The Masquerade Ball by adeebee10
Story Notes:
A fluffy Ron/Hermione with Harry/Ginny to spice it up a little
Chapter Notes: Leave me comments!! I want to know what you think :)
The notice had just gone up, and already the common room was abuzz with chatter about the upcoming masquerade ball. Girls were huddled in groups discussing what they were going to wear, and boys were bunched together, trying to figure how in the world they were going to get up enough courage to actually ask someone to go with them.
Harry and Ron were doing just that, sitting at a table in the corner. Hermione, for once, was not with them or off doing homework. She was talking animatedly with Lavender and Parvati about the ball. (As she was Hermione, however, she was talking about the history of masquerades.)
Ron found himself staring at her. At the slight flip of her hair at the end, the way her eyes lit up when she talked about stuff he found frankly boring, how she crossed one arm over the other, the light dusting of freckles across her perfect nose...
"So, when are you planning on asking her?"
"What?" asked Ron, snapping out of his reverie.
"Hermione," said Harry, smirking. "When are you going to ask her to the ball? It’s obvious you're dying to."
"Dunno what you're talking about," mumbled Ron.
"Oh, c'mon, mate. I see the way you look at her. Just make sure you do it soon, or we're going to have another Yule Ball situation on our hands."
Ron shuddered, thinking back to the time two years ago when he hadn't asked Hermione until it was too late and she was already going with Victor Krum.
"You're right," he said, making up his mind. "I'll do it tonight."
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"So..." asked Lavender. "Who do you want to go with, Hermione?"
"Well," said Hermione, glancing quickly over at Ron, "I haven't really thought about it."
Lavender shared a smug look with Parvati.
"Sure, Hermione," said Parvati. "I just hope he doesn't wait until the last minute to ask you again. Remember the Yule Ball?"
All three girls cringed.
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That night, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sat around the fire. Ron was getting steadily more nervous the later it got. What if he couldn't pluck up the courage to ask her? No, that was stupid. He was a bloody Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake!
"Well," said Harry, breaking the comfortable silence, "I'm off to bed. See you in the morning." He cast a meaningful glance at Ron before making his way up the staircase.
Hermione stretched and yawned. "I'm actually a bit tired myself. Goodnight." She got up and walked towards the girls' staircase.
Ron cursed inwardly. It was now or never. "Wait, Hermione." She turned and looked expectantly back at him.
"Do you- Do you think you might want to go to the Masquerade Ball with me?" Ron cringed as his voice cracked on the last syllable. His words seemed to hang in the air between them.
"So I'm not a last resort this year, then?" she joked.
"You never were." He gazed honestly into her eyes.
Hermione felt her breath catch at the sight of the emotion in his gaze. "Yes," she said, and disappeared up the staircase.
Ron waited until she had turned the corner, and then broke into a grin and almost trotted up the staircase to his dormitory.
"Well?" asked Harry when he entered.
"She said yes!"
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"Well?!?" squealed Lavender when Hermione came in the door. "What happened?"
Hermione took a deep breath, wondering whether she should tell the school's most notorious gossipers about her and Ron. She grinned. What the heck. "He asked me to the Ball!"
"Yay!" enthused Parvati.
"OK," said Lavender, suddenly all business, "but what are we going to wear?"
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"Where is she?" asked a frustrated Ron.
"Relax, mate," said Harry, who was sitting next to Ginny on the sofa. "I'm sure she'll be down any minute."
"Yeah," said Ginny, "since when has Hermione been late?" Harry snorted.
"I don't see what's so funny, Harry!" snapped Hermione, who had appeared at the bottom of the stairs without anyone noticing. "It's not that bad. Is it?" She looked imploringly at Ginny.
"You look stunning," replied Ginny.
And she did. She was wearing a toga dress made out of creamy white chiffon. It draped over one shoulder, held in place with a gold clip shaped like a sprig of olive leaves. Brown leather sandals adorned her feet, their straps wound around her calves up to her knees. Her hair was pulled into a thick ponytail held with a gold ribbon. She had a gold bracelet on her upper arm, around her bicep.
"Who are you dressed as?" asked Ginny.
"Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom."
"Of course," said Ginny, her eyes twinkling.
"Your costumes look familiar...." said Hermione slowly.
Ginny was dressed in head to toe blue, with a little blue dress, pointed blue shoes, and blue tights. She had even died her skin and hair blue for the occasion. Harry's normally untidy, black hair had turned blonde and wavy and his glasses were gone. He was wearing lavender robes and a pointed lavender hat.
"Lockhart and a Cornish pixie?" guessed Hermione, snorting in a very un-Hermione-ish way. "Really?"
"Ginny convinced me it would be funny," said Harry, who still looked a little uncomfortable. Ginny grinned mischievously.
"Ron," said Hermione suddenly, "you've been quiet."
Ron was staring at Hermione with his mouth slightly open. Ginny sighed, walked over to him, and snapped her fingers in front of his face. Ron jerked out of his stupor and fell backwards out of his chair. He scrambled up quickly, his face bright red.
"Well, at least your face matches your costume!" sniggered Ginny.
Ron scowled at her. He was dressed as Godric Gryffindor; red tights, gold cloak, ruby-encrusted sword and all.
"Right then, shall we?" asked Hermione brightly.
"Masks first!" exclaimed Ginny. "It's a Masquerade Ball!"
Hermione took a thin, gold mask from the folds of her dress and pulled it over her eyes. It covered her face from eyebrows to cheekbones. Ginny's mask was, un-surprisingly, blue, and also covered just her eyes. Harry's was, you guessed it, lavender, and covered his forehead (and scar) and came over his nose to just under his cheekbones. Ron's was red with a gold lion covering one side and had the same shape as Harry's.
"Wow, Ron," said Hermione. "Cool mask!"
"Thanks," said Ron. "It took me ages to get right."
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The Great Hall had been decorated with black and gold hangings and the usual hanging candles, and was a sea of costumed teenagers. There were House founders, like Ron, hags, banshees, famous Quidditch players, werewolves, vampires, Veela, and goblins. Hermione's costume turned many heads, and Harry and Ginny's got appreciative laughs from those who remembered the fiasco of Lockhart's first lesson four years ago.
"Hey guys!" cried Lavender, rushing up to them from one of the many refreshment tables. "Great party, isn't it?"
"The costumes are amazing!" added Parvati, her eyes sparkling.
Lavender was obviously dressed as a peacock, and Parvati a phoenix. Lavender was wearing a turquoise mini skirt and tights, and black high heels. She had a dark blue bustier on and a long train with real peacock feathers sewn on trailed from her lower back. Her hair was pinned up and curly, with a couple of smaller peacock feathers sticking out the top.
Parvati was wearing roughly the same thing, but in red and gold tones and faux phoenix feathers instead of peacock. Both wore outrageous false eyelashes with tiny, long feathers (Lavender's blue and Parvati's red) swooping from the corners of their eyes.
"Wow," said Hermione. "You look ... exotic."
"Thank you!" squealed Lavender, hugging Hermione, who looked slightly taken aback.
"Ooo, look!" exclaimed Parvati. "There's Seamus and Dean!"
Seamus and Dean were filling cups with lurid orange punch, Seamus trying to balance his enormous club (he was dressed as a mountain troll) between his legs as he fumbled with the ladle. Dean, who was dressed as a vampire, was surveying the dancers and laughing at Seamus.
"Shall we dance?" Harry asked Ginny, extending his arm.
She giggled. "We shall!"
They left Hermione and Ron in an awkward silence. Ron scuffed his shoe against the floor. Suddenly the song changed, and Hermione's face lit up. "Ooh, I love this song!"
Ron grinned, and held out his hand. "Dance?"
Smiling, Hermione accepted and they stepped onto the dance floor.
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The next three hours passed in a blur, and soon the clock struck eleven.
"Right, everyone," called the DJ, "the Masquerade Ball is about to end. I hope you all had a lovely time. In Masquerade tradition, please take off your mask and share a last dance with that special someone."
A slow song began to play. Everywhere on the dance floor, couples were pairing off. Harry and Ginny had their arms wrapped around each other, and Harry was resting his chin on the top of her head as they slow danced. Lavender and Seamus and Dean and Parvati were also slow dancing nearby.
Ron held his arms out to Hermione, and she stepped forward to put her arms around his neck. Their bodies fit perfectly together as they swayed to the music, Hermione's head resting on Ron's shoulder. The song ended, and the last note hung in the air, no one wanting to move and break the moment. Harry and Ginny were engaged in a long, sweet kiss and Lavender and Seamus were making out, a little less appropriately.
Ron took off his mask and stowed it in his robes. Then he slowly lifted Hermione's off her face and put it in his pocket as well. He brushed a stray hair off of where it was stuck to her eyelash and tucked it behind her ear. Their eyes met. They stayed that way for a moment, the electricity between them crackling in the stillness. Suddenly, Ron looked away and cleared his throat. Hermione felt disappointment well in her throat. She had been so sure he was going to kiss her. Still, there had been something there. Perhaps a possibility for the future.
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That night, in the dormitory, Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out Hermione's mask. He placed it on his bedside table and proceeded to get ready for bed. As he lay in bed in the few minutes before sleep, he stared at it with a happy smile on his face. The golden mask reflected the moonlight and shone with the memories of the Masquerade Ball.
Chapter Endnotes: Please rate and review! :)