Dragon's Breath

Dragon's Breath

Chapter Two

"Ron, Hermione--there you are. I was beginning to wonder if everything is okay. You didn't show up to Transfiguration or lunch. I couldn't imagine Hermione skiving off a class and Ron missing a meal," Harry said, a smile creeping across his face. Then he noticed their faces. Hermione's face was red and tear-stained and Ron stared at Hermione, not blinking. "Um...is everything okay? Should I g--"

"No Harry," Hermione interrupted, "You can stay. And everything will be okay, we just had a bad encounter with Malfoy. One of the worst, in fact." She paused, examining her shoes. "He kissed me."

"Congrats, Ron, you finally did it!" exclaimed Harry, genuinely happy for his friends and their growing relationship.

"Not me you git. Malfoy kissed her," Ron replied, hurt and anger appearing on his face.

"Oh...I'm sorry, I...I just thought that you had kissed Hermione and Malfoy made fun of you or something."

"Well, he did make fun of us, but that was later. Right after Potions he forced himself on Hermione. I got mad when I saw and walked away, we had a row and then made up and then Malfoy came around with his insults and pointed his wand at my back."

Harry looked shocked. "He did what? He's Head Boy--he's not supposed to threaten other students! And how cowardly! He truly is a snake." Ron and Hermione looked a bit less downtrodden at Harry's reaction. "Are you okay, Hermione?" Harry asked after a minute of silence. She nodded and then got up and left the Gryffindor Common Room, muttering that she'd be in her suite and could Ron come talk to her later.

Ron stood up and looked at Harry, who seemed to read his mind. "Go on mate, go talk to her...make sure she's okay. You should kiss her too, I mean you guys have been together for awhile now..."

'You think she expects it and has been disappointed lately?' Ron snapped back at Harry.

"No mate, I don't," Harry replied. Ron's expression changed to remorse instantly. "It's okay, just go to her.'

Ron left the common room and turned right, going down the hall to the Head Girl Suite. He was the only student that knew her password. "Avifors" he spoke, thinking that only Hermione would choose a transfiguration incantation as her password. The painting of a waterfall streaming over a great cliff changed as the rocks transfigured into birds and flew away through the ever flowing water. Ron stepped inside as it opened to find Hermione sitting on her couch in front of the fire, talking to Mrs. Weasley's head.

"Ronald! How are you? Hermione just told me what happened between the two of you and Draco Malfoy. Stay out of trouble, you hear me? I know you were in the right but you must be careful now that he is Head Boy," said Molly reproachfully.

'Right Mum...listen, I don't mean to be a prat, but I need to talk to Hermione so could...would..." Ron began. He had never asked his mom to leave him to talk to a girl. He wanted to just tell her to shove off.

"Sure Ronniekins. Talk to you both later." And with a swirl of green flames, Molly's head disappeared.

Ron turned to Hermione. "So you told her everything, did you? She probably tried to convince you I don't deserve you and that I'm an idiot...but before you say anything, let me just..." Ron walked forward, grabbed Hermione and kissed her.

She kissed him back, but it wasn't the all=encompassing passion she'd imagined this kiss would hold. She'd wanted Ron to be her first kiss and Malfoy stole that from her. Malfoy...why was she thinking of Malfoy at a time like this? She tried to push him from her mind and returned Ron's kiss. He gently glided his tongue across the seam in her lips, and she granted him the access he asked for. Ron's kiss was different. It was gentle and very timid. Draco's kiss was different...it was sensual and powerful, so much so that it had knocked the wind right out of her. Damnit, she was thinking of Draco again...and referring to him by his first name, nonetheless. She broke away from Ron's kiss.

He stared at his girlfriend, nervous because the expression on her face wasn't at all what he'd imagined it to be. She looked confused and he became self concious that kissing her was not the right thing to do at this time. She backed away from him, her eyes shameful and said "It's just not the same..." Hermione didn't realize that the utterance had even escaped her most private thoughts until Ron looked at her with his expression changing rapidly from bliss to confusion to self-conciousness to fear and anger, finally ending at pain. Defeated, Ron walked out of Hermione's portrait hole and back towards the Gryffindor Common Room, without hearing her call after him, crying.

Harry looked up from his game of Wizard's Chess that he was playing with Seamus Finnigan, at first happy to see Ron. After he saw the look on Ron's face, he followed him up to the dormitory, apologizing to Seamus and promising a rain check on their game.

The curtains around Ron's four poster bed were pulled shut and Harry could hear sobbing coming from inside them. "Ron?" he ventured, "What happened?"

"She enjoyed the bloody kiss with Malfoy, that's what! I went in there and kissed her, and then she said "It's just not the same..." Then I left. She enjoyed that sleezy kiss that he forced on her and not mine! I was her bloody boyfriend damnit!' Ron jumped off his bed after his outburst and paced back and forth in the center of the dormitory, finally settling down on the window seat next to his bed.

Harry extended a hand to Ron's shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Ron..."

"Leave me alone Harry. Thanks, but I just want to be by myself right now."

Ron heard Harry's footsteps carrying him away, and when he looked up into the window the reflection revealed only himself.

Harry went down to the common room only to find Hermione there, who ran up to him and hugged him. He hugged her back, at least he could console one of his friends.

"Hermione, what happened?"