It was late one night at the Burrow, and Hermione and Ron were sitting up in Ron's room, talking. Harry was outside sitting alone by the pond, which Ron noticed he liked to do a lot lately. Ron suspected that Harry was collecting all of his thoughts about the hunt they were about to go on in only a few days time.
Tonight, Ron sat with Hermione as she rambled on about how excited she was about the wedding. Ron tried to listen to her attentively, but his mind could not seem to focus. He was too focused on the fact that, once again, Hermione and he were in his bedroom alone together. She was lying on her stomach on his bed, and he sat on the ground against the side of his bed.
"I remember when my cousin Victoria got married; it was just the most beautiful thing! I got to be one of her bridesmaids! Ron, you should have seen my dress! It was…well, it was the color of the dress that I wore to the Yule Ball. Do you remember?"
"Oh, I remember," Ron said under his breath.
"What?" Hermione asked, not catching his response.
"Yeah, I think I remember," Ron answered, relieved that she had not heard his original answer.
"Well, it was that color. And it was so pretty! I can't wait to see what a Wizard wedding is like! It must be so different!"
"I can't imagine it being that much different," Ron commented, trying to contribute to the conversation.
"Who knows?" Hermione stated, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess we'll just have to see."
"Yeah," Ron replied, absent-mindedly.
After Ron's non-committal "yeah," the conversation just more or less ended. Hermione flipped through a book, making a small comment now and then, while Ron just sat thinking.
Ron sensed the danger that faced him and his two friends as they set off after the wedding to search for the remaining Horcruxes. He knew that Harry and Hermione sensed it, as well. What scared him most off all, however, was that he was never going to get things off the ground with Hermione. This time last year, Ron believed that things were going in the right direction for them, and then Lavender came around.
Ron still felt guilty about all the mess and hurt he had caused last year. He wished it hadn't taken a stupid relationship with someone he didn't care for to make him realize just how much he truly did love Hermione. How was he going to tell her though? How was he going to tell the girl—no, woman—that he loved that he did, in fact, love her. Times were so hard right now, and Ron feared that if he confessed something so important, it could conflict with the mission they were about to take part in. But he had to let Hermione know somehow! He had to let her know that she was important to him!
He listened to the sound of the pages of Hermione's book flipping as he searched his brain to find something that would be suitable to tell Hermione. Something that wouldn't be too heavy so that it would interfere with the mission that lay ahead, but something that got to the point that Ron was trying to make.
"Hermione…" Ron said slowly.
"Yes?" she asked, closing her book and looking down at him.
"I..err…I'm sorry about the whole Lavender thing."
"Oh…" Hermione said slowly. "It's okay."
"Just thought..err…thought I should, you know, tell you."
Hermione sat quietly for a moment, and Ron nervously waited for her to respond. Hermione sensed that Ron wasn't finished saying what he wanted to say, and she silently begged him to continue. Ron, however, couldn't find it in him to say anything else. He feared that if he did, things would become too complicated between them and Merlin knew the last thing they needed right now was for even more things to get messy and complicated. Hermione realized that Ron wasn't going to say anything, so she decided to speak.
"Oh...well, thanks."
"You're welcome," Ron replied as he felt his ears burn red.
More silence. After Ron had spoken, neither of them was able to return to what they had previously been doing. They both sat where they were tensely, waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Ron did.
"Are you scared?"
"Scared?" Hermione asked.
"Of what we're about to do. Are you scared of what we're about to do?"
"Terrified," Hermione whispered, her voice shaking a little.
"Me too," Ron said.
"I just wish we knew more of what we were going to do, you know? The thought of us going off without any true leads scares me. What if we're searching for Horcruxes for the rest of our lives?"
"Merlin! Don't say that, Hermione," Ron chuckled dryly.
"Well, what if we are?" Hermione persisted.
"Then at least we'll have each other, right?"
Hermione remained silent for a moment before answering. "Right."
Ron and Hermione locked eyes.
Just then, Harry opened the door to Ron's basement room, and the moment between Ron and Hermione was broken. The trio then continued discussing the upcoming Horcrux Hunt until Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time for bed and politely shooed Hermione out of Ron's room.
A/N: Review please!