Summer at the Burrow could only be described as one word:sweltering. It was a month after the burial of Fred, Tonks, and Lupin. Everyone was still grieving, but the random outbursts of tears coming from Mrs. Weasley were less frequent. Hermione had found herself staring off into the pages of her book, not paying attention to the world around her. Ron could usually be found in his room, but since he shared a room with Harry, Ginny made frequent visits, which would start with talking, but end up with them snogging, and although Ron was okay with the thought of the two together, he didn't need to see them locking lips all the time. When this would happen, Ron would go down to the lake for a swim. Hermione couldn't help but notice when he returned there was always a slight increase in freckles.
One day when Hermione was sure the temperature couldn't get any hotter, she decided she would go down to the lake. She had already gathered food for lunch, a large blanket, and her book. As she headed to the door, she heard heavy footsteps and mumbling. It was Ron, and he said something that sounded similar to "They could at least snog in Harry's bed."
"Afternoon, Ron." Hermione said, grabbing her sunglasses and putting them on her head.
"Hey," he said, his head in the fridge. "Where are you going?" He asked Hermione, looking at her with raised eyebrows.
"It's become so unbearably hot in here I've decided to go down to the lake. Would you care to join me?" She asked looking towards him. "I've packed enough food for two."
The two had hardly spoken to each other because of the awkwardness after the battle in Hogwarts. Sure, they had asked each other to pass the jam at breakfast, or maybe saying sorry for bumping into each other in the small hallway.
'I miss talking to him all the time. I miss him asking me to revise his homework, and him calling S.P.E.W. spew. I even miss fighting with him. I miss the bright red hair, the multiple freckles on his face, and the way his ears turned that cute shade of red when he was angry or embarrassed. Most of all, I miss him.' Ron snapped his fingers in front of her face, saying "Hello, is anyone home?"
"Yeah, sorry, what were you saying?" Hermione asked him looking at him looking at his shoes.
"I said I'll join you. It's way too hot in here and Harry and Ginny are snogging on my bed, and I don't want or need to see it." he said "Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude."
"No, no. I'd love it if you'd join me. But can you please take the basket? It's pretty full." she said, trying to redistribute the things in her hands so nothing would tumble onto the floor.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Let me put it down and go get my swim trunks on, I'll be down in a second." Ron came back down with a Chuddley Cannons t-shirt and swim trunks on a few minutes later. "Ready to go. Let's go" he said, grabbing the picnic basket from the chair where he had previously placed it.
The walk to the lake was an unbearably awkward and quiet one. Ron was in front of Hermione by a few feet, and she couldn't help but think to herself "Quidditch has done the boy good." Once they had reached the small area of sand behind a hedge blocking the view from the Burrow, Ron took off his shoes and shirt and dove right in. A few seconds later his red hair broke the surface and he started floating on his back, drifting lazily around the lake. They both just went about, floating and reading in silence, until Ron finally broke the silence.
"Er, Hermione?" He said dumbly, scratching the back of his neck. He was now out of the water walking over to the towel , avoiding looking into Hermione's milk-chocolate colored eyes.
"Yeah?" Hermione said, looking up from 'Hogwarts, A History' at him, who was pointedly looking away from her still. This was the first time he said her name since the moment they shared in the Room of Requirement.
"I think we talk. About what during the battle...in the Room of Requirement." He sounded embarrassed. Hermione could tell they were about to discuss things they needed didn't want to but had to talk about. He got out of the water and walked over to where Hermione was sitting on the oversized beach blanket and sat down.
"Okay," She said slowly. Hermione wasn't sure she was ready to talk about this just yet. This entire time they were at the Burrow they had hardly spoken and she was afraid he was avoiding her. "Well, I would like to apologize. It was heat-of-the-moment and I don't know what I was thinking, so again, I'm sorry for kissing you like that." She had said it all so fast, it took Ron a while to process what she had said. When he finally spoke he sounded sad.
"You...you're sorry you kissed me?" He sounded disappointed.
"No! No, I didn't mean it like that- I mean that I just surprised you, you probably didn't want me to-" Hermione was having a hard time trying to speak.
"You don't think I wanted to kiss you? In case you didn't notice, I kissed you back. I wanted to kiss you but I never had the nerves to-" He was cut off by Hermione kissing him lightly on the lips. It was a little kiss on the lips, nothing like their first, but sweet enough for neither of them to want it to end.
"Sorry." Hermione said. Her cheeks were now sporting a light blush. Ron's ears were red, and he was looking at his feet.
"It's okay. I liked it.". Ron's ears were steadily growing redder, along with the blush that rose up on his face. "So, what does this mean?"
"I honestly don't know. If something happened to make us ruin our friendship I would never forgive myself. I don't want anything to ruin our future." Hermione made herself sad just thinking about not having Ron as a friend anymore. No one to argue and make up with. No one to try and teach her to play Quidditch and not get frustrated when she didn't understand something. No one that mattered to her as much as he did.
"I don't bloody care about the future! All I want is to be with you. All I want to worry about is right now." Hermione didn't know how they both ended up standing up, but here they were, their faces inches apart from each other. "I've waited too long to tell you this, and look where it's gotten us. Krum and Lavender. I never wanted any of that! I love you, Hermione. I-"
Before Ron could finish speaking Hermione had closed the gap between them and kissed him. It was chaste at first, but it was quickly deepened and became more passionate. When they finally broke apart, Hermione's face broke into a wide grin, and Ron looked slightly dazed. They both were in paradise, neither really knowing what just happened or why.
"Oh, and Ron?" Hermione said, packing up their things.
"Yeah?" he replied, still very happy about what just happened.
"I love you, too." With that, she slipped her hand in his and they walked off to the Burrow together.