"You ruin EVERYTHING, Ronald!" Hermione yelled angrily.

Ron and Harry hurried away up the stairs, headed towards the Gryffindor common room.

"Good job, Ron. You made Hermione cry. Again."

"Well if she would stop being such a-"

"Such a what, Ron? What did Hermione do that was so bad?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Harry shook his head. "You should really go apologize."

"For what!" Ron asked, outraged.

"For being such an arse." he said, then walked on without him.

Ron watched him go, mouth gaping, with an angry expression on his face. He sat down on a window ledge, still fuming. After a few minutes, he calmed down.

"Maybe I was a little harsh to Hermione…" Ron said quietly to himself.

He walked back down to the Great Hall and saw Hermione sitting on the stairs, crying and massaging her foot. He quietly and slowly approached her. He stood behind her for a moment. She noticed someone standing behind her and turned around. She sent him an angry look through her tears and stood up. She turned away from him and walked back into the Great Hall. He ran after her.

"Hermione, wait." he said, grabbing her hand gently.

She jerked it away from him. "What?" she said flatly, still walking away from him.

"Please, Hermione." he said. He managed to get in front of her, and he placed his hands on her arms and stared into her eyes.

She sighed. "What is it, Ronald?" she said, a little less angry.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I was being stupid and overreacted."

"Ron….wait, you're apologizing?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah. And I really am sorry."

"Well… I forgive you."

"Good."

They stood there in awkward silence for a moment. A slow song started to play, and Ron glanced at Hermione. She glanced at him, too, and he looked away. She turned her attention to the dance floor, where the only two people dancing were Ginny and Neville. She smiled at them.

"Erm, Hermione?" Ron said nervously.

"Yes?"

"Would you maybe, um, like to dance?"

She smiled up at him. "Love to."

He smiled back at her, took her hand, and led her onto the dance floor. They slowly started to dance, but Ron kept stumbling because he was nervous. Hermione just giggled. After a few minutes, she moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. His ears went red, but he smiled.

Across the dance floor, Ginny was watching them. She nudged Neville and motioned to them. They both smiled and continued to dance.

The song ended, and Hermione was almost asleep on Ron's shoulder.

"Mione?"

"Mmmm?"

"We have to go back to the Common Room now."

Ron took a little step back, but she just slid down to his chest. He smiled down at her, and propped her back up on his shoulder. He thought for a moment about what he should do, then just decided to take her up himself. He carefully removed her from his shoulder, turned her around, and picked her up in his arms. He headed to the Common Room with the sleeping Hermione in his arms the whole way.

When they got there, he set her down on the couch, knowing he wouldn't be able to get into the girls' dormitories. He settled in next to her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Mione."