Chapter Three

Ron, out of his pajamas and into a sweater and jeans, sat at a table in the common room, a blank piece of parchment in front of him. His quill lay untouched in his ink bottle.

"How do I start..." he mumbled to himself, rubbing his forehead.

After Harry had departed to breakfast, Ron's mind was racing with various thoughts. Oh how he wanted to go to Hermione, grab her in his arms and tell her how he felt! But he just couldn't. He would be too nervous and she might even be too mad to listen to him anyways. Ron let out a sigh. "What are you thinking?" He whispered to himself.

He picked up his quill, and began writing.

Dear Hermione,

Oh that's great Ron, he thought to himself, what progress. In his frustration, he considered giving up. Maybe now wasn't the right time. He felt like there was no way he was going to be able to express to Hermione how he felt. So many words were buzzing through his mind. It would be difficult to let them all out on paper. But he had to try...

Again, he began writing, but this time, he just let his feelings flow. He barely even had to think about what he was writing. He was surprised at how easy it was. Although probably half of what he was writing didn't make any sense, he didn't care; he had to let it out.

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"Parvati!" Ron called to his long, dark-haired fellow Gryffindor, running to catch up to her in the corridor leading to the Gryffindor common room. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Ummm...sure..." Parvati replied apprehensively, unsure of what Ron Weasley would want her to do for him.

"Could you give this to Hermione for me? It's very private, so be sure to keep it sealed and please don't lose it," said Ron, handing over a rolled up piece of parchment.

Parvati eyed him curiously, "What's it say?"

"Nothing of your concern," said Ron. "Just get it to her as soon as you can, okay?"

"You got it."

"Thanks Parvati. I owe you one," said Ron, punching her arm, gently.

"Duh," replied Parvati, and laughing, continued to the Fat Lady where she said the password and entered the Gryffindor common room, rolled up parchment in hand, Ron following closely behind.

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Hermione left breakfast and began her way to the Gryffindor common room. Once there, she went up to the girls' dormitory to grab her Potions textbook from her bedside table. When she reached the top, Parvati Patil was just leaving the dormitory.

"Oh, Hermione! I'm glad you're here," and seeing the quizzical look on Hermione's face, continued. "Ron wanted me to give this to you."

Hermione looked down at the rolled up parchment in Parvati's hand, looked up at her and back down at the parchment again, taking it from Parvati's grasp.

"Thanks," said Hermione, hesitantly.

"No problem. See you later," Parvati said, leaving Hermione standing in front of the girls' dormitory door, simply staring at the rolled up parchment in her hand.

What could this possibly be? Hermione thought to herself. She stepped into the girls' dormitory and closed the door behind her. She crossed to her four-poster bed, and sat down, glancing over at the clock on her bedside table. 15 minutes before Potions. That's plenty of time to read this... whatever it was, Hermione thought to herself as she began unrolling the parchment.

Dear Hermione, it began, First of all, I would like to apologize for the way I acted towards you yesterday. I feel terrible and I wish there was some way I could make it up to you. Now, you have to understand that this is quite difficult for me to write, so bear with me. When I saw you crying after the hurtful things I said to you, although it seemed like I didn't care, I really regretted those foolish things I said. You left the Gryffindor table at lunch, and oh how I longed to follow you! My stubbornness, unfortunately, stopped me from doing so. I've been thinking a lot about our relationship, and I'm afraid that one day, I'm going to push you over the edge, and you will never speak to me again. And let me tell you Hermione, I wouldn't be able to stand that. I would be absolutely heartbroken. So, before I do anything stupid, and ruin the friendship that we share, I want you to know; you mean so much to me, more than you could ever imagine. Hermione Granger? Hermione held her breath as she read the last words, I love you. It was signed, Love always, Ron

Hermione simply stared at the end of the letter, completely, and utterly, speechless.

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"Harry!"

Harry spun around, and saw Ron running towards him. He was surprised to see him smiling. It was just an hour or so ago, his face was tear-stricken. Now, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"I did it, Harry! I told her exactly how I felt...in a letter, of course. I couldn't work up the courage to go talk to her in person," Ron confessed, once he had caught up with Harry.

"That's great, Ron! I'm glad you're in a better mood." Harry tried to sound happy for Ron, but something inside of him burned. Jealousy, perhaps? No, he couldn't be jealous. Harry quickly shook the idea out of his mind.

When Harry and Ron made it to the dungeon for Potions (luckily, on time) they found two seats in the back. Ron glanced around, searching for a head of brown, bushy hair. He spotted Hermione at the front. Did she get my letter? Ron wondered.

Once Potions had ended, Ron and Harry collected their belongings, stuffed them into their bags, and started towards the door. Seamus and Dean caught up with them and accompanied them out into the corridor and the four of them began walking towards their next class together; Charms.

As the four of them began to ascend a staircase, leading to the floor in which their next class was held, Ron heard his name.

"Ron?"

Ron, recognizing the voice immediately, slowly turned around, butterflies rising in his stomach.

"Ron," Hermione began, "may I, um, have a – a word?"

Ron nodded and told the other three to go on without him. "Catch up with you guys later," he whispered.

Once Harry, Dean, and Seamus disappeared from view, Ron made his way towards Hermione, his stomach fluttering madly. She's read it...she's read it... he chanted to himself.

Standing in front of her, Ron somehow managed to look her in the eyes.

"I received your letter," she said. "I was wondering if we could talk, alone. I know just the place."

Ron nodded and followed Hermione as she made her way up through the castle, and began walking along the seventh floor. Ron recognized at once where she was taking him.

Hermione stopped in the middle of the corridor, facing a tapestry of Barnabas the Balmy. She then pivoted herself, so that she was facing the wall directly opposite. She began pacing alongside it, concentrating hard.

Suddenly, a door appeared. Hermione twisted the handle and opened it, revealing a quaint, ever-so-small room. On the wall opposite the door, there was a fireplace, full of cackling flames. In the center of the minute room, a small coffee table was surrounded by an elegant loveseat and matching armchair.

"Here we are," said Hermione.

Ron clenched his fists, feeling the sweat within them, as Hermione strode forward and sat in the loveseat. Unsure of where he was expected to sit, Ron took the armchair. Surprised, Ron noticed a slight look of disappointment on Hermione's face as he sat down.

"Ron," Hermione began. Ron felt a pleasant sensation crawl up his spine when she said his name. She continued, "Um, I was absolutely flattered when I read your letter. I wanted you to know that."

"Oh, well, that's good," said Ron. 'That's good'? Bloody hell, Ron; real smooth. "I – I mean, you're welcome." Oh, that's better. Ron thought to himself, sarcastically.

Hermione was silent and just looked at Ron. He met her gaze and wasn't able to hold it for more then ten seconds. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Hermione stood up from the loveseat and came and sat on the arm of the chair. Ron could feel his heart racing and in the silence, Ron was sure she could hear it, beating like a drum. Again, Hermione simply stared at him, a slight smile tugging at her lips. She bent down to his ear. What is she doing? Ron thought nervously. She was so close, that he could feel her warm breath on his neck and he could smell her perfume; fresh roses, most likely.

He felt her lips on his neck. She softly kissed him and suddenly, it felt like the tension between them had vanished. He turned his head and looked deeply into her eyes. Her brown eyes glowed, partly because they were shining with happiness and partly because her eyes – oh her beautiful eyes! – were reflecting the dancing flames behind him.

"Why me?" Hermione inquired.

Ron paused, choosing his words wisely before speaking, "Because...because you've been more of a friend to me than I have to you, even though I don't deserve it." A single tear began slowly rolled down her cheek as he said this. Ron lifted his thumb and gently wiped it away. Before he lowered his hand, Hermione grabbed his thumb and brought it to her lips, softly kissing it.

She let go and said tranquilly, "You wanna know a secret?" Ron nodded.

Hermione paused, then said, "Five years ago, in our second year, I realized that when we fought, it hurt me, deep down. I couldn't figure out why, for such a long time, but then it came to me during the summer before our third year; it was because I cared about our relationship and I so deeply longed for it stay strong and never fade," she smiled. "I thought to myself, 'C'mon Hermione, he's your best friend; you couldn't possibly feel for him in that way!', but try as I might, I couldn't get the notion out of my head, that you meant more to me than a friend."

"I'm sorry," said Ron, "for not treating you over the years as I should have." He reached up, grabbing her chin in his hand and brought her lips to his. The warmth of her lips was absolutely amazing. His heart was racing, but this time, not with nervousness. Instead, it was of passion and relief. He let go of her chin and allowed his hands to make their way down her shoulders and onto her body. He slowly ran them down her sides and rested them on her waist, tugging her closer to him, resulting in her in his lap, all the while, their lips stuck together like glue. As he was caressing her, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and occasionally ran her hands up and down through his bright red hair, messing it up, but hell; he didn't care!

After a while, they came up for a breath and looked adoringly into each other's eyes. Hermione broke the gaze and tilted her head, bringing her lips to his neck, softly kissing it and making her way up to his ear where she stopped and whispered, "I love you, Ron Weasley."

She kissed a path to his lips and they continued snogging for what seemed like hours. Both of their hearts were beating ravenously for more, for their heartbeat became more rapid every second. Sometime while they were kissing, Hermione had managed to pull off Ron's shirt, revealing his soft, white chest and stomach. She didn't stop, but continued kissing him down his neck and his chest, eventually making her way back up to his lips.

"I love you, Hermione," Ron whispered, quietly, between kisses, "I really do."

Hermione reached for both of his hands, holding them gently, and gazing into his sparkling, blue eyes, "I love you too, Ron; more than you could ever imagine."