A/N: Sorry for ending the last chapter on a cliffhanger, but sometimes it has to be done. Now I give you Chapter 2...in which Ron and Hermione duke it out (proverbially) over going back to Hogwarts.

I hope to have Chapter 3 done in a couple of weeks, but I'm not really sure; it's been slow going trying to write it, because I'm also working on some other stories. I'll do my best, though.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything (except the plot); it al belongs to J.K. Rowling.


The Seventh Year Itch
Chapter 2
"
The Truth Comes Out"

"What do you mean, you're not going back to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at Ron.

"I thought I was pretty clear," Ron said grumpily. He didn't want to get into a row with Hermione, but he knew the chances of not having an argument were pretty slim now. "I'm. Not. Going."

Hermione jumped to her feet, and just that quickly, the romantic mood…and the chances for a passionate snogging session and anything else…was ruined. Hermione's eyes still burned with passion…but it was a passionate anger that flared in her chocolate orbs now.

"Why wouldn't you go, Ronald?" she asked in a voice that was laden with frustration, "You're going to be Head Boy!"

Ron snorted derisively, "That doesn't matter to me, Hermione. Why put up with exams and homework and all that other rubbish if I don't have to?"

"You haven't taken your NEWTs, Ron!" Hermione yelled as if that were the ultimate answer, "What are you going to do for a living without any NEWTs?!"

"Simple," Ron argued, folding his arms across his chest, "Kingsley offered me a spot in Auror training with Harry. I'll work at George's shop for a year while Harry does his tour and then I'll join the Aurors with him like we planned."

"You'd really rather work at the joke shop instead of coming back to school with me?" The anger had left Hermione's voice and was replaced, instead, with hurt and sadness. Her voice cracked as she spoke, "Ron…I don't want to be away from you for a whole year; not now…not after all we've been through. I suppose I don't need to sit my NEWTs; I mean, if Kingsley was willing to let you and Harry join the Aurors without them, maybe I can find a position somewhere without taking them."

"Hermione…you can't be serious," Ron said, looking agog at her, "You told me once that you dreamed of finishing Hogwarts ever since you received your letter and found out that you were a witch. Hell, your entire school career since I've known you has been leading up to one day becoming Head Girl! You're telling me that you'd give all that up just to be with me?!"

There were tears in her eyes when she nodded her head, "Yes, Ron. For you, I would give up everything."

Ron's heart sank. There was no way that he could allow Hermione to make that sort of sacrifice for him; she'd regret it one day, and she'd wind up resenting him for allowing her to choose him over her dreams.

"No."

"What?" Hermione's eyes widened and she looked stunned, "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I'm not going to let you do that, Hermione," Ron insisted, "You cannot give up on you dream for someone like me."

"You can't tell me what to do, Ron," she replied, "I'd rather not finish school than be away from you for an entire year."

"So what you're saying is that either we both go, or neither of us goes?" he looked incredulous as he realized what she was saying, "That's blackmail, Hermione."

"Oh, please, Ron," Hermione huffed, rolling her eyes, "Stop being so dramatic! I'm not blackmailing you."

"No, all you're doing is saying that if I don't go back to Hogwarts with you, you're going to give up on the dream you've had since you first got your letter. So I get to be the arsehole who kept you from living out your dream."

"Ron, I never said --…"

"You don't have to say it, Hermione," Ron said angrily, "Whether you say it or not, if I let you give up on completing your Hogwarts education, I'll be an arsehole! And, frankly, I think I've failed you enough in the past, so you'll excuse me if I don't want this on my head as well!"

"When have you ever failed me, Ronald Weasley?" Hermione asked in exasperation.

"When have I not?" he replied, "First Year, I nearly got you killed by a troll and then I was knocked out by the White Queen so you and Harry had to go after Voldemort without me! Second Year, I hexed myself instead of Malfoy when he called you a Mudblood, and then I let you go off by yourself and get petrified. Third Year, I blamed you and Crookshanks for Scabbers' disappearance and I broke my leg so I couldn't help you rescue Sirius and Buckbeak. Fourth Year, I waited too long to ask you to the Yule Ball and then got jealous when you went with Krum. Fifth Year, I let you nearly get killed in the Department of Mysteries. Sixth Year, there was the whole Lavender Brown situation. And this past year, during the Horcrux hunt, not only did I abandon you and Harry so the two of you nearly got killed in Godric's Hollow, but I wasn't able to keep that bitch Bellatrix Lestrange from torturing you at Malfoy Manor! Merlin, Hermione, all I've ever done is let you down! Well, not this time; you're going back to Hogwarts!"

"Good Lord, Ron, would you listen to yourself?!" she said in a scolding tone, "You saved me from the troll and you sacrificed yourself on the chessboard…we never would have beaten Professor McGonagall's chess set without you, you defended my honor, you faced down giant man-eating spiders to try to help me, you stood up to an escaped maniac on that broken leg, and none of us were prepared for what happened in the Department of Mysteries! And need I remind you, not only did you come back, save Harry's life, recover the Sword of Gryffindor, and destroy Slytherin's locket, but you are the one who got me out of Malfoy Manor."

"I couldn't help noticing you had nothing to say about Fourth and Sixth Years," Ron said darkly, apparently ignoring the positive things she had to say about him.

"Oh my God, Ron," Hermione cried in exasperation, "Yes, those years you were a real prat…but we both made mistakes those years. For instance, despite you trying to talk to me and repair our friendship, I continued to ignore you until you were poisoned. You nearly had to die before I would swallow my pride and try to make amends. We're, neither one of us, perfect, Ron."

"This isn't about you, though, Hermione," he said, causing her to arch an eyebrow at him, "Well, it is, but it isn't. This is about you needing to go to Hogwarts whether I go or not because that's always been your dream!"

"Dreams change, Ron!" she said, frustrated, "Ultimately, whether or not I return to school is my decision…and I've decided I don't want to go back if you're not going to be there."

"McGonagall's going to love that excuse when you write the letter telling her you're not going to accept Head Girl after everything you went through these last seven years," Ron said, trying to play on Hermione's loyalty to her favorite teacher, "I should be expecting a Howler from her once you've owled her…unless she shows up in person and hexes me."

"That wouldn't happen, Ron," Hermione said, stifling a smirk, "Professor McGonagall is much too busy to come all the way down here to hex you."

Ron looked at her and did his best to glare menacingly at her. Of course, once she smiled at him, he couldn't help but smile himself. He stalked over to her and swept her into his arms, kissing her briskly, "You're a pain in the arse, you know that?"

Hermione wrinkled her nose and gave him a mock angry look, as if taking offense at his comment, "Language, Ronald," she scolded teasingly. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss.

Several minutes passed, but when they finally came up for air, Ron brought up the subject at hand once again, though he was tempted to just forget about it and settle in for a nice long snogging session.

"Bottom line, Hermione," Ron said, kicking himself mentally for giving up the chance to snog his girlfriend in lieu of rehashing his earlier argument, "You're going back to Hogwarts. I'm not letting you throw your dream away."

"Bottom line, Ronald," Hermione replied, scowling…this time for real, "I'm not going anywhere without you! You want me to go back? You have to come back with me!"

"Why are you being so bloody difficult about this?" he yelled, letting go of her and dragging his fingers roughly through his hair in frustration, "Head Girl…it's what you've always wanted!"

"You're what I've always wanted!" she shouted, equally frustrated, "Alright…maybe not always…at least not the way I do now…as a friend, certainly, since that very first train ride…so you see, you have always been wanted…just in varying degrees…"

She was rambling, and it made Ron smirk; he thought she was very cute when she rambled.

"Oh, shut up!" she snapped, blushing embarrassedly when she noticed his smirk, "You wanted me, too…maybe not as long…"

"No, you're right," he nodded, "I couldn't stand you at first. You just came busting into our compartment and started rambling at me and Harry, barely even taking time to breathe…"

"I was nervous…" she interjected, continuing to blush, "I wanted people to like me!"

"Then you shouldn't have looked down your nose at me…it made me want to be as far away from you as possible," Ron confessed.

"I didn't mean to," Hermione replied, "I just thought if I was the best, people would finally like me…it didn't work at my Muggle school…I don't know why I thought it would work at Hogwarts."

"You were so bloody intimidating," Ron said, explaining the way he felt around her during First Year for the first time, "Still are, come to that."

"Hey!" Hermione exclaimed, slapping his arm.

"You know it's true, luv," Ron laughed, "I don't know whether to run away or grab you and snog you senseless when you put your hands on your hips and get all Hermione-ish…"

"That's not funny," she put her hands on her hips and looked very un-amused and very Hermione-ish at Ron's words. He laughed as she proved his point for him; this just made her scowl at him all the more.

"Once we were friends, though," Ron went on, picking up where they left off, "I may not have understood my feelings for you…or even knew what they were…but I knew it was my job to look out for you; you were mine to protect."

"Just like with Harry…" Hermione said, marveling at the way he was always so concerned with the well-being of others before his own.

"Not exactly," he said, shaking his head, "I mean…yeah, I'd have taken a curse for either one of you, even in First Year…but have you ever seen me try to curse someone for calling Harry a name?"

Hermione smiled as she remembered the slug-vomiting incident from their Second Year.

"It was very gallant of you, even if it did backfire," she said, smiling prettily at him, "I don't think I ever thanked you. And I also never told you this, but my crush on Lockhart started to fade that day, because I started to crush on you. In fact, had you not been vomiting slugs at the time, I probably would have kissed you for standing up for me."

"No offense, but if you had done that, I probably would've thrown up anyway," he said, looking completely serious.

"Thanks a lot, Ron!" she cried, insulted.

"Because of nerves, Hermione!" Ron clarified, "I was twelve…and like I said, I didn't understand the things I was feeling towards you; that didn't happen until Third Year."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowing.

"Well, I already knew I liked you differently than I did Harry, but I didn't know why until I watched you slap Malfoy," Ron said, thinking back to that day four years ago.

"I don't understand…" Hermione looked confused.

"That night, I couldn't get images of you out of my head," he said, starting to blush, "I had to wank three times that night just to get to sleep. The same happened every night after, too."

"Ron…! That's disgusting!" Hermione exclaimed, gaping at him, unable to believe he would say such a thing to her.

"Sorry, luv," Ron said, shrugging, "I was thirteen and you had just rocketed me bang into puberty; would you have preferred it if I was wanking to thoughts of Madame Rosmerta?"

"My God, Ron!" Hermione pulled a disgusted face, "You do realize that she's been running The Three Broomsticks at least since Sirius, Professor Lupin, and Harry's parents were in school! She's ancient!"

"She never looked ancient…" he replied.

"Glamour spells and beauty potions, no doubt!" she countered, snappishly. She was no fan of witches who went out of their way to over-emphasize their physical attributes…or the wizards who fell for those attributes. "Of course, you never saw past her breasts to see how old she could be!"

"That's not the point!" Ron exclaimed, not liking her accusation.

"Then what is the point?!" Hermione huffed, knowing she was right on the money with Ron and his ogling eyes.

"I don't remember…" he confessed, shrugging.

"No doubt you're too busy thinking of Rosmerta and her --…" she was too worked up to get off her high horse concerning the bar matron and Ron's past infatuation.

"Hermione! The point is that the only girl –…"

"Madame Rosmerta is hardly a girl, Ronald…"

"The only female," he growled, continuing, "That I think about when I wank is you, and it's been that way since I was thirteen." He meant that as a compliment, but he could see by the look on her face that she didn't take it that way.

"What about Fleur…?"

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" he asked, exasperated, "Fleur is a part Veela, Hermione; she would affect me when she was around, but once I couldn't see her, I'd completely forget about her. And she hasn't affected me since she married Bill…"

"What about Lav-Lav…?"

"Ugh!" Ron was gritting his teeth in frustration, as every time he said something, Hermione threw something new into his face, "I didn't think about her even when I was with her! I never would have even given her the time of day if I didn't feel so unworthy of you back then."

"I don't see how snogging Lavender Brown in the common room and everywhere else you had the chance would make you worthy of me. You were never unworthy, whatever that is supposed to mean." Hermione was using that shrill, self-righteous voice she'd often used on him when they were having really bad arguments…the rows that ended with them not talking for long periods of time.

Ron hated it when she used that voice on her; it often made him feel stupid. "It's just…you and Harry were special, and I was always just the nobody who followed you two around; even Slughorn could see that! I wasn't even relevant enough for him to remember my bloody name! The closest he ever came was 'Roland'…at least that has the same letters as 'Ronald'."

"Ron," Hermione sighed in exasperation, "Professor Slughorn and that stupid Slug Club don't matter…they never did!"

"It wasn't just that," Ron admitted dejectedly, "You'd been with Krum; if you could be with someone like him, what hope did I ever have with you? Up until Lavender, nobody had shown any interest in me…the stupid, lazy, can't-play-Quidditch-for-shite sidekick."

Hermione threw up her hands in frustration. "Number One: stop swearing. Number Two: I was never with Viktor; it was one date…the first of only two dates I've ever been on in my entire life! And Number Three: I was interested in you, you idiot…why didn't you notice?!"

"I must have missed the interest you showed me when you were busy telling Harry how tall and interesting and fanciable he had become," Ron said bitterly, "I must have mistook the interest for you ignoring me when I reminded you that I was tall – taller than Harry – and that I also have visible scars left over from Fifth Year. You always showed Harry more interest and attention than you ever did me, so how was I supposed to know it was me you liked?"

"I asked you to the Slug Club Christmas party, didn't I?" she reminded him, "I didn't ask Harry!"

"Harry was already invited," he shrugged, "Besides, you could have asked me as just a friend or out of pity."

"Pity?!" she shouted, her eyebrows knitting together angrily, "You're an idiot!! Nothing I've ever done for you had been out of pity…how can you think that?"

"I'm just trying to explain what was going through my head during Sixth Year," he said, defending himself, "And before I forget…it wasn't just one date with Krum; you also kissed him and kept it from me. All that time and all those letters and you kept saying he was just a friend, when really you'd snogged him!"

"He is just a friend!" Hermione cried, unable to believe after all this time he was still jealous of Viktor Krum.

"You snogged him!!" Ron yelled, accusingly, his temper starting to get the better of him, "Do you snog all your friends?! What about Harry?!"

"Oh, yes, you caught me, Ronald!" she yelled, her voice carrying a hurtful tone, "After you ran off and abandoned us during the Hunt, Harry and I spent all our time snogging! No one kisses quite like the Boy-Who-Lived!!"

Ron turned away from her, unable to meet her eyes. She was giving voice to his fears and insecurities, and even though he knew what she said wasn't true, it still cut him deep.

"How dare you accuse me of that, Ronald?" she sounded hurt, but still angry, "Do you really think I'm such a slag?"

"No, of course not…" he said, looking down at his feet.

"Then why…?" the anger started to recede, and the hurt took over her voice.

"Why didn't you tell me about the kiss?" Ron asked, finally managing to look her in the eye.

"It was one kiss, Ron, and the reason I didn't say anything was because I was embarrassed! It wasn't something I was ready for and I didn't enjoy it. Viktor wasn't supposed to be my first kiss; it's something I'm going to regret for the rest of my life and that is why I didn't tell you. I didn't want you teasing me." It was Hermione's turn to look away, feeling embarrassed.

"I wouldn't have…" Ron insisted, though his blush seemed to contradict him.

"Ha!" Hermione scoffed, "Look out how you teased Harry for his 'wet' kiss with Cho!"

"That's different," Ron said, "That's Harry! If you had told me that…that darling Vicky was rubbish at kissing, I wouldn't have teased you."

"You're teasing me now!" Hermione reminded him, "And I never said Viktor was rubbish at kissing; for all I know, he might be very good. What I said was I didn't enjoy it!"

"Yeah, cuz he's rubbish!"

"No…because he wasn't YOU!!" she shouted, trying to fight back the tears of frustration and anger that were threatening to make an appearance, "Ever since I was thirteen, I dreamt that you would be my first kiss, and Viktor stole that dream from me when he kissed me after the Yule Ball. And, do you know what? I was so angry with you for the hurtful things you said to me that night that I didn't even think to get angry with Viktor for kissing me without consent!"

"I hate him…" Ron said softly, looking away and balling up his fists.

"I know, Ron…" Hermione sighed.

"He didn't deserve to be your first," he said. His voice was quiet and sad.

"He was only my first date, my first dance, and my first kiss…there are still plenty of other firsts left," she reached out and stroked his arm, trying to be soothing.

"I reckon…" he shrugged.

"My first real snog: that was you. My first boyfriend: you. My first time sharing a bed with a man: you. And there are some very important firsts that I plan on doing with you…and only you. So, Viktor was my first date; our time together, Ron, our relationship is more important. So, he danced with me first; the dances we shared at Bill and Fleur's wedding will always be more special to me. And, yes, he gave me my first kiss; but your kisses, Ronald Weasley, are the ones that satisfy and excite me," she blushed as she admitted this to Ron, but she could tell that he needed to hear it.

"Bloody Hell…" he smiled, his ears turning pink. He took her in his arms and kissed her again, once more bringing their conversation to a halt.

It was several minutes before Hermione pulled away and asked the question that was preying on her mind. "Why do we do this, Ron? Why do we fight like this?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head, "But I hate it."

Hermione sighed and rested her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat. "This business of going back or not going back to Hogwarts…it isn't worth tearing each other apart. I'll go back…whether you go or not. It's just…we spent six years at Hogwarts dancing around our feelings and worrying about the next threat to come after Harry. This is our last chance to go and just be students…no war, no Voldemort, no hidden Death Eaters.

"We were forced to grow up so fast…too fast. We never really had a chance to be children. We can go back and have one carefree year…one last year as children before we head out into the adult world and get jobs and go about living adult lives.

"And we would be Head Girl and Boy, Ron…think about it…you and I would be the students everyone looked up to. And as an added bonus, we'd have our very own common room and private dorms. Imagine what you and your girlfriend could do with that kind of privacy…"

Ron was shocked by what she had just implied. "Hermione, you don't mean…"

"All I'm saying, Ron, is there are a lot of firsts we can still share…and at Hogwarts there would be no parental supervision for ten months…" She looked up into his blue eyes, hoping he would finally see things her way.

"Bloody Hell!" Ron gasped, finally catching on.

"Bloody Hell, indeed…" she smiled, allowing the mild swear to go by for once.

"I'm in…let's go to Hogwarts!" Ron smiled.

"I knew you'd see the light," Hermione said with a satisfied smile. She wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and proceeded to give him a preview of the sort of snogging they'd be able to do when they were all alone in their Hogwarts dormitories.