Disclaimer: Not mine, except for the story and stuff . . . oh yeah and I wrote the song Hermione sang in the last chapter so if you steal it I will sue you.

Twenty-Four

"Hasn't anyone told you it's impolite to spy?" I shouted to them.

"I s'pose not . . ." Ron whispered, his arms still around my waist. Despite the awkward position I was in having my best friend and my new boyfriend's best friend walk in on us kissing, I couldn't help but feel warm inside.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, it was your note," Ginny confessed, coming over with Harry. "You were so depressed. I had to show it to him. He had to understand that you only did Operation Jealousy to make him jealous. I had to!"

"You what?!" I cried.

"Well, it was both of our decisions. She showed it to me, and we decided it would be better if Ron knew," Harry butted in.

"Oh, so he knew as well? Now I know I can definitely trust you, Ginny Weasley!" I exclaimed.

Ron smiled and said, "Come on, 'Mione, don't be so mad at them. If I hadn't seen the note, I never would have had the courage to say anything, and nothing would have happened. You would've still been depressed and unhappy."

I bit my lip and looked at the ground. Ron was right, and I knew it. She only showed the note to everyone so that it would all work out for the best. And she showed it to Harry because she wasn't sure what she should do.

"I used to think trustworthiness was keeping a secret. After what you did, I know that's not so," I said to her. "Trustworthiness is when I can rely on you to do what you think is in the best interest for yourself and others. Thanks, Ginny."

A huge smile broke on her face as I hugged her. When we pulled away, however, I noticed something. Ginny's fingers were intertwined with Harry's. I just stared at them, at that one spot, until Harry noticed what was going on. He hid his hand behind his back, still holding on to hers, and in so doing jerked her over.

"Ow!" Ginny yelped. Ron noticed, as well.

"Since when did this happen?" he asked.

"Since when did what happen?" she retorted.

"This! You guys are . . . holding hands," he said.

"Ron, I can explain –" Harry began.

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed.

I grinned to myself as Ginny's and Harry's mouths fell open. "What are you talking about?"

"It's like what you guys said to me. Everyone's been waiting for you two to get together. When we saw you kissing at the dance, we were just amazed."

"Amazed? Ron, your mouth was hanging open as though you were about to kill us!" Ginny cried.

"Actually, Ginny, it was out of surprise," I added.

"We thought you were enraged, so we've been keeping our relationship a secret the entire year," Harry explained. I noticed that their entwined fingers were now visible and no longer hidden behind Harry's back.

"Enraged? I couldn't think of a better match for my baby sister!" Ron said, giving Ginny a noogie. "I know you'll treat her right, Harry. It's like Hermione said. Trustworthiness isn't whether or not you can keep a secret – it's doing whatever you think is in the best interest for yourself or others, and I know, Harry, that you are the most trustworthy person my sister could have as a boyfriend."

"Oh, Ron!" Ginny said, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"Besides, Ginny, you did so much better in choosing Harry this time than your last boyfriend – Michael Corner," Ron added. Harry laughed.

"So not only is one perfect couple together, but two perfect couples," I said beaming.

"Come on, let's go inside. It's getting cold," Harry said. He gave Ginny his cloak and began walking her inside.

"We should probably go in, too," Ron said quietly. "I hope you don't mind that Ginny told me and Harry about the note."

"Of course not. Like you said, if she hadn't, you mightn't have had the courage to tell me how you really felt. And then I might not have had the courage to do this," I said, leaning in to him. I planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Come on, Hermione. Let's go," he said, wrapping his arm around me to keep my warm. It was the happiest I had been in a long time.

We walked into the Common Room, hand in hand, to find Parvati sitting next to Seamus. They were also hand in hand.

"So much for broken hearted," I whispered. Ron laughed quietly. He glanced over at Parvati, who smiled at him proudly.

We spent the rest of the day together, enjoying each other's company, remembering everything we had ever said to each other. It was mostly a day of memories, a day where we looked back on the years we had known each other and apologized for every time we screamed for no good reason. It was a day where we tried to remember all the obvious hints we had dropped to each other, the obvious hints that Ginny and Harry had dropped to everyone else unintentionally. It was a day where we told of every single thing we ever did because we wanted the other so badly. By the time we were finished, we were sitting by the fire in the Common Room on the large sofa facing it, warming each other in an embrace. By then, everyone else had gone to bed.

"Remember the statue I bought of Krum at the Quidditch World Cup?" he asked me. I nodded, recalling the small silver statue that moved.

"Well, after you two starting seeing each other, I broke off his arm," he confessed.

"Ron!" I cried, laughing. "You broke it off?"

"Completely. Harry found it and got suspicious. I made up that lie about how you were 'fraternizing with the enemy' to cover it up. It was really bad and I was probably pretty obvious, but I was trying to convince myself that it was true," he said.

"You weren't obvious to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered to date Malfoy," I confessed back.

He sighed and said, "Bloody hell, we really screwed up this year, didn't we?" he asked.

"No, you had every right to be mad at me. Harry's right. I was a bitch." Ron gasped at my cussing. "Hey, I'm only quoting!" I said, and he laughed.

"I'm completely serious though, Ron. I am truly sorry for all the hurt I caused you. I don't see why you still like me, personally," I said.

"Oh, Hermione, don't say that. You only did it because you liked me and you didn't know I had the same feelings for you, too. Besides, there's no way I wouldn't like you," Ron said.

"What is it that makes you still like me? What is there worth holding on to?" I asked.

"You're smart, so we can have an intelligent conversation. You're so nice to everyone that deserves it, myself included (well, most of the time). You will always value my opinions, and you don't like me because of the way I look or what I have accomplished. You don't care that I am poor as a mouse. And of course, you're absolutely beautiful."

That was the first thing I noticed different about Ron from Malfoy. He didn't call me hot – he called me beautiful.

"You know, during the Holiday Ball, I had something in my pocket the entire time that I was going to give to you as a Christmas present. I was going to give it to you at the end of the Ball, but I never got a chance to, because before I got my courage up to give it to you, Malfoy just whisked out of my sight and blew you away with one kiss," he said in barely more than a whisper. He took my hand gently.

That was the second thing I noticed. His hand didn't reach places I didn't want it to reach – his fingers filled the spaces in between mine. And he didn't bother to hide his affection – if anyone had been watching, he wouldn't have cared. He wasn't ashamed to have Hermione Granger as a girlfriend.

As he continued to hold my hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, square-shaped box. "I've been keeping it with me. It's been giving me strength, giving me something to hold on to. Now I finally have the strength I needed to make that happen." He let go of my hand and opened my palm. He placed the box in my hand and closed it back up again.

"For me?" I asked quietly.

"Merry belated Christmas," he said gently. "Open it."

My heart pounding, my fingers trembling, I untied the red fuzzy ribbon and unwrapped the shining gold paper. Slowly, I opened the box. I gasped and put my hand to my mouth.

Inside was a necklace. A small heart-shaped sapphire dangled from a silver chain. I smiled. The sapphire was my birthstone.

"Oh, Ron . . . it's absolutely beautiful," I breathed.

"I thought you'd like it," he said. "Would you like me to put it on?"

"Nothing would make me happier."

He gently took the box from my hands and removed the necklace from its white velour pillow that it laid on inside the box. I knew he must really love me. After all, this necklace couldn't have been cheap, and knowing the amount of money he had, he must have been saving for a long time. I felt his warm hands on my back as he closed the clasp. His arms wrapped around my neck for a moment, just sitting there. I never wanted to move from that position.

Finally, he let go. I turned to him and asked, "How do I look?"

"Hermione, you look amazing," he replied, not a hint of hesitation in his voice.

That was the third thing I noticed. Malfoy would have called me doll or babe or something – but he just called me Hermione. With Malfoy, it had been as though he didn't want to speak my name, like it came with some sort of burden. With Ron, however, the way he said my name showed that he didn't care if I was the most popular girl in the school or not.

I leaned in again and kissed him. I knew there was nothing wrong with that kiss – it was full and happy and true, and no matter who I ended up with, nothing would ever match standards to that kiss.

When we pulled away, he laid down on the couch. I laid down on top of him, my head on his chest. I felt it rise and fall, rise and fall as he breathed.

"Goodnight, Hermione," he said. There was a pause, then, "I love you."

"I love you too, Ron. Goodnight."

That was the last thing I noticed. Even though it was quite late and no one was there, Ron's hands were not creeping up my shirt, like they had been with Malfoy. He had no intentions of hurting me whatsoever. The only thing he wanted was to fall asleep with me, and that was the only thing I wanted, as well. And I knew in my heart that even if he had wanted more, he would have respected me and not gone any farther than I had asked.

And as I fell asleep to the rhythmic beating of his heart, one hand resting gently on the necklace I had just been given and the other hand held by his, I never wanted to wake.