Diclaimer: All of these characters belong to J.K Rowling
Chapter Nine: Back at the Burrow
Hermione and Ron jumped apart, looking anywhere but at each other or at Harry.
"What's going on?" Harry asked suspiciously. "You two looked kind of close there."
"Nothing's going on, Harry," Hermione replied with a bit of a flush to her face. "I was just upset, and Ron was comforting me, that's all. Nothing's going on."
"Well, alright, then,"Harry replied, although he still looked skeptical.
Meanwhile,Hermione's words were echoing over and over in Ron's head. "Nothing's going on, Harry." Was there really nothing between them, then? Had he just imagined the last few minutes? He had been sure he was about to kiss her, and he really didn't think she would have minded. He sneaked a glance at her then, to find she was looking at the floor, her cheeks pink. Ron shook his head. He couldn't understand girls.
Harry talked to them for a few minutes, then seemed to realize his conversation was falling on deaf ears. "Maybe we should get to bed, then?" he suggested. "We have an early morning tommorrow."
Right! It was back to the Burrow tommorrow! Ron was glad both Hermione and Harry would have a chance to be around people who cared for them, and a small part of him (well, maybe not THAT small of a part) was planning how he could be alone with Hermione once he got there. Harry could...degnome the garden or something. He'd enjoyed it before, why wouldn't he enjoy it again?
"Bedtime!" said Ron cheerfully, already the star of a wonderful fantasy in which Hermione professed her undying love for him and sealed it with a kiss. He was sure it would happen, if he tried hard enough. If Hermione did not kill him first.
The morning dawned bright and clear. Ron jumped out of bed ethusiastically. "Wake up, Harry!" he shouted, and leapt onto the others bed.
Harry pulled his blankets over his head. "S' too early to get up. Go
away."
Ron pulled the blankets back. "Come on, get up! Time to go home! Fred and George have been preparing loads of things for you."
Harry groaned. "Yet another reason not to get up," but he got up anyway.
The ride to the Burrow (Sirius was once again driving) was just as scary as before, but somehow Ron didn't notice it as much. He sat on one side of Hermione, Harry on the other. They made small talk...about Quidditch, what a horrible git Malfoy was, the coming O.W.L's (actually Hermione had brought up the O.W.L.'s) and other trivial things, but Ron had a sense of togetherness that had been lacking.
Hermione straightened in her seat. "i can't believe I forgot to tell you. Dumbledore told me before Ieft that I'm a prefect this year!"
"Wow, congratulations, Hermione!" said Ron and Harry echoed the sentiment. Ron opened his mouth to make his inevitable sarcastic comment, and then shut it quickly. Really, it WAS a great accomplishment to be a prefect. And Hermione and Harry both seemed so much happier today that he did not want to ruin it with an argument.
Before they knew it, they were at the Burrow. Ron had a sneaking suspicion that Sirius had used magic to hurry the journey along, as it had only taken a few hours this time, but he wasn't complaining.
The entire family was waiting outside the door to greet them, including Bill and Charlie, and even Percy, who Ron was a little surprised to see. They were holding up a big sign that said, "Welcome, Hermione and Harry!"
Ron grinned. Sometimes he really liked his family.
He turned to Harry and Hermione. "Time for dinner!" He hesitated a moment, then took Hermione's hand. She gave him a surprised look but then smiled and left it there, earning incredulous looks from Fred and George.
"OOO, ickle Ronniekins has got himself a girlfriend!" said Fred (or was it George?) Mrs. Weasley shushed him immediately, but Ron found he didn't mind the teasing. He thought that perhaps..for once..he might have gotten something he wanted.
Dinner was a noisy affair. They ate outside in the bright sunshine. Harry sat by Ginny, who was talking to him animatedly about something with flushed cheeks. Ron noted with some surprise that Harry seemed to be enjoying himself. Well, Ginny had changed a lot, she was not all that younger than them, really, he reasoned. And...that could be a good thing...he could have time alone with Hermione without feeling bad about abandoning Harry.
Fred and George were busy trying to convince Percy to eat a brightly wrapped candy they were holding, to no avail. Percy did not look as grouchy as usual, however, and even laughed once at the twins antics.
Ron turned to Hermione, who was sitting beside him. "How are you doing?" he asked gently. "You've been really quiet."
Hermione looked sad. "I miss my parents...sometimes I wake up at night and I can't remember why I feel so horrible. Then it all comes back to me,
and I feel like screaming." Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
Ron cleared his throat. " I know I haven't always been the best friend to you, but I...I really care about you, and I would do anything to help you..."
Hermione interrupted him with a finger to his lips. "I know you care about me, silly. And I care about you...a lot, actually." She blushed and looked down.
Ron's heart soared into the sky. She cared about him! She had said that she cared about him! He was unable to stop the goofy grin that spread across his face. He took a quick look around, decided no one was watching, and leaned over her. Their lips met. He had meant to kiss her quickly, he didn't want to embarrass her in front of his entire family, but once he started it was hard to stop. It was...amazing that something could feel like this, the tingling in his lips, the warmth he felt spreading through his body. He wondered vaguely why he hadn't done anything like this before. The thought was VERY vague, however, as he was far too caught up in the moment.
The kiss might have gone on forever if they weren't interrupted by a loud whistle. They broke apart and opened their eyes to see the entire family looking at them and grinning. Ron was momentarily scared. What if she was upset about him kissing her? What if she hated the fact that his family had seen them doing something like that? He looked at her quickly for her reaction, and felt his worry melt away. She was smiling.
A/N That took me a really long time for some reason, I've been working on it all day. There will probably only be one more chapter after this, Hermione and Ron still need to talk about their new relationship after all. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't great, I had a lot of trouble with it. Hope to hear from everyone soon, the next chapter should actually be pretty good. Laying in bed last night, I got a million ideas for it. (And not unfortunately, any ideas for this one.)
Nikalee
Chapter Nine: Back at the Burrow
Hermione and Ron jumped apart, looking anywhere but at each other or at Harry.
"What's going on?" Harry asked suspiciously. "You two looked kind of close there."
"Nothing's going on, Harry," Hermione replied with a bit of a flush to her face. "I was just upset, and Ron was comforting me, that's all. Nothing's going on."
"Well, alright, then,"Harry replied, although he still looked skeptical.
Meanwhile,Hermione's words were echoing over and over in Ron's head. "Nothing's going on, Harry." Was there really nothing between them, then? Had he just imagined the last few minutes? He had been sure he was about to kiss her, and he really didn't think she would have minded. He sneaked a glance at her then, to find she was looking at the floor, her cheeks pink. Ron shook his head. He couldn't understand girls.
Harry talked to them for a few minutes, then seemed to realize his conversation was falling on deaf ears. "Maybe we should get to bed, then?" he suggested. "We have an early morning tommorrow."
Right! It was back to the Burrow tommorrow! Ron was glad both Hermione and Harry would have a chance to be around people who cared for them, and a small part of him (well, maybe not THAT small of a part) was planning how he could be alone with Hermione once he got there. Harry could...degnome the garden or something. He'd enjoyed it before, why wouldn't he enjoy it again?
"Bedtime!" said Ron cheerfully, already the star of a wonderful fantasy in which Hermione professed her undying love for him and sealed it with a kiss. He was sure it would happen, if he tried hard enough. If Hermione did not kill him first.
The morning dawned bright and clear. Ron jumped out of bed ethusiastically. "Wake up, Harry!" he shouted, and leapt onto the others bed.
Harry pulled his blankets over his head. "S' too early to get up. Go
away."
Ron pulled the blankets back. "Come on, get up! Time to go home! Fred and George have been preparing loads of things for you."
Harry groaned. "Yet another reason not to get up," but he got up anyway.
The ride to the Burrow (Sirius was once again driving) was just as scary as before, but somehow Ron didn't notice it as much. He sat on one side of Hermione, Harry on the other. They made small talk...about Quidditch, what a horrible git Malfoy was, the coming O.W.L's (actually Hermione had brought up the O.W.L.'s) and other trivial things, but Ron had a sense of togetherness that had been lacking.
Hermione straightened in her seat. "i can't believe I forgot to tell you. Dumbledore told me before Ieft that I'm a prefect this year!"
"Wow, congratulations, Hermione!" said Ron and Harry echoed the sentiment. Ron opened his mouth to make his inevitable sarcastic comment, and then shut it quickly. Really, it WAS a great accomplishment to be a prefect. And Hermione and Harry both seemed so much happier today that he did not want to ruin it with an argument.
Before they knew it, they were at the Burrow. Ron had a sneaking suspicion that Sirius had used magic to hurry the journey along, as it had only taken a few hours this time, but he wasn't complaining.
The entire family was waiting outside the door to greet them, including Bill and Charlie, and even Percy, who Ron was a little surprised to see. They were holding up a big sign that said, "Welcome, Hermione and Harry!"
Ron grinned. Sometimes he really liked his family.
He turned to Harry and Hermione. "Time for dinner!" He hesitated a moment, then took Hermione's hand. She gave him a surprised look but then smiled and left it there, earning incredulous looks from Fred and George.
"OOO, ickle Ronniekins has got himself a girlfriend!" said Fred (or was it George?) Mrs. Weasley shushed him immediately, but Ron found he didn't mind the teasing. He thought that perhaps..for once..he might have gotten something he wanted.
Dinner was a noisy affair. They ate outside in the bright sunshine. Harry sat by Ginny, who was talking to him animatedly about something with flushed cheeks. Ron noted with some surprise that Harry seemed to be enjoying himself. Well, Ginny had changed a lot, she was not all that younger than them, really, he reasoned. And...that could be a good thing...he could have time alone with Hermione without feeling bad about abandoning Harry.
Fred and George were busy trying to convince Percy to eat a brightly wrapped candy they were holding, to no avail. Percy did not look as grouchy as usual, however, and even laughed once at the twins antics.
Ron turned to Hermione, who was sitting beside him. "How are you doing?" he asked gently. "You've been really quiet."
Hermione looked sad. "I miss my parents...sometimes I wake up at night and I can't remember why I feel so horrible. Then it all comes back to me,
and I feel like screaming." Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
Ron cleared his throat. " I know I haven't always been the best friend to you, but I...I really care about you, and I would do anything to help you..."
Hermione interrupted him with a finger to his lips. "I know you care about me, silly. And I care about you...a lot, actually." She blushed and looked down.
Ron's heart soared into the sky. She cared about him! She had said that she cared about him! He was unable to stop the goofy grin that spread across his face. He took a quick look around, decided no one was watching, and leaned over her. Their lips met. He had meant to kiss her quickly, he didn't want to embarrass her in front of his entire family, but once he started it was hard to stop. It was...amazing that something could feel like this, the tingling in his lips, the warmth he felt spreading through his body. He wondered vaguely why he hadn't done anything like this before. The thought was VERY vague, however, as he was far too caught up in the moment.
The kiss might have gone on forever if they weren't interrupted by a loud whistle. They broke apart and opened their eyes to see the entire family looking at them and grinning. Ron was momentarily scared. What if she was upset about him kissing her? What if she hated the fact that his family had seen them doing something like that? He looked at her quickly for her reaction, and felt his worry melt away. She was smiling.
A/N That took me a really long time for some reason, I've been working on it all day. There will probably only be one more chapter after this, Hermione and Ron still need to talk about their new relationship after all. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't great, I had a lot of trouble with it. Hope to hear from everyone soon, the next chapter should actually be pretty good. Laying in bed last night, I got a million ideas for it. (And not unfortunately, any ideas for this one.)
Nikalee