A/N: So just to let everyone know, this story assumes that Ron, Hermione, and Harry returned to Hogwarts for their seventh year instead of what really happened in Deathly Hallows (they are about to return after the summer after sixth year). So they are all seventeen and presumably still attempting to fight against Voldemort and the Horcruxes, etc, but I'm not actually going to deal much with that aspect of their lives. I'm focusing on the relationships, so you can just assume what you like about what's happening to them as far as the Voldemort / war plot. But everything from books 1-6 happened as the books say it did as far as this story is concerned : ) Enjoy!
Chapter 3 - Consequences
Hermione rested her head against Ron's chest, hiding her grin and her red cheeks from his view. He smiled over the top of her head, feeling almost drunk. Somehow, all of his depression and despair had been wiped away to be replaced with complete bliss. His life now looked beautiful, and he could not see past this moment. He didn't want to anyway.
A knock on the door caused Ron and Hermione to pull instantly apart as if burned. Hermione stared up at Ron, pieces of her hair flying about her face wildly. He tilted his head towards the door with a half-smile.
"See you," he whispered, and he closed his eyes and turned on the spot, Disapparating at once.
Twenty minutes later, Ron was still pacing his room impatiently, going over the same bit of carpet he had been treading since he had appeared, a bit dazed, in the room after Disapparating from Ginny's.
Suddenly, he heard extremely fast footsteps moving up the stairs outside his room and he stopped dead, facing the door, his heart pounding so hard it was actually a bit painful...
And, without knocking, without taking a moment's pause, Hermione burst through the door, rushed into the room, kicked the door shut fluidly, and flung herself at Ron, her arms wrapping around his neck and her lips pressing against his. He was so startled that he nearly fell backwards and only just managed to catch himself on the edge of his dresser, his arms flying around Hermione to support her weight against him. His eyes remained open wide, staring back into hers until he was able to fully comprehend what was happening... that she was kissing him! He clamped his eyes shut and moved one hand to the back of her head, lowering her slightly so her feet were once again on the ground.
When she finally moved back a fraction of an inch, he sucked in a much needed breath...
"Holy shit..." he mumbled, panting. But before she could reply, he crushed her lips again, his eyes shutting immediately this time. He had never kissed anyone like this. No one had ever kissed him like this either... not that he had much experience. Lavender was the only girl he'd ever snogged. But, if asked, he wouldn't even know where to start describing the difference. This wasn't even in the same category, not really even the same event.
He couldn't breathe. He was drowning in her. He had to let go, had to move away or he would die. But would that really be so bad? He was already in heaven.
Reason finally overtook him, and he moved back just enough to gasp in air again.
"I have to go..." she managed to choke out, panting just as hard as he was. "They're waiting..."
Ron tried to reply, but it came out as an indistinguishable moan. Hermione closed the inch that separated their lips and kissed him very gently before pulling away and stepping back. He allowed his arms to loosen so she could move, though he wasn't at all ready to let go.
"I'll come back. I'll come right back," she breathed.
"Bloody hell..." Ron murmured, unable to come up with anything to say that wasn't an expression of how overwhelmed he felt. Hermione was smiling shyly up at him... he was staring. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was even more of mess than it had been before. Without thinking, he moved forward and brushed through her hair with his fingers in an attempt to tame it. "Okay..." he said, looking down at her, trying to remind himself to keep breathing...
"I had to..." She paused and looked away from his eyes, her cheeks reddening even more if possible... "I wanted to kiss you first..."
Ron nodded, smiling.
"So did I," he whispered.
She grinned up at him, and he returned it, sure that everything he was feeling must be very neatly written across his face. Oh, but it felt so wonderful not to care...
"Go and get married and then come back up here so we can continue this..." Ron said, his grin widening. Hermione rolled her eyes, but the laughter that accompanied the gesture made it clear that she was anything but remotely upset with his terrible joke timing.
"Okay," she said, allowing a stifled giggle to escape which made Ron laugh back, happier than he could ever remember being. "I'm going..." She backed away from him slowly, both grinning widely at each other, their faces flushed. When she finally hit the door, she turned, giggling again, and swung it open, stepping out into the hall. She took one last glance back at Ron before turning and heading down the stairs, trying desperately to wipe the giddy grin off her face and replace it with something a bit more appropriate for the occasion... at the very least, a blank stare...
The moment Hermione vanished from his view, Ron spun around and suppressed a scream, remembering at the last moment that he couldn't let anyone hear him shouting from joy while Hermione was on her way downstairs to marry his best friend... That just would not make sense...
He couldn't keep still. He paced his room again, but this time out of pure jubilance. He ran his hands through his hair, laughing as he passed his dresser where he had just been experiencing the best few moments of his life thus far. When he heard footsteps again outside his door, he paused and stared, his heart racing yet again, wondering if it could be her returning, but these footsteps were not nearly as pounding and insistent as hers had been, so he tried his best to arrange his face into a relatively neutral expression as he waited to see who was coming...
Ginny appeared in the doorway, looking sadly in at him.
"Ron," she started. Her eyes met his. "This is so stupid..." She rolled her eyes. "Mum wanted me..." Ginny trailed off and sighed, giving Ron an apologetic look that peaked his curiosity. "She wanted me to make sure that you wouldn't like to come down for the... ceremony." Ron felt his stomach twist now as he was forced to think about Hermione kissing Harry.... Hermione kissing Harry! It was horrifying... She wouldn't kiss Harry the way she had just been kissing, right?... No...
He shook his head.
"No, definitely not," he said, not that he had had any former plans of attending...
Ginny nodded.
"It was so obvious to me, but Mum just wanted to be certain."
"Yeah," Ron said automatically, but his stomach was a bit unsettled now, and he moved to sit at his desk chair which had been pulled to the side and now faced his door where Ginny still stood.
"Ron..." Ginny said again, her voice tentative and pitying.
"I'm fine, Gin," Ron said, trying to sound reassuring but not to the point of suspicion. Ginny nodded, but continued to look at him with sympathy.
"I'm really so sorry, Ron," she said, her eyes a bit wet.
"Me too," Ron said, thinking all of a sudden of Ginny. She and Harry wouldn't be able to be together either, not unless Harry decided to tell her about Ron and Hermione's secret relationship. And now that Ron thought of it, he felt rather sorry for his sister. He wondered if Harry would tell her. They hadn't discussed it. But Ron said nothing else to her now and let her turn her back towards him. She turned back to face him once more just before she disappeared from view.
"If you need anything..." she said, allowing her voice to trail off as she seemed to realize that there wasn't much that could be done.
"Thanks," Ron said simply, wanting her to go so he could stop focusing on the little snag in his new relationship with Hermione... the one where she was being forced to marry someone else.
But Ginny nodded quickly, turned, and was gone, her footsteps lighter this time on the stairs as she slowly headed back down.
Ron stood from his desk chair, closed his door, and leaned back against it, surveying his room. It was a bit of a mess, and he could think of little else to do to distract himself in here now other than clean... so he set about straightening it up, sure that Hermione would appreciate the effort at least. He grinned when he thought of her again and shook his head to clear it as he began to fold clothes...
He wasn't sure why he had been expecting it to take longer, but the moment he heard footsteps and voices once again outside, he dropped the book he was holding and turned towards the door, caught off guard. It had only been twenty minutes! They couldn't be done already... could they?
But sure enough, he heard Hermione and Harry's soft voices as they moved up the stairs, closer and closer to his room. He ran to the door and swung it open, stepping out just enough to look down the stairs at them as they approached, a grin spreading across his face when he spotted Hermione. Harry and Hermione stopped talking at once and both looked up at him, breaking into smiles, Harry's a lot more soft and bittersweet than Hermione's and much less goofy. Harry glanced at Hermione and rolled his eyes playfully.
"Glad you worked it all out and all," he whispered as he moved up the last few steps to join Ron on the landing, Hermione just behind him, "but this is just sickening."
"So it's done?" Ron asked, completely ignoring Harry. Hermione nodded, and Harry instantly looked extremely guilty.
"Harry's just getting a few things..." Hermione explained, her eyes never leaving Ron's. Ron nodded but didn't move out of the doorway. He was too focused on Hermione to realize that Harry needed him to move to enter the room.
Harry stared at Ron for a full ten seconds, giving him a chance to figure it out and move out of the way, but it was no use. Ron was completely oblivious.
"Seriously?" Harry asked incredulously, but he was grinning at the pair of them.
"What?" Ron asked, finally breaking eye contact with Hermione to glance over at Harry, confused and already blushing.
"Move," Harry said with a chuckle. "You're blocking the door..."
Ron blinked.
"Oh!" He scooted out of the way looking sheepish. "Sorry..."
Hermione covered her mouth as she giggled, and Ron's attention immediately returned to her.
"You think my cluelessness is funny, do you?" Ron asked, raising an amused eyebrow, his grin back in place.
Hermione nodded behind her hand. Ron reached up and took her hand away from her mouth, lacing their fingers together.
"Better not stand out here any longer. If someone wanders up here... well, we're not doing anything close to hiding what's going on..."
Hermione laughed again, nodding, and pulled Ron into his room where she shut the door. While Harry searched for a book on Ron's desk, Hermione and Ron stood staring and grinning at one another yet again, this time out of view of anyone else but Harry. Ron kept holding her hand, and she was perfectly happy to keep holding his back.
When Harry turned towards them again, he smiled and shook his head.
"All yours," he said to Ron, slapping him on the back. "Now move over. Again."
Ron scooted to the side, but then a thought occurred to him.
"Harry, what's the story?"
Harry furrowed his eyebrows at Ron.
"You know," Ron continued, "what does everyone else think is happening right now?"
"Well, I've been mostly staying in Fred and George's old room, haven't I," said Harry. "So that's what I'll be doing tonight, same as always. Just had to collect some stuff I brought up here over the weeks since I've been here."
"Right..." said Ron, biting his lip and thinking. Hermione watched him, distracted by his lips, but Ron remained oblivious as he pondered the plan. "So what about Hermione?" he asked, blushing.
"What about me?" Hermione asked back, smiling. He looked down at her.
"What's your plan?"
Hermione shrugged, but quickly explained...
"I told Ginny earlier that I was going to stay in Percy's old room for the night. I moved my trunk in there earlier so she thinks that's where I'll be and I doubt anyone will bother us tonight... so, if I need anything, I can just Apparate down to Percy's and grab it from my trunk and come back up here without anyone seeing me."
Ron blinked at her.
"So you do want to stay here for the night?" he asked in a small voice.
"I-I..." Hermione stammered, clearly nervous that maybe he had not intended for her to stay in the first place. She searched Ron's eyes, trying to read him. But then he grinned and she stopped trying to speak.
"Brilliant," Ron said. "Nice job planning."
"Right, I've had enough of the two of you shagging each other with your eyes, thanks," said Harry, smirking in a satisfied way when he watched their faces turn brighter shades of red. "Goodnight."
He opened the door and stepped out onto the landing, but at the last minute, he reached up and pulled on Ron's shirt, bringing Ron's ear to his mouth.
"Silencing charms are your friends," Harry whispered.
"Harry!" Ron shouted, looking over at Hermione, wondering if she had heard. But she looked puzzled, and he assumed she probably hadn't.
Harry laughed and let go of Ron, and, with a wave, he headed down the stairs, still smirking.
"Wanker," Ron muttered as he pushed the door shut.
"What did he say?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing," Ron lied.
"Ron." Hermione put her hands on her hips.
"It was just something stupid..." Ron murmured, moving into the middle of the room and away from Hermione, hoping she'd drop it but knowing she wouldn't.
"Ron," she tried again, this time hardly hiding her chuckle. Ron rolled his eyes and faced her again.
"Fine. You know a few silencing charms, right?" Ron asked, his face red.
"Yes, of course, and so should you..." Hermione began, looking slightly confused. But she began to slowly catch on and Ron nodded.
"Harry's a prat."
"Oh," Hermione said, trying not to grin.
"Yeah..." Ron ran a hand through his hair, feeling his cheeks burn.
Suddenly, there was an awkwardness that hadn't been present before. Ron wanted it to end in a way, but he was also enjoying everything about this new part of his life, the part that had been missing for so long... the part he never thought he'd really have in the end.
Hermione stepped very slowly forward and finally, after what seemed like ages, she reached Ron and took his hand shyly. She looked down at their joined hands, her fingers moving against his knuckles.
"Want to sit down?" Ron suggested, feeling strange all of a sudden standing in the middle of his room. Without waiting for Hermione to reply, Ron walked over to his bed, tugging her hand gently so she would follow him. She sat right next to him, but instantly decided that she was not close enough and scooted over so their legs were pressed together, their joined hands resting on Ron's thigh.
Ron was content to just sit this close to her, feeling every bit of her that was touching him along his left side. But as seconds ticked by, he felt his mind drifting to the past twenty minutes, the ceremony that he hadn't seen, and he began to wonder...
What if she didn't kiss Harry? But she obviously did. That's part of it... She knew when she left here that they would have to. That's why she kissed me first. So Hermione kissed Harry. Or Harry kissed Hermione. Either way, they kissed. Her lips and his lips touched... Oh, hell, I feel sick... But it's fine. It won't happen again. She loves me...
"Hermione?" Ron began before he could even process what he was about to ask.
"Hm?"
"You had to kiss Harry, didn't you..."
Hermione said nothing, but he felt her tense up beside him.
"It's fine. I knew you had to. I just... sort of wanted to know... well..." Ron couldn't finish his sentence. He couldn't possibly find a way to ask such an awkward question. He ran through options in his head, each one just as impossible to say aloud as the last... What was the kiss like? How long did it last? What did you think about? Did you kiss Harry back or did you just wait for it to be over?
Ron swallowed, deciding that it was easier to just be curious and jealous than to actually ask any of those things...
"Do you want to know what it was like?" Hermione asked suddenly in a small voice.
Ron looked over at her, clearly relieved that she was going to tell him and that she had been able to read his thoughts so perfectly.
"This is what it was like..." Hermione leaned up to his mouth and kissed him very gently, her lips barely touching his. It lasted a split second, like a kiss on the cheek between friends. Ron hardly had time to close his eyes before it was over. He looked down at her for a moment before speaking.
"That's it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
Hermione nodded and he felt instant relief flood through him.
"Well, that's nothing."
"No," Hermione said, smiling. "Feel better?"
"Loads," Ron admitted, smiling back at her.
"Good," Hermione said, letting go of his hand. "I'm going to to brush my teeth and change," she said, standing from the bed.
"Okay, me too," Ron smiled. "I'll be here when you're done," he added unnecessarily. Hermione grinned at him and quickly Disapparated from the room.
Ron headed down the stairs immediately to the bathroom to brush his teeth, wondering a little excitedly if he'd run into Hermione there. But she must have gone to Percy's first because he finished before he ever saw her. He returned to his room and changed clothes quickly while he waited for her, excited and nervous about the prospect of sleeping in the same bed with her. It wasn't like he expected anything to happen beyond more kissing. He wasn't sure he was even ready for something like that... no, he knew that he wasn't. But the idea of being so close and intimate with her, even just during sleep, was thrilling and terrifying at the same time.
He crawled into his bed and leaned against the headboard, his feet bouncing absentmindedly. Just as he started to wonder how long Hermione would be gone, she returned, and Ron had the impression that she had rushed getting ready in order to come quickly back to his room. He smiled as she climbed into his bed. She laid on her side facing him, her back towards the wall. He slid down the headboard so their heads were close on his pillow and he grinned lazily at her as they both settled into the mattress.
"Comfortable," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"My bed?" Ron asked, as if she could have meant anything else. He mentally rolled his eyes at himself for his dumb question. But Hermione just grinned.
"Yeah," she said.
"Well, it's pretty old," Ron said. "Surprised I can't feel the springs through it yet actually. Pretty sure Mum's patched it a few times over the years."
Hermione shuffled her feet, kicking Ron's blanket out from under her legs so she could pull it up over them. Ron reached for it too, and with a quick toss, he caused the blanket to flutter down over them, covering their heads too.
Hermione laughed as she burrowed the side of her head into Ron's feather pillow.
"Sleep like this a lot?" she asked.
"Gets hot," Ron answered with a half-smile.
"It's cozy," Hermione said as she scooted closer to Ron, her flannel covered legs tangling with his.
"With the lantern on like that it looks like we're living in an orange cave," Ron said, grinning.
"Lovely," Hermione said sarcastically. "There's no escaping the orange."
"Why would you ever want to?" Ron asked, scooting even closer across the pillow. He realized that he'd soon have to decide what to do with his arms. He wasn't sure what was allowed at this point, but at the moment he was awkwardly holding them between himself and Hermione.
"Well, I certainly don't want to go blind before I'm thirty," Hermione said. Ron chuckled.
"Fine," and he ripped the blanket playfully off their heads so it rested on their shoulders.
Hermione shifted against the pillow, still smiling. Her hand found its way to Ron's again and he let her lace their fingers together. But he felt cool metal against his warm skin and momentarily furrowed his eyebrows at her curiously before realizing what it must be. So he pulled their joined hands out from under the blanket and inspected her ring finger. Sure enough, there was a very simple, relatively thin gold band on her finger. Ron swallowed, trying not to think too hard about what he was staring at.
"It won't ever come off," Hermione said, and when Ron finally glanced at her face again, he saw that she was staring at the ring too, her eyes wet.
"That's okay," Ron said, squeezing her hand. "It's..." he paused, then grinned. "It's a nice ring that your mother gave to you."
Hermione looked at him, puzzled.
"You know, for your birthday... or was it Christmas?"
Slowly, Hermione caught on and understood what Ron was doing, that he was pretending she wasn't married in the first place, that her ring was nothing more than a present from her mother and that she was wearing it for that reason only.
"Oh yes," Hermione said, nodding. "Christmas actually."
"Ah," Ron said. "Thought it might have been."
They smiled contentedly at one another for a moment before Ron did something relatively daring. He let go of Hermione's hand and snaked his arm over her side, down her back, pulling her closer and holding her tightly. She smiled and he was sure he heard a sigh escape her...
He rested his forehead against hers.
"I wish we didn't have to go to Hogwarts tomorrow," Hermione said finally.
"Hermione!" Ron shouted immediately, pulling back from her slightly, looking a bit horrified. "You don't want to go back to school?!"
Hermione shook her head, looking amused.
"Of course I do... but I wish we had more time before... well, before we're around so many people."
Ron raised his eyebrows at her.
"You know what I mean," Hermione continued. "It'll be harder to... hide what we're doing at Hogwarts with everyone watching."
"Oh," Ron said, understanding. He smiled sadly. "Yeah. At least it's just one more year."
Hermione nodded, but still looked a bit depressed.
"It's okay," Ron continued. "We're seventh years. You're Head Girl and I'm a Prefect. You can boss me around, make me go out after curfew with you to make sure all the castle's broom closets are in order..."
Hermione laughed, rolling her eyes.
"We'll see who's laughing in November," Ron went on. "You'll be forcing me out of bed at five in the morning to-"
"Ron!" Hermione interjected through a giggle. "November?!"
"What?" Ron asked, having clearly expected Hermione to be shouting his name in order to interrupt whatever direction he was taking his rant, not to be reprimanding him for putting too much time between now and his theoretical date at which time Hermione would obviously have no choice but to drag him from bed just so she could snog him before the castle awoke...
"You think I'll make it until November?" Hermione asked.
He stared at her, surprised that she was being so bold...
"Yeah, that was dumb of me, huh?" he said, still looking a little shocked.
"Mm hm," Hermione replied.
"Well..." Ron started, twisting awkwardly to glance at the clock on top of his desk. "It's been... nearly forty minutes since you came flying into my room and almost knocked me down..."
Hermione blushed slightly.
"So, what's your limit? Forty five?"
Hermione slapped him gently on the shoulder.
"No," she said, shaking her head in a disapproving way. But then... "Forty one..."
She tilted her head and he had just enough time to close his eyes before her lips met his. Their bodies pressed together without either of them really realizing it, as if the need to be closer was too overwhelming to avoid. His hands were everywhere... in her hair, gliding over her back, sliding across her shoulders...
They parted, panting, and Ron allowed his eyes to flutter open, breathing through his mouth.
"If I survive tonight, I'll be surprised," Ron said through gulps of air.
Hermione nodded, looking very serious, her eyes dark.
Their next kiss was just as intense as the first. As he allowed his senses to completely take over all rational thought, he felt his whole body melting against hers, like they belonged this way for all time. And when they finally separated again...
"You're right... Hogwarts can kiss my ass..."
Hermione stopped dead where she had been moving in towards Ron's lips again.
"Wash out your mouth before I kiss you again," she said, trying very hard to hold back her laughter.
"Nah, I think you like it," Ron said as he closed the gap between their lips. Hermione didn't even think of protesting.
Breathing heavily, they eventually parted once more, and this time, both of them felt the weight of the day closing in on them. They blinked, neither one wanting to sleep yet, wanting to make the night last as long as possible, but in Ron's mind, the sleeping bit was going to be nearly as exciting as the snogging had been... well, close at least...
He thought of things he should say, things he wanted to say... he wondered if he could say them now, if he'd be able to form logical sentences with his brain as mushy as it had recently turned. But before he had the chance to process anything he might want to attempt to say to her, his eyes were slipping shut...
Ron awoke in his very dimly lit room, the lantern on his bedside table nearly completely burned out. Hermione's forehead was lightly pressed against his lips. Her body was curled around his, facing him on her side. He moved his foot ever so slightly, but the tiny motion resulted in Hermione tangling herself even closer and further into him automatically. He thought briefly of turning away from her to blow out the lantern altogether, but when he heard her moan contentedly in her sleep and felt her hand on his side, her face nuzzling against his, his eyes fluttered shut and he was unable to even consider moving any part of his body even an inch...
Ron awoke the next time to a very cold room, but to an absolutely beautiful voice in his ear.
"Ron... Ron..."
He rolled his eyes around behind his eyelids before cracking them open to look up into Hermione's eyes where she was hovering just over him, sitting on the edge of the bed. She smiled down at him and he sighed happily.
"Hey," she said, reaching up to rest her hand against his cheek.
"Hvm," he mumbled. She grinned and he lazily attempted to grin back.
"Sun's up," Hermione stated.
"Oh," Ron mouthed, looking decidedly unconcerned with this fact.
"Which means Ron has to be up," Hermione continued, still looking amused rather than upset.
"Mmm mm," Ron said, which in his head translated to a logical argument for him staying in his bed all morning...
Hermione laughed.
"Up," she said, and as she started to move away from him, his slowly shutting eyes opened all the way again.
"Don't move," he managed to murmur.
"Ron, do you want everyone to find out about us this quickly? You know what that'll mean, right?"
"Nope," Ron said, grinning.
"Ron! Get up!"
He attempted to shake his head but Hermione stood now and put her hands on her hips.
"I was going to kiss you but at this point I think you're just too tired to appreciate it."
"'M up," Ron said quickly as he tried to push up against his headboard. Hermione raised her eyebrows as he blinked rapidly.
"Are you?"
"Yes," Ron said, nodding enthusiastically.
"Fine," Hermione said as she leaned down into the bed to kiss him. But he was too quick for her and had pulled her completely back into the bed before she could protest. She made a noise into his mouth that sounded like his name, but he merely grinned against her lips and squeezed her against his chest with one strong arm.
But general noise from several floors below broke Ron out of his Hermione-induced trance and he released her, looking thoroughly unhappy about it...
"You'd better get to Percy's I reckon," he said grumpily.
"Yeah," Hermione agreed, looking just as reluctant and disappointed as Ron sounded. "See you downstairs for breakfast..."
She lingered in the room for a moment longer looking sadly into his eyes before she turned and Disapparated from the room...
Breakfast was awkward to say the least. Ron and Hermione spent the whole morning trying not to even look at each other for fear that someone would figure out what was going on between them. Ron knew that he was being much too paranoid, that it was unlikely at best that anyone would be able to guess that Hermione had slept in his room and that they were now planning to continue a secret relationship with one another indefinitely...
They loaded the car quickly and were soon squished into the backseat on the way to King's Cross. The rush was enough to distract Ron and Hermione from each other until they had reached the platform. Mrs. Weasley pulled Ron away from the others at the last moment before they had to board the train. She lead him to a secluded corner and looked up at him sadly.
"Oh, Ron," she said before leaning against him for a watery hug. "I'm sorry so. I know... well, I know how you must be feeling..."
"Mum," Ron interrupted, afraid people might start to notice them as his mother was now practically sobbing into his shoulder. "I'll be alright. Don't worry."
"Oh, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she pulled back finally. "It's completely unfair. You don't deserve-"
"'M alright," Ron said, trying to reassure his mother. She looked into his eyes for a moment and he tried very hard to look neutral so she wouldn't be able to read his mind. He felt, at the moment, like she almost could...
"Alright," she said, pulling his head down and kissing him on the cheek. "Try to stay out of trouble and... and study hard," she added almost automatically as if unsure what to say, what she could say at a time like this. Though Ron had never told his mother of his feelings for Hermione, he knew that she was aware of them. It was so easy to tell what she was thinking, to understand her even when she didn't say exactly what was on her mind. She always made it quite obvious and he was glad for that in a way. He never had to hear the awkward words that he could conclude from her tone or her inferences.
"Bye, Mum," Ron said as he parted from her to join everyone else as they boarded the train. "See you at Christmas." As he stepped onto the train, it began to sink in that it would be Christmas before he'd be able to sleep in the same bed as Hermione again. This concept was more than a little bit repulsive and he set his mind to the task of coming up with some devious way to make it happen somewhere, somehow in the castle over the next few months...
As Head Girl, Hermione was traveling up and down the train corridors long after Ron was allowed to take his seat. He had wanted to continue roaming about with her, but she had given him a look that clearly said that it would be much better if he simply took his seat with Harry and Ginny, so he returned to their compartment and thought longingly of the previous night until five minutes before they arrived at Hogsmeade station when Hermione finally re-entered the compartment.
"Took you long enough," Ron said casually, trying not to seem like he had been thinking of nothing else... But Harry caught his eye for a brief moment and he was sure they were on the same page...
"Sorry," Hermione said, huffing as she sat down next to Harry. "It's a lot more work being Head Girl. Everyone was asking me questions in the corridors. I could hardly patrol."
Ron nodded.
"We'd better get changed," Hermione said, standing again and grabbing her robe from the luggage rack.
Hermione sat on Harry's side of the table at dinner. Ron spent the first ten minutes of the meal sulking silently about it and trying to hide it. It was becoming more obvious by the second that he was going to have a much harder time than he had even guessed at hiding his relationship with Hermione. It wasn't that it was hard to pretend to be angry with her. After all, they had had plenty of practice at really being angry with each other over the years. The hard part was the fact that he wasn't actually angry with her at all. Quite the opposite. And he didn't want her to think that he was when he wasn't. But what could he really do about it? She seemed to be taking a slightly different approach and was ignoring him altogether...
Fine, Ron thought. Maybe that'll be easier... So he allowed his eyes to wander about the Great Hall. And that was when he first started to realize how many people were missing. A lot of students hadn't returned. Perhaps the married ones had chosen not to come back? He shuddered just thinking about it. But then he caught sight of several Ravenclaw couples who seemed to be sitting closer than usual and he wondered if they had actually been lucky enough to marry the person they had loved in the first place...
Because the law only applied to of age students, there weren't actually that many obviously married couples that he could pick out. He figured that part of the reason was because the majority of students with Muggle relations had at least some magical blood in their family tree and therefore were not subject to the law the way Hermione was...
He sighed and was soon following hoards of students out of the Great Hall, hardly realizing that he was moving at all.
"Ron!" He whipped around at the sound of Hermione's voice. "Are you a Prefect or not?" she asked, her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raised.
"Oh, right," he said with a half-smile. "Sorry." And he set about helping Hermione to corral the students back to Gryffindor tower...
That night, Ron lay awake in his bed, tossing and flipping over, sighing and adjusting his blankets, trying to make himself at least remotely comfortable. But it wasn't much use. He missed Hermione terribly. She was like a drug to him, and he had become desperately addicted after only one day. He mused for a moment about what had become of him in such a sort amount of time. But when he tried to think of how he would be feeling now if he had never told her that he loved her in the first place, never taken Harry's advice...
He shuddered just considering what that would mean...
And he decided that no matter what, no matter the consequences now, they'd find a way to make it work... because the alternative was death in his mind. It wasn't worth living without something to live for... and she was his reason to go on breathing.
The next night, Ron sat in the Common Room across from Hermione, glancing at her surreptitiously over the top of his Potions book, and on more than one occasion, he happily caught her doing the same.
Finally, she stood with a sigh and put her books away. Ron watched her curiously.
"Ron," she said, and he jumped slightly from being addressed so directly.
"Yeah?"
"We have rounds," Hermione said, trying to sound less than thrilled.
"Oh, right," Ron said, nodding. He bagged his books too and stood. "I'll just put these upstairs," he added, picking up his bag.
"Me too," Hermione said, and she turned to head up to the girl's dormitory. Just as Ron turned to head up to the boy's dormitory, Harry caught his eye and winked slyly before returning to his own book and acting very convincingly like nothing had just happened. Ron smirked to himself as he carried his bag upstairs. When he returned to the Common Room, Hermione was standing by the portrait hole, looking impatient.
"Right. Let's go," Ron said and he motioned for Hermione to step through first. He followed her and remained walking next to her silently for the first five minutes. But suddenly, just when he was trying to work out how to speak properly now that they were finally alone for the first time since arriving at Hogwarts, Hermione grabbed his hand and darted to the right, sliding gracefully into an empty classroom, pulling him with her.
"Better check for curfew breakers in here..." she said.
"Yeah-" Ron started, but he was cut off by a pair of incredibly soft lips. He heard but did not see the door to the classroom clicking shut. His eyes were closed too tightly as his hands moved up Hermione's sides. Hermione pulled back first.
"Is this a bad idea?" she asked, her breath hot on his lips.
"Definitely not," Ron concluded before capturing her lips again. She pulled back a second time a moment later.
"Why did I even bother to ask you? Of course you wouldn't tell me if it was..." But she leaned against him and kissed him again. Before he realized what was happening, Hermione was backed against a table and was on her tiptoes, trying to sit on the table. Ron's lips never left hers as she finally managed to slide onto the tabletop. But he finally did pull back when he felt her legs parting. His eyes widening, his face flushed, he cupped her cheeks in his hands.
"You're bloody gorgeous," he told her under his breath before kissing her again. She moaned into his mouth and tightened her legs around his waist.
But a sound coming from the corridor outside caused them to break roughly apart. Hermione hopped down from the table looking terrified.
"Ron," she whispered frantically.
"I'll check," Ron said, and he was heading for the door before Hermione could stop him.
She quickly caught up with him, her eyes perfect circles as he reached for the door handle.
"Hey, who's out here breaking curfew?" Ron called to Hermione's surprise. She sucked in a shocked breath next to him. "We're Prefects. You'd better get back to your dormitory before we find you."
"Mr. Weasley?" came a mature female voice from down the hall. Professor McGonagall.
"Professor?" Ron called as he stepped out of the empty classroom, Hermione right behind him.
"Yes," she said as she moved into view near a torch about halfway down the corridor.
"Sorry, Professor," Ron said as he walked a bit further towards her. "We're making rounds and we thought we heard someone in this empty classroom. Then we assumed you were them when we heard footsteps outside here in the corridor."
"I see," she said, nodding. Ron was relieved to see that she looked quite convinced of his story. But after all, why shouldn't she? He was a Prefect after all. And Hermione was Head Girl. "Just me out here," she added. "But you'd better hurry along. It's nearly midnight."
"Yes, Professor," Ron said, nodding.
"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall acknowledged as Ron and Hermione passed her to head back down the corridor. Once they were sure they were out of earshot, nearly back up to Gryffindor tower, Hermione let out a deep breath.
"Ron, you're a damn good liar... That was so close."
"Sure was," Ron agreed. He kept walking alongside Hermione, thinking... "Does that mean-"
"-that we're going to be more careful next time?" Hermione finished.
"Next time?" Ron repeated with a smirk, looking pleased.
"Oh, you couldn't have thought I'd stop just because of something like that."
"Well, honestly, yeah, I sort of did," Ron admitted.
"Ron," Hermione said, stopping just before they reached the corner beyond which was the corridor towards the Fat Lady, "we've got to be more careful, maybe plan a bit more. But..."
Another sound cut Hermione off and she jumped slightly.
"Right. Better get back inside before we're caught out here. Prefects or not, it's midnight."
"You sound way too responsible," Hermione said, looking suspiciously over at Ron as they rounded the corner.
"You're rubbing off on me," Ron said, shrugging. "But," he added, stopping abruptly again. "I've got a brilliant plan. Want to hear it?"
"Go on," Hermione said, stopping to stare up at him, looking curious.
"I think the dungeons are probably a great place for students to sneak off and snog, don't you?"
"Oh," Hermione said, nodding enthusiastically. "I agree completely. We'd better make a habit of checking down there from now on."
"Thoroughly checking..." Ron said, grinning at her.
And though he still missed Hermione terribly, Ron slept much more contentedly that night than he had the previous night. And more than one dark, damp stone room entered into his dreams, but it was surprisingly warm there with Hermione in his arms.