A/N: Firstly, thanks again for all the reviews. I'm so happy people seem to like my story. Secondly, a big thank you to my brand new, very awesome beta, Misery-loathes-Company, for straightening out all the quirks in my writing.

I hope you all will enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

9.

Things just stabilised for a while. People grew tired of gossiping about Ron and Blaise, and the redhead found himself growing closer to the Slytherin, surprisingly enough, really enjoying Blaise's company. All the while his little "dates" with the dark boy provided an effective cover for concealing his true crush.

Quidditch practice had become routine, and they had won their first game against Hufflepuff, despite some of Ron's nerve-related mistakes. Schoolwork was not too overpowering, and so he had time to spend with Harry and Hermione, just sitting in front of the fire in the common room, talking and reminiscing. Sometimes the trio went down to Hagrid's hut, drinking tea and trying to feed his rock hard biscuits to Fang without the half-giant noticing.

Ron felt he had grown closer to Harry as well. The other boy had opened up to him more, talking about the war and the losses they'd suffered. It still wasn't easy, getting Harry to talk, but the words seemed to flow a little more freely nowadays. Sometimes Ron would catch Harry staring at him with a thoughtful look on his face. When he realised Ron had caught him staring, he often just smiled quickly and looked away. Ron had no idea what it meant, but a small part of him couldn't help but hoping that maybe, just maybe, it meant that Harry was starting to view him with new eyes.

Even Seamus had backed off a little, seeming to have grown bored of pestering Ron, and the Irish boy was now focusing more on his new project; getting Dean a girlfriend. Ron, of course, felt sorry for Dean, but at the same time was relieved that Seamus found him a better target than Ron for the moment.

But nothing lasts forever.

One night when Ron entered the common room, Hermione waved him aside.

"Ron, can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" he said.

She looked around the common room, which was crowded with fellow Gryffindors.

"Can we go somewhere else? Somewhere more…private?"

Ron felt his stomach drop. Nothing good had ever followed that question.

"Erm, sure," he answered. "The Charms classroom should be empty at this hour."

They made their way there under silence, Hermione giving Ron unreadable glances on the way. The Charms classroom was dark and empty, but a flick from Hermione's wand had the room bathing in soft, yellow light with no obvious source. She took a deep breath and turned to face him.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I would appreciate it if you were honest with me," she said.

"Well, seeing how I have no idea what your questions are, I can't really promise that. But I'll try," Ron said, feeling very nervous all of a sudden.

She took another deep breath.

"Okay. Firstly, you're not really in love with Blaise, are you?"

Ron was a bit startled, he really thought he and Blaise had done a good job fooling everyone. But on the other hand, this was Hermione. She had never been easily fooled. He answered by shaking his head.

"He is just a decoy to stop us from finding out who you're really in love with, right?" she continued.

"Yeah," Ron answered, voice a little shaky.

He had a feeling this conversation was going right down the path he least wanted it to.

"Okay, I'm just going to ask, and please don't lie to me. Ron, are you in love with Harry?" Hermione asked.

Even though he had expected the question, it still felt like it caught him totally off guard. He hadn't told anyone that he was in love with Harry, had never even considered it, and here was Hermione, having figured it out all by herself. He was afraid to answer, fearing that it could potentially change the trio's friendship forever, but he guessed that his silence was answer enough.

"Yes," he answered, his voice little more than a whisper.

He then fell silent again, awaiting Hermione's reply. She looked at him with pity in her eyes.

"Oh, Ron," she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ron shrugged.

"It wouldn't help anything. I would still be in love, and Harry would still be…not gay."

"But still, you would have had someone to talk to," the bushy haired girl said softly.

"It wouldn't help, Hermione. If anything, it would probably make things worse. At least when no one knows, I can sometimes pretend that I'm not in love with him. That we're just really good friends. But now that you know, now that it's out in the open, now that I've said it, it's real. I can't take it back. It's real, and it bloody hurts."

He could feel himself tearing up, but he refused to cry.

"How long, Ron?" she wanted to know.

He shrugged again.

"I don't know. Maybe always. But I realised this summer," the redhead replied.

"I'm sorry, Ron," she said earnestly.

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

They stood there in silence again, until Hermione spoke up once more.

"I think you should tell him."

Ron stared at her disbelievingly.

"Are you serious? Why would I want to do that, it would ruin everything!" the redhead exclaimed.

"You don't know that Ron. And besides, he's your best friend, I think he deserves to know," Hermione said in her I-know-best voice, making Ron slightly annoyed.

"He deserves to know? What about me? He would hate me. He would probably never talk to me again!"

"He's your best friend. He loves you, Ron. He would never hate you. And I think it would be good for you too, to get this off your chest and clear the air with him," she said, voice soft again.

"There's no air to clear, Hermione. The air is clean. This, however, would fog it the fuck up!" the redhead replied, feeling slightly exasperated.

"So, can you honestly say that it is not a little uncomfortable when you are with him? That it does not control your every move, everything you say to him? That you aren't constantly trying to second guess yourself, to make sure he doesn't realise? Because I've been there, Ron. I've been exactly where you are."

Ron looked down on his shoes.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I forget sometimes."

"It's alright; it's probably for the best. But you are fooling yourself if you think your feelings for him are not affecting your relationship."

"Yeah, I know. You're right Hermione," he sighed, recognising himself in everything Hermione said.

He was growing tired of always having to watch his step around Harry, trying to figure out if this or that was too obvious, if it would mean the other boy would find out his secret. Things Ron wouldn't have thought twice about before, like patting his friend on the back or giving him a compliment, now suddenly felt like they would give his feelings away. He felt like he couldn't trust himself around Harry anymore, and it was starting to get tiresome. Plus, he realised, he couldn't keep up this entire charade with Blaise forever. And then what? Another fake boyfriend?

Ron had grown accustomed to the thought that his feelings for Harry wouldn't go away anytime soon, and Hermione had alerted him to the fact that he really didn't have a plan on how he was going to handle these emotions in the future. Was he going to lie to Harry for the rest of his life, constantly feeling jealous of whatever girl Harry decided to date, trying and failing to find a relationship of his own? He shuddered at the thought.

But the mere thought of telling Harry also made him shudder, and in his head such a confession could never go well.

"I really can't tell him," he explained to Hermione. "What if he'll never talk to me again? And my sister is in love with him, for crying out loud. It would be like stabbing her in the back, although I'm sure Harry would choose her in a heartbeat if he were ever to face the choice."

"Don't be so sure, Ron. Even if he does not feel the same way as you, he still loves you. And you've been in his life a lot longer than Ginny. But he doesn't have to choose. Just presenting him with how you feel is not forcing him to make a choice between you and Ginny. It's just letting him know where you stand," Hermione replied.

Ron sighed heavily.

"I know you're right. Dammit, why do you have to be so bloody right all the time?"

Hermione just gave a small enigmatic grin in return. She then stepped forward and enveloped the redhead in a big hug, which he happily returned. He could use some comfort right now.

"Promise me you'll talk to him soon. The sooner it's done the better," she told him as she let go.

"I'll try," Ron answered, not feeling at all certain that he was telling Hermione the truth.