A/n: This is my little twist on what happened after the locket scene in "The Sliver Doe." Enjoy. Oh, and I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER NOR WILL I EVER OWN IT. And I do not have a beta so this might be dumb.
"I guess, you figured out my worst fear," said Ron. He was sitting on the ground, hands covering his face.
"I sort of… figured that… it'd be… you know, something about Hermione," said Harry who was standing a distance away from Ron.
"How long?" asked Ron.
"What?" asked Harry. His insides tightened, he knew what Ron wanted to know.
"How long did you know that I… that I… that I felt that way about Hermione?" he asked. Harry heard the fear in his voice, how Ron was so worried, upset, scared….
"A while. I mean, you were sort of obvious," said Harry. "I could see the way you stared at her constantly, how your eyes never moved from her, how you'd hold her hand when you thought I looked away, and how'd you always be the first to comfort her when she was only the tiniest bit upset."
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Ron. He was getting angrier, his voice was strict, his was most likely furious, but Harry would never know, nor could ever guess, what pain Ron was in.
"I don't know, I always thought one day, you two'd get a move on!" he said. Ron removed his face from his hands. His eyes were puffy and red. His already wet skin was covered in tears. He looked as though he had been sobbing for hours.
"Does she know?" Ron asked. Harry understood that 'she' meant Hermione.
"I'm not sure, mate. She always seems to know, but if she knew she would have said something."
"One last question. Why didn't you tell her how I felt about her?"
Harry was clueless. Why didn't he try to get them together? Was he afraid of what might happen if they spilt up? Or what might happen if they became completely smitten? Was he afraid of losing his best friends to love?
"WHY!?" shouted Ron, breaking Harry's trance. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING!?"
"Ron, calm down. If I talk to her tomorrow, will that help?" asked Harry.
Ron's blue eyes widen. He looked guilty, like he just committed the foulest of crimes.
"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to… yell," he said.
"It's okay. But it's my turn to ask you a question, well actually two. Why didn't you ask her out and how long have you felt this way about her?" replied Harry. He was afraid of the answer Ron would give.
"I don't know," said Ron. Ron violently kicked the rock next to him. "Why didn't I?! Anyway, I've felt this way, since 2nd year."
"2nd!" said Harry. "For almost five years now?"
"Pathetic aren't I?" said Ron.
"Ron," said Harry. "All's fair in love and war, and this is a little bit of both."
Ron finally smiled as they left for the tent to awaken a sleeping Hermione.
Reviews, please?