A/N: I've had this story on my mind even before I finished my exams. By the time I did finish, I just typed the sentences I've written on paper. But it's not done. I took some of my holiday time finishing it. Hopefully this story is good enough, because I myself don't think that it is. So just let me know by reviewing it.

Bendleshnitz [I still can't be sure whether the spelling is correct or not], this is what I've told you about.

Warning: Just one word from George.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Grace, John, Kate) belong to JK Rowling. The song is owned by The Beatles btw.


DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET

It was last week when he received an owl from her. One of Hermione's cousins, Grace was getting married and Hermione invited Ron to come along.

Immediately after he finished re-reading for a number of times, Ron went to George's room to ask whether he could have a day off on the wedding day.

"Why?" He remembered George asking.

"I have to go somewhere on that day."

"And where is that somewhere, my dear brother?" asked George, turning his face towards Ron. He must have noticed a letter on Ron's hand because George then continued, "Ahh, you have a date with Hermione, I see."

"How'd you know?"

"Hermione just sent you an owl, didn't she?"

His face turned bright red.

"Her writing is very different from others; really neat," said George, pointing at the letter on Ron's hand with his chin. "So where are you two going? Have any thoughts?"

"Err, her cousin is getting married and she asked me to accompany her."

"As her date, of course."

"Not really sure about that. She didn't really mention it here," said Ron, before re-reading the letter.

"You are actually dating her, aren't you?"

Ron slowly looked up from his letter. "Why'd you ask?"

"Well, of course he's dating Hermione."

Both Weasleys turned their heads to find Ginny Weasley standing near the door.

She walked in to sit beside George on his bed. "Aren't you?" she asked, looking at Ron.

"He is."

Ron mumbled, "Harry," and turned around to face him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, nice to see you too, Ron. I'm fine, thanks for asking," said Harry sarcastically before walking in to stand next to Ginny. "I'm here to pick up your beautiful sister for our date." He turned his attention to Ginny. "You ready yet, Gin?"

"Yes but stay for awhile; Ron hasn't answered my question," she said before looking at his brother again. "So Ron, aren't you dating Hermione?"

Ron's face turned scarlet again. He was still uncomfortable talking about their relationship openly.

"That's a yes, I'm sure," said George, chuckling. "So that means you are her date for the wedding."

"Wedding?" repeated Harry.

"Who's getting married?" asked Ginny, looking at George.

"Hermione's cousin."

"It's great that you're invited," replied Ginny, turning to Ron again. "But how come she never says anything to me?"

Ron shrugged.

"Maybe Hermione's going to introduce Ron to her family as her boyfriend," said Harry, smiling.

"Sure, that must be it," said Ginny, clapping her hands once. "Both her parents know that you two are dating, but not the rest." She paused to stare blankly into space and sigh blissfully. She turned her attention to Ron again, "When's the wedding?"

"Next week."

"Don't you have to go to work?" asked Harry.

"That's why I went to ask George for a day off," answered Ron, before looking at his older brother. "So can I please have a day off?"

"Fine," said George, sighed dramatically. "Just because you said 'please'."

Ron grinned.

"But you have to work your arse off to make up for that day," added George.

Ron's grin disappeared. "Even on Saturday and Sunday?"

It was George's turn to grin. "Yeah."

"Come on, Ron. I'm sure it'd be worth it. You get to see your Hermione in a beautiful dress in a beautiful wedding," said Ginny, before sighing again. "Have you got anything to wear?"

"I sure hope so."

"Just wear a formal suit and you're good to go."

Ron nodded in agreement.

"But that's not enough!" exclaimed Ginny. "You want to look dashing that will leave Hermione speechless."

"I think Ron will be the one speechless when he sees Hermione next week."

And indeed he was. There he was in her house, staring at her face with his mouth open; Hermione was standing in front of him with a light blue dress.

"Ron?"

He blinked as he felt Hermione's hand on his left cheek. "Yeah, s-sorry. You – you look … wow, you're –"

Hermione giggled.

Realising he didn't even form a complete sentence, Ron cleared his throat. "You look really beautiful, Hermione."

Hermione blushed. "Thanks," she replied, entwining her hand with his. "You look really great yourself."

Before Ron could respond, Hermione's father appeared behind her. "Are you two ready?" he asked.

"Yes, Dad," answered Hermione, turning around to face him. Her hand was still on Ron's. "Where's Mum?"

"Still upstairs. She'll be done in a few minutes," answered Mr Granger. He then turned towards Ron with his hand out. "Ron, nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too, Mr Granger," replied Ron, shaking his hand firmly. "Oh, thank you for inviting me to your relative's wedding."

Mr Granger laughed lightly. "Well, it's always nice having you around," he replied. "Besides, you should thank Hermione; she's the one who invited you."

Ron squeezed Hermione's hand.

"So how's the shop doing?"

"It's doing great. More customers are coming in ever since the shop reopened," answered Ron with a smile.

"How did you manage to persuade George to give you a day off today?" asked Hermione.

"I had to work extra hours, even on Saturday and Sunday," he answered, looking sideways at her. "That's why I couldn't have lunch with you."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know that."

"That's fine," said Ron, squeezing her hand again. "I haven't got a day off ever since the day I started working anyway."

"Well then it must be your lucky day," said Mr Granger. He turned to Hermione. "You should really thank George for letting Ron come with us."

Hermione nodded. "I will."

"Okay, I'm ready."

Everyone turned their heads to see Mrs Granger standing on top of the stairs with a red dress.

Mr Granger made his way to the bottom of the stairs, waiting for his wife. As she reached him, Mr Granger took her hand and kissed it lovingly.

"You look amazing, Mum," commented Hermione, beaming up at her mother.

"Thank you, Hermione," replied Mrs Granger, approaching the couple along with her husband. "Well, so do you."

Hermione smiled.

"Hello, Ronald," greeted Mrs Granger.

"Hello, Mrs Granger," replied Ron with his hand out.

Mrs Granger smiled and took his hand. "I would kiss your cheek but I already applied some make-up on."

"That's fine, really."

"Well, shall we go then?" said Mr Granger, who started walking towards the door with his wife on tow.

Ron stayed behind with Hermione to lock the front door, whereas Mr and Mrs Granger went inside the car.

"I'm glad she didn't kiss you," said Hermione, looking up at him.

"Why is that?"

"I don't think I'll like the view," she answered, pulling his hand towards the car.

Ron chuckled.

At the wedding …

Oh I definitely don't like the view, thought Ron, not at all. He was sitting on the table with Hermione's parents and relatives. They were talking across from him, but his eyes were fixed on Hermione who was at the moment talking with someone. Some bloke, more like.

"He's already married, don't worry."

Ron turned his face to his right. "Who is?" he asked Hermione's cousin, Kate.

"The man talking to Hermione," she answered, looking at him. "He's my younger brother."

"Oh," said Ron, blushing. He turned his face to his plate to continue eating his cake. "Sorry."

Kate chuckled. "That's okay," she said, eating again. "Those two are very close ever since they were small. John always thinks Hermione as his younger sister since the age difference between us two is really far apart."

Ron nodded.

"You know when she first came to our house, Hermione was very shy. She didn't talk to any of us – except her parents – and straight went to one of the sofas to read the book she brought from home. I tried talking to her but she never said a word, so I gave up. John however didn't; he kept coming back." Kate paused to have a sip of her drink. "Then the second time she came over, Hermione started responding properly. They started talking about books because they shared the same interest. But whenever I joined the discussion, she changed to her old self again."

Ron nodded again.

"When she was ten or eleven, she told us – told John, actually – that she's going to a boarding school so far away that no communications were allowed, except to her parents. And that's when we last saw and talked to her.

"And here we are now, nine years later. She's changed so much since then."

She has, thought Ron. A lot might I add.

"She's more comfortable around others. And she even talked to me," said Kate, smiling. She sighed blissfully before looking at Ron. "How long have you been going out with Hermione?"

Ron blushed.

"I take it not long ago?"

Before Ron could respond, Hermione sat beside him and took his hand to her lap. "Hey," she greeted, a smile plastered on her face. "Sorry for taking so long; I was talking to one of my cousins."

Ron shook his head. "That's okay."

"So what were you and Kate talking about?"

"About you two, actually," answered Kate, leaning up front to look at Hermione. "How long have you two been going out, Hermione?"

"Oh, almost a year," she answered. "But we've been best friends for years."

"How many years exactly?"

"Nine years. We've known each other since we're eleven."

"That means you two went to the same boarding school?"

Hermione and Ron nodded simultaneously.

"You've known each other for nine years but you only started going out a year ago?" said Kate, incredulously.

Hermione shrugged.

"What did you two do at that school?"

Busy saving our lives from Voldemort actually, thought Ron.

"We were too busy to have a relationship what with exams and homework on the way."

Ron was going to snort at the answer his girlfriend had given. But knowing she would hex him, he coughed instead, earning a glare from Hermione who gave him a glass of water as an act of cover.

"Smooth," she whispered softly so her cousin wouldn't hear it.

"Does that mean you've liked each other for a long time?"

Ron choked on his water. Coughing, he stroked his chest whereas Hermione patted his back gently. Merlin, isn't she smart?

"I'll take that as a yes," said Kate, chuckling. After finishing her cake, she continued, "Now if you two excuse me, I have to go to the ladies." She stood up. "Nice to meet you, Ron."

"Err, likewise, Kate," replied Ron.

Hermione rested her head on his shoulder as soon as Kate was gone. "Having fun talking to her?"

Ron snorted. "She actually told me how you were when you two met for the first time."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she told me that you only talked to John because you two liked to read. And that you never talked to him anymore ever since you're accepted to Hogwarts."

"Oh, my Mum asked me not to tell anyone about it. Nobody was to know that I'm a you-know-what."

After a moment of silence, Ron said, "Here, have some," gently shoving a small piece of the cake on his plate to her mouth.

Swallowing it, she dabbed her mouth with her napkin. "This is delicious. Where'd you get it? How come it's different from the one we took before?"

"Kate and I took it from that table," he said, pointing to the table just beside the bar, "when you went to the loo."

Hermione ate another piece with her left hand. "Aren't you full, Ron?" she asked, before feeding him a piece. "You've already eaten the wedding cake and you're eating this?"

"That's why I only took one plate so that I could share it with you," he replied, taking the fork from her and eating a piece. "You know that I can't stay away from food, especially cake."

"Well, don't eat too much though. You don't want to upset your stomach," said Hermione, stroking his stomach.

"And that's why you're going to finish it as well," he said, shoving another piece into her mouth. "So if I get sick, you will too."

Hermione playfully hit his stomach. "Prat," she mumbled, trying not to say it loud as her parents and relatives were still nearby.

Ron chuckled.

Just as Hermione placed her head on his shoulder again, someone came up behind them and said, "Oh young love."

Hermione quietly sighed and turned her face towards the owner the voice. "Hey, John."

Ron immediately turned to look at Hermione's cousin closely.

John noticed him looking. "You must be Ron Weasley," he said, reaching out with his right hand towards Ron. "Hermione's been telling me all about you today."

Ron stood from his seat and shook his hand. He felt a bit proud as he was slightly taller than John. "Nice to meet you, John."

"You too," he replied. He then looked down at Hermione. "Have you seen my wife, Hermione? I couldn't find her anywhere."

"She might probably go to the bathroom," said Hermione, standing up, trying to search the crowd for his wife but to no avail. "You want me to check for you?"

"No need; I found her," said John, looking somewhere behind Hermione. He diverted his gaze to her and Ron in front of him. "I'll see you two around," he said. Before he walked away, he whispered to Ron, "Be good to her," and patted his shoulder gently.

"What did John say to you just now?" asked Hermione, taking Ron's hand in hers.

Ron merely looked at her, reaching out to stroke her cheek with his free hand.

"Ron?"

"It's nothing."

"Nothing bad, was it?"

"Of course not," said Ron, smiling. He wanted to kiss her right there, but he remembered that her parents and relatives were in front of them, still talking. So he just kissed her forehead and dragged her back to their seats.

"Oh no," she said, looking at him with concern, "he didn't threaten you, did he?"

Ron shook his head as he took a piece of his deserted cake.

Hermione sighed in relief. "Oh good," she said. "He used to threaten everyone who dared to annoy me." She took a bite of the cake. "A bit overprotective, if I say so myself," she added quietly.

Ron chuckled lightly.

"You used to be like that too, you know. With Ginny. Or you still are?"

"That's natural, isn't it, 'Mione? She's our only sister. What else should I do?"

Hermione just shrugged and accepted the cake fed by her boyfriend.

For a few minutes, they took turn in feeding each other some cake. Ron swore he heard some people snickering behind their backs, including Hermione's parents.

"Just ignore them," whispered Hermione. "We're doing nothing wrong here." She fed Ron a piece, before placing back the fork on the plate.

"There's one more piece, you want it?"

"No, you take it. It's your cake," she said, ready to feed him again.

"It's yours too."

"But you took it."

"For us to eat together."

Someone on the table coughed softly.

Hermione sighed and returned the fork to its original position. "Why don't we just cut it into two?" she suggested, while cutting the small piece into two even smaller pieces. "You take half and I take the other half. Sounds good?"

Ron just nodded and happily allowed Hermione to feed him. "Do you want some more?" he asked jokingly.

Hermione looked at him incredulously. "You're still hungry?"

"No, I was just teasing you," answered Ron, grinning. He then rose from his chair and kissed her head. "I'm going to the loo."

"Okay."

After a few minutes had passed, Ron walked back to his seat. But unfortunately, Hermione was nowhere to be found. Puzzled, he approached Hermione's mother. "Mrs Granger, where's –"

"Ah, Ronald. I've been waiting for you to return," interrupted Mrs Granger who then stood up. "Let's go."

"Err, where are we going?" he asked, following her.

"My husband is off dancing with the bride," she said, before stopping in the middle of the dance floor and turning around to face Ron. "So I'm dancing with you."

"Oh, okay," he replied, before awkwardly placing his right hand on her waist and his left on her right hand.

Mrs Granger chuckled. "Don't be so stiff, Ronald. Just pretend that I'm Hermione."

Well that's very hard to do when you look exactly like her.

"How's your relationship with her, by the way?"

Ron's eyes widened and his face turned red. "W-well, we're closer than ever. And we-we –"

"You do love each other, don't you?"

He turned even redder.

"I know for sure that Hermione loves you. But I'm not sure about you," she said. "Do you love Hermione, Ron?"

Ron's heart started pounding faster.

"Who is the only person you always think about each day?"

Hermione.

"Who is the only person you want to talk with when you have problems?"

Hermione.

"Who is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with?"

"Hermione," mumbled Ron. Before he could continue, his eyes caught her figure dancing with John not very far from them.

"Why are you jealous when you see Hermione dancing with another man? Even though you know that John is already married."

"Because I love Hermione," he mumbled slowly, still looking at the couple. He and Mrs Granger had stopped dancing. "I have for a long time."

Mrs Granger smiled. "Now that you finally realised your feelings, and you know how she feels about you, don't you think it's time for you to cut in and dance with Hermione and tell her that you love her?"

Ron turned his head towards his girlfriend's mother. "Thank you, Mrs Granger."

"You make my daughter happy, Ron. So if you ever hurt her again, I will personally come and hunt you."

Ron chuckled. "Everybody would, trust me. Including Hermione herself."

Mrs Granger let her hand go from his grasp. "Hurry up and get her before someone else does," she said, pushing him gently.

Ron slowly but determinedly made his way towards Hermione and John. The conversation between him and Mrs Granger not long ago was on his mind.

I know for sure that Hermione loves you.

Who is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with?

Why are you jealous when you see Hermione dancing with another man?

I will personally come and hunt you.

That last one scared Ron. But he kept going until he reached his destination. He then tapped John's shoulder gently. "Mind if I cut in?" he asked.

John smiled. "No, go ahead," he said before kissing Hermione's cheek.

Ron encircled his arms around her waist while Hermione's went to his neck.

"I saw you dancing with my Mum. What were you talking about?" asked Hermione.

The song then changed to a new one. By the look on Hermione's face, Ron knew that the song was her favourite. He smiled at the coincidence.

"Ron?"

"Hmm?"

"What were you and Mum talking about?"

Ron hugged her instead. He hugged her so tight that he lifted her off the floor.

"Ron? Are you all right?" she asked, starting to get worried. Her grip on his neck tightened as she placed her feet on top of his shoes, gently not stepping her heels onto his black shoes. "What did my Mum say to you?"

Ron didn't answer at once. He kept silent as he swayed following the rhythm. "She asked me about our relationship," he said finally. "And some questions about how I truly feel about you."

Hermione's heart started to beat faster, Ron could feel it. "A-and what did you answer her?"

"She asked me: who is the only person I always think about each day? It's you. Who is the only person I want to talk with when I have problems? It's you. Who is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with?" Ron stopped for a moment to pull her back and look at her. "It's you."

Hermione started to shed some tears.

"Why am I jealous when I see you dancing with another bloke when I know that John is already married?" he continued while brushing some of her tears with his thumb. "Because I love you, Hermione. I have for a long time."

Hermione pulled him closer. "You git," she said. "You make me cry in my cousin's wedding where the whole family can see me."

Ron smiled. "I'm sorry," he said, stroking her back.

Hermione sighed blissfully. "I love you too, Ron."

Ron put her back on her own two feet. "Good, that means I can do this," he said before kissing her fully on the lips, not caring who was around.

Ooh closer
Let me whisper in your ear
Say the words you long to hear
I'm in love with you


A/N: The last four lines are from the lyrics of Do You Want to Know a Secret by the Beatles. Listen to it, it's a really nice song.

Btw, have you all watched HBP? I haven't. I just got back from my hometown. How was the movie? I don't mind any spoilers. LOL!