Ron stopped dead in his tracks.
Harry Potter.
There he was, staring blankly out the window, alone in his compartment. Ron debated with himself on whether he should sit with him, or try his luck and find another compartment with an empty seat. Well, he’s not a monster. He’s a human being. He won’t bite , Ron thought. Slowly, he placed his hand on the door knob. He thought about it for one more second, and as his grip tightened on the door to slide it open, he heard his name.
“Ron! Oi, Ron! C’mere!”
Ron looked in the direction of the voice. He saw his brother, Fred sticking his head out of his compartment, flailing his arms about to catch Ron’s attention. Ron sighed, and with a last fleeting glance and The Boy Who Lived, he sighed and trudged over to his brother, dragging his trunk along behind him.
“What?” Ron asked.
“We have a deal proposal, dear brother,” Fred said as George appeared next to him.
“We noticed that you’re having trouble finding a seat,” George said.
Ron raised an eyebrow, thinking that his brothers were actually going to let him sit with them.
“We know where a few first year boys are sitting, and we’ll gladly show you to that compartment “” Fred started.
“If you give us the sandwich Mum packed for you “”
“Because we’re awfully hungry.”
Ron seriously considered it. It was the only food he had for the whole ride, but he most certainly did not want to have to sit in the corridor. Plus, he had a couple of Sickles he could buy piece of candy or two with.
Ron bit his lip, eyeing his brothers. “All right,” he said, taking out his sandwich. “But first you show me to the compartment.”
Fred and George grinned broadly. “You’re a good boy, Ron,” George said, ruffling his brother’s hair. Ron shifted his head from underneath George’s hand, scowling at him.
The twins lead Ron to a compartment far at the end of the train. As they neared their destination, Ron started to grow slightly anxious. Would he be welcome? What if they didn’t let him in because they had already become friends?
“And voila,” Fred said as they drew to a halt.
“And sandwich,” George said, holding out his open hand.
Ron dropped his sandwich in George’s hand and watched the twins go back to their compartment. He drew in a deep breath and put his hand on the door, ready to pull it open.
When he slid the door open, he was presented with five boys, all his age. To his relief, Ron saw that they all looked just as nervous as he did. One of them in particular looked rather panicky and frightened.
“Er “ hi,” Ron burbled. He felt his ears turn red. “Do you mind if I “ um “ sit here? Everywhere else is full…”
“Sure,” said a dark-skinned boy.
Ron smiled gratefully and pulled his trunk in. After he was settled and seated, the boy immediately introduced himself.
“I’m Dean Thomas. What’s your name?”
“I’m Ron, Ron Weasley.”
“Seamus Finnegan.”
“Terry Boot.”
“N-Neville Longbottom,” said the frightened-looking boy.
“Justin Finch-Fletchley.”
Ron nodded his head a little in greeting.
“So, what house do you all reckon you’ll be sorted into?” Seamus Finnegan said, breaking the short silence that had taken over.
“My mum was in Gryffindor,” Seamus Finnegan said.
“Yeah, mine too. And all of my older brothers,” Ron said, trying to keep his voice steady.
--
Hermione lugged her heavy trunk behind her, peering through the glass of the compartment doors, looking for an empty seat. Finally, after what seemed like a mile, she saw a compartment containing two girls about her age.
Hermione stood up tall and put her chin up. She slid open the door and said boldly, “Excuse me? Would you mind if I sat here? The train is just packed.”
“Come on in,” said an Asian-looking girl with long, black hair.
“Thanks.” Hermione set her trunk away and sat down, about a foot away from the black-haired girl, opposite the other girl, who had fair skin and shoulder-length brown hair.
“My name is Parvati Patil,” said the Asian girl.
“I’m Hermione Granger.”
“I’m Lavender Brown,” said the other girl.
A silence fell. Hermione took her favorite book, Hogwarts, A History, out of her trunk. She opened it to the page she had marked, and began reading as Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown made small talk.
--
Ron ran as fast as he possibly could down the corridor, his footsteps echoing through the castle. His eyes scanned the hallway for the Charms classroom.
Merlin above; late on my first week, Ron thought bitterly.
Finally, he found the Charms classroom. He burst through the door, and immediately he saw over a dozen pairs of eyes on him. From the corner of his eye, he saw a girl with bushy hair, who Ron thought was also in Gryffindor, shaking her head.
“Sorry, Professor Fitlick, I got lost “” Ron spluttered, trying to catch his breath at the same time as talking.
“No matter, no matter, dear boy, it happens!” the dwarf said in an alarmingly high-pitched voice. “And its Flitwick, not Fitlick,” he said with a wink.
A few people chortled. Ron scanned the classroom with his eyes, looking for an empty seat. He found one; next to the girl who had been shaking her head. Unfortunately, it was the only seat left.
Ron sighed inwardly. He went over to the desk, dropping his bag on the floor. He sat down and ran his fingers through his hair; he always did this when he was worried.
“Now, as I was saying. Today, we will be learning the Levitation Charm…”
The class went on. Professor Flitwick showed them the proper wrist movement and made them repeat the incantation clearly for half an hour before he let them actually perform the charm.
“I would like you to pair up with the person you are sitting with, and practice the charm together. Help each other out, boys and girls!” Professor Flitwick squeaked.
Ron rolled his eyes a little. “I’m Hermione Granger, by the way,” she said.
“I’m Ron Weasley. You can go first, if you like,” Ron said.
“All right,” Hermione said primly. She pointed her wand at her feather and said perfectly as she swished and flicked her want, “Wingardium Leviosa!”
The feather lifted an inch off the table, but then fell back down.
“Very good try, Miss Granger! I think you didn’t do enough of a swish there, though!”
“Okay, thank you, Professor Flitwick,” Hermione said politely. “Your turn,” she said to Ron, her voice less pleasant.
Ron cleared his throat. “Wingardium Leviosa-ah!” he said, jabbing his wand at the feather.
The feather didn’t budge.
Ron looked up, hoping to receive some help from Professor Flitwick. The professor was assisting the clumsy boy named Neville Longbottom, who was working with Harry Potter.
For a second, Ron wondered that if he had sat with Harry Potter on the train, would he be sitting with him, instead of here with Hermione.
Ron snapped out of it when he heard Hermione’s voice. “You’re doing it all wrong,” she told him. “It’s Leviosa, not Leviosa-ah. And you have to do the swish and flick.”
Ron scowled. “Try again,” Hermione said. Her voice had a hint of encouragement, much to Ron’s surprise.
Ron tried again, this time pronouncing the incantation correctly but waving his wand wildly at his feather.
“Stop, stop, stop,” Hermione said, putting a hand on his forearm and pushing his arm down. Ron felt strange at her touch. “You’re going to poke my eye out. Honestly,” she said.
“All right, let’s see if you can do it,” Ron snapped.
Hermione cleared her throat. She swished and flicked her wand correctly, saying in perfect precision, “Wingardium Leviosa!”
The feather lifted off the desk and floated up into the air. Ron sighed in frustration and buried his face in his arms.
“Oh, well done, Miss Granger! Bravo! Five points to Gryffindor!” Professor Flitwick squealed.
Ron lifted his head and grinned at the fact that his house had just received five points.
“See? I cando it,” Hermione said proudly to Ron.
Ron rolled his eyes at her. “Whatever. As long as you get us house points.”
Hermione scoffed at him.
--- Three years later ---
“Can you believe how well Potter did against that dragon?” Dean asked Ron and Seamus as they struggled through homework in the Gryffindor common room.
“He’d have to be barking mad to put his own name in the Goblet,” Ron commented.
“Yeah, but who else could’ve done it?” Seamus asked.
“I still reckon he did it… he just didn’t take Dumbledore seriously when he said that it was dangerous, did he?” Ron said, glancing at Potter.
“He might’ve just wanted the attention, like everybody else thinks. I dunno. Frankly, I don’t really care, just as long as he or Diggory wins,” Dean said, shrugging.
Seamus and Ron chuckled in agreement. The threesome stayed in a silence, doing homework for about ten minutes before another topic came up.
“So, Ron,” Seamus asked. “Who are you going to ask to the ball?”
“Oh, I don’t know. What about you two?” Ron asked his friends.
“Lavender Brown is looking pretty good these days,” Seamus said with a shifty grin. He eyed Lavender, who was sitting by the fireplace with Parvati Patil, applying lip balm to her lips.
Ron laughed a little. “Mandy Kirshner, I’m assuming?” he teasingly asked Dean. Dean had developed a fancy to the pretty Ravenclaw fourth-year over the last month.
Dean glared at Ron, and said, “Hermione Granger, I’m assuming, Ron?”
Ron stopped laughing. How did he know? He never told anybody that he fancied his bookworm friend Hermione Granger. Anybody.
“What? Hermione… no,” he said, trying to seem incredulous.
“Oh, c’mon, it’s obvious you fancy her,” Seamus teased.
“No. We’re just friends. She helps me with my homework,” Ron said, a blush creeping up his cheeks.
Seamus chortled. “That’s what I said about Bridget last year, Ron. I know the ‘just friends’ trick.”
Ron glared at Seamus. “Okay, so maybe I think she’s good-looking. So what?” he asked uncomfortably.
“Ron, I also think she’s good-looking. Stop lying,” Dean said. “You think more than that about her.”
Ron bit his lip. His friends knew him too well. “All right, fine, I fancy her. Happy?” he snapped.
“Ronniekins fancies Hermione Granger!” Seamus said, a little too loudly.
A gaggle of first year girls, who were sitting nearby, turned to look at them with startled expressions.
“Ignore him, somebody tampered with his pumpkin juice this morning,” Ron told them, digging his heel into Seamus’s toes under the table.
“Ow,” Seamus said heatedly. “Well, you better get a move on, mate. Viktor Krum has had his eye on her too.”
--
“Hey, Ron,” Hermione said, sitting next to him.
Ron looked up from his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. “Oh, hi, Hermione.”
“Have you got a date for the ball yet?” Hermione asked nonchalantly.
Ron felt the anxiety in his chest crank up a notch. “No, not yet. Have you?”
“Nope.”
Ron nodded. He paused for a moment, looking at her. “Hermione, you’re a girl.”
Hermione looked at him. “You just realized that now?” she asked, irritation flashing in her eyes.
“No, no, I mean “ you’re a girl… and I was wondering if you’d “ er “ like to go to the ball with “ with me…” Ron said, feeling his ears and face turn scarlet.
“Oh,” Hermione said, softening up. She looked at Ron with her brown eyes, and said, “I’d… I’d love to.”
--
Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. She looked so different from what she usually looked like. She looked… pretty.
Her hair was not bushy and curly; it was sleek and shiny, and in an elegant bun with loose strands hanging next to her face. She was wearing floaty, blue dress robes. She had even put some make up on.
She stood up tall and smiled at her reflection. She was ready to go and meet Ron.
Hermione walked down the stairs and scanned the crowd in the common room. She looked for Ron’s brilliant red hair, and finally, she found him. To her immense pleasure, she saw his jaw drop and his eyes widen to the size of Galleons at the sight of her. She grinned. “Hello, Ron.”
“Erm, hi. You look “ very nice,” he said, stumbling over his words.
“Thanks,” Hermione said, smiling.
“Shall we go down then?” Ron asked, holding out his arm. Inside, he thanked himself for keeping his voice steady.
“Yes, lets.”
--
Ron and Hermione had the night of their lives. They talked, laughed, ate, drank, and of course, danced until their feet were numb. Hermione was rather enjoying just how flirtatious she and Ron were being with each other. She would touch his arm when she laughed at his jokes, and he would lightly put his hand on the small of her back when they were walking from time to time.
Half an hour before the Yule Ball was due to end, slow songs became more frequent. Ron and Hermione danced together to most of them, each time becoming more and more intimate.
“D’you wanna..?” Ron asked, jerking his head towards the dance floor when a slow, romantic song filled the room.
“Sure.”
Ron took her hand and led her to the dance floor, putting his hands on her waist when he got there. Hermione gently snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer than they had ever been. Ron’s arms wrapped tighter around her.
They swayed together to the tender tune, enjoying the feeling of being so close to each other. Ron could smell Hermione’s sweet scent of vanilla. He heard Hermione sigh softly, her breath like a feather tickling his neck. She let her head fall on his chest, making Ron’s stomach flip over once again. He hoped she couldn’t hear his heart drumming in his chest.
Halfway through the song, Hermione was completely enveloped in Ron’s arms. Hermione had a small smile on her face the entire time, enjoying the feeling of Ron’s body to close to hers, so aware of his hands on her back. Ron thought he might be getting a high from Hermione’s scent, and couldn’t control the wild scenarios in his head. Images of him and Hermione kissing would not stop chasing each other in his mind. Ron’s head was spinning out of control; the feeling, the closeness, the smell, just the fact that it was Hermione in his arms… he was overwhelmed with delight. Without worrying about the consequences, without even knowing he was going to do it, Ron dropped a kiss on Hermione’s head.
Hermione lifted her head off his chest and looked at him. Ron’s heart seemed to have stopped beating. Oh, bugger. I’ve blown it.
Hermione’s eyes were unreadable. They twinkled as she looked deep into his eyes. The loose strands by Hermione’s face were catching specks of light in them, and the moon was beaming softly onto her creamy white cheeks. She looked like beautiful.
Hermione’s face slowly drew closer to Ron’s, never breaking eye contact. Softly, slowly, Ron and Hermione shared their very first kiss.
Ron looked at Hermione after their lips came apart again. He gently brushed the soft skin of her cheek with his thumb as she smiled up at him. Ron kissed her again, their lips staying together for longer this time.
Hermione had never felt happier in her life. Finally, she was kissing him.
Ron felt his heart hop up and down in glee. Finally, he was kissing her.
What If Ron Didn't Sit with Harry on the Train? by SparklingGreenEyes
Chapter Notes: I wrote this story a while ago, and it's not my best, but it's very fluffy... and everybody needs a little fluff now and again.