Halloween
"This has got to be the funniest thing I have seen since I have been at Hogwarts." Seamus cackled.
"Shut it." Harry snarled.
"Harry you have got to concentrate if you want to learn this. Ginny is a great dancer so all you need to do is learn how to guide her."
"I know that you git but the idea of learning how to dance from a bloke is not my idea of fun."
"Don't think I am having a lot of fun with this either. I already know how to dance so if you can't pay attention I could just go play Quidditch now."
"Sorry Ron I really do appreciate you helping me out."
"No worries, it's what friends do."
Ron had been teaching Harry how to dance for several days but it was taking Harry a good bit of time to get the basics down pat. Time they didn't really have since the party was later that night. The fact that Seamus, Dean and Neville had decided that watching them was more fun than anything else they could do on a Saturday was not helping.
"Ok I know where the seventh years are going after the party. I am putting dibs down for the Astronomy Tower since I know they aren't going to use it." Dean spoke up.
"Why are you going to the Astronomy tower after the party?" Harry asked.
They all turned to look at him not sure if he was joking.
"You need a private place before you can have a right good snog Harry. As much as we blokes will snog just about anywhere most girls like it to be private."
"You all have already picked out places and reserved them so to speak?"
They all nodded their heads.
"You too Neville?"
Neville blushed and then looked up "Well to be honest Luna did. There is a hidden room over by the Ravenclaw common room that Luna uses a lot since they can be mean to her sometimes."
"Good man Neville" Seamus laughed slapping him on the back "Though somebody already got the best spot."
"What is the best spot?" Harry asked.
"The room of requirements of course." Dean kicked in. "All the seventh years wanted it but it seems a certain sixth year let it be known that anybody trying to use it would get a right good beating."
"Who did that?" Harry asked knowing as he said it.
"Ron you are taking our Hermione to the Room of Requirements?" Harry asked getting a little upset.
Ron blushed a bit but looked right at Harry.
"Yeah I am, it's the nicest place in the school and I wanted her to be happy.
"But it's Hermione."
"Harry calm down, it's not like things are going to get out of hand or anything. However we are dating and have been for a fair bit and we do want some alone time you know."
'I know it's just hard to imagine Hermione..."
"Sucking face with Ron?" Dean tried helpfully.
Harry made a face and replied "yeah I just can't see it."
"I couldn't either until I walked in on them in the common room last night" Neville laughed.
Harry turned back to Ron. "You came to bed when I did, how did you end up down there."
Ron turned beet red and said haltingly "Hermione came up here and woke me up."
"Wait are you telling me Hermione came up here and woke you up so you two could snog?" Harry asked not believing a word of it.
"Well yeah that's about it mate."
"It was a little bit more than snogging there Ron." Neville snickered.
Harry looked at Ron horrified.
"What is Neville talking about?"
Ron looked stricken but finally straightened up.
"Not that it's any of your business but when we snog Hermione like me to take off my shirt so she can touch my tattoo's"
"That's all, well that's not so bad."
"Yeah Harry that's all though that could also change."
"What!!!"
"Harry you have to understand when you see Hermione you see your best mate and your sister all rolled up in one person. When I see Hermione I see the beautiful, intelligent woman who has me wrapped around her little finger."
"I know I just don't like anybody thinking about her like that."
"Trust me Harry I know the feeling. You do realize that you are taking my sister to the party and I know she has probably scouted out a good snogging place."
Harry looked a bit flustered "I didn't think about that."
"This is the last thing I am going to say about the whole damn thing Harry. I have not nor will I ever do anything Hermione doesn't want me to and I expect you to do the same with Ginny."
Harry looked at Ron for a second then stuck out his hand. "Deal"
Dean jumped up "Thank god now can we go get something to eat its lunch time.
Ginny had been working on her hair for over and hour and it still wasn't they way she wanted it.
"Ginny relax Harry will like your hair no matter how you have it done." Hermione sighed.
"Yeah well maybe but not all of us have boyfriends that like our hair the way it is all the time."
"Ginny you can be so dense sometimes. Harry loves your hair and quite frankly I would kill to have hair like yours. Be glad you can pull off the mysterious redhead look. No matter what I do I look like I belong in the library."
Lavender looked over at them "Maybe so Hermione but I heard that Ron told the seventh years that if anybody tried to use the room of requirements they would get a right good beating."
Hermione gasped "he didn't did he?"
"That's what Dean said and it seems that they are all afraid of him"
"Why would they be afraid of him Lavender?"
All the girls in the dorm just laughed at Hermione.
"Maybe it's because of what he did to Malfoy." Parvati smirked.
"Or maybe it's because of what happened in Egypt." Ginny added.
"It might even be him fighting Death Eaters in Hogsmeade." Lavender said softly. "That was the bravest thing I've ever heard of."
Hermione whirled around to look at her. "No it wasn't it was stupid. He could have been killed by some worthless Death Eater and I would be left alone crying my eyes out because he's so reckless sometimes."
Lavender blushed but kept talking "Hermione you might just have to get used to the fact you are crazy in love with a hero and best friends with another one."
"I don't want either of them to be heroes. I want Ron to get a safe boring job where he never gets into danger but no he wants to be an Auror. I heard Moody telling Tonks after one of his Directed Studies classes that Ron was born to take out Death Eaters. I don't want to be sitting at home worried sick while Ron goes who knows where and gets hurt all the time. You don't know how often I worry about one of them coming back and telling me something horrible happened to the other one."
Lavender looked at Hermione for a very long time. "Does he know how you feel about that?"
"No and I don't want him to either. I want him to decide what he wants to do on his own and I will support his choice no matter what, even if I hate it."
Lavender looked down at the floor. "You know Hermione I really envy you."
Hermione just stared at her for a bit. "You envy me? You're the prettiest girl in our year and probably in the school."
Lavender just laughed "Well I don't know about that but I do envy you and Ginny as well."
"But why?" Hermione asked.
"Well you're the smartest girl in school and you never really cared much for boys. Then one day you start to fancy Ron who was the most gangly, clumsy boy in the whole school. Nobody could figure it out but we should have known that you would know what you were doing because the gangly boy you liked turned out to be one of the best looking guys in school. Not only that it turns out that he is kind and sensitive and only has eyes for you."
"Well when you put it like that Lavender I'm a bit jealous myself." Parvati piped up.
Hermione blushed "I never thought he would like me to be honest but I am happy to say I was wrong."
All of them just sat there for a second then Parvati spoke up "So what are you two going to wear as your costume?"
"I'm going as a vampire." Ginny spoke up.
"That's sounds really cool Ginny, so what about you Hermione?"
Hermione looked at the floor then sighed "I'm going as a fallen angel."
"A what?" Ginny stuttered.
"You know an angel that has gone bad." she said with a grin.
"How are you going to do that?" Lavender asked.
Hermione went over and took out a long black silk dress.
"I'm going to wear this with a pair of large bat wings and a tarnished halo. I think it should look alright."
"You think? Hermione Granger are you trying to seduce my brother?" Ginny asked looking a little angry.
All the other girls laughed and looked at Hermione.
"No Ginny I'm not trying to seduce him. Well not really, it's just Ron is very respectful about how fast we move sometimes and to be a bit honest I wish he was just a touch less respectful. It's also sort of a statement. I have seen how some of the girls look at Ron now and I want them to know I'm not the mousy little girl I used to be either."
"Ok Hermione I can deal with that on one condition,"
'Whats that Ginny?"
"I want you to transfigure me a pair of bat wings like that as well for my costume." I think that just might cause Harry to pass out."