AN: Happy Saturday. I hope y'all are doing well. There's only one more chapter after this, and I hope you enjoy it. I know it's been a bit back and forth with the timeline over the past few chapters, but I felt it was really important to get both character's sides of the story. Thanks to my betas for helping me keep on track with this. xxx

Hermione carries on with her mission to win Ron Weasley back.

When I think about yesterday
Everything was easy
Everything was okay
(Now, now, now)
Now everything is going fast
You're the best thing I ever had
Aww and losing you
Aww it'd make me, make me
That would make me
Feel soo bad (hey, heyy)
Would you help me saying…

Just take your time (heee),
Just take your time.

Take Your Time, Al Green feat. Corrine Bailey Rae (2008)

Hermione

Pacing the floor of the toilets in the Muggle restaurant, I listened to the persistent ring of the dial tone. In an attempt to distract myself from the agonising wait, I counted how many steps I could take before the next round, but there were only two. It wasn't even enough to get me from one side of the loos to the other.

As if knowing the torment I was putting myself through, Ron took his sweet time to pick up the phone. I was glad that Ginny had already left because part of me wanted to throttle the girl for persuading me to do this.

Finally, the call connected.

"Hello?" Although Ron sounded cheery, I caught the tail end of a sigh before he spoke, and my stomach plummeted. I was already annoying him before I even had a chance to open my mouth.

My heart pounded so irregularly in my chest, I thought it might stop, and my hands grew sweaty. Although I longed to control the situation, the million and one things that I needed to say to Ron raced through my mind, distracting me from any form of intelligent conversation.

"Hi." The word came out with a sigh, and for a moment, I worried I might sound like a creepy bunny-boiling ex-girlfriend. "It's Hermione. Granger. From Camp Hogwarts? You tried to finger me?"

A nervous laugh escaped my mouth as my entire body cringed. Did I just say that? All the fingering stuff used to be an in-joke when we were shagging. It was highly inappropriate for me to mention it now, and apparently, Ron agreed.

"Yes, what is it?" he snarked in reply.

Merlin, I'd fucked things up with Ron. I hated that I was the one who turned that usually sunny man into a grumpy old git. Unless he was only using that tone with me, in which case, I deserved it. Gripping hold of the nearest sink, I found the confidence to carry on with my mission. I tried to keep my tone sunny in the hope that it would eventually bring him around.

"So Ginny just told us the good news. She and Harry are getting married."

"Yeah. Harry told me like a week ago. Listen, do you need anything from me? Because I'm trying to celebrate the fact that my strategic plans are finally becoming a reality, which is a bit of a high point for me. I plan to get very drunk and would like to go back to the party."

I took in a sharp breath as my heart filled with pride for him. I was so excited that Ron was finally getting his work taken seriously. I wanted to apparate straight to him, so I could fling my arms around his broad shoulders and give him a massive congratulatory snog. I wanted to be there on his arm, proudly displaying my brilliant boyfriend to anyone who stopped to talk to us, and I desired to drunkenly tell the random women in the bathroom about how lucky I was, as drunk girls are wont to do.

But I couldn't. I'd ruined that for myself.

"Robards listened to you? Oh, Ron, that's brilliant news!"

"Yeah, he did."

There we go, another short response from Ron Weasley. His frostiness did nothing to quell my excitement for him, and I garnered the energy to push on with the real reason I was calling him.

"I know this is random, but I just needed to call you and say that…well…I miss you." The words caught in my throat as my exhilaration traded places with regret, and I took a hard gulp before I let the emotion completely take control. "Merlin, I miss you so much."

Ron cleared his throat. What followed after were the most prolonged, most painful moments ever. It was like he was drawing them out, trying his best to torture me for all the hurt I'd put him through, even though I knew deep down he wasn't that kind of man.

"Okay." He sighed again. "I don't know what to say to that. You're calling me because your best friend has just announced her engagement, and she looks happy, and everyone else is happy, but you're not."

His words struck me like a Crucio to the heart. I blinked, surprised by the tears that escaped my eyes. They trickled down my cheek, but I did nothing to brush them away. Although I'd seen the hurt look in his eyes when I told him I could no longer date him, I don't think I fully appreciated how much damage my recklessness had caused. Figuring I deserved what he was saying, I took it without flinching or backpedalling.

"I thought…" I took a deep breath. "I don't know what I thought. I just…I guess I wanted to hear your voice. I mean, I know we broke up, but—"

Ron interrupted me. From the tone of his voice, I could tell that while he was listening to me, he had squared his jaw, and his face had clouded over. There was no way this conversation would go my way.

"Hermione. We didn't break up. To break up, we had to be in a relationship, but we never started. It was just sex, after all. Listen, I need to go. I'm out with my friends, so, have fun at your meal and tell Ginny I'll see her at the Burrow on Sunday. Bye."

A ringing in my ear indicated Ron had terminated our call. His words were too much to bear. Before speaking to him, I had been so full of hope, and I just thought that if I could explain things to Ron, then he would see why I had been scared to commit, but I'd damaged him too much for him even to want to listen to me.

Sinking to the floor, I burst into tears.

⁂

By the time I'd finished crying, my head pounded, and my mouth felt dry. I hadn't been disturbed once during my pity party, which struck me as a little odd. The restaurant was packed, and surely some of the other patrons needed to get in here. But it was just me. Maybe Ginny had placed a few protective charms over the door to give me some privacy?

Peeling myself off the sticky floor, I glared at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were red, and my face pale and blotchy.

"You deserve to look like shit," I taunted my reflection. "You're an idiot who's gone and lost the best thing that has ever happened to her. You reap what you sow, Hermione Granger."

I splashed my face with water then sorted out my make-up with a quick charm. Feeling the buzz of electricity that confirmed my suspicions about the door, I pushed it open and ventured back to Seamus and Padma, who were sat by themselves, Ginny long gone.

As I approached, the pair abandoned whatever inane topic they were discussing and got to their feet. They peered at me with kind faces, indicating they knew what was going on. As much as I slagged them off, when I needed them the most, I knew they'd be there for me.

Resigned to my fate, I stepped closer to my flatmates and into Seamus' arms.

"Ginny told us to give you some time alone so you could call and speak to Ron. I take it the call didn't go so well, 'Mione?"

He looped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me into his side. I shook my head violently against his chest, afraid that if I opened my mouth, I would start to cry again. I let him steer me the rest of the way back to the table, and he pushed a large glass of wine towards me as I sunk into my seat.

"Tell us all about it, Hermione, and we'll help you come up with a plan of action," Padma added as she settled opposite me.

So I spilled all, taking mine and Ron's story back to before we started sleeping with each other. I began with my Dad abandoning me and how that had affected my life and my decisions growing up. I spoke about how strange it felt being in school at Beauxbatons, where I hadn't made very many friends and was so far away from the people I cared most about. Finally, I told them all the details of mine and Ron's arrangement, including everything they were already aware of, but I felt it was essential to include anyway. I finished with my phone call.

"Oh fuck," Padma and Seamus cried in unison, garnering the attention of most of the diners around us.

"What are you going to do now?" Seamus asked.

I chewed my lip as I thought about it. Despite Ron's harsh tone and the finality of his words, I wasn't ready to call things a day with him. Fuelled by the idea that I'd caused this problem, so I had to be the one to fix it, I hauled myself to my feet and downed my glass of wine.

"I'm going to Ron's."

Padma and Seamus whooped and cheered. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the waitress approaching us, probably planning on throwing us out after taking our money. I'd leave the two clowns to deal with that; I had more pressing things to attend to.

I kissed both their cheeks then made sure I had everything. "I'm sorry for bailing on our evening out; I promise I'll make it up to you soon!"

"Don't you worry, Hermione." Seamus grinned at me. "Getting Ron's delightful cock is far more important than a night out with us."

I left the restaurant to the sounds of "well really," and "we're trying to eat" as the waitress and the maitre'd tried to persuade my friends to follow me out. My head down, I barrelled my way through the early evening crowds, desperate to get to the nearest apparition point and onto the next stage of my mission.

⁂

Ron's street was quiet when I appeared on the apparition point at the end of the row of tidy terraced houses. Letting out a happier sigh, I meandered my way towards the home he shared with Harry, feeling more positive with every step I took. Holding my head high, I planned out what I would say to him that would make him change his mind. This was it, my last chance to get this right and prove to Ron just how much I loved him. I tried not to have high opinions of myself, but how could he resist me showing up at his house with declarations of love? It was just like the movies, after all, and everyone loved those crazily romantic gestures.

In the excitement of the evening, it entirely slipped my mind that Ron was out with his friends to celebrate his successes at work. So I was surprised when he appeared out of nowhere outside his house with a curly-haired blonde on his arm.

Lavender.

My heart lurched as they shared an intimate moment at the door. Although they didn't kiss, Ron and Lavender looked like they had been seeing each other for a while. Their conversation flowed, punctuated with shared smiles and the kind of looks you save for the person you're sleeping with. I've seen those looks from Ron before; he used to give them to me.

A stab of betrayal twisted my stomach as I recalled all the encouragement Ginny had thrown at me earlier. Surely she knew about Lavender and Ron? Why didn't she warn me that this was going on and save me the heartbreak?

I stepped closer to them, pulled like a magnet with morbid curiosity. Lavender's hand lingered on his hip as Ron fumbled with his keys, muttering something about 'never being able to get the door first time'. A high-pitched giggle escaped her lips, and I felt sick.

Fortunately, I had enough sense to duck into the nearest front garden as Ron checked his surroundings. Hanging on to the last shred of hope that maybe they were just friends and he was just eager to show her his collection of chocolate frog cards, I let the cool wall calm me. But then Ron slipped his hand into Lavender's and pulled her into the house the same way he used to with me just before we had sex, and my heart broke.

I stayed in my hiding place long after Ron slammed his front door shut, an action I always used to chastise him for. The realisation that I'd lost my last chance to save us hit me like a bludger, and I stuffed my fist into my mouth to suppress the sobs that racked over my body. I felt betrayed, even though he was never mine to claim. What he'd said was true—we had never even begun, and we had been all about the sex, so there was never anything to break up. The thought of him being with another woman, even though once upon a time I'd challenged him to do so, tore me apart. He was supposed to be mine, but I let him slip through my fingers.

A stirring from behind me brought me out of my stupor, and I scrambled to my feet, trying to put as much distance between me and Ron's house. As I walked, I fumbled in my bag for my phone and dialled Ginny.

"Hey," a sleepy voice answered the phone. "How did the call with Ron go?"

"Not very well, Gin." I drew in a shaky breath. "So I went to his house to find him, but he was with Lavender. I think they're together together."

I could hear the rustle of sheets as Ginny shifted in her bed. "No way?" she croaked. "But he would have told me. I mean, sure, I knew they were growing close through work, but… I'm so sorry. I would never have told you to chase after him if I'd known. Did he see you?"

"No, I managed to hide in some Muggle's garden before he spotted me."

"Oh, Hermione."

I couldn't answer her again. I was standing in a random park in Clapham, wearing a lovely dress and highly unsuitable shoes, my clutch bag tucked tightly under my arm. If anyone walked by me at this moment, they might think that I was some high-end prostitute, but that wouldn't be the worst thing that had happened to me so far tonight. Checking my watch, I could see that it was well past midnight. All I wanted to do was apparate far away from everyone. Maybe I should take my mum up on her offer to go and see her.

"Are you still there?" Ginny whispered.

"Yeah. I can't bring myself to apparate home."

"Okay. You can do it, though. You're very good at apparition. Do you have any muggle money on you?"

"Yeah, about ten pounds."

"You know what you need to do with it. Come home, Hermione, and stop at that late-night Polish bakery. Grab the biggest box of doughnut holes you can get. I'm talking at least fifty, if not a hundred. I'll wait at the front door for you, okay?"

"But you have training in the morning."

"That's okay. I promised Harry I'd stay up for him anyway."

A huge sob overcame me, and tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I remembered my best friend's engagement, stirring the grief I was already suffering. I deserved to be happy, too, but I didn't think I could be without Ron. "I lost him, Ginny."

"I'm so sorry. I love you. Come home, please," my best friend pleaded.

"Okay. I know. I'll see you soon."

Hanging up, I wiped my eyes before taking the final steps towards the apparition point, glancing down the road one last time at Ron's house before disapparating away.

I would never see that place again.

⁂

The smell of the baked doughnut holes filled my nostrils as I stepped out of the Polish store, and I thanked all of the Gods in the world that these sort of places existed. Sure, they had probably been sat on a shelf all day and were on the verge of turning stale, but at that moment, I didn't care.

Shifting the box into one hand, I pulled off the lid and shoved a chunk of doughy, powdery goodness straight into my mouth, not caring who was still around to see me binge eat my way out of my sadness.

But the hit on my pleasure centres never came, and as soon as I swallowed the cake, the darkness crept back over me.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I started in the direction of the flat. I almost made it to the front door when my phone buzzed in my bag. Juggling everything again, I managed to dig it out, answering it without even checking who it was.

"Yeah?"

"Hermione, it's me," Ginny sobbed down the phone. "Ron just texted me to tell me that Dad is in St Mungo's with a suspected heart attack. I'm sorry, I know you're having a rubbish time, but can you come? Just in case we need you?"

Shit. This night just kept getting worse. It was like someone was throwing every bad thing they could throw at us, just to test how strong we were.

"Yes, of course. I'll be there as soon as possible."

Ginny hung up without another word, and I let out a heavy sigh. Grateful for the late hour, I checked that nobody was around before apparating away to the hospital.

⁂

Although it must have been two in the morning when I finally arrived at St Mungo's, it was still a hub of activity. Wizards love getting drunk on a Friday night and spending their weekend recovering from various injuries. Whoever thought supplying alcohol to a group of people in charge of wands was a good idea should be shot, and I was well aware that I was one of the people who indulged in such activities.

I decided that it was inappropriate for me to visit Arthur on the ward, especially given the awful things I'd said to Molly when I last saw them. Not wanting to wait around in the dreadful waiting room with the rest of the Weasley brood, who were highly recognisable in a sea of redheads, there were only two other options: sit and wait in the staff room or get some more fresh air. There was no way I could handle seeing my work colleagues in the state I was in, especially Dean, who I knew was on shift, so I opted for the second choice after texting Ginny to let her know where I was should she need me.

Finding a quiet spot to linger around the corner from the main entrance, I opened the box of doughnut holes again, stuffing another two into my face. My brain decided to torment me even further by letting the strains of Leona Lewis's Bleeding Love creep in, a song that I know wholly associated with Ron and how safe I felt cuddled up in his arms.

"I keep eating, I keep keep eating you," I sang to the fried treats.

Maybe I was going mad and should just check myself into the Janus Thickey ward while I was here. I needed a mind healer if I was ever going to get over the night's traumas.

I managed to get through half the box before my phone buzzed once more. Lifting it to my face to check who it was, I almost dropped the last of the doughnut holes on the floor as I caught sight of the word 'Sexy' flashing up on my phone.

I really needed to change that.

My heart pounding, I shrank the box down and put it safely in my bag, using the quiet moments to gather my thoughts before taking a deep breath and answering his call.

"Ron! Oh, thank Merlin, you called." I made my way back to the hospital just in case they needed me to help with any treatment for Arthur. If I didn't know what was going on, then I'd probably still have some kudos with Dean, even though we'd only discussed the muggle medicine project since the incident at Christmas.

"Hermione. Hi. Listen, I'm just ringing to tell you that it was completely unfair for you to call me like you did earlier and tell me that you miss me. You can't have that kind of conversation over the phone. Neither can you do it over text, or owl, or floo. If you miss me, you need to grow up and apparate to see me. We need to do it face to face…"

Ron's voice trembled as he spoke, and I longed to put my hand down the phone, so I could touch him and comfort him. It distracted me entirely from the harsh tone he was still using with me, although the words rang true in my head. He was right; I needed to do this face to face. Heck, I had even tried to speak to him in person, only to have his new relationship with Lavender thrust at me. But maybe by just being there for him, it could help me fix things with him, even if he was now with someone else.

Having Ron Weasley back in my life as only a friend was better than not having him at all.

The only thing I could focus on was getting back to the hospital and trying to do something to help him and his family. I rounded the corner, my eyes scouring the outside of the hospital and finally settling on a figure squatting against the other side of the entrance to me. My heart stopped momentarily as the sight of him caused a wave of familiar feelings to rush over my body.

It was now or never.

I marched over to him, but he paid me no attention until I stood in front of him. Ron's eyes widened in surprise as he finally lifted his head, and his gaze met mine.

"Alright, Ron Weasley. Let's talk."

I hung up the call then crouched down to his level.

"How did you know I was here?" he questioned with a frown.

"Ginny texted me and asked me to come, just in case I could help with your dad."

His frown deepened, and I wondered if I'd done something wrong by being here until he reached out to wipe something off my face. I tried to ignore the thrill of pleasure I got, just from one simple touch. "You've got something…."

"Oh, sorry. Powdered doughnut holes."

He nodded as if he understood then dropped his hand.

"How is your dad?"

"He's okay."

"Good." I yearned to reach out and take his hand, to give him some sort of comfort, but I didn't want to push my luck. "I know I can't just call you. That was wrong of me. I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I don't know why I wasted so much time pretending I didn't care. I guess I was just avoiding feeling like this because it hurts."

Tears burned behind my eyes once more. Has anyone ever drowned or dried up from crying so much? I hated the fact that I was showing this much vulnerability to Ron, but I recognised how important it was that I allowed him to see it so that he knew I was finally willing to change. I took a deep breath before continuing my speech.

"But the truth is, Ron, I love you. I'm totally and completely in love with you, and I don't care if you think it's too late because I'm going to tell you anyway. I love you."

Ron stared back at me, tears filling his beautiful blue eyes. Just the sight of his pain made my body scream out in agony. He drew his lips tight together, and I could tell he was trying his hardest not to cry. But he refused to respond to my statement.

Exasperated, I stood up, wiping the tears off my cheeks. I'd finally done it. I'd spilled my guts about my feelings for Ron, doing something I'd never thought I'd do. I'd exposed my rawest nerves to him, and all he could do was stare at me. That man was infuriating.

"Will you please just say something to me?" I cried.

Ron got to his feet, taking the longest amount of time to do so. His eyes never left mine as I mirrored his actions, and sadness tugged at my heart as one lone tear trailed down his cheek. I wanted to close the gap, to kiss away all the pain that I caused, but his quietness held me back.

"Please, Ron," I pleaded, taking a step forward so I could hold his hand again.

"Wait." He let out a long shuddering sigh, lifting the hand I was about to steal to his forehead to rub it before letting it flop back down at his side. "You should know that if you come any closer, I am not letting you go."

It took a moment for his words to hit me. I mulled them over, searching for hidden meaning that indicated that letting my guard down was the worst thing I could have ever done, but there was nothing in between the lines. Ron's face was pure and honest, and eventually, the corners of his mouth twitched up with the start of a smile.

And then Ron held out his arms, and my heart soared. He was accepting what I'd said, taking me at face value. His eyes sparkled as a huge grin erupted over his face. Feeling relieved, I stepped into his hug, letting his warmth encircle me as our heads crashed together in a heated kiss. My pulse thundered in my ears, and I reached up on my tiptoes to try and get closer to him. Ron responded by sweeping me off my feet.

If we were in a movie, the soundtrack would rise to a crescendo, and maybe the people around us would start to applaud too. But the only noise around us was the sound of London traffic as people rushed around, even at this late hour.

I carried on kissing Ron, my hands sliding into his hair to tug him even closer as his tongue pressed against my lips. It was the best thing I'd ever experienced, even more so than all of the other kisses we'd shared so far, because this time, we both knew we were in love.

A wolf-whistle forced us apart, and I turned my head to see Ginny, Harry and all their brothers staring at us. Ron made a rude gesture at them, but his eyes never left me. They burned into the side of my face, forcing my attention straight back to the brilliant man in my arms.

"I love you," I admitted, my cheeks heating pink.

"That's good!" He gave me one of his patented lop-sided smiles, cementing the fact that we were truly back on. "But first, I need to test you."

"Test me?" I frowned, starting to loosen my grip on him. A million and one panicked thoughts drifted through my mind as the happiness I felt faded away. What could he want to test me on? Wasn't me confessing my feelings about him enough to show him that I had changed?

He pulled me back to him, resting his forehead against mine. After stealing a quick kiss, he asked, "Hermione Granger, will you go to breakfast with me?"