first, i'd like to say thank you to everyone who has subscribed to the story and favorited it and reviewed and all that jazz ;) you guys are all a-may-zing.

also, if anyone has any fun ideas for Ron let me know..i might use them!

enjoy! :)

Ron's POV

There she was. Standing by Neville and denying the knowledge Ron knew she had, all for the sake of this game. As Ron watched her shrug her shoulders and turn away he couldn't help but wonder if she had someone in mind she would "accidentally" lose her heart to. He wondered if that someone could possibly be him.

For the whole two minutes it took him to walk out of the Great Hall, he had been thinking of how to get her to talk to him. Unfortunately, he had no idea – until he watched her turn towards his direction and a sudden thought hit him. He lunged forward and knew the plan had some potential as he felt her body crash into him. He opened his ears for an automated apology, but nothing came. She was lying on the floor glaring at him knowing she couldn't reprimand him for being in the way, and it was all Ron could do not to laugh. Holding it in, he offered her his hand, "Hermione! I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up!"

She just rolled her eyes and stood up on her own. Ron loved that she didn't depend on him for everything – it made it just that much more satisfying when she really needed him.

Ron just stood there staring at her at a loss of what to do next. He just watched as she stared at him looking angry, but for the slightest fraction of a second he saw something in her emotions change and she didn't look angry. He couldn't quite place a finger on what it looked like. If he had to guess he'd probably say it was impassiveness because what else would she ever feel for him? But deep inside, he had a feeling it was something really good. Not anger, not impassiveness, just something good.

In that flash of a second Ron decided that what he wanted more than anything in the world was to win her heart.

"Yeah, I really didn't see you there, Hermione," he tried his best to sound convincing, but he was sure the grinning would give him away. "I was just walking and you were just there. I think you apparated in front of me!" Ron knew better than anybody (except maybe Hermione) that apparating wasn't possible within Hogwarts due to the countless times he and Harry had been reminded by her.

He searched her face as he let out his newly proclaimed idea and was amused to see her mouth twitch before she bit her lip to keep from saying anything; she even avoided Ron's eyes. Looking down, she just shook her head and tried to walk away, but Ron wasn't giving up.

He grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around to face him to see her eyes wide in shock. She opened her mouth and snapped it shut again looking frustrated. Ron smiled at her again and let go of her shoulder. She looked confused but slowly turned to walk away, although not fast enough to hide the grin that broke out across her face. Ron stared after her. "I've got to figure this out."

He turned and broke into a run reentering the Great Hall. Harry may be clueless when it came to starting relationships, but getting people to talk to him was something Ron was sure he had some skill at.

"Harry!" Ron practically shouted as he finally skidded to a stop, where his best friend still sat eating his breakfast.

Harry looked slightly taken aback. "Whoa, mate. Calm down and breathe." He shook his head as his attention turned back to his cup of pumpkin juice.

Ron sat down and urgently shoved Harry's shoulder, "Hey, seriously, I need your help."

Harry sighed and turned to face Ron. "Alright. What do you need my help with? I see you didn't manage to get Hermione's heart yet."

Ron gaped at Harry, "How did you know I was trying to get it?"

"The whole school knows Ron, plus I'm your best mate. I know these things."

"WHAT! The whole school? How! I didn't even think – wait. You never told anyone did you?

"Do you really think I would do that to you?" Harry laughed, raising his eyebrows at Ron.

"Well –er – no. I guess not. Wait! Hermione doesn't know does she?" His voice quivered with anxiety.

"No, Ron. When I say 'whole school' in any situation similar to this, it always will exclude Hermione. Just like when I'm talking about the 'whole school' with her, you're never a part of that."

Utter confusion became clear on Ron's face, but his voice came out as if lacking toleration for Harry, "Why can't I be included? I want to be included." Without him intending to, concern leaked from his voice. "She knows I really am included right? She's got to! I want her to know I exist – "

"RON!" He cut him off sharply, "Don't be a prat. She knows you exist so stop worrying about nothing. What did you want my help with anyways?"

Ron seemed grateful to be changing the subject, although his ears only turned redder when he began to ask. "I just need your advice…how do you think I can get Hermione to talk?"

Harry thought for a minute. "You know, I'm not really sure. How about you go read a book in the library? When she gets there she'll be so shocked to see you, she'll probably ask what you're up too."

"Is that the best you can do? That's lame!"

"Well what have you come up with?" Ron looked defeated. "Exactly. So try my idea."

"Hey! I never even told you what I did! It almost worked, and it was better than whatever you could come up with!"

"What'd you do, run into her?" When Ron didn't respond, Harry laughed. "I'm joking, I'm sure it was a great idea. You just need something bigger…something she won't expect. Or something when she isn't expecting it…"

Curiosity shot across Ron's face as he leaned in, anxious to hear Harry's answer. "What is it?"

"Ron, are you asking Harry for advice on how to get Hermione's heart?"

Ron glared at his sister who randomly decided to jump into the conversation. "Go away Ginny, I'm don't need – wait…you just talked to me. You're not supposed to talk to me!"

Ginny's jaw dropped open. "Aw bloody – actually, can we just pretend that never happened?" she asked hopefully.

Ron dismissed her with his hand, "Yeah, yeah, fine. I didn't want your heart anyways; that would be too weird. Hey but wait! You better not fake being easy at this game cause I don't want –" But she was already gone. "She better not act stupid or I'll have her head," he muttered to Harry. "Now what was it your 'unexpected idea' was?"

"What? Oh, right. Uh – just kiss her. If that doesn't get her to say something I don't know what will."

Once again, Ron gaped at Harry. "Are you crazy? I can't do that! She'd probably just slap me and walk away!"

Harry shot Ron a look of annoyance, "I'm going to slap you and walk away if you don't figure this out on your own. What makes you think I know what to do?" As if by coincidence, Harry stood up at the exact moment Parvati Patil walked past him which lead to a collision. Ron laughed until Parvati apologized. She realized her mistake immediately as a hand flew to her mouth.

Harry laughed and held out his hand, "Heart, please?"

Parvati also laughed as she pulled it off from around her neck and set it in Harry's hand, "Hey, at least I can talk to people without worrying now." She shrugged and walked off, leaving Ron looking rather grumpy and Harry beaming with pride, placing her heart around his neck.

"That was great. I didn't even have to try! Ugh, but this giant heart looks tacky."

Ron grunted, "At least you've got one."

Harry sighed, "Just try not to think about it."

"Not think about it? How can I not think about it? I need to win her heart!"

"Ron, seriously don't freak out so much about it. It's only a piece of paper."

Ron looked down and whispered, "It's not," too soft for Harry to hear.

Harry stood, waiting for Ron to respond, oblivious to the fact that he already did. "Fine. Don't listen to me. I'll see you in class."

Ron watched Harry walk off, thinking about what he'd just said. It had shocked him. He knew how he felt about her, he knew that he wanted to be the one to get her to talk – be the one to have her heart around his neck, but never imagined he would take this game seriously enough to realize that what he really wanted most was to win her heart – really win her heart.

Pondering Harry's two ideas, he wondered what he could make of them. He liked both of them, but was too worried about her reaction to the second one for him to even think about it. The first one was good, but once he had her paper heart it would put him in the same situation he was in before the heart game ever came up. But eventually, with a sigh, he stalked off towards the library.

Well, he thought, it's worth a try.

any ideas for Ron?

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