Authors note: Hello everybody! I don't think this will be a song fanfic. I may just have lyrics here and there if they are fitting for the mood. I just thought that the ones below were fitting for this chapter. This is my second fanfiction I have written in awhile. Disclaimer: I do not own the lovely world of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling gets the credit for creating this world along with the characters! I hope you like this story. This will most likely be a multi-chapter story. I have a few ideas to work with. Please review!

Long lost words whisper slowly to me
Still can't find what keeps me here
When all this time I've been so hollow inside
I know you're still there

Lyrics from Haunted by Evanescence

That kiss was all Hermione Granger could think about. It was a kiss that meant everything to her, though at the same time, it meant nothing to her. That broke her heart because she wanted to want it to mean something. It made sense to want it. However, she could not force love. She didn't want to ever do that.

Hermione Granger sighed as she replayed the kiss that had happened between her and Ron Weasley during the battle of Hogwarts. Harry was off with Luna, looking for the Ravenclaw diadem. Ron had gotten the idea that the Basilisk's teeth would still be good to destroy horcruxes, so they went down to the Chamber of Secrets to get one. She had been so proud of him during those moments. He was so brave, and brilliant. Hermione thought that she had seen Ronald in a different light during those moments.

Ron let her destroy Helga's Hufflepuff Cup there, one of the horcruxes. They stared into each other's eyes after, and she could not help but wonder if he was going to kiss her. Hermione made herself relax as he seemed to move even closer, slowly. At that moment, she wanted the kiss. But at the same time, the idea of it terrified her. All of her thoughts escaped her when he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. It felt like they never going to get the chance to kiss each other again because of the way he was kissing her. Hermione had thought that she would feel something after spending months thinking that she might have feelings for Ronald. She wanted to feel something in it, because she knew that he did.

When they pulled away moments later, she was disappointed to realize that she did not feel anything at all. He had smiled at her and reached for her hand. The look that he gave her crushed her. He looked at her like he thought she was the most wonderful thing in the world. Hermione knew better though. She was not anything close to what he thought she was right now. They started walking toward where the battle was going on. She did not have the heart to say anything about the kiss and her feelings then. They were about to walk into battle after all. They both needed to be prepared for anything. If she broke his heart now, there was no telling what would happen to him. Hermione might not be in love with Ronald, but she knew that she would hate herself if anything happened to him.

Weeks had passed since Lord Voldemort had been defeated. Hermione last saw her two best friends when they destroyed the Elder Wand. Harry had destroyed it because he thought that it caused more trouble than good for everybody. Hermione had thought that Harry was reasonable, but Ronald looked a little green at the thought of destroying the unbeatable wand. Hermione had spent the past few weeks volunteering at St. Mungo's. They needed extra Healer's, and she wanted to help people that had been hurt in the war. She was glad that it was over, though things would not be normal for a long time. Staying busy did not help get rid of that ache that she had in her heart. She missed her best friends. She thought about writing to them after her volunteer shift ended. Hermione was going to head to Australia in a few days to bring her parents home. She thought that she should at least write her friends to let them know where she was going in case they were wondering about her.

A smile appeared on her lips as she thought about seeing her parents again. She missed them so much during the past year, though she knew that she had done the right thing by modifying their memories, changing their names and putting them in hiding. It had been for their safety when the war was going on. When she got home that day, she had just settled into her flat in Diagon Alley and was beginning to write her friends a letter when she heard a knock on the door.

She checked the peephole to see who it was, and blinked in surprise when she saw that it was Ronald. Hermione quickly opened the door to let him in. "Ron!" She said, unable to keep the tone of curiosity out of her voice. "What are you doing here? You are soaked! Come sit by the fire, and I will get you a towel!" She noticed that it was storming for the first time. The rain had made her think of their first kiss, though Hermione did not want to dwell on it too much.

"No, no, you don't have to do all that. I just wanted to see you," Ron said quickly, and Hermione stopped in her tracks. Her guard was up again, she couldn't help it.

"Ok…is anything wrong?" She asked nervously, knowing that they never really needed an excuse to see each other before the kiss.

"No…actually, do you have any hot tea? I could use that now!" Ronald said, and Hermione noticed that he had changed the subject quickly.

"I can make some for you," Hermione said, glad that she had a distraction. She knew that she was making things more difficult than they had to be, but she hated these situations. The last time she had to deal with boy problems was when she was with Viktor Krum. That breakup had been easier because it was by a letter. She could not exactly break up with Ron through a letter right now. After all, they weren't even dating. They had just kissed once.

She bustled about in her kitchen, getting the tea ready and stared out the window. How much longer was she going to pull this off? She wondered to herself. She could not avoid Ronald forever, especially when he was right in her living room! Hermione hated knowing that this was going to crush his heart.

Hermione grabbed a teacup from the cabinet and said loudly, "Hey Ron, do you want some honey in your tea?" She had forgotten if he liked honey at all. She waited a few seconds, but there was silence. She frowned and started to turn around. "Ronald?"

She turned around to take a step, but she was startled when she saw him there on his knee. The sight made her drop the teacup, but she took no notice of it, not even when it crashed and broke on the floor.

"Oh my gosh!" She said faintly as she covered her mouth with her hands in shock. This was not happening. This was not happening! Maybe it is not what I think it is. Maybe he just had to tie his shoe… Hermione looked down to see if that was the case, but he was staring at her the same way that he had after they kissed. Her heart leapt to her throat, though it was not in a good way. She was surprised that she had not even heard him come up behind her. Hermione wished she had, though she knew that it would not have done any good right now. She swallowed nervously as Ron cleared his throat and reached for something in his pocket.

The movement made her panic inside, though all she could do right then was stare at him with wide eyes.

"Hermione Granger…" Ron nervously held the box open, and inside was a beautiful ring. It was silver, with just a small, simple diamond on it. Tears threatened to come out of her eyes, and she backed into the kitchen stove, accidently knocking the kettle over this time. Tea spilled onto the floor, but she took no notice of that either. All she could do then was watch the scene before her. Ron cleared his throat nervously again, before speaking again.

"I have loved you for awhile now. When we kissed, everything seemed to have made sense. Everything that had happened to me so far up to that moment fell into place. You make me want to be a better person. Basically what I am trying to say is…" he chuckled nervously, but never took his eyes off her.

"Will you marry me?"

Hermione was sure that she had turned pale right after he asked her. Her mind was spinning, though she knew that she could not put this off anymore. She never pretended to have feelings for him. She could not start that either, no matter how much she wished for this to happen a different way.

She knelt down finally and closed his hands slowly. A startled look appeared in his eyes, but Hermione shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry Ronald," she began gently, hoping that her voice sounded sincere. "I can't marry you. I'm not the one for you." Her voice broke, and tears came down her face as she quickly got up.

Ron got up as well, though she wished that he had not followed her. "Hermione…I thought we had something. Did I just imagine things?" He asked her, and she sniffed before wiping her eyes to look at him again.

"I thought there was something," she began softly. "I wanted it to be real. But there wasn't anything there for me. I didn't feel that spark, you know? I don't have those feelings you are supposed to have when you are in love," she said sadly, and his face fell. Hermione turned away as guilt rushed through her. How many times was she going to have to do this before she met the right one?

"We can just date each other for awhile and see if anything happens. Love takes time sometimes. We never really dated at all. Let's go out on a date," Ron said hopefully, trying to talk her into this.

Hermione shook her head, knowing that she was probably being stubborn about this. "
I wouldn't be true to myself. You can't make love happen. It just…happens. I'm sorry. I just can't be with you like that."

Ron had grown quiet for several moments, so she met his eyes again and saw that a look of anger appeared on his face. She opened her mouth to speak, but then decided not to. Fighting wasn't going to be a good way to solve this problem. Ron looked like he wanted to say something to her, but twice he thought better of it and instead stormed out of the room.

"Ronald?" she asked, following him out of the room. He glared at her before picking up his jacket and opened the door. "RON!" She cried out, and rushed forward. "Don't leave like this, please! You always leave like this! Why do you always leave when there is conflict between us?" She demanded, following him outside into the rain. He stopped for a second and turned toward her. "I always walk out because it keeps me from saying something that I might regret later," he said coolly. Hermione took a step forward toward him to bring him back inside, but he had disapperated into the air before she could reach him. "RON WEASLEY!" She shouted angrily. Oh, she hated him at this moment. She knew this wasn't going to end well once she told him no, but she had hoped that he would at least let them finish their talk. Fear crashed through her as she pictured his angry expression again. He had never looked at her like that before.

Hermione Granger was sure that she had just lost one of her best friends. The sudden thought made her sink to her knees on the ground as tears started pouring down her face. This was not how she wanted this to go at all. "I'm sorry," she whispered, knowing that he was long gone. There was probably nothing she could do to fix it either.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading!