A Tale in Which Ron Gets a Spine

Okay, you can do this. Piece of cake, right? She's been your friend for years; this is just a small step up, really. Its not like you're asking her to marry you...no way. You're just asking her to Hogsmeade. You go to Hogsmeade with her all the time...this will only be a little different, right?

Walk up to her...smile...there you go. Okay, ask her. What's the worst that could happen?

No, no, no, don't walk away...that's not how this is supposed to go. C'mon, where's all that Gryffindor courage you're supposed to have? Where'd it go? Why did you have to start thinking about being rejected? What makes you think that's what would have happened? Maybe she would have said yes...lets try this again...

Smile. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Walk towards her. Breathe. Confident, must seem confidant. Must not let her see how much she affects you. Now you are in front of her. Keep the smile...there you go. Now open your mouth and for Merlin's sake, ask her this time.

Mouth opens...and you walk away again. Okay, well, at least you got a little farther this time, even if you couldn't get your voice to work. And she didn't know you were there, that's another good thing. If she had noticed you, you would have really looked dumb. Okay, lets try this one last time.

Well, here we are again...in back of her. Smiling, that's a start...but let us try something different this time. Tap her on the shoulder...there you go...she turns...this is not the time to walk away, you moron! Turn back around this instant!

Okay, turning isn't an option right now...at least you stopped, and that's a start. It doesn't matter that you can't turn anyway, because here she comes.

She says your name. She sounds curious, but not angry. "Why did you take off?" she asks. Okay, now you need to tell her why you took off...you need to ask her already.

"..."

Um, that's not the way to do it. She looks confused, now she looks slightly upset...think you irritated her, mate. Good going. Well, she's leaving...this is seriously your last chance...SAY SOMETHING!!

Right, shouting in the library is not the brightest thing that you have ever done...but on the bright side, its not the worst either...remember when you told her that she looked like shed stuck her finger in a light socket, and she had just been trying a new look? Took you two full weeks to get her to look at you, and even then it was only to glare. I doubt that she'll be mad that long about getting kicked out of the library. Then again, the library is practically her second home...okay, maybe that isn't very comforting, but at least you didn't put your foot in it this time, and you did say something after all...even if it was only to shout "Shut up!"...Oh by the way, I highly doubt that talking to yourself is going to win her affection. It is the first sign of madness after all. And stop that muttering! Good Lord, the girl is going to think your nutters, and I must say I'm not far behind.

Oh, stop sulking! Really, you would think that you were five years old the way you are carrying on. Its not my bloody fault that you can't string a simple sentence together. I know what I want, I would go get it...I am the whole reason you were sorted into Gryffindor...that and the fact that every single person in your family has been in that House. Seriously, boy, get a little courage! Walk your arse into that common room and ask the girl to Hogsmeade already. Why on earth are you putting your head in your hands like that? That is no way to be acting when you've almost reached your goal!

You know, snorting doesn't become you at all. You really should never attempt it again; it makes you sound like a hungry pig. Oh, so you're not hungry are you? Well how about horny? Yes, I thought you'd prefer hungry. Oh well, no matter, my whole point is sitting here with your head in your hands will not help you any. Trust me on this one. And besides that, the Fat Lady is giving you a Look.

You know, when I said that you should move, I didn't mean for you to go away from the portrait; rather, I meant that you should go through it. Honestly, if you don't just get in there and ask her yourself, I will do it for you. Oh, don't believe me, huh? Well then, I guess I'll just have to prove myself to you, eh?

No, no more arguing. You had your chance, now it's my turn. Watch and learn, boy, watch and learn.

Ron Weasley felt the precise moment when the crazy Voice took over, because his feet stopped carrying him away from the Gryffindor tower and the certain embarrassment within and started taking him towards the very place he dreaded.

Stop. He told his feet in what was meant to be a Very Commanding Voice, and was dismayed to find that neither his voice nor his feet followed the thought. It was at that moment Ron felt how totally and completely in control the crazy Voice now was, and his attempt at calm, logical thinking flew out the window.

In all honesty, he didn't know why he had begun hearing Voices today of all days. There he'd been, minding his own business, idly thinking (for the forty thousandth time) about asking Hermione to go to Hogsmeade with him, when all of a sudden this loud Voice interrupted his nice daydream (the one where Hermione was so happy that he'd saved her from that idiot Krum by asking her to Hogsmeade that she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him ON THE LIPS) asking him when he was going to get around to putting his thoughts into actions.

At first Ron had simply listened to the Voice at first, too bemused that he actually had one to put up much resistance. It was only when said Voice had steered him to the library, and he actually began paying attention to what it was saying, that he began to panic. It seemed that this Voice had decided that Ron should ask Hermione to Hogsmeade, whether or not he wanted to.

Of course Ron wanted to. He had loved Hermione for as long as he could remember. He knew that he would have to eventually act on that, he told the Voice, but today just wasn't that day. Nope, not today at all. Today he would just be regular Ron Weasley, best friend to the love of his life, clumsy and bumbling...just like every other day.

The Voice had other plans, however. Before Ron could do more than give a token protest, he was standing in front of Hermione...or behind, rather, seeing as she had her head buried so deep in her book that all he could really see was her mane of bushy hair, which had only grown wilder over the years so that now it was completely untamable, looking tangled no matter how she brushed. Ron found it beautiful.

He wished that he could tell her how wonderful she was, but he really couldn't. Merlin knew, he had come close. Fourth year, he'd thought about telling her several times, but something always held him back. Fear, perhaps, that she would laugh in his face, tell him that he had waited too long, that she preferred Krum. Then in fifth year, there had been that crisis with Harry, where he never knew whether or not the other boy would blow. And then Sirius had died...it had just never been the right time.

But apparently Voices didn't really care about things like appropriate timing and picking the perfect moment to confess long-time adoration to one's best friend. All they cared about was whether or not they were wimps, which apparently Ron was. And being a wimp, it seemed, was simply not on.

To be honest, Ron usually wasn't much of a wimp. In fact, he was one of the reasons that Harry was still alive, from sacrificing himself in a game of real life Wizards Chess in first year to battling Death Eaters fifth year, just to keep his best friend safe. No, Ronald Weasley really was no wimp...except when it came to Hermione. When he saw her his knees went weak and he lost his train of thought, and so he did what came naturally: practically ignored her in favor of Harry, laughed at her attempts to free the house elves, and generally turned into an obnoxious prat.

Pondering this was all good and well, but Ron found that it was a much better idea to focus on getting control of his body back, as the crazy Voice was now leading his feet straight for the chair where Hermione sat, head once again buried in her book.

When he reached her, she looked up at him expectantly, and Ron tried to keep his mouth shut, really he did, but Evil Voices were definitely a force to be reckoned with, as it chose that moment to say, "Hermione...will you--"

But it only got that far, as Hermione exploded. "How dare you get me kicked out of the library and then not even apologize? Huh? And now I bet you want me to do something stupid like correct your Transfiguration homework, or do it for you, perhaps?" she glared hard at Ron, who was now himself, Voice having deserted him in pure terror. Coward. But that left Ron with trying to make Hermione less mad at him.

"No, 'Mione, I--" he started, but was once again interrupted.

"Don't you dare try to soften me by calling me that, Ronald Weasley. You don't have any consideration, do you? Always pretending I'm not there when you go off with Harry, or call me a bossy bookworm or an insufferable know-it-all...always laughing when I try to do something to help someone..." Hermione trailed off, and Ron was horrified to see tears streaking down her face. He tried to say something, but was once again cut of by Hermione as she stood. "I'm not going to take it anymore," she declared, chin high. "I'm sick and tired of being treated like I don't matter. So you can get someone else to do your homework for you, because I--"

Why Hermione wouldn't be doing Ron's work for him he never got to find out, because he'd decided that it was about time he interrupted Hermione. And he did. By sealing his lips over hers. Hermione gave a small, surprised gasp, but didn't pull away, and taking it as a sign of encouragement Ron wrapped one hand around her arm and pulled her closer. He stroked the other hand down the side of her face, wiping away the tears as he slowly traced her lips with his tongue.

He was stunned when her mouth opened for him willingly, and even more so when she looped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It was slow and soft and tentative; Ron didn't know where to put his hands or tilt his head and they kept bumping noses. In a word, it was perfect.

When he finally pulled away Ron felt his face heat up, and he knew he was blushing furiously. Looking down at his shoes he mumbled something, and Hermione gently tilted his head up with her finger under his chin. "What?" she asked softly, and with his eyes glued to the wall above her head, Ron let it out in a rush.

"I'm always so rude to you because I like you, I have since forever but was scared you didn't like me back, Harry said you did but you had Krum and I wasn't sure and I didn't want--"

It seemed today was Ron's day to be interrupted, as Hermione placed her hand over his mouth. Startled, Ron finally looked at her, and realized that she was blushing just as hard as he was. Sighing softly, Hermione said, "You daft idiot," and then she was kissing him, and suddenly Ron knew why she was always so bossy around him; she was nervous because she liked him too, and why hadn't he noticed it before?

When the kiss was over they were both smiling. Hermione held Ron's face in her hands and told him, "I've liked you for ages, but every time I tried to say something things just seemed to go bad. It was never the right time, and you were always so rude that I figured maybe I was wrong, maybe you didn't like me at all."

Ron stared at Hermione in shock. "How could I not like you?" he asked. "You're beautiful." Hermione blushed, and Ron kissed her again, deciding that maybe having a Voice for a day wasn't such a bad thing after all...

Which was when the Voice decided to make a comeback. Told ya so, it trilled smugly in his head, before Ron told it to shut the hell up and went back to the only thing that he wanted to do for the next century or so.