I hope that the incredibly long seventh chapter didn't scare you...I know it was very long but it just had to be so, hope you liked it...I think this chapter will deceive you a little as you'll think "Now they have to be together!" but it's not so easy guys...Love is never so easy, especially when we're dealing with Ron and Hermione, you should know that!I already said too much, so enjoy and review!

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Lesson had started and Hermione was late.Harry and Ron had decided to sit at the far end of the room, just beside the door, taking one seat even for Hermione, in case she decided to show up...Mr Binns' voice was echoing distantly in the silent room, and everyone seemed very sleepy when the door burst open and Hermione emerged from it, looking rather shaken, almost upset.Everyone in the room turned their heads to see what was happening.Professor Binns did too.

"Miss Granger...May I ask you what detained you from coming to lesson today?" he asked her expectantly.

"I'm really sorry professor.I promise it won't happen again!" she answered lowering her chin.

"I'm sure it won't Miss Granger.Now, if you want to take a seat I would like to go on with my lesson!" he added with a bitter tone that didn't hide the fact that he was really annoyed about this interruption.

Hermione nodded and nervously glanced at Harry and Ron.She knew they would have taken a seat for her , but she couldn't sit next to him, she still wasn't prepared for that, she still couldn't stand to talk about what had happened, not now.So she quickly made her way towards the front row, and sat next to Neville.

Harry saw Ron's eyes following Hermione like crazy and then returning on his blank piece of parchment looking distressed.Harry nudged him in the ankle.

"What?" he asked sharply.

Harry gestured him to lower his voice, as professor Binns was looking rather irritated in their direction, then he pointed at Hermione and looked back at Ron with quizzical eyes.Ron shrugged his shoulders and stared at Hermione once again.Harry nudged him again.

"What now?" he repeated, looking almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Come on Ron!Do you want a written request?I'm waiting for you to tell me what happened, what's so strange about this?You look so weird!" he asked trying to catch his friend's eyes.But Ron didn't seem to realise that Harry was really talking to him.

"Ron!What's wrong?" he asked, violently shaking Ron's arm.

"Oh yeah...sorry mate!It's just that I don't know what's going on with her and this whole situation is totally freaking me out!Why is she acting like this?I thought that, you know, what we did, I thought she was okay with it.I mean, she seemed pretty involved in what we were doing...you know..." he struggled to find the right words.

"I know, Iknow what you mean.I saw you down there and yes, you two seemed...pretty involved!" he stated beaming with pleasure."So, how was it?"

"It was...you know..."he mumbled, apparently thinking of a way to describe that kiss.He sighed."It was great!It really was mate, and I'd never expect it to be as it was.Actually I'd never expected it to happen at all..."

"Well, I had a feeling it would happen soon!"Harry said with a broad smile."What dis she say then?"

"She came by the lake and pratically explained me all the things that happened last year and even before that: the fact that she was jealous of Lavender, that she's sick of me being jealous of Viktor...Then she said that she likes me.Well, that she liked me..." Ron corrected himself sadly.

"She said that?" Harry asked incredoulously.

"She didn't actually said that, but anyway, the whole concept was that."

Harry patted Ron on the back, not knowing what to say to cheer his friend up, and they started pretending to listen again.Ron glanced at Hermione and noticed that she was drumming her fingers on the table, nervously biting her lower lip, not paying the least bit of attention to what professor Binns was saying.Something was going on.What was she thinking about?He would have given anything just to know that.

When the bell rang, Ron hoped he could find a moment to talk to her, but Hermione was talking animatedly with professor Binns about his interesting lesson, evident sign that she wasn't at all intended to talk to him as she had not listened to him.He looked at her expectantly and then disappeared out of the classroom.

Ron had to endure the whole package of divination before hoping that Hermione would talk to him, but she evidently wasn't ready to face him yet, and while he was eating more unwillingly than usual, he felt the knot inside his throat intensify when she didn't even show up in the great hall for dinner.

Harry and Ginny exchanged meaningful looks at the other end of the table.

He was sick of this.He had thought of the consequencies before kissing her, yet he felt that what he'd done was right.

He gulped down a flass of pumpkin juice, flunged the glass on the table causing everyone in the great hall to stare, and darted out of the room, roughly pushing all the first years aside.He flung himselft hrough the empty corridors, peering inside every room.He had to find Hermione.

At the next room, he stopped abruptly in front of the door, finding it rather familiar.He slowly opened the door and saw Hermione sitting on the desk, gazing at her feet and not seeming aware of his presence in the room at all, her face contraced in what seemed to be a very serious expression.

Knowing that she surely wasn't going to say anything, Ron silently sat next to her on the desk, and spoke first.

"Hey", he said clearing his throat.

"Hey"she answered back sounding a bit nervous and still not looking at him.

"So, I guess we should talk about...you know...what we have done...I mean...that we-"he stammered fast.

"If it scares you so much to say that we kissed, or better that you kissed me-"she added forcefully though blushing violently, but then stopped."Listen Ronald, why do you even bother to tell me that we need to talk if it's very clear to understand that you don't have the guts to talk about it?You don't wanna do it, and neither do I!"

"Well, you have been sufficiently loquacious...But I'm not scared of saying it!"he said wanting to sound completely at ease with himself.

"Really?"she asked incredulously, almost defiantly.

"I kissed you.Did you hear me?I said I kissed you, and for the record, you,were kissing me back, if I'm not mistaken.Plus, you said things that-"

"That cannot hide the fact that I've been dreading for that kiss for ages?That I preferred aching with pain, crying for hours in my room, rather than see you with Lavender?I'm not saying that you're wrong Ron!" she shouted at him, looking both livid and frustrated.Ron simply looked impressed,hit by those words, then he started to look about him, lost in thoughts.

"We were here last year remember?" he asked her after a few seconds of complete silence.

"Yeah" she answered weakly.

"You were here with Harry and I came in with Lavender after the match"he continued, almost reliving those memories."It seemes ages ago but it's only months, and honestly, I have to admit that the moment I set foot in here that night Hermione, I'd have liked more to bump into Malfoy rather than you." he said smiling."Do you know what I mean?It's taken me ages to realise this, but in that precise moment, I knew that I could not even look at you because you were feeling betrayed.The funniest thing is that this thought never crossed my mind until...I don't know...until I almost died last year!And I'm sorry, because if I had just plucked up the courage to figure this all out, you wouldn't have wasted your time with me.I've been causing you a lot of pain and trouble and for that I'm sorry." he saw Hermione twitching tensely her fingers.

"Look, I just wanted to know how you feel about what we did, because I'm really confused.I felt something between us, there was something, and it was not just the kiss, you know what I mean..."

"Ron please no.I can't do this now.I'm not ready yet!" she plunged her face in her hands.

"If you're not ready yet Hermione, then why did you kiss me?Because you were there too, and I felt you...But maybe I'm imagining things that didn't happen!" he shrugged his shoulders.

"No, no, you're not imagining things!I was really kissing you, I truthfully was!It's just that-"

And as she was about to explain everything to him, Neville got into the room.

"Er...I'm sorry to interrupt you guys, but, I was looking for you Hermione.It's just that I need some help on the thing we were working on the other day, you know...I'll wait outside!" he said promptly, leaving the room noisily.

The noise of the door closing behind their backs amplified the increasing silence betweeen them.

"So, what's that you're working on with him?" he asked raising his left eyebrow, letting a suspicious look appear on his face.

"It's none of your business!" she immediately defended herself, folding her arms.

"Oh yes, it is!Did you and Neville already kissed or what?" his voice echoed violently in the room.

"Stop it!I'm sick of your your jealousy Ron, I'm totally sick of it!And I'm tired of being the one who gets hurt, the one you hurt.Tthe one who hopes...Look at you Ron!You've become a man, and this reality scares me to death, because I know what it means.So do me a favour, don't ever mention that kiss again because it was just a terrible mistake, and it's clearly evident to the both of us that we are not able to survive this together!" her tearful, reproachful eyes looked away from him and he suddenly understood that Hermione was far from giving him a true answer.

He knew she had kissed him because she had wanted to, but if she was so determined to deny it, what could he do?

"So I see, this is the way it's going to be from now on uh?" He sighed. "I don't understand you Hermione, I really don't, but I accept it." He paused. "Just let me tell you that you're not the only one who gets hurt"

And with that he left the room, leaving for the hundredth time, a crying Hermione dealing with the consequences of her actions and words.