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

A/N: Written for an anonymous Tumblr user with the prompt "against the wall" kiss. Takes place immediately post-battle.

On Purpose

Less than an hour after the Battle of Hogwarts, it started to sink in for Hermione that she had kissed Ron Weasley.

She had kissed her best friend in the midst of all the chaos, and they had no time to discuss it afterwards.

Hermione found herself meandering through the Great Hall, keeping a close eye on the Weasley family, who were huddled together in a tight embrace. She felt a lodge of emotion get stuck in her throat just thinking about Fred and all of the pain the family had endured in the last few hours.

It was Ron she watched the most. He started to glance around the large room as if he were looking for something or someone. Hermione was about to turn and slip out quietly when their eyes locked.

Ron untangled himself from his sister's arms, heading off in Hermione's direction. Her eyes widened, realizing that he had to have been looking for her.

"You," he pointed at her as he approached. "I need you to come with me. Now."

Hermione's heart began to race as she heard the determination in his voice.

Without waiting for her response, he grabbed her hand and took off down a nearby corridor. He was moving fast, almost too quick for her short legs to keep up with his long strides.

"Ron, where are we going?" she eventually inquired. But her question came with no answer.

At least, not until they took two flights of stairs, jumped over debris obstacles blocking their paths, and ducked behind a wide tapestry. The area around them was deserted, and Ron had tucked them away in a tiny corner of the castle with nothing but the solid stone wall behind them.

Hermione clasped her hands behind her back, waiting with nervous anticipation for Ron to speak. What was he going to say? She replayed their first kiss over and over in her head. While she felt so much joy in that moment, she hoped with every fiber of her being that he shared in that same joy. The serious, hard expression on his face did nothing but make her worry that he didn't feel the same way — that somehow she had made up all those months of sexual tension, romantic gazes, and little touches in her head.

Ron's eyes were a darker shade of blue than she had ever witnessed before and Hermione could see multiple muscles in his neck twitching.

"You kissed me."

Hermione closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, almost preparing for the rejection. "Yes."

"I kissed you back."

Her eyelids fluttered open again, and she caught sight of his expression softening. She nodded at once. "Yes."

Ron pursed his lips again, making Hermione frown. It was frustrating to no end for her not to be able to figure him out.

"You kissed me...on purpose," he added, his breath coming out in short bursts.

Hermione tilted her chin up, deciding to be nothing but honest with him. "Yes, Ron. I kissed you. I…I have feelings for you."

His expression morphed into a gaze that she hadn't quite ever seen before from anyone. It looked to be a mixture of surprise, frustration, and elation.

Ron sagged against the wall behind him, breaking their intense stare. He rubbed his hands over his face. "Okay, sorry, I just…"

"Ron, if you need time to sort everything out, I understand. So much has happened today, and with your family I—"

"Stop."

Hermione jumped slightly from the force of his words. "I just mean—"

"I said stop!" Ron roared, his voice echoing through the empty corridor.

When the silence fell between them again, Hermione knew she had overstepped. She needed to give him time. So, she waited.

After a few long minutes, Ron whispered, "I don't want to think about Fred, or George, or my mum at the moment. I just want to think about you. And about us."

Us.

A part of her wanted to shout at him. She wanted to say that it was okay if he was hurting, because she was hurting too. It was okay if he needed time to grieve, because so did she.

But she didn't. Instead, she waited again. He was the one who sought her out, and he deserved to be given a chance to speak freely. She gathered there was more that he wanted to say.

When he glanced her way once again, standing directly in front of her, his eyes were lit with a fire that told her that he most definitely had more he wanted to say.

"Quite frankly, all I want to do right now is kiss you. On purpose."

Although she had a habit of rubbing her lips together to secrete moisture, her lips parted upon hearing his confession — her mouth suddenly dry.

In the heat of the Battle, Hermione didn't have time to process their kiss. He was just there, and it all happened so fast she barely even blinked.

Now, there was no one else around and they had all the time in the world.

Ron took a step forward, then two, then three, then all of a sudden her back was pressed against the cold hard stone and his palms landed flat on the wall on either side of her head. His nose just barely grazed hers, tickling her like a feathered quill.

Hermione was so caught up in his musky scent that it wasn't until his lips were already crashing down on hers that she realized he was actually going to kiss her again. Their first kiss was fast and hurried. This kiss was fast, and hurried, but passionate. Their lips moved in sync, falling into a comfortable rhythm that felt so easy despite the complicated path they had taken to get there.

This is what she fought so hard for. This is who she wanted in her arms at the end of the day when the dust settled.

Hermione didn't care that they were both still covered in dirt and grime from the day. All she cared about was how he was snogging her like it was still the last day of their lives.

He was the man she wanted to be with — the man she loved — and all signals were now indicating that he felt the same way.

When air became a necessity, Ron broke the kiss to breathe in deeply, before leaning down to give her three more quick pecks.

"That felt good," Hermione expressed, barely containing her joy.

A smile finally curved around Ron's lips — that boyish grin she loved so much. "Yeah?"

Hermione decided that she didn't need to have verbal confirmation that he cared for her and wanted to be with her. In that moment, she just knew and that was enough for her.

They had the rest of their lives to figure everything else out. For now, they would continue snogging.

On purpose.