Finally
~~~~~
Ron was sitting at the breakfast table the next morning, playing with his food. He had lost his appetite at the memory of last night. After all, his best friend had caught him checking her out, and then he had failed to tell said best friend that he was in love with her. So now she thought he was a pervert and he wasn’t any closer to telling her how he felt. Just great.
And to top it all off, Harry kept looking at him and snickering loudly. Apparently, Hermione had told Harry about how Ron was drooling over her the previous night. It was going to be a very long day.
“So, Ron,” Harry said, “I heard you like to stare at a certain best friend of ours.” He grinned very widely.
“Oh, stuff it,” Ron replied, turning very red as he continued to play with his food.
“Was she hot? I’ve never really looked. I figured it would perhaps seem strange if I stared at my best friend that way.” He seemed barely able to contain his laughter.
“Okay, I think you can be quiet now.”
“No, seriously...”
“SHUT UP!”
Ron’s face was red, but this time it was with anger instead of embarrassment. Harry decided to back off, as he still wanted to be alive when this was all over.
~~~~~
Hermione couldn’t stop thinking about the previous night. She wasn’t even paying attention in History of Magic, and she never ignored her teachers’ lectures. Last night, when he looked at her like that, it seemed as if he had almost wanted to kiss her or something. She’d casually mentioned to Harry that the recent reading had caused him to zone out often and that he’d happened to do so while looking at her.
But could Ron really be interested in her, the bossy bookworm? He was the Quidditch star. Why would he want her when he could get someone so much better? Maybe she was just thinking about this too much. He probably didn’t mean anything by it. It was just her mind wishing he was looking at her that way. Yes, that was it.
Ron sat nearby off in his little dreamland. Which was not unusual, as he never listened in Binns’ class. He was thinking about Hermione, and he found himself staring at her not unlike that way he had the night before. Which was rather stupid, as Harry was noticing and starting to laugh. Anyways, he was praying that Hermione hadn’t taken that look for what it was. He didn’t want to completely ruin his friendship. But ever since that damn bet, he was finding it harder to think of her as just his friend. All he could think about was Hermione on a broom, and how the wind swept through her hair. . .
“Ron! Hermione! Class is over. We can leave now.” Harry said.
They looked up to find the classroom completely empty. Ron glanced over at Hermione’s desk, which was covered with blank pieces of parchment.
“Hermione! You didn’t take any notes? I wasn’t listening to Binns!” Ron said in dismay. “Now I’ll have to read the damn chapter he was talking about. I seriously think that concussion is messing with your head. You always pay attention in History of Magic.”
“Well, Ron, that’s awful that you’re going to have to do some work for a change. I feel so bad for you.” Hermione replied sarcastically. “And my head is fine,” she added.
“But I might have paid attention if I’d known you weren’t going to. You could have at least warned me.”
Harry just stood there, watching the fight with an amused smile on his face. He didn’t try to break it up or get them to at least leave the classroom. It was pointless.
“You know Ron, I could make you pay attention every time and never give you my notes. You are so ungrateful sometimes!”
“That’s not true! I’m very grateful! I just don’t like to take notes!”
By this time, they were both yelling at each other.
“Do you think I like taking notes? I just do it so I can score well on the tests.”
“I always thought you enjoyed schoolwork.”
“I like knowing stuff, but I don’t like the work. I just do it because I have to. And is that what you think of me, that I’m just good for school?”
“No! Of course not!” Ron yelled.
“Oh, really, because you have a great way of showing it!”
“You’re good at loads of stuff besides school. You’re good at Quidditch, and you’re really nice, and you’re brave, and you’re loyal, and you’re sweet, and you’re beautiful, and I think I’m in love with you!”
‘Oh, Merlin, did I just say that?’ Ron thought in a panic.
“You. . .you. . .what?” Hermione asked, flabbergasted.
“Nothing. . .I just said that. . . nothing” he said sheepishly.
“You love me?” Hermione gasped.
‘Now it’s getting interesting,’ Harry thought with a grin.
“I. . .um. . .er. . .”
“Do you really love me?”
“Um, yeah, I guess I do,” he said, looking up at her and bracing himself for her rejection.
“Oh, Ron!” she said as she ran over and hugged him tightly.
He was very surprised at her reaction. He hugged her back, his face turning bright red. Harry slipped quietly out of the room, giving them some “alone time” to talk.
But they didn’t end up talking for long.
Ron pulled away from the hug and looked straight into her eyes. “Yes, Hermione, I’m in love with you.”
“Ron, I love you too. I’ve just been too afraid to say anything.”
“So have I.”
She smiled. They stood there for several moments, just looking at each other. At the same time, they both leaned in and their lips touched. The kiss gradually became more passionate as his tongue begged for entrance into her mouth. When she granted it, Ron put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Her hands found their way to his hair and began running through it. They finally broke apart when they noticed they were getting a few stares from the third years who had History of Magic next. Their faces turning red, they hurried out of the classroom.
~~~~~
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