Dreams vs. Reality
A/N: I've always wanted to write my own version of Hermione's daydream from the charm Fred and George gave her in HBP, and I've always wanted to write my own version of Ron admitting he fancies Hermione because it's so ooc in all the fics where Ron just comes out and all of a sudden says "I love you", sooooo, I combined the two! Read and enjoy!
Hermione stormed into the History of Magic classroom, flustered, angry at Ron, and extremely early for class. She chose a seat at the back of the classroom and busied herself with finding her parchment, ink and quill. She tried not to think about what she had just witnessed. The bell finally rang and people began to pile into the classroom. Ron and Lavender walked in together. Lavender looked smug, but Ron looked embarrassed and when he caught Hermione's eye, she looked away quickly and pretended to be rummaging in her bag for more parchment, even though she had a large pile on her desk already.
While searching through her bag she came across a small, tattered box with an illustration of a girl swooning into the arms of a handsome young man. Wondering what on Earth it was doing in her bag, Hermione curiously turned over the box in her hand and read the label. It read "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes- Patented Daydream Charm". Comprehension dawned on her as she remembered the day in Diagon Alley that the Weasley twins had given it to her free because of her praise. An idea struck her.
She looked up at Professor Binns. He was droning on as usual, completely oblivious to the fact that no one was paying attention. Hermione hesitantly opened the box and pulled out the piece of paper with an incantation written on it. She figured, she had listened faithfully to Professor Binns the entire year, and missing one lesson couldn't hurt…
She read the instructions on the back of the box (as well as the warning of mild side-effects such as a vacant expression and minor drooling), concentrated hard on her preferred daydream, and muttered the incantation under her breath. Immediately, Hermione felt herself floating out of the present and was thrust into her fantasy world.
She found herself in a pretty, yet slightly overgrown garden she recognized as the Burrow's. It was the beginning of the summer and the air was warm and sweet with the scent of Mrs. Weasley's various flowers.
Hermione was sitting at the base of a large tree, reading an excellent book. She was just getting to the end when she heard familiar footsteps.
Without glancing up she could tell it was Ron. In her daydream, she knew Ron had broken-up with Lavender long ago, all had been forgiven and forgotten and though there had yet to be any confessions of love, she and him had been getting along very nicely.
He sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. She snuggled closer to him and leaned her head on his chest, and smiled at his being considerate and letting her finish her book.
Hermione concentrated on her novel while still remaining conscious of Ron's warmth, pleasant smell, and the way his chest moved up and down every time he chuckled at her when she laughed out loud or gasped in surprise at her book.
Finally she reached the end and put the book down, sighing in satisfaction. "Happy ending?" Ron asked. Hermione nodded and smiled. "D'you feel like going for a walk?" he enquired.
"That sounds great." Responded Hermione. Ron got up first and offered her a hand up, then began walking without letting go of her hand. Hermione realized the real Ron would never be this forward, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and followed DreamRon.
As they passed a bed of red tulips, Ron swept up a small bouquet and handed them to Hermione with a flourish and a smile. Hermione graciously accepted them and brought them to her nose and inhaled deeply. "Thank you Ron, they're beautiful." She said.
"Like you." He replied. Hermione flushed a darker red than the tulips. Ron continued speaking with unwavering confidence in his voice. "Really Hermione, I think you're beautiful, as well as clever, and smart, and pretty much perfect in every way. I know I should have done this much sooner- I've fancied you since our fourth year, but there have always been… distractions." He looked down at his feet in embarrassment.
Hermione nodded profusely, "I know Ron, I understand." She said.
Ron smiled. "I really like you Hermione."
"I really like you too, Ron." She replied.
As they stood looking into each others' eyes, Ron stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, while Hermione stood on tip-toe to encircle his neck with her arms. Their lips met. Hermione found that Ron was an excellent kisser- sweet, loving and not at all forceful. As she began to run her hands through his hair, he said, "Ugh, is that drool?"
Hermione felt a familiar floating sensation and found herself back in the History of Magic classroom, blinking blearily up at a concerned and mildly disgusted looking Harry. She wiped her mouth self-consciously, and out of the corner of her eye saw Ron looking at her concernedly from his desk where Lavender Brown was tugging impatiently at the sleeve of his robes.
"Hermione are you ok?" asked Harry, then eyeing her blank parchment, added, "You didn't take a single note! Maybe you should go up to the Hospital Wing."
"Right." She told him distractedly, as she gathered up her quill, books, ink, and parchment and stuffed them in her bag, "I'll do that." She said, rushing out of the room.
A/N: Chapter 2- "Reality" to come soon!