-Chapter 15-

A week had passed since Brooke and Ron's uncomfortable encounter, and not a word had been spoken about it. The two acted as though nothing happened, and after a few uncomfortable days of ignoring each other's presence, things had just gone back to normal.

Although of course it did not go completely back to normal. Brooke couldn't get Ron out of her head, and Ron could not get Brooke out of his head. Hermione noticed something had changed between the two, she just was not sure what exactly it was. She had of course known the two had a crush on each other, Merlin the whole world knew the two were meant for each other, you had to be blind not to see that.

"What are we going to do now?" Ron complained as the trio sat on the front steps, all three sweat soaked from cleaning out the garden shed of gnomes.

Mrs. Weasley had kicked everyone out of the house, claiming she needed to deep clean the house today. Fred and George had quickly declared the need to go to their shop and organize it, while Ginny had gone to one of her friends houses for the weekend.

"I am going to enjoy my day by reading this wonderful novel I just picked up at the bookstore last week." Hermione muttered, brushing her bushy hair that looked even bushier from the hot hair mixed with sweat.

Brooke rolled her eyes as she lay down in the grass, "That sounds like a great way to spend the day Hermione, after all when do you ever have time to read?"

Ron chuckled at her comment.

"Why don't you two go do something productive instead of standing here complaining." Hermione instructed the two.

Brooke sighed loudly, "What is there to do, it is sooooo hot out?"

"Play Quidditch?"

"There is only two of use Hermione!" Ron said as though she were supposed to know that, "Besides we would last maybe 10 minutes tops before this boiling sun would turn us into a puddle of goo!"

"Go for a walk!"

"We can only go so far before we reach the perimeter." Brooke pointed out, swinging her feet back and forth.

Ron nodded, whistling slightly, "Besides we did that yesterday!"

Hermione huffed loudly, slamming her book shut, "GO for a swim then!"

Brooke reeled back in shock at Hermione's exclamation, and then seemed to think about the suggestion, "Actually that is not a bad idea…except I can't swim…"

"You swam in the 4th task." Ron said in confusion.

"Because of a spell," Brooke mumbled.

"Oh it is just in the pond Brooke, it isn't that deep, and besides Ron will be with you!" Hermione pointed out, "It is not like he is going to let you drown."

Ron nodded, "I guess we can go swimming, it is nice outside and sunny…"

Hermione stood, practically pushing them down the steps "Good now go get changed and then you two can be off!"

"Merlin Hermione!" Brooke complained as entered the house quickly.

"I told you she was nutty." Ron muttered under his breath as the two ran up the stairs.

20 minutes later found Ron and Brooke both standing at the shore line of the pond. It was a nice area, one that Brooke didn't go around too much. Normally she was in the house, by the Quidditch Pitch they played at, or in the shed. She couldn't remember a time they had ever gone for a swim while she was here. It was a nice and sunny spot of land, just to the left of the Weasley's house, and far enough away that you couldn't be spied on. There were beautiful tall trees that surrounded the lake, giving it some protection from the direct sun, and was surrounded by grass and flowers everywhere.

"So this is the famous pond…." Brooke laughed as she looked around.

Ron blushed slightly, "It's not much…but it is better than nothing."

Brooke nodded as she eyes a few gnomes running through the bushes.

"Fred, George, Ginny and I use to come out here all the time last summer after hunting the gnomes to cool off after." Ron explained, wiping some sweat of his brow.

Brooke dipped her toe in the cool water, it felt good, and considering how unusually hot it was today, she could only imagine once her whole body was in the water how good it would feel.

As she was imagining it she felt a splash and looked around frazzled. There smiling in the middle of the water stood Ron, soaking wet, and smiling. He floated around, enjoying the cool water, "Come on Brooke it feels good!"

Brooke whined low under her breath, before she realized she needed to suck it up, and prove her Gryffindor courage. She slowly started to walk into the water, making sure she didn't go too fast.

"You're not going to drown Brooke!" Ron laughed at her clear nervousness, "I can still touch the bottom from here!"

"I am not scared Ronald!" Brooke growled, "I am just being cautious, I don't want to step on a fish or something!"

Ron chuckled as he splashed her, grinning when she huffed in annoyance at him. "So what do you think they are having the meeting about tonight?"

"Who knows…Remus and Sirius are not due back for another week, so nothing new that I know of." She explained as she continued waking further into the water.

"Come on slow poke!" Ron taunted, "You dived to the bottom of the lake for Merlin sake!"

Brooke glared at him, "If you didn't know how to swim you would be the same!"

Ron chuckled again, "It is not even deep!"

Brooke continued to trot forward slowly.

"Besides it is not like I will let you drow-" just as he was finishing his sentence, a small yelp brought his attention to Brooke whose head had just ducked under the water completely. A sharp intake of breath and he was swimming across the pond, yanking her arm up as she came up sputtering and coughing.

Emerald green eyes glared accusingly at him as she caught her breath, "You said you wouldn't let me drown!"

Ron couldn't help but chuckle, and sighed in relief as he yanked her closer to him, "Sorry, I didn't think you would go that deep!"

Brooke continued to glare as she wrapped her arms around his shoulder, drawing herself close to him so she wouldn't go under again.

She looked beautiful, even wet. His heart beat had not calmed down at all, because after the small scare of seeing Brooke go under, now she was pressed close to him, complaining about how he had let her go under, and how was she suppose to trust him again. She hadn't even noticed that Ron had stopped talking.

"I mean honestly-" she turned to glare at him some more.

Ron reminded himself to breath, and forced a grin onto his face, "Oh come on now you were under for 3 seconds tops!"

Brooke whined, continuing to hold onto his arm.

"Come on!" Ron laughed as he grabbed onto her arm and floated around.

She clung to his arm like a life vest, clutching it tightly to her chest.

Ron tried to ignore the fact of the feeling of her breasts rubbing against his arm.

After another 20 minutes of splashing around, Brooke seemed to become more comfortable in the water.

"See it isn't that hard!" Ron gloated as Brooke finally managed to float by herself.

Brooke laughed from her position of floating, "I suppose not!"

Ron sighed contently, still trying to continue to keep his cool. Brooke was beautiful, nobody could deny that. She was charismatic, outgoing, loving, caring, and probably the best person that Ron had ever known. Over the past week, he went to bed every night, waking up uncomfortably from dreams with Brooke in them. He wasn't sure what he was suppose to do, but he knew he wasn't willing to risk declaring his feelings for her, and potentially ruining their friendship.

Suddenly Brooke let out a shriek, and she was in Ron's arms, her arms and legs wrapped around him.

Ron looked around in alarm for a moment, "WHAT?!"

"Something touched me!" she declared, gripping him tighter.

"You're scared of a fish Brooke?" Ron taunted, grinning at her looking around frantically, "Haven't you faced Voldemort, what is it 5 times now at least?"

Brooke turned, her eyes glaring into his, "Yes but-"

It was as though time seemed to slow, and when their eyes met, they both seemed to see something they had been ignoring for years.

Ron's arm tightened around her waist, drawing her somewhat closer to his bare chest.

Brooke's legs were wrapped tightly around his waist, her arm draped around his shoulder. Her heart was beating painfully in her chest, so much that she was sure it would burst out at any moment.

Ron's brown eyes seemed to bore into hers, and the two knew this was it. This was the moment they had each been waiting for.

Their heads seemed to lean in together, their eyes closing as their lips met. It only lasted a second, but it was a like electricity raced through their bodies, leaving them fuzzy headed and tingling.

Brooke was breathing heavily and felt as though she was in a haze.

Ron stared at her, his own body feeling as though it were on fire.

The two just sat there, floating in the water for a few moments longer.

"Maybe we should head in?" Ron suggested.

Brooke looked disappointed at the prospect, and quickly unlatched herself from Ron and made her way to the shore a few feet away.

The two didn't speak as they dried and quickly dressed, refusing to meet each other's eyes.

Brooke was confused, had she read him wrong…Was he not into her…Had Hermione for once in her life been completely wrong? Her heart was beating painfully, as though it were possibly shattering at this very moment. Her first kiss and she had messed it up already! She couldn't believe it. On top of that she felt more mortified than anything; she had ruined her friendship with Ron now.

Realizing she needed to quickly get out of this situation as quickly as she could, she finally blurted out, "Dinner will probably be ready soon…" as she started to make her way up the path.

Ron realized in that moment that he needed to do something. If he wanted a chance with Brooke, this was it, this was the time he had been waiting for. They had kissed, and if he didn't do something else about it quickly he was going to miss his chance.

"Brooke!" he yelled out, his heart beating quickly as he stepped forward.

She turned, her black hair beautiful, her green eyes so incredibly amazing, and he did the one thing he had been waiting for years to do.

His left arm brought her into his arms, while his right hand reached behind her head and drew her near, and he kissed her.

It felt as though fireworks were going off, his body imploded and his mind was simply blank, except for the screaming and realization that he was kissing Brooke Potter.

Every part of his body felt on a fire, the feeling of her soft lips against his was amazing, her small body fit perfectly in his arms, her skin so soft and smooth.

Brooke's mind was racing as her lips met Ron's. It was the most amazing feeling she had ever felt. She felt as though if Ron were to stop kissing her, her world would end, it was as though he were the oxygen that she needed for survival.

"Ron! Brooke! Dinner time!"

The two broke apart, shock and breathing heavily, the two just stared at each other in a mixture of awe and confusion.

"I-"

"We-"

Brooke bit e her already swollen lips, smiling as she leaned down to grab her towel, "I suppose we should head in."

Ron just looked at her dumbly and nodded as he started to follow her up the long path.

The sound of crickets started to float around them, while the wave of the wind had the grass tickling their feet as they walked quietly and slowly. The silence felt comforting and deafening at the same time, neither knowing what to say or if they should say anything at all.

That kiss had been years in the making, practically written in the stars as Hermione had pointed out to Brooke some months back. But nobody ever explained what was supposed to happen after the kiss, the talk that had to ensue after. Nobody mentioned how amazing it would be to make out with your best friend, yet awkward after. Because after all there were no right words, no hand book, and certainly no cheat sheet on what to do once you finally made the move. Were they more than friends now? Was it just a casual kiss? Ron and Brooke had never been good at having serious talks anyways, that was one of the main reasons the two got along so well.

"There you two are!" Hermione declared from the steps leading out the front door, "I was beginning to wonder if Ron had actually let you drown and was too scared to come tell us!"

The two forced and awkward laughter as they walked up the steps slowly.

Hermione frowned at the two, "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah!"

"Yes!"

The two blurted way to quickly.

Silence quickly surrounded them as Hermione stared at the two in confusion and wonder.

Brooke wanted to run and hide in her nice quiet room. She had been put through so many things in such a short amount of time that she found it hard to understand how this was her most awkward yet. What was she suppose to do, did she need to say something, did she just ignore the whole thing.

All of these thoughts were crossing through her head as the large group of Weasley's, Hermione and she sat around the table. Jokes were made, arguments were started, facts were stated, but both Brooke and Ron stayed quiet.

What if she had just ruined everything there was between her and Ron, what if their friendship was over after this. Brooke felt so sick to her stomach that she wasn't sure if she could even eat, so instead she simply spun her food around on her plate, faking smiles when necessary.

Suddenly a warm hand eloped her own small one. When she looked up Ron was giving her his infamous crocked grin, his face blushing slightly, and his ears red. After that she realized a decision had been made, and by the butterflies in her stomach, she realized that it was defiantly the right one.