Chapter 4

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ron heard the sound, but tried to ignore it.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

He tried to tune it out, as he sat on the floor with his knees pressed against his chest tightly.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Ron wiped his eyes as he looked up and saw the snow-white owl perched on his windowsill. He jumped up in a fit of rage, grabbed his bed frame, the mattress having long since being discarded on the floor, and heaved it into an upright position. LEAVE ME ALONE, HARRY! he thought as he flipped the bed frame towards the window. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! With a thunderous bang, the bed slammed into the wall and one of the bedposts smashed its way through the glass panes of the window. With his headboard now blocking most of the opening, Ron knew the owl would not be able to get in. His mission accomplished, Ron sank back down on the floor, pulled his knees back up to his chest, and resumed hugging them.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a tiny voice told him he was being unfair. This isn't Harry's fault. If anyone is to blame it's me. I was there. I should have protected her. If only I hadn't fought with her. If only I hadn't chased her right into Krum's arms. This is all my fault. MY FAULT!

Ron was roused from his dismal thoughts by a loud crack, followed immediately by the sound of someone tripping and falling amongst the debris littering his bedroom.

"Get out!" he growled in a deep menacing voice.

"R...Ron?" a faint voice asked, clearly uncertain as to where she was.

"Hermione?" Ron replied, crawling towards her voice. He found her within seconds, but it felt like it took a lifetime.

The instant he touched her, a great sob escaped her lips and she threw her arms around him. Ron immediately wrapped his own arms around her and held her as she began to weep. He could feel her shaking against his body and tightened his hold on her.

Hermione stifled a groan and then she spoke again. "Not so hard. You're crushing me."

"Sorry," he replied, loosening his grip on her a bit, but refusing to let go entirely. Now that she was in his arms, he never wanted to let go of her again.

"Ron," Hermione said, her voice thick with tears. "I'm..."

He shushed her and pulled her a little tighter, resting his cheek on the top of her head as he closed his eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks to whomever it was that brought her back to him in one piece. Under different circumstances, he'd have been uncomfortable holding a crying woman. Tears always unnerved him. He never knew what to say. But suddenly it struck him that he didn't have to say anything. He just had to be there. So he held her close and let her cry against his chest, gently stroking her back in a way that not only comforted her, but comforted himself as well. All too quickly, her tears lessened and he felt her pull away.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered in the darkness. Being unable to see him made it easier to apologize.

"Don't be," Ron replied as he reached out for her face and brushed the tears off her cheeks. "I think a good cry was in order."

"No," Hermione said in a quivering voice. "For earlier... for calling you..."

"An insensitive bastard," he finished for her. "You were right. I am."

"No. No you aren't," Hermione protested. "Well, okay, sometimes you are," she corrected herself, " but really you're not. And... and I'd hate for those to be the last words I ever said to you."

He heard her voice crack and felt fresh tears spill down her face.

"Ron, when they took me...," she began, but was forced to stop when she felt his fingers on her lips. As he shushed her again, Hermione closed her eyes and relished the feeling of those two fingers.

"Ron..."

"Don't," he replied, his own voice full of pain. I don't think I can bear to hear it.

"I have to say this now, while I still have the courage," Hermione replied as she pulled his hand away from her mouth, and down to her lap, where she linked her fingers with his.

Ron didn't protest any further, so she started again. "When they took me...," she said heavily, then stopped to recoup her nerve. "There are so many things I wanted to tell you. Things I should have told you ages ago, but I didn't because I was afraid... afraid of losing you."

"Hermione, you don't have to...," Ron interrupted.

"Yes I do," she insisted. "Now shut up and let me talk."

Ron smiled despite himself. After all she's been through, she still just as spirited as ever. Her feistiness was one of the things he loved most about her. She was brave. She was stubborn. She was determined. When she thought she was right, she'd stand her ground and refuse to back down no matter the consequences. Like him, she was proud. Unlike him, she had the strength of character to not care what other people thought. In fact, the only opinions that seems to matter to her was his, and Harry's of course.

She is... indomitable. How many other girls would have been able to save us from Devil's Snare in our first year? How many other girls would have the bollocks to kick the hell out of Sirius Black, because she believed he was a homicidal maniac out to kill Harry? Well, Ginny probably would, but... How many other girls could be abducted by Death Eaters and escape on their own? Most of those girly girls at Hogwarts would have cowered in the corner. But not Hermione. I could search the rest of my life and never find another girl that's...

Ron felt her grip on his hand tighten and was pulled back to reality. He heard her take a deep breath and he remembered she was trying to tell him something important. Pay attention, he told himself.

"Sometimes you really are an insensitive prat," Hermione began. Ron's heart sank. "You infuriate me to no end," she continued. She hates me, he groaned inwardly. "And I am hopelessly in love with you." Ron's heart skipped a beat.

WHAT! his mind screamed. It took him a second to actually voice the question. He was so caught up in the two stinging comments she had made prior to her declaration, that he was afraid he might have misheard her. "What?"

"I love you, Ron," Hermione whispered.

"But... But... Krum..."

"Not Viktor. You," she replied. "It's always been you, Ron."

There was an awkward silence as Ron tried to wrap his head around this new information and Hermione, true to form, tried to fill it. "Viktor was just a friend," she began to ramble. "He knew how I felt, I told him at the end of 4th year when he pulled me aside to say goodbye and asked me again to visit him over the summer."

"Hermione?" Did she just say 4th year?

"I told him then that we could only be friends because... well, because I had feelings for someone else. I didn't tell him who, but he guessed anyway. I mean it was obvious what with you trying to spy on us."

Wait a minute, they saw me? "Hermione?"

"All those letters I wrote to him in front of you... I did it on purpose. I was trying to make you jealous. And I know that's an awful thing to do, but... ."

"HERMIONE! Will you shut up long enough for me to say three words?"

Ron was met with silence. Oh great, now she listens to me.

Hermione waited for him to speak.

Okay, now the silence is getting awkward again. Spit it out you coward, Ron scolded himself. His heart beat so loudly he was sure she could hear it. "I... I..." he stammered. Then he abandoned his attempt to speak, reached up, clasped her face with his free hand, and leaned in. He felt her pull back in surprise the instant his lips brushed hers, but as soon as she realized what it was, she relaxed and let him kiss her. Her arms found their way around his neck just as he pulled his mouth away to whisper, "I love you too."

"That's four words, Ron," Hermione said, as she smiled in the dark.

"I stand corrected," he replied with a snicker, and leaned in to kiss her again. He felt his stomach do a flip as their lips connected a second time. A warm tingling sensation quickly spread throughout his entire body, and his breath quickened. This time Hermione didn't just let him kiss her, she kissed him back. Ron felt the soft curves of her body press up against him as she pulled him closer. She clung to him desperately, as if she were drowning and he was her life preserver. Ron felt her mouth open slightly and he deepened the kiss. When Hermione moaned softly into his mouth, it sent a new wave of pleasure coursing throughout his body.

Ron groaned with disappointment as he felt her lips pull away from his.

"How... how did you do that?" Hermione panted, her arms still locked around his neck.

"Do what?" Ron questioned. Oh no! Did I do it wrong?

"How did you make me feel like that?" she asked seriously. "It was like my heart stopped for a second and then it started to tingle and... and then my stomach flipped and I felt as if I had been struck by lightning. I was tingling all the way down to the tip of my toes," she explained, as if she were giving a report and listing the results of some experiment. "And then it got REALLY hot, and I felt like I was suffocating, only it was a good thing. It was amazing actually. Do it again," Hermione insisted, moving her hands up into his hair and pulling his face down toward hers. But before their lips met, they were interrupted by a loud popping sound that split the air beside them.

Hermione screamed. Ron instantly released her and placed himself between her and the unwelcome intruder that had entered the room.

"Why is it so dark in here?" Mrs. Weasley's voice questioned as she stumbled on something under her feet. "Lumos," she muttered and her wand lit up the room. Both Ron and Hermione squinted as they looked up at the light. Ron shielded his eyes with his hands just in time to see his mother launch herself at them both. She pushed him out of the way and pulled Hermione into a hug. "You brilliant girl!" she chimed, kneeling on the ground along side them both. "Absolutely brilliant. How you ever learned how to apparate at your age...," she went on and then stopped short when Hermione cried out in pain.

"My ribs," Hermione panted, clutching at her side. "I think they might be broken."

Mrs. Weasley released her hold on the girl and looked at her anxiously. Then she rounded on her son. "Don't just sit there like an idiot," she snapped. "Help me get her downstairs so I can have a proper look at her."

Ron immediately got to his feet and leaned down to help Hermione to hers.

"How did you know I was here?" Hermione asked, as she took Ron's hands and felt him pull her to her feet.

"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked, dragging her thoughts back from some distant place. "Oh, a letter arrived addressed to you from The Department of Magical Transportation. I'm afraid you have a rather substantial fine waiting for you in the kitchen."

"For what?" Ron asked in an outraged tone.

"For apparating without a license I would suspect," Hermione replied calmly.

"They can't fine you for that!" Ron shouted. "It was an emergency."

"I don't care about the fine," Hermione stated. "Just as long as I don't get expelled."

"There is no way they'd expel you," Ron assured her.

"Don't worry dear, Arthur will take care of it." Mrs. Weasley said confidently. "This isn't like what happened to Harry. You were taken in broad daylight. There were plenty of witnesses and all of them are talking. The Ministry can't look the other way anymore. Kingsley has half his Aurors out looking for you, not to mention half the Order. Under the circumstances, I'm sure they will overlook the fine. Now, can you walk?" Mrs. Weasley asked, stepping closer to Hermione to offer her support.

"Yes," Hermione replied, taking a few tentative steps towards the door.

They both saw her grimace, even though she tried hard not to.

"I'll carry her," Ron said to his mother, quickly coming up behind Hermione.

"You will not!" Hermione shot back as if the very thought was insulting.

"Just down the stairs," Ron replied, sweeping her up into his arms so quickly it caught her by surprise. "I'm not going to watch you fall," he said in a commanding way that let her know he meant business.

"Just to the bottom of the stairs," she agreed. "If you take me one step further then that, I'll..."

"You'll what?" Ron scoffed as he descended his second flight of stairs.

"I'll...," she thought about it for a minute. "Oh I don't know what I'll do. But I'll come up with something. And it will be suitably nasty," Hermione added as an afterthought.

Ron chortled quietly as he reached the bottom of the staircase and set her down. "You know it's almost worth it just to see what you'd do," he teased. Ron let her walk the rest of the way to the kitchen on her own, but stayed close beside her, just in case her will was stronger then her body.