End of Last Chapter
"Er . . . well, Harry and Ginny think we were . . .umm doing something only two people who like each other would be doing the night I found you in the Common Room," Hermione blurted out, but could not find why she seemed so nervous about saying that. "They seemed excited."
Ron's blue eyes widened with surprise. The seconds ticked by. Then, after an excruciatingly long time, he asked solemnly, "Do you feel that way about me?"
Hermione blushed just as Ron's ears went red.
~*~
Chapter 5
"I really don't know," Hermione realized; she was still dumbfounded at being asked such a question. Never in Hermione's whole life had she ever thought about liking a boy, her school studies had always occupied her thoughts and time.
"Oh . . ." Ron mumbled. Quicky hiding his frown he said, "We should get back to the dormitories, it's getting late and I have a Charms Essay to write."
Rubbing her eyes, Hermione replied, "Yeah, I'm a little tired." They stood up and slowly walked back inside.
"Wait!" They stopped dead in their tracks, Ron's eyebrows quirked up. "YOU are going to do homework?"
Ron let out a laugh. "Probably not, but I at least have to get started on it."
Ron and Hermione moved into the Gryffindor common room without speaking and with no facial expressions. Harry and Neville were sitting opposite each other playing a game of Wizards Chess, the warm embers of the fire reflecting off their faces.
"I got your queen, mate, now give it a rest."
"Just one more game. I swear I can beat you!" Neville begged of Harry.
In a heartbeat, the presence of Ron and Hermione broke the competitive atmosphere. It seemed as if a Dementor had just joined their company; a dense, impenetrable fog of feelings forcing questions into everyone's brains. Ron entered the boy's dormitories and came back upon the other three with his Charms Essay. Hermione reached for a book and took a seat across the room by a clear window overlooking the grounds.
All the while, Harry and Neville watched the two best friends ignore each other's gazes. Ron's quill shot back and forth along his parchment retracing the now bolded ink of his essay's name. His normally icy blue eyes seemed glazed over as if in the deepest thought that anyone could ever see from Ron. Hermione faced the window reading intently, but the players of Wizards Chess knew she was also concentrating on dissecting her thoughts. As the sky began to darken, ten minutes passed in complete silence. Harry and Neville glanced at one another, but neither spoke their two cents worth of interpretation. The fog was soon penetrated by Harry's sudden movement.
"Ow!" Ron cried in agony, shooting darts in Harry's direction. He picked up the black bishop whilst rubbing the bruise developing by his right eye. "What was that for?!"
"Just checking to see if you were alive, mate. You too, Hermione," Harry added, nodding at the terrified Hermione.
Ron, eyes flashing with blue flames, replied, "Well I certainly am now. That hurt! Aim better next time, won't 'ya?"
"You ok, Ron?" Hermione asked out of the blue.
"Only if you will be once you've realized you tore a page out of one of the library's books," Ron added hastily.
"Oh my gosh! I'm going to die!" Hermione jumped up and started pacing, mumbling words completely irrelevant to what had just happened. Neville looked on in horror, he had not said one word yet because he was still trying to comprehend why Harry would throw a piece of chess at Ron.
"I'll tell her I did it," Ron shouted atop Hermione's newly started shrieks. She stopped abruptly in the midst of trying to pull out her hair. "You'll do what?" she asked quite calmly.
"I'll tell Madam Pince I tore that page out of the book -- on accident, of course -- while borrowing it from you. I see that there is no curse that we all got warned about if something bad happened to one of Madam Pince's dearly beloved books though. That's a good thing."
Harry and Neville, wide-eyed, stared surprisingly at Ron.
Hermione, on the other hand, responded with a dramatic tone. "Ron, you shouldn't do that, I did it. Let me --"
"No, it really was my fault," Ron interrupted. "If I wouldn't have yelled you wouldn't be in this situation," he explained. Ron's eyes were back to normal, except there was a hint of caring and warmth found in their icy blueness.
Stunned, Hermione spoke. "Well -- um . . . you should get back to your essay. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
"Night."
Hermione got slowly to her feet picking herself up and regaining her old confident self. Weaving through the battered old armchairs and sofas, the bushy-haired know-it-all put a smile on her face. Hopefully they'll believe this fake grin she thought as she climbed the stone staircase never ceasing, but holding herself in perfect poise. Once inside the dormitory, she found Ginny and her other roommates getting ready for bed.
"You all right now? You look better. Must be you worked everything out," Ginny said calmly, getting into bed.
"Uh huh. Thanks again, Ginny," Hermione lied pulling down her covers. "Goodnight."
"Night," Ginny yawned, turning over.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione let everything go and slipped into a comfy bed. Starting to reflect on the days many events, Hermione suddenly felt something move at the end of her four-poster bed. Kicking her silky covers off and jumping out onto the wooden floor, she reached for her wand and muttered, "Lumos". Directing the bright wandlight slowly towards the foot of her bed, Hermione was relieved to find a fuzzy, warm sight: her loving cat Crookshanks. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Hermione gently picked up her purring cat and crawled back into bed. "Nox."
"I'm glad you're here, Crookshanks," she whispered warmly to the orange cat.
Looking around the circular dormitory, Hermione saw that noone had awoken during that surprising find. In fact, someone was even snoring. Settling, her head upon the worn pillow Hermione pushed Crookshanks toward the headboard so she could try and catch some sleep. The only problem was that her relentless brain refused to quit working, showing her pictures of what had happened earlier out on the stairs. To Hermione's surprise, she started thinking about Ron, one of her best friends. Those warm, icy blue eyes coming into view first. They just light up the room and mesmorize you when you look back into them Hermione reflected. Then the freckles strategically placed on his face, but cuter than expected. His red hair seemed to set off his complexion perfectly, and his ear going red with embarassment always made you want to laugh. Now the scene on the stairs replayed in her head like a movie. First Hermione asked how Ron and Harry were doing since their fight. Ron smiled his usual grin, but then something unexpected happened so quickly that Hermione still could not remember how the conversation had started.
"Do you feel that way about me?" repeated over and over in Hermione's head.
I never knew, or even thought, that Ron was into girls. He always seemed to be caught up in Quidditch . . . The way he blushed after he asked me that question though. It makes me wonder if he likes me more than a friend . . . wait! Do I like Ron?!"
A/N Another dead end ending to a story that's coming to a close. Just a few more chapters now! Sorry about the elongated waits. Anyways, you know the drill, get reviewing! I'd love to hear what you thought. Thanks a lot! Keep reading and writing!