The Christmas holidays were approaching again, and Harry was anxiously awaiting another invitation to spend his at the Burrow. But the invitation never came. Two weeks before the end of term Ron received an owl from Mrs. Weasley telling him he’d probably want to stay there over the holiday. She reassured them that it had nothing to do with Voldemort and told Ron to tell Hermione she would probably want to stay, too. This puzzled them a bit as her letter said nothing of the reason why they should all stay. Mrs. Weasley almost sounded in her letter like she did when she was trying to conceal the Tri-Wizard Tournament their fourth year.

A notice appeared on the Gryffindor message board a week later that explained everything. There was to be another Christmas ball much like the Yule ball of their fourth year. Harry was the first of the three up that morning and the first to find the notice. He thought to himself that Dumbledore had probably planned this to give the students something to do other than troublemaking. Many students had signed up to stay. Most parents apparently felt Hogwarts was the safest place for their children now that Voldemort was back. Harry was relieved, however, by the realization that he would not have to participate. He heard the shuffling of feet behind him and turned to find a bleary eyed Ron shuffling towards him.

“Morning,” Ron grunted as he started to read the notice. His expression changed from one of tired passivity to one of anguish.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Harry.

Ron turned to Harry as if just waking up from a rather unpleasant dream. As Ron opened his mouth to speak, Hermione’s voice interrupted him.

“Good morning. What are you two up to?”

Ron quickly shuffled over to one of the armchairs close by and flopped down in it without answering. Hermione looked a bit concerned, but stopped short of saying something as she too noticed the sign on the notice board. Her expression changed, but hers was almost one of sadness.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

Ron spoke before she could answer. “Hermione, um…”

“What?” said Hermione in an almost cold sounding voice, her face now expressionless.

“Er, I just wanted to ask…” Ron’s whole face was red. It finally dawned on Harry what might be coming. Hermione seemed to be getting the same impression because she dropped her icy tone completely.

“What is it Ron?” Ron was now glancing at Harry and the few students that were scattered about the hall as though he had just received a howler and had no time to hide.
“I was wondering…of course, if you wanted to study, that would be perfectly okay, too…but if not and you wanted to go to the…you know…the ball thing… and it’s perfectly up to you, of course…but if you did, would you go with me?” Ron finished quickly and in an undertone so that they could barely hear him. Ron was avoiding Harry’s gaze determinately.

Hermione looked at Ron for several seconds while a wide smile overtook here face. Her face was very red too and Harry felt he should go at this point, but couldn’t bring himself to. Ron broke in again.

“It’s silly, I know, and of course you don’t have to, but it would be a great way to relieve some tension and, well, you know I didn’t want you to think, if you did want to go, that you were, you know, my last resort or anything.”

Hermione was now grinning from ear to ear and her voice sounded a bit higher than usual when she said, “Of course I’d love to go with you.” She quickly bent down and kissed Ron firmly on the cheek before running back up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories. Harry supposed that half the Gryffindor girls were about to hear about what just happened.

Harry turned to Ron. “You know we don’t have to go this time, don’t you?” Ron was now looking a bit pale.

“Didn’t want another row,” he stammered unconvincingly. The opportunity was just to good for Harry. It was Ron, after all, who had poked fun at him after Cho kissed him last year.

“So, lover boy, I’m not going to have to drag you two out of the bushes after this is all over, am I?”

“Don’t be such a git, Harry,” Ron answered sharply.

“I didn’t know you were interested in Hermione.” Harry replied in mock bewilderment. In fact, he had known this quite well ever since the last Yule Ball but he just couldn’t resist playing this for all it was worth.

“Who says I am?”

“Oh, give it up. It’s so obvious. You’ve liked her ever since fourth year and you know it.”
Ron mouthed silently for a moment and then went red again. Harry broke the silence for him. “Oh, give me a break. You two have been dancing around this for the last two years!”

Ron cast another nervous glance around the common room. “What do you mean, ‘us two?’”

“Oh, come on! Hermione’s done everything short of tell you straight out, and you haven’t even noticed?” This changed Ron’s demeanor entirely.

“Has she? Well maybe she should have,” he said grinning.

“Ron, you know how Hermione is. She wanted you to ask her.”

Ron made a triumphant sort of “humph” and set off with Harry through the portrait hole for the Great Hall and breakfast. Hermione joined them not long after. She looked as though she was trying to stop grinning all throughout breakfast but couldn’t.

Over the next several days, Ron acted very sheepishly when Hermione was around, but she didn’t seem to care. Now and then, when they obviously thought no one was looking, Harry caught them holding hands under the table as they sat unusually close together studying. Hermione seemed to be able to pull this off but Ron seemed only to be able to stare blankly at his parchment with a bit of a nervous grin on his face. Ron had taken to escorting her the short distance to the door of the girls’ dormitories every night and waiting in the armchair beside it every morning for her to come down to breakfast. Harry suspected that Ron’s awkward habit of eating with his left hand at meal times could only mean that their hands had once again met each other’s under the table.

Harry was beginning to wonder about going to the Yule Ball himself. He wasn’t too excited about the prospect in and of itself, but he just had to go and see what happened between Ron and Hermione. He was wrestling with how funny he would look going alone, but he was saved the suspense, however, when Ginny approached him as he was reading his Chudley Cannons book by the fire. She sat down between him and Hermione who was humming pleasantly as she knitted an intricate pair of mismatched socks. They were undoubtedly Dobby’s Christmas present.

“Well, who are you going to the Yule Ball with then?” Ginny asked very matter-of-factly.

“Dunno, I still haven’t really decided whether I want to go.” Harry said, a bit taken aback.

“Oh, well, Neville’s asked me again you know.” At this, Harry felt a small twinge of something he couldn’t quite identify in the pit of his stomach, but tried to brush it off and asked as off handedly as he could what her reply had been. “Well, Neville’s nice and all,” Ginny began, “but he’s not a very good dancer and I asked Luna and she said she’d go with him if I didn’t. I figured if you didn’t have a date yet maybe you could take me.” She sounded very calm when she said this though Harry could see through a part in her hair that the tops of her ears had turned red.

“Um, sure. Why not?" Harry said, thinking that going with Ginny certainly beat going alone. At least he would have something to tell the girls who kept asking him to go with them now.

Ginny smiled, and for a moment it looked like she might kiss him just like Hermione had kissed Ron, but the thought of this made his insides turn solid. To his relief, she simply got up, bid him and Hermione good night, and proceeded up to the girls’ dormitories. Hermione was still humming distractedly as though she hadn’t heard a word, though she was now smiling very widely as she knitted.

Christmas Eve morning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking back from Hagrid’s hut when Harry realized Hermione was no longer with them. He turned to see where she had gone and what he saw almost made him yell. Hermione was standing about ten yards back with a finger to her lips signally Harry to be quiet. Her wand was out and floating ever so slowly towards Ron was a great mound of snow about five feet over his head. Harry had just enough time to jump out of the way before it came crashing down on Ron’s head, covering him from head to toe in snow. Harry and Hermione were both doubled up with laughter, but Ron simply stood there open mouthed. Finally, he turned and saw Hermione with her wand in her hand still trying to get over her fit of laughter. Ron finally came to himself and lunged at her. Hermione’s eyes grew wide and she made to flee, but it was too late. Whether Ron had established this at an earlier time or not Harry did not know, but it seemed Hermione was tremendously ticklish. Even through her cloak Ron had begun tickling her sides and shouting playfully at her to apologize. Hermione tried to flee again but Ron threw an arm around her middle and with a little scream, she fell over taking Ron with her. Hermione was still trying valiantly to get away, too stubborn to apologize for what she’d done. Finally, once they were both too winded and too busy laughing to carry on, they both lay on their backs in the snow. Through tears of mirth, Harry could see they were both very red cheeked and breathing hard. He, too, lay over in the snow to relax for a moment as Ron and Hermione started to talk.

“Hermione,” Ron gasped, still slightly winded, “do you like me?”

“Of course I do,” Hermione said with a slightly confused smile. “Why do you think I’ve put up with you the last six years?”

“No, I mean, do you like me, you know, in more than that way?” Ron was staring up at the sky and his face was a bit more serious. Hermione turned to look upward too. She seemed to be considering his question for a few moments before answering.

“Well, yeah Ron, ever since our third year, really. Why?”

“It’s just, why didn’t you ever say anything before now. I mean, I think it was pretty obvious I liked you,” Ron said looking a bit perplexed.

“Well, Ron, a girl likes to be asked, you know. Besides, the way you are, I thought maybe you’d keel over if I told you. Nothing personal, but you’re not exactly the most emotionally adept person I’ve ever known.”

Ron considered this for a moment, still looking upward. A year ago this would have likely to start a bickering match between them, but Ron genuinely seemed to be pouring over it in his mind.

“Maybe,” he said and then looked over at her. “Maybe you’re right. I’m just glad we’ve got that out of the way now. I really fancy you quite a bit, you know.”

Hermione looked over just in time too see Ron blush violently and turn his head back upward. After a long moment of silence, Harry finally spoke up.

“Well, I’m starved.” Ron and Hermione both started, apparently they’d forgotten Harry was only a few yards away. “Think I’ll head in for breakfast” Harry said, getting up and smiling knowingly at them both. Hagrid had given them plenty to eat but, of course, they knew better than to have any. In a moment they were all inside and eating. Ron was eating with his left hand again.

The night of the Yule Ball, Ron waited nervously beside Harry in the entrance hall as they waited for Hermione and Ginny to show up. Ron was in his new dress robes, which Fred and George had bought for him at Harry’s request. When the girls appeared at the top of the stairs Harry observed that they were both wearing the same dress robes they had worn two years earlier. Hermione’s hair was once again straight and shiny and she smiled widely when she saw them. The girls approached them, and Harry noticed that they both smelled very nice. ‘Hermione must have lent Ginny some of the perfume Ron gave her for Christmas last year’ Harry thought to himself. Hermione looped her arm around Ron’s and Harry now saw that she was wearing the elegant silver bracelet Ron gave her for Christmas this year.

“You two look nice,” Ginny said smiling at Harry. She looked very pretty in her dress robes Harry noticed and his stomach gave a little flip.

“You too,” he stammered gawking at her. Ron was telling Hermione how lovely she looked and was very scarlet in the face when the doors to the Great Hall opened and they all went in.

Harry had fun dancing for the first time in his life that night. Though he had originally meant to go only to see what happened between Ron and Hermione, he found that he had almost completely forgotten about them by the time the night was over. He did, however, catch them dancing very closely a couple of times and once, when a slow song had ended and a quicker one had begun, he spotted them still dancing very slowly and very closely as though they hadn’t noticed. When he bid Ginny good night at the foot of the stairs leading up to the girls dormitories that night, Harry turned to find Ron and Hermione sharing what must have been their first real kiss several feet in front of him. No one else seemed to be noticing as the few who had been slowly filtering back through the portrait hole were still bidding their dates good night. Ron’s hand was behind her head at the base of her neck and his thumb was resting on her cheek. Hermione’s eyes, closed though they were, had the look of absolute bliss. A far cry from the aftermath of the last Yule Ball, Hermione’s elegant bun had maintained its shape till the very end. They broke apart after a few seconds and said their good byes.

Harry and Ron made their way up to the boys’ dormitories without a word. As they pulled on their pajamas Harry noticed the gift Hermione had gotten him still sitting on his bedside table. Inside an intricate silver picture frame Ron and Hermione stood in a picture Harry had never seen before. It apparently came from earlier that year after their first Quidditch victory. Harry had been elsewhere at the time and Ron’s face was the proudest he had ever seen it. Hermione stood, a good head shorter than him, beaming up at him with a look of pure adoration while cheering Gryffindors all around them celebrated in silence. In the corner, written in Hermione’s neat handwriting were the words:

You see, Ron, I have long adored you.
Love, from Hermione

“Night,” said Ron as he pulled his bed curtains closed with a wide grin across his face, apparently over the shock of what had just happened downstairs.

“Night,” said Harry. As he pulled his own bed curtains closed around him, he couldn’t help but think of another seemingly unlikely couple that had come together at Hogwarts. Harry began to see how his mother might have been hiding an already existent love for James under her apparent disdain that day after their O.W.L.s. he fell asleep that night, however, the memory of his mother brought him irresistibly to thoughts about another girl with long red hair. For the first time in many months, Harry fell asleep with a smile.

*~*
This is my first. Please read and review but do please be gentle. :)