked goblets and responded with a resounding "Cheers!"
"And now, let the party begin!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed and with a wave of her wand, scrumptious food appeared on all the tables and the band, which had been playing soft background music up until now, started pumping out the dance music…
"Brilliant!" exclaimed Ron, at the sight of all the food, and began piling all kinds of tasty treats onto his plate. Ginny nudged him with her elbow "Manners!" she whispered, looking intently at Hermione
"Oh right" he said sheepishly, watching Hermione daintily picking out various choices.
Damn, she's beautiful! He thought, forgetting about his food altogether.
"What?" she asked, catching him staring at her.
"Uh – nothing" he said quickly, and turned his attention back to his plate. Hermione shot Harry a puzzled look but Harry simply shrugged.
"So, what do you say to a dance, Harry?" Ginny said suddenly.
"What now?" Harry asked, looking uncomfortable "But no-one else is…"
She kicked him from under the table.
"Ouch! Uh… I mean… sure" he said, trying to rub his ankle inconspicuously. He got up from the table and anxiously led Ginny over to the dance floor. They began to dance and much to Harry's relief, people soon followed their example and came to join in.
"Did you have to kick me?" He asked angrily
"Sorry Love, but you wouldn't take the hint" Ginny replied
"The hint?"
Ginny looked at him agitatedly "Harry, if you haven't noticed, my brother and Hermione seriously need some help getting together – I don't know why they're so ridiculously clueless when it come to each other but if someone doesn't do something soon, they'll never get it together!"
"And you figure you're the person that needs to do something…" Harry grinned
"Of course"
"Maybe you should just leave them to sort it out, Gin. I'm almost certain they're not as clueless as they'd have everyone believe…"
"Well, let's see then… think Ron will take the hint and ask her to dance?"
Harry looked over at their table… Ron was still stuffing his face, completely oblivious…
"Mmm, okay, so maybe you're right" Harry said "but the night's not over yet…"
Ron looked anxiously over at Hermione – he just couldn't stop staring at her – she looked amazing! He craved to be closer to her, to run his fingers through her soft hair and feel her sweet lips upon his own – but something kept him bound to his chair. He knew the moment that he had been waiting for was drawing near, and he could feel the butterflies starting up again. Ask her to dance! A voice inside his head commanded Just ask! But before he could say anything, his thoughts were interrupted…
"Ron?" It was Padma.
"Yeah" he said, suddenly aware of everyone around him
"Uh, would you like to dance? Neville said he doesn't mind since he doesn't know how…"
Hermione looked up from her conversation with Parvati to hear his response…
"Uh… Sure" he replied cautiously. One dance couldn't hurt. Besides, I owe her one, He reasoned and even though deep down he knew he was just procrastinating, he got up and led Padma to the dance floor anyway. Hermione looked like a kettle about to boil –
Ginny and Harry returned to the table just as Parvati and Seamus were getting up to join everyone else on the dance floor.
"Well – so much for that plan!" Ginny was saying to Harry, but before they could even sit down Hermione interrupted them -
"Oooh – how DARE she!" she fumed "First, she makes a complete fool of herself flirting with him, and now she's stealing my dance partner! I mean, he is my date after all!"
"I think you can handle this one, Harry" Ginny said, winking at him "Um, Neville – would you like to dance?"
"Uh – I can't really…" Neville said awkwardly
"No problem! There's nothing to it – I'll show you, C'mon ..." she said firmly, practically dragging him onto the dance floor.
"Hermione – calm down" Harry said, after Ginny and Neville had left
"But look at them!" she raged "She's totally flirting with him!"
"They're just dancing, Hermione. Besides, what do you care anyway?" his eyes danced mischievously
"I care because… Ron's MY date! And… she's got no right to hog him all night! And to leave Neville all alone like that, that's just not right either…"
Harry grinned at Hermione's excuses "So what are you going to do about it then?"
An evil grin suddenly spread across Hermione's face –
"C'mon…"
"What?"
"Will you dance with me Harry Potter?" she asked, getting up from the table
"It's a slow song, Hermione" Harry said cautiously "You sure you wouldn't rather…"
Hermione glared at him impatiently.
"Okay, Okay" he said surrendering and he led her out onto the dance floor, just a few feet away from where Ron and Padma were dancing. He and Hermione started swaying to the music – she put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she moved her fingers to his neck and started playing with his hair.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" Harry asked nervously
"Just go with it" she said, running her hand up and down his back
"Are you kidding!" Harry exclaimed tensely "Ron will punch my lights out! And Ginny, well…"
"Well, let's just see it they notice…" Hermione said, not budging an inch
"Hermione – this is insane!" he said pulling away from her "Just go over there and…" but he didn't need to complete his sentence because Ron was already making his way over to them -
"Great! Now look what you've done!"
"Mind if I cut in?" Ron glared menacingly at Harry "I believe my sister's over there…"
"Right, I'll be going then!" Harry said anxiously, and quickly fled to find Ginny.
"Oh, nice one Ron" Hermione said, although she was almost smiling as she said it
"Well – do you want to explain what you two were doing exactly?"
"We were dancing, Ron"
"Dancing! You call coming onto my sister's boyfriend dancing!"
"Oh, stop over-reacting Ron Weasley. We weren't doing anything that you and Padma weren't doing over there!" she said accusingly
"What? We weren't…" Ron was lost for words - How could she think that I would ever… !
"Look, Hermione, this is ridiculous! Why are you so upset over something so pointless?"
"I'm not upset!" she said defensively "Just dance with me, okay!"
Ron was taken aback "What?"
"Look – I don't want to argue, okay? And since we're already here on the dance floor, would you like to dance?" she looked at him apprehensively
Ron grinned at the thought of Hermione asking him to dance "Yeah sure" he smiled and drew her closer into his arms. They swayed slowly to the soft music – it was so enchanting it felt as if they were floating above the mist-covered dance floor.
"I didn't know you could dance" Hermione said softly in his ear "I mean, before I saw you with Padma"
"I asked Ginny to teach me" Ron whispered back "So I could dance with you"
She looked up into his eyes, and then reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Ron felt his ears going red…
"I'm sorry" Hermione said apologetically "I didn't mean to accuse you of… well, anyway, I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologise, Hermione, I over-reacted too… I seem to do that a lot around you" he grinned shyly. She rested her head on his shoulder. Ron felt his heart start pounding inside his chest…
"So, um, do you feel like going for a walk or something? There's still something I need to tell you" he said nervously
"I know – you need to tell me what you've been keeping from me all this time…"
"Yeah – so can we go?"
"Yeah" she smiled. They left the dance floor and headed for what they thought was the exit, but they just ended up going deeper and deeper into the 'forest'...
"Uh – are you sure we're still in the Great Hall?" Ron asked uncertainly a short while later.
"Yes – it's just been bewitched to look like a forest" Hermione replied, as they walked further and further into the trees. There were little fairies flying around lighting up the pathway as they walked. Eventually, they came to a little clearing among the trees, which was clearly illuminated by the glistening moon. There was a tiny bench situated right in the middle of it, which seemed to be inviting them closer.
"Well – I suppose you could call this a walk, since there's a moon and everything" Hermione said, looking up.
"Yeah … shall we sit over there for a while?" Ron said, gesturing towards the bench
"Sure" Hermione said, walking over to the bench and sitting down. Ron reluctantly sat beside her.
"So…" Hermione said, looking at him expectantly
"So… I don't really know where to start" Ron started fidgeting "Uh – okay… I have a confession…" he said, turning to face her "You remember the fight we had earlier today?"
"Of course"
"Well, you know you said something about the three of us being in on a secret? Well, that was kinda true"
"Okay…"
"See, Ginny kinda told me, and Harry, about your dream…"
"She WHAT!" Hermione exclaimed, turning red "I specifically told her not to!"
"Hermione, please don't get mad, please just listen to me… I'm glad she told me because if she didn't, we wouldn't know that you're getting your memory back…"
"What? I don't understand… What does my memory have to do with that dream?" Hermione looked at him, confused
"It wasn't a dream…"
"What do you mean it wasn't a dream?" Hermione asked, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable
Ron drew a deep breath - Here goes!
"It really happened"
"What? But that's impossible! In the dream… You… you kissed me…" she looked down at her feet
"Hermione…" He gently lifted her chin with his hand so he could look into her eyes "I really kissed you"
"But…"
"But, you don't remember" he sighed "You fell into a trance right after it happened and completely forgot everything we did that day…"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why'd you kiss me?" she looked at him in anticipation
"Uhh…" Ron felt his insides twist into an anxious knot "That's a slightly longer story…"
"Tell me…"
Because your lips are delicious… because I think you're gorgeous… because you drive me absolutely crazy... The reasons were endless… but they all boiled down to the same thing - Because I love you…
Ron took Hermione's hand "I guess I…" he began
"Well, well, well – isn't this cute? The Mudblood and the Weasel – getting it on" a voice emanated from the shadows…
"Malfoy" Ron said, getting up from the bench and walking over to him
"Ron, don't" Hermione pleaded
"C'mon, loverboy, let's see what you got" Malfoy taunted
Ron swung at him but Malfoy was too quick and ducked out of the way. Ron's fist connected with a tree.
"Ooh – that must've hurt!" Malfoy laughed wickedly. Ron didn't care about the pain coursing through his hand, all he felt was the anger rising up inside of him. He strode forwards –
"You!" he yelled "you're behind all of it! The book in the library… the trances…"
Malfoy sniggered "Yes, I planted that stupid book, but alas, I cannot take all the credit for the trances…"
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Ron yelled "that it is Voldermort who's doing all of this?"
"Oh come on Weasley – do you think I'd be that stupid? Reveal all my little secrets to you, of all people?" Malfoy taunted
Ron could not bear it anymore – Malfoy was the reason his beloved Hermione was going through all of this! He strode towards Malfoy and swung again – this time connecting with his face, and sending Malfoy stumbling backwards.
"Get up, you coward!" Ron yelled "It's about time I laid into you for all the times you've called Hermione names! Now tell me what I want to know!"
Malfoy just lay there, clutching his nose.
"Ah sweet" Malfoy smirked "Sticking up for your girlfriend. Just a thought though: She's been awfully quiet during our little fight, don't you think? You might want to check she's okay"
"What?"
"Well – have a look for yourself" he pointed over to where Hermione had been sitting.
"Hermione!" Ron ran over to her. Her body lay lifeless on the bench.
"What's wrong with her Malfoy!" he shouted
Malfoy laughed "Uh – it looks like another trance to me…"
"You know, Malfoy! I know you know what's going on here!"
"Sorry – I've done what I was supposed to do here – now I have to get going" he said and quickly sprinted off deeper into the forest before Ron could catch him.
