If You Would Have Told Me

If you would have told me in the beginning of my 1st year, standing on the platform with me, bidding me goodbye, and then reassuringly saying, "Oh, Hermione, you're going to love it at Hogwarts. You'll meet lots of new friends, finally some you can relate to, and maybe even meet the man you'll marry someday." I would've laughed and replied in my know-it-all tone, "Boys disturb us girls from our studies that we need to keep up with, in order to keep this world running. Boys are the reason this world isn't as great of a place it could be." I got on that train, not expecting to meet him within the next few minutes.

Now, looking at these two boys, you would probably never think Hermione Jane Granger would ever marry one of them, let alone befriend the two for the next few years and then some. One had green eyes, and messy ink black hair, and the other…

Well, the other was "quite, erm, interesting…" as I had told the one with green eyes and messy ink black hair a few short years later. Funny how my best friend of four years knew me better than myself when it came to Ronald Weasley…

Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter: My two best friends of so many years. Harry was the one with the beautiful green eyes and Ronald, Ron for short, had red hair and blue eyes. And occasionally, if something really embarrassed him or made him blush, his ears would be red, like his hair. Truth be told, I thought Harry was more handsome than Ron was. But soon Ron grew into his looks and turned into…well…a hunk.

My god, Hermione Granger, you did not just say "hunk" while describing Ron Weasley.

Harry turned into a brother figure somewhere around…6th year. Maybe it was 7th year. Whatever year it was, he was there. He had always been there. I just hadn't realized it until 3rd year. He protected me that year, a lot. We had been the ones to go and rescue Ron together. We had ended up finding him with a big black scary dog that turned into Harry's godfather, Sirius.

Thinking that Sirius was the bad guy, I had put myself in front of Harry, saying that if he wanted to kill Harry, he'd have to kill Ron and myself too. We didn't have to that night, and thankfully, we won the other times as well. Sacrificing ourselves for each other was just something that came naturally. It was what friends like us did. Harry did the same for me the same night I first did it for him, in the forest, running from a werewolf. He shielded me, put him in front of me, just like I had for him. And to some, Harry Potter may be their hero…but to me he's my best friend. And best friends put themselves on the line before the other one can even cross it.

Harry, actually, was the one who pointed out to me something that I would never ever in my life have thought of…okay so maybe I had: "Do you like Ron?" He asked me, a little into 5th year.

I already told you what I replied; "He's quite, erm, interesting."

And did the guy believe me, Hermione Jane Granger, the smartest witch of her class, when I told him an answer that I thought I knew for a fact was right?

No. Although he was kind of wrong: I didn't like Ron. I loved him. So we were uh, kind of even…I guess you could say.

I had realized it before, though. 3rd year…why did everything happen in 3rd year? I looked at Harry as a brother and a best friend. And then I looked at Ron as…well, so not brotherly but still a best friend. Suddenly I wanted to be more than best friends with him. I didn't do anything about it. As dumb as it sounds, I was a little intimidated at the idea of telling Ron, "Yes, Ronald, I fancy you. Would you please go to hogsmeade with me, and I don't mean as in a friendly manner?" I had heard the way Justin Flinch-Fletchley, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan talked about girls who had gone up to them, asking them out, and then the boys would mock the way the girls had asked.

Oh, how bad I wanted to slap them.

They changed my opinion on the whole girl-power thing. I was not going to make a move on Ronald Weasley. I was going to wait for him to make a move on me. And if that would take forever then…so be it.

But forever wasn't long, nor an option, as Ron decided to make kissy-kissy nice-nice with Lavender, one of the "hottest girls ever" according to a few ridiculous blokes that were probably getting Troll's for grades in all of their classes. I, personally, thought she resembled a frog. It was jealousy talking, forgive me. I first found out about them on a rather nasty account: I walked into the common room after a quidditch game, to find Lavender and Ron snogging. I ran out of the common room, into an empty classroom, only to have Harry and Ron follow me. I hurt Ron for the first time, like he had hurt me the previous few years; I sent a flock of canaries after him. It's just like a quote I've heard once: When in love, be fair and honest, even when it hurts.

It may not have been fair for me to have done that towards him but…well, I know for a fact that it hurt, and I knew for a fact that I was in love. I just didn't act upon the love part…

I was going to ask Ron to Slughorn's party. Slughorn was a teacher that favored a lot of students who either had tons of talent, like me, or had parents who were famous, or were famous themselves, in Harry's case. Ron, unfortunately, wasn't the greatest in any of his classes, and his mum and dad weren't on the cover of Witch Weekly. We were told, one day, that we could bring a guest. I was going to ask Ron because I knew how much he had wanted to go. But then he started acting so jealously that he actually told me, "Who needs Slughorn's parties anyways…" or somewhere along those lines.

I told him I was actually going to invite him. He turned red and speechless and then I un-invited him. Instead I went with the pig Mclaggen, or however you spell his last name, I really didn't find it important because I hadn't been thinking of marriage with him, only Ron. Hermione Weasley has a ring to it, don't you think?

Um, anyhow…

Ron ended the whole Lavender thing soon after. The funny thing was, was that she thought it had something to do with me. Maybe it did, I never questioned it. All I noticed was that Ron had been acting nicer to me than he ever had, and I acted a little nicer to him than I had before too. Suddenly Ron became sweet. And suddenly, my feelings for him were sky high than they ever had been.

Dumbledore died and you can imagine how the three of us took it. Ron comforted me, and together we comforted Harry. We never returned to our 7th year, the year after. While we could've been studying defense charms, NEWT level, we studied defense charms and spells Auror level. We left Ginny, Ron's little sister, my best friend, Harry's…girlfriend-to-be-again and future-wife, behind, to go and trek down Voldemort. We found him right before the end of the school year and Harry, no surprise, defeated him. Voldemort was gone and the death eaters were so grief-filled that most commited suicide. Draco Malfoy disappeared shortly after. He felt that he had betrayed his father because at the last minute, he went against the dark lord, and he also felt that he betrayed himself of his feelings. No one has ever seen or heard from him since, from what I know, but there is a plaque in his name, among the people who have died from Voldemort's wrath, death eaters not included.

Us three returned, and I, with a special surprise for the Weasley's and my own family: Ron had asked me to marry him as soon as the battle was won and I had said yes. He had confessed all of his feelings for me a few days before we found Voldemort and obviously I felt the same. He told me he wanted me to be his wife, after the battle, after we won…when we had, he did.

Mrs. Weasley was ecstatic and my parents were too. My mum and dad didn't really help with the wedding much, though. It was mostly Mrs. Weasley, which I didn't mind, because I almost felt like her daughter a bit more than my own parent's. Ginny was to be my maid of honor, and my new sister-in-law, as Harry and her had gotten married rather quickly. Ron was Harry's best man, and Harry is going to be Ron's best man at our own wedding, which brings us to where I am now.

Standing in front of a mirror, with a gorgeous white wedding gown on, I'm more nervous than I was while taking the O.W.L's and I never even thought that would be possible. But Ginny is reassuring me that I look great and that Ron and I are going to live a happy life, with lots of babies and-

Wait, I don't want lots of babies, I tell her. I just want a small family. Two kids is plenty for me.

She nods and laughs and then there's a knock at the door. She asks who it is before opening it, for it may be Ron and Ron is not allowed to see me before the wedding…it's a muggle tradition, I explained to Mrs. Weasley.

But it isn't Ron. Harry sneaks in quietly and stands in front of me, almost observing me. He lets out a deep breath and says I look amazing. Then he kisses me on the cheek. Thank you, I say. You look nice yourself. He grins, one of the many smiles that has graced his face ever since Voldemort has been gone and his life has been better than I can ever think of. He tells me how Ron is holding up, joking about how nervous as hell he is, because he doesn't seem to think his black shoes match his red hair. I laugh and Ginny breaks our small talk, saying that she needs to get ready, I need to get ready, and the boys need to get ready too. Harry kisses her, helps me believe that everything will go great, it'll all be perfect, and then he leaves to go and calm down Ron.

And now, if you would have told me while walking down the aisle towards the man who I love so much it makes me want to explode at times, a very non-Hermione thing to do, "Oh, Hermione, you're going to hate marriage. Men are always putting you down, and distracting you from your Healer studies, and the world needs you to make it a better place." I would've laugh and replied in my know-it-all tone, "Boys are the reason I did so well in Hogwarts, making advanced potions for them, therefore letting me get in free to Healer school. And one particular boy is my world and… I'm pretty sure he can't get any better."