I am so close to wrapping this fic up! I still have a few good chapters left in this story (well..good imo and I hope yours too) and I'm excited to share them!

There is some drama in this chapter, but don't worry, I don't plan to crush any hearts (at least not in this particular universe)

The university mentioned is not a real one- I just made it up for this chapter.

Nothing else to say. Just thank you so much for reading. Really.

oOo

"And remember, if Ron calls, I'm-"

"Over at Stacie's house," Jean Granger answered with a smile.

"Right," Hermione nodded. "And try to sound as normal as possible, because I want him to be surprised when I show up."

"And I hope he is. But honestly, Hermione, I hate that you're leaving so late."

"Technically, I'm leaving early," Hermione pointed out.

"Well, yes, but four thirty in the morning just seems too early to be waking up and making such a long drive. As your mum, I can't help but be concerned."

Hermione shrugged. "It's only four hours. And I have to leave that early in order to be there around the time Ron wakes up."

"And the big game's on Sunday?"

"Yes. Ron has a scout coming out to watch him play. It's his big chance, and he's hoping if the game goes well enough he'll be offered a full scholarship."

"That would certainly be nice. Have you told him you got accepted into Clarendahl yet?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. I want to wait until he knows for sure he's in too before I say anything. He's dropped several hints that he wants me to go there as well, but I've been very secretive about my plans, only telling him I want to keep my options open."

Jean laughed. "If he does get the scholarship, and you tell him the truth the same day, I'm afraid that you're going to overwhelm the poor boy."

oOo

Hermione was sure to get to bed early that night, so by the time her alarm clock went off at 4:15, she was awake and ready to go. She'd done all her packing the night before, and before she left, she peeked her head into her parents' room to tell them goodbye, promising to call her mum once she safely arrived at Ron's house.

The drive, although long, was an easy one, and when she arrived almost exactly four hours after she left, Hermione was surprised to see a car she didn't recognize parked at Ron's home. Although Ron, of course, wasn't expecting her, he'd told her that his parents were taking Ginny out shopping a few towns over for the weekend, and Hermione had been under the impression that he would be alone.

She parked her car on the opposite side of the house from where Ron's window was, not wanting him to see it and ruin the surprise of her randomly showing up. She got out and made her way up the pathway, reaching the front door to find it unlocked. Being as quiet as possible, Hermione let herself in, closing the door softly behind her. The inside of the house was eerily quiet, very much unlike the last time she'd been here.

Creeping up the stairs, Hermione paused when she heard the sound of the upstairs toilet flushing. She smiled as she listened to the footsteps as they left the bathroom, Hermione recognizing the sound of Ron's large feet on the hardwood floor. She wasted no more time in climbing up the rest of the steps, still being as quiet as possible. When she made it to the top floor, she saw Ron's bedroom door wide open and heard him moving around. Smiling, she took a few steps towards it, but stopped when she saw someone stirring in Ron's bed-someone who most definitely was not Ron.

A stabbing pain penetrated Hermione's heart like a thousand knives as she recognized the head that was on the pillow. Lavender Brown was sleeping in Ron's bed, her body barely visible underneath Ron's large, bright orange comforter. Hermione would recognize her old cabin mate's hair anywhere, as she had watched that same head of hair snogging Ron almost all summer.

Tears pooled in Hermione's eyes, and she bit down hard on her bottom lip as she tried to prevent the sob that was dying to break free from her throat. Her first instinct was to deny that Ron would never do something like cheat on her with his ex-girlfriend, but right in front of her was proof that was impossible for Hermione to explain away or refute.

Still frozen to the spot, Hermione watched as Ron, who was wearing pyjamas, walked towards Lavender from a corner of the room she wasn't able to see. He sat down on the bed next to the pretty blonde, and Hermione felt as if she were going to be sick as she watched him put a hand on her shoulder and give it a small shake.

"Lav," he said in a quiet voice, just loud enough for Hermione to hear.

Having seen enough, Hermione walked backwards, somehow managing to get all the way down the steps as quietly as she'd come up. She could now hear Ron and Lavender conversing, but the words were muffled, and even if she'd tried to listen, she wasn't sure she'd be able to hear due to the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.

With tears blurring her vision, she ran to her car and jumped in, starting it with shaking hands. She burst into tears as she drove away, her heart and brain still trying to make sense of what she'd witnessed. Hermione couldn't yet begin to think of other possible explanations, or even make a decision about what she was going to do next. All she was aware of was an intense pain in her chest, one that felt like it would never go away.

Hermione was only a mile or two down the road, when her crying prevented her from seeing a glass beer bottle in the street until the very last second. By the time she realized what it was, she had driven right over it, and screamed as she both heard and felt her front left tire pop.

Still crying, she pulled over to the side of the road and got out to inspect the damage, crying even more when she saw the tire was indeed deflated. She wiped her tears with the back of her hands, and not knowing what else to do, she climbed back into her car and sat down, her engine still running.

Only a few minutes later, as she was pondering how she was going to get out of the mess she was in, Hermione gasped as she saw what she now knew was Lavender's car approaching from behind her. She ducked low in her seat, letting out a breath of relief when Lavender drove right past her, the blonde girl not giving Hermione or her car a second glance.

For a moment, Hermione was relieved to see that Ron wasn't in the car with his ex, but that relief evaporated when she remembered that it didn't matter, because Lavender had spent the night in his bed and that was much worse than riding in a car with her.

Trying not to think about that fact, as impossible as it was, Hermione figured that someone would eventually come along and help her. All she needed was to make a call to the nearest tire shop, and then once she got a new tire, she could leave St. Ottery and make her way back home. As much as she yearned for an explanation from the boy she was in love with, Hermione didn't know how she would face Ron right now- how she could face him ever again now that she'd seen what she'd seen.

Unfortunately, there were only several houses among the Weasleys on the street where she was stranded, so no cars came after Lavenders, and Hermione could do nothing but wait, replaying the memory of seeing Lavender in Ron's bed over and over again.

A little over an hour later, Hermione was thinking seriously of getting out and walking to the nearest home to ask to use the phone, when she looked in her rearview mirror and spied Ron's truck driving towards her. He was driving faster than Lavender had been driving, and before she could decide what to do next, he came to a fast stop, his brakes squealing as he stopped his truck right behind her car. He jumped out of the driver's side door, barefoot and still in his pyjamas, and ran to her window.

"Hermione, thank god," he said in a relieved voice, the sound audible through the glass window.

Hermione stared ahead, unable to look at him for fear she would burst into tears.

"Hermione?"

She heard the sound of Ron trying to open her car door, but it was locked so he was unable to get in. "Hermione what's wrong?"

She managed a shake of her head, but didn't answer. The pain of betrayal was worse now that he was there and she could hardly stand it.

"Hermione, let me in." Ron's voice was starting to sound panicked, and he repeatedly tapped on her window. "Bloody hell, Hermione, what happened? Are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath, Hermione turned to him, rolling down her window an inch or two.

"Please go back to your house and call someone who can bring me a spare tire. I have cash and I'll pay for it."

Ron's face went from concerned to bewildered. "No! Come get in my truck. I'll take you back to my house, and then we can call someone. We have to call your mum first though, because she was really worried when I called your house and you hadn't shown up yet. I didn't even know you were coming, love."

Hermione wanted to argue and refuse to go with him, but the thought of her mum being hours away worried sick about her safety caused her to relent. She rolled up the window and turned her car off. She grabbed her keys and opened the door, Ron backing up just enough to allow her to get out. As soon as the door was shut, Ron stepped forward, his arms out as if to pull her into an embrace.

"No!" she snapped in a sharp voice, causing him to halt his movements, his face scrunching up in confusion.

"What the hell, Hermione?" he said in an incredulous voice. "I- why are you acting like that?"

Instead of answering, Hermione walked over to the passenger side of his truck and got in, pointedly looking out of the window as Ron climbed in and started it up.

"I'm not going to pretend to know why you're upset," he said in a hurt voice as he backed his truck up and turned it around. "But you have me worried as hell. Did you drive all the way down here to break up with me or something?"

Still not looking at him, Hermione shook her head.

"Then why-"

"Don't!" Hermione cut him off. "I can't handle it right now," she moaned as she shut her eyes tight, trying to keep her tears at bay. "Just take me to your house so I can call my mum first," she breathed.

Ron let out a loud and frustrated sigh, but said nothing else for the minute drive back to his house. When they got there, Hermione didn't wait for him to turn the truck off before she opened the door and jumped out, practically running into the house and grabbing the phone in the front room. She dialed her home phone number, unsurprised when her mum answered after only two rings.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mum."

"Hermione, are you okay? Why did it take you so long to get to Ron's house?"

"I drove over a glass bottle, got a flat tire. I'll get it fixed here, shortly."

Her mum let out a relieved sounding laugh. "Okay, glad all is well. I won't use up any more of your time with Ron. Have fun, and call me if you need anything."

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

As soon as she hung up the phone, Ron, who was now sitting on the sofa, spoke up. "You saw that Lavender was here, didn't you?" he stated, as if he already knew the answer. "Hermione, why didn't you say something? Why did you jus-"

Hermione glared at him, trying to focus on her anger rather than her hurt. "I watched you all over Lavender for months, Ron! I- I bloody heard you shagging her!" She wiped the tears that were now streaming down her face. "I thought you were over her, but apparently I was wrong."

Ron was rapidly shaking his head, his eyes wide. "Hermione, no! It's not like th-"

"She was in your bed!" Hermione accused, cutting him off. "I was in the house earlier. I saw her, Ron."

He nodded. "Yes. She slept in my bed. But she-"

"How could you do this to me?" Hermione sobbed, her efforts to not break down in front of him finally failing, her hands coming up to her face as she cried.

A moment later, she felt Ron's arms wrap around her, and she didn't move away from him. His body, although traitorous, still brought her comfort, and she couldn't help but lean further into him- despite her hurt.

"Listen to me," Ron started in a low voice. "Nothing happened between me and Lavender. I love you, Hermione."

Hermione shook her head, her heart and brain at war with each other. She wanted to believe him- yearned to believe him, but she wasn't going to do so without a rational explanation, so she was quiet, listening as he went on.

"She spent the night here because- well, she found out that she's pregnant and-"

Hermione shoved Ron's body away from her, causing him to stumble back.

"What?" she gasped.

Ron again started rapidly shaking his head. "No, no no! It isn't mine! Bloody hell! It's Jonathan's. He-"

"Why didn't she go to him, then?" Hermione demanded. "Why did she come to you?"

Ron sighed as he closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Hermione. Please stop interrupting and let me talk. I'll tell you everything, alright?"

Hermione nodded before backing up a few feet and dropping onto the sofa, Ron following suit and sitting down next to her, taking her hand in his.

"She took the pregnancy test yesterday morning, and she told her mum last night. They got into a huge row, so Lavender hopped in her car and left. She came here because she trusted me to keep her secret, and because she figured her mum wouldn't think to look for her here. She was scared to tell Jonathan, but last night I talked her into it. I told her she could stay the night, but that she had to wake up and leave. This morning, when she left, she was going to Jonathan's flat to tell him."

"So nothing happened between you and her?" Hermione asked in a small voice, her chest already losing some of its tightness.

Ron shook his head. "Nothing. I gave her my bed, but I slept in the twins' old room. I don't have feelings for Lavender anymore, Hermione. Even if I did have feelings for her, I would never cheat- would never do that to you." Hermione could see the sincerity in his eyes, and knew he was telling her the truth. "And trust me when I say that she's over me as well. She's very much in love with Jonathan. In fact, last night we even talked about how weird it was that neither of us had any romantic feelings towards the other anymore. It was...strange, but in a good way. The Lavender ship has definitely sailed." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Now I'm on a new and much better ship-a ship called Hermione Granger. I love that ship, and I don't plan on ever getting off of it, either."

Hermione flung herself at him, kissing him hard on the mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck, Ron pulling her to him as he responded enthusiastically. "I'm sorry," she mumbled against his lips. "I should have trusted you. I should have allowed you to explain."

"Yes. You should've," he agreed. "But I understand why you didn't... what it must've looked like to you. I mean, the evidence was pretty damning." He kissed her again. "And I'm sorry you didn't get to surprise me in a happy way as you hoped, but despite all of that, I am so glad that you're here, and I love you very much."

"I love you too," she whispered.

"And because nobody else is home, and nobody else will be home until later tonight, do you want me to take you upstairs and prove my love to you?" he asked with a smirk.

Hermione laughed, her hands caressing his unshaven jaw. "Mhm. But only if we can change the sheets first," she said, wanting the essence of Lavender out of Ron's bed.

Ron pulled her sideways into his lap before standing up, holding her bridal style. "Fresh sheets and plenty of sex coming right up!"

oOo

The next day, Hermione was sitting on bleachers between Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, her eyes on Ron as the team moved to their new positions on the court. The game was now halfway over, and Ron's team was already way ahead. She, of course, had never been a 'sports' person, but watching Ron play was amazing, and Hermione was nearly drooling every time he jumped up to spike the ball. He was playing better than she had ever seen him play, and she'd been clenching and unclenching her fists as the game progressed, holding her breath every time it looked as if Ron's team was going to score. In between plays, Ron would grin and wave at his family before blowing a kiss to her, making her blush when his family members that were sitting around her sniggered.

The scout who was there was an attractive man who appeared to be in his mid to late thirties, and he watched the game with great concentration as he scribbled notes on his notepad. Hermione knew how much this scholarship (if they offered it) meant to Ron, as the Weasleys were not well off enough to send him to this particular university without help. While his grades were above average, he didn't have the highest marks in his school, so Ron had been relying on volleyball to get him through once he graduated.

Hermione, along with the rest of the people on their side of the bleachers, let out a loud cheer when the game ended, with Ron's team coming out victorious. Hermione saw several other people from the bleachers go down to the gym floor to be among the players, so she stood up and made her way down the stairs, running to Ron, who held his arms out and lifted her off of her feet when she threw herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Their embrace was cut short by the clearing of a throat, and Hermione dropped her arms and turned around to see the scout standing behind her.

"Ronald Weasley. My name is Gilderoy Lockhart. Graduate, and now highly valued employee of Clarendahl University." He flashed both Ron and Hermione a beaming smile, as if his aim was to smile as wide as possible so he could show off every single one of his sparkling white teeth.

Ron smiled as well, holding his hand out to shake Lockhart's hand. Hermione could tell that Ron wanted to openly laugh at the over-the-top charm of the older man, but he didn't, somehow staying professional and friendly.

"Nice to meet you," Ron said. "Did you enjoy the game?"

"Oh, I enjoyed the game, very much so!" Lockhart said in an enthusiastic voice. "And it is my pleasure to offer you a full scholarship to our school, just as long as you stay on our volleyball team and continue to play the way you did today."

Ron's mouth dropped open as if in shock, and after a few seconds of him doing nothing but staring at Lockhart, Hermione gave his arm a squeeze to break him out of his trance. It worked, and Ron blinked a few times before speaking.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. You have no idea what this mea-"

"Oh, you're very welcome, Ronald!" Lockhart interrupted. "And if I say so myself, it would do great things for you to mention my name once you make it to campus. You see, I am very well known there- a legend some might say, and I won't be upset at all if you want to drop my name."

"Oh. I- yeah, alright," Ron stuttered, and Hermione had to hold back her laughter at the look on her boyfriend's face. He still looked a bit dazed, but now confused as well as he listened to the older man ramble on about himself, even though the entire point of him coming out there was supposed to be about recruiting Ron. After several more minutes, Ron and Hermione were able to get away with the excuse of Ron wanting to tell his family the great news.

When Ron approached the rest of the Weasleys and told them what Lockhart had offered, they all went ballistic. They all shouted at once, and Hermione had to step back, a smile on her face as she watched Ron be engulfed in a group hug until she couldn't see him in the middle of all the other ginger haired people.

oOo

"So," Ron said as he and Hermione took a walk around the pond near his house after a spirited and boisterous dinner with his family. "Great day, right?"

Hermione squeezed his hand. "Yes. Great day," she confirmed.

"I mean. I still can't believe it! A full scholarship!"

"I can believe it," Hermione said earnestly, causing Ron to stop in his tracks.

"Dammit," he muttered as he ran his free hand down his face. "Hermione, you can't possibly know how much of an impact you've made on me since we've been together."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked as she took a step towards him.

"You believe in me. It's like you know I can do things before I even do them, even when I feel I can't. Just talking to you on the phone every night motivates me, makes me want to be the person you think I am. It's one of the reasons I'm so in love with you. You're amazing, you are."

Hermione smiled. "I do nothing but tell the truth, Ronald Weasley."

Ron pulled her to him and kissed her, his lips moving against hers in a way that made her feel dizzy with how much love she felt pouring out of him, wondering how she could have ever doubted him. She broke away first, too impatient to wait any longer to tell him her news.

"Ron."

He opened his eyes, a smile on his face. "Hmm?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "Ron, I got accepted into Clarendahl a few weeks ago. We are going to be attending the same University."

Ron's eyes widened, and after several seconds of staring at Hermione in shock, he pulled her into a fierce hug, throwing his head back as his body started shaking with loud, excited laughter.