The silence in black in white.

Up in the dormitory, Ginny sat on Hermione’s bed, listening at the brown haired girl finished her story, solemnly and regretfully. The younger girl was overcome with joy when she’d found out that Hermione was in love with Ron, but her mood quickly disappeared and was replaced with worry and alarm when Hermione continued with her story.

“Oh, Hermione…” Ginny whispered, reaching out to take the older girls hands. “How long has this been going on?”

Hermione watched as the girl motioned to her arms, and she shrugged absentmindedly. “For a while, I suppose. It’s more of an impulsive thing.. When I get mad, angry, or frustrated, I get blinded by those feelings and I inflict this,” Lifting her arms up vertically in front of her, she continued. “self harm.”

“But Hermione, I wouldn’t have ever thought that…”

“Thought what? That Know-It-All Hermione Granger wouldn’t ever do something like this? Something as stupid as self mutilation?” Hermione said hurriedly, feeling her face heat up. She saw Ginny nod, then turn her head away as if ashamed of thinking that, her red hair cascading over her face. “Look, Ginny. I can’t help it...”

“Yes you can.” The other girl whispered, scooting closer to her friend and now looking her eye to eye. “I can help you, Hermione, if you want.”

“Help me?”

Hermione watched as a wicked grin appeared on her face. “Yes and with Ron also.”

The fourth year choked on the air she had been breathing in. “You mean, you’d help me with Ron?!”

“Of course.” Ginny giggled. “Oh, this is going to be fun! But… Hermione, can you promise me something?”

Hermione looked at her friend, her eyes large and pleading and she sighed. “I guess.. You promised me you wouldn’t tell anyone about this, so I guess it’s my turn to promise you something.”

The red head smiled again, jumping up off the bed. “Hermione, promise me you won’t cut anymore.”

She was quiet. Ginny was asking too much of her… but then again, she did promise not to tell. “Fine, I promise I won’t cut anymore.” She felt like a burden had been placed on her.

“Great! Now, about Ron.”

“How’re you going to help me with him?” Hermione asked sheepishly, her face a deep shade of red now.

“Did you want him to find out automatically? I mean, with the Yule Ball coming up and all… Wait! What about Victor?”

Hermione’s dead dropped to her hands and she covered her face with her fingers. “Oh.. I don’t know what to do about him…” she mumbled into her palms. “He’s not really what I want, if you get what I mean…”

“I understand.” Ginny placed a hand on Hermione’s shoulders. “Well, maybe I can get some girl to woo over him, and maybe he’ll change his mind.”

“You think you can do that?” Hermione questioned, lifting her head up, hope glinting in her large brown eyes.

“Yes, and we won’t have to worry about Ron.. He hasn’t gotten a date yet.” Ginny snorted and Hermione giggled slightly.

Was this really going to happen? Was she going to be able to get Ron to notice her, finally? She wanted to trust Ginny in this, but maybe she shouldn’t put her hopes up too much…

“Hermione, what kind of girl are you? Romantic or just, down to the point?” Ginny asked out of nowhere.

“Huh?” This confused the fourth year, and she stared questionably at her friend.

“You know. If you were to get Ron’s attention, would you do it in a romantic way? Or a seductive way? Or, maybe you’d just get to the point?” Ginny said thoughtfully.

“Uh.. Well.” Hermione blushed furiously. “Well.. Now, don’t make fun of me, but I’ve always thought about romantic things, so I guess I would do things in a romantic way.”

“Oh.” Ginny looked as if she wanted to dance now. “This is going to be fun.”

“You’re having too much fun with this already.” Hermione laughed.

“Yes, I know, but it is my brother and one of my best friends.” The red-head said happily. “You know, I think we should clean up in here a bit…”

The older girl stared at her surrounding room and took notice to the blood and vomit. “Yeah…”

Taking out her wand and waving it about, she cleaned up the mess on the floor, window, and on her bed.

“You need to clean up, yourself.” Ginny said pointedly and Hermione nodded.

“I can’t go to the bathrooms though, Harry and Ron will ask questions of why I’ve been gone all day…” Hermione said, more to herself than to Ginny.

“Don’t worry. Just change into something that isn’t… bloody…”

Hermione smiled sadly to herself and turned away from Ginny, in search of a shirt to put on. She found a black sweater and changed into it, carefully slipping her arms through the sleeves and then placing her previously worn sweater under her bed so as not to have anyone see it and ask questions.

“Ready?” Ginny piped in her usually cheery voice, and Hermione nodded again, heading towards the door with Ginny at her heels.

When the two girls went downstairs, Hermione was pleased to see that her two friends were asleep near the fireplace, Harry sprawled out on the floor and Ron, twitching and mumbling, in an armchair. She smiled inwardly, watching Ron, then walked past them, slipping out of the portrait hole quietly with Ginny following her, and they dashed to the girls bathroom together.

After entering the bathroom, Ginny hopped up onto one of the many sinks, swinging her legs backwards and forwards while watching Hermione, who was slightly breathless from the run due to the loss of her own blood earlier. The older girl seemed hesitant at first, as she stood in front of a sink next to Ginny, but she eventually pulled up her sleeves one by one, exposing her scars for the younger girl to see.

The newer cuts hadn’t healed but they weren’t bleeding anymore. None looked infected, Hermione noted, and she began to wash off the dried blood that was caked on her arms.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.. Sort of, but that’s why I cut…” Hermione whispered, though they were alone.

“But why?” Ginny asked, peering at her fellow Gryffindor.

“I told you why. It’s an impulsive action. Feeling physical pain takes my mind away from the pain I suffer emotionally.” Hermione mumbled.

“What are you suffering emotionally?” The other girls voice was curious, sincere.

“Well.. Ginny, I can’t stand it anymore. Everyone thinks my life is perfect… but it’s not. The only thing that is perfect is my grades.” She grimaced. “There’s more to life than brains, as you probably know. No one really sees me other than the know-it-all that I act like. I want people to see the real me, accept me other than what they think I am. I want to act myself, and not be afraid of what others think. I mean, Harry and Ron finally realized that I’m a girl only just recently.”

Ginny was overcome with a fit of giggles, causing Hermione to glare at her.

“S-Sorry.” The girl choked out finally. “But I can’t believe you’d take th-that seriously. Ron and Harry can be so dim sometimes.”

Despite her feelings, Hermione couldn’t help but grin as she watched her friend wipe tears from her eyes. “You’re right.”

Turning back to her arms, Hermione scrubbed at them gently with soap, avoiding the newer cuts. “So… Ginny, how are you going to help me with Ron?” The thought was nagging at her now, and she had to find out.

“Well, I was thinking on the way here, but, since you’re the romantic type, after we get rid of Victor…” The girl paused thoughtfully, as if piecing her thoughts together. “I was thinking.. You could write Ron love letters, and right before the Ball, you can ask him to wait for you somewhere, and you’ll meet up.”

Hermione contemplated on Ginny’s words. The idea didn’t seem bad, not bad at all. “But Ron knows my handwriting.”

“Disguise it.” The other girl said easily.

After a few minutes of the girls chatting about what the plan was, Hermione finished cleaning up, the two headed back towards the Gryffindor common room.

On the way back, Hermione couldn’t help but go through the plan again. It seemed perfect, romantic, just the way Hermione liked it. First, Ginny said she was going to get rid of Victor, and the fourth year had put her trust in her on it. After that was over, Hermione was going to write Ron a letter, confessing her love to him. Possibly, he’d write back, but if not, she’d just continue sending him anonymous letters until two days before the Ball, then she would ask him to wait for her in a specific place.

When they walked through the portrait whole a little while later, it was deserted. Everyone had gone up to bed, including Ron. Ginny said she was tired herself, and headed off to bed with a goodnight and thanks from Hermione.

But the brown-haired girl was anything but tired. She sat down in the seat that Ron had been previously sleeping in, and pulled a piece of stranded parchment towards her, grabbed an abandoned quill and bottle of ink, probably Ron’s, and began scratching down her first letter to him.

To Ron:

Hermione paused, scratched that out, and thought. She didn’t want to put something that seemed formal.. It was supposed to be romantic.

“This is going to take awhile.” Hermione said to herself, then sat there alone, thinking and writing.

================================================================

Morning finally came and people started to come down from their rooms. Hermione stretched out in the comfortable chair and let out a quiet yawn. She looked out of the window, seeing that the snow had finally stopped falling from the white clouds above, and she smiled knowingly to herself. She’d finally finished the letter and was about to go up to the owlery to have an owl send it to Ron for breakfast.

She stood up, stretching her arms up over her head, then she picked up the parchment that she had written the letter on, along with the other pieces of discarded parchment, tucked them into her pocket and then slipped out of the portrait hole.

She was semi-pleased with the results of the letter, but she felt that it was a bit childish. She was clueless about thinking of what to write and she had no experience about love. What if Ron ignored the letter, thinking it was just some game? Hermione was scared of thinking about what rejection would do to her. But she was determined to continue sending him these letters.

Soon, the fourth year found herself outside of the owlery, pulling open the door. When she stepped inside, she was greeted by the quiet hoots of the owls and the fluttering of wings. She looked around for a moment, then called down one of the schools barn owls. The owl perched itself on her arm and she tied the parchment to its leg.

“This is to go to Ronald Weasley.” She said to it, stroking its feathers gently. It hooted at her happily then flew up to the rafters again. “I just hope he accepts it.”

================================================================

Ron woke up from a pleasant dream when Harry threw his pillow at him. “Wassat’?” Ron mumbled sleepily, sitting up in bed.

“Get up Ron, time for breakfast.” Harry said, pulling on his days clothes.

“Alright, alright. Keep your knickers on… mum.” He said, then dodged another pillow that flew at him.

Ron got up and undressed behind his curtains while Harry struggled to put on his robes. Pulling on a pair of jeans, Ron stared around, remembering the dream he’d just had.

xxxxxxxxDreamxxxxxxxx
Ron sat in the common room by himself, working on a nasty essay for Snape‘s class. (Original, huh?) He finally gave up, putting down his quill and sighed, when he heard someone coming down the stairs to the girls dormitories. He glanced up, then froze when he saw Hermione walk down the staircase slowly.

Ron watched wide-eyed as Hermione moved closer to him. She wore a light blue nightgown that clung to her body in just the right places, making her curves show out noticeably. Her brown curls hung neatly over her shoulders and her eyes sparkled with something that Ron couldn’t distinguish.

He stood up as she approached him but she pushed him gently back down in his chair. He stared up at her, confused at her actions, but was shocked when she moved herself onto his lap so that she was straddling him.

“Oh, Ron…” She whispered in his ear, then bit down on his earlobe, causing Ron to let out a soft moan, despite himself.

He placed his hands on the girls thighs, unsure of what she would do and unsure of what to do.

“Hermione?” He questioned, not knowing what she was doing.

“Hush.” She said, pulling back from his ear to stare at him, then he realized what he’d seen in her eyes moments before. Lust. She smiled at him, though not with the usual smile that she used. This one held more meaning, a secret.

Before Ron could do or say anything, she’d pressed her lips to his firmly, her hands now roaming under his shirt and on his chest. He gasped quietly as he felt her cold fingertips against his chest but quickly subdued his surprise. Kissing her back, he hesitantly ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking permission to enter her mouth.

Willingly, she parted her lips slightly, allowing him to probe her mouth with his tongue. God’s, she tasted wonderful, Ron thought to himself, his eyes now closed. He let his hands wander up from her thighs so that they rested on her hips causing her to shift in his lap.

Oh lord, Ron’s mind shouted. He was beginning to feel himself become aroused, with the pressure of the girl on his lower parts, the closeness of her, and the soft moans that issued from her left him feeling light headed.

Before he knew it, Hermione had pulled his shirt off of his torso, tossing it aside so that it lay crumpled on the floor. The cool air of the room felt awkward against his bare chest, but her hands quickly took place of his shirt. As quickly as she’d taken off his shirt, he’d moved his own hands up her nightgown leaving her lower body exposed and then moved his hands slowly up towards her sides and feeling every curve of her waist.

He felt her shiver under his touch and that encouraged him. He gripped the bottom of her nightgown then gradually pulled it up and over her head, letting it fall onto the floor behind her. Now, she sat almost naked in front of him, only wearing black panties. Ron gaped at her body in his dream, his mouth opened in shock but she quickly dipped her head down, locking her lips with his in another kiss.

The boy now let his hands move upwards towards her chest, then gently cupped his hands over her breasts, lightly caressing them. By now, he was completely aroused… and extremely hard. Hermione obviously noticed this, also, and she moved her hands down to the ban of his jeans.

Ron held his breath as she slowly, almost leisurely unbuttoned his pants then pulled the zipper down…

xxxxxxxxEnd Dreamxxxxxxxx

Ron just pulled on his shirt, cursing under his breath. The dream had been such a great dream, and Harry had ruined it by throwing a pillow at him. Not even breakfast seemed as worth it as that dream was.

Then he paused. This was Hermione that he was thinking about. Hermione. Shaking his head, Ron pulling on his Hogwarts robes and walked with Harry out of the room. When they went into the common room, Hermione wasn’t anywhere in sight, and Ron was actually thankful for that because if he saw her, he might recall his dream.

He didn’t want Hermione to think of him as a pervert, because he was anything but that. He looked sideways at Harry, but he seemed to be lost in his own train of thoughts, and Ron didn’t blame him, with the whole Triwizard Tournament thing.

As they walked down to breakfast, Ron had just sat down when Hermione appeared out of nowhere, walking towards them.

“Morning, Ron, Harry.” She smiled at them, and Ron noticed a slight blush appear on her face when she looked at him.

Ron froze, thinking she knew about the dream, but then blushed himself, knowing she couldn’t possibly have found out about it.

“Hello, ‘Mione.” Harry said, piling sausage onto his plate.

“Morning, Hermione.” Ron yawned, copying Harry and piling his plate up with sausage, along with eggs.

Hermione took a seat next to Ron but didn’t even bother getting food. Ron stared at her for a moment, mouth full of egg, then he swallowed and was about to ask her if she was hungry when the morning mail arrived.

Usually, Ron didn’t bother even looking up when the mail came, but Hermione had suddenly looked up and he did to, just in time to see a barn owl swoop down towards him, then it landed with a clatter in front of him, causing a jug of pumpkin juice to fall over.

“Blimey, bloody birds.” Ron said, untying the piece of parchment from the owls outstretched leg.

He looked at Harry for a moment, who shrugged at him to open it, then he turned to Hermione, who glanced at him for a moment, then looked down at her empty plate. “Who’d be sending me a letter? I didn’t do anything that mum would write about, have I?”

“Dunno’, just open it up and see.” Harry said, waiting for him to look.

“It doesn’t have an address or anything…” Ron said, then he unrolled it and read.

Dear Ronald,
Oh, how I wish I could tell you this in person, but I’m too shy and scared to do so. Being the person I am, I could never confess anything like this to you in person, not yet anyway. What you are about to read, are the feelings of a lonely, desperate girl. Ronald Weasley, I want to confess to you the love that I hold in my heart for you, and only you. I long to hold you in my arms, and for you to accept me as I am, and not what you think of me, or what other people say about me. I wish to be the one holding your hand while walking down corridors, and the one that you look forward to seeing every day. I could only hope to be the one that puts a smile on your face. I want to be the one that you would share your secrets with. I love your smile, your humor, the way you are. Everything about you puts a smile on my face. If only you knew who I was and saw me in the same way…
Love, always.

Ron gaped at the piece of parchment, unbelievably. Harry had been reading over his shoulder, then he looked at Ron a grin spreading over his face.

“Looks like you’ve got a secret admirer.” He said, giving Ron a playful punch on the shoulder.

“But.. But…” Ron was lost of all words. This had to be a joke. “Is this for real?”

“Who’d play a joke like that, Ron?” Said Hermione, who had just looked at the letter over his shoulder. She sounded unlike herself, but Ron pushed that thought aside. He was more worried about the letter.

“I don’t know… it just doesn’t seem right.” The red-head said awkwardly, then smiled. “Should I give this a chance?”

He looked desperately at Harry, who smiled again. “I would.”

Ron turned to look at Hermione and ask her opinion, but when he opened his mouth, he realized that she had disappeared again.

“Where does she keep wondering off to?” He said in a frustrated tone that he hadn’t meant.

“She’s probably got more things to worry about. With Victor and all.” His friend replied, then stuffed a sausage in his mouth.

Ron’s face turned red at the thought of Victor and Hermione. He still hated how she’d agreed to go with that guy, but what was he supposed to do about it?

Looking back to the letter, he read it again. He hoped it wasn’t a joke. Something inside of him wanted it to be real, but something else made him uneasy. He had no clue what this girl looked like, he hadn’t even gotten a clue of who she was. He’d had no idea that anyone was interested in him, but still…

By the end of breakfast, Hermione hadn’t showed back up, and Ron had decided he was going to write back to this anonymous person. It wouldn’t hurt to try and find out who it was.

So the day went on, with Ron thinking of what he was to write back to the person, Hermione avoiding them, and images of his dream drifting into his mind.