A/N: As I was searching through old documents on our family computer, I stumbled across this. It was the first fanfic I ever wrote, back before I had an account here. It was my take on how I saw Ron and Hermione's first kiss. So, although it is AU now, I figured why not post this? And, it just goes without saying that this is not mine. JK Rowling had much better ideas for the kiss, although mine did happen sooner. Enjoy!

As they walked back to the castle, Harry noticed Ginny talking to some fellow fifth years. She wasn't smiling and laughing like normal; instead she just stood there with a blank expression on her face.

"Are you two alright mate?" Ron asked following his gaze.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he lied.

"No it's not Harry. What happened?" Hermione stated.

He told them how he had broken up with her to protect her. Ron agreed that leaving Ginny with everyone else was the best thing, but Hermione disagreed. "Harry you're wrong," she said. "Ron's mum said it herself. The world needs a little more love these days." She blushed and looked away from Ron who was also blushing.

"Hermione, you don't get it. I didn't want to break up with her. I just want to know that she's safe. I need to know she's safe."

The train was to leave the next day so they had some time to spare. Not many people were there when they entered the common room. People were sitting here and there in groups, all with sad faces.

Harry went to sit in one of their favorite chairs but Ron and Hermione didn't follow.

"You go on, Harry," Hermione said. "I need to speak with Ronald."

Ron looked at both of them suspiciously. She only called him by his full name when she was really mad at him. Harry shrugged.

The two of them moved into the chairs a few feet down from Harry and for a while just stared at each other.

"Well, what do you need to talk about then? I mean Harry looks like he knows something's up," Ron said puzzled.

Harry was listening to all of this. He knew he would from the start.

"Oh, Ron! How can you be so stupid? Don't you see it? Can't you tell?" Hermione said exasperated, her eyes welling up with tears.

"What?"

"Never mind...it's not important."

"No, tell me. It'll be better coming from you then from someone else like with...well like..."

"Like what Ron?" she whispered.

"Nothing. Just drop it."

Both of their faces were growing redder. This wasn't a good sign.

"RON! TELL ME!"

"Oh like you don't know what I'm gunna say. You told Ginny, Harry knew too. But did I? You didn't even have the decency to tell me...tell me that you snogged Krum!" he stormed off up the staircase to the boy's dormitory.

"WHAT?" Hermione screamed following him. Several heads had turned to watch them, but neither seemed to notice.

Hermione chased Ron up the stairs yelling. Harry waited a minute before, against his better judgement, followed them.

The dorm's door was open a bit so he could see what was going on. Both were standing on opposite sides of the room screaming with their wands out. This scared him because he had never seen his friends duel and it looked like the might. This reminded Harry very much of the scene he had walked into after the Yule Ball.

"Well what about you and Lav-Lav?" Hermione was saying. " when you two were together you could barely tell who was who! You were all over her! Victor kissed me once. Two years ago! It was an innocent kiss and now we are just friends. Why can't you get through that thick skull of yours? We are just friends!"

"Lavender has nothing to do with this! Did you ever think that maybe I was jealous of you? Did you ever think that I wanted to be with you?"

"What...well..." Hermione trailed off, lowering her wand. "Well if you were so jealous of one kiss, how do you think it felt for me to see you and Lavender? When you said that no one would take me to the ball, do you know how that made me feel? I had been waiting for you to ask me. But when you never did, and Victor asked me, I said yes."

"Hermione," Ron said dumbstruck, also lowering his wand. "I wanted to ask you...but I thought that...well I thought that you'd turn me down. I was scared. I didn't know how you'd take it."

"You wanted to ask me? Ron...I didn't know...I thought that you'd never want to be with someone as ugly as me."

"You're not ugly. You're beautiful!"

"You...you think I'm beautiful? Ron...I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," he said in a hushed voice. "I guess I'm too big of a git to have thought about you. I didn't think of how you'd feel about Lavender. I just wanted to make you jealous."

"Do you know how much you hurt me?" Hermione said, tears now streaming down her face. "I knew I liked you from the moment you saved me from the troll in our first year."

"Harry was there too. Besides, we locked you in there first. I was the whole reason you were crying in the bathroom in the first place."

"You might have been the reason, but after that it didn't matter to me because we were friends. You were my hero that day don't you remember, you saved both of us?"

Ron blushed. He had finally managed to preform Wingardium Leviosa that night. Harry laughed remembering that night and at where he hoped and thought this conversation was leading. He quickly put a hand to his mouth. Either they hadn't heard him or they just didn't care.

"You know when I realized?" Ron asked inching closer to her. "When McGonagal came to me and Harry to tell us that you had been petrified, I was so scared, you looked so helpless. Then when we were trying to find out what the monster was, it didn't seem right with just me and Harry. We were missing something, I was missing something. I was missing you..."

"Ron," whispered Hermione.

"Don't say anything...I...It's true you know. I really was missing you."

"Did you know that when I asked you to Slughorn's Christmas party, I really wanted you to come?"

"As friends you mean...?"

"No. But you were such a git, you didn't know that. 'Why don't you go hook up with McClaggan?'" Hermione said mockingly a tear slipping down her face.

"I'm sorry! How many times do I need to say that for you to understand? I'm sorry, Hermione!"

"All I've had to go through," she said running toward Ron and punching his chest wildly as tears flowed across her bright red face. "Lavender, you being poisoned, you almost dying trying to save me and Harry during the chess game..."

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Finally she managed to stop struggling and let him take over. Harry watched them stand there for a while.

"You're right, Hermione. You're right."

Ron delicately lifted up her chin. He stared deeply into her eyes. There was a look of longing in both of them. That's when it happened. It had taken six years, but it happened. He kissed her. She was shocked at first, but then she kissed him right back.

After a few moments they broke apart. Both pairs of ears were pink and they were breathing slightly heavier.

"Hermione, I love you. I always have and I always will."

"I love you to Ron."

"No, don't say that. You don't deserve me. You are too good for me. Too smart, too pretty, too perfect. I'm just a goofy guy with a big family."

"Ron, don't you ever say that I don't deserve you. You are brave, and loyal, and you're not goofy. You are the funniest guy I have ever met. Besides, I love your family."

"But Hermione," Ron said. "We fight all the time. And when you cry, it's usually my fault. I hate it when you cry because of something I did."

"Don't you get it? One of the reasons I love you is because of all our fights. We always make up in the end. Half the time I cry it isn't because of what you said, but what you didn't say and you just said it."

They kissed again. This time it was deeper, longer then the first. When they broke apart, Hermione said, "I'm really sorry about the birds..."

"It's okay, really. You were just upset. I did way worse things to you."

"Do you know that as much as you make me cry, you make me laugh? That you're the only one who can convince me to relax and fun?"

"That's ironic because you're the only one who can make me work, make me concentrate..."

"Shall we go downstairs? I suppose Harry is wondering what happened."

"Yeah. Hey wait. Are we going to tell him? How do you think he'll take it?"

Hermione said, "I think he already knew how both of us felt so we might as well. Besides, I don't like keeping secrets from him."

Harry ran for it, flying down the staircase faster then he had ever done before. He flew into the armchair panting just as they appeared at the top of the stairs. He noticed that they were holding hands.

"Hey...there you are..." he said smiling.

Both of them blushed. Hermione finally spoke up, "Harry, we need to tell you something. Well...you see...Ron and I, well...um just now we um...Ron, do you want to take over?"

"Sure "Mione. Harry, we'regoingout," he said too fast to understand.

"What was that mate?" he said almost laughing.

"We're going out."

"Finally!"

"Hey!" they both said.

"Sorry, but almost everyone in the school saw it. Everyone except you two, that is. It was so obvious."

"So you're not mad Harry?" Hermione asked

"No, I'm glad. You deserve each other. I'm happy for you. Just make sure I don't find you guys snogging!" Harry laughed.

"Don't worry," said his two best friends, the new happy couple.

Harry didn't feel like telling them he had seen it all. Not now. Maybe never. Right now he had other things on his mind. Ginny had just walked into the common room.

"Ginny, hey, wait up."

"Good luck mate," Ron said.

"Thanks."

Hopefully today had room for one more happy couple.

I hate to beg, but please review! And be gentle, I was in 7th grade when I wrote this!