The Tale of Enough

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, etc. Duh.
The summer at the burrow was hot and sticky. The sun was always out and it never rained . However, the weather was about the last thing on Ron's mind, besides, maybe his brother, Percy. In fact the only time the weather occurred to him was when he went outside to practice quidditch with Ginny and he would notice how gross the grass was.

But even improving his keeper skills did not take the endless thoughts he had been thinking since the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts out of his head. He'd been contemplating about which decision to make and Ron was regularly overwhelmed by his thoughts and seemed even more thick headed to his family for lack of paying attention.
But, really, this was an important decision. Not only to Ron, but to Harry and Hermione too. Harry needed Ron and Hermione after losing Sirius and finally convincing the ministry of Voldemort's return. Whenever Harry was ready to talk, Ron and Hermione had to be ready as well. This would be a difficult if, say, Ron and Hermione were dating because standing ready at Harry's side was a demanding task. Ron wasn't willing to leave his best friend so he could date his other.

Ron had come up with a couple of things he could do. There was, of course, just letting things be. There was a downside, however. If Hermione didn't know how Ron felt about her she might move on and leave him behind. Or Ron could tell her how he felt and not date her until the timeing was slightly in their favor. On one hand, this was probably the most logical of his choices. But Ron couldn't tell Hermione his feelings logically, and that's what worried him most. If his ears went red or he began to stutter she might not take him seriously, and that would be the worst outcome of all.

Time was running out to decide, though. Hermione was coming to his house the next day.
"Ok, Ron," Ron coached himself. "Just say it. Then it will be over with." He was building confidence when the thought that Hermione might not like him back pounced on him and demolished all that confidence in a snap.

Then Ron remembered the mental list of the pros and cons of this decision he had made in his mind. The most important of all the points though, happened to be on the pro side, so Ron didn't need to give it another thought. Telling Hermione the truth about his feelings for her was being honest with her, like a friend should be. And anyways, their friendship meant more to Hermione, he knew than to forget it because he felt more towards her than just a friend should. What he had to lose was less important than what he had to gain, Hermione's trust.

Ron's mind was set and he wouldn't waver. now all he had to do was find the right time to tell her. Preferably alone than in front of his family. That would be easy though, because his parents and Bill were continuing service for the Order and were out most of the day. Percy hadn't apologized yet and Charlie was still in Romania. Fred and George were still living in London and Ginny was visiting them a few days after Hermione was meant to arrive. That would mean plenty of time alone for Ron to tell Hermione the truth.

"Ron, dear, do watch what your doing. You've spilled all over your shirt," Mrs. Weasley said curtly. She had come home after a days work with the Order, as usual, to help make dinner, sleep some, and give more instructions to Ron and Ginny.

"Ginny and I are going to pick up Hermione tomorrow morning. Would you like to come?"
"No, it's alright," Ron didn't want go to her house. It would be too weird for him, being in Hermione's house.

"You just don't want to wake up that early, right Ron? You haven't been up before noon all summer," Ginny said, jokingly.

"Yeah," Ron was eager to get to bed. The sooner, he got to sleep, the sooner he'd get to see Hermione.

Ron lie in bed the next morning, waiting for his mum and sister to leave, pretending to sleep when Mrs. Weasley meant to say godbye. Getting up and ready when they left, Ron left his room after making his bed. And just as he was about to take the first bite of breakfast, Hermione walked into the kitchen, Ginny following and Mrs. Weasley charming Hermione's trunk up to Percy's old room.

"Hello, Ron," Hermione stated.

"Hey, Hermione." Ron felt a little twinge in his stomach and tried to act normal. He figured chewing was about normal for him, so he took a bite and began to eat. Ginny sat down opposite Ron and took a piece of his toast. Hermione, following suit, sat beside Ginny and they began catching up with all the things they didn't fit in their letters. Ron was addressed a few times and put in a comment or two, but after eating headed to the back to have a go on his broom, hoping Ginny might join him.

This continued until the day Ginny left for Fred and George's flat. Hermione and Ron were playing a game of wizard's chess as Ginny and Mrs. Weasley stepped into the fire one by one. They played silently for a few moments, when Hermione spoke up.

"What do you think we should do for three days while Ginny's in London?" She sounded a little shy, not like Hermione would usually be. Ron contemplated this thought while he absent-mindedly took out one of her pawns.

"I dunno, it gets boring here without Fred and George," Ron thought she might be hinting at Harry, or something, but he wasn't entirely sure.

"Right," Hermione seemed to have run out of things to say before really saying anything. Ron was worried the conversation might go the wrong way, so he decided to tell Hermione everything before she started saying much about Harry.

"Hermione, I need to tell you something." Wether or not his ears turned red, Ron would not know. He was ignoring everything but Hermione. He finally took a good look at her, something he hadn't done before for fear of blurting things out at the wrong time. She looked pretty, sitting by the window, the morning sun gleaming on her face. Most people would think Hermione looked ordinary with her brown hair down, and lack of makeup. But Ron liked the way she looked, just like Hermione should, like the Hermione he knew. These thoughts were quickly pushed to the back of his mind, though. Ron wanted to get everything out while he still had the nerve.

"Look, this might sound a little odd, but I figure its better to be honest and not keep things from you. What I mean to say is, that well, I like you, Hermione."

Ron had tried to look her in the eye, but his eyes kept darting to the chess board. He looked up at her again.

"I mean, like, not as a best friend." Ron was glad he got it out. Wether or not Hermione understood it as he hoped, he wasn't going to worry about just yet. Hermione just smile at him. He felt a wave of relief. He knew this smile, it was a smile of accomplishment, not of amusement or spite.

"Ron, I'm so glad you told me. I like you too." Hermione smiled at Ron again and he smiled back, but only for a moment. He knew what was coming and didn't want it too, but remembering logic for once in his life, he began about Harry.

"Hermione, Harry needs us, otherwise I would have asked, but wether or not you'd want to, but you should know, I mean..." Ron couldn't seem to get the words out right.

"You mean, we can't date just yet because Harry needs us to be there for him and if we did start a relationship we won't be able to concentrate enough on him," Hermione said, coming to his rescue.
"Exactly. I mean I want to, but we can't leave Harry, but when everything is better, we could, if you wanted to wait." Ron said this with a little uneasiness, not only because he always got nervous about these things, but because he wasn't quite ready himself to start a full pledged relationship with someone. He had to grow up a bit yet. But Ron knew that when he was ready to start something more than a friendship, he wanted to date Hermione. That was something he knew wouldn't change, and Ron was ready to promise that to Hermione.

"Ron, of course I'll wait with you. And I probably aren't ready anyways, but when we are, I want to be with you." Ron smiled again and reached out for Hermione's hand.

"Do you Promise?" he said, holding her hand.

"Yes." replied Hermione with another smile, this time beaming with joy. It didn't seem like much to other people, holing hands, but for Ron and Hermione, it was more than enough.
The End. Of the chapter