Hermione was putting the finishing touches on her hair with Ginny. She'd raced out to find her immediately after discovering the answer to Ron's riddles and she was as excited as Hermione was. There was only one hour to go before she'd have to be up there.
"What do you think he's prepared?" Ginny said, while brushing Hermione's hair, "Knowing him it could just be a late-night quidditch match."
Hermione smiled. "Knowing Ron, It'll probably be something unexpected."
Ginny sighed deeply. "I wish my boyfriend was that romantic."
The two girls grinned at each other in the mirror, and then continued their work. Hermione had spent more than an hour putting on rouge and mascara. Ginny's impressive collection of make-up was cluttered over the bathroom floor by now, combined with an enormous mountain of make-up Ginny had borrowed from friends.
Ginny had proven her expertise in make-up by showing Hermione what colours best suited her complexion and how to apply the make-up in an efficient way without it being noticeable. They'd spent hours in the bathroom by now, working on several parts of Hermione's appearance. Ginny had even taken up the quest of combing and taming Hermione's wild hair.
"I told you," Hermione said in an amused way after Ginny had cursed her hair under her breath, "There's just no way of getting through it."
Ginny snorted. "I'll get this hair sorted out even if it's the last thing I do! All there really is to it is keeping your patience and working from the bottom up."
And indeed, after half an hour of combing, cursing and chatting, Hermione could do nothing else but be in awe of Ginny's achievements. Her hair, normally frizzy and bushy, was now perfectly combed. It still was bushy, but in a controlled sort of way. Most of the individual hairs that normally stuck out of her bushy mane (causing the frizzy look) were now in check with the rest. Ginny looked at her achievements and sighed.
"I wish I had hair like that", she dreamed, "My hair sucks."
Hermione snorted. "Trust me, there is such a thing as too much volume. It's the reason I don't spend a lot of time in front of the mirror. It just has no use."
After getting the hair straightened out and the make-up applied, it was time to get dressed. Hermione had wanted to go to the divination tower in her school robes, but Ginny absolutely forbade it.
"If you want to make it a night to remember," she'd said knowingly, "you'll have to dress to impress."
Ginny had borrowed a dress for her, though she wouldn't tell Hermione to who it had belonged. All she had said was that it was red and would suit her perfectly. It hung on one of the bathroom doors, wrapped neatly in its sheath. Hermione had tried to peek inside it before, but Ginny had unfortunately noticed her, and told her off for nearly ruining the surprise.
"Shouldn't we have done my hair after I put on the dress?" Hermione asked hesitantly. Her experiences with dress robes were quite limited, and the dress she'd worn on the Yule Ball had been a pain to get into.
"Don't worry," Ginny said in a secretive way, "This dress doesn't go over you head, you step into it..."
Ten minutes later, Hermione stood in front of the mirror and felt rather ashamed. Ginny was wolf-whistling at her, a content smile on her face.
"Who's dress was this?" Hermione said while looking at it, "It's so.."
"Revealing?" Ginny added quickly.
"Yeah. Not in a bad way, mind."
The dress was made out of a flaming red silk, that tightly followed the contours of her body. The waist part curved in slightly, accentuating Hermione's hourglass waist. The dress ran down from there to about her knees, with a high split in the side. Then there was the top part. Although Hermione had never really given it much thought, the dress's top part was a push up, which currently offered two round and attractive benefits that normally weren't visible in the Hogwarts dress robes. The dress stopped there, leaving her shoulders, her arms and a large part of her back and chest exposed.
"I can't wear this. This is way too… open for me!"
Ginny was looking at her in a bemused way.
"I bet I could find a necklace that would look absolutely stunning with this dress."
"Didn't you hear me Ginny?" Hermione pleaded, "This dress is way too sexy."
"Nonsense, you finally look like a proper seventeen-year old", Ginny said, "Ron will be speechless."
The thought of Ron ogling over her like that, Hermione thought in a deep, hidden part of her brain, was quite interesting. Surely the low cleavage and high split in the dress were going to make Ron a happy man.
"About that necklace..."
Hermione, having 'borrowed' Harry's invisibility cloak, was creeping down the stairs of the girls' dormitories. The common room was relatively calm, as it was now nearing twelve 'o clock. She slipped between everyone and, when Ginny pretended to go out for a snack, slipped through the portrait hole with her. It was about a ten minutes walk to the divination tower, and with fifteen minutes left, she'd better hurry. She wanted to be sure she was on time.
"Don't forget to have a good time," Ginny said, "Don't let your nerves get in the way of that. He's probably just as nervous as you. It was the same for me and Harry after the match."
Hermione started threading up the stairs, inwardly praying they weren't going to have any fights tonight.
Ten minutes later, Hermione slowly walked up the staircase to the divination tower. Her heart was pounding in her throat; small beads of sweat were forming on her forehead; a feeling of dizziness starting to take over. Even taking on a mountain troll would have made her less nervous, because she'd know what to do. This, love, was all new to her, and she couldn't rely on books to help her through. She was nearly up the stairs when she saw Ron. He was standing at the top of the stairs, wearing his dress robes and smiling at her nervously.
Merlin, I forgot how good he looks in those new dress robes. Fred and George really bought some quality robes for him, Hermione thought secretly, while walking up the last few steps. Ron had gotten them a while ago, in compensation for the heinous atrocity he'd worn to the Yule Ball. His new dress robes were of outstanding quality and suited him well. The dark clothing highlighted his eyes and his hair, the two parts of his body Hermione loved best. The beige shirt underneath, his white and gold bow tie and the brass cuff links, everything enhanced the picture of Ron as a gallant man.
"Good afternoon, milady" Ron began in a fake posh accent, "I would like to welcome yea to the tower of divinations, where we shall share a delightful midnight feast. I hope you brought your appetite."
Hermione chuckled and looked into his eyes. To an outsider, they might have just resembled two kids, standing there, looking at each other for half a minute in uncomfortable silence, but an insider would have felt the fire and passion that flamed between their longing eyes. Hermione felt herself wanting to pull Ron close and never let him go. She felt the insatiable urge to cave in on him, finally giving in on her emotions (not to mention hormones). She'd wanted tonight more than anything in the world. For years now, she'd dreamt only of him. After half a minute, Ron broke the uncomfortable silence by pulling down the trap door that lead to the divination classroom. He beckoned her up before him, in an effort to be gallant.
Seeing the divination tower had never been this interesting. Ron had installed several candles in tactical places, and had lit several of the lamps that hung from the ceiling. The room was clothed in it normal colors, red and purple, but the candlelight made it seem like everything was different. The stuffy age-old air that Hermione had come to associate with the classroom had vanished, replaced with a fresher one. One that made her realize just how pretty the room actually was.
"I'm glad you came, love." Ron was standing behind her, his lips close to her ears, whispering to her in a way that made her feel like her knees were going to buckle. Hermione smiled and turned around.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Ron smiled at her and looked into her chocolate eyes. She noticed him drawing closer, his lips barely two inches away from hers. Hermione could feel his warm breath on her face, as she slowly closed the gap to his mouth. They'd kissed a dozen times by now, every time in complete secrecy. They'd shared several toilet bowls, empty classrooms and even a deserted corner of the library by now, and the divination tower was moments away from joining the list. As Ron's lips came closer and closer, she remembered their first kiss, after Ron broke up with Lavender. It had felt perfect, exactly like she'd always hoped it would be. The burning desire to kiss Ron had been fuelled for more than a year and when her lips and tongue finally found his, that desire had burned with unparalleled intensity. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before.
Even now, many secret-filled months later, she still felt like this kiss would be their first. Hermione hoped every kiss they would ever share would feel just like that, so passionate and delicate that the mere thought of it made her heart ache with desire and lust.
"Shall we begin?" Ron said, suddenly walking away from her.
Hermione was sure he'd felt that urge to kiss too. She was sure Ron would have wanted nothing else but to kiss her.
"Is he playing hard-to-get?"
The dinner table was set up in the middle of the room. It was the round table she'd seen in the room of requirement. It was furnished in a red tablecloth, holding a set of plates and candles. Pieces of cutlery engraved with the Hogwarts crest were neatly ordered beside each plate. There was a big set of them, including five forks, four knives and as much as three spoons. Each of them was polished and shimmered brightly in the dim light of the divination tower torches and the three candles in the middle of the table. Ron pulled one of the chairs back for Hermione to sit on. She tried to do so in an elegant way, during which the split in her dress opened up and revealed much of her thigh. Ron pretended not to have noticed it, but when he sat down, Hermione noticed that slight twitch in the corner of his mouth that always betrayed him in moments like these.
The origami dragon sitting on her plate began eyeing her curiously, slowly walking forward towards Hermione.
"This one doesn't seem to be guarding anything." Hermione said, after stroking the dragon's snout.
"These are Czechian Firebellies, they breed in the winter," Ron replied after sitting down on his own chair, "I hope you're feeling hungry, you know how the house elves can get when they have the chance to cook for someone."
Hermione smiled. This was not the time for a debate about house elf rights. Besides, they did seem to enjoy cooking for humans…
Ron picked up a small bell that had been placed beside his plate. It had a light and high tingly sound, immediately followed by the appearance of a shrimp cocktail on both their plates. The Czechian Firebellies franticly jumped aside in confusion, both of them tumbling off the side of their plate. Hermione was about to pick up a knife and fork, but noticed the diversity of her choice.
"Uhm, Ron?" Hermione asked hesitantly, "What fork and knife should I use to eat this?"
Ron smiled. "You work from the outside in," he said, "but a shrimp cocktail is generally eaten with a spoon."
"Great," Hermione thought, "couldn't I have just waited for him to pick up the spoon instead of making a fool out of myself?"
Two and a half courses later, both Hermione and Ron were enjoying their main course. Hermione had eaten most of her 'Tournedeau de Chevreuil aux Myrtilles', when she realized what was happening. While Ron and her had been in a deep discussion about what had happened this year, and Hermione suddenly realized what a great time she was having. Ron and her were talking animatedly, while she was absent-mindedly rubbing her feet against his. Ron was positively beaming at her, obviously enjoying the moment just as much as she did.
"The Burrow", Ron suddenly said.
"What about the Burrow?"
"It was the word you wrote on my birthday present. It took me quite some time to realize what it meant. But when I did, I realized the enormity of it. I want to tell you the answer to all the riddles."
"Yes?"
"In our first day of the year, during potions, professor Slughorn had brewed up those four potions. The first was on the Slytherin table; Veritaserum. The second, on the Ravenclaw table, was Polyjuice Potion. On Slughorn's desk was the Felix Felicis, but the most important one that day was right in front of us, on the Gryffindor table. You see, when I sat down, I smelled three things. The first was my favourite snack, a cress and eggs sandwich. The second was the smell of my bed back home. The third scent was a smell that I swore I would never tell anyone about. You see... I smelled you, or, more specifically, the perfume you wear."
Ron looked at her slight bewilderment. Hermione knew how long he had wanted to tell her this. She knew how much he had wanted to share his secret, because she had wanted to share hers for just as long.
"It was the third scent you smelled that day, Hermione. The third scent you smelled was the Burrow."
Hermione nodded. A part of her felt embarrassed to tell him this. She had hidden her feelings for Ron for so long now, that it felt odd to be able to talk to him about it. It felt like talking to a stranger you have known your entire life. A stranger you had talked to every day of your life, come to know through and through, yet who still was a stranger. Hermione knew more about Ron than anyone else. She knew his hopes and fears, his wishes, opinions and she was pretty sure about she could guess about his dreams too. Yet for the first night in all their time together, she felt she could tell Ron anything. Which quite naturally meant she couldn't find the words to say anything. All she could do was stare into those blue eyes and smile.
"Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"I love you. I know my feelings for you aren't just a crush or school fling, because I outgrew those long ago. I want to ask you something. Something I should have asked you a long time ago. Something I should have asked you before, but never found the courage for. Something I have wanted to ask you for years."
"What do you want to ask?"
Ron stood up from his chair. Visibly nervous, he slipped down beside her and, sitting onto one knee, took her right hand.
"Hermione Granger," he said in nothing more than the slightest of whispers, "It would be the greatest honour in my life, if you would like to be my girlfriend."
The feelings Hermione had felt all night long resembled an emotional flat-liner compared to the emotions that the adrenaline, euphoria and hormones coursing her body were now freely flooding her mind with. Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron's head and tugged him in close. Ron's head, pressed against her bosom, was slowly turning red as he struggled to get out from her suffocating grasp.
"...Hmmpf!" Ron murmured, while patting Hermione on the back.
"...HMMPF!"
Unfortunately for Ron, Hermione only noticed his struggle the third attempt, when his pat became a bit harder and his muffled yells became more like a plead for life than an inaudible mumble. When she let a red-faced Ron go, she smiled at him hopefully.
"I'm starting to realize why I didn't ask you earlier..." Ron jested merrily, after taking his seat again.
The two lovers finished their dinner and, after eating desert and fantasizing about their future, decided to call it a night. Ron ringed the small bell twice and the left-overs, cutlery and plates all vanished instantly. Ron then whipped out his wand and transmuted the table back to its original form, one of the pouffes that littered the ground of the divination tower. Hermione, having taken out her wand too, vanished the extra candles that Ron had lit.
"Looks like everything is back to normal again", Ron said, "Let's get going before Trelawny returns."
Hermione took his arm and, fingers intertwined, headed down the tower, back to the Gryffindor common room.
"Ron?" Hermione asked hesitantly, "What are we going to say to Harry?"
"The truth I guess. We'll break it to him slowly tomorrow evening."
"That means we've got just one more day of secrecy left." Hermione made sure to put the emphasis on the right words, knowing Ron would understand the double meaning of it.
Once downstairs, Hermione went to the statues of "The Maid, the Mother, and the Crone" to retrieve Harry's invisibility cloak. She was reaching behind the back of the crone when Ron suddenly picked her up and shoved her behind the statues. His hand covered her mouth and he held her tightly in his grasp, pinning her against the wall to make sure she couldn't get away. With a free hand, he quickly threw the invisibility cloak over them both. She looked into his eyes to see him looking distressed.
What are you doing? Hermione thought. For a second, a horrible thought had entered her mind, but she blew it off immediately. Ron surely wouldn't do that to me...
Hermione noticed what was wrong when she heard Trelawny walking in the corridor. Hearing the tell-tale slapping of her flip-flops on the flagstones, Hermione noticed Ron had effectively hidden both her and himself from her sight. She could hear Trelawny muttering curses under her breath.
"The nerve of that man!" she suddenly exclaimed to no one in particular, "How dare he ignore the obvious warnings my inner eye has revealed! No good can come from this, no good!"
When Ron and Hermione finally reached the Gryffindor common room and removed the invisibility cloak, both of them were yawning with sleep. It was three o'clock by now, and so they decided to call it a night. After sharing a long and passionate kiss, which ended on one of the chairs in front of the fire, both of them went up to their own dormitory. Hermione shuffled along the deserted staircase, when one of the doors suddenly opened. Ginny Weasley pulled Hermione into the lavatories.
"I want to hear everything," she chanted, "From the moment you went through the portrait hole until the moment you went up the dormitories. And don't forget to share the juicy parts!"
One hour later, Hermione was finally out of the red dress Ginny had found for her. Although it was heaven to see Ron looking at her in 'that way', she'd started to feel rather out of character in it.
Ron will just have to do with me in my school robes, she thought amusingly, before he sees me in anything else. Or anything less for that matter...
She was about to step into bed when she noticed her pillow was upside-down. Underneath it was a red envelope with her name on it, written in the neatest way Ron could write it. She'd seen it twice before, and on both occasions hadn't opened it. Now, she slid her finger across the opening, revealing the content of it.
Ron!, she thought, You romantic little devil!
In the envelope were the five riddles she'd thought up for him and the five riddles he'd devised for her. There was a small parchment added behind the last:
"Dear Hermione,
If you read this parchment, that means we're finally together. I can't tell you how much I've wanted this to happen. I love you. My feelings for you are not just a crush or a fling, I outgrew that years ago. What I feel for you is love. I've enclosed the original version of each riddle, so we can look back on our secret days together at Hogwarts.
- Ron"