Harry is about to have his first kiss with Cho in the Room of Requirements. Thankfully, Hermione is attentive to that and drags Ron out of the Room before he ruins the moment. As they wait for Harry to return they have a moment of their own. (non-canon)

'Shouldn't we wait for Harry?'

'Ron!'

Hermione grabbed hold of Ron's elbow and dragged him out of the Room of Requirements.

'What? I was just asking a question,' Ron said indignantly. He rubbed his elbow after Hermione had released her grip. The door to the Room melted behind their backs as they made their way down the corridor.

'Ron, Harry's in there alone together with Cho…' Hermione said suggestively.

'So?'

Hermione rolled her eyes.

'So he likes her and he's going to kiss her.'

'Harry still likes Cho?' Ron blurted. A group of young Ravenclaws passed them on landing of the Great Staircase and started whispering behind their backs.

'Of course! Haven't you noticed the way he looks at her during the DA meetings?' Hermione whispered.

'It hasn't come to my attention, no,' Ron answered somewhat baffled.

'Well, I'm not surprised. You're not the best at picking up subtle hints.'

The portrait of the Fat Lady was decorated in the spirit of the holidays with green and red tinsel. Moreover, it seemed as though someone had painted a fully decorated Christmas tree in her painting. The Lady in question, however, wasn't present in the painting itself.

'Honestly, don't you guys talk about these things?' Hermione asked impatiently whilst they waited for the Fat Lady to return. 'I mean, about girls?'

'Quite frankly… No. Well, rarely, anyways. I suppose we talk about you, though, but you're -'

Ron fell silent and he flushed. The pink of his cheeks clashed with his red hair.

'I'm what?' Hermione asked with a thin voice. The sudden change of topic left her struggling for control over her vocal chords.

'You know… you're you. It's different. You're our friend,' Ron answered in staccato.

'We don't talk about Harry.'

'I suppose we don't. Well, except for now.'

'What do you talk about when you talk about me?' Hermione asked barely audible.

'I don't know. Let me think,' Ron looked around the corridor as if the answer was visible and present as a physical entity. 'I suppose we talk about you and Viktor.'

'What about him?'

'We talk about how he's a tosser,' Ron answered not quite truthfully. '… And we talk about whether you'd kissed him or not.'

'Why were you talking about that?' Hermione asked. Her cheeks became warm and she was sweating in places of her body she'd never been aware of before.

'We were talking about first kisses. Oh hey, I suppose we do talk about girls - it was about him and Cho.'

'If you want to know you could've just asked,' Hermione replied.

'So did you?' A loud, female voice asked. The Fat Lady had returned to her painting and she was holding a pint of what appeared to be Butterbeer. 'That boy was so dreamy.'

'Are you drinking during working hours?' Ron asked furiously.

The Fat Lady flushed and squinted her eyes at him.

'You're quite the opposite,' she sneered.

'Shut up! Now do your job and reveal the bloody entrance!' Ron yelled.

His sudden outburst startled Hermione.

'Ron, calm down! The password is Phaedo. Would you please let us in?' Hermione asked the Fat Lady.

She hesitated but eventually the portrait swung open after giving Ron one last nasty look.

Hermione was relieved as well as disappointed to find that the Common Room was deserted, for it meant that they would be able to continue their conversation. She sat down on a sofa near the giant Christmas tree and Ron sat down next to her. She remembered the sofa to be more comfortable than it was right now.

'I'm sorry I snapped like that,' Ron finally said.

'Well, it's not me you need to apologize to. Why did you act out like that all of a sudden?'

'I… Well, I didn't want you to answer her,' Ron answered whilst looking at his hands.

'Why not?'

'Same reason I never asked you… I don't want to know the answer to that question.'

'Why not?' Hermione asked again. She couldn't muster up the courage to look at him either and stared at the crackling fireplace instead.

'Well, it's kind of embarrassing to admit, but …' Ron started.

Hermione was quite certain all the oxygen in the world wouldn't be able to satisfy her lungs at this very moment.

'- but I didn't want to be the last one in the group to have mine. Heck, even my baby sister has had hers already.'

'Oh… right.'

A long - or perhaps it just felt long - silence ensued.

'Well, there you have it,' Ron said impatiently.

'Why are you so aggravated?' Hermione asked feeling irritated herself.

'Because…'

Ron paused and finally dared to look Hermione in the eyes, and he was confused to find that they were watery. Her hands were folded in her lap and his fingers were itching to just grab hold of them. But he couldn't move them if it'd save his life. At this point he felt as though taking Hermione's hands might very well be the only thing he could do to save his life, or at least to refrain his heart from actually beating a hole through his rib cage.

But for some reason he heard these words escape the safe confines of his mouth: 'Because apparently I am going to be the last one.'

'Well, you are if you keep acting like that,' Hermione said. Despite her best efforts to maintain composure she started crying.

'What's that supposed to mean? And why are you sad all of a sudden?' Ron asked bewildered.

'I am not crying because I am sad. I am crying because I am frustrated. With you.'

'What have I done to upset you?'

'You're not telling me the truth - the real reason you don't want to think about me and another boy,' Hermione said with an accusing, trembling voice. 'You meant to say something else. I felt it, and I'm pretty sure everybody else already knows. Just say it, Ron!'

Ron stuttered whilst finding the words to express himself. Eventually he ended up - and he was putting all his faith in for once interpreting subtle hints correctly - answering Hermione's plea with a kiss.

The fireplace had almost gone out when Harry finally came back from the Room of Requirements. Hermione had already left to the girl's dormitory and Harry took her place beside Ron.

'So, how was it?' Ron asked.

'Wet,' Harry answered.

'You can say that again,' Ron replied.