Thanks to Fain. -hands a butterbeer- I don't have anything stronger, doctor says I should stick to these for a while... Nothing but joy comes from this. Nothing at all. No money, no fame, only joy. I had to have them have a fight. In TL they didn't have any kind of fight... so there ya go.



Chapter Two ::
Unsure

Hermione didn't know why she couldn't tell Ron she loved him. She'd been his girlfriend for a little over a year now. She knew she loved him. She'd known that since she was eleven-years-old. Seems a little young to most people, eleven and knowing you love someone. But she knew when Ron sacrificed himself on that chessboard. Ever since then she's been hopeless. What was holding her back?
"Hermione? Her mother pulled her out of her reverie.
"Sorry, mum. What?"
"Are you okay?"
"Fine." As fine as I can be since my boyfriend just practically told me he couldn't stand me. She added silently.
"How's Ron today, dear?"
"The same as yesterday." Her face fell, pain written across her delicate features.
"Oh, honey, I know you want Ron to feel better. He might just need a little time."
"I wish he didn't think he had to take this on by himself, all the pain. It breaks my heart to see him like this."
"I know, I know." She wrapped her arms around her daughter, in only the kind of hug that a mother could offer.
"I just don't know what to do. He means so much to me... He feels like hasn't got anyone, like he hasn't got me."
"He more than likely doesn't really feel that way. He lost a lot of family, love. No one can replace a mother. Not even you. You need to act like his girlfriend, not his mother. That's what he needs right now, more than anything." She kissed her daughter's curls.
"I just want him to be okay."
"I know you do."

Ginny had quietly left him to ponder. Hermione loved him! Why didn't he see it? Why didn't she tell him? Why hadn't he told her he loved her? He did indeed love her, ever since the troll, back in First Year. Was she maybe afraid he didn't love her back? Was she afraid of rushing into this? He wanted to tell her, more than anything. He wanted to show her even more than he wanted to tell her, but that was out of the question now, no matter how badly he wanted to. Sitting on the edge of the bed in Hermione's spare bedroom. Such a simple action, that he had done for the past three months. Such a simple action with harmful effects. He rarely came out of this room, another thing of bad pattern. He stayed here, for fear of doing something stupid. He wasn't sure what...
He had thought of suicide here, which felt wrong, because Hermione's parents were taking him in, giving him a home because his was destroyed and their daughter loved him. He only felt like this for the first few weeks, because thoughts of Hermione flooded his mind. Hermione studying, Hermione biting her lip as she thought, as she read, if she was nervous.
There was a soft knock at the door, he knew immediately who it was. Hermione.
"Ron?"
"Hi." He said, pulling her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry." She murmured into his t-shirt covered chest.
"Why are you sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry. Not you. You were trying to help me, trying to make me forget my pain. All I did was push you away."
"I shouldn't have pried, I should have let you have your space until you were ready to talk to me." She tried frantically to bury closer into Ron's warmth.
"Look at me." He placed his hand under her chin and titled her face upwards, to meet his, to cover her lips with his. It was a chaste first kiss between them. Fighting the War at the beginning of their relationship left no time for real affection. This was the first time in a year. He ran his tongue over the seam of her lips, asking acceptance. She parted her lips slightly and their tongues dueled. He pulled away after a few minutes, breathless.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For being such a prat to you."
"It's okay, you're hurting... you deserve to be a prat."
"Ginny's not acting like this."
"Different people react to the same stressful situation differently. She's talked to my mum some, and Harry; even though we're not sure if he registers what she's saying."
"It just hurts so much... my house, gone... and everything with it. Photos..." He leaned his forehead on hers. Her deep chocolate eyes soften as a tear ran down his cheek.
"You still have the memories, Ron." She said, kiss away a tear.
"I miss Mum so much."
"I know you do."
"Do you mind if I talk to your dad? Didn't you say he lost his mum suddenly when he was close to our age?"
"Yeah, not quite like this, but cancer. I think it would be good for you to talk to Daddy. I believe he's in the study." Ron could have told her loved her then, with that kiss, and the one that followed before he left the room for the first time in three weeks.