A/n: :::glares::: this chapter, which I'm dying to get out there for you people to read it, was not saved properly on my floppy disk so I HAVE TO WRITE IT OVER AGAIN!!!! This does not make me happy because I wanted it OUT and FAST!!! Now, before I lose control and murder my new Willie thanx to my uncontrollable rage, I'll let you get on with the reading. Oh, yeah, and the new character was partly ltnikki's idea. That's it, okay then, bye bye now.
Disclaimer: all I own is a new computer which kinda makes me happy, and a bloody evil floppy disk who is being a ninny for making me write this all over again. Oh, yeah, and some chocolate…and Rupert!!!! :::stares::: I was waiting to see who would believe that…
Chapter 15: Some Enchanted Evening…and Then Some
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Ginny sank her toes into the damp sand along the banks of the Mediterranean, this being the only thing she was aware of. That and, of course, her hand snugly tucked into Harry's. She grimaced as she remembered guiltily how she had left Hermione alone with Ron when she very well knew who would be dropping by for a visit. Ron should really tell her. Honestly, what would Hermione's reaction be to her? However, Ginny found her thoughts drifting away from her friend and brother and back to the raven-haired boy who was now proceeding to stare at her. Their date had been perfect so far. Harry had prepared a picnic on the beach under one of the palm trees. Now they were just walking along, watching the sun sink into the ocean. The only thing that would make this date better would be…Ginny blushed as the thought made its way into her head. Would Harry really kiss her tonight?
She certainly hoped so.
Harry's abrupt stop snapped her out of her brief reverie. "Gin," he said, a smile playing on his lips. "Do you wanna go over to the lighthouse? Watch the sunset from there?" Ginny grinned and nodded. Yeah, a great place to watch the sunset.
And it didn't bother her that the lighthouse brought up opportunities of very close proximity with Harry.
Harry started to run, tugging on her hand. Ginny followed, giggling and calling out, "You're gonna break off my hand, Harry!" Harry turned rapidly, making her almost ram into him. She held on to his shoulders and tried to catch her breath. She was startled, however, by a light dancing on a strand of her red hair. Harry must have noticed her eyes widen because he chuckled and shook his head. Ginny pretended to be offended. "What is it now, Harry Potter?"
Harry smirked and pointed at the fluttering light. "You've seriously never seen one?" Ginny gave him an "I-would-tell-you if-only-I-knew-what-it-is" look. Harry sniggered and said, "It's a firefly. It's a bug that makes light to find a mate."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Thanks, Hermione." Then she looked at the firefly. "Wow," she breathed. "It's beautiful." She turned back to him. "Thanks, Harry. This is all so perfect." She threw her arms around his neck and held him close, enjoying the warmth he gave off on this rather chilly night.
Harry loved being like this but wanted to take her to see the sunset in the lighthouse for more reasons than a bright red sun. "Gin, we should get up there before the sun disappears," he whispered into her ear. Harry felt her shiver slightly at his breath next to her ear and then nod. When she pulled away, she took his hand and they walked the short distance to the lighthouse.
A few minutes later, they were at the top of the lighthouse. As soon as Ginny caught sight of the sunset, it took her breath away. Harry put an arm around her waist and brought her closer to him. She laid her head on his shoulder and they stayed silent, watching as the sun dipped out of sight into the horizon of the sea.
When only faint streaks of pink were left over the clouds, Harry stepped away and murmured, "Wait here a minute. Don't move from here!" And with that, he ran down the stairs so fast Ginny couldn't utter a single question. She shrugged and turned to watch the first stars appear in the now navy blue sky. She was so distracted by the sound of the waves crashing on the shore that she only realized Harry had returned when he whispered in her ear, "Guess who."
Ginny turned and grinned. "What's this all about, Harry? You're acting like a crazy person!" Harry returned the smile and looked down at his hands. That's when Ginny noticed his hands were cupped. She gave him a questioning look, which he answered with, "Cup you hands over mine." With an eyebrow raised, she did as he requested.
"Okay, now, when I remove my hands, you keep yours there. Watch closely," Harry advised. Ginny's eyes were wide and alert with anticipation as Harry took his hands away from hers. In her cupped hands shimmered a firefly. Ginny gasped and looked up, her eyes brimming with tears. "That's the sweetest thing anybody's ever done for me," she choked.
"This is just one of the many things you deserve," Harry whispered. He couldn't help but notice the urgency that took control of him. Without hesitating, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Ginny's. Ginny seemed taken aback because she stood frozen in place for a few seconds. Then she released the firefly and brought her hands to Harry's face. Slowly, she started to kiss him back, softly moving her lips under his, going on pure instinct. She felt Harry smile a bit under their kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer, deepening the kiss. All the while, the firefly danced around them until it vanished from their midst like the last rays of the sun.
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The next morning Harry stood impatiently next to the bathroom door, waiting for a sleepy redhead to finish taking a shower. He was about to check his watch again when he heard the door open. "So you finally decide to come out?" Harry said, giving his friend a pointed look. Ron shrugged and used a towel to dry his sopping hair. "Fuck off, Harry."
However, this just proved how bad Ron's timing was, because just before he had addressed his best friend, Hermione had walked into the room. She now stood glaring at his bare back, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Ronald Weasley, how many times have I told you not to swear?" she said sharply. As soon as he heard her voice, Ron turned and reddened. For one, he wished she hadn't entered the room when he had just come out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped snugly around his waist. Besides that, what she was wearing made his blush deepen to a beet red color.
"Why are you dressed like that?" he asked, avoiding her eyes. Hermione's cheeks went a little more scarlet as she said, "Um, never mind that. I just pointed out how much you ignore my reprimands and again you ignore me." Ron couldn't help but smile at the indignant tone in her voice. This only made her eyes narrow more and say, "Stop mocking me, Ron!'
"I'm not mocking you. Okay, fine, I don't listen to you, is that what you wanna hear?"
"No, not exactly, but I'll accept that, seeing it's the best you can do." She seemed satisfied with her comeback because she nodded before continuing. "Anyway, how long did it take you to take a shower?"
"Who wants to know?"
Hermione blinked rapidly. "Me, stupid!" She groaned. "Ron, do you know what day it is?" Ron glanced back to see Harry had ignored them both and was taking a shower. "Git," he muttered. He turned back to Hermione and shook his head. Hermione looked annoyed that he didn't know but also pleased that she herself knew. "It's Christmas Eve. Well, tonight anyway. But right now we were thinking of going to the Nile."
"Which explains the way you're dressed," Ron said automatically.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine, you seem to enjoy discussing my wardrobe so we will. Yes, that is why I'm dressed like this. Please tell me it's not the first time you've seen a girl in a bathing suit," she said, putting her hands on her hips.
Of course it wasn't his first time seeing a girl in a bathing suit; it was, on the other hand, the first time he had ever seen Hermione in a bathing suit, and Hermione wasn't any girl. She just happened to be the gorgeous girl who he just happened to like very much. "Hell no," he said. "Of course I've seen girls in bathing suits. Plenty of times."
Hermione smirked. "Then why is it that you seem so keen to discuss my bathing suit?"
Ron sneered at her. "Because, Miss Granger, it's an interesting choice of wardrobe for you!" And it was the truth. Hermione's suit was blue with lime green flowers. The top was tied around her back and around her neck. She was wearing shorts that stood very low on her hips, leaving her midriff in clear view.
"Well, I certainly hope you don't decide to wear that today," she pointed out smartly. She bit her lip to hide back a smile. She hadn't seen Ron like this since the summer when she had arrived at his house. She had forgotten how many freckles he had on his chest. "Damn, you are freckly," she said without thinking. Ron glared at her.
"All right, out! I don't want you here to insult me." Ron said, scowling. Hermione mentally cursed herself. When he had pushed her closed to the door, she turned around. "Ron, I'm sorry!" She ended up against the door, with Ron pushing her, his angry face only a few inches away. "I didn't mean that as an insult!" She sighed and looked down. "Actually, it's…cute," she murmured. Ron's face softened and he stared at her for a moment.
"O-kay, you two, back awaaay from each other," an amused voice said from behind them. Ron turned to see Ginny standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed over her chest. She, too, was wearing a bathing suit, much like Hermione's, except it was lavender with blue flowers. "Honestly, Ron, go put some clothes on." Ron's face went scarlet again and Ginny sniggered. At that moment, Harry emerged from the bathroom. He glanced at Ron, then at Hermione, and shook his head. "You're still not dressed, Ron? What have you two been doing?" Before Ron could pummel Harry into a bloody pulp, Ginny went over to him and gave him a quick kiss. Hermione gave Ron a worried look when she heard him growl and make a fist. She stepped around him and went to where Ginny and Harry were standing.
"Gin, maybe we should go finish getting things ready while Ron gets dressed," Hermione said, proceeding to shove Ginny towards the door.
"But, Hermione, we all know you'd rather stay here with Ron. I could take Harry off your hands," Ginny said. Hermione blushed and saw Ron's eye twitching, so she pushed Ginny out the door and slammed it shut.
"Why the hell do you two do that?" Ron asked Harry as the bespectacled boy was tying his shoelaces. "Do what?" Harry asked. Ron rolled his eyes and grunted something. "Ron, I don't speak Troll, so what do you mean?" Harry said. Ron sniggered in spite of himself and said, "Never mind." Harry shook his head and muttered, "I could ask you the same thing about Hermione, you know." Ron glared at him, his ears burning, and stomped into the bathroom.
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"This feels so weird," Ginny said, leaning against Harry and dipping her toes into the waters of the Nile. Harry grinned and kept a tight grip on her waist. "I know what you mean," he said. "Christmas Eve usually means the smell of food, waiting for presents, and snow." It was truly strange. Instead of the snow falling and the aroma of food wafting from the kitchens to Gryffindor tower, they were swimming in the Nile River on a magnificent sunny day. Well, at least Ginny and Harry seemed keen on swimming. Ron apparently would be spending his time scowling and forcing himself not to punch Harry. He had even forgotten that Hermione had also joined them on this little outing, thus making her irritated for her lack of attention from him.
The aforementioned pair was walking behind Ginny and Harry, Ron keeping his fists at his sides, Hermione with her arms crossed over her chest. At one point, so as to get Ron's attention, Hermione made an annoyed sound in her throat and shook her head. Ron immediately stopped glaring at his sister and best friend and turned to his other friend. "What was that?" he asked.
Hermione wrinkled her nose but didn't look at him. "What was what?" she said coldly. Ron rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. "Look, Ron, if you're going to ignore me, then I might as well ignore you, don't you think?"
Ron looked up, puzzled. "I haven't been ignoring you!" Hermione looked away and started walking faster. Ron sighed and grabbed her elbow. She turned around and glared at him piercingly. "Hermione, sorry, okay? It's just that…" Ron lowered his voice. "You know how much I hate the fact that Ginny and Harry are…you know…"
Hermione smiled a little. "I told you, you've gotta go easy on them. Harry's been through a lot." She blinked away some tears that were burning at the sides of her eyes. "He's been through more than all three of us can bear. Any moment of happiness in his life is gladly welcome. Ginny makes him happy. It's been a hard year for him so far, with all the nightmares and watching out for You-Know-Who." Hermione gulped and looked away. "We don't know if it's going to get any worse. We can only hope."
Ron nodded. "I know, you're right this time." She smirked. "Okay, you're always right. I just can't help…" Ron stared at his feet. Then he looked up and there were tears clouding his eyes. "I don't want Ginny to get hurt," he whispered. "I don't wanna be unfair to Harry but I know you and me are in danger because we're his friends. I just don't want Ginny to be put in that same league."
Hermione was staring at him in awe. "I didn't know that's why you're always so…well, overprotective." She gave him a quick hug and said, "Don't worry. We'll get through this." She gave him a small smile and kept walking toward the shouts of laughter coming from the river ahead. Ron grinned. He loved having her with him; she gave him more hope than anything ever could.
Hermione walked briskly to the edge of the river and put her right foot in the water. As soon as she did this, she jumped back, rammed into Ron, and screamed, "Oh, shit!" Ron laughed as her eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth. "Ooh, I cannot believe I just said that!" She suddenly noticed she was in Ron's arms and blushed. "Sorry, it's just really cold." Ron smirked and gently pushed her in. She made a great splash as Harry, Ron, and Ginny dissolved into giggles. After a few seconds, she shot out of the water shrieking. "RON!!" She groaned loudly and shook the water out of her eyes. "That is the second time you push me into any sort of body of water!" She stepped out of the water and gave Ron a playful shove. She tried to pretend to be mad, but after a few seconds of hearing her friends laugh, she joined them.
Tears and anger would soon replace that laugh.
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That evening, after returning from the Nile, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione sat inside a little hut in the middle of one of the oases. They hadn't bothered to go back to the hotel seeing as Hermione had challenged Ron to yet another game of chess. Apparently she was too stubborn to see that, well, she sucked. Ron, however, saw this as a perfect opportunity to help his "poor ego" so he immediately accepted.
Harry and Ginny were playing Exploding Snap at one end of the hut while Ron and Hermione glared at each other over a chess set. Ginny occasionally glanced over and giggled when she saw Ron studying Hermione intently while she decided on her next move. They were being rather quiet. Too quiet. Ron obviously couldn't bear not talking to her so he brought up a conversation. Unfortunately, he brought up the wrong one.
"Have you heard from Vicky at all?" Hermione gave him a questioning look. Ginny and Harry exchanged nervous glanced. Ron shrugged. "Well? Have you?" Hermione shook her head and instructed her knight to move to H2. Ron was silent for a moment, then said, "What, is he mad that you didn't visit him?"
Hermione looked at Ron pointedly. "Ron, he's a professional Quidditch player. He is obviously very busy." She avoided his eyes as she said that last bit. She knew that truly this meant Viktor had forgotten about her. She didn't really like him, but she just felt pleased that someone so mature and sophisticated had been interested in her. However, she now noted how wrong she was in assuming his interests were set on a long term relationship. She nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and waited for Ron's reaction, holding her breath.
"He's too busy for you, is that what you're saying?" Hermione shrugged. Ron snorted. "Well, it seems that Vicky Krum Uglyashell doesn't care about anyone but himself." Hermione couldn't argue with him. Partly this was because she thought he was right, but partly because she wanted him to explain further. He did. "I mean, he supposedly likes you a lot and then he just forgets about you. I oughta…" Ron made a disturbing gesture with his hand. Hermione bit her lip to hide back a smile. Ron's face suddenly grew serious, his eyes dark and suspicious.
"Did he ever kiss you or something?"
Hermione looked up, her mouth in the shape of an 'o.' "What?"
"You know, your cozy library sessions or the Yule Ball. The guy probably thought if he could kiss you once, he could snog the hell out of you. "
Harry and Ginny looked over at them. It was already evident that this was going to be quite an argument.
Hermione narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Ron, I told you, we didn't have any 'cozy library sessions.' Why do you keep bringing it up?"
"'Cause I know you spent a lot of time with him in the library! Did he kiss you or not?" Ron was raising his voice now and Hermione obviously didn't like it because she was proceeding to sneer at him. "Well?!" Ron yelled expectantly.
"Why the hell do you wanna know?!" Hermione didn't even bother excusing her language. She slammed her hand on the table and dared Ron to answer. Ron gave her a dirty look and stood up. "Oh, you know what, I know why!"
"You have no idea!" She wasn't going to put up with any more of his jealous shit until he told her what she wanted to hear. If it was going to take an argument to drag it out of him, then here it was.
"I do so!"
"Oh, Ron, you're oblivious to most anything around you. Why do you think this time it's any different?" She was pushing his buttons but she didn't care anymore. She blinked rapidly and kept tiny tears of anger behind her eyelids.
"You always have to be right, don't you? It just so damn bad if you're wrong, isn't it? Well, you are gonna be sooo mad 'cause you'll never know why I'm asking if that piece of Bulgarian shit ever kissed you!!"
Hermione threw her chair back and stood in front of Ron, still glaring daggers at him. "Stubborn little prat, aren't you? So what if I always have to be right? It's you who wants everything done his way, and if it's not, then it's like the world is falling apart. Damn it, Ron, you're blind and you don't even see it!"
"I'm blind? Oh, right, so I've missed something that you obviously didn't, is that what you're saying?"
"Yes!" Hermione screamed, her cheeks burning. "What kind of person doesn't get a clue when everything is thrust under their very nose? You! You just seem to either ignore it or not notice it!" She didn't care how much she was revealing. After all, there really was nothing left to reveal. Except, of course, putting those revelations into the words she'd been practicing for years now. But it was true, dammit. How obvious had she been after the Yule Ball? She told him she wanted him to be with her. And what had he done? He'd stared at her like a fish out of water with his ears burning, his hair disheveled, and is hideous robes as messy as his relationship with her.
"I haven't ignored anything! If you want proof, then here it is, damn it! Did that piece of crap kiss you or not? You're gonna tell me because I wanna know!"
Hermione shot him one of her best death glares and yelled, "No, he didn't, are you happy now? But what if he had, huh? Wouldn't that have pissed you off? Sure, it would, and it's all because you've never been kissed and you just can't take it! There's no one, no one in this bloody world, that would ever want to kiss you! That's why you wanna know, and that's why you can't take it that I spent one evening with Viktor and actually had a good time!" Hermione mentally cursed herself. Why the hell had she just said that? Shit, it's over now, Granger, good job.
Ron hid the pain her words caused by trying to retort something awful, but before he could utter a word Ginny spoke. "That's not true, Hermione," she whispered. Everyone turned to look at her. Hermione's eyes were still narrowed, but she let Ginny speak. Ginny knew that wasn't true but…she wasn't about to say it out loud was she? Hermione's slight worry must have shown on her face because Ginny shook her head and said, "I'm not talking about that, Hermione." She looked relieved. Ginny took a deep breath and continued. "You know that what you said is not true. But…you don't know all of it." Ron gasped and Ginny looked at him. "I'm sorry, Ron, but if you're not gonna tell her, then I will." She turned back to Hermione. "See, when I was five, we all came to visit Bill…"
"Gin, no! I know when I have to do this!"
"She has a right to know!" Ginny sighed. Hermione's eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth. This is what they had been keeping from her…but then…if it had anything to do with someone kissing Ron… "Hermione, when we all came to visit Bill, Ron met this girl…" Hermione looked down and gulped. "He's kept in touch with her ever since—"
Hermione held up a hand. "Let me guess." She turned to Ron with a cold ambiance in her eyes. "You kept in touch with your girlfriend through those letters." So that was it. He had a girlfriend. And he had never bothered to tell her.
"She's not my girlfriend. I knew you wouldn't understand!" Ron growled. "You know what, I don't care what the hell you do. It's too hard to care about you in any fucking way!" Hermione looked like she had been struck across the face. She caught her breath, closed her eyes, and turned. No, I just imagined that, she tried to convince herself in vain. She let out a small sob, felt a tear roll down her warm cheek, and without thinking twice ran out of the room. Ron looked after her and groaned. After a moment, he said, "Hermione, wait!"
Ginny dropped her head lightly on the small coffee table in front of her as she heard Ron run after Hermione. "Ron shouldn't have said that," she mumbled. "He should have told her before."
"Do you want me to go after them?" Harry asked softly.
Ginny shook her head. "He's gonna tell her."
"Tell her what?"
Ginny looked up at Harry. He was surprised to see a twinkle in her eyes, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips. "Everything."
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A strong breeze was blowing outside. Hermione felt it ruffle her hair as she stepped out, hugging her sides, her bare arms tingling in the cold air. Strands of hair blocked her vision as she began to walk. She raised a hand to her cheek and swiftly wiped away that one tear. She quickened her pace when he heard his voice.
"Hermione, wait!"
She bit her lip, fighting back the tears that were burning at the sides of her eyelids. She never wanted to talk to him again. She hated him, everything about him, his stubbornness, impatience, rudeness, and unkind ways. She hated the way he always managed to make her cry or scream until her voice was hoarse. She hated how he always made fun about her, anything about her, like she was some prop he used when he wanted to be amused. She hated how he ate so much candy with so much pleasure. She hated how he avoided doing his homework properly and how he dozed off in Professor Binn's class. She hated how he always put himself down. She hated him.
Stop lying to yourself.
No, she didn't hate him. She liked him so much it scared her. There were so many things about him that she loved. She loved how she could always spot him in a large crowd because of his fiery hair. She loved how he could always make her laugh, even in the most uptight of situations. She loved how, no matter what, he would do anything to defend her, even throw up slugs in front of the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams. She loved how he cared so much about Harry that he would give his life for him, that he would do anything to drive away the nightmares that tormented their friend. She loved the way he sat back the first day of Christmas holidays rubbing his stomach with a pile of Chocolate Frogs at his side. She loved how passionate he was about Quidditch and how loyal he was to his team. She loved how he loved his sister so much he would go to any means to protect her. She loved how he looked when he fought with her, his blue eyes blazing with a fire so strong she couldn't stare at him for too long. She loved how when he whispered in her ear or gave her a hug it sent chills through her body that made her shiver. She loved how she could feel his gaze on her when she sat by the fire reading. She loved how he licked his lips when he imagined a day at Hogsmeade in The Three Broomsticks and in Honeydukes. Yeah, she loved his lips. She would love them more if her dreams became a reality and they rested on hers. She loved too many things about him to name.
When she had realized this, she had been scared and ecstatic. She had been scared because she didn't know what to call such a strong feeling, much less what to do with it. She had been in third year, and every night, she discovered that the feeling was stronger and stronger. But, of course, she had been filled with a wondrous sense of pleasure. In the Muggle world, she had never had friends to call her own. Sure, she loved Charlotte, and Charlie was a wonderful friend of hers, and who could forget Peter, but the problem was, they all lived in books. As a little girl, she had sat alone on a swing, staring out at the frolicking children. There was one little boy, Ryan, who always chased after one of the prettiest girls, Kristy. He loved to pull on her perfect golden pigtails and tug on her frilly pink skirt. Of course, that was back in kindergarten, but she had always wished that one day maybe one of the little boys like Ryan would chase after her. Later on, in third grade, Ryan and Kristy would walk around holding hand and giving each other kisses on the cheeks. Then she truly wished she could have someone, someone to take by the hand and lead around the playground, smiling like the world was theirs. At Hogwarts, in the later years, Pavarti and Lavender always cooed about Dean and Seamus and how they wished they could kiss them. And then after the Yule Ball Lavender described lavishly what a great kisser Seamus was. And again, Hermione was alone. She still didn't have someone. She hadn't had a little boy to pull on her bushy hair. She hadn't had a boy to hold her hand and call her his girlfriend. She hadn't had that one guy she wanted to kiss her.
And yet here he was, running after her, exactly what she had wanted that one day on the playground, when she knew nothing about him but still dreamt of him. There he had been, holding her hand when she was worried that Harry wouldn't make it through the third task. There he had been to annoy her like a little boy would to get a little girl's attention. There he had been when she had turned her cheek at the ball. And now he was here, still here, after so much time, after so many opportunities to find the perfect girl. He was running after her.
"Hermione." He caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. Hermione turned, trying not to notice that the tears that had been in her eyes were still there.
"Let me go," she muttered.
Ron shook his head, never taking his gaze from hers. "No, and I swear to you that I will never let you go." Hermione closed her eyes and felt one tear fall on her cheek. She didn't want to do this anymore. She refused to dance around the subject. "You understand that I'm trying. Please let me do this, Hermione." Her lip quivered as more tears threatened to fall, for absolutely no reason. She nodded.
Ron sighed. "She's not my girlfriend. This is why I wanted it to be me that told you, not someone else. I knew you would get the wrong idea, and the way Ginny said it, anybody would. Serena—that's her name, Serena Amali—is one of my good friends. She's the kind of person who's not your best friend, but she's close. I never liked Serena. There's only ever been one person…that I've liked." Ron's last words were whispers, but Hermione heard them loud and clear. She gave a small gasp and tried to look into his eyes. Her own were wide in realization. This was it…this was what she had been longing for, dreaming about.
Ron looked up, took a deep breath, and paused. He seemed to be going through ever detail in his mind. "O-okay, well, you know how stupid I can be. There can be a great opportunities staring me straight in the face and I won't take them. But I don't care anymore." He hesitated and continued. "The funny thing is, when I met you, I thought you were a snob. I hated you because you seemed to act like you owned all of Hogwarts. But after the troll…I couldn't believe you were my friend. I mean, can there be any two people who are more different than the two of us?" They both sniggered for a moment. "Hermione, I was kind of mad at myself that I actually liked having you as a friend back in our first year. Then, after the day Malfoy called you a Mudblood, I realized that you were important to me, which convinced me that you were definitely my best friend. I was perfectly okay with that. But…after we had our huge argument in our third year, I realized I wasn't okay with being your best friend. I wouldn't admit it to myself but I've had enough proof. I don't wanna be just your best friend." Ron took her hands, closed his eyes, and finally snapped them open to hold her gaze. Hermione waited, her eyes still wide. "There are not enough words to tell you that the only person I've ever liked has been you."
Hermione felt her heart stop. She wasn't aware of the wind blowing, of the cold night air, or of the sand tucked between her toes. She was surprised to see that Ron neither blushed nor turned away. He merely continued talking.
"I--Serena knows. I've been writing so much to her because I wanted her advice. She's told me that I should just stop thinking about others' opinions and only focus on you. She's the one who came to see me last night, the one you heard from the balcony. She was horrified that I hadn't told you and said that if I didn't then she would really stop speaking to me." He laughed. "She's been a good friend, and she agrees with me; you're wonderful. I—"
Hermione put two fingers on his lips. "Ron, you've said enough."
Ron opened his mouth. "Oh…I see," he said, dismay evident in his voice. "I'm sorry, that was the wrong thing to do…I—I shouldn't have said anything, I already knew you probably—"
"Ron, I meant that you should stop talking, not that you said the wrong thing!" She sighed. Then she looked up at him and smiled. "I've got my share of things to say. First of all, why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I didn't have the guts to sa—"
"I didn't want you to answer. I already know the answer. Second, you're right, I jumped to conclusions about Serena. And third…" She threw her arms around his neck. Ron was confused, although he proceeded to encircle her waist with his arms. Hermione pulled back quickly, her eyes shining. "You git! I know you hadn't told me before because you thought I didn't feel the same way. Well, I'll quote you back after we had gotten past Fluffy: ARE YOU MAD?" She laughed and shook her head. "Ronald Weasley, you are blind! Even though I only realized it in our third year, like you, I know I've liked you since the day I met you."
Ron stared at her in disbelief. "You've gotta be shitting me."
Hermione gave him a sharp look. "Don't swear." He grinned. "Anyway, Ron, you're right, you are blind. How obvious have I been?" Ron shrugged and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Look, this isn't a mistake, I'm sure of it, but we've wasted two years of our lives when we could have been…you know…together." Ron's eyes sparkled with delight. He bent down and gave Hermione a quick kiss on the cheek.
There it is. First, he chases after you, like you wanted a little boy to do. Then he kisses you on the cheek, like you wanted a boy to do. Now the only part that's missing is…
But not tonight. There would be other times, perfect enough, for that. Not tonight. Soon…
Hermione smiled back and nodded. "Okay."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
"I…should put on a sweater."
"Um, yeah. Hey Hermione? Er, thanks."
"There's no need for that." With that said, Hermione gave him a kiss on the cheek and turned. She walked away to the hut, the smile never vanishing from her lips and eyes. When she was far away from him, she heard him scream, "Woo-hoo!" into the night air.
Her smile widened.
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A/n: Okay, so that's the pen pal!! Yay, now you know! And they know how they feel about each other (as if they didn't already). But where's the kiss, you ask? Like Hermione said, it's coming soon, and I mean VERY soon. But that's not the only thing…ooh, surprises, and big ones, await you.
Sorry that I made you guys wait for so long, but I hope it was worth it. I'll try to get the next chapter up really soon.
Kay, go ahead and review now! And sorry, no comments, but I wanted this up ASAP!!!