One shot: Why did Hermoine finally forgive Ron when he returned to their tent? A cute alternative story for what happened in the days after Ron's return.
Lots of fluff and romantic tension are guaranteed!
After weeks and weeks, Ron was back on his familiar mattress in the tent. He could hear Harry shifting in his sleep. He knew Harry was asleep due to the soft, familiar snoring. Despite those comforting sounds, Ron couldn't seem to fall asleep.
A certain scene from a few hours ago kept replaying in his mind.
There he stood, relieved that Harry had welcomed him back with open arms. He was so happy that he finally found them again.
Full of expectation, he had followed Harry back to the tent. If Harry welcomed him so warmly, surely Hermione would respond well too?
How foolish he had been.
If he'd considered Hermione's personality for even two seconds, he would've known she would react the way she did.
("Ronald Weasley! You stupid git!")
Ron winced at the words echoing in his mind.
He had wrongly assumed Hermione had missed him as much as he had missed her. The thought of seeing her again, of holding her in his arms had been the only thing on his mind. He hadn't considered for a second that she might not be able to forgive him.
Even though it had been Harry he'd argued with, it was because of Harry that Ron had left, he now knew that he had hurt Hermione far more than he could ever hurt Harry.
He turned over in his comfortable bed.
When he finally fell asleep, he dreamt of Hermione. She forgave him everything and she even kissed him.
-/-\-
The next morning, the dream turned out to be far from reality. Hermione seemed determined to ignore him completely, and she succeeded quite well.
"Morning," he said calmly as he carefully sat down beside her. Hermione didn't look up from her breakfast, which consisted of a dry-looking roll and a boiled egg.
"Sleep well?" he tried again, smiling broadly at her.
Hermione sighed deeply and still said nothing, though she did start peeling her egg a bit more aggressively.
Ron decided not to say anything more. He tried to put on a remorseful expression, hoping that Hermione would see the unbearable regret on his face. He had no idea what a remorseful look was supposed to be, so he ended up mostly being quiet and looking sad.
But he might as well not have bothered, because Hermione didn't look at him, not the whole morning, nor during lunch, or during their meetings about the Horcruxes.
Yet Ron didn't feel sad, on the contrary, he felt shamelessly cheerful. He was back, they were back on their feet, and Harry had confirmed that he and Hermione were like brother and sister to each other! There was only one thing troubling him: the fact that Hermione clearly hadn't forgiven him yet. And of course, he didn't know how to approach that problem. Hermione wasn't speaking to him and he had no idea how to make it clear how terribly sorry he was if she wouldn't even look at him.
When Harry was around and they discussed their next steps, it was easier to talk. At least Harry spoke with him and appreciated his input. Ron felt a surge of energy for their quest, which had seemed hopeless before he left. Now, however, there seemed to be endless possibilities. He, Ron, was now the one pushing the others into action. He was the one who kept bringing up all the possible places Voldemort might have been, even though Hermione completely ignored him and only joined the conversations when Harry was involved.
-/-\-
"Where's all this energy coming from?" Harry asked, grinning, when Hermione had gone off to gather mushrooms, leaving him and Ron alone in the tent. It had been four days since Ron returned.
Ron shrugged but grinned back. "I've got some catching up to do, haven't I?"
"You know I've forgiven you, right?"
"Yeah, and that's mostly why I feel so good. But there's someone else who's far from forgiving me…"
"She'll come around. I'm sure of it. She'll suddenly realise one of these days that you haven't snogged in weeks, and then she'll come straight to you."
Ron snorted with laughter. "You're mad! As if we'd even got to that point."
"You're serious?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
Ron shot him a meaningful look. "You don't think we'd be snogging the whole time right under your nose…" He fell silent abruptly as Hermione walked back into the tent.
She glanced thoughtfully at the two boys sitting across from each other at the table. Then she narrowed her eyes slightly, took a step toward Ron, and for the first time since yesterday's outburst, she looked directly at him. Her eyes sparkled with the anger she still felt towards him.
"Ron, I found one of your socks outside." She tossed a black sock at him, a few leaves stuck to it.
"Thanks," Ron said softly, but Hermione had already turned and stormed back outside.
"Well, that's more than you've had over the past few days," Harry remarked.
"It wasn't exactly a peace offering," Ron replied, but a smile crept back onto his face.
"Look on the bright side. She knew it was your sock. Why would she even know that? And by the way, what's with that funeral face you keep pulling whenever she's around?"
Ron shrugged again. "I'm hoping she'll forgive me if she sees how much I regret it."
"Then you could - just a thought - actually tell her that?"
"I already did!" Ron shot back.
"If you think that was enough, you clearly haven't read everything in that handy book of yours. You know, the one you gave me for my birthday. The one that taught you all your wisdom about girls."
"Alright, alright," Ron said, shaking his head. "I'll try talking to her soon. I just want to let her cool off, if you know what I mean."
"Just don't let it take weeks. These group discussions are rather awkward when one of the three pretends one of the others doesn't exist."
-/-\-
It took another two days before Hermione gave any sign that she noticed Ron's existence again. This time, though, Ron sensed that something was different.
It was late in the evening and Harry had gone to bed. His snoring was already filling the tent cabin that he and Ron shared.
Hermione was curled up in the large chair with her legs tucked under her, reading - as always. Ron was fiddling with some matchsticks. Using small spells, he had managed to build a rather impressive little structure.
"The Eiffel Tower?"
Ron looked up quickly and saw Hermione glancing sceptically at his creation. Her voice was a bit hoarse from not speaking for so long.
"Yeah," he grinned. He couldn't help it. The fact that she was talking to him felt like such a victory that he didn't care where the conversation might lead.
"It looks more like a poorly built electricity pylon," Hermione remarked. Her tone was sharp, but Ron didn't mind. She kept the conversation going, which meant she wanted to talk to him.
"A what?" he chuckled.
"An electricity pylon. You do know what electricity is, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Ron replied. "You know who my dad is, right? And besides, I do listen to you sometimes."
He could have sworn he saw a faint smile on Hermione's lips, one she quickly hid within half a second. "Well, Muggles use those pylons to bundle high-voltage wires so they can cover long distances."
Ron grinned again. Hearing Hermione explain things to him felt so familiar that it made him happy. He'd missed it. "And you think the Eiffel Tower looks like one of those pylons?" he said. "Better not let the French hear you say that."
"I didn't say your structure looked like the Eiffel Tower. It looks like one of those pylons."
"You asked if I'd built the Eiffel Tower," Ron reminded her. "So I'll take that as a compliment."
Hermione sighed, closed her book, and stood up. "I just assumed you were trying to build the Eiffel Tower, not a high-voltage pylon." She waved vaguely with the book in her hand. "I'm going to bed, Ron."
"Alright," said Ron. "Goodnight."
He accidentally knocked his wand into the structure, breaking one of the spells holding the matchsticks together. The whole thing collapsed into a sad little heap on the table. "Oops."
Hermione glanced at it with a strange expression on her face. Ron had a feeling she was trying to stifle a laugh.
"Goodnight," she said shortly before turning and hurrying into her sleeping cabin.
Ron watched her go, a faint grin still on his face.
-/-\-
The next day, for the first time, they had proper conversations as a trio again. Hermione was still polite to Ron, but at least she was responding to what he said.
That seemed positive, but there was something different about her behaviour after their conversation about electricity pylons. Where Hermione had previously made no effort to avoid being alone with Ron—she had completely ignored him, so he might as well not have been there—she now seemed determined not to be alone with him at any cost. Harry had to be present, and if he wasn't, she would quickly make excuses to leave Ron's company.
"Haven't you two made up yet?" Harry whispered curiously on the third night after the Eiffel Tower conversation. They were both in their sleeping cabin, getting into their pyjamas. "Don't get me wrong, I'm just glad she's talking to you again."
"She's not being mean to me anymore," Ron replied, "but also not exactly friendly. She's avoiding me. It's like she doesn't want to be alone with me."
"I noticed that." Harry crawled into bed and pulled the blanket around him.
"Girls," said Ron wisely as he climbed into bed too. "They're terrifying. Snatchers have nothing on them."
Ron couldn't see Harry's face in the bunk bed, but he just knew Harry was grinning. "You're not wrong, mate. You're not wrong," came the reply.
-/-\-
The next day, Ron decided that Hermione had sulked long enough. It was time for her to start acting normally towards him again or at least tell him what was bothering her.
After breakfast, when Harry stepped outside with a flimsy excuse - Ron knew Harry was giving him time to talk to Hermione- Ron seized his chance.
Hermione hadn't moved since breakfast; she was still sitting at the table, now reading a book. It was one of the many large, informative books she had brought along. Ron knew that when she didn't have any concrete ideas about their search for the Horcruxes, she often tried to acquire new knowledge. Knowledge about surviving in the wild, advanced magic, dark arts...
Ron sat down right next to her on the bench. "What are you reading?" he asked.
Hermione looked visibly surprised that he sat so close to her. She didn't look at him but stared at her forearm, which lay beside the book and almost touched Ron's arm. Ron, watching her face, noticed that she seemed nervous.
"Nothing important," she said, still avoiding his gaze. "I was just reading Hogwarts: A History..."
"For the two hundredth time," Ron interrupted. "Sorry," he added when he saw Hermione's face.
"I was going to say, I was just wondering if I might have missed something. I mean, what if there's important information about You-Know-Who in there... After all, he was at Hogwarts for quite a while."
"Hermione," Ron said, "I think you can spare yourself the trouble. As far as I know, this is the three hundredth time you've read that book, and…"
"Just now, it was the two hundredth time."
"Well, somewhere between one hundred and fifty and five hundred then," Ron grinned at her, but she barely met his eyes. A faint smile played on her lips as she stared back at the book, but it was obvious she was trying to look serious again. "But I mean," he said, "you should have read any important information already, right?"
"The point is, Ron," she began in a slightly reproachful tone, "the last time I read this book, I didn't know about the Horcruxes. So now I'm reading it with new eyes."
Ron suddenly knew what he needed to do.
He placed his hand on her forearm. "If you want me to... you know, read some of it too... just say so. I can go through a few chapters looking for important information. You don't have to do everything on your own."
Hermione stared at Ron's hand for a few seconds, which looked so large compared to her forearm. Her breathing quickened and became shallower, letting Ron know that this gesture had affected her.
Then she pulled her arm away, leaving Ron's hand to fall onto the table. She slammed the big book shut, grabbed her coat from a chair, and stormed outside.
Ron thought he heard a sob.
-/-\-
When Ron stepped outside to follow her, he ran into Harry.
"What's going on with Hermione?" Harry asked.
"I'm going after her," Ron replied. "I'm going to ask her."
"Okay," Harry said hesitantly. "But, um… be subtle, alright?"
Ron raised an eyebrow. "When have I ever been unsubtle?"
Harry pretended to have a massive coughing fit as he walked back inside.
With Harry's warning in mind, Ron calmly walked toward Hermione. She sat in her winter coat on a blanket by the riverbank, about ten meters away. She was staring at the slowly flowing water. As Ron got closer, he could clearly hear her sobbing.
A twig snapped under his shoe. Hermione quickly turned her head, saw him standing three meters away, and got up quickly. Before turning away, she wiped her face with her glove.
Her face looked a bit red, as if she had been crying.
"Hey," she said.
Ron thought her voice sounded shaky.
"Hey," he said softly. He moved closer and stood beside her. They both looked at the stream. Now that he was only a meter away from her, he had no idea what to say. "I… uh, are you okay?"
Hermione said nothing. She just stared at the water. Ron heard a sniffle, and when he turned to look at her, he saw a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Is it… is it because of me?" he asked cautiously.
Hermione still didn't say anything but wiped the tear from her cheek. Ron knew what the answer was. She looked so unhappy that it made him feel awful.
Six months ago, it had been so easy to put an arm around her. He had done it several times, and each time she had responded in a way that made him almost certain she liked it. But now…
With a willpower that felt like an enormous effort, he closed the small distance between them and put his arm around her.
It was a gamble, but he had made the right decision.
As soon as his arm was around her shoulder, Hermione leaned into him and started crying against his chest. Despite the tears and the coat between them, this was the best feeling Ron had had in a long time.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" he whispered in her ear. She only cried harder and clung to him even more tightly. He held her even closer and stroked her back and her hair. "I'm so sorry…" he repeated.
After about half a minute, Hermione managed to get some words out.
"I was so scared," she admitted softly, still sobbing. "I'm still scared…"
Ron looked down at where Hermione's face was still pressed against his coat. He had his arms tightly around her and planned to keep them there for the foreseeable future.
"Of what?" he asked hesitantly, afraid he was asking a stupid question. There was a moment of silence. Ron braced himself.
"Of how much I care about you," she said into his chest.
Ron's stomach tightened, and his heart started racing as if he had just run a world-record hundred-meter sprint.
"I felt like I couldn't do anything when you were gone, for days," she continued, still speaking into his coat. "I was going crazy because I didn't know where you were or if you'd ever come back… I thought I'd lost you completely." Her voice broke again. "It just scares me that I was in such a state without you… I suddenly realized that… if you… if I lose you… I…" She sobbed so hard that her sentence came out in fits and starts, and she couldn't even finish it.
Ron held her so tightly that he hoped he was conveying all his feelings through that one embrace. They stood like that for two minutes, her sobbing, him with his arms tightly around her. Ron felt a tear leave the corner of his eye and trace a long, thin line down the side of his nose.
Then he said, "'Mione, believe me, I was incredibly scared too. I regretted Disapparating the moment I did it, and I still regret it. I should never have left you; I mean… you guys. Not for a single minute did I stop thinking about you. I didn't want to lose you. I never wanted to lose you."
Ron heard that Hermione had stopped sobbing. She was breathing more calmly now, more heavily.
"Why did you leave?" she asked calmly.
Damn, Ron thought.
"I've already tried to explain it to you. I felt like Harry didn't know what he was doing. I was scared my family wasn't safe. Everything was uncertain, and the locket was driving me insane. That fight with Harry was the last straw."
Hermione looked up from his coat now. She looked at him with intense eyes. "I felt like Harry didn't know what he was doing too, Ron," she said. She sounded calmer now, but also more irritated. "I want to know why you really left. There was something else, I'm sure of it."
Ron swallowed and avoided her gaze. After a few moments of silence, he said, "The locket made me… see things I didn't want to see. Believe things that seem ridiculous now."
"Did it have to do with the last question you asked me before you left?" Hermione asked.
He knew which question she meant. He had asked her if she was coming with him or staying with Harry. He didn't answer her but pulled her close again. With that, she had her answer.
"And are you over those ridiculous thoughts now?" she asked calmly.
"Yes," he said softly. "Harry pointed it out to me when I had just destroyed the locket too. That they were ridiculous thoughts, I mean. 'Mione, I promise I'll never leave again. From now on, I'll always be here to protect you."
Hermione responded with a sigh. "When will men ever learn that it's not always about protection?"
Ron chuckled. "Okay, I'll always be here to annoy you when you're trying to read a book."
Ron only realized what was happening when it was already over.
Hermione had freed her arms from his embrace, placed one hand on the back of his neck, the other in his hair, and given him a short but intense kiss. Her lips had landed on his so hard that their teeth almost clashed. Almost.
Before Ron could react, Hermione had already pushed him away.
She took a half-step back and stared at him with a mix of passion and irritation. "Ron, you are the most annoying person I've ever met, honestly!" Her voice was shrill, and her face was twisted as she added, "I hate you!"
Ron watched her in complete surprise as she stormed back to the tent.
He could still feel her lips tingling on his, so once he recovered from the sudden turn of events, a wide grin spread across his face.
Without any haste, he walked back to the tent.
Harry was sitting outside the tent on a chair, looking at the Marauder's Map. Ron knew he was staring at Ginny's name. When he heard Ron approaching, he looked up.
"What happened? Why are you grinning like that? Hermione just stormed inside, furious, and wouldn't say what was wrong."
"She just told me she hates me," Ron said cheerfully.
Harry gave him a worried look. "Are you alright, or do we need to get your head checked?"
"Everything's perfect," Ron replied, still grinning widely. "She also kissed me, so I think we're good."
"She did what?" Harry asked, but Ron was already heading inside.
Hermione had locked herself in her sleeping cabin, but that didn't matter. Ron sat down in the chair where she normally sat and stared at the ceiling.
Hermione could say whatever she wanted, but nothing was going to wipe the smile off his face today.
-/-\-
Hermione spent most of the day hiding away in her bedroom again. She only came out to use the bathroom or grab something to eat.
That evening, Ron decided to take charge of dinner and whipped up a mushroom stew with some bread on the side - bread that had been left over from a few days ago. He managed to make it somewhat edible again with a Freshness Charm, but it was still pretty dry.
Still, he was proud of what he had made.
"Hermione?" he called toward the tent flap that separated the living room from her bedroom. "Are you coming to eat?"
Hermione emerged from behind the flap, sat down with them and started eating without saying a word.
It was a pleasant silence, Ron thought. He probably only felt that way because Hermione had kissed him that afternoon.
"Did you cook this?" Hermione asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Me?" Ron asked since she hadn't looked at him.
"Yeah, you."
"Yes," Ron said, not without a hint of pride.
"Hm," Hermione murmured. It was a sound that didn't lean either positive or negative.
Harry watched the exchange, shaking his head. "Guys," he asked, "can't you just…"
"No," Hermione interrupted curtly. "So don't even try."
Harry seemed to get the hint and immediately fell silent. Ron gave him a questioning look. Harry shook his head slightly as if to indicate that he would explain later.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked quietly as he and Harry went to do the dishes by the river.
"I just asked Hermione if she could start acting normal with you again."
"Oh, so that's what you were trying to say."
"Yeah, but apparently, she's still not ready to admit that she is actually in love with you."
"What?" Ron asked, confused. "She's merely kissed me… She's never… I mean, we've never talked about…"
"I know. But use your thick skull for once, Ron," Harry grinned.
Ron splashed some water onto Harry's sweater.
"Oi! That's cold!" Harry shouted.
"Then don't call me stupid."
"I didn't say that. You're just particularly blind when it comes to girls."
"I won't deny that. But I think I get it now… She kissed me this afternoon, right?" Ron retorted.
"You've said that three times now, mate," Harry said, half annoyed, half amused. "But it's not about how often you two kiss. Do you think I'm eager to be the third wheel all the time? That I enjoy being in the same room when you two are making out? No, thanks," he said with a slightly disgusted look. "What I do care about is that my two best friends start acting normal with each other again so that they get their energy and motivation back to focus on what actually matters: finding the Horcruxes."
"Alright, mate," Ron said. "I get what you mean."
"Are you sure? Have you noticed how little Hermione has contributed these past few days? She's not present, man. Her mind is completely elsewhere. I don't care how you do it, but please, fix it. We need her."
-/-\-
Ron knew Harry was right. This wasn't about him or Hermione. It wasn't even about whether or not Harry would be annoyed by their behaviour.
It was about defeating the worst dark wizard of all time. And they were the only ones in the world who knew about the Horcruxes. The entire wizarding world was essentially counting on them, although most wizards didn't realize it.
The three of them needed to work together seamlessly. He had to find a way to ease the tension, if only to satisfy Harry so he could think clearly again.
Ron also knew what he needed to tell Hermione to have a chance at regaining her trust. It wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done.
Hermione was sitting on the edge of her bed in her room, but she hadn't completely closed the door, as if she had also figuratively left the door open for him to come in.
"Hermione?" Ron asked as he stood in the doorway. She looked up from the book she was holding. "Can I come in?" he continued.
Hermione just looked at him. She didn't say anything.
He stepped inside and zipped the door shut behind him. "I think we need to talk."
"Ron, I don't think there's anything…"
"No," he interrupted her. "We're going to talk. Or at least, I'm going to talk. I'm going to tell you what I saw when I destroyed the Horcrux."
Now Hermione looked intrigued. He had her attention.
"I thought it just made a lot of noise," she said. "That's what Harry told me." She seemed to have momentarily forgotten that she was supposed to be distant with him.
"It did make a lot of noise, but it was words. There were also images, like watching a demonic television."
"What kind of words?" Hermione asked, knowing she was touching a sore spot.
Ron hesitated before continuing. "The locket knew what my fears and insecurities were, or had been. It shouted things about how my mum always wanted a daughter. And that I was worthless, just another Weasley in an overly large family."
"Ron, I'm sure your mum…"
"I know my mum loves me. The locket didn't say things that were true. It said things I was afraid of. Things that only really came to the surface when I was wearing the locket. Sometimes they were small, insignificant thoughts that got a thousand times bigger in my head, due to this stupid piece of jewellery."
Hermione was silent for a moment. She stared at him thoughtfully. "And I'm sure the locket said something about me caring more about the Horcruxes than about you."
"What?" Ron asked, confused.
"We were just talking about that, weren't we? Those ridiculous thoughts of yours, when you asked me if I'd stay with Harry or go with you. You thought I cared more about the Horcruxes than about you."
Ron's mouth fell open slightly. He had no idea that Hermione still didn't get it. "Uh, I…"
"But that's not true," Hermione continued sharply. She looked down at her feet. "I just thought that if I said I was staying, you'd end up staying too."
Ron took a deep breath. Damn, he still had to explain it. He exhaled slowly as he searched for the right words.
"Hermione, that's not exactly how it went. Do you know what I saw when I had to destroy the locket?"
Hermione looked up at him from under her lashes.
"I saw you," he continued. "I saw you… and Harry."
She looked up, surprised. "What were we…"
Ron could pinpoint the moment she started to realize. "You were kissing," he simply said.
Hermione stared at him with wide eyes.
"And you said some things too," he told her. "That you'd never notice me, that I was nothing compared to him."
"Compared to Harry? Ron, that's ridiculous… I don't compare you two, that's not even… You two aren't comparable, it's completely different!" Frustrated, Hermione jumped up from her bed and walked restlessly to another corner of the room. "I… we really kissed?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ron said. "Because the locket knew that's what I would hate the most."
"And you believe that… that I'd want that? Kissing Harry?" she asked incredulously.
"Not anymore. Harry has cleared up a thing or two. But at that moment, I kind of feared it…"
"You're such an idiot, Ron Weasley!" Hermione exclaimed. She stormed over to him and grabbed his hands, squeezing them quite hard. "How could you think… after all these years… and Ginny! What about Ginny! Harry loves her! And as for me, I've always thought of Harry as a brother! I thought that was obvious!"
"I've realized that I've been pretty blind," Ron chuckled, glad she had confirmed Harry's statement about them being like brother and sister.
Hermione calmed down and let go of his hands. She was still less than a foot away from him, and Ron found it difficult to concentrate on what he needed to say next.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Sorry I didn't understand earlier, and that it turned into such a mess."
Hermione looked at him with slight disdain. "That's… well, okay. I accept your apology."
"Really, I was a different person when I wore that locket."
"I said I accept your apology, Ron!"
"I heard that, but I hope you forgive me too."
Hermione was silent for a moment. "I'd already forgiven you a long time ago," she said eventually. "I was just a little confused."
"About?"
"My feelings. Don't panic," she said sternly when she saw the look on Ron's face.
"I'm not panicking."
"Oh no? That would be a first whenever I steer the conversation towards 'feelings.'"
Ron couldn't help but smile. "Feelings are scary for guys, you know that, right?"
"Yes, I know," she said. "I hope you outgrow that."
"You know, maybe I will, thanks to you," Ron said tenderly.
Hermione clearly didn't know what to say. She looked at him with a very intense gaze, her lips parted slightly.
"I'm glad you forgive me," Ron continued. He wanted Hermione to look at him like that for as long as possible because she had never looked at him like that before.
"But don't think that I'm suddenly going to like the little buildings you make of matches," she quickly said, as if to keep the conversation light. "You're still the worst architect I've ever met."
Ron laughed and stepped even closer to her, bringing his face within twenty centimetres of hers. He placed a hand on her waist. "Do you really think I care what you thought of the Eiffel Tower?" he said softly. He looked into her eyes, and from that moment, it was just the two of them. He had no idea where they were, what day it was, what time… It was Hermione and him and nothing else.
He read the confusion in her large, beautiful eyes and noticed that her breathing was unusually fast.
He took that as a huge compliment and pulled her a little closer.
"You can say what you want, 'Mione, but you did kiss me this afternoon," he whispered.
Hermione didn't know what to say, so she just stared at him with wide eyes, looking completely captivated.
Ron felt euphoric, powerful, better than he'd ever felt before. It was like he'd drunk half a bottle of Felix Felicis and nothing could go wrong anymore.
"So I suppose you don't mind if I do this…" Ron added softly before placing his other hand on her back.
"Ron," Hermione whispered weakly. She placed her hands on his chest and applied gentle pressure, almost as if she wanted to hold him back. Almost.
Ron saw in her eyes that wasn't the case. He gave her a teasing smile before pulling her closer and letting his lips brush against hers.
A subtle sigh escaped Hermione's lips as theirs met. It was a feather-light kiss.
Ron felt like he was going insane – in the best way there is. He pulled her tighter and deepened the kiss. Hermione let him; she was like clay in his arms. She leaned heavily against him, as if she could barely stand on her own legs.
That was the only reason Ron managed to hold himself back. He had to be careful, not do anything that might seem forceful.
Only when she responded did he know he was lost. Her hands moved up, over his chest, to his neck. She began kissing him back, first softly, then with increasing intensity. Ron's arms tightened around her waist like a vice as he kissed her back more fervently. It was incredible; he had never felt so alive.
Within seconds, they were in such an intense snogging session that nothing seemed enough – they needed everything, everything of each other, they had to have it all. Finally, they were one; one bundle of all kinds of emotions, one bundle of energy, desire and release after all those years of tension between them.
It took a few minutes before they finally broke apart. They both breathed heavily as they gazed into each other's eyes, too emotional to speak immediately.
Hermione's eyes were wet. Ron gently wiped away a small tear that had escaped from her right eye. Her cheeks were flushed red, and Ron knew his ears were as well.
"No, it wasn't so bad that you did that," Hermione said with a sigh.
Ron began to chuckle. Hermione joined in after a few seconds, and soon they were laughing together, still holding each other.
"I'm glad you like me again," Ron said with a broad grin.
"Well, you could put it that way," Hermione said, blushing.
That evening, Harry acted as though he hadn't seen anything unusual when he saw Ron and Hermione sitting hand in hand. He didn't react with surprise when Ron put his arm around Hermione during their umpteenth discussion of where Voldemort might be hiding. He even pretended to be oblivious when they both settled into the armchair, Hermione sitting across Ron's lap.
It was only when Ron and Harry were preparing for bed that Harry whispered to Ron, "You got one night, mate. After this, I expect you two to act like normal people around each other."
"Nothing's ever good enough," Ron replied cheerfully. "I made it up to her, you have nothing to complain about."
Harry pretended to be sick and then lay down in bed. "And I don't want any complaints when I see Ginny again. I mean, after this is all over."
"Not a word from me," Ron promised.
"Deal," Harry said. They exchanged grins.
At that moment, they both knew happier times were coming - if they managed to defeat the darkest wizard of all time and were still alive after everything.
Ron knew he would tell her then, the four words that had been running through his mind every time he saw Hermione. He would tell her, but only once their future was secure and nothing stood in their way.
He held on to that thought, the four words he lived for and fought for, every day, until the bitter end - I love you, Hermione.