Sorry, I haven't done of these in awhile, I forgot!
Disclaimer: All of these characters belong to wonderful Ms. JK Rowling. But I do own the plot of this fic!
Secrets KeptChapter 14
(Hermione's POV)
by happythoughts
~*~*~
Hermione sighed. She was still sitting at the same table as before, but now she had moved from her Transfiguration to Arithmacy. Ron and Harry had yet to return from their late breakfast, and she was miserably waiting for Ron to come back. She told herself that she was going to confront him and tell him that she wasn't mad at him all. She just wanted to forget the fight. Yes, it was pretty pitiful, but she couldn't bear to be in a fight with him any longer.
She looked up from her work when she heard the portrait door open. To her delight, she saw Ron and Harry walking in. She saw Harry mutter something to Ron and Ron nod his head. Harry walked over to Ginny and gave her a hug. Hermione silently sighed and returned to her homework. She really wasn't doing her work, but she was listening to Ron's footsteps. Just when she thought that he was returning to his dormitory, she saw his shadow come across her book.
She gulped and looked up, trying to make her face expressionless. Ron's face was impassive.
"Erm, Hermione? Can we talk?" he asked her tentatively.
"Sure," she answered. She dropped her quill and shut her book, packing them away in her bookbag. She looked back up at him and said, "What is it?"
Ron's eyes looked around the room and Hermione noticed that he was also noticing how many people were present in there.
"Somewhere else?" he asked her.
"Okay …"
Hermione stood and fixed her robes. She walked up to Ron and they stood a good distance away, walking next to each other. They walked out of the portrait door and down the hall leading towards the Great Hall. The silence was painful, and to Hermione it seemed like every sound that they made echoed off of the walls.
Ron held the door open for her when they reached the doors leading to outside. Hermione looked uncertainly at him and they continued walking, but Ron sort of leading the way. To her surprise, he led her to the bench under a weeping willow, near the lake. He motioned for her to sit down on the bench, but he remained standing.
To Hermione's delight, he started pacing back and forth in front of her. She smirked.
"What is it, Ron? I have a lot of homework to--,"
"Hermione, just be quiet for a second," said Ron with a bit of irritation.
Hermione's confidence faltered. "Okay …"
"I wanted to … I need to ask you … okay. Is there anything going on between you and this … this KYLE kid?" Ron asked her, still pacing the ground.
Hermione sat shocked. If she had thought of anything that Ron was going to say to her, it certainly was not that.
"Of … of course not, Ron!" she said surprised.
Ron stopped walking. "Are you sure?" he asked her, now looking at her face.
"No! I mean … we're just friends! How many times do I have to tell you that?" Hermione asked him.
"I don't know … it just seemed … I dunno, this summer when you talked about him it sounded like you two were … like you were like … togetherorsomething?" he mumbled.
"Oh."
"But … if you say that there isn't anything going on between you … that's great. Just wanted to make sure. I'll be going now--," Ron said, beginning to walk away from Hermione.
"What? Ron! Come back! Aren't you forgetting something?" Hermione yelled to him in exasperation.
She saw Ron stop. He cautiously turned around and said, "Like what?"
Hermione looked at him with a face of astonishment. She flung her arms in the air with defeat and sat down on the bench again, crossing her arms angrily.
"Oh! Right!" she heard Ron exclaim. He then began running towards her. He stopped in front of her and held out his hand. Hermione looked up at him with a puzzled expression. He grinned and said,
"You coming with me or not?"
It was
all Hermione could do but begin crying and laughing at the same time.
"Hermione! Hermione, what … what'd I do?" Ron asked her. He sat down next to her.
"You'll never learn will you?"
"Learn what?"
"Nevermind," said Hermione. She wiped her face the back of her hand.
"No. Now you've got me worried. Tell me," said Ron.
"No. YOU tell ME," said Hermione sharply.
"W-what?" Ron asked. Hermione couldn't help but begin laughing this time at his confused face.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" he asked her.
"Don't … don't c-curse, Ron!" she said. She was now going in a hysterical fit of laughter.
"I … I'm sorry! Just tell--,"
Hermione suddenly stopped laughing and crying. She looked up at Ron and asked him, "What'd you just say?"
Ron was looking at her with a weird face. "I'm sorry?"
And now Hermione's face split into a wide grin and she gave him a peck on the cheek and flung her arms around his neck. "Apology accepted, Ron!" she exclaimed happily.
Ron pulled away from her and looked her in the face with a worried expression. "That's what you wanted me to say?"
Hermione nodded happily and gave him a kiss on the lips this time. Only this time, when they pulled away, Ron was grinning broadly and said, "If I can get a kiss like that, I'll say 'I'm sorry' all the time!"
Hermione slapped his head playfully and they walked back to Hogwarts, hand in hand.
~*~*~
(Ron's POV)
Ron grinned. It had been quite easy, apologizing to Hermione that day. He had never known that it would be that easy to apologize to someone. He knew better now. If that's all it took, he'd do it all the time now.
Things had been great between Hermione and him ever since that fight. It had been weird, really, not fighting with her and they use to. He really liked it this way. He really did. He thought that probably everyone in Gryffindor liked it that way, except for Fred and George. Sometime in May, they had confronted him, telling him that if he and Hermione didn't have a fight soon, things were going to be very boring in the Gryffindor common room. Fred had said to him, "It's great entertainment, you know."
But now they were leaving Hogwarts and boarding the Hogwarts Express once again to go home for a long summer. It wasn't that Ron didn't want to go home, for he sure missed his mom's famous dinners and his own field where he practiced quidditch, but leaving Hogwarts had always made him a bit sad. And to make matters worse, he wouldn't be seeing any of his friends for a long time. At least Harry and Hermione would be coming sometime in the summer before school started … hopefully …
Ron turned and looked at Harry. If Ron was unhappy, it was nothing to what Harry was feeling probably. Harry was gazing longingly out of the window towards Hogwarts, as it began fading away. Things must be REALLY terrible for Harry if he's looking like that. At least the muggles let him owl now, thought Ron to himself.
Both Hermione and Ginny were sleeping. Hermione was on Ron's shoulder, her mouth slightly open. Ginny's head on Harry's shoulder, with a small smile playing at her lips.
"It looks corny, doesn't it?"
Ron jerked his eyes towards Harry, who had just asked him the question, as if reading his mind.
"You read my mind," said Ron, grinning.
"Planning on saving me this summer from the Dursleys?" asked Harry, with a hint of hope.
"I'll work something out. Fred and George may be busy with starting their new shop, but they'll always do something for a bit of fun. Mum owled me awhile ago and told me that she had asked Dumbledore for more than a week this time. He agreed and said that you could come for even a month!" said Ron excitedly, almost yelling in delight.
"Shh!" said Harry quietly. He put his finger to his lips and used his other hand to point to Hermione and Ginny who had begun to stir.
"Oh, sorry," said Ron quietly.
Hermione put her head up and looked around. "Are we back already?"
"No, go back to sleep," assured Ron. Hermione nodded and her head fell right into Ron's lap. His ears burned red. Harry began laughing uncontrollably.
"Hermione, hold on, get up," said Ron, in a panicked voice. He tried lifting her off but she didn't want to budge. He grabbed her bookbag and stuffed it under her head and placed her head back down. "Phew!" he said.
After Harry had finished laughing, he said, "That's great about coming to your house. That means only one month with the Dursleys. Not to bad!"
"Yeah I know. It's going to be a quick summer. I can tell," said Ron wistfully.
"Mmhmm…" agreed Harry.
Ron yawned sleepily and he felt his eyelids beginning to droop.
~*~*~
Ron woke up to Harry nudging his shoulder. "Sod off…" he muttered to Harry, shrugging him away.
"We're at the station already," Harry said. "Get up."
Ron groaned and stretched his arms. Hermione was beginning to get up also. She rubbed her eyes and said, "That was a quick ride," she said.
"That's because you were asleep the whole time," said Ron. He wasn't about to admit it, but his lap was quite sore from where Hermione's head had been.
They gathered all of there things. Ron heard Hermione and Ginny talking to each other and saying that they would owl each other every chance they could. He turned around and said to Hermione with a false sad voice, "What about me?"
Hermione smiled and said, "Ah, how could I forget? Don't worry, I'll owl you whenever I can."
Satisfied, he let Ginny and Hermione walk through the barrier first. Harry and Ron walked through together afterwards. Much to Ron's dislike, he saw Harry's uncle standing about 3 yards away, looking like his grumpy self.
"I guess I'll see you in a month!" said Ron, almost in a miserable way.
"Yeah, don't worry. It'll come faster than you think," said Harry, trying to convince Ron that it wasn't so bad. Ron couldn't help but feel like he should be the fun comforting Harry.
"Well, see you, mate," Ron said.
"'Bye," said Harry with a grin. He walked off a few feet with Ginny. Ron shielded their view from Harry's uncle. He assumed that he wouldn't want to see his nephew snogging with a witch.
Ron felt a tap at his shoulder. He turned around and was happy to see Hermione looking at him with her arms out signaling for a hug. Much to his embarrassment and pleasure, she gave him a long kiss on the lips. They pulled away and Hermione gave him an extra hug. "I'll write you as soon as I get home, I promise," she said.
"Okay. And don't worry, I'll invite you over to the Burrow soon enough. Harry should be coming in the beginning of August," he said.
Hermione's eyes lit up in surprise and she smiled and said, "Okay, cool. I may be going away for awhile with my parents though, but I'll let you know before we go."
"Okay. See you," said Ron.
"Goodbye, Ron."
And with that, Hermione walked away with her parents. Ron ignored the "oo's" and "ah's" coming from Fred and George, but continued watching Hermione's retreating back. She looked back at him once more and gave a little wave, which Ron returned.
"Ron, dear, come along, we'll be late getting home," Ron heard his mother saying. Regretfully, he turned towards them and walked sadly towards the ministry car with the rest of his family. After they had packed everything together and sat in the car next to each other comfortably, Mrs. Weasley turned around towards Ron and said to him, "You never told me you and Hermione were an item! Why didn't you say anything?"
Ron groaned and tilted his head backwards. He'd have a lot of explaining to do over the summer.
~*~*~
Author's Note: Well, there you have it! It's done! How'd you like it? I hope you enjoyed it! I'm thinking of changing my story "Passing Notes" … revising it completely … because I wasn't quite happy with it's turn out when I finished it! Whaddya think? I'll do it later though. I'm a little tired right now! If you have any ideas for a new story, email me at Swishmish20@aol.com Thanks! Muchas Gracias!