Summary: Hermione and Ron find themselves stuck in a Labyrinth. The thing is, as they get deeper and deeper into the labyrinth, they begin to fall deeper and deeper in love.

Rating: PG

Pairing: Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger

Disclaimer: I do not, did not and never will own Harry Potter.

The Labyrinth of Love

Chapter 6: Reaching the Top

Hermione Granger had started to regret that she encouraged Ron Weasley to open the bright green door. She found herself standing in a wide space of ground and staring up at a tall wall with a door at the top. There was no other way up except for a thick rope and some rickety footholds.

She hated climbing. She had tried to go Indoor Wall Climbing before, when she was ten, a few months before entering Hogwarts for the first time, and she had almost reached the top of the wall when she heard her friend cheering for her. She smiled and looked down. Suddenly she had felt dizzy because she realized that she was so high up. Even though she had a harness, and she knew it was perfectly safe, she had asked to be brought down. Ever since then, she had had a slight fear of heights. She had avoided looking down from tall buildings…now she had to face her fear.

Ron Weasley watched as Hermione Granger eyed the high wall before them. He had no problem with heights, since he had been flying with a broomstick since he was young. He sensed that Hermione was afraid. He let her stand there while he sat down.

He rummaged through his pack, and he pulled out the Never-Ending Chicken box. He had expected beef, since he hadn't finished it before he fell asleep. Instead, there were some pizza squares. He ate about two when he felt thirsty. He took a little paper cup with a plastic cover from the pack. He remembered it as "Just Enough Juice". It was similar to Never-Ending Chicken. He shook it slightly and it felt heavier. This was because of some liquid sloshing around inside it.

Hermione shook her head and started to walk back to Ron. She sat down beside him. He looked a little flustered.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to pee", Ron said, and he looked around. There were no toilets, no covered spaces.

"Go on and do it", Hermione said, "I won't look"

"Out here?" Ron looked at the ground in disgust.

"Yeah, out here…we've got to compromise"

"How about you?"

"I'm fine", Hermione said, "Ron, go on and do your thing, before you…"

"But I can't do it out here!" Ron protested, then he tilted his head in thought, "…but, but I really, really have to pee!"

Then, there was a loud thud behind them. They were staring at a huge porta-potty. It was like royalty, painted red and gold, with even more red and gold drapes. It looked like a tent. It had a golden turret. They stood up and stepped closer. Hermione looked at Ron in confusion. Ron was about to reach out, when the porta-potty shook. Suddenly there was a single knock, and the door swung open.

Hermione and Ron backed away. A little foot with a fancy shoe suddenly stepped out. Ron groaned.

"What?" Hermione whispered, not taking her eyes off the small foot.

"A Royal Scribe Elf", Ron whispered back, "They're the most obnoxious creatures on the face of this earth…except for you though…" he chuckled.

"Oh Shut—"

"I present to you…lady and gentleman," the little elf squeaked, "the magical porta-potty. This magical porta-potty was designed to appear whenever your…bladders…are full or when you are in dire need of a bath…enjoy!"

The little elf kicked the door and it swung fully open. Ron stepped inside. He found that the porta-potty was made of three rooms: men's, women's and another room that said "Pool".

He was in a hurry, so he pushed open the men's door and he saw the urinal. It was a golden urinal, beside a golden toilet, beside a golden sink, and a lot of other golden things. He quickly did his thing, and washed his hands, and splashed water on his face. He wiped his face with a soft towel then his attention was focused on a small cabinet of gold. He opened it, and his jaw hung open. In it was clothing, all in different sizes, and in all the brands of the world.

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Meanwhile, through the women's door, Hermione heaved a dreamy sigh, having her first taste of comfort since they went through the first door. She took a long, hot bath and she changed into a hot pink Ralph Lauren top and some dark denim Guess jeans. She didn't change her shoes, since she felt that sneakers were appropriate for the Labyrinth.

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Hermione and Ron met in the main hallway of the porta-potty, and they thanked the elf, who showed no emotion at all. They watched as the elf stepped in. The porta-potty shook and then it was gone.

Hermione was speechless.

"Wicked", Ron said, and he pulled Hermione over to where their packs lay, "we better get going"

Hermione took a deep breath and suddenly, she realized something. She gripped Ron's hand.

"What?"

Hermione pointed. The beginning of the rope was about 7 feet off the ground, and so was the first foothold. Of course, neither of them was that tall. Then, Ron had an idea. He pulled out the black and white sneakers from his pack (he put them there when he got it), and put them on.

Hermione grinned, and took the pair of pink and red sneakers from her pack. Sometimes Ron was smart, that was all there is to it. "Nice one", she called out as he grabbed the rope in his first jump. He clumsily held out his foot for the first foothold, and he steadied himself there, waiting for Hermione's jump.

Hermione was feeling nervous. What if she fell, and broke something? She looked at Ron with great uncertainty, and he gave her a knowing smile.

"Oh come on, Hermione, you—of all people…"

She took a deep breath and jumped as high as she could. The shoes made her bounce high and grabbed the robe with her left hand, while Ron took her right one. Ron pulled her up carefully and they shared the foothold, which was broader than it seemed from seven feet below.

They steadied themselves and slowly climbed up. Ron looked down once in a while to see how Hermione was doing. She was nervously looking for footholds. Ron grinned, and suddenly stopped. He couldn't believe it, but Hermione was actually attractive when she didn't know what to do.

Hermione was extremely thankful that Ron was there to help her. She quickly stepped onto the foothold. Then, she realized something. She didn't have a harness! She was free-climbing this. She panicked. She closed her eyes and whimpered, holding tightly onto the rope.

"What's with you?" Ron said.

"I can't do this" Hermione said, her eyes still closed, "I can't, I can't"

"Yes you can Hermione," Ron said, "We're nearly there"

"But…"

"Hermione, just slowly pull yourself up"

She breathed heavily and stepped nervously onto the hold, pushing her foot against the wall. She looked up. Ron was right; they were nearly there.

"You can do this Hermione, I know you can", Ron said. He couldn't leave Hermione there. "Would you like me to come fetch you?" he asked her.

"No…it's okay…" Hermione said, suddenly blushing, "Okay…"

Then, she took another deep breath, and started climbing up steadily. Finally, both of them reached the top. "Thanks, Ron", Hermione said, "…again"

"Sure", he said, confused. He stepped onto the ledge, and helped Hermione up. Hermione opened the door, and they groaned at what they saw.

The room wasn't over yet. The wall was a sick yellow, and when they opened the door, there was a thin plank of wood painted the same sick yellow that the wall was painted with. Apparently, they had to cross the plank. Hermione groaned. She was at the edge and she looked down quickly. It was a hard fall.

"Better get this over with", said Hermione, more bravely than she felt.

"Right", Ron answered. There was a thick veil of mist where the plank ended, and they couldn't see what was behind it. Ron started walking, trying to keep his balance. Hermione followed.

Silently, Hermione walked sideways, watching where her feet went next. Ron walked forward, his hands outstretched. "Like those Muggle trapeze-y people", he thought.

Suddenly, Ron lost his balance, and he gasped. Both of his hands were strained, holding on to the plank tightly. Hermione slowly turned to see what happened. She gasped as well, and she moved closer to him as quickly and as carefully as she could.

"Ron!—hand!" she shouted, and she grabbed hold of Ron's wrist. She was afraid to fall, herself, and she held on to both Ron and the plank. It seemed firmly lodged between the two ledges. The only trouble was that there wasn't enough space. Hermione carefully backed away about an inch, since that was all she could manage, and she slowly pulled Ron up.

Ron heaved a sigh of relief. "Now, we're even", he told her.

When they reached the other side, they pushed themselves through the mist. They got a little wet, and they laughed as the wind blew hard against them. When they got through the mist, they saw a tall yellow ladder leading to a trap door.

"Wait", Ron said, "Let's rest here"

"Okay", Hermione said, and she took a paper cup from her pack. Then, they started to talk.

"Thanks, Hermione", Ron said, taking her hand subconsciously. He squeezed it lightly. "Thanks"

"Sure, Ron"

Ron sighed. Hermione bit her lip. "Let's go"

They climbed the ladder quickly and they opened the trap door. To their dismay, there were three identical doors, and there was another piece of parchment tacked on the wall.

Choose one, and go through

But we must really warn YOU

Mistakes; you cannot afford

Or be prepared for what's in store

Hermione groaned, and once again, she slunk down against the wall. Another riddle. Their decision was crucial. They could not choose the wrong door.

Ron waited for Hermione to think. Hermione couldn't make a mistake; they couldn't choose the wrong door…which meant, that they had to choose the correct door…which meant that they had to choose the right door.

Hermione stood up, pulled Ron up from where he was sitting, and looked at him with a happy grin. Hermione explained it to him.

"It can't be that simple, can it?" Ron said afterwards.

"Ron, Ron, Ron" Hermione said, "Sometimes, the hardest riddles are the simplest ones"

Ron smiled at Hermione, and she smiled back. Ron waited for her to open the door on the right.

"Be my guest", Hermione said smoothly.

Ron grinned again, and he reached out for the silver handle.

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A/N: Sorry it took so long! We have quarterly tests, so I've been studying non-stop. I've also been working hard on my personal website:

Thank you to all my reviewers!

Deep blue quill- the liquid? It was just a sort of poison, I guess

Bella rose, sailorhermy, sasami tombo, king Harold, blacktears, vampirate, star of the seA, dragon slayer, goldenflower.

Thank you!

I have a feeling that things are looking up for Ron and Hermione!

PLEASE REVIEW!! I might go back to one chapter a day, since I want to finish this before Xmas!... )