Its been forever I know, I know. I finally had some time-winter break (which is now almost over. ::sobs::)I've realized that I don't like the end of the story. Hermione was going to get pregnant and not know whose it was blah blah but I decided she gets pregnant too much and the poor girl needs a break. I don't remember when they did or didn't have their wands so now they had them all the time. There are a lot of things I don't remember but I refuse to re-read old chapters because they are bad and might make me cry. Other stuff might not fit because I changed the story. So excuse all inconsistencies. I've also been told by my beta that my FLASHBACKs scare her so hopefully I have made them less evil-looking.

jersey girl:I have had no sex therefor there will be no sex, only suggested stuff. Sogive it up!(butI still love you!) If you want a scene like that, copy and paste it in from another fic because that's exactly what I would have to do if I was to write one (and what a lot of people seem to do whether it is consciously or not).

Disclaimer: Yemen. (in some language unknown to mankind, Yemen means "i do not own Harry Potter. I also just like to say Yemen every since that episode of Friends. It also means that I borrowed the last line from the Princess Bride as if you didn't know that. It is probably the most over referanced thing in fanfiction but i love that movie so it is here anyway)

Hermione allowed herself to relax in Ron's arms unable to remember a time when everything felt so perfect. Before long, her eyelids were drooping and it took all of her strength to keep them open.

"Come on," Ron whispered, half-carrying and half-dragging her over to the bed closest to the window. He had never made it into her dormitory at Hogwarts but always imagined her sleeping beside a window where cool breezes would cause her legs to curl and goose bumps to form everywhere. Not that he spent a lot of time picturing her in bed.
She landed lightly on the bed and ran her hands over the sheets, noting how spacious the bed was compared to the twin-sized bed at home she had ever since she could remember.

"Wait," she called to Ron who was pulling down the comforter of his own bed. He looked up at her, startled but eager to hear what she was going to say. "If you wanted to just sit with me for a while, that would be okay, right?"

He nodded and lay down on the bed beside her. His belt buckle scraped against her hand causing her to realize how uncomfortable it was going to be sleeping fully clothed.

"Turn around," she ordered.

"What? Wh- "

"Because I said so, now turn around," she repeated.

Ron got up and headed towards the bathroom, the only separate area in the room.

"Well you didn't have to do that," she called after him.

"Glass reflects," he replied.

Hermione smiled, impressed by Ron's gentlemanly behavior. It almost made her wish he had stayed. Almost. She pulled off her sweater and jeans and dropped them on the floor beside her bed. It pained her to just leave them there but she was too embarrassed to get out from underneath the covers, even if Ron wasn't technically in the room. Hermione self-consciously readjusted her tank-top before informing Ron that he could re-enter the room. He emerged in orange boxers and a white undershirt, causing a memory from a year ago to surface. She pulled the covers up higher as she thought about the striking similarity, but this time it was different. She felt different. She was almost willing him to come closer, to lay close enough so that she could breathe in his scent. To her surprise, he did. She expected him to stop in front of his own bed, which was closer to the bathroom but he continued walking and plopped himself down on her bed but remained above the blanket, not entirely sure of what she was wearing underneath.

Hermione suddenly lost all desire to sleep. She shimmied closer to him and ran her hand down his arm among other places. Taking this as a sign that he could do what he had wanted to all night, he turned his head and kissed her, running his hand through her less-bushy-than usual hair. She looked him over, wanting to take in every detail of this moment when her eyes fell on his orange boxers.

"Wait," she said, sitting up but leaving her hands where they were, "I can't do this, it's not right and it's not fair to him."

"To who?" Ron asked, equally perplexed and concerned.

"To Harry!"

Ron breathed a sign of relief. "Didn't we go over this? I know you like to 'do the right thing' but it was not a real marriage so you, we, are doing nothing wrong."

"You don't get it. It might not have started out-but then-and I was confused I'll admit but-you see-"

"Hermoine, I am in a very vulnerable position right now," he said, blushing and noting the location of her hand, "and if I tell you something, can you promise me you won't do anything to damage me for life?"

"Why? What would make me want to-"

"See here's the thing," Ron began with an uneasyness in his voice and manner, "Leasle and Shane, they like to joke, you know that. One day before well, everything happened, they went into Fred and George's shop and they all hit it off, became mates etc. That was one of the reasons that they didn't really mind being assigned to watch over Harry. Then you know, stuff did happen and Fred and George mighta tipped them off that you and Harry weren't really a…an 'item'," he cringed having borrowed one of his mother's terms again before continuing. "They have a knack for breaking rules which I'm sure you noticed and scolded them for, so they might have meddled a little."

"How…much…is…a…little?" Hermione asked, taking deep breathes in between words to try and stay calm.

"They might have given you and Harry love potions to make the situation easier on everyone."

"WHAT?!" Hermione shrieked loud enough to wake the whole floor. "HOW…" she paused and closed her eyes, trying to lower her voice, "…how long have you known about this, Ron?"
"Not long, honestly. Really, really not long. I thought I saw Fred and George before when we were walking, right before I um…kissed you actually, I guess that's where I got the courage from…you see I guess it was them because I found this note in my pocket (he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with scrolling words) that they must have-(he gestured with an invisible wand)-in there and it told me all that stuff."

"Get out," was all that Hermione could manage, fighting back tears.

"If it helps it certainly made me feel a lot better," Ron offered.

"Get out," she repeated.

"Okay I guess that was a stupid thing to say but-"

"Get out, get out, get out. I don't care where you go but I'm going to close my eyes and I want you out of my sight by the time I count to three. I don't want to have to look at you I don't want to have to look at anyone I want to be by myself and try to figure out how much of a year of my life was a complete lie."

"Where am I supposed to- "

"One."

"I don't have anywhere-"

Two.

"What do you want me to-"

"Two and a half."

Ron quickly grabbed is clothes and slid into the bathroom afraid of what Hermione would do if she opened her eyes and saw him there.

"Three."

Hermione looked around and seeing no traces of Ron, allowed the tears to flow from her eyes. She held a pillow close to her while she thought of any signs that she could have missed. She felt stupid and betrayed and unsure if it was okay that she also felt relieved. Hermione racked her brain for any clues, wondering if Harry knew, if Leasle or Shane had ever tried to tell her. She could only come up with one instance.

--flashback--

Leasle and Shane returned from their nightly flight as usual, carrying whatever food they could and setting it down before returning to their human forms. This time though, instead of following Shane into their section of the room, Leasle tiptoed over to Hermione, gently shaking her awake carefully enough not to disturb Harry.

"Come over here," she whispered, gesturing with her head towards the corner of the room furthest from where the sleeping Harry rubbed his eyebrow and rolled over.
Leasle sat down in the corner and Hermione followed, unsure of what it was all about.

"Listen I picked something up for you while Shane was a bit…distracted."

Hermione had no idea what she meant by this but nodded her head urging Leasle to continue anyway.
"I'd been eyeing it for a while 'cause I think it might tell you a thing or two that you might want to know-but that's all I'm gonna say. 'night."

With that, she gave Hermione a quick hug before going to bed, leaving Hermione to ponder what on Earth that had all meant. She opened the small box that was in her hand to reveal a silver ring and discovered a tiny inscription on the inside upon examining it. "Magnificar," she muttered, pretty sure such a simple spell wouldn't disturb anything. The text materialized in the air in front of her and grew until she could make out a poem that read:

There is no love like love that is true

But you'd be surprised how love does lie

When you touch your real love I'll turn blue

But what'll you do if silver I stay?
Hermione shrugged knowing magic of this kind was not known for its accuracy but slid the ring on anyway, confident that it would soon be a dazzling blue. She lifted herself off the floor and returned to her husband, wrapping her arm around him. It was blue. She knew it was. Maybe I'll just check she thought as she slowly lifted her head. Silver.

Stupid piece of junk. I can't believe Leasle believes in this stuff.

Hermione found instructions for deactivation in the box (Didn't like what you saw, eh? Well, if this will make you feel better, tap with wand and say Aurumnus to turn permanently gold) and decided it would be a good idea in order to prevent any side effects the imprecise magic might have. She sank down onto the bed and drifted to sleep, not giving the ring a second thought.

--end flashback--

Hermione had finally stopped crying, not sure if it was because she felt better or had run out of tears.

"Ron…can you come out…" she said cautiously.

He had not been able to fall asleep in the bathtub where he had created a makeshift bed so he opened the door with caution to match Hermione's.

"Come here," she said softly.

He silently obeyed and stood in front of her, unsure if she was angry at him, angry in general or by some miracle no longer angry at all.

Hermione wrapped the comforter around herself and picked up her jeans, removing the ring and her wand. "Riativarus," she said in a trembling voice, tapping the ring with her wand. She slid the ring onto her finger and then reached out, stroking Ron's cheek.

Blue.

"Goodnight," she said, lying down and grinning into her pillow without further explanation.

He looked at her, perplexed but happy that she was grinning at him instead of murdering him. "Goodnight," he told her as he climbed into his own bed.

The room was silent for about an hour after but neither was sleeping. Hermione tried to decipher her feelings. She knew she should be angry that she spent the past year of her life under a spell; that she did things she never would have done otherwise; that it was all a lie. She didn't feel angry though, not anymore. Somehow, knowing that the past twenty-four hours was real counteracted the delusions of the past. It seemed ridiculous that one day was enough to counteract a period about 365 times as long. Maybe for once it doesn't have to make sense. You're used to relying on intellect, but now is not the time. You knew you loved him before this lousy ring and you always will. It doesn't have to be logical, I'm in love and this time it's real.

Ron could feel and hear his heart pounding. Being that close to her made him slightly nervous but it was the best kind of nervous he ever felt. It wasn't the kind of nervous he was when he sat his NEWTS, he hoped he would never feel like that again as he recalled losing his lunch over the thought of being the family failure. As oblivious as he usually was, he knew he never wanted to stop feeling that way around Hermione and didn't want to risk losing her again without her knowing that.

"Hey Hermione," Ron whispered, although it was the loudest whisper she had ever heard.

"Hmmm?"

"Are you sleeping?"

"Yes."

There was a pause.

"Hey Hermione"

"Yes Ronald…"

He rolled over and half-buried his face in his pillow. "Ihy Lumpsh Youph"

"What was that?" she asked him, understanding but not wanting to let him off that easy. Her question was only met with silence. She snuggled back down into the mattress and concentrated hard on what just happened before allowing herself to fall asleep, not wanting to forget a single detail.

---------------------------------------------

Ron woke the next morning to the sound of Hermione brushing her teeth in the bathroom. He craned his neck and saw that the door was open and therefor reasoned that it was probably safe to join her. Her hair pulled up in an immense bun and she was dabbing the foamy toothpaste that had accumulated in the corners of her lips with the knuckle of her thumb. She was beautiful.
Hermione glanced into the mirror and spotting an extra reflection, turned around to face a mass of red hair.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop stealing my style," she said, managing to keep a perfectly straight face while nodding towards his hair.

Ron smiled and silently cursed himself for not thinking of something equally clever to say. Seeming to sense this, Hermione continued on. "You know," she began with a tone of voice that screamed I-know-something-you-don't-know, "I've been wanting to tell you something since last night." She inwardly rejoiced at the way Ron's face lit up when he heard this. She then stuck the toothbrush back in her mouth with over-exaggerated movements. "Ioiu lahrvsh yu tchoo." She waited a moment for him to say or do something but when he did not move, Hermione rinsed her mouth as quickly as possible and stormed out of the bathroom without a word.

Great, just great Ron thought as he reached over to the shower knobs and began to adjust the water. He stripped and stepped in as the room filled with steam, whishing whole-heartedly that the water would somehow carry the last two minutes of his life out of history and down the drain. He lost track of time, which was very unfortunate for the young woman on the other side of the door.

"Ron!" Hermione screamed, banging on the door. "Urg! Forget before, so we let one moment go to waste, there will be plenty more-just open up! I would bore you with all of my Muggle knowledge on the workings of the excretory system if I wasn't so distracted by the fact that I NEED THE BATHROOM!"
Still silence on the other end of the door.
"I know you can here me this place is practically built out of paper. I'm coming in on three." She hesitated nervously. What if he really couldn't hear her? Maybe he just likes long showers. No she thought no man could possibly shower for that long. He is just being immature and it has to stop. "One…two…THREE!"
She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw a completely dressed Ron on the other side of the door. Well, maybe a small part of her was feeling a twinge of disappointment but that was a feeling she would deal with later.
"I'm sorry I…well I was thinking about…here you go." He hastily gestured towards la toilette and rushed out of the bathroom, leaving her to do whatever she had to do.
Ron sat on the edge of his bed resting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He had to think of something clever to make it up to her. Or maybe not.

--flashback--

"Why can't the you and Ginny/me and Hermione plan EVER work? What's the point of a plan B if it's never any good?" Ron complained as he leaned over the banister and tried not to look too startled as the staircase began to move.
"If it was any good, it would have been plan A. And it wasn't a complete failure this time, I am going with Ginny." He ran a hand through his messy black hair as his friend sighed. "Not helping?"
Ron shook his head. "I still can't believe she's going with Neville. I mean this in a completely non-homosexual way-"
Harry nodded in understanding
"-I'll admit he's grown into his ears and is better looking and all that junk but he's still Neville."

Hermione cleared her throat, alerting her two friends to her presence. "That's right, he is Neville, our friend Neville who asked me to the graduation ball and as a good friend, I accepted. Imagine how he must be feeling right now. First his relationship with Luna falls apart and then he finds out she only started going out with him because you turned her down."
"You can't possibly be blaming this on me!" Ron exclaimed defensively.
"Well, no but I'm just asking you to try and understand how he's feeling and why it's important that I go with him. Not that I'm saying it's a chore to go with him, I imagine it will be fun as well."

She sighed looking at Ron's blank face. "Oh I give up trying to make you understand. Point is you'll just have to find someone else to go with you."

"Well there is that blonde in Ravenclaw…" he began. He noticed a change in Hermione's eyes that he couldn't put his finger on before she looked down at the stair below, but continued anyway. "…but I wouldn't know what to say."

"You don't have to set out to impress her, just be yourself and if she's worth it, she'll see how great you are. Cliché, yes, but true." With that, Hermione traveled back down the stairs without bringing her eyes back around to meet his.

--end flashback--

Ron ran his hands through his hair while trying to prepare himself to follow the advice she had given him so long ago. He walked over to the bathroom; she had the shower radio on (this was one of the few rooms where it still emitted decipherable sounds instead of screechy noises) loud and the water was on high pressure. He shook his head, she would never hear him. She wouldn't hear him…he reached for the doorknob as he discovered the positive side to that fact. He took a deep breath as he entered the room. Ron gasped at her silhouette in the shower curtain before putting the toilet seat cover down and having a seat.
"HERMIONE!"
No answer.
"HERMIONE I JUST WANTED TO SAY…YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU"
He turned bright red as he realized she had turned the water off right before his last three words. Well, she definitely heard me he thought.
Hermione poked her head outside the shower curtain. "Next to you."

"What?"
She only nodded her head to reaffirm what she had just told him. Ron got up and stood in front of the sink next to him. Above it, written in the fog on the mirror were the words-
"I love you too, Ron."
"How did you know I was going to…"

"Well it was about time." She smiled and he walked over to her, handing her a towel. Too flustered to make the stupid thing stay up, she threw it to the floor, tugging the shower curtain down and wrapping it around her instead. With that minor setback overcome, she hopped onto the sink, positioning herself right below the words she had been wanting to say to him for so long. He followed her, never looking away from her eyes. Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.

Woohoo! I actually had less of 7 left to write than I thought. I'll try to start 8 over the vacation, I have leftover material from 7 that i decided not to use that I might put in 8. Some of it is ooc but its really cute, should i just stick it by itself as a non-chapter if I don't use it? Oh and my friend reminded me i said way back when that this will be 10 chapters. I don't think i'm going to finish in 3 chapters but i don't think i can stretch it to 15 either which bothers me because any number in between is just annoying. Oh and everyone attack Cassiopeia with thousands of e-mails about why Hermione likes Ron, not Harry (I'm such an evil friend). While you're at it, yell at her for still being on page 4 of her amazing l/j fic for 5 months.