A/N Hope you guys enjoy this. I did it as fast as I could and I had no time to read it over. So if it sounds horrible, then I apologize. I'll do some editing later, but for now, here it is!

A/–2 Okay, here is the edited, a little racier ch. 9. I'm much more happier with this version than the one I put up before. There's some extra part so go ahead and read it again wink Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 9: When Things Heat Up.

The weather was starting to get colder outside, and the need to find someplace private indoors was starting to grow. That was Hermione's philosophy anyway and she was currently preaching it to Ron as they walked the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hermione blew into her hands to warm them up.

"And what happens when it snows? We can't just very well be out here during a blizzard," she said, looking up at him with an irritated look on her face.

Ron just smiled and pulled her close, kissing her frozen, red cheeks and slowly trailing his lips to reacquaint himself with that sweet spot behind her ear.

"Well then, we'll just have to find other ways to warm ourselves up, won't we?" He smirked against her skin as he heard her gasp. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of his teeth nipping at her skin, but pulled away as he moved her cloak aside gain access to her neck.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! I'm being serious!" He laughed, successfully reaching her neck before stopping and looking up at her quizzically.

"Wait, how did you know my middle name was Bilius?" Hermione blinked, before smiling slightly.

"You told me. Don't you remember?" she asked with a light laugh.

Ron shook his head. "I never told you. I never tell anyone, it's a stupid name. Not something I go around announcing to people."

"Oh, then I must have remembered it from the Sorting Ceremony when the Hat called your name." She nodded as if that was the answer, but he shook his head again, stepping back to get a better look at her.

"No, I remember that night like it was yesterday. The Hat never mentioned my middle name."

Hermione was getting nervous now. She didn't want to tell Ron about her conversation with Ginny. She didn't think he'd be able to handle the fact that she knew about what she assumed was one of the darkest periods of his life. So she decided on a different tactic. She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"What does it matter where I heard it, Ronald? Besides, I'm getting cold and you said you had a way to warm me up, remember." She leaned up and kissed him once, then twice. It seemed to work for a bit, as he wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her back fully. However, just as she was about to deepen the kiss, he pulled away laughing.

"Oh no you don't young lady. You're dealing with the master of that sort of distraction. I'm the one who got Professor Sprout to give me the questions to an exam once just by giving her a neck rub, remember?"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something along the lines of how cheating like that was wrong before Ron covered her mouth with his own. He held her face in his hands and slowly kissed her, taking his time, using his tongue to run along every ridge and crease of her mouth, the way he knew made her knees buckle. He held her close, their body heat practically stifling Hermione. When Ron felt her melt against him, he slowly pulled his lips away, keeping them hovering above her lips, feeling her breath on his face.

"Hermione," he whispered huskily. She replied with a soft mmmand he rewarded her with a teasing kiss. "Tell me who told you," he murmured against her lips.

She licked her lips, the tip of her tongue bumping against his mouth. He groaned, fusing his lips with hers again, not seeming to be able to get enough of her taste and forgetting for a second why he started kissing her in the first place. But whatever it was he didn't care and she didn't seem to mind either judging by the way she was kissing him back, or the way she was gripping his hair, keeping him close. He felt himself getting sucked into her unintentional spell before pulling away again, even taking two steps back..

"Damn woman," he gasped, running a hand through his hair."Just tell me who told you." Hermione, however, either didn't notice or didn't hear him since she was suffering from a severe Ron Weasley withdrawal. Her eyes slowly blinked open, the cool air suddenly surrounding her overheated body.

"Huh?" she asked, stupidly. Ron shook his head and decided to force it out of her, so he latched his mouth onto her neck, his hot tongue doing things that caused her to groan and arch her back. "Oh Ron," she sighed, her hands moving up his back, gripping his shoulders tight whenever she felt his teeth on her skin. His lips found hers again, both of them moaning at the renewed contact. Hermione was slowly losing her train of thought and sure enough, as Ron slipped his tongue into her mouth, she forgot what they were talking about before. She even forgot that they were talking at all.

Ron was suffering the same sort of dilemma. He started the kiss as a way to pump her for information. Instead, he got lost in the taste of her lips, the sounds of her moans, and the feel of her breath on his face. But he soon gathered his wits and concentrated on Hermione, making sure she was lost before he asked her anything. Once again he found himself pulling away from her lips and whispering huskily.

"Who told you Mione?" He waited for an answer, but it seemed she was too lost. That fact was proven to him as she pressed against him wanting more contact. He teased her lips with his again, enough to calm her down, but not enough that she realized what was going on. He was very skilled in this arena. "Tell me," he demanded gently, his hands sliding to her hips, keeping her at a teasing distance: close enough to feel the heat from his body, but not close enough that she could feel said body.

"Ginny," she found herself admitting, and that is when he panicked. Why was she talking to Ginny about him? Why would Ginny tell her that? What other secrets has Ginny told Hermione?

With all his musings, he didn't notice that he had stopped paying attention to Hermione, but she sure did. She looked up at him and realized what she had said, mentally kicking herself for letting him get to her like that. The expression on his face worried her a bit. She ran her hands over his chest willing him to look at her.

"Ron? What is it?" He sighed and looked down at her. She was so sweet and innocent and everything he wasn't used to. He wanted to get mad and yell at her. He wanted to demand her to tell him what the hell they were talking about and to stay out of his fucking business. But looking down into her big, brown eyes, he found himself unable to hurt her, or see any frown or sadness on her face put there by his behavior, for the meantime anyway.

He swallowed, keeping his eyes trained on her forehead instead of her eyes. "What else did she tell you?" he asked quietly. Hermione bit her lip. She knew this was an extremely sensitive territory. She knew she had to handle this carefully.

"Ron," she started slowly, "what does it matter what else she told me?" As his eyes widened she knew she slipped up somewhere.

"'What else she told me?' So she did tell you something else didn't she?" Ron looked furious. "That little bitch. Just wait til I get my hands on her, I'll make her wish she was never born." He then turned to Hermione, a wild look in his eyes. "What else did she tell you? Huh? Did she tell you about that time I fell out of a tree and got sprayed by a skunk and Mum had to scrub me down for 3 weeks? Or how about that time I was jerking off and my mom walked in and then my dad had to give us a talk about how if we use it we'll lose it? Or how about that time I got so drunk that I passed out and Fred and George dressed me up as a girl complete with Ginny's sundress and Mum's make up? Or how about..." Ron stopped, glaring at Hermione, who was biting her lip, trying not to laugh. "You think this is funny?"

She took a deep calming breath that did nothing to calm her down. "I--I didn't know sk-skunks were native in these parts!" She burst out laughing, tears streaming down her face, holding the stitch in her side. If possible, Ron's face turned redder than his hair. He mumbled something about Bill and mean, sadistic pen pals trying to get even with him as Hermione settled down, wiping her tears."Dressed you as a girl, huh? What color was the dress? I hope is wasn't too revealing." She was still chuckling softly. He glared, crossing his arms, slightly horrified that he told her those things when it was obvious from her reaction that it was the first time she was hearing about it.

"Not funny, you know. I was traumatized for the longest time." He pouted slightly looking away. Hermione smiled and slipped her hand into his, tugging him closer.

"No, its not funny at all." He nodded in agreement. "It's only funny if they took pictures." She smiled, until she saw his face pale. She covered her mouth with her hand, unsuccessfully hiding her horrified gasp. "Oh my God! There are pictures of you like that out there? Oh you poor thing!" She couldn't help the little laugh that escaped through her lips though, and he rolled his eyes, smiling at her laugh.

"Glad you think this is funny. I sure know everyone else did." He rolled his eyes again, grabbing her other hand, brushing his thumbs over her knuckles. "Guess I better stop putting my foot in my mouth, huh?" Hermione nodded this time, wrapping his arms around her.

"You really want to know what Ginny told me about you?" Ron nodded, swallowing nervously. Hermione was in a delicate situation. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't have to tell him the whole truth, did she? She just had to tell him enough to keep him satisfied.

"Well, she said that you and Ginny are the best of friends, and out of all of your brothers, Charlie is your favorite."

Ron smiled. "We're not supposed to have favorites in our family, but I can't help it. Charlie was the one to help me train for Quidditch and he used to give me Chocolate Frogs all the time. Still does for my birthday. And Ginny...well she's just Ginny." Hermione hugged him closer, looking up at him. He placed a kiss on her forehead, holding her for a few minutes. "Is that all she told you?" he asked, after a brief silence.

"She told me about your pocket watch." She started slowly. She felt him stiffen slightly, but ignored it. "She said your grandfather gave it to you right after you started school. That he wanted to give it to Bill, but he didn't think he was responsible enough for it." Okay, maybe a little lying was needed. Especially if said lie lit up his entire face like that.

"Really?" he asked. "I thought he gave it to me because of..." he shook his head. "Never mind." Hermione didn't push him, instead resting her head on his chest. "He did teach me to play chess, though. Said I was a thousand times better than Charlie because I take my time, and don't rush into things." Hermione smiled at the hint of pride in his voice, looking up at him.

"Well I'm glad for that, or we would have all been in some serious trouble back in our first year."

Hermione was, of course, referring to an incident where Ron was following Harry and Hermione in hopes of getting some dirt on them for the Slytherins, something he thought would help him fit in better with his house. Instead, he found himself facing a vicious three-headed dog, dropped down what seemed like an endless hole, attacked by a mutant vine, chased around by freaky flying keys, and then knocked out by a giant chess piece.

It was the coolest way to end his first year of Hogwarts.

"I've always wanted to ask you about that." Hermione said. "Why did you follow us that day?" Ron sighed dramatically.

"The foolishness of a youth is what drove me to such dastardly deeds." He looked down at Hermione to see a smile, but was met instead with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, okay. Draco said he would give anything to know what you guys were up to, so I followed you guys to try and fit in better. That and if I found out you two were an item, it might have shut Ginny up. Two birds with one stone." At the confused look Hermione shot at him, he decided to elaborate. "Every time she sent me an owl she always ends it with a huge paragraph dedicated to her begging me to find out more about the Great Harry Potter, and to try to get to know him and be his friend and all that. If I told her he had a girlfriend she would have been disappointed and stopped writing about him. I thought about lying to her. Just make up a story that he had a girl, but I couldn't do that to her. I can't stand to see her cry. It pitiful really, and kinda gross. So if he really did have a girlfriend, then I wouldn't feel so bad."

Hermione shook her head. She and Harry? That's almost as natural as Snape and Dumbledore. And this soft spot he had for Ginny...she didn't know it ran that deep that he couldn't even lie to her. But then again, Hermione had seen Ginny cry and it really was pitiful she was sad to say. Ginny was a strong young lady, and it took a lot for her to cry, and when she did break down she was a mess. She didn't know how to react. Her sobs were nothing but silent heaves with an occasional squeak. Her tears flowed continuously and sometimes she forced herself to keep crying because she thought that she needed to cry for a little bit more because that was how it was done. Not a pretty sight at all.

"That's kind of cute," Hermione said. "The fact that Ginny harbored those feelings for Harry even before they met. It sort of makes you believe in destiny and your one true love."

Ron stayed silent, not sure how to respond to that. To be perfectly honest, he was jealous of Ginny. She found the man that she might very well spend the rest of her life with before she even turned 17. He liked his life now, but going from girl to girl got a little boring, confusing, and irritating. Spending his time exclusively with Hermione was like a breath of fresh air. Yes, he was horny as hell, but he was able to control that now, thanks to the Great Lake and a never ending supply of ice cold water, compliments of the dungeon pipes. But now, instead of waking up and wondering what girl he was going to spend the day with, he woke up with a smile, anticipating seeing and holding Hermione in his arms again. Was he falling in too deep? Not a chance. He just had a little crush. It happens a lot when one spends so much time with a person in a close proximity

That explained his whole thing with Blaise. They were in every class together, as well as the common room, the Great Hall, and sometimes even the dorm rooms since they were eleven. And that is why he's been avoiding her lately. He wanted the closeness with Hermione, and the only way to that, was to keep away from any sort of distractions. Especially the kind that kept losing her clothes whenever he was near. He wanted to spend time with someone he knew would not screw him over, someone who wasn't needy for sex, someone who was pure and innocent, and enjoyed the simple things in life.

He'd never forget the time she found an eagle feather quill on the floor, almost as good as new, and how giddy she got, taking her time to feel it out in her hand and wonder out loud what kind of ink best suited this quill. He'd laughed and called her crazy, but she didn't care. She said that he didn't appreciate the little things in life and before he knew it his whole life would have gone by without any sort of details to fill in his memories. Before he knew it he'd pulled her close and kissed her long and hard, and then just held her in his arms, dropping kisses on her face every once in a while, not caring if anyone saw them. She laughed and just snuggled into him, much like she was doing now. He couldn't explain it, but he felt his heart swell every time she said something so smart, so innocent, and so nutty.

"You wouldn't think it was so cute if you heard the same rubbish for five years," he said, trying to sound annoyed, but failing terribly as Hermione laughed that sweet, soft laugh of hers.

"Come on now. You're not happy that she's with Harry? I know you two don't get along, but he really is a good guy. He'd never hurt her, never dream of it, even." Ron nodded, having heard this a million times from everyone under the sun.

"Better him than Draco, I suppose."

"Really?" Hermione asked, surprised that he'd choose his enemy (maybe enemy is too strong a word) over his friend.

"Hermione, you're a smart girl. Think about it. Why would I want my baby sister to end up with a guy who would use her for her body and then throw her away when something hotter walked by? Draco...yeah, he's my best friend. He's been there for me for years. Standing up for and next to me when the other Slytherins wouldn't except me as one of their own. Helping me get on the Quidditch team and teaching me cool new spells. He never saw me as a Weasley, but instead I was just Ron to him. But even with all that loyalty, I wouldn't trust him within 50 feet of Ginny. He's just a womanizer who wants to have as much fun before his father takes complete control over him." Hermione wanted to ask what he meant when he mentioned Draco's father, but Ron pushed on.

"Now Potter, I mean Harry," he hastily amended when Hermione gave him a glare, "he's the kind of guy to appreciate a girl. He'll take care of her, risk his life for her, do all that gushy stuff a good boyfriend is supposed to do. And I know she'll do the same for him."

Hermione smiled. "I'm seeing a whole new caring side of you Ronald." Ron gave a smug smile. "And I must say, it's really starting to freak me out." His eyes snapped to hers in time to see her trying to hide her smile. True, she would rather have not known about Malfoy's more human side, but to hear for herself that Ron approved of Harry showed her that his loyalty for his family ran deep.

Ron rolled his eyes, smiling. "Remind me to never speak my mind to you again."

Hermione was about to retort when her wand gave a soft little whistle. She sighed disappointedly, the five minute warning giving her just enough time to make it back to class. "We better head back," she said, reluctantly. She'd wanted today to have more action, but all they did was talk for most of the time. She wasn't selfish. She did want to get to know Ron, but when a woman had Ron Weasley all to herself, she couldn't be blamed if she'd rather spend their time with his hands and mouth making her whole body quiver with some unmentionable need than stand around in the cold talking about their best friends.

Ron sighed as well, feeling their time was wasted with nonsense talks about Ginny and her big mouth. He leaned down and gave Hermione a soft, lingering kiss. "There's always tomorrow," he said, glad for once in his life that the next day wasn't a weekend. He never got to see her on the weekends, both of them knowing their friends (the ones who didn't know, anyway) would question their whereabouts. It was easier just to avoid them and their pestering questions.

She nodded, giving him one last kiss before she started her lonely trek back to the castle. Another precaution against getting caught and having inane rumors running about. Sometimes, she found herself wishing she could walk down the corridors with Ron, hand in hand, but his reputation kept that notion a fantasy. If people were to see her with Ron, they would think only one thing : that she was giving herself up to him, his girl of the week. Even though she told Harry to ignore people who were whispering and pointing at him constantly, she didn't think she could handle all of that herself.

Ron watched her as she walked away, reached the doors, turned, and waved to him before walking inside. It was harder to let go of her everyday, and it was scaring him slightly. They really needed to stop all these talks and get some action done, if only to end this whole thing and shut Draco up.

------------

Ron and Draco walked back to their room after a boring Quidditch practice.

"And they wonder why we suck. Our captain's a fucking pansy. Too busy worrying about his manicure and pressed pants to give us any real strategy," Ron spat out, dropping his broom to the ground and falling heavily into his bed.

"Yeah, but you'll never see us practicing in the rain like those dumb Gryffindors," Draco said, changing into his pajamas.

"Yeah, well, those dumb Gryffindors have won the fucking cup every fucking year." Ron let out a frustrated growl and punched his pillow.

"What's your problem? So our practices are light. Big deal."

"My problem is that I want to have a practice that makes me sore, that makes my muscles ache. I wanna exert myself dammit! That way if we do loose its not from of lack of trying!"

Draco laughed. "Spoken like a true Weasley." He ducked as Ron threw his shoe at him before getting back up and calmly brushing invisible dust from his shirt. "Besides, you're supposed to exertyourself with Granger, or have you forgotten?"

"No, I haven't forgotten, jackass." Ron got up with a heavy sigh and changed as well.

"Because it seems to me," Draco continued as if Ron hadn't said anything, "that you are too much of a pussy to do anything with her. What's the matter? Scared?" He taunted.

Ron gave a muffled "fuck you" as he pulled off his shirt. "I'm not scared. This whole thing requires more finesse then I thought."

"And you, as a Weasley, have no finesse whatsoever," Draco said, smugly. He ducked as a another shoe came soaring towards him. "Besides, you don't need finesse. This girl is sexually frustrated! She has to be. No one's been with her. Not that I know of. Who would want to touch her willingly?" He mumbled the last part as he turned away to put his sweaty clothes to the side.

"Yeah, she is, but she wants to spend most of the time talking. It's like, just when things are getting heated she pulls away and asks me about my childhood, or my classes, or my friends, or something like that."

He knew he was exaggerating, but he didn't want to tell Draco that he liked their talks and that sometimes he was the one who initiated them. Draco, however, looked at him with wide eyes.

"Has she asked about me?" he asked, panic evident in his voice. Ron shrugged.

"Your name came up a few times. What of it?"

"What of it! Are you fucking mental? What if she wants to spend all this time talking so she can get dirt on us. Then, like a good little solider she'll report everything you said to Potter who's Dumbledore's lap dog and before we know it the whole school is spying on us! Portraits, house-elves...we won't be safe!" Draco paced quickly. "Maybe a memory charm? Or maybe a spell to torture you whenever my name comes up. Or maybe torture her to stay quiet..." He looked up as Ron snorted, settling himself in his bed.

"You're too paranoid for your own good mate. Besides," he looked at him seriously, "you really think I would do that to you? I've kept your secrets for years. I'm not about to blab to some girl who's just around to warm up my bed in the near future."

Draco sighed and nodded. If there was anyone in the world he could trust it was the person laying down on the bed across the room. He walked over to him and sat on Ron's bed.

"I'm sorry, mate. Its just when it comes to these things...you just don't want information falling into the wrong hands."

"Speaking of secrets," Ron started, but Draco cut him off.

"I don't wanna talk about it," he said with a tone that said that this particular conversation was over. Ron shrugged and turned away, knowing that if it was anything big, Draco would tell him. Draco leaned over him, resting his arms on his broad shoulder.

"So you and Granger, honestly now, how far have you two gotten?" He was so close Ron could feel his breath on his cheek and was horrified when he felt his body react to that, if only slightly.

"Get off of me!" He pushed him off, trying to wipe away the feeling on his cheek and shake off the shiver that was threatening to run through his body. "It's bad enough people are talking about us and why we spend so much time together!" Draco just laughed, laying down next to him.

"Yeah I heard about that. Is it true Nifflers can do that? And underwater?"

---------------

The next day, Hermione left the Great Hall as usual, and by now no one questioned her as to why she left so early. They figured as exams were coming closer, she was just working harder. She was glad for that, it made things easier for her.

She was, however, a little worried that something was off today, since she didn't see Ron in the Great Hall. She went ahead as scheduled anyway, and was about to reach the doors that led outside to what was sure to be one of the coldest days this month when suddenly a hand came out of nowhere and yanked her into the nearest broom cupboard. She was about to scream when another hand clamped over her mouth. The room was so dark and the stranger was strong that she panicked instantly. She started struggling, screaming as loud as she could with the hand over her mouth. Hermione went to claw at his hands, but his other arm wrapped around her middle, clamping them to her side. That caused her to struggle harder, tears forming in her eyes. She thought this was the end when she heard the sweetest sound...

"God damn woman! Will you stop wriggling around. And stop screaming! You'd swear I was going to kill you or something."

Hermione relaxed instantly when she heard Ron's voice, a tear falling out of relief. He felt the tear fall to his hand and let her go, concern gripping him like a vice.

"Are you okay? I just wanted a private place. I didn't mean...oomph!" When he let her go she spun around and punched in the stomach, hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed, taking a guess as to where his face was. "Are youtrying to give me a heart attack, because I think you might have succeeded!"

Ron doubled over, holding his stomach. In all honesty, he was glad for the distraction. Having her wiggle around as he held her close like that caused a reaction in his lower regions. He welcomed the pain, breathing through his teeth.

"For a little thing you can sure pack a punch," he gasped. He straightened up after a bit. "Don't worry," he said as he felt Hermione feel around his abdomen to rub the spot she hit. "I've taken bludgers to the ribs. This was nothing."

"Sorry, its just, why are we here anyway? And why do we have to sneak around?"

Hermione didn't get an answer right away. Instead Ron pulled out his wand and muttered Lumos, the broom cupboard a cramped little area, that looked like it hasn't been used since the days of Godric himself. Ron pulled out a piece of ratty looking parchment and tapped it with his wand.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

Hermione snorted, "I could have told you th--" Hermione froze as writing and pictures started showing up on the parchment. Before she knew it she was staring at a map of Hogwarts. "Wh-what is that?" she asked, amazed. Ron smiled looking through it.

"This, my dear, is the Marauder's Map," he said with a hint of pride. "The coolest map ever known to man."

Hermione could see why it was an interesting map. She never heard of a map of Hogwarts that was this detailed. But the coolest? It was with that thought that she started. She hadn't realized that she had been staring at a dot with her name on it. She looked up at Ron, shocked.

"Is that really me?"

"Why don't you look at the dot next to it?"

She did and gasped. Next to her dot was a dot that had Ron's name on it. Coolest map, indeed. He smiled.

"Where did you get this from?"

"It was a gift from Fred and George for my twelfth birthday. I have no idea where they got it from. I think they stole it from someone. Probably Filch if you ask me."

Hermione shook her head. Those twins were either going to end up in Azkaban, or as the richest twins in all of Britain.

Ron held one end of the wand in his teeth, the illuminated side shining over the map. He took his time looking through the map and when he was satisfied he folded it up, took the wand from his mouth, and grabbed Hermione's hand.

"We gotta move quick. Don't wanna get caught." He said it in such a tone that she thought they were about to do something against school rules. But the protest never came as Ron yanked her out of the broom cupboard and into the bright hallway.

Then he proceeded to lead Hermione through a series of corridors, passage way, and secret hallways, stopping every once in a while to check the map, and even steal a kiss. He kept looking behind them as if expecting someone to pop out and hex them.

Hermione was out of breath by the time they stopped somewhere along the fifth floor. Ron went up to a painting of two beautiful wood nymphs in a position that suggested they were more than just friends. Especially when taking into consideration their embrace, where their hands were, and their clothing, if those tiny things could be called clothes. Ron whispered something that had them laughing softly before swinging open. Ron led Hermione into a dark, very narrow hallway, holding her hand and blindly leading her by running his hand along the cold stone walls. Hermione was starting to feel a sense of claustrophobia creeping up on her when all of the sudden the hallway opened up into a beautiful, spacious room.

She let out a soft gasp, walking into the room mesmerized. The ceiling and far wall were made out of nothing but glass, letting the winter sun filter into the room. The huge, brick fireplace to her left had the room nice and toasty, a stark contrast to the cold, sharp wind outside. There were armchairs and love seats scattered around and a cozy looking red sofa. There was a cherry coffee table in the middle of the room, laden with what looked like every pastry and sweet known to man.

She turned around and found Ron with his arms crossed, leaning against the frame of the entryway, smiling at her.

"What is this place?" she asked, softly. "I've never seen it before." She turned again to look at the glass wall which had to most perfect view of the lake she'd ever seen. As Hermione watched the Giant Squid do back strokes in the water, Ron came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, resting his chin on her head.

"The nymphs prefer to keep this place to themselves. They've taken a liking to me, so I can use this place most anytime...unless those two are busy." Hermione snorted.

"Every teenage boys wet dream."

Ron took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her hair. "Not every teenage boy."

Hermione bit her lips and leaned back against him, her hands covering his. She never did know his intentions when he said sweet things like that, but they were sweet all the same.

"How did you find this place?"

"Back in my third year. Something was going on in the Slytherin House that just unnerved me a bit. So I left and wandered about and the nymphs called me over. They were, um, busy, and let me watch." Ron took his time to regain his composure. Just the thought of what those two did that night...Hermione rolled her eyes. She couldn't see him, but she felt the changing pattern of his breathing. Not every teenage boy's wet dream my ass.

"Anyway," Ron continued, "they offered me this place if I ever needed to get away. So I'm here a lot."

"What were the Slytherins doing that night?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." There was a certain way he said it that indicated to Hermione that it was a secret matter that she shouldn't press. There was no way Ron would tell anyone about the sex rites that the third boys had to go through. That was a House tradition and he held his House secrets very dear. That and he didn't think the Ministry would approve of such a thing going on in the Hogwarts dungeons.

"So what are we doing here?" she asked after a few minutes of watching the wind whip around the tree branches. Ron kissed her temple, tightening his arms around her.

"Well, you said that it was too cold to be outside on days like these and a Weasley man never disappoints his lady. He always respects her wishes and fulfils them as best as he can"

Hermione felt giddy at the thought of being his lady, but she kept her outward cool. She turned her head to look at him. "Is that a fact?"

He nodded, kissing the corner of her mouth. "Oh yes, for you see, if our mother ever found out that one of her sons is disappointing his, or any, lady then said son would fail to be a man, and Ginny would have another sister." Hermione laughed but Ron shook his head. "It's no joke. Next time you see Bill ask him about that scar on his thigh. He'll say its from an irate goblin, but we all know better. Either Mum missed, or she hit her target."

"Well," Hermione started, looking around carefully, as if inspecting the room to see if it was up to her satisfaction. "You can tell Mrs. Weasley that this lady is not in anyway disappointed, with you or anything here."

Ron gave her a strained smile. "Not disappointed in me, eh? Don't remember mentioning any of that."

Hermione bit her lip and turned in his arms, cupping his face. "Just in case you were wondering..."

He looked at her for a full minute before smiling at her anxious face. "Well, thank you for that." Her expression soften and he brushed his lips against hers. "You hungry? I asked the house-elves for some sweets and they gave me a buffet of sugar. Think I'll get me one when I'm older." He said last part thoughtfully. Hermione humphed and moved to sit on the couch. It was even softer than it looked and she sank right into it.

Ron had to bite back a laugh. Ginny told him all about her crusade to save the house-elves back in their fourth year. He walked over to the table, grabbing a small eclair before sitting down next to her.

"Dobby said to tell you hi and that he won't tell Harry Potter about this." He took a bite of his sweet. Hermione looked up, surprised.

"You know Dobby?"

Ron nodded, licking some creme from his lips, a move that had Hermione's own mouth water. "I met him through Winky. She was drinking up all the butterbeers and I could never find a bottle, so I confronted her about it."

"Ron, no! You didn't. She's a very sensitive elf." Ron dipped his finger in the center of the eclair, licking off the creme.

"You're telling me. She sat in my lap crying for an hour while I was trying to pet her and keep her quiet. Have you ever tried to pet a house-elf? Its like petting a pair of leather gloves." He popped the rest of the eclair into his mouth. "But after that, she stopped her drinking and promised to be good if I went to visit her every once in a while and demand she make me dinner." Hermione rolled her eyes, slightly miffed at that arrangement.

"As for Dobby," Ron continued, reaching for another pastry, "he just wanted a pair of socks. So I gave him a maroon pair that my mom insists on making for me every year and he was the happiest little elf I'd ever seen." He smiled over at Hermione and offered the brownie he'd picked up. "Want a bite?"

She shook her head, pulling her legs up onto the couch. "No thank you. Three meals a day is more than enough for me." He wrinkled his nose taking the whole chocolate treat in one bite.

When he had enough room to get his tongue around his words he said, "This is how we Weasleys are and if you don't like it, well then I can't help you there." He expected her to laugh but she was just sitting there watching him with a thoughtful expression. "What?" he asked. He ran his tongue over his teeth. "Is there something in my teeth? Something on my face?" He wiped a hand over his mouth and she still sat there watching him. "What?" he asked, getting a little nervous.

"You put a lot of emphasis on being a Weasley," she said simply. It wasn't a judgement or a criticism, just an observation. He shrugged, having heard this before.

"I'm proud of my family line. I know everyone expects me to be go around waving the Slytherin banner, but I prefer being a Weasley first and Slytherin second. It's what my grandfather taught me before he died. 'Be proud of your family and where you come from' he used to always say." They sat in thoughtful silence until Ron laughed suddenly.

"What's so funny?"

"He did say that if I were ashamed of Fred and George that it was okay. No one would hold it against me."

Hermione laughed as well. "They are a handful, that's for sure."

Ron dusted off his hands, turning fully to her and pulling her close so they were mere millimeters away from each other. Her brushed back her hair and looked deep into her eyes. "Hi," he whispered.

Hermione tried to answer back, she really did, but whenever he looked at her with those big blue eyes she would feel something lodge itself in her throat, making it impossible to speak. However, whenever he did look at her like that, it was only a matter of time before he made his move, so no talking was necessary on her part. And just as predicted, Ron leaned forward and kissed her, one hand tangling itself in her hair while the other slid down to rest on her waist.

She lost herself in the kiss, as was the norm on these oh so rare occasions. Her mind, however, was roughly brought back down to earth as she felt her back hit the couch Ron leaning over her, never breaking the kiss.

Hermione pulled away slightly, and when Ron opened his eyes, they asked one simple question.

"Is this okay?"

And by way of answer, Hermione pulled his head back down, her lips meeting his hungrily. This wasokay she reasoned. It didn't have to go much further than this. And if it did, she would stop it. It was at that moment that she felt his tongue against her lips, and when she opened her mouth to him, all thoughts of stopping him disappeared. His tongue wrestled with hers as he pressed his body against hers, his one elbow holding him up, leaving the other hand free to roam up and down her side. Hermione moaned as his hand slipped under her shirt, drawing little patterns on her waist. He swallowed her moan, the sexy little sound fueling him on. He kissed her harder, his tongue exploring her mouth, his teeth nibbling on her bottom lip, his own lips soothing them after he was done. He then tore his lips away from hers, dragging them from her cheek to her jawbone, licking his way from her chin to her earlobe where he took his time giving it plenty of much needed attention.

Hermione arched into him as he pulled her earlobe into his mouth and that's when she felt his hand move. She started a bit. His hand was at her side, but somehow it moved down to her knee where it was slowly moving up her thigh, under her skirt.

"Ron..." She wanted to tell him to stop, or take it slow, but the words weren't coming. He answered with a distracted "hmm?" before making his way down her neck, finding her pulse point and gently grazing his teeth against it. Hermione arched again with a soft gasp, her own hands fisting his shirt to keep herself grounded. He chuckled against her skin, licking, biting and kissing her neck until he left various red marks and Hermione absolutely breathless. He made his way back to her lips where she met him passionate kiss for passionate kiss.

Hermione decided not to let him have all the fun so she slipped her hands under his shirt, dragging her nails across his strong back. He gave a sexy grunt the hand on her thigh tightening its grip. She smirked against his lips, doing it again. This time he pushed his hips against hers making her whimper softly. It was his turn to smirk as he did it again, her legs opening a bit of their own accord. He shifted a bit, resting between her legs and then slipped a hand underneath her knee, pulling it upward. With her foot flat against the couch, her skirt fell down her thighs, revealing more skin.

Ron took a moment to admire her firm, smooth creamy thighs before moving his hand from underneath her knee to the underside of her thigh, his fingertips moving with feather light touches. Hermione licked her lips, leaning into his touch. She brought her hands to his front lightly grazing his chest with her nails as well. She loved the reaction she got out of him when she did that. His eyes closed, his back arched, and he let sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. She did it again, her nails accidently scraping across one of his nipples and he growled attacking her mouth once more. His kiss this time was intense, as if there were no stopping him now, and Hermione didn't think she wanted to. Then she felt his hands move towards dangerously close to her womanhood. That is when she grabbed his hands, interlocking their fingers. He looked at her questioningly, but she smiled tugging him down to kiss her again. Instead of kissing her, he moved his lips over her collarbone, and then he was met with the first button of her shirt. It was then that he did something Hermione had thought impossible before.

He used his teeth to unbutton her top button.

She stared. How in the hell did he do that!

He continued to open up her shirt, his hands still gripped in hers. With every button he removed, more skin was revealed to him. He ran his lips over her chest, the valley between her breasts, and her stomach.

Hermione squeezed his hands that were now pinning her own hands near her head. His lips were making their way towards her breasts again and Hermione had to remind herself to breath. That look in his eyes was a predatorial look and she knew she was the prey. He kept his eyes fixed on hers as his mouth closed over the top of her breasts, sucking and nibbling on it interchangeably. Hermione felt her eyes strain to roll to the back of her head, but Ron's eyes refused to let them move. He moved to the other breast, giving it the same attention, Hermione whimpering at the sensation.

Ron groaned and pressed his hips against hers, making her cry out. He kept grinding against her, trying to ease some of his own tension. She was so sexy and those sounds she was making was enough to drive him to St. Mungo's. He almost cried out himself when he felt her pushing her hips back against his. His mouth found hers and they shared a wet messy kiss, Ron moving on top of her and Hermione seeing stars form behind her eyelids.

She refused to let go of his hands. She didn't know why, but a little voice in her head commanded her not to. It didn't seem to bother Ron, his lips having more than enough fun on her sweet skin. Hermione thought she could let this go on forever, and she very well would have until his long tongue slipped under the fabric of her bra coming way too close to her areola.

She pushed him away with gentle force, pulling herself up into a sitting position, covering herself back up. It took a bit for Ron to refocus, his mouth hanging open like a fish out of water his arousal embarrassingly evident. When he was finally able to gather his wits, he moved towards again, her kissing her cheek.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned. Not that he really was. He knew what was going on. All part of the deal he supposed, but the withdrawal was killing him.

"Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed." She started to button up her shirt, Ron looking on disappointedly as his handy work was being done up.

"Because you're a virgin?" he asked softly. It wasn't something Hermione was ashamed of. She firmly believed in saving herself for the right man.

"That's part of it," she admitted.

"And because you've never done anything like this before?"

Ron expected the same answer he got before. But what he didn't expect was for her to turn red and look away.

"Wait a minute. You have done this before? With who? And how far?"

Hermione looked at him to ask him how that was any of his business, but the words never made it out. Ron had turned and angry shade of red, and was breathing heavily through his nose. If she didn't know better she'd swear she'd just said she was cheating on him.

"Was it Potter?"

That question threw her off completely. Is that what this was all about? He wanted something that Harry never had? He wanted to be the first?

"And what if it was?" she asked, purposefully pushing his buttons. "What's it to you?"

Ron clenched and unclenched his fists several times, before taking a deep calming breath. A Slytherin never lost his cool, especially in front of a Gryffindor. He shrugged it off.

"Just curious. Would hate for Ginny to find out of course," he said offhandedly. Hermione tried to see if he was bluffing or not, but couldn't get a clear reading out of him.

"You'd do that to your own sister?"

"To protect her honor from a guy that seems to be making his way through all the Gryffindor girls, then yes, yes I would." Hermione shook her head, getting up and putting space between them.

"I can't believe you Ron. You're just the jerk everyone says you are. And for your information, it wasn't with Harry." With that she spun on her heels and made her way towards the entranceway. She didn't make it very far before she felt Ron grab her wrist and spin her around.

"So why did you tell me it was?" he barked? He already knew the answer to that question. She was baiting him and he took it, hook, line, and sinker. But how dare she call him a jerk?

"I wanted to see who you really are, that's all. And what I found out was very disappointing." She enunciated the word, a throw back to their pervious conversation. He glared at the top of her head and was about to tell her to fuck off, but he knew that he'd never live it down. Draco would have a field day if he did that. Instead he gave a steadying sigh, lifting her chin to look at him.

"I'm sorry, okay? It's just," he closed his eyes as if it what he was about to say was too painful, "the thought of you with another man...it just makes me want to break something."

Hermione's eyes softened, and he smirked inside.

"I know this is gonna sound barbaric, but I see you as mine, and only mine. My Mione. The fact that Potter has such close ties to you doesn't sit well with me. I'm sorry if I freaked out."

Hermione raised a skeptical eyebrow. Something was off here. He apologized too quick, and she knew when she was being fed a line, but she decided to go with it, just to see where this would end up.

"Well, I suppose I can forgive you this one time. Just try not to let it happen again, or I'll walk right through those doors and you'll never hear from me again." Ron nodded quickly, trying to seem very grateful.

"Thank you, Hermione. I promise you won't regret this." Hermione nodded, accepting his apology and when he bent down to kiss her, she turned her head and gave him her cheek instead. He stood silently for a moment, before smiling. "Guess I deserved that."

"Yes you did." Just then her wand whistled and this time she was thankful for it. It was getting way too hot and confusing in here. They headed for the entranceway together, Ron grabbing her hand, and interlocking their fingers together. Hermione smiled at the small gesture.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked as they made their way through the dark corridor. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I'm just a little curious." he added quickly. Hermione laughed a little.

"His name was Robert. He's a Muggle friend who I grew up with and last summer, things got a little too crazy at a party. That's all." Ron squeezed her hand.

"Was he good to you?" he asked, gently. Hermione blushed a bit.

"Well I have nothing to compare him too, but I guess he was alright. Everything seemed a bit sloppy..." she stopped at Ron's laugh. "Well, excuse me if we're not all as experienced as you." she said angrily. Ron shook his head, not that she could see it, and stopped laughing, eventually.

"No no, its just...I asked you if he was good to you. You know? Polite, gentle, that kind of thing. Although knowing he was bad is a plus too. Not much I have to live up to." His tone of voice was smug and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What makes you think you're gonna get that same chance?" she asked coyly. They had reached the painting of the nymphs and Hermione went through, heading towards Gryffindor Tower, before he even had a chance to retort "See you tomorrow," she called over her shoulder, hurrying down the hall.

Ron watched her go, a wicked smile on his face. At least now, he had something to brag to Draco about. He was getting closer...