Chapter 7

Hi guys! Chapter 7 already... I have a bit more time now to write, luckily!
If you have made it so far to chapter 7 of my story, please let me know what you think of it!
Since it is my first story, I would appreciate the feedback!
Enjoy this brand new chapter :)

- Ron -

Ron had already considered beforehand that there might be a little issue with the idea of giving Hermione swimming lessons. He had really thought about it, but these things just seemed like a better idea than they actually were.

He had already swum a few laps when Hermione entered the pool area. Leaning with his arms on the edge of the pool, he greeted Hermione in the most normal tone possible, while ignoring his physical reaction to her beautiful body clad in a red swimsuit.

Damn.

She had her hair tied up in a bun, revealing her slender neck. A few defiant strands sprung out from the bun: Ron knew she would be constantly tucking them behind her ears.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Hermione asked as she placed her towel on the bench next to the pool.

Ron hoisted himself out of the water and stood on the pool's edge.

"I thought we could start with diving," he said. He hadn't noticed Hermione's fixation on his arms as he pulled himself up onto the pool edge, but he did notice her eyes move from his chest to his face, eliciting a somewhat guilty look in her eyes accompanied by pink cheeks.

Ron had to suppress a confident grin. During swimming contests, girls often admired his physique, but he had learned to ignore these 'fangirls' over the years because they were particularly annoying. If they realized he was onto them, they would swarm around him after the race like annoying bees.

But Hermione looking at him as if he were a delicious pastry? He could get used to that.

"I don't think I dare," Hermione said.

Oh right, diving.

"I bet you'll dare after this lesson," Ron said. "Shall I demonstrate first?"

Hermione nodded and Ron walked over to the nearest starting block. Pushing off, he landed, as always, with a perfect dive into the water. He knew he hardly made a splash.

Hermione clapped enthusiastically when he resurfaced.

"I want to learn how to dive like that!" she said.

"Alright, then let's start from the edge instead of the starting block," Ron said as he quickly swam back. Once on the edge, he stood next to Hermione.

"The most important thing is to enter the water at the right angle, so you don't belly flop, for example." He held his arms above his head. "And this is how you should position your hands."

Hermione mimicked him.

"Good, then you have to dive into the water with full conviction, trying to stay perfectly straight." He demonstrated again. When he resurfaced, he gestured to Hermione, who was still on the edge.

"Your turn," he said. "You can do it."

Nervously laughing, Hermione stood in the same position as he had just demonstrated and dove. She didn't land perfectly, as he expected from a beginner, but it was still a pretty decent dive that didn't seem to cause any pain.

Hermione resurfaced with a laugh. "I think that was almost professional!"

"Oh, definitely. But even professionals can still learn something."

For the next fifteen minutes, they took turns diving, with Ron always paying close attention to Hermione's technique.

"You're getting pretty good at this now!" he said after a while. "Maybe we can move on to a swimming stroke. What do you want to learn?"

"Um, I can only do the breaststroke so far. I was never very good at the freestyle."

"Then I'll teach you the freestyle." He lowered himself into the water next to Hermione, who was hanging on the edge. Upon reflection, he might have gone a bit too close to her in the water. His upper arm brushed against hers, giving him a pleasant sensation. He glanced at her sideways and enjoyed the way Hermione stared at him a little surprised, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" he asked, unable to resist teasing her a bit.

"Um... nothing. Your eyes just seem very... blue suddenly."

Ron laughed. "They've always been blue."

"I know. Well, teach me that freestyle," Hermione changed the subject. Her cheeks turned pink again, Ron's favourite colour for her cheeks.

"Alright then, you have to bend your arms like this..."

After half an hour of swimming freestyle, Hermione had had enough.

"Wow, you're so fast, and you're tireless. I'm exhausted, and I feel like I swallowed a liter of pool water," she said.

"Don't drink it," Ron chuckled.

Struggling to haul herself onto the edge, Hermione stood up. "I'll remember that for next time."

Ron also pulled himself out of the water and stood next to her. "Do you think you've learned enough today?"

"Yes, definitely," Hermione said with a smile.

"Well, I haven't," Ron grinned mischievously and pushed her into the water. Since Hermione wasn't prepared, it was remarkably easy.

Indignantly spluttering, she resurfaced. "Ronald, how could you!" she pretended to be angry. But Ron heard the playful undertone.

"I found today too easy," Ron admitted. "We didn't argue, not even one little remark. It felt wrong, you know?"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh now. "You're a peculiar creature, Ron." She climbed back onto the edge. Ron was prepared for the revanche, and indeed, Hermione suddenly pushed forcefully against his shoulders. She attempted to push him into the water, but Ron, being heavier and stronger, easily resisted her efforts and instead grabbed onto her shoulders to maintain his balance. They stood like that for a few moments, Hermione exerting all her strength to push Ron into the water, but it didn't take much effort for Ron to remain firmly in place.

Due to Hermione leaning forward with her weight to push against Ron's shoulders, she stumbled forward a bit at one point. Ron caught her, one arm around her shoulders and one arm around her waist, his hand on her lower back. He felt her small, slender body against his. He also clearly felt her curves, which felt so good for a moment that he couldn't suppress a soft groan for once. A certain body part that had been quite active throughout the entire swimming lesson was now fully awake: Ron feared that Hermione could even feel the state of the said body part at that moment.

When he realized this, he quickly let her go. "Um, sorry," he said, taking a few steps back. "I think we can, uh, stop the swimming lesson now. I'll go change, I have something to do today."

He dove into the water to swim across to the other side, where the changing rooms were. He didn't look back, so he didn't see that he had left a bewildered Hermione behind.

- Ron, that evening -

As soon as he stepped into the changing cubicle that morning, he had wanted to bang his head against the door.

Many times over. What an idiot he was!

Now Hermione definitely thought he was lusting after her. Which, incidentally, was true, but was also something she should never have found out. How incredibly annoying that his body reacted like this every time she was near or touched him.

He had thought about it all day long. During meals, during his run later that afternoon, during conversations with his friends... He couldn't get the image of Hermione in the red swimsuit out of his head, nor the sensation of her body pressed against his.

Now, lying in bed, these thoughts had free rein. The idea that Hermione was in the room next to him, probably in her bed at this very moment, drove him crazy. This couldn't go on. Just a few more of these moments and he would grab her and kiss her so hard she wouldn't have time to breathe.

These were clearly not normal feelings to have for a friend. The whole idea of becoming friends with her had been particularly bad.

Ron thought back to the moment in the pub when he had told Hermione that he spent less time with her and Harry at Hogwarts University because he needed distraction from everything related to the war. That was partly true, but he hadn't mentioned that he mainly avoided Harry for that reason.

He kept Hermione at arm's length for another reason: he was crazy about her, he wanted her completely, but two years ago she had subtly made it clear to him that she saw him only as a friend.

At least, that's what he had assumed back then. Lately, he had hoped that their friendship could still grow into something more, but that hope had been dashed by what had happened this morning.

Hermione's expression when he stepped back after their spontaneous 'hug' could be described as 'shocked' at best. And she said nothing when he fled the pool. No, there was only one thing to do: he had to avoid Hermione a bit again in the coming time.