Chapter Four: Isn't It Obvious?
The next few weeks in the Burrow were much better for not just Ron and Hermione, but everyone else in the house.
Ginny was happy to have a girl around, or at least one around her age. She was home more often then she had been before. Instead of going over Luna's house almost every day, she stayed home to help her mother and hang around with Ron and Hermione.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were just happy that Ron was constantly in a good mood. He talked and laughed now, instead of staying shut up in his room all day.
And, of course, Fred and George were delighted to have something to tease Ron about. Or at least, when they weren't at work.
One specific summer day, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were sitting on the porch, eating lunch. Fred and George were at their store (they preferred not to call it 'work'), Mr. Weasley was at the Ministry and Mrs. Weasley was off with the Order.
"Oh yeah, Ron, I forgot to tell you. Since you seem so keen on knowing when my friends are coming here, I thought I might tell you." Ginny said, a bit randomly.
"Tell me what?" Ron asked, not really sounding interested.
"My friend Rebecca is going to be staying here for the rest of the summer. She's coming in about a week."
"Rebecca who?" Ron asked with his mouth full of food.
"Rebecca Lovegood."
"Any relation to Luna?" he asked.
"Yes, actually. She's Luna's cousin."
"Must be a bloody crack pot too." Ron muttered.
Ginny glared at her brother. "Actually, she's not. You know how I've been going over Luna's a lot lately?"
"Yeah, I don't understand why though." Ron said, causing Hermione to choke on her sandwich from laughter.
"She's my friend, that's why." Ginny said, still glaring at Ron, "Anyway, Becky lives with Luna and we've become really good friends. Luna and her dad are going to go look for that Crumple Horned Snorkack thing in Sweden Becky --err-- didn't exactly feel like going, so I asked her if she wanted to stay here."
"That's nice." Ron said sarcastically as he stuffed his face with ham and cheese.
"You haven't stopped talking about her since I got here. It's like you two have known each other since you were born. Does this mean you'll be excluding me?" Hermione jested with a laugh.
"Of course not!" Ginny answered, "But then again, it would give you and Ron some alone time together. And I'm sure neither of you would mind that."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked. She was blushing a little, but was nowhere near as red as Ron.
"Just take a hint, will you?" Ginny said.
"What hint?" Ron asked quietly.
"When will you two get over it and admit you fancy each other? Everyone knows that you two were like, made for each other." (A/N-Hehe, title lol)
"Oh please Ginny!" Hermione said, "As if either of us would EVER think of each other in that way."
The little hope that had blossomed inside Ron quickly melted away. How could he, for one second, have thought that Hermione felt the same way for him as he did for her?
Of course she doesn't fancy me. Ron thought. She could never like ME. But why did she have to put it so cruelly?
Hermione looked over a Ron's depressed face and sighed. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings.
But it's true, isn't it? Ron doesn't fancy me. Does he? No, of course not. And I don't fancy him. Hermione thought to herself. Sure, he's been super sweet lately, and so much more mature. But just because I like being around him doesn't mean I fancy him. He's my FRIEND.
But she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed every minute of when he was comforting her, or rubbing her back until she stopped crying. Or how whenever she was with him, she just felt so warm and ... happy inside. And happiness was really all she had wanted for the past month.
"Whatever. You can think what you want, but I'm just stating the obvious." Ginny said. Her voice broke Ron and Hermione from their deep chain of thought.
"Yeah... okay." Ron said as he stood up, "I-I'm just gunna go... do my homework." He left the porch and went inside.
"He's been using that excuse a lot lately." Ginny said as she picked up the plates and went to bring them inside.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, helping her, "He isn't really doing his homework?"
"What do you think?" Ginny asked as they walked into the kitchen.
"Well, I doubted that he'd started yet..." Hermione said, without finishing her sentence.
Ginny laughed as she dumped one of Ron's half eaten sandwiches into the rubbish. "I think that's the first time I ever saw Ron not finish his food."
"Really? I-I think I'm going to go talk to him." Hermione said and she walked up the stairs, leaving Ginny alone.
She ascended up several flights of creaky, wooden stairs until she reached the highest bedroom in the house. She smiled at the familiar sign nailed to the door that said "Ronald's Room". She knocked on the door.
"Ron?" she called through the door.
"Come in." a quiet voice mumbled.
Hermione slowly opened the door and stepped into Ron's room. It was almost like walking into a furnace. It seemed as if every inch of the shabby wallpaper was covered with posters of his favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons. She found Ron sprawled on his bed that was covered in a comforter, which was the same bright orange colors of his walls and Chudley Cannons was written across it. As soon as Hermione walked in, Ron sat up and quickly moved a pillow so that Hermione could sit down. She smiled as she sat down next to him.
"Still obsessed with the Cannons I see." she said with a sly grin.
"You know Hermione, I really don't understand what you have against Quidditch." Ron said rather defensively.
"I told you. Quidditch at Hogwarts only separates the Houses more." She replied.
"Yeah, well...what about the pros? They're cool."
"If 'cool' is the only word you can use to describe them..."
"Fine..." Ron said, screwing up his face and trying to find a word to satisfy Hermione, "Invigitating then."
"You mean...invigorating?" Hermione asked, trying hard to suppress her laughter. Not only had he said the word wrong, but invigorating wasn't exactly the best word to describe Quidditch.
"Yeah...that." Ron muttered, blushing. Having this conversation with Hermione was making him feel even worse about the whole situation. This was why she didn't--couldn't fancy him back. He was an idiot, and she was easily the smartest witch of their year.
"Listen...Ron. I didn't come up here to talk about Quidditch." Hermione said.
"I figured as much." He muttered.
"It's just...what Ginny said, I mean...didn't it surprise you?" Hermione questioned, a slight blush growing on her cheeks.
"Well, yeah, I guess so. I mean how could she see something that I only just-erm-that isn't even there?" he finished quickly, having almost told her about his feelings.
"Exactly my point. I mean, you don't... fancy me, right?" Hermione asked, a hint of laughter with the seriousness in her voice.
"No." Ron answered, a bit too quickly. After all it was true. He didn't like her, he loved her.
"It just feels like if either of us did feel that way, it would ruin our friendship."
"Yeah, I-I know what you mean." This is just great, Ron thought. She really doesn't think of me as anything more than a friend.
"So it's for the best. Because I never want to stop being friends with you Ron."
Then, Ron didn't know what came over him. Maybe it was a hormonal imbalance. Or maybe it was because Hermione was sitting so close to him. But the next thing he knew, he'd wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist and was leaning in to kiss her.
What am I doing? he asked himself. He quickly kissed the top of her head instead. It was a good thing he was so much taller than Hermione, otherwise she might have mistaken his friendly gesture for what he had really meant to do.
"Don't worry Hermione, I'll never let that happen."
Hermione let out a sigh of relief. At least now she didn't have to worry about her best friend fancying her.
Author's Note- Again, my terrible apologies for taking so long. This is the last chapter that I have all written out. I have half of chapter five to type, and then the rest is in my head. I just realized how I type alike in all of my stories. That's a bad habbit...I think.
I'm watching the Sorcerer's Stone right now. I love this movie! They're all so little! And you can so totally pick up the Ron/Hermione vibes...that is, behind all of their fighting of course. And on TV, they're showing the deleted scenes. It's so much better with them. After they defeat the troll, Harry says, "That was good of you to save us Hermione." "It was her fault we were almost in trouble in the first place." Ron says. Or, something like that. Then Harry says, "Well, Hermione might not have been in there if you hadn't insulted her." And then Ron says, "What are friends for?" And they give each other this look...and well, I squealed. Lol. I really am obsessed. Okay, I'll stop talking now. Please review!!! Oh yeah, flames are accepted. Even from cousins!! Wink wink. If ya don't like it, say so!
The next few weeks in the Burrow were much better for not just Ron and Hermione, but everyone else in the house.
Ginny was happy to have a girl around, or at least one around her age. She was home more often then she had been before. Instead of going over Luna's house almost every day, she stayed home to help her mother and hang around with Ron and Hermione.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were just happy that Ron was constantly in a good mood. He talked and laughed now, instead of staying shut up in his room all day.
And, of course, Fred and George were delighted to have something to tease Ron about. Or at least, when they weren't at work.
One specific summer day, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were sitting on the porch, eating lunch. Fred and George were at their store (they preferred not to call it 'work'), Mr. Weasley was at the Ministry and Mrs. Weasley was off with the Order.
"Oh yeah, Ron, I forgot to tell you. Since you seem so keen on knowing when my friends are coming here, I thought I might tell you." Ginny said, a bit randomly.
"Tell me what?" Ron asked, not really sounding interested.
"My friend Rebecca is going to be staying here for the rest of the summer. She's coming in about a week."
"Rebecca who?" Ron asked with his mouth full of food.
"Rebecca Lovegood."
"Any relation to Luna?" he asked.
"Yes, actually. She's Luna's cousin."
"Must be a bloody crack pot too." Ron muttered.
Ginny glared at her brother. "Actually, she's not. You know how I've been going over Luna's a lot lately?"
"Yeah, I don't understand why though." Ron said, causing Hermione to choke on her sandwich from laughter.
"She's my friend, that's why." Ginny said, still glaring at Ron, "Anyway, Becky lives with Luna and we've become really good friends. Luna and her dad are going to go look for that Crumple Horned Snorkack thing in Sweden Becky --err-- didn't exactly feel like going, so I asked her if she wanted to stay here."
"That's nice." Ron said sarcastically as he stuffed his face with ham and cheese.
"You haven't stopped talking about her since I got here. It's like you two have known each other since you were born. Does this mean you'll be excluding me?" Hermione jested with a laugh.
"Of course not!" Ginny answered, "But then again, it would give you and Ron some alone time together. And I'm sure neither of you would mind that."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked. She was blushing a little, but was nowhere near as red as Ron.
"Just take a hint, will you?" Ginny said.
"What hint?" Ron asked quietly.
"When will you two get over it and admit you fancy each other? Everyone knows that you two were like, made for each other." (A/N-Hehe, title lol)
"Oh please Ginny!" Hermione said, "As if either of us would EVER think of each other in that way."
The little hope that had blossomed inside Ron quickly melted away. How could he, for one second, have thought that Hermione felt the same way for him as he did for her?
Of course she doesn't fancy me. Ron thought. She could never like ME. But why did she have to put it so cruelly?
Hermione looked over a Ron's depressed face and sighed. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings.
But it's true, isn't it? Ron doesn't fancy me. Does he? No, of course not. And I don't fancy him. Hermione thought to herself. Sure, he's been super sweet lately, and so much more mature. But just because I like being around him doesn't mean I fancy him. He's my FRIEND.
But she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed every minute of when he was comforting her, or rubbing her back until she stopped crying. Or how whenever she was with him, she just felt so warm and ... happy inside. And happiness was really all she had wanted for the past month.
"Whatever. You can think what you want, but I'm just stating the obvious." Ginny said. Her voice broke Ron and Hermione from their deep chain of thought.
"Yeah... okay." Ron said as he stood up, "I-I'm just gunna go... do my homework." He left the porch and went inside.
"He's been using that excuse a lot lately." Ginny said as she picked up the plates and went to bring them inside.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, helping her, "He isn't really doing his homework?"
"What do you think?" Ginny asked as they walked into the kitchen.
"Well, I doubted that he'd started yet..." Hermione said, without finishing her sentence.
Ginny laughed as she dumped one of Ron's half eaten sandwiches into the rubbish. "I think that's the first time I ever saw Ron not finish his food."
"Really? I-I think I'm going to go talk to him." Hermione said and she walked up the stairs, leaving Ginny alone.
She ascended up several flights of creaky, wooden stairs until she reached the highest bedroom in the house. She smiled at the familiar sign nailed to the door that said "Ronald's Room". She knocked on the door.
"Ron?" she called through the door.
"Come in." a quiet voice mumbled.
Hermione slowly opened the door and stepped into Ron's room. It was almost like walking into a furnace. It seemed as if every inch of the shabby wallpaper was covered with posters of his favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons. She found Ron sprawled on his bed that was covered in a comforter, which was the same bright orange colors of his walls and Chudley Cannons was written across it. As soon as Hermione walked in, Ron sat up and quickly moved a pillow so that Hermione could sit down. She smiled as she sat down next to him.
"Still obsessed with the Cannons I see." she said with a sly grin.
"You know Hermione, I really don't understand what you have against Quidditch." Ron said rather defensively.
"I told you. Quidditch at Hogwarts only separates the Houses more." She replied.
"Yeah, well...what about the pros? They're cool."
"If 'cool' is the only word you can use to describe them..."
"Fine..." Ron said, screwing up his face and trying to find a word to satisfy Hermione, "Invigitating then."
"You mean...invigorating?" Hermione asked, trying hard to suppress her laughter. Not only had he said the word wrong, but invigorating wasn't exactly the best word to describe Quidditch.
"Yeah...that." Ron muttered, blushing. Having this conversation with Hermione was making him feel even worse about the whole situation. This was why she didn't--couldn't fancy him back. He was an idiot, and she was easily the smartest witch of their year.
"Listen...Ron. I didn't come up here to talk about Quidditch." Hermione said.
"I figured as much." He muttered.
"It's just...what Ginny said, I mean...didn't it surprise you?" Hermione questioned, a slight blush growing on her cheeks.
"Well, yeah, I guess so. I mean how could she see something that I only just-erm-that isn't even there?" he finished quickly, having almost told her about his feelings.
"Exactly my point. I mean, you don't... fancy me, right?" Hermione asked, a hint of laughter with the seriousness in her voice.
"No." Ron answered, a bit too quickly. After all it was true. He didn't like her, he loved her.
"It just feels like if either of us did feel that way, it would ruin our friendship."
"Yeah, I-I know what you mean." This is just great, Ron thought. She really doesn't think of me as anything more than a friend.
"So it's for the best. Because I never want to stop being friends with you Ron."
Then, Ron didn't know what came over him. Maybe it was a hormonal imbalance. Or maybe it was because Hermione was sitting so close to him. But the next thing he knew, he'd wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist and was leaning in to kiss her.
What am I doing? he asked himself. He quickly kissed the top of her head instead. It was a good thing he was so much taller than Hermione, otherwise she might have mistaken his friendly gesture for what he had really meant to do.
"Don't worry Hermione, I'll never let that happen."
Hermione let out a sigh of relief. At least now she didn't have to worry about her best friend fancying her.
Author's Note- Again, my terrible apologies for taking so long. This is the last chapter that I have all written out. I have half of chapter five to type, and then the rest is in my head. I just realized how I type alike in all of my stories. That's a bad habbit...I think.
I'm watching the Sorcerer's Stone right now. I love this movie! They're all so little! And you can so totally pick up the Ron/Hermione vibes...that is, behind all of their fighting of course. And on TV, they're showing the deleted scenes. It's so much better with them. After they defeat the troll, Harry says, "That was good of you to save us Hermione." "It was her fault we were almost in trouble in the first place." Ron says. Or, something like that. Then Harry says, "Well, Hermione might not have been in there if you hadn't insulted her." And then Ron says, "What are friends for?" And they give each other this look...and well, I squealed. Lol. I really am obsessed. Okay, I'll stop talking now. Please review!!! Oh yeah, flames are accepted. Even from cousins!! Wink wink. If ya don't like it, say so!