Hey Everyone! I know I should be updating "The Swap," but I just had to get this out. I hope you can understand!
Disclaimer: Heard of J.K.? Yeah? Well, tough luck, 'cause I'm not her.
Ron Weasley was anxious. Quite anxious, in fact.
Actually, he didn't think that he'd been so anxious since his first Quidditch Match back at Hogwarts.
Now, to anyone else this may seem normal.
After all, it is his Wedding Day.
However, you know that when Ron Weasley's placed under pressure, his nerves tend to get the best of him.
This is why his Best Man, Harry Potter, was currently trying to calm him down with what else? Quidditch talk.
"You know," he was saying, "if Troy had used the Woollongong Shimmy in the last quarter of the match, England probably could have lost worse. I mean, Ireland's good. That's just all there is to it."
Ron, however, was not taking in a word of this and by the looks of it, was instead wearing a hole in the ground from his constant pacing.
Harry sighed. "Cheer up, mate! It's your Wedding Day!"
Ron began to wring his hands. "Yeah, but what if – you know…Hermione decides that I'm too stupid for her, or too clumsy, or too insensitive to her feelings or – "
Harry 'silencio'-d his friend and shoved him into a seat, finally having enough.
It was one thing to deal with Ron. It was another to deal with a nerve-wracked Ron.
"Now, Ron I really don't want to have to hex you any further," Harry began, as Ron glared daggers at him, "but if you don't hush up about all this nonsense, I will get Ginny in here for a major Bat-Bogey Hex session."
Ron's eyes quickly turned to the shapes of Galleons, and he shook his head vigorously.
"Alright, then," said Harry, reversing the simple spell. "Now, I'm going to go check up on some things. Will you try not to hurt yourself while I'm gone?"
"Har-bloody-har, Harry," came the sarcastic reply.
The Best Man stepped out of the small room, closing the door behind him, and Ron heaved a sigh.
He was still afraid, and his tenseness showed. He hadn't even been this on edge when he'd asked Hermione to marry him!
He sighed yet again, and walked over to the small window in his dressing room.
Upon opening the blinds, the red-headed man leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the window, watching the outside world.
He stared unconsciously at a wailing toddler in the distance, being hushed by a woman that looked to be her mother, and Ron recalled another scream of so long ago…
-----
He couldn't describe the feeling that he'd obtained as soon as he heard that scream.
His heart plummeted into his stomach and sat there like lead.
It didn't now matter how annoying she had been. She was in trouble and he wasn't going to stand there and let anything happen to her.
He and Harry, without thinking twice, bolted toward the bathroom doors just in time to see the girl shrinking against the wall, looking like she was going to pass out. Her face was a sickly color of green.
He could still remember the terrified look in her eyes that would forever haunt him…
Harry said something to him, but the sight of the girl was reeling in his head and Harry's words didn't register.
He did the first thing that came to mind.
"Oy, pea-brain!"
He had then proceeded to pick up the first object he could find and threw it at the beast.
Thinking he had been victorious, he heard a yell come from it, but found that only seconds later, the Troll had turned to him.
Harry had tried to get the girl to run, but she sat there, motionless. Ron silently pleaded that she would move.
He became aware at that moment, though, that the monster was coming toward him and he backed away ever so slowly.
Ron barely had time to notice that Harry had jumped on the creature's back when Harry's wand went flying up its nose.
Ron decided that this was not a fine time to laugh.
His thoughts quickly changed, however, when the Troll reached for its club.
Remembering the spell the girl had taught him, he blurted out "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The club had ended up knocking the Mountain Troll out. The room was no longer the only thing that was trembling.
When the professors showed up at the scene, he took pride in the girl as she saved them in her own way.
"Please, Professor McGonagall – they were looking for me."
"Miss Granger!"
"I went looking for the troll because I – I thought I could deal with it on my own – you know, because I've read all about them."
He, at that moment, was at a loss for words. His wand slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor. He couldn't believe it.
Miss Goody-Two-Shoes Granger lying? And to a professor, none the less.
"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now…"
Ron thanked his lucky stars every day at how true these words were.
He had truly gained a friend that day…
-----
"Hermione!"
She had been petrified. He couldn't believe it. This had to be a dream…no, a nightmare.
As he stared down at her frozen body, something burned in the back of his throat and his eyes became watery. He didn't dare let the drops leak, though.
He hadn't known what was happening to himself at that moment. It seemed like the whole world had frozen.
Everything was falling apart.
When Harry had found a lead that involved spiders, however, he became hesitant against his childhood fear.
Harry had passed him a note during Lunkhead's class.
'Let's do it tonight,' it had said.
He gulped. He wasn't sure he was ready. How could he face those – those things?
He looked over to Hermione's seat, expecting her to be there reprimanding them or taking notes, paying them no mind or waving her hand in the air ready to answer the question at hand.
But he didn't. Instead, he found an empty seat.
Ron remembered the expression on her frozen face when he had seen her in the Hospital Wing. He felt himself stiffen.
He turned and nodded at Harry.
He would have to do this…for Hermione.
-----
Sure, he wasn't completely oblivious to their fights…
"You bought that monster?"
"He's gorgeous, isn't he?"
To be honest, it was one of the ugliest things he had ever seen. It was a bowlegged, flat-faced squash!
"Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!" He was revolted.
"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" she had cooed to the unsightly creature. Ron had resisted the urge to gag.
"And what about Scabbers? He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going get it with that thing around?"
No matter how useless Scabbers was, everyone deserves some rest!
"That reminds me," she had said, "you forgot your rat tonic."
She all but shoved the bottle into his hands. "And stop worrying. Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages; no one wanted him."
She'd looked so sincere as she'd said this. He almost smiled.
Almost.
Instead, he'd let out a sarcastic remark.
"I wonder why."
She ignored him.
-----
He had been sitting there all night, glaring.
She had never looked so beautiful, or…exotic.
Life truly stunk for one Ronald Weasley at that moment.
There she was, out there in her teal dress robes, dancing with his favorite Quidditch Player!
It seemed almost surreal.
He would have to remember to dismember his Viktor Krum Quidditch figurine later.
Harry took a seat next to him, and said something. Ron didn't listen. He was to busy mentally listing ways to not-so-subtly murder Viktor Krum.
When the song finished, she had rushed over bringing Krum with her.
That's right. He didn't even feel the need to think the guy's first name anymore.
Krum kissed her hand then strode off toward the punch bowl. Ron's glare hardened.
Hermione took a seat next to Harry.
"It's hot, isn't it? Viktor's just gone to get some drinks."
He eyed her. "Viktor? Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"
She looked at him, bewildered. "What's up with you?"
"If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."
Yes, in case you were wondering, he'd known that he was being immature. He just hadn't cared at the time.
"Ron, what –?"
He'd cut her off, mostly out of anger.
"He's from Durmstrang! He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You – You're – ," he tried to think of something, anything she'd done wrong, "fraternizing with the enemy!"
She looked stunned. After a moment, however, she regained her composure.
"Don't be stupid!" she'd yelled, in fury. "The enemy! Honestly – who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"
Again, note to self: Destroy miniature Krum figure.
He tried to look like this comment hadn't affected him in the slightest.
"I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?" He knew she'd been spending a bit too much time in there!
"Yes, he did." Aha! He had made her blush. "So what?"
The next part of the conversation Ron didn't like to recall, as it was the first time he was aware that he had made Hermione cry in public.
He'd remembered the glaze that came over her eyes when the tears had built up. She, like he once had, fought them back, however.
Ron finally had enough, and snapped, "Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are."
She had jumped to her feet, and screeched at him, "Don't call him Vicky!"
She had then stalked out of the Great Hall, not once glancing back.
He had watched her go, not knowing whether to feel angry or satisfied. He settled for a speck of both.
What he couldn't understand, though, was why he had this feeling that seemed to be coming from somewhere in his navel.
Could it be…envy?
-----
Then came the bickering…
"Ron, you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet!"
-----
Row after row…
"How was practice?"
"Completely lousy."
He'd remembered feeling awful that day. He'd just wanted to disappear right on the spot.
"Well, it was only your first one," she'd tried to be soothing, he was just annoyed, "it's bound to take time to –"
He'd snapped at her, "Who said it was me that was lousy?"
"No one," she'd looked startled, "I just –"
He cut her off again, "I'm going to get started on some homework."
Only later did he feel the guilt...
-----
But she was always concerned…
"Good luck, Ron."
These words echoed in his mind, and what she did next surprised him even more.
When her lips had made contact with his cheek, that tingling sensation remained all day long.
Now, that was unexpected.
At that moment, he didn't quite know how it'd happened, but he felt attracted to her.
Those feelings never did go away…
-----
He could hardly bare to remember the look on her face that fateful day.
"Oh," he had stated, embarrassed.
"Oops!" Lavender had said in her girlish manner. He felt her tug at his hand, but his brain didn't seem to be moving at the same speed. She moved outside, anyway, closing the door behind her.
He then tried to break the awkwardness. Noticing Harry, he pretended to be cheerful saying, "Hi, Harry! Wondered where you'd gotten to!"
Hermione's eyes were murderous. The tears in her eyes remained unshed to him, as they always had.
"You shouldn't leave Lavender waiting outside," she had murmured, her voice laced with so much venom that Ron found himself quite frightened. "She'll wonder where you've gone."
He'd felt relieved that nothing worse had happened, despite the pure loathing she had showed for him.
However, at that moment, she had taken out her wand and aimed it directly at him.
"Oppugno!"
Now he was terrified.
She sent her little flock of canary birds in his direction, and was frozen.
When they made a connection with his skin, he could tell you that it felt nothing like the tingling of her lips there.
-----
However, when that summer came, he decided that he'd have to do something about it.
Especially after she had gotten fed up with him for the umpteenth time.
"'Mione! You didn't have to do that! Totally – Completely uncalled for!"
"And just what are you going to do about it, Ronald!?"
"This!"
With that, he had grabbed her by the shoulders, and kissed her for all he was worth.
When they pulled apart, both were breathing heavily and he rested his forehead against hers.
Her eyes remained closed, but she was panting deeply.
"Um, 'Mione?"
"Mmm-hmm?"
"Can you un-jinx my eyebrows now?"
-----
Ron smiled as he came out of his little reverie to find Neville quietly creeping into the room with Seamus in tow.
"Ready to go, mate?" asked an enthusiastic Seamus, noticing Ron watching them.
Ron nodded, grinning. He pulled his gaze away from the window.
"How're y-you feeling?" asked Neville, rather nervously. Jeesh, you'd think he was the one getting married!
Ron answered with something he remembered Hermione say all those years ago.
"Never Better."
Hmm...not quite sure what I think about this one.
However, this is COMPLETE! Thanks so much for all of your support, guys!
Anyway, please do REVIEW!
100-percent-Harry-Potter-obsessed