First of all, let my just give a BIG apology to everyone who has been reading and reviewing my story. I know it's been over a month, and I do have an explanation for it, but it would take too long to explain, so I'm just apologizing right now. This WILL be the LAST chapter of this story, and I have several other projects on the go, so look forward to that!
On with the story!
I dedicate this chapter to my dear friends who call themselves Fred and George (you know who you are!) a thousand thanks for inspiring me again!
Where we last left off . . .
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Both girls smiled at her enthusiasm, and followed her down the hallway, which would lead them down the stairs into the common room.
Where the boys awaited them.
Chapter 6 – The Last Dance
Ron looked at himself critically in the mirror. He thought he looked too gangly and tall, but the others assured that he looked fine.
"Really Ron, muggle clothing actually looks good on you. I wouldn't worry too much." Seamus said.
"Well I still feel really awkward in this." Heaving a sigh, he looked at his watch, and saw that it was 6:45.
"Wow the ball starts in only 15 minutes!" he exclaimed. "We should probably get going."
Harry has just finished changing, and was now looking at Ron with an apprehensive look on his face.
"Er Ron-" he began, but the red haired teen held up his hand.
"Save it."
Harry strode past him, and was about to leave when Ron said.
"I forgive you. Let's just be friends again dammit!"
"What?" shocked, Harry turned around, and saw Ron grinning at him.
"Are you feeling ok?" Harry asked, a bemused look on his face.
"Never better." He replied, still smiling at Harry.
"Er . . . " Before Harry could say another word, Seamus flung open the door.
"Sorry to spoil your 'reunion'" he said, "But in just a few minutes we will be surrounded by lovely ladies, and we want to be down there before they get there."
Harry looked at Ron, who looked at Harry. They both shrugged.
"Come on then. Let's get this night started!" Seamus said, leading them down the hallway. Harry gave Ron a look, glad that they had made up again, and at the same time feeling confused.
Hermione stood at the edge of the stairs leading down to the common room. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a precipice. Calm down Hermione! She thought to herself. It's only a ball, after all . . . But after casting another glance at herself, it only increased the tension she was feeling. What was I thinking! Buying this dress. Honestly, I look like a- before she could finish her thought, she realized that someone was shaking her shoulder, trying to get her attention.
"Hey Hermione, the ball is THIS way you know."
"What?" shaking her head, Hermione saw the person shaking her was no other than
Ginny, and she was smiling. Hermione looked taken aback.
"Ginny?" she asked, not sure what was going on.
"Hmm?" unknown to Hermione, Ginny had threaded her arm through Hermione's and they at last began their descent down the stairs.
"I thought you were mad at me?" she didn't want to push her luck, but she was really feeling confused.
"Yeah, I WAS mad at you. But I'm not anymore."
"You seemed really upset awhile ago-"
"Hermione, I told you I'm not mad, so just forget about it."
Ginny mock glared at her friend, and Hermione smiled.
"Sorry Ginny. I'll shut up."
Feeling the tension between them ebb away, both girls laughed. It feels good to talk to Ginny again! Hermione thought. The sound of loud voices very close by suddenly lifted Hermione out of her thoughts. Looking around, she realized that they had been walking without her knowing it, and that they had reached the common room. Hermione felt a sudden wave of nausea overtake her. As if sensing her discomfort, Ginny gave Hermione's arm a squeeze.
"It's really ok Hermione. They're not even looking at us."
But Ginny was wrong on that account, for there WAS someone staring at the two girls. A certain black haired, green eyed boy stood near the stairs, waiting for them. His eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw the girls finally emerge. After a half hour of waiting, Harry was starting to get worried, but now they were here in all their beautiful splendor. Wow. It was the only thought his mind could process properly.
"Hermione! Ginny! You guys look so-"
"Beautiful? Ravishing? Goddess-like? We know." Ginny grinned suggestively at him, and Harry bit back a groan. Taking her hand, he pulled her close, and whispered in her ear.
"How about sexy?"
Ginny blushed, and gave Harry a light smack on the arm.
"Shame on you!"
Laughing, Harry turned to look at Hermione, who was still looking rather dazed.
"Hermione! Wow you look pretty." Harry said, taking her hand, and twirling her around. Hermione smiled at him, feeling herself relax if only a small amount.
"Well you don't look too bad yourself." She said, flashing him a grin.
Ginny looked at the two of them, and chuckled. She felt the hairs on her neck prickle, as if someone was watching her. Turning around, Ginny scanned the common room, and locked eyes with her brother. He smiled at her, and Ginny quickly made her way over to him.
"Nice outfit Ron." She said when she reached him. She thought that her brother looked very handsome in his suit. "I always said you would look good in formal muggle clothing, and I was right."
"Well that dress looks very pretty." Ron said. "Though I must say I find it to be a bit too revealing-"
"Shut up Ron." Ginny said, mock angry.
"Ok ok." Ron held up his hands in mock surrender.
Looking around, Ginny saw that people were starting to leave. She turned to her brother.
"Well shall we?" she asked, offering him her arm.
"Guess so." He replied, taking her arm, and leading them out of the portrait hole.
Harry and Hermione were still talking, and when they looked up, they realized that nearly everyone was gone. Only Neville remained, and he was now making his way towards the portrait hole.
"Oh no! Everyone's gone!" Hermione cried. Harry bit back a laugh, and offered her his arm.
"Well then milady, I guess we had better get going then."
Hermione looked up at Harry, who had a smirk on his face. Shaking her head, she threaded her arm through his.
"Alright. Onward we shall go!" she cried, leading them through the portrait hole. Now Hermione was excited about the ball. A sudden thought occurred to her. I haven't even seen Ron yet! She felt her stomach twist up in knots. This is it, the moment I've been waiting for . . .
There was no turning back.
The students gathered outside of the great hall, waiting in anticipation. Ginny and Ron were father up front, and Harry and Hermione were behind everyone else.
"I wonder when the door are going to open?" Ginny asked, and suddenly, as if in answer to her question, the doors swung open, revealing a mysterious looking darkness.
"Spooky."
Ginny and Ron walked inside, and were followed by everyone else. Upon entering the great hall, everyone let out a simultaneous gasp. The hall looked like a typical muggle night club on one side, and a lounge on the other. They were separated by a huge beaded curtain in the middle of the room.
"Wow." Ginny and Ron both said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.
"Come on, let's go pick a table." Ginny said, leading her brother to a table near the corner of the lounge, away from the crowds. They sat down at the table, and waited.
"I hope the food is as good as it was last time!" Ron said.
"Only you would think about that!" Ginny said, smacking him in the arm.
"Oooh look at the pretty candles!" for the first time since sitting, Ginny noticed that all the tables had beautiful tablecloths, and were all adjourned with lanterns containing fairy candles.
"Pretty."
Shaking his head, Ron looked at the door and nearly fell off his chair. His eyes were open so wide, it looked like they were going to pop out any second. Ginny, now looking at Ron, followed his gaze to the entrance of the great hall where Hermione and Harry were now just entering.
"Oh." Was all she said, smiling to herself.
Ron was still in a state of shock. How did Hermione get to be so beautiful without my noticing? He'd always known that she was a very pretty girl, but the young woman standing near the entrance with Harry was more than just pretty. Hermione was everything Ron wanted in a girl. Smart. Stubborn. Loyal. Someone who wasn't afraid of trying new things, and someone who was beautiful, both inside and out.
Hermione radiated both inner and outer beauty. It was enough to make Ron's head spin.
"Uh Ron? You can stop drooling now." Ginny said, waving a hand in front of his face.
"What?" shaking his head, Ron turned to look at Ginny.
"So you're back to earth. Alert the Wizard wireless network! Ron loves Hermione!" Ginny laughed, and Ron's face flushed crimson.
"Shut up!" he said, glaring at her.
"Oh come on Ron. You know you do, and I'm pretty sure she knows at this point too."
"WHAT?" for a moment, Ron couldn't breathe. Has she figured out the messages already? Well then again, she is really smart . . .
"Chill Ron. I was just joking you know."
"Why you-" but the rest of Ron's statement was cut off, as his eyes seemed to be magically turned towards the front of the lounge, where there was a long table. The staff had all gathered there, some looking good in their muggle clothing, others looking . . .weird. Like Professor Dumbledore. He was sporting a top hat, complete with tails and a beautiful gold cane. He looked foreign to them.
"Is that-"
"DUMBLEDORE?" both Ron and Ginny nearly fell off their chairs. Looking around the room, they saw that everyone else had a similar reaction.
"Welcome to the second annual Hogwarts Yule Ball!" Dumbledore said loudly.
Cheers and claps erupted throughout the room.
"Well I hope you are all hungry. The house elves have prepared a special treat for us tonight." Suddenly food appeared on the tables, and it wasn't the food that they were expecting . . .
"PIZZA!" Ginny was rather surprised at this. She was expecting something exotic. Not pizza.
"Oh come on Gin. It's good." Ron grabbed a slice, and began eating heartily.
"Yeah I guess so." Ginny half-heartedly picked up her slice, and began to carefully nibble at it, throwing disgusting glances at her pig of a brother every once in awhile . . .
Meanwhile, at Harry and Hermione's table . . .
"I just can't wrap my mind around how Dumbledore looks." Harry said, still looking rather disturbed. His pizza lay untouched.
"Oh come now Harry." Hermione said, trying to sound optimistic. "It's not that bad . . . " she trailed off, when she saw Dumbledore take off his top hat. His long hair was now braided into a long strand, and the effect looked less than amazing.
"Never mind. I stand corrected." Hermione said, a weird look on her face. Harry couldn't help it. He began to laugh. He was laughing so hard, he snorted into his food.
"Harry ew! That's so disgusting!"
"But the look on your face when you saw Dumbledore's hair!" Harry had to clutch a stitch in his side. "It was priceless!"
"Oh shut up will you." Hermione began to eat her pizza, trying to ignore Harry, who was still laughing like a hyena.
After the people had eaten their fill on pizza, and drunk their share of butterbeer, the students were all talking and laughing gaily. Dumbledore stood up, and everyone looked at him expectantly.
"Well now that the dinner has been eaten heartily, I will ask all of you to make your way through the curtains onto the other side of the room. There will be a dance floor, a bar that will serve non-alcoholic drinks, and couches around the corner. The head boy and girl will remain near the dance floor. The others can sit if they wish."
"Wonder what's going on with the head boy and girl?" Ginny whispered to Ron, as they stood up, and quickly made their way through the curtains with the rest of the crowd. They sat in a red couch closest to the dance floor, and were soon joined by Neville and Luna.
"Hey guys. It's certainly a change from the last ball." Neville said. Luna, meanwhile, was staring up at the ceiling. The other's followed her gaze, and saw that the enchanted ceiling reflected the nighttime in muggle London.
"That's so cool!" Ron said.
"That's what I thought too." Luna said, fixing her gaze on him. Ginny giggled, and was rewarded with an elbow to the ribs.
"Ouch Ron! You prat!" Ginny was about to elbow him back, when Dumbledore and the staff emerged from the curtains. It was like a dramatic entrance. Everyone stopped talking, and looked at Dumbledore expectantly.
"Splendid. Splendid. Everyone is all here. Now we begin the dancing portion of our evening."
Dumbledore turned to look at Hermione and Draco, who were standing on the edge of the dance floor, facing everyone. Ginny took one look at Malfoy, and had to stifle another laugh. He looks totally uncomfortable wearing that suit! But even Ginny had to admit that Malfoy did look rather handsome in it, and she saw many of the Slytherin girls giving him the eye. She also noted the boys giving Hermione the eye. Looking over at Ron, she saw the glare in his eyes at the boys who were looking at Hermione. Dear lord my brother is pathetic! Ginny had to out her hand over her mouth to smother the oncoming rush of laughter.
Feeling the hairs on her neck prickle, Ginny turned around, and locked eyes with Harry. Her laughter died out, and she could only stare into his eyes, and thus missed what Dumbledore was saying.
" . . so when the music starts, our head boy and girl will lead one song."
"WHAT!" both Hermione and Draco stared at Dumbldore in shock.
"Is there a problem?" Dumbledore asked.
"With all due respect Professor Dumbledore, I think that we should chose our own partners." Hermione said.
"Yeah." Was all Malfoy said.
"But it's tradition for the head boy and girl to start the first dance." His tone was final, and both of them knew it was fruitless to argue.
Casting a resigned look at her friends, who in turn gave her a sympathetic glance, she reluctantly made her way towards the middle of the dance floor. Draco followed with even more reluctance. Ron was now fixing his death glare on Draco. If that idiot harms one hair on Hermione-
"Err.. Ron?" Ginny was eyeing him strangely.
"What?"
"Your knuckles are turning white."
"Huh?" Ron looked down at his hands, and saw that his knuckles were looking rather white. Damn it! Now my hands are going to seize up and be all twitchy. Casting another death glare at Malfoy, Ron let his fists slowly uncurl. His hands were twitching.
"Shit." He mumbled.
Meanwhile, the music had started up, and it was a slow song. A muggle slow song that those who were muggle born squealed upon hearing the first few bars of music.
"She gets to dance to that song with him? I wish I were her." girls sighed.
"He's a lucky wizard, that he is." boys said.
Ginny had to look away from the disturbing scene, and her eyes wandered over to the front of the room, where Dumbledore stood, along with two familiar figures. Ginny blinked, and they were still there. Quietly she got up, and began walking towards the front of the room. No one seemed to notice.
"Hello Ginny dear." Fred Weasley said, when he caught sight of her.
"Heya Gin." George Weasely said, grinning at her.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"Well dear sister, if you must know, Dumbledore asked us to come and 'chaperone'"
"Though I must say I actually do feel sorry for Hermione. Dancing with that git." George shuddered. Ginny smiled and shook her head.
"Well we get to run the music, and serve drinks. Want a butterbeer?" Fred's eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Do you think I'm that stupid? You guys spiked the drinks."
"Ginny! I'm hurt that you would accuse your brother of such things." Fred clutched his heart dramatically. Ginny giggled.
Meanwhile, on the dance floor . . .
Hermione had to use all of her restraint not to kick Malfoy. He clearly looked just as unhappy as her, and that was the only good thing about doing this. What made her really angry, was that the song that was chosen was one of her favorite slow songs. Well at least it wasn't my most favourite slow song. I would have killed him if it was-
"Thinking about the weasel Granger?" Malfoy smirked at her.
"Shut up Malfoy." Hermione looked around at the students watching them. Some looked envious, some were looking angry, and others were looking sympathetic.
"I wouldn't be saying that Granger. You know I can report you."
"Same goes for you, Malfoy."
"Ah, but the difference is that you've already been reported once, and I have a clean record."
At this, Hermione blanched. Stupid slimy git! He was really testing her patience. Malfoy laughed.
"Don't go saying anything, or you know what will happen."
Hermione gritted her teeth, and prayed that the song would be over. Her nails seemed to dig into Malfoy's back on their own accord, and he gave a small yelp of pain.
"Damn you mudblood." He whispered.
Hermione fixed a glare at him. His hands tightened on her waist, causing her to whimper in pain Damn it! I'm going to have bruises! She thought.
Her whole body was shaking by the time the song ended. Malfoy gave her a smirk, and finally released her. She could feel the bruises already forming on her hips. I'll get him back if it's the last thing I do! She thought.
"That was excellent! Splendid!" Now Dumbledore joined them in the middle of the dance floor.
"Now when the music starts up again, compliments of Fred and George Weasely." Dumbledore indicated the twins, who stood up and bowed. Cheers erupted from the Gryffindors, while the Slytherins issued loud boos. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws began chattering amongst themselves.
"That's enough now." Dumbledore held up his hand, and the students went quiet again.
"Now when the music starts, I want the head boy and girl to pick out a partner. It can be anyone you want. You will dance with your partner, until the music changes. Someone will call out 'Snowball', and you will go pick a new partner. Your previous partner will pick out a partner of their own. This process will repeat several times until everyone is on the dance floor. Have a good time!" Dumbledore made his way off the stage, and the music started.
Hermione quickly ran and grabbed Harry, who followed her out, looking rather amused. He threw Ron an 'I'm sorry she picked me' look. Ron shrugged. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Oh shit! I just remembered! Taking his final note to Hermione out of his pocket, he looked around for a place to put it. If I take it to the twins, I'll never hear the end of it! Heaving a sigh, he turned to face the dance floor.
"Whatcha got there Ronald?"
"What?" Whipping around, Ron came face to face with his brothers, Fred and George.
"N-nothing." He said, trying to hide the parchment, but Fred snatched it out of his hand.
"Hey give that back!"
"Why? Is it important? Will our ickle Ronniekins perish without it?"
"C'mon Fred I'm serious!"
Suddenly, the music stopped, and George yelled 'SNOWBALL!'. Now there were 8 people on the dance floor. Ron tried to seize the opportunity to snatch the parchment back, but unluckily for him, Fred had opened it, and was now reading it.
"Hey George, you might want to read this." He handed the parchment over to his twin brother, who looked amused at Ron's obvious discomfort.
"Aw Fred-"
"Now really Ronald. Would we be good brothers if we didn't share this bit of information with everyone?"
"You wouldn't-" Ron's eyes grew wide with horror as Fred opened his mouth. I'm dead.
"SNOWBALL!"
Now there were 16 people on the dance floor. Ron exhaled a sigh of relief, and then punched Fred in the arm.
"You prat! Why did you do that?"
"Just to see the look on your face." Fred chuckled.
Meanwhile, George was finished reading the parchment.
"Aww isn't that sweet. Our ickle Ronniekins fancies Hermione-"
"Well we already knew that, but now Ronnie knows too." Fred laughed.
"Look can you just give it back to me?" Ron pleaded.
"Well we can, but what would be the fun in that?"
Ron sighed.
"Fine. But please don't embarrass me."
"Ronnie! I'm shocked that you would think your brothers would stoop so low as to embarrass you-"
"Shut up." Ron mumbled, turning red.
"SNOWBALL!" George yelled randomly. Ron looked gloomy, until Luna approached him.
"Want to dance?" she asked rather shyly.
"Sure." Glad to be away from his brothers, Ron let himself be led to the dance floor.
"Don't worry about your note Ronnie! It's safe with us." Fred called after him.
"Yeah we'll see to it that Hermione gets it!"
"Damn them." Ron muttered. They had reached the dance floor, and had begun to dance. Ron wasn't really concentrating on it, and just letting his feet move on their own accord.
"So . . . " Luna said, fixing a stare on him.
"So . . ." Ron echoed, clearly at a loss as to what to say.
"You look really handsome Ron." Luna said, blushing a little.
"Er-" Ron was saved the trouble when Fred yelled 'Snowball!' again. He and Luna parted, and Ron grabbed the first girl he could find. Which happened to be Parvati.
"So, did you give her the notes?" Parvati asked when they were on the dance floor.
"Two of them."
"What about he third one?" Parvati looked eager, and Ron couldn't help but shake his head.
"It's being taken care of." He said, eyeing Fred and George, who were looking innocent.
"Well that's good." Parvati said. "You know, you should dress up more Ron. You look really handsome!"
"Er-" Ron was once again saved by one of the twins yelling 'Snowball!'
"See you later Ron!" Parvati said, going off to find another partner. Ron followed suit. And so for the next ten minutes, that was how it went. Until everyone was on the dance floor. Then the music stopped completely. Everyone stopped dancing, and looked towards Dumbledore.
"Alright, now that everyone is dancing, we will have one more dance, and this time you simply switch partners, and keep on dancing until the end of the song!"
Another slow song started up, and Ron turned to his partner, a pretty ravenclaw fifth year that he didn't know. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.
Fred and George called 'Snowball' lots of times. So many times, in fact, that Ron was getting dizzy. He danced with practically every girl he knew. Except Hermione. This is getting ridiculous! Ron thought, as George yelled 'Snowball' again. But this time the girl he ended up with was Hermione. Oh merlin! He thought to himself, as Ron found himself dancing with Hermione. Now that she was close to him, he could see how beautiful she was up close. It made his nerves go crazy. He wanted to touch her hair, her face, her lips, but she looked incredibly uncomfortable. It nearly broke his heart.
"Uh Hermione-"he began, but Hermione spoke.
"Save it Ronald. Let's just get through this as quickly as possible."
Ron nearly blanched. He went silent, and tried to calm his raging emotions. The music stopped, and Hermione broke away from Ron.
"Hermione please-"
But Ron's plea went unheard, for Dumbledore had started talking again.
"Excellent! Splendid!" he said again. "I will now explain the reason you don't have any partners. I wanted to encourage inter-house relations, so I figured if you were mixed up like this, you would get to know each other better." Dumbledore paused, and everyone was looking at him expectantly. "Take a look at your last dancing partner, because they are the person you'll be spending the remainder of the ball with. Have a good night!"
The music started up again, but Ron didn't seem to hear it. He was staring at Hermione in shock, and Hermione was staring at him in shock. For those few seconds that teir eyes locked, it seemed that the world had melted away, leaving the two of them exposed. How did this happen? Ron thought. He pinched himself. It hurt. Ok, so this isn't a dream . . . Ron glanced at the others. Most couples looked happy. He barely registered that Harry and Ginny had ended up together. All that mattered right now was Hermione.
Ron looked at Hermione, only to find that was gone. Wha . . ? Looking around frantically, he finally spotted her talking to Fred and George, who unbeknownst to Ron, had 'summoned' Hermione while Ron had been momentarily distracted. Oh this is great! Ron thought sarcastically. He saw Hermione clutching the parchment, and felt a wave of nausea hit him. Damn it. He thought. He saw Hermione heading over to the table to read it. Somehow Ron's feet moved of their own accord, and ended up at Hermione's table.
"Hi Hermione." Ron said carefully.
Hermione didn't answer. She was just gazing into space, a dreamy look on her face.
"What's that you got there?"
"Huh?" Hermione snapped out of her dreamy state, and glared at Ron. "It's none of your business Ronald." She said coldly. Ron had to use all of his restraint to ignore her icy tone, and somehow he managed.
"Well would you like to dance?" he asked.
"Not with you." She replied, scowling at him. That's it. I can't do this anymore. Ron sighed, and looked at Hermione.
"Is there any way you'll forgive me for being a great big prat?" he asked.
"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione's voice held unchecked rage, and Ron feared for his life. "You were FAR from being a prat. You were well into being a slimy git! Honestly! You're worse that Malfoy!"
"Now hang out a bloody minute-" Ron was riled up. How dare she even THINK to compare me to Malfoy!
"It's true Ron. You really hurt me." Now Ron could see Hermione's eyes wet with unshed tears. He felt his heart wrench. He wanted to hug her, but willed himself to stand there and do nothing, because he knew that any attempts to comfort her would be thrown back into his face.
"Hermione if I apologize a thousand times, it won't be enough to undo the damage I did."
"So don't bother." Hermione got up, and strode through the dancers. Just then, a familiar voice rang out through the room.
"We are now playing a song by request. To Ms. Hermione Granger, from your secret admirer Ron Weasley." The first bars of 'This I Promise You' rang out of the speakers. What in the world? Ron looked at Fred and George, who grinned at him. How did they know that was the song in the parchment? But before his thoughts could get any further, he saw Hermione stop and turn around. She looked at Ron, and then at the parchment in her hands. Ron started walking towards her, and was at her side in a matter of moments. Hermione was still looking rather shocked. She didn't even notice that everyone on the dance floor was staring at the couple expectantly.
"You did this?" she whispered to him.
"Yeah." He admitted sheepishly.
"Oh Ron!" Hermione hugged him tightly, causing Ron to blush. Everyone else laughed, and that was when they both clued in.
"Ok, you can stop staring at us!" Ron said.
"Get back to your own lives!" Hermione added.
Everyone looked away, and began chattering amongst themselves, though keeping an ear on their conversation. Hermione and Ron found a spot on the edge of the dance floor, and she looped her arms around his neck, and his hands found the small of her back. Hermione felt butterflies in her stomach. I should be hating this! And yet he totally surprised me with that 'secret admirer' thing. She felt warm and giddy all over. She felt like she was suddenly bursting with happiness. She felt completely safe in his embrace.
"So am I forgiven then?" he asked, smiling at her. Hermione suddenly felt a wild streak within her. Grinning at him, she said,
"Now really Ronald, it'll take more than THAT to forgive me."
"Oh." Ron's voice sounded disappointed, but at that moment, Hermione closed her eyes, rose on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips against his in a chaste kiss. For an electrifying second, Ron was in heaven, but then she pulled away. Opening her eyes, she grinned at him. Ron was still speechless with shock.
"Now if you did THAT a thousand times, maybe then I'll forgive you." She grinned at him suggestively. Ron gulped.
"Hermione . . . " Ron's voice was slightly higher than usual.
"Yes Ron?"
"Did I tell you how fabulous that dress looks on you?"
"Actually, no you haven't but I'm glad to hear it."
Ron laughed, and pulled Hermione closer. He heard her sigh, and felt like sighing himself. This is absolute heaven. He thought, his feet naturally guiding them.
"And did I tell you how handsome you look in your muggle suit Ron?" Hermione asked, her eyes giving him the once-over. Ron blushed.
"Uh- thanks." He said, his face as red as his hair.
"Anytime Ron." She grinned at him. The were silent for a few moments, savoring the closeness of each other.
"I didn't know you could dance so well Ron." Hermione said, when the song ended, and they reluctantly pulled away.
"Well there's a lot of things you don't know about me."
"Really now? Are you going to tell me?"
"Maybe after I kiss you." Ron gently cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her with a gentleness that made Hermione melt into his arms again.
"Ron." She breathed against his lips. He pulled away, and smiled at her.
"Happy Christmas Hermione."
"Happy Christmas Ron."
Meanwhile, at the music table . . .
"Awe! Isn't that cute! Our ickle Ronniekins has a girlfriend!" Fred grinned at his brother.
"And to think he has us to thank for it."
"That brother of ours- he needs all the help he can get."
Fred and George laughed, and put on yet another slow song, and watched the lovebirds dance the night away.
fin
A/N: OMG IT'S FINALLY DONE! YAY! YAY! AND YAY AGAIN! Again I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed, and I am SOOOOOOOOO sorry that it took me this long to update, but now it's done. I hope that you've enjoyed the fic. It's been an adventure for me! I LOVE YOU ALL! God bless CelestialMoon17.