Cold nights seem to make stars shine brighter

He looked over to where she was sitting. She was so beautiful. The fire illuminated the Common room with a nearly magical orange aura. She was concentrated on her homework, and didn't notice he was looking. She was biting her lower lip, as she always did when concentrating. She kept pulling her hair behind her ear, with no exit. Being so close to the chimney her cheeks were slightly red, and the only view of her made he himself blush, followed by the butterflies in the stomach and the acceleration of his heartbeat. He wanted to tell her so badly. He had tried a few seconds ago, but as always his courage had disappeared nearly instantly. Tell her he loved her, that he had for years now, since the Ball in forth year. That he was more than willing to protect her from all kind of danger that they might have to fight in the future, even though she didn't need the protection. That all the times he had made her cry, he didn't mean to, the problem was he didn't think before talking. Tell her that he dreamt about her all the time, tell her he wished he had the courage to just say the stupid words.

Tell her that he didn't take her for granted, not anymore.

She suddenly turned to face him, and a huge smiled drew on her face, brightening her like an angel. He couldn't avoid blushing, and hoping she didn't notice. But of course, she didn't. As quickly as she had faced him, she started writing again. He sighed and closed his book. What was the point? It' wasn't as if he was reading it or something. He slowly got up and moved to where she was. They were the only ones left in the room, and they should go to sleep too. It was late, and it had been a long day.

-You should go to sleep. It really late, and you looked tired.- he told her. He couldn't count how many times he had told her that in the past years. And even so she was always the last to go t bed.

-No, I'm not tired, you go, I'll finish this and go to sleep. It won't take long, I promise.- she smiled and kissed him on the cheek, whispering good night and making him blush once more.

He sighed again and went upstairs. He didn't know why he bothered. It was one of those nights, he knew. He wouldn't be able to sleep all night. It was happening often this days, and he was sure he knew the reason.

* * * * *

As he had predicted, he couldn't sleep. Her face refused to leave his mind, and the snoring of his dorm mates didn't help. He stood up as silently as he could and walked downstairs. He wanted to go and half a walk around the castle, maybe go up to the Astronomy tower as he couldn't go to the lake. Maybe this way he could get tired and fall asleep. The fire in the common room had nearly born out, and once again he sighed as he saw her sleeping over her homework. This he was used to too. He gently picked her up in his arms and left her on the couch. He summoned a blanket and kissed her forehead. He wished he could be able to do this all his life. Then he left the room.

His footsteps were the only sound in the castle, with the occasional whistle of the wind outside. After some minutes, he arrived to the stairs that led to the astronomy tower. He opened the door and went outside. It was a chilly night, and maybe that was the reason why the stars shone more brightly than ever. Cold nights seem to make stars shine brighter, he had always thought. He sat down and lost himself in the greatness of the universe.

-Ron?- the voice made him jump and turn to look behind him.

-Hermione? What are you doing here? I thought you were asleep.

-Yeah, well, I was, but you kind of woke me up when you lifted me. It's ok. Then I heard you leave, and so I followed.. but if you want to be alone, I understand, I'll go and…

-No! It's ok. Don't leave. Please.- he whispered.

She looked at him strangely and slowly sat down beside him. She was fidgeting with her necklace, and she seemed nervous about something. She opened her mouth to ask something, but thought again and closed it. After a moment's silence, and after a couple of nervous, quick looks in his direction, she asked what he was doing up there. He looked at her directly in the eye.

-I couldn't sleep.

-Oh…- again she opened her mouth to ask something, but again she seemed to think twice and said nothing.

-What's bothering you? What do you want to ask me?- he asked her, with a curious smile on his face. He was amused by her nervous attitude.

-What? No, nothing…just…well…I…wanted to ask you… this afternoon, in the common room… It seemed as if you wanted to tell me something... Well, I wondered… what is it? And you've been acting kind of weird these days, avoiding me and stuff, and…well… I just wondered, if there's something wrong, or if you're angry or something…

She avoided his eyes, and she didn't even know why. It made her feel so… self-conscious, the way he had been looking at her these days. And this afternoon, she had had the hope he was going to tell her, tell her what she was desperate to hear… the deepness in his eyes.. she was so sure…

He looked at her, surprise masking his face. Angry? At her? How could he had arrived to the situation where she thought he was angry at her? Why was he so stupid and coward? So she had noticed this afternoon. He had thought maybe she hadn't seemed him. But of course, it was her he was talking about, of course she would have noticed. And while he looked at her, watching the stars, feeling so awkward, he realised he had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. A sudden calmness travelled all through his body. He smiled.

-I love you.

Her eyes widened, still looking at the stars. She couldn't believe. She was sure she had heard… she looked at him. He was looking straight back.

-What did you say?

- I said I love you. Not only in a friendly way, or a brotherly way. I'm in love with you. Have been for the last years. I wanted to tell you before, but I seem to be a coward when it comes to declaring to girls. Well, declaring to you, because you are the only girl I would ever dream of declaring to. But at last, here I am. It seems so simple after telling you, because everything seems to fit together right now. I have been avoiding you because I knew I had to tell you, I just didn't know how. And well, tonight, in the common room, well, I was about to but you were so concentrated that I thought…

He was silenced by her hand on his mouth. She looked at him, and a single tear run down her face, right up to the edge of her lips, now widened in a smile.

-I love you too.

And there was nothing more to be said. Ron moved Hermione's hand form his mouth, and cupped her face in his hands. Time seemed to stop while he gently touched her lips with his. And for a fraction of a second, time did stop, while two friends sealed their love bond under a blanket of shining stars.

* * * * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this story, they belong to J.K. Rowling's Imagination.

Well, I hope you liked my first fanfic. :)