All right guys this is my first ever story about Ron and Hermione. I used to be a hard Harry/Hermione shipper, I still like this relationship, but as much as I hated Ron in book 6, I came to adore him in book 7. So Here I am, publishing this story. I hope you'll like it. It hasn't been beta-read since I don't have any beta-reader (If you feel like helping me, you'll be welcomed!). It's a one-shot. Please read and review. I don't mind flames as long as they're constructive.
It was over. Hermione couldn't believe it was indeed over. Voldemort was dead, Harry succeeded in destroying him. He had become the hero he was destined to be. Yet Hermione could not feel happy. They had lost too many people. Fred Weasley, Remus and Tonks and so many others she maybe wasn't even aware of. This had been a dreadful year. Hermione was exhausted. She didn't have an ounce of energy to celebrate the victory. She had experienced the two most powerful feelings of her life tonight.
Love when she had thrown herself at Ron and kissed him and desperation when she had thought for a few minutes that Harry was dead. Those two boys, well men, were the most important persons in her life. She had spent nearly every single minute of the past year with them, well except for those days when Ron wasn't there. Way too many emotions were running through her and it had the best of her.
She isolated herself from the victorious parties that were all over Hogwarts and she sat on a chair in the now devastated library and she cried. She was overjoyed that they had won in the end and she also was very happy about the kiss she had shared with Ron. She had let him with his family that was crying over Fred's dead body. She felt like an intruder in such an intimate moment. She wished she could go and find Harry but she thought he needed his rest as well. She looked at the library and felt her heart sink. Books were thrown all over the place. Tables and chairs were broken, some books were burnt and some books from the restriction section were making horrible noises.
Yet no one had thought of coming here and protect them, or take care of them. Hermione then felt a new wage of tears coming. She fell on the floor and let go of her raw emotions. She was so lost that she did not hear the door open and someone approaching her from behind. Ron looked at her and gently and slowly took her in his arms. He felt so bad seeing her like this. He felt like an egoistical git letting her alone in such a moment. Hermione immediately knew whose arms were holding her and she turned around to face him. She then let her head on his chest and let him stroke her cheeks, tenderly wiping her tears away. No words were said but for the first time in their life, a silent communication started between them. No "I love you" or "I'll always be there" were ushered, they weren't even needed, they were just expressed in that hug. This was very new for them and they liked how comfortable it felt. They knew deep in their heart that they were way too stubborn to avoid any new fight, but they also knew that this new aspect of their relationship was just great.
"Are you ok?" Ron finally asked.
"Not really, how about you?" Hermione answered him.
"Not really either" he said, still holding her.
"How are your mom and dad feeling?" Hermione asked him, finally looking at him.
"Dad is taking care of mom, she's devastated", he said, putting a lock of her brown hair behind her hear.
"How about Ginny and your brothers?" Hermione pushed him.
"Percy's taking care of George and I guess Ginny's with Harry. Bill's with Fleur and Charlie's with Mom and Dad ..." Ron stopped, feeling his own tears coming back.
"Then I'll take care of you", Hermione firmly stated.
"I don't know what I've done to deserve you" Ron told her looking at her with such tenderness in his eyes that Hermione was deeply moved. She couldn't remember him being so sweet with her before.
"Well I don't know I guess saving me from the troll in first year could be a good reason" she said.
"Well it was because of me you were trapped in the first place, if I hadn't been so mean to you this day, you would have been with us in the Great Hall celebrating Halloween.
"Well, what's done is done." Hermione said trying to avoid the conversation.
"I've been much meaner to you last year though" Ron dared.
"That's true. You know I won't lie to you Ron, anyway even if I tried to lie you'd know it in a heart beat, you know me too well," she smiled while she caressed his cheek. "You hurt me a lot while you were dating Lavender, I don't recall I've been hurt that much before, well maybe except when you left us with Harry but he told me about that".
Ron started to blush at her caress and even more when she told him Harry had explained her the reason why he left. He then decided he preferred concentrating and what her tiny hand was doing on his face rather than being embarrassed at his behaviour.
"Don't you want to go somewhere else to finish this conversation", he offered.
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him straight in the eyes.
"Well I don't know, we could get some rest for a start instead of being on this cold floor. Well I know you love this place but I'd rather be somewhere cosier." he said standing up and offering his hand to help her up on her feet.
"Where would you go?" Hermione asked smiling.
"I would suggest my dorm but I guess it won't be very intimate" he smugly proposed.
"Why Ronald Weasley what are you trying to do with me?" Hermione joked.
At her words, Ron held her once more in his arms with a passion Hermione had never felt from him before and he took her face in his hands and kissed her with all the love he felt for her.
"WOW," was all she could answer.
"Trust me Hermione, if I wasn't respecting you so much I'd do much more," he told her with his eyes shinning with passion. Except he was not expecting her cold and short answer.
"Like things you did with Lavender I expect", with that she walked out of his arms and crossed her arms.
Ron was at a loss of words and ashamed. He knew she had every right to throw that at him especially after what he had just told her.
"And just so you know, I'm not like her," Hermione said, a little less coldly than her previous words.
"Do I know that," Ron said.
"What do you mean?" Hermione enquired.
"I mean that all the time I was with her I was trying to imagine it was you that I was holding, kissing and snogging. Except each time I opened my eyes, you weren't the one in my arms. And I disgusted myself even more but I felt so hurt that I kept going on with her because I was convinced that I'll ever have you." he miserably said.
"Why would you think such a thing Ron?" Hermione gently said as she realized how much he had been hurt as well.
"Look 'Mione, couldn't we go somewhere else? I really don't want to have this conversation here, where anyone could listen to us or enter the room and interrupt us."
"Come with me," Hermione said taking his hand into her much smaller one.
"Where are you leading me?" Ron asked
"Head Girl dorm" Hermione answered
"How on earth are we going to enter?" Ron laughed.
"I know the password" Hermione answered.
"How's that?" He asked.
"You ask too many questions", Hermione said as they approached the painting guarding the Heads's dorm.
She gave the password and they entered the dorm. As soon as the painting closed the entrance, Hermione made her now usual round of protecting charms, getting the room secure for them both.
"And what if the Head Boy's coming?" Ron aked half amused.
"He's already there." Hermione answered smiling at him. "Ron, we were supposed to be the Heads this year, McGonagall sent me an owl trying to convince me to come back in Hogwarts and she gave me all the information I needed. It seems however that Headmaster Snape thought Heads weren't needed this were so the passwords had never been changed.
"So you mean we're basically the only ones being able to enter this room and that no one will know where we are and that we'll be all alone by ourselves here?" Ron asked approaching Hermione suddenly getting back his whole smugness.
"Ron, as much as I love you and wish to be with you, we need to finish this conversation we started," Hermione said, not sounding very convinced as she had her eyes locked with Ron's.
Ron sighed and sat on the very comfortable couch and patting her to sat close to him. Hermione sat much closer to him than he had expected as she sat on his laps, linking her arms behind his neck.
"'Mione, please, if you wish to have this conversation you're going to have to be a little more away from me because I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep my hands away from you", he murmured in her hear sending a wave of goose bumps over her body. Hermione had never experienced that in her life and she silently agreed with him while leaving his knees and sitting on the couch.
"You're so beautiful when you're blushing" he said.
No answer was needed as everything she had to tell him was said through her eyes.
"So, go ahead 'Mione, just ask anything you wish to know and I swear I'll answer as honestly as I can." Ron offered.
"Ok. So first of all I want to know why you suddenly decided to go out with her while I thought you had agreed to go on a date with me", Hermione slowly asked him as if afraid of his reaction.
Ron realized how careful she was being and took her chin in his hand to force her to look at him.
"I told you I won't have any secret for you, you can ask me anything you want, right?" he started; he then sighed and continued, "It was stupid, really, it's just that I ran into Ginny and her boyfriend snogging and we had a rant. She then throw at me that I was the only one that had never snogged, she had with Dean, Harry had with Cho, and you had with Krum."
"Merlin ..." was all Hermione was able to answer. She then surprised Ron when she put her head on his shoulder. "We never actually snogged you know. He just kissed me once and I didn't even appreciate it. Honestly Ron, what we experienced back in the library, or even during the battle was so much more powerful than his stupid little kiss."
"Well I didn't know that at the time, I wish I had though, this would have changed a lot of things... " Ron trailed.
"Is she ... "Hermione hesitated and then looked at Ron and remember his promise "is she better than me?"
At her question, Ron looked at her astonished.
"How ... how on earth can you ask something like that? No one on this earth, hell in this galaxy is better than you, in any kind of way. 'Mione you're the cleverest witch of our age!" Ron claimed.
"I'm not talking about being clever, Ron ... come on don't make me ask it ... "she pleaded, "was she a better snog than me, do you think she prettier?" she quickly said as if getting it out of her heart.
"Of course no! Hermione no comparison is possible, I'm in love with you and I was using her to forget you! And she could put all the make-up she wanted, do her hair the best she can and wear the prettiest dress possible she wouldn't even come close to how beautiful you are to me!" Ron said with all his heart.
"Then I know everything I needed to know," Hermione said crying.
"I wish we could have avoid this whole mess though, you know, canaries and all," Ron tried to joke in order to make her laugh.
"You damned deserved those canaries," Hermione laughed.
"You know they hurt me pretty bad though", Ron mischievously told her.
She then looked at him worriedly. She had acted on her feelings that night when she had conjured the canaries over him. She had never realized how badly he could be hurt.
"I'm sorry Ron; I didn't know they could be so nasty".
"Well you could always try to make it better, like I don't know ... kiss the scars away from my head or something like that, "Ron suggestively told her.
"You had scars????? Merlin I'm so sorry Ron, I had no idea they could ..." started to panic Hermione before being cut by a kiss from Ron.
"Shhh don't worry I was only teasing you. You're right I deserved them and they put some sense in that thick head of mine." he told her kissing her once more.
"I love that thick head of yours, you know" she told him
"Yeah I know, but I don't mind hearing it again and again." he smiled.
"I guess we've been both hurt very much," Hermione sighed after a moment.
"I've been a total jerk, to you and to Lavender, I used her and I feel really bad for that. I guess I hurt her as well" Ron mused.
"Well I guess we should concentrate on our present and future rather than this particular aspect of our past." Hermione answered.
"A future with you suits me pretty well" Ron told her before kissing her once more.