I think what struck me as odd was that Ron treated Hermione like she was the last person anyone would want to go to the ball with. Like, Ron, are you blind? All the shit you guys have been through together, and you're turning a blind eye to her because... why? I think Ron felt emasculated by Hermione; here she is knowing so much more than him in almost any subject, as well as being much more handy, and here's Ron who... contributed almost nothing except knowing Wizard's Chess and being Harry's pal. Ron should have evaluated himself a lot more than he did. Asking Hermione should have been a last resort because he was scared she wouldn't see him as worth it, rather than him not seeing Hermione as worth it, then having the BALLS to be mad that someone else asked her out. What a douche.

Please do, if you can ;3 to be honest the last stretch of my post was what I was far more uncomfortable with than the talk itself. Kurama sitting down beside her after already shutting the door felt... dumb. They're about to go to bed. This isn't much time for a meaningful talk. Why did he feel the need to close the door when Shiori was already washing up elsewhere and wouldn't bother them? And then I think I went overboard with the dialogue to Botan at the very end. Fuck me, this is what I do to myself. I see all the things I could have done better.