Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Chapter Twenty-One

The Truth

Explaining to her parents that she ran away from school to go face Death Eater hadn't really made them too pleased. They were terrified for her safety, something they should have been since her first year, that is, if she had told them about nearly dying that year too. In fact the only danger that they had known about was when she was petrified and in some ways that was her least dangerous experience. She was happy they didn't ask about her first four years at Hogwarts, because she was a terrible liar when put on the spot like this and she likely would have had to tell them everything. They were already on the verge of not letting her go back to school and she barely managed to talk them out of it.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the boy you hugged at the station?" her dad asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"Harry?" Hermione said having a hard time trying not to laugh at that. It was clear what her dad was thinking about. "Well I suppose you have a point… I do want to see my friends again."

"Friends," her dad muttered but otherwise let the subject drop. Her mum on the other hand was just smiling at her knowingly and Hermione wasn't sure what it was that she knew, but she had a feeling that her mum might know more than her dad did.

It wasn't too difficult for her to convince her parents to let her stay at the Burrow this summer. They had a Dentist convention that would take place during the last two weeks in late June and it just made sense that she would stay with her friends. Hermione was pleased about this no doubt, but she was still afraid of how she was going to react to Ron. She felt so confused about him and it seem to only intensified the last week while they stayed in the hospital wing together hardly talking to one another. Still, she was looking forward to seeing Ginny again, and she really wanted to spend time at the Burrow.

"You all ready, honey," her mum asked her the morning that she was supposed to go the Burrow.

"Of course I am," Hermione rolled her eyes, but her mum was looking at her closely.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked softly, again with the knowing look.

Hermione cocked her head to the sided, she immediately thought of all the things that she hadn't told her parents (feeling a tinge of guilt) but she could tell that her mum wasn't talking about that. "Not that I know of."

"Oh," her mum sighed, sitting down handing her daughter a cup of coffee. She then brushed a stray hair out of Hermione's face, "you really have become beautiful this last year."

"Mum," Hermione groaned, blushing slightly and looking uncomfortable. "Don't."

"It's true Hermione," her mum chuckled. "And you're hair seem to have settled down some…"

"Thank Merlin," Hermione chuckled; yes she was quite pleased that her hair wasn't the bushy mess it used to be but just merely wavy.

"I bet all the boys will fall for you this year," her mum smiled.

"Mum!" Hermione groaned exasperated.

"Your father is under the impression that you like Harry," her mum continued mercilessly, and Hermione just made a face at that. "But, I know differently. I know that it's really Ronald that you like."

Hermione looked at her mum surprised, how did her mum know that? She didn't think she even mentioned Ron to her parents except in passing comments. Though there were the first few weeks when she had wrote home complaining about him, but that couldn't have told her mum that she liked him.

"Hermione," her mum smiled kindly at her. "A mother knows things like this."

Hermione looked away from her mum, her expression turning a little grim. "Nothing is going to happen between Ron and I…"

"You can't be sure of that," her mum said soothingly.

"Oh I'm sure," Hermione said stiffly, the words causing her a little pain to say.

"What happened?" her mum asked looking at her shrewdly.

"Nothing," Hermione said nervous, but her mum was giving her a look and before she knew what she was doing she was telling her mum everything that happened between her and Ron… not in details of course but enough to get her point across. It felt really good to get this off her chest, though it also made her realized how hopeless this all really was.

"Hmmm…" her mum said thoughtfully when her daughter had finished, ending on how Ron acted when they were staying in the hospital together, "I don't think this is as hopeless as you think it is."

"You don't," Hermione looking hopeful and then shook it off, "but he doesn't like me. Not the way I want him to…"

"And how are you so sure about that?" her mum asked.

"I asked him," Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, she had told her mum this after all, "and he said I like this… I was just a… he didn't have…"

"Hermione," her mum sighed. "You didn't give him time to really answer you. Boys are terribly hopeless when it comes to feelings…"

"So you think he might," Hermione said biting her lip, "he might like me back."

"I don't know, honey," her mum sighed. "But I don't think you should give up just yet."

"Fine," Hermione sighed and then hugged her mum. "Thank Mum."

"It's was my pleasure," her mum beamed. "And next time, please come to me… I love to hear this stuff."

"I'll try to remember that," Hermione smiled and a few minutes later Mrs. Weasley and Ginny where at their house and she was leaving with them.

O

"What's going on between you and my brother Hermione?" Ginny questioned a few days later, and the morning before Harry was supposed to come.

"And which bother are you talking about?" Hermione said trying to avoid the question, but that really wasn't the best question, seeing as only Ron and Bill were staying at the house right now and there was no way that Ginny was talking about Bill.

"You and Ron have been acting so odd," Ginny said. "He's always looking at you as usually…"

"I thought he was always looking at Fleur Delacour," Hermione said, sounding a little bitter.

"And you haven't even complain about that," Ginny said. "You should be really annoyed that Phlegm is here, but you don't even seem to care that Ron's falling all over her."

"I care," Hermione muttered, I just know that there's nothing I could do about that, she thought bitterly to herself. After her talk with her mum she had decided to have another talk to Ron, but when she saw him drooling all over Fleur, Hermione thought better of that.

"Sure," Ginny looked over her closely, she had the feeling that she was missing something important here but didn't know what it was. Her brother had been depressed the last few weeks since school ended, and he had good reason to with what happened, but she knew it was more than that. And when Hermione came, she noticed her friend was quieter too, and that she was acting differently towards Ron, like she had given up hope that something would ever happen there. "Hermione…"

"It's breakfast time dears," Molly said poking her head in the room.

"We'll be right down Mrs. Weasley," Hermione getting up too quickly and Ginny narrowed her eyes, but it looked like she was just going to have to wait until later to grill Hermione on this matter.

Breakfast was a little less hectic than it normal was, seeing as Bill never ate like his youngest brother, especially when his fiancé was there (Ginny would make a face whenever Fleur was called that), and Ron hadn't come down.

"Where is that boy?" Molly said looking towards the attic bedroom with concern. It really wasn't like her son (any of them really, but especially Ron) to miss a meal, and he had been doing that a lot lately. Well, not really, he's just been eating at different times for breakfast and lunch. This has only been going on since Hermione got there, and she had a good idea what the reason was behind this. She had notice how forlorn Ron had been the last couple of weeks and when Hermione got her, how it just seemed to get worse.

"Hermione dear, do you mind getting him," Molly asked after she noticed the girl was done with breakfast. Molly gave her a meaningful smile, which seem to say, you need to talk to him.

"Sure, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said as cheerfully as she could manage and then got up. She walked up the stair nervously, what was she going to say to him? She knocked on his door.

"What?" Ron said in an exasperated voice. "I'm still sleeping Mum."

"It's me," Hermione said.

A few second later Ron open the door, his eyes curious, but also annoyed. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk," Hermione said stiffly and walked into his room without him inviting her.

"Really… what about, Hermione?" Ron said just as stiffly.

"Your mum seems to be worried about you… you're missing meals," Hermione said, not confessing that she was a little worried, too.

"I haven't been missing meals," Ron muttered.

"You haven't been down for breakfast or lunch since I got here," Hermione said, looking at him curiously.

"I've been eating at other times," Ron shrugged.

Hermione looked at him when he said that, he was looking away from her, but she could tell that he was just getting more annoyed. "Are you avoiding me?"

"As if…" Ron started.

"I'm sorry," Hermione didn't let him deny it; they both knew she was right. Though she couldn't figure out why he was avoiding her, when it should be the other way around. "Maybe I should go home when my parents get back…"

"No, don't do that," Ron said a little too quickly. "I mean, I know you like it here," he added, and hoped she didn't realize how desperate he was to have her in his house, even if he couldn't seem to be able to be in the same room with her for longer than five minutes without it hurting.

"It's your house Ron, I don't want to make you uncomfortable," Hermione sighed.

"I'm fine," Ron waved her off. "How are you by the way… are you still in pain?"

"Sometimes, if I move too quickly," Hermione answered. "But mostly I'm back to normal. How about you?"

"I'm okay as long as no one touches my scars," Ron shrugged.

"You mean like this," Hermione said touching the place she knew a scar was lightly and he winced a little.

"Yeah," Ron grumbled and then looked at her suspiciously. "How did you know where my scar was?"

"We were in the hospital together for over a week, Ron," Hermione waved him off.

"But I thought you were asleep when Madam Pomfrey examined me," Ron said narrowing his eyes.

"Not everyone time," Hermione said hoping she wasn't blushing. "And I was curious."

"Right," Ron smiled at her for a minute before it fell, he really did like just talking to her like this, but it made him want so much more from her that it hurt too. This was mainly the reason why he has been trying to avoid her.

Hermione didn't really know what to do, she felt uncomfortable being alone with Ron like this but she didn't want to leave. She liked being around him. She looked around the room and noticed a figure on one of his shelves he had. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the tiny figure that Ron had gotten during the summer before fourth year when they were at the Quidditch world cup. For some reason seeing that this figure was missing an arm made her smiled, she even allowed herself the think that Ron might have disarmed him because of her, before she shook that ridiculous idea out of her head. "You seem to have broken your figure."

"What?" Ron said and then followed her gaze. He frowned when he saw that she was talking about Viktor Krum's figure, of course she would be thinking about him. She probably still likes that ruddy punkinhead. "It was a rather weak figure, it broken when it fell," he said coldly, in truth it had took him considerable about of force to rip the arm off. "So how is good old Vicky doing lately?"

"His name isn't Vicky," Hermione said annoyed, she really should have known better than bring up Viktor to Ron. "And he's been doing okay I guess."

"You talked to him?" Ron said not quite able to keep the gloom out of his voice, but the anger seemed to be drowning it out effectively.

"He's wrote to be a few times," Hermione said off offhandedly. It was true that she had gotten about three letters from Viktor and she had written back, but he seemed to be nothing more than a pin pal to her.

"I don't know why you like that git, he too old for you and you have nothing in common," Ron snapped unable to stop himself, and he's famous and successful and just the kind of guy you deserve, he thought bitterly.

"I don't see why you care Ronald," Hermione huffed, how could he act like this now when all she was, was a snog to him? "And he's very interesting if you bother trying to get to know him. My question is, why are you so against him? He's a brilliant Quidditch play after all, you should love him."

"He's on Bulgaria," Ron muttered unconvincingly.

"That didn't seem to bother you when we were at the cup," Hermione shouted. "I don't get why you hate him so much now!"

Ron grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him, his eyes seem to be piercing into her, "Do you really not get it?!"

Hermione was shocked; the look he was giving her was shocking. His eyes were boring into her with all the emotions that he has been hiding from her for years. She didn't know how to breathe, or what to say to that, she just looked at him with wide eyes.

Ron let her go, how could he have just said that, and now she was pitying him, he was sure. "I know you don't think much about me, but even I am capable of figuring that out after what we… what happened between…"

"What do you mean I don't think much of you?" Hermione asked, catching her breath and looking at him incredulously.

"You said I was beneath you, if that doesn't say you think poorly of me I don't know what does," Ron hissed at her, glaring.

"I never said you were beneath me," Hermione said looking at him… could this be possible… could this really be happening. "Ron, I would never say that."

"Never huh, then what did you say when you broke up with me… if you ever thought we going out in the first place," Ron started shouting but was barely audible by the end.

"I said this was beneath me," Hermione said softly, she hesitated for a second… that was until her mother's words came back to her, telling her that things might not be as bad as she thought it was. "I didn't want a relationship that was only about… er… snogging, especially not with you."

"That's…" Ron looked up at her hopefully, could he really have heard her wrong. Filled his head with his own fears and pushed them off on her. Her face was sad and valuable, something that he has never seen on her face before, but it just made her look more adorable to him. And then the last sentence caught up with him and he wasn't sure he heard her right this time. "Especially me? Why?"

"I would have thought that was obvious," Hermione said, trying to sound more confident, but she had no idea what she was doing, or what he would do with this information, so she was terrified. With her heart pounding against her chest she walked slowly to him, reached up her hand to his hair, that was a little shaggy, but she really thought looked amazing on him, and bushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Because I really like you," her voice was breathless now as she looked into his brilliant blue eyes. "I have for years now…"

"Really," Ron said resting his forehead on her. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he felt like it was about to break free. "I've liked you for years, too," he added with a broad smiled.

"Really," Hermione pulled away, looking into his eyes and meeting his grin excitedly.

"Really," Ron chuckled before they moved in unison, her to put her arms around his neck and him around her waist, pulling her closer, so their lips could met. When they did, it was exactly like it was for the one week that they had shared those stolen kisses, heat and passion and their mouths knew exactly how to make the other react. But it was completely new at the same time, because there was no nagging in the back of either of their minds that this wasn't going to last. There was no desperation in the kiss, it was filled with nothing but passion and need.

O

They didn't know how long they stayed in Ron's room like this, but it seem like no time at all there was a knock on the door and Ginny walked in moments later.

"Ron, have you seen Her…" Ginny started until she realized what was happening. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes, go away," Ron huffed annoyed. They had just moved to his bed and where really starting to get heated up, of course his sister would have to come in now.

"Ron, don't be rude," Hermione said she was blushing terribly.

"What happened to the, he'll never really like me, ah Hermione?" Ginny smirked.

"I was wrong," Hermione shrugged beaming.

"I said beat it," Ron groaned again. "We're busy."

"So when did this happen?" Ginny ignored her brother completely.

"About…" Hermione said looking at her watch, "wow, two hours ago."

"Well this time, but I don't think it would have happened if we hadn't already… you know," Ron said, he was ignoring his sister as much as she was ignoring him, but Hermione was looking like she seriously wished that he hadn't said that.

"What do you mean by 'this time'?" Ginny asked raising her eyebrow.

"You didn't tell her about before," Ron said surprised. "I thought you told her everything."

"Well, evidently she doesn't," Ginny said narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms.

Hermione sighed, she was hoping that she would have had the chance to tell her friend in privet, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. "Me and Ron sort of… er…"

"Snogged a lot," Ron supplied unhelpfully, laughing as he do so.

Hermione turned to glare at him, and then turn back to Ginny, "I didn't really know what it was that we had…"

"We didn't really talk that much," Ron smirked.

"Will you shut up!" Hermione hissed at him, hitting him in the chest. Ginny smiled while her friend had her back to her, but as soon as Hermione turned back around she put on a straight face and looked annoyed. "I felt a little embarrassed by it to be frank, and I wanted to understand where I stood before I told anyone. And then, well, we had a misunderstanding and we stopped…"

"Snogging each other," Ron laughed.

"So Ginny, do you want to know the reason why we started this whole thing in the first place," Hermione said narrowing her eyes at Ron, who looked terrified now.

"Don't," Ron whispered.

"Sure," Ginny said, not blind to her brothers reaction, knowing this has got to be good.

"Ron thought that I like you," Hermione said, she was now the one smirking as Ron glared at her. "You know… that we were a couple."

"What?" Ginny said looking incredulously at her brother for a whole minute before she started laughing.

"Shut up," Ron said.

"You thought… but I had a boyfriend…" Ginny was able to choke out as she continue to laugh.

"Stop it," Ron said, throwing a pillow at her.

"And Mione… she always like you…" Ginny said, still laughing, but gave Hermione a sympathetic look. "Merlin, that must have been rough for you to hear."

"It really was," Hermione nodded. "But he kissed me a minute after that, so it made up for it."

"You actually kissed her," Ginny muttered. "Darn, I owe Neville a Galleon now."

"You bet on us," Hermione said in disgusted, but Ron just shrugged.

"Yep," Ginny said unashamed. "You're such a coward Ron; I thought for sure that Mione would have made the move. Well, I guess, I'll give you some time to talk… or do other things…"

"That would be nice," Ron said and with that Ginny left them alone. "Did you really have to tell her about what I thought about you and her?"

"No, but you were teasing me… I thought you should get a feel for what you were doing to me."

"Sorry," Ron said leaning in to kiss her, but she turned her head.

Ron looked at her hurt, but she just held up her hands," I think we should talk some first. Last time we didn't talk, and that ended badly…"

"Okay," Ron said sitting by her, but she just pushed him down on the bed and then lay in his arms, she had found she really liked his arms round her like this. "Where do you want to start?"

"Hmm… let's see," Hermione said thoughtfully. "How about you ask me a question, and then I could ask you one."

"Okay," Ron said and added immediately. "When was it that you started liking me?"

"I'm not sure really," Hermione said. "I know you annoyed me out of my mind when we first met, so I might have actually liked you then, but I think it was at the end of second year w… when I saw you in the hospital wing."

"Really, that long," Ron said.

"Why? When did you start liking me?" Hermione asked.

"I really have no idea," Ron chuckled. "I think I kind of always did. I knew at the end of third year, I didn't like it when you stopped talking to me. But I think it was when I saw you holding my sister that I realized that I liked you."

"What a romantic time to figure it out," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It helped me put my feeling for you into words," Ron shrugged. "So are you my girlfriend now?"

"I better be," Hermione said, "because you're my boyfriend."

"Good," Ron beamed, "and are we going to tell everyone about us this time?"

"Of course we are," Hermione said. "I want to make sure that everyone knows."

"Even my parents," Ron asked. "It might be better if…"

"Do you really think that we could keep this from your mum," Hermione scoffed.

"No, I suppose not," Ron sighed. "So we really should be snogging now while we still can, because once she finds out we'll never be left alone for two minutes. Though, I'm not sure how much time we'll have anyways with Harry coming tomorrow morning."

"Oh no, Harry," Hermione gasped. She completely forgot about him.

"What about him?" Ron eyed her suspiciously, her tone confused him. "I was under the impression that you liked Harry."

"Of course I like Harry," Hermione said. "In fact that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" Ron raised his eyebrow.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you something and you're not going to laugh at me, or think I'm a stalker or something," Hermione said.

"I might think you're crazy," Ron said, "you seem to already be leaning that way, but I promise I won't laugh."

"Okay," Hermione said, moving so that she was laying on her side looking into his eyes. "I've kind of thought of Harry as my best friend since the first time we met," she said biting her lip.

"What?" Ron asked looking more confused than ever. "But… you never… you hardly talked to us the first few years."

"I know that, thank you very much," Hermione said coldly. "But that doesn't mean I didn't feel that way. That's why I seemed to always be dragged into your adventures… you would be surprised by what I know about you…"

"I wouldn't be surprised at anything that involves you and knowledge," Ron smiled. "But I don't get it, if you felt that way, why didn't you say something sooner. Especially after the first year, I mean so you were there just to tell on us…"

Hermione smiled at this shaking her head.

"That's not why you were there, was it?" Ron said, smiling too.

"Nope," Hermione said. "Honestly Ron, I don't know how you two believed that. Who would go down there for that reason? Especially knowing that Fluffy was there…"

"How do you know he was named Fluffy?" Ron asked.

"I thought you wouldn't be surprised by me knowing things," Hermione smirked.

"Sorry," Ron chuckled. "But why? Hermione, why didn't you tell us then?"

Hermione sighed. "I was afraid. Like I said, since the train ride, I thought of Harry as my friend…"

"What about me?" Ron asked.

"Will you stop interrupting me?" Hermione said.

"Not likely," Ron smiled.

"Prat," Hermione rolled her eyes. "I didn't really think much of you our first year. In fact I thought you were really annoying."

"Same here," Ron chuckled.

"When you called me a nightmare," Hermione went on, and Ron's smile faded immediately. "And that I don't have any friends… well it hit a nerve. I've never really had any friends, and it hurt when you said that, and hurt even more when Harry didn't even try to defend me… when I thought of him as a friend."

"You weren't speaking to us at the time," Ron said quickly looking rather sad, he hated thinking that he hurt her. That he had stopped them from becoming friends sooner.

"It didn't change how I felt," Hermione shrugged. "So at the end of the year… well, I avoided you guys because I thought I would get hurt again if I hoped we could have been friends."

"I'm sorry," Ron sighed.

"It's not your fault… not all of your fault anyways," Hermione said, leaning back on his chest.

They sat like that for a while as Ron thought about what she had just said. It kind of made sense, this was why she was always there whenever they needed her. If she felt that strongly about Harry, even going as far as saying Harry was her best friend, of course she would want to help him as much as she could.

"I still don't understand why you were so worked up about Harry right now," Ron said. "I would think you be happy about this."

"I am," Hermione said. "I just wished that Harry would want to be my friend for me and not because I'm your girlfriend."

"Trust me Hermione, Harry likes you," Ron said.

"Yeah," Hermione said, she knew that Ron was right, but she wasn't sure how much, wishing it was close to how she felt about him.

"Hermione," Ron said, sitting up so he was now looking down at her.

"Yeah," Hermione said as was caught in his glaze, it was intense and it when straight to her gut.

He leaned down, and just before he kissed her he whispered, "I think we've talked enough for now."

"Okay," Hermione said just before he kissed her again.