HERMIONE

Every rational instinct was pleading for her to look away. To look anywhere but at him. After all, she couldn't count on everyone to be as unobservant as Ron Weasley - least of all, his particularly perceptive sister. But try as she might, she couldn't force herself to focus on anything but him as he unboxed the same sweater Molly always knitted him. It was too heart-warming; she knew how Ron felt about those sweaters, but usually, they were at Hogwarts, where he could express his disdain without hurting his mum's feelings. Here, he had to fake it for her sake.

Idly, she wondered how Molly knew what size to knit for Ron every year. As far as Hermione could tell, he could hardly get through an entire month without growing.

She wet her lips, her eyes ducking to his chest, noting how his chest - broad and muscular, moved under a t-shirt that he was clearly outgrowing. Her throat went dry, and she had to clamp her lips shut to ensure that her jaw wasn't hanging as she stared. She knew all too well that she wasn't the only witch who noticed the man Ron was growing into, nor was she the only one stirred up by it.

In fact, Ron himself had to be the only one blithely unaware of how attractive he was. She felt her cheeks heat as she recalled nights in the girls' dorm, listening to Lavender and Pavarti go on about the boys in their house, namely those in their year. Harry was a frequent topic of conversation, and he always had been, but as of late, Ron was making far too many cameos in their nightly gushing sessions for Hermione's comfort:

"Did you see the boys out in the courtyard after lunch? Considering the show we got, whoever had the idea to initiate a push-up contest deserves a million points for Gryffindor." Parvati exclaimed giddily as Lavender sat behind her, braiding her lengthy, black hair.

"Tell me about it. I always knew Harry was right fit, but who knew Neville was so…beefy." Lavender responded, causing the pair of them to erupt in a fit of giggles.

Hermione, for her part, only scoffed indignantly and buried her nose deeper in Transfiguration Level 5 in an attempt to block out what she considered to be an insult to the female gender as a whole. These were not the conversations she wanted to have with the few girls she had an excuse to talk to. They should be having intellectual discussions about that week's lessons whilst the boys sat up in their dorm rambling on like Neanderthals.

"Okay, but what about Ron!?" Lavender added - and Hermione, who was propped up on her elbows on her four-corner bed, nearly slipped off the side and landed face-first in the middle of a chapter on how to effectively transfigure a set of buttons into perfectly rounded sugar biscuits. She squeaked and regained her composure as fast as she could, but not without the redness in her cheeks betraying her attempts at nonchalance.

She glanced over at the other two and found them staring at her with matching, amused expressions on their annoyingly pretty, smug faces.

"You alright there, Hermione?" Parvati asked, barely masking the giggles her words were laced with.

Lavender piped up next. "Surely you've noticed what we're going on about. I mean, you're always with Harry and Ron. And Ron…" Lavender threw a smirk at Pavarti before turning back to Hermione. "...has been looking particularly fit lately. His arms are just so big. Do you think he'd let me cop a feel?"

At this point, Parvati was doubled over with giggles, but infuriatingly enough, Lavender looked quite serious.

Hermione slammed her book shut. "As a matter of fact, I have more than enough to occupy my attention than the size of Ronald's biceps - so no, I haven't noticed." A total lie, but Hermione'd sooner go out for the Gryffindor's quidditch team than let on that she actually spent a fair amount of time ogling said biceps in the middle of History of Magic once Professor Binns started repeating himself.

"But by all means, ask him for a flex the next time you've got the chance, Lavender. I'm sure he'd appreciate the stroke to his ego."

Lavender's expression lit up at this, and Hermione groaned, sitting up and reaching for the curtains surrounding her bed. "With that said, I've got studying to do - so if you wouldn't mind keeping the volume of this oh-so-intelligent discussion down a bit, I'd appreciate it."

With one more self-important little scoff, Hermione closed the curtains with a resounding swooshing noise and fell huffily back against her pillows.

She tried to get back to her studying, but she was too incensed by her roommate's shallowness to concentrate. Weren't they constantly rolling their eyes when boys reduced them to their cup size or to how much makeup they needed to look pretty? It was hypocritical to turn around and do the same to the boys, especially to her best friends, who amounted to so much more than their brawn. Harry's merits went without saying; he was brave, thoughtful, and kind. Sure, he had a bit of a hero complex, but oddly it only added to his charm. None of that had anything to do with how handsome he was.

As for Ron… Hermione's cheeks flooded almost instantly as she mentally listed out his attributes. He was funny, protective, and loyal. Not to mention his eyes were just the prettiest shade of blue— Wait, no, that…that was neither here nor there. What really made Ron so fantastic was his big heart. His big arms and pecs were absolutely nice to look at, but they didn't make him admirable.

They just made him sexy.

Hermione blinked once, then again, and she hurtled back to reality. Right, she wasn't in her dorm at school. She was in the living room at Grimmauld Place, staring into those beautiful blue eyes like a love-struck imbecile. She shook her head slightly and smiled at him warmly. Her spirits soared when he grinned back. That one smile was enough to soften the blow of losing his eyes when he turned away. Although she'd never admit it out loud, she could've spent the rest of the holiday staring at them without complaint.

Soon everyone was dispersing on Molly's orders. Hermione followed Ginny hurriedly to their shared room and went straight for Her friends' gifts. She wasted no time and rushed back into the hall. She caught Harry on the way to the loo and held out his gift. "Happy Christmas, Harry! It's an enchanted planner. My own course load is packed enough as it is without having to keep your due dates straight, as well. This should take some of the pressure off me, and it's bound to set you up for success for our O.W.L.'s!" Harry made a good show of gratitude as he opened it, giving her a hug after he'd flipped through the first few pages.

"I've got something for you too. It's downstairs, still under the tree. You can unwrap it after breakfast."

As they broke apart, Hermione nodded happily. "I take it Ron is back in your room?"

"I think so. He might've headed down already, though."

"Alright, well, I'll check anyhow. See you in a bit."

She turned on her heel and strode confidently back the way she came. She got all the way to the threshold of Ron and Harry's room before that confidence dissipated substantially.

He had a funny expression on his face, but it was..endearing, somehow. She smiled sweetly at him, just happy to have those blue eyes back on her again. Her own gaze dipped on its own accord to his strapping chest and then over to his arms, bulging ever-so-slightly thanks to the weight of the prettily wrapped gift in his large hands.

God, those hands… She wanted them on her or, at the very least, holding her own.

Internally mortified at where her mind was going, Hermione spat out a little rambling to preface her reasoning for being there.

"Happy Christmas to you, too, 'Mione." Ron croaked in that deep voice Hermione loved so much. He backed up and sat down on his bed. "C'mere - we can open 'em together. I reckon we've got a 'mo or five before mum starts screaming for us to get downstairs." He gave her that familiar, boyish smirk and patted the space beside him. It warmed her like a cup of hot chocolate. Those eyes, that smile - they were her home away from home. And yet, they excited her and drew her in like no one else ever had.

Sitting next to Ron Weasley was as safe as it was dangerous. She felt protected yet vulnerable. Terrified, yet intrigued. Uncertain of what she was feeling, but overall sure that it wasn't anything she'd ever be able to shake.