This Dance We Do

Chapter 13: Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes

Ron awoke early the next morning and padded downstairs. When he reached the bottom step he chuckled slightly.

There was Hermione, humming out of tune and doing some sort of dance, making breakfast for himself and Harry. Ron had the urge to walk up behind her, wrap his arms around her waist as he had the night before, and place a series of kisses along her neck. Instead, he took his usual seat at the table and looked at the pieces of parchment that were scattered there. Ron picked one of them up.

"Um, Hermione?"

"Mmm?" She did a little spin before setting a plate in front of him and taking her seat.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" He would ask his question about the parchment later.

Hermione simply raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"You were, well, I'm not really sure what you were doing, but you were spinning and stuff."

"I was dancing." Great, he had hurt her feelings. Now what?

"I know that, but why?"

"Well, this year is the first year we can go to the Winter Ball." She picked at a spot on the table. "I wonder who's going to ask me this year."

She looked pointedly at Ron.

Ask her! Ask her you dolt! She's giving you an easy way to ask her!!

"Um," he coughed. "Well, unless Krum can come, I don't think he'll be asking you."

Hermione glared at him before returning to the stove. Ron had to use every ounce of restraint to keep from bashing his head on the table. Thankfully, Harry chose that moment to come downstairs.

"Smells g-g-good," he said through a yawn. He slumped into the seat next to Ron and pulled the nearest piece of parchment towards him. "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"What are all these?"

"Oh," she brought over plates for herself and Harry and took her seat. "Well, I thought that if we went through and made up our timetables early this morning, then we could go into Diagon Alley later this afternoon. So I got out all of our grades and the lists of the subjects we can take. I also made up lists of what McGonagall said we had to take for the careers we wanted to go into, as well as classes we should probably take anyway.

"From there," she pulled some of the other pieces of parchment towards her, "I made final lists of the classes that we should be taking and a list of all the books that we will all need. Now all we need to do is you two have to go over the classes I chose and tell me if they're all right, then we write our letters to McGonagall and we can go."

"Letters to McGonagall?"

"Yes, didn't either of you read her letter?" Ron and Harry both shook their heads.

"Why would we when we knew that you would read it for us?" Hermione shot daggers at Ron. He made a mental note to find out what he did to make her so upset with him and apologize.

"We have to send her a letter telling her what classes we want to take by this Sunday, otherwise we'll be stuck with the classes that aren't full yet."

"Hermione," Harry piped up. "Why did you do all this for us, but you won't let us copy a simple assignment at school?"

"Because I know, if left to your own devices, you two would never create your timetables in time. Or, if by some miracle you did, you would forget classes that you needed to take. Besides, this isn't for a grade or anything. Well, and I had nothing else to do when I got up this morning."

Ron groaned inwardly. She was mad, she was really mad. Ron took a deep breath, and pulled his timetable towards him.

"Uh, Hermione? Are you sure you finished this? I only have," Ron counted down the list, "five classes on here."

Harry pulled his own timetable towards him. "Yeah, I only have five, too."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The N.E.W.T. level classes are longer than the O.W.L. level classes, so you take fewer of them. Those are the classes that you two should take to be eligible to enter Auror training after Hogwarts."

"What are you taking?" Ron could not help himself, he was curious. Hermione slid her own timetable towards him. Ron read down the list, extremely pleased. "You're taking everything that Harry and I are, plus Arithmancy."

"Thank you for telling me what I already knew, Ron."

"Hey, Hermione. What do you want to do after Hogwarts?" It was Harry who asked the question, but it was something that Ron had been wondering as well.

"Oh, I'm not entirely sure yet, that's why I'm taking what I am, enough to get me wherever I want to go."

There was something overly airy about her tone, and Ron knew she was lying. He would have to ask her later.

"Okay, so if this is all planned out, why don't we write our letters and go? I sort of wanted to swing by Fred and George's shop, make sure my money's being put to good use."

"Hey, do you think they'll give us free samples if we promise to use them on Filch?"

Over the next quarter of an hour, while they wrote their letters under glares from Hermione, Ron and Harry discussed all the things that Fred and George might have in their store and what they would like to buy.

By noon, Ron, Harry, and Hermione were entering Diagon Alley, shopping lists (written by Hermione) in tow, walking quickly towards number ninety-three; Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

Ron's first thought when he saw his brothers' store front was how brilliant the twins were. The store was quite large, about the size of the Quidditch supply store, and nearly as popular, it seemed. In the front window the twins had set up a Portable Swamp, enlarged photographs of George eating Canary Creams and Fred setting off a case of Weasleys' Wild-Fire Whiz-Bangs, a display of Skiving Snackboxes, and a collection of fake wands and Extendable Ears. Even Hermione seemed only mildly disapproving as they walked in the front door.

Ron looked around in awe. There was a collection of kids, maybe first or second years, around a display in the corner labelled "Shifty Sweets." This seemed to be where the Skiving Snackboxes, Canary Cremes, and the Ton Tongue Toffees were located. Across the way was another section marked "Party Pleasers." Ron spotted a box of his brothers' fireworks as well as a few other items that he did not know the names of. He was about to go check when he heard his brother's voice.

"Well, bless my soul, if it isn't our little Ronnykins here to see our shop."

"Why, I do believe it is, dear brother. And," Fred feigned shock, stumbling back several paces, "it's Hermione! My, my, never thought your presence would grace these walls."

"You won't try to put us in detention, will you?"

"I do believe she just might, that was a naughty, naughty thing we did when we left, dear brother."

"What do you think? Lines?"

"Or scrubbing the hospital wing without magic?"

"Telling the whole school about spew?"

"Ah, and Harry, our financier!" Fred trilled as Hermione opened her mouth, surely to tell them off. Fred jovially shook Harry's hand. "So good to see that you've finally stopped by."

"Want to make sure that your money's being put to good use?"

"Well, it looks like it is. This, this is great guys, really. How's business going?"

"Ah, well business is booming, Harry, simply booming!" George said, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Here, let's show you lot around."

Fred and George walked around the store, pointing out new inventions and best sellers, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed. After a while, Ron began to notice that Hermione was sighing a good deal and was a few steps behind their tour group. Ron fell into pace with her.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a whisper, lest one of his brothers hear and embarrass him.

"Yes, Ron, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, you just seem upset. Don't listen to Fred and George. They're just trying to get a rise out of you. I guess when you yell at them, you remind them of mum, and they think it's funny."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not upset over Fred and George, Ron. I've known them long enough to just ignore what they say."

"Then what is it?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine, really."

"Then why won't you look at me?"

Hermione faced him and stared at him unblinkingly for of couple seconds, making him decidedly uncomfortable.

"I, er, I mean before. Why weren't you looking at me?" And then it hit him. "Are you upset about what I said about Krum?"

Hermione did not say anything, but she stiffened, telling him that he hit his mark.

"Look, I'm sorry. I should just learn to drop the whole Krum thing. It's just, he bothers me."

"Why?" Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Well, he's a good deal older than you, and he seemed awfully keen on getting you to spend time alone with him. I just think he wanted more from you than you thought."

"He's just a friend, Ron." She said this phrase often, Krum was one of the topics they rowed over a lot, but her voice was different somehow, softer.

"I know, I know that he's just a friend to you, but I think that he wants to be more. A lot more." Ron knew what he was implying, and normally he tried to avoid insinuating that he thought Krum's intentions were far from pure, but something about Hermione's voice told him it was time to tell her.

"He...that's not what he's after, Ron, not at all."

"How can you be so sure? He's a guy, Hermione, that's pretty much what we all think about."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but had the good graces to avoid asking if that was what Ron thought about. Instead, she looked at her feet before she spoke again.

"It's just, he's this big Quidditch star, and I'm, well," she ran her hands along the air in front of her, "I'm this. Not exactly what guys want, am I?"

She was blushing in a way that made Ron forget his own insecurities. He grabbed her by her elbow and led her out of the twins' line of sight.

"Hermione, you're..." Ron placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. Her eyes were lined with tears and the look on her face broke his heart. "You're everything that guys want. You're beautiful, and compassionate, and wonderful, and bloody brilliant. And what's more, you don't even know it. You're not conceited like some of these other girls, and that's something that makes guys want you even more. Trust me, Hermione, you are everything that guys want."

Two tears slid slowly down Hermione's face. Ron gently brushed them away and held her face in his hands. He could have kissed her if he wanted, and Merlin did he want to. Her mouth was slightly parted and her bottom lip was trembling. Ron wanted nothing more than to take that lip between his own, to make her tremble for entirely different reasons.

He licked his lips and bent his head slightly. Slowly he leaned down to kiss her. He looked at her one last time and noticed she had closed her eyes, a clear invitation for him to proceed.

There was only an inch and a half between his mouth and Hermione's. Ron was about to close the gap when a thought occurred to him. Hermione was his mate, one of his best mates, and she was fragile right now. She had just confessed that she found herself undesirable, and all she wanted was to know that guys were interested in her. That was the only reason she would allow Ron to kiss her. He was taking advantage of her.

Ron tipped his head up slightly and planted the kiss on her forehead. He closed his eyes and let his lips linger there as he pulled Hermione into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waste and put her head on his chest as she hugged him tightly. Ron kept his eyes closed as he put his cheek atop Hermione's head, assuring himself that he did the right thing.

They left Fred and George's shop several minutes later, promising to come back when they were done getting their supplies for school.

After they were out on Diagon Alley, the sun on their faces and a pleasant breeze playing around them, Hermione told them how they were going to break up the rest of their time. She would go to Flourish and Blotts to pick up all their books, but they had to pick up any other supplies that they would need for the coming school year. After that, she had to go to Madame Malkin's to get a new set of dress robes (something that Harry had to do as well). They would meet at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes at four, then Floo back to Hermione's from there.

Ron really did not want Hermione to go off on her own, but he could not think of any reason why not, so he gave Hermione money for his books and followed Harry off to Madam Malkin's for his new dress robes.

It took a full quarter of an hour for Harry's dress robes to be finished. He ended up getting the same color and style that he had worn to the ball in their fourth year.

"You know, I'm sure we could have done an Engorgement Charm or something on your old ones and you could have saved the money."

Harry simply shrugged. The only time Ron ever got close to hating his best friend was when he was so casual about money.

He and Harry picked up everything that they would need for the coming school year. Ron needed a new set of quills, they both needed refills for the Potions sets, and both decided to pick up new pairs of dragon hide gloves, as their old ones were getting tight.

Ron and Harry spent the remaining time to four o'clock wondering Diagon Alley, musing about why it took girls so much longer to do things. Finally, when four came around, the two made their way to Fred and George's shop, only to find Hermione waiting out front, carrying several bags and checking her watch.

"Honestly," she said huffily, "I thought it was girls that were supposed to take forever."

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, he made is way into his brothers' shop.

The crowd had thinned out some, but there were still a significant number of people perusing the twins' inventions. Ron felt the familiar pang of envy he often felt for his older brothers. There was no way that he would ever be able to stand out from any of them. He would have to find a cure to Avada Kedavra to be noticed.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione made their way to the back, where Angelina Johnson was working the register. When she spotted the three of them she waved jovially and motioned them over to her.

"Hey, long time no see. How have you three been?"

"Pretty good. Is this a summer job? I thought you'd try playing Quidditch or something."

Angelina looked at Harry as though he'd voluntarily swallowed a flobberworm.

"Get up at the crack of dawn every day to have the stuffing beaten out of me on the field and get paid next to nothing? You're kidding, right? Nah, I'd rather work here. The pay is good and there are certain other...benefits."

Fred had stepped behind the counter to join Angelina and had wrapped his arms around her.

"Yes, benefits indeed, such as dating one of the co-owners?"

"That could be one of them, yes."

Ron rolled his eyes, grabbing his brother's attention.

"So, Ron, are there any young ladies out there who are destined to receive a dosage of the Weasley charm anytime soon?" He looked pointedly at Hermione, causing her to blush and turn away. Great, everyone knew.

"I, er, think that we should be getting back," Ron said, desperate for a change of subject.

Fred looked like he would love nothing more than to torture his younger brother more, but was elbowed by Angelina when he opened his mouth. He rubbed the point where she connected.

"Right, well, the fireplace is in back. Help yourself."

"Thanks. See you."

The three of them made their way into the back room that Fred had indicated. Ron had to poke around for the Floo Powder, but eventually found it in coffee mug on the mantle. He handed it to Hermione, who took a handful and threw it into the flames. She stepped in, balancing her bags, called out her destination, and disappeared. Harry soon followed suite. Ron threw his own handful into the flames and was about to step in when he heard Angelina's voice behind him.

"She does like you, you know."

Ron jumped and looked at her. "Who?"

Angelina smiled. "You know who. Just ask her, trust me."

"How do you know? Has she told you or something?" Angelina shook her head. "Then how can you be sure?"

"I'm a girl, Ron, I can tell when a girl likes a bloke. She likes you. Just let her know that you feel the same before someone else comes and takes her right out from underneath your nose, okay?"

Ron nodded and stepped into the flames. He gave Angelina a small wave before he called out "The Grangers" and she disappeared from sight.