Sometimes, love doesn't appear in the way we want it to.
These thoughts floated through Ronald Weasley's head one day, while watching Lavender Brown eat at the other end of the Gryffindor Table. He reminded himself over and over that he had to fall in love with her; but even that was nearly impossible for the simple boy. Love was complex and hard to control, too much for his brain to deal with in the strenuous heat of the summer. There were only a couple of classes left, and Ron felt guilty at his happiness of not seeing Lavender for two whole months.
Sitting next to him, Hermione whispered spell after spell, preparing herself for her Transfiguration NEWT exam that afternoon. Still, Ron noticed, she seemed to be stick with the effects of the particular spell. If she kept flicking her wrist inadequately, like she was, the spell would force itself on her. With another attempt, the smoke filtered around her and she ducked her head shamefully.
"Hermione, are you all right?" Ron asked her concernedly.
"I'm fine, Ronald." She insisted, but he wasn't accepting it. With a prying attempt, he felt blindly through the smoke, raising her chin. Weirdly enough, Ron felt a tingle shoot up his arm at the contact of her smooth skin. Despite the fact, the spell had given Hermione one of the worst things possible. An ugly, troll-like nose, which swallowed up her face. Harry looked at his friend worriedly.
"The spell backfired like that?" Harry asked her. She nodded.
"Can't you fix it?" The dark-haired boy asked worriedly.
Lavender looked on jealously at Ron and Hermione. "Finally, the wicked witch has revealed herself!" She shouted. Upset, the brunette rose and left the Great Hall. After exchanging knowing glances with Harry and Ginny, who surely knew what his purpose was, he rose and followed his friend from the Hall.
He saw her disappearing around a corner of the corridor that led to the bathroom of the third floor, and he hurried his race. He managed to reach her before she entered the bathroom, taking her by an arm. She kept on hiding her face between the folds of her robe, but this time she was not going to be seen by anybody but Ron.
"What happened, Hermione? What spell were you doing? On the study list, none of them had anything to do with appearance changing."
"It was for extra credit, but I just couldn't get it--"
"Then why waste your time with it, Hermione? You'll get an O on those NEWTS if I don't know it!" The redhead exclaimed.
"It's supposed to be a beautifying spell." She said through her tears. "It was supposed to make me beautiful!"
Ron sighed and shook his head. "You're already beautiful, Hermione. If you weren't, the spell wouldn't have turned you ugly. Think about it."
"Do you think that I'm pretty? Do you think that I'm beautiful?", she sobbed, "So why didn't you say it before?"
Ron asked himself that same question. If she had always been beautiful to him, the reason why he never said a thing was a complete mystery for him. Slowly, Ron leaned towards the teary-eyed brunette and kissed her. Hell, if he thought about it hard enough, he couldn't think of how it had happened. It seemed almost...automatic. The air was unbearable to breathe, and both knew what would happen next.
When their lips melted together, Ron knew the reason why he hadn't fallen in love with Lavender. Why he would never fall in love with her. How could he, if his heart had been beating for Hermione? Now that he thought about it, it had for years. The answer was so evident that he didn't have any objection to make.
Sometimes love appears in the strangest way possible. But that doesn't mean that it's not love. It simply means that love is nourished by feelings, that are never the same, as they change with the person and the situation.
When Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade station the last day of school, Ron had Hermione's hand imprisoned between his, glancing lost at his now promising future. Harry smiled, prisoner to Ginny as if she were his salvation. Definitively, the idea of losing Hermione only for a pair of months was frightful. That thought was the one that gave Ron the answer he needed.
Love never is as planned. Sometimes it's far better.