"Kiss me Ron," Hermione said, "I've been waiting for your kiss for far too long!"
Hermione closed the gap between him and her. She lunged out and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her hands found their way into his hair, getting a firm grip on them. They were standing on the edge of a lake, in the middle of the summer. The rays of the warm, brooding sun had fallen over them like a muffling blanket. Ron's body was covered in sweat; both his and Hermione's. She was looking into his eyes with a long, tender stare. Her slender physique and pretty chocolate eyes made his knees feel wobbly and his head feel light. She drew closer, nearly close enough for contact, their first kiss. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers. Her lips parted and she ferociously kissed him, in a wet and enthusiastic way. When he opened his eyes, he noticed her hair was blonde and straight, and her nose had a small scar on it. He pushed her away from him, not understanding how Hermione had changed into Lavender.
"You're hiding something from me Ron," she said, "and I'll get to the bottom of it."
Ron woke up silently, still vaguely confused with Hermione transforming into Lavender. He was about to sit up straight when he suddenly heard a familiar voice beside him.
"Just you wait, after I've gone through your belongings, you won't be able to deny it. Wait till I have proof."
Lavender was sitting next to his bed, rummaging with his trunk. He heard her fingering the padlock, locked by the colloportus charm, which only allowed the padlock to be opened by Ron.
"Really Ron, you could at least try to be a good boyfriend," she mumbled, "Couldn't you just pay more attention to me? You act as if I'm some horrible person, completely unlike another girl."
Lavender took her wand out of her pyjamas and tried to open the lock. Nothing seemed to work. Even the alohamora and dissendium charms didn't work on it. She even tried pulling it hard and searched for a key under his bed.
"Bollocks, it's closed. Looks like you've got something big to hide," she said angrily, "But I'll find out what it is before the end! I thought you were cute, brave and tender, but you're nothing what I expected."
She walked back to the door, pausing momentarily to look over her shoulder.
"Perhaps," she said, "I should just dump you, you worthless boyfriend."
Minutes passed before Ron moved, not because he was afraid to be heard, but because of what she had said. Ron had never expected her to be so disappointed in him. Her words had already begun to gnaw their way down from his ears to his heart. Ron felt like he was the most horrible, insensitive person around. How could he ever have thought that he was anything remotely like his father, if his first girlfriend already complained about him?
If Lavender thinks I'm not good as a boyfriend, what would Hermione think of me? Does she think I'm bad boyfriend material? Bollocks! I guess I'm bad at everything, quidditch, school, prefect duty and above all, love.
The next morning was a subdued one. It was Saturday, and today would be the day he would have his apparation exam. Hermione and he would be walking to Hogsmeade together. This made him feel slightly better. He met up with her after breakfast, to pick up the Ministry's pamphlet about common apparation mistakes from a classroom near the Hufflepuf common room. His mood hadn't improved much, as Lavender seemed to ignore him completely when he walked by.
"Hermione," he asked as they walked to the classroom, "Do you think I'm a bad boyfriend?"
Hermione gave a short laugh, but refrained herself from laughing further.
"I don't think I'm the person to ask really. Go ask Lavender."
"I heard her this night, she told me I was horrible at being a boyfriend."
Hermione looked appalled, "Why did she say such a thing?"
"She didn't know I was awake. She crept into our dormitories, trying to open my trunk."
"Listen Ron, " she said with a certain graininess in her voice, which made it sound unsure and uncomfortable. "You're a lovely guy. You really are, and Lavender doesn't know what she's talking about. She only thinks of you as 'Gryffindor's popular quidditch keeper'. She only likes you because you are popular. If you want my opinion, I think you're swell, and you'll be a great boyfriend for someone who loves you for who you are...!"
Ron's mood instantly did an about face. Hermione had said she thought he was "swell"! Her words kept repeating in his head, making him feel euphoric. He smiled at her broadly as he lifted her off her feet.
"Ron, what are you doing? Put me down!" Hermione asked as he rotated on the spot several times. He laughed, and she laughed with him. After he had put her down, she straightened her hair a little (for as far as that was possible) and walked off with him to the classroom. To outsiders, they might have looked like a young couple in love. To Padma Patil, they certainly did. She instantly turned around and walked up to the Fat Lady's portrait.
After picking up the pamphlet and eating lunch, Ron and Hermione met up with Harry and went outside for the first day of spring. The air was nice and blue, reflecting off the giant squid's lake as though it was a freshly painted picture. Small white puffs of clouds passed through it like sheep in a sapphire meadow. Ron and Hermione were reading the ministry's pamphlet carefully:
INCOMPLETE CONCENTRATION RESULTS IN INCOMPLETE RESULTS!
If you feel you can't concentrate enough to apparate, ask for assistance. Recent study has shown that seventy-five percent of all apparation-related injuries were caused by unconcentrated witches and wizards. Common injuries related to unconcentrated effort are: Splinching, apparation into solid objects, falling hundreds of meters from the sky, being buried hundreds of meters under the ground and dehydration.
"I'm not sure whether apparation is my preferred mode of transportation" Ron said uneasily.
"I'm more interested into what the other twenty-five percent were caused by," Hermione said, making Ron feel even more uneasily, "It's often the things people 'forget' to mention that are most important."
Ron reread the message and gulped.
"I'm going to try and 'forget' you've ever said that."
Harry chuckled and took out the Marauders map. After the lines started forming on it, and the small, labelled dots appeared in the freshly drawn corridors, Harry gave a short snort.
"He's back in there again. I can see Crabbe standing guard in front of the statue of Boris the Bewildered."
Hermione rolled her eyes up behind Harry's back. "Perhaps," she said, "you should spend more time at getting Slughorn's memory?"
Harry closed the marauders map and put it back into his bag. "I know, I know, don't start with me again."
NEVER APPARATE IF YOU HAVE TRUFFLES OR SILVER THIMBLES WITH YOU!
There have been several reports of wizards and witches apparating to the moon instead of their intended destinations. For hitherto unknown reasons, apparation with certain objects cause this very unusual side effect. Recent study has proven that truffles and silver thimbles are among the objects that cause this erratic behaviour. If you are apparating and find yourself on the moon, try to contact one of our officials immediately. Deliberate apparation to the moon to collect moonstones is prohibited, offenders WILL be dealt with accordingly.
"Fancy a trip to the moon Hermione?", Ron joked.
"I heard it's actually quite boring there. Microgravity is fun for a while, but impossible to play exploding snap in."
"I guess there's no problem as long as you don't take truffles or thimbles with you," Ron said merrily.
"They are among items causing erratic behaviour. So there are more, unidentified objects..."
"I'm pretending I never heard that, Hermione..."
Harry was gazing over the field, at the direction of some girls walking in the direction of the Whomping Willow. One of them had long, red hair, flowing behind her gently as she walked.
"Thinking about ways to get into the Room of Requirement again?" Hermione asked.
Harry seemed to snap out of some deep thought process and mumbled something inaudible. Hermione told Harry firmly to forget about Malfoy. Soon afterwards, a girl came up to Harry and gave him Hagrid's note, asking them to come to Aragog's funeral. Reading Hargid's note, Ron became acutely aware of the several very important things he had to do that evening.
"Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?" Harry said bitterly, after Hermione had suggested softening up Slughorn during potions. Ron thought about this. Only sheer dumb luck could help Harry get that memory. Hermione might still have thought that Slughorn would give the memory up out of friendship, but Ron never doubted the fact that Slughorn was too stubborn. Harry would need all the luck he could get.
"Lucky," Ron said, "Harry, that's it. Get lucky!"
Hermione looked at him in surprise. "Why didn't I think of it?"
Harry seemed to be rather reluctant. He appeared to have been saving the potion for something else. After Harry becoming absent-minded again (something that happened quite often these days), they decided to use the potion that evening.
Ron looked at Hermione. She seemed to be thrilled about the idea of using Felix Felicis to get the memory. When she looked at him, he could see the marvel in her eyes. She winked at him, hinting him how smart she thought he was. After this, Ron's humour rocketed up faster than Harry's firebolt would ever be able to take him.
It plummeted at about the same speed when the bell tolled. Their exam would be starting soon, and Ron wasn't feeling too sure about his abilities as an apparater.
"You'll do fine" Harry said, when they walked to the entrance hall.
At least I will be able to enjoy another Hogsmeade visit with Hermione, Ron thought, whether I pass the exam or not.
The trip to Hogsmeade went by like a whirlwind of emotions and felt oddly hastened to Ron. It felt like time had decided to speed up so the test would be arriving sooner. In no-time, Ron was standing in a queue, waiting to apparate into the hoop fifty yards in the distance. Everyone was lined up in alphabetical order. When it was time for "Granger, Hermione", Ron noticed she looked back at him. She quickly pointed at her head then her chest. Then, she closed her eyes and with a soft "plop", she disapparated.
Odd time to be pointing out she is a girl, really..
The line became increasingly shorter as names kept getting called. After "Verney, Jacob", the seventh year that failed last exam apperated into the hoop, it was time for "Weasley, Ronald".
Ron stepped forward, closed his eyes and tried to apperate. It wasn't going very well, until he realized what Hermione had meant with her pointing at herself.
He imagined Hermione, standing in front of the hoop. Her bushy hair flowing in the wind, her arms outstretched, waiting for him to hug her. Ron felt quite guilty, knowing he was supposed to have those thoughts for Lavender. Ron felt that odd, squeezing feeling in his stomach, just before his body would be disapperated. Ron's thoughts strayed for just a second to Lavender, causing a tiny ripple in his concentration.
When Ron reappeared, the examiner gave him a long look. Suddenly, his eyes strayed to Ron's eyebrows.
"I'm sorry son, you left something behind. I can't let you pass."
Hermione walked up to Ron and the examiner.
"That's being rather strict," she said angrily, "Can't you make an exception? It's only half an eyebrow!"
"And half an eyebrow," the examiner said, "is about thirty hairs too much. I don't make exceptions."
"That's codswallop, and you know it!" Hermione retorted furiously, "A simple thing like a breath of wind can distract even the most skilled wizard."
"Hermione," Ron said calmly, "Relax. The examiner is right. You either pass, or you don't. Perhaps next time, I will apparate and lose a limb. I don't plan on using apparation anytime soon anyway."
Ron and Hermione walked back to Hogwarts in a subdued mood. Hermione kept telling him how much she felt like the examiner was too harsh. "Next time, you will do brilliantly." Ron looked at her. It was so sweet of her to keep trying to cheer him up, even though she must have been very excited about passing.
"Hermione," Ron said, "Thanks for being there for me."
"Well, I guess that's what you-know-whats are for."
"You-know-whats?" Ron asked, "You mean licenced apparators?"
Hermione flushed red immediately. "Congrats, Hermione. You are the best of our year."
Hermione opened her cloak and picked a small piece of parchment from it.
"I wanted to give you this when you passed the test, but I guess now is just as good."
Ron received another riddle, moderately sized and written in loopy letters.
"This is one of the last ones, Ron, " she said, "You don't have much time left to break it off with Lavender.
It was well after nine when Ron found himself in a situation that was getting ridiculously out of hand. Harry had just swallowed Felix Felicis and had decided to go to Hagrid's cabin of all places. For some unimaginable reason, he thought that was 'the place to be' at that moment. Perhaps Felix Felicis was whispering to him what to do, or where to go, but it certainly didn't make things any more understandable. Harry was walking down the stairs under his cloak while Ron exchanged nervous glances with Hermione. Suddenly, Lavender started shrieking "What were you doing up there with her?!" at the top of her lungs.
Hermione immediately parted from him, walking to the stairs of the girls's dormitories.
Before Ron had any time to react, Ginny and Dean were getting fired up. She was telling him off for something, but Ron couldn't hear what was going on, because Lavender had just called Hermione something very rude and insulting, starting with an 'S'. And it wasn't the word scarlet either..
"Hey! Don't call my best friend that!" Ron said angrily, "You have no right to call her that!"
Lavender exploded. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! YOU'VE BEEN SNOGGING HER UPSTAIRS, HAVEN'T YOU?"
"No, I HAVEN'T," Ron said, steadily getting angrier, "and since you have NOTHING to base your SUSPICIONS on, I would very much LIKE you to keep her out of OUR problems!"
"Really, nothing? Not even a riddle that fell out of YOUR pocket, signed by Hermione, which suddenly misplaced itself? Not even Padma, seeing you twirling around like a couple of love-birds? Not even Dean telling me some people saw you in Hogsmeade last weekend, holding hands?"
"NO!" Ron defended, "SHE'S JUST A FRIEND TO ME! THAT I LIKE SPENDING TIME WITH HER DOESN'T MEAN I KISS HER INSTEAD OF MY GIRLFRIEND!"
Ginny and Dean were really getting fired up at the same time. Ginny was really starting to get irritated, which mostly meant her getting beyond angry. Dean was bellowing at her that he didn't help her up the portrait hole, but this only seemed to agitate her more.
The common room seemed relatively small all of a sudden. People were staring at the two couples with big eyes, everyone keeping quiet and trying to blend into their surroundings. Some of them were looking left and right as if they were observing some bizarre tennis match. One of the towers on the board of wizard's chess took the opportunity to sneak off to the left undetected, causing him to stay out of danger's way, but leaving his queen exposed.
"Let's go outside for a while, Lavender," Ron said in one of the few moments that Ginny and Dean weren't yelling, "You and I need to talk."
They walked to the prefect's bathroom, and after letting Lavender and himself in, he looked into her eyes.
"I don't think our relationship is going to last very long. We don't belong together."
Lavender suddenly exploded. "HOW DARE YOU MAKE UP MORE LIES! I KNOW YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH HERMIONE! DON'T YOU SAY YOU'RE NOT!"
Ron shrugged. "Yes, I am! I am in love with Hermione, and I've been in love with her for well over a year now. But I never kissed her while I was with you."
"Oh, how gallant of you. You are so noble. Do you expect me to feel happy now?"
"Of course not! I never should have been dating with you, if I have been in love with another all along."
Lavender broke out in tears. "So you never loved me?"
Oops, that must've come out completely wrong.
"Lavender, you are a very pretty and interesting girl. You'll find someone to love you."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'FIND SOMEONE'? I'VE GOT YOU."
"Lavender, think about it. We're through..."
"YOU DON'T GET TO DITCH ME YOU BASTARD! I'M DITCHING YOU. YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ANY GOOD AS A BOYFRIEND, YOU WORTHLESS.. WORTHLESS.. KISSER!"
Well, that went smoothly!, Ron thought after Lavender had left. She had been screaming and cursing at him for nearly fifteen minutes before she ran out, crying madly. He had been sitting there for half an hour, thinking about all the things she had called him. Words like 'loser', 'thick-headed', 'idiot', 'tongue-clamp' and especially 'side-kick' had really gotten to him. Ron was looking at the drain in the middle of the bath. He remembered his encounter with Malfoy and for a moment, he smiled. It felt good knowing he could save his own hide when he needed to.
The door to the bathroom opened and pretty, red-headed girl entered the room. She sighed deeply as she sat down next to him. For a while, neither of them spoke, until Ginny said "Good choice in getting rid of the blonde. There's better fish in the sea."
Ron chuckled.
"Good thing you dumped that black-haired boy. He wasn't good enough for you."
Ginny smiled. "So the Weasley family had a rough day huh? Odd how these things coincide."
Ron had given this some thought. Harry had taken the potion and not even half an hour later, his relationship with Lavender had ended, leaving the way open for another relationship with Hermione. Perhaps the Felix Felicis had rubbed off on them, or, perhaps it was working its mojo on them because Harry had wanted it to. But Ginny's relationship had gone down the drain even faster, leading the way for her to have another relationship with someone else.
Perhaps Harry is keeping his feelings for Ginny secret, just like I do with my feelings for Hermione.
"So did you?" Ginny asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Did I what?"
"Did you kiss her?"
"Who?"
"Hermione!"
"No! I'm not the kind of guy that kisses girls while he has a girlfriend." Ron said dramatically.
"She didn't want to, did she?" Ginny said with a wide grin.
Ron decided not to look at her.
"It's about time you two hooked up. Fred and George are placing bets on when you're going to pop the question."
Ron laughed. That sounded like something they'd do.
Ginny hugged her brother. "I guess things are going to work out for you two."
Ginny left minutes later, slightly in a better mood. She really seemed to like the idea of Hermione and him together. When she walked away, she seemed to be rejuvenated, like new opportunities were waiting to be taken. Ron closed the door and filled up the bath. Time to relax, he thought, Hermione will probably be sitting in the girls's dormitories anyway. Besides, it would be rather harsh of me to start seeing Hermione within hours of ending it with Lavender.
The bath filled up very fast, and because Ron had used his favourite taps, the water looked yellow and brown, all of its surface covered in bubbles. He slipped in quickly, keeping his robes and especially his wand close.
For nearly an hour, Ron thought about himself. Was he really a 'loser'? Was he really just a 'side-kick'? Sure, Harry had saved the day on numerous occasions, and he had never really been of real importance. He had never seen Voldemort, never fought the dementors, or duelled with Death Eaters. Harry had always been the one to be brave and strong, all he had ever done was being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
This unhappy (and rather unfair) mood lasted for quite some time, until the door opened again. Ron reached for his wand immediately, but when he saw who had entered, he decided to reach for his trunks instead. Hermione was standing in the doorway, looking slightly bewildered and confused. She walked up to Ron, who was worming his way into his now soaking wet pants, while keeping his head above water. Hermione sat down next to him, dipping her feet in the water after taking off her shoes.
"How was it?" she asked.
"Let's just say it was better than was to be expected."
"Did she blame me?"
"Initially, but I took the blame. I should never have started something with her while I was in love with you. She had a point when she said I shouldn't have lied to her about it."
"So what comes next?"
"Us."
"When?"
"Now?"
"No Ron, that's too fast. We've got to let the dust settle."
"So when?"
"Soon, if you can find the answer to the riddle I've given you."
Hermione took her feet out of the water and stood up, ready to depart. Ron wasn't going to let her off that easily. He jumped out of the water, reached out and pulled hard. Hermione, caught unaware, fell into the water with a loud yell. When she resurfaced, she coughed some water out of her lungs and looked at Ron destructively. Ron merely smiled.
"Relax Hermione, I'm sure you'll be able to dry yourself completely the moment you get out of the water."
Hermione swam slowly towards Ron. Ron could feel the tension in the water rising, as she came closer to him. Her soaking hair was filled with bubbles and even though it was wet, it still looked bushy. Merlin, even now she looks gorgeous.
She swam up to him so close that her body was touching his. Ron blessed himself for putting on his trunks, without which he would probably have been very ashamed.
Hermione closed her eyes and pouted her lips. Ron did the same. He had waited for this moment all year long. Finally, he would kiss her.
A big wave crashed over Ron's face. He promptly breathed in what seemed like half a gallon of water. After coughing for a while, he looked at Hermione, who was wearing a big smirk on her face. "That," she said bossily, "was for pulling me into the water."
Then, she lunged forward; stealing what little breath was left in Ron's lungs by kissing him passionately.
"And that," she said tenderly, "was for breaking up with Lavender."
Ron quickly reeled Hermione in for a second kiss. His hands slid up over her back to her neck and into her hair. It felt perfect, kissing her. He had learned a lot from Lavender, but what he had learned to be most important was kissing slowly, gingerly, yet firm. Hermione felt like putty in his hands, her tongue trying to find its way around his own.
When they parted lips, Hermione got out of the bath and with a quick flick of her wand dried herself and her clothes.
"I told you so..." Ron said playfully.
"Ron," Hermione said earnestly, "we can't act like two love-birds tomorrow. Even though every part of me wants to be with you, it would not be fair of us to start off tomorrow."
Ron smiled. "I know, but at least let me stay under the illusion that we can."
Hermione walked away slowly. She opened the door, but before she left, she looked at Ron. "Oh, and Ron?" she said, "For your information: You are the best kisser ever!"
Ron got out of the bath minutes later. He put his clothes on and dried his pants with the impervius charm. Then, he picked the riddle out of a pocket in his robe. When he read it, he was instantly intrigued:
"Inside of me, is the strongest of its kind. Wars have been fought over me, which is ironic. What am I?
- Hermione"