Chapter 6
The grandfather clock in the common room rang one in the morning. Ron groaned and threw off the blankets. He roughly grabbed the extra blanket off his bed and practically stomped out of the room, slamming the door after him. Harry woke at the noise and looked over at Ron's bed. Ginny stirred and snuggled closer to Harry.
"Another sleepless night." Harry muttered to himself. He kissed Ginny's forehead then closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.
Ron clambered down the stairs and threw the blanket on the couch. He paced in front of the fireplace a few times. Suddenly he stopped, yelled in frustration, then sighed. Sleep would not come for him tonight. His mind would not shut off.
He took a deep breath and turned to the bookshelves on either side of the fireplace. "There has to be something in here that will put me to sleep." Ron thought out loud. He looked through the titles and after a few minutes or so, he pulled off a dusty copy of Goblin Rebellions of the late 1600s. He took the book and flopped down onto the couch. He covered himself with the blanket, leaned against the armrest and opened the book.
Hermione slept most of the night, tossing and turning most of it. She woke around 8:30 in the morning, tired of rolling around in her bed. She threw the covers off, and moved over to the wardrobe. She pulled out some clothes and got dressed. She grabbed a book from her nightstand and headed down the stairs to the common room to sit by the fire and read.
When she entered the common room she heard a faint noise. She looked around the room for the maker of the noise and found a body sleeping on the couch. She set her book on one of the study tables and moved closer to the couch. The closer she got the more she could realize that the sleeping figure was struggling in their dreams.
As she stepped around the couch she saw the red hair and new it was Ron. As she stepped closer, he began to toss more violently.
"No, no, no..." he mumbled.
Hermione moved closer to him and kneeled next to the couch. She put a hand on his chest and tired to wake him. When he would not wake, she gently repeated his name.
"Ron," she said slightly louder as she shook him harder. This time his eyes opened and he jumped up. She noticed right away that his forehead was sweaty and he had dark circles under his eyes.
"Hermione," he breathed when he saw her. His green eyes immediately grabbed her brown eyes. Gently he reached up and touched her cheek. Her eyes widened a little at his gesture. Her heart had begun to beat faster. Then suddenly something happened that she had not been expecting. Ron leaned down and kissed her on the lips.
When his lips touched hers, her eyes snapped shut. Her heart beat against the inside of her chest. Within seconds she reacted to his push with one of her own. Slowly she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair.
At that moment Ron pulled away as he realized that he was not dreaming. He pushed himself off the couch and ran for the portrait hole.
AN: Chapter edited 6-3-07