'How long do you think, she'll be mad at me?' I'd asked Harry about a week ago. Like it turned out, girls could be angry and hold a grudge for a really long time. I had hoped, her seeing that I had come to my senses the second I left and destroyed a horcrux with the sword of Gryffindor just after saving Harry from drowning, would earn me her respect and a hero's welcome. All she did was punch me with a bag, call me an arse and then she stopped talking to me ever since. I had groveled, taking her side on every idea she presented, even though there only was one side, which was her side, because it was the right side… Anyway, I had set the table and offered to do all the dishes, complimented her, telling her how beautiful she was every morning, even held the tent 'door' open when she walked out, and yet she still acted, like I didn't exist.
'Harry, are you ready to go see Xenophilius Lovegood?' She asked right after breakfast, she was already dressed and ready to go. I was standing there, right next to Harry, and yet she only looked at him. 'Yup, Ron, what about you?' Harry looked at me. 'Then I guess we can go.' Hermione interrupted, before I could say anything. 'Let me just grab my book..' She bumped my shoulder, reaching for the book on the table behind me. 'Let's go.' She turned around to start walking away. 'Seriously Hermione, how long are you gonna me mad at me?' I grabbed her arm, turning her around to face me. 'Let go of me, Ron.' She said to me unamused. 'No, not until we settle this…we can't keep going on this journey, without you talking to me…' I shrugged, looking at her. 'Oh can't we?' She said in a tone, which signaled a very long argument. 'Harry…' I looked at my best mate, this would be uncomfortable enough, without him present. 'I'll give you two a moment.' He quickly understood and hurried out of the tent. 'It's killing me, that you're not talking to me…' I looked her in the eyes, it really hurt. 'I know..me abandoning you guys on the mission was wrong..and again I'm sorry, but I've apologized for it…Harry's let it go, why can't you?' I ask her, and she gasps as indignant as ever. Okay, what was wrong with the thing had I said now? 'Why I can't let it go, because one lousy apology settles everything?' She took a step towards me and I took a step back. 'Well, I made up for it, didn't I? Quite frankly, I don't understand your behavior and it's hurting my feelings…' I say honestly. The thought of her actually 'hating' me, made me feel uneasy. 'I'm hurting your feelings?! How about you hurting my feelings?' She starts getting upset. 'How did I hurt your feelings?' I ask totally clueless, I hadn't done anything to her personally, my falling out had been with Harry…not with her.
'Not only did you abandon Harry and the mission, you abandoned me! ME!' She repeated and I was trying to comprehend, what she was getting at. ' I had this…this silly idea, that you actually cared about me, that you actually…liked me…' She says with watery eyes. 'I do like you..' I interrupt her, but she keeps going on. '..And yet, you could leave me behind so easily, without batting so much as an eyelash...' She really gets upset. 'You didn't care if I lived or died…you just left…goodbye…didn't matter if we snuff it and you lost me for good, right? I mean…since you don't have any feelings for me anyway…' She was still angry, but also very close to tears. 'Come on, Hermione, don't be ridiculous.' I wanted to hug her and console her, so I grabbed her arm. 'DON'T TOUCH ME!' She freaked out and pushed me away and I tried again. ' I said, DON'T TOUCH ME.' She fidgeted around. 'HERMIONE!' I grabbed both her arms, pinning them against her body, while pinning her against one of the pillars in the tent, trapping her, forcing her to look at ,and listen to me. She wasn't going anywhere until I'd said my piece. ' Of course I care about you. I care about your safe-being, I care if you're happy or not…' I say as she clutches herself and looks to the ground. 'I know it's no excuse but..I was under the influence of the horcrux and it magnified my darkest thoughts and deepest fears, making me really paranoid about you and Harry..' I said uncomfortable. 'What are you talking about?' She asked irritated. 'Well…at times, it looked like you fancy Harry…and I'd totally get why. I mean he is Harry Potter, a famous legend…smarter, much richer than me…I'm not sure about the looks though, but what I'm trying to say…why choose a Weasley, if you could have a Potter? I have nothing to offer you, and seeing how close you sometimes are…I got a bit…or a lot insecure and jealous…and I was angry with you. You basically confirmed all my fears, when you chose to stick with him, instead of me…that made it that much easier, leaving you behind…but if you like Harry-' I nervously scratched the back of my ear, I wanted to say, that I would be okay with it, even though it would be a lie. 'You blithering IDIOT!' She took another step towards me and pushed me. 'Harry is nothing but a very good friend to me, always has been, and besides he fancies Ginny..' She told me. 'Harry fancies Ginny?!' I ask stunned. 'That's beside the point here, Ron.' She brought my attention back to her. 'Oh right, yeah..' I scratched my head again. She sighed and leaned back against the pillar, with her arms folded. 'I've never liked Harry in that way, regardless of what it may look like sometimes…but Ron, you have nothing to feel less, jealous or insecure about…I don't know, if you feel the same way too, but I…I..' She blushed hard and looked down, and I closed the space between us, lifting her chin, looking her straight in the eyes. 'I love you too.' I said, and I had never sounded so sure, confident or serious in my life. Her lips parted softly, as she looked at mine. She was clearly feeling shy and embarrassed. This was the most intense and vulnerable, we'd both ever been to each other. I just leaned towards her and claimed her lips as mine, while my arms embraced her. She kissed me back, a lot more passionately than I thought. I had never felt anything sweeter and right, than being lip-locked with Hermione.
Our lips parted after what felt like a decade and I looked at her, as she slowly raised her eyes to look at me and then she quickly covered her face, clearly mortified, but I could see that she was grinning. At least, she didn't hate me anymore. 'Hermione…' I took her hands from her face, she shouldn't be ashamed, I wasn't. No more hiding and keeping feelings inside.
'Guys…' Harry of course chose that moment to barge in. 'We need to get going, if we want to make it to the Lovegoods before noon.' He said, staring at us, as Hermione quickly retrieved her hands from mine. 'Yes, yes.. we should get going.' She hurried away from me, as I just stared after her, as Harry grinned at me. That's it? We weren't going to talk about it, or make it somehow official? Ugh, girls!
We spent the whole way to the Lovegoods in awkward silence. Harry was quiet, but had a stupid grin on his face, Hermione avoided eye-contact with me…and I wanted to look at her, without Harry catching me, so yeah…awkward silence.
I planned on confronting her again after the visit to the Lovegoods, but then all hell broke loose, we disapparated to escape from the deatheaters, just to be chased and captured by deatheaters who then brought us to the Malfoys, where even more hell broke loose. I'd never forget Hermione's screams from being tortured by that witch Bellatrix. Just hours ago, I'd promised to be there, that I cared about her, I wanted to protect her, and yet here I was once again, powerless, trapped in the cellar with Harry and the others, leaving her all alone.
We managed to escape, but had suffered another tragic loss. Dobby. The mood in my older brother's beach house was sullen and sad that night.
Hermione was looking out the window, by the fire, clutching herself. Her forearm was now in bandages.
'Hey…can I get you anything?' I gently put my arm around her shoulder. I didn't know what to do to make her feel better. She cringed away from my touch. 'Does your arm still hurt?' I asked her worried. 'No..it's..it's just… Ron, I don't think this is the right time and place for us to happen…' She looked away from me. 'Hermione…' I said, not wanting to hear it. 'No, Ron..if I've learned anything out of today…'She stroked her bandaged arm. 'It's that we can't afford to be distracted..by feelings and whatnot. We're at war.' She looked straight at me. 'Friends and family are dying around us everyday….why do we get to have our happy end now, while all the others just meet their end..' She played with a button on my jacket. 'It doesn't feel right…I can't do this right now.' She looked up at me. 'Please understand.' She stroked my cheek, turned, then walked away.
So, guess back to bottling things in until Lord Voldemort was gone, and now I personally had a reason to be rid of him.
My eagerness to have this whole thing behind me, was what gave me the idea to look for the basilisk's fang while at Hogwarts, searching for the 6th horcrux. Hermione was actually impressed with my quick-thinking and even more surprised by my imitated parsel-tongue, to open the chamber of secrets.
'Remember, something freaky might come out of the horcrux, once you stab it..' I told her, as I placed Hufflepuff's cup on the ground. 'I don't know, if I can do this…'She started doubting herself. 'Hermione, you're the smartest and bravest girl I know, you got this.' I stroked her cheek and she blushed a little, as she bent down and then stabbed the cursed thing. A heavy gust of air blew past us, as the water levels rose, and three large water snakes bust out of the pond. The one to the right and closest to Hermione aimed straight for her. I grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her out of the way, as she stood there, stunned in fear. 'AQUA ERUCTO!' I cast a spell at the water snakes, as the jets rose to the ceiling instead of towards us, where they clashed and dissolved and ice cold water came raining down on us.
'Huh..huh..' Hermione shivered, as we stood there soaking wet, as we slowly faced each other, and really saw each other. Whether we were together now or later, every minute counted, we had narrowly escaped another near-death experience, who knew how much time we had left, and I'd rather be with her a short while, than not at all. I could see it in her eyes, that she was thinking the same thing too, as she swooped into my arms, and our lips locked once more, kissing each other, as if there was no tomorrow. Hunger, fear, desire, all passionately woven into one kiss, as I held her tightly and gently lifted her up a little, as we drank each other in. We put our foreheads together, as our lips parted, and then both chuckled.
'Come on…' I grabbed my girlfriend's hand tightly. I was never letting her go again. 'We got some more horcrux' to destroy.' I pulled her after me.
But my bliss and happy thoughts were short-lived as I came to find my brother Fred dead, during a reprieve from the battle, things didn't get better when Harry went to sacrifice himself to Voldemort and winded up dead too. This was not how it was supposed to happen. We were the good guys, we should win. A flicker of hope stirred up in me, when I saw Harry move again and he in the end, managed to defeat Voldemort.
The first week after the battle was sad and filled with funerals. I was devastated about the many losses…and the personal losses. But Hermione was right there by my side, being the light in my darkest moments. Geez, when had I become so cheesy.
A month after the funeral, and slowly life was returning to normal, Harry decided to leave the Burrow, saying that he had overstayed his welcome. And since he was magically a legal adult now, he was ready to live by himself, but I knew he would be lonely, so I went with him to live at 12 Grimauld place, not only would we have our peace and quiet and no chores, thanks to Kreacher, but it would be much easier making out with Hermione in my newly decorated and three-times bigger and more adult room, than under my mom's nose at the burrow. And Ginny could also always use the floo network that connected the two houses to visit Harry.
It was still weird to see her go into Harry's room. I still felt uneasy seeing them together. What could they possibly be doing in Harry's room… probably the same thing that I was doing to Hermione, lol. Speaking off Hermione, our relationship was slowly progressing, by now all our friends and family knew we were together, some of them even saying it was about time, and my mom couldn't imagine anyone better for me than Hermione, she already considered her, her daughter-in-law…yeah, that conversation had had an awkward moment in there, but Hermione had even invited me to dinner at her parents' house, after lifting the memory charm, so they could get to know me better.
Hermione wasn't hesitant anymore, she didn't really like PDA, but once we were alone, I discovered a whole new sensual and intense side of her, the way she'd press herself against me, the way she'd straddle me and make-out with me..bloody hell, it made me turn redder than my hair, and it made me feel like a great catch. She actually really wanted me.
But I didn't know how to lead our relationship in that direction, maybe it was too soon, maybe I was misinterpreting her signals, I didn't want to do anything, that would make her feel uncomfortable.
I was showering and hadn't fully shut the bathroom door. I didn't hear her come in, but when I turned to rinse off, I caught sight of dark-blonde hair vanishing. 'Hermione?' I yelled, but no answer came. Maybe, I was just seeing things. I continued rinsing the shampoo out of my newly short-cut hair, when I suddenly felt a soft female hand on my shoulder. 'Hermione…' I asked quietly not turning around. 'Yes, it's me.' She whispered and kissed my shoulder blade. I slowly turned around, with a wet and naked Hermione in front of me. I didn't say anything, she didn't either. I just lowered my head and kissed her gently, as water trickled down on us. She embraced me, her hands wandering curiously and shyly all over my back. I kissed her forehead, then her nose, as she looked at me, as my kisses slowly wandered down to her neck, and I heard her inhale as I pulled her against me. I could feel her breasts on my chest, she could feel my todger on her thigh. Skin on skin.
'Do you really want to do this?' I whispered into her ear, while I stroked the length of her arm. 'Yes…' She whispered against my chest. I'd always known Hermione had balls, ever since she punched Malfoy's nose, but it must have taken her a lot of courage, to come in here and present herself to me like that.
I pressed her against the steamy showerwall and playfully bit her lower lip with a smile, as she smiled back and blushed. I liplocked her again, as I raised her unto me, as she wrapped her legs around my waist. I held her tight with one hand, and with the other I explored the depths of Hermione, as she gasped against my lips. I stroked out my member and then penetrated her, finally one with the girl of my dreams. I gently thrust into her while kissing her passionately, and under trickling water, we made love.
'What is it about water, that gets the both of us so riled up?' I asked once we were out of the shower and she ripped my towel off me, to smack me with it. 'Bloody hell, is this the way you treat the man that just rocked your world?' I say cockily, I really was feeling particularly masculine, as we walk back into my bedroom. 'Well, if you keep saying stupid stuff..' She said, so typically Hermione again.
'Well, it's true isn't it…' I grabbed her and tossed us unto my bed, as she gave a little shriek and I kept kissing her, as we continued exploring each other on my bed. With intertwined hands, we got intimate again until we breathlessly got off each other. I lay there with my eyes open and radiant and then I started laughing. 'What's so funny…' Hermione cuddled against me, as I stroked her back. 'I just remembered what you said to me, when I first introduced myself to you…' I look at her amused. 'I said, I'm Ron Weasley and you arrogantly said 'pleasure'…well, now I guess, it is a real pleasure for you to know me..' I said seductively and grinned at her as she rolled her eyes, but kissed me anyway. After 7 years, we had finally saved the day, and I'd gotten the girl.