It's Not Like You'll Marry Me!

Chapter 8: Ron, Come Back!

Author's Note: I SAW ROTS ON SATURDAY! WHEE! HAPPY, I AM! (I GOTTA SEE IT AGAIN! I CRIED THROUGH THE ENTIRE THING! SO SAD!) Insane, I also am.

Hermione sat on the couch, nursing her scraped arm. In truth, she wasn't really thinking about her arm. She was thinking about Ron.

Ron…what did you do to deserve this? What did I do to deserve this? Its seems impossible to believe…but…he's gone…

Hermione wiped a tear. This sort of thing only happens in movies! But…now its happening for real…

She looked up as she saw Harry come into the room. "Ginny's going to be okay." Harry said. "Neville's looking after her now."

Hermione looked down. "That's good."

He came and sat in the chair across from her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," She said. "It's just a scrape."

"No." Harry shook his head. "I mean, about Ron…"

Hermione looked away. "Of course I'm not okay…but…I'm trying not to despair…"

He nodded. "Good. We'll need to call Dumbledore on this one. Perhaps even the Order…we can't have him on the loose…"

She turned around sharply. "What do you mean?"

Harry sighed. "That was a powerful heart-binding spell Hermione, even I could tell that. There is no way that—"

"Harry, Ron's still there!" Hermione protested.

He shook his head. "He's gone, Hermione. Accept it. All that's left of him is his body. Ron is destroyed. There's nothing left of him now."

"I won't believe it!" She yelled.

"Hermione, Ron can't come back. That spell is irreversible. The Order needs to deal with him, that' all we can do!"

"I WON'T LET YOU!" Hermione screamed, tears running down her face.

Harry grabbed and shook her. "HERMIONE, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! RON ISN'T THE SAME PERSON HE WAS BEFORE! HE IS GONE!"

Hermione fell back on the couch. "I can't believe it…" She said, the tears refusing to stop.

Harry sighed. "I know. I don't want to believe it either…but we have to. We have to face the reality we are in. It is impossible to beat Gwyneth without beating Ron first. Hermione…I know it's hard…but we have to let him go."

I can't…Maybe he is gone…but I can't let Harry hurt him like that… I think…I think its all up to me now…I might not be able to bring him back…but if Harry is going to kill Ron…then I'm dying with him…like I was supposed to two years ago…

Hermione looked up and noticed Harry was gone. He's probably gone back to check on Ginny…Now's my chance! I'm sorry Harry…but I can't let you do this…

She closed her eyes and disapperated.

She opened he eyes just as the sewers came into focus. Sure enough, Ron was still there. He smiled when he saw she had come back.

"So, Hermione, you have returned. What did you come back here for? Come to kill me?"

"You know I couldn't do that, Ron." Hermione said calmly. "I didn't even bring a wand."

Ron snorted. "I'd never thought I'd see the day. Hermione Granger, Little-Miss-Know-It-All, doing about the stupidest thing a person can do. You do realize that I have a wand?"

"Yes, I know."

"And you do realize that I don't have any objection to using that wand?"

"I know." She repeated. "And I don't care. You can do anything you want to me, Ron, and I wouldn't care. You can kill me, and I won't mind. Just as long as it's you."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Poetic. You were always the hopeless romantic, even if you didn't want to admit it."

Hermione ignored this. "I've come back to help you, Ron."

He sneered. "Help me? Don't be ridiculous. I don't need any help. I've never felt so powerful!"

"But that's just it!" She said, feeling her eyes water up again. "You do need help! You're a good person, don't do this!"

Ron smirked. "But I thought girls always liked the bad boys."

"This isn't you Ron! You're someone else! But you know there is still good in you! Come back, Ron! Come back!" She pleaded, feeling tears fall down her face.

He twirled the wand in his fingers. "Your feeble screams won't do anything to me. The transformation is complete. I will always be as I am right now."

She shook her head vigorously. "No, no you won't. If you try…If you try right now…then your good side can come back to you. Before anything serious happens."

He turned away. "I have no inclination to try."

"You have to! Please…try! If you don't try then you'll never—"

"SHUT UP!" Ron yelled, sending Hermione flying across the room at the same time. She hit the wall hard, making Ron think he'd knocked her unconscious.

Ron is attacking me…She thought. I never imagined him being like this…But…I don't care…I'll keep trying. I can tell there is still good on the inside. His heart is not thoroughly black.

Though it took all of her strength, Hermione lifted herself off the floor. Ron was surprised when she got up. "What are you doing up! That should have knocked you unconscious!"

"I have no inclination to be knocked out." She replied.

"Then what are you going to do? I have a wand and the will to use it, You have neither, and unless you leave now, then you'll never escape from here."

Hermione shook her head. "Didn't I already tell you that I am not leaving here without you?"

"YOU—" Ron yelled, placing the wand to her thought. "JUST…BE QUIET!" He ordered.

"I knew it. You do have some good in you. You can't kill me, can you?"

"Would you like to make that a bet?" He sneered, gripping his wand tighter.

Hermione stood still, saying nothing, waiting to see what Ron would do. After standing there for a minute, he seemed to abandon his idea. He lowered the wand. "Hmph. Why should I kill you here, after all, I like a fair fight." He turned away.

She stood her ground. "Even if I had my wand, you couldn't kill me. I'm not sure about Harry, or even Ginny. But I know you can't kill me. No matter how many times you protest, I know good is still in your heart."

He turned around sharply. "IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP, THEN I'M GONNA—"

Hermione blinked. "Do what Ron?"

Words seemed to fail him. He then came up with an idea. "I could take you to Gwyneth. She could finish you off for me."

"Would you really let her kill me?"

"Yes." Ron replied immediately.

Hermione heightened her eyebrows. "Really? Or what would you do when she was about to kill me? Would you let her go through with it?"

"You…YOU NEED TO STOP JUDGING ME!" He roared.

Hermione continued. "From your answer, I take that as a 'no'."

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN TO STOP TALKING, DO YOU BITCH! WELL, THEN I'LL TEACH YOU!"

He raised his wand to perform a spell, when all of a sudden he stopped. "RON!" A voice rang out. He turned. Harry, Neville and Ginny had returned, all ready to attack. "Let Hermione go!" Harry ordered.

"No, Harry stop, you don't understand!" Hermione tried to warn him.

Ron grinned. "You came back again? You may be even stupider that Granger. Don't worry though, I'll finish you off quickly."

Harry raised his wand. "I'm ready, Ron. I won't hesitate to hurt you this time."

"Fine. Give me your best shot."

Hermione looked from Ron to Harry, and she saw none would hold back any mercy. Harry was enraged, and Ron wouldn't care. She knew it would end disastrous either way it turned out. She could think of only one thing to do.

"NOOOO!" She screamed, jumping on to Ron and holding on to him.

"HERMIONE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Harry yelled. "GET OUT OF THERE!"

"NO! I WON'T!" She screamed. "I WON'T LET YOU KILL RON!"

Ron grinned evilly. "Your life is in my hands, you know. And I don't appreciate being grabbed like this." He raised his wand.

Hermione knew the one thing she had to do. "DON'T DO THIS! Ron…I LOVE YOU, RONALD WEASLEY!"

Harry, Ginny, and Neville gasped. They had never expected her to say this.

Ron's eyes were wide, a sign of his surprise, but he tried not to react. "You told me that once, remember? But I guess it was just a folly. I guess I was just kidding myself. Just like you're doing now." His voice had turned back to normal.

"No…its true." She begged. "I could never stop loving you! I've loved you for so long, it hurt! Every fiber of my being loves you with such a passion that I couldn't even hate you right now! I love you even evil Ron!"

"STOP SAYING THAT!" The spell was trying to fight back. His grip on his wand tightened. "YOU'RE LYING!" He grabbed her shoulders and tried to force her off, but she held on.

This isn't working…what else can I do? Hermione thought. She looked up at his face. Tears formed in her eyes as she drew closer.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Ron…" She said, her voice a whisper. "I…love you so much…that…I want to marry you!" With that, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.

Ginny put a hand over her open mouth. "Hermione…you actually…"

Hermione didn't stop kissing him. Tears ran from her eyes and onto his cheeks. Ron…please come back…She silently begged, breaking the kiss and leaning against him. "Ron…I know I hurt you, but I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I didn't know you wanted to ask me…But it doesn't matter any more! Ron, I love you so much that I want to marry you! I want to spend my life with you! I want to someday have children with you! Just please, I'm begging you…come back!"

Hermione suddenly felt an arm being wrapped around her. "Hermione…" Ron murmured. She looked up. Ron's eyes were back to normal. Their gaze a loving one. "Hermione…" He repeated, holding her close.

She sighed, closing her eyes. Ron…

Harry and Ginny stared. "She did it…" Harry said. "She brought him back…"

"And said a few things we didn't want to know." Ginny replied. "We could have done without the children thing …"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "I was just thinking that too…"

Ron continued to hold Hermione. "Hermione…I'm sorry. I should have never thought that stuff about you. I shouldn't have gone off alone that night… I shouldn't have ever tried to attack you."

"It's all right." She replied. "You weren't yourself."

"Hermione…" He whispered, wishing he didn't have to say this. "Did you really mean it when you said you wanted to…marry me?"

She sniffed. "Yes Ron, I did! I meant every word! Ron…I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

He smiled and they were about three seconds away from kissing when Ginny walked up to them. "All right, cut it with the snog fest! We gotta get out of here before Gwyneth comes back."

"Yeah…" Ron said, leaning on his fiancée as they disapperated. Somehow…everything turned out okay…

Author's Note: Anyone who has seen Inuyasha (Wonderful anime and manga, I HIGHLY recommend it.) Knows where I took this from. Oh well, It works. Anyway, the story's not over yet, folks! We still gotta get to the—You guys keep expecting me to give it away, don't ya? (Also, THE HARRY POTTER 4 TRAILER IS ONLINE! CHECK IT OUT! THE DRAGON LOOKS AWSOME!)