That night, Ron sat on his bed in the dormitory with his curtains closed. He could here Neville's faint snores and the sound of Seamus muttering in his sleep. He still felt mildly confused. He had kissed her, which was great, but for some reason, he just couldn't help but feel that something was wrong… Shaking the uncomfortable feeling, he laid down beneath his covers. He heard Seamus mutter something about "me mam", and with that he fell asleep.
The next morning Ron took his time down the dormitory steps, eager for breakfast, but dreading the sight of her. He didn't like to think of her by her name. It made the two of them seem too much like they were serious; as if they had even talked more than Ron's few snarky comments toward her and her group of friends before she had kissed him in front of the entire house. He entered the Common Room and there she was, as expected, impatiently waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. She immediately took his arm and started going on about the two of them. She already had romantic outings planned for the next Hogsmade trip. Ron, listening, tried not to protest or make faces. Now that the two of them were an item, he supposed he had to get used to this.
The next few weeks kind of blurred by for Ron. He didn't remember anything much other than being with Harry, kissing her, and a strange sense of loss that he couldn't seem to place… He liked kissing Lavender… A lot… However, he eventually grew tired of her constant company. He knew Harry's frustration had been increasing, and was extremely grateful for his loyalty. One day, while in the boy's dormitory, he realized he was so reluctant to leave the room because he was hiding from her. From his girlfriend. Even after these few months it felt odd to say that, but only because he never thought she'd be Lavender.
Ron knew that eventually, he needed to break it off with Lavender. He just could never think of anything to say. Then came the day when he accidentally consumed the love potion meant for Harry. When he woke up in the hospital wing with Harry, Hermione, and Ginny over him, they informed him, to his great relief, that he and Lavender were no longer an item. The first day that he woke up, they made him spend all day in his bed. This gave him plenty of time for him to think about what he remembered from his temporary coma.
He was sitting in the Common Room in his favorite seat by the fire. The flames were leaping high, as if celebrating the most exciting holiday in the world. Ron heard the slight sound of footsteps behind him, then felt the slouch of the cushions. Ron lifted his head up, and seeing Hermione's face grinning down on him, the ends of her hair tickling his face, he grinned as wide as possible and gave an involuntary sigh. He wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her and burry his face into that wonderful hair of hers. Then he remembered that this was a dream. He could do anything he wanted. He stood up from his armchair and walked around it to where Hermione was standing. She stood there, around ten inches below him, just smiling. That smile: one of his favorite sights in the entire world. Remembering, once again, that this was a dream, he took Hermione's face in his hands and stroked the smooth skin with his thumb. He kissed her forehead lightly, then leaned his head against it. He couldn't seem to stop from smiling so widely. Knowing that there was a good chance that this would never happen in anything other than his dreams, he savored every breath they took together.
"Hermione," he breathed. "Hermione."
"Ron," she replied. He could hear the smile in her voice. "I'm right here Ron."
"I know," he somehow managed to smile even wider.
He suddenly realized he had drifted off while sitting in the Hospital Wing. To his surprise, Hermione was sitting in the chair next to his bed. She was slumped over against his bed, asleep. He looked down and saw her arm stretched out, hand barely an inch from his. Was she holding his hand when she fell asleep, waiting for him to wake up? He quickly reddened in the face and cleared his throat. Hermione stirred slightly, but stayed asleep. Ron always loved seeing her sleep. She looked so peaceful.
As Ron felt drowsiness creeping upon him once more, he took Hermione's hand, and with the other, pushed her unruly hair back from her face. He leaned back against the bed, and looked at her from beneath his drooping eyelids.
"You're the one, Hermione. The only one. You always have been."
With that, he closed his eyes and dreamed of the girl he had missed so much these past couple months. He dreamed of his one true love. Hermione Granger.
