Disclaimer: This is not my story. I saw it somewhere and had to let everyone see it.
"Ron, will you just shut up?! Hermione barked as she stomped through the portrait hole and into the common room. "No, I will not! You won't listen…" "Why should I listen? You never listen to me!" Tears were now streaming down her cheeks. "Hermione, please?" Ron begged. "No! Just leave me alone!" she shouted over her shoulder as she stormed up to her dormitory. Ron ignored all the gawking faces and raced up the girls' stairs trying to catch her. She reached her room and slammed the door behind her. Ron stood on the landing. He could hear Hermione crying on the other side. His heart was breaking. He never meant to upset her. Ron gently knocked. "Hermione, please, I'm sorry. Please, can we talk?" Ron pleaded through the door. "I'm NOT opening the door, Ron. Whatever you have to say, say it through the door." Hermione's voice was still loud, but there was shaking behind it now. "'Mione, please, I can't talk to a door." "You're going to have to! And DON'T call me 'Mione!" she shouted back at him even louder. Ron slid down next to the door. His voice was quiet and sincere. He knew he did something bad, but didn't understand her reaction. "Hermione, what did I do that was wrong?" "You don't even realize?… Dammit, Ron, you never listen to me! I already told you…" "Hermione, I'm sorry. I saw you and Thaddeus and he was carrying your books. I freaked out." "It's not just this time, Ron. You acted this way with Viktor, Levi and even Harry. You knew nothing was going on, especially with Harry. Why do you do this? Do you not want me to be happy?" her voice was starting to become quieter, but Ron could still hear the forcefulness behind it. "Of course, I want you to be happy." "Then why?" "I don't know," Ron took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "I just… hell… they just weren't right for you." He closed his eyes and shook his head, he could believe he just said that. "How would you know, Ron. I didn't even know. But, I would have liked the chance to find out." Ron gritted his teeth as he tried to contain the urge to open the door and talk to her face to face. "I just didn't want you to get hurt." Ron could now feel a large lump forming in his throat. "Ron, how could I get hurt? I never even kis…" her voice dropped off. "You never what?" "I never even kissed Levi or Thad." Her voice was much softer now and sounded like there was a hint of embarrassment. Ron sat in shock for a moment. That was not at all what he expected to hear. "Hermione, I'm sorry. What else can I say?" "Then tell me why you hit Thad." "Thad?" She's on a nickname basis with him? he thought. "Well, I hit Thaddeus because I overheard him the other day telling his friends about you." "So?" Ron wanted to spare her feelings, but she had to know. "He wasn't saying very nice things. I guess I was defending your honor. You're too good a person to have your name dragged through the mud." Hermione was back to the yelling, "You're lying! Thad would never…" "Hermione, why would I lie to you? I swear," Ron interrupted, hurt that she thought he was being untruthful. There were a few long moments of silence.
"Ron, you were standing up for me?" her voice was back to a normal volume once more.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you're my friend and I love you." Ron choked as he realized what he had said. Did I just say what I think I just said?
Hermione's mind was fogged. Did I hear him right? Her voice finally came to her, "You what?
Ron closed his eyes, feeling the tears fall down his face. "I love you, Hermione. There I said it. I am so jealous of every bloke I see you with." Ron hadn't noticed that the door slowly opened as he ranted on. "I want to be the one holding your hand, carrying your books. Bloody hell, Hermione, I've liked you since our first year in the - …"
"- life-size chess game," she interrupted as Ron turned to see that she had emerged from her dormitory and her face was level with his.
"How did you know that was what I was going to say?" Ron stared into her red and swollen eyes.
Hermione looked at the ground. "Because that's when I realized how great you are. I remember how you took charge of the chess pieces and sacrificed yourself for me and Harry. When you fell, I was so afraid that you wouldn't wake up." Ron saw tears rolling down her face as he wrapped his arms around her and held her as tight as he could.
"I'm sorry…" he whispered into her bushy hair. He breathed in the smell of vanilla and nuzzled against her cheek.
"Ron…" Her voice was softer and lower than normal. "I'm sorry…. I love you, too."
Ron lifted his face to look into her hazel eyes. A smile played across his mouth. There was a twinkle in her eye that he never noticed before. The two of them sat there staring at each other, taking in every feature. Ron felt his heart beating through his chest. She is so beautiful he thought. He lifted his hand to her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. He wanted to kiss her, but didn't know if she wanted him to. "Hermione?"
"Hmmm?"
"Can I… Can I kiss you?" Ron asked.
She smiled and watched his face as she leaned toward him not verbally answering his question. He closed his eyes as he felt her soft lips meet his. It was only for a second and he pulled slightly away. He wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to move away from him. He tangled his fingers into her bushy mane, pulling her back in for a deeper kiss. Neither one of them had felt anything like this. Ron could hear little moans coming from the back of Hermione's throat. He parted her lips gently with his tongue and she reciprocated the action. Their tongues raged a warm sensuous war on each other. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He felt her hands rub over his back softly, making him quiver under her touch. He didn't think Hermione could be this passionate. Hell, he couldn't think. His brain was only focused on her. He didn't want the kiss to end. If this is what making up is like… I'll have to pick fights more often.
He brought his hand up to her face and gently released the kiss. Her eyes were burning into his. He pulled her in for a tighter embrace. Then a shadow fell upon them as they both turned to see Professor McGonagall standing over them. She was peering though her tiny spectacles and her lips were pursed into a thin line.
"Miss Granger? Mr. Weasley? What is the meaning of this?"
The two of them sat speechlessly holding each other, staring at the professor. Ron couldn't help but smile. He knew that kissing Hermione was worth any punishment the Head of House could throw at him and he was happy with that.
