Hermione Granger had always been a sensible witch. As such, she felt that any superstitions about birthday wishes were complete and total rubbish. But the romantic in Hermione wouldn't let her pass an annual milestone without closing her eyes and making a wish. She told herself that it was silly, a total waste of hope, but something inside of her always dared to dream. When she was nine, she wished for her friend Jamie's parents to stop fighting. When she was ten, she wished for her mother's cat to come home. When she was eleven, she wished for international harmony. Yes, with the passing of each year, Hermione wished for one person after another, but she never made a wish just for her. After she started Hogwarts, she stopped making wishes. She felt as if she was too mature to dabble in such juvenile fantasies. That is, until her 18th birthday. It had been a tough year for her, she was still coping with the emotional scarring left by the final battle and she felt as if she needed something familiar to bring her back to life. That year, she made a wish for herself. She made a wish to be loved. She felt as if no one had ever really loved her because she wouldn't let them. She constructed great walls around herself and used wit and charm as her weapons of misdirection. But she made a vow then. That she would try her best to let her walls down for one person. That one person with the fiery red hair to match his passionate disposition. That one person who could make her smile and cry, but at least he made her feel anything at all. That one person she had been in love with since fate sent her looking for a toad. That one person who sent an electric shock into the pit of her stomach when she catches him out of the corner of her eye talking animatedly with Harry about something. That one person she locks eyes with and never lets his gaze drop. That one person who was walking towards her making her senses go haywire with excitement.
"Happy Birthday 'Mione" he says.
"I'm glad you came" she says smiling.
"Me too." He said
They stood there in silence for a while, Hermione loosing her resolve to take the first step towards love and Ron just staring at her like he always has.
"Hey 'Mione, you want to go for a walk?" he says running his hair through his adorably unkempt hair.
"Sure, that would be nice." She says with a meek smile.
As they both walk out the door and onto the street, the reality of September weather in London and a slight chill rolled down her spine, not unnoticed by Ron, who kindly offers her his jacket. She accepts and they begin to walk. The streets are dark now, everyone has gone home for the night and it seems as if they are the only two people in all of London. After wandering in comfortable silence for a few minutes, Ron stops walking as turns to Hermione with his brows furrowed.
"Hey Hermione? Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Of coarse not, what is it?"
"Well, it's just that when you blew out your candles, you closed your eyes and held your breath for a second. What did you wish for?"
"Ron, what makes you think that I was wishing for anything?'
"Because I know a wish when I see one. I've spent the last 3 years wishing my life away on something I know will never happen."
Feeling her bravery coming back to her, Hermione plucked up the courage to ask "And what wish did you make 3 years ago?"
"I can't tell you that." Ron said painfully
"Ron, you know that whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm your best mate, you can tell me anything."
Getting even more brave, Hermione comes up with a plan.
"Ron, I have an idea. I will tell you what I wished for if you tell me what wish you have been holding onto for 3 years. Deal?" She extends her hand for Ron to shake and after a moment of hesitation, he accepts.
"Well, you go first" Ron says "Because your wish is the newest."
"Okay" after a pause and a sigh, Hermione musteres all of her remaining courage and with confidence that surprises even herself, she says only "You."
"What?"
"You." She repeats, this time a little more hesitantly.
"Why?" says Ron, still trying to digest what she said.
"Because for once in my life, I want to stop running from what I already know. I want to stop building walls and start building bridges. I want to be loved for the first time. And I want you to be the one that loves me." She says.
After a few moments of silence, Hermione tries to hide her disappointment, but feels as if she has to stay where she is. She has to hear Ron's wish. When she asks him, he replies "Three years ago, in second year when you were petrified, I went to visit you everyday. Somewhere in those daily visits, I realized that I had begun to care about you. I shoved it off as just looking out for my best mate, and for the better part of third year I was able to live in denial, but when fourth year rolled around, it turned into something else. I was jealous, insanely jealous of anyone who stood within a ten foot radius of you and after the Yule Ball I knew. I knew that I loved you and I knew that you would never love me back, which is why I never told you. All I want is to make you happy and I can't seem to do that when were always involved in some sort of row over something neither of us even cares about. That's my secret. That's what I've been hiding and that is why all I want to do right now is to kiss you."
There was a long silence then, each silently collecting themselves and preparing themselves for the conversation they had been avoiding since 4th year. Somewhere during Ron's impassioned speech, it began to rain, but neither seemed to notice or care to much. And suddenly, above the roar of the storm a small whisper was heard.
"What's stopping you?" At that moment, each looks up and locks eyes again, reading each other and looking through the tinted irises into the most secret parts of each other's being that they had been afraid to show to anyone else. It was then that Ron kissed her, right there in the rain and Hermione decided that maybe wishing on birthday candles wasn't so juvenile anymore.