Without any further ado….

*~

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked Ron, who was lounging on the loveseat, one leg stretched over the armrest. He looked equally shocked to see her here, and stood.

"What are you doing here?" He inquired as well. "Parvati wanted me to meet her here." He said, waving the letter.

"I got a letter from Fred…" Her voice faded. They looked at each other, eyes connecting, and both said,

"Ginny." Hermione dashed to the door and turned the lock. "I didn't even bring my wand!" She whined. Ron fell back into one of the chairs.

"She can lock us in here, but it doesn't mean I have to talk to you."

"Fine." Hermione said rudely. She fell onto the loveseat and picked at stray string on her robes. After a few minutes of unbearable silence, she spoke. "They must really hate the fact we're not talking." Ron looked up.

"Who? Harry and Ginny?" Hermione nodded. "Well, I reckon," he continued, "I guess this is pretty clever. But we're not talking for a good reason." He said stubbornly. Sighing, Hermione decided to admit what was going on with her and Fred.

"Ron, I have a confession." He raised his eyebrows. "Fred and I weren't really dating…we only snogged because George bet him and I wanted to make you jealous." There was a pause.

"Well, you did make me j-wait, what? You were one of George's bets?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Wait 'till I get my hands on him. I'll-"

"Ron." She warned.

"Alright. Look, my plan to make you jealous didn't work either. It…er…backfired, but you already knew that…so" Hermione stifled a giggle. He was blushing now. Clearing his throat, he said, "what we really need now is two butterbeers."

"Wha-" Hermione began, but she didn't get to finish because two frothy butterbeers appeared on the coffee table. She laughed. Ron took a big slurp of his and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"I still feel horrible." Hermione stated, not touching her drink.

"Why? I forgive you." Ron commented, like it was the most obvious thing.

"It's not that simple." Hermione continued, in a quieter voice. "I guess I'm just not the type of person who can kiss someone and just let it go…no strings attached." She said, not believing she just confessed that to Ron.

"Do you fancy him?" Ron asked, sounding appalled.

"No." She said, after thinking about it. "It's just…I was hoping for something…more…I guess." Ron was grumbling about his brothers when he looked up and saw a tear running down Hermione's face. He looked at her, shocked. Reading his mind, she said,

"I'm sorry, it's not just Fred." She was going to stand, but he was by her side. Ron knew that sometimes you just needed to let tears run their course, so he sat beside her, a little awkwardly, as she laid her head on his shoulder.

Ginny and Harry had returned from a walk around the grounds, and Ginny's ear was to the door. Harry was being the lookout.

            "She's crying." Ginny was reporting. "God, I wish there was a keyhole. If that insensitive prat made Hermione cry-" A keyhole appeared. "Oh wait. They are really close together. He's…oh my god…Harry, he's going to snog her!" She said in an urgent whisper. Harry ran over and they bumped heads.

Hermione wiped the last tear away and looked up at Ron. She breathed in sharply. He was getting closer. He brushed his lips against hers.

            "Aw, Harry, look!" She scooted over to let him see. His eyes widened.

            "I never thought that would happen." He leaned away from the keyhole; suddenly aware of how close Ginny was to him. She brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. She turned her head slowly and looked at him, looking at her. She bit her lip. Harry blushed. 'Just kiss her!' He was telling himself. 'C'mon, kiss him!' She was urging herself.  They leaned in closer and Ginny titled her head, eyes closed.

            Hermione was first to pull away, and she settled herself up against Ron. He wrapped a protective arm around her. It was one of those moments where you didn't need to say anything. They sat for a few minutes when Hermione turned around and looked him in the eye.

            "Thank you." She said.

            "For what?" Ron asked, puzzled.

            "For forgiving me. Snogging your brother was low."
            "Yeah…I guess it was. But I'm just glad I was the guy you wanted to kiss." He pulled her a little closer.

            "And I'm glad you and Parvati/Lavender are through." She watched as a blush crept up his face.

            "Truce?" He offered. "And promise never to mention that again."

            "Alright. Truce." She giggled. "Y'know what, Ron? I tried, but there's no way I can ever fall out of love with you."

            "Ditto." He said before he caught her lips in a kiss.

AN: a HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed (or emailed, haha.) An extremely short epilogue is on its way. Review, please. Pretty please with sugar on top. Hope you liked!!