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The Enemy, Chapter 2
I awoke, groggy, hitting the alarm clock harder than necessary. As I walked across the room to the bathroom, grumbling to myself about how school started too bloody early, yesterday's events came flooding back to me all at once. An involuntary grin spread across my face. Ron had been surprisingly bold, more confident than ever. I hoped it wasn't just a one-time thing.
And then I remembered that I had wanted to punish him…for what? Thinking was easier when Ron wasn't near me. Much easier. He had growled at me. Growled. Sure, Ron growling was totally hot, but I told him I would punish him, so punish him I would.
I wandered down to the common room, waving at Harry as I passed him. I idly wondered if Ron had said anything to him about last night. We walked to the great hall for breakfast in silence, knowing that Ron would be the first to anywhere with food.
He looked cuter than he ever had, sitting at the Gryffidor table all alone. The white sleeves of his uniform were pushed up to just below his elbows, revealing his muscled forearms. I smirked, going over my plan in my head again. It wouldn't be easy, but it needed to happen.
Ron looked up at us as Harry sat on one side of him and I sat on the other, a bit closer than usual. I had to do anything I could to make him go crazy during the day, or the plan wouldn't work nearly as well. He stared down at me intensely for a moment and I wondered if I was going to have to buy him sunglasses in order for the plan to work. It was utterly impossible to look away. And he knew it. He smirked cockily, still not releasing me from his gaze. Apparently the confidence wave hadn't worn off just yet.
I felt my cheeks get hot as he leaned slightly closer. Unnoticeable to anyone else, but a drastic change to me.
"…That old crooked-nosed coot assigned the essay, then there's Quidditch practice, and…hey, are you two even listening?" I hadn't realized that Harry was talking until Ron tore his gaze from mine, suddenly seeming embarrassed. The tips of his ears matched his hair as he turned to face Harry.
"Sure, we are. Snape and the essay and no time…" Ron said quickly. I marveled at how well Ron could multitask all of a sudden. I wouldn't have noticed if the school was on fire, and he was part of a conversation?
I took a deep breath, clearing my head. I scooted closer and looked the other way, not willing to risk looking at him. "Eggs?" Ron offered, his voice just a bit higher than usual. I inwardly congratulated myself- my proximity effected him, too. His face remained scarlet as I nodded and took the plate of eggs from him, his fingers barely brushing mine.
"Thanks," I muttered, still not chancing as much as a glance at his blue eyes. Normally, I could look at them knowing that he would look away within seconds, but now…now that he knew what those eyes of his did to me, their power was all the more frightening.
The rest of breakfast went smoothly, due to the fact that I only looked at him when he was talking to me, and even then I avoided his eyes. I couldn't afford another slip-up. I couldn't let him think he was in control.
We rose from the table, Harry the only one talking. Ron picked up my books, surprising me into looking at him. "I can get them," I said softly.
"So can I," he grinned, walking away. I followed him down to the dungeons for potions, doing my best to keep up with his lengthy strides. I was out of breath by the time we had arrived at our destination.
We quickly sat down as Snape entered the room and began his lecture about absolutely nothing. I waited a while before tentatively outstretching my hand beneath the table and drawing circles on his knee with my pinky finger. Ron stiffened, his eyes widening. I forced myself not to grin as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
I traced random shapes just above his knee, growing bolder as I realized how this was affecting him. His eyes darted nervously toward me, and I watched him take a few deep breaths before continuing to take notes. I drew lines up and down his thigh, not failing to notice how firm it was.
" 'Mione," he whimpered quietly after a while. I allowed myself to grin this time, looking up at his helpless expression, his shocked eyes.
"Hmm?" I responded brightly, my hand still tracing shapes all along his upper leg. I tried not to laugh at how utterly terrified he looked.
"I…I don't, I mean I…" he mumbled, looking straight at me now. I stared back at him triumphantly. He sighed deeply, squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again, finally relaxing.
The class went by too quickly for the first time. I rose immediately to head to my next class, separate from Ron. I glanced over my shoulder to see him still sitting there, dazed. Chuckling evilly, I walked down the corridor, already planning my next move.
My next two classes went by slowly, just because Ron wasn't in them with me. I looked forward to transfigurations for once, and finally, it came. He was there, in the seat next to mine when I walked in. He smiled when he saw me, but not his usual smile. This one scared me. It was too secretive, too mischievous. I approached him slowly, cautious.
Once I had reached my seat, he pulled out my chair for me, never taking his eyes off my face. I checked the chair for any Zonko's products before turning and sitting down. Ron scooted his chair over until it was touching mine, his arm resting on the table just inches from mine. My hand itched to close the tiny space between us as Professor McGonnogal instructed us on how to turn a bar of soap to a box of matches.
Half way through the class, Ron leaned toward me until his lips were at my ear. "I know what you're trying to do. I don't know why you're doing it, but I know I won't let it work," he whispered quietly.
"If you say so," I laughed, my hand not faltering on the page I was taking notes on. "But it seemed to work just fine in potions, didn't it?"
Ron just looked at me oddly, unable to form a response that could both deny what I had said and still be accurate at the same time. Although I had won the argument, and he had indeed been affected by me in potions, his warning had gotten to me a bit, made me less daring. I decided not to try anything with him for the rest of class.
I walked next to him uncertainly to Charms, carrying my own books this time. Ron stared into space for most of the class, sighing occasionally as if trying unsuccessfully to figure something out. A sudden burst of courage at the end of the class possessed me to reach up and wipe a smudge of dirt from his face, barely brushing the edge of his lip with the motion.
His eyes were helpless as he stared down at me, standing completely still and licking his lips as I lowered my hand. "There was dirt," I explained softly.
He swallowed hard before responding, "Oh. Thanks."
I swept out of the room abruptly, leaving him standing in the middle of the classroom, dazed again. His mood swings were impossible to predict. One moment, he's a complete pushover and this little game is almost too easy to win. The next, he's warning me that my little plan won't work, turning my insides to mush.
Only two classes left for the day, one without him and the last one with him. The first was merely a planning hour, preparing for the big finale of his punishment. I grew nervous the more I thought about what I had to do. I walked shakily from the class, readying myself to see him, to not be affected by the way he smelled, his ginger hair, his touch…to avoid his eyes at all costs. Because I knew, once he had me locked on those astonishingly blue orbs, the whole plan would go down the drain.
I was the first to arrive in class this time. I arranged my books, keeping my eyes trained on the door. He entered the room with his jaw clenched, his face determined. He took his seat next to me without a word, just a single nervous glance in my direction. But that one glance was all I needed to know that he was not in overconfidence mode at the moment. A definite plus, for me.
We both took notes, as usual, and most of the class was just an ordinary class. Except for the atmosphere. Its usual boringness was replaced with unmistakable electricity, tension. And we both noticed it. Ron's eyes frequently wandered over to me, only to look straight ahead as soon as I returned the gaze.
I finally leaned over, bringing my face within inches of his. "Did you catch what she just said? I seem to have been daydreaming, but I think that may have been rather important," I murmured, staring him straight in the eye. He swallowed hard, his gaze flickering to my mouth and then back up to my eyes.
"Sorry? What?" he asked me, his eyes remaining at my lips now.
"I said, did you hear what the professor just told us?" I repeated, pushing a bit of hair off his forehead as casually as I could. His eyes widened, coming back to rest on my eyes once more.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, are you listening?" the professor asked us sternly. I hastily nodded, elbowing Ron when he just continued to stare at me. He nodded, too, looking up to the teacher immediately. "Regardless, its time for you all to go to dinner," she sighed, not seeming to care enough to take away points or give us detention.
I stood and waited for Ron, then walked from the room, nervous again. He followed closely behind me until we reached an empty broom cupboard on the second floor. He stopped abruptly, grabbing me around the wrist and pulling me in behind him. He shut the door hastily, then turned to me with an apprehensive grin.
Ron took a few long strides toward me, taking my face between his hands and leaning down toward me, closing his eyes. I ducked away from him at the last moment, avoiding his lips. His eyes flipped open in surprise and confusion. "What's wrong?" he asked me softly.
"Nothing," I replied nonchalantly, smiling just a bit to prove my point. Ron smirked, backing me up against the wall and leaning in again. I hadn't been ready for this, not expecting to be literally trapped. All I could do was turn my head, making Ron miss and kiss my cheek instead.
"Hey," he protested, so close to my face.
"What's the matter?" I whispered, letting my mouth brush his ear lightly. My arms rose to his shoulders, my fingers tangling in his hair. His eyes slipped shut and his head lolled back as I ran my hands through his hair repeatedly. I leaned forward to kiss the very tip of his nose.
"You really must start paying attention in class, Ron." I reprimanded, my mouth barely moving against his. He leaned in again, just as I turned my face away from him. I removed my hands from his hair to run my pointer finger up and down his neck.
"Oh," he eventually whispered in realization. "Punishment. This is the p-punishment, isn't it?"
"Very good," I complimented. I kissed his cheek, his nose, his forehead, and he just stood there, helpless, watching me with pleading eyes.
"Please, 'Mione. It's not like I meant to growl at you," he pointed out desperately, his eyes slipping closed again as I rubbed his shoulders.
"So? You still did." I argued.
"Well, it's your fault for giving me a reason to growl at you in the first place!" he accused. I pulled away, dropping my hands.
"Don't you dare turn this on me, Ronald Weasley," I demanded softly.
Ron leaned forward, trying to kiss me again. I brought my hands up between us, blocking my face. "Your punishment is not over yet!"
"Wanna bet?" Ron asked, pinning my wrists against the wall above my head and kissing me hard. I relaxed against him, returning his kiss. He took a step closer to me so that there was no space between us, and no space between the wall and I. I moaned into his mouth as he kissed me deeper than he ever had before.
Needless to say, we were late for dinner.
XXXXX
I'm aware that they're a bit out of character, sorry about that.
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