Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot.

Here's chapter 13. Fast, aye? I didn't want to keep you guys waiting anymore. Thanks for your reviews!

Chapter 13

"So what happened?" Ginny asked Hermione as soon as they all got back from Hogsmeade.

"Nothing," Hermione replied. "We talked."

"You talked? That's all?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Why, what did you want to happen, Gin?" Hermione asked pointedly.

Ginny turned pink and shrugged. "Nothing. I was just asking. I have to go. See you later." And Ginny immediately disappeared in the crowd of students coming back from the Hogsmeade visit.

Hermione sighed and went through the path that led to her dormitory. She knew what Ginny was asking. She was asking herself the same thing. "We did nothing but talk." Because Hermione now knew that she wanted so much more with Ron. She wanted them to be more than friends. "Like that's possible," she muttered.

"Excuse me? What's that?"

Hermione turned around very quickly, her brown hair whipping around. She came face to face with Harry, who was grinning very widely. "Harry! What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?" Hermione scolded. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest. *How much did he hear?*

"I wasn't sneaking up on you," Harry protested. "I saw you walking by and I decided to talk to you. I mean, I haven't seen you since this morning."

"Oh," Hermione said, relieved. *Looks like he didn't hear anything after all.*

"What were you saying, anyway?" Harry asked casually.

Hermione stopped in her tracks and faced Harry. Her eyes narrowed into slits. "What did you hear?"

"Nothing much. Just the thing you said about nothing but talking and like that's possible. Other than that, nope," Harry said truthfully.

"I didn't say anything else," Hermione snapped. They continued walking.

"So what was that about?" Harry prodded on.

"Nothing," Hermione lied. "I was just thinking aloud."

"Looked like it. But what about?"

"You're so nosy, Harry. It's personal."

"It's not personal when it's about Ron."

"Harry!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"Not everything's about Ron," Hermione said. "Just because I was muttering to myself about something, doesn't mean that it's about Ron."

"Oh yes it does," Harry said. "You never mutter to yourself, Hermione. At least not until you kissed Ron." He grinned as Hermione turned red.

"For your information, I did not kiss him. He kissed me. There's a difference," she said matter-of-factly.

"But you kissed him back. So it's the same difference," Harry said triumphantly, knowing that he had a big point.

"What's it to you, anyway?" Hermione asked.

"What's what to me?"

"Me and Ron. What do you care about us?" Hermione said, rephrasing the question.

"You two are my best friends and I'm not just going to allow the two of you living the rest of your lives not admitting to what you're truly feeling," Harry said. "I want you both to be happy."

"We're just friends, Harry," Hermione said and went in her dorm.

Harry watched her go in thinking, *Then why doesn't it look that way to me?*

**

A few days later, Ron began looking for Hermione. "Harry!"

Harry turned to look at the person who called him. He grinned. "Hey Ron! How are you, mate?"

"Fine," Ron answered distractedly.

Harry noticed this. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Have you seen Hermione?" Ron asked.

"No, I haven't. Why, did you two fight again or something?"

"No. I just want to talk to her," Ron answered.

"About what?" Harry asked.

"Never you mind. I'll see you later," Ron said and jogged off.

Ginny arrived in time to see Ron leaving. "Hey," Ginny greeted.

"Hi," Harry said with a big smile and kissed Ginny on the cheek.

"Was that Ron leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah. He was looking for Hermione," Harry said.

"Really?" Ginny asked, grinning. "Hermione was just looking for him."

"She was?"

"Yeah. I saw her earlier and she asked me whether I've seen Ron."

"Maybe they're getting to their senses," Harry said.

"Good. After all this time, they should be realizing what's right in front of them," Ginny said.

**

"Lavender!" Hermione called.

"Hey Hermione! What's up?"

"Have you seen Ron?" Hermione asked.

"No. Why?" Lavender asked curiously.

"Oh. Um, I just want to talk to him," Hermione answered. "Are you sure you haven't seen him?"

"Positive. But if I see him, I'll tell him that you're looking for him," Lavender said hurriedly, seeing Hermione's downcast expression.

Hermione smiled slightly. "Thanks, Lav." She walked away.

"I wonder what she's up to," Lavender asked herself.

"Lavender! Have you seen Ron?" Ginny asked.

"Uh, no. Why is everyone looking for him? Hermione just asked me if I've seen him. Is he missing?" Lavender asked.

"I'm looking for him because Hermione's looking for him and because Ron's looking for her, too," Ginny answered.

"Really? They're looking for each other?" Lavender asked, interested. "That's so cute!"

"I know. But they're never going to find each other if both of them keep on walking around," Ginny said. "Where did Hermione go?"

"That way," Lavender said, pointing to the direction where Hermione went.

"Okay. If you see Ron, just stop him or something," Ginny said. "I'll go after Hermione."

Ginny left quickly and Lavender began to look for Ron.

**

Hermione decided to give up. If she were going to find Ron, she would've done so earlier. She went to the lake and resolved to just stay there for the rest of the afternoon. She was just walking towards the lake, when she bumped into someone and felt herself falling to the ground. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact.

But it never came. Instead, she felt strong arms wrap around her waist and steady her. When she opened her eyes, her head was resting on someone's chest. She looked up and saw blue eyes staring back at her.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked softly.

"I'm. I'm fine," Hermione answered, stepping away from him and looking away. "Thanks."

"I've been looking for you," Ron told her.

Hermione looked up at him quickly, feeling surprised. "You were?"

"Yeah," Ron said, his ears turning red.

"Why?"

"I. I don't know really. I just had this urge to see you," Ron mumbled.

Hermione smiled, despite herself. "I was looking for you, too." Ron looked at her, a questioning look on his face. "I just wanted to see you."

This formed a smile on Ron's face. Hermione's smile became bigger. They sat down on the grass and faced the lake.

**

"I can't find Hermione," Ginny said.

"I can't find Ron either," Lavender said.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, arriving with Parvati.

Ginny became distracted, seeing Harry and Parvati together. "Where did you guys go? Why are you together?"

"We were only looking for Ron and Hermione, so will you stop being jealous," Parvati said, grinning slightly.

Ginny turned a bit pink but regained her composure. "I was just making sure. Anyway, did you find them?"

"No. We looked everywhere," Harry said, trying to stop himself from smiling too much. He just couldn't help it, but Ginny being jealous was just too cute.

"Where could they have gone?" Lavender asked. "It's not like there's anywhere else to go."

"Do you think they went to Hogsmeade?" Parvati asked.

"Hermione wouldn't go to Hogsmeade on a school day unless it was really important," Ginny said at once.

"And Ron wouldn't go there by himself," Harry added.

"So where are they?" Parvati asked.

A sudden thought occurred to Lavender. "Did you guys check the lake? It's possible that Ron went there."

So they all proceeded towards the lake, hoping that Ron was there and that this whole mess would be over. When they got there, they began looking around. Suddenly, Lavender let out a stifled scream. Everyone hurried to her and looked at the direction where she was pointing.

It was Ron. With Hermione. And they were about to kiss.