1. Time

Title: Time

Author: Seiryuu

Summary: Ron finally gets the courage to ask Hermione out on a date. The results, however, are a bit different than what he expected…

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author’s Note: Thanks to Roger, as always, for reading my fic and helping me with them. If you like this fic, join my group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Pumpkin_Cafe/ to receive know when any of my stories are updated, to have access to extra works based on the “With Love” series, and other such goodies. AIM- Akodo Brian, MSN- Seiryuu_Avatar@msn.com

And a special thank you goes out to Aaron Allston.

Time

Ron stood outside of the Gryffindor private quarters, fidgeting with a big bouquet of roses in his hand that he had bought in Hogsmeade only an hour earlier. He had dressed in his best robes (that Fred and George had bought for him that summer), and smoothed down his fiery red hair meticulously. Now, all he had to do was… ask her.

The Fat Lady stared at him, frowning. “You’re making me nervous myself, with all your pacing and all your fidgeting. Go inside and ask the girl out, just so I can stop staring at you!” She said, not unkindly. She gestured to the left corner of the portrait. “Now, you know how this goes. Say the password, and voila! You’ll be on your way to a romantic dinner for two.”

Ron stopped moving, and stared at the Fat Lady. “You know…” he started slowly, “how many people are in the common room right now?”

She gave an exasperated sniff as she disappeared for a moment, presumably to check inside. She came back. “Only a few people; the rest all went to sleep, I think. Your friends Harry and Hermione, along with Colin, Ginny, and Parvati are still awake.”

Ron gave a relieved sigh. He would rather not do this in front of a crowd, as he would have had to if he had entered when he first arrived at the painting (thirty minutes ago). It would have been excruciatingly embarrassing to ask her out in front of Harry, but he would understand. All he had to do was ask everyone else out of the room…

He twisted his neck, getting the cricks out of it, and jumped once or twice. “Okay, Ron, you can do it,” he murmured to himself. He looked up at the Fat Lady. “Lion’s Pride,” he said clearly. The portrait opened with eagerness, and as he walked through the portal, he thought he heard a soft “finally!” from the guardian of the door. Being a gentleman, of course, Ron decided to ignore that little remark. Anyway, the people in the room had their eyes on him, and now was not the time to stop and curse the poor painting.

He stopped only a few feet inside the common room. He could feel all the gazes on him, taking into account the nice clothes, the cleaned-up look, and the flowers in his hands. He saw his fellow Gryffindors start to smile at each other, all except for his two best friends, Harry and Hermione. They only looked at him, waiting for him to move.

Ron moved quickly, trying to reach Hermione as soon as possible. He saw out of the corner of his eyes Parvati’s smile fade slightly when he passed by her quickly. Harry’s eyes widened momentarily when he realized whom Ron was aiming for.

Harry cleared his throat loudly. When Ron stopped moving, about five feet from Hermione, Harry stood up quickly from his seat next to Hermione. “Well, guys,” he said brightly, “I think it’s way past time for me to hit the bed. Colin, Ginny, Parvati; what about you guys?” He waited, hands on his waist, until the three moved towards their respective rooms. When the last door closed, Harry smiled at Hermione.

“We’ll finish the Potions homework later, then? Sweet dreams,” he said softly. She nodded, and smiled back at him in return. He turned, gave a solemn nod (the effect of which was wrecked by a quick wink he sent him) to Ron, and headed for his own room.

Ron waited until the door closed to step towards Hermione. He looked at her; she was sitting at a desk, a book in front of her and a scroll lying next to it. Her hair was in disarray, like normal, but she still radiated a sense of calm. Her brown eyes were fixed on his face, and never wavered as Ron stepped closer and closer to her.

He stopped two feet in front of Hermione, and leaned forward with the flowers. “These are for you,” he said, blushing. She blushed slightly, and accepted them with a soft “thank you.” She smelled them, and smiled at the fragrance that rose to envelop her.

Ron waited until she put the bouquet down on the table next to her homework to sit down next to her. He turned to face her, and she did the same.

“Hermione, I’ve known you for five years, and they’ve all been amazing. We’ve shared some—okay, a lot—of differences, but I think we would be great as a couple. I want to give us a shot, if you are willing.” He looked into her eyes again, and waited for her response. In his head, he was running through the possible situations on what to do when she said ‘yes’.

Okay, you can try to kiss her, but don’t bungle it up! You can’t make things awkward so early. Just ask her to go to Hogsmeade with you next Friday after class, he told himself. He came to again, and smiled at Hermione hopefully.

She smiled back. “No, Ron,” she said.

Ron shook his head. “What did you just say?” He asked, astounded.

She smiled again. “I said ‘no’, Ron. I meant it.”

“Oh.” Ron slumped back into his chair. He stared at the table for a moment, sulking slightly. He finally asked, “Why?”

Hermione said, “Ron, look at me.” When he didn’t, she placed a hand on his chin and raised it to meet her gaze. She nodded. “Now, let’s think this through logically, okay?”

Ron frowned. “Logically? What do you mean?”

Hermione nodded once more. “You guys all accuse me of being a bookworm, so let me test a little theory on you. Ron, how often did you think about me yesterday?”

Ron’s frown lessened slightly, puzzled by her question. “Well, I…”

Hermione cut him off quickly. “I don’t mean dreaming about snogging together, or going out together. I just want to know how much you think about me. Just me. Plain old Hermione, your best friend. I’ll allow you some romantic thoughts, but I don’t mean anything physical happening between us.”

Ron wracked his brain, trying to remember. “Yesterday… why don’t you ask about today?”

"Because you were thinking all day about asking me out, so it doesn’t count. I’m trying to show you a regular day, when it’s like any other normal day,” she answered.

“Umm… Five minutes?” Ron said, a bit sheepishly.

Hermione smiled fondly at him. “Now, does that seem like a reasonable amount of time thinking about the person you like and want to go out with?”

Ron shook his head. “No, not really.”

Hermione said, “Well, you want to know what I think? You just gave into pressure. There’s so much hype about you, Harry, and me, and that we should be together. I mean, the general Hogwarts community sees us arguing together so much! And remember the debacle after the Yule Ball last year? I’m sure a lot of the people saw our argument, and thought, ‘well, isn’t it obvious they like each other? It won’t be long until they’re together.’” She placed a hand on his knee.

“You think that we should be together because everyone thinks that way. But I’m going to tell you, love doesn’t work that way. I can’t go out with you because I love so—because I don’t love you. We’re really good friends, Ron, but we wouldn’t be a good couple.”

She waited patiently as Ron mulled over that in his head. He finally nodded. “I see what you’re saying, Hermione. Very logical.”

Hermione nodded. “Now, when I start occupying your mind all the time, you let me know and we’ll give it a shot, okay?”

Ron smiled at her. “I’m going to hold you to that promise. But you’re right, we’re the best of friends, and I love you for it.”

Hermione groaned. “I should watch what I say around you. You’re bound to twist everything I say.”

They stood up, ready to go to bed themselves. They gave each other a friendly hug, and Hermione bent down to gather her homework. Ron was at the foot of the stairs when something she almost let slip suddenly popped up in his head. He turned around quickly.

“Hermione?” He asked mischievously. Hermione looked up from her work. “You were about to say ‘I love someone else’. Don’t lie to me, you just can’t. So, Hermione, tell me who the secret lover of yours is?” He walked towards her deliberately, smiling when her face turned pale.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ron!” She said quickly, with the pitch of her voice rising with each word. A panicked look began to come across her features, and a rosy blush came over her cheeks.

Ron grinned. “So, little Miss Bookworm has fallen in love. No wonder you didn’t accept my invitation.” He leaned forward until his face was inches from her burning face. “Now, is he the studly Quidditch type, or someone you met at the library? Someone who you think of all the time, and someone who smiles at you in that special way?” She shook her head frantically, trying to deny everything.

“Is it Neville? Seamus? Justin? Fred? Have you gone and fallen in love for the weaker yet fairer sex?” At that, Hermione hit him on the arm with her book.

“Ron! You… you sick, twisted…” she fumed angrily, as she tried to find a word to describe him. “You sick prat!” she ended up saying lamely.

Ron smiled. “That’s why you love me, Hermione,” he said. He leaned back, pretending to act like Hermione. “Now, let’s think this through logically. It must be someone you spend a lot of time either talking to, looking at, or touching. If my memory serves me correctly, you’ve spent a lot of time talking to me and Harry, a lot of time cursing Draco, helping Neville on the Charms homework, and… that’s about it. I can’t say I know exactly those you stare at, and I’m probably going to strike out on the touching thing. So, my research results lower the available choices quite a bit. Let’s go backwards. Hermione, you have NOT fallen for Malfoy?”

Hermione frowned and lifted her book, getting ready to hit him once more. Ron waved her off. “Good, you haven’t completely lost your mind. How about Neville? Does his stammering turn you on?”

Hermione shook her head. “It’s not funny to make fun of him, Ron. And for your information, no, I am not going to answer any of your questions.”

Ron shook his head mockingly. “Well, then, I guess I’m just going to have to cross Neville off of that list. We already know what your stance on Ron Weasley is. So…” His voice trailed off as the answer hit him. His mouth fell open slightly.

He coughed. “Is it… Is it Harry?” When Hermione didn’t answer one way or the other, his mouth fell open again, shocked at the answer shown by her guilty face.

Hermione stared at him, amused. “Close your mouth before flies nest in it, Weasley,” she said. She picked up her scroll and started walking towards her room.

“Wait!” Ron called out, and Hermione stopped. She turned around slowly.

“Why don’t you tell him how you feel?” He asked, his tone finally serious.

Hermione closed her eyes briefly. “I can’t, Ron. We’re so great as best friends, I can’t risk losing it all because I want to indulge in my hormonal urges. I can’t risk alienating him from me; I can’t risk to have him not trust me because we break up or something.”

Ron frowned. “You sound like you have it pretty bad. And I think you’re wrong. I think Harry loves you, too, and is just as willing to be with you.”

Hermione smiled sadly. “What a great fairy tale ending,” she whispered softly, so softly that Ron only barely caught what she said. “Good night, Ron,” she said, and turned from him. Her steps grew faster and faster, until she ran up the stairs and closed her door quickly.

Ron stood there in the common room for a few more moments, before shaking his head. Things definitely didn’t turn out the way I thought they would, he thought wryly, and he walked to his room.

The End?

2. A Great Fairy Tale Ending

Title: A Great Fairy Tale Ending

Author: Seiryuu

Summary: Ron decides to help Harry and Hermione reveal their true feelings toward each other. Sequel to the story “Time”.

Author’s Note: Thanks to Roger, as always, for reading my fic and helping me with them. Leslie, this one’s happy! Read this! People at LNCA, thanks for your encouragement.

If you like this fic, join my group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Pumpkin_Cafe/ to receive know when any of my stories are updated and other such goodies. Always feel free to approach me on AIM (SN: Akodo Brian) or MSN (seiryuu_avatar@msn.com). I’d love to chat with you, and answer any questions you might have about the fic (or anything else).

A Great Fairy Tale Ending

Ron frowned. “You sound like you have it pretty bad. And I think you’re wrong. I think Harry loves you, too, and is just as willing to be with you.”

Hermione smiled sadly. “What a great fairy tale ending,” she whispered softly, so softly that Ron only barely caught what she said.

-'Time', by Seiryuu

Monday

Quidditch practice was a brutal affair. People got bruised and muddied, no matter how hard they tried to keep clean. Fred, the Quidditch Captain, was hardly as fanatical as Oliver Wood had been, but he was pretty close. The Gryffindor Quidditch team ran through many conditioning drills, forcing his teammates to run, practice swoops on their brooms, and many other activities that left all the players aching afterwards. Today was no different.

Ron Weasley had not been able to replace Wood’s position as Keeper, but as he watched the fatigued team trudge back towards the castle, he couldn’t help but feel relieved at his misfortune. A small grin came across his features when he spotted Harry Potter, walking up the hill with his trusty Firebolt slung over his shoulder. Ron headed towards him, waving to catch his attention. When Harry spotted his hand, he headed away from the main group, letting the rest of the team talk animatedly to each other about various Quidditch matters.

“Hey, Ron, what’s up?” Harry said, smiling a bit. Ron took an appraising look at Harry. Dressed in simple robes (not the red and gold uniform he wore to games; Harry found it harder to clean the uniform than the normal robes he usually wore for practice), Harry was splattered with mud; a cut on his knee from a nasty collision left a bloody mark on his left leg. His hair was still wildly pointed in every direction—but, Ron mused, I suppose it turns some girls on.

Ron was cut off from his musings however, by a hand waving in his face. "Ron?” he asked, giving him an odd look. Ron immediately knocked the intruding appendage away from his face. “Ron, why were you staring at me? I really hope you weren’t checking me out.”

Ron shook his head. “Harry, Harry,” he said mock-mournfully, “You have a lot of work ahead of you.”

Harry frowned. He gestured towards the castle, and both of them started walking towards the castle together. “What do you mean by that?” Harry asked.

Ron said calmly, with hardly a twinge in his voice to give away his mirth, “You only have five days to get ready to go on a date, of course.”

Harry stopped walking, astonished, but Ron continued to walk forward. Ron left Harry behind, standing there staring at Ron. When Harry overcame his sense of shock, he ran after his best friend and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Wait a minute! What the hell do you mean? A date? I don’t know anything about a date!”

Ron said calmly, "yeah, I know. I've already arranged it all for you."

Harry’s answering shriek could have been heard in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. “What?!”

Ron crossed his arms across his chest. “Listen to me, Harry,” Ron said, “I did this for your own good. You haven’t gone on any dates yet, and it’s practically a cardinal sin for a famous wizard like you to go without romance. The girl you’re going to go out with is a very sweet girl, one of the sweetest I know. She likes you for who you really are, and not just for your name. She’s very smart, and fun to be with. She’s loyal, inventive, amazing, and you are going to go out on a date with her this Friday!”

Harry had been trying to say something, anything, during Ron’s speech, but when he finished, he found he had nothing to say. He thought for a moment, and Ron waited patiently.

“She’s fun to be with?” Harry asked.

Ron nodded. “I’ve spent some of the funniest parts of my life with her, and I don’t regret it at all.”

Harry thought longer. Ron waited.

“You say she likes me?” He asked.

Ron nodded. “She’s been in love with you almost since the day she met you. I can’t really say I know why; you aren’t that charming.” He deftly sidestepped a punch, and he chuckled.

Once again, silence prevailed. Ron hid a smile, knowing that he was wearing down all of Harry’s defenses. After all, Harry couldn’t have that many excuses.

“Is she cute?” Harry finally asked. Ron cracked a grin.

“I promise you, when you see her, you will be left speechless and stammering.”

Harry shook his head. “You git, I can’t be stammering when I’m speechless.” He paused again, trying to find a legitimate excuse to call it off. He sighed. “Fine, fine. I will go out with her once, this Friday. But Ron—read my lips. This will happen only once. Since you’ve already said I’ll do this- without my consent/ by the way- I suppose I don’t have much choice, do I? But believe me; I will not go out with her again.” Ron’s grin took on a triumphant edge.

Harry thrust a warning finger in Ron’s face. “But,” he warned, frowning, “don’t ever make dates for me again, okay? Friendship only goes so far. I’d better enjoy this date, Weasley, or you’re going to regret it for the rest of your conscious life. You make even one more date for me, and I’ll make sure to melt your right leg together with Malfoy’s left. Clear?”

“Crystal,” Ron answered, smiling, unperturbed by Harry’s threat. They started walking towards the castle again, talking about other matters; however, Ron’s mind was working full-speed. He felt immensely happy that phase one of his plan had gone off without a hitch.

Now, he thought, all I have to do is convince her to go on the date. No problem.

“Ronald Weasley, have you gone out of your bloody mind?!” Hermione’s shriek could have been heard all the way on the top of the Astronomy Tower. Ron shushed her quickly, looking around to see if anyone was within hearing distance.

It was mid-afternoon, and surprisingly enough, no one else was enjoying the sunny day by the lake. Ron had convinced Hermione to meet him here about ‘something important’, and he had told her (with a grin on his face) about the impending date.

To say the least, she was far from pleased.

"I am not about to go along with this stupid scheme of yours! I’m hardly some bimbo who needs to be set up against her will, on a blind date!” she shouted, growing red with anger and embarrassment. She paced in front of Ron, who wisely stood still. “If I do go along with this date thing, It’ll put me in the very position that I wanted to stay away from! Great Merlin. What do you think this will do to our friendship? You told him that the mysterious woman loves him?!”

Ron waited calmly for her to finish. When she finally stopped, he started listing off his reasons, ticking them off with his fingers.

“Hermione, listen to me, and listen to me carefully. Let’s be a bit logical about this, huh?” Hermione only grew redder at his mocking the words she had used only a few days back. “I have three good reasons why you should accept. Reason number one: you deserve a day’s rest in Hogsmeade. When was the last time you went to Hogsmeade to relax? If my computations are correct, you went with Harry and me nearly seven weeks ago. Right?”

Hermione wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Yeah, so?” she muttered. She crossed her arms across her chest. “I’m not going along with this stupid plan.”

Ron shook his head. “Reason number two. You are in love with him. I know that deep inside, you are happy for this chance that I gave you. You want to go on this date and snog Harry until both of you can’t breathe.”

Hermione smiled despite herself. She controlled herself quickly however, forcing her features to a stern frown.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Ron. How won’t this place me in the same position that I’ve been trying to avoid in the first place?!”

Ron shook his head and tsk’ed. “Hermione, anger hardly becomes you. If you would have let me finish reason number two, I would have told you that it leaves you with a perfect cop-out. If it ends up being that Harry does not love you-” here he raised a cautionary finger- “and I highly doubt that, but if that happens—you can always say that it was an elaborate practical joke played on both of you by your dashing and lovable best friend, Mr. Ronald Weasley.” He gave a mock bow.

Hermione stopped moving for a moment, mulling that idea over in her head. She nodded finally, and looked at Ron. “Amazing. Your reasons are actually pretty reasonable. What’s reason number three?”

Ron shrugged. “There is no reason number three. I just said that there was because, you have to admit, things sound so much more impressive in threes, don’t you think?”

Hermione laughed. “You’re crazy, Ron. This is never going to work. It was a wonderful thought, Ron, and thank you for it. But I’m not going to agree to torture myself like that unless I…” she trailed off.

Ron raised an eyebrow at her. “Unless you what?” he asked, amused. “Is it possible that yes, Hermione is a human girl and sometimes does make mistakes in her thought processes?”

Hermione ignored his jibes. “Ron, since you’ve gotten me into this, I want you to do a simple thing for me.” A bright, mischievous gleam came over her eyes.

Ron gulped.

Thursday

Ron peaked over the stairs of the male part of the dorms. As he had hoped, Harry was sitting on the seat that he usually occupied, staring intently at the parchments that he had sprawled out in front of him. Ron came down the stairs quickly, sliding down the banister.

He landed horribly, falling on his back. At the noise, Harry looked up, turned around, and grinned at the sight greeting him.

“Well, you certainly know how to make an entrance, Ron,” he said, grinning.

Ron dusted himself off on the floor. He got up gingerly, trying to avoid putting too much pressure on any part of his body. “Yeah, yeah, sod that,” he grumbled. He shook his head, and cleared the evil thoughts of vengeance that had crept up after his fall. He cleared his throat loudly, and he reminded himself of the task at hand.

“Hey, Harry? Can I ask you some simple questions? ’s for the Divination homework.”

Harry shrugged. “Whoa, must be the first time you’re going to do the work for that class. I thought we were just going to make up stuff for each other?”

Ron shrugged in return. “I just wanted to do it this time. Close your eyes.” He gestured for Harry to stop working on his homework, and Harry leaned back on the chair, stretching his back. He closed his eyes, and placed his glasses on the table.

When Ron saw his eyes close, he gestured to Hermione, waiting across the room, telling her to come closer in order to hear Harry's answers. She approached quietly, her steps masked by Ron’s voice in Harry’s ear.

“Now, Harry, keep your eyes closed and try to relax. I’m only going to ask you some of the interpersonal relationship questions.” Harry groaned slightly, but kept his eyes closed.

Ron smiled. Hermione was now sitting at the base of the stairs, where she could hear everything they both said. Harry was facing away from her, so even if he opened his eyes, she would have enough time to scramble away. Her plan was going perfectly. As did almost all of her plans.

“Now, Harry, tell me what you think about your two best friends.” Ron said, smiling a bit. “You can start with me.”

Harry shifted uncomfortably. “Well, you’ve been a great friend to me since the beginning. Both you and Hermione, that is. You’ve helped me get past those times that I thought would drag me into depression or worse. You’ve helped me adjust to the magical world, and helped me study for those frequent tests I was forced to undergo. And I’m sure your homework answers will not have this much information on them.”

Ron sighed. “No more cynicism from you, Harry. I want you to tell me a few things about Hermione, actually. What are your feelings towards her, specifically?” Hermione’s head bobbed up a bit, as she strained to hear his response.

Harry’s facial expressions were great to behold. It was calm, for the most part; but a twitch was visible occasionally, as he tried to hide his emotions. Ron smiled. I was right, after all.

“Well…” Harry’s voice was definitely a bit higher-pitched than normal. “Hermione’s amazing. She’s always there to hassle me to do my work, if I’m falling behind; she’s there to comfort me when I need comforting; she’s there to hug me when I need to be hugged. She’s like an anchor, a rock, to me. She helps me forget the troubles of the world and makes me laugh.”

Ron’s smile grew even bigger. Yes, I’m right! He gloated to himself. Only the sight of Hermione’s insistent gestures reminded him to ask the final question.

“Harry, I also need to know: how often do you think of her?”

Harry smiled. It was almost an involuntary action, as if he was not conscious of his pleasure. “Hermione’s on my mind all the time. I always want to ask her opinion on whatever I’m doing, and I always want to tell her how my life’s been going. When Snape picks on me, knowing that Hermione and you’ll help me make fun of him over dinner lets me cool down in his class. You guys are so monumental to me, that I can’t imagine an hour going by when I haven’t thought of you and Hermione a hundred times.”

Ron noticed Hermione’s expression: it was an expression of awe, of being hit on the head with a revelation that changed how she viewed the world. She stood up on uneasy legs, and climbed up the stairs leading to her room. She reached her door, opened it, and slipped inside. The closing click could hardly be heard.

Ron cleared his throat. "That's all, Harry. Thanks for your help."

Harry opened his eyes. “Does that help your cause at all, Ron?”

Ron smiled at him. “Immensely, Harry. Immensely.”

Friday

There had been a great deal to do to get ready for the big date. Hermione had thrown herself into the preparations eagerly, amazingly cheerful and smiling (though inside her, doubt and anxiety filled her like an overfilled balloon). Hermione and Ron had gone together to the Giver’s Gift (an expensive, luxurious restaurant in Hogsmeade) to pick the table that they were to sit at that night; it was placed next to the windows, yet was close to the dance floor if they wished to dance.

The classes went by too slowly for Ron, while for Harry and Hermione, the day seemed to be played on fast-forward. Harry had bothered Ron relentlessly about who the mystery woman was; Ron, however, had adamantly kept his lips closed, and finally Harry had thrown his hands in the air and given up. Ron thought that Harry suspected Ginny was his date for the evening.

When Double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs ended at 5 PM, Harry and Ron had rushed to their room. (Hermione, of course, had done the same, but no one had noticed.) Harry quickly got into his spiffiest dress robes, and tried to comb his hair to a reasonable style. He failed miserably.

As he stared into a mirror, trying to put on a Muggle tie on the shirt under the robes, Harry spoke to Ron (who was sitting on his bed). “I still don’t see what all the secrecy’s about. I’m going to see the girl in two hours, Ron, can’t you just tell me who it is?”

He shook his head firmly. “No can do, man. Part of the delight you’ll have tonight is when you realize who you are about to go out with.” He shrugged. “Besides, your expression when you do find out will be priceless.”

Harry had a resigned look on his face as he nodded. “Fair enough.” He gave another tug on his tie, and turned to look at Ron. “Ready to head down to Hogsmeade and get the rendezvous set up?”

Ron sighed. “Finally! You take way too long getting ready. I swear, you’re almost like a girl!” He jumped up, and ran out the door before Harry’s shoe could hit him in the back.

They rode to Hogsmeade in a horseless carriage; even though Harry had been to preoccupied to pay close attention, Ron noticed that one of the carriages was missing. Everything’s working out perfectly, he thought happily. He hummed on the ride all the way to the town.

Time flew by fast once more; flowers were bought, a gift was enchanted, and ‘manly talk’ was exchanged between the two best friends. Finally, when the time arrived, Ron led Harry towards the Giver’s Gift, which was at the middle of the town.

It was a rather small restaurant, but it had an elegant manner around it. Even though it was an open-air restaurant, handy charms kept the cold out (while letting the diners see the stars if they so wished). Waiters and waitresses stood ready to serve every whim, and occasionally, fireworks were shot from a waiter’s wand, dazzling the diners who had requested the display.

Ron and Harry stood near the entrance, watching a beautiful fountain spout water that formed beautiful shapes in the air. They waited patiently, knowing that girls could sometimes get a bit… enthusiastic… about dressing for dates.

Harry saw her first. Ron had been looking in the wrong direction, and had been checking out a young, beautiful witch whose clinging dress seemed to hide nothing at all. Harry had been watching the water fountain, letting the serene pictures calm his nerves. When one of the pictures (an angel flying towards heaven) faded into nothing, Harry saw Hermione replace the angel’s spot in his eyes.

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

When Ron finally noticed Harry standing there slack-jawed, he turned too and saw her. Her beauty slammed into him with the force of a horrible midair Quidditch collision, and his heart began to beat harder and faster. The love that he knew was false began to roar into a flaming inferno again, and he felt lost in the overwhelming swirls of lust that passed through him. She was dressed in a robe, not a dress, but she still looked amazing. The robe fitted her perfectly, and her curves that it showed were unavoidable. She wore a miniscule amount of make-up, just enough to bring out her eyes and brighten her cheeks. Her hair was let loose, and combed to a sleek, long waterfall of hair that framed her face to the two. She was smiling, and it made heavenly what would have been beautiful. She walked towards the two, but neither Ron nor Harry could move.

Hermione stopped a few feet in front of Harry. “Hello, Harry,” she said quietly, her voice sounding like music playing.

Harry swallowed and tried to wet his dry mouth. “Hey, Hermione. What are you doing here?”

She threw an uncertain glance at Ron, who stood behind Harry a bit, and redirected her gaze straight into Harry’s eyes. “I—I’m your date for tonight.” She said, her voice not wavering a bit.

Harry’s eyes widened, and he turned towards Ron. “Ron, what do-”

Ron cut him off with a quick gesture. “Harry, listen to me, and listen to me well. Yes, Hermione is your date for tonight. Yes, everything I told you earlier about the mystery woman is true. I really hope that you can realize the feelings you have for her. Don’t forget what you told me just yesterday how you felt about her. Don’t try to hide anything; let your true emotions out, and everything will turn out for the best.”

Harry opened his mouth, as if to speak, but closed them back slowly. He looked at Hermione, took in her appearance, and looked at Ron again. Ron was happy to note that there was a new light in Harry’s eyes, one that had not been seen earlier. Harry smiled at Hermione.

“These are for you,” he said gently, and handed Hermione a bouquet of wildflowers. She smiled nervously, and thanked Harry quietly. Harry turned toward Ron, leaned forward, and offered Ron his hand. He shook it firmly.

“Thank you, my friend,” Harry said softly to Ron, and Ron grinned back in response. Harry released his hand, and offered his arm to Hermione. His smile to her was gentle and with an emotion he had not expected to feel that night.

“Shall we go?” He asked, eyes sparkling, and she hooked her arm with his. They walked elegantly towards the maitre, leaving Ron behind. Before they left his sight, however, Hermione turned towards him and smiled thankfully at him.

They sat down at the table already chosen by the owners of the restaurant and Ron. Feeling suddenly like an intruder, he climbed into a horseless carriage, and returned to his home away from home.

Ron had waited up for the budding romantics to come back, although he could feel in his heart of hearts that something great had just occurred. They were taking their sweet time in returning to bed, however; everyone else had left the room, and still they had not entered through the portrait. He felt that it was perhaps a futile gesture to do nothing but wait for them to return (who were probably off in the Astronomy Tower snogging at the moment). So he cracked open his History of Magic textbook and began to read.

The portrait door swung open quietly, the gust of air following it startling the sleeping Ron awake. Harry and Hermione staggered into the common room, hugging each other furiously. Harry leaned forward and kissed her again, and they stood, rooted to that spot. Their hands came up to grab the other by the head, but neither relaxed the strength of their kisses, nor their frequency.

Ron cleared his throat, and both Harry and Hermione jumped when they found that they had an audience. They both saw it was Ron and they relaxed visibly.

Ron smiled at the two. “I’m supposing the date was a success?” Ron asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Both Harry and Hermione nodded, and smiles came to them once more. Harry’s arms encircled Hermione, and she leaned back into his arms.

“Thanks again, Ron, for helping to set up this date. Without your help, we might have never acted on our feelings…” Harry said softly. Hermione nodded.

Ron smiled back. “Anything I can do to help my two best friends in the world. But Harry- you promised me that you’d only go out with her once! That means you can’t ever go out with Hermione again!”

Harry growled, and playfully stalked towards Ron. Hermione walked with Harry, and when they reached Ron, she leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you, Ron,” she said quietly.

“So, any chance of you guys telling me exactly what happened tonight?” Ron asked cheerfully. Harry and Hermione shook their heads at the same time. “Figures,” Ron said good-naturedly. “Well, if you’ll both be silent on the issue, I’ll be heading off to bed. G’nite, both of you.” After exchanging ‘good night’s, he headed to his room, leaving the newly made couple in the room.

When he reached the door of his room, however, he was suddenly reminded of something Hermione had said to him on the subject of Harry’s love for her. He turned toward her.

“Hermione!” He called out. Harry and Hermione both looked up at him, puzzled.

Ron grinned. “And they lived happily ever after!”

Hermione grinned back, remembering her words to Ron last Saturday. She chuckled as Ron disappeared into his room. “He’s quite a guy, that Ron,” she murmured, and Harry’s arms tightened around her.

“That he is, Hermione. That he is.” Harry said in response, and leaned down, capturing her lips with his.

Hermione forgot all about Ron and the rest of her surroundings for the rest of the night.

The End

A/N: Or perhaps not. I might write up a little something about Harry and Hermione’s date, from Harry’s POV. Time will tell…