Readers, thank you so much for all of your reviews. I'm just leaving a little note to say that I have had to delete 'I just wrote to say…' after administration deleted 'Playing cupid' due to dialogue-only writing. I apologise for this and promise that I will start up another story soon with all of the conversations in proper text.

Apologies for the wait but I've had a very busy few weeks and very little spare time. Hopefully you'll forgive me as this is a rather long chapter as opposed to the last one.

Thanks again and happy reading,

Raindrop

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'I need a word with you right now, Ron,' Harry muttered to his best friend as they returned from Diagon Alley, 'upstairs.'

Not knowing how to answer to this statement, Ron simply nodded briefly and followed Harry out of the living room. He climbed the stairs a good four steps behind Harry, unsure of what sort of discussion to expect from his suddenly agitated friend.

Collecting school supplies Harry had seemed happy, they chatted about Quidditch for ages whilst the girls finished being fitted for robes until Hermione came out and knocked their heads together, telling them they were standing in everyone's way and nobody could get in or out of Madame Malkin's. It was at that moment that they realised they were standing in the open doorway with a queue of unhappy witches and wizards behind them. They had laughed it off and gone to look for quills.

Now, walking up the stairs of his house, Ron was finding it difficult to believe that Harry's bout of happiness had ever occurred. His disposition had changed, Ron noticed as Harry stood at the door to their room indicating him inwards, his attitude was different, his stature tense and his features set in a weary manner. Something was bothering him and it was at that moment that Ron evaluated what to expect, this was going to be one long lecture about his immaturity and cowardice when it came to a particular friend of theirs.

With a sense of defeat before they had even began, Ron wandered past his best friend and sat lazily down on the bed, preparing himself for a longwinded and pointless talk which he knew full well wouldn't make the slightest difference to his situation. Harry sat opposite him and leaned forward, resting his elbows on him knees and propping his head up with his hands, an irritated look in his eye.

And so it began.

'You still haven't told her, have you?' Harry stated. Ron had expected as much from him but decided to drag out the conversation anyway.

'Huh?'

'You still haven't told Hermione you like her, have you?' Harry tried again, this time putting it as bluntly as possible so that there was no way of getting round it.

'Umm… no,' Ron replied simply as he looked back at his friend, he really didn't want to have this conversation. It had happened many a time before, Harry had given him constant talks encouraging him to tell Hermione that he liked her, not that they made any difference of course, Ron couldn't tell her, he simply seemed incapable of doing so.

It wasn't for want of trying, Ron would need several hands to count how many times he had come close to telling her and ended up making a pathetic excuse instead. Hell! He had almost kissed her twice. He had been very close to showing Hermione his feelings for her that night Fred had interrupted them; he had always thought that showing her would be easier that telling her. Yet people always seemed to interrupt them, and after that dream he'd had he was very reluctant to show his feelings or tell her.

At least he had a reason now, he decided, he was going to have to tell Harry about the dream.

'Ron,' Harry had continued, 'I gave you two a week to yourselves, I told Ginny to do the same…'

'That's why she hasn't been around much,' Ron thought out loud at this point.

'Anyway,' Harry pressed on forcefully, determined to make some sort of impression on Ron before he lost him to a completely unrelated subject such as Harry and Ginny's relationship, 'you haven't told her! I gave you a very big window of opportunity, why didn't you take it?'

This bought Ron out of his thoughts, this would be the best time to mention the dream, 'I…'

However, Harry was on a roll and didn't even stop to hear Ron's explanation, 'you could have at least had the decency to tell her when you'd pinned her to the ground before I showed up!'

'Hey!' Ron replied indignantly, 'I…'

'It was the perfect opportunity and you'd obviously created the situation for some reason!' Harry was now sitting upright and putting on quite a show, obviously passionate about his side of the argument.

'I…' Ron tried again, beginning to lose his patience. He didn't like to just sit there and be accused like that, the ending of the chess game had simply been an accident, nothing more. Though, Ron couldn't deny that there had been a certain thrill about being that close to her.

No! He couldn't think like that, he had to stand his ground against Harry, it was beyond wrong to get involved with Hermione, not only because they were siblings at the time but also for the sake of their friendship. He couldn't lose her. Yes, he liked her but to lose her as a friend would destroy him, it was the only way he could ever feel close to her.

'So why the hell haven't you done anything yet?' Harry finally got to the end of his rant, red in the face and out of breath. Ron was positive that he had managed to do that whole speech without even stopping to take a breath. He decided to take advantage of the gap in the monologue before he started up again.

'I had a dream.'

Is if it was automatic Harry suddenly conjured another determined look and began again, 'I don't want to hear your excuses Ron…' he seemed to trail off as a confused look spread rapidly across his face, taking in Ron's brief argument, 'wait, what? Run that by me again.'

'I had a dream,' Ron repeated firmly.

'Who are you? Martin Luther King?' Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

Not getting the joke, all that Ron could think to reply with was, 'who?'

'Never mind,' Harry waved his hand dismissively and got back to the subject in hand, 'what has a dream got to do with anything?'

'It was a dream where me and Hermione were stargazing, I told her she was beautiful, she said she liked me and I kissed her,' Ron gabbled.

Harry looked suitably impressed, 'which you took as a sign that you are obviously meant to be together?' he prompted.

'No,' Ron looked at him as if he had gone mad, 'I took it as a sign to mean "this is what could ruin your friendship, avoid it. You're a brother to her, it's wrong, you should be nothing more if you want to keep her close to you"'

By the time he finished his explanation Harry was mirroring Ron's previous expression to the extreme, 'have you gone completely insane?' he asked, putting a large amount of emphasis on the word "completely, " 'You got that from a dream about kissing the girl you've been mad about for at least four years? Don't give me that look, you were obviously besotted with her when she looked after you when you were attacked by Sirius in third year!'

A look of bewilderment had covered Ron's face during Harry's lecture, all he could do was open and close his mouth several times, looking like a fish out of water, before being able to come out with, 'But I…'

'Ron mate, you're an idiot, has anyone ever told you that?'

Finally resigning to face the fact that what Harry was saying was true, Ron shrugged half-heartedly, 'many times, mostly you and Hermione,' he admitted.

'That's what best friends are for, so listen when I tell you this, you need to tell Hermione now before you lose her to someone else,' Harry said, a tone of both understanding and urging laced in his speech.

'I can't,' Ron shook his head and stated.

'Would you rather tell her and find out or not tell her and spend the rest of your life wondering what could have been?' It had been blunt but it worked, the words hit home as Ron realised that if he didn't tell her then he'd spend the rest of his life watching her being happy with someone else. That, he knew, would kill him for sure.

Gaining the strength and courage he needed, Ron made the decision that could change his life, 'I'll tell her,' he said confidently.

'Great,' Harry beamed, slapping his best friend on the shoulder encouragingly.

With Harry's enthusiasm increasing, Ron's courage left him, his shoulders sagged and he mumbled, 'later.'

Harry's grin disappeared as quickly as it had formed. Not wanting his good work to have gone to waste he put on his sternest voice and pointed violently at the door, 'Now!'

'Fine,' Ron replied, not being bothered enough to argue he stood swiftly and disappeared through the door. When Harry was right he was right, maybe it was time to tell her. He descended the stairs two steps at a time, he could feel his enthusiasm flooding back and his courage returning the closer he got to the kitchen. He had seen her follow Ginny in there once they had got back just after they had left the lounge a minute before, she had to be in there. Bounding into the kitchen he was disappointed to see that the room was completely empty with the exception of Mrs Weasley who was cleaning off the kitchen table.

'Mum, have you seen Hermione?' he tried to keep the urgent tone from his voice but it would be evident to anyone listening that he was looking forward to something.

'She's outside, Ron dear' his mother replied, looking up at him and smiling warmly.

Ron frowned as he looked out of the window briefly, 'but it's raining.'

'I know, she's being a dear and bringing the washing in for me before it gets too wet.'

'Thanks mum!' Ron's heart leapt, it was like a scene out of a storybook. He would go out and tell her his feelings, they'd both be drenched, then he'd catch her off guard and kiss he before she could object or say anything in response. He shook his head quickly, why did Hermione have to own so many romance novels? Why couldn't they have been about sport or car chases or something? Oh well, what's done is done, he thought, may as well make the most of this knowledge. Think Lockhart!

He made his way across the kitchen towards the door leading outside. This was it, he was going to tell Hermione. He… As he reached the doorway he was stopped dead in his tracks as he looked outside and caught the scene before him.

Someone had stolen his moment.

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Hermione appeared in the fireplace just in time to see Harry lean in towards Ron and mutter something about needing a word with him before they made their way out of the lounge leaving her alone and slightly neglected. Stepping forwards she turned to sit in an armchair near the fire, no sooner had she dropped into it, however, did Ginny appear. Grabbing hold of Hermione's arm, Ginny proceeded to drag her out of the chair into the kitchen.

As Ginny took a seat at the table, Hermione sat down opposite her. Taking a deep breath Ginny initiated the conversation, 'is it possible you haven't told him yet?'

Hermione's mind was almost blank as she tried to figure out what Ginny was talking about. There was only one person she could think of who could possibly fit the question, 'Who? Ron?'

'Yes.'

'That I like him?' Hermione sighed, she could tell where this was going.

'Yes,' Ginny nodded.

'No,' she stated monotonously, dropping her gaze to stare at the table.

Ginny seemed to tut impatiently before replying, 'why not? I gave you two enough time to yourselves last week!'

Hermione looked up at Ginny in realisation, 'That's why I didn't see you for the majority of last week.'

'Uh-huh,' Ginny nodded positively, hoping that Hermione would continue and answer her question.

'Oh.'

Ginny waited for a few seconds before coming to terms with the fact that that was all she was going to get unless she asked again, 'so answer my question.'

'Which one?' Hermione muttered, she hoped that if she were useless enough then Ginny would give up.

'Why not?' Ginny repeated.

'Why?'

'Stop dodging my question,' Ginny moaned irritably. It was like getting blood out of a stone sometimes with Hermione, she thought, sometime she would volunteer her feelings and sometimes she would refuse point blanc and avoid any questions thrown at her on the subject.

Hermione gave up, Ginny wasn't going to budge and leave her alone until she got the truth, 'you're not going to like my answer.'

'Go on.'

'I had a dream.'

There was a moment's silence as Ginny took in what Hermione had just said, 'ok,' she said, trying desperately to keep a straight face.

Hermione rolled her eyes, Ginny was awful at hiding her feelings when she found something amusing, 'go ahead,' she prompted, get it out of your system.'

With this permission granted Ginny collapsed into a fit of giggles, dropping herself onto the kitchen table in hysterics.

'Very supportive,' Hermione crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the stone floor.

Sitting upright again Ginny attempted to regain her composure, placing her hand over her mouth in hope of helping the eruption of laughter to subside, 'sorry,' her apology was muffled before she removed her hand from over her mouth, 'please continue.'

Hermione began to explain hastily before Ginny could start laughing again, 'well, I dreamt that me and Ron were stargazing…'

This seemed to be enough to give Ginny the giggles again and Hermione managed to lose her attention for the second time in three minutes, 'Ginny!' she scolded.

'Sorry,' she apologised again, this time with a bit more sincerity, 'Ron stargazing. Patience of a saint, that one!'

A smile tugged at the corner of Hermione's mouth at this explanation, she could see what was so funny about it, never in reality would she be able to hold Ron's attention for that long without it being Quidditch related.

'Come on, I do care about your dream.'

'So anyway, I comment on the stars, he says I'm beautiful and tells me he's mad about me then I say I feel the same and we end up kissing.' Now that Ginny had gained control over her hysterics, Hermione could see understanding cross her face as she told the synopsis of her dream.

'That's beautiful,' Ginny smiled, 'and you took that to mean?'

'Maybe he likes me,' Hermione stated as if it was something she hadn't known before.

At this explanation, the sweet smile left Ginny's face and she rolled her eyes before she looked at her friend despairingly, 'duh!'

'Thanks Ginny.'

'Of course he likes you Hermione, the dream is telling you to make a move,' Ginny said, her voice getting more and more ecstatic at the thought of her brother and her friend getting together.

'But in the dream he made the move,' Hermione pointed out.

'Who cares?'

'Ok, I'll tell him,' Ginny could hear the determination in Hermione's voice, 'after all, we're siblings, if he rejects me then it means nothing.'

'Always look on the bright side, don't you Hermione?'

Before they could say another word Mrs Weasley hurried into the kitchen followed by Fred who decided to linger in the doorway after seeing Hermione, she looked out of the window and turned to the two girls, 'it's raining, Hermione dear will you fetch the washing in for me?'

'Sure,' getting up, Hermione headed outside as instructed.

'You too Ginny,' Mrs Weasley said.

'But mum!'

'I'll do it!' Fred offered unexpectedly, he had found a moment to spend some time with Hermione and grabbed it with both hands.

'Thank you Fred dear, I need that washing in before it gets too wet to charm dry,' Fred dashed out of the door after Hermione before she could finish, 'I hate charm-drying clothes, they never feel as nice.'

Reaching the washing line Hermione began to tug the items of clothing off and folding them before throwing them across her left arm. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a redhead join her, turning her head slightly she threw a friendly smile at Fred before continuing with her task. For a few moments they were silent and didn't acknowledge each other, this was until they reached for the same t-shirt.

As Hermione grasped hold of the red material of one of the twins' tops, her hand brushed against Fred's. He had taken down the rest on his side and was ready to take down the final item of clothing. Blushing furiously as their skin touched, Fred attempted to cover his move by snatching away the top.

'Excuse me!' Hermione turned on him in a mock rage.

'What?' Fred asked worriedly, maybe she had realised his action, he neglected to notice the playful tone in her voice.

'Do not steal clothing from me!' Hermione continued as she hit him with one of the towels from her pile. Fred seemed to relax slightly as he picked up on the joke.

'Ow! Why not?' he asked, raising an eyebrow cheekily and jumping backwards as she aimed at him with the towel again.

'Because you're making my life difficult,' she stated as he placed the red t-shirt on his pile. They stood there for a second before he lunged forward unexpectedly and stole another item from her pile, a pair of denim jeans.

'Oh, that's the way you want to play it!' Hermione laughed as she grasped at the jeans. He tugged backwards and Hermione let go, watching Fred fall back comically and sprawl on the ground before finding his feet and jumping back up again.

As he leapt forwards again Hermione squealed playfully, dropped the clothes into the washing basket and ran away, ducking around the clothesline, Fred followed suit, slipping on the mud as he rushed after her. Being considerably faster, Fred soon caught up with her, grabbing her deftly round the waist he twisted her round to face him before picking her up and spinning her round.

Laughing heartily, he finally placed Hermione back down on the ground, however, losing her balance she fell forwards towards him. Before he knew what he was doing, Fred pressed his lips firmly against her own in an unmistakeable kiss. Too in shock to do anything, Hermione merely stood there, unable to comprehend what was happening. Fred, however, had figured out exactly what he was doing and tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Unbeknown to both of them, Ron was standing in the doorway of the kitchen dumbstruck by the scene that was occurring fifteen meters away from him. His brother and his best friend, his crush! It was too late! He turned sharply on his heels and disappeared back into the house.

Meanwhile, the sudden pressure of being pulled closer to Fred bought Hermione back to her senses, what was she doing? Pulling away sharply she looked at him in amazement before administering a swift slap to his right cheek.

'What did you think you were doing?' she shrieked furiously.

'I… I … I'm so sorry,' Fred stammered, of all the responses he had dreamt of, he found it surprising to believe that this had never been one of them, 'I like you, I mean really like you Hermione. I don't know why, I just do. I have done since you moved in here. I know it's wrong but when you like someone you can't help it, you know?'

Hermione's facial features seemed to soften at this, 'I know exactly how you feel Fred.'

'Oh Merlin!' it suddenly dawned on him, 'it's Ron, isn't it?'

She nodded back gently, 'I'm sorry Fred, I'm really sorry. You're just not the one.'

'He likes you, you know?' Fred muttered, 'you've got to tell him you feel the same. It's destroying him keeping it all to himself.'

This revelation hit Hermione directly in the stomach and she began to feel slightly giddy, Ron liked her! 'Come on,' she said once she had regained her train of thought and picked up the washing basket, 'we'd better get these inside before they get wetter.'

'Ok, and Hermione?' he reached out and grabbed her wrist as she began to walk away, 'we can't tell Ron about this.'

She searched his eyes, hoping to find a reason but all she could see was his pleading. He didn't want to hurt his brother, her admiration for Fred grew again and she could no longer make herself feel angry about his actions five minutes previous, 'agreed,' she whispered.

'Thank you.'

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