Belle meets Ron

Ginny showed Belle where Hermione kept her dress robes, as Ginny called them. Belle pulled her powder blue robes on and realized they were very comfortable, yet looked really nice. She looked at her reflection. Overall, she looked very much like herself, but her hair was very different. Her hair was much larger and bushier. Belle's usual hair was sleek and mostly straight, with a little wave. Belle didn't really like having her hair in her face and it had been driving her crazy all day, so she pulled it back using the hairpin she'd transfigured earlier.

Ginny complimented Belle on her appearance. Overall, Belle thought Ginny looked rather nice too in her green dress robes. Ginny had pulled her hair half-back and had put a little bit of makeup on.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

Belle nodded and the two of them made their way downstairs.

"We planned to meet Harry and Ron in the entry hall," Ginny told Belle. "Then we'd all go to the party together." Ginny glanced over at Belle. "This reunion is going to be strange for all of us. But you need to know that Harry and Ron have been Hermione's best friends since their first year at Hogwarts. Now, Hermione and Ron are dating. Oh, and Harry and I are dating."

"And Ron is your brother?" Belle asked Ginny.

"Yes, that's right," Ginny said.

"How do you think Ron will react when he realizes I'm not Hermione?" Belle asked.

"Oh, who knows," Ginny said. "Ron can be emotional sometimes and then perfectly reasonable at other times. We'll find out soon enough."

Ginny talked to Belle about Harry and Ron as they walked down to the entry hall.

"I've had a crush on Harry since I was 10 and saw him at King's Cross Station for the first time," Ginny confided to Belle. "For a long time, I couldn't talk to him, even though he's Ron's best friend."

"What's Ron like?" Belle asked, feeling nervous. She was about to meet this person who was supposedly Hermione's boyfriend. She had no idea how she was supposed to act.

"Hm, Ron is one of my many older brothers. I have 6…" Ginny said and then gasped, "I keep forgetting." Tears welled up in her eyes, but with a determined intake of breath, she quickly composed herself. "I have 5 older brothers. My brother Fred died in the war," she explained sadly.

Belle reached out to put a comforting hand on Ginny's back but paused in mid-air. She wasn't sure if Ginny would appreciate such a gesture. After an awkward pause, Belle realized there was no way Ginny hadn't seen her extended and decided to go for it anyway, placing her hand on Ginny's back. "It's hard to lose someone you love," Belle said.

Ginny nodded and didn't look like she wanted to say anything else about the matter, so Belle waited for Ginny to continue.

"Ron is the closest in age to me," Ginny continued. "He's about a year and a half older than me. That small amount of time has always made him think he can boss me around. He can be overprotective sometimes too. He can be immature sometimes, but he's overall a really good person."

Belle thought he didn't sound too bad, but this description didn't really lend itself to knowing more about Ron. She planned to ask Ginny more about him, but then they rounded a corner and found themselves facing the staircase that led down to the entry hall.

Groups of people stood around the area, talking animatedly. Some looked dressed up in finery while the majority still wore school uniforms. Belle and Ginny descended the staircase and walked through the crowd.

"Ginny! Hermione!" a voice called. Belle started to turn in that direction, but before she could make it halfway around, she felt arms wrap around her and lips press against hers.

She froze, completely at a loss for what to do. Her arms stiffened at her sides and her knees locked. She turned into a statue.

Perhaps sensing her discomfort, the hands moved to her upper arms and stepped away.

She was then able to take in who had kissed her. A tall, gangly man stood before her. His resemblance to Ginny was striking. Both had hair the exact same shade of red and freckles. This must be Ron. Hermione's – now her? – boyfriend.

"Well, that wasn't the welcome I expected," Ron said with a self-deprecating smile. "Didn't you miss me?"

Belle looked around for Ginny for help but noticed that Ginny seemed quite busy with a dark-haired man a few paces away. Belle looked away, quickly, uncomfortable at the public display of affection.

Belle grasped around for ideas. "Well…it's very crowded in here," she said, averting her eyes. "You surprised me."

"You've gotten shy all of a sudden?" Ron asked, sounding surprised. "What, it's been like two weeks since we last saw each other?"

"It's been a long day," Belle said, hoping that would be enough. She kept darting her eyes towards Ginny, hoping she'd extricate herself soon and help her out.

Ron seemed to follow her gaze and yelled, "Oi! I may have given you two permission to get back together, but you shouldn't flaunt it in front of me all the time or I may withdraw my blessing."

Ginny pulled her face away from the dark-haired man who must be Harry, her arms still extended up around his neck, "As if I ever needed permission from you," she said scathingly. Then she looked over at Belle and saw her bewildered face. Instantly, Ginny's expression turned apologetic and she gently extricated herself from Harry's grasp, though she took his hand.

"Hermione's a bit off right now," Ginny said. "We need to talk. In private."