She sat at a table studying as usual, her face and mind practically glued to, what seemed like, Hogwarts; A History. However, what everyone else was oblivious to was the fact that underneath her sacred book that had helped solve even the hardest mysteries for the past five years, there was another: Quidditch through the Ages. She made sure to keep this well hidden though, because if anyone saw what she was really reading, they would start asking her a series of questions that would eventually lead to them knowing one of her deepest, darkest, secrets of all time. In fact, the only people who knew this secret were Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, her two best friends. Sure, Ronald Weasley was her best friend too, but in a way, she had always thought of him as more than that, so much more. Thinking of this, she glanced over to the other side of the room, where he was sitting quietly at a remote table while reading a Quidditch magazine. It was very rare to find Mr. Ronald Weasley reading that anyone who would've walked by would've guessed he was just looking at the pictures; and the sad truth is, they would've been right. However, at least he took interest in some sort of "book", that is, if you could call what he was reading a book. She chuckled at her own thought and continued watching.

He was so cute when he was concentrating, his head was leaning on his left hand and his hair was tasseled and messy. For some reason, she just loved his hair. It smelled of strawberries and felt as smooth a silk, at least, it did when he decided to brush it. She longed to be able to be with him, and to be able to run her fingers through his silky smooth hair. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts; she didn't realize her eyes glazing over, or the prissy Lavender Brown walking over to the one she 'loved'. He saw her coming out of the corner of his eye; however he wasn't in the mood for a full frontal snog session with 'Lav-Lav'. She of course however didn't realize this and grabbed the Quidditch magazine out of his hands and walked around him to sit on his lap.

"You know Won-Won," She said while flipping through the magazine, "I don't understand how you can waste so much time and energy on these stupid sports. I mean, I love Quidditch just as much as the next person, but you should be spending your time and energy on more important things." For some reason, this statement reminded him oddly of Hermione, and he looked around for her, spotting her sitting at a table at the other side of the room. He did a double take and realized that she was looking right at him. But then again, who wouldn't be? After all, he was about to go into a full frontal snogging session. He sighed at the thought of this. If only Hermione was the one sitting on his lap with her arms around him.

"And what might those 'more important things be?" He asked with a smirk worthy of Malfoy, knowing that if he wanted Hermione, getting her jealous would be the only way to get her.

"Me." She smirked back and brought her lips to his. Hermione couldn't stand the sight of this and she stormed up to her room where her mind was immediately absorbed with thoughts of how to take Mr. Ronald Weasley all for herself, and how to get rid of that ungrateful, little, face-sucking, animal. She decided that there was only one way to do this. She smiled for hope, rested her head on her pillow, and slowly drifted off to a Lavender free dream.

The next morning, she decided to be civilized with Ron instead of starting a row, for if she did start one, her plan would be useless. She woke up especially early that Saturday morning to make sure she was able to walk to breakfast with him alone, meaning without Harry. Sure Ron was a late sleeper, but he was nothing compared to Harry, and with all of her extra late night studying, she had managed to miss the both of them for breakfast the past two weeks. She got ready and strolled down the steps to the common room, sitting herself down on the couch in front of the fireplace. About fifteen minutes later, Ron appeared coming down the steps that lead to the boy's dormitories. She stood and walked over to him.

"Hello Ronald!" She chirped happily, "Ready for breakfast?" He was so stunned by the fact that they were on speaking terms that he completely forgot about Harry. His throat was suddenly dry when he thought of just the two of them walking down to breakfast together. He was at a lost for words.

"Err...sure" He managed to croak out. They exited through the portrait hole together and started on their journey to the Great Hall. They were walking along in silence and Ron had just started to calm down a bit when Hermione slipped her hand in his and smiled at him. Then out of the blue she said,

"You know Ron; I really don't think Lavender is right for you." He was caught off-guard by this statement, and stuttered a bit when he asked,

"Oh…oh really, and wh...why would that be?" She gave a small smile, for she

knew her plan was working, but she quickly hid it when he looked down at her and she said to him,

"Oh, well you know, she's just so….oh I don't know, flirty, I guess is the word…and you're so, not." She gave him a look of innocence and he said,

"Me? Not flirty? Have you seen us when we're together?" She snorted loudly and retorted,

"Oh pish-posh Ronald, I mean, she always calls you 'my wittle Won-Won' and all, and do you ever call her by a pet name, or twirl her hair, or sneak up behind her to give her a surprise hug?"

"Well, I…"

"No, I don't think so. I mean, it seems to me like you don't even enjoy having her around unless you two are, well.." her face turned a slight shade of crimson as she said this, but he knew what she was trying to say and saved her from further embarrassment.

"Snogging?" He said. She cleared her throat and continued.

"Precisely. I mean, I always thought that when you liked someone you would enjoy having them around for things other than….things…of-that-sort." She rushed the last part a bit and her face once again turned a slight shade of crimson.

"I see…" He didn't seem eager to go along with her little game, boy was he thick. She knew if she wanted this to work, she would have to give him just a slight push.

"You know Ronald," she started "If I didn't know any better, which I'm sure isn't the case, I would say that you we're using Lavender."

"Using her?"

"Yes; using her." He wasn't sure what she was getting at, but then again, he wasn't sure he actually wanted to know. However, curiosity got the better of him, as it does with most people, and he asked,

"Why would I do that? What would I use her for?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you were just trying to make someone jealous."

Jealous; the word seemed to echo. Just then, the light bulb went off in his head, and the wheels started to turn. He realized how witty she was being, but now he knew what kind of game she was playing, and he decided to go along with it. After all, he couldn't let her have all the fun.

"No, I don't think so. I mean I really like Lavender." She was shocked by this statement of his, and now the tables were turned. He was in control. This was not the way her plan was supposed to work.

"Oh really?" She asked timidly. "How much do you like her?"

"A lot."

"A lot?"

"Yeah, I think I might even love her." She stopped walking abruptly, and he stopped with her for her hand was still in his.

"Love…her?"

"Yeah. She's amazing, really. I mean, I feel closer to her than I have with anyone else. We really seem to understand each other."

"You can't understand someone just by snogging them Ronald! You have to talk, and build a relationship with them!" He pretended to act shocked and hurt at her when she said this.

"We do talk! You're never there when we do!"

"Well I always seem to be there when you're attacking each other's faces!" She paused a minute to catch her breath again. She had been so determined not to start a row with him this morning, and here they were, fighting once again. Her face fell at the thought of this, and she sat down on the steps behind them. "Is there a reason for that Ron?" She questioned much calmer. She sat there with her knees hugged close, and her head in her lap.

"Huh? Oh, well I dunno…I guess um…" He was desperately searching for the right words, but before he could, she interrupted him.

"Why do we always fight Ronald? I mean, this morning I was so…" She paused for a minute to hold back some tears. She slowly took in a deep breath and continued, "determined to not have a row with you, and, well, here we are." She had to try even harder now to hold back her tears, and that was proven impossible as a few escaped and trickled down her cheeks. He sighed at this sight, and sat down beside her to offer comfort. Little by little, more tears started to fall, and a pool of tears was threatening to release soon. As he put his arm around her he quietly said,

"Oh, somehow I always manage to make you cry 'Mione." Though he was serious, she chuckled a little bit and she started to cry heavier. She threw her arms around him and nestled her head the crook of his neck as she began to sob uncontrollably. Even though he felt horrible, and he could feel his shirt becoming damp, he smiled a little bit at the feeling of having her arms around him once again. He hugged her and forced himself to pull away from her and remove his smile, so he could wipe away the tears on her cheeks. He knew it wouldn't be good to let her see him smiling at a moment like this. He gently held her face with his hands and with his thumbs, brushed away the tears on either side of her face. She smiled a little bit and he smiled back as he took one hand and moved some stray hair behind her ear. Then hesitating a little bit, he slowly moved his head to enclose the space between them. He was just about to pull away after giving her a peck on the lips when she quickly moved her hand to his face and forced him to stay. When their lips connected, he felt a jolt of electricity and he was sure she felt it also.

They were in their own little world, in which only they existed. Neither of them noticed the students around them, and almost none of the students noticed them. However, the one who most definitely did, was Lavender Brown. She cried out loudly and ran right past them, causing them to break apart suddenly and stare at the sight before them.

"Oops." Hermione said, her face once again turning crimson.

"Yeah…oops." His face seemed to almost mimic hers, of course being a Weasley, his faces shade had far surpassed hers.

"I think I should probably get going" She said as she stood up slowly and turned to walk up the steps. "I'm really sorry Ron." She started to ran up the steps taking them two at a time when he said,

"Really, it's no problem." He said this softly however, and she wasn't quite sure she heard him right so she started to turn, but decided against it and kept going. "Hey 'Mione!" He yelled after her, "Um, since me and Lavender seem…"She turned only her upper body around and said,

"Lavender and I, Ron"

"Right. Well, since Lavender and I seem to be pretty much over….would…you um, like to be-my-girlfriend?" He rushed the last part a bit, but she still understood. She smiled slightly and nodded.

"I think I'd like that…very much." They both stood there for a moment, still not sure that what had just happened were a dream. It was Ron who broke the silence first.

"Good, 'cause I would to." He gave her his infamous lop-sided grin, and joked "But I don't know how long you'll last if you don't go to dinner, because you haven't been there for weeks." Dobby had secretly been bringing her food from the kitchens however, but with her plans for S.P.E.W. and all, she thought it would be wise to not tell Ron about this little secret yet. Fortunately, the food wasn't completely enough, and she had thinned a little bit so he would never suspect a thing.

"Alright then Mr. Weasley, I guess that could be arranged." The smile never left her face as she skipped down the stairs and once again slipped her hand into his. And that's how they walked together into the great hall, and how they sat all through dinner.