Hermione watched him sit down. He glanced at her and nodded.

" Hermione."

"Ron. It's uh, it's nice to see you," replied Hermione.

" I would say the same, but you know I always say my exact feelings," Ron said, meaningfully. Hermione grimaced at his tone of voice. Wordlessly, she mouthed 'ouch'. Her head snapped back to him.

" You know that's not true! We both do! How many years did it take you to tell me? Three? Four? Oh yes, that's it! Four years! And, uh, how long did it take you to tell Harry you were sorry in fourth? Months, was it? Oh! And what about how long it took you to tell me that you now hate me? Seven years, I think. My, my. That's almost twice the amount of time it took you to tell me you loved me."

" Shut up about that," he mumbled."And I don't hate you."

" Ha! So that's the reason you insult me as soon as you talk to me? For the first time in seven years? The reason you never wrote? Because you don't hate me?" she cried.

" What would I have written?" Ron asked, his voice rising.

" How about 'Hi hermione, how are you? Love, Ron.' That would have been a start!"

" Oh! But there's that tricky little word in there, Hermione! A tricky little word called love! And it's the thing that keeps you from hating someone even if they hurt you! It's the thing that makes you think about someone every second of the day! It's the thing that most people want most in the world! But guess what!? All love's ever brought me is a pain in my chest for seven years! 2555 days to be exact! Pain because all I wanted was the smartest, gorgeousest girl I ever saw!"

Typical of Ron to use a word like gorgeousest. Hermione opened her mouth to correct him, but then changed her mind.

" If I might use the same argument someone else here used seven years ago, it's your own fault that you've been in so much pain! Maybe if you had thought how I felt, if you had thought that I was having a hard time too, you wouldn't have been so selfish! Maybe if you had paid attention to my three letters instead of how many Death Eaters you caught, you would have realised that I needed you as well!"

" All you ever needed was your books," mumbled Ron

" And all you ever needed was to be popular!"

" You know, Hermione, you really are quite daft."

" And you, Ron, are really quite immature."

" Shut up."

" Ooooohhhhh, that was a good comeback," said Hermione dryly.

" Some friend you are," he replied.

" I'm not the one who didn't write for seven years!" said Hermione, starting to eat her salad.

" I'm not talking to you," said Ron, shovelling in a mouthful of potatoes.

" I'm not talking to you either."

" Fine"

"Fine."

And they didn't. They ate their supper in silence. When they had to dance, they didn't talk either. When everyone from Hogwarts was having fun, they didn't catch up, or talk about old times, or dance like everyone else. No, they ignored each other. But Hermione couldn't help thinking about Ron, and Ron couldn't help but glance at Hermione.

At the end of the night, Ginny and Hermione were walking back to the Burrow, where they would spend the night. Ginny with Harry, of course.

" Well, now that you're married and off to make a kid, tell me what it's like to be in love with someone," requested Hermione.

" It's like what you feel for my brother," Ginny replied gently.

" You mean utter loathing?" said Hermione, staring sadly at the floor.

" Don't worry Hermione. It will all work out. I know it will. Just look at how hard it was for me, loving Harry all those years. Weasleys don't have it easy with love, and it was really hard. But look at how happy I am now! Relationships are hard, but there's always something good in the end,"Ginny said, smiling.

" Did you know, Ginny, that I'm 24 years old and I've never been kissed?"

" Yes you have! Liar! You're just trying to go deeper into the pit of feeling sorry for yourself! What about Viktor? And that Ravenclaw? Erik, was it? You've kissed them!" Cried Ginny, exasperately.

" None of them actually counted," mumbled Hermione.

" And none of them will until you kiss the right one."

" Fine, fine! I'm still a virgin, however.'

" Then I suggest you invite Ron over to your flat sometime," Ginny said, teasingly. Hermione couldn't help but grin. They said goodnight and headed to their rooms. Hermione fell asleep almost instantly, she felt so at home at the Burrow. And, well, we all know what Ginny was doing, so we'll not go there.

Outside, a tall redheaded Weasly( who's first initial just happened to be R.) sat out in the garden, thinking about a certain argument he'd had earlier.