(A/N: Well here it is! Sorry if the update took a little longer, but with Christmas just around the corner, I'm frantically rushing around town trying to buy gifts for everyone! Plus, Finals are closer than I would like and my teachers are being ruthless! Thanks again for the reviews from Chapter Five and I hope you like this chapter!)

Bhekie: Thanks for your constant reviews! I agree, Seamus is a git! But I really like him anyways, lol.

ShimmeringEvil: You've given me a challenge now. Try to beat Chapter Four…hmm I'll have to think about this! Lol no seriously, thanks so much for reviewing!

Legofiance: My problem is that I really want to move the story along, and it's very hard to do that when things are awkward between R/Hr, so you'll see a pattern in my writing from now until my third big plot point, where things are awkward with R/Hr but get better, then get awkward again and so on. It's somewhat annoying but I think once I'm past that third plot point things'll just flow from there! Thanks so much for reviewing!

AmyChris: Don't worry about reading when I update, I understand how life catches up you! It meant a lot when you said this story was one of the best on the site, because I've read some really great ones! Thanks so much!

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CHAPTER SIX: MIDNIGHT RAIN

Ron's sudden new interest in eggs, wasn't just a one time thing. He ate his eggs every morning now, something that confused Hermione greatly. And there were other things she'd noticed about Ron that were different.

Hermione was forever scolding him of walking ahead of her. He claimed it was his longer legs, but now suddenly, either his legs had shrunk (which Hermione doubted greatly) or he was making an attempt of walking side by side with her.

She no longer could shake her head and lecture him on taking his own notes, before giving him hers, because suddenly Ron was taking his own.

And the big change happened, two days later. After throwing his typical insults that usually made Ron pummel him into the ground, Draco Malfoy waited for a reaction of some kind. Instead, Ron just turned his back on the Slytherin, much to the gaping looks from not only Malfoy's cronies and Malfoy himself, but Harry and Hermione as well.

It was then that she knew something was up. Hermione was well aware that many times she misjudged Ron, thinking less of him than she should, but no matter how great she thought of him now, it wasn't enough to explain this. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, and it intrigued her.

Ron seemed not to notice, and Harry sat there fuming at him for some unknown reason to her. Every time now, that Ron would place the eggs inside his mouth, Harry would narrow his eyes, staring at him chew, dribbling his fingers on the table, as though trying to annoy Rom enough to make him spit them out. Obviously, Harry found something terribly wrong in Ron's change. Hermione herself couldn't determine her feelings towards it.

And so here she found herself, walking about the grounds at midnight, in the rain.

So many people disliked the rain, but to Hermione, it was the most beautiful and precious thing a person could witness. The tiny beads of water that fell from the heavens, only to disappear the moment something hit them. Rain just seemed to make everything seem less complicated, and so good. Even the most evil thought couldn't seem to have effect on her, if the cold droplets were hitting her skin, because the rain washed all wicked thoughts from her mind and she concentrated on the miracle she was witnessing. And then, she would get this bubble of joy that would burst from inside of her, making her laugh and throw her arms up to the skies. Sometimes she would dance about, like she was doing now, and other times, she would simply sit and close her eyes, and relish in that calm aura that seemed to drown out any other feeling she possibly might have been feeling before.

Once she finished her little dance, she decided to walk around the lake, and so she set off, determined to keep her mind blank for as long as possible, because if she didn't, then the thoughts would come crashing down upon her like a hurricane, washing her away from everything she knew, and eventually drowning her.

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Ron Weasley wasn't sure why he had awoken. Especially since he'd been told he slept like a dead tree. Well maybe it hadn't been those exact words, he thought to himself, but there had definitely been something dead in the sentence. Rubbing his eyes and sitting upon the edge of his bed, he looked around the dormitory to see if possibly there was some explanation to his awakening. Nothing met his eyes but four dark figures lying in their respectable beds. He sighed and looked out the window. It was raining.

Since he was wide-awake, Ron just decided that he might as well sneak down into the kitchens to get a glass of milk. Throwing some jumper (he couldn't tell which since it was dark) over his head, he tried to walk as carefully as he could across the wooden floorboards. Instead, he tripped over someone's trunk and fell with an "oof!" But no one stirred.

Strange, Ron thought, that the rain makes them all sleep soundly while it's the reason I'm awake. Shaking his head, he continued down the dark staircase and into the common room, the only light coming from the fireplace. But as he passed by the large bay window, something caught his eye.

Moving closer to the window to examine the thing better, he realized with a start, that it was a person…a girl. She was too far away for him to tell who she was, except that she had rather long hair. Entranced, he watched as she walked, arms wrapped around herself, across to where that large oak tree was.

She's mental! He screamed inside, doesn't she know that lightning strikes trees? That, those are the first things you're supposed to avoid in a storm?

But apparently there were quite a few things this girl either didn't know, or didn't care about. Because then she lifted her arms to sky and began to twirl and skip about. She laughed to herself and continued in her carefree blissful dance…. and Ron Weasley felt his heart constrict. The way she gracefully moved about, the innocence that was clearly a quality in her (because who else but those child at heart liked to go for walks in the rain?) and the happiness that was radiated from her in such a way, that Ron could feel it from within the thick castle walls. Absolutely captivated by this mysterious girl, he sat there, his head almost touching the cold glass, his thoughts racing about her identity, for this was the kind of lass that blokes only imagined about in their minds. She was too perfect for Ron to think about; He had to know who she was.

His warm glass of milk that he had been looking forward to with such enthusiasm, now suddenly seemed like the last thing on his mind. Daring himself to rip his eyes away from her, he raced through the portrait hole and down the corridors leading to the grounds. He couldn't let her get away!

Tearing open the heavy mahogany door, he stepped into the last corridor that really wasn't much of a corridor so much as it was shelter from the rain. And there she was, so much closer than he felt privileged to be. She hadn't noticed him yet, hadn't heard his ragged breaths or pounding heart, hadn't sensed his presence. And Ron was grateful for that.

Moving a bit to get a better view of her, he feasted his eyes upon her, in some desperate attempt to remember her features, so that he could find her again. With the rain, her hair was damp so it was too hard to see the natural color of her hair, but Ron suspected it to be a darker color, not blonde. He was still too far away to see her eye color so he tried less obvious features. She seemed like she could come up to about his shoulder, probably an inch or two higher than that but not more. She was over all, petite, and walked with an air about her, not an arrogant one mind you, just an air that she knew things you didn't.

It's the same feeling I get around Hermione sometimes Ron thought to himself as he snuck even closer to her. There now! Now he could see her lips, her dainty nose, her rosy cheeks, the faint tiny freckles that looked as though they had been splattered on her face, her—Wait! Ron's heart stopped beating. She looks just like—

"Hermione?!" Ron asked, so much surprise and confusion in his voice that he didn't even bother hiding it. The girl whipped her head around at his voice.

"Ron!" She shrieked

"What are doing out here?" He asked, now simply more confused than anything. Where was that girl? And what the bloody hell was Hermione doing out here in the cold?

"I-I was just walking around" She said, still staring at him with those gorgeous wide brown eyes.

"At midnight?" He inquired, forcing himself to concentrate on the situation at hand, instead of staring lovingly at her eyes.

"Yes" she blushed "I couldn't sleep"

"In the rain?"

"I love the rain"

"Oh." Ron said, taking a moment or two to study her. The way her hair had flown, when she'd whipped her head around to see him. It was the same way that girl's hair had flown when she twirled around. But no, it was impossible. That would be suggesting that Hermione was that beautiful, mysterious, innocent, exotic girl. The one that made him react the way he did to Veelas. The one who he had just sprinted here to see, afraid she might leave. The one who took walks by herself in the rain at midnight. The one who looked so innocent and carefree. The one who danced in the rain.

And then it hit him. Hit him so hard, the wind was almost knocked out of him. Of course it was Hermione. He should have suspected from the beginning. She was the only girl he'd ever known who could make his stomach perform those tricks. The only who gave him that warm feeling like he was floating upon air. It always had been, and it always would be, Hermione. He'd realized before that he was in love with this wonderful girl standing in front of him, but to Ron, his love for her had never been so strong. She was everything he wanted and admired, and he wanted her to be his. But she couldn't be. Hermione was his best friend. Nothing more. And understanding that, made his heart sink.

"Ron? You there?" Hermione asked a dazed out Ron

"Yea. Sorry" He said, clearing his throat, trying to clear his face of the emotion he'd just felt.

"What are you doing up? I really am surprised. You usually sleep like a dead log during thunderstorms."

That was it! She was the one who always said that…a dead log. I'll have to remember that for later! He thought. Shrugging, he ran a hand through his red hair, only to find it sopping wet. "I don't know actually. Just couldn't get back to sleep" He said; now giving his head a shake to rid his hair of the water. Unfortunately, since it was still raining, all he did was splatter water everywhere.

"Ah! Ron you're getting me wet!" She laughed.

"Who cares? You're already more wet than if you'd gone for a swim in the lake!"

Suddenly, he laughed when he saw her reaction to the evil grin he had currently spread across his face in relation to his brilliant idea. "Ron no!" She cried trying hard not to smile

"Oh yes Miss Granger! I think you fancy a swim!"

"Ronald Weasley you will not toss me into the lake!" She tried to sound stern, but both could tell she was failing miserably.

"I never said anything of the sort!" He said triumphantly

"Ron, please! Ah!" she screamed, as he easily scooped her into his arms, running as fast as he could to the lake's edge. "Ron!! Put me down this instant!"

"Alright" Ron remarked childishly, throwing her into the ice-cold lake. He waited for a few moments for her to resurface.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" He heard her scream, a laugh dancing throughout her words. He beamed.

"Yes poppet?"

"Help me up this instant!"

"Of course" He said, bending over and offering her his hand. And as he did, Hermione yanked his arm as if to pull him in as well. But unfortunately for Hermione, Ron had seen that move coming and quickly backed away, pulling her out with him. But the way physics worked out, Hermione's wet form ended up on top of Ron's.

It took both of them several moments, to play back in their minds what exactly had happened, and how they had ended up in this position. Both looked at the other uneasily, (Ron's senses currently on overdrive) not sure where to carry it from here.

"Ron?" Hermione asked softly

"Yea?" He replied

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure" He said nervously

"Can you give me an honest answer?" She asked, readjusting herself to that her legs were no longer on Ron's, but rather on the side, her hands supporting her up.

"I-I'll try"

"Why do you suddenly eat your eggs?"

"My eggs?" Ron repeated, unable to comprehend that after that serious introduction they were going to talk about what he ate for breakfast.

"Yes."

"Well…I-I'm not exactly sure"

"I think you are"

"Why would you say that Miss Granger?"

"Because it's not just the eggs Ron. It's taking your own notes, not walking ahead of me" Here she paused "And not fighting with Malfoy. Everything I usually scold you for"

Ron sighed and his stomach twisted. She had noticed! "Did you ever think that just maybe all of your constant nagging finally got to me?"

"All of that in one week?"

"How do you know my taste buds didn't just change? That I was sick of waiting for you to catch up to me? Or that I'd greatly matured and decided that Malfoy was a bag of dragon dung not worth looking at?" He smiled

Hermione sighed and got more comfortable on the grass, leaning against Ron more. "I'm serious"

"Why does it matter to you so much anyways? I'd have thought you'd be beaming"

"So did I." she mumbled under her breath

"What was that?"

"I--" Hermione paused, not entirely sure if she really wanted to say aloud what she was thinking. Deciding to keep her mouth shut, she turned away from him and moved over. "Never mind"

Ron's heart sank as her warmth left him. Sitting up and scooting over to her, he sighed and said softly, "Look did it ever cross your mind that maybe, I wanted to make you happy?" Well, he thought to himself, 'wanting to impress you' is somewhat along those lines!

"Make me happy?" She repeated "But why would you think--"

"You're always nagging me about things like that. I just figured, it'd probably get old saying the same things over and over again for seven years. So I decided to put you out of your misery"

"Put me out of my misery?"

"Yes"

"Oh" She replied, looking at the wet grass with mock interest.

"Isn't that what you want?"

Her bottom lip trembled, and she was silent for many moments, trying quiet the sob that was occurring inside her. "Of course it is! Why wouldn't I want that?"

Ron studied her face carefully. "That's what you want?"

"That's what I want!" she declared, proud of her seemingly strong voice

"You know Hermione," Ron began still watching her, "When people get things that they want, aren't they usually happy?"

"I'm happy!" she said stubbornly

"You don't look happy"

"Well I am!" She cried out defensively

"No you're not," Ron said so softly it could have been considered a whisper "Look at me"

"No"

"Why not?"

"B-Because"

"Because you're about to cry and you don't want me to see, that's it isn't it?"

Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.

"Why are you crying?" He whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder but refusing to do anything more than that for fear that he wouldn't be able to handle it. "Could it be that maybe it's not what you want?"

Again, she nodded. Ron smiled sadly. "I thought so"

"I don't want you to change for me!" she suddenly burst out, her voice only wavering a little.

"Why not?" he asked, staring deeply into her eyes.

"Because I like you the way you are, Ron." She said seriously, placing a hand on the side of his face, making Ron's pulse go into overdrive "And as mental as this may sound, but I enjoy reminding you about little things like that."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a bossy know-it-all who likes to be in control of things," She joked

"No you're not," He said defensively

She shrugged, "I know it's true. And I know that's what a lot of people say behind my back. I'm just a silly bookworm, frizzy haired, muggleborn--"

Impulsively, before Ron understood what he was doing, he quickly placed a hand over Hermione's mouth, instantly shutting her up. His eyes were burning with anger, and he knew it. "Don't you ever say that about yourself" He said in a low voice

Hermione looked at him strangely. "Ron, I distinctly remember you saying those exact words in first year."

"Well I was a thick-headed, prat who couldn't tell right from left." He said angrily. "Please" He softened his voice, "Don't ever say that about yourself again. You're so much more than that and you know it"

Hermione opened her mouth in order to respond, but her voice seemed not be working. She was looking at Ron in a way indescribable; eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears.

"I mean, you're the smartest witch to have passed through Hogwarts, you're responsible, trustworthy, brave, a great friend, beautiful, car--"

"You think I'm beautiful?" She interrupted, a slightly confused look on her face. Obviously Ron thought, No bloke's ever told her that. And for a moment, Ron was mad at all of the boys who talked all about her, raving about how pretty she was, but never once bothered to tell her. Well you shouldn't be talking Weasley. A voice inside his head cried out. You're one of them.

Ron was having a difficult time breathing but he tried to make it sound as casual as he could, "'Course I do 'Mione"

Hermione looked down at her hands and smiled, "Thanks Ron"

"Anytime." Ron said, racking his brain for something else to say to fill the awkaward silence that was currently eating away at him.

"Ron?" She finally whispered

"Yea?" He whispered back

"Can we make a deal?"

"Sure"

"If I promise I won't talk like that again, will you promise never to change for me?" She asked, eyes looking at him hopefully.

"You sure? You honestly want me to not take my own notes anymore?"

"Yes"

"You want me to walk ahead of you and punch Malfoy when he infuriates me?"

Hermione smiled softly and took his face in her hands. "I just want you to be yourself. And if that includes me yanking you off Malfoy and rushing you to Madam Pomfrey, then yes."

Ron smiled, "Alright. But you have to keep your end of the bargain too you know."

"I know…" She smiled, still not releasing Ron's face from her hands. Not that he minded, mind you, in fact, he bit his tongue from mentioning it.

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She trailed off, cursing those blue eyes for trapping her own again. It seemed as though she could get lost in them; they seemed to hold every shade of blue imaginable, all swirled together in a dramatic starburst that was in every way, Ron.

With the realization that they both were moving sub-consciously towards each other, both froze where they were, mere inches apart. Ron couldn't breathe. Hermione shivered.

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He stared at her lips, oh how he wanted to lean just a little more forwards to capture them with his own! But eyes darting around, he realized this was not the place, this was not the time. Sighing, he pulled away and stood up, not really caring to meet Hermione's eyes and offered his hand to her. She looked up at him, unsure whether or not to take it. Finally accepting, he helped her off the ground, holding her hand a little longer than normal. "Now," He said placing a hand on her waist, "Let's get you inside. You're colder than ice."

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Hermione nodded her agreement, and willingly was led into Hogwarts. Strange, she thought to herself as she passed through the wooden doors to meet the wave of warmth that overwhelmed her as she entered the castle, where Ron reluctantly let go of her waist, I only felt cold once he let me go.

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To be Continued…