"It's a letter for...you, Ron," Hermione told him as she untied the note from the owl's foot. Ron rushed to grab it, and unrolled it excitedly.
"No one ever sends me anything!" Ron said excitedly as he skimmed over the letter.
Dear Ron,
I love you. I bet you would never know it, but I do. I can't pretend I don't because I will see you again soon, and I don't want you to think I hate you. Please don't hate me any more then you already do. I don't think I could ever go through a day with out thinking of you.
xoxo
"What the bloody hell is this shit?" Ron asked, tossing it to Hermione, expecting her to make more sense of it then he could.
Hermione turned deep scarlet as she read the puzzling letter.
"It's obviously not from me! I wish I could jinx who ever sent it though! And they don't even sign their name! And they have horrible penmanship..." Hermione ranted. Harry picked up the discarded letter from the floor and read it.
Harry explained,"Ron this isn't bad, obviously someone just likes you"
"Bravo captain obvious! But why's it say they hate me, and I hate them? That doesn't help me in figuring out which of the Patil twins it is," Ron responded. Harry laughed at his joke, but, in realizing Hermione nor Ron were smiling, he fell quiet.
An awkward silence followed as the trio stared at the floor, occasionally glancing at each other uncomfortably.
"We could wait until school, and figure it out then," Hermione thought aloud.
Ron stared at her in astonishment. "We can't wait! The only person I can think of that I hate is Malfoy, and it obviously wasn't HIM!"
Making a very brief but meaningful glance at each other, Harry and Hermione looked sympathetically at Ron.
"NO!" Ron shouted, standing up, "It isn't him! Are you two mental? It isn't him!"
"Ron keep it down, your mum is going to wonder if something is up!" Hermione told him angrily.
"You're being stupid for once Hermione! He is not in love with me, and I'm not in love with him at all!" Ron told her off, angrily slamming the door behind him as he left the room.
A terrible sobbing noise was coming from the corner, and Harry looked up to see Hermione crying into her hands.
"Now Hermione, he didn't mean you were stupid, he's just angry. He knows we're right," Harry told her comfortingly as he crossed the room and put an arm around her.
"I'm scared for him, Harry!" Hermione told him, then continued, "I mean, what if this is all a joke and Draco or one of his friends is tricking him into believing that Draco or someone one likes him and then they make him look like a fool in front of everyone and then..."
Harry was using all his strength not to tell Hermione part of the truth that was hurting him to keep inside, but it seemed so unfair not to tell her when she was in such a state as this. "Ron likes him!" Harry confessed finally, the truth tearing at his throat to much to hide it, and he avoided meeting Hermione's eyes.
Hermione was about to speak when Ron poked his head into the room. "It's lunch time," he said plainly, and left the door open for the other two to follow.
Two long, silent weeks had passed since the first owl had arrived. The same gray owl bringing the same type of message each day. Hermione stayed in Ginny's room most of the time, reading textbooks, only leaving to eat at meal times. Harry tried to avoid Ron, but it always just ended up in the two staring at their own feet, lost for words.
Finally, the day came for them to leave for the Hogwarts express.
On the way to King's Cross station, Ginny broke the lonely silence by loudly commenting, "You lot have been quiet for two damn weeks! What the hell is going on?"
Hermione grumbled something about feeling ill, but Mrs Weasley would't buy it.
"Ginny's right Ron, why aren't you all speaking to each other?" Mrs Weasley snapped, demanding a real reason. Hermione looked at Harry, who looked at Ron, who looked at both of them, begging silently not to spill.
"Well Ron," Hermione began, because she hated lying, "Don't you think your mother deserves to know?"
Sighing, Ron looked the other way and grumbled what sounded like 'Malfoy-owls-him-like.'
Hermione rolled her eyes and, having arrived, pulled him along with her through the wall at platforms 9 and 10. Once they had all passed through to Platform 9 3/4, Mrs Weasley gave Ron a warning look and hugged the twins, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry goodbye, and ushered them onto the train.
Ron searched along the length of the train until they found an empty compartment. Hermione immediately closed the doors and looked at her friends angrily.
"Ron, you are owling her as soon as we have arrived at Hogwarts!" Hermione lectured.
Ron nodded reluctantly, then asked Harry, "How much have you told her?"
Hermione laughed sarcastically, "Ron, I know everything"
"Yep," Harry joked, "She knows all, you better watch out."
When the train had arrived at school, Ron scanned the crowd for Draco, anxious to see him again, and to see if the letters were truly from him. But he didn't see Draco anywhere. Harry was looking too, without success. Disapointedly, Ron followed Harry and Hermione to the castle.