I'll apologise in advance for this chapter if you like Ron, because he goes to a whole other level of nasty now...I should probably put a warning on this one
Warning - Attempted rape and slight racism (because as you can tell, I don't have the highest opinion of Ronald Bilius Weasley)
Disclaimer: Yep. Still don't own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail...
In the days leading up the the Yule Ball, it was the only thing that anyone could think about. The girls were constantly talking about their dresses, and making plans to do each others hair and makeup, while the guys exchanged tips on how to keep your date happy.
Elfman in particular was nervous, having finally plucked up the courage to ask Evergreen, one of the young professors from Mahoutokoro that he had secretly liked since they were at Mahoutokoro Preparatory.
Hermione still couldn't get over the weird relationships between professors and students.
Before they knew it, the day was upon them, and every single student was rushing between rooms, borrowing makeup or finding lost ties - Natsu had even managed to briefly lose his portkey.
Fortunately, they found it, and everyone was ready to go by nine.
"Okay, in about 20 seconds these portkeys are going to activate and take us directly to Hogwarts. When you get there, try and find the others and we'll go in as a group," Hermione said, her face and outfit hidden by a cloak that made Sting nudge his brother.
Rogue scowled at his childish antics, and gave Hermione a quick grin, and saw her glossy lips return the gesture from the shadows under the hood.
The group felt the strange pull of the portkeys before they were transported to Hogwarts.
"Yeuch, that felt weird!" Natsu moaned, whilst Erza whacked him over the head.
"Shut up, idiot!" She said as Lucy walked towards him. "Lucy doesn't need your ridiculous complaining tonight!"
Natsu's head shot up, and his jaw fell open comically as he caught sight of his date.
Rogue watched the whole exchange with mild disinterest, waiting for his own date.
"Hello," a familiar voice whispered in his ear, and Rogue shivered.
He turned, and saw Hermione's full sensuous lips smirking at him from under the hood. Slowly, he lifted his hands, and drew the material away from her head and unfastened the gold clasp, letting it slip from his fingers and pool at her feet as be saw her outfit.
"Wow..." He said hoarsely, his throat suddenly dry. "You look...amazing..." He raised her hand to his mouth, and brushed his lips against her knuckles, drawing a blush from the beautiful witch.
"Shall we, my dear?" Rogue said, slipping his arm round Hermione's waist as they walked towards the doors.
"Right, champions! Champions over here! As per custom, you...six will open the ball with a dance." The woman paused and winked at Hermione and Harry who looked rather worried. "I'm sure any lessons you have had will come in very useful now."
She gestured towards the doors, and the six couples stood straight as they walked through the doors.
Hermione's appearance generated several whispers, most people wondering who this gorgeous witch was, until Lavender recognised her roommate.
"Is that Hermione Granger?!" The vapid girl hissed disbelievingly.
"Oh my god! It is!" Parvati Patil said, almost squealing.
"What a slut, tarting up like that for the ball - I bet she's trying to steal my Won-Won from me!" Lavender said egotistically, flipping her hair.
The stupid, hypocritical girl hadn't bothered to lower her voice, so both Rogue and Hermione heard what she was saying, and the shadow dragon-slayer tightening his grip on his date's hand.
"She's just jealous, you know? I'm surprised she can even walk in a dress that short without flashing the whole room," he murmured, and Hermione nodded her head, subconsciously leaning closer to him.
"Mmm hmm, and besides, why would I go after that idiotic redhead when I have the perfect guy right next to me?" She replied, and Rogue blushed slightly.
"Attention, everyone!" Albus Dumbledore called out, and suddenly all conversations ceased. "As per tradition, the ball will start with the champions and their dates, so once this song is finished, the rest of you can join in! The Yule Ball of 1994 will now...begin!"
The band on stage started to play a song, and the champions and their partners began dancing.
Hermione was trying to ignore the strange tingly feeling she was getting from Rogue's hands as he placed one on her waist and kept the other firmly clasped in his own. She tried looking straight ahead, but that didn't work, as she met his eyes as she did so, and couldn't tear them away! Golden brown met blood red, and she could see his pupils dilating as they grew closer and closer...
Then the song ended, the other students clapping before making their own ways onto the dance floor. Hermione blinked, blushing as the applause shocked her out of her daze.
"S-sorry!" She said, quickly stepping away from Rogue. As she tripped over someone's foot, the brunette braced herself to make contact with the floor, and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't. Instead, she opened her eyes to see Rogue staring at her, arms wrapped firmly around her torso.
"Be careful, Hermione," he mumbled, blushing at their predicament. Once he was sure that she was steady again, the dragon-slayer released his date. "Do you want a drink, 'Mione?" He asked, and she nodded. "Okay, wait over with Harry and Yukino, I'll be back soon." He pointed towards their two friends who were sat at a table in the corner.
Hermione made her way over there, and opened her mouth to greet them, but was interrupted by a certain redhead.
"Hey, 'Mione, can I talk to you for a sec? Outside?" He asked, fidgeting slightly.
Hermione frowned, looking towards Harry quickly, who was listening in. She caught his eye, making sure he knew where she was going before agreeing. She didn't trust Ron at the moment - not with the way he'd been acting.
"What did you want to talk about, Ron?" She asked when they got outside.
Ron turned around and scowled. "You. Why did you come with that loser when you could've come with me?"
Hermione backed away ever so slightly. "He asked me first. And also, I didn't want to go with you, Ron."
"Bullshit!" He roared, and Hermione flinched. "I know what you want, Hermione, and it isn't some pansy foreign kid." He grinned, but his eyes were cold. Suddenly, before she knew what had happened, Hermione found herself in a body-bind charm, courtesy of the boy in front of her, and Ron was kissing her cold, unmoving lips.
"See, 'Mione? That's what you want, isn't it," he asked, and Hermione shook her head, the charm not quite reaching her head, or toes.
Ron's scowl returned, and his hands rose from her waist to her breasts. Hermione's expression filled with terror as she realised what he was trying to do. She desperately tried to move anything but her head, but the charm was wearing off too slowly.
"How about this, then?" He smirked, and moved his hands to the back of her dress, undoing the buttons one by one. "Or this? Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you, you little mudblood whore!"
Hermione squeezed her teary eyes shut, praying that someone - anyone would find her and stop Ron before it was too late.
Harry was worried. Hermione had only just left the hall, but still - something didn't feel right. Looking around for Rogue, Harry cursed the fact that so many people seemed to have black hair. He suddenly caught sight of a blonde having a conversation with a blunette, and headed towards them.
"Lucy! Hey, Lucy! Have you seen Rogue?" He yelled, and the blonde nodded.
"He was in line to get some punch last I saw him!" She yelled back, grinning before returning to her conversation.
Harry struggled through the crowd, finally reaching the punch table. He could see Rogue near the front of the queue and hurried towards him.
"Hey, Harry. What's up?" He asked, seeing the other boy's worried expression.
"Hermione just went outside with Ron. He said he wanted to talk - something just doesn't feel right," Harry replied, and Rogue swore.
"Where'd he take her?" He demanded. Harry pointed to a small set of doors that headed out onto the grounds, and Rogue headed towards them.
"Hermione!" He yelled. "Where are you, 'Mione?" No response.
He traipsed through the foliage, following her scent. When he found her, there were no words for how he felt. Rage was the closest thong he could think of. Unending, inexplicable rage.
He roared and charged at the Weasley boy, knocking him out of the way. Jumping on top of the redhead, Rogue began hitting him, throwing punch after punch until his face was practically unrecognisable. It was only when he heard Hermione call his name that he began to come back to his senses, breathing heavily. He could smell her tears.
Turning to his date, Rogue helped her do up her dress, and handed her his jacket to stop the shivering. It was about half a minute before she broke down, sobbing.
"H-he tried t-to...to..." She cried, her tears leaking into his shoulder.
"Shhh, 'Mia. It's going to be absolutely fine now. I'm here. I won't let him hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you. I swear it, you are my-the only thing that matters to me," love, he almost said.
When she calmed down, he sat her down on a bench, casting a quick glance at Weasley to make sure he was still unconscious.
"I...He said he wanted to talk, but when we got out here he started insulting you, saying I should've gone with him. Then when I told him I didn't want to...h-he cast the b-body-bind charm on m-me! I couldn't do a-anything he almost...he almost..." Hermione started sobbing again.
The doors to the Great Hall suddenly smashed open, and a tall dark haired figure in severe black robes walked out. "Mr Cheney, Miss Granger...Hermione...what happened?" Professor Snape said, kneeling on the ground next to them.
Rogue scowled and jerked his head towards Weasley. "That-that bastard assaulted Hermione. He was going to rape her!" Snape recoiled.
"Miss Gr-Hermione, is this true?" He asked angrily, glaring at the unconscious redhead.
Hermione nodded, still sobbing into Rogue's shirt. "Mr Cheney, escort your date to the hospital wing, wait there with her until I return. I will take care of Mr Weasley," he sneered at the name, "and escort him to a safe holding space before contacting Albus. This will not go unpunished - however much that meddling old coot tries to play favourites with certain families, I can assure you of that." The Professor stood up and marched away, levitating the piece of scum behind him, accidentally hitting the boy's head against several branches.
"C'mon, 'Mione. Let's get you inside," Rogue said gently, and Hermione tensed.
"I don't...want anyone to see me like this, Rogue," she whispered, and he stood, pulling her to his feet.
"We won't be seen, then. Shadow travel is, in my opinion, the best form of transport, don't you think?" He said, and the teary eyed witch smiled at him and nodded, then the two melted into the darkness.
The Headmaster had been easier to convince than Severus had thought he would be. Considering how much the old coot favoured the Weasleys - forever bailing the little brats out of trouble, especially the twins - he had thought it would be much harder to get Ronald Weasley expelled. Pouring himself a shot of firewhiskey, Severus Snape leant back in his chair and thought about what had happened this evening.
A furious Severus Snape marched through the Great Hall, some students actually diving out of his way as he stormed past. Even the oldest students had never seen the man this angry - it was terrifying.
A young blonde girl gasped as she saw Weasley floating behind him. "That's my Won-Won! What have you done to him?" The idiot demanded.
Any other time, Severus would have ignored the girl and kept going, but he felt the need to tell everyone about what Weasley had tried to do. This way, at least if the old coot kept the brat in school, the other students would know about their fellow classmate. A rather Gryffindor move, but still...
"Mr Weasley was caught outside attempting to - to rape one of your fellow students. I say attempt, because the little sh-the brat was stopped by the young girl's date, but I loathe to think what would have otherwise happened. I now have to discuss this matter further with the Headmaster, but it is my hope that he will do the responsible thing and expel Weasley before he has a chance to try again."
Thinking back on it, that would probably have been the thing that made Albus have to expel the boy! If Weasley had stayed, and some of those children had written home to their parents...well, that would not have gone down well for the old coot. Who knew that such a Gryffindor move would serve to be so...Slytherin!
Severus grimaced and downed several shots worth of firewhiskey at once, chugging directly from the bottle. He sighed as his thoughts strayed to the girl who was rapidly becoming his favourite student - and he would actually admit it.
Hermione Granger never ceased to amaze him, and the young girl had such innate ability in potions that Severus was honestly considering offering her an apprenticeship. This would be the same man who wanted so badly to not ever have an apprentice that he had asked Albus Dumbledore to put a clause in his contract about it! The alcohol started to make the potions master's head spin, and he passed out in his office, to pleasant dreams - memories, rather - of humiliating Weasley in his class.
After they made it back to Granger Manor, Rogue told Lucy what had happened, and she and Levy stayed up for several hours comforting Hermione.
"It's okay now, Hermione. You're safe - and remember, tomorrow's Christmas!" Levy said, trying to cheer her fellow bookworm up.
Hermione actually smiled at this. "I hope my parents haven't gone overboard with your gifts..." She murmured before falling asleep.
Levy raised her eyebrows at Lucy who shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. You don't really think they bought gifts for all of us, do you?" The blonde asked.
"Guess we'll see tomorrow. Night, Lulu," Levy said yawning.
"Night, Lev," Lucy replied, and the two followed their roommates example and fell asleep.
A/N - As an apology to any Ron-lovers out there, I made this chapter extra long, and I bow down, offering up this metaphorical gift. Thankfully, Hermione has her friends (and Rogue *wink wink*) to help her recover from this ordeal. Now that he's out of the picture - tomorrow's Christmas! In the fic...though I wish it was already!
Reviews please, but still no flames - save them for Natsu! •^_^•