Chapter Seven: "4ever"

A/N: Those of you who reviewed, thanks so much. If you didn't, please do so! I spend a lot of my time writing this story, and it takes a lot of effort. I'd appreciate your feedback.
Also, many people are wondering why I haven't updated "Loving You Is My Deepest Secret" in a while. My computer is temporarily down, so I currently don't have any of my files. Thankfully, I had emailed this story to a friend and still have it. It'll probably take another week before I can update the other story.
I've taken all this time to track down this story and am not in a very good mood since my computer crashed. I'd appreciate the reviews! They'd brighten up my day :) Now enjoy the story.

Hermione sighed, staring at her cell phone that hadn't rung all day. Harry had promised to call in the morning, but it was already noon. Surely Harry knew that morning meant before twelve. Fighting Voldemort couldn't have messed him up too much. Hermione wasn't even aware that fighting Voldemort had damaged his brain in any way.

Hermione checked her watch. It was 12:13. She was expecting Ron over for lunch at 12:30, but Ron was almost always late. For once, Hermione was actually hoping that Ron was running late. This meant that she could finish off her call with Harry before he came… hopefully.

"I hope Ron doesn't show up before Harry calls," Hermione muttered, "Then again, Ron is never early."

Just as Hermione spoke those words, the doorbell rang. Hermione groaned. Part of her felt as though she had just jinxed it. Ron was early. The one time Ron chose to be early was the time Hermione wanted him to be late. Regretfully, Hermione headed over towards the door. To her surprise, Harry was at the door, not Ron.

"Surprise," Harry whispered into Hermione's ear. Hermione gaped.

"Harry," she hissed, "What are you doing here? I'm expecting Ron over any-"

Harry cut Hermione off, crushing his lips into hers. For a few moments, Hermione forgot all about her engagement to Ron, and the fact that Ron was coming over in a few seconds. All she could think about was how much she had missed Harry.

Regretfully, Hermione pulled away from Harry. "Harry, Ron's coming over. You should have called before."

Harry looked at her guiltily. "Yeah, I probably should have. You were probably sitting by your phone waiting for me to call, weren't you?"

Hermione gave Harry a half smile. "You know me well, don't you? You know me better than anyone else, that's for sure."

"I know how to make it up to you." Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione and kissed her tenderly.

Hermione broke apart from Harry. "Apology accepted." She leaned in and kissed Harry again. Harry's kisses got so intense that Hermione almost didn't hear the doorbell ring.

Panicked, Hermione broke apart from Harry. "Coming," she called to the door, "I've just got to get changed, Ron. And please, no perverted jokes."

Hermione heard Ron laugh. "How did you know I planning on telling you my perverted joke?"

Hermione turned to Harry. "You've got to hide in the closet," she whispered under her breath. Harry made a face.

"Harry," Hermione hissed. She pushed Harry into the bedroom closet. "Stay in there, okay?"

Harry nodded, and then Hermione headed towards the door. She put on her best fake smile, and then opened it.

Ron was definitely not dressed casual. He was dressed in the same suit he wore on the day of the reunion. Hermione realized that the suit he was wearing was probably the only suit he owned.

"Ron," Hermione asked cautiously, "Why are you wearing a suit?"

Ron ignored the subject. "What? No hello kiss?"

Hermione placed a small kiss on Ron's lips, hoping to discourage Ron from going any further than that. Ron however didn't seem to get Hermione's message.

"Come on," Ron coaxed, "You are capable of much more than that."

Ron and Hermione walked into the bedroom and kissed for a few more minutes. Hermione had her eye on the closet. She could see an eye peeking out, and although she couldn't see Harry's face, she knew that he was probably disgusted.

Ron broke the kiss, moving back slowly. "Hermione, I'll be back. I just need to use the restroom."

Hermione hoped that she didn't look as relieved as she felt. She nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure, Ron. We'll eat right after, okay?"

Ron nodded, and walked off. Hermione watched him as he turned right and closed the door to the bathroom. As soon as she was sure that Ron was locked in the bathroom, she ran as quietly as possible over towards the closet.

"Harry," she whispered, glancing behind her. All she could do was pray that Ron wasn't coming out of the bathroom that second.

Harry didn't respond. He looked at her glumly. "How much longer do I have to stay in the closet?" he finally said dully.

Hermione was confused. Why on earth was Harry suddenly so moody? Then it struck her- he was jealous. Now that Hermione had figured out the reason, it was quite clear to her. Harry had just spent the last half hour or so watching the girl he supposedly loved make out with another guy.

Hermione stuck her head inside of the closet and tried to kiss Harry. Instead, her lips landed on his nose. Embarrassed, she pulled away. "Sorry… about everything, Harry."

Harry sighed. "I know you can't help it. I can't help but wonder, Hermione, when are you planning on telling Ron that the engagement is off?"

Hermione swallowed, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Not only was it uncomfortable to talk to a person who was inside of a dark closet with the paranoia of knowing Ron was going to return any second, but it was an uncomfortable topic. Truthfully, Hermione had no idea what she was going to do. The thought of breaking Ron's heart just tore her heart in half. However, pretending to love Ron as more than a friend was just as bad. When he eventually found out, that would hurt the most.

"Soon," Hermione lied, "I'll take care of it, Harry. I promise."

Hermione heard a door open. She quickly shoved Harry's head into the closet and closed the door. Hermione turned around just as Ron entered the room.

"What were you doing in the closet?" Ron asked, checking the clock to see if it was time to serve the food yet.

Hermione stammered. "Checking… to see if I had to do laundry. I haven't in a while." Ron looked as though he was about to ask another question, so Hermione asked, "Are you hungry yet?"

Ron's questioning look turned to a happy one. He laughed. "Hermione, you know that I'm always hungry. Any time is good for food in my case. What have you made us today?"

Hermione wasn't exactly the greatest cook, but she was improving with time. As a way to practice her cooking skills, Ron agreed to come over every Sunday for lunch. Hermione had to admit that the lunches were really helping her skills.

"I made salad, pasta, and garlic bread," Hermione responded. She headed into the kitchen to check on the food. The garlic bread smelled delicious. Hermione had left them in the oven so that they wouldn't get cold. The salad was already on the table, and the pasta was on the counter.

"Take a seat, Ron," Hermione told him, "I'll get the food."

He grinned. "Hermione, you are the greatest. You know that, right? There's not another girl I'd rather be with right at the moment."

But there's another guy I'd rather be with at the moment, Hermione thought silently.

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"The food," Ron grinned, wiping his mouth with a napkin, "was delicious. You've really outdone yourself this time, Granger."

Hermione blushed. "Honestly, Ron… it wasn't that good. I enjoy cooking for you. I get to spend some time with you, and I get to work on my cooking. It's a win-win situation."

Ron kissed Hermione zealously, wrapping his arms around her. Hermione smiled slightly, kissing him back.

A few moments later, Hermione pulled away from Ron. "Ron, now tell me why you're wearing a suit. I'm pretty sure that lunch over at my apartment is pretty casual."

Ron sighed, looking nervous. It was obvious that he had worn it for some special occasion. "I was um hoping that we could go dancing after we ate. I don't know, we never seem to do anything fun anymore."

Hermione was definitely in no mood to go dancing. In fact, she wasn't even in the mood to entertain Ron. She was just trying to get the lunch over with as fast as possible. "No, Ron… can't we take a rain check? I don't really feel that good, and I definitely don't have anything to wear. Most of my stuff is in the wash."

To Hermione's horror, Ron trudged past her and headed straight for the closet. "I'm sure you have something to wear, Mione. Let me take a look."

Hermione's mind whirled. What could she do? How could she prevent Ron from looking in the closet? She watched hopelessly as Ron got closer and closer to the closet.

A/N: Another cliffhanger! I don't feel very generous, so if I don't get a lot of reviews, I probably won't be updating for a while. Thanks for reading!