Would You Kiss Me?

William led Kara onto the streets. They wordlessly walked for a long time until they stopped on a bridge. They stared at each other for a long time.

"I prayed that you would come," said Kara.

"And I did," said William. He took her hands in his. She looked down at them and saw a trickle of blood from William's hand.

"You're hurt," she said.

"I'm alright," said William, trying to pull his hand away, but Kara didn't let go. She used her handkerchief as a bandage for the wound.

"Thank you," said William.

"I would do anything for you," said Kara. She gazed into his eyes. Not only William's, but Ron's breath as well, caught in his chest. This was it. The scene he never got over. He saw Hermione close his eyes, and he closed his. He waited for the kiss, but nothing happened. He peeked through one eyelid. Hermione still stood there, eyes closed, lips puckered, waiting for him to do it. But he thought she was supposed to kiss him. He closed his eyes and decided to just go with it and get it over with, and he leaned in. At the same time, Hermione came to the same decision. They bumped heads rather painfully.

"Cut!" bellowed Seamus. "What the heck was that? You did so well until the kiss, then we waited four years just to see you guys try to act like mountain goats with no horns!"

"Just do it again," Neville said.

Ron breathed in deeply. Seamus cried, "Action!" but he was stuck. He couldn't do it. He just stood there, holding Hermione's hands in his own, staring at her.

"I can't do it," he finally said, and let go of her hands.

Seamus seemed to have had too much caffeine. He was on his feet, jumping up and down while emptying his throat of his voice.

"What are you doing?" he roared. "Just kiss! Anyone can do it! You were perfectly fine at auditions! Think of your friggin' paycheck! This is between William and Kara! They're supposed to be in love! And when you're in love, you kiss!"

You can't always kiss someone just because you love them, thought Ron. They might not love you back.

"Okay, that's a wrap for today," Seamus said. "Ron, Hermione, kissing really isn't that hard. Good job anyway, everyone!"

Once Harry, Ron, and Hermione had changed out of their costumes, they decided to go to dinner together at a Muggle restaurant close to Harry's apartment.

"I really don't know what's up with Seamus," said Ron when Hermione was in the restroom. "It's hard to kiss a girl that you've known as a friend for years."

"Not really," said Harry, taking a sip of his drink. "Just think of her as Kara, not Hermione."

"As if it was really that easy," said Ron. "It's just...every time I get to that scene, I...I crack, man."

"You'll get it," Harry said absentmindedly. "If you can pretend to be killed in a swordfight, you can kiss a girl. Anyway, it's acting. No one ever said it was supposed to be easy."

Yeah, thought Ron. But no one told me it was supposed to be this hard either.