First of all...many thanks to those of you reading (I know there are some that aren't reviewing cuz they aren't members...just my friends).

Monkey and Crow, thank you so much for reviewing...sometimes I think no one is reading this, but then I get an email that says I got a review and it's always so exciting! Thanks again!

Without further ado, here is Chapter 4...hope you enjoy! :)

Just Thought You Should Know Part 1

"Er - Ron, I was wondering if maybe we could have a talk?" Harry asked a little later as they played Wizard's Chess. Well, actually Ron was playing. Harry was no good at Wizard's Chess even when he wasn't trying to figure out how to tell his opponent he wanted to pursue the girl Harry suspected him of fancying. Wait a minute, Harry thought, how did I already get to the stage where I want to pursue her? How do I know she WANTS to be pursued?! He sighed…this was going to be much more difficult than he had even imagined - and even worse, he had to talk to Ron about something other than quidditch, school, and Voldemort's latest attacks.

"Sure, mate," replied Ron, as his queen viciously attacked one of Harry's knights. "About what?"

Harry gulped. He still had visions of his knight being smashed to bits and was wondering if Ron would soon be planning to do the same thing to his face. He felt himself break out into a cold sweat, but knew he should just get it over with.

"It's actually about, well - uh, it's actually about Hermione," Harry replied.

"What about her?" Ron asked. "She's just as mental as ever, isn't she? Can you imagine - she actually asked me if I would be the Vice President of S.P.E.W.! Says I have people skills when I want to and could be an asset to getting support. Honestly, I don't know what goes through that head of hers sometimes…" Ron trailed off, making Harry feel more uncomfortable than ever. He had the sneaking suspicion the last couple of years that Ron's criticisms of Hermione's character and their constant bickering was nothing more than an elaborate cover up for his true feelings.

"Well, er, I was…actuallysortakindathinkinthatImightkindalike'er," Harry got out. He winced waiting for the worst, he actually shut his eyes! He had faced Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard alive, 5 times by now and was scared of what Ron Weasley was going to do to him.

To his great surprise, Ron just started laughing harder than Harry had ever heard him laugh before. One by one, Harry opened his eyes and slowly unclenched his fists, as he tried to figure out just what was going on. "Ron? Are you okay? Because you seem a little…well, a little nutters," Harry said tentatively.

"I'm sorry!" Ron guffawed, "But you - you don't know, how long I've been waiting for you to tell me that!" He tried to calm his hysterics and catch his breath, but one look at Harry's face set him off again.

After Harry's initial shock, waiting for me to tell him?!, he felt a huge burden being lifted off his shoulders. "What do you mean, waiting for me to tell you? I just figured it out myself this morning!" Harry sputtered.

"Well, I figured it was only a matter of time before you realized what everyone else already knew," said Ron, who had calmed himself considerably when he saw what a state Harry had worked himself up into. "Everyone except Hermione herself, I'm pretty sure, if that's what you're worried about."

"Actually, it -er, I sort of thought that maybe, you, you know, fancied Hermione," Harry boldly put across.

Ron looked at him as if he'd grown a third eye, and Harry felt rather stupid for bringing that up in the first place. "Have you gone completely mad?!" Ron yelled, then quieted his voice for what came next, which was, "We would absolutely drive each other mental. Have you ever heard us fight?"

Harry supposed he had been rather silly, but Ron and Hermione had been the subject of speculation ever since, well, the Yule Ball, he supposed. The way Ron got so jealous…

"Well, what did you go and get go jealous of Krum for then, if you didn't fancy her?" Harry questioned.

Ron rolled his eyes and replied, "I figured eventually you'd come out of that Cho Chang thing, and all of us knew you and Hermione should be together…anyway, I wasn't jealous, I was angry because she liked you and was there with him!"

"Hold on…" Harry said, as the truth dawned upon him, "What do you mean, she liked me? She liked me then?! Does she still like me?" He suddenly felt as though the entire universe depended upon Ron's answer to this question, which given who he was and the fact that he should have more important things to worry about (like perhaps, when Voldmort was going to strike next…), was a big deal.

"Uh," Ron stammered, "I really don't know that, mate. She doesn't talk about it much either way now."

Harry was sure that wasn't a good sign. Why would she stop talking about him? Did he do something that made her decide he wasn't a good person…that he wasn't the right person for her? He felt stupid for not having realized it sooner, but he knew he could never attain true happiness without Hermione by his side - as more than just his best friend.

"Harry?" Ron asked hesitantly after watching him stare into space for a good 2 or 3 minutes. "I'm sure it's fine. After all, it is Hermione we're talking about here. She wouldn't just go and change her mind after all that time. She hasn't had enough time to think about it yet…"Ron trailed off in what he hoped would first of all, reassure Harry, and second of all, make enough of a joke to lighten up the situation a bit.

Ron hoped that would be the end of that conversation, because he had had more than enough Harry/Hermione angst to last him at least through Christmas for one day (what he wasn't telling Harry was that he did, in fact, know that Hermione still cared a great deal for him…hey, he was her friend too!). What he didn't expect was what happened next.

"You know what, Ron? You're right!" Harry exclaimed, even as he realized what a ridiculous comment it was. But he didn't care. "I have to go find Hermione. I have to talk to her."

Ron's face showed pure disbelief as he watched Harry run out the door. "Checkmate!" he yelled after Harry's retreating back as his last man on the board fell.