You had me at Hello…
Hermione sat in the big overstuffed chair by the window and sipped on her champagne. She was looking out at the stars, thinking about everything that happened today. She had been very busy today. It had been the big day and it was finally over. And she could not be happier. She thought she should be tired but she was surprisingly wide-awake. Then she heard a noise from over by the bed and turned toward it. The man lying on the bed mumbled something in his sleep. He was lying on his stomach and his left arm was dangling off the side of the bed. He had his face turned toward her he mumbled again and smiled. Hermione sighed and smiled lovingly at the sleeping man. As she sat and watched him sleep, she thought back to the first time she saw him.
She was on a train on her way to a new school. She was helping a boy named Neville look for his pet toad. She walked into a compartment and saw two boys. They were sitting there stuffing themselves with sweets from the trolley. The boy sitting over by the window had dark hair and wore glasses. She recognized him right away. He had to be the famous boy Harry Potter. The other boy she did not know. However, he had beautiful red hair. And she thought he was terribly handsome. She said, "Have either of you two seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost one."
They both said, "No, we have not seen one." She came in and sat down across from them.
"My name is Hermione Granger," She said. "You must be Harry Potter. Am I right?" she asked the dark haired boy. When he answered 'yes' she said, "I am so pleased to meet you. I have heard so much about you." Then she turned to the red head. "And you are?"
"I'm Ron… Ron Weasley. It' nice to meet you, he said."
"Hello Ron nice to meet you too" she said. She reached out to shake his hand. When he took her hand, she got shivers down her back. She knew at that moment that this was the boy for her. He would be the one she would fall in love with.
"Well I must be going, she said. I am supposed to be helping Neville find his pet." As she got up to leave she turned to Ron and said, "You have a little dirt on your nose" and she showed him where it was by placing her finger on the side of her nose. Then she turned to leave.
She, Ron, and Harry became very good friends. They were all sorted into Gryffindor. Therefore, that meant that she could spend all her time with them. Now Hermione knew how she felt about Ron. However, she did not know how he felt about her. Not until they were in their fourth year. That year they were to have a school dance. She waited for Ron to ask her to go with him but he never did. At that moment, she thought that maybe she had made a mistake about Ron being the one for her. That is until she came to the dance on the arm of another boy. She watched him pout all night. And that made her feel good cause then she knew how he really felt. He did not act on his true feelings though. Not until the summer before their seventh year. That summer she stayed with Ron's family. Her being an only child she was so happy to be there with his big family. She seemed to fit right in. She loved it there. She and Ron would go swimming in the pond behind his house nearly every day. One day they had a big family dinner outside. That evening she and Ron went swimming. That is the night he told her how he felt.
After they helped clean up dinner, they changed into their swimming clothes. She thought Ron looked like a Greek god in his cutoffs and no shirt. She made sure to wear her two-piece suit. She knew he liked that one. She could tell because the first time she wore it he lost his ability to speak. And tonight it was no different. They raced out the door and across the lawn. Hermione was running at full speed and Ron was right behind her. When she got to the edge of the pond, she swerved to her right and let Ron plunge into the water first. That gave her the advantage to run in after him and splash him as soon as he came up for air. She started to swim to get away from him before he had a chance to splash her back. He went under the water and popped up right in front of her. "And where do you think you are going." he said. She was shocked she did not know he could move so fast. He grabbed her by the waist and promptly threw her over his shoulder. She came up out of the water with a big smile. She started to back away again yelling, "Ok…ok ...you got me... I call a timeout."
With a smile that matched her own he said, "Do you give up?"
"YES...yes...I give up" she said.
They swam to the edge of the pond and walked up to the blanket they had thrown down earlier. Ron spread it out for them to sit on. She sat down next to him and sighed deeply.
She looked out across the water and said, "I love it here. It's so peaceful and quiet."
He looked at her stunned, "You think this family is quite?" he asked.
"No... I mean here… your home. Did you forget that I live in a big city?" She said. "No your family is not quiet...that's for sure. But that's what I love about them." She said. "I don't have a big family so my house was always quiet. A little too quiet sometimes. I love your family I feel like I fit right in here."
"You do fit in and we all love you too." He said.
"You do?" she asked.
"What?" he said.
"Love me… I mean like me… Being here that is."
"Well that's a stupid question." He answered. "Of course I like you…..being here." He added quickly.
"Oh..." she said.
"Why would you ask such a silly question?" He said. "You are my best friend. We have been friends since the first day of school. I knew I would like you from the moment we said 'hello' on the train that first year." He added.
"You did?" she asked.
"Yes. I did." He said.
Then they sat silent for a few minuets. Then very quietly in almost a whisper, he said. "Hermione…I have to tell you something. I have liked you for a long time now. I have been too scared to say anything. But… we will be going back to school soon and with it being are final year and all. I think I should tell you now. Before we leave school and I lose my chance." She was looking into his gorgeous blue eyes. Her heart felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest. She thought if she listened very hard, she could hear his pounding too.
"What is it Ron?' she asked.
"Well…. I have liked you… No, more than like… Ok I am just going to say it before I lose my nerve and never tell you. Hermione… I love you. I have always loved you. From the moment we met on the train….I loved you then and I love you now. I have not told you until now because…Well I guess I was afraid you did not feel the same way for me." She could not believe this was happening. She had waited for so long to hear him say that. She had tears in her eyes.
She looked him right in the eye and said. "I love you too Ron Weasley, more than you know." The tears were coming full stream now. He took her face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe the tears away. Then ever so slowly, he leaned in, whispered "I will love you forever," and kissed her gently on the lips.
She was brought out of her thoughts by someone saying her name, she shook her head to clear her mind and said, "What? I'm sorry I was thinking did you say something?"
"Yes. I did…Honey are you ok?"
"Oh… yes, yes I'm fine. In fact I'm more than fine I'm great…wonderful...perfect." she said as she walked across the room to the bed. She sat down next to him and said, "I thought you were sleeping. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"No sweetie you did not wake me. What were you thinking of? You had a silly little grin on your face?" he asked.
"I was just thinking about our first kiss, do you remember that?" A smile spread across his face.
"Yes I do…And that also was the first time I told you how I felt about you. Do you remember that?" he asked.
"Yes… You said you loved me." she said.
"I said I would love you forever. I said it then, I said it today, and I will say it again….I will love you forever. I will also honor and cherish you and be with only you until the day I die." He kissed her gently. Then his smile widened and he leaned in and asked her
"Do you remember what you were wearing that day?"
"Yes I do. Why?"
"Do you still have it?" he asked.
"Yes. But summer is just starting. I don't think the water will be warm enough for a swim." She said. He smiled an evil little smile, wiggled his eyebrows up and down, and said, "Who said we were going swimming?"
"Oh…. You are a bad boy Mr. Weasley."
He leaned in, kissed her deeply, and said, "Yes I am Mrs. Weasley. But you love me."
"More than you know." She added.