A/N: Damn computers. MIne is gone again, so don't expect the last chapter anytime soon. Sorry, I hope this will be enough for awhile. Meanwhile, I'll do my best on this and the sequel. Until better days....

A bell jingled as I pushed open the door to Flourish and Blotts.

"Be out in a minute!" Allyson's voice called from the back of the store.

"Ally!" Baker screamed.

I heard something drop the floor and someone say "Ouch!" rather loudly. Then, a very disheveled Allyson came sprinting from the back room.

"Baker! Hermione!" She yelled, scooping Baker up in her arms. She squished Baker between the two of us as she leaned in and gave me a hug too. "I've been so worried!"

I hugged her back. "Good; what kind of friend would you be if you hadn't been worried?"

She rolled her eyes. "I thought something awful had happened."

"It has. Where's Miles?" I asked, looking around the store.

She turned red and her eyes glanced toward the back room. "I dunno."

I raised me eyebrows. "Oh."

She pushed me playfully. "Miles!" she called. "Guess who's back from the dead?!"

Miles came from the back room, ruffling his hair. "Hermione?!" He grinned widely and gave me a hug too. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm f--"

I lost my thought mid-word. A color just outside the store had caught my attention. It was a bleach blonde color. "Would you two watch Baker? I swear it'll only be a minute. Baker, you know what to do if you need me?"

She nodded and showed me a ring on her finger. I smiled and ran out of the shop.

"Gris! Griselda! Griselda Raleigh!"

The hair turned around to show the face of someone I now considered my friend. She smiled. "Oh, hi, Hermione."

I grinned and ran to catch up with her. "How are you doing?"

She shrugged. "Fine."

I looked at the sky. "Do you think it's going to rain?"

She raised an eyebrow, but looked up as well. "Yeah. Looks like it."

"Thanks," I said suddenly.

She laughed. "Thanks? Thanks for what?"

I sighed. "Everything. Coming with us when they had Baker without asking any questions. Being there for me. Being my friend. God, you wouldn't believe how much I'd love for you to come back; I miss you."

I was surprised that what I was saying was the truth. Since the beginning, I had never liked Gris. But, now I did. And I should. She had been nothing but nice to me from the first time I'd ever met her, at that party at the Weasleys'. Suddenly, seeing that, I realized how much I really was grateful I had met her.

"I wish I could come back too. I miss you all. Even Ron, God knows why."

"What happened?" I asked suddenly. "Why did you just up and leave like that? Without saying goodbye or anything?"

"Do you really want to have this conversation, Hermione?"

"Yes."

She smiled. "I should've known."

"Why did you leave? Why did you end it just like that?"

"Ron was in love with someone else."

"Oh, Gris--"

"Hermione, you don't have to say anything to me. I don't blame you. I blame myself—for not seeing it sooner. For being so blinded by my infatuation to miss the real love staring me right in the face. That's what you and Ron have."

"Do you hate me?"

"Never. You two belong together."

All of the sudden, I hugged her. She looked surprised. "Thank you," I repeated. "You've been a wonderful friend."

"It's no more than you deserve. Just take care of him, all right?"

I grinned sadly. I didn't feel like I had won anything. I felt like I'd ripped something away from a very good friend. "I'll try."

"Well, goodbye, Hermione. Don't lose touch."

"I won't. Bye, Gris, and thanks…again."

She leaned in toward me and spoke it a whisper. "I'll talk to Anthony."

I smiled. And with that, we both walked away.

I turned back into the store and met a smiling Ally. "Did you get things all worked out?"

"I think so. I should probably go, seeing how I'm supposed to be working today."

"Nonsense," Ally said, shaking her long, dark hair. "You will stay here and catch me up on what is going on. Miles will entertain Baker."

"Allyson…"

"Sit!"

"Wow," Allyson sighed, her head rested on her palm. "That is the single most romantic story I've ever heard."

"It is not," I said, staring at Miles trying to enlist Baker's help to make a sale. "No happy ending."

"What? You think happy endings just happen? No, people have to work for them. Over my many dramatic years, I've learned that."

"Well, I guess I'll just wait for mine to work for itself."

"Hermione, that's where you're wrong. Your happy ending came to you; he told you how he felt about you. But, you turned him away. Go get him, Hermione! Tell the boy how you feel about him! Why would you want to be apart from him for one more minute?!"

"I…don't," I whispered, looking up into her eyes. "I really don't!"

"So go!"

I stared out the window. "Who ever heard of a happy ending in the rain?"

"Who ever heard of waiting for your happy ending?"

I threw my arms around Allyson. "You know I love you! And, I think I may love Ron."

"You do, trust me. So, go tell him!"

It was like a magic jolt. I didn't even remember trying to get to Ron. I was just there, banging on the Weaselys' door, the rain cascading onto my hair and me not caring one bit.

Mrs. Weasley opened the door. "Hermione, is that you? Come in, you must be freezing."

"Mrs. Weasley, I need to talk to Ron!" I yelled.

"He's not here, darling. He's gone. I'll tell him you stopped by, shall I?"

It was the last thing I had expected. Here I was, completely ready, and Ron wasn't even here. Who knew what terrible thing might be happening to him right now?

"Hermione?"

I shook my head. "No, Mrs. Weasley, don't tell him. I'm going to go."

"Are you sure, dear?"

I nodded and turned away. I heard the door close behind me.

With the rain falling in my eyes, I looked up at his room. I remembered what it had looked like when we were sixteen. The orange walls, the Cannons posters, the red headed boy lying on the carpet, laughing.

Then, there were my other memories. The ones I only wished I had lived. Why did I have to be the one in this reality?! Why couldn't I have lived as the boy pulled me up from a wall and almost certain death? Why couldn't I have been there to feel that kiss of survival and admittance?

Was I dreaming or was that boy standing right next to me?

"Ron?"

"Hermione, what the hell are you doing here?"

I laughed. I laughed rather insanely. "I don't really know. What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I live here."

"Your mum said you were gone."

"Yeah." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Guess I wasn't really in a good mood. Did you know it was raining?"

I laughed again. "It is, isn't it?"

He was looking worried about my sanity. "Yeah. Did you want to see me?"

"Did I? Yeah, I did."

"Why?"

This was it—the moment I had been preparing for. Hadn't I said I was ready? I knew what to say. I had it all worked out.

My mouth went dry. My senses stopped working.

"Why did you want to talk to me, Hermione?"

The way my mouth was moving, I must've looked like a trout.

"Huh, Hermione?"

I swallowed. "You're getting wet, Ron."

Didn't people used to say I was brilliant?

"Yeah, you are too. Why don't you come inside while you decide why you're here?"

I shook my head. "I-I have to say this. I have to say it right now."

"So, say it."

The question was, how to say it? "You're right."

"Who? Me! I'm right?!"

I laughed nervously. "I've been trying to run away from all my problems. You do care about me, and I have pushed you away. And I think I'm going to do my best to stop it."

"Stop what?"

"I yelled at you—after you left the other day. I was crying and I yelled, 'I love you—I love you!' Didn't you hear me?"

He didn't look so comfortable anymore. He averted his eyes. "Sort of."

"Didn't you believe me?"

"Sort of."

I pulled on his robes. "I wasn't lying."

"An odd reversal of the damsel in distress thing, isn't it?"

Our lips softly met. We exchanged soft pecks for a moment—sort of like the rain soaking us both to the bone—drip, drip. One, then two, then I lost count. He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me in, and we shared a long kiss—finally, there was no rush, no insecurity, nothing wrong with it. We knew it was right. Something in my life finally felt right.

After what seemed like an eternity—a heavenly eternity—an eternity that should've lasted longer—we pulled away. Smiling, I leaned into Ron's chest. He rested his head on top of mine.

"You're getting wet, Hermione."

I actually very much intended to do my responses this week, but I have aprox. ten minutes before i must be somewhere and that's jsut not enough time. I rpomise I will be in a better mood by the last chapter! Thanks for being patient with me and my GD'd computer. Love you all buinches

BTW: For those of you who liked the Chronicles of Ratonton, thanks! For those of you who asked what the hell it was, it is a byprobuct of me and my slightly demented friends invovling celebrities, people from our school (such as Ratonton's white twin-not brother Chee-ad), and our own imagianry people. It started as boredom and has accumalated to a seventeen page unfinished story.

Peace up! A-town down!!!