(A/N: You know WHAT? I'm going to write a sequel to Desk Mates. Because I FEEL like it. It'll be a 2shot, okay, peoplezez out there? Okay. But if this is your first time reading one of my stories…or oneshots…well, basically, please read Desk Mates previous to moving onto this! Trust me. It'll be funnier, more romantic/fluffy, and just make more sense. Thanks! So now, presenting…Desk Mates 2: The Confession!)
Flashback (from Desk Mates)
"All right, all right!" McGonagall cried, exasperatedly. "Go back to your seats then, if you hate it THIS much."
Ron smiled slowly.
Epilogue
Five minutes later, when class had resumed and everyone was sitting in their old seats (much to Lavender's disliking), Hermione found something on her old desk.
Ron loves Hermione.
Now...
Hermione just sat there for a moment, mouth slightly ajar, but thoughts tumbling through her mind, her heart racing. She traced the letters slowly with her fingers, feeling the grooves.
Does he love me?
This would pretty much prove it. Seeing as how it says Ron loves Hermione. Since you're Hermione. And he's Ron. And it says that he loves you.
Oh, shut up.
Honestly, though…this proves it. Why don't you talk to him after class?
What if Harry's there? I don't want to say it in front of Harry. Harry's an incredible friend, but…I just want to tell Ron. I don't want it to be public! And he might not even like me. Yeah…this could have been a joke! Since he MUST have seen what I carved!
SHUT UP. This is your one shot at love, and you're screwing it up! Can't you just accept the facts? HE. LOVES. YOU.
But what if—
NO. I'm so TIRED of you always bailing out! I refuse to just stand by and watch. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!!
But—
NO. After class, go talk to Ron. Start rehearsing some lines.
How does this sound…ahem…"Ronald Weasley, I pray that you will fall silent and listen to my golden words—today, one of the many fascinating and mysterious secrets shrouded with wonder has been revealed to me—"
Oh my GOD. Are you TRYING to go back to the Shakesperean age, or something? Get a LIFE. You're just going to go up to him, blushing, and say, "Ron, what was that…you know…on the desk? The carving…?"
That's not very good English.
I know, but that's how you're going to end up doing it. Trust me. You can't be grammatically correct when you're confronting the boy you love about…well, your love for him.
Oh…all right.
Woohoo! Y-M-C-A…Y-M-C-A…
Please stop doing the YMCA dance. PLEASE.
Oh, all right. How about the Macarena?
"And so—oh, yes, Albus?" Professor McGonagall stopped short in her lecture on the relevance of alliances and friendships, upon Dumbledore entering the room.
"Minerva, I've had a complaint from a student about the desks being carved up. Would you mind me inspecting them? I'll just quickly patch up each one I find a bit scratched…"
Hermione's jaw dropped.
Ron's jaw dropped.
OMFG.
OMFG.
Lavender, who had seated herself behind Ron, saw his expression and was furious. Ron was thinking about something, and it obviously wasn't her! She pouted, then jabbed him in the back with one of her various weapons in disguise—this particular one was a perfectly manicured, shiny, rounded to faultlessness, flawlessly painted…nail.
"OW!" Ron released in a whisper, before turning around to glare at Lavender. "What the BLOODY HELL was that for?" Harry watched amusedly.
She shrugged innocently, examining the nearly fatal shooter. "I just saw your face, and was simply wondering if something was wrong with Bob."
SOMETHING'S GONNA BE WRONG WITH HER UNLESS SHE APOLOGIZES!!
Whoa…anger…
SHUT UP!!!
Okay…okay…
Ron managed a smile. "No, everything's fine. And I'd APPRECIATE it if you didn't POKE me like that EVER AGAIN." Harry restrained a laugh.
Another shrug. Still no eye contact. "Whatever."
Ron, baring his teeth, turned back around. But then he remembered what he had been gaping about in the first place—the desks!
"Yes, you take that side Minerva. Students, please expose the whole desktop…" Dumbledore would be checking Hermione's side of the room. Ron, almost unconsciously, let his jaw slack again. Only four seats away from her…then a thought struck him. What if Hermione hadn't even seen his "declaration of love"?! That only increased his anxiety. What if she didn't know that he loved her!?!
Unfortunately, his face showed it as he watched Dumbledore scanning each desk, murmuring, "Um-hmm…hmm…"
Even MORE unfortunately, Lavender saw.
ANOTHER poke.
"CAN. YOU. PLEASE. STOP. IT. LAVENDER. BROWN!!!!" Ron hissed.
He whirled around to find her staring at him, eyes wide. "All right, but I thought I saw Bob's girlfriend hitting on you."
If looks could have killed, Lavender would have become fossil fuel in the blink of an eye. "You have NEVER seen Bob. You never WILL see Bob. You didn't JUST see Bob. Get it?"
"Oh…why's that?'
"Because Bob HATES you." She couldn't be dense enough to not understand THAT smarting comment.
There was a pause. "Awww! That's why you looked so concerned! You wanted Bob to like me, since YOU like me! But when he turned me down, you stood up for me! That's so CUTE!!" she squealed. Harry snickered, but managed to turn it into a coughing fit.
Ron was completely lost, but he was SO not finished with Ms. Lavender Brown. He was going to ram this into her head if it was the last thing he did—
But out of the corner, he saw Hermione gasping as a shadow passed over the Desk of Doom…
"You know what, Lavender? This is NOT over. I will get back to you on this. But for now, PLEASE just SHUT UP!!" Lavender recoiled at the emphasized last two words. Harry couldn't restrain his laughter now.
Ron watched the situation over by Hermione with distress…(out of his peripheral vision, of course—otherwise, Lavender would have wanted to see what was going on where he was looking).
"Well, well…Ms. Granger," Dumbledore said softly. Hermione thanked the heavens that no one was sitting next to her. "I'm going to have to get rid of these, um-hmm?"
Hermione nodded. Was he going to mention it to the whole class?
Dumbledore tapped the desk with his wand, and Hermione blinked. The writing was gone.
He moved on, but Hermione felt sad. She also felt Ron's eyes on her.
She turned to look at him, and saw him quickly turn to face the front. But not before she saw an anxious look on his face.
That proves it.
Proves WHAT?
That he likes you.
One look!
One STARE.
Well…so?
You're still going to talk to him after class, aren't you?
You're not going to take no for an answer, so it doesn't matter.
Macarena…Macarena…Macarena…
Sigh. But part of me feels a bit…sad. Like that was the one thing that connected us. Or…connected me…
Coughcough. YOU ARE HERMIONE JANE GRANGER. YOU ARE WITCH EXTRAORDINAIRE. YOU DO SPELLS THAT HALF OF THE DEATH EATERS PROBABLY HAVE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF. AND NOW YOU CAN'T DO A SIMPLE REVERSE SPELL?!?!
All right, all right…
"Well, very good then, Minerva. Carry on, carry on!" Minerva nodded her head, Dumbledore left.
Well…it's gone now. The only mark that told the world I loved Hermione Jane Granger, and it's gone. I AM AN IDIOT.
Well, DUH.
I hate you so much sometimes.
I'm here for you buddy, I'm here.
Obviously.
But as Ron looked over at Hermione, he saw her take out her wand inconspicuously, tap the desk, and whisper a word.
"Inverso," she muttered, then felt Ron looking at her again. But he turned to Harry, avoiding her gaze.
He's looking at you again.
I KNOW.
You're still going to talk to him, ri—
YES!!
What's that spell she's using?
You've GOT to stop looking over there. She knows you're staring at her. And if you don't quit it, Lavender will too. But wait…you WANT her to know…so in that case, stare on, lover boy!
But what spell is that?
I don't know, I'm not a lip reader!
Put that on your list of things to do before you kiss Hermione.
Why not "before I die?"
Because the chances that you'll kiss her before you die are…well…pretty slim.
Gee. What a pal.
Sneak a look at her. What's she doing?
Um…hey, I think she got the carvings back! She's running her hand over them, smiling slightly.
Wow…you have GOT to talk to her after class.
Probably.
YOU WILL.
You're right, I will.
There was a sudden rapping sound—McGonagall's ruler hitting the desk. "Up! UP! Class dismissed!"
Ron sighed in relief. Break.
Hermione sighed in relief. Break.
This is it…
This is it…
They procrastinated, slowly putting things away in their bag. "No, you go on, Harry," Ron muttered. "I'll be out in a minute."
Harry grinned, knowing kind of what Ron had in mind. He saw Hermione glancing Ron's way. But he left. And when Lavender reluctantly went, a load was released from Ron's shoulders.
Thank Merlin, Harry left.
That's not very nice. He's like your brother.
Yeah, but would you like to have the guy you love propose to you in front of your brother?
Ron's going to PROPOSE to you?"
NO! But…it does have to do with him, me, and love.
Oh yes, you mean, "one of the many fascinating and mysterious secrets shrouded with wonder"?
Oh, shut it.
After their bags were packed up and no one else was in the room, there was a pause.
Make the first move. You're the guy here…
"Well…Mione…talk about an, um…EVENTFUL class…" he said, taking a few steps forward.
Oh my God. He might just like me.
Macarena…Macarena…Macarena…
WILL YOU PLEASE JUST STOP DOING THAT?
Perhaps...Macarena…
Sigh.
Hermione laughed a little. "Yeah…"
She's too shy…
What?
She's too shy. You're going to have to make a move on her.
ON her???
Oh, you know!! Ugh!
Ron drew closer. "Yeah…so…did you…um…see?"
"Yeah…"
Oh my gosh. I am SO not a socialist.
Obviously.
"So I'm guessing that you…uh-heh…saw what I wrote…"
"Carved?" Ron smiled.
"Yeah…"
That's the third "yeah" in one minute.
Just hang on! I'm trying, okay?
Sure…but I told you that you would say "yeah" a lot. Didn't I tell you that? I thought I did.
Ugh.
"Well, I just…it's true, you know…" Ron blurted out.
"What I wrote? Carved, I mean, sorry…" Hermione said quickly.
"No, no! I mean…sorry about the whole 'carved' thing, that was stupid. But…yeah, no, what I wrote…"
"Carved?" Hermione smiled.
Ron grinned. "Yeah…"
"So…you love me?" Hermione looked away, blushing profusely.
"Well…yeah…" A couple more steps toward her. Now they were only a few feet apart.
"And you must have seen what I wrote. Or carved," she added, seeing Ron's mouth open.
"Yeah…wow, we're saying 'yeah' a lot, aren't we?" Ron commented.
"Yes, it would appear that we are."
"And…it's true, right?"
"What?"
"I mean…no…just…what you carved…"
"Or wrote. But yeah, I guess it is…"
"You guess?"
"I mean, no, I know."
"You, uh…want to sit down? Like…on a desk?"
"On a specific desk, you mean?"
"Sure."
They both plopped down on top of it, their special desk, side by side, arms touching.
"I love you," Ron confessed.
Hermione smiled a twisted smile. "I do…too."
"I—well, good…"
"Do we kiss now, or something? I mean, that's what they always do in books…" Hermione asked, cheeks pink.
"And if it's in a book, you would know."
"Yeah, I suppose so…"
"So…?" Hermione said expectantly.
Slowly, studying her face carefully, Ron leaned in. Hermione closed her eyes. All that existed was this moment in time, this special moment. Nothing but—
"Won-Won! What are you DOING, kissing her?!" came from the loud, interrupting voice of Lavender.
"Hang on a second," Ron whispered, turning from a very disappointed Hermione.
Ron stood up, brushing off his shirt. Then he walked up to Lavender (who was thrilled at this close encounter, but wouldn't be for long—) and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"LAVENDER," he shouted, "GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW! I HAVE NEVER LIKED YOU, DO NOT LIKE YOU, AND NEVER WILL LIKE YOU!"
"But…Bob?" Lavender whispered timidly.
"NO. GET AWAY FROM ME. I WILL NEVER BE YOUR BOYFRIEND. EVER. AGAIN. NOT WHEN I HAVE HERMIONE. OKAY? OKAY. NOW MARCH!!!!" Ron screamed. Hermione giggled most uncharacteristically.
Did Lavender ever march out of there.
Now…where was I?
Hermione.
Right…
Hermione blushed and smiled timidly. "I…uh, we…um…better go…"
"I don't think we need to. Not right now," Ron said, smiling slightly, walking toward her.
Fifteen minutes later, they came out of class, hand in hand.