A/N: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter One
A red-haired boy lay thinking in the grass outside a house that looked as though it were held up by magic. Ron sighed. It seemed impossible that Hermione would ever like him. Why would she, the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts, want him, the poor, ugly, stupid git that he thought he was? She was far too good for him.
On the other side of the country, Hermione sat in her room reading. Or at least pretending to read. Her eyes scanned the page, but she took in nothing. Her mind was on a particular boy, a freckled, red-haired, blue-eyed boy. She groaned quietly in despair, knowing that Ron would never like her as anything more than a friend. He was handsome, funny, and brave; why would he want her, the bushy-haired bookworm that she thought she was? He was far too good for her.
A few weeks later, Ron arrived at King's Cross station in London to catch the Hogwarts Express, as he had every year since he was eleven, ready to enter his final year. He looked around for a sign of his two friends and saw them talking to Ginny, his little sister. Harry, Ron's best friend in the world, was giving Ginny a hug, and, Ron noted, held on for a little longer than was necessary. His focus quickly shifted to Hermione. His jaw dropped. She was gorgeous. She had developed some curves over the summer and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown. Her hair was silkier and wavier, and she had pulled part of it up with a pretty blue butterfly clip. She looked amazing.
Hermione's POV
I looked behind me where Ginny was pointing and saw Ron, the most handsome boy at Hogwarts, walking over confidently, his red hair flaming in the sunlight. His eyes shone a captivating blue and he had grown another several inches.
He greeted Harry and Ginny, and when he turned to me, I stared into his piercing blue eyes and knew that my feelings went far beyond a crush. I was in love with Ron Weasley.
Ron's POV
I said hello to Harry and Ginny, who quietly slipped away, and turned to Hermione. She looked up at me, her chocolate eyes dancing and a smile on her face. I knew my feelings went far beyond a crush. I was in love with Hermione Granger.
Normal POV
Hermione looked up at Ron.
"Hello, Ron. Have a good holiday?" she said.
"Er...yeah, I 'spose." Ron hadn't really been listening; he was too busy staring at her. "And you?"
"Boring, actually. Nothing interesting at all."
Ron noticed that Hermione didn't quite meet his eyes as she spoke. "Oh, bloody hell-"
"Ron, how many times must I tell you-"
"Yeah I know don't curse. Hermione, you could've come to visit us, you know."
Hermione blushed. "I wanted to, but you didn't ask... and– my parents were getting a divorce and I had to be there for them." She said it all very fast, her eyes glistening with tears.
"Oh.... Hermione, I'm so sorry," Ginny said. She had come back and overheard Hermione's comment, and dragged Hermione away, tears still streaming down her face.
Ron mentally kicked himself. He'd had to tell her that she could've come for the summer. Now she'd think he was an even bigger git for not writing to her to ask, let alone writing at all. Harry poked his head out from a compartment window.
"Ron, mate, hurry up, the train's about to leave!"
Ron looked at his watch and cursed as he heaved his trunk onboard the scarlet Hogwarts Express.
Hermione's POV
"Yeah I know don't curse. Hermione, you could've come to visit us, you know," Ron said.
I looked at my feet. "I wanted to, but you didn't ask... and– my parents were getting a divorce and I had to be there for them." My eyes brimmed with unwanted and unbidden tears. I stared up at his face, into his piercing blue eyes, and for a moment, I saw something in them.
"Oh.... Hermione, I'm so sorry," Ginny had returned and overheard the last part of my conversation with Ron. She pulled me away from him, offering any sympathetic words she could come up with, but I wasn't listening. My thoughts were on that strange something that had appeared in Ron's eyes, and I wondered what it was....
"Ooooh, here's our compartment, Hermione," Ginny squealed, jerking me back into reality.
I looked in and saw Harry and Ron sitting in the compartment with a huge mound of sweets between them. Ron looked up and I raised an eyebrow.
"Hungry, are we?"
"Yeah, starving. Here, Hermione, have a frog."
He tossed a Chocolate Frog at me and grinned his adorable lopsided grin that made my heart melt.
We spent the rest of the train ride talking, eating, laughing, and sitting in comfortable silence. Finally we felt the train slowing to a stop. We got off and stood on the platform in Hogsmeade, shivering. I looked over at the seemingly horseless carriages that would take us up to the school and finally spotted an empty one.
"Come on, hurry, let's get that carriage before someone else does!" I said.
Normal POV
The carriages rattled up the road and Ron looked over at his little sister. She was snuggled up against Harry, who had his arm around her. He shuddered mentally; he still wasn't used to Harry and Ginny dating.
His gaze shifted to rest on Hermione. She sat reading, as usual, and Ron wished that she were cuddled up with him instead. He sighed and thought, 'She'll never like me.'