New Romantics | Hermione Granger Book IV

|69| Chapter Sixty-Nine

S I X T Y  N I N E 

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The final person in Saffron's dorm who was having difficulties surrounding the Yule Ball was Hermione. It wasn't her date that was the problem, as a matter of fact, Hermione had met up with Viktor in secret in the library. No, the problem was having to keep it a secret, which was quite the problem when you had someone like Ron for a friend.

What made matters worse was that Ron hadn't found a date to the Ball yet and he was getting desperate. His jealousy of Harry shone through again seeing as Harry had been asked by and rejected five girls to this point, though Saffron presumed the blow would be softened if he had found out that Harry had been rejected by the one girl he truly wanted to go with, Cho Chang, earlier that afternoon. Regardless, the scars were still there and when Saffron and Hermione walked up to the Gryffindor after dinner one day, they saw the figurative blood oozing out of it upon walking over to Harry, Ron and Ginny.

"Why weren't you two at dinner?" Hermione asked them curiously, to see a very shaken Ron laughing with Harry. Ginny, on the other hand, looked rather solemn.

"Because - oh shut up laughing, you two - because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!" said Ginny.

Instantly, Harry and Ron stopped laughing making Saffron snort. However, she frowned a second later as she didn't take pleasure in the fact they hadn't found anymore, especially considering how hilarious her failure at going with Olly was. She'd hoped they wouldn't laugh at that so she kept composed with that in mind.

"Who did you ask Ron?" Saffron enquired, noticing Ron throwing Ginny an urgent look, practically begging her not to reveal who it was.

"Fleur Delacour,"

"Thanks a bunch, Ginny," scoffed Ron sourly, glaring at his sister.

"You didn't?" Saffron clasped her hands over her face in shock. "Why?"

"I'm not getting into it again," replied Ron exhaustedly, who evidently had explained the story more than enough for his liking.

"How the tides have turned, huh, Ron?" said Hermione, rather smugly. "I suppose you'll be taking anyone who'll take you. Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."

Saffron had been watching Hermione as she ranted at Ron but when she turned to Ron she noticed a very peculiar expression etched across his face. Almost as though he was seeing a new and improved version of Hermione.

"Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl...."

Saffron winced. This wasn't going to go down well.

"Oh, well spotted,"

"Well - you can come with one of us!"

"No, I can't," snapped Hermione.

"Oh come on," Ron begged, "we need partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, it's a shame the four of us didn't agree to go together in the first place,"

"Is it though?" Saffron asked him with a furrowed brow.

"'Course it is, you'd have a much better time with us than with Dean,"

"Nice, Ron," said Ginny, shaking her head and exchanging an aghast look with Saffron.

"Well, if you're not going to bin Dean, then Hermione, you can come with me," continued Ron, not showing any display of embarrassment whatsoever. Saffron wasn't sure if she should have been impressed or worried about how casual it was for him.