A/N: I don't own Rent or any of the HP characters. I do own the plot.

Chapter 8: No Day But Today

"There's only now, there's only here

Give in to love or live in fear

No other path, no other way

No day but today." –Rent

Ginny glanced at the clock. "It's 6:30," she said. The show was starting at seven. "I'll go down and tell them that you're ready, and then you can make your grand entrance." She smiled joyfully and rushed over to hug me.

"I can't wait until you're really, officially my sister-not that you aren't like my sister now, mind you," she murmured in my ear. She released me, and with a parting wave, bounded down the stairs.

I stared at myself in the mirror. Everyone thought Ron and I were going to marry…I shoved the thought away and reminded myself that this was just one night, just one date. I took a deep breath and descended down the staircase.

"Oh, Hermione, you look stunning!" fawned Mrs. Weasley. She seemed to be fighting the urge to throw her arms around me. Mr. Weasley nodded in agreement with his wife's comments. Ginny simply sat in her chair, glowering like the Cheshire cat. This was exactly the reaction she'd hoped for.

Ron stood silent for a few seconds. He stared at me as if I'd left the room as an old hag and come back Transfigured into a veela or something. "Blimey," was all he could manage.

Mrs. Weasley fluttered around the room nervously, wringing her hands. "Oh, I need the camera-Arthur, do you remember where you left it last?"

"Mum, no!" Ron yelped, finding his voice.

While he and his mother squabbled, I examined his attire. He, like me, had gotten all dressed up-though he was wearing a strapping tuxedo that only emphasized his broad shoulders. I wasn't sure if I was in love, but I was positive at that moment that I was deep in lust. Oh, he looked delicious….

"….Mum, we need to go, we're gonna be late, no pictures!" Ron turned to me. "Let's go, Mione, before the Daily Prophet paparazzi comes." I couldn't help but laugh.

I bade his parents and Ginny goodbye, and we Apparated to Diagon Alley, though I couldn't place where we were exactly. Ron held out his arm.

"Milady," he said, in a deadpan impression of a perfect gentleman. I laughed again. It was just so different from the Ron I used to know.

I took his arm and we strode off. Ron led the way until we came upon a brightly lit theatre. The marquee read: Star Crossed Magic Players Proudly Presents Rent: A Marvelous Muggle Musical!

"Now, I'm not really one of those cultured blokes," Ron said as we found our seats (FRONT ROW! I was ecstatic), "so you may have to explain some of the deeper meaning to me. You know, since I'm such an insensitive wart and all."

I laughed. "You still remember that?"

"I was wounded for ages." He held his side and made a face like he'd been stabbed. I laughed again. "Sorry, then-I didn't know you fancied me back then."

"Ah, well…." We quieted as the show began.

I'd never seen Rent before, but I had heard the music and read the lyrics. Plus, Chaley Dawn Miller was understudying Maureen Johnson back in New York City a couple of years ago, so before my voice lesson, I'd always hear her practicing or warbling on about "a leap of mooooooooooo…"

Both Ron and I were entranced by the show, from beginning to end. What amazed me the most was the wide spectrum of emotions the show invoked in me. During "La Vie Boheme", I just wanted to get up and yell, cheer, dance, scream, and promote the Bohemian life. The array of color and….differences in the people, I guess….and the way they lived their lives….it amazed me. To think, people really lived that way, every day….starving, but doing what they loved….performing…

I actually knew the song "Take Me or Leave Me"-I helped Chaley rehearse it (I sang as Joanne). It always made the two of us laugh. At the show, I sang it softly in Ron's ear, hoping the lyrics would make him laugh, too. They did.

Although much of the show made me laugh and smile, a good part of it brought me to tears. As the cast sang in a round of "Will I?", I sobbed into my hands, not only because of the overwhelming beauty of their voices, swirling together in despair, but my ability to relate to the words they sang. I mean…. "Will I lose my dignity….Will someone care?" ….Doesn't everyone wonder that sometime in their life? When times get hard and it feels like you're back's against a brick wall, with nowhere to turn….you just want to scream, "Hello? Anyone? I'm dying of my pain, isn't anyone going to help me?"

Thankfully, "Seasons of Love", one of my very favorite show tunes in the entire world, brought me out of this short depression. I just loved the lyrics and what they meant to me: Life's always changing, but the love stays around. I looked at Ron and smiled. He wrapped his arm around my lower back. The warmth from his strong bicep spread around my bare skin.

The finale, of course, was the best. I think by this point, there wasn't a dry eye in the theatre. I could even hear Ron sniffling a bit. The female heroine almost died….she was so close to leaving….and even did, for a short time….but then she was back, reunited with the love of her life. The cast gave it their all as they sang, bold, clear, and strong. "No day but today!"

Everyone in the theatre stood and applauded. The cast deserved it. The show was amazing.

As we filed out of the crowded theatre, Ron checked his watch. "It's 10:30," he remarked. "We could go to the Leaky Cauldron, if you want…." I shook my head slightly. "Okay….d'you…um, want to, er….just go back to my place, then?" In the moon's soft light, I could see his face turning the color of his hair. As I was laughing inwardly at his shyness, I could feel the heat rising into my own face. Why? Just because we were going to his place didn't mean anything was going to happen…

"Okay, that sounds like a plan," I answered assertively. "It probably needs tidying around there, anyway-or have you suddenly become less messy?"

He laughed good naturedly, and before I knew it, we had Apparated into a small flat. Ron flipped a switch on, and light flooded through the apartment. I walked around, examining everything. I glanced at the shelf over the fireplace, then looked closer. It had a bunch of photographs in some plain wooden frames. Two of the pictures interested me the most. One was of Ron and me during first year. I'm not sure who took the picture, but I suspect it was one of the twins. Anyway, it showed Ron and me bellowing at each other, both of us red in the face.

Standing right next to this photo was another picture. This one was of Ron and me again, but we were in seventh year. In it, we weren't fighting; rather, we stood close together. I remembered taking the picture-Ginny had insisted on Ron putting his arm around my shoulder, but he stubbornly refused. Eventually, Ginny just took the picture. It had turned out really well-we both looked genuinely happy. I smiled.

"Um, Hermione, d'you….um, want to have a look around?" I turned from the fireplace and saw Ron, looking strangely nervous.

"Sure, but don't get too angry if I lecture you on how messy your room is," I joked.

He grinned. "Well, you've seen the living room and the kitchen-there really isn't much more than that….just the bathroom-" he opened the door to reveal a fairly clean bathroom, though I caught sight of a tube of toothpaste missing its top, "and last, but not least, my bedroom." I walked into the small room. It was a bit cramped, mostly because of the overflowing, messy desk in the corner. Other than that, the room was clean (and decorated in navy blue-I suspected Mrs. Weasley had done a bit of interior design work).

"So….I know it isn't much," Ron began, "but it suits me fine….since it's just me living here…all alone." Did he just throw me a hopeful glance?

"Oh, no, it's very nice…" I trailed off. One of my mom's pieces of advice floated through my head at that moment: "Don't ever go into a boy's bedroom with him and only him." I brushed it off. I'd been in Ron's dorm at school before. Nothing had happened then….

Ah, yes, an annoying voice in my head whined. But Harry was there, wasn't he? Right now, it's just you and Ron…alone…together…

"Why don't we go sit on the couch and talk," I said pointedly. Falling into bed with Ron Weasley wasn't on my to-do list for tonight….was it?

"Okay." He followed me obediently out to the living room, where we sat on the couch and gazed into the fireplace for a couple minutes in silence. Then I ventured to speak. "You've changed a lot since I left, Ron."

He shifted and snaked his arm around my shoulders. "You think so? How?"

"Well, except for when I got to your house for the first time, you're not so set on making a good impression…no, that's not it….Oh, I don't know how to explain it…."

"No, go on." His blue eyes peered at me quite curiously.

"Um…." I took a breath and blew it out. "I think it's just that you've grown up and matured more-emotionally, I mean…."

"I don't know about that-the way I was pushing you the other night, you know, putting my hand in your shirt, that wasn't mature, I'm sorry-"

"Ron, it's okay. Really." I paused. I figured there was more.

"It's just that-I knew I didn't have much time-you're leaving in, what, three days now?" I nodded. "I couldn't let you go back to America before I kissed you. Not knowing what it felt like to just hold you, have that feeling….it killed me for five years, and who knows, maybe you won't ever be back here again. I wouldn't be surprised-you're going to go far."

"Ron." I looked at him, astounded. "Of course I'll be back in England, it's my home."

"You say that now, but give it a couple more years, and you'll be right at home in the U.S. And I'll be here in my little flat, kicking myself for not doing anything about it." I stared at him, my mouth hanging open.

"Merlin, Mione," he whispered, "I love you so much-it's a lose-lose situation for me. If I let you go, I'd be missing you, but if I got you to stay, you'd lose everything you worked so hard for."

I couldn't take it anymore. The emotional, electrical charge of the evening was too much for me to handle. Suddenly, I didn't care what happened tomorrow, next week, next January. I wanted to be with Ron Weasley-who said he loved me-so badly I could taste it. I seized the hand that wasn't on my shoulder and pressed my mouth to his. I could sense his surprise, but it quickly gave way to a warm kiss.

I pressed on, further and further, getting hotter and hotter, until Ron suddenly pulled away, looking flustered. "Hermione!" he gasped in surprise. "Listen, it isn't that I don't like this-actually, I think I'm liking it too much-but it's just so fast…"

The tiny part of my brain that still functioned in a rational manner whole-heartedly agreed. I, however, didn't care one bit anymore. My mind used to be one hundred percent focused on dance; now it was one hundred percent focused on Ron-and what I wanted from him. Dangerous? Yes. But it was just me…and him…and his empty apartment….

I whispered the four words that had carried me through the risky kisses I'd just given him. Words that I planned to live by-at least for the night. They were my inspiration-my key to detaching from my old, uptight self.

"No day but today."

That boy couldn't get his clothes off fast enough…

A/N: Okay, half of you are gonna be like, "HOORAY!" and the other half are going to be like, "What? Hermione wouldn't do that, come on! She's sooooo OoC!" But remember, she's 21 and she's come a long way since being so rule-following and innocent. Plus, she loves him more than she ever realized until that moment.

Read the next chapter…it's crucial….I figured if I posted the two together, I wouldn't get as many flames, since the next chapter explains A LOT (though it'll probably get angry reviews too). Read on!!!