CHAPTER 1

'Alright, how hard can it be?' she taunted, in a voice brimming with playful confidence that floated up lazily from the quidditch pitch that lay spread below Ron.

He was up high in the air astride a broomstick in front of the 3 scoring goal hoops on a cold, crisp Christmas morning at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

He and Harry had woken especially early in order to try out their hastily unwrapped Christmas gifts. The latest Comet 520 for Ron, a rare expensive present from his parents, bought to reward his unexpectedly good OWL results, and a pair of flying goggles for Harry from Hagrid that promised to 'enhance the seekers ability to see', whatever that meant. However, Harry had been forced to retire from their fun early on as the goggles appeared to do the exact opposite to their claim, possibly because he had to wear his glasses underneath them, as they had blurred his vision so completely that he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face even with them off.

Hermione had joined her friends outside and sat in the stands trying to immerse herself in a rather interesting book she had received from her mother, although truth be told it was hard to concentrate when the pair were making so much noise. Harry had dismounted his broom and was shouting something up to Ron about not being able to see, but Ron was oblivious and carried on raving nonstop about how much more acceleration and better handling his new broom had.

However, it wasn't just the noise distracting Hermione; she constantly wanted to gaze at a certain someone and had taken to using the book as a cover in order to steal glances at him. So, when Ron offered her the chance to fill in for a frustrated Harry (who had stumbled clumsily towards the changing rooms muttering under his breath) her response surprised him.

'Alright, how hard can it be?'

'What, you're going to play quidditch?' Ron scoffed in disbelief, 'but you hate quidditch!'

'I never actually said that Ron, you just jumped to conclusions.' Hermione retorted as she fetched a quaffle and a rather sorry looking broom from the nearby equipment shed.

'Anyway, why would I have gone out with a quidditch player if I didn't like quidditch?' she added coyly.

Ron scowled, fighting a large urge to swear loudly.

'A really good quidditch player at that.' She teased looking up at him, hovering in the air with what she knew was a face like thunder.

She smiled to herself as she mounted her broom; Ron's jealousy about Krum confirmed what she already knew. She had been waiting for Ron to make a move all winter, but after countless flirty exchanges and lingering looks, he had done nothing. It seemed likely she would have to take matters into her own hands, he seemed oblivious to her subtle displays of affection; maybe showing an interest in quidditch was a good place to start.

Rather unsteadily she began to rise through the air, all her muscles tensed to keep her balance, relaxing only when she was level in the air with him.

'You sure you're all right to play?' Ron asked across the gap of space between them, a questioning look on his face, 'you look like you're gonna fall off!'

'I'm fine,' Hermione replied in a high voice, exhaling slowly, 'just getting my bearings.' She glanced down at the grass below and felt her stomach lurch, it hadn't looked this high from the ground.

'I swear I haven't seen you on a broom since our flying lessons in first year,' Ron continued, 'and they weren't exactly intensive.'

He sounded concerned, which pleased her, but she wanted to show him that she could do it, in the hope that it would impress him. Well, if she could with her non-existent flying and throwing skills.

'Don't worry about that, just worry that I'm gonna score!' she said, wanting to sound confident, but ultimately sounding very scared.

'All right then, bring it on!' Ron shouted, his competitiveness taking over. He lowered his body in readiness and broke into a massive grin, the one that made Hermione's heart race.

'Okay,' Hermione thought to herself, trying to ignore how positively lovely he looked and that his eyes were fixed on her, 'all you have to do is throw the quaffle hard enough so that you don't look like a complete fool, don't fall off, don't wobble, look like you actually know what you're doing and be attractive and alluring at the same time.'

She sighed heavily, 'Easier said than done.' She was suddenly regretting turning down countless invitations of quidditch practice from Ginny with the excuse that there was studying to be done.

'Stupid exam revision,' she thought, 'he doesn't care about grades!'

Dismissing these thoughts from her mind she inhaled slowly; narrowing her eyes on the left goal hoop. Grasping the quaffle firmly in her right hand, she leant back on her broom, simultaneously drawing her arm back in what she hoped was a convincing throwing stance, and then in one smooth motion, launched the quaffle forwards with all the force she could muster.

The quaffle zoomed through the air at such speed that Ron was mid taunt when it hit him square in the face, knocking him backwards of his shiny new broom.

Hermione was pleased with herself in the immediate wake of her throw, she bobbed slightly from the force of it, but her expression turned from triumph to horror as she watched the object of her affections take a hit to the face and start to plummet like a stone through water to the hard ground below.

Ron hit the floor at speed with a dull thump.

'ohmygodohmygodohmygod' Hermione chanted as she rapidly cut through the air to the ground, discarding her broom as she sprinted over to where Ron lay sprawled awkwardly on the frost covered grass.

She knelt next to him as he struggled to sit up, 'Are you okay!' she breathed, 'I am so sorry Ron, I aimed for the stupid hoop, but it –'

'S'lright' Ron interjected croakily; 'Just a bit winded'. He was wheezing as he breathed, like he had a nasty cough, but he still managed a small smile which made her stomach flip over.

'God Ron, I am so sorry I just can't believe it-'Hermione started again, Ron looked like he was listening but really he was thinking about how pretty she was. Her brown hair was ruffled from the light breeze that blew and some had fallen across her face from the run towards him, her cheeks were flushed and rosy from the biting cold and her lips were a startling red against the white sky behind her. He really wanted her to see how much he liked her; he needed her to be his so badly.

He slipped his hand over hers as she carried on apologizing.

'Well, at least your new broom wasn't damaged!' Hermione pointed out, looking over to where it lay, registering that Ron had actually just reached out for her hand and struggling not to react.

'Yeah it might not be' sighed Ron, 'but my ego sure is, glad no one was around to see you annihilate me with that almighty throw, you should have tried out for the team!'

Hermione laughed, 'Pretty sure that was a fluke, can't promise a repeat performance I'm afraid.'

She looked down at their entwined hands and a silence fell between them. Their eyes found each other's but neither of them moved or spoke. After what seemed like an age of staring at each other Ron piped up.

'We should probably go back inside now we're not moving about, it's freezing.'

'Oh' said Hermione, who was perfectly happy to withstand any extreme circumstances in order to sit with Ron like this forever, 'yes I suppose we should'.

They stood up together, and Ron let go of Hermione's hand as he went to collect his broom. Hermione looked down at her hand, trying to make the warmth of his hand linger. She didn't have to try too hard though, because as they turned to walk back towards the castle he took her hand again, his broomstick tucked under his arm.

Hermione's heart began to hammer in her chest.

'So' Ron said softly, 'there is something I wanted to ask you.'

Hermione was looking down at the grass, focusing on crushing the frost that covered it to prevent herself from blushing or throwing herself on him.

'Oh, what's that?' she answered trying to sound nonchalant.

He stopped walking suddenly, making her stop abruptly at his side. He bit his lip and looked away from her, it seemed as though he was choosing his words extremely carefully.

'I, um' his forehead furrowed in concentration, 'I just, there's, er' he glanced at Hermione who was looking at him intently; he clenched his jaw and swallowed hard.

'Ron what are y-'Hermione started, confusion etched on her face, but she was cut off by Ron who spoke loudly.

'Can I kiss you?'

He looked immediately aghast at his own words and flicked his eyes anywhere that wasn't Hermione, his still shallow breathing the only sound to be heard. Hermione was frozen to the spot and not because of the cold. After a few moments passed and she still hadn't responded Ron seemed to deflate.

'Sorry, that was stupid' he said quickly, mumbling, still not looking at her, 'I'll see you later' he dropped Hermione's hand like a hot coal and began walking very fast away from her.

Hermione blinked as realisation sunk in. She swayed a little as she watched him scurry to the edge of the quidditch pitch.

'Wait, Ron!' she called, beginning to run after him, 'Ron!' He wasn't reacting; in fact he had begun to run himself.

'Ron, what the hell, stop!' she couldn't keep up, he had much longer legs, 'Ron this is ridiculous, RON!' he was still sprinting away, not even looking back.

'Right' thought Hermione as she pulled out her wand from her coat pocket.

'STUPEFY!' she shouted, pointing it at the shape in the distance. A burst of red erupted from her wand that thrust forwards quickly, she watched as the spell stretched across the open space, curling as the magic rolled like waves and struck the still running figure in the back.

Ron fell hard onto the frozen ground for the second time that morning.

Hermione jogged slowly over to him, returning her wand to her pocket, knowing her spell would hold him while she caught her breath. When she reached him his face was expressionless and eyes blank. She stood next to him with her hands on her hips.

'You absolute idiot.' She began, 'I'm sorry about the spell but-'

'I know it was stupid, I shouldn't have said anything' Ron said closing his eyes.

'No,' Hermione whispered, 'you shouldn't have run off, I was going to say yes.'

Ron opened his eyes as Hermione knelt next to him. He sat up and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, brushing her cheek lightly with his fingertips.

'Really?' he breathed.

She smiled and gave a small nod.

'You really are beautiful, you know that?' he said slowly.

Hermione smirked, 'You're not so bad yourself' she laughed, tracing the line of his jaw with her finger.

Both of their hearts racing, each aching to hold the other close, Ron and Hermione leant in towards one another and closed their eyes to share something wonderful, on the verge of their hearts desires, only to be interrupted when Harry Potter's voice popped out loudly from the unknown.

CHAPTER 2

'Hey guys, I can see agai-'

Ron and Hermione recoiled from each other as fast as possible and turned with in embarrassment to their unwanted visitor.

Harry stood open mouthed. His friends were sat on the cold ground, close to one another, both extremely red in the face and glancing around shiftily, he was pretty sure he had just interrupted something extremely intimate.

'Er,' he mumbled awkwardly.

Hermione stood up quickly, and spoke far too brightly and loudly for their proximity.

'Oh hello Harry! I knew those goggles would be trouble, but I guess it sorted itself out,' there was an awkward pause, before she slapped her forehead in false despair, 'Oh silly me! I just remembered I promised I'd send a Christmas message home, must dash!' She glanced at Ron and her voice became shrill, 'See you later Ron!'

Without looking at Harry she started hurriedly towards the castle. Ron still hadn't moved from the floor, but he was scowling at Harry with great intensity.

'You absolute bloody idiot Harry Potter!' He spat, cross legged on the floor, 'Why did you have to come back at this precise moment? Why? WHY?' He was holding his head in his hands, 'So close, SO close' he muttered, 'one more minute, that's all it would have taken.' He sighed heavily as he got up, 'Well, this is going to be extremely awkward now.'

'Why?' asked Harry, still not entirely sure what he had interrupted.

'Because,' Ron said, his voice laced with anger, 'I may have just asked Hermione if I could kiss her and what was it she said Harry? Oh yeah, she said yes!'

'Oh,' Harry began, surprised by the development between his two best friends, 'Well you can still-'

'We were about to kiss Harry!' said Ron cutting him off, 'something I have been waiting to do for what feels like eternity, and now we are going to have to go through this whole awkward process again before we even broach what nearly happened.'

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed again, 'I'm sorry Harry, I just…'

'I understand Ron,' Harry consoled, 'but on the upside at least you both know how the other feels right?'

Ron nodded, 'Yeah that's true,' he broke into a wide smile as they started off towards the castle, 'I can't believe she likes me back, it's amazing.'

'Yeah, I bet it's weird though right?' Harry asked, 'I mean if I knew that Ginny would consider-'

'Right, here's what I'll do,' he was cut off by Ron who had been in deep thought as they passed the lake, 'I'll find her and just tell her how I feel, like properly how I feel and not a cop out, incoherent version.'

'Yeah 'Harry smiled weakly, realising he was going to have be the addmitter of relationship advice instead of the recipient, 'sounds like a plan.'

CHAPTER 3

Hermione had sought privacy in her favourite corner of the library, which had been decorated lavishly for the festive occasion with boughs of holly, thick rows of tinsel and floating candles. She had collapsed onto her usual table, her mind and heart racing. She couldn't believe Ron had instigated their near kiss, just when she thought she was going to have to act first. A bud of happiness blossomed in her stomach as she relived the sequence of events; resting her head on the cool wood of the desk she imagined what could have happened with a few more precious seconds.

'Damn you Harry!' she cursed to herself, if only he had been delayed somehow.

The chair opposite Hermione squealed noisily on the wooden floor as it was pulled back, 'I know right? What a bummer!' a familiar voice whispered jokingly in the silence of the library.

Hermione looked up and found herself staring into the light blue eyes of Ron Weasley. She smiled widely and started to blush.

'Hi.' She said softly.

'Hi' he replied, eyes fixed on hers.

He leant towards her across the table, 'I really like you Hermione,' he whispered, reaching out and lacing his hand with hers, 'I have since the beginning, but I just didn't want to admit it.' He paused to gaze at their hands, his face a picture of longing.

'And as a result' he continued, 'I didn't do anything about it because I was confused about my feelings for you and I didn't know whether you felt the same.' He smiled and gave a small laugh, 'and then Krum showed up and I thought I'd lost you forever. He's everything I'm not and I could see you slipping away from me and the only way I seemed to be able to cope was to pretend I didn't care,' he laughed again squeezing her hand tightly, 'but I care so much. It killed me when you went to the Yule Ball together. I was blinded by jealousy and was too much of a coward to ask you myself. In the end he was the wakeup call I needed to realise that I,' he paused, 'that I need you.'

Hermione's eyes were shining, 'Oh Ron, you don't know how much I wanted to hear you say that.' She squeezed his hand back and whispered, 'I felt exactly the same about Lavender. I need you too Ron.'

'God we've been stupid haven't we?' Ron smiled, the two of them laughing at the oddness of the situation.

'Pretty much,' Hermione replied, 'but we know now right?' she leant across the table, eyes fixed on Ron's with a playful smile on her lips, 'You don't have to ask this time, you already know my answer.'

Ron reached out and cupped her cheek gently and then leant forwards. Their lips met in what started as a soft, delicate kiss but quickly developed into an intense, passionate exchange. Hermione was running her hands through Ron's hair and both were half stood, half sitting as they struggled to keep kissing over the expanse of the desk.

'Ahem'

Ron and Hermione were far too preoccupied with exploring each other's mouths to hear this small attempt to gain their attention from the school librarian.

'AHEM'

Ron and Hermione pulled apart suddenly and turned, still holding on to each other tightly across the desk, to face the old woman.

'I do not accept this kind of behaviour in my library,' she said tersely through thin lips 'and I would kindly ask you to cease immediately or find somewhere that is not here if you must continue.'

They let go of each other slowly so that they remained holding hands, both of them bashful and a little dazed.

'Sorry.' Ron laughed awkwardly, avoiding the librarian's stony expression.

'Yes, um sorry,' Hermione repeated, 'we'll um,' she turned to Ron, 'go elsewhere.'

'Thank you,' the librarian said as they turned towards the exit, 'don't let me catch you doing that again,'

'Of course,' Ron said as he opened the door and stepped through, pulling Hermione forwards by their entwined hands.

Just as Hermione was about to go through herself she looked back in time to see the librarian at her desk smiling a small smile.

'About time' she muttered.

'Everything okay?' Ron asked when she had finally exited the library.

'Never better,' she smiled and beamed back.

Ron leaned in and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Hermione wrapped her arms around him and he held her close to his chest.

'Merry Christmas Hermione' Ron whispered, breathing in the scent of her hair, 'Merry Christmas Ron,' Hermione replied, her eyes closed in content.

They stood in this way for a long time, contemplating their future as a couple, and swaying gently with the love they had at last realised.