"Harry," Ron whispered as he poked his best friend's shoulder, "are you awake?"
He heard Harry grunt out something, but it sounded slightly like, "go back to bed, hell," and turn over. Ron shook his head for a minute before going to the trunk of Harry's four-poster bed and took out the Invisibility Cloak. He headed for the door to leave his dormitory, looking back for a few seconds to make sure Seamus and Dean were sleeping with their curtains closed.
He walked into the common room, grateful everyone was asleep. He set foot out of the portrait and headed down the corridor to the hospital wing.
Once he entered, he took a moment to look at the people in the beds. Colin Creevey was laying on the bed next to Hermione, his eyes open from shock, his hands still in the way they had been when he saw the basilisk through his camera. His mouse-like face was facing the ceiling. Ron looked to the opposite of Colin and looked at Justin Finch-Fletchley. Justin's body was facing to the side, his mouth wide open, his eyes haunted. His hand was outstretched and he was still in his Hufflepuff uniform.
Finally, Ron looked at Hermione. She was still in her Hogwarts uniform, and her hair was still bushy. Her eyes stared off into space at the roof, while her hand was in front of her, obviously how it was when she was holding the mirror. Hermione's mouth was open slightly, and Ron was tempted to try and close it, but he realized that it wouldn't work because she was basically a porcelain doll at the moment.
He went over and sat down where he usually sat when Harry and him visited and took off the Cloak. Ron smiled slowly, and started talking,
"Hey, Hermione. I have no idea if you can, ya' know, see or hear me even, but I miss you. Harry and I both do. It's a little weird not hearing you yell at me for not doing Snape's potions essay. But, what if you die or something? What if you don't remember who I am? Of course you won't forget who Harry is; he's the boy who lived. What I'm trying to say is…I love you. You probably think it's really stupid for me to say because I'm not even thirteen yet, but I love you. Honestly."
When he finished his last sentence, he felt as though a great weight had been lifted off of him. Ron bent down, in a sudden rush of courage, and kissed Hermione on the lips.
He threw on the Cloak again and, with one look back at her, he half-ran, half-walked back to the common room.
…..
When everyone was walking back to the Hogwarts Express, Ron was pulled aside by Hermione. She looked pale and sick and just as Ron was about to ask if she was okay, she said, "Ronald, did you kiss me when I was petrified?"
Ron gulped when she emphasized the word 'kiss' and silently nodded his head. "You could hear?"
"Yes, I could. It was really sweet; everything you said. Thanks."
She looked at him one last time, quickly kissed him on the cheek (her own cheeks glowing bright red as she did so) and said something about going find Harry before they all got left behind.
