The Surprise Ending
Ron was having a tough time of it. It was the summer between fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he was stuck at Grimmauld Place with his family, and good friend, Hermione Granger. It was difficult being so close to the action of the war, yet still unable to join in. And what was worse, he was living in close quarters to a girl that he was now convinced that he was in love with.
He'd always been fond of Hermione, but had grown convinced that he was actually in love with her after she'd received one too many letters from Viktor Krumbum, er, Krum, and had wanted to strangle the boy. This letter arrived at the start of the holiday and had been to tell Hermione that he'd fallen in love with a girl in Bulgaria and intended to marry her. Ron had seen how upset Hermione had been, and wanted to kill Viktor for hurting her so much. Nobody could treat her that way, not somebody Ron cared about so much!
Ron spent the next couple weeks dreaming about Hermione at night, and day dreaming about her while he tried to stay busy during the day. Soon he found he was fantasizing about her in the shower, which made him feel very awkward the next time he saw her. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd somehow know what he'd been doing, but she didn't seem to have.
Every time they had a chance to be together, Ron found himself looking at Hermione. He'd steal glances at her from across the breakfast table or in the living room while they sat reading books.
One afternoon, during a rainy, lazy summer day, Ron and Hermione sat across from one another playing wizard's chess. Hermione couldn't help but feel awkward as Ron stared into her eyes, paying little attention to the game. She was shocked, as was he, when she won the chess match. Ron had never lost, not as long as he could remember. How had he allowed this to happen? Hermione smiled at her victory, but was kind enough not to lord it over Ron, who she could tell, was very upset over it. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, not after he'd been so pleasant all holiday.
During an evening when Fred and George were off duty and eating supper in the kitchen, Ron sat across from them, listening to the exciting stories of the action they'd seen since joining the Order. After an hour, George finally asked Ron about his summer holiday so far. "It's been all right, so far," he started slowly. Ron desperately wanted some good advice on how to show his feelings for Hermione. He wanted to ask somebody he could really trust, but the only people there right then were his older brothers. They'd have to do instead.
"So…can I ask you guys for advice?" Ron asked cautiously. He didn't want to come across as desperate, but he needed help!
"Sure, little brother, what's up?" Fred asked while standing up to find a few bottles of butterbeer for them.
"Well…if I ask you something, do you two promise not to laugh?"
"Sure, you know we are capable of being serious at times," George replied while kicking his feet up and leaning back in his chair.
"All right, I…I want to tell somebody I like them, but I'm not sure how they feel about me," Ron said in a rush, just wanting to get the words out before he chickened out.
Fred looked carefully at Ron while he sat down and passed the butterbeers around. Suddenly he grinned. "It's Hermione isn't it?" Ron blushed furiously but didn't reply. Fred slapped his hand on the table, "I knew it! It's so obvious of course."
"So…how to woo your true love…" George said slowly before taking a swig of his butterbeer. "Have you tried to like what she likes? Girls love it when you're interested in what they like. Even if you're only pretending, it's a great way to get some action from them."
"Has that worked for you before?" Ron asked curiously.
George waggled his eyebrows and grinned. "Only three or four times," he bragged.
"What about you Fred? Do you ever do that?" Ron asked.
"Not really, I just tell the girl I like her and hope for the best," Fred answered, "and it's always worked for me."
"Well, I suppose I could try showing an interest in the things she likes," Ron said thoughtfully before sipping his butterbeer.
Ron spent a sleepless night wondering how he was going to pull this off. What sort of interest of Hermione's would he like? She was so much smarter than he was, and she knew it. What if he tried to like what she liked and couldn't do it? Would she laugh at him? Why did love have to be so torturous? He'd always heard about how great love was supposed to be, but it didn't feel like it at all.
Early the next morning, Ron got dressed and went to Hermione's room. After knocking on the door, he waited for a minute before she opened the door and looked up at him. "Ron, what are you doing up so soon?" she asked quietly, not wanting to wake anybody else up.
Ron was busy wondering what kind of nightclothes Hermione was wearing under her bathrobe, and didn't have a response. After she asked a second time, he cleared his throat and looked up at her face. "Oh…uh…I was wondering if I could borrow…a book," he stammered.
"Which book?" Hermione replied quickly.
"Which do you like best?" Ron asked.
"It depends. I love all my books."
"How about a big one?"
"My biggest is, Hogwarts, a History," Hermione replied.
"That'll do," Ron replied.
Hermione looked curiously at him before going to her shelf and pulling the book out to give to Ron. Ron smiled weakly as he took the book. "Maybe we can talk about it when I finish," he said quietly.
"I'd really love that, Ron," Hermione replied earnestly, looking into his eyes. Ron flushed and cleared his throat before smiling stupidly and turning to walk back to his room.
Even though there were parts of it that were really boring, Ron made himself read the entire book from start to finish. It took him a week and a half before he finished it, and Hermione couldn't help but be very excited that he'd actually read it.
They spent several hours talking about the book. Ron really had learned several fascinating things about the history of the school, like how it had been a refuge for people during wars over the centuries, or how the role of women in the school had evolved over time to be almost equal to that of men now. Hermione was happy that Ron was sensitive enough to pick up on such themes and smiled at him while they talked.
During the discussion, Ron noticed how easy it was to talk to Hermione. He liked being able to contribute intelligently to the conversation and see how her eyes lit up whenever he brought up an aspect she'd never considered before. He felt completely at ease, and also inspired to read more of the books she liked so they could keep talking about them.
The talk was winding down as they sat in the front room together on the sofa. Ron was holding onto the book, thinking of what to say next. Hermione seemed to have run out of things to say as well. They sat in awkward silence, looking at the book or their hands, or once in a while, in one another's eyes before quickly looking away. Ron felt nervous as he got an idea of what to do next. It was a risk, but he was going to take it.
Ron carefully set the book down on the coffee table before glancing at Hermione. "You know, I really enjoyed the book. I'm very glad I read it. My favourite part though, was the surprise ending," he said quietly while carefully inching his way closer to her on the sofa.
Hermione looked up at Ron, confusion on her face. "Surprise ending? What do you mean surprise ending?" With that, Ron leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers for several seconds before pulling away and looking sheepishly at her. Hermione flushed a beet red and gently brushed her fingers against her lips. "Oh…I see what you mean. I liked the surprise ending too…" she whispered before smiling and looking at the floor, embarrassed.
"Do any more of your books have surprise endings?" Ron asked quietly.
"I…I think most of them do actually. Some of them have surprise beginnings and middles too…" Hermione replied, looking into Ron's eyes.
"Well…I guess I'd better get started on the next book soon then," Ron replied, smiling.