Hermione's POV

The last week flew by very quickly, as did rumors on the Yule Ball. I was very excited to hear about it, and I was hoping that Y/N would be the one to ask me.

Laura already had her classes and was going with Zacharias Smith. I hope Ron isn't too upset about that. Selena even picked up a date with Draco Malfoy as well. I don't know why, but I'm not one to judge.

However, I have been slightly nervous the last week. Y/N hasn't been spending too much time with me, not as much as he used to anyway. I'm sure it's nothing big however.

On top of that, Viktor Krum has been in the library consistently this past week for whatever reason, I'm not sure why Ron thinks so highly of him, or anyone for that matter. Krum is just a Quidditch player.

And a very creepy one at that.

Towards the end of the week, I was in the library studying with Selena and Leo Marcel. She had asked Ginny to the ball a day prior and was very excited about going.

And a certain Bulgarian Quidditch player had also decided to creepily sit next to our table.

"What is this? The fourth time this week he's decided to pop in?" Selena groaned in disgust.

"Oi!" Leo exclaimed. "Go bother someone else."

"Vut did you say?" Krum asked.

"I said beat it, pumpkin head."

Krum turned away with a scowl on his face, grabbing his things and making his way out of the library.

"Thank you for that." I said as Leo nodded.

A few minutes later, Y/N walked into the library with something behind his back, he was wearing a very nice shirt to go along with it. I wonder why?

"Well don't you look nice?" Selena said to him, smirking in my direction. "Wouldn't you agree, Mione?"

"Uh-I- uh, y- yes, really nice." I stuttered.

"Good to see you guys." Y/N smiled before turning towards me. "Mione, can I ask you something real quick? In private?"

Is this what I think it is?

"Sure Y/N." I said as he walked me over to the restricted section of the library.

"Have fun, kids!" Leo shouted towards us. Madam Pince silencing her as we moved away.

"Right here is good." Y/N said once we made it to the section.

"What's up?" I smiled.

"So I was thinking." He said rather nervously. "The Yule Ball is coming up and I need a date, especially since I'm a champion."

Oh, Merlin. It's happening.

"Yes?" I asked in anticipation.

"And you don't have to say yes if you don't want to." He said before taking a deep breathe.

"Hermione, would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?" He said quietly while pulling the object behind his back, which was a bouquet of flowers.

I heard what he said, but it was rather quiet and I wanted him to ask again.

"Y/N, you spoke too quietly." I said. "Would you mind repeating that."

His face went deep red.

"Right, sorry." He said. "What I was saying was, would you like to be my date to the Yule Ball."

"I understand if you have a date already or don't want to go with me, I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask-"

"Yes." I said with a smirk.

"And there are definitely some better options then me.......I'm sorry what?" He asked in confusion.

"I would love to go to the Ball with you, Y/N." I said while throwing my arms around him. "There's no one else I would rather go with."

"Wha-that's wonderful." He smiled. "Thank you so much, Mione."

He then handed me the flowers, which were an abundance of colors and looked very nice.

"Thank you so much, Mione." He said while hugging me. "I'll see you later, okay?"

He kissed my forehead before walking out of the library with glee. I swear I could see him click his heels on the way out.

I was happy, I was going to the Yule Ball with my crush. Any worries I had were completely washed away from this specific moment.

I decided to head back to tell the girls what had just happened, only to see them hiding behind a bookshelf, eavesdropping.

We all screamed silently with glee, we all had dates to the Yule Ball, and I happened to be going with my crush.

Maybe then, I'll be able to tell him how I feel.

Y/Ns POV

Wow, that's a relief.

I had kept my distance from Hermione these past few days in order to get everything ready for my Yule Ball proposal. It was a bit risky, since I've noticed that Viktor Krum had been stalking her everywhere she went. I had to ask her before he could even ge the chance.

And I'm glad I did before that egghead could.

The day after I asked Hermione to the ball, the both of us were in the library studying together.

Well trying to at least.

"I lettered my Dad last night asking for extra galleons." I said. "This weekend I'll be able to get my suit together."

"Which I'm sure you will look very dashing in." Hermione smiled while blushing.

"Well, that's the plan at least." I replied. "You got your dress picked out?"

"That is a surprise." Hermione smirked. "You won't get to see it until the night of the ball."

"I'm sure it will look very nice."

Me and Hermione continued talking, until a certain egghead decided to come and interrupt us.

"Eh hem." Krum cleared his throat, announcing his presence.

"What do you want?" I asked angrily.

"I vish to speak to Hermy-oh-ninny." He said before glaring in my direction.

"Alone."

"Um, sure Viktor." Hermione said in confusion. "Would you excuse me for a moment, Y/N?"

"Take your time." I replied. "I'll be right here."

Hermione nodded before setting off with Krum, who smirked smugly in my direction.

I don't know why, but I didn't like what he had planned. So instead of staying at our table, I decided to get a little closer to their conversation.

"Hello, Hermy-Oh-Ninny." Krum said in his usual gruffly voice.

He sure does have a small brain, or else he would learn how to pronounce her name properly.

"Er, hello Viktor." Hermione said nervously. "What's up?"

"I vas vondering if you vould accompany me to the Yule Ball." He said.

That little bitch.

Now I'm very happy that I asked Hermione when I did.

"Oh, um, that's really nice of you to ask, Viktor." Hermione said.

"So it iz settled!" Krum interrupted with glee. "You vill go to the ball vith me."

"No, that's not what I'm trying to say." Hermione said. "I already had someone ask me yesterday, and I already said yes."

Krum's expression changed from joy into pure rage.

Is it weird that I'm enjoying this?

"Vat?" Krum asked in confusion, as if it was an insult if someone said no to him. "Who vas it?"

"I'm really sorry, Viktor." Hermione replied. "I'm sure you'll find someone."

She turned to come back to our table, until Krum did something that infuriated me.

He grabbed Hermione's arm harshly, turning her back towards him.

"Is it L/N?" He asked Hermione angrily.

"Please let me go." Hermione said quietly. "You're hurting me."

"Vat does he have that I do not?" Krum asked, not letting go of Hermione."

"Well for starters, he knows how to keep his hands to himself." Hermione replied.

"Please reconsider." Krum said to Hermione, continuing to hold her arm. "Go vith me."

"Let me go!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to wiggle her way out of Krums grasp.

I had about enough of this.

"Hey!" I jumped from behind the bookshelf. "Let her go."

"This doesn't concern you." Krum said angrily.

"Actually it does." I said, walking closer and closer. "Get your damn hands off of her, and get out of here, Krum."

"Or vat?"

I grabbed Krums collar, slamming him into the bookshelf while Hermione freed herself.

"Or else, you're gonna have to be carried out." I whispered dangerously. Not before letting go of his collar and letting him drop.

Krum stood up from the ground, brushing himself off before staring us down angrily.

He then stormed out of the library in anger.

Merlin, I despise that prick.

"Are you okay?" I asked Hermione, who nodded her head slowly. I could tell she was a bit frightened over what had transpired.

"We don't have to stay here." I said while holding her close. "We can go to the common room if you'd like?"

"That would be nice." Hermione said.

We gathered our things and made our way back to the common room together hand in hand, where we stayed the rest of the night.

-
I was with Hermione the next day. After what had happened yesterday, I decided to stay with her at all times, so that Krum doesn't hurt her again.

We were in Snape's class, where Ron and Harry were moping because they didn't have any dates.

"This is mad!" Ron exclaimed. "At this rate, we'll be the only ones in our year without dates!"

Snape came around and slapped Ron over the head. "Well us three and Neville."

"No idea what you're talking about." I smirked.

"You have a date?" Harry said. "Who?"

"She's sitting right next to me." I turned towards Hermione, winking at her as she blushed a heavy red.

"Well good on you, mate." Harry nodded.

"Speaking of, Neville happens to have a date as well." Hermione said. "And none other than Luna Lovegood."

Ron laid his head on the table. "Now I'm really depressed."

"You hear who your sisters are going with, Ron?" I asked the boy, who looked up to glare at me.

"Dont remind me."

Ginny had been asked by Leo Marcel, a Slytherin girl, and Heather had been asked by Tom a few days ago to the ball, and Ron wasn't too happy about his both of his sisters going with Slytherins.

"Oi, Laura." Ron called over as the Hufflepuff passed our table. "You're a girl."

"You don't say." Laura said sarcastically.

"Come on." Ron said. "It's one thing for a bloke to show up alone. For a girl it's just sad."

"Did he just?" Harry asked me.

"He did." I facepalmed.

"I won't be going alone because believe it or not, someone's already asked me!" Laura said as she turned her book back into Snape.

"And I said yes!"

She then stormed out of the classroom as Ron turned back towards Harry.

"Bloody hell."

"You are such an idiot." Hermione said to Ron, who ignored her.

"We just have to grit our teeth and do it." Ron said. "Tonight when we get back to our common room, we'll both have partners. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Harry replied.

"Good luck with that, lads." I said as I brought back me and Hermione's books into Snape and left the room.

-

The day of the Yule Ball was inching closer and closer, and with that, more and more people found dates. Sam, Kieran, and Axel managed to find dates with Beaubaxtons girls, Sam going with the same girl we met at the World Cup.

Pansy and Mia were going together as well, since they are a couple. Luke and Katie Bell were going together, and even Andy picked up a date in Polo Windsor.

The same could not be said for Harry and Ron, who were having a lot of bad luck on their side.

Harry had tried asking Cho Chang at Hogsmeade, who had to turn him down as she was going with Cedric, he even tried asking Selena but she was already going with Draco since he asked her a few weeks ago. This severely disappointed him.

Today, we were in the common room lounging around. I was listening to a few new songs by Nirvana on my Walkman next to Hermione, and Harry was on a chair across from us.

Dobby and Winky had paid us a visit to tell us that Dumbledore had given them jobs. Dobby even gave me and Harry a pair of socks each. Mine were very comfortable, so I put them in my drawer upstairs.

Ron had been moping around ever since he found out Laura had a date to the ball. I never really liked Zacharias Smith in the first place either, he was always a nuisance in Quidditch, but he did ask Laura first.

Ron came in a few minutes later, looking like he had just seen a ghost as Heather and Ginny followed him in.

Which wouldn't be the most unusual thing, as we see ghosts everyday at Hogwarts.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked.

"He just tried to ask Fleur out." Heather added, leading Ron to a chair in the common room.

Fleur was undoubtedly pretty, so for Ron to try something that every other guy has wanted to do, that's pretty wicked.

"Well, what did she say?" I asked.

"No, of course." Ginny said.

But Ron shook his head. "Wait, she said yes?" We all asked.

"There she was walking by." Ron croaked. "You know I like it when they walk."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Heather groaned.

"I couldn't help it, it sort of slipped out." Ron finished.

"Actually, he sort of screamed at her." Ginny added. "It was quite frightening."

"Well, what happened then?" I asked.

"What else?" Ron said. "I ran for it. I'm not cut out for this guys. I don't know what's gotten into me."

"Well you better hurry up and find dates." Hermione retorted, who was gently petting Gracie on her lap. "The ball is coming quickly."

"Thanks for the reminder."

Suddenly, Parvati and Padma Patil rounded the corner. Which gave me an idea.

"Boys." I said. "Come with me."

"Hey Parvati." I asked. "Do you and your sister have dates to the ball?"

"We don't actually." She smiled. "Would you like to go with me?"

"I have a date, actually." I said as Parvartis face fell. "But let me show you some candidates for the occasion."

I pulled Harry and Ron to my sides as Parvati smiled.

"I'll tell Padma." She replied as she walked off happily.

"You're welcome." I told the two as I went to sit down next to Hermione."

-
The day of the Yule Ball had finally arrived and to kick things off, we began a big snowball fight with Fred and George.

When five o'clock rolled around, Hermione, Ginny, Selena, and Heather announced they were leaving to go get ready for the ball. We decided to stay outside for an hour later. Probably not a good idea but it's Christmas.

By the time six o'clock arrived, we had went back to our dorms. I was getting my dress robes together that I had received from my Uncle, I even had a tie alongside other things.

The tie was an absolute nightmare to put on, but eventually I got it to work.

Ron on the other hand, was surveying himself in the mirror, his robes were full of frills and in a very interesting color.

"I would have been better off just going naked." Ron groaned.

"Nobody wants to see that, mate." Charlie commented.

"Don't worry, Ron. It really brings out your.....personality." I said, trying to make things better.

"Shut up, Y/N."

Raymond ended up fixing his frills so the robes would look more suitable, before going off to find his date.

Harry, Ron, and I made our way to the Great Hall to find our dates. Ron however, was still complaining about the way his dress robes looked.

"Would you leave it alone!" Harry exclaimed.

"You'd be doing the same thing if your robes were ancient." Ron argued.

"Mate, nobodies going to care what your robes look like." I sighed as we entered the Great Hall. Where we met up with Parvati and Padma.

"Hello, boys." They said as Padma stared at Ron's robes.

"Don't you look............dashing." She said.

"You were saying?" Ron asked me angrily. He then escorted Parvati to the Great Hall since he wasn't a champion or a date to a champion.

"Hermione is one lucky lady to be going with you." Parvati said to me. "You look nice!"

"Thanks, Parvati." I said. "It's going to be a fun night."

Over time, people had started to arrive with their dates. Luke and Katie, Ginny and Leo, Heather and Tom, Mia and Pansy, Sam and Natasha, Thea and her date August Beckett, Axel and his date, Kieran and Summer, and Selena and Draco, who gave Harry a smug look as he went inside the Great Hall.

And of course, the champions had arrived as well. Cedric came along with Cho Chang, Fleur came along with Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, and last but not least, Viktor Krum who had come with Antoinette Henry herself.

Although he didn't look too happy and instead dragged her over to the others.

Antoinette gave me a small smile, and even though she had tried to seduce me in the bathroom months ago, I felt bad for her.

Mum came around to each champion. "Are you all ready?" She asked us.

"For what?" Harry asked to Parvati's annoyance.

"To dance!" Mum exclaimed. "It's traditional that the three champions..well in this case, five are the first to dance. I told you this already, Mr. Potter."

Mum then turned to me. "You look very dashing tonight, Y/N. Where is Miss Granger."

"Probably realized she made a big mistake in voing vith him." Krum smirked to the others annoyance.

"Shove off, pumpkin head." Roger said angrily. "I heard about what you did, you're lucky Y/N didn't do worse."

A/N: Roger getting his minutes in

Krum glared at us angrily, before dragging Antoinette harshly to the entrance.

"She should be getting ready." I said to Mum. "Hopefully here soon."

"She will be." Mum reassured. "I'm looking forward to watching the two of you dance."

Mum left to tend to the others, as Harry, Parvati and I continued talking, when suddenly out of nowhere, Parvati spoke up.

"She looks beautiful."

All of us turned towards the stairs to see a beautiful figure walking down the stairs.

It was Hermione.

She had done something with her hair. No longer the bushiness we had gotten used to, but it was now sleek and shiny, twisted into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She wore a dress of floaty blue material. She was even wearing the necklace I had give her last year for her birthday. Above all, she was absolutely gorgeous.

A/N: The pink dress is iconic but the blue doesn't get used enough

I have to be the luckiest guy in this entire hall.

"Wow." I said simply as Hermione descended down the steps. "You look beautiful, Hermione."

"Thank you, Y/N." Hermione blushed as we locked eyes. "You look very handsome."

"Shall we go?" I asked, lifting my hand to which she giggled.

"We shall." She said as she took my hand.

The champions went in order, Krum with Antoinette, who was not looking happy, Cedric and Cho, Fleur and Roger, Harry with Parvati and finally, Hermione and I.

The hall looked amazing. The walls were covered in sparkling frost, with garlands of mistletoe and ivy across the crystal colored ceiling. The house tables were removed, and in its place were hundreds of smaller tables.

Walking in, people were looking and gawking as we walked by.

"Wait, is that Y/N L/N?"

"He looks good."

"I want him in my bed!"

"His date looks really pretty."

"They look so cute."

Many voices were talking at once, even Draco Malfoy was speechless, and that's saying a lot.

Mum led us to a large table as the rest of the hall continued to clap. Although something was wrong, Crouch wasn't present, and in his place was none other than Percy Weasley.

Great.

When we reached the table, Percy pulled out two chairs to his sides. I really didn't want to sit next to him but at the same time, I didn't want to be rude. So I sat down next to him.

"I've been promoted." Percy said pompously. "I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm representing him."

"Mate, I just sat down." I sighed. "Besides, why didn't he come himself?"

"I'm afraid to say Mr. Crouch isn't doing too well, not well at all. Hasn't been right since the World Cup. Hardly surprising....overwork. He's not as young as he was......though still quite brilliant, of course, the mind remains as great as it ever was. But the World Cup was a fiasco for the whole Ministry, and then Mr. Crouch suffered a huge personal shock with the misbehavior of that house elf of his-"

We ended up tuning out Percy after this.

Suddenly, golden plates had appeared in front of us, along with some small menus. I looked around to see if there were any waiters, but I couldn't find any.

My questions were answered as soon as Dumbledore began talking to his menu.

"Pork chops!" He exclaimed, and suddenly, pork chops appeared on his plate.

"Chicken pie!" Cedric said, and eventually we all got the idea.

"Lasagna!" I shouted, and suddenly, a chunk of lasagna appeared on my plate."

After a while, Krum had made it his own personal business to embark in conversation with Hermione.

And she was now trying to pronounce her name.

"It's Her-my-oh-knee." She said clearly.

"Her-mi-oh-ninny." Krum replied.

"Close enough." Hermione sighed.

Krum still continued to try and talk with Hermione, not even acknowledging Antoinettes presence, who sat down sadly picking at her food.

Kakaroff made some sort of suggestive comment about Hermione to Krum, which made me glare at him as I stabbed my knife straight through my lasagna.

Hermione must have noticed me, as she grabbed my hand underneath the table and rubbed small circles.

"You have nothing to be jealous about." She said.

"Who said I'm jealous?"

"I think the giant stab wound in your lasagna proves otherwise."

"Oh, right." I said embarrassingly. "I'm sorry."

"That's quite alright." Hermione said. "Come on, it's time for us to dance."

As we made our way to the dance floor, the champions spun around to face their partners. I faced Hermione who put her hands on my shoulders as I placed my hands on her waist.

Hermione blushed a little and gave me a shy smile as we began to dance.

Eventually, Leo and Ginny walked onto the floor and began to dance themselves, which prompted everyone to do the same. Tom and Heather ended up joining us and we traded partners occasionally while going back to our original partners.

Later on, The Weird Sisters ended up performing as well. Hermione and I ended up dancing and having fun with Pansy, Selena, and Mia. It was a fun time.

Eventually, Hermione grew tired as we walked to where Harry and Ron were seated. The Patil twins had ditched them as they were sitting down and not dancing.

"Hot isn't it?" Laura said as she came near us. "Zach's gone to get us drinks with some other Durmstrangs. Care to join us?"

"No, we would not care to join you lot." Ron said rudely as we stared at him in disbelief.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Hermione asked.

"He's a Hufflepuff with Durmstrangs." Ron said angrily. "He could be telling Viktor and Cedric about Y/N and Harry! You're both........fraternizing with the enemy!"

"The enemy?" Laura snapped. "Who was it wanting Krums autograph?! Besides, the whole point of this tournament is international magical corporation, to make friends! Do you really think I want Y/N or Harry killed? And I can't believe you would consider Cedric as the enemy. I haven't told Zach anything he could tell the Durmstrang lot!"

"Glad the drama isn't about us this time." Harry whispered.

"I think they've got more than friendship on their minds." Ron said coldly as Laura ran out of the hall in tears.

I looked at Ron angrily as he didn't seem to care that she ran out.

"I'm not getting involved in this." I said. "But I can't believe you can be that dense to yell at her like that."

"I hope you realize you have lost every chance you had with her." Hermione said as she led me towards where Laura had ran.

We ended up comforting Laura for a bit before she took off with Zacharias Smith to the Hufflepuff dorms. She seemed really upset that Ron would say something like that to her, and she wasn't the only one.

After that, Hermione and I returned to the dance floor, where we continued to dance and have a good time. That is until someone decided to interrupt us.

Viktor Krum

"Hello there, Hermy-Oh-Ninny." Krum announced before turning to me.

"L/N." He said angrily.

"Egghead." I replied.

"I vas vondering if you vud accompany me for a dance." Krum said as he held his hand out to Hermione.

"Viktor, I'm busy with my date." Hermione said, putting more emphasis on the my. "Why don't you go find yours."

"It's just vone dance." Krum persisted.

Hermione turned towards me with a confused look before turning back towards Krum.

"If it'll get you to stop pestering me then fine." Hermione said. "But one dance and I got back to Y/N."

"Fine by me." Krum smirked. "Don't wait up. L/N."

Hermione turned towards me worryingly as I took her hand in reassurance.

"It'll be fine." I said. "I'll be around."

Hermione nodded before letting Krum lead her towards the dance floor.

Hermione's POV

"You vook very beautiful today, Hermy-oh-ninny." Krum said as we started to dance.

His form was very sloppy and slow, and he ended up stepping on my feet way too many times.

"Um, thank you Viktor." I said.

"Vill you not comment on my appearance?" Krum asked.

"You look fine, I guess." I said quickly before changing the subject. "Where is Antoinette?"

"Oh, I left her." Krum said. "I only vent vith her out of pity, and she wasn't very fun."

"That's awful." I exclaimed. "Why would you do that?"

As much as I didn't like Antoinette, I felt extremely horrible for how Viktor was treating her.

"Because I vanted to do this." Krum said.

And before I could question his next move, Krum pushed his lips onto mine.

Everyone around us gasped in shock as I pushed Krum off of me, slapping him across the face.

"What the hell is your problem!" I shouted angrily.

"I-I vasn't thinking!" Krum exclaimed, clearly faking. "You are so pretty, I vasn't thinking clearly."

"Oh you were thinking clearly all right." I scoffed. "I'm going back to my date now. You stay away from me, Viktor."

"Hermy-oh-ninny-"

"It's Hermione!" I shouted. "You illiterate prat!"

I walked back towards Y/N who was in shock.

"Did he just-"

"He kissed me." I said. "I didn't reciprocate."

Y/N walked me towards the Great Hall entrance, I needed to get some fresh air after what had just happened. Although I looked very upset after that.

I wanted my first kiss to be with Y/N, not a forced kiss from a Bulgarian pompous arse.

We were about to reach the exit, until we noticed Antoinette Henry sobbing on the staircase. As we saw her, Y/N gently approached her.

"Hey, Antoinette." He said. "Are you okay?"

"Oh." She said softly. "Hi Y/N, and Granger. I'm doing fine, just fine."

She then burst into tears again as we sat next to her.

"Viktor was such an arsehole." She sobbed. "He said he only brought me out of self pity and for him to look good."

"Krum is a real git." I said angrily. "Any boy would be lucky to go with you tonight."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Antoinette asked me. "I've been so horrible to you."

"It was the right thing to do I suppose." I said as she smiled.

"Thank you."

"Don't listen to Krum." Y/N said. "Hermione just slapped him across the face just now."

Antoinette giggled a bit. "That did make me feel a little bit better."

After a while of talking to Antoinette, she ended up feeling a lot better.

"I should go." She said. "I don't want to ruin you're guys night."

"You going to be okay?" Y/N asked.

"Yeah, there's this other boy I've had my eye on since I came here, and he's alone right now."

She motioned her head over towards Adrien Pucey, a Slytherin boy who was in the year above us.

"You have fun." I said to her.

"Oh believe me, I will."

She then waltzed back onto the dance floor.

A/N: Just because I like making FCs, Miguel Bernardeau as Adrian Pucey

Y/Ns POV

After that, I decided to take Hermione for a small walk outside. Just to spend some time together.

It was a little cold, and Hermione held her arms around her side while shivering. I removed my robe and placed it on her shoulders, and that must have done it as Hermione smiled gratefully.

"Such a gentleman." She teased as I rolled up my sleeves.

"Well you know me." I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"But seriously, thank you Y/N." She said as she pulled herself into my side.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Krum." I said as we continued to walk.

"It's not your fault." Hermione said. "I just wish that wasn't my first kiss."

My face fell once I realized that, once again, Krum has to ruin everything.

Looking up at the night sky, I realized something.

This was the perfect time to tell Hermione how I really felt about her.

And I can't screw this up.

"It's so pretty out here." Hermione said as she clung to my side. "Despite the cold of course."

"Cold never bothered me anyway." I shrugged.

Eventually we made it all the way up to the Astronomy Tower. It always looked really pretty at night, and tonight wasn't any different.

"Wow." Hermione said. "It's really beautiful up here."

"I come up here every once in a while to look at the constellations." I said. "It's something my Uncle used to do with me when I was younger."

"What's that one right there?" Hermione pointed toward a very large constellation, one I knew pretty well.

"That right there is Orion." I said. "Orion was this very gifted hunter who was the son of Poseidon, the God of the sea. He often hunted regularly with Artemis, who was the goddess of the Hunt. It's probably one of the most recognizable constellations ever."

"It's so beautiful." Hermione said breathlessly.

"Not as beautiful as you." I replied as Hermione blushed.

We laid there looking at the stars for a few more minutes in silence before I broke it.

"Hermione." I said. "I need to tell you something."

"What's up?" Hermione asked expectedly.

I took a deep breathe.

"I-I like you Hermione." I said. "And not just as a friend, I mean more than that."

Hermione's eyes widened.

"Y-you like me?" She asked as I nodded.

"When I first met you at the bookstore in Diagon Alley three years ago, you were the first ever friend that I made. That meant a great deal to me. It was only a few years ago when I realized I liked you more than a friend, you were petrified and I realized how much I really care about you, and last year those feelings became stronger."

"Y/N." She said. "I-I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." I said. "If you don't feel the same way, I get that. I'm just hoping this doesn't ruin anything between us. I just wanted you to know—-"

But I never did get to finish what I was saying.

Why?

Because Hermione put her hand on my cheek, and planted her lips onto mine.

We were kissing.

I was surprised at first but woke up and realized that I needed to kiss back, I slowly melted into it and did just that while wrapping my arms around her waist.

The oxygen became much needed as we pulled away. Hermione still had her arms around my neck as she smiled widely.

"I like you too, Y/N." She said. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that."

I smiled before kissing her softly once again.

"So, Mione." I said as we pressed our foreheads together. "You want to be my girlfriend?"

"I would love to." Hermione smiled before we started to snog once more.

                                            -

After a long while of dancing and snogging, Hermione grew very tired.

Someone's obviously ready for bed.

"Carry me." Hermione said tiredly as she slumped onto my chest.

"Your wish is my command." I said before carrying her bridal style down the stairs.

As we arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione started to stir in my arms.

"Y/N?" She said tiredly. "Are we back already?"

"We are, Mione." I said as I kissed her forehead.

"I don't want to go." Hermione whined. "I want to spend time with my boyfriend."

"I want that also." I smiled. "But if I try to walk up the girls steps, I'll probably end up getting hurt. I promise, tomorrow we will spend time together."

"Okay." Hermione sighed. Before she could walk upstairs however, I bent down to kiss her.

We both smiled into the kiss as we broke apart for air.

"I could get used to that." Hermione smirked with her arms around my neck.

"Me too." I smiled. "Goodnight, Mione, sweet dreams."

"Goodnight, Y/N."

She pecked my lips once more before walking upstairs to her dormitory. I swear I could hear her squeal from the outside.

I smiled as I unwinded onto the couch.

I couldn't believe it, the girl I've fancied since second year liked me as well, and now she's my girlfriend.

This was undoubtedly a fantastic night.

I didn't want to deal with Ron right now as I was still upset with him over his behavior earlier, so I decided to sleep on the couch.

As I started to drift asleep, a small bit of weight plopped down on my stomach. It was Gracie.

"Hey, girl." I said as I stroked her fur. "You have a good night?"

Gracie purred in response as she curled up on my stomach, trying to get some sleep herself.

"Yeah, mine was pretty great too."

Words: 6062

A/N: Okay, you are probably wondering where the hell I have been the last few months. The simple answer? Life happened. The last few months have been very stressful and I've dealt with quite a bit. I even had a near death experience a month ago when I went back to school. So yeah.

But enough of that, the point is I am back. And I'm hoping to have a lot more updates for this book and all of my others.

Once again, I apologize for the long absence, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!