It had been two weeks since the last time Hermione spoke to Ron. And in those two weeks, Ronald was a mess. Every second of every day, he replayed their last interaction over and over again in his head. She loves me, Ron thought. Or at least she did.

After Ron and Hermione's argument in the common room that night two weeks ago, Ron had went back to his dorm bawling. His loud cries woke up all of the boys, and finally Harry had to talk to him.

"Ron.. come with me," Harry had said. "We really need to talk about this."

Ron once again made his way down to the common room, sitting on the same spot he had previously, and cried.

"Ron. What the bloody hell were you thinking? Why in the world would you EVER call Hermione anything cruel? We all know damn well you are in love with her.. so what were you thinking?!"

"I... I don't know, mate. She.. she was.. she was snogging Malfoy. And.. I snapped. I just couldn – wait... you guys know I love Hermione? Is it really that obvious?"

"She was snogging Malfoy? Draco Malfoy.. that obnoxious little prit? Our Hermione... she was snogging him?" Harry was in shock.

"Yes. I know it's still not an excuse for what I did, but Harry, I was so... so angry! After all these years... after all the Malfoys have done to my family. And there she is, snogging him? In broad daylight at that!"

"Something is not right about this. Hermione would never be with Malfoy... she's our best friend! She wouldn't do that to you or me. It had to have been something Malfoy did... but what?"

"Well, after I called Hermione," Ron started to cry again. "After I said what I said about Hermione, something happened. It was like she was in a trance, but the second she heard me saying what I did, she snapped out of it. And get this, Harry. I heard that git mumbling something about a curse wearing off. You don't think..?"

"No.. no, he can't have. An unforgivable curse? I don't think even Malfoy would stoop that low... unless... unless Voldemort put him up to it. But why Hermione? And why just a kiss? What is the point of that?"

"I don't know, Harry. But whatever it is... when I find out, I am going to kill Draco Malfoy."

"You might want to work on getting Hermione back before you get sent to Azkaban for murder. I'm going to go back to bed. Don't worry Ron, I forgive you. It's not okay what you did, but I forgive you. But please, please tell Hermione how you feel about her. Nothing will change unless you do."

"That's the thing though Harry. I do love Hermione. And I told her I do... and nothing. Nothing. She hates me, and it's all my fault. I lost the love of my life before I even got her."

"It'll work out. Night mate," Harry said, as he was walking back up the stairs to the dormitries.

Ron replayed the scenario between Harry and him over and over, too. Could Malfoy have really cursed Hermione? Ron knew that there was honestly nothing he could do about it even if it did happen, because he had no proof. And the professors wouldn't bother checking Malfoy's wand, because they all know the boys hate eachother, and try to get eachother in trouble as often as possible.

It was finally time for dinner, and Ron started towards the Great Hall with Harry. Things were slightly awkward between them, due to the fact that Harry had to be by Hermione's side as well as Ron's. And to be honest, Harry hated picking sides.

As they sat down to eat, Ron accidentally stepped on Hermione's foot under the table. Instead of brushing it off and ignorning it as she would have normally done, Hermione burst into tears and ran out of the room.

Ron quickly followed her, eventually finding her in an empty corridor, sitting on the floor crying.

"Hermione? Are you okay?"

"Get away from me Ronald Weasley. Get away right now!"

"Hermione.. I'm not going anywhere. What's wrong?" Ron asked, sitting down next to her. She immediately stood up, and walked to the other side of the hallway. Ron started to tear up.

"I said get out of here, Ron. I want nothing to do with you, ok?"

"No. Not okay. I miss you, Hermione. I'm sorry. I am sorry for what I did, for what I said. I know you hate me, and I know you probably always will. But please, please at least listen to my apology again. I am truly, from the bottom of my heart, sorry. I messed up. I know I hurt you, I betrayed your trust, and I broke your heart all at once. And in doing so, I broke my own heart. I love you, Hermione Jean Granger. I love you more than anything I have ever felt before in my life put together. You mean the entire world to me, and knowing that I ruined any chance we ever had with one, stupid word, kills me. It absolutely kills me." Ron felt his face redden, but he continued to look into Hermione's eyes.

What happened next was a blur. Ron expected Hermione to laugh in his face, or do what she had done before – walk away. But instead, she took a step closer to him. Then another. Then another. Finally, she was standing so close to Ron, he couldn't form a single thought. She looked him straight in the eyes.

"Ron Weasley. I should hate you. I should truly never want to speak to you again. But I don't. Even after you broke my heart, I still find it loving you. And I do love you. I don't know why, but I do. I love you so much it hurts. It almost hurts worse than the pain you caused me," she said, taking another step closer to him. At this point, Ron was pressed against the wall, and Hermione was pressed fully against him, her lips just barely brushing his as she spoke. "And Ron, right now, in this moment, I don't care about what you said. I just love you so much, it consumes me." And with that, Hermione gave Ron their first kiss.

It was powerful. She kissed him hard and long. She moved her hands under his shirt, touching his chest as she continued to kiss him.

Ron was in shock at first, but quickly came to. He kissed back just as strong, just as passionately. His hands moved all over her body, and he pulled her even closer than she already was. The kiss seemed like it lasted for hours, months – even years. Ron never wanted it to end. Eventually, Hermione pulled away. She smirked, the most beautiful smirk Ron had ever seen, and took a step back.

"Hermione... I love you."

"I love you too, Ron."

Ron grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for another kiss. It was just as perfect, if not better, than the last one. When the kiss finally ended, Hemione looked Ron in the eyes.

"We should get in fights more often if they always end up like this," she said, giggling.

"Hermione Granger, I promise I will never hurt you again. We will never fight again, you got that?"

"Got it, Ron," Hermione said, and she kissed him again.