Chapter 11

The next twenty minutes were a blur to Hermione. What started out as tender and gentle quickly erupted into a frenzy of passionate kisses, that literally left her feeling weak and breathless. It was as if his mere touch, his very presence, was somehow... magical. It was the only word she could come up with to explain how he made her feel. He had bewitched her. Hermione was startled to discover that somehow Ron had the ability to drive all rational thought from her mind when he set himself to the task. And yet at the same time, she knew he was just as lost in it all as she was. The world could have come crashing down around them at that very moment and neither of them wouldn't have cared or even noticed. It didn't matter. Nothing else mattered. She had everything she'd ever need right here. As long as she could feel his firm body pressed against hers, as long as she continued to feel his strong hands running over her, as long as he continued to drive all reason from her mind with his fervent kisses, nothing else mattered.

At some point during it all, Hermione realized she was sprawled out on top of Ron, which was odd, considering she couldn't recall how she had gotten there nor how long they had been like that. It was the feel of his hand sliding up the back of her leg and grasping her bum, that pulled her mind back from the abyss. She just had time to register the fact that the only thing preventing the skin on skin contact she so desperately desired was the thin fabric of her knickers, when she felt her world shift. Unexpectedly, Hermione found herself lying on her back, held firmly to the mattress by the weight of Ron's body as he pressed himself on top of her and kissed her with every ounce of strength he had. She could feel the passion and need behind each kiss. His body was literally shaking with it.

Unable to restrain herself, she moaned softly into his mouth. Hermione felt Ron run his tongue along her bottom lip before he pulled away and surfaced for some much needed air.

Breathing hard, her heart pounding in her chest as if she'd spent the past half hour sprinting through the Forbidden Forest, rather than lying in a bed, Hermione forced herself to open her eyes. As the room and the attractive red head still lying on top of her came into focus, Hermione reflexively wiped the back of her hand across her mouth.

"Was that... all right?" Ron asked anxiously after he witnessed her reaction to his kisses. Up until that moment, he had been blissfully happy, but now... he was trying desperately not to interpret what he'd just seen her do as a sign of disgust.

"Yeah, it was... nice," Hermione assured him with a very warm, sincere smile. "Just a little... wetter then I expected," she giggled.

NICE? Ron moaned inwardly. It was only... nice? I thought it was bloody fantastic, and she only thought it was nice. At least I didn't repulse her. I suppose that's something anyway.

"MMMmmn," Hermione moaned softly as she let her head flop back to her pillow. Her eyes stared off into space as she tried and failed to suppress her grin. "Actually it was better then nice... it was...," she faltered, still unable to come up with a word to accurately explain how Ron had made her feel. "You take my breath away," she admitted as her bright eyes alighted on his and sparkled with reflected moonlight. "Shall we give it another go?" she asked, grabbing a hold of his shirt and pulling his face back down towards her own.

Ron couldn't help but smile inwardly at her eagerness. The enthusiasm with which she kissed him, instantly healed his recently bruised ego. This time, it was Hermione who deepened the kiss first. She was a quick study, which shouldn't have come as any surprise to Ron, had be been capable of thinking clearly. But as he wasn't, he was slightly taken aback when he felt her press her tongue into his mouth and mimic the acts he had performed on her moments ago. He moaned softly as he felt it press up against his own and then pull away, teasing him.

This is bloody brilliant, he thought, never wanting it to end.

As they kissed each other hungrily, Hermione slipped a hand under the back of Ron's shirt and began to lightly run her fingers up his spine. She found the sensation of the muscles in his back tensing as she touched them highly arousing. Just the knowledge that he had muscles was arousing, but to feel them; to feel the how hard they were; how different his body was from her own, was intoxicating. Without knowing why, she lightly raked her fingernails over his skin.

Ron gasped loudly and felt his entire body shudder at the unexpected pleasure he felt. He found it unbelievable just how sensitive he was to her touch. If he reacted so strongly to a light caress on the back, he silently wondered how much pleasure he'd feel if she touched other parts of him? How much pleasure would he feel if they... took this to the ultimate level? How he longed to feel her skin against his, to feel her heat, to feel her body encase his as they became one and found release together. But... that can't happen, he reminded himself for what felt like the hundredth time. He wanted to. Desperately. But he knew it was too soon. It was all happening too fast. Somehow it was all spiraling out of control and Ron knew he'd have to drag himself back.

This is Hermione, he reminded himself even as he continued to kiss her. It isn't a dream where you can act like a randy bugger and do whatever you want without consequences. It is real... and in the real world, he was going to put Hermione's needs before his own, even if it killed him. She deserves better than this, he told himself. Not that she's objecting... just make sure you don't give her a reason to.

It's just a snog, he told himself in an attempt to justify the fact he hadn't ended the kiss yet. We aren't doing anything wrong, he thought while he gently ran his hands up and down both sides of her body. He could feel her breasts swell out to the side as the weight of his own chest pressed down on them from above. As he lightly ran his fingers back and forth over thin fabric of her shirt, Ron had to fight the urge to reach up under it and feel her soft curves with his fingertips.

Ron heard Hermione groan softly with disappointment as he pried his lips away from hers. Almost instantly he replaced them on her cheek and proceeded to kiss his way to her neck. When he reached the spot right under her ear lobe, Hermione gasped loudly and he felt her body jump beneath his.

"MMMMmmn, that feels wonderful," Hermione moaned in a sensual way that made his entire body tingle. Ron quickly made a mental note to remember that spot, so he could come back to it once he had finished his explorations. Right now he just wanted to continue the voyage to discover his mouth and hands were taking across her body. He wanted to memorize every inch; he couldn't wait to discover what other areas of sensitivity lay waiting to be claimed by his lips or how many other erotic sounds he could inspire her to produce. With one last kiss, Ron pulled away from her neck and slipped the shirt she was wearing down to bear a portion of her shoulder. He was just about to lavish it with the same tender kisses when Hermione, quite unexpectedly, shouted out a name and Ron was horrified to discover that it wasn't his.

"HARRY!"

"WHAT!" Ron cried out as he sat bolt upright and pulled away from her so fast he nearly fell right off the bed.

"I ... I... totally forgot about Harry," Hermione stammered, her eyes wide with shock. "I can't believe I forgot to write Harry. He must be going out of his mind, locked up in that place with no idea what's going on."

"Oh... that?" Ron said, his angry glower softening a bit, but obviously still extremely irritated.

"Yeah, that. What did you think I was..." she began to ask.

"It usually only means one thing when you shout out another bloke's name," Ron declared crossly.

"You're not serious, are you?" Hermione asked is disbelief. He can't possibly believe that, can he?

"You've never shouted out my name," he said miserably.

"Yes, I have," Hermione stated without thinking. "You've just never heard me do it." It took her a moment to resister the fact she had spoken the words out loud. It dawned on her as she watched the angry resentment vanish from his eyes, only to be replaced by a myriad of other emotions, all of them fighting for control. First, shock, as his eyes widened. Followed by delight, which he quickly tried to hide. For a moment he wavered on embarrassment, and then his eyes darkened to a smoky cobalt blue. Hermione felt her face flush as she watched his eyes smolder and catch fire. She knew that this time it had nothing to do with anger. What she saw there was pure unadulterated lust and it was focused completely on her. The heat from her face was so intense now that she knew it must be as red as Ron's hair. OH NO! she groaned, mortified by what she'd just admitted. I can't believe I just said that to him.

BLOODY HELL, Ron thought as he realized he was dangerously close to pouncing on his best friend like a voracious beast and ravaging her until he heard her shout his name out first hand. But it wouldn't stop there, he knew. Hearing her gasp and call out his name in pleasure would only spur him on. He wouldn't be able to stop himself until he found a way to satiate the hunger burning throughout his entire body; he wouldn't stop until he found release and cried out her name as well.

No longer trusting himself, Ron pulled further away with a guttural groan. He glanced down quickly to make sure he was still wrapped up in the bedspread so Hermione couldn't see the effect her words had on his body. He was rather mortified when he discovered that even the bedspread wasn't enough to hide how aroused he was. At least not the way he was currently sitting. He tried to stifle a groan as he lay down at the foot of the bed and quickly repositioned the bedspread so it was gathered in front of himself.

"I already wrote to him," Ron said, trying to act as normal as possible. "While you were in the bath." BLOODY HELL, he thought, as images of her naked body in a tub full of warm water flooded his mind. This is not the time to be thinking things like that. You need to get rid of it, before she notices. And she's going to notice, because you can't fucking move without groaning. Think of something disgusting. Snape... Snape snogging McGonagall. Not disturbing enough. Snape snogging Hagrid... ew, that's pretty repulsive actually.

"Ron? Did you hear me?" Hermione asked loudly.

"What? Oh... Sorry, my mind wandered there for a minute. What were you saying?" he replied.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him you were fine," Ron informed her. "That Mum was healing you..." That's doing the trick, he realized, as images of the things he'd seen in the pensive flooded him mind. "That... er... that Dumbledore was going to talk to you right after. And that you'd write him tomorrow."

"What did you tell him about us?"

"Us?" Did she just narrow her eyes at me? Uh oh, I think I'm in trouble. Do SOMETHING! QUICK! Before you ruin everything. "Well... that is... please don't go getting the wrong idea, Hermione," Ron said as he sat upright so she wouldn't be towering over him when she started shouting. "I... I didn't tell him anything, but it isn't what you think."

"And what do I think?" Hermione demanded.

"That it doesn't mean anything to me or that I'm too ashamed to mention it to him, or any of the other irrational conclusions women jump to."

"I'm irrational, am I?" she asked calmly.

"NO!"Ron cried out. "That's not what I meant at all." BUGGER! "I've really botched things up, haven't I?"

"No, you haven't," Hermione replied as she leaned in and kissed him sweetly, totally catching him off guard. "Why don't you just tell me why YOU didn't tell him, so I won't have to jump to any 'irrational conclusions.'"

"I just don't think it's the right time, that's all," Ron said as he watched her warily, waiting for her to bristle.

"Um hum, and?"

"And what?"

"When is the right time? Is there one? Honestly," Hermione asked, staring into his eyes, "do you ever plan on telling him?"

"Er... sure." Someday.

"Ron?" Hermione asked as she reached out for his hand. "You aren't... afraid Harry will take it badly, are you? I mean, you aren't worried he'd react like... like you would to... Ginny dating... well, anyone?"

"Er... yeah, that's part of it," he admitted.

"You don't think Harry will be happy for us?"

"Probably once he's cooled off a bit."

"Harry's not like that. He's not going to..."

"Oh yes, he will," Ron stated definitively. "He won't react as strongly as I would if I found out you were seeing someone, but he'll have a reaction. Believe me."

"So far, you've taken it amazingly well," Hermione teased.

"You know what I mean," Ron grumbled.

"Yeah, I do," she admitted. "So you think Harry is going to be angry?"

"I don't think it. I know it. You remember how angry he was with us last summer. This year it will be much worse. He's just..."

"...concerned about me?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yeah, that's part of it," Ron admitted.

"Worried about your intentions?" she asked.

"No. Harry knows I've fancied you for a while now. That's not it."

"Surely you don't think...," she asked as she studied his face, "that Harry would be... jealous?" OH MY GOD! Hermione thought as she saw him grimace. He does.

"Actually... he IS going to be jealous. Not the same way I'd be, mind. Just jealous in general. You know, that we're... together. Not together as in at the same place, but REALLY together. Jealous that we have someone... special and he doesn't. Jealous that we're happy when he's so miserable, and..."

"...alone," Hermione finished the thought for him.

"Exactly. He's just not in a good place right now. What with Sirius's death and being locked up with those horrible muggles for the summer. He might as well be in prison. He's going to take what happened to you hard, Hermione. You know he is. He's going to blame himself."

"And you think he's going to push us away even further?" she questioned. "I'll admit I've been more than a little worried about that myself. We just won't let him get away with it."

"But, if he knows about us... about this... it will give him the perfect excuse. He'll pretend it's because he feels like a third wheel. He'll pull away and blame it on our rela-- on this. And he'll wind up resenting us both for it."

"Ok," Hermione said, flopping down on her back with a sigh.

"Wait a minute. You're not going to argue with me? You're not going to tell me that he'll get over it? Or that he'll resent us even more for hiding it from him? Or he'll..."

"No," Hermione stated. Ron looked down at her completely mystified by her response. "I came to a decision this evening in the kitchen," she explained. "I realized I need to listen to you more."

Ron wasn't sure he heard her right. Did she just say she was going to listen to ME? he thought as he goggled down at her in disbelief.

"Especially when it concerns Harry," Hermione continued. "You were right about Sirius. You knew what Harry needed, when I didn't. You stopped me from forcing him to talk about it when he wasn't ready. You knew it would only make him feel worse. I'm sure you're right about this too. If you don't think we should tell him, then we won't."

"Seriously?" Ron asked, still not quite able to believe her.

"Seriously," Hermione assured him. "Although... I don't see how we can hide it from him, once he gets here. I mean, Fred and George aren't going to stop teasing us. If anything, they're going to get worse."

"Bloody gits."

"And I'm sure Ginny will figure it out rather quickly, if she hasn't already. Someone's bound to tell him."

"You talk to Ginny. I'll talk to Fred and George," he suggested. "They'll give me a hard time, but once they understand it's in Harry's best interests... I'm sure they will keep quiet. If that doesn't work, I'll take a leaf out of your book and threaten them."

"With what?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. I'll threaten to tell Mum about the new products they are developing and how now that they don't have any first years to experiment on, they're trying to slip the stuff to Ginny."

"That isn't true, is it?"

"Well, they did ask Ginny if she'd help them, but she's not daft."

"Do you think that will work?"

"I reckon. They definitely don't want Mum to know they tested all their snackbox products on the first years. She'd go barking mad and probably end up chasing them around the joke shop in a berserk rage," Ron laughed.

"What about your parents? Or Bill? Or Professor Lupin? Even Mad-Eye Moody could tell him. They all know. I all but admitted how I felt in that memory. This could all blow up in our faces."

"It won't. They won't say anything," Ron replied. "But just in case, I'll talk to Bill and you can take Lupin and Moody."

"Why do I get Moody?"

"Because he likes you," Ron chuckled. "I could tell earlier, when he tried to intimidate you and you got cheeky with him. I think he respected you for it. "

"Oh, shut up," Hermione snapped. "I don't want to think about this anymore," she said, looking up at Ron and beckoning him to her with the curl of her index finger.

"And what is it you want to do?" he asked as he scooted up the bed and ended up lying on his side next to her.

"That depends," she replied, turning on her side to face him.

"On?"

"You said we were.... 'seeing' each other."

"Er... yeah, I think I did say that, didn't I?" Ron admitted.

"Did you mean exclusively, or are we just messing about here?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you're too chicken to ask me out properly," Hermione replied.

"Chicken? I've only told you that I love you... three bloody times now."

"Don't swear while you tell me that you love me," Hermione scolded, but she couldn't help but grin as she did it. "And I love you too, so I'll do it. Ron, will you..."

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Ron growled, pouncing on her and silencing her with a kiss.

"You told me how you felt about me first. I get to do this. But... I'm not doing it now, after you've prompted me to. I'll do it in my own way, at the right time, so you know that I mean it when I ask."

"You're never going to ask me, are you?" Hermione giggled just before she covered his lips with her own.