A Perfect Love

A Perfect Love

Chapter 1: Friends and Enemies

"NO, Ron! I won't let you copy my homework!"
It was yet another common room dispute between Ron and Hermione. Harry rolled his eyes and almost laughed. How annoying.
"But, Hermione, it's History of Magic! Where will I find all that information?"
"Hmm ... how about ... your textbook?"
"But it's over a thousand pages ... how will I know where to find it?"
"Try the index!"
Harry laughed silently as Ron struggled to find an argument.
"But, Hermione ... but,"
"THAT IS IT! Good night, Ron!"
She stormed up the stairs and went into the girls' dormitory. How annoying, she thought.
Ron grunted in frustration, and went to the boys' dormitory to get his textbook. How annoying.
Harry laughed out loud when they were both gone.

The next morning, Ron went to breakfast only to find Hermione with her nose in Strange Spells for Strange Wizards. She saw him, huffed, and buried her face only still deeper into the book. He rolled his eyes, and helped himself to toast and sausage. He smiled. "These house-elves sure do work their fingers to the bone for us. Too bad S.P.E.W. isn't working out, huh, Hermione?"
Her skin turned red with anger. Ron knew only too well that the only people she had managed to get into S.P.E.W. had dropped out because they didn't want to cook their own meals or make their own beds.
Harry was a little concerned. Their arguments had never gone this far. They usually got over it before breakfast. Well, he was sure they would soon stop fighting.
"Ron, will you stop behaving like a child?" Hermione said.
"I will when you stop acting like a stuck-up little know-it-all snob," said Ron.
"Oh, Ron, aren't we witty today?"
"I guess you would know, wouldn't you, Little Miss Perfect?"
"Oh, SHUT UP, you two!" Harry shouted, causing half the Gryffindors to look over at him strangely.
"Well, aren't we a grump?" said Ron.
Harry rolled his eyes and went back to his poached eggs.

That afternoon, as Ron and Hermione were forced to sit next to each other in Herbology while they worked with their Venomous Tentacula, trying to get it to settle down long enough to get a saliva sample, all three of them were thorougly miserable. Harry had gone through this many times with them, so he was confident that they would make up. The only time it had gone this far was when Crookshanks had appeared to have eaten Scabbers. They only got over that when Buckbeak's execution was announced.
I can't believe I have to work with a Venomous Tentacula with this girl, Ron was thinking. She's such a snob. I don't know what Viktor Krum ever saw in her.
This boy is so uncouth, it is not even funny, Hermione was thinking. He's a creton and a slob. I don't know why I ever became friends with him.

That night, Ron was tossing and turning in his bed as he slept. He was having a weird dream. He was with Hermione, and they were walking toward each other in a small, cramped room. Their foreheads touched each other, and their lips met. Her tongue crept from her mouth and entered his and explored it freely. He gladly joined in. He took her shirt and moved it so that her shoulder was revealed. He began to kiss it, moving down to her collarbone, moving down to her ...
He woke up, sweating. He had a weird feeling. He lifted up the blanket and sheet. "Uh-oh."

After cleaning himself up and changing, he went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. When he saw Hermione, their eyes met, and his face went pink. She was puzzled. She was also still angry with him. He had always been asking her to let him copy his homework, and do all sorts of things that were wrong, and this was the last straw. She began to feel weirdly strange inside. Finding herself concerned, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Ron said and ate his toast with his head down, avoiding her eyes.
"What's wrong with Ron?" Harry asked as he came down the stairs.
"I don't know."
I can't believe that just happened, Ron was thinking, How could I ... have a dream like that? I have no attraction to this girl ... I don't think. He looked up, and he noticed that she was quite striking. No. NO. NO! You can't like Hermione. She's not for you. She's not ... like you.

By lunchtime, Hermione began to wonder why Ron was avoiding her like this. He seemed embarrassed about something, although Hermione couldn't think of what it could be. As she sat through History of Magic, she found that she had been staring at Ron, who was staring at Professor Binns with a vacant look in his eyes. He looks cute like that. What am I saying? She willed herself to look away, but she didn't. She didn't because deep down inside she really wanted to look at his handsome face, his toned features, his small, but still defined arms.

That night Hermione was having a strange dream. She was in the Hogwarts library talking to Madam Pince about checking out Maxell's Guide to Creatures of the Middle East, when she looked down. She looked up and Madam Pince wasn't there. Ron was. "Ron!" she said, and he put his fingers over her mouth. He kissed her. She was filled with a strange sort of happiness she had never felt before. His tongue pressed against her closed lips. She wouldn't let it through, but he persevered, and she let him explore her mouth. It felt good, so she returned the favor. She put her hands on his shoulders, then moved them down to his waist, down to his hips, down to his ...
She woke up, sweating. "Oh, my God," she said to herself. She went to the bathroom and splashed some cool water on her face, and stared at herself in the mirror, wondering why in the world she had an erotic dream about Ron, for heaven's sake.