Next chapter of Ron, leave us alone! Hurray! After this one, there will only be one last chapter and then, the story will finally be finished! Yay!
Disclaimer: I think I would live in a palace if I owned the Harry Potter-universe, but so...I don't...
Special thanks to Sibyll Nocefler, my beta! And thanks to all you nice people who are interested in reading my story! Thanks so much!
Ginny's body felt hot and cold at the same time and her heart sank into her feet and then rose up to her head.
She had been dreaming of this moment very often. In her dreams, Harry had always been in love with her and kissed her.
But reality was much better!
Most of the people around them stopped dancing and preferred staring at the kissing couple. Harry Potter was the most famous boy in Hogwarts and it didn't happen every day that he kissed a girl in front of almost the whole school!
When Harry and Ginny separated from each other, they both had a happy and amorous smile on their faces. They felt like they could leave the ground and rise into the 7th heaven.
Especially Ginny felt very good because her head had not turned red, even though her classmates and some teachers had watched them kissing. She just had not realized it because time had stood still while Harry had been kissing her so passionately. The 16-year-old girl didn't feel embarrassed for the first time in her life, it was rather natural to her.
Now, she saw that Walter had left the dance floor, but at this point of time, it was not important for her. She would apologize to him later.
Ginny thought that this was the luckiest evening of her entire life.
She put a streak of her red hair behind her ear and was about to ask Harry if he wanted to go for a walk with her (now, that she had seen all the people around them, she felt that the blood would soon rush into her head), but suddenly, she saw the person she liked least of all in Hogwarts approach Harry from behind: Susan Nasty!
The Slytherin-girl looked like a diva in her golden dress and with the many bracelets around her arms. She showed one of her mean smiles and stopped next to Harry.
Then, she put her hand on Harry's arm and before he could say anything (he could not take his eyes off of Ginny), she sneered: "Very well done, Harry! You've won the bet!"
Ginny stared at the nasty expression on Susan's face and then into Harry's shocked face and back.
"Oh, you didn't know that you are only the object of a bet, dear redhead? Did you really think that Harry could be in love with someone like you?" Susan's smile broadened.
Ginny's eyes filled with tears. She could not believe it! The kiss had felt so true! It couldn't be a lie, could it?
But as Harry didn't say anything, she concluded that everything was true: he didn't love her at all, but just wanted to win his bet!
Poor Harry wanted to shout at Susan. His face was distorted because of rage, but when the blonde girl felt Harry's resistance, she continued: "Oh, that's really sweet, little girl! But you know what Harry won? A dance with me! So, I'm sorry, but you have no chance! He has never really liked you!"
A little child would have run away because of Susan's mean look.
Anger and pain were rising in Ginny.
Harry, the boy who was said to possess much bravery, wanted to explain everything: "Ginny, it's really not like that-" But Ginny interrupted Harry: "You really don't have to say anything! I understand everything very well!"
The other students could see the different emotions on her face: confusion, anger, pain.
"I hope you two will have a good life! I wish you all the best!"
Before the tears could escape her eyes, the red-haired girl turned around, left the Great Hall and the Entrance Hall through the front door and ran into the darkness of the grounds.
Many heads followed her.
Harry couldn't hide his anger any longer, so he grabbed Susan's arm very brutally – she wanted to leave the dance floor- and shouted at her: "Why did you do this? Do you even know what you've just done?"
He was trembling because of the gigantic rage that was racing through his body and his green eyes were as small as slits.
This was the time for Malfoy's appearance: the pale, blonde boy with the bored and drawling voice left the crowd of curious people and went next to Susan. The girl with the eyes of a beast of prey freed herself from Harry's grip and explained with one of her nasty smiles: "Come off it, Potty! You were my means to an end!"
She crossed her arms in front of her body to show her female attractions.
"I wanted to belong to Draco's gang and therefore had to pass a test of courage first. I think that I was very good at it?"
Her almost yellow eyes mustered Draco, who nodded: "In fact, you seem to be a natural talent! You are accepted in my gang!"
Turning around, Draco had to add something: "And Potty: don't forget to shut your mouth again! You have bad breath!"
With these words, Draco and Susan turned around and left the dance floor arm in arm.
Harry was about to follow them (he was cooking because of anger), but somebody stepped into his way.
He thought that this person wanted to hold him back and he wanted to say something like "Go away", when he realized that he had been completely wrong: it was not somebody who wanted to calm him down – it was a very angry Ron!
His face showed a mixture of purple and scarlet (some of the other students had to laugh because of that), his features distorted with fury.
Harry thought about what he could say or do, when he realized the fist of his friend, which rapidly moved towards his face.
But before Ron could even touch Harry, his fist was turned away from his friend and into another direction because of the slap in the face that he received from a fuming Hermione.
The red-haired boy needed a moment till this surprising event reached his brain and the fury on his face transformed into a frown.
The band stopped playing their programme, the pupils around Harry, Hermione and Ron formed a circle and observed everything curiously, the teachers in the Hall looked shocked, disbelieving (ok, some of them – like Snape- were rather amused) or bewildered.
Professor McGonagall tried to bring order into the chaos and was very surprised when she saw that Professor Dumbledore was smiling.
He convinced her that she could do nothing and that the students would solve their problems without their help ("Calm down, Minnie! They are almost adults and if it becomes really dangerous, we can do something, but they have to learn this lesson of life alone!").
Minerva shrugged, sat down at their table, but kept her reservations.
"What was that supposed to mean?" Ron asked Hermione into the tense silence of the Great Hall.
"Harry is not the one who deserves being hit!" Hermione shouted at the confused Ron.
"You deserve it!" She could hardly breathe because she was finally able to show all the emotions she had suppressed for such a long time.
"You call yourself my boyfriend, but you have spent no time with me during the last few weeks! No – you prefer to follow your sister and to interfere with her life! She's almost an adult, she doesn't need you!"
There were tears in her brown eyes and her hands were trembling.
Ron finally found his voice, but the words, which came out of it, sounded very week: "But I am her bro…"
Harry could not be silent any longer: "You have not realized that before this year!"
Ron stared at Harry very angrily again, but before the volcano that was inside of him could break out, Harry added: "She had already had two boyfriends and you have never followed her then!"
Harry took a deep breath and closed his remarkable green eyes for a moment. Ron was his best friend after all, and he didn't want to change that!
He tried to find the right words, but he thought that the truth was the better way: "See, mate, I am in love with your sister – I hope you don't believe anything that that silly Susan has just said – and I want her to be my girlfriend! With or without you!"
Another deep breath. The last words had been very painful for Harry. And where was this sudden surge of bravery coming from? And why did it come now and not before when he had needed it urgently?
"But I would prefer the "with you"! Look, you are my best friend and you should be glad that I want to date your sister and not some guy you don't know at all!"
Harry didn't wait for an answer, but turned around, breathing out again. He could not say more, so he would now pass on to the most important person – Ginny.
He ran into the direction she had taken before.
Thus, Ron had to gulp these honest words and turn back to his furious girlfriend Hermione.
He finally realized that he had done everything wrong concerning his sister and maybe lost her because of his stupid behaviour.
He would not lose Hermione!
"Hermy?" he said very sweetly and softly.
Hermione turned away from him, not wanting that he could see her cry.
She loved him and she knew that he also loved her, but would that be enough to save their relationship? Could she forgive him?
Ron followed the movement of his girlfriend and realized that she was crying.
He looked into her brown eyes, taking her left hand into his right and said: "I have finally realized that I have made a big mistake and hurt you very much! I am terribly sorry!"
The red-haired boy ran his left hand over Hermione's cheek to clear the tears away from it.
"I know that this apology won't heal everything at once, but I will do everything that needs to be done! Hermione, I love you!" (The girls around them sighed. The boys were impressed.)
It was the first time that he had said these three little words and they made everything harder for the brown-haired girl.
She looked to the ground, not able to stop crying.
Ron thought about the worst things that could happen. Hermione didn't answer! Why didn't she answer?
He had just said the three words that were the most important words in a relationship and she didn't answer!
That could only mean that she didn't feel the same for him!
After some seconds, which were rather like eternity for Ron, he asked timidly: "What can I do?"
Hermione lifted up her head and looked really seriously at her boyfriend. That was the reason why he expected that she would now end the relationship.
Finally, some words came out of her mouth: "You could ask me to dance with you for a start!"
She showed a little smile under her tears and Ron let out a scream of joy.
Hermione had actually wanted to separate from Ron, but she knew that she could not betray her feelings, they were stronger than everything else.
The two embraced each other and then, kissed each other passionately.
Everything was back: the passion, the joy, the love.
Dumbledore, smiling broadly, gave the band a sign that they should play to on with their programme. "Was I right or was I right, Minnie?" He asked Professor McGonagall, who was now also laughing like all the others.
With the beginning of the music, all the people around the happy couple started to dance again.
But before the two joined the others, Hermione breathed these words into Ron's ear: "I love you too!"
To be continued...