The first day that Ron and I went to Hogsmeade without Harry was… Perfect. We strolled about Hogsmeade and at some point he took me by the hand (or maybe it was me, I don't know). It was a way for me to escape the real world. I wasn't thinking about Sirius Black despite all the posters stuck up around the village, or school, or anything else except for Ron and the strange tickle in my stomach. "Come on, Hermione, let's go to the Shrieking Shack," Ron said. I looked at him. "What? No, Ron, I…" He gave me a cheeky smile, "You're not… Scared, are you?" I laughed and said "No, of course I'm not, in fact, let's go right now!" The tickly feeling was still there. We were still holding hands but neither of us let go.

Once there, we stood in silence, still hand in hand, watching the Shack. "It's the most haunted building in Britain," I whispered. He nodded absentmindedly and turned to look at me. "Hermione, you look… You look beautiful in the snow," his unusual compliment made me blush. "Thank you, Ronald," the tickling grew and I kissed his freezing cheek.

He took off his gloves and took my face in his hands. "I love you, 'Mione" I was just about to answer when he sealed our lips with a kiss; my first kiss, and surely his too. I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment. We broke apart and I smiled at him, the tickling now so big it felt more like vertigo. "I love you too, Ron," I told him, and kissed the tip of his nose. Again he took me by the hand and we walked back to Hogsmeade together.