Chapter Eight

The First Dates

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"Oh this is beautiful Ron!" Hermione said as she looked at the scene around her.

Ron had arranged a wonderful picnic in a small park just outside of Hogsmead. He had a large blanket on the ground with hovering lit candles to light the area because the sun was starting to go down. A large basket sat in the middle of the blanket with various entrées and desserts. The park was overlooking the village of Hogsmead and Hogwarts castle could be seen in the background.

"Only the best for you Hermione." Ron said while helping Hermione take a seat on the ground.

Ron started to unwrap the contents of the basket and he poured a glass of wine for Hermione. Ron was surprised at how nervous he felt sitting next to her. They had eaten together many times before, be he wanted to impress her so much that he was afraid he would do something wrong.

Ron looked up at Hermione and realized that something wasn't right. "Is something wrong? Do you not like the food?" Ron asked.

"No Ron, everything is wonderful, it's just that, well…I need to ask you something." Hermione said looking slightly nervous. "Why is Lavender so obsessed with you? Why is she so resentful towards me?"

Ron couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did she really want to talk about Lavender now, while they were on a date? Ron didn't want to respond to her but he figured it would upset her if he didn't. "I don't know Hermione; I guess she was always jealous of you because we spent so much time together back in school."

"Oh, I guess your right, but I couldn't help but feel like there is something more to it." Hermione said.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

Hermione sighed heavily. "I ran into her today, and let's just say she wasn't happy to see me."

Ron suddenly felt nervous. How much did Lavender tell her? "Hermione I'm sorry, I wish I would have been there to protect you."

"Protect me from what? Do I need protection from Lavender?"

"Well no, I mean, I know you can take care of yourself. I just don't think you need to deal with her alone." Ron said. "Let's not talk about Lavender now, lets just enjoy our dinner."

Hermione nodded in agreement but she couldn't help but feel that Ron wasn't telling her something. She tried to change the subject just so she didn't have to think about Lavender anymore. "So how was training today Ron?"

This question steered their night back on the right course. Ron talked for awhile about his training and Hermione just listened and smiled. Ron even reenacted a few exciting events of the day for her causing her to clap her hands or say, "Wow Ron that sounds dangerous!" Hermione's excitement only made Ron talk more.

"And then we had to transfigure random junk to protect us, for example I turned a coffee mug into a shield to block a curse that the trainer sent at me. It was so much fun; to be honest I'm exhausted." Ron finished and sat back down on the blanket.

"That's amazing Ron, I'm glad that your training is going so well." Hermione said and she leaned over to give him a small kiss.

They had finished their dinner and Ron was now cleaning up from the picnic. The sun was starting to go down and a light summer breeze was sweeping over them. Hermione was now looking up at the stars, Ron had just packed the last of the food in the basket and walked back over and sat down next to her.

"Do you remember sitting in Astronomy class and mapping out the stars?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I remember watching you fill out charts, I looked at you more than I did the stars." Ron replied, Hermione giggled.

"That one over there, that's Mars, it's really bright this time a year." Hermione said while laying down on the blanket and pointing up to the heavens. Ron lay down beside her.

They stayed there for hours; Hermione continued to map out the stars with her finger, explaining to Ron what each star represented. Ron just watched Hermione as she talked, completely fascinated with her and her beauty. Here was the same Hermione he had always known but somehow she was different, she was now his girl and this meant the world to him. He wanted nothing more than to hold her all night.

"Hermione, you're beautiful." Ron said while Hermione was explaining the difference between meteors and asteroids.

Hermione who hadn't noticed Ron watching her was slightly startled when he spoke to her. "You're not so bad looking yourself you know." Hermione said blushing slightly. Ron rolled over and put his hand behind Hermione's head and leaned in for a long, hard kiss.

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There under the stars of Hogsmead they made love. Wrapped up in the picnic blanket, they didn't wake until early morning; the sun was just rising over the hills. Hermione woke up first and nudged Ron.

Ron, who was wrapped tightly around Hermione, barely opened his eyes. "Humm, what's wrong?" He said sleepily.

"I can't move, you're on top of me." Hermione giggled. "And I want to get up and get dressed."

"Oh, sorry." Ron moved over so she could get up and when she did she yanked the entire blanket with her leaving Ron completely naked sitting on the grass. "Hey! You could at least hand me my clothes."

Hermione, who had draped the blanket around her like a toga, walked over to Ron's pants sitting on the ground and kicked them over to him. "Here you go. Now hurry up, we can go back to my place and get some breakfast."

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"Ron, I'm just going to hop in the shower, why don't you start some breakfast." Hermione told Ron once they were back in her apartment.

"Alright, I'll try." Ron said apprehensively.

Hermione came out of the shower some twenty minuets later and was drying her hair with a towel as she walked out to the kitchen. She was surprised to see that Ron was missing and Ginny was cooking breakfast instead.

"Good morning Ginny, where did Ron go?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, well I came out of my room and found him burning sausages so I made him leave the kitchen. I told him I would make us all some breakfast, and he didn't feel like sitting around so he ran to the store for something. It's pathetic really; he has no cooking ability what so ever." Ginny said, smiling.

Just then Ron opened the door and came in holding a tray of coffees. He sat them down on the counter and shut the door. "Well, I figured if I can't cook the least I could do is buy something."

"Good your just in time, you two go sit down and I'll bring the food over." Ginny said.

Ron and Hermione sat at the kitchen table and started to sip their coffees. Hermione watched as Ginny divided up sausages and eggs onto four plates. Ginny walked two of the plates over to the table and handedthem Ron and Hermione.

As Ginny walked back to the kitchen for the other two plates Hermione asked, "Ginny, why do you have four plates?"

Ginny didn't respond but instead grabbed the plates, walked over to her bedroom door, pushed it open, walked in, then closed the door without a word to either of them.

"Ok, is she really hungry?" Ron asked.

Hermione giggled as a dawning comprehension spread across her face. "Oh, I forgot, Ginny had a date last night too, Harry must be in there!" It was everything that Hermione could do to stop herself from laughing as Ron sat frozen with a horrified look on his face.