Quidditch League Round 9

Position: Beater 1

Prompts:

(Quote) "The secret of happiness is not doing what one loves, but loving what one does."

(Emotion) Annoyed

(Restriction) No using the word "Hogwarts"

Word Count: 1,370

Hermione Jean Granger was one of those people who gets easily flustered. This particular hard-working witch was prone to fits of worry, self-depreciation and angst which made all of those around her extremely annoyed.

However, that was at school. Now that she had left and was out in the real world, living life to its full potential, she had thought things would be different.

Didn't she deserve that? After all she'd done, everything she'd been through, couldn't The World just ease off a bit?

Alas, the fates were not that kind. Now, rather than getting agitated about schoolwork and homework assignments, Hermione had fits of panic about her work. She almost preferred the former.

Almost. Because now, despite all of the other worries in her life, at least she had Ron. Yes, she had Ron before, but not in the same way. At school, he had been best-friend-Ron, the wizard she fought with and talked with and fooled around with.

Now, he is boyfriend-Ron. Handsome, successful, kind, loving Ron, the man she had grown to love without even realising it before it was too late and she was head-over-heels crazy for the gangly ginger man.

But did he feel as much about her? What if he was thinking of breaking up with her? Those were the questions that haunted Hermione – when she wasn't freaking out about work.

He was due to arrive at her flat in five minutes, but suddenly Hermione wanted to cancel. Things had been going so well lately; after over a year, their relationship was stronger than ever and Hermione was planning on telling him that she loved him soon. But then her doubt had kicked in and everything was plunged into chaos.

Should she tell him? Was it too soon? Would he freak out? Would she freak out? How could she do it? And, most importantly, would he say it back?

These thoughts and questions plagued her every time she thought about Ron, and she was sure that seeing him now would just worry her more. But how could she call it off at such short notice? She didn't have a good excuse, or any excuse, for that matter. He would undoubtedly be suspicious. Would it just ruin everything?

A burst of flames from the living room broke her chain of thoughts, and Hermione dashed in to see Ron emerging from the Floo, brushing dust off his clothes.

"Hey, 'Mione," he said affectionately, brushing her cheek with his thumb. She gulped and forced a smile.

Pulling him into a hug, Hermione took in his scent. "Hi," she breathed happily, all of her worries from a minute ago momentarily forgotten.

And she did manage to force all of her bad thoughts out of her brain. They went out to dinner, they came back to the flat, they talked, they laughed, they had a great time. But then, while they were curled up on the sofa together, something nagged at the back of Hermione's mind.

Wasn't there something she was supposed to be doing, right about now? Then she remembered; The "I love you," plan!

But how could she say it? Girls weren't supposed to be the first ones, they came across as needy and that was not at all an attractive quality.

"Listen, Ron…" she began, mentally kicking herself as soon as the words came out. That sounded like a breakup line!

Ron turned to look at her, a panicked expression on his previously calm features. "What's wrong?" he asked, a note of panic in his voice. "Is this a breakup?" Hermione shook her head quickly and Ron breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Is it about work? Because listen, I know that things are hard right now and you're under a lot of pressure to do well-" Ron carried on talking and Hermione tried to stop him talking but he had got carried away and didn't notice her frantic head-shaking and arm-waving.

"-but the secret of happiness is not doing what one loves, but loving what one does. So, if you're feeling like you aren't happy, just try to love and appreciate what you do, because I promise, that will make it easier-" he carried on, completely oblivious to his girlfriend's attempts at stopping him.

Finally, Hermione managed to silence him by pressing her lips to his. He stopped talking. "Shhh," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. When she was sure he had shut up, Hermione pulled away – albeit rather reluctantly. "It's okay. I'm sorry, that came out wrong. What I meant to say was that there is something I need to tell you."

Ron nodded, still not entirely sure of what had just happened. "So you're alright?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders. Hermione nodded and smiled. Ron was so thoughtful and kind; he always put her needs first.

As soon as that realisation had crossed her mind, Hermione felt a great weight lift from her shoulders. He always put her first! How could anyone do that without loving them? She was clearly one of the most important things in his life. What had she ever been worried about? Her previous worry seemed so comical now, Hermione almost felt like laughing. But she held it back, for the sake of the Plan.

"We've been together for a long time," she began, her voice wavering uncertainly.

Ron grinned. "Almost fourteen months," he stated proudly. Hermione nodded.

"Right," she said. "And I have loved every minute, I really have," she blushed. "You are such a wonderful person. You know that, right?" She grasped Ron's hands in hers, needing to feel him close to her.

"'Mione," Ron said quietly. "What is all this about?" Hermione looked down at the floor, too embarrassed to answer. He gave her a quick kiss. "I can see you're completely stressing out right now, and I want to know why. Please. You can tell me," he assured her gently.

Ron kissed her again and Hermione pulled him closer. All too soon, Ron broke away. "Hermione," he said sternly. "Tell me."

She tried to kiss him again but Ron leaned backwards, not letting her. "Fine!" she threw her hands up in the air in defeat, suddenly feeling very nervous.

Ron raised his eyebrows. "You want to know what this is about?" he nodded quickly. "I want to tell you, I really do, Ron. I'd never keep something from you. But it just feels so wrong – well, it doesn't. It actually feels so perfect, so right, but I'm the girl and the girl can't go first and it's all just so wrong…"

Ron pressed a finger to her lips and she stopped talking. "Hermione. You're babbling. Slow down!"

He lowered the finger and Hermione took a deep breath. "Okay. Here I go. And take this as a sign, as proof of what I'm saying, because this is really, really scary and I don't want to be the first one to say it, because I don't want to make the first move, but I guess you deserve that because I love you, Ron!"

Hermione stopped talking and pressed her lips together. She hadn't meant for it to slip out like that, among all of that incessant jabbering. But she wasn't sure if the words had had the desired effect, because Ron was staring at her with a strange look in his eyes. "You… I…" he stammered. He closed his eyes for a moment, too a deep breath, then opened them again. "That was what you were so worried about?" he asked incredulously. Hermione nodded sheepishly. Ron laughed and pulled her into a hug. "You can be so ridiculous sometimes, 'Mione," he said, still chuckling. He felt Hermione's shoulders slump a bit against his stomach. He hadn't said it back.

Ron pulled away again. "Hermione," he said, dead serious now. "Never be afraid to tell me something so little. I thought it was something bad; you really worried me for a moment there!"

"I did?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

Nodding, Ron stroked her cheek. "Of course you did. When you're worried, you make me worry. Don't feel bad, though. It's only because I love you, too."

He pulled her into a hug and Hermione smiled. Plan I Love You: Complete.