Slytherins, Kisses and Other Disasters
Copyright© 2026 by Caroline Stanton
Chapter 12: The Boy Who Dared
Ron Weasley was still staring at the great doors. Harry Potter and Victoria Crabbe had disappeared through them nearly a minute earlier, walking hand in hand towards Hogsmeade, and Ron had yet to recover. Hermione, standing beside him, was beginning to find his expression rather amusing.
“Ron.”
Nothing.
“Ron.”
He blinked.
“What?”
“You can stop staring now.”
Ron turned towards her.
“Did you see that?”
Hermione sighed.
“Yes, Ron. I was standing beside you.”
“He was holding her hand.”
“I noticed.”
“Crabbe’s hand.”
“Yes.”
“Harry Potter was holding Victoria Crabbe’s hand.”
Hermione folded her arms.
“Ron, repeating it isn’t going to make it any less true.”
Ron shook his head.
“Bloody hell.”
Hermione glanced towards the doors. She’d known Harry was taking Victoria to Hogsmeade. She’d been standing beside him when Victoria had accepted his invitation, after all. But she hadn’t expected such a spectacular entrance. Victoria had descended the staircase looking almost unrecognizable. Not because her face had changed. Her striking features, long black hair, and tall, powerful figure were unmistakable. But Hermione had never seen her dressed like that.
The fitted red jumper, short black skirt, tights, and boots suited her beautifully. Her hair had been arranged with obvious care, and the subtle makeup brought out her green eyes. She’d looked genuinely lovely. And judging by the number of students who’d stopped talking when she appeared, Hermione wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“She looked beautiful,” Hermione admitted.
Ron turned sharply.
“Who?”
“Victoria.”
Ron stared.
“Crabbe?”
“Yes, Ron.”
He looked towards the doors again. Then reluctantly nodded.
“Well ... yeah.”
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah?”
Ron shrugged.
“All right. She’s gorgeous. Happy?”
“Very.”
Ron shook his head.
“But she’s still Crabbe.”
“Yes.”
“The same Crabbe who threatened to knock my teeth out last year.”
“You’d just insulted her.”
“That doesn’t make it all right!”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Ron sighed.
“And now Harry’s dating her.”
Hermione considered that.
“Well, they’re going on their first date. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Ron gave her a look.
“Hermione, did you see how he was looking at her?”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
“He looked like he’d just won the bloody Quidditch Cup.”
“Perhaps he’s happy.”
Ron groaned.
“That’s what worries me.”
“Well, well, well.”
The voice came from behind them. Ron turned. Fred and George had returned to Hogwarts for the weekend to deliver a special order from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, and neither had wasted the opportunity to visit old friends. Fred and George Weasley were approaching from the far side of the entrance hall, with Ginny walking between them. All three were grinning. Ron immediately looked suspicious.
“What?”
Fred shook his head slowly.
“Ronald.”
George nodded.
“Ronald, Ronald, Ronald.”
“What now?”
Fred gestured towards the great doors.
“Did you see that?”
Ron stared.
“Of course I bloody saw it!”
George grinned.
“Good. For a moment we thought we’d imagined the whole thing.”
Ginny laughed.
“We saw everything.”
Hermione looked at her.
“Everything?”
Ginny nodded.
“We were over by the doors to the courtyard when Malfoy came down the staircase.”
Fred folded his arms.
“An excellent vantage point.”
George nodded.
“Perfect view of the entire spectacle.”
Ginny continued.
“We saw Malfoy first, then Goyle, and then...”
She paused. Fred raised a finger.
“Then came the revelation.”
George placed a hand over his heart.
“The miracle.”
Ron rolled his eyes.
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake.”
Fred ignored him.
“Victoria Crabbe.”
George nodded solemnly.
“Looking like that.”
Ginny laughed.
“I nearly didn’t recognise her.”
Hermione smiled.
“Neither did I.”
Fred shook his head.
“Six years.”
George sighed.
“Six entire years.”
Fred looked towards the staircase.
“She’s been walking around Hogwarts for six years wearing those enormous jumpers.”
George nodded.
“Concealing the evidence.”
Ginny elbowed him.
“George!”
“What?”
“Don’t be rude.”
“I’m complimenting her!”
Fred grinned.
“Rather enthusiastically.”
George shrugged.
“Well, she’s beautiful. No point pretending otherwise.”
Ron stared at him.
“You too?”
George looked puzzled.
“What?”
“You think Crabbe’s beautiful?”
Fred and George exchanged a glance. Then both looked at Ron.
“Ron,” Fred said patiently, “were you actually looking at her?”
George nodded.
“Because if you were, this really shouldn’t require much discussion.”
Ron threw up his hands.
“Fine! She’s beautiful! Can we stop talking about it?”
Fred smiled.
“Certainly.”
George nodded.
“Now let’s talk about Harry.”
Ginny leaned against a pillar.
“I saw him waiting.”
Hermione nodded.
“He’d been there for ages.”
Ginny smiled.
“He looked nervous.”
“He was,” Hermione confirmed.
Fred grinned.
“Understandable.”
George nodded.
“Most boys would be nervous about asking Victoria Crabbe for directions.”
“Never mind taking her on a date,” Fred added.
Ron snorted. Ginny shook her head.
“But did you see his face when she came down?”
“Yes.”
Ginny laughed.
“He just stood there staring.”
Fred nodded.
“Completely speechless.”
George grinned.
“Not a common occurrence for the Boy Who Lived.”
Hermione remembered the expression on Harry’s face. He’d been looking towards the staircase when Victoria appeared. For a moment, he’d seemed to forget where he was. Then he’d smiled. And Victoria, who’d been looking increasingly uncomfortable under the attention of half the school, had smiled back. Hermione found herself smiling at the memory.
“It was rather sweet.”
Ron looked at her.
“Sweet?”
“Yes.”
Fred nodded solemnly.
“Very sweet.”
George agreed.
“Almost painfully sweet.”
Ginny laughed.
“Stop it, you two.”
Fred looked innocent.
“What?”
“You’re going to make Ron explode.”
Ron glared.
“I’m not going to explode!”
George examined him.
“You’re getting rather red.”
Fred nodded.
“Definitely approaching critical pressure.”
Ron groaned. Ginny looked towards the doors.
“There’s something else I noticed.”
Hermione turned.
“What?”
“She’s taller than Harry.”
Fred’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, yes.”
George nodded.
“Quite noticeably.”
Ron shrugged.
“So?”
Ginny smiled.
“Nothing. I just hadn’t realised how tall she was until they were standing together.”
Hermione nodded.
“She’s almost six feet, I think.”
Fred grinned.
“Harry’s always been ambitious.”
George nodded.
“Reaching for greater heights.”
Hermione closed her eyes.
“Oh, no.”
Fred continued.
“Setting his sights above the ordinary.”
George spread his hands.
“Looking up to his girlfriend.”
Ginny laughed. Ron snorted. Hermione shook her head.
“You’re both terrible.”
Fred bowed.
“Thank you.”
George followed suit.
“We do our best.”
Ginny smiled.
“Actually, I thought they looked rather nice together.”
Ron turned.
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Harry and Crabbe?”
Ginny sighed.
“Ron, we all know who they are.”
Fred nodded.
“At this point, even the portraits probably know.”
George glanced towards the staircase.
“Half the castle certainly does.”
Hermione looked around the entrance hall. The twins weren’t exaggerating very much. Several groups of students were still discussing what they’d witnessed.
A pair of Ravenclaw girls were talking about Victoria’s outfit. Three Hufflepuffs were arguing about whether Harry had been holding her hand before they reached the doors. A group of Gryffindor boys were laughing over something that appeared to involve Harry and Quidditch.
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