The common room was quiet, the few people that were still awake simply gossiping or reading or playing chess. Some people were even napping. For once, I wasn't one of the reading crowd. I just sat, staring at the fire. Though we still had months of school left to complete before our summer break, Harry and Ron sat discussing their plans for summer.
It shouldn't have surprised me that I was pulled into the conversation.
"How about you, Hermione?" Harry asked casually. I blushed, glancing at Ron's apprehensive expression and knowing he wouldn't be happy.
"Viktor's invited me to come stay in Bulgaria with him for a couple of weeks. As friends." I stressed, forcing myself to look at Ron. He stared at me coldly, but I could swear I saw sadness in his blue eyes.
"Yeah, right. Friends. I'm sure Vicky thinks of you as just a friend, 'Mione, honestly. I thought you were the smart one here." He shot at me with a sneer.
"What, Ginny? Okay, be right there!" Harry called across the common room, standing up and leaving. Neither of us noticed.
"Really, Ron. Viktor and I are friends. Always have been." I told him softly.
"You went to the Ball as friends?" Ron asked skeptically.
"Yes! We danced, Ron. That's it." I tried hard to keep my patience.
"Yeah, and I'm the biggest spider lover you ever did meet." He rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Ron!" I stood, finally losing it. "Why, Ron? Why do you have to do this every time his name comes up?"
"Why does his name come up so bloody often?" he challenged, standing up as well.
"It doesn't and you know it. Just stop being such a child, would you?" I sighed exasperatedly.
"Just don't do it, okay? Stay in this country this summer!" Ron screamed at me, taking a step closer and towering over me even more than he already was.
"Why?" I shouted back. "Why do you care what I do with my summer?"
"Because, he…" he trailed off at a loss for words.
"Ha! See? You've got nothing on him! He's done nothing to you!" I jabbed a finger at his chest in triumph.
"Oh, I've got plenty on him. He's the enemy, 'Mione." His voice was softer now, almost defeated.
"Don't call me 'Mione when I'm upset with you, Ronald." The hurt look on his face almost made me regret what I had said, but before I could apologize, his expression was hard again, mad.
"You just don't get it, do you?" he asked me, yelling again.
"Oh, I get it just fine. You don't want me to see Viktor because, in your thick head, he's Harry's enemy. Don't tell me I don't get it!" I stood on the tips of my toes, trying to level the height difference to no avail.
"See, that's where you're wrong. It's got nothing to do with Harry." He was extremely red in the face, and in any other situation, it would have been almost comical.
"It's got nothing to do with Harry?" I repeated, confused.
"Nothing." He confirmed.
"But you said…you said 'Fraternizing with the enemy'." I reminded him, no longer yelling. We were the only people in the common room, I noticed. Everyone else had gone to bed already.
"Because he is the enemy," he grinned suddenly, knowing he was getting me confused and realizing it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"This isn't funny, Ronald, honestly. If he's not Harry's enemy but he is the enemy then whose enemy is he?" I asked, my brow furrowed.
"Who's the enemy?" he asked, feigning confusion, the stupid grin remaining on his face. Only he could look attractive with that doofy lopsided smile. But, boy, did he look attractive.
"Seriously. Whose enemy is Viktor if he's not Harry's?" I plunged on, forcing myself not to drown in his deep blue pools. I watched as the humor in them dimmed and softened into resignation.
"Never mind. Go see whoever you bloody want to over the summer, I could care less." His voice became quieter, sadder with every word he spoke. I couldn't stand it.
"No, Ron, what?" I demanded quietly, grabbing his hand when he turned to leave.
"Nothing. You don't want to know." He muttered softly, avoiding my eyes.
"Don't tell me what I want to know, Ronald. Look at me." I ordered as kindly as I could. "Look at me!" I repeated when his eyes continued wandering. The blue orbs swiveled to lock with mine, and I instantly regretted it. It was hard enough to get a point across when he was anywhere near me, let alone with his hand still in mine, but throw in the eyes and coherent sentences were few and far between. Ron was silent for a moment, his eyes sweeping over my face and coming to rest on my eyes once more.
"Hermione," he whispered, almost mournfully. His pained eyes were impossible to look away from.
"What's wrong?" I whispered carefully. I had never seen Ron like this, not in the middle of one of our arguments. He was always mad, stubborn old Ron. But sad… not once had I seen this look on Ron's face when no one had recently died. "Please tell me," I pleaded.
"He's not Harry's enemy," Ron murmured.
"Right, we already establi-" I started.
"He's mine." Ron interrupted, staring at me apprehensively, trying to read my expression.
"Yours?" I repeated in confusion. "But why…" I trailed off. Something about the way he rolled his eyes and gave a slight smile made me stop talking. His hand, the one I had forgotten I had been holding, twisted in my own to grab my wrist and yank me to him.
All I could do was stare up at him, wide-eyed, as he bent down unbearably slowly to lock my lips to his. He kissed me hard as my hands rose to wrap around his neck, my fingers toying with the ginger locks at the nape of his neck. I heard him moan as his arms snaked around my waist and his large, callused hands ran the length of my back. I softly bit his bottom lip, caressing it with my tongue and sucking on it gently. He smiled into my mouth, parting my lips gently with his and brushing the tip of his tongue against the roof of my mouth. I shivered involuntarily, moving my hands to the top of his head and pulling him down to me, kissing him deeper. His reaction was simply to pull me closer to him, crushing me against his muscled chest. He growled as I pulled away reluctantly, gasping for air. His grip on me didn't loosen, and I had to crane my neck to see his face.
"Ronald Weasley, did you just growl at me?" I laughed once I had caught my breath for the most part, leaning against him.
"And what if I did?" he asked me, his mouth moving against the back of my ear. I fought against the sensation, knowing I needed to reply.
"Then I…" I struggled through the haze in my mind to remember what we were talking about. His scent…heaven is what it was.
"You what?" he teased, brushing his nose along my own, his lips so close to mine. I could feel his breath mingle with my own. He was supporting all of my weight now, due to the fact that my knees were complete jelly, but he didn't seem to mind.
"I'll…. I'll punish you!" I threatened triumphantly.
"Punish me?" he asked, his eyes wide and innocent. His lips barely brushed mine as he spoke. He was torturing me and he knew it. "But why?"
I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut in concentration. He did something wrong. Didn't he? "That's a trick question, isn't it?"
"And I thought you were the smart one here," Ron chuckled, kissing me again until the room spun.
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I'm pretty sure I'll write another chapter. I think Ron needs a taste of his own medicine.
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