In this version, Ron wasn't cured of the love potion until the morning…

He walked with one purpose.

He walked with conviction.

He knew where he was going, what he was about to do, the only thing missing was… the girl.

"Where is she?" He muttered to himself as he looked around the library. He knew she was usually here at this time of night. His eyes scanned the rows, looking for that glorious mane of black hair, or those eyes as bright as the moon… or the sun! Ron noticed that his breathing was increasing the more he thought of her. His heart was beating fast than ever as he imagined talking to her, touching her. Just in that moment he spotted her, standing a few meters away, her attention focused on the book she was reading. She was beautiful.

Romilda Vane

"Uh… Hi… Romilda," he stammered out, approaching her. She looked up, surprised. Ron was so shocked by her beauty that he just stared at her.

"Can I help you?" Romilda asked, her brows knitting together, and her face twisting into an expression of confusion, her eyes wide as she looked to her friends who sat next to her. Ron tried to speak but the words seemed to evade him.

"I – uh…. Do- do, um…" His cheeks reddened fast and deep, and his hands were clenched y his side. "Do you have a spare quill?" He asked suddenly, taking a few deep breaths. She looked shocked, but nodded, passing him one of the quills laying on the desk before her. Ron took it and thanked her as best he could.

Once he was out of her line of sight, he collapsed into one of the chairs lining the bookshelves, letting his head fall and hit the desk with a thud.

"How could I have been so stupid!? I am not worthy of talking to her!" He whispered harshly. Then he looked to the quill she had given him. "I should have asked for more than a meaningless piece of stationary! Great going, Ronald, you idiot."

He returned to his room and place the quill delicately on his bedside table. Over the course of the night, the love potion slowly wore off; dreams of Romilda turned to fighting giant squirrels with baseball bats, and when he woke up the quill meant nothing to him. But still Ron remembered.

"Oh Merlin! What does she think of me now!?" He almost yelled, waking Harry in his bed beside him.

"Eh- Ah! Wh- what?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes and looking at Ron.

"I have a feeling Romlida Vane thinks I'm in love with her."

"Why?"

"Because yesterday I was…" Harry stared at Ron as those words left his lips.

"Not following." Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses. "You were in love with Romilda yesterday?"

"Not really! But something happened and I was acting as though I was." That was when Harry saw them.

"Ron, those chocolate cauldrons, did you eat them yesterday?" Harry asked urgently. Ron nodded before answering:

"I thought they were from my birthday?"

"No, they're mine – "

"But I-"

"– from Romilda. They were spiked with Love Potion." Rons' mouth formed a small 'o' as it sunk in. Harry pursed his lips to supress a smile.

"Oh Merlin! Harry, what did I do?" Just then the door to the dormitory burst open and Hermione power-walked in. Her hair was flying behind her, and her eyes were wide and intense. Across the room Dean shot up, his eyes wide, and Seamus clutched his covers up around his throat. Neville stared at Hermione as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes.

"You're in love with Romilda Vane!" She practically yelled, "And you thought you wouldn't tell me because… oh I don't know, I'm a girl? Was that it? I had to find out from Romidla telling, not even me, but Lavender! She's heartbroken! Not to mention she has completely destroyed three pillows and sworn to rip your hair out if she gets her hands on you." Hermione was breathing heavily as she finished her rant. "Just thought I'd warn you."

"Hermione," Harry was practically bitting his lips to keep the smile off his face. She turned back to face him, and let out a huge breath as she tried to control herself.

"What?" She snapped. Harry got out of his bed and walked to the end of Rons', collecting the affected chocolates and showed them to Hermione.

"He ate these, I hadn't thrown them away yet." Hermione's face instantly changed to a look of shame, then her lips twisted into a smile and she burst into laughter.

"Oh My Gosh! No!" she spluttered, clutching her stomach as she cackled. "Love p-potion! Hahaha!" When she was able to calm down she looked back at Ron. "Wow, this is not going to be a fun day for you. You're girlfriends about to tear down the castle and the 'love of your life' may or may not pounce, depending on how she feels today."

Ron looked at the door, his face paling at the thought.

"Good luck," Harry said, a smirk finally forming on his face as Ron made his way down to the common room. "I'm going to miss him," he joked, looking to Hermione, who shook her head a small smile still playing on her lips.

Words: 900

Written for:
'1991 Challenge': 39. Ronald Weasley/Hopeless
'If You Dare': 98. We're Splitting Up...