"For praying for my future in the days that remain"
Meat Loaf (For Crying Out Loud)
"Er, not right now Ron. I really need to take a shower, I'm a tad sweaty. ". "Oh, maybe later then?" "Sure Ron". Harry smiles at us then closes the door. Ron and I turn and walk away. "Well that's a relief, to know he's ok." Ron lets out a sigh then plasters his face with his goofy grin once more. "Ron Weasley, you're even thicker than I thought. Harry is clearly hiding something from us. Looking awful, no sleep first then not even an hour later grinning from ear to ear! It's not natural." Ron and I head up the stairs into Ron's room. We head through the door, closing it after us. "We need to figure out what's going on with Harry." Ron nods his head wildly in agreement. "Right, yeah, figure it out….how?" My arms drop to my sides and I sigh, exasperated. "Normally I'd say 'he'll tell us when he's ready' but in this case I think something big is happening." I raise my finger to my chin and rest it there, thinking. "We need to follow him" "Are you crazy! Bloody oath Hermione! We can't follow him everywhere!" I walk towards Ron slowly, reach my hands around his neck and kiss him lightly on the lips. I pull away to see that his eyes are shut tightly. "You know Hermione, I didn't realise when we started going out that it meant kissing would be used as blackmail." I smile playfully. "Not blackmail, incentive. Besides, you want to help Harry right? Think of all the times he's helped us."
I turn around and walk to Ron's bed and sit down on the edge. Ron walks over and plants himself to my right. His left arm moves nervously up and rests itself around my shoulders. I lean into him and rest my head in the crook of his neck. "Hermione…what do you think is wrong with Harry?" I purse my lips in frustration. "If I didn't know Harry better I'd say he was having relationship issues." Ron lets out a loud snigger. "Harry? Relationship issues?" His sniggering continues for a few moments and I just sit silently in response. "Wait a minute! Why was he back in here this morning? He has his own room!" I jump up and swing around to face Ron. "HA! There you go. So he's been sharing his private room with someone, he had a fight with them and knowing full well that Dumbledore hasn't had his bed removed or filled in his old dorm room yet he slept there to avoid that person!" Ron sits very still, looking completely dumbfounded.
"How could he not tell me? I'm his best mate." "Oh Ron!" I rush to his side and enshroud him with my arms. "I'm sure he's just nervous about what we think of whoever it is. You know what Harry is like." Ron pops his head up abruptly. "We're his friends Hermione!" I could visibly see that Ron's anger was mounting. Having been dating him for the better part of a year I knew this was a normal thing for him. "He should know that he can trust us! Bloody 'ell Hermione! We've had his back all this time and now this!" "Ron" I say matter of factly. "We have to respect that Harry knows what he's doing. I'm sure he means to tell us when he's ready. Until that point we're going to find out for sure that we're correct. We may not be you know, it could be something else entirely." I stare pointedly at Ron, hoping that my rational words will calm the approaching tide of fury.
"Oh, who am I kidding? I can't stay mad at Harry!" Ron and I laugh together and embrace. As this ends I sit back on the bed with him. "Hermione, why would he be nervous about us knowing who he was 'involved' with? There's no-one he'd be with that we wouldn't approve of." I close my eyes momentarily with thought. "I honestly don't know Ron. I hope he's not with someone who'll be trouble." Ron and I look into each others concerned faces. "You know Ron, we're not going to be able to follow Harry properly if we're so stressed about him" Ron smiles his goofy grin at me and pulls me into a laying position on the bed next to him. I rest my head on his chest and close my eyes. Ron's hands roam up and down my back in lazy circles. "Hermione….i….L-L-L…" I pick my head up off his chest and look up at his face. His face is now as red as his hair and his eyes look almost frightened. "What is it Ron?" My heart speeds up faster and faster and I wonder if he's going to say what I think he is.
"I…..I…L-l-l-l….ILOVEYOU!" My heart almost launches into flight with these words and I wonder, if my heart is beating this fast what must Ron's be like? His face is scarlet, sweat is poring off him in rivers and his eyes are open wide. I smile. "I love you too Ron". "Y-y-y-ou do?" I widen my smile for him. "I do Ron." I lie back down, resting my head on his chest once more. His arms weave their around my body and pull me close to him. I feel him lean down above me and kiss the top of my head lightly. A wave of euphoria sweeps over me. I have never been happier than right now, lying in Ron's arms. If only we could make sure that Harry was this happy as well.
A/N: See? I managed to explain the accidental room swap. Sorry about that again. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. I'm happy to make reasonable changes to the future of the fic. So feel free to suggest things or tell me what you do or don't like. Thanks all! Also, sorry to GaiazHeart for putting this chapter before we find out what Draco is going to say. But, you gotta have suspense! And here you got Death By Storm, I'm updating once more. This should happen pretty frequently now as I have more time on my hands.