AN: This is a prime example of why I should not write Ron/Hermione's. Hermione's psyche totally eludes me. But I promised my dear big sister Bria that I would write this so here it is. The may be my only R/Hr so enjoy it. Read, Review and make me happy. ^_^



Ron knew one thing: He wasn't going anywhere alone with Malfoy. That would be asking for trouble and he wasn't in need of any. Not giving Draco a backwards glance he grabbed Harry and Hermione's arms. He drug them out of the Great Hall and over to the dorm.

Now that Ron thought about it, he was sure that they were talking about being his best friend. Not in any romantic sort of way. He was sure that Harry was still infatuated with the Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang. Ron did not like Cho. He wasn't sure why, but he just didn't.

Turning to his friends, he asked, " What is up with Malfoy? I wonder what he wanted." He realized that he was still holding on to their arms and blushed. He dropped them and stared at his feet.

Hermione looked coyly at Ron and threaded an arm though his. She brushed an errant strand of red hair from his forehead. "I do not want to know what he wanted. It can't be good." She shuddered delicately and moved closer to Ron.

Harry tried to refrain from rolling his eyes but it was hard. Finally, getting tired of watching Hermione's advances on his best friend, he pulled them to the portrait of the fat lady. He said the password and hauled the two into the common room.

"So Ron do you want to play a game of chess?" Harry asked. Hopefully this would make Hermione disengage her death grip on his best friend. Not that Harry didn't love Hermione but his relationship with her was different then his relationship with Ron. They were more like brothers than merely friends. He considered Hermione one of his best friends… but it wasn't the same. Watching her climb over Ron was slightly nauseating.

Ron on the other hand couldn't figure out what Hermione was doing. 'She's acting like Lavender and Pansy. It's making me nervous.' He looked over to Harry. "Yeah, let's play." He shook off Hermione and started to set up the chessboard.

Hermione walked over to the stairs and started up them. "I'm going to work on some… homework."

The boys yelled goodbye to her then concentrated on the game.

Hermion flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling. 'What am I doing wrong? I did exactly what Lavender told me to do. Why didn't it work?' She walked over to the mirror and sighed. She looked at herself.

'My hair has calmed down some, my teeth are straight, I have a clear complexion… Why doesn't he like me? I thought that he did after the Yule Ball. I really wanted to go with him and not Viktor.' She suppressed a shudder. That hadn't been the greatest night of her life.

She nodded to her reflection, which gave her a thumbs up. "I'm going to this my way. There isn't anything that is going to get in between what I want and me. I am not the called the smartest witch in my year for nothing. I will get my man. I sound like Parvati! Yuck."

She straightened her shoulders and walked down to the common room. She stood over Harry's shoulder and watched the end of the chess game.

Ron moved one last chess piece. "Checkmate. You are getting better Harry." He smiled and looked up at Hermione. "Hey Hermione. Run out of homework? Want to play a game? I'll even help you."

She shook her head. "No, but I need to talk to you. It's important."

As they walked out, Ron fervently hoped that she wasn't going to tell him that she and Viktor got engaged or something like that. He just didn't like Viktor at all. He had liked him until that fateful day in which Viktor had shown up with Hermione at the Yule Ball. He had wanted to take her. He was the one that saved her from the troll; he was the one who had been at her side for almost four years. Viktor was an… interloper. How dare he even look at Ron's Hermione?!

Ron and Hermione walked into the library. She felt that it would be the best place to have their little confrontation. He couldn't really yell at her in there. They sat down in the back near the restricted section.

Hermione looked at her hands and fidgeted in her seat. "Ron," she began, "There's something I need to tell you. It is something that you may or may not like, but I feel that you have the right to know."

Ron's breath caught in his throat. 'She's in love with Viktor and moving to Bulgaria. I just know it. She knows how I feel about him and doesn't want to tell me.'

Apparently Ron wasn't thinking clearly because it would have come to his attention that Hermione was too young to get married and leave the country but he was clueless to this fact.

She looked up at him and said, "Ron, I like you. I've liked you since the chess board incident. Not just anyone would sacrifice himself in that way. You did though. It didn't matter to me that Harry was the one who defeated Voldermort, we never would have gotten past that board with out you. You are my Hero. I tried to do what Lavender and Parvati told me. That wasn't working. Therefore, I'll tell you in my own way. Ron. I like you."

Ron stood there with his jaw dropped. He walked around the table and pulled her into a standing position. "Hermione, to be honest, I didn't like you that way then. No, don't pull away. I didn't like you like that then. I do now. I think that I have like you since our second year. I didn't realize it until you went to the Yule Ball with Krum though. I couldn't see how my Hermione would want to date him and not me. I was so jealous. Hermione, I don't like you. I love you."

He pulled her close and kissed her gently. Then there was an unpleasant tugging on his ear.

"Mr. Weasley, what do you think that you are doing?" With that Madame Pince unceremoniously drug him out of the library. But not before Hermione replied "I love you too."