A/N: Hey there! Here's chapter 16 for you, I hope you like it! I'll warn you, lately I've been in a totally mushy, romance-crazed mood, and this chapter really reflects that, so…sorry if that makes you all crazy. This chapter may read like a sappy paperback-romance novel, but oh well, I'm in a sappy paperback-romance novel sort of mood. Anyway, I hope that doesn't drive you all up the wall, and you may even end up liking it! I guess we'll just see. Well, read and review, if you please, and enjoy!

Lauren

Disclaimer: JK has never written any sappy crap! Too bad…I imagine she'd be pretty good at it…better than me, anyway.

Chapter Sixteen

Goodnight Moon (and Other Bedtime Stories)

The night air was breezy, and as Ron and Hermione walked, they could hear the rustling of leaves not far from them. The moon was shining brightly above them, watching them descend the steps from school. As they left the last step, Ron felt the grass squish beneath his feet, and he found himself wondering what it was like to be small. (And no, not Hermione-small, but truly, genuinely small.) An owl hooted somewhere in the distance, but between the two friends there was silence. They just kept walking, one stealing quick glances at the other every once in a while, the small gift sitting heavily in Ron's hand, which remained stuffed in his pocket. They passed a tree near the lake, whose branches stretched out over the water, lightly brushing it in the wind and drawing small circles on the surface.

"Do you want to sit here?" Hermione asked, stopping suddenly. Ron's head snapped up.

"Oh, sure, yeah," he said, turning around and walking up to the tree. They smiled at each other, crouching onto the ground and stretching out their legs. Hermione scooted herself back to lean against the tree, and Ron did the same. They looked out over the water, the squid's tentacles visible down below. There was more silence, other than the owl still hooting off in the trees. Hermione played with a few blades of grass.

"So, was your birthday all right then?" Ron asked softly, as though not to disturb nature. Hermione looked up, still fiddling with grass.

"Yeah, it was actually really great. I had a nice time today. And that cake Dobby made was…well, it was really amazing, so that made it all the better," she said, chuckling. Ron smiled at her and exhaled. There was more silence, but Ron and Hermione were glad to discover that it wasn't uncomfortable, just unfilled. Ron felt his toe tapping to an imaginary beat somewhere between the rustling trees and the singing crickets.

"Oh, you remember that the next Hogsmeade trip is next weekend, right?" Hermione asked, lightly tossing some grass. "George sent me an owl earlier today reminding me that they had arrangements for some sort of party for me." Ron chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, god, who knows what that could mean? They could be planning to kidnap you and subject you to product testing for all you know," he said, resting his head back against the tree and looking up at its branches.

"Well, no I think it's sweet, but I'm not sure I very much like the idea," she said, furrowing her brow in concern. "I mean it must be hindering their schedules, what with losing a whole day of business just for me. I don't want them going out of their way just to throw me a party, though I must say I am grateful they thought of me." She paused, observing Ron looking up at the treetops, and decided to join in on the fun. The tree appeared massively tall and powerful from down below, and with their heads tilting back the night sky seemed to envelop them in bright starlight. Ron caught a glimpse of Hermione out of the corner of his eye and saw an intense awe grow there deep inside. He wondered what she was thinking. Her eyes were caught on the leaves rustling in the breeze, and her ears heard the sweet chirping of crickets hidden in the bushes. Her fingers were still busy feeling the grass, picking single blades at a time and rolling them slowly between her fingers, and then flicking them away into the darkness. He noticed her freckles in the moonlight and the soft shadow playing across her lips, and he wondered—for a fleeting second—what it would feel like to touch them with his.

"Ron, can I ask you a question?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence. Ron's ears tingled at the sound of her voice. Or maybe it was the breeze blowing through his hair…

"Sure, anything."

"Remember when we were talking, when we made up after that argument, and you were telling me about Padma…" she trailed off uneasily. Ron looked at his hands and noticed, for the first time, that they seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"Yes?"

"Well, I was wondering…what was the rest of it? I mean your, um, 'inner turmoil', I believe it was. You were going to tell me, but, well, I mean, I—"

"Oh, that. Right. Well, um…you know about how she wasn't right for me and how I felt like I'd been forced into the relationship, and then how it was really, really horrible…" he said slowly, looking over at her. She nodded thoughtfully. "Well, plus, it kept us from being friends, and that was the worst part." Ron paused, wondering if what he had just said held deeper meaning. As he thought about this, Hermione lowered her head and looked at him coyly.

"So all of that was your 'inner turmoil', then?"

Ron chuckled.

"Yeah, that was most of it," he said, stretching out his legs and hoping she wouldn't push any further. He wasn't sure he wanted her to know what the rest was.

"And I suppose you're not going to tell me what the other part of that turmoil is, are you?" she asked, knowing the answer. Ron grumbled and sighed, dropping his shoulders.

"It's okay, you don't have to if you don't want to. If it makes you feel any better, though, I've been having some inner turmoil as well," she said, not looking at him. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you too, eh? I guess that stuff's just spreading like wildfire, who knows who'll get it next?" Ron said, smiling. Hermione chuckled, picking some grass and tossing it in his direction.

"No, really, I have," she said defensively. "What? Why are you laughing? I guess it's funny knowing your friend has been in distress, is it?"

"No, no, it's not that, I promise. So, you want to tell me what this inner turmoil is then?" he said, calming down. She looked him in the eye for a moment, but whether she was evaluating his worthiness of knowing her secret or determining if he would truly stop laughing was a mystery to Ron.

"Well, it involves the fact that I thought that I had, um, achieved my goal, but it turns out that, in the end, I've failed." When she looked back at Ron, he saw something strange in her eyes. Though nothing she'd said made any real sense, that something strange that shone from her made him understand. He didn't know what it was, but it was because of that that he suddenly found himself revealing what he had been so unsure about revealing…

"Hermione, I haven't not been crazy about you for like a year."

Ron waited for her reaction, and was glad to see that she wasn't surprised. In fact, it looked as though that's what she had expected him to say, and that both comforted and unnerved him. After a minute, she gave him a small smile and sighed. Ron waited for something more, something predictable, because right then he wished he could take back what he'd said.

"So, was the last part of your inner turmoil?" she said finally. Ron felt his muscles relax. There it was, right there.

"Yeah, that was it. I didn't tell you before because, well, I mean I'd just broken up with Padma, and I didn't want to seem like an ass, so…"

"No, that's perfectly understandable," Hermione said, nodding. "Completely understandable. And I agree, by the way."

"Agree with what?"

"Your statement. You said that you hadn't not liked me for a year, and I agree," she said, trying not to blush. "But speaking for myself, obviously." Ron smiled to himself, looking down at the ground.

They fell into silence, Ron feeling incredibly relieved but unsure of what to do next. Hermione tilted her head back again to look some more at the moon. It had all worked out…he felt for her, and she felt for him as well. But something tugged at the bottom of Ron's mind as he thought of what to say next, and as much as he wanted to shoo it away, it was awfully persistent. He avoided the whole thing altogether and looked up at the stars as well.

For a while there, they were content under the great stretch of sky above them, with the owls and the crickets, the grass and the breeze, and the big, bright moon. That is, until Hermione caught a grasp of reality and remembered that they had been out there for quite some time. She brushed off her skirt and placed her hands firmly on the ground to her sides.

"Ron," she whispered softly, as not to startle him. He looked over at her.

"Yeah?"

"It's probably really late, I think we should head back inside." She watched him, waiting for his response.

"Oh yeah, you're right. I almost forgot." He removed the grass from his lap and stood up, feeling the small box shift in his pocket and suddenly remembering the whole purpose of the walk: to give her the present.

"Oh, hang on a second," he said, prohibiting her from standing. He pulled the box out and, after looking at it for a second, handed it over to her.

She reached out her hand tentatively, her hands anticipating the weight and receiving something much lighter. She turned it over in her hands, then looked it once more and began taking off the smooth gold paper. When she placed it (preserved in one whole piece) on the ground next to her, she saw a little brown box. She looked up at him before she pulled off the lid.

"Happy birthday," he said quietly.

Inside was a pair of gold earrings, and when she lifted one out of the box, she saw that they were—

"Books?" she said with a small giggle. Ron laughed.

"Yeah, they're books. I know it's kind of dumb, but they really reminded me of you when I saw them, and I knew it would have been a mistake not to get them, so…"

"Ron, they're—"

"You don't, you know, have to wear them or anything, I just thought you'd appreciate the humor in them. So I won't be offended or anything if I never see them again."

"Ron," she said, pausing so that he couldn't interrupt her, "they're really cute. Thank you." She took the back off one and slid the end into her ear, closing it and putting on the other. After she finished, she reached out her hand for him to pull her up.

"Why, of course, milady."

They laughed a bit, then began the walk back to the castle in more silence, Hermione reaching up every so often to tug at the small gold literature resting on her ear lobes, and Ron smiling to himself on a gift well given. The owls hooted their farewell as they ascended the steps quietly and entered the entrance hall, tugging the door carefully closed behind them. As they walked past the doorway to the Great Hall, they looked up at the ceiling, both thinking what an injustice it was serving the real outdoors; while its enhancement allowed for one to see the sky as it appeared, it lacked greatly the sense of atmosphere one gained from feeling and hearing the actual outdoors as well. After pondering this for a moment, they headed up the stairs, quietly so that Peeves wouldn't hear them and cause a ruckus. On the way to the portrait hole, Ron could feel Hermione's hand accidentally brushing against his and resisted, as much he could, from taking it into his own.

"Sock cake," Ron whispered to the Fat Lady as they reached the end of the corridor. Hermione looked up at him sternly, crossing her arms.

"Ron, 'sock cake'? What kind of a password is that? It has nothing to do with the history of Hogwarts, or anything magical for that matter, and you know the rules of setting passwords—"

"Hermione…I think that, just this once, we can make a small exception." Hermione rolled her eyes, but after a moment, she smiled and dropped her arms to her sides.

"All right, fine. Sock cake it is."

"Planning on going inside at any point this evening?" the Fat Lady asked, still (impatiently) facing the wall.

"Oh, um, sorry," Hermione said, making an embarrassed face at Ron and stepping inside. Ron followed her and nearly lost a foot, as the Fat Lady swung closed so quickly that he barely had time to step in.

Hermione stepped over to her abandoned chair and, while gathering her things, noticed that Harry and Ginny had left their corner. Ron stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, looking around at the room and allowing the warmth of the fire to breathe on his face.

"Well Ron, thank you for the walk," she said, turning around and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "It was absolutely lovely."

"Oh, well, thank you for joining me. Two is always more fun than one, and you've kept me from being a lonely man tonight."

Hermione chuckled, offering him a warm smile. His eyes grazed the surface of her face, and without hesitation, he leaned forward until his lips were pressed against her warm cheek. For the split second before he removed them, Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat, and they both closed their eyes. Finally, Ron took a step back and smiled before holding out his left arm.

"Come, madame, and I'll escort you to your room." Hermione laughed, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"Why thank you, but remember, it'll only be halfway, as you boys aren't allowed up our staircase."

"It doesn't matter, I'll climb the railing backwards if I have to. Or perhaps you'd prefer to give me a piggyback ride?"

Hermione was unable to suppress her giggles.

"Well, sir, we'll have to see about that…"

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed! I know, it was a little drawn-out and sappy in places, but I couldn't help it. I'm a bit torn over not having a love myself, so…well, you know how it is, the mind gets extra-imaginative. Oh well. Oh, and I'm not sure if Hermione has pierced ears or not, but uh, now she does! I hope no one minds. Anyway, review! REVIEW! And I'll update soon!