I originally had this as a one-shot called A Letter of Love and Appreciation (which you can still read), but upon reading some of the reviews for it recently, I decided to turn it into a full-length, multi-chapter fic. Hope you like it!
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Rating: K+
Summary: It all began with a letter from Ron to Hermione, telling her how he feels about her. From there, the friendship blossomed into something more.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
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Prologue
Dear Hermione,
I wanted to tell you how I feel about you. First, I think you are the sweetest girl in all Hogwarts, no, the world. I love the way you are always so willing to help those in need, I love how you take an interest in things that I like, even though they bore you, and I love it how you are able to put up with my stupidity on occasion.
Second, you are the most beautiful person I have ever set eyes on. I love the way your hair curls around your face, making you look like an exquisite porcelain doll. Your lips are so attractive and luscious that it is a wonder no one has kissed them yet. Your eyes are stunning, and I love the way they twinkle when you are happy and when you get excited.
You are seriously one of the top ten girls on the "to date" list, and I'm surprised you don't have a billion suitors following you everywhere you go. And since you do not, then all those guys are either blind, deaf, mute, or just plain stupid. If they do not appreciate you, then they are not worth it. You deserve the best.
Hermione, you are so sweet and cute, and I feel like crying whenever I think of your splendor. If you ever start to feel sad or depressed because some dumb guy hurt you for whatever reason, remember to always hold your head high and proud because you are beautiful and deserve the best this world has to offer. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I will be there for you. If you need me for whatever reason, I will be there for you. Never lose faith in yourself, and if you do, just remember that I have faith in you, and that I love you.
Love, Ron Weasley
"There!" said Ron triumphantly, rolling up the parchment and sealing it with his wand.
"Wassamatter?" Harry, who had been dozing in front of the smoldering fire, unstuck his cheek from his Potions essay and sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"I've finished!" said Ron. "I just finished writing this letter!"
"Oh really?" said Harry, completely clueless. "To who?"
"To Hermione," said Ron. "I'm finally going to tell her how I feel about her." He leaned back in the overstuffed armchair with closed eyes, breathing a breath of content.
"Well, it's about bloody time, Ron!" said Harry. "I mean, you've only been in love with her since First year, and now we're in our last year here! What made you write that letter, anyhow?" he added, looking at Ron curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Is there any particular reason why you've decided to write that letter now? I mean, why did you wait all this time?"
Ron sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I dunno," he said at last. "I suppose it's...well..."
"Yes?" Harry prompted.
"I know I've been pretty ignorant about her. I mean, I've always had feelings for her, and I just never took notice of them. I never really paid attention to them, and...well... I guess, the reason I'm telling Hermione this now is because, well, I just want to do this before it's too late. I don't want to lose her to some other guy." Ron said this last part more to himself than to Harry.
"Then get yourself up to that owlery right now and send that letter!" Harry held up his hand to silence Ron, who had been about to say something. "Look, since it's past midnight, you can use my invisibility cloak."
"Really?" Ron exclaimed happily. "You mean it?"
"Of course I mean it," said Harry. "What are friends for?"
Ron leapt up from the chair. "Thank you, Harry! Thank you so much!"
"No problem, Ron."
"You have no idea how much I appreciate this! Thank you!" And before waiting for a reply, Ron dashed up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, retrieved the invisibility cloak from Harry's trunk, and dashed back down to the common room, pulling the cloak over himself as he went. He gave a hurried thanks to Harry once more, and was out through the portrait hole.
It did not take long to reach the owlery, and, surprisingly, Ron did not meet up with anyone or anything on the way there. He had a bit of a time trying to catch his owl, Pigwidgeon, and in the end had to persuade Hedwig to deliver the letter as Pigwidgeon refused to be caught. After watching Hedwig fly out into the night sky, Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room, and went to sleep that night a nervous, yet happy Gryffindor.
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Dear Ron,
This morning when I woke up, I felt like crying. I had not had a very good week, it seemed as though everything went wrong, and to top that off, Lavender ripped up my Potions essay which is due in two weeks. Luckily I was able to repair it, but anyway...
When I saw you and Harry walk in, laughing and joking, I couldn't help but notice that, while you were laughing at something Harry said, you also looked slightly nervous. I didn't know why at the time; I only assumed it had something to do with you procrastinating until the last moment to do your homework. I presently put it to the back of my mind.
When the owl post arrived, I wasn't expecting too much, a letter from my parents perhaps, saying that they loved me, etc., delivered by a school owl. What I was not expecting was Hedwig delivering a letter to me. When I saw her soaring toward the Gryffindor table, I thought that Remus was sending Harry a letter, so you can imagine my surprise when Hedwig landed in front of me.
Ron, I won't waste any time in saying that that letter was the sweetest thing that anyone has said to me. It made me feel so incredibly special, so needed and wanted, and so appreciated. I felt as though you alone understood everything about me. I felt as though I was the most loved and cared for girl in all of Hogwarts. Everything negative feeling that I had vanished from me instantly, to be replaced by that warm fuzzy feeling that no one can perfectly describe, and in that moment (I can't believe it's taken me all these years to realize it) I realized something: I
love you, too.
Love, Hermione
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Dear Hermione,
I'm currently in a hidden passageways that Harry doesn't know about. The reason being that I couldn't find my quill, so I stole his. His best quill. You remember it, it's the red and gold phoenix feather quill that you gave him for his birthday. But on to more pressing matters (in other words, you and your loveliness).
Watching your face light up as you read through my letter made the large weight on me disappear. You had the most beautiful look on your face, as though you had just recieved what you had been wishing for your entire life. When you looked up and your eyes met mine, you had the most amazing smile, and the way your eyes sparkled made me melt inside.
You have no idea how much joy I felt at reading that you feel the same way about me as I feel about you, that we both care for eachother in more ways than one. I don't know how to say this...but I feel as though we complete eachother. Each moment I'm away from you, I miss you terribly, and each moment I spend with you, I feel like the most fortunate guy in the world.
Oops. Turns out, Harry did know about this passage. I can hear him coming toward me. Dratted Marauder's Map.
I gotta go.
Love, Ron
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Review, please!