For Longer Than Forever: Ch. 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter® or any of the entities involved.

Ron and Hermione found themselves stared at from all directions. Anyone who didn't know about them before definitely knew now. They found, now, that they weren't sure they liked the attention as much as they did before. Then it was a novelty. Now it was a constant. Nobody but Harry and Ginny needed to now how constant it really was. They released their hands and smiled nervously at the large group of people, who were now staring at Hermione's left hand. At first, she didn't know why, but she quickly realized the reason. She was embarrassed, but she wasn't sure why. It wasn't that she didn't want anyone to know, but she didn't expect it to be projected to such a large variation.

The first person to make a sound was Cormac McLaggen, who really didn't speak, but grunted, and looked as if he wanted to choke Ron. Hermione gave Cormac a Look and said, "If you even touch him, you will be castrated. Got that?"

Ron almost laughed at how much she acted like her father. It was the same look and similar words. Ron, instead, looked at Cormac with pity and said, "Not only castrated. She has connections."

Cormac looked nervously at Hermione, and she nodded grimly. So he restrained himself to giving Ron a contemptuous look and walk off.

Harry shook his head in pity at this site and said, "Git just can't give up can he? It's just sad that he can't just find an equally stupid girl and forget about her, isn't it?"

"How could he be expected to forget about such a nearly perfect woman?" Ron asked, then realized that the common room was still full. "Good night, Hermione."

"Good night, Ron," Hermione replied, giving Ron a kiss on the cheek, and heading up to her room. She lay there in her room and read until Ginny came in and told her that she was going to stay in the room with the rest of the sixth years that night. Then, she turned off her lights and decided to sleep.

She lay there in the silence and, suddenly, she felt almost... empty. She pulled her legs up to her chest and balled up on her side, and whimpered. She almost cried, as she became more painfully aware that she couldn't live without him. She couldn't sleep because she had fallen asleep in his arms since that fateful dance.

She sat there for awhile, and then, suddenly, she had an idea. She got out of her bed and quietly opened her door, sneaking over to the Head Boy's dorm. She opened the door and slipped in, softly shaking Ron. "Ron...Ron." She whispered.

He turned over and looked at her, opening his mouth to speak, but Hermione put her index finger over his mouth and took his hand, pulling him out of the room. When they got to her room, and closed the door, she said, "I couldn't sleep. How could I ever live without you? I can't even fall asleep without you." One lone tear slipped down her cheek, slowly, and Ron wiped it away, and took her into his arms, lightly touching his lips to hers.

He went and laid down, stretching his arm out over her pillow, inviting her to lay there. She accepted the invitation, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders while she turned over onto her side curling up next to his warm body, draping her arm over his chest, quietly whimpering again at the elation that filled her.

In her ear, he whispered, "I love you." She sobbed and moved closer to him.

"I love you too," She said, continuing to cry. Ron held her to his chest, stroking her hair, and telling her, "It's going to be alright. Things will get better."

Little by little, she calmed down, and turned over to a box with little buttons and dials on it and put a little flat circle into it.

"Hermione, what are you doing?"

"I'm playing some music. This little disc is called a CD and it plays music. I've bewitched this music player to play on magic instead of electricity."

"Oh."

"I love this music. My favorite singers, Celine Dion and Bonnie Tyler, are on this CD." A song started playing when she pressed a button with a triangle on it.

"Whispers in the moonlight of lovers sleepin' tight," Hermione sang softly along with the woman. "I always loved this song. I used to think it was because of the voice, but now I also love it because of the lyrics. It was my dream that we could be the lovers in that song."

Then she pressed a button with two triangles on it. It made the song switch to a piano solo. It sounded sad, and soon a voice came through saying, "Turn around." Then, woman's voice came in with, "Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never comin' 'round." Hermione was singing with her.

"I always sang this song word for word, but I never paid attention to the words until last year. I started paying attention to the words of every song last year."

She was quiet as she listened to the song, and Ron saw in the moonlight, that she was mouthing the words. When the song ended another came on, there was no commentary for this one. She let it speak for itself.

"Used to be that I believed in something. Used to be that I believed in love. It's been a long time since I've had that feeling. I could love someone. I could trust someone. I said I'd never let nobody near my heart again, darlin'. I said I'd never let nobody in. But if you asked me to, I just might change my mind and let you in my life forever. If you asked me to, I just might give my heart and stay here in your arms forever. If you asked me to, if you asked me to."

Ron fell in love with her all over again then. He knew that she thought this song of him. That made him want to marry her right then and there. He kissed her deeply, wanting her know that he thought this was the best thing that ever happened to him. She kissed him back, just as deeply.

When the kiss ended, she said, "I also love music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. He's my favorite composer."

Ron gave her a look that clearly said, "Who?"

"You've never heard of him? I guess I'll have to play that tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Who said I'm coming back tomorrow?"

"Oh. Well, if you don't want to that's fine," she said, looking out the window. Ron could see tears welling up in her eyes. She needed him to come back tomorrow.

"Of course I'll be back tomorrow. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

At that, Hermione's tears slipped out. He was so unbelievably sweet. She loved him so much.

He held her and soon she fell asleep in his arms. He couldn't believe the wonderful joy he felt at that moment. The feeling of her lying next to him, breathing deeply, was comforting and left him feeling as if he could never love anyone more than he loved her.

The next morning, Hermione woke Ron up at six, and told him to get dressed. "You have to go back to your bed so nobody will find out about this."

"What if I don't care if people find out?" Ron asked her cheekily.

"I do care. Whether you do or not. You will go back to your room," Hermione told him.

"Yes, Mum," Ron said pointedly.

"Love you, too," Hermione said, kissing Ron and pushing him out the door.

He laughed and sneaked back into his room, just to find Harry and Ginny waiting for him.

"Where have you been?! I wake up this morning to find that you weren't here! Now I demand to know where you were at all hours of the night!" Ginny shouted.

"I was in Hermione's room. Any other demanding questions?"

"Not really," Harry said, doubling over in laughter.

"I have a question. Would you mind switching roommates?"

"Like from you to your sister?"

"I don't have a problem with it," Ginny informed them.

"Well, good. Now Hermione is the only one to be informed."

"No, she isn't," Hermione said, standing in the doorway.

"Ok, then. Well, if that's settled, then I guess I should go get my stuff." Ron said.

"I should, too," Ginny said.

They crossed to their rooms and magicked their bags full of stuff to switch rooms. When that was done, Ron went back to bed. Going back to sleep, Hermione looked at him and laughed. She couldn't sleep once she'd been woken up. She started to organize Ron's things into her dressers, and saw Ron's favorite Chudley Cannons shirt and changed into that and a pair of jeans. She loved his smell, and wearing his shirt gave her a thrill, because she could smell him constantly. Then, she continued to put his stuff away, until he woke up quietly, and asked her, "What are you wearing?"

"Your Chudley Cannons shirt," Hermione answered, blushing.

"It looks good on you. Better than it does on me anyway. It doesn't clash with your hair," Ron replied. He got up and, standing behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist. "It is, however, clashing horribly with your cheeks, love." He laughed and kissed the reddened cheek, looking at the pair of them in the mirror.

"We make a good looking pair, don't we?" Hermione joked.

"We most certainly do," Ron said, unwrapping his arms, and grabbing one hand, leading her down the Head Boy and Girl's hall and into the Common Room.

It was almost empty, except for Harry and Ginny, who were sitting very close to each other, quietly talking. Just talking. Hermione could faintly hear Ginny laughing, and soon Harry followed. After a moment, Ron kept leading Hermione out of the door, and down to the first level. He went into the Great Hall, instructing Hermione to stay at the door. He came out with a stack of toast and asked her, "Would you like to take a walk?"

It was dejá vu. She nodded and he continued outside. "So...what did you have in mind? For the wedding, I mean."

"I like the dresses and suits, but I don't want to be a big production. We don't need lots of flowers, or a huge guest list, or a band or orchestra. I really don't care. Just the Order and Luna and Neville." She looked him in the eye and he nodded. She continued. "I just want to marry you. I don't care how it happens."

"I don't either," Ron said. "My life dream has been to marry you, and I never cared how."

"Then, it's settled. We marry as easily as possible on Christmas Eve."

"As simple as that. Well, then, I guess we should be getting to class," Ron stated, almost as if he had planned to be that easy.

"But Ron, it's only 7:15. What will we ever do with the time?" Hermione asked, too innocently.

"How about this?" Ron kissed her with passion. Her love was an endless burning thirst, an almost need, that was quenched by her kiss. If he had to live without her...he shuddered inwardly at the thought. There was no way he could live. There was no one as perfect as Hermione, she was as close as it got. When he wasn't in her presence, it was as if half of his self was missing. Voldemort and the Death Eaters took on a new form of fear in Ron at the thought of them killing her. He wanted to kill anyone who talked to her rudely. If someone killed her...it was too horrible to think about.

Hermione kissed him as if this kiss were her last. It was a pure, loving kiss, not just tongues groping endlessly. Kissing was the easiest way she could converse her love. But you could kiss someone you didn't care about as many times as you wanted, and no matter how many times you kissed them, even if they liked you, if you didn't love them, it still wouldn't mean a thing. So, she also had to use different methods of communication. Sometimes, love could be the easiest thing on Earth, but it can also be a complicated as a labyrinth with 100 dead ends. Mary Jane loves Josh, but Josh loves Violet, who loves Katherine, and Katherine loves Alex, but Alex loves Mary Jane. That may sound complicated, but that can be unraveled in seconds. Some problems with love can't be solved in a lifetime, let alone 30 seconds. Hermione thought of all the people out there who secretly loved someone, but they couldn't tell them about it, for fear of rejection. All the people who loved so many, but weren't loved in return. She suddenly remembered that only a month ago, she had been one of those people. It seemed a lifetime ago.

Would you like to dance?

Those words had completely changed her life. It seemed almost amazing to her that a simple request, a question, could be the greatest change in someone's life.

They broke apart, unwillingly. Hermione was deep in thought at that point and Ron looked at her, puzzled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I was thinking about...a lot of things," Hermione finished. It was all still a little overwhelming.

"What kind things?"

"Love...All kinds of things about love," She said. Then, she told him everything she had been thinking.

"I'm the biggest thing that's ever happened to you since you came here?" Ron said, flattered, but thinking that she was the same to him.

"You were the biggest thing, then, too. My whole world, my life revolves around you."

"Mine, too. I couldn't live without you." He shuddered again, at the thought of trying. Hermione stood silently for a moment, admiring her ring, and wondering how he had paid for it.

"Ron," Hermione started, then decided to rephrase her question. "What were you saving up for? That you bought my ring instead."

"Does it really matter?" Ron asked, not really wanting to answer.

"Not really, but I want to know so terribly," Hermione replied, with sad eyes. He mumbled something incoherent and she questioned him again. "What was that?"

"A Firebolt, and I had almost saved the money for it, too. It suddenly didn't matter anymore. It wasn't as important as the ring was," Ron revealed.

Hermione was so touched, she couldn't speak. She opened and closed her mouth silently, and Ron inquired, "What's wrong?"

"I'm touched. Simply touched that you would spend all that money on this ring. I don't know how to express..." She trailed off. She looked at her ring again. She now saw how large the diamond really was. "How did you know which one to buy?"

"I picked the one that reminded me of you most. This one stood out. It sparkled in the sunlight, like your eyes when you smile. It seemed like something you might wear. It wasn't spectacularly large, but it certainly wasn't the smallest in the store. It was simplicity magnified. Does that make any sense?" Ron said, looking exasperated at the thought that he wasn't making sense.

"It makes perfect sense to me," Hermione said, reaching for his hand and entwining her fingers with his as they continued up to the school.

"Hermione, if I hadn't loved you, if I had decided to marry Lavender, and I asked you to help me with the wedding plans, would you have? Just a question... I have so many pointless questions in my head."

Hermione didn't even have to think about it, "I would have smiled and told you, of course I would help you. Then, I would go to bed that night and cry myself to sleep. I would continue to help you, even though I loved you, because I loved you. As I said that night at the hospital, I want you to be happy no matter if you were with Lavender or anybody else because I love you. And I would still love you, no matter if you weren't with me. You are intoxicating, Ron. Like a drug I am in constant proximity to, something I would have to go to rehibilitation if I were to ever give it up. I would want to be in your presence whether you loved me or not." She told him every thought rolling around in her head, for she had thought about this many times before, when he was still with Lavender.

"Wow," Ron marveled. "How do you know that's what you would have done? If you had decided to marry some other git, I would have gone and beat him to a bloody pulp. There would be no more of him."

"Really?" Hermione laughed. "Is that what happened to Viktor?"

"No," Ron said. "Vicky's just a thorn in my ass. He didn't ask you to marry him." He seemed a little ruffled at the question.

"Are you so sure of that?"

"Pretty damn. Or his ass would be blown to bits, and mine would be in Azkaban."

"Language, Ronald," Hermione scolded. "Viktor was actually trying to help me get together with you."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked. "Because he can 'mysteriously disappear' if you want him to." He seemed a bit too eager.

She laughed in spite of herself. "I'm sure. Ron, how do you do it? How do you take a completely somber moment and make me laugh."

"I was being completely serious. I would beat Viktor Krum to a pulp for you, if you wanted. I would do anything for you. I would die for you. Anything you asked for would be yours. I love you, Hermione. And I don't feel worthy of your love, but I thank God that you feel I deserve it, and that you love me, too."

"For what it's worth, Ron, you are more than worthy of my love. Whether you know it or not, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm glad that you took that chance and asked me to dance with you. If you hadn't, we could still be the awkward pair that we were a month ago." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek as they entered the doors to the great school they called "home" 7 months of the year and would be eternally in debt to for bringing them together.

A/N: I know…longer than usual! I was inspired.

R and R!