I walked down the grand staircase of the castle, my feet softly landing on each stair. The temperature was cold, making goosebumps rise on my arms. I clutched my backpack a little tighter to my chest in an attempt to get warm. As I walked through the long hallway, I spotted the library and picked up my speed. When I swung open the heavy, wooden doors, the smell of dusty books and old parchment hit me full on. I breathed in deeply and smiled at the familiar scent. The library was relatively empty, except for a few kids lazily studying. I walked over to my usual table in the back and set my things down. I opened my copy of 'Hogwarts: A History' and began reading. About five minutes after I sat down, I saw a panic-stricken red head sprinting through the library, straight towards my table.
"Sorry, Hermione!" He wailed before sliding under my table. I scoffed at him, but kept him hidden.
"Ronald, what on earth are you doing?" I spoke a little too loudly for his liking.
"Bloody hell, Hermione! Be quiet for two seconds, then I'll explain!" After he stopped speaking, I heard the heavy doors to the library open. I peeked over my shoulder and saw blonde hair whipping back and forth, looking around the library wildly.
"Won-Won? Are you here?" Lavender yelled. At that moment, Madam Prince shoo-ed her out of the library for causing a disruption. She reluctantly pouted and left. I heard a sigh of relief and Ron's head popped up over the side of the table.
"She left?" He asked and I nodded. Slowly, he got up from the floor and sat in the chair across from me.
"So... Would you care to explain why you're hiding from your girlfriend?" I asked, mocking the final word.
"I want to break up with her- believe me, I do- but I can't even tell her! She won't let me get a word in! Every time I open my mouth to speak, she's back snogging me!"
"And so you thought hiding from her was the best option?" I asked curtly.
"Well, yeah. Plus this way I can actually talk to you. I'm sorry I've been such a prat towards you." He stated apologetically. I stared at him with raised eye brows, taken aback.
"Oh, um, yeah... It's okay." I stuttered.
"No, it's not. Things were going really, really well between us before I started seeing Lavender. And I feel awful. At the start of the year, I actually thought..." He trailed off. Anxious to hear what he had to say, I egged him on.
"You thought what?"
"Never mind. It's not important." He mumbled. I sighed and put my head down to my book again. A silence fell over us as I read and he thought. Just as I was turning the page, he looked up at me.
"I thought that maybe this would be the year I told you." He said. A blush came over his ears and spread to his cheeks. My eyebrows furrowed and knit together. He sighed and looked down at his hands. "You know...That I like you..."
My heart began hammering in my chest and I stared at him for a moment. The blush on his cheeks darkened considerably as the seconds passed. After a few minutes of silence, he cleared his throat.
"I'm-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. You don't have to say anything back... But I just wanted you to know." He said in a guilty voice. He wouldn't look me in the eye. His fingers fiddled with the edge of the book I was reading. Gathering my thoughts, I took a breath.
"How long?" I asked. He looked at me confused, and I sighed. "How long have you liked me?" He smiled and chuckled a bit.
"Since third year. When you grabbed my hand when Harry was riding Buckbeak. Oh, and when you punched Malfoy." He chuckled. I laughed along with him at the memory. "I still remember how nervous I was being alone with you on that first Hogsmeade weekend. And when we were seeing the Shrieking Shack for the first time and you asked if I wanted to get closer... I thought you had meant me and you get closer together, not closer to the shack." We both smiled and laughed. I grinned warmly at him.
"I like you too."
"You don't have to say that just because-"
"I'm not." I shook my head. Ron smiled at me and chuckled.
"And may I ask when you began liking me?" He asked mischievously. I giggled and nodded.
"Probably when you burped slugs for me in second year." I smiled. He laughed and made a disgusted face.
"That better have earned me something! It tasted bloody awful!" I laughed loudly along side him for a while until we settled into a content silence.
"So, what do we do now?" Ron asked shyly. I smiled slightly and shrugged.
"I don't know." He smirked and eyed me for a second.
"Never thought I'd see the day that Hermione Granger doesn't know something." I smiled a little and he smiled back. His eyes kept flickering to my lips and he began leaning across the table. I moved towards him at the same time, eyes drifting closed. Just as our lips were about to touch, I turned my head away. His lips kissed my cheek softly and he opened his eyes.
"Wait. I wanna kiss you- believe me, I do. But... Not like this. I don't want to start this while you have a girlfriend. After you and Lavender break up- that's when we should talk. Until then... We'll just be friends. Is that okay?" I whispered. He nodded and slumped back into his seat.
"Yeah, I see what you're saying. Well... Until then, I guess?" He asked and extended his hand. I laughed and shook his hand. He got up from the table and began to walk away when he stopped.
"Oh, Hermione?" I turned around and looked at him. "I'll make bloody sure that I break up with her fast." I smiled and laughed as he grinned at me.
"Okay." I replied warmly. He smiled at me once more before retreating from the old room. I shook my head and laughed at what just happened, before looking back to my book and reading once more.
Sorry for being MIA! I've been busy with mid-terms and such. Oh, and it's my birthday(; So, as a birthday present, you should review;3