"Ron, do you...do you want to go to the Hospital Wing. You look a little...under the weather," Hermione asked as Ron returned to the table.
"Ha! Under the weather, that's a good one 'Mione, seeing as how we're in the Great Hall and all... with its...um..enchanted ceiling and...everything," Ron stuttered and focused intently on his porridge. Ginny slapped her forehead and groaned. Harry's eyes shifted between the three of them, unsure of what he should be paying attention to most. There were a few interesting things to choose from obviously. He could watch Ron's eyebrows raise up and down (no doubt arguing about something with himself as he sat), Ginny's mouth mumbling incoherent words, or Hermione's hand hesitating about staying in place or reaching for Ron's forehead (just in case he had a fever). Eventually, he settled for breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"You're acting like a loon, mate. Sure you haven't caught the flu?" Harry asked, voicing his opinion. Ron gulped and waved his hand around.
"Oh I don't know. Probably not. Wait... yes. Yes Harry, I have the flu and I'll just be going to bed now..." Ron mumbled and jumped up from the table. Ginny shrieked.
"Ronald Weasley get back here and EAT your BREAKFAST!"she commanded, placing emphasis on words that didn't need to be stressed for a particular reason.
"Well I suppose I'm a bit hungry," he added and nervously plopped back into position as Hermione nibbled on her toast uncomfortably.
"So did you hear Cho is the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain this year?" Ginny tried to start conversation. Harry's face contorted in a mixture of worry and annoyance.
"She'll be a good leader for their team. I don't even know if I'll be on the team this year," Harry grumbled and picked at his fruit until the pieces were covering his dish.
"Of course you will Harry," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"What would you know about it?" Ron questioned, a little too harsh with his words.
"Well, I'm not positive about it..." Hermione stated with a blush, hurt by his statement. Ginny scowled.
"Stop changing fear into anger Ron," Ginny said, causing the two of them to glance nervously at each other, "and he WILL be on the team because I'm not playing seeker. Harry's better, and I want to try out for chaser anyway."
"But if you don't make chaser you could lose your spot on the team," Harry tried to reason with her. She rolled her eyes, but patted his hand as well.
"I'd get over it. Ron, it's okay to look at us," she said and shook her head at her brother.
"I've just...got a lot on my mind is all," Ron mentioned and hurriedly left the Great Hall before Ginny could stop him.
"Did something happen out there in the corridor Gin?" Harry asked a flushed Ginny on his left.
"I...don't think that's for me to discuss with you. Don't worry too much about him, but if it looks like he hasn't slept these next couple of days.." Ginny dropped off.
Hermione and Harry stared at each other for a moment before grabbing their things and heading after him.
x x x
Ron stared at his journal, then at the wall, then back at his journal as if he assumed it would jump up and head out of the portrait hole. He sprawled himself out onto the velvet sofa, his hands covering the confusion on his face. If there had ever been a moment in his life where he wished he could disappear, it would be now. Unless you count the time Hermione saw him in his under shorts. That could definitely be considered worse.
Harry took a seat beside Ginny on the opposite side of the room. The sight of Ron looking miserable on the sofa was a sign for him to back off. Hermione sat down in the arm chair and buried her nose in a book. The last thing she wanted was for Ron to think that she had followed him up here to spy. Ron was an extremely unpredictable person, changing from melodramatic to annoyingly persistent... anything you could think of. It was lucky for him then that in Hermione's eyes he was always incredibly lovable.
"Ron, is there something on your mind?" she eventually whispered.
"Well yes and no. I really don't know what I'm supposed to say to you right now," he admitted and avoided her concerned stare.
"How about telling me what's wrong?" she suggested, lowering her book just slightly.
"Hermione, I really don't know if that would solve anything," he replied and hid his face in the cushions.
"YES IT WOULD!" Ginny shouted from across the room.
"I don't know how to think everything through without organizing everything onto paper," Ron whined, a short groan added to the end of his complaint.
"Well, your journal is sitting right there Ron. Go ahead and write, I promise I won't bother you while you do," Hermione urged, a gleam of accomplishment in her eyes. Ron wanted to be writing!
"I...but I don't...ugh!" Ron mumbled to himself and headed up to the boys' dormitories.
"Did I do something wrong? I feel like he just... can't stand me lately,"Hermione asked no one in particular.
"No, it's nothing you did Hermione. It all has to do with... the letter Fred and George sent us. They invaded his privacy just a tad bit, and he's not so happy with them right now," she explained. Hermione sighed and shook her head.
"I don't mean just now. All summer it seems like something has just been off between us. Do you think maybe he doesn't want to be friends with me anymore?" she asked, absentmindedly twirling her hair around.
"That's ridiculous Hermione. Ron would go off the deep end if it weren't for you," Harry reassured her.
"Well maybe he's just having a tough time dealing with some stuff. I guess... I'll take a nap. Maybe I'll feel better afterward," Hermione mumbled to herself and headed up to the dormitories.
Ginny's eyes locked on Ron's journal.
"What are you thinking?" Harry asked her, shaking her out of her thoughts.
"What makes you say that?" Ginny asked in return.
"You were sort of staring off into space, it seemed like you were concentrating on something," Harry responded with a shrug of his shoulders. Ginny smiled and nodded.
"Well, I think I may just have an idea," she answered him, and grabbed a nearby quill. It was time to take matters into her own hands. Maybe Fred and George had something going here.
September 2
Forget all I said in my last entry. All that needs to be said is that I love Hermione, and you know what? She might just love me back.
Ron had contemplated going back down there and telling Hermione everything that he was thinking, but then again he had also thought about hurling himself out the window. Dean shook his head as Ron paced back in forth in front of his bed.
"Ron, you're looking kind of twitchy," he piped up, taking a break from unpacking some of his things.
"Thanks Dean, it means a lot to me," Ron said sarcastically and scoffed the floor with his shoe.
"Is Ginny going out with a Slytherin or something?" Dean asked, hiding a look of interest.
"No, Ginny's not going out with a Slytherin, but she's not too happy with you right now mate so I'd say you'd best back off," Ron replied and scratched his stomach. Dean scowled and picked a t-shirt up out of his trunk.
"Yeah, well it's not like it's a big loss anyway.." he mumbled in annoyance.
"That's my sister you're talking about!" Ron spat as he gave Dean the evil eye.
"Well than what's wrong?" Dean asked, not seeming as concerned as before.
"Just..stuff alright? Can't I just be twitchy in peace?" Ron responded in frustration. Dean threw his hands up in the air and headed out of the dorm.
"Yeah, whatever you want..." he mumbled on the way. Ron took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. He collapsed onto his bed and let sleep take over.
"Ron, everything's just gone crazy! I don't know if I can...stay here anymore," Hermione explained as she packed up her trunk.
"But Hermione, you love Hogwarts! You can't just leave!" Ron argued and began taking out the things she had just packed.
"Don't be ridiculous. I don't need magic, I can take care of myself without it," she informed him and grabbed her jumper out of his hands.
"But, that's not the point," Ron tried again.
"What is the point then Ron? What could possibly be worth staying for when so much is at risk?" Hermione questioned, tears coming to her eyes.
"Everything. I mean, everyone needs you. You're the smartest witch in our year, you could do a lot for the war and stuff.." Ron suggested and stared at his feet.
"You've got plenty of other people for that, Ron. What does it matter?" Hermione asked and folded her arms across her chest.
"Nothing matters, except for the fact that I love you Hermione..." Ron answered and leaned in to kiss her.
"AHHHHHH!" Ron screamed as he felt his bed begin to shake.
"Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!!!!" Neville shouted, jumping on the edge of the bed in front of him.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?" Ron shouted and lept off his bed onto the floor.
"It's Ginny! Pansy Parkinson hit her with a jinx from behind. She's in the hospital wing!" Neville explained, clearly out of breath.
"Well you could have said so, instead of giving me a heart attack and sending me down there as well!" Ron replied in frustration and flew down the stairwell.
"There you are Ron! Lavender just came and got me! Do you think she's alright?" Hermione asked, her hair a bit more frizzy than normal.
"Yeah, she's Gin. I'm sure she's alright, but I want to find out exactly what's going on here!" Ron replied and hurried out of the portrait hole.
"GINNY!" Hermione yelled as they flew into the hospital wing.
"Shhh! How many times do you need to be informed of the rules of the hospital wing?" Madame Pomfrey asked and shook her head. Hermione blushed and walked slowly beside Ron to Ginny's bedside.
"It's only the second day here Ginny, what could you have done to get in this situation?" Ron asked, patting her hand.
"She walked alongside me," Harry interrupted from the other side of the room.
"Oh Harry! You too?" Hermione asked, but Harry shook his head.
"No, I disarmed Pansy before she could do anything. Dumbledore's talking to her right now,"Harry replied and scratched his head.
"Apparently her Aunt is a death eater who was recently caught and put in Azkaban, so she took out her pent up frustration on Harry and me," Ginny explained and laughed.
"You find that funny?" Ron asked in alarm. Ginny shrugged.
"I guess not, but it could have been a lot worse you know. At least my legs are starting to separate," Ginny informed him and pulled back the sheets covering her legs. They looked like one large blob of skin. Ron tried not to throw up.
"I've heard about that jinx. Pretty useful, wouldn't you say? Maybe you could teach us how to do it at the next D.A. meeting Harry," Hermione suggested and smiled at Ginny.
"Have you all gone mad? It's just like Ginny said! This COULD have been worse," Ron tried to remind them, pointing at Ginny's supposed legs.
"But it wasn't Ron!"Ginny argued. Harry sighed and shook his head.
"None of you have a better idea of how dangerous that situation could have been than I do. Could we please just drop it?" Harry begged.
"But Pansy tried to hurt my sister!" Ron re-enforced waving his hands wildly.
"What does it matter!?" Hermione questioned, her eyes burning into his skull. Ron gulped and shifted uncomfortably.
What does it matter?
"Nothing, except..." Ron started to say, but his mind drew a blank. Hermione's heart began to beat faster in her chest.
"What Ron?" Hermione asked, praying she knew what he was going to say.
"Nothing! Just...nothing!" he replied with a sigh.
"Ginny, I think we're gonna leave now that we know you're okay," Hermione said grabbing Ron's sleeve.
"Okay...bye..." Ginny said quietly and watched as Hermione dragged her brother away. Harry shook his head and shrugged his shoulders at Ginny. He knew about as much as she did.
"Could you please be a bit more sensitive?" she asked him when they were out of ear shot.
"What does that bloody mean? I think I was perfectly sensitive! I was worried about my family member in case you didn't notice," Ron defended himself.
"Sure, that bit was alright... but you didn't consider Harry's feelings, did you?" Hermione said firmly.
"About what?" Ron asked, feeling slightly confused.
"He feels guilty about what happened! Are you blind?!" Hermione shouted, causing Ron to blush.
"No! I'm sorry if I was a bit distracted! Why does it always have to be about Harry anyway? Why don't you just go in there and give him a nice long snogging session and he'll feel a hundred times better!" Ron yelled back.
"Because I don't see Harry that way and you know it! Why do you have to be so daft!?" Hermione asked him, not noticing Ron's trembling hands.
"I'm not DAFT! Why do you always have to insult me?" Ron asked her, taking a step back.
"Maybe because it's the only way to get through to you Ron! I try so hard to just say something calmly to you, but you never seem to listen! How am I supposed to tell you anything?" Hermione spat, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
"I thought you'd know by now that you can tell me anything you want Hermione! I always listen to what you have to say!" Ron admitted.
"Sure, you may listen to everything I have to say, but if it's something you don't want to hear you go absolutely mad!" Hermione informed him and began to walk away.
"I can't believe I'm being abused by someone who chases gnomes with sticks!!" Ron said in disbelief. Hermione stopped dead in her track and turned around slowly.
"Wha...wha...what did you say?" she stuttered, her face a brighter pink. She'd never told anybody about that before.
"Nothing. I... I didn't mean... well I sort of... maybe there's something you don't know.." Ron mumbled, wringing his hands.
"And, what's that?" Hermione asked him.
"Well, I kind of... know what you've been dreaming. I have since this summer," Ron told her, avoiding eye contact.
"WHAT!? But how... I mean, surely not everything??" Hermione asked, shaking.
"Well, that's the thing... you only dreamt those things because of what I wrote in my journal..." Ron explained, rubbing the back of his neck.
"What do you mean? I thought that... maybe I was just... you?" Hermione muttered, not believing what was going on.
"Fred and George bewitched my journal, so that anything I write about... both you and I dream about..." Ron tried to explain, but his heart was trying to escape from his chest and his face was now the color of his hair.
"You wrote about...all of that?" Hermione asked, not sure she was hearing correctly.
"What did you think I was writing about all those times? Harry? Percy? Bloody gnomes? I was writing about you Hermione! I was writing down what I feel because you told me that's what I should do! And then I got addicted to it, and I couldn't stop writing down what I think about, and well half the time I think about... well.... I think about..." Ron rambled on. Hermione took in a deep breath.
"What do you think about?" she urged him to continue.
"I think about you Hermione, and how I feel when I'm around you. So I understand if you're confused about everything, and I'm sorry that you had to have all those weird dreams, but I didn't know! I swear I had no idea, and I wanted to... dream about those things... because of...well... I just did," Ron skimmed around the real issue at hand.
"I wouldn't have known the difference. I mean, if it was me dreaming on my own accord or if it was some strange thing," Hermione admitted and took a step closer to him.
"Why wouldn't you? Didn't you notice that you were suddenly dreaming about your best friend in a sort of odd way? I mean, it wasn't weird for me because I've always known that I like you...and..." Ron stopped, realizing he'd said too much. Hermione stared in awe.
"Well I just... didn't... I would have almost... I think about you... all the time... when I'm not... what are you trying to say?" Hermione asked, her thoughts mixing together.
"Oh bloody hell Hermione! I'll write it down for you if I have to!" Ron joked with a grin. Hermione laughed and took his hand.
"So all the stuff I was dreaming about, you really meant all of that?" Hermione asked.
"Well, if you're referring to the part about you being a cup of honey and all that... well you can forget about all that stuff..." Ron mumbled, still not really sure of how Hermione felt.
"RON!" she shouted, hitting him in the shoulder.
"What? I'm not sure I should... say...anything... I don't know how you would..." Ron thought aloud. Hermione sighed.
"Ron, if I had the chance to do what you did, I would have. I would have written a novel by now," Hermione told him, hoping it would help him decide.
"Hermione, I'd love you even if I did have to jump off the astronomy tower to prove it!" Ron admitted and felt his ears turn red. Hermione let a few tears fall down her cheek and nodded.
"I love you too Ron! I have for forever you stupid prat!" she yelled and threw herself onto him. Ron wrapped his arms around her and took in her scent. This was really happening.
"Well now that you've seen me in my boxers, I'd say that's reason enough for you to be my girlfriend.." Ron said jokingly and looked down at Hermione with hopeful eyes.
"Of course it is...I think..." Hermione answered and met his eyes with hers.
"I think I know what I'm supposed to do now, if it's alright with you," Ron told her, feeling her hands still clinging to his sleeves.
"I'm...scared..." Hermione informed him with a laugh and pulled back a bit.
"Why? We've done this a dozen of times," Ron said with a twinkle in his eye.
"In your dreams..." Hermione replied with a chuckle. Ron groaned.
"Please Hermione, don't start being funny now..." he whispered and watched her as she smiled up at him.
He finally leaned in closer, pressing his lips against hers for the very first time. It was the perfect moment.
Ron made a note to record this latest event in his journal. It was something he wanted to dream about every night.
"Ron?" Hermione asked as they pulled apart, "I can't feel my toes."
"Well, I didn't think I was that great of a kisser..I've never tried before..."Ron said nervously.
"No, Ron... I mean... your...um..foot," Hermione said bashfully and covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile.
Ron looked down and saw his large shoe covering her small one.
So maybe it wasn't so perfect, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to write about it anyway.
Oh, that also didn't mean he wasn't going to kiss her again.
Maybe he should apologize to Dean.
Or maybe not.
There would be no living with Fred and George now.
"Ron?" Hermione said, shaking him from his thoughts.
"What?"
"You look quite good in just your boxers. I thought maybe I should just make that clear."
"The sundress was a nice look."
"Um... maybe we should just...go eat now."
"Perfect. Right. Sounds good."
THE END
A/N: I'm such a fluff-aholic. I don't know why, but I am. Anyway, this was it! The last chapter! It's very depressing, but very exciting at the same time. I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I did. Don't leave me all alone now that it's finished! I plan on writing more Ron/Mione stories in the future, and actually my next story I'm planning to write a Seamus/? fic if any of you are interested.
I hope the final chapter was satisfactory. Thank you so much to all who have reviewed. Make sure to review this chapter!
sigh I'm gonna miss writing this. Love you all. Happy Reading!! ( for all those fics yet to come)
xoxoxoxoxoxo Erin