How the Worst Dreams Become the Best

The bell for the end of History of Magic class rang all the room, causing the usual sigh of relief throughout the class. Hermione stopped scribbling down notes and put her parchment and quill into her back bag, before zipping it up and standing. Looking around, she saw that Ron and Harry must have already left. How considerate! She thought bitterly to herself as she walked amongst the class as they left. From behind her a voice muttered a curse and her bag was ripped open, causing her belongings to tumble onto the floor. Sighing angrily, she bent down and started picking them up. Thing certainly weren't going Hermione's way today. A pair of shining black shoes appeared in her vision, standing beside a book just out of her reach and Draco Malfoy bent down to pick it up. Quickly standing up herself with the intention of Accio-ing her book back, she reached into her robes and discovered her wand wasn't there.

"Well, well, well," Malfoy sneered. "What do we have here?"

"It's a book, Malfoy," Hermione snapped angrily. "Pages of parchment bound together, containing words. Some people actually read them!"
Instead of being offended, his smirk widened into an evil grin.
"But what book is the question?" he scorned with such self satisfaction.

He turned the book so the cover was facing Hermione; it read The Magic of Sex. Hermione gasped before recovering herself and replied stammering, "That's not mine!"

"Oh yes it is, Mudblood. It fell out of your bag! Quite the little bookworm, aren't we?" Malfoy started laughing and soon Hermione was surrounded by the whole school laughing. Hundreds of students started closing in on her, and when ever she tried to get through the pushed her back into the little circle they made, all laughing at her and pointing.

Hermione closed her eyes and held her hands over her ears, but the laughter wouldn't go away.

Ron sat on the couch gazing into the fire into front of him. I was a dark, stormy day at the Burrow, the sun beginning to set. The rain had been absolutely pouring down for at least an hour and showed no sign of letting up. But Ron didn't mind, it meant that he got to spend the afternoon lazing about the house with his girlfriend. Hermione had not long ago fallen asleep against his shoulder, cuddling against him in a way that made his heart rate increase dramatically. She looked so beautiful, the fire lit up her curly hair that had once been insanely frizzing but had quieted down as she went through puberty. She was dressed in the same simple way Ron was, white shirt and jeans. They had made a joke when they got up that morning that they looked as though they were wearing "His and Her" outfits. He looked back adown at Hermione, who was fidgeting and making funny noises. She must be dreaming, he thought to himself as he ran his hand through her hair.

Hermione woke with a gasp, finding herself sitting up in the couch in the living room at the Burrow. She felt an arm around her tighten and she relaxed back into Ron's arms, realising she must have fallen asleep.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly and she nodded.

"Just a bad dream," she replied with a yawn.

Hermione immediately regretted saying it because Ron then asked, "What about?"

"Nothing," came her shaky reply.

"Hermione, you promised me you would never keep secrets," Ron reminded her. Hermione sighed and replied,
"Very well. As long as you promise not to laugh?" Ron looked uncertain but then replied, "Alright I promise."

Refusing to look at him she explained in little more than a whisper,
"In the dream, I'm leaving class when Malfoy jinxes my bag, causing it to rip open. He picks up one of my books and shows everyone that it's a book about sex."
"Sex?" Ron asked with surprise and a hint of amusement.
"Yes, sex." Hermione replies very humourlessly. "I have been having this dream for a couple of weeks now, it's driving me insane!"

"Why do you think you're having this dream over and over again?" Ron questions, leaning back on the couch and pulled Hermione to lean against him as a form of comfort.

"I know exactly why," she whispered in response. Ron looks at her expectantly and she took a deep breath and added,

"It's because our relationship has been ... progressing."

"Progressing?" Ron asked, his face getting slightly flushed.

"Yes. These past six months, since Harry defeated Voldemort, we've had more time to ourselves. It's been wonderful, and our "snogging on the sofa" as you call it, has, shall we say, intensified recently."
Ron smirked and replied, "Yeah." Hermione smiled back and reached and kissed him softly, Ron returning with the love and devotion he always showed her.

"Well, I've been thinking more and more about taking the next step," she said quietly and Ron looked as though he might faint.

"You have?" he croaked out. Hermione nodded before looking away from him and replying, "But the more I think about it the more I realise I don't know anything about it." She sat up and pulled away from him.

Ron could see her starting to get anxious as she added, "My parents never talk about that sort of thing and I've never even read about it, even though that would be what I would normally do but I was so afraid that someone would find out that I could never bring myself to take the risk and ... "

"Hermione," Ron interrupted, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "It's okay." He soothed, trying to calm her by running his hands up and down her back.

Ron just couldn't believe that there was something that he knew more about than Hermione. He was however used to the fact that Hermione would get anxious and frustrated whenever she didn't know enough about something.

"Then you're just going put your faith in me," Ron said quietly as he felt her relax. Without turning to look at him, she asked, "Do you know a lot about it?" Ron raised an eyebrow and retorted,
"I have five older brothers, what do you think?"

"Oh," Hermione replied and they both laughed. After a few minutes silence, Hermione suddenly asked quietly, "You and Lavender, how far do you get?"

Ron looked at her and replied, "You've asked me that before. We never did some then snog,"

Turning around to face him, Hermione said, "Yes, but other things can happen during snogging. Did you ever... " Hermione couldn't finish, unsure of what she was asking. Ron sighed and replied,

"Hermione, we snog and my hands never wondered anywhere but her waist. Why do you worry about that? I'm not any more experienced than you,"

"It's not that," Hermione said, wrapping her arms around her knees, holding them against her chest. Ron turned her around so see was looking at him and asked, "Well what then?"

"Well, Lavender is skinny and attractive and I'm... I don't want you to be disappointed."
"Hermione, how can you still think that after six months? Have I made you feel that way?" He asked horrified.

"No Ron, this is me. I know you love me but I'm not sure whether you want me, or will once we get into things."

Ron stopped her babbling with a passionate kiss, cupping her face with his hands and pulling her towards him. Hermione let out a moan and wove her hands into his hair. Ron pulled away and replied,

"I have wanted you for years, Hermione. Do you know how many potions Lavender took everyday to get her hair and make up perfect?" Ron stroked her cheek and replied, "All you have to do is be you and you're the most beautiful witch I've ever known." Ron surprised himself by the fact he had actually been able to say how he felt without blundering it up. Judging by the expression on Hermione's face she was thinking a similar thing.

Hermione knew that Ron didn't mean his words to be a form of seduction, but it was definitely the effect they had. She reached up and pulled Ron down into a bruising kiss, which he returned with a soft moan, snaking his hands up into her hair.

Ron was overpowered by the sensations that surrounded them as the quickly dove into new territory. His hands left her hair, travelling down to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her flush against him. She broke the kiss with a gasp at the contact between their bodies. Ron immediately started showering her with open mouthed kisses down her neck, his hot breath sending shivers down her body.

Hermione was now trembling with a combination of nerves and pleasure, he hands had moved down to the hem of his shirt. It was Ron's turn to gasp when he felt her hand graze his stomach and move up to his chest under the shirt. Pushing him gently away from her neck, she lifted the shirt over his head. Ron watched with a smile as Hermione ran her hands over his broad shoulders and down his torso as though studying it, in a way only Hermione could. She looked up at him with a blush once she realised what she was doing. Ron reassured her by leaning forward and capturing her lips in another kiss but Hermione pulled away with a smile.

"Maybe we shouldn't continue on the sofa," she suggested softly. Ron nodded in agreement and replied, "Bedroom?"

Hermione gave a very un-Hermione-like smirk and replied huskily, "Too far way,"

Ron pulled her into an earth shattering kiss before she could protest.

"I could carry you," he said playfully and Hermione wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Tempting," she replied with a matching smile. "What about the rug?" she nodded her head towards the plush rug in front of the fire. Ron nodded with satisfaction, then without warning lifted her up against his body. Hermione gave out a small shriek of surprise that immediately turned into a giggle. He carried her the one foot to the rug in front of the warm fire, then sunk to his knees and lowered Hermione to the floor. It was in that moment looking down into her passionate and trusting eyes that Ron truly realised what was about to happen between them. He lent forward, giving her a more gently kiss which she returned with a sigh, her hands once again finding their way into his hair. This kiss slowly intensified as Ron's hands started to explore her body, starting with her soft breasts. Hermione whimpered into his mouth as he touched her body, her own hands exploring the tense muscles of his arms and back. Ron ended the kiss when he got to the hem of her shirt, slowly lifting it up her body. She lifted her arms over head as he removed it and tossed it onto the sofa. He was on all fours over her, his knees astride her hips, gazing at her body completely breathless. Leaning on one elbow beside her head, he used the other to touch the soft skin of her stomach, moving up to skirt the underside of her breasts and moved round to her back. He ran his hand along the back of her bra, trying to find the clasp. By the point, Hermione was distracted by the passionate and frantic kisses they were sharing. She ended them to start kissing his neck and shoulders, loving the taste of his skin. Realising finally what he was trying to do, Hermione pulled back, panting slightly as she said,

"It's a front clasp."

"Brilliant," he replied, moving his hand to her ribs and Hermione laughed. Once the clasp was opened, he placed a hot kiss between her breasts, causing Hermione to moan and arch her back up to him as he removed the interfering garment. Continuing to explore with his mouth, his hand moved down to her jeans. After a glance at Hermione to make sure she was okay, he undid the buttons of her jeans. Keeping his hands on her hips, he leaned forward and kissed just below her navel, causing her to make a noise somewhere between a moan and a laugh. He grinned against her skin; he had forgotten her stomach was ticklish. He leaned back and tugged gently on her jeans. They kept an intense eye contact as Hermione's jeans were removed.

Hermione felt a little uncomfortable, as she had never been even slightly close to being naked in front of someone. Ron sensed this and leaned back over her, kissing his way up her body till he got to her mouth. They kissed for what felt like an eternity. At some point Hermione's hands had found their way to his jeans and had them undone. Running her hands back up his body to cup his cheek as her tongue explored his mouth. Without breaking the kiss, she pushed him up and started pulling his jeans down. Realising what she was doing, Ron broke the kiss and sat back to remove his jeans. He then grabbed the large red blanket off the sofa and he lay back down beside her, he wrapped the blanket around their waists.

That afternoon, all that could be heard at The Burrow was the loud rain hitting the roof, the crackling of the fire and the moans of a deeply in love young couple as they made for the first time. Nothing could have prepared for the experience they shared on the rug in front of the fire.

As they came down from that incredible high, they held onto each other's trembling bodies. Ron's muscles had turned to jelly and he had to roll them so he was on his back as he couldn't hold his weight any more. Hermione ended up lying completely on top of him, her weight not causing any him any discomfort. In fact, it was incredible to hold her in his arms; he never wanted to let her go. Hermione didn't have a problem with their current position either, enjoying using his body as a pillow. She listened to the rain as she watched the flames dance in the wood, realising for the first time how romantic this whole situation was. She would certainly never regret making this one of her best memories. Ron sat them up a bit so he could reach the blanket and pulled it higher over them. Hermione slid off him, wrapping her arm around his waist and putting her head on his shoulder. They soon fell asleep, listening to the rain and each other's breathing.

A loud crack of lightning stirred Ron from his sleep. A awoke to see Hermione standing over him, throwing a log into the fire. She was dressed in her plain white dressing gown, her hair a mess from sleep but she looked radiant. He stretched his arms and let out a loud yawn, feeling Hermione sit down beside him. Ron looked up and saw she was lying on one elbow watching him with a smile. He reached out for her, pulling her into a lazy kiss. Pulling away, Hermione said, "Good Morning,"

"You look beautiful," he replied, which was true. Her robe had fallen off one of her shoulders, revealing her beautiful skin. She positively glowed in the light of the fire, taking his breath away. Hermione blushed and ran a hand through hair, trying to smooth it down. An owl shrieked outside the window and they both looked over to see poor old Errol standing on the window sill in the storm. Hermione gasped and scrabbled up, before running to the window and letting the poor thing in.

"He's got a letter for us from your parents," Hermione said as she walked over to the sofa and sat down. Ron watched her in fascination as she read the letter; distracted by the fact her dressing gown had fallen slightly open, revealing the space between her breasts. Mentally shaking himself, he wrapped the blanket around his waist and crawled over to the sofa, resting his elbow on the cushions but remained sitting on the ground.

"Hmmm," Hermione murmured once she had read the letter. "It's seems this weather is keeping your parents in Romania and they won't be back until next week."

"So," Ron replied innocently. "What are we going to do with ourselves for a whole week?"

Hermione grinned and said, "I'm sure we will think of something!" They both laughed and Ron stood up on his knees and put his arms around her waist, sealing their laughter with a kiss.