The Difference A Letter Can Make

"You're acting like a complete idiot, Ronald Weasley, and I'm sick of it!"

"Yeah, well, you started it!"

"Oh, that's really mature, Ron," Hermione said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm so glad we can have an intelligent conversation."

"You're the one who's been writing love letters to him behind my back!" Ron shouted angrily.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Are you out of your mind?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "It was only one letter! And it certainly was not a love letter by any means! If you had taken the time to actually read it before making accusations, you would have realized that!"

Ron matched her glare. "I didn't want to invade your privacy!"

"How kind of you, Ronald, to show me such respect!" She gritted her teeth and looked him in the eye. "I don't know why I ever thought this relationship would work. I should be institutionalized for mental insanity!"

"What are you saying?" Ron retorted.

"I'm saying that I can't be in a relationship with someone who doesn't respect me and doesn't trust me!" She spun on her heel and stormed off, leaving Ron standing alone in the middle of the corridor.

He was floored. Shocked. Stunned. How on earth had this happened? One minute he had a girlfriend, and the next minute he didn't. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. They always fought - what made this time so different?

"Mr. Weasley?"

Ron turned at the sound of his name. "Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore peered at Ron through his half-moon spectacles. "Come with me, Mr. Weasley."

Ron followed the Headmaster through the corridors, wondering what this could be about. He kept his mouth shut until they reached Dumbledore's office and the gargoyle leaped aside to give them entrance. "Professor," he began as he took a seat, "did I do something wrong?"

Dumbledore ignored his question. "Tell me, Mr. Weasley, what was all that hollering about between you and Miss Granger? Lovers' quarrel?"

Ron grimaced. "You heard that?"

"Quite impossible not to hear it, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling. "I would reckon that half the castle heard you two."

"Great," Ron sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. "I suppose it was a lovers' quarrel. Although, not lovers anymore, apparently."

Dumbledore nodded. "I suspected as much. Might I ask what the argument was about?"

Ron hesitated to admit the cause of the row; however, he knew that he could trust Dumbledore, and he really needed to get this off his chest. "I found a letter she had written to Krum."

"Ah, Viktor," Dumbledore murmured. "Yes, carry on."

"Right, well, I got angry that she was still writing to him - I mean, she's been my girlfriend for two months now, and she's writing love letters to another guy!"

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "So you read the letter?" It was more a statement than a question.

Ron frowned. "No, not exactly. So what?"

"So, you don't know for sure that it was a love letter?"

"Well, no, not really," Ron admitted. "But why else would she be writing to Krum?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I have found, Mr. Weasley, that women often have reasons of their own that men will never understand no matter how hard we try."

Ron thought about that. Was it possible that the missive actually wasn't a love letter? Hermione had said that it wasn't, but he hadn't believed her... had she been telling the truth after all? His frown deepened. Perhaps he was as much of an idiot as she'd accused him of being.

Dumbledore gave him a knowing look. "Tell me, Mr. Weasley, what is it that drew you to Miss Granger in the first place?"

This gave Ron pause. Why was he with Hermione? What were the reasons that brought them together in the beginning? He took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose I was drawn by her determination to be my friend." He smiled at the memory. "She wouldn't let Harry and me ignore her, in spite of how hard we tried."

"Yes, I would imagine not," Dumbledore chuckled.

Ron continued. "After we became friends, I started to appreciate how bloody useful she was - not just in homework, of course," he quickly added, "but in other stuff as well."

"Such as..?"

"Well, whenever Harry and I got ourselves into some sort of trouble, Hermione was the one who could figure out how to get us out of trouble - if she wasn't mad at us, of course." Ron grinned. "If she was mad, then she'd just huff and puff and make us feel guilty till we finally did what she wanted."

"Under much protest from yourself, correct?"

Ron laughed. "Yeah, sometimes... All right, most of the time. But it was usually just to get a reaction from her - she's brilliant when she's angry. I reckon she could take on a hungry manticore if she had a mind to."

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, yes - I do believe she could." He pushed his spectacles up and gave Ron a serious look. "Is that why you started the argument about Mr. Krum?"

Ron didn't know how Dumbledore knew that he was the one to start the row, but it was true. "Yes and no," he answered, looking down at his shoes. "I like arguing with Hermione most of the time, but anytime she mentions that bloody git Krum I see red."

"Yes, those bloody Bulgarians can be a pain in the arse, if I do say so myself."

Ron would have choked if there had been anything in his mouth. Did Dumbledore just say what I thought he said? Ron smothered a laugh - not with complete success - and tried to act normal. Dumbledore's face showed no sign that anything was amiss, but Ron could have sworn that there was a smile lurking behind those half-moon spectacles.

Ron cleared his throat. "Er, right... well, back to Hermione, I suppose."

Dumbledore nodded. "And the letter."

Ron grimaced. "And the letter." He sighed. "We were going to go down to breakfast together this morning, but when I came downstairs I saw her writing the letter." He sat back and ran a hand through his hair. "All I saw was Krum's name at the top of the page and I went off. Called him some names and accused her of being in love with him - idiotic stuff, now that I think of it. Then I stormed out of the Common Room, she followed me, I shouted some more... well, you saw the rest."

"Yes, I did," Dumbledore confirmed. "And I believe Miss Granger shares your sentiments that your words were... idiotic."

Ron couldn't help but laugh. "Definitely." Then he sobered. "But it doesn't matter now. She doesn't want me, and I wouldn't deserve her even if she did."

"A man rarely deserves the gift of a woman's love, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said, "but it is a woman's choice whether or not to bestow that love upon him." He gave Ron a piercing look. "And I believe that, during this time of war, love is what we need the most."

Ron couldn't speak. Dumbledore's words echoed in his mind. Did he love Hermione? Bloody hell, yes! But did she love him? Well, that was still to be determined. Now the question was could he convince her that he truly was sorry and that he really did love her? And how on earth was he supposed to do it?

Dumbledore must have sensed his unspoken question. He peered over the top of his spectacles and said, "Fight for her, Mr. Weasley. Tell her how you feel and let her do the same. I think you'll be surprised."

Ron nodded thoughtfully and then realized that Dumbledore was dismissing him. He pushed back his chair and stood. "Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, Mr. Weasley."

Ron made his way down the corridor, his mind racing. He needed to find Hermione - he had to talk to her. He wasn't going to let her go without a fight, that was for sure. He was a Gryffindor, for Merlyn's sake, and Gryffindors didn't give up.

At least, that's what he'd heard.

Either way, he needed Hermione, and she wouldn't change her mind about their relationship unless he came up with some bloody good reasons. As he thought, he headed towards the library - he figured she would probably be pretty upset, and nothing made Hermione feel better than the library.

She wasn't there. He found Harry and Luna instead.

"She was here, Ron, but I think she's gone back to her room," Harry said. "She seemed pretty upset."

Ron wasn't surprised. Luna peered up at him. "It's about the letter, isn't it?"

"You know about the letter?" She nodded. "How?"

She just smiled, and he knew he wouldn't get an answer. "Thanks," he said. "I'll go find her."

"Good luck, Ronald!" Luna called after him. He waved a hand over his shoulder in thanks and headed for the door.

He frowned to himself. Hermione must be more upset than he thought if she had chosen the dormitories for her hideout rather than the stacks of books. He sighed. Girls sure didn't make things easy.

He climbed through the portrait hole and quickly saw that the Common Room was empty except for one person.

Hermione.

She was sitting in her favorite chair by the fire, her head against the cushion, fast asleep. Ron quietly crossed the room and sat down in the chair opposite hers, careful not to wake her. He looked into her face and noticed the evidence of tears upon her cheeks. His heart clenched - those tears were his fault, as usual. Merlin, he didn't deserve her. Maybe he should give up, Gryffindor or not. She deserved better than him - she deserved the best.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again, and then he stood, determined to do the right thing for Hermione. He started to walk away, when something in her hand caught his eye - a letter.

To Krum.

His heart stopped. Was this the same letter that had brought about this whole mess in the first place?

He moved closer and saw that it wasn't just one letter she held - it was three. Indecision gripped him. Should he read the letters or just walk away and forget the whole thing? If he read it and she caught him, she would be angry that he had invaded her privacy... on the other hand, she had insinuated this morning that he should have read the letter from the start...

He reached down and gently removed the pages from her fingers. Taking his seat again, he glanced down at the pages and saw that one of them was from Krum to Hermione. It was dated a few weeks ago, so Ron decided to read it first.

My dearest Hermione,

Forgive me for taking so long to reply to your last letter. I confess that I taken aback at the news you shared and I wanted to take my time in answering. You wrote that you were surprised when your Ronald told you that he wanted to be your boyfriend, but I am not surprised. When I was at Hogwarts I realized how he felt about you even then, but I was hopeful that you would return my feelings, not his. Unfortunately, this is not so. I want to be happy for you in this, Hermione, but my heart tells me differently.

I realize that it is most likely too late for me to say this, and I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner that I wanted you to be mine. Forgive me, Hermione, and please tell me if there is any hope at all for us.

Love,

Viktor

Ron held the letter tightly in his grip, summoning all of his self-control to keep himself from throwing the paper into the fire immediately. He wished the bloody git were here right now so he could...

He sighed. There were still two more letters to get through. He looked at the next one - the letter.

Dear Viktor,

I don't know what to say. Nearly three years of writing to each other and now you decide to tell me this? Now that I am out of your reach, you suddenly want me to be yours and yours alone? I don't understand you, Viktor, and I am sorry to say that the "us" you mentioned does not exist.

Viktor, you are a dear friend to me, and I have loved writing to you, but I cannot pretend that it was ever anything more than that. I love Ron, and I believe that he loves me as well. It is because of that that I cannot write to you any longer. I'm sorry.

Your friend,

Hermione

Ron stared at the paper for a moment and then read the letter again, shaking his head in disbelief. I love Ron, and I believe that he loves me as well.

His breath caught in his throat. He had accused her of writing love letters to Krum, when she was really telling him that she couldn't write to him anymore. Sweet Merlin, he really was an idiot. How could he have been so stupid?

He took a deep breath and took out the third letter. He hated to think what was in this one...

It was addressed to him.

Dear Ron,

I'm sorry. A million times sorry. I should have told you about the letter. I should have been honest from the beginning. But when you caught me writing to Viktor, I was afraid that you would hate me without giving me a chance to explain. I don't blame you for being angry, but I shouldn't have provoked you - I should have explained right away instead of shouting at you. I know that we fight more often than not, and usually it doesn't amount to anything other than a make up kiss. But this time I let it go too far. I was angry with myself and with Viktor, but I took it out on you. I'm so sorry.

I love you, Ron, more than I can say. I think I've loved you since you climbed aboard that giant chess piece and rode to our rescue. You're my hero, but even heroes need someone to believe in them. I let you down today. I shouted instead of explained. I accused you of not trusting me instead of trusting you to believe my explanation of the letter. Forgive me.

I don't think we should be together anymore, Ron, but not for the reasons you may think. The truth is that you deserve better than me. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to realize it.

I will love you always,

Hermione

"You really shouldn't read other people's post, you know."

Ron looked up and saw her watching him. "Hermione, I..."

She held up a hand to stop his words. "I'm sorry, Ron. I'm really sorry."

He slid out of his chair and knelt on the floor beside her. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have trusted you. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"I should have told you that I was still writing to him. I should have been honest, but I was afraid." A fresh tear rolled down her cheek. "Forgive me?"

He nodded. "If you'll forgive me."

She gave him a watery smile. "I love you."

He reached out and pulled her into a hug. "I love you, too."

"So," she mumbled against his shoulder, "we're not breaking up, then?"

He grinned and hugged her more tightly. "Not on your life."

FIN