Lost and Found, chapter three

Ron opened his eyes, the quiet dormitory half-lit with early morning sunlight. It took him a second to remember why he felt so miserable.

He groaned. Their memories had flooded back, and he had discovered that he had never dated Hermione in the first place. He had simply been pining for her. Pining for his best friend, who presumably never wanted to speak to him again.

Roughly pushing his hangings apart, Ron got out of bed, and made for the bathroom. Harry was already brushing his teeth at the sink.

'Morning, mate.'

Ron grunted. Harry obviously realised something was up, as he then spat out his toothpaste and turned to Ron.

'What's wrong?'

Ron shook his head, picking up his own toothbrush.

'Something has to be wrong,' Harry continued. 'You were fine yesterday morning⸺'

'Yesterday morning I was dating Hermione,' Ron mumbled, miserably.

'Wait, what?' Harry asked, sounding shocked. 'You two broke up? Why? Things were great between you two.'

'Our memories came back.'

'Oh.'

Harry paused for a moment.

'I mean… you could still date each other… it's not like you didn't fancy each other before hand⸺'

'No, we didn't!' Ron snapped, bitterly. 'I'm the one with the hopeless crush on her; she doesn't see me that way!'

'What makes you say that?'

'Well, her running off to her dorm in tears after her memories returned was a good indicator.'

Harry put a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder.

'Ron, I'm pretty sure Hermione didn't mean it like that. She's barmy for you.'

'Doesn't really feel like it.'

After getting washed and dressed, Harry and Ron made their way downstairs. As they walked into the Common Room, Ginny noticed them, and called out. Hermione was stood next to her, looking just as miserable as Ron felt.

'Morning,' Ginny said. 'Merlin, Ron; you look rough.'

'Yeah, I noticed,' Ron replied, before turning to face Hermione. 'Listen, Hermione; can… can I talk to you in private for a bit?'

Hermione's eyes seemed to swim with tears at his words.

'N-not if you don't want to!' Ron added, hurriedly. 'It's just… I think we need to sort things out⸺'

'T-there's nothing to sort out, Ron,' Hermione replied, blinking quickly. 'We had our memories erased; we thought we were… l-like that. Our memories returned, and now we know we a-aren't. Nothing more, nothing less.'

'O-oh. Right.'

Ron looked at her, miserably. He wasn't sure what he'd done to upset her, but the revelation that they weren't a couple had clearly affected her. Did she really find him that unattractive, that she couldn't bare the thought of dating him, even with their memories being gone at the time?

'Yes, r-right. I-I'll see you three at breakfast, then.'

Hermione ran off, still looking upset. Ron stared after her, his heart sinking lower with every step she took.

'Mate, I don't think things are entirely what you think they are,' Harry said, placing a supportive hand on Ron's shoulder.

'Really? Seems like she's horrified by the idea that she's been snogging me for the past few days.'

'It's not that, Ron,' Ginny said. 'I talked to her before the wipe got reversed; she got all blushy whenever you came up in conversation.'

Ron pondered that. Was it really true? But -in that case- why was Hermione so insistent on them going back to being friends?

Out of the corner of his eye, Ron noticed that Harry had linked hands with Ginny.

'You two still together, then?' Ron asked, smiling a little.

Ginny and Harry both nodded, trying not to look too happy with themselves.

'I mean, Harry already knew I fancied him,' Ginny said, squeezing Harry's hand. 'And he likes me as well, so there weren't any issues. The wipe did help make things more… streamlined, though.'

Ron smiled.

'I wish things were that simple for me.'

Ginny patted Ron on the shoulder.

'It will be, Ron; you just need to make your feelings clear to Hermione. She's terrified that you're only doing things so as not to hurt her feelings.'

'What? Why would she think⸺'

'You're too selfless for your own good, mate.' Harry interrupted. 'And you know how much Hermione can overthink things. I bet you she's gotten it into her head that you don't want to go back to friends because you're worried about breaking her heart.'

'But I'm clearly miserable about it!' Ron said, baffled. 'How can she possibly not realise that I'm barmy for her?'

'Funny, that.' Ginny said, quietly 'Hermione said the same thing earlier about you.'

Ron's brain seemed to swim in a daze. Really? Was it really possible that Hermione saw him in the same way he saw her? That… that would explain why she was so upset, surely.

The redhead felt his resolve harden.

'Right.' Ron said, turning to the portrait hole. 'I'm gonna go find her.'

'She'll probably be in⸺'

'The Library. I know.'

After what felt like barely a minute, Ron was stood in front of the massive oak doors of the Hogwarts Library. He swallowed nervously, and pushed open the door, slipping inside.

As was usual at that time of the morning, the library was virtually deserted aside from a few exam-taking students and Madam Pince herself. Giving the librarian a wide berth, Ron began to walk through the aisles, in the direction of Hermione's usual table.

Sure enough, there she was; her bushy hair covered her face as she poured over a large Transfiguration book.

'Hermione?' Ron whispered.

Hermione bolted upright in her chair, her eyes bloodshot as she stared at him. Ron felt his heart ache at the clear misery she was in.

'R-Ron? What- why are you-'

'Can't a bloke help his best friend with her studying?'

Hermione looked at him for a second.

'I… I suppose.'

Ron sat down at the table. Hermione hurriedly bent down over her book again, but Ron could tell she wasn't reading anymore.

Several minutes trickled by, with no words spoken between them. Eventually, before his nerve broke, Ron leant forward and spoke.

'Hermione?'

'Hmmm?'

'Was… was I a good boyfriend?'

Hermione knocked over the ink stand. As black liquid oozed into the stack of parchment, she stared round at him, her eyes confused.

'W-what did you say?'

'Was I a good boyfriend?'

'Ron, w-what kind of question is that? How should I know?'

'Well, we were snogging each other's faces off only yesterday⸺'

'Stop it!' Hermione whisper-shouted, her cheeks glowing. 'That's… that was different; our memories were wiped! We didn't know what we were doing!'

'I did. I… I liked dating you.'

Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a fish.

'A-and I know our memories were wiped,' Ron stammered, using Hermione's uncharacteristic silence to press on. 'But that doesn't mean it didn't mean anything! We were there for each other, weren't we? You helped me with my Quidditch, and I helped you with researching the mind wipe cure. I… I'll always treasure those memories.'

'B-but they weren't real!' Hermione said, her eyes tearing up again. 'We thought we were dating; we didn't realise we were just friends instead⸺'

'Who says we can't be both?' Ron argued, earnestly. 'You're my best friend, Hermione; I wouldn't ever change that. But that doesn't mean we couldn't be a couple at the same time! Don't you remember when we first got together? We said we must have been dating before the wipe because we liked each other so much; did you never think that maybe you weren't the only one barmy for someone?'

Hermione stared at him.

'Ron, you d-don't need to pretend for me,' she whispered, standing up from the table. 'I-I'll be happy just to stay friends⸺'

'Will you stop letting your insecurities speak for you, and just listen?!' Ron said, leaping out of his seat and grabbing her hand. 'I'm not pretending, I'm not just sparring your feelings⸺'

'B-but why⸺'

'BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, HERMIONE!'

There was a billowing silence.

Her eyes continuing to spill with tears, Hermione stared up at him.

'Y-you… you really mean it?' she whispered. 'P-please don't be lying, I can't bare any more heartbreak…'

'I mean it, Hermione.' Ron said, cupping her face softly in his hands. 'I love you.'

Without warning, Hermione surged forward, threw her arms around Ron's neck, and kissed him full on the mouth.

After a second of being dazed, Ron responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted her off her feet. Oh, Merlin; she was kissing him as she never had done before. Full of tenderness, passion and a sense of urgency that hadn't quite been there before. He never wanted to let her go. Hermione let out a moan against his lips, and Ron felt his passion grow.

Stumbling slightly, Ron lifted Hermione onto the table, and there they continued to kiss, Hermione's hands becoming entangled in his hair. Ron's own hands slipped down Hermione's back, and he felt gooseflesh erupt along the skin under her thin blouse⸺

'Miss Granger!'

The two teenagers broke apart. Madam Pince was stood a few feet away, and was angrily glaring at them.

'I would dearly hope that you don't intend to cause this much ruckus everytime you visit the library with Mr Weasley,' the vulture-like librarian seethed. 'Or is this a new form of prefect duties?'

'N-no,' Hermione stammered, her cheeks glowing red as she hurriedly climbed off the desk. 'W-we… we were just…'

'Terribly sorry, Madam Pince,' Ron said, cheerily, as he grabbed Hermione's hand. 'We'll be out of your way now.'

Grabbing their things, Ron and Hermione sprinted out of the library, hand in hand. They made for the great hall, but -in all honestly- neither of them were especially worried about being on-time for breakfast.