Chapter 7

Hermione's eyes blinked open and she saw Ron just slipping out of the room. Suddenly her heart twisted and uncontrollable tears flooded her eyes and a waterfall fell down her face.

As she turned and sat with her back against the couch, she began to toss about what had just happened in her mind. She wasn't quite sure what had happened. She didn't know why Ron had just kissed her. She just knew that she had enjoyed it. It was much how she had imagined a kiss between them might have been like in the thick of battle. Rough and hungry yet insecure and loving. Many times when they had been so close to death she had pictured him pulling her close to him and kissing her just the way he had just now. And when death had been staring her right in the eyes, she had hated a part of her for never having had kissed him the way she had dreamed of.

But no, they had never kissed during the war; never kissed at all. Ron was too busy being the hero and looking out for everyone else. There had been moments though that she had almost thought that he would but instead he just squeezed her tightly. There had been a moment even when she had wanted to, and almost had kissed him. He had just saved her from Bellatrix and they both had been breathing hard. Hermione had sat on the ground and he had knelt down beside her to make sure she was okay.

"Are you okay?" He had asked, looking into her eyes to see if they held any signs of pain. She had nodded, looking back into his eyes.

They had paused there for nearly a minute. Hermione had felt a pull towards him and had leaned in. But before their lips had touched, they had heard Ginny scream and Ron had rushed off to help her.

By now she knew that Ron liked her. And she, too, liked him. They had been playing around the fact for years now but neither one had relented in their stubbornness and so it had still gone unsaid and undeclared. Since the war Hermione felt even more in love with him because she had almost lost the one person her heart truly did not want to ever lose so many times. She had wanted to tell him so many times while they had been resting and recuperating in St. Mungo's but she never could. He still seemed to believe that things weren't over with the war. That he would have to fight more battles. She knew he was still in survival mode and she had told herself that as long as he was in survival mode, she couldn't tell him. He would have taken her love as being of the best friend sort, like how she felt about Harry. It seemed to be the thing with war that one did not discuss or admit to true love while fighting in battle.

Finally when they returned to their beloved school she hoped that the classrooms, hallways and the Quidditch pitch would bring him out of his survival mode and turn him into his old self. But it hadn't. He was irritable, angry, and always in a deep depressed mood. He was nothing like how he used to be. She hadn't expected him to be fully the Ron he had been before the war but she at least hoped that he would start kidding around and joking like he used to. Others who had fought were returning to their old ways. Even she had tried to return to her old ways. But her dreams had kept her mind back in the war instead of the here and now. Maybe that was why Ron was still in such a bad temper and survival mode.

Suddenly there were footsteps on the boys' dorm stairs and Hermione looked up. Harry stepped into the common room and looked around. He spotted Hermione on the floor by the couch and stepped toward her when he noticed she was crying.

"Hermione are you all right?" he asked as he stepped around the couch. She jumped up and looked at him, wiping the last of the tears from her cheeks.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just having a bit of a flashback." She replied. Harry stepped forward and touched her shoulder.

"He loves you Hermione. He really does." He said rubbing her shoulder a little. She nodded.

"I know. But just as friends. He can't love me any other way now." She said as she pushed past Harry, feeling the tears filling her eyes again. Harry turned and watched her climb her dorm steps.

"He loves her. She loves him. Why must things be so complicated? What did I save the world for if love can not live?" Harry pondered out loud as he shook his head and headed back up to his dorm to get dressed.

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Ron wandered the hallways, his bare feet pounding against the hard, cold floor.

"What the hell did I just do?" Ron shouted as he smacked his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair. "I kissed her. That's what I did."

His dream had been another nightmare. He wasn't sure when he had actually nodded off, but the last thing he remembered was the Goblin battle of 1594.

The dream had been like his many other dreams, taking place during the war but things had gone slightly different. In this dream, he had confessed his true hidden feelings for Hermione.

They had stood together in the middle of the final battle. Both had just nearly escaped death and were breathing heavily. He had looked up at her and suddenly caught her eyes. Those eyes were staring at him, full of what he discerned as passion. Then he said it.

"Hermione, I love you." He had declared as he pulled her tightly against him and kissing her hard. She bent her head back and melted against his body, letting him caress her lips. Soon she fell into the rhythm and began to press back.

Suddenly there were shouts and blasts that had forced the couple apart. They both had looked around in search of where the blasts were coming from. People were rushing all around frantic. He had grabbed Hermione again, holding her against his chest as he looked around for the spell casting Death Eater.

Then they heard it. The deep snake like voice of the Dark Lord. Before either could move, a hiss screamed "Avada Kedarva" and a flash of green light surrounded them. When it passed, Hermione had lay limp in Ron's arms.

"Hermione!" Ron had shouted as he slipped down to his knees, laying her body on his lap. Seeing her limp brought tears to his eyes and he held her body to his chest as he had cried over it.

When Ron had awoken and saw her there, alive in front of him, he couldn't hold back. His emotions and adrenaline were running high and they had pushed him to do what his normal mind and body could not do alone.

"Well now she knows how I feel about her." Ron grumbled out loud as he neared the prefect's bathroom. "Who am I bloody kidding? She's known for years now."

Ron stopped in front of the picture and muttered the password "Squeaky clean." The portrait opened and Ron stepped into the bathroom. Still grumbling, he headed for the toilets.

AN: Chapter edited 6-3-07