Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. I do not. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes out July 16, 2005! Yay! Oh SO happy.
Author's Notes: I'm starting this chapter 1 ½ hours after I posted the 3rd chapter because my sisters asleep and no ones bothering me- so I'm going to catch up on this chapter! Wish me luck! And seeing as I started this before I could receive review notices- if you reviewed- thanks a bunch! Okay- just opened my e-mail and found reviews! Thanks guys! And
DeeCohen- of course you can be part of Team Ron! Hehe!
Chapter 4: Cozy by the Fire
Ron guided Hermione and him into the warm luxury that was the castle, goose bumps immediately spread on their arms at the sudden change in temperature.
He held on to her hand tight, trying to get them to his destination as quickly as possible. He turned corner after corner, walked quickly down hall after hall, until they made it to the familiar corridors to Gryffindor Tower. He spoke the password to the Fat Lady ("Butterbeer!"), he walked them inside.
"Ron, why'd we rush?" Hermione asked him, somewhat confused.
"Because you were cold." He answered, somewhat lamely.
"I'm fine, Ron, really." She said, though he wasn't entirely convinced.
She shivered again, "No, you're not," He said, frowning slightly and he went to get her a blanket from one of the squashy armchairs. "Here." He said, and draped the blanket over her shoulders as the smiled gratefully.
"Thanks Ron." She said, and smiled at him again.
"Don't mention it." He said, and smiled back at her.
Hermione went over to one of the couches by the fire, and sat down on it, draped the blanket down her, and removed her winter coat, hat, and wet gloves. She hung them near the fire so they could dry off, because they dry better naturally than by a drying spell, after all.
Ron, seeing the gesture, then sat near her, on an armchair to her right. He let out a sigh of comfort the moment he sat down, and closed his eyes, taking in the warmth around him.
Now she frowned slightly. He opened his eyes and studied her face, but it was unreadable. She still shivered, and he got up selflessly, and went to sit next to her, draping the blanket back over her shoulders. She smiled again, not needing words to explain.
He sat a foot away from her, close enough so that he was technically sitting with her, far enough so that his intentions didn't seem obvious. He rubbed her shoulders affectionately, and she closed her eyes out of the comfort that Ron brought to her.
She held her hands tight to her, and Ron could see that they were still freezing cold, and somewhat blue. She rubbed them, attempting to bring back her normal color, and blew into them constantly.
"Let me see if I can help," he said, looking down at her cold hands, "Mum used to do this to us when we were younger and spent too much time outside in the snow. It really helps, Mum swears by it." He said, smiling at her slightly, and taking her hands into his own.
He clapped her hands together, so that both of her palms were touching the other, and then, with his own big, strong hands, he clapped his over hers, and began rubbing them somewhat vigorous, yet gentle. Then, be brought his lips down to her hands and blew warm air on them every so often, bringing feeling back to her shuddering hands.
She felt a tingle up her back as he blew on her hands, his lips pressed softly to her hands, and she longed to have his lips against hers. She smiled down at him, and after a few minutes, her hands were back to normal.
"Thanks for that." She said, smiling at him.
"No problem." He said, and he graciously smiled back at her.
She gazed into the fire, and Ron could see just how alive she was. Her eyes sparkled majestically, and the soft glow of the fire made her face glow as well. The fire was the only thing on the room, which brought a very romantic atmosphere. It was just the two of them, sitting on the same couch, by the light of the fire.
She subconsciously moved closer to him, and Ron felt his chest constrict. Did she know? He tried to keep his breathing soft and steady, but found it hard with her only a few inches away. His heart was beating harder, and he thought it was going to jump out of his chest. Could she hear how loud his heart seemed to beat?
In truth, she didn't know what had possessed her to move closer to him. He was just so rugged, so manly, and she imagined she just couldn't help herself. She knew in the back of her mind that some of her own courage had burst through the air and pushed her body closer to his.
She looked at him, and studied his every feature. His eyes had a flicker of emotion in them, and held something that she had never seen anyone else possess. It was what made her knees weaken when they held eye contact, and the same reason that made it impossible to look away. They were full of compassion and understanding; they were so deep, so blue. Blue pools she could swim in forever, to drown in his eyes.
She moved her train of sight down to his freckles and laughed silently to herself as she remembered their fifth year at St. Mungo's with the portrait of the wizard who had said that he had Splattergroit. He had gotten so flustered, so angry; He looked adorable when he was angry. He always got so passionate into what he was fighting for or against, and it was something that drew her to him.
His freckles faded into his cheeks, which were right now flushed by the light of the fire, but somewhat blushed from the cold that still sustained in them. He blushed frequently, and his ears would turn red. She looked at his ears, big and goofy. But he made them out to be much larger than one would suggest.
Her eyes trained further south until they arrived at his lips, and they locked there. She couldn't take her eyes off of them and she didn't want to. She was lost in emotions so complex. The only thing she understood was that she wanted those lips on hers. She wanted him to kiss her passionately, or she wanted enough courage in her to kiss him.
She pulled her eyes away, wondering if he would catch her staring, and decided, for her own sake, to look higher, and her eyes rested on his hair, his messy mop of red hair. It was what made him so unique; No one else in their year had red hair, no guys at least. It was always so messy and so untidy, that it just made him look more like Ron. He was a simple guy, after all, and he didn't bother all that much with gel. He didn't need it. His hair fell in front of his face at times, but she loved picking at it and brushing it out of his face for him and commenting on it.
By the glow of the fire, he looked the best she had ever seen him. The fire lit his hair in all the right places, and it made the best features on him stand out. A small smile was at his lips and she wondered what was on his mind. Then she realized that a good few minutes had passed with them not saying anything, and wondered if the silence was becoming uncomfortable.
She didn't have long to wonder though, because he broke the silence, right in time.
"Hermione?" He asked her, uncertainty in his own voice, and she was now brought back to reality.
"Yeah?" she asked, turning her body to face him, seeing as he was facing hers.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked, now looking down at his feet.
"Of course, Ron. You're my best friend, you can ask me anything." She couldn't read his mind.
He took a deep breath and attempted to speak but nothing came out. Trying again, he couldn't get the words to come out of his mouth. He gave up, surrendering to weakness and defeat.
"You know what? It was nothing, forget I said anything." He frowned at himself, and mentally kicked himself for not saying anything. Out of the corner of his eyes he had seen her staring before, and wondered what she was thinking.
"Oh, okay." She said, taken aback, disappointed.
He took another deep breath, "Wait- I remember now." He said, and he pulled her close to him. He sent one last smile to her and put one hand behind her head, pulling her head closer to his, while the other he wrapped around her waist. In the next few moments, he closed the gap that separated them, and he kissed her, softly, on the lips.
His kiss was soft, yet tender, and Hermione felt herself flying. She was surprised at first at the fact that Ron was kissing her, and couldn't react in time, because it was short and brief. She wished it wouldn't ever stop.
Ron had kissed Hermione. He had been courageous and took his risk. Now, he was thinking he may have ruined things.
"I'm really sorry." He mumbled after he broke away, and now looked down at the floor again, not bringing his eyes to meet hers.
She just stared at him, taking in everything that had just happened. Ron had kissed her. Ron had kissed her. And she was too stupid to react the way she had wanted to.
"Don't be." She said simply, and smiled at him. He had retracted his arms back to himself after he had broken away, and she took her hand and put it beneath his chin, lifting it so that he had to look her in the eyes.
He saw that she was smiling, and smiled weakly. Let her reject me peacefully. He thought to himself.
"Ron," she started, "I don't know how to say this, so," she couldn't find her own words, so she brought his head back with hers and kissed him, lightly. He was surprised at her forward actions, but he now felt like he was walking on air. He reacted quicker than he thought he would, and he kissed her back, a little bit deeper.
She broke away, feeling now more than ever would be the best time to explain herself. She took a deep breath in and touched a finger to her lips, the sensation of his kiss still lingering there.
"You have some explaining to do, Hermione Granger." He said, smiling at her, his grin spreading the length of his face, reaching his ears.
"As do you, Ronald Weasley." And she smiled at him.
"Yes, I believe I do, don't I?" he said, and took a deep breath in and smiled at her. "Well, 'Mione, the thing is. I really like you. I really, really, like you. I like you more than you'll ever know. I realized it in our third year, but I was confused, I was slightly scared that I had begun to fall for my best friend.
"In fourth year, I couldn't deny it to myself any longer, and the thought of you with anybody else got me angry. I didn't want you with anyone else, I wanted you with me. My feelings for you have grown since the day I realized I really liked you. I've been too scared of ruining our friendship and too scared of rejection to act upon it sooner.
"But I love so many things about you. I love your smile. I love how passionate you are when it comes to S.P.E.W. I love how you work hard for what you believe in. I love how loyal you are to your friends and I love how your eyes flicker with mischief every time you have something on your mind.
"But the fact is, is that I like you so much that it hurts. My feelings for you are more than I've ever felt for anyone in my life. That kiss- the happiest moment of my life." He concluded, smiling at her, and evening his breathing.
She smiled, taking all this newfound knowledge in, "Ron, wow." Was all she could get out at the moment, and she looked into those eyes that she loved so much, and smiled at him, a small tear in her eye.
"I meant every word." He said, smiling at her sincerely, looking positively adorable.
"Where do I start?" she began, and breathed deeply, "It probably won't come as a shock to you, but I really like you, too. I couldn't describe how much I really do and there are no precise words to describe how exactly I feel about you. To me, you're the perfect guy. You're kind, caring, and considerate. You're loyal and brave. You're protective but you give a girl her space. You have faith in whatever it is that's going on and you remain tough in all situations." His smile grew, and she continued.
"Like you, I also developed feelings for you in our third year, but I denied them for awhile. When Viktor came along I tried to deny them further, but they kept coming back to me, stronger than ever.
"It took me awhile before I realized there was nothing I could do but go with the flow. So I ended things with Viktor without looking back, and I kept my feelings for you, allowing them to grow more each day, and I'm glad I did. Because falling you for was the best thing that could've ever happened to me." She finished, and now, more than ever, just wanted to kiss him again. Tears were forming at her eyes, and she did all she could to hold them back.
"Now that we have everything in thin air, ah-wait- not everything." He said, and a mischievous smile came at his lips. "Will you be my girlfriend, Hermione?" he asked, inhaling a sharp intake of breath and looking her right in the eyes.
"I would love nothing more." She said, and they hugged, affectionately and romantically.
"Now that we really have everything into thin air, can I kiss you again? Because going all this time without kissing you is really driving me crazy." And he gave her his famous lop-sided grin, knowing she couldn't resist.
"I'd be offended if you didn't." she said, and leaned closer to him, for they had separated a little bit during the explanations.
"Well, now, I definitely wouldn't want to offend you." He whispered, placing his hand back behind her head and drawing her closer. He was bringing her closer, and the surprise of it all didn't last long. They both now knew how to react, and couldn't take the emotional build-up any longer.
He brought her close to him, and kissed her deeply on the lips, somewhat hard. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him closer to her, feeling warmness spread all throughout her body. He kissed her again, deeper yet again, and dropped his other hand down around her waist, pulling her body even closer to hers, feeling her now warm body pressed against his, and wanting the moment never to end.
She got lost in his kisses. Well, actually, she always got lost in him, and she couldn't find an emotion that was better. She kissed him back with passion she had had since third year, and moved her hands up into his hair, playing with it and ruffling it every so often.
Ron, unable to control himself, slid his tongue into her mouth, and she accepted it, surprised at this, but enjoying it nonetheless. She felt a spark the second his tongue entered her mouth and it didn't feel weird or unusual, it just felt right. It was like their mouths were made for each other; two pieces fitted to a puzzle.
Ron broke the kiss after a few minutes, not wanting to get carried away. Now he just sat there, looking into her eyes, feeling happier than he had ever been in his life. The subject of his dreams was now in his arms, and he had just kissed her the way he had desired for too long.
They were both blushing a very, very deep share of crimson, but they couldn't hide the smile that both of them held on their faces. They were smiles that would last a lifetime, possibly, and it would always be remembered.
Hermione leaned up against Ron, staring into the fire, and she cuddled with him. He played with her hair, constricting her locks of curls around his fingers, and he leaned his head down on hers, staring into the future.
The new couple sat side by side, by the luxury of the fire, on what might be the best Christmas of their young lives, while snow continued to fall outside. But the magic the snow held, as mentioned before, now held no competition to the magic that occurred the night that their feelings had been revealed. Christmas really did bring people together. Ron and Hermione were living proof.
Author's Notes: Wow! I finished 2 chapters in 1 day! My sister just woke up and thinks I have problems because I've been on the computer all day, but whatever. I'm going to post this tomorrow morning, because I can't get back on the internet just yet. But please review everyone! Merry Christmas Eve everyone! and I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Please review! and have a great holiday!