Finding a Voice

RON

...and then it hot me like a rock. Smack! I like Hermione... Hermione Granger... I found myself starving, but unable to eat; tired, but unable to sleep; yearning her love, but unable to seize it. I withdrew from the world. What else was I to do? I couldn’t even bare looking at her anymore, for fear I’d lose myself and shout out how I felt...

I stopped talking. Well, I did talk to Harry, Neville, Ginny, so on and so fourth, but Hermione...NO! NEVER! I just couldn’t bring myself to say, “Hello,” and move on. I would like to say it was that simple, and my desire faded with time...But is love ever that simple? It became worse. I failed a grading period in Potions, because instead of studying, I doodled her face...And the most complicated thing, she noticed...

I was stupid enough to believe that she wouldn’t care that I hadn’t looked at her in a week. Or a month... Or more, I wouldn’t know, time no longer existed. She questioned me, all the time...

“Ron, what is wrong with you?”

“Erm...”

“I feel like you don’t even care about me anymore...”

And Oh! how I wanted to shout, “But I do! I love you, oh so much! I just can’t talk...”

“Uh...”

“Fine, I won’t talk to you either!”

So we had an argument. If she was mad, I didn’t have to talk to her...

HERMIONE

...words eluded him. I mean, he stopped conversation completely. He didn’t even ask to use my notes from History of Magic anymore. That’s when I knew something was wrong, but he wouldn’t say. So I asked.

“Something wrong, Ron?”

Nothing.

Talk to me!”

Nothing.

“Ahh! Fine, don’t talk! I hate you for this!”

HARRY

...bloody gits! My best friends won’t even admit they like each other! They are killing me! Ron refuses to talk and Hermione is mad at him. Frankly I am inclined to spill their secret to them...

DRACO

...so that is why I hate Mudbloods more then life itself. Granger annoys me more then imaginable. All I have to say is if I lose this bet with Pansy I will murder them... Well not murder, but I make my point!

GINNY

...saddens me. Not that I don’t like Luna, but after this year she’ll be my only good friend at Hogwarts. She is always so “out of it.” I wish that Hermione wasn’t leaving, and especially Harry...

RON

...end of the year feast. I almost wanted to cry. I loved Hogwarts so much, and it would be one of the hardest things it leave it, that was of course after Hermione. I hadn’t talked to her since our fight, and now I didn’t know how to get in contact with her. She was starting some job with Gringotts in Norway and had a new address. But I still couldn’t talk. So I sat with my meat pie in silence as the Great Hall buzzed with sorrowful goodbyes.

Hermione walked along the Hufflepuff table with her elogance trailing behind her. She stopped where Luna was sitting and they exchanged a hug and slips of paper, apparently with addresses. What was I going to do? Remain in silence forever? Let her leave my life? I decided I would have to talk, so I got up and trudged to the table.

“H-hi, Hermione...”

“Oh, hi, Ron,” she muttered still mad.

I looked around, “Can I talk to you? In private?”

“Here is fine,” she shrugged and walked further down the table to Justin’s seat.

“O-o-ok,” I stammered. “I just wanted to tell you, I-I... I... I-I... I...” I opened my mouth wide trying to spill the words.

“Look, Ron, here is my address. Write me when you feel up to it,” she said and turned to Justin to say bye.

“No, I have to tell you in person...”

“Well, then spit it out! I don’t have time to stand here listening to you mutter nonsense!”

“I-I...” So she left me there. She walked back to Gryffindor and got Lavender’s address. I couldn’t let her leave. I may never see her again, and so I stood there like an idiot until I realized I was shouting across the Great Hall...

HERMIONE

...I couldn’t believe it was over. I had so many memories of people and places...The library, the third floor corridor, the common room, Harry, Ginny, Luna...Ron. During those last moments of the end of the year feast, I felt a deep loathing for him. He wouldn’t speak and we would most certainly be seperated forever if we didn’t at least exchange addresses to write to.

I sighed thinking over some things and walked to say bye to Luna. “Hi, Luna!”

She looked up. “Hermione, oh, hello. How are you?”

“I’m fine... I was wondering if you had an address I could write to you... so we could say hi sometimes... and stuff...” I trailed off at a loss for words. Luna was not a good conversationalist...

“Oh, here,” she said scribbling something down.

“Erm... Thanks, see you, Luna...”

“Bye, Hermione,” she said, staring longingly at the at the wall and mouthing something odd. I rubbed my head and moved on to talk to Justin, when there was a tapping at my shoulder. I turned and came face to face with Ron.

“Hi, ‘Mione...”

“Oh, hi, Ron...” I turned to Justin and tried to start a conversation but miserably failed.

“Can I talk to you?” asked Ron, and I turned back to him.

“Fine...”

“I just wanted to tell you, I-I....” he stammered and stopped.

I sighed and figured he was just joking with me. I scribbled my address, my address, and handed it to him. “You can write me later. I don’t have time for this.”

“But, this isn’t something I can write in a letter,” he muttered.

I lost my temper just then. “Well, then bloody spit it out!”

“I-I...” I walked away...

HARRY

...end of the year feast, I was beaming. Dumbledore offered me a job, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I must admit, when I saw Snape’s face, I had to use a charm to stop my laughter... He was perturbed beyond belief...

I sat in my self glee and stared around the Great Hall. There were so many people I wanted to say bye to, but I had no idea were to start. I scanned the Hufflepuff table. Luna, Justin... I took a sharp intake of breath and prayed... Ron was talking to Hermione, or rather stuttering, and Hermione looking very pissed off...

Finally she just walked away, and that was when the ear piercing scream was heard through the hall...

DRACO

...FINALLY! I am leaving Hogwarts, and I am proud to say with more special credits in my classes then Weasley, and, I still can’t believe this, Potter combined. Granger managed to beat me, but father will see to it, personally, that I get a better job then her...

OW! Christ! Who is screeching?!

GINNY

It’s the end of sixth year... Harry and Hermione are leaving, but I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of them. One good thing will come of next year, at least... I was named Qudditch Captain...

Bloody hell? Where is that damn screeching coming from?

RON

...“HERMIONE! I LOVE YOU WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING! I LOVE YOU! I’VE BEEN TO SHY TO TELL YOU, BUT I CAN’T LET YOU WALK OUT OF MY LFE FOREVER! I LOVE YOU!!!”

The students froze in mid-conversation. Hermione had had her back to me, and she slowly turned and looked at me with wide eyes. Seconds passed, but it felt like hours... And all of a sudden she was running at me, and she caught me in an embrace. “How could I have been so dumb?! I should have known! Oh, Ron, you bloody fool, you git, I love you too!”

The Great Hall burst into uproar, cheering for us, as if they had been expecting his forever, but afterwards, I realized I should have too...

HERMIONE

I had made it half way to Lavender when the screeching rang through the hall. I took me a few minutes to realize what was said. Someone apparently loved someone with every fever? of their bee? And they couldn’t let them walk out of their mife? for liver? Lavender looked me square in the eye and winked. I widened eyes as if to ask what she meant, and finally looked around.

Ron was a deep shade of red, and the Great Hall was looking back and forth between us... Oh, God, did he finally figure out I... I fancied, no, loved him? I thought for a second a realized what he said...

AHHH!!!

He loved me too! I ran towards him in complete glee and hugged him so tightly, I thought I’d crack his bones. I muttered in his ear, “I am a bloody git, god, I love you too.”

And so we kissed and the Great Hall exploded in whoops of joy. I was the happiest person in the Great Hall that day, well, except maybe Ron. He kept giggling...

HARRY

...have to admit, Ron almost broke my bloody ear drums, but they realized the truth all right... So did the whole school... I am still debating whether to tell them that at the staff table some money exchanged hands. People have been betting about their “get-together” longer then the Quidditch World Cup...

DRACO

No! He didn’t! I owe Pansy a sack of Galleons now! Damn you, Weasley!

GINNY

...Luna owes Pamda Patil 29 sickles...Yes! They finally realized they fancy each other! I guess I will be seeing more of Hermione around the Burrow...

MR. AND MRS. RONALD WEASLEY

“It took you long enough to realize I liked you,” she says, looking at him.

“I had to realize I liked you, first, ‘Mione,” he says, blushing. “I still can’t believe I yelled that.”

“Well, if you hadn’t we wouldn’t be here, husband and wife,” she says, pecking him on the cheek.

He turns a bright shade of scarlet. “I love you, Hermione.”

“I know,” she says. “I love you too, that is what frightens me.” And they kiss.