Notes: In advance, you're welcome, and I'm sorry.

The world of Harry Potter and its characters belong to JKR. I do not support JKR. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Trans people are people.

Chapter 20: Sweetest of Nightmares

Ron was nervous. How could he not be? Tonight was the Ball. In just a few minutes he would have to go down and dance in front of almost all of Hogwarts. It felt like the Yule Ball all over again, but a bit better. This time there were no ugly maroon robes, but instead deep burgundy velvet dress robes with golden lining. They looked good, far better than what he had last year. The design was immaculate with a sleek golden lion shoulder pad on top of one of his arms which held his blonde fur cape.

The robes had been a gift from Master Gryffindor that he had forcefully accepted. He almost rejected them, until he told him he was going to throw him in the middle of the Great Hall naked if he did not accept them. He was sure his Master was only joking. But not so sure as to find out.

His hair was managed as well, although he most likely still needed to cut it. Thankfully, Daphne had been nice enough to have given him some hair products to use.

The Ball was any minute now. Ron descended down the stairs. Harry, Ginny, Neville and Dean were sitting on the couch waiting. Ginny and Dean were going together, and although Ron found the pairing weird he was sure it was quite harmless. Neville had been a surprise, Luna had decided to invite his blonde dorm mate, and the poor bloke had been clearly relieved of his constant search for a date. Harry was another story, he had also managed to put his date to the Ball till the last minute one more time. And now he was as stuck as one could get with a date he had no interest with.

"You look good for a change," Ginny teased.

"Shut up," Ron responded. He cleared his throat, before asking Ginny the question he wanted to ask. "Is… Is she…?"

"She'll be down any minute now," she said with a smile.

"I hope so," he nervously checked his dress robes. "Do I look good?"

"You look great mate," Dean said, most likely trying to assure him. Ron looked to Harry for confirmation who nodded his head.

Then, Ron heard it. The subtle set of steps he had walked with for 5 years. He turned to look before anyone else. There she was. Hermione Granger. Her brown hair was up in a bun on her head, with some strands of hair falling down and reaching her neck essentially framing her beautiful face. She was not wearing the periwinkle dress she had worn last year, instead she wore a champagne-coloured dress adorned with red lining and an intricate red pattern at the bottom that matched his own dress robes. She looked even more beautiful than last year, perhaps she had grown or maybe it was because she had chosen him.

Her cheeks were a bit pink, although Ron did not know if it was because of her make-up or another reason. Although she was wearing some short heels, he was still nearly a head taller than her.

"Hi," he said with a smile on his face.

"Hi," she almost whispered, as if they had a secret. The two remained in silence only staring at each other, when Harry cleared his throat.

"Oh yes," Ron said suddenly. "We need to get going."

"Don't forget my date," Harry said sullenly, and almost as if summoned from down the steps to the girls' dorm came down Lavender. She wore a light purple dress, with sparkly bits and a dark purple sash. The expression on her face was a bit indignant, and Ron would even call it borderline angry. She took a look at both Ron and Hermione and groaned out loud.

"Let's go, Harry," she said to his best friend as she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the Common Room. Harry looked absolutely miserable on his way out. Ron had a hard time containing his laugh.

When they reached the entrance to the Great Hall many students were entering the hall, already dressed formally and with their dates. Ron spotted Seamus walking with Millicent Bullstrode, the two looked to be laughing about something. Malfoy, who was walking slowly into the hall, stood upright, with Lisa Turpin by his side. What surprised Ron was how intently he seemed to listen to Lisa, although Ron did notice how he seemed to roll his eyes discreetly every now and then. Students from other houses were with people from his own, seemingly uncaring about the competition that was bound to happen in less than a week.

"There you are," a familiar dreamy voice said behind Ron. They all turned to look at Luna and Cedric, who were both at the top of the staircase coming down. Cedric wore yellow-golden dress robes with their own black lining, coupled with his own dark fur cape. while Luna wore a long blue dress with a pattern of golden feathers that moved across the bottom with magic most likely. She had Forget-Me-Not blue flowers adorned on her blonde hair. Cedric was looking for someone, and when he spotted Tamsin Applesbee he beckoned her over. The Hufflepuff girl in her white dress excitedly walked over to the bottom of the staircase.

"Hello, Neville," Luna said as she walked over to Ron's dorm mate. "You look quite dashing." She looked over at Ron who smiled at Luna. "You too, Ron. You look sufficiently handsome."

"Thanks, Luna," he said. "You look great as well."

As they all talked with one another, Lady Hufflepuff approached the group.

"Alright everyone," Hufflepuff said. "Champions, wait here. The rest of you, go on now."

With one last look Ginny, Dean and Harry wished good luck to their friends. Lavender once more dragged Harry into the Great Hall, to his dismay.

"Where is Ms. Greengrass?" Hufflepuff asked, looking around.

"Here, Madame," Daphne walked up to the group, Blaise Zabini on her arm. Daphne wore a green dress with silver linings and metal ornaments along with her own bracelets in the form of silver snake jewellery, while Zabini simply wore black and green dress robes. "I am sorry for the tardiness."

"No worries, dear," Hufflepuff told her. "It is time now. Good luck everyone. Remember, when you finish the opening dance, your partners will walk away from the centre of the Great Hall and one by one we will call you for your demonstration." Hufflepuff walked off, not before grooming Cedric's hair, and tidying up Ron's tie.

Then, a set of orchestra music began to play. He could hear the voices of the Founders talking to all of the Hogwarts students, most likely announcing something. Ron took a breath, and then felt Hermione's hand clutch his.

"It's alright," she whispered to him. "You'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say," he said softly against her ear. "You look gorgeous. You'd have to be crazy to feel nervous."

Her cheeks went pink, and she looked away for a moment. Her brown eyes looked at his own blue ones. There was something there. Some feeling or sentiment, he was sure.

"You look very handsome, Ron," she reassured.

"It's just the dress robes."

"No, it's not," she fought back, so softly. As if she was revealing something to him, some form of secret. The two were smiling, and then the doors of the Great Hall opened.

" –The Champions of Hogwarts!" Ron heard the voice of the Sorting Hat bellow out to all of the Great Hall.

The four entered the Great Hall, adorned with banners and decorations making the large room look almost festive. Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were all mingled around the room. A space at the very centre had been left out for the Champions to inaugurate the first dances. Taking a deep breath, Ron walked in, Hermione by his side at all moments. When he felt his own hand shake with nervousness, he soon felt the soft grasp of Hermione's own smaller hand.

The sound of the band stopped for a moment as the four Champions stood in their own sections of the hall. Ron held Hermione's waist on one of his hands, and the other held her hand. She looked beautiful, smiling and stifling a giggle that he could tell was out of her own nervousness. Soon, the music started, and Ron thanked Merlin that he was a Weasley. He had grown up going to weddings, and birthday parties for his many cousins, uncles, and aunts. Ron and Hermione spun around the room, thankfully avoiding any mishaps, or accidents as the two did well enough not to step on each other's toes.

Ron could barely notice anything else besides Hermione. She looked radiant as she smiled, twirled, danced and spun with him. With one of her hands on his shoulder, Ron got a familiar whiff of something. It was the perfume he had gifted her on Christmas, the sweet aroma of his own gift filled his nostrils, and managed to somehow make him dizzy. Or perhaps it was Hermione herself, Ron was not entirely sure.

When the dance ended, the whole of Hogwarts applauded them. Ron and Hermione smiled at each other, he knew his cheeks hurt, but he barely cared.

"And now," Ravenclaw announced. "For their magic demonstration. The partners of the Champions may join their other friends."

Hermione hugged Ron, her arms surrounding his neck, as he got a whiff of the perfume he got her for Christmas. She took his hands in hers, and reassured him.

"You got this, Ron," she smiled at him, before joining Harry, Ginny, and Dean.

As Ron looked around he saw only his fellow Champions left at the centre of the Great Hall. The four smiled at one another.

"First comes Mr. Diggory," announced Dumbledore.

Cedric took a deep breath, before he stepped to the centre of the room. Cedric took out a bag of seeds from his back pocket along with some sweets from Honeydukes. He then used a charm and summoned dirt on the floor of the Great Hall.

"When it comes to growing magical plants," Cedric said, and Professor Sprout looked positively excited. "Dirt is just as important as the type of seed you want to plant."

He threw the seeds at the ground, making sure they were neatly surrounded by the rich dirt and one sweet from Honeydukes. He aimed his wand at the enchanted ceiling and it began to rain over the patches of dirt. Cedric waved his wand over his creation.

"And of course, when it comes to taking care of these plants, it is important to always keep them apart from any other substances that may interfere in the process of their growing… Well, almost always. Mixtio," he casted. Soon the dirt began to seemingly sink into the floor, as the seeds grew slowly into bigger plants, Ron realised they were absorbing the dirt and rainwater. Then, there were trees with fruits inside the Great Hall.

Cedric grabbed one of the fruits and handed it to each of the founders. Next, he grabbed some and shared it with his fellow Champions, before finally letting everyone else get some.

"Now, you should only do this when you have a bit of knowledge regarding Herbology and Charms, but when you do… It's pretty magical."

Ron held the pinkish-red apple in his hand. It looked good, but it was still just an apple. As he bit into it, someone voiced exactly what he thought.

"Holy Merlin!" a voice said out loud, a bit muffled by the people, and the fruit they had not yet swallowed.

The apple tasted like a new flavour of Jelly Slugs. A sweet apple to be precise. The sweet new creation hit every taste bud in Ron's tongue, and he couldn't help it as he took another bite. Soon, every person tried getting one of the fruits, before they withered after a minute or two. Although he was disappointed, Ron was still happy to have gotten a banana which once peeled revealed banana flavoured cotton candy with specks of chocolate.

"Very good," Dumbledore said, as he bit into a lemon with jelly and marmalade inside. He wiped some remains from his beard, and wiped his hands on a napkin, before continuing. "Now, for Ms. Lovegood."

Luna nodded. She brandished her wand, and aimed it at her head.

"Vision Posterio," she casted. Luna's eyes twinkled, and she looked around the room. She picked up a tray with a bunch of food, and desserts. She then threw it up, high on the ceiling, each piece of edible items flying in random directions, before she aimed her wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa," all movements seized, as they floated in the air. "Now, the Levitation Charm is among the most basic of charms, but if left unchecked it can leave an object floating in the air for up to three hours, where it could fall randomly and with no intent anywhere it floated over."

As the food did as told, Luna set up a bunch of chairs around herself "Volo Bestia!"

Each of the chairs turned into cats the size of large boars that meowed and purred at the audience. Almost like a choir, they expressed their adoration for how cute they looked. Even Ron had to admit, they had very enchanting eyes. "The transfiguration of an object into a living being takes quite a bit of skill, and it is of utmost importance to choose the correct proportions and behaviour so as to not create undesirable results."

Luna waved her wand, and the food fell right on top of the large cats, who began to paw at them and juggle the items in between them. Luna moved with grace at the centre of the hall, gracefully dodging each and every food thrown in her direction, it looked like a dance.

"Of course," Luna said, as a piece of fruit nearly missed her head. "Things like animal behaviour and where the food that they throw will go to," another dodge from her. "Are typically," and another dodge. "Unpredictable things."

With one final spin, each cat caught a piece of food in their paws before Luna clapped her hands. They threw the food in the air, Luna waved her hands and they turned back to chairs, before she caught each and every one of the items on the same tray that had held them. She bowed and people clapped for her.

"Very nice, Ms. Lovegood," McGonagall praised. She looked positively impressed by Luna. "Excellent use of transfiguration. Now for Ms. Greengrass."

Daphne nodded. She went to the centre of the Great Hall and cleared her throat. The doors of the Great Hall opened and in came Hagrid who sported large, and fuzzy dress robes that suited him quite well. He walked with a certain pride in himself, and behind him was a large tank filled with water and something that moved inside it. When Ron took a closer look he realised the tank was filled with Grindylows. They screeched and could be seen scratching at the surface of the tanks.

"As you may see," Daphne spoke suddenly, with a loud, and confident voice. "These are Grindylows, defined by the famous magizoologist Newt Scamander as small, horned, pale-green skinned water demons native to Great Britain, Ireland, and of course our very own Dark Lake."

As she explained, members of Slytherin were setting up tables around her, almost like a circle. A potions set was put down on the table in front of Daphne who went on to explain.

"Now thanks to the help of our Groundskeeper, and professor of Care of Magical Creatures, Mr. Hagrid," at his mention, Hagrid blushed and looked down at his feet. "I have managed to temporarily capture a handful of Grindylows, who are also known for their somewhat horrid screeching as you can hear for yourselves."

Daphne went to work, and began to pour into the large cauldron set in front of her, several different ingredients. She never lost focus of her next step, and did every bit of her preparations with the utmost confidence.

"Now," Daphne brandished her wand and very carefully pulled the water out of the tank. It floated in the air until a ring of water where the Grindylows swam, almost savagely, was formed on top of Daphne's circle of tables. "Their screeching is a result of the cold waters of their natural habitat, however if one were to slightly warm the water they inhabit…"

As she said it, she waved her wand and murmured her spell. The water looked no different, but Ron noticed how the Grindylows seemed more still.

"They begin to relax," she smirked, and people clapped. She nodded her thanks, and set up open large glass vials where she poured her potion. She held up one last vial, as she poured it into the last container. "This is Sleeping Draught, while its normal use puts most creatures to sleep with a single drop of this potion. The effects of its gas once finished, and put into a medium fire can be… quite interesting."

The gases from the Sleeping Draught rose and they seemed to reach Daphne's long and thick ring of water. The Grindylows were no longer swimming harshly, but instead they seemed to let the current of the water carry them, and as they let themselves go with the flow their mouths opened. However, instead of the horrid screeching, a sweet melody, similar to that of a siren, could be heard. Daphne looked pleased with herself, she looked at Ron and shrugged her shoulders. She was challenging him. Oh she would see.

Very carefully, Daphne put the water where the Grindylows were back in the tank. Her fellow Slytherins helped her put away her potion set. She was applauded and cheered for. She went back to the crowd, not before flipping her hair, putting her nose in the air, and giving Ron a very arrogant look.

"Splendid work, Ms. Greengrass," Snape drawled out, as he slowly clapped. Although, Ron did not know if he was giving Daphne an honest compliment or not. "Weasley, your turn!"

Dumbledore gave Snape a disapproving look, as did many of the other teachers. "If you'd please, Mr. Weasley."

Ron took a deep breath, and suddenly felt Hermione's hand on his. She looked at him, and squeezed his hand. Her encouraging look gave him enough courage to step out, into the centre. Eyes were on him, his throat felt a bit dry, and his mouth parched. He cleared his throat.

"I also," he started. "Asked for the help of Ha– Professor Hagrid, for my demonstration."

Ron whistled, and Hagrid once more came into the Great Hall pushing a cage with a mantle on wheels, although this time he looked quite nervous. He looked at Ron, who nodded in reassurance. He seemed to want to protest, but instead he bowed his head and shook it before he joined the staff.

"Magical creatures are rampant in magical woods," Ron continued. "Some of these are practically harmless, while others require a bit of knowledge, skill, and luck to see another day. As such, for my demonstration I present to you…"

Ron waved his wand, and the mantle was uplifted revealing a chimaera. Its eyes were white and rageful, the large beast had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon. Smoke dripped from the creature's mouth, as it rattled inside its cage. It stomped its hooves on the floor of the cage as it paced the floor, observing Ron.

"A Chimaera!" Ron announced.

Although he heard the gasps and sounds of fear from his classmates, Ron had already had plenty of practice. When he looked back, he saw that Dumbledore had a determined look on his face as if assessing the situation, while McGonagall was gripping her chair with an iron grip. When he looked at Gryffindor he saw him eyeing the beats, before looking back at Ron. He gestured admiration at his young apprentice. Once more he cleared his throat.

"And now," he went on. "I would like for someone to give me a constellation."

Ron looked around for a while, and noticed that people were still looking at the chimaera. He cleared his throat once more, and it seemed to spur Terry Boot.

"Hercules?" he said, a bit confused.

Ron nodded, and pointed at Tamsin Applebee. "Aries?"

Once more, now to Theodore Nott, "Orion."

And finally, at Harry, "Leo?"

People laughed at his somewhat obvious choice, but Ron simply nodded and began to carefully take off some of his dress robes. While he did so, he took some oil lamps and stuck them to the ceiling of the Great Hall.

"Chimaeras are known as very bloodthirsty, single-minded, and angry creatures," almost as if to prove him right, the chimaera roared directly at Ron. "Not only that, but they are known wizard killers. Only one man was known to have killed a chimaera, and he died shortly afterwards. However, Chimaeras can theoretically be tamed by naturally bonding with the creature through feeding it and very VERY carefully patting it."

Once he got rid of his bow tie, Ron took a deep breath.

"The other way," he aimed his wand at his chest. "Could be a bit more painful. Draconis Corpus."

Ron felt an extreme heat travel from his heart to every limb in his body. He felt his muscles tense as they involuntarily flexed, potion worked its way through every vein, and Ron could feel it in the tiniest bit. From a speck on his hair, to one in his smallest toe. His vision was clearer, he felt stronger, and more grounded. Ron's skin slowly turned red, before turning back into its normal colour. He passed his tongue through his teeth, and felt his canines sharpening into almost fangs. Although he could not see it himself he knew his blue eyes had turned amber.

"When a Chimaera encounters another being it feels the need to… Well, kill it." Ron created a small circle of protection that surrounded him, and the staff table for their peace of minds. From his discarded robes he took a vial with a potion. "This is a Fire-Protection Potion, also known as an Ice Potion, thanks to Professor Snape my clothes will not be burned, we'll save ourselves the embarrassment of all of you looking at my Chudley Cannons socks."

When the crowd laughed at his remark, he could have sworn that Snape even spared a movement on his lip, he felt a surge of confidence flow through him. He poured the Ice Potion on his discarded robes, and the robes on his body.

"Now, just remember that I have trained for this… I think." The last bit was mostly said to himself. "Relashio."

As soon as he casted it, the latch of the cage was let go, and the chimaera barged through the cage. It grunted and growled at Ron, stomping its hoof on the ground as it prepared its charge. Ron grounded himself, and as soon as his foot accommodated the beast ran at him. It opened its large mouth, and breathed fire as Ron put his arms at his front, fully blocking the animal's attack. When it was close enough, Ron let it leap at him, while swiftly moving to the side.

The chimaera roared at him in frustration when Ron took advantage and surrounded his arms around the creature's mane. Ron then pinched with all his might the chimaera's nose, as it roared in frustration. Ron flayed on its back as it tried to push him off, but to no avail as Ron kept his grip tight on the beast. When Ron noticed its tail, alone and flailing as well, he slid down just a bit to grab at it. With an impressive force, Ron pulled on it and slowly began to drag the chimaera himself. Although he tried to make it seem as though the weight was no challenge for himself, it indeed was hard.

"A good reminder for when dealing with a chimaera is that they are part dragon, and part lion," from his pockets Ron pulled out a galleon. With difficulty, he managed to pull the chimaera's tail up enough to put the galleon under its nose. When it began to sniff it, the chimaera relaxed its body, and let itself be lowered to the ground. Ron slowly kept his hand on top of its mane while slowly patting it. "Dragons are known hoarders of gold and treasure, its scent helps to calm them, similarly the dragon part of a chimaera is calmed by the gold's natural scent which can be found in any galleon."

"Now, Terry," at the mention of his name the Ravenclaw student looked at Ron intently. "You said Hercules, right?"

When he nodded, Ron simply angled the coin upwards making use of its reflective light to cast a shining light on one of the oil lamps. "Now, the part of the chimaera that is a lion is particularly sensitive to lights, and almost like the average cat it can be tricked into following the path of a light source."

As he explained, the chimaera focused on the makeshift laser-pointer that Hermione had told him about. When left still for a few moments, the chimaera let out a breath of fire that lit the oil lamp. Ron then pointed a few more times, and right on the ceiling of Hogwarts appeared the constellation of Hercules. He went on with Aries, Orion and finally Leo. Thankfully, he'd had time enough to put the chimaera back in its cage, before finishing the Dragon Body charm on himself. He breathed a sigh of relief as the people in the Great Hall applauded him.

When he went back to Hermione she crushed him in a tight hug that threatened his sanity, her arms encircled his neck and her head was right besides his.

"I knew you could do it," she whispered in his ear.

"Couldn't have done it without you," he said, once she separated from him, but her arms remained on his shoulders.

"Yes, you could have."

"No," he corrected. "I really could not."

"Very amusing, dear Champions," Hufflepuff announced. "However, the celebrations must continue, and I believe we have made your fellow classmates wait for too long." With a signal music began to play. "Your assignment for tonight, my students? Dance, eat, have fun! Enjoy yourselves!"

Who was Ron to say no to such an important figure of authority? Hermione and him danced so much his feet hurt. He even managed to ask Padma for a dance to make up for his atrocious behaviour last year. When the two were tired enough they sat at one of the tables.

"How are you feeling?" Ron asked, when he noticed Hermione slightly wincing. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said, her cheeks red. "My feet are just hurting. Dancing and heels never go together."

"You can wear mine if you want," at that she laughed.

"Ron, I am not walking around with your shoes," although it made sense why she would not prefer it, Ron still defended himself.

"Why not?"

"I'd trip and fall all over the place," she explained. "Your shoes are way too big for me."

"They're not," he said, and could feel his own smile on his lips. "You're just tiny."

"Excuse me, but I am not tiny. You're just freakishly tall."

"Am not," he denied. "You've been short ever since the day I met you."

"As if, I can not remember a time where you and I have ever been close in height."

"I suppose not," he relented.

"And if I wore your big shoes–"

"Not big."

"–Then we could not dance anymore."

When she looked up at him, he could have sworn that some form of love potion had entered his system. Perhaps, that would explain the sudden heat he felt surrounding him. Those gorgeous Firewhisky, chocolate, brown eyes would be the death of him. She had freckles, like him, but they were more subtle. And her smile was wide, and revealed the brilliant and shining side of her. A side he felt only he could see.

"I loved dancing with you," he felt the need to say.

"Me too," Hermione said. "We should do it more often."

"Maybe," he said. "Or maybe not."

"Not?" Hermione questioned.

"Perhaps, it'd lose its charm."

"You really think so?"

Those eyes again. Merlin, he loved her.

He loved her.

He loved Hermione.

"No," his voice was soft, even he could tell. Unusually so. "I don't think it'd be possible."

'I love you, Hermione.'

They stared at each other for a while, before suddenly Ginny sat down beside Hermione.

"Great," she groaned. "Michael has decided that he wants me back and that he was an "idiot for all he said" since I came with Dean. Men."

"Awesome," Ron said dryly. "Could you piss off now?"

"Ron," Hermione admonished.

"Whatever," Ginny dismissed. "Come on, Hermione. Let's dance."

Hermione looked at Ron, and he only nodded as she went with Ginny to the dance floor. Ron simply sat in peace when Harry came to him, he took Hermione's seat.

"Everything good, mate?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Ron said calmly, and for the first time in a while he believed it. "Everything's perfect."

Harry nodded, and Ron could see that he felt a bit awkward. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong with him Harry began to speak once more.

"It's just…" Harry said and stopped himself, he looked as if he was trying to find the right words. "I want you to know that we believe in you, Ron. We have seen how much work you've put in all these months, and… I just want you to know, whether you win or lose Hermione, Neville, Ginny, mostly everyone for that matter, and me… We'll be there for you." Harry smiled at him, and Ron suddenly remembered the first time he met Harry. He had that same excited smile, when it was Ron who told him stories to calm him down on his way to Hogwarts. "I am not rooting for the Champion of Gryffindor. I am rooting for Ron. My brother."

Ron felt a much needed warmth surrounding his heart, he smiled at Harry, raised his cup and toasted with his brother. The two drank from their cups and sat back.

"Could you do your brother a favour?" Harry asked.

"I am not dancing with Lavender," Ron sipped his drink again, decisively ignoring his fellow Gryffindor class mate who was looking for his best mate in her purple dress.

"Oh come on, mate," Harry groaned. "I suffer enough being me, and I couldn't even have fun last year at the Yule Ball."

"You dug your own grave," Ron took another sip. "I told you to ask someone you like, and instead you wound up with Lavender who you barely speak to during the D.A. meetings."

"Who was I supposed to ask, then?" Harry challenged.

"I don't know," Ron said honestly, and he looked around the Great Hall. "Ginny?"

"Ginny?" Harry asked in a weird tone that Ron did not like. It sounded almost… insulting.

"Oi!" Ron said, offended. "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing!" Harry responded alarmed. "It's just… You know… Didn't she used to… like me?"

In all honesty, Ron was about 70% sure that Ginny still liked Harry. However, he was sure that his little sister would never have it in her to actually ask out his best friend. And as such, he felt no harm in lying to Harry.

"Used to," Ron emphasised, he took a final swig and put his empty cup down. "She's over you. And when she's not being a pain in my arse, she's actually pretty cool. She could even beat you in Quidditch."

"Really?"

"You've seen her at Quidditch training haven't you?"

"Yeah," Harry said, and he looked at Ginny for a few seconds, before turning his gaze to his lap. "I guess so."

"Harry!" Lavender's voice made Ron nearly jump out of his chair. She walked close to the table, and while looking at Ron she grabbed Harry by his neck tie, and said in a very loud voice. "Let's dance!"

Ron simply watched them go as Harry looked at him with the face of a man facing death. He took another sip of his drink, when Cedric, Luna, and Daphne decided to sit themselves beside him.

"Merlin, my legs are killing me," Cedric said and drank from a bottle of Butterbeer.

"My feet are very sore," Luna said, and she looked down at her heels. "I do not think these shoes are fit for dancing a lot."

"Tell me about it," Daphne as she sipped from her red drink.

"What, my feet?" Luna asked. "Or my shoes?"

"Nevermind, Luna," Daphne responded, having grown accustomed to Luna's eccentricity.

"Is that wine?" Cedric asked, as Daphne sipped again.

"What's it to you, Ced?"

"Head Boy," he said around the same time Ron said. "Prefect."

Both of them had pointed at their own chests where their badges would usually sit.

"It's not wine," she clarified. "Just because I poured it into a sherry wine glass, does not mean it's wine."

"Then why does it have wine in the name?" Luna asked.

"That's not the point," Daphne dismissed. "It's just fruit punch."

"But why did you pour it into a wine glass?" Ron asked. "It looks like wine, you'd have to at least think of the possibility of other people thinking it's wine."

"Does it matter?" Daphne seemed annoyed at this point. "It's not wine."

"But it looks like it," Cedric pointed out. "You poured it into a wine glass, and you're taking sips from it like it's wine."

Daphne decided to take a larger swig of her drink by this point.

"Wait a second," Ron looked at Daphne with an awed expression. And in an excited tone he continued. "You wanted people to think you were drinking wine. Oh Merlin, you're like those kids who get all excited and act drunk when they drink cider at weddings or Christmas."

"I did not," and although Daphne's voice was calm, her reddened cheeks revealed otherwise.

"Yes, you did," Ron corrected as he laughed. "Look at you! Oh Merlin, this is priceless!"

"Don't be too hasty, Ron," Cedric said with a bright, mischievous smile. "It could be the alcohol."

The two laughed then, and were doing a bad job of keeping it down. People from other tables were looking at the four strangely, which only made Daphne more annoyed.

"Sweet Salazar," Daphne hissed. "You are acting like children!"

"We are technically children, Daphne," Luna said. "Isn't that why you're pretending to drink liquor?"

Ron laughed the hardest at that point, his stomach was in pain, and his cheeks hurt. He could feel tears forming in his eyes, and managed to notice Daphne trying to put down her own smile. She was very good at it, but Ron could notice her lip twitching, and even saw her bite the inside of her cheek. Cedric on his part was gone, he had put his head down and the table and his body shook from laughter. Luna sat simply watching it all, with a smile on her face.

"You guys are the worst friends ever," Daphne said with the slightest of smirks as she finished her punch.

"Oh Godric," Ron said, catching his breath and grabbing his heart in a surprised manner. "Did I hear that right? Did Daphne use the 'f' word?"

"Oh shut up, Ron," Daphne blushed and actually laughed.

"Which one, Ron?" Cedric asked sarcastically. "Fallacy?"

"Finally?" Luna prompted.

"Fuck you?" Daphne said.

"Language," Ron said, pointing at his badge-less chest again. "No, my fellow Champions. She said, friends."

"Oh Salazar," Daphne covered her face, and rubbed her eyes. "I'm never hearing the end of this am I?"

"Nope," Ron grabbed his drink, and aimed it in front of him. "Friend."

Daphne rolled her eyes, but she put her drink beside Ron's. Cedric and Luna also did the same, making a silent toast before taking a drink.

"That was super corny by the way," Daphne said as she finished her drink.

"Yeah, I know," Ron said, a bit embarrassed.

The rest of the night seemed to fly, Ron and Hermione headed back to the Gryffindor Common House. It was calm, it was nice.

"I had a really good time with you, Ron," Hermione said as they walked through one of the halls. "Thanks for inviting me."

"I just took your advice," when Hermione seemed a bit confused he explained. "I just plucked up the courage to invite you next time there was a ball."

"You did, didn't you," Hermione said softly, her cheeks going pink.

'I love you, Hermione.'

"I guess I did," Ron smiled at her.

The two looked at one another when suddenly a crack resounded around the hall. Dobby had suddenly appeared, and had a small bouquet of flowers in hand. He wore numerous badly knit beanies on top of his head, and a large scarf covered half of his head.

"Harry Potter's Wheezy," he said, his voice a bit muffled by the scarf. "Dobby brings you flowers, a gift from Lord Godric Gryffindor."

"Oh," Ron said, surprised. "Thank you, Dobby."

Ron took it, and then reached into his pocket before handing Dobby a sickle.

"There you go," he grinned. "Fair payment for a messenger."

Dobby looked down at the coin in his hands, before bursting into tears and hugging Ron's leg.

"Ohhhhh," he sobbed. "Dobby thanks you so much. Harry Potter's Wheezy is so nice!"

"Don't worry, Dobby," Ron said, a bit embarrassed, trying to subtly push Dobby off his leg. "Seriously, it's fine."

Dobby detached from him, and with an adoring look on his face, snapped his fingers and Disapparated away. Behind Ron, Hermione had a similar look.

"Well," Ron said, looking behind him, without directly looking at Hermione. "Let's go."

When they arrived at the bottom of the staircase to the Girl Dormitories, Ron had decidedly not mentioned how she had remained silent ever since Dobby appeared. With the bouquet still in his hand, Ron cleared his throat and offered it to Hermione.

"Well," Ron blurted. "I had a very nice night, Hermione. Thanks, for coming with me."

Hermione took the flowers in her hand, and examined them. She smiled down at them, before looking at Ron.

"Do you know what these are?" Hermione asked, she looked nervous for some reason. Ron simply shook his head. "These flowers are called 'Kiss-Me-Over-the-Garden-Gate'."

"Oh," Ron blushed, and he felt the heat in his cheek spreading to his ears.

"We're not over a garden gate, but…" She said quite quickly, and in a single breath.

Ron was not able to voice his surprise, because at the next moment Hermione surrounded her arms around her neck and kissed him on the lips. His surprise was evident in his eyes, before he closed them and grabbed Hermione's waist. He craned his neck, before he lifted Hermione off the ground. She grounded herself on one of the steps, making sure that they were level, and then grabbed his face gently.

Her fingers caressed him, and suddenly he felt everything. Her eyelashes tickled his cheeks as well, her heart beat to the same rhythm as his. Her lips were soft, and their kisses were immature, uncoordinated and truly perfect. Her hands were softer than his, it was obvious, but now that he felt them so close it was weird not to think of them as such. So much time he had spent looking at them, even when they were stained by ink. And her smell, the smell of his perfume, the smell of her shampoo, it all overwhelmed in the best way possible. She gave him one final peck before detaching from him.

"Good night, Ron," she whispered softly, and quickly went up the stairs..

"I love you, Hermione," he said softly to no one.

How could he sleep? He had just kissed –or was it a snog?– Hermione Granger after the most perfect date imaginable. He walked through the halls of Hogwarts, he could hear the party die down little by little. He was the happiest he could have ever imagined himself to be. As he walked he saw a tapestry, moving a bit weirdly. He was going to ignore it, after all who was he to judge if some other couple wanted to have some fun –were Hermione and him a couple– until he heard a familiar voice.

Carefully, Ron stepped closer to the tapestry and with his wand flapped it open revealing Ginny and Dean Thomas in a tight embrace. The sound of their lips detaching making it quite obvious what they were doing.

"GINNY!" Ron bellowed.

"What the bloody Merlin are you doing Ron?" Ginny admonished.

"Me? You're the one who's snogging MY dorm mate in a public hall!"

Dean, for his part, looked absolutely terrified.

"Listen, Ron," he explained. "We were just–"

"You be quiet!" Ron shouted, as Ginny screeched. "Shut it!"

"Don't talk to him like that," Ginny barked at Ron.

"Ginny!" Ron continued. "What the hell were you thinking?! Do you want people to start saying things about you?!"

"What?!" she hissed.

"You were SNOGGING with a bloke, just a few weeks after breaking up with Michael Corner!" Ron lectured. "Merlin, do you want people to think you're a–"

"A WHAT?!" Ginny snapped. "Finish that sentence!"

"I'm not!" Ron scolded. "Because I know you're not like that, but people–"

"People this people that," Ginny interrupted. "I could give a rat's arse what people think. And you should be the one that should be worried about what people think!"

"Uhm," Dean began. "Ginny, maybe we should–"

"No!" Ginny was fuming at this point. "He's just mad no one's ever kissed his sorry arse. If he weren't such a coward he would actually kiss Hermione instead of just ogling after her–"

"I'll have you know–" Ron seethed, but was ignored.

"That's why Krum snogged her first, and not him!" Ginny finished, pointing at him, before grabbing Dean and storming away.

Ron simply stood there. He did not know for how long, but he eventually went back to his dorm. He felt a bit numb, his head felt overloaded. He took some Dreamless Potion that he had left, and when he woke up he felt a lot of things.

Anger. So many times he had asked and talked to Hermione about her relationship with Krum. And so many times she denied again, and again that there was something between the two. Whenever another one of Krum's letters arrived she made a whole show about them only being friends, about nothing going on between them. She lied to him, they were supposed to be best friends, and she had lied to him for a full year. He felt betrayed, he felt stupid, and he felt angry at Hermione.

Guilty. Who was he to be angry at her? He had his chance. He could have asked her to the Yule Ball. If he had not been so stupid, and insecure maybe he would have been the one to kiss her. He would have been the one to send her letters during the summer. Now, he was acting like some possessive git, and he was getting angry over something he had no right to be angry with. It was a year ago.

Sad. Hermione snogged Krum. He was older, more experienced and a famous bloody Quidditch player. How was he supposed to compete with that? He felt pathetic. Once more, he was overshadowed by someone else. He felt like crying, because everytime he closed his eyes he could only imagine Hermione and Krum dancing again. However, this time they openly kissed right in front of him. And now her fingers were playing with his hair, her lips touched softly with his lips, her waist was grabbed by his hands. It was a torture he could not seem to escape.

He went to shower, coming out of the bathroom, and noticed that none of his dorm mates were awake. Well, except for Dean who Ron noticed was making a good job at faking being asleep. He sat on his bed, and put on his robes, before putting his locket around his neck.

When Hermione woke up, she felt absolutely wonderful. Throughout her morning she could not stop the smile that split her face, and when she walked down the stairs, she only waited for Ron to walk down. Perhaps, they could hold hands on their way to breakfast, or go to the library for an early check-out –or an early snog– or many other things that Hermione at the moment could not think of. Her brain seemed to fall short, to the fast beatings of her heart.

That's when she saw him come down the stairs. She took a deep breath, and prepared to greet him, when she saw his face. There were dark circles under his eyes, which were red and looked as if he had been crying or on the verge of crying. His face looked as if he were on a permanent sneer, and his skin looked more pale than usual. His blue eyes seemed to lose their colour, and were dark, almost liveless.

"Ron?" she called softly. His eyes were on her like a hawk, and his sneering expression turned into the most hateful grimace she had ever seen on his face. Not even Draco Malfoy had made him look as angered as he looked at that moment.

He only walked past her, nearly knocking into her before disappearing behind the door to the Common Room. Then, she was sprinting up the stairs to her dorm room, ignoring Lavender and Parvati who walked and talked amongst themselves.

Hermione's tears did not touch the ground, before she got to her dorm room.