Title: Crave You
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Romione (with hints of their past love interests)
Description: She's been staring at Ron Weasley for years, and all she wants is for him to stare back at her./Or, a look into the trivial love life of Hermione Jean Granger. Romione!
Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Hope you are all having a great day! Here's my latest Romione fic, which I'm very happy the way it turned out. Most my other fics are mainly dialogue, so I decided to try something a little different. Please review and let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Nor do I own the song "Crave You" by Flight Facilities.
"Why can't you want me like the other boys do?
They stare at me while I stare at you.
Why can't you want me like the other boys do?
They stare at me while I crave you."
-Crave You, by Flight Facilities
When Hermione Granger's thirteen years old, the only boy – man – she's staring at is Gilderoy Lockhart. Granted, every girl is staring at him, but who wouldn't? He's handsome, smart, courageous, and one of the most famous wizards (besides Harry Potter, of course).
His blonde hair and perfectly straight teeth (which won him Witch Weekly's 'Most-Charming-Smile' award five years running; those five issues are sitting safely in her trunk in her dormitory, hidden away for only her enjoyment) shine when the lighting is just right, and Hermione swears there's no one else on the planet that could be more gorgeous.
She has to admit that Gilderoy Lockhart isn't the best professor she's had, but she knows he's out of his element. After all, he's not usually in the classroom, but out fighting dark creatures and writing books about them. Hermione can't blame herself for reading the books either, because she's Hermione Granger.
And then there are Ron and Harry's comments about Lockhart. She mostly tries to ignore their complaining – she knows they're simply annoyed by his skill, looks, and fame.
"Hermione, he set pixies loose in class and you had to round them up!"
"He removed all the bones from my arm, Hermione…"
"Blimey, Hermione, you slept with his get-well card under your pillow!"
Harry had no comment on that particular situation.
But when Second Year comes to a close, Gilderoy Lockhart becomes a celebrity for a completely different reason. His handsome face is no longer on the covers of Witch Weekly, but on the cover of the Daily Prophet, announcing his permanent residency in St. Mungo's.
Hermione can't help but to buy his latest book when it comes out a few months later, mainly to see how much has changed. And as she reads the sad and twisted thoughts of the man who can barely remember his own name, she finds herself no longer wanting to stare at Gilderoy Lockhart.
Not because he's clinically insane, but because she's beginning to have an eye for someone else.
When Hermione Granger's fifteen, the young man she finds herself staring at (more often than she'll admit) is infatuated with another girl. Granted, she is part Veela, so every boy can't help but be drawn in by her beauty. Her silky, smooth blonde hair and gracefulness convinces Hermione that Fleur Delacour should be the envy of every teenage girl.
And she can't help but feel a little jealous when she constantly spots Ron gazing at Fleur and nearly drooling. Hermione has to remind herself that the French visitor has a specific kind of magic that can force blokes to pay attention to her, and to not feel inferior when Ron goes off into space.
But nothing can calm her desire of being wanted and looked at that way by a boy. And if that boy happens to be Ronald Weasley, she won't complain.
Because Hermione has been so focused on Ron's obsession with Fleur, she hardly notices that another Triwizard Tournament champion has taken interest in her. She assumes he's only being friendly to her so she'll spill some weakness of Harry's, helping himself advance in the tournament. She makes a strong effort to only speak highly of Harry when the subject is brought up.
But Viktor Krum is persistent and Hermione begins to find his visits in the library endearing and light-hearted. He asks questions about her interests, compliments her intelligence and appearance, and acts as a total gentleman in everything he does. She anticipates going to the library for more reasons than just books and studying, because she knows he'll be there waiting to make her feel special and important.
If only a certain ginger would do the same.
Once the Yule Ball is announced, Hermione's stomach lurches. She's excited, yes, but anxious and worried about the 'date' aspect. Of course she wants to be asked, mainly because she doesn't want to be known as the dateless, buck-toothed, poofy-haired, insufferable know-it-all.
One night, sitting in the library as always, the Bulgarian Quidditch seeker takes her hand lightly and whispers, "Hermy-own-ninny, vill you accompany me to the Yule Ball?"
She stares at their entwined hands and blushes, not really believing what's happening. Her wish partially came true – she has a date to the Yule Ball...but he's not Ron Weasley.
When Christmas Eve arrives, she's never felt more beautiful. Ginny really outdoes herself with the makeup, and Hermione doesn't know how to thank Madam Pomfrey for shrinking her teeth in time for the ball. She feels absolutely wonderful walking into the Great Hall arm-in-arm with Viktor, especially when she notices Ron's expression of shock.
Yes, Ron, she certainly is a girl.
Hermione gets a twisted kind of satisfaction from watching Ron suffer all night. He deserves this. He's the one who waited too late to ask me.
She now knows how it feels to be on the opposite side of the staring, because Ron hasn't taken his jealous eyes off of her the entire night. She pretends not to notice so Viktor won't ask questions as to why she's so busy making awkward eye contact with the redhead. Hermione actually has a great time with Viktor Krum, dancing and laughing with him all night, then he kisses her chastely on the lips when no one's watching.
Butterflies flutter in her stomach, but there's no spark. She longs for a different pair of lips to brush hers, but they're on the face of a boy who's sulking in the corner. So she smiles when Viktor pulls away, approving of his gesture, and they continue to dance until it's time to retire to the dormitories.
Her night was almost perfect, that is until the boy with the wishful lips says some crude comments to her and causes her to cry herself to sleep that night.
As she dampens her pillow with her tears, she vows to never stare at the selfish prat, known as Ron Weasley, again.
When Hermione Granger's seventeen, she's long given up on not staring at Ron Weasley. The so called 'selfish prat' is always the center of her attention, whether she's with him or alone and thinking about him. Yes, she's still an insufferable know-it-all, but she's gotten to a point where there are other aspects in life that she finds to be important.
Ron Weasley, for example.
(Oh, and You Know Who's return.)
She's beginning to grow antsy about her feelings for a certain redhead, so she feels obligated to start dropping subtle hints. But all her attempts seem to fail, as Ron is oblivious to anything associated with feelings. (That's his emotional range of a teaspoon in full effect.)
There are a few obstacles along the way, one of them being Cormac McLaggen. Of the very few amount of suitors Hermione has had, never has she loathed a boy as much as McLaggen. His constant 'popping out of nowhere with a horrible conversation topic' approach is anything but admirable – which is exactly how he views himself.
Hermione can barely handle the "Slug Club" gatherings, so she automatically knows she won't be able to stand seeing him make the Gryffindor Quidditch team. To prevent this from happening, she spices up the tryouts with a little Confundus charm to blow his chances.
All the while, Hermione's still staring at Ron Weasley. Unfortunately, after a fantastic victory, when everyone is staring at him, Lavender Brown takes advantage of the new Quidditch hero. And for the next few months, Hermione can't stare at Ronald Weasley because he's too busy snogging his girlfriend and the thought makes her nauseous.
She should've taken her own advice – about asking before someone else gets the chance.
Hermione constantly has a knot in her stomach these days; she's not even looking forward to the Christmas hols. Slughorn's party is approaching and she knows taking Ron isn't an option, so she goes for the alternative.
Bringing Cormac McLaggen to the party is probably the worst idea she's ever had, and she rarely has bad ideas. But he won't let her even get a word in without interrupting and adding something related to himself. Most of the conversation consists of his days as Quidditch keeper; she swears he's gloating because he knows how much Ron being keeper means to her.
But he's not supposed to be mean anything to her. He's with Lavender, for Merlin's sake!
And even after Lavender ends things with Ron, Hermione is still on her toes about her feelings. Yes, she's very happy that she and Ron are on talking terms again, but that still doesn't mean she's ready to drop hints. Sure, she can be hopeful, but Ron just came out of a relationship (one that ended because Lavender had suspicious thoughts about her boyfriend and his female best friend), and she wants him to be the one who makes a move when he's ready.
If he's ever ready...
When Hermione Granger's eighteen years old, she thinks that maybe he'd be ready to make a move after being in a tent with her for a good part of the year. But no, she's always the one who has to make the decisions out of the three of them. And now, in the Room of Requirement, holding an armful of basilisk fangs, she's staring at Ron Weasley as he rambles on about warning the house elves.
Never has she stared at him so lovingly, always trying to hide her affection, but she decides that now is the time. They're fighting a bloody war and if they're going to die, she wants Ronald Billius Weasley to know that he's more than just her best friend.
The basilisk fangs clang as they hit the hard floor of the Room of Requirement and she throws herself into him, crushing her lips against those that she's wanted to kiss since she was fifteen. She feels his arms snake around her torso and lift her off the ground, obviously enjoying the moment just as much as she is.
And Hermione experiences the spark she's been waiting so long for. Viktor had only given her butterflies and McLaggen had given her a distasteful amount of tongue, but Ron is giving her perfection. She wants this moment to never end because she's afraid of how reality will play out. She just wants Ron to keep swaying her and kissing her like she's the only person he's ever cared for.
Her thoughts are interrupted by Harry incredulously exclaiming, "Oi!" There's a war going on here!"
Then Ron pulls his lips away from hers and they stare at each other for a moment, smiling cheekily. He turns to Harry and says, "I know mate, so it's now or never, isn't it?"
Hermione blushes when Ron's eyes meet hers once more, and she knows that all her staring is going to be worth it in the end.
When Hermione Granger's twenty-one, she stares at herself in the mirror. In just a few minutes, she'll no longer be a Granger, but a Weasley. Ginny touches up her hair at the last minute and then they head down the stairs and out the Burrow to the giant tent.
Ginny smooths the veil one last time, then vanishes from sight on Harry's arm when it's their cue.
Mr. Granger holds out his arm for his daughter to take, which she does with a timid smile. And when the music begins to play, and they hear people rise from their seats, they enter the tent. She hears people gasping and murmuring, much like they did at her entrance to the Yule Ball. But today, she feels much more beautiful and special than she can ever remember. Because today, she's not trying to impress anyone or make someone jealous.
Today, she's impressing herself with how far she's come – how far they've come.
Everyone stares at her as she walks down the aisle, but, as always, she only has eyes for a certain ginger. And this time, he's staring right back at her.
And he will for the rest of their lives.
A/N: Thanks for making it this far! I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please leave a review if you have the time. Feedback is always my favorite! :)
Thanks!
XxLadyStrengthxX