Summary: Ron and Hermione are waiting up for Harry to return from one of his special lessons with Dumbledore. Hermione reads a book while Ron tries to finish a Charms essay but he is distracted. Inspired by the song from The Little Mermaid.

AN: I do not own Harry Potter nor The Little Mermaid. I was just called to put the two together.

*Inspired from listening to Little Mermaid soundtrack in the car with the girls. The lyrics seemed the perfect things to interject during a lovely little kissing scene!

Kiss the Girl

"Stupid essay." I muttered as I reread my Charms essay for like the 5th time. I was still 2 inches short and I had run out of things to say about the Disillusionment Charm. I pondered the idea of enlarging my handwriting to fill the last 2 inches.

No, I thought. Flitwick would know and then assign me twice as much. I sighed looking up and setting the parchment down. I glanced around the common room, hoping for some inspiration to hit. That's when I noticed her.

There you see her, sitting there across the way.

She was sitting in a cozy chair in one of the rounded corners of the common room. She was, of course, reading some thick tomb. I watched as she nonchalantly reached up and gently pushed some of her light brown unruly hair back behind her ear. It was always escaping from what ever confinement she put it in. She turned the page then and continued to read on as my mind wandered to show me a vision of me brushing that hair aside as I touched her cheek.

She don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her.

I shook my head to clear the wonderful image. How I wanted desperately to touch her cheek, brush her hair out of her face. I daydreamed all the time about doing just that or taking her hand, or holding her in my arms or even telling her I loved her and kissing her.

And you don't know why, but you're dyin' to try. You wanna kiss the girl.

As I sat there and stared at Hermione reading her hardback novel, I sighed again. I was pathetic. I couldn't even finish a bloody Charms essay. How did I ever expect to tell her how much she meant to me, how much I cared about her.

Yes, you want her. Look at her, you know you do.

I reached up and ran my hand through my messy red hair as I looked away from her. I heaved another sigh, this one heavier. Who was I kidding? She was the smartest witch in our year, in all of Hogwarts probably. She was never going to like dumb old me.

Possible she want you too, there is one way to ask her.

I sighed as my eyes scanned the empty common room looking for something to either help me with the stupid Charms essay or to distract me from her. It didn't work. The room was empty except for her and I and the fire in the fireplace. True, we were waiting up for Harry to return from a session with Dumbledore but usually there were other 6th and 7th years finishing up homework. Tonight it seemed, it was just me and her.

It don't take a word, not a single word. Go on and kiss the girl.

My eyes came to rest on her again and my imagination made me picture myself walking over to her and bending down. The dream me took the book away and she would look up and without a single word, I would kiss her. And the dream Hermione would kiss me back as soon as I pressed my lips on hers.

My, oh, my Look like the boy too shy. He ain't gonna kiss the girl.

I looked back down at my Charms essay. I could feel my cheeks were warm. I could feel my heart in my chest beat just a little faster at the wonderfulness that had been my daydream. It, being my heart, wanted me to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to pull her into my arms and never let go. But I couldn't. I'm just her friend. She'd never think of me as anything other than her friend. How could she when I was so opposite of her?

I couldn't really name when my feelings had changed from friendship to more with Hermione. I guess the first inkling was probably how jealous I got at her for taking Krum to the Yule Ball. I had always known what an amazing witch she was but I was suddenly seeing that annoying know-it-all attitude in a different light. It was cute and in reality, just how she sometimes showed she cared. And the way her nose would squish up when she was mad, it made her just so cute that I sometimes couldn't help annoying her just to see her do it.

Ain't it a shame? Too bad. He gonna miss the girl.

I looked up at her again and noticed a small smile on her face. Something in her book must have made her smile. Oh how I yearned to make her smile that sweet little smile. My heart took over my brain again enveloping me in another daydream. We were dancing together. She looked gorgeous in a royal blue shimmering gown. Her eyes were sparkling as they looked up into mine, that sweet smile was on her lips and it was melting my dream heart. Dream me was smiling too. We twirled around to some imaginary music. Suddenly the music stopped and I dipped her low and kissed her. As dream me was being romantic with the dip, real me had gotten caught up in the dream and had knocked over the jar of blue ink I had been using to write my charms essay.

Now's your moment. Floating in a blue lagoon.

"Shit!" I shouted, jumping up. I pulled out my wand and began to try to clean up the mess. With my attention on the blue lagoon of a mess in front of me, I didn't notice her walking over until she spoke.

"Let me help." She said using her wand to help siphon the extra ink off my charms essay. I froze in my cleaning attempt when her hand brushed mine and I looked up at her. The skin on my hand tingled a little and my heart began to beat faster. That's when I noticed that stray bit of hair had escaped again. My fingers itched to reach up and push it behind her ear. I reached my hand up slightly, wanted to do just that when she spoke again.

"There. All the ink is gone." She said looking up at me with a smile. I looked over at her. My hand came up a bit more. I wanted desperately to brush her hair back, take her in my arms. But I didn't. I reached up and ran my hand through my hair instead, trying to cover the awkwardness.

Boy, you better do it soon, no time will be better.

"Thank you Hermione." I said earnestly. I tried to give her a smile of thanks but it felt like it might have been more of a wince. I sat back down at the table and took the parchment from her. "I guess I had better get back to it. Only two more inches to go." I looked up at her. Trying to be positive, funny, clever, anything but pathetic.

She nodded. "Right. Well, I'll just leave you to it then." Her voice was quiet, almost melancholy. She turned then and took a step toward the chair she had been sitting in. My heart fell as she moved away. I didn't want to her to go.

"Hermione," I heard myself call her back.

She don't say a word and she won't say a word, until you kiss the girl.

She turned around and looked at me. "Yes Ron?" She asked, her voice light.

"I…. umm… I…." I stammered. My cheeks were reddening. I could feel them. My throat was dry, my heart was racing and the palms of my hands were sweating. I can't do this! My brain shouted to my heart. "Umm… could you help me with my Charms essay?"

She tilted her head slightly. Her eyebrows furrowed somewhat as if she was confused. But then she smiled. That I-knew-the-right-answer smile. "Oh course Ron. Can I read what you have read so far?" She moved back toward the table, walking over to stand next to me. I sucked in a breath before speaking.

"Of course. Though knowing me, it's complete and utter rubbish." I said passing her the scroll of parchment. She reached to take it from me and our fingers touched again. I felt a shot of electricity run up my arm and I jumped a little. She glanced at me, searching my face. I had to give her some answer for the jump. "Must be goosebumps."

She eyed me for a moment and then began to read my essay.

Don't be scared. You got the mood prepared.

While she read, my eyes darted around the empty common room, trying to keep my eyes anywhere but her. It was so hard as she was standing right next to me. I could have easily taken her into my arms but instead I concentrated on the fire crackling in the fireplace, a pile of chocolate frog cards sitting at a table. I noticed someone had left their transfiguration book on one of the sideboards. I saw that a note on the notice board was falling off. The old grandfather clock ticked away by the fireplace and read almost midnight as my heart beat rapidly in my chest. I could do it right now. We were alone, no one was likely to interrupt. Then I heard her sigh and my eyes darted to look at her. I knew I had made a mistake in my essay. I watched her as she held her wand to her lip, her eyebrows scrunched, as she probably tried to decipher what I had been trying to get at in my essay. Who was I kidding? There was no way I could do it.

Go on and kiss the girl.

I was staring at her now. Worried partly about how horrible my essay way, partly embarrassed that she was reading my horrible essay and trying to help me fix it. I watched as her eyebrows scrunched down and then up. I watched as she tapped her cheek with her wand. I gazed at her as my stomach churned. What was she thinking? Suddenly her lips pursed. Oh how I wanted to touch those soft pink lips with mine.

Another daydream weaved its way into my mind's eye. I saw myself ripping the parchment from her hands and pulling her on to my lap and kissing her passionately. My stomach did a flip as my heart raced faster. My insides were going crazy and a part of me was feeling sick.

Don't stop now. Don't try to hide it how, You wanna kiss the girl.

"Ron," she said putting the parchment down on the table in front of me. She leaned down next to me as I watched as she pointed her wand at my handwriting, making some of my words wiggle and move. "You forgot to talk about the wand movement here. It's a wave of the wand and then a tap." She said pointing. I quickly grabbed my quill and added the sentence where she had scooted my words down.

"And if you add what it feels like here," she said pointing to another blank spot she had made a line or two down. I quickly scrawled out what I had heard Harry tell me what the Disillusionment charm had felt like as she continued to read over my shoulder.

Float along. And listen to the song.

"You still need a sentence or two to reach the requirement. Let me read it again." She mumbled drawing her wand back up to her lips. I looked up as she pulled her wand from the parchment and saw her lips puckered again. She gently bit the bottom lip as she read and I felt my heart clench. I could see myself kissing her, biting that lip playfully as we kissed. I almost groaned with the need and want to kiss this girl.

The song say, "Kiss the girl."

I stared at her as she read. I couldn't take my eyes off her now. The hair that had fallen from behind her ear, still hung slightly in her face, bushing up again her cheek. Her brown eyes moved swiftly back and forth as she read through my loopy, messy scribble. I noticed that her cheeks were a little flushed. Was she flushed because I was staring at her? She continued to stare at my essay as I stared intently at her.

Hermione was beautiful. Her skin was smooth and bright. Her lips were full and just the perfect color of cherry pink. Her eyes were pools of warm chocolate and she always smelled faintly of some sweet little flower. The light freckles on her nose were scrunched as she read through my essay again. I couldn't take my eyes off her. My arms ached to bring her close. My heart beat was like a roaring wind in my ears. I could not stop the silent daydreams from playing over and over in my head. My breath was coming faster, as if I had been running. I wanted desperately to kiss her.

Do what the music say. You gotta kiss the girl.

Before I knew what I was doing I stood up, pushing my chair back and turned to face her. She continued to peer at my essay but I could tell that she wasn't really focusing on it. Her eyes had stopped moving back and forth and were stuck in one spot. I took a deep breath.

You've got to Kiss the girl.

Using the courage that has somehow decided to flow through me tonight I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me. She gasped and sucked in breath as my essay fell from her hands along with her wand. Her wand made a clunk on the floor as her eyes shot up to mine. They were full of emotion and yet uncertainty.

You wanna kiss the girl.

I caught her eyes with mine as I leaned down somewhat. I stared deep into those chocolate pools. My breathing was still uneven, my heart still racing as I held her close, our bodies touching. I searched her eyes for any answer to how she was feeling. I knew that I was flushed. Her cheeks were bright with color as well but her eyes were deep. I reached up with my right hand and brushed that pesky hair back behind her ear. I felt her body give a little shutter as my fingers brushed lightly against her cheek. As I continued to stare into her deep brown eyes, I saw excitement, and perhaps a little nervousness. I knew this was the moment. I knew I had to do it. Do it! My head and my heart screamed in unison.

You've gotta kiss the girl.

I leaned farther down then, closing my eyes, and placed my lips gently on to hers. Immediately something sparked between us and I felt the urge to press harder. As I did, she wound her arms around my neck and pressed back. Sparks were flying in all directions throughout my body. Every part of me that was touching her was tingling. It was like no magic I had every performed. I wasn't sure it was like any magic anyone had every performed. It felt amazing. As more emotions flooded through my body, I deepened the kiss, opening my mouth to take more of hers. A sigh escaped her as she melted even more into me.

Suddenly, I heard the portrait creak open. My brain shouted stop but my heart and body said don't let go. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to choose who to listen to because Hermione had heard the creak and jumped back. She looked up at me for a second or two as her cheeks flushed redder then glanced away to see who had come into the common room way past curfew. I continued to gaze at her for a moment longer.

"Harry!" she squeaked, fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. I looked over then and saw my dark haired best friend walking toward us from the portrait hole. He stopped when I looked at him and glanced between me and Hermione. He can tell somethings happened. I thought.

"Somethings going on here. What's happened?" he asked, continuing to glance between me and Hermione.

"Nothing," she replied, a small catch in her voice. She bent down then and retrieved her wand.

"Nothing," I said, my voice a little deeper than usual. "Hermione was just helping me with my Charms essay." Harry eyed me again, a questioning look on his face.

Hermione stepped toward him, having noticed the look Harry gave me. "How was your lesson with Dumbledore? What did you learn?" she asked, trying to change the subject. She obviously didn't want him to know what had just happened between us. Was she ashamed? Was I a horrible kisser? Had she hated it?

I glanced down with a frown then and noticed my Charms essay on the floor. I bent down to pick it up as Harry began to tell Hermione about his lesson with Dumbledore. I could hear what they were saying but I wasn't really taking it in. As I stood up holding my essay, I remembered the first jolt of fireworks that had coursed through me when we had kissed. Her lips had felt so good against mine and they had tasted somewhat like strawberry. I licked my lips as I placed my essay on the table. I could still feel her lips on mine, pressing back with unexpected passion.

Suddenly, my eyes whipped over to look at her, remembering how she had wrapped her arms around my neck. She had kissed me back. She had felt the spark too. She had enjoyed it too.

"Yes!" I muttered under my breath. Harry and Hermione stopped talking and looked over at me. I quickly moved toward them and tried to get the conversation back on to Harry's lesson with Dumbledore. "Ummm… Yes… that sounds really interesting…"

Harry gave me that raised eyebrow again. I just smiled at him as I waited for him to continue his tale. In my head, a video of my kiss with Hermione played over and over and over as Harry talked.

Go on and kiss the girl.