The Unspoken Passion

The ride on the Hogwarts Express was not exactly what Harry had planned. Ron and Hermione sat next to eachother, although they didn't talk much. If Ginny were there, she'd have them deep in conversation, but she had been named Gryffindor prefect and was being briefed on it. The train car sat in complete silence for what felt like hours, when suddenly Ron spoke up.

"Do you think you'll get to play Quidditch this year?" he asked Harry hopefully.

"I don't know," Harry replied. "Maybe, if that Umbridge woman isn't there."

"Nah," said Ron. "I think she'd be too scared to come back."

"Serve's her right," Hermione piped up.

For the rest of the train ride Harry managed to keep up conversation. Ron and Hermione talked to eachother and, for once, they weren't bickering. Before they knew it, the majestic towers of Hogwarts Castle were in view. Upon reaching the station, the trio disembarked and found the thestral-pulled wagons to ride up to the castle.

"So how did it go?" Ginny asked Harry silently.

"Pretty good, I think," he whispered back.

***

"Welcome, everyone!" Dumbledore exclaimed to the Great Hall. "Another great year awaits! Now, in spite of recent events, I want everyone to do well this term and enjoy themselves at our upcoming ball!"

Giggles from the girls and groans from the boys filled the Hall. Many of the teachers were looking skeptical about the whole deal, too. Dumbledore merely kept smiling.

"Tuck in!" he shouted. The plethora of delicious foods that appeared before them at that moment made everyone forget their anxieties about the ball and just enjoy a good meal together. The entire student body, for a while anyway, was a jovial crowd and chatted about Quidditch, schoolwork, Hogsmeade, and more. However, when everyone reached their common rooms that evening, their expressions went from joyous to solemn. Notes were pinned up on every board reading:

Hogwarts Anniversary Ball

September 5

Dress Robes and Dates Required

"That's this weekend!" Seamus cried. "There's no time to get dates!"

All the boys in Gryffindor began running around wildly, many of them trying to get into the girls' dormitory. This was no use, since the stairs automatically turned to a slide when they tried.

"Going to ask Cho again, Harry?" Ron asked, a smile on his face since he already had a date.

Harry shook his head. "No, she'd dating that Corner git remember? Besides, I had someone else in mind."

He glanced across the room at Ginny and grinned.

"Who?" Ron asked, not noticing.

"Never mind," said Harry.

***

"What do you mean you're not going?" Ginny exclaimed.

"Just what I said. I'm not going!" Hermione was on her bed, once again crying into the sheets.

"You have to go, Hermione! What about Ron?"

"That's why I can't go! I'm afraid to be around him. What if we start fighting again? I couldn't take it!"

"Hermione," Ginny sighed. "Listen to me! Ron's not going to start fighting with you. Trust me."

"How do you know?" Hermione inquired angrily.

"Because he loves you!" Ginny cried out before she could stop herself.

Hermione stopped crying and stared at her. "He loves me?"

"Yes," said Ginny, more calmly. "I heard him say so, but he didn't want me to tell anyone."

"Ginny, are you serious?"

"Absolutely."

Hermione jumped up and beamed at her younger friend. "He loves me!" she shouted with glee. "I have to go talk to him!"

"Wait!" said Ginny, grabbing her arm. "Not yet. Wait until the ball. I guarantee you he'll spill it then. It will be better if you hear it from him and not me."

Hermione sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am. You just make sure to fix yourself up nice for the ball.. Make him unable to resist you."

"Right." Hermione stood up and smiled at Ginny. "So who are you going with?"

***

Ron sat in front of the fire, fiddling with the chessboard and thinking. Was he out of his mind? Why had he asked Hermione to the ball? He wasn't ready to tell her how he felt. But he knew he had to. If he didn't tell her then he'd never be able to tell her. He only hoped he didn't get sick.

"What's up, Ron?" came Harry's voice from behind him.

"Nothing," replied Ron.

"Come on, Ron," said Harry. "I haven't seen you this down since Fleur Delacour rejected you at the last ball."

"Don't remind me," Ron snorted.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Hermione would it?" Harry asked, beating around the bush.

"N-no," lied Ron. He was looking nervous.

"Don't lie, Ron," said Harry, determined to get Ron to fess up. "Am I going to have to feed you Veritaserum?"

"Of course not!" Ron snapped. "I'm just a little worried about the ball."

"What are you worried about?"

"Nothing! Just forget it!" Ron barked.

"I'm your friend Ron, you can tell me."

"Fine! If you're going to be so bloody insistent on it, I'll tell you."

Harry sat down on the couch next to Ron. Ron took a deep breath and then began.

"First off, I have a secret that you may not like."

"You love Hermione?"

"How did you know?"

"Oh, come on Ron, it's pretty obvious."

Ron's eyes narrowed. "Ginny told you, didn't she?"

"I'm not saying," replied Harry. He didn't want to get Ginny in trouble.

"Well," Ron continued. "Now that you know, that just leaves Hermione. I don't know how to tell her."

Harry sighed. "How about 'Hermione, I love you'?"

Ron gave him an annoyed look. "It's not that easy."

"Well what did you have in mind?" Harry inquired.

"I don't know. That's the problem."

"All you have to do is get her alone and tell her," Harry replied. "There's no other way to do it. Just remember, I'm behind you all the way."

"Okay, okay," said Ron. "I get the idea. But do you think she feels the same way?"

Harry smiled. "I haven't a doubt."

Ron smiled in return. "In that case, we'd better get ready to start classes tomorrow."

"Right," Harry agreed. "There's just one thing I need to take care of first."

He hurried across the common room to the entrance to the girls' dormitories, leaving a befuddled Ron in front of the fire.

"So how'd it go?" Ginny asked him, coming down the stairs.

"He's going to tell her at the ball," Harry responded.

"Excellent, and Hermione's ready to confess too."

"So far so good."

"Yeah," said Ginny, preparing to reenter the dormitory.

"Wait," said Harry.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering," he said nervously. "If you didn't have a date to the ball yet, would you go with me?"

Ginny giggled. "Of course, Harry. It's destiny, isn't it?"

She ran up the stairs. Harry smiled after her.

Destiny, he thought. Now she's really turning into Trelawney.

***

The days leading up to the ball were chaotic. All the boys were running about trying to find dates, and the teachers were finding it especially difficult to manage their students. By Friday, Professor McGonagall had given half her classes detention, but had been considerate enough to schedule it after the ball.

And all along Ron and Hermione seemed to be getting closer and closer. They no longer argued, but complimented eachother every day. Ron was more attentive in all of his classes, even History of Magic, and he did most of his homework with Hermione without even asking for help.

"Who are you and what have you done with Ron?" Harry had asked him once when he had gotten an Outstanding on an essay for Potions. Snape rarely gave Outstandings, so Ron must have done something extremely well to have gotten one. During the last class before the ball, Harry felt sure that Ron had practically turned into Hermione.

"Probably just trying to impress her," Ginny had told him.

On Friday night, Harry and Ron sat in the Gryffindor common room waiting for their dates. Ron was dressed nicer than Harry had ever seen him, and you could probably smell his cologne on the other side of the castle. Ginny and Hermione had been getting dressed for nearly three hours, and Harry was getting annoyed.

"Honestly," he said. "How long can it take to put a stupid dress on?"

But when he saw them he decided that it was well worth the wait. Ginny looked positively gorgeous. She was wearing a blue silk dress that fell around her like a veil. Her long red hair was curled and came to rest gently on her shoulders, which were bare as the dress was strapless. Her figure was lean and perfect and, when combined with her beautiful face, she looked like an angel. Harry's eyes were so fixated on her that he didn't even notice that Hermione was just as beautiful. Ron stared at her as she strode gracefully down the steps in a spectacular white gown. It was slightly revealing, but Ron didn't care. He looked at her face with the added touch of make-up that made it shine even more, and her bushy brow hair, which looked like it had taken days to fix. The two girls giggled when they saw the dazed looks on the two boy's faces. As each of them approached their date, Ron and Harry snapped back to life.

"Shall we?" Ginny asked Harry.

"Uh, sure," he replied, uneasily. Ginny was so fantastically gorgeous that he was having trouble breathing.

Ron and Harry escorted their dates (more like the other way around) out of Gryffindor tower and down to the Great Hall. The festivities had already started when they arrived, and the sight was amazing. The Hall was decorated much like last time (except there were no Beauxbatons or Durmstrang students) and at least fifty circular tables dotted the walls. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione sat down at one of them and ordered dinner. Ron and Harry were enjoying themselves a lot more this time, now that they were with people they wanted to be with. After dinner, Hermione and Ginny practically pulled their dates onto the dance floor, where most of the attendants already were.

It was like heaven on Earth. The two couples danced all night, from one end of the hall to the other. Everyone stared at them but they didn't care. Ron, in particular, felt as though he were the luckiest man in the world. He finally had the woman of his dreams in his arms, and it felt like paradise.

Before they knew it, the clock struck midnight.

It's time, thought Ron.

"Hermione, can I talk to you in private?"

She looked up at him, her brown eyes full of emotion. "Sure, Ron."

He led her out onto the balcony that overlooked the lake, her hand in his.

"I've had a very unusual summer, Hermione," he said, looking out across the grounds.

"What do you mean, Ron?" she asked softly.

He shook his head. "I've been having dreams...about you."

Hermione's eyes widened. "What kinds of dreams?"

"From the Department of Mysteries," he answered. "I dreamt about that Death Eater attacking you."

She put her hand on his arm. "But Ron, how could you? You weren't even there."

"I know," he said. "But I've still been dreaming about it. At first, I didn't know why, but now I do."

Her turned to look at her, staring deeply into her warm, brown eyes. Ron then noticed that her expression was different. Hermione always had been the brave, confident type, but now she suddenly appeared nervous and scared. Ron had intended to make her feel neither. All he wanted was to make her feel happy and secure.

"Hermione," he said in his softest and most caring voice. "I love you."

She could no longer hold back the emotion. Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck and sobbed into his chest. Ron's heart sank.

"I'm sorry Hermione," he breathed. "I shouldn't have told you. Maybe I-"

"No! It's not that!" she cried. "I just thought it could never happen!"

"What do you mean?" Ron exclaimed, completely confused.

She put her hands on his face. "Ronald Weasley, I love you, too!"

Ron gaped at her. He couldn't believe it. Hermione took advantage of the moment and pressed her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck and indulging in her first passionate kiss. Ron was startled at first, but then he kissed her back, hugging her close to him. At that moment, they were alone, isolated from the world, drowning themselves in eachother's love. It was a magic that no wizard in the world could conjure up with a wand.

Ginny and Harry watched from inside the Great Hall as their best friends kissed. All of a sudden, fireworks began exploding outside the window, bursting directly above Ron and Hermione's heads. Thousands of lights came together to form hearts, lions, and the words RON+HERMIONE FOREVER. Harry looked out the window and scanned the grounds for the source of the fireworks. Finally, he came upon to tall figures running about, lighting off the fiery shows, each of them with a head of bright red hair. He turned to look at Ginny.

"Well," she said smiling. "They did give me a 10 percent sister discount.."

Harry shook his head. "You've just thought of everything, haven't you, Gin?"

"Don't sell yourself short, Harry," she said. "You helped, too. I'd say we make a pretty good team."

"Sure do," replied Harry, putting his arm around Ginny's shoulder.

"So," laughed Ginny. "Who's next? Neville and Luna? Angelina and Lee? We're on a roll here."

"No," said Harry, suddenly embarrassed. "I was thinking maybe me and you.."

She gave him a surprised look. "You and me?"

He nodded.

She smiled, reached up, and kissed him, and this time he kissed back. She held him close and they kissed almost as long and as passionately as Ron and Hermione had.

"Sounds great," she said when they pulled apart.

Funny how things turn out when two people fight a lot.