First Kiss

The few years that have passed since his death have been the saddest and happiest of our lives. When he was alive, I knew that no matter what happened he was always there for me. I thought all that would change now he’s gone, but it didn’t. I can still feel his presence whenever life gets me down. Now we live in a world filled with peace and harmony. The Great War caused Muggles to find out about our world of magic. Now we live together as one. This is all thanks to one boy, one boy who sacrificed his life to save us all from Lord Voldemort. Harry Potter died for us.

Ron and I supported each other after Harry’s death but we found that we were getting closer together; we were becoming more than friends. For a while I rejected him because I was afraid of getting so close to him after Harry’s death. Eventually I realised something; I realised that this is what Harry would have wanted. During the last two years of his life I had always thought Viktor Krum was the one I loved; there was even a time when I had a crush on Harry. I only realised these feelings weren’t true on that fateful day. During the Christmas period of my sixth year, Dumbledore announced that there was to be a Christmas ball. Students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were invited to join us; this was the Coalition ball, and Dumbledore wanted Hogwarts to work alongside the other Schools to fight against Lord Voldemort. The few weeks before the ball a panic ensued throughout the school to find a partner for the ball. I, naturally, was going with Viktor Krum. Harry asked Ginny to go with him to the ball; both Harry and Ginny had been getting closer together since the summer. Whilst at ‘The Burrow’ Ginny rekindled her feelings for Harry. Ron however, was left on his own. The surprising factor was, that Ron wasn’t getting angry about this as was usually expected of him in these situations. During the following weeks Ron sunk into depression. He was no longer the happy or bad-tempered Ron I knew. Harry and I managed to convince him to come along to this ball, as we had no idea if we would ever have an event like this again.

I remember walking into the dining room. The house tables which were usually there were nowhere to be seen. Instead the floor had changed from wood oak to bright white marble. Above us the great ceiling showed us the stars outside and the lighting in the room reminded me of the soft glow of moonlight. Along the side of the room was a buffet with all kinds of food from around the world. A stage had been temporarily set up and by popular demand, the ‘Weird Sisters’ were playing for us again. In the corner of the room I saw Viktor Krum. He spotted me too and walked towards me. He was wearing a set of pale blue robes, somewhat similar to what Lockhart used to wear. He looked into my eyes and said to me, ‘You look beautiful Hermioninny’. This comment caused me to blush. I did think I loved him, but I was still young and somewhat naïve. We danced, enveloped in each other’s arms. As I danced with Viktor I leaned my head on his shoulder, I could see Harry and Ginny also embraced in each other’s arms; this made me smile. I felt happy with Viktor but something still wasn’t quite right and in the corner of the room I could see this figure sitting alone. This ginger-haired figure was sitting alone leaning over with his hands upon his face. It was at this moment that I no longer noticed I was dancing; all I could think of was this one person sitting alone. Towards the end of the ball I noticed Ron get up slowly and started to make his way to the entrance hall. I excused myself from Viktor and being the gentleman he was, he obliged. I then half-ran to the entrance hall passing Harry and Ginny who were now embraced in a slow-dance. I made it into the entrance hall and saw Ron slowly walking up the stairs. I shouted his name and he turned around. His expression lightened and he made his way down the stairs to me. I asked him if he wanted to go on a stroll with me to talk; he accepted. We opened the great oak doors and in front of us was the shimmering lake with the moon’s reflection shimmering upon it.

We walked towards the lake in silence holding hands. I eventually broke the silence by saying,

‘I’m sorry about tonight, I didn’t mean for you to have such a bad time’.

However I looked up at Ron and saw that he was smiling.

‘I admit,’ Ron replied, ‘it hasn’t been the greatest of all nights but just looking around me, I’m surrounded by beauty. I can see the pale moon, the sea of stars and…’

‘And what?’ I asked, although she knew the answer just by looking into his eyes.

‘And…you,’ said Ron, who immediately went a deep shade of red and turned around pretending to concentrate on the lake.

I also went a deep shade of red. Of all the things I had expected to happen that night, I would never have guessed that would happen. It was then I realised how much he had matured over the years I’ve known him. I started seeing Ron in this new light; I felt a strange sensation in myself that I had not previously felt. He slowly turned his head towards me and our eyes met. I could see the moonlight reflected upon his eyes. He stretched out his arm and held my hand.

‘Would…would you dance with me?’ asked Ron in a nervous voice.

‘Yes, I would love to,’ I replied also in the same nervous voice.

He moved closer to me and placed his hands around my waist; I held him and rested my head on his shoulder. I felt comfortable, happy and safe. I don’t know for how long we danced by the lake but I remember the sea of stars above us, the moon shining upon us and the sound of the wind brushing upon the treetops. We stared into each other’s eyes and all I could think about was my love for him. He slowly tilted his head towards mine; I closed my eyes and felt his smooth lips touch mine. That single moment seemed to last forever, we were under the moonlight…together. This was the most beautiful moment of my life and every moment of that night has and always will be in my memory.