Chapter 2- Warm Welcome

Ron!" Hermione cried out, as Ron dropped his trunk awkwardly beside his feet. She ran forward to hug him, but froze about a foot away, as though distracted by a noise in the distance. There was a few seconds silence, as Ron strained to see what Hermione had heard, before she finally spoke. "So, how are you? Let me help you with that." She grabbed one end of his heavy trunk and helped him to drag it upstairs.

"I have been so bored! Finally, some half-decent company. Mum and Dad are making dinner at the moment- it should be ready in 15 minutes or so. You do like chicken, don't you?" She continued along this vein for the entire journey to the spare room. Ron simply gazed around, taking in the elegant wallpaper and luscious carpet. Everything was so tidy and in order! In the Burrow, clutter spread around the entire house like a plague, but here every surface was not only visible, but also spotless and totally devoid of junk. Even the fireplace was tidy- it was ash-free, unlike at his house where people often Flooed in looking as though it had been raining black soot outside.

He could hear noise coming from downstairs- probably the tevelision. His father had instructed him to report back on exactly what Muggle life was like, at one point even suggesting a journal. Well, there was one thing that he could add (if he hadn't shunned the journal idea so mercilessly)- these particular Muggles were sticklers for tidiness.

"This'll be your room!" Hermione said, dropping her end of the trunk with a loud clunk beside the bed. "Sorry about the flowers," she added, gesturing to the pink, floral print wallpaper. "Normally the only guest we have is my grandmother."

"It's okay," Ron said, smiling politely around the room before looking back at Hermione. She looked so nervous, fidgeting with her hair and adjusting the bedspread. He watched her for a few seconds before she noticed him and gave him the smile that made his heart glow and a tingle run up his spine. He mentally kicked himself- he had to stop thinking like this. What had he done to deserve this? Had he offended some higher being so seriously that they decided to ruin his life by twisting it so that he couldn't even look one of his best friends in the eye without feeling that feeling? He didn't even really know what that feeling was. Was it love? Or some other, equally absurd feeling not too dissimilar but definitely not love? Possibly insanity?

"Ron?" Hermione called.

"Oh, sorry! Erm... what?" Ron stuttered, his entire face glowing brilliant scarlet.

"Do you want to go downstairs?" Hermione smiled.

"Sure, sure!" Ron grinned, over-compensating madly. "Let's go!" He walked out into the hall, turned left and began to walk, before freezing. There were no stairs.

"This way," Hermione said, taking his hand and pulling him in the right direction. Ron just about seized up. Hermione. Was holding. His hand. Keep breathing. It meant nothing. Nothing. Why was he acting like such a nutcase!

"That was delicious, Mrs Granger," Ron said politely, sitting down his knife and fork.

"Please," Mrs Granger smiled, "call me Ramona."

"Okay, M... Ramona," Ron smiled in return, doing his best socially polite act that his mother had drilled into him from a young age. He was amazed at how quiet the Granger household was- only one conversation ever ran at a time! Overall the meal had been successful- he had kept up the conversation for the entire meal without instilling fear into the hearts of Hermione's parents or receiving any disapproving glares from their daughter. This was a good start. Only two weeks to go...

A sudden ringing made Ron jump several inches from his seat. Ramona went through to the kitchen and the ringing noise stopped. She began to speak to someone, before returning a few seconds later. "It's Chastity for you," she said to Hermione. Ron finally twigged- it was the tele-phone. He had had an unfortunate experience with them in the past- stupid Muggle invention.

"I really can't," Hermione said, her voice full of fake sorrow. "A friend of mine has just arrived from Ho- St Stephan's, and it wouldn't be nice to leave him on his own, especially as it's his first night."

"Hmmm..." Chas said, and Hermione could tell that she was fake thinking. "I know! Why don't we come over? Just the girls, I mean? It'll be so much fun!"

"No!" Hermione yelled, before adding in a slightly calmer voice, "he's not feeling too good- I think he should just rest."

"Oh, we'd be no bother, really," Chas continued. "We'd be quiet and we wouldn't stay long. Please?"

"I really don-"

"I'm not taking no for an answer!" Chas insisted. "We'll see you in half an hour! Okay, bye!" She slammed the phone down before Hermione could protest.

Hermione sat the phone back in its cradle. Damn. She had a lot of lying to do. How on earth was she going to pass off Ron as an unwell, non-magical genius? He wasn't a great liar at the best of times, and she only had half an hour to get her story straight. Well, she reasoned, about an hour in practice. There was no way that Chas would even consider meeting a guy for the first time, even a potential geek, without looking her best, and her toilette took a long time. Still... she was going to need a miracle.

"... and just let me do all the talking," Hermione finished with a final flourish. No fear there, Ron thought. That's pretty much what's been happening for the past forty five minutes.

"Okay, let's give this a go," Hermione nodded, her forehead creasing with a worried frown, which Ron found adorable in spite of himself. Stop it, he thought. Focus.

"Hi! I'm Ron, I go to St Stephan's School for the Gifted near London. I like reading and playing the... the..."

"Vi...ol..." Hermione prompted.

"Viola!" Ron finished. "I don't like sports or TV, and I have a headache."

"Excellent!" Hermione smiled. Ron's heart did another little flutter. "Just be careful. Think before you speak, and if they ask you a question you don't know the answer to, don't guess! Just have a sudden flash of pain in your head."

"Relax," Ron said, laughing at Hermione's fretfulness. "It'll be fine. I promise I won't embarrass you." He looked her straight in the eyes. "I promise."
There was total silence as they stared into one another's eyes, and in those few seconds Ron seriously considered reaching forward those few inches and kissing her. Unfortunately the moment was broken by the distant ringing of the doorbell. Hermione bounced up.

"I'll get it!" she yelled, shooting out of the room and down the stairs. Ron muttered a stream of curses under his breath. "Bugger off!" he wanted to yell. "I'm finally getting to the point where I might just understand if Hermione feels the same way! Come back later!" He could hear Hermione hurtling up the stairs again. She shot around the door. "They're coming," she panted. "Just remember..."

"Yes, yes," Ron muttered grumpily. Bloody moment-ruining girls.

Hermione's guests began to appear. First to enter was a slim blonde in a very short skirt, high heeled boot and way too much make up. She eyed Ron with the look of a hungry tiger before sitting down directly opposite him, next to Hermione, and considering him in silence for several seconds. Next to enter were two girls, evidently twins, with blonde-red hair and linked arms, who paid virtually no attention to him except a split second look in his direction. They walked across the room and sat next to the window, communicating silently between themselves with tiny flickers of their eyes and smug grins. Last, but by no means least was a tall, dark haired girl, who swept in with the regal air of a queen looking down on her peasants. She surveyed the company with a look of delicate, stately disdain, before sitting on the other side of Hermione.

There was silence, before Hermione finally said, "Guys, this is Ron. Ron, this is Liz, Vicki, Fliss and Chas."

Ron smiled nervously. "Hi."

Hermione stared at the ceiling, a feeling of total contentment rushing over her. Ron had been perfect. Magnificent. He had been polite but not too formal, charming but not flirty, willing to chat about himself but vague enough that no-one suspected anything that there was anything unusual about him. He had even won Fliss over, and Fliss was difficult to convince. The twins (naturally) hated him, but the twins hated everyone, so Hermione was hardly surprised. She loved Ron, so polite and charming...

A nagging thought came back to her. What had happened before her friends had arrived? The eye-gazing, tension filled silence where it felt as though something big was on the verge of happening... She was probably just imagining it, but there had been something about those few seconds that definitely wasn't normal. Of course, there had been no romantic tension on Ron's part. He didn't like her in that way. She had been through this before, time and time again. It was just her mind inventing things that weren't really there. A non-existent response to her otherwise unrequited love. And it wasn't like it was real love, anyway. If it was real love she'd have had the guts to actually do something about it (besides from worrying). But no, she'd kept her feelings well and truly to herself. She hadn't even written about them in her diary. Lavender and Parvati knew enough charms to break in- as far as they were concerned, that was the highlight of having magical powers, and they had grown skilled in it over the years. She wasn't foolish enough to risk him finding out. She'd probably grow out of it, anyway- it was only a phase.

She rolled over and closed her eyes, determined to get some sleep. But the only thought that filled her mind was what might have happened if she had taken the chance and kissed him.