Chapter Five
Christmas…
Over the past three months, Hermione had done everything she could keep herself from thinking about Ron. Of course, it didn't help that he was nearly always around. However, tonight she was going to have fun. It was Christmas after all and there was a grand ball being held.
Hermione ran a brush through her mass of curls and smoothed her dress as she looked herself over in the mirror one final time. She chewed on her lip as she regarded herself and then scrunched her nose. Well, you're no Juliet, but it'll work, she thought. She then turned and headed out of the dormitory.
Ginny met her in the common room, smiling brightly when she saw her. "Wow, Hermione you look gorgeous!"
Hermione smiled and shook her head as she said, "Nowhere near as gorgeous as you look. Harry's going to drool."
Ginny spun around playfully, showing off the long green dress she was wearing. "When I heard we were having a ball for Christmas, I wrote to Fleur and asked her if I could borrow a dress… this is the one she sent me."
"That was awfully kind of her… Green is such a great color on you."
Ginny smiled and fluffed her hair a bit with a playful air. "Thank you. Now come on, let me get a good look at you."
Hermione turned and then looked at Ginny questioningly. "What do you think?"
"I think that if Ron doesn't pluck up the courage to finally tell you how he feels, then he's a stupid git who doesn't deserve such a gorgeous girl."
Hermione smiled sadly and looked down at her hands. "Ginny, I really don't think there's any hopes for Ron and me. It's been far too long since I told him how I felt about him and he hasn't made any attempts to… well, he hasn't even spoken to me much since that night."
Ginny placed her arm around Hermione's shoulders and smiled tenderly. "Hermione, don't give up," she said. "I've been watching the two of you for a while now and I know that Ron has feelings for you. He's just too blind to see them… give it time."
"I've given him seven years, Ginny… How much more time can I possibly wait?"
"Maybe you won't have to wait much longer," Ginny said knowingly.
"Ron, will you stop fidgeting?" Harry asked with a roll of his eyes.
Ron gave a soft grunt of frustration and ran his hand through his hair. "Where the bloody hell is she?"
"Hermione?"
"Of course, Hermione… who else would I be asking about?" Ron asked sarcastically.
Harry rolled his eyes yet again and adjusted his bow tie. "Are you actually going to talk to her tonight, or are you going to just stare at her?"
"I'm going to talk to her," Ron stated. "I can't take the silence anymore."
Harry looked at him questioningly. "Does this mean you've figured out your feelings for her?"
Ron sighed as he looked at Harry and said, "I've been so blind, Harry… blind and stupid. I can't believe I've gone all this time without seeing what's been right in front of me."
"Well, yeah… but I can't really say anything about it because I was the same way," Harry said.
"I just hope it's not too late," Ron whispered.
"The only way to know is to talk to her."
Ron nodded his head and stood up a bit straighter. "Yeah, you're right… I'm going to just walk right up to her and…" Ron didn't finish his sentence. He was too busy staring at Hermione who had just come into view with Ginny.
He felt as if he couldn't breathe. Hermione looked more beautiful than he had ever remembered her looking before. She was wearing a deep blue satin dress that looked as if it were made just for her and her hair was hanging freely in neat curls.
As she reached him, Hermione looked up at him hesitantly and gave him a weak smile. Ron returned the smile and tried to speak, but no sound came out. He then cleared his throat and said, "You look beautiful."
"Th… thank you," Hermione replied.
Ron suddenly felt hot. "Excuse me."
Without saying another word, Ron bolted down the hall and out of sight. He didn't stop until he was outside in the cool air. He took several deep breaths and cursed. You're such a ninny, he told himself, Why can't you just tell her how you feel?
Hermione stared after Ron, willing herself not to cry. She had hoped he would speak to her, and just as soon as he had, he ran off as though he couldn't stand the sight of her. She looked at Ginny and Harry and said, "I think I'm just going to go back up to the common room."
Ginny shook her head and gently grabbed Hermione's arm. "Oh no you don't," she said sternly. "You're going to walk into the Great Hall with us and you're going to have a good time… is that understood?"
"Ginny, I'm sorry but I just can't…"
Hermione pulled her arm out of Ginny's grasp and hurried down the hall in the opposite direction that Ron had gone, wiping her eyes. Harry and Ginny looked after her as she disappeared from view. "I swear those two are going to make me crazy if they don't stop this nonsense," Ginny commented.