Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, any and all other characters mentioned here belong to the sublime JK Rowling and her magic goose, Mr. Bubbles. *smirk* Just seeing if anyone catches that one.

Author's note: Yay, it's finally summer vacation for Hon! Unfortunately, this means I'm home all the time and that I have to be around a locked computer all the time because my dad is evil. Thanks to all who have reviewed, thanks to all who have patience and a good heart and stuff like that. I know how tough it is waiting for a fic you really like to be continued...*significant look at the unfinished "Gotcha!" series...coughcough...* Enjoy.

Ron Weasley sat alone in the Hogwarts library on Saturday evening, something totally unheard of by any student there, as he usually would have been off with his friend Harry Potter in the Gryffindor common room. But no, tonight he was alone in the library (save for Madam Pince who was at the time dusting the shelves for the 47th time) studiously grabbing books off shelves and pouring over them for his classes.

Or so it appeared. To the ordinary eye, it simply seemed he was furiously finishing a last-minute essay or studying up for a Transfiguration test, but his wasn't an ordinary eye. Floating next to him, totally invisible to anyone but him, was Hermione Granger.

"No, no, no! Not that one, silly!" She called out, directing him to certain pages she believed would solve the problem of her waking up.

"Why did you get yourself into this mess in the first place?!" He hissed, hoping no one would think him crazy for hissing at himself. Hermione's blue outline of a ghost put her hands on her hips.

"Why are you being so bitter tonight?" He quickly shot a look at her before looking back at the book on the table. "Look, I made a mistake. ONE little mistake in my life, and I want to fix it!" Seeing Ron was still not convinced, she came through the table to stand right in front of him. He pretended that nothing was happening by not looking at her but answered her holler.

"Fix it? Oh, NOW you want to fix your life, huh?" Ron was feeling terribly acerbic that evening, and he knew that Hermione felt that way too. It had been a long week, their searching through the library had been long and tedious, and he realized he had never hated books so much in his entire life.

"Yes, Ron," she replied sharply, "I do want to fix my mistake. Want to know what kind of STUPID mistake I made and I now admit? Hmm? I fell in love with Harry Potter, that's WHAT!" Ron sighed and threw up his hands, giving in and staring at her.

"Ay me," he muttered under his breath.

"Will you stop saying that?!" Hermione cried. "You are NOT Juliet!" Ron stared at her.

"Who?" She sighed in exhasperation.

"Never mind, just stop talking like that and find the pages we're looking for." Ron was about to protest that this was most certainly HER problem and NOT his when he opened the book Libro Encantada de los Amantes. He frowned and waved his wand over the cover, setting a temporary translation spell on it. "Enchanted Book of Lovers," he read aloud.

Hermione frowned and hovered in the air behind his back, wondering what he was doing. It was a musty old book, damaged by water with a torn royal purple fabric cover with a rusty gold lock that had been wrenched open and made the the book stand out from the others on the shelf. "Hmm..."

Ron pulled the book open and winced.

"What's wrong?" He pulled his hand off one of the pages.

"Looks like whoever published this book didn't do a good glue job. All the pages are sticky! Bleeargh..." Hermione wrinkled her nose.

"Ick. Read it and see what it says, PLEASE?" She pleaded.

"Alright, alright." He searched through the book, past Wishing Spells and Valentine's Day Spells, spells to make one's hair grow in case they had been locked up in a high tower with no way to get down but to cut off their hair and climb down it, Love Spells by the baker's dozen every few pages, and spells to make one's lover see the world through rose coloured eyes.

Ron turned page after page after page, the parchment making oozing sounds as he carefully pulled hunks of an amber paste from the edges of pages, trying to read the ancient text.

"Ugh-I don't understand why anyone would want to read this book if it keeps this up!" Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "Perhaps the author didn't want anyone to read the book. Maybe the book is cursed."

"No, I think the glue is just old and probably wearing out." "Wait! What does that page say?" Ron was so busy trying to keep his hands out of the sticky goo that he didn't see the heading on the page he was on.

"SLUMBER OF ETERNITY CURE," he read aloud.

"Of course!" squealed Hermione, looking pleased for the first time since Ron had begun to see her.

"I wonder why McGonagall hasn't found this before we have. Strange that this book just so happens to be here at Hogwarts..." Ron whispered to her. She shrugged, and they both leaned over the book, forgetting its ever-present stickiness to eagerly read what the inscribed text said:

The Slumber of Eternity spell is that of a complex mix of herbs and rare ingredients. The potion is a cerulean blue hue, and when the drinker takes it, he or she does not awaken until-"

Ron turned the page to read the next part. Unfortunately, the page was glued tightly to the back cover of the book. He tried and tried to unstick it carefully so it wouldn't tear, but his attempts were fruitless. Finally Hermione spoke.

"This is bad." Ron scowled back at her.

"Tell me about it." Hermione was about to shoot a sarcastic comment at him when-

"Hey, Ron." Ron slammed the book closed on his stuck hand and winced, then tried to cover with a pained smile.

"Oh, hallo-Harry." The tall, black haired boy sat warily down on the edge of a chair next to him, not noticing the way Ron was glaring at the space next to him, as though someone was standing there.

"What are you...doing?" he asked slowly, scrutinizing Ron's arm that was glued to the book. Ron smiled affectedly.

"Oh, just trying to unstick my hand from this soddy old book, got stuck, see?"

"Ah...yes. I do see. But-"

"Yes, well, do you remember any unsticking charms, perhaps? Buddy? Pal?"

"Well, not directly, but what are you doing looking in-"

"Right, then, Harry! Best be off, then. It's been a long day, can you tell?" Harry seemed to take Ron's fake smile as a hint and cautiously rose, gathered his books, and strolled out the library, not casting a single gaze backwards. Ron let out a relieved sigh.

"Honestly, Ron-"

"Save it, Herm. Right now I've got to figure out how to get-" he tugged on his arm with his other hand, "This dratted...thing...off...my...arm!" Hermione sighed patiently and waited. Finally he looked up. "Alright, Herm, what's the charm?" "Appendicato depastificatus." He sighed and waved his wand.

"Ouchouchouchouchou-there." Of course, in Ron's desperation and great pain, the book had flown open and the last page, the very last page was now visible.

Hermione motioned at it silently. Massaging his poor (and very likely damaged, he groaned inwardly) unfortunate hand, Ron read aloud once more.

"-until, of course, they are awakened by their true love. As ridiculously simple as this may sound, it may take months or even years to find the sleeping person's true love. This potion was developed in 1603 AD by an unknown witch. See also the Sleeping Beauty Curse on page 107."

"Sleeping Beauty Curse?" queried Hermione when he was silent once more.

"I suppose that means that you'll have to be awakened by the classic kiss-from-your-true-love. How corny." Ron answered with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"But that could take years to find my so-called true love, and I don't even BELIEVE in true love!" cried the blue outline in exhasperation, ignoring his comment. Ron grinned at this.

"Well, it looks as though you do now," he said, standing and beginning to put the books back on their respective shelves. Hermione shook her finger at him and continued with a shaking voice, frantically zooming around him in circles as she cried out,

"Now, now, wait just a minute! W-what do you mean 'I do now'? What are you doing? Ron? Ron! Stop smirking at me, what on earth do you have in mind, are you suggesting-" she gasped suddenly, "NO! You wouldn't! You COULDN'T! You wouldn't DARE! Oh, RON!" Ronald Weasley leaned forward so their noses almost touched, grinning maliciously.

"Oh, yes, I am. Hermione Granger, I'm going to get every boy in this school to kiss you-"

"NO! RO-ON!" Hermione was looking rather flustered at the moment, so he grinned once more and continued airily, dramatically placing a hand over his freckled forehead:

"But you won't feel anything at all, plus you'll be the most kissed girl at this school!" He laughed and turned his back to her, practically throwing the rest of the books on the shelf and getting a death stare from Madam Pince. Hermione placed her clenched fists against her hips and tried very hard to to smile at his foolishness.

"But you and-" She stopped suddenly; he turned suddenly to gaze at her, serious once more.

"Me and who? Harry?" Ron's voice was hushed suddenly. Hermione took a deep breath; had she struck a nerve with him?

"Well, yes you said everyone-" Ron shrugged, hoping she couldn't hear the change in his tone of voice and the way he was rushing to leave.

"Maybe Harry isn't your true love. Perhaps your true love is, oh, I don't know, some American chap or an eskimo somewhere..." He whispered in response. Hermione threw up her hands and sighed, he was definitely acting weird.

"That's not what I'm saying. I'll explain later, but right now, don't do anything, er, drastic, please." And with those words, she faded out of his sight. He stared after where her figure had been floating, whispering to himself.

"...or maybe he's been right in front of you since Day One..."