"Merlin Hermione!" Ron yelled into her ear as the broom rocketed up into the sky. "Slow down!" He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and leaned forward. Hermione laughed and, instead of slowing down, sped up. She shot up into the sky—higher than she'd ever gone before. Ron squeezed his eyes shut and muttered, "You're gonna get us killed!"

"Oh c'mon Ron, you know you're enjoying it, loosen up!" She laid her hand over his, which was still wrapped around her waist and they both laughed. After a few dips and dives, Hermione finally let the broom float back down to earth.

"Blimey Hermione! That was—er—refreshing…" Ron said, shaking his head, trying to get his ears to quit popping. Hermione grinned and picked the broom up out of the grass.

"I love flying. It's so fun! I never knew it could be this exhilarating! And the view—wow, the view alone is amazing." She said as they walked back to the castle. She slowed down, then stopped and turned to Ron.

"Why did you teach me how to fly? I mean, why a broom? For the past six years I've refused to learn to ride, and now—out of nowhere, you get me a broom. Why?" Ron was thankful it was dark out so Hermione couldn't see him turn pink. He shrugged.

"I watched you watching Fred and George and Ginny over the summer. You said you didn't want to fly, but you looked so alone down on the ground. I thought you might like it—and you obviously did." He started to walk back to the castle, but she grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Thank you—" She whispered, then stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. Ron gasped, but soon had his hands slipped onto the small of her back, pulling her closer. She lingered for a moment, then stepped back. As she did, her eyes grew wide, as though realizing what she had done. "Ron—I—" She stuttered when she saw the shocked look on Ron's face. She gave a short squeak before grabbing her broom and running off towards the castle. Ron just stood there for a minute with his hand on his mouth where she'd kissed him, smiling a small, dreamy smile.

"What's with you Weasel?" A voice from behind him made him jump and jerk his hand off his face. He whipped his head around just in time to see Malfoy and his cronies emerge from the bushes. "Dreaming about your little Mudblood girlfriend? Oh wait—she's not your girlfriend is she? She's Potter's…" He grinned maliciously as he and Crabbe and Goyle circled Ron. Ron turned in place; following Malfoy's every move as he tried to keep up with Crabbe and Goyle.

"Go stuff yourself Malfoy—" Ron hissed.

"Yes…I see how it is now. Potter has everything you ever wanted—…money…fame… the looks…and now the girl. You're jealous…" Malfoy said with a sneer. Ron shook his head and denied it all before Malfoy rolled his eyes and motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. "He's not worth the effort—he's just Potter's stupid second…he's not worth much." Then they disappeared as fast as they came, throwing insults and sneers over their shoulders. As Ron watched them disappear over the hill, he remembered what had been said. "…Potter has everything you've ever wanted…the girl…you're jealous…he's just Potter's stupid second… not worth much…" He shook his head, trying to forget. It's true you know, He thought to himself, you're just his backup, his second…

"I'm worth more than you think…" Ron said, not to anyone specific, just to himself. He cracked his knuckles and stormed off to Gryffindor tower.

Meanwhile, Hermione was running up into her dorm. She burst through the door and threw herself on her bed. "What have I done?! I kissed Ron! What am I doing? I have a boyfriend—oh god, Harry! What if Ron tells him?!" Hermione threw the broom onto her dresser and flopped down onto the bed.

"Holy crap, what have I gotten myself into?" She muttered, grabbing her pillow and rolling over, hugging it close to her. After about 20 minutes, Hermione had fallen asleep and was dreaming of Ron.

The next morning she rolled over and blinked as bright light spilled in through the window.

"Ugh—" She sighed, sitting up. She was slightly stiff, and her clothes where wrinkled since she had forgotten to change into pajamas the night before. She was about to stand up and get changed when she remembered the kiss. She rolled her eyes and fell back onto the bed, shoving the pillow over her face. With the pillow muffling the sound, she screamed as hard as she could.

As she did, Ginny and Lavender walked in.

"Merlin! Hermione are you alright?" Ginny squealed, throwing her books on her bed and sitting on the edge of Hermione's. "What's wrong?" Hermione sat up and lightly pushed Ginny away.

I'm in love with your brother and I'm going out with his best friend…She thought before plastering on a fake smile and saying, "Nothing. Got to go, Bye!!"

She ran out without another word.

Ron slammed into Gryffindor tower about three minutes after Hermione ran out. He'd been out all night thinking about the night's events. He had fallen asleep in the library and had just been woken up by the librarian and kicked out. Ginny and Lavender had come down from their dorms and were lounging around on the couches in the common room.

"Ron!" Ginny said, watching as he made a beeline for the boy's dormitories. "What's wrong with you? And what's wrong with Hermione? Where've you been?" Ron spun around on his heel.

"Nothing's wrong. Where's Hermione? Where's Harry?" He said gruffly.

"Hermione just left a few minutes ago, and I think Harry's in the Great Hall.

"Which way did Hermione go?" He said, starting back towards the portrait hole.

"Towards the Great Hall I think." Lavender said, batting her eyelashes and smiling at Ron. Ron gave her his well-known (and loved) cocked eyebrow. She melted and fell back into her chair, her eyes rolled back in her head. Ginny just looked over at Ron with a disgusted look on her face. Ron rolled his eyes and walked out. He went towards the Great Hall, but instead of going in, he took the doors leading out of the school. After a few more minutes of walking, he found himself in front of Hagrid's hut. The door was closed, windows shuttered, and Fang's bark couldn't be heard, signaling Hagrid wasn't there.

"Damn." Ron cursed quietly. He heard a rustling sound behind him. He turned around and gulped.

"Ron?"