Author's Notes: I thought this was supposed to be a Ron/Hermione story. Draco and Ginny seem to be taking it over!
Thanks to my awesome beta, Kiri, who helps make sense of my ramblings!
Enjoy!
It was raining.
As a child, Hermione had always loved the rain. She used to sit in her bedroom window during summer storms and watch as the drops hit the panes; never the same pattern, never in the same spot. It was beautiful. And the soft thudding noises the rain made was like music, sometimes singing her to sleep.
Now she liked the rain for a different reason.
When it rained, Ron didn't have Quidditch practice, which meant that he had a whole two hours to devote solely to her. Two hours without prefect meetings, or homework, or rounds, or anything. One hundred twenty minutes to spend with her.
And that's where she found herself this rainy Saturday afternoon in late October. Ron lay on his back on her bed, she, curled into his side. Just laying there, reading, dozing, talking. It was perfect. She had waited a lifetime for this, and it was sure worth the wait.
She squeezed her arm around his chest and rolled her head up so she could see his face.
"What?" he asked, small smile playing on his lips as one arm (not the one that was around her, the other one) went immediately to play with her hair.
"Just thinking."
"Well, you're always thinking. Was there something specifically you wanted to talk about or are you letting your brain just run amok?"
"Well, since you asked, I was just thinking that I've never been happier than I am at this moment."
Well, after a comment like that, there was really nothing he could do but lean forward and kiss her. She should be rewarded for complimenting him in such a manner.
"Me too," he replied after backing away from her face, "although I do feel that there is a big 'but' headed my way in this conversation." She narrowed her eyes at him playfully.
"I didn't say that."
"It feels like your going to; something along the lines of 'but everyone else is so unhappy…'" Hermione plopped her head back on Ron's chest.
He was pretty sure he heard her say "everyone else can sod off" into his shirt.
"Well, Ms. Granger, I am appalled at your language!" he teased as he wrapped both arms around her. Not only was this an effective way to keep her near him, it was also a safety precaution. Rage-filled limbs knew no direction. He relaxed a bit when he felt her laughing against him. "Honestly, I am beginning to think that Malfoy is a bad influence on you."
"Then you should be sure to be around more to counteract that bad influence," she looked up at him once more, "why do I get the feeling that you are the one with the big 'but?'" She stared him down until he sighed and cracked. He never should have used that trick on her. She picked it up much too quickly.
"You know I'm happy, right?"
"Yes."
"And you know that I wouldn't change what's happened between us for anything, right?"
"But you feel guilty that we're happy, and those closest to us are not."
"Kinda, yeah. I mean, Harry and Ginny are putting up a good front and all, but it's just on the surface, just a…what do you call it?"
"Façade?"
"Yeah, a façade. I don't know what Ginny's trying to do, but honestly, it just pushed Harry closer to Luna. He's in a right state."
"How can you push someone to where they are already?" Hermione asked as she sat up and screwed a dirty look on her face. Oh, here we go. Ron sat up.
In the fallout of the events a week previously, Ron and Hermione had had several heated discussions on the topic of Harry and Luna and Ginny and Draco. Finally, when both became frustrated that the relationships of other people where screwing up their own, they declared a moratorium on the subject. Things had gone a lot more smoothly, for them anyway, afterwards.
Ron was actually quite shocked with the fury that Hermione held against Harry for his actions. He could only assume that perhaps this situation hit a little too close to home for her. He understood; he kind of felt that way himself sometimes. It didn't seem to matter to Ginny or Hermione that Harry wasn't "in love" with Luna, that they were just enjoying themselves. In fact, that appeared to make the situation worse.
The situation had just spiraled into the realm of the bizarre, and he was downright scared at how quickly and how clearly the battle lines were drawn. Hermione did not feel one ounce of sympathy for Harry, even after, or especially after, Ginny and Draco had begun dating. Ron knew that Hermione still kept an eye on Harry and they were still friends, but she had made it abundantly clear that she was very angry with Harry for his decisions. Ron understood the temptation that Luna must have brought Harry. He understood the hormonal urges that Harry was going through, he had them too. While he was pissed that Ginny was hurting because of it, he would rather have his friend getting his rocks off somewhere else than ravaging his sister. Therefore, Ron had been on the fence.
Until Ginny announced that she was dating Draco Malfoy.
Draco Malfoy for Christ's sake!
Ron really was starting to believe that Draco had cast some sort of mesmerism charm on both Hermione and Ginny. Here were two perfectly intelligent, usually sane, females who had considered him an enemy up until that year. Now one was living with him and the other was dating him. It defied logic.
Believing, or at least telling himself, that two wrongs don't make a right, Ron had sided with Harry. He also spent as much time in Hermione's suite as possible, trying to keep an eye on the git. Being around his girlfriend was just an added benefit.
Hence the stress on Ron and Hermione's relationship.
So why were they bringing it up now?
Hermione took a deep breath. "Things have been going really well with us. Why are we starting this discussion again when we know exactly where it will lead?"
"Dunno…" Ron sighed as he pushed himself into a sitting position against the headboard, "why can't everything just be perfect?"
"And what would perfect look like?" her voice was soft, matching the way her face looked when he met her eyes.
"Well, Harry and Ginny would stop being stupid, for one thing," Ron huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked away from her. He couldn't look at her and be so honest. "They should be going out, in a nice, committed, completely sexless relationship."
"Sexless, huh?" she giggled a little bit.
"Sexless until they get married anyway, you know, like a decade from now."
"That's a long time."
"Not really, not if you really love the person…"
How romantic Ron was, Hermione thought, and how conservative.
"Ok, so Harry and Ginny dating only each other, with no sex involved, for ten years. And that would be perfect? What about Draco?"
"He can go jump off a cliff, for all I care." Hermione laughed.
"Suicide for Draco, then. What about you?"
"What about me?" he sounded slightly annoyed.
"So far, your picture of perfect is just for other people. Where does Ron Weasley fit into all this?"
"I fit here," he said, still not looking at her, but reaching out to take her hand in his, "you're perfect, and I'm…well…I'm working on it."
She didn't say anything, and it scared the hell out of him. He didn't feel brave enough to raise his eyes until he felt her other hand close over his. Her mouth was hanging open and she had an awestruck expression on her face.
"That's the most amazing thing anyone has ever said to me."
"Well…I did say I was working on it."
Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team stood in the locker room waiting to take the field for another game. Everyone was ready, except for one.
"Where's Ron?" asked Colin. Harry made a face and pointed to the bathroom where someone could be heard retching. Colin also made a face.
"He's still doing that?" asked Lavender, adjusting her robes.
"It's been three years, you'd think he'd be used to it by now," replied Harry.
"Maybe he should stop eating before the games," reasoned Dean.
"He gets worse if he doesn't eat," answered Harry again.
"Oh, come on," said Ginny, walking to the bathroom door and pounding on it, "Ron, we have to go! Get out here. You're our Keeper for crying out loud." The door opened and a very pale Ron stuck his head out. Satisfied, the rest of the team grabbed their gear and headed for the field.
"You alright?" asked Harry, helping his friend.
"You ask me every game, and every game, I'm fine."
"Yeah, you'd better be, I want that Quidditch Cup this year."
"And I want that perfect record. Let's go."
The triumphant Gryffindor team flew out onto the field to the sound of cheers from their housemates in the stands. Seamus Finnegan's voice came over the loud speaker to announce them.
Hermione and Neville stood together in the Gryffindor stands wearing the jerseys of their favorite Weasleys with Parvati, Hagrid, and Luna. Ginny had asked her best cheerleader, Neville, to wear her extra jersey. Hermione had somehow acquired Ron's. She looked at her boyfriend through binoculars.
"He looks so pale," she said.
"He was probably throwing up again," replied Neville.
"After three years, you'd think he'd be used to it by now," reasoned Parvati.
"This is Ron we're talking about," quipped Neville.
Hermione kept her eyes on her boyfriend.
"Look up, look up," she repeated quietly.
Ron's eyes met hers through the lens.
"There he is!" she cried, thrusting her arm into the air and waving furiously.
"Hermione, how do you even know he sees you?" asked Luna.
"He knows," said Neville as Hermione continued to wave.
Ron scanned the Gryffindor stands just as he did before every game, looking for Hermione. Well, he wasn't really looking since he couldn't actually see her. He just moved his eyes over the crowd until he got a tingle in his spine. For some reason, Ron always kind of thought that the tingles were a signal that she was near. He got about halfway through the stands when he felt it. He shot his hand up and waved.
"How do you even know where she is?" asked Lavender.
"Oh," replied Harry, "he knows."
It was a great game, ending in yet another Gryffindor victory. Ron and Harry left the locker room with Dean and Lavender to find their friends. Seamus, Neville, Parvati, and Hermione stood in a clump in the hallway.
Ron went over to his girlfriend to get his kiss.
"The two of you are so cute, I think I'm getting a toothache," remarked Parvati.
"Well, Parvati dear, from now on we will keep your dental health foremost in mind," quipped Ron, "Where's Ginny gone off too? We thought she had gone out early to meet up with you all."
"She's fighting with Malfoy," supplied Neville.
"We don't know that," said Parvati.
"Well, he didn't look too happy when he saw her," said Seamus.
"Well, that's not good," said Harry absently. Hermione glared at him, while everyone pretended not to notice.
Just then, Ginny walked down the hall. She looked very angry and was so flushed her skin nearly matched her hair. She joined the group with arms crossed over her chest.
"Everything alright?" asked Hermione.
"Just ducky," Ginny replied.
"I see, so you are just going for that 'all over red' look, then?" teased Ron. Then he got serious, "Need me to go kick his ass?"
Ginny smiled. "I don't think that will be necessary. I gave him a pretty good verbal ass kicking."
"Well, you've gotta love that Weasley temper," said Harry, putting one arm around Ginny's shoulders, "Let's go get some food. I'm starved."
"Yeah, and I'm sure that Ron needs to replace all the food that he threw up before the game," said Lavender.
"Oh, Ron, are you still doing that?" voiced a very concerned Hermione, "It's been three years!"
"I know, I know, I know…" said Ron tiredly as they made their way down the hall.