Nights in December

A night in December, part 2

Hermione decided to do a full round of the school before heading to the Prefect’s Bathroom. Should she run into Filch, it would be better to do so while coming up from the dungeons rather than coming down from Gryffindor tower. This would also give her time to build up some more courage.

She thought back to that night in the Burrow. She had been so proud with herself. She had taken the first steps towards sexual discovery, and she was finally shedding the virginal image that she felt had plagued her for some time. Though she felt at the time that she could handle most of the ridicule sent her way by some of the crueller students at Hogwarts, these taunts had left her devastated.

She recalled one incident with particular clarity. Whilst nipping into the toilet one day between classes, she had been unfortunate enough to overhear Pansy Parkinson speaking to Millicent Bullstrode. Pansy had been regaling Millicent with tales of how she and Draco Malfoy had skipped a transfiguration class one day, only to make love in an empty classroom. From the sounds of it, Millicent had had similar experiences with Vincent Crabbe. Hermione’s own knowledge on the subject was sorely lacking, and she could not understand where Pansy and Millicent had managed to gather all the necessary information to actually engage sexually with someone. Though Hermione had tried to keep quiet, Pansy had realized that she was in one of the stalls, and had started taunting her. When she suddenly asked whether Ron or Harry had ever “fingered” her, Hermione did not know how to reply, and Pansy and Millicent had shrieked and cackled as they berated Hermione for being a virgin. Hermione had exited the stall with her head held high, but the memory haunted her regularly. She did not know why she should feel ashamed for never having been intimate with a boy, but for some reason others thought that she ought to be, and it affected her.

Now, finally, she had taken the first real step. She had been aware of her attraction to Ron for a long time, it was true, but his immaturity had always allowed her to hold those feelings at bay. Now, however, as he was becoming less of a man child, she felt that she could act on them, and after their encounter in Ron’s room, the path would surely be open for them to finally declare their feelings to each other.

But as Hermione passed the library and descended the stairs to the second floor, she thought back to the events that had followed over the next few months.