The Alternate Ending! What could have happened if instead of Harry finding Ron, Hermione did!

Firstly I'd like to thank all who originally signed up for the alerts on this story, who with out which I would have never been motivated to write this. I'm very much on the fence about how I feel for this alternate ending, I'd really like to know your thoughts! But I do hope you enjoy!

Alternate Ending: Ow...ow...ow...ow...

Ron sat on the rug of the boys' dormitory, repetitive hitting his head against the wall. As he bounced his cranium against the flagstone he remembered each of the ridiculous things he'd done thanks to that dream, he just found out he so wrongly mistook.

Since the end of fourth year, he'd been totally open with himself that he did, in fact, harbor feeling of the more then friendly kind toward Hermione. But there were so many things in the way, Harry for starters.

Whether or not she fancied his best friend over him, which was a whole separate topic, Harry also posed other problems. Being friends with him caused both Ron and Hermione to put him at their first and foremost concern. They couldn't go off and have a romance, or what ever Ron wanted between them, while their friend battled the most evil wizard of any time. It would be selfish, to say the least and what if it didn't even work out? Harry would be then doomed to choose between friends and ultimately cut ties with the other. And what if he chose Hermione? And what if they got together?! And what if that worked out!?

This, of course, led to the notion that Harry was the guy Hermione had her hopes on, from the start. It's horrible to think, but it wouldn't surprise Ron, if that be the case. Harry, after all did seem to have everything, the fame, the fortune, the talent, the glory…only fitting he got the beautiful girl. Ron was just the sidekick.

But after listening to that dream, it didn't sound like Harry was the one she wanted, but instead the middle man that knew who she did.

Which left Krum. Viktor. Vicky. As odd as it was, when he retraced his steps, Krum was the source of the trouble. If Hermione hadn't gone to the Yule Ball with the pumpkin head, and if he hadn't kissed her, Ron wouldn't have misinterpreted what she said that night, and things would probably be relatively different.

But she had. And he did. And when she said that name, everything was put in perspective for Ron. Hermione liked Krum end of story.

Through, when sixth year came, Ron began to doubt that, against his better judgment, when she asked him to the Christmas party. At which point Ginny had to open her big mouth and tell him, that he was the only one in the world who hadn't kissed anyone younger then his great Aunt Muriel, and more importantly that Hermione had done so.

So not only crushed that by what she'd done, he was jealous, for the very reason Ginny had called him out on. He began thinking he was saving the experience in false hope. He was sixteen, just a few months away from being of age, no less, and seeing as the girl he wanted wasn't saving herself for anyone in particular, why should he? He got his wish just weeks later, when Lavender fell into his lap. That was a disaster. Ron nearly ruined his and Hermione's friendship alone, and he was still stuck with the girl! From the start they hadn't been much good at anything else but kiss. Quite simply they had nothing in common; well, neither did he and Hermione, but at least Hermione could give him a half decent conversation (as long as it didn't involve spew). All Lavender seemed to care about was clothes and gossip (and of course the delusion that Ron actually loved her). Ron found it was particularly painful if the subjects mixed, when he was roped in to a discussion about a particular Hufflepuff girl that allegedly was wearing out of season robes, 'it's a bloody set of school robes, their all the same!!' he wanted to say when asked his opinion.

He thanked Merlin, the day after his birthday, when Hermione forgave him and they were back on good terms.

But now with this dream out in the open and not what he thought, what could happen now?

In his self-hating spiral of giving himself a headache, Ron didn't notice someone's entrance into the room.

Hermione cautiously tip-toed in to the boy's dormitory. Over the horizon of Ron's bed, she saw the distinct mop of red hair bobbing back and forth against the wall. She crept on to his bed and lay down across its width, leaning on her elbows. He had a horribly morose look of concentration plastered to his face, and his long body slumped back, as he continuously hit his head, there was an audible, and painful sounding 'knock' each time it made contact.

"Are you trying to crack your skull open?" Hermione asked casually.

"Oh!" Ron jumped from his depressive reverie, "Just thinking." He answered quietly.

"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione reached out a hand to his forehead, slightly worried.

"M'fine!" he snapped, flinching away, not wanting her to touch him.

"What's up with you?!" she snapped back, hurt at his out lash.

"Nothing I'm fine!" Ron stood indignantly.

"'Didn't look fine at breakfast. And you didn't look fine a moment ago when you were trying break your head open 'thinking'," Hermione accused, getting up, too, kneeling on the bed to match his height.

"Alright, I'm sick this! You want to know? I was thinking if I split my head open, and maybe got a good look at my thoughts, from the outside, maybe I could figure out why you keep doing this to me!"

"ME?!" Hermione screeched, "What did I do?" she was at loss for a moment, as she thought, and choked out the words in a calmer voice, "I… is this about the dream I mentioned downstairs, Ron what could have possibly made you upset? It was just a silly dream, it didn't mean a thing!"

"Maybe to you," he mumbled back.

"What?"

"Hermione?" Ron looking for a better way to approach to the subject, "Do you remember when you had that dream?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked grudgingly, not exactly sounding like she didn't understand.

"Like, I dunno, did you have it during Christmas at Sirius'?" he suggested casually, "Or maybe the night before O.W.L.'s? Or maybe..." his temper got the best of him at this point, "...on the common room couch, with your bloody arms wrapped around me?!"

"When'd that happen?" Hermione's brow furrowed furiously, blushing.

"Well, according to that dream, right about the time you grabbed onto that raft!"

"Ronald, you're talking jibberish, you have totally lost me!" Ron sighed and sat down next to her, deciding just to explain it.

"There was a night, in fifth year; I was up late finishing homework and you never went to bed for some reason. You decided to stay up with me, but you fell asleep, and you had that dream, and when you thought you were grabbing that raft, you grabbed on to me around the middle, and…well you mumbled the name victor," he sneered the name, " and I thought… I thought—I'm just a git, this is stupid." He stopped, knowing he was making a fool out of himself, as he tugged at this loose thread on his tangled web of secrets.

"What? You thought I meant, Viktor Krum?" Hermione said incredulously, "Ron why would you, we're just friends!"

"Yes well, Hermione I don't know if you realize this, but it isn't the best thing to do, when you say a bloke's name, while you're in some other guy's arms!"

"Well I didn't even know I was holding on to you, and how am I to help what I mumble in my sleep?"

"Hermione you don't get it!" Ron stood up again, in irritation, "when you did that, it was like you sealed fate! It was like you told me I didn't have a chance at it!"

"Chance at what?"

"AT YOU!" he yelled, as all his secrets unraveled freely, "At this!" he threw his arms out wildly between them, "When you said that name, I thought Krum was who you wanted, and who the hell am I to stand in the way! Then, I found out you kissed the git! Well, you don't just kiss people you don't fancy!"

"Well that's not hypocritical at all," Hermione snorted, standing from the bed. She phased out of her concentration on his words, when she said that last part.

"Excuse me?" Ron shot back hotly, walking toward her to argue her properly.

"Please, Ron, if that were true, you wouldn't be molesting Lavender every second of the day!"

"Well you seem to have broken the rule, so why can't I?"

"You're such a prat!" she spat, and then hollered furiously, "Rule!? Does that mean I should snog you?"

"Well do you fancy me?!" Ron retorted, in an equally annoyed fashion.

"What have we been talking about here, you git," Hermione yelled in reply, she fisted the front of his robes in her hands, and yanked him down to her eye-level, and carried on the motion to kiss him, deeply.

It wasn't a desperate rush, as Lavender always seemed to do, but rather angrier. All their spite and frustration and their rage was coursing between them, through this rough crash of lips and teeth. Ron held her arms, sternly, holding his own against her.

Hermione finally released his robes and the moment ended. She turned to make her leave, but Ron still had his hands clamping her arms to her side. He held her to spot, and this time was the one to capture her in the kiss.

There was less effort to this one; it was almost natural, like it had happened thousands of times before, but the fact that it hadn't made it all the more enticing. Their arms slide around one another, to seal their embrace. All emotions possible were enveloped in the passion of mouths moving in sync.

They parted for good, but Ron caught his breath, as he rested his chin in her fringe.

"We're screwed, aren't we?" he finally spoke, with half-hearted mirth and a soft chuckle.

"Weren't we always?" Hermione spoke mundanly into his chest, but returned the smile into his shirt.

THE END

This is what you get when I make a promise to you guys, and I finally devote three hours a night for a week, where I jot down the most off the top of my head thoughts and turn them in to an alternate ending. It was kinda exciting, I honestly had no inntention of doing this to begin with, I had no idea how to go about it, I liked the challenge. So I hope you liked it, if not then you guys are still awesome for reading.

Reviews and critiques are always the best way to show you care!