Goodbye to the Bulgarian Bon-Bon


Hermione Granger was seated at a table in a far corner of the library. She stared at the blank page in front of her as if waiting for the words to appear written on their own. As an idea popped into mind, she bent down and began writing quickly. She seemed to be trying to write as fast as the thoughts would come to her.

Ron Weasley walked through the almost deserted library trying to find his friend. He knew she would most likely be there as it was her favourite place to unwind after a long week, which this week had definitely been. Ron was very glad it was Friday.

The red haired wizard smiled meekly as he turned the corner and found Hermione. ‘I really do know her a little too well, sometimes,’ he thought to himself. He walked towards the table but stopped when he realized what she was doing.

A letter. She’s writing that bloody prat another letter, I’m willing to bet anyone!

’No, this is more important than food,’ he thought, not catching the irony.
Ron’s stomach growled and he remembered he hadn’t eaten a very good lunch.

Biting his lip, he continued walking towards his best friend. Hermione seemed to be immersed in her letter as she did not look up until he tapped her on the shoulder.

She looked up to find a somewhat disgruntled looking Ron gazing down at her. “Oh, hello, Ron,” she said with a confused smile. “What on earth would bring you to the library on a Friday afternoon?”

Ron tried to return the smile and be cheery.”I was looking for you.” Looking down at the paper in front of her, he attempted to joke, “And would it kill you to save your homework until tomorrow or, even better, Sunday? Honestly, Hermione! You’ll rot in here.”

He gave a nonchalant shrug and sat down across from her. “Have a seat, Ronald. Make yourself at home,” she said sarcastically. He raised an eyebrow towards her and she blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. I’m just frustrated, that’s all.”

Ron was curious now as to what had Hermione so sidetracked. “What’s up?” he asked in genuine concern.

She sighed and held up the envelope under the parchment she was writing on. “I got this,” she said, motioning to the envelope, “from Victor. He’s taken to writing me about all the women he has wooed since becoming a professional Quidditch player… as if I even care to know!” She threw it carelessly onto the table in defeat. “What happened to the comfortable relationship we had in all our old letters? After the Tri-Wizard we got along so well!”

After hearing her mumble, “Men are impossible to understand,” Ron felt the need to step up to the plate.

“Hermione… I,” he began, but she interrupted him to yell at an unfortunate third-year boy.

“Excuse me!” She stood as he looked at her with a blank stare. “You really need to treat that book with respect.” Looking back at her letter, she muttered, “If Madame Pince saw this, she would…”

“Hermione, PLEASE. I need to talk to you!”

Snapping her head to look at him in shock, she blinked once or twice before saying in a hushed tone, “Ronald, please! You’re making a scene.” She glared at him in a way that gave him flashbacks from childhood with his Mum.

Ron took a breath and walked over to Hermione, guiding her down to her spot on the bench in front of her. Once she was situated, she watched as he joined her mere inches away on the same bench. Taking her hands in his, he asked, “Is this calm enough for you, Hermione?”

Blushing, she nodded, quickly taking one of her hands from his to move some stray hairs from her face.

“What was it that you needed, Ron?” she asked, almost too quiet for him to hear. He smiled to himself, knowing that his actions caught her off guard.

Looking over to the tables, he found his voice and spoke. “Hermione, I’ve been trying to get a chance to talk to you all week. Are you avoiding me for some reason?”

Hermione shook her head, but her eyes said something else. “Are you being honest with me,” Ron was looking directly into her eyes at that point and continued, “because your expression tells me otherwise.”

He kept a very brave front with her and did not allow the inside feelings of panic show.

Showing a look of utter defeat, Hermione said, “Oh, Ron. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rude with you; I’ve just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.” She began to fiddle with the hemline of her uniform skirt. “I’m not sure, though, if you are the one I should be having this conversation with.”

With a bit of worry settling in his heart, Ron asked, “And why not?” Before he could stop himself, he pushed a bit farther, “It’s about Vicky, isn’t it?” he spat out. He let the disgust he was feeling show plain as day that time. Hermione went from sullen to disappointed in no time flat.

“Ronald Weasley… Maybe I’m not the one with the problem.” Her hands were shaking. She knew that Ron was not fond of Victor Krum but she had never seen him lash out in that manner.

Ron took a few more cleansing breaths. Way to ruin a perfectly decent conversation, dummy.

“I’m sorry, Hermione. I overreacted.” Hermione looked impressed with his sudden apology. It was almost as if she expected him to argue for another few moments. Next, trying to prove his words were genuine, he decided to spill everything right at that moment for her to hear.

“Hermione… I…erm, I have something that has been bothering me for a while now and I think it’s time to address it.”

She sat in her seat quietly. She really did not know how to respond so she simply allowed him to speak his mind.

“Do you ever think about ‘us’?” Ron asked. He felt so nervous that he thought his body would begin convulsing. When he looked up to meet Hermione’s gaze, he was unable to read what she was thinking by looking at her. All emotion was minimal and she looked almost as if she was trying to look past him, towards the wall of books behind him.

“I suppose I have, yes. Isn’t that somewhat of a natural reaction to being friends for so long, though?” she said very matter of fact-like.

Now it was Ron’s turn to be impressed. He could not help the lopsided grin that appeared with her reaction that contradicted the one of shock that he was expecting from her. Due to his overwhelming sense of disbelief at what had been said, he did the only thing that his mind told him to do at that point.

Ron leaned over slowly and, while keeping their eyes locked, he gave her a sweet, gentle kiss.

His Gryffindor bravery did not last long, however because as he pulled his face away from hers, his eyes were wide open in shock and embarrassment.

“OhmygoshHermioneIamsosorry!” he quickly blurted out. He stood quickly but stopped when he heard Hermione clear her throat.

“Ron, sit down,” she said gently. He did so after a second or two of apprehension in his movements. He hesitated, but finally sat back down when he saw the pleading look in her eyes. “Ron, why did you apologise?”

The boy shifted in his spot and looked at her, lost as to how to explain his reaction. “Well,” he began, “I suppose I was under the impression that you would get upset or something… kind of like you did after I asked you to the Yule Ball.”

Hermione gave an awkward laugh. “Ronald, you asked me when you were out of any other possible girls! I was frustrated to be a last resort, that’s all.” Looking at him sitting in front of her, she whispered, “I quite enjoyed the kiss, if you must know.”

Ron watched his best friend blush and felt the colours rise in his cheeks as well. “Hey, Hermione,” he began, “Would you mind so terribly if I asked you to Hogsmeade on Saturday? You know… like a real date?”

Avoiding his pleading stare, she nodded at his question. “I would like that.”

Leaning towards him once again, Hermione let down her guard and sealed the date proposal with a kiss. She pulled away when she heard a voice from the book stack behind them, “Merlin, it’s about time.”

The two of them turned around to see Harry and Ginny leaning on the end of the row of books shaking their heads. Ginny giggled and winked at Hermione. “So, did I hear something about Hogsmeade weekend? Double date?”

Ron spoke up. “Sorry, guys. I think we might just go this one solo.”

Hermione looked at him sideways and added, “Maybe we could meet for butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks, though.”

Ron nodded and pretended to shoo his friend and sister away. “Bye now. We’ll see you at dinner.”

Feigning shock, Ginny gave her best pout and looked at Harry as he rolled his eyes. “Be good to her, Ron. That’s our best friend you’re with now and I’m not afraid to hex you.”

Hermione gave him a genuine smile. “I’m sure I’ll be fine Harry. If he does anything stupid, though I think I’ll just hand him over to Ginny and let her take care of him.” She saw Ron cringe and kissed his forehead. Harry nodded.

“Yeah, they’ll be fine, Ginny. Let’s go flying for a while.”