Disclaimer: The incomparable Harry Potter universe belongs rightfully to the one and only J.K. Rowling.

A/N: I’m in love with Ron and Hermione almost as much as they love each other.

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Prologue

The school remained familiar after three years of raging war. Even so, the ancient spells that protected the school of Hogwarts were destined to falter and weaken. With that in mind, Hogwarts had been one of the only wizarding buildings that still stood on its’ foundation, and had more than one room to be decorated with banners of long lifeless black silk.

Ron visited his old dormitory, which looked completely untouched. Cheerful sunlight poured through the curtains as he pulled them back. He took in the sunshine that, in his opinion, should only shine when it was a good day unlike a day like this.

He examined his appearance hypercritically in a tall mirror. His hair was shaggy, his freckles looked much darker in contrast to his paled skin, and his eyes had a slightly haunting appearance underneath the blue. This lead him to think of himself before the Yule Ball, which took place so many years ago, and he smiled in spite of it.

Looking to the empty bed beside his own, Ron had almost seen his beloved best friend Harry, flashing a huge cheeky grin his way. He would be handsomely dressed in emerald green robes. Ron pictured him looking less awkward and more proud. He almost returned that grin, but suddenly realized that it was only a hallucination. Harry was no longer walking the same stone steps of the ancient castle. He had chosen the mysterious pathway beyond death after he perished, subsequent to destroying the very last horcrux: himself.

Even though the war was now over, having defeated Lord Voldemort with the partnered help of Hermione, Ron was still at war with himself. In his lifetime of a long nineteen years, Ron had never been more confused than this. He has always suspected that he liked her, or even a little more. However, Ron has come to realize that his feelings for Hermione were much more than that. He loved her, and he finally realized the truth of his emotions after so many years.

But today marked two very special anniversaries. Even though the sixth and seventh years never had an opportunity to finish their schooling due to closure, it had been decided that they would have a graduation ball regardless. It was not one of the traditions of Hogwarts, but more to celebrate another anniversary, one week since the war had been officially over.

Everyone who was to attend the ball had just finished his or her dinner; therefore, it meant that Ron still had ample time to get ready. In truth, Ron did not feel like it was necessary to arrive at the scene all ‘fancied-up,’ as he called it. In fact, it was never said that you could not just wear plain muggle clothes… but should he, or should he not?

After pacing his empty dormitory in attempts to restore tranquility of mind, he decided to pay a visit to Hermione. Hopefully, she would not mind skipping the whole ‘getting-ready-to-look-smancy-fancy’ routine, and he would like some company.

When he arrived in the Common Room, it would transpire that Hermione was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the room was quite empty except for Neville and Dean. Ron’s first reaction was short-lived panic. Where would she be? Who’s got her? What could be happening to her?

Ron gazed out into the grounds; quite suddenly, not being dressed for a ball was the most significant thought in his mind...

Hermione, he assumed to be in her own dormitory getting ready. He wanted to stop her. There was no need to waste time to dress up for a stupid ball that didn’t really mean much. They have, after all, achieved more significant things than graduating that did not receive as much attention as this. He ruminated about whether or not he could get into the girls’ dormitory.

The spiraling staircase that lead to the girls’ dormitory was charmed to only allowed females or persons of authority, and not the teenage boys who were believed to be depraved.

With a rush of determination, Ron charged at the staircase like a provoked bull. A spark in his mind told Ron that he would not let a silly, yet powerful enchantment to stop him from seeing Hermione. His long legs took him rushing forward, four and a half steps at a time, and at last, he reached a doorway. But before Ron could celebrate his triumph, the stone steps collapsed underneath him.

He flopped on his stomach flaccidly; with arms flailing, he managed to grab hold of the first arch of a doorway. He dragged the rest of his body up the stone-smooth slide it formed up towards the door, face lit with triumph. Grinning like a moron, he half-crawled, half-dragged himself into the room.

To his horror, his triumph was transient, because the person he’d be expecting to see was not there. From his position on the floor, he was soon forced to stare high up at his sister Ginny, who angrily threw him out of the dorm before he could offer her his innocent explanation.

At the bottom of the stairs, Ron was resilient. Rubbing at his elbows, he saw that the stairs had turned back into... well, stairs.

With a great amount of determination, yet again, Ron propelled himself at the stairs. This time, his arms were flailing like windmills in a windstorm, allowing him to take a full five steps at a time. Hogwarts’ magic must have been greatly worn out, because Ron reached the second doorway up and had already tumbled clumsily into the room before the stairs melted beneath nothingness, turning into a slide of stone.

His ingenious plan suddenly appeared fallacious, because when Ron found Hermione, he no idea what he was supposed to say or do.

Hermione looked up from the window she had been gazing out of as though mesmerized. “Ron how did you...?” She asked trailing off, slightly shocked while she instinctively pulled a nearby curtain to shield her body.

Ron already saw that she was wearing a very thin white slip dress that was decorated with very simple lace at the hem. His face grew hot when he realized it must only be an under dress.

“I... uh...” He stammered. What should he say to her? Was desperately wanting to see her a good reason to come tumbling intrusively in? “...Really wanted to see you.”

For a second they just stared at each other. Hermione didn’t seem to comprehend.

“I wasn’t really thinking... err, didn’t know I was going to be intruding on you... wasn’t really thinking. Sorry,” he babbled.

“It’s all right, if you let me get something on,” she finally said, “I never thought thinking was your thing, anyway,” she added with a strangely twisted smile. With no instructions asking Ron to turn around, she dashed from the protection of the ruby red curtains and pulled her trunk from under a four-poster Ron assumed to be hers.

“Another thing,” Ron added hastily as he watched her lay out articles of clothing on her bed neatly. “I was going to ask you to-”

Hermione suddenly stopped unpacking. Though she had not finished finding the clothes she was looking for, she froze, waiting for Ron to finish what she apparently suspected to be a very important sentence.

“...But only if you wanted to, of course. It’s completely up to you...” Ron was suddenly unsure of what he was going to ask. His original plan was to convince her not to dress up for the ball, but the words that came out of his mouth spoke astonishing clearly of something he’d also planned. He thought he was too cowardly… “Uh, um… Come to the ball with me, as, well, not just as friends?”

The sunlight was heating up his face, and he didn’t dare look away from Hermione due to paralyzing nerves. If Hermione said no, there was a wide open window conveniently located in the very same room, which could beckon him to jump out of it.

The sun must have been getting to Hermione as well, because her face was soon tinged with sudden sunburn. “Yes, Ron… I’ve been waiting for this for years…”

To be continued…

Disclaimer: The rightful owner of the Harry Potter universe is the one and only genius, J.K. Rowling. The wonderfully lovely song and lyrics of This is the Night belongs to Clay Aiken and company.

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In Loving Memory

Not to anyone’s surprise, the Great Hall was at it’s finest.

The most sophisticated of silk ribbons lined the upper walls from corner to corner. They were draped in complicated twists and curls, meeting in the centre of the ceiling, and then forming the unity of the house colours. Cascading in a fantastical combination they blended in complete harmony.

The enchanted ceiling held a slowly darkening sky of navy blue. Brilliantly sparkling stars to shower through the glass, but disappeared just in time as to not hit anybody below.

Hogwarts’ ancient clocks chimed nine o’clock, and the Graduation Ball commenced.

The hall looked even more gigantic due to the lack of students that filled it. Out of all the students that were invited, not all of them came.

As stunning as most of the decorations were, there were those long, lifeless black banners that lined one side of the hallway that caused Ron’s excitement to numb.

Ron had little time to survey the rest of the intricate decorations, because in an instant his attention was swept away by the sight of Hermione.

“Hermione,” Ron breathed. He swiftly took both of Hermione’s hand in his as though he had done it everyday, and surveyed her through adoring eyes. At that moment, Ron felt happiness flood him rapidly. Finally, he had done it. Finally, she was his. Finally, after dreaming about it for years…

Surrounding them, the hall was romantically decorated with beauteous arrangements of orchids, and soft-glowing candles that floated in mid-air. There were tables with soft silky mother-of-pearl coloured tablecloths, each having a vase that contained a single fuchsia flower. The atmosphere smelled softly of romance from the girls’ perfumes. Now that Ron had Hermione, he didn’t mind the glittering and glowing fairies prancing around in mid-air around them.

“Yes, Ron?” Hermione asked. She was uncharacteristically breathless as she looked up at Ron, who was about six inches taller than she was.

Magically, a vaguely familiar muggle song filled their ears, as others began to dance around them.

When the world wasn't upside down, I could take all the time I had
But I'm not going to wait when a moment can vanish so fast

“You look beautiful,” whispered Ron, hardly aware that he spoke those words aloud. This was saying something, because from an outsider’s point of view, Hermione was still the very same Hermione �“ not exactly what most would consider pretty. As Ron’s plan went, neither of them dressed up in spectacular robes, and Hermione’s brown hair was the usual unattractive pouf of bushiness. Nevertheless, it was the way Ron liked it the best.

'Cuz every kiss is a kiss you can never get back

He looked deep into Hermione’s chestnut brown eyes as though he was mesmerized.

Hermione’s lips formed a soft smile that thanked Ron for his sincerity, without words. Eyes of chestnut brown emanated her intellect and beauty within, but also pronounced her pain and vulnerability.

“Thank you,” Hermione said after he continued to stare at her for longer than the allowable staring time.

Quickly, his pride of finally getting his dream girl for a date, melted. What was he supposed to say? “You’re welcome,” he mumbled. “Shall we dance?” The question was rather unneeded, seeing as everyone around them was dancing.

Hermione nodded shyly, her eyes upon him and him only.

Lift me up in your eyes
If you told me that is what Heaven is, well, you'd be right
I've been waiting forever for this
This is the night

Awkwardness should not matter, Ron realized. Because through their long history, they have shared many awkward moments and rough times, but also, they have shared many precious moments as well. With Harry, the three of them carried such a strong bond of friendship that it has not been seen anywhere else in Hogwarts’ long history.

Both he and Hermione had insurmountable respect for each other, and trusted eachother without boundaries. If Hermione agreed to go with him this evening, surely she felt a powerful feeling too.

His memory of the Yule Ball of so many years ago floated through his mind. He could see his classmates dancing at ease, almost effortlessly. Inwardly, he wished he could be just as comfortable at this whole dancing thing. And with the slightest head movement, he transferred his gaze ever so smoothly to the dancing couples around him. From what he could assume, the gentlemen were supposed to hold the woman’s hips.

When the answer to all my dreams is as close as a touch away
Why am I here holding back what I'm trying to say?

Great, he thought. Now, he must find Hermione’s hips without looking as though he was trying too hard. He never really understood where girls’ body parts were located… Surely, they were not too different. Did he, Ron, have hips as well? But back to the point…

Surely, if Hermione felt that powerful feeling called love that he felt for her, she wouldn’t mind if he was completely oblivious to how to dance. Right?

Not too much later, he felt Hermione’s hands touching lightly at his shoulders. That must have meant he did what he was supposed to do.

At a moderate tempo, Hermione guided Ron gently around in what seemed like rotations, at a moderate tempo in time with the music. With luck, he would not get too dizzy before the night came to a close.

As one song ended, Ron lightly loosened his grip on Hermione’s hips. With both hands, he reached out for her hand and cupped it in his own. “Hermione,” he said, her name sounded wonderful as it left his mouth, “let’s go outside to the grounds.”

As empty as the Great Hall was, it felt so full at the same time. Though he publicly announced that he did not wished to be questioned at this present time, about how he and Hermione ‘saved the world’, he could still feel stares from his fellow classmates bore into the back of his mind as though they could perform Legilimency. He should’ve banned staring as well.

“Of course,” Hermione agreed, and Ron could almost swear he saw a tiny sparkle in her eyes.

They walked into the middle of the hall, hand in hand, as others shot them double the original quizzical looks. People whispered as they walked by, more of them asking each other why the two heroes did not dress up for the formal occasion.

Stopping, Ron looked around the hallway like a lost dog, trying to search out a place where they could sneak away without being noticed.

To his surprise, he felt Hermione’s grip on his hand tighten as she led the way to the Entrance Hall. The great oak doors opened to the night’s fresh slightly pinching cold air.

“You overlooked the obvious,” Hermione said simply, an amused look crept over her face.

He agreed bashfully.

They walked silently up to the edge of the Forbidden Forest; which in comparison from where they had been did not hold anything frightening. Then slowly they walked along the tree line until they met the waters’ edge of a black lake. Together, they peered up to the brilliant sky, which shone with millions of stars.

Lift me up in your eyes
If you told me that is what Heaven is, well, you'd be right
Hold me close to your heart
I would go with you to the ends of the Earth and we'll fly
I've been waiting forever for this
This is the night

This was the way that Ron liked it the best, just himself and Hermione.

“Shall we dance?” Ron asked for the second time that night.

Hermione nodded, silence was her thing tonight.

Ron placed his hands at her hips, and felt her arms around his shoulders. They danced to the beat of song that played in their hearts.

Whether they had been dancing for only minutes, hours, or even days, they did not notice or care. This was what Ron wanted it to be like forever. Just himself and Hermione: dancing, and taking in her scent, absorbing his feelings for her, and thinking of nothing but her. He should have known it would only be them in the end.

They were dancing. She was in his reach. It was Hermione by him, and the stars…

His heart’s desire had come true… or was this all just a dream?

The navy blue sky had now evaporated into inky blackness, and the stars stood out ever so brilliantly. They stopped dancing and took the time to survey the sky and its’ brilliance.

They walked over to the water’s edge, and sat down behind a particularly large rock. Together, they stared into the depths of the lake in silence.

Ron wrapped an arm around Hermione’s shoulder. The night air was now chilling to the bone, but this was the only place they wanted to be.

Hermione’s head gracefully snuggled on Ron’s shoulder. She sighed as though something was paining her. Ron understood.

A rough forest surrounded them with trees so thick that you could not tell whether it was night or day. They stood in a crammed clearing, darkness pressing on their eyes until Hermione intelligently lit her wand. Blood pumped in their veins as they each stared at each other. Harry was there, staring at each of them with his solemn green eyes that had lost its mischievous energy. They sat in a circle, crossing their legs, just staring.

At last, Harry spoke up, his voice brave, “There is only one horcrux left. We’ve destroyed all of them, but one,” his voice faltered at the last word, as though he might have suddenly realized something but did not lead on.

In reality, Ron’s body started to shake violently as he remembered that time. That memory came from what seemed like long ago…

Harry’s eyes lit up with a sudden rush of understanding. His face was tight with fear, as he looked up to Ron’s pale face, and just as suddenly, Ron understood as well. There comes a point were you love a friend so much… that even though they have decided to do something outrageously out of range of what you wish, you’d let them do it anyway, knowing it was the only right thing.

At that moment, Ron’s previously non-existent fast instincts kicked in as he conjured up ropes that bound himself and Hermione to a thick tree just behind them. Immediately, he closed his eyes, only for two seconds, taking in a deep breath. He was not ready, he will never be ready, but it must happen. It was clear in the prophecy.

His face contorted, as he fully regretted his quick actions. He knew it had to happen. There was no other way. Ron wanted to holler, scream out, and rip himself from the grip of the ropes and grind Harry’s wand into pieces. Why was he letting Harry do this?

Harry nodded, his own eyes clouded with tears. “I love you both so much,” was all he managed to say. Turning his wand to face his own chest, he spoke very clearly, very bravely, and without hesitation, “Avada Kedavra.”

A flash of green light blinded their vision temporarily.

Harry’s body, as if in slow motion, crumpled into a heap at their feet.

Hermione screamed shrilly, fighting against the grip of the ropes as they dissolved. Both of them fell to the ground.

Ron stroked Hermione’s hair, feeling her breath fog up as she exhaled.

This is the night where we capture forever and our tomorrows begin
After tonight, we will never be lonely again

In the darkness, he could still see the glistening tears making their way down her face. Somehow, he knew what to do; he moved closer to her and wiped away her tears with his thumb.

“Let’s go. Come with me, Ron,” Hermione’s voice called from far away. Obediently he followed her back to the castle and stopped where the Entrance Hall met the Great Hall.

Though not entirely visible from where Ron stood, he knew that one of those long lifeless black banners that hung so solemnly in its’ place, had the careful stitching of both himself and Hermione in shiny gold string. ‘In Loving Memory of Harry James Potter, the hero of two wars, and many hearts.’

Harry was the hero of his and Hermione’s hearts.

Ron pulled Hermione in a tight hug. Maybe it was not what his dreams had planned, but it was a definitely a start.

Lift me up in your eyes
If you told me that is what Heaven is, well, you'd be right
Hold me close to your heart
I would go with you to the ends of the Earth and we'll fly
I've been waiting forever for this
This is the night

End

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A/N: If I had a review for every time I re-wrote this fan fiction, it would be just as amazing as sitting in a huge pile of sparkling emeralds (really amazing). Any reviews are greatly appreciated.