Hey everyone!!

Okay kids, it's been a good long while since I've updated. All apologies and explanations are in my profile. I didn't write an introduction before the last chapter cause I figured it'd be weird and awkward. Anyway, here I am, writing this story again, and it feels nice to be back. I'm also writing another story, under the name 'finallywoken', and it's called Uninvited, if you feel like reading something else in the meantime. It's more dramatic, more descriptive, and overall pretty different from what I usually write, but I recommend it, and no, not only because I wrote it. Hehe.

One more time, here is the flashback guide. FLASHBACK GUIDE. HERE. READ IT BECAUSE I'M NEVER, EVER POSTING IT AGAIN! EVER!

Chapter One: NOT a flashback

Chapter Two: the first part and the last part are flashbacks. The middle is not.

Chapter Three: the first part

Chapters four and on: no flashbacks.

You can find that same guide on chapters 8 and 10, if you're still lost. I posted it there too, a long, long time ago.

BE WARNED. I will be writing more flashbacks, maybe even in this chapter. And because there seems to be a GREAT DEAL of confusion about this, I'll CLEARLY mark flashback sections. Unfortunately, I can't wave my hands and make the 'doodle doodle doo' noise like they do on Wayne's World. Therefore, you'll have to settle for some sort of notation, like '' or something else really fruity like that. Hey, don't whine, it's your fault. You brought this upon yourselves.

And now, ladies and gents…

Chapter Eighteen

When Opportunity Knocks...Don't Answer!

Confusion. Anger. Self-doubt. Frustration. Guilt. Embarrassment. Delusion. Over the next four weeks, Hermione became very familiar with these emotions, and it was all she could do to not push Ron into a chair and ask him what it was exactly he had to think about that was taking him this long. But she didn't mention it, and instead she decided maybe she would give him a little space. Perhaps she was overloading him, perhaps it was all too much at once, perhaps...absence makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps if he missed her a little, he'd come around and decide already. So that's what she did. She didn't let herself get too involved in Ron's affairs; she still spent time with him, just in small spurts, nothing over the top. And she lived life normally-well, as normally as any girl in love with her best friend and on pins and needles about it and pretending not to care could live.

And the days went on. The first few days were normal. Hermione was fine. She just figured it would only be a matter of time before he brought it up again. How could he not? It wasn't like choosing a sandwich or deciding whether to go to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade for dinner, this was a more pertinent situation and not something you forget about easily. Or maybe, at least, not for Hermione.

The second week of waiting was a little more awkward. Hermione walked around with a smile plastered on her face while secretly wondering what was wrong. Was it something she said? Had she been too hasty in asking? Had something changed in which Ron suddenly decided to avoid the situation altogether? Hermione didn't press the matter because she didn't want to seem annoying, so she just carried on as normally and sanely as she could. Ron seemed to be fine. Hermione couldn't help but assume that none of this was as important to him as it was to her, but she refused to ask.

The third week, she began to grow frustrated. One week was fine, two was excusable, but three? Now he was just being rude. Even if he wanted to say no, he should have said it by that point, but the fact was that he hadn't, and Hermione was getting fed up. Why was he tormenting her so? Didn't he at least have the common decency to let her know of his decision? Wasn't he human any more?? In her newfound frustration, she stopped talking to him, avoided him in the common room, and made sure to seem greatly unpleasant in his presence. Sure, the mature thing to do would be to approach him about it, but...well, Hermione was never quite that decent about things like this. If he didn't want to talk to her about it, than she wasn't going to be the one to do it for him.

Finally, during the fourth week, Hermione had had enough. She pulled him aside after their Transfiguration lesson and laid it on him, as she is known to do.

"Ron, it's been four weeks."

Ron stared at her blankly. Hermione scowled.

"Four weeks since what?" he asked cluelessly. Hermione took a breath to calm herself.

"Four weeks since I, you know, asked you out, and you said you had to think about it." Ron appeared deep in thought, lowering his eyes for a minute before looking up, surprised.

"Oh my god, you're right. Hermione, I'm really sorry, it slipped my mind-"

"I see. Well, I suppose it would be ridiculous of me at this point to ask if you have thought about it."

Ron looked down guiltily. When he looked back up at her, she saw remorse in his eyes.

"Well, I just…well look at us, we're not exactly getting along right now, are we? How would we start going out right now, like this?"

And that was that.

The walk up the stairs had been so pleasant. So peaceful, so calm, so relaxing, and with his favorite person ever. And when she'd asked him out, he really did feel good about it. He had wanted it, thought about what things would be like if they were back together, and he had a good feeling about it. At first.

But what would happen with them? Who was to say that everything wouldn't happen all over again? How could he know he was making her happy? There was no guarantee; there was never any guarantee. The thought made him nervous; extending his heart to her again and being unsure of the consequences was about as appealing as ripping out his heart and tossing it to a (potentially) starving hippogriff. But he really wanted this, more than he thought she should know, which is why he'd responded the way he did. His heart was saying yes, and his head was trying to think it over logically. It seemed like a fair answer.

He went to bed that night thinking rather seriously about it. In fact, he didn't get to sleep for hours, his brain was so occupied with it. Was he ready? Were they ready? Sure, it would start out great, and then suddenly, somewhere down the road, when he'd least expect it, wham! He'd be struck by heartache like a bolt of lightning. And then where would he be? Right where he just left. Right where he spent the whole summer. Right where he spent a lifetime (or what felt like a lifetime) in misery. And it wasn't necessarily Hermione's fault-she surely wasn't acting like this presently, but Ron had developed a sort of taste aversion to Hermione romantically. There was no doubt she had changed, grown up, matured, and mostly moved on from whatever it was they were back then, but still...something wasn't right about it in Ron's head, and when he was finally able to drift off into an uneasy sleep, his heart was weary and his mind was cautious.

And the days passed on. It was hard at first, being around Hermione and knowing he wasn't ready to be with her. He did his best to avoid any sort of situation in which he would unknowingly lead her on; he was even able to control the infamous Weasley charm around her, something he had never, ever been able to master before. It always made him feel strangely guilty afterward, not as if he'd betrayed Hermione, but as if he'd betrayed himself. But there was nothing he could do about it: he had to wean himself from her if he was going to be all right, if they were ever going to be all right together. It didn't really occur to him that he might be putting Hermione off; it was a natural defense mechanism, something he couldn't help, and it hadn't even crossed his mind to consider what it may have been doing to her feelings. It just made things feel better. What harm was there in that?

After a couple weeks, he didn't even remember about that night. He just knew something inside him was preventing him from being close to Hermione and didn't question it, just followed it through. There were times when he felt out of the loop, times when he'd be sitting with Harry or Harry and Ginny and wonder how things had gotten so complicated, when it had become so that the trio never sat together as a trio any more. But he overcame this and accepted that some things just have to change, and that maybe this was one of them.

If he may have said so himself, had he had the chance, he was quite taken aback when Hermione confronted him after class. Not remembering anything concerning the events of that night, her anger seemed unfounded. And then suddenly...oh yes, that night did happen, didn't it. It all came back to him and he felt nothing less than horrible. How could he not have realized? He could have at least had the common decency to say something to her concerning them. But it hadn't occurred to him, and in this moment he felt more regretful than in any other moment of his life. The look of pain on her face when he spoke those words, all of those words, like every one cutting a new gash in her heart. But it was true: they hadn't really spoken in weeks, and even if he had wanted to start a relationship, that would have been no proper starting off point. As she walked away from him, he felt a small tug in the center of his heart. Was it calling out to her? Reaching out just after having let go? Ron huffed grumpily and stormed off. This whole time he was okay without her, and suddenly, right when he could have had her, he passed her up. And now he felt upset about it? What was that about?

"Daniel?"

The tall, lanky boy spun around and smiled.

"Hermione! Hi, I was wondering where you were," he said, moving his books over and offering her a seat. Hermione smiled back weakly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just downstairs in the dungeons talking to Snape. Surprisingly, he's letting us study in there, that way I figured you'd be able to work on the potions right there in front of you instead of on a piece of paper. Does that sound all right?"

"Wow, that's great! He's actually letting us use the dungeons? That's surprising, but...wow, thanks Hermione!"

And the two headed down the halls like a kid and his reluctant aunt, cringing and unfortunately stuck with the responsibility of babysitting. Daniel chatted on eagerly of this and that, potions and calculus and Arithmancy and who knew what else? Hermione certainly wasn't up to actually listening to all of it. She felt her feet drag along underneath her, begging for her to stop and rest a bit. She had been up for nearly sixteen hours now, patrolling this and studying that and taking care of whatnot, and as she realized her day was nowhere close to ending, she heaved a great sigh. They reached the stairs down to the dungeon and pushed the door open.

"The dungeons certainly look different when they're empty. And when Snape's not here to torture everybody," Daniel commented, his eyes sparking as he noticed things about the room he hadn't before. Hermione walked over to one of the desks and set down her bag, taking out of it some parchment and a quill. She walked over to the supply closet and pulled out one of the spare cauldrons, setting it next to their desk. Daniel walked over, setting his things down next to hers, and helped her move the cauldron into place.

"You know, Hermione, you're very beautiful."

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. What? Reading her mind, Daniel chuckled a little, moving toward her.

"I mean it, you are. I just don't think you know it, so I wanted to tell you."

Maybe it was the flattery, but right then there was something very charming about Daniel Thompson, sixth year Hufflepuff and Potions failure. And suddenly she saw him as something slightly less annoying than a talkative, precocious nephew who wouldn't shut up-he was a kind gentleman, who had given her roses for her birthday and been so appreciative of all of her help, and had always gone out of his way to repay her. The flush in her cheeks seemed to pull her out of her funk, and she looked at him with a shy grin.

"Daniel, um...thank you. That's really sweet of you to say."

He didn't respond, not as she expected him to. He simply lowered his lips to her forehead, touching them lightly, and proceeded to remove his own parchment and quill from his bag. And Hermione felt a very conflicting feeling indeed: did the rush she felt simply come with the territory? Or was it...leading to something more?

Hehehe, I guess you'll have to wonder about that one for a little bit, won't you? At least until I decide which one it is. Hmm...which one should it be? Review!!!