Chapter Eight

After the Sorting and the Feast was over, the students separated and the new first years followed the prefects to their respective house areas. Hermione moved quickly between the groups as they departed to advise the prefects of their meeting later that evening.

Ron stood near the wall, waiting for his chance to corner her so that he could question her about her living arrangements with Malfoy. As Hermione finished her instructions she moved to walk past him with the Gryffindor group. Refusing to be ignored, Ron reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to his side rather forcibly.

Ow! That hurt. You'd better have a good reason for doing that. Hermione scowled at him as she rubbed the place where his hand had been a moment before.

I do have a good reason. Come on, let's go find a place to talk. Ron turned around and strode down the hallway, with Hermione a few paces behind.

You know, she said irritably as she struggled to keep up, My legs are nowhere near as long as yours, so you could slow down a little bit, okay?

Embarrassed, Ron flushed bright pink and adjusted his stride to match hers. Er, sorry about that he mumbled in apology.

Never mind, let's go in here. Hermione pointed to the door of an empty classroom not far ahead.

They entered the room and Ron closed the door behind them as Hermione whispered, to provide some light for their discussion. She sat down in one of the chairs and he took the one next to her. Turning to him curiously, Hermione asked, So, what's on your mind Ron?

Ron swallowed and looked her directly in the eyes. She wasn't going to like this one bit. She hated it when he and Harry were overprotective of her. Especially in the last few years, when the small crush Ron had developed on Hermione in fourth year grew astronomically. It was all he could do now to force himself to focus and share what was bothering him.

Mione, I'm worried about you living with Malfoy. Are you sure that's going to be safe? What if he is in league with You Know Who, just like his father? At this point Ron had jumped to his feet and was pacing in the small area in front of her desk, gesturing wildly.

Hermione surprised him by moving to stand in front of him and grabbing his hands, forcing him to stand still and look at her while she replied to his questions. Ron, I promise that I will be okay. I will still be spending most of my time with you and Harry anyway. The only time I will be with Malfoy is when we are performing our duties as Head Boy and Girl. Besides, if Malfoy seriously wanted to hurt me in order to get in good with the Death Eaters he would have done it already. I doubt that I'm in mortal danger.

Hermione paused for a moment and studied his face. Ron suddenly realized that they were still holding hands. It felt so right, standing there with her like this. He summoned up the trademark Gryffindor bravery and decided it was time to make his feelings known. He'd been hiding them for three years.



Yes Ron?

Do you have any idea about how I feel about you?

Startled, Hermione attempted to take a step back, but Ron held tightly to her hands. Determined, he gazed into her cinnamon colored eyes and said, I love you, Hermione Granger. How do you feel about me?

It seemed like ages passed before Hermione suddenly stepped forward and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a fierce hug. Her head rested against his shoulder and she whispered in quiet wonder, I thought I would never hear you say that. I love you too, Ronald Weasley.

Ron's heart soared and he tipped up her chin, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. When they finally parted that night, both of their hearts were lighter and they were looking forward to sharing their relationship with everyone they knew.

On her way to the prefect's meeting Hermione passed Valerie and Oliver. She smiled at them both and they paused to greet her. Watching them as they continued together down the hall made Hermione wonder. Maybe she wasn't the only one who was in love. After all, those two looked awfully comfortable spending time together already. She resolved to ask Ron his opinion about Oliver and Valerie in the morning, smirking at the thought that she would probably have to restrain Ron from threatening Oliver to treat his cousin as she deserved.