Magical Evenings

Nights like this one are magical. When the stars are sprinkled across the velvet sky like so many fireflies and fairies and the moon glows with radiance rarely seen, something special is bound to happen. And what will it be tonight? Step inside with me, and we shall see, though I'm sure that we both can venture a guess.

You may not think at first that anyone could find anything to be nervous about in this warm and friendly room; the cold Slytherin dungeon maybe, but not this red and gold tower filled with cushy chairs and crackling fires. Just curling up on the overstuffed, scarlet sofa will begin to ease an aching mind. But right now, there is a young man who cannot be comforted by anything, not even a game of wizard chess. You don't have to look closely to spot him; he's always moving. He was lying down a moment ago on those aged cushions, oh, but now he's up again, pacing in front of the mantel, moving toward the window, then back again. It makes you feel quite sorry for him, doesn't it? And, if I'm not mistaken, it probably makes you want to know what could make him feel this way...well, I'll offer you some background.

The Hogwarts Seventh Year Ball is approaching quickly and this particular boy has a bad habit of procrastinating. But we all have our faults, so we aren't here to judge him. Instead, we'll examine just why he decided to wait until the Ball is almost on top of him to ask the one girl he loves to go with him. Is it because he is afraid that she doesn't feel for him how he does for her? That is a huge part of it, a driving force indeed. But I've been watching the two for quite some time and she has been dropping hints like mad. Our Romeo has just been too wrapped up in his own worries to notice a lingering touch, a longing glance, or even a subtle but spoken suggestion. So, much of his procrastination can be attributed to an innate denseness to womankind. But is there more? I believe that if we peer deeper into the boy's heart we can find something else. Yes, a constant worry, always lurking out of sight and around a corner in his brain. It is a bit of a paradox, this thought. He seems to be afraid. Afraid to get what he wants in life because, one day, it may leave, or be torn unwillingly from his grasp. If he never pursues this ultimate happiness, then he will never have to guard against its disappearance. But what our unlikely hero does not see is that without it, he will always be trying to fill an empty spot inside him.

So now that we have quickly analyzed the psyche of our subject, we can move on to more pressing matters, such as the person now approaching the portrait hole. She has come from a late night studying in the library and is completely unsuspecting to what is waiting for her inside. I suppose she deserves an observation as well, but not only is she walking quickly but the layers in a female's mind are so deep and overlapping that it would take days for us to isolate every fear and feeling. But we can be sure that at the core of her soul she has only the purest love for the boy pacing near the fire. Now I will try to be silent since the fat lady has moved aside and our Juliet is climbing into the room.

She's moving toward the stairs...closer, closer. What if he is too frightened to call out to her? She is climbing! What luck, she's dropped her Potions book. Fate has placed the situation in his hands now; he can't let the opportunity pass! And here it comes,

"Hermione!" It is a bit strangled, but he's done it all the same.

"Oh! You scared me! Sorry, I've just been in the library and it's so quiet in there that any noise makes me jump...anyway, what is it?"

"Ahem, well, see, it's a nice night and I just wondered if you might want to go for a walk around the lake, since you'd been cooped up in the library and all, if you want, but if you're tired or something you can go...it's not cold though." Well, not the most elegant of proposals, but he seems to have gained her interest, or maybe just her pity; soon we shall see which.

"Sure, uh, just let me take my books upstairs..." She seems a bit confused as to why he is asking her to take a late-night stroll with him but at least she agreed to go. And we are all very lucky that she turned her back in time to miss his enormous sigh of relief and quick prayer of thanks, otherwise our night may have ended prematurely. She must be excited because she is already back, slightly out of breath from running the flight of stairs to the dormitory and back. While the two are moving through the hallways and down the stairways I will take a moment to explain to you exactly how they are allowed to roam the school grounds after dark. Being head girl and boy brings many privileges and a bit of leniency with the rules at times, but what really enables them to go where they please is the aid of the famous (or infamous, whichever you choose, though I daresay you'll choose 'famous', along with all brave-hearted Gryffindors) invisibility cloak.

My, they are in a hurry this evening. They've already reached the entrance hall...and now have slipped out the door and into the safety of the surrounding darkness.

"Let's head that way..." Ooh, he's even beginning to take some authority. The night air must have boosted his confidence a bit. The path that they are following is covered with well-worn grasses; more than one set of lovers has passed down it. Another pair we know well probably took an evening stroll earlier tonight, getting back just in time to pass off a certain cloak to a best friend. Although, I doubt that those lovers were as silent as ours. They're nervous, see how his eyes are darting about and how she is biting her bottom lip? It drives him crazy when she does that, you know. But this gesture seems to have reminded him why he is outside, with her, and he is now clearing his throat.

"Well, er, do you, um, have your dress robes for the ball yet?" He's easing into the topic, good idea.

"Oh, I, yes. I got them just this weekend because I wasn't sure if I'd go. But Parvati told me I should, you know how she can be, she said that I would still have fun even if I didn't have a...well, I'm going with the girls."

"Oh, uh huh, yeah. Well that will be fun. I suppose you had a couple offers though, and you probably turned them down so you could go with your friends and all..."

"Parvati isn't really my friend you know, she's a bit too stuck up for my taste." Regardless of the situation, even in an awkward one like this, Hermione is always one to voice an opinion. Another aspect of her personality he adores. "But, no, actually I didn't get bombarded with, um, proposals." Notice that her voice is almost a whisper. It must have been bothering her.

"No Vicky?" We must try to hold back our disgusted sighs here, and tell ourselves that we really should feel sorry for the poor boy. It's his curse to feel jealous and need to keep his pride; a large family and famous best friend will do that. Let's just hope that she isn't too offset by this terrible remark.

"Will you ever get over that?" Her voice is shrill. "Do you think I'm so unlovable that you need to make fun of anyone who actually likes me?" Either she has no idea why he asked her here, or she's just as smart as everyone says. I favor the latter.

"Wha--of course not--I don't know...what are you talk-...unlovable..." She has most definitely caught him off-guard.

"Then why did you ask me out here, so you could make fun of me?"

Oh my, silence after a question like that is never wise.

"I'm going inside."

It's his last chance. Did he blow it for good?

"Wait!" She's not stopping. Oh, but our courageous Gryffindor runs to her and grabs her elbow. "I...I wanted to ask you tonight. I wanted to go to the Ball with you."

"It's amazing how history repeats itself--three years have gone past and you still wait until the last minute to realize I'm a girl! You're only asking me because no one else wanted to!"

"No I didn't! I knew you were one all along!" She's made him angry. See how he isn't even stuttering? "In fact, I can't stop thinking about the fact that you're a girl! You're always running through my mind! I even dream about you! The only thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to tell you, how to let you know that I love you!"

And now all we hear is the soft chirp chirp chirp of insects while both of them realize what he's just said. She is the first to speak.

"You, you what?"

Have we ever seen so valiant an effort come from this one clumsy boy? How does he keep his eyes trained on hers while whispering his deepest, truest feelings?

"I love you. I think...I think that I may always have. But yes, I love you." And then, "Please Hermione, don't cry! I didn't mean to make you upset..."

If our heroine were in her normal state of mind her response would have been, 'Oh, but I think I'll need some time! I need make a pro-con chart, rationalize your behavior over the past few years and document what I feel when I see you. Then I need you to tell me the worst thing you've ever done and I'll see if I still like being around you.' But she is bathed in moonlight, a full curtain of stars is above her, this boy is slowly reaching for her hand, and, most importantly, she is in love. There is no need to analyze a situation when one is in love. Hermione had never known anything to feel so right and so her response was not that above but instead--

"Yes Ron, yes, I love you too." Have you ever seen a more genuine smile than the one on his lips right now? And in a moment, there will be something quite different on those lips, but it would be very rude and improper of us to watch that, so I fear we must move on. I believe that there is some warm butter beer awaiting us by the common room fire. And as I said, our evening turned out beautifully, despite a rocky patch. We can carry it with us and let its magic always reside in our hearts.