Hermione Granger + Ron Weasley = Love?

Hermione Granger was sitting at a desk in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, doing her Transfiguration homework. Her bushy brown hair was draped on the desk. She moved her hand to tuck it behind her ears, and as she did so, she looked up.

It was a typical night in Gryffindor Tower. People were settled in armchairs, chatting or playing various wizarding games. Hermione spotted her two best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, playing a game of wizard chess. Boys, thought Hermione to herself. Don't they ever do any work? She shrugged, smiling, and went back to her work. However, her attention to her homework was soon distracted again as she heard a loud, raucous laugh, which she recognised as Ron's. Hermione directed her gaze at him, though he wasn't aware of her stare.

Crookshanks jumped on to her lap and she stroked him absentmindedly, lost in thought about Ron. Was he something more than a friend? Hermione remembered how much she had hated him and Harry in their first year, until they had ended up saving her life, risking theirs. She remembered the times when Ron had been her enemy. There was the Scabbers/Crookshanks affair, the Firebolt affair, and the Yule Ball affair, when Ron had neglected to ask her to go with him, waiting until Hermione had unknowingly (to him) been snared by Viktor Krum, the Bulgaria Seeker. He could be such a dimwit. Hermione remembered how last year Ron and Harry had stopped speaking to each other temporarily, and she kept going back and forth between them, trying to get them to make up.

After all that, there was something about Ron that attracted Hermione to him more than to Harry. Why was that? She wasn't really attracted to the heroic type, although she still liked Harry a lot. Was it Ron's dimwittedness that attracted her to him? Or was it his happy-go-lucky outlook on life? Was it his short temper, or the way his ears went red when he was under pressure. Well, Hermione told herself, at least it's not for his family.

Hermione had been to stay with Viktor Krum during the summer holidays, and as she got to know him better, she realised that they weren't really suited to each other. He wasn't really her type. But then, she and Ron had never been the perfect match, either. They were complete opposites. Maybe that's why I like him, though, thought Hermione. I've heard of people being attracted to their complete opposite. She was interrupted in her thoughts by Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown.

"What are you doing, Hermione?" asked Lavender.

"Huh?" said Hermione. "Oh, not much. I'm supposed to be doing my Transfiguration homework, but..." She trailed off, staring.

"What are you staring at?" asked Parvati.

"Oh, nothing...nobody..." answered Hermione. She was being very vague.

Lavender could tell that what Hermione had said wasn't true, so she followed her gaze. "You're staring at Ron, aren't you?"

Hermione was very embarrassed, but she couldn't really deny anything. "Uh...yeah.."

"You like him, don't you?"

"Yeah, and Harry. I like them both -"

"No," said Parvati. "Lavender was asking if you liked Ron as a...well...you know..." She broke off, giggling.

"Of course not," said Hermione, but she was blushing, which told the girls that she wasn't being entirely truthful. They ran over to tell Ginny, who approached Hermione. "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Parvati and Lavender just told me that you liked Ron."

"So what? Is that a bad thing?"

"Of course not," said Ginny, and Hermione saw that she was beaming. "I say go for it, Hermione. Not many girls are attracted to my big brother except a few, but they're not really competition."

"Thanks for being so supportive, Ginny," said Hermione, giving her a hug. "Please don't tell Ron, I'll tell him myself when I'm ready."

"Of course I won't tell Ron. I only hope Parvati and Lavender haven't told him already." Ginny walked away. Hermione grinned as she went back to her work. She was in love.

*******

Ron was playing chess with Harry. He had just finished his move, and looked away as Harry concentrated. His gaze happened to fall on Hermione. As usual, she was absorbed in her work. Vintage Hermione, he thought to himself. Always hard at work.

"Your move, Ron," said Harry.

"Oh, right. Knight to H2." He looked at Hermione again. She had been his friend on and off for nearly five years now. Was she becoming something more than that? Ron allowed his mind to fill with memories. He remembered how he had thought she was such a show-off when they first met. How he had hated her. Her, and her strong regard for rules. He remembered that, as he got to know her, she had mellowed somewhat in that respect. Still, there were some things that had annoyed him over the years. How she had told about Harry's Firebolt. How she had pretended Crookshanks was innocent of eating Scabbers, until the truth came out. All those times that Ron had made her cry. Ron admitted to himself that he had been foolish sometimes, especially last year, before the Yule Ball, when he neglected to ask her to go with him until she had been asked by Viktor Krum. He had been terribly jealous.

Still, after all those arguments and bad times, there was still something that attracted him to her. Was it her deep brown eyes? Or her determined nature? He couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. He remembered Padma Patil, Parvati's twin sister in Ravenclaw, had liked him after the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. But, he realised, that was only because I was getting so much attention. Other thoughts came flooding into his head, when he had stood up for Hermione, and when she had been concerned about his safety. That was it! He had pinpointed why he thought so highly of her. Despite her bossy nature, she cared about her friends. She's really alright, Hermione Granger, Ron thought to himself. I think I might be in love with her.

Harry's voice tuned Ron out of his thoughts. "Uh, Ron, hello," he said, waving his hand in front of Ron's nose. "I've been trying to get your attention for about five minutes now. It's your -" He stopped mid-sentence. "Who are you looking at?"

"Nobody," said Ron hastily, but he didn't look away.

"That's a lie, Ron. Tell the truth." Harry followed Ron's gaze. "It's Hermione, isn't it?"

"No," replied Ron distractedly.

"Ron," said Harry. "Look at me. I'm your best friend. You can tell me you like her. Don't worry about me being jealous, because I'm not." Then as Ron opened his mouth he said, "Don't try and deny it. It's been obvious for a while now."

"Excuse me, Harry," said Ron. He wasn't the type to bottle up his feelings for someone, and he definitely wasn't going to bottle them up now, such were the feelings he had for Hermione. "There's something I've got to do." Ron got up, and walked over to Hermione. Harry, realising what would be happening in a second, signalled the noisy common room to shut up.

"Hermione?" Ron said, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Yes?" answered Hermione. "Oh, Ron, it's you!"

"There's something I've got to tell you. " He grabbed her hand, and she pushed back her chair and stood up. The whole common room was listening in. "Hermione Granger, you've been my best friend for years now, so I think it's only fair that I tell you this." The words stuck in his throat. He couldn't say it.

"Spit it out, Ron," said Hermione. "It can't be that bad, whatever it is."

"Hermione, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to say. Well, it's just..well..."

"What?"

"Hermione," Ron said, taking her hand. Her heart was pounding. "Hermione, I love you." There. He had said it.

"Ron, that is the sweetest thing you've ever said to me." She paused, then said," I love you too."

They just stared at other tenderly for a few moments, until Lee Jordan yelled, "Go on, kiss her already!" Everyone laughed.

Ron, taking the hint, kissed Hermione tentatively on the lips, and enjoying it, she kissed him back. The whole common room cheered and clapped. Ron and Hermione had finally made their feelings, which had been obvious for a long time, clear to each other.