Fight

Ron pushed open the door of the Great Hall. "I don't see what you're so worried about, Hermione," he said, as the door slammed shut, narrowly missing Lavender's fingers, "You'd probably get 110% in everything even without a teacher. And I'd bet you've already beat every record ever set in this school for high marks."

"Actually, there was one boy in Ravenclaw in 1959 whose mark in Potions was 101%. I read it in -"

"Hogwarts: A History, yes I know. And what's your mark in Potions? Only a 98%?"

"Ninety-nine, actually, but -"

"Ninety-nine, and that's with Snape as a teacher, and he hates all Gryffindors. And besides, that's one mark in all of the subjects that you're taking that you haven't got over 100%. You've got nothing to worry about for OWLs."

"Except maybe that she won't be able to shag the examiners."

"Excuse me? Did you have something to say, Mr. 'Daddy buys my marks'?

"I said, unlike Granger, I don't shag the teachers to get high marks," Malfoy said coldly.

"You little -" Ron reached forward to grip Malfoy's collar with both hands, but Hermione put a warning hand on his forearm before he could manage to do any damage to Malfoy.

"Ron -"

With a glare, Ron shoved Malfoy away from him. "Take that back, you - you - ferret!"

"I suppose you're right," said Malfoy thoughtfully, "Granger's too ugly for the teachers to want to shag her. Unless she gives a really good -"

"Ron, let's just go, please? It doesn't matter what he says, it really doesn't -"

"...I don't think anyone's that good, though. Maybe she -" Malfoy got no farther than that before Ron jumped him. Hermione looked on in horror as the two boys rolled around on the floor, punching and kicking. She even thought she saw Malfoy try to bite Ron once. She reached forward, as if she could somehow stop this, but then put her hand up to muffle her gasp of shock as Malfoy hit Ron in the face.

No one else seemed inclined to do anything. Both Parvati and Lavender were watching with expressions of combined disgust and intrigue; Seamus and Dean could hardly hold themselves upright, doubled over with laughter as they were; Harry was...who knew where; and the Slytherins, well, since it seemed that Malfoy was winning, they weren't inclined to interfere. Hermione was torn between the desire to run to the nearest teacher and an uncontrollable urge to burst into tears.

Fortunately, once Ron gained the upper hand, Crabbe and Goyle stepped in to drag Ron off of Malfoy, then shoved him towards Hermione. She gripped his arm, determined not to let him get in more trouble on her account. The two boys glowered at each other. There was hardly a sound in the corridor other than their harsh, uneven breathing, so there was no mistaking the sound of approaching footsteps.

Ginny Weasley turned the corner, surveying the situation.

"You'd better get moving," she said, "Umbridge is right behind me." Rumours of Umbridge's detentions had spread quickly throughout school; no one wanted to be caught fighting or even witnessing a fight, not even Malfoy.

"You fight as well as you play Quidditch, Weasley," Malfoy sneered, "next time maybe your Mudblood girlfriend will have to jump in and save you." Hermione tightened her grip on Ron's arm before he could react to that statement. She couldn't control his mouth though, so Ron managed to get out the beginning of a threat before Umbridge turned the corner.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "What was that, Weasley? Would you care to repeat that in front of our lovely Defense against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"What's this, now, children? An altercation in the hallways?"

"It was nothing worth mentioning, Professor. Now, if you'll excuse us, we were on our way to our common room to study," said Hermione, kicking Ron to stop him saying anything more.

Umbridge looked skeptical, but could find nothing wrong with that statement. Luckily, no one was sporting any visible signs of the fight - at least, not yet - so even if Malfoy chose to tattle, there would be no physical proof. Before Professor Umbridge could start taking away points, Hermione dragged Ron through the corridors and up the stairs, with the rest of the Gryffindors trailing behind.

Sometime during the trip upstairs, Hermione's death-grip on Ron slipped from his arm to his hand. His hand...she was holding Ron's hand!

Stop that, Hermione told herself. It's just Ron. He's your friend. So if you want to hold his hand to drag him up the stairs, then all that means is that he's an idiot who doesn't have the sense to keep his mouth shut and his fists to himself.

She bit her lip nervously. What was he thinking? Was he disgusted with her holding his hand? Was he just too polite to pull away? Did he think of her as a bossy know-it-all, a tagalong he and Harry just couldn't get rid of? But he defended me, a part of her mind protested - whether that was the logical or emotional part, she couldn't tell. Every time Malfoy insults me, he defends me...but he'd do the same for anyone else...wouldn't he?

"...defended her from Malfoy." Hearing her own thoughts in Lavender's mouth made Hermione jump and start focusing on her surroundings.

"...so romantic..." Romantic? Hardly. It was just...Ron.

"I wish someone would do something that romantic for me..." This last was said with a flicker of the eyes in Seamus's direction, then a purposeful avoidance of looking anywhere near him for the next few minutes. Hermione rolled her eyes. Could Lavender be any more obvious about her crush on Seamus? The entire Gryffindor House knew, plus anyone they had class with, Hermione was sure. It wasn't as if Lavender was discreet. Nor Seamus, either. Why they hadn't just given in and gone out yet, Hermione didn't know. But she knew better than to say anything about it to Lavender or Parvati, or to make any overt gestures of exasperation, because every time she tried, Lavender would make a snide comment about Hermione and Ron.

Ron, whose hand she was holding.

"Rosa Gallica Serotina," Neville said to the Fat Lady. Hermione's eyes flickered to Ron, then she quickly looked away. She wondered idly if Ron knew what that meant. Neville would, for sure. They'd been picking plant-related passwords all year, so that Neville could remember them. Rosa Gallica was a red rose; Serotina meant late blooming.

Ron climbed first through the portrait hole, dropping her hand in order to do so. Hermione felt an irrational wave of disappointment - which disappeared when he extended his hand to help her through the hole in the wall. Neither of them had spoken a word through the entire seven flights of stairs.

They waited for the common room to clear before either of them broke the silence. They just stood there, holding each other's hands. After a minute, Hermione realised how odd this must have looked - and yet, somehow it didn't feel wrong. Odd, yes, awkward, but right. Still, they couldn't just stand there forever, alternating between gazing at each other and each pretending the other didn't exist. Someone was bound to come into the common room soon.

"Your hand," Hermione said, "it must be bruised." Ron gaped at her as if he had never heard human speech before. She lifted his right hand with both of hers, then took out her wand and said, "Asperio."

"I reckon you must've read that in a book." Ron's attempt at banter seemed weaker than usual.

"1001 Spells for the Old-Fashioned House-Witch," Hermione replied, then mentally kicked herself. House-Witch. It sounded like she was either insulting his mother or making suggestive comments about herself and him...

"Well, the library must be good for something, if it makes my hand feel better. Uh...thank you." Hermione was about to make a comment about how the library was always useful, but decided that the tentative 'thank you' redeemed that remark. And there were more pressing issues that he needed a lecture on.

"You shouldn't have hit him," she said, while scanning him for more bruises, "what if Umbridge would have caught you? You know the kind of detentions she's been giving Harry -"

"Of course I know, I was the one that told you, remember? Besides, it would've been worth it, just to see the expression on that ferret's face when I was pounding him."

"Ron! You're lucky that you caught Malfoy off guard, and that the rest of the Slytherins don't know any curses. Otherwise, you could have been -"

"Yeah, but I wasn't. Malfoy fights like a girl anyhow; he couldn't beat a fly."

"Maybe not, but Crabbe and Goyle could. The only reason why they didn't intervene earlier was because they thought Malfoy was beating you! And -"

"He was not! I -"

"- I'm sure they were all just waiting for a teacher to come around the corner, just so they could get you in trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if Professor Umbridge gave you detention anyhow, with the tales Malfoy must be spinning in her ear right now."

"Well, if you wouldn't have dragged me away before I could explain -"

"You just would have got yourself into more trouble, Ron."

"Oh, so now I'm just good for nothing, am I? Stupid Ron, gets himself into trouble and needs his friends to bail him out of it."

"I never said that, Ron. And you're good at plenty of things -"

"Well, apparently I can't fight or bail myself out of trouble, according to you."

"That's not what I said, Ron. Malfoy fights dirty. You don't. He bit you, for goodness's sake. You have a bite mark on your neck, and scratches on your face. And your eye! It's so swollen I'm surprised you can still see!"

"Yeah, I reckon it is. Hurts like a-anything, right now. I...don't s'pose you could fix it like you did my hand?"

"I didn't fix it, I only numbed it. It's like putting ice on it, or freezing it. But I can't do that to your eye, because it would freeze the tears in your eye too, and you wouldn't be able to blink."

Ron tried to flex his hand, then blinked repeatedly. "Oh. Yeah."

Hermione was never able to properly understand what came over her at that moment, but for some reason, the illogical urge to reach out and touch Ron just wouldn't go away.

"Ron..." His bruise burned under her fingers. What was she doing? She was probably hurting him. But if she was, wouldn't he have moved away? "Ron...you didn't have to...you shouldn't have...Malfoy is..." She trailed off, unsure of the point she was trying to get across. She moved her thumb lightly over the swelling under his eye, bit her lip, and started to pull back. Ron grabbed her arm with his good hand.

"Yes, I did. Malfoy's an ass - no, don't yell at me for swearing - and you shouldn't have to listen to his...his...crap." Hermione couldn't bring herself to look away from Ron's eyes. She couldn't believe that he cared enough about her to stand up for her like that.

"Ron..." She would never get tired of saying his name. "Thank you." She watched as his face turned bright red, and smiled when his ears did the same.

"I - er - it was nothing. He deserved it. Hermione..." His hand was still on her arm. Her hand was still touching his face. They were standing close, so close that if she just tilted her head up a bit, and leaned forward...but he was her friend. But how could he be just her friend when they were standing here, like this? What was she supposed to do?

As she was standing there, staring at him, deciding what to do, he bent his head down, and touched his lips to hers. She closed her eyes, and she could feel his hand trail up her arm, her neck, her cheek, then into her hair. His mouth moved gently on hers. They were standing even closer now, so that she could feel nearly every part of her pressed up against him. His kisses moved away from her mouth now, and trailed down to her neck, then back up again as if he realised he was doing something he shouldn't. Then he stopped, and they just stood there, breathing, her head resting against his cheek. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her tight. The air felt cool against her mouth.

Hermione opened her eyes just in time to see the portrait hole open. She dropped her hands, blushing scarlet, and Ron did the same. They were prefects, they couldn't be seen by everyone while they were...were...doing whatever it was that they were doing. She stole one last glance at Ron before the two of them regained their composure and started directing the second years up to their dormitories.

***

Some minutes later, Ron climbed the stairs to his dormitory. He could hear the voices of his fellow fifth-years from the Common Room. He winced - they were discussing his fight with Malfoy. Ron tried to sneak into the room without being noticed, but obviously his roommates weren't about to let that happen.

"Ron, what was that down there?"

"Yeah, you almost got yourself in trouble with Umbridge!"

"And over what, exactly?"

"Hermione!" Dean and Seamus laughed together. Harry snickered, and pointed at Ron.

"Ron's got a love bite!" Ron wished Harry wouldn't have come back from his talk with Hagrid so soon.

"I do not!" he yelled, "Malfoy bit me!"

"Sure, Malfoy," Seamus mocked, "and I suppose he bit Hermione too?" He hadn't...when they were kissing...she wouldn't...would she? Glaring at his roommates, Ron closed the curtains around his bed.

"I need to study," he said crossly, "and I don't need you idiots disturbing me."

"Oh, so now he studies," Dean said, "Apparently, Hermione's a good influence on him."

Ron tried to frown into his curtains, but found that he couldn't. The frown slowly made its way into a smile, and then a full-out grin.

He had kissed Hermione.

And she had liked it.