Ron walked into Transfiguration with Harry, late as usual. Everyone had already been seated and there were only two empty seats. One next to Neville, which Harry spotted; and the other was next to Hermione…

Professor McGonagall talked on and on about transfiguring different objects and animals, about the laws of magic implied in transfiguring these objects and animals and she stressed the importance of knowing exactly what you wanted to turn them into. She glanced at Ron and Harry sitting down, and smiled to herself… “Some things never change.”

An hour had passed. The class was silent. That’s how professor McGonagall liked it.

Everyone had been feverishly taking down every word she’d uttered or looking to see what the enchanted piece of chalk was writing on the board. Everyone, that is, except Ron Weasley, who was staring dreamily at Hermione, while she copied every word enthusiastically from the board.

“Aaahh… Hermione…” he sighed. Ron had recently discovered his attraction towards his friend but was too scared to tell her! And then the perky Lavender Brown came pouncing on him the day he helped win the first Quidditch match for the season, he just didn’t know what to do…

That match; it had changed everything for Ron! Hermione had been his inspiration that day.

Her beautiful smile, he’d watched her from his position at the goal posts on the pitch that day as she sat there cheering for him and the rest of the Gryffindor team.

He did it for her, to show her that he’s good at something too… She was always better than him at every subject, he often found this annoying, although recently he had begun to find her intelligence attractive. Then Lavender surprised him, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She had made several attempts before to attract his attention in the common room, in the hallways and in Divination, but he was always with Hermione. After Ginny spilled the beans about Hermione and Victor Krum at the Yule Ball, he decided to give it a try with Lavender, since Hermione didn’t tell him that she’d snogged Krum now did she? So, in a fit of rage and jealousy, Ron decided that he didn’t quite care about Hermione at all.
But no matter what he tried, he just couldn’t get Hermione out of his mind; all he ever thought about was Hermione Granger…

“She is just so beautiful, and not to mention bloody brilliant!” He’d often find himself thinking about her, even when he was with Lavender!

Ron snapped to his senses… he just sat there, watching as she scribbled down notes from the board, dipping her quill into her bottle of ink every few minutes. That determination; and her feisty look; it was enough to make poor Ron’s heart dance in summersaults.

He was glad he’d got rid of Lavender, she was becoming a bit of a pest. Even Harry began to distance himself from Ron. Every chance she’d got she would snog him, and she didn’t seem to care who was watching. This seemed to make his feud with Hermione much less likely to end. And he really missed her. He missed talking to her, arguing with her over Crookshanks, losing to her in battles at their D.A. meetings and most of all, he missed hearing her call him by his full name, Ronald.

After all, she was the only one that ever called him that, and he loved it. But after the incident in Professor Slughorn’s office, Ron found everything a little hazy and couldn’t seem to remember when and how he’d broken up with Lavender. Had he told her straight off?

He wasn’t too sure, all he knew was that he’d said something to offend her while unconscious and Professors Dumbledore and Snape had witnessed this along with a few Gryffindor friends, but that didn’t matter to him now, he was just relieved to be on normal terms with Hermione again; she was all smiles and that’s what mattered to him.

However, Lavender seemed furious with him; the night after he returned from the hospital wing, she flung a fork at him down the dinner table as he smiled reproachfully at her.

Thankfully she had a bad aim and it hit the back of Malfoy at the Slytherin table! Malfoy didn’t know who or what had hit him, but it was for his own good! Ron simply didn’t understand why she did that. Something definitely happened in the hospital wing while he was unconscious… Had he muttered Hermione’s name instead?

Harry hadn’t been of much help either. He’d been so amused by whatever had happened in the hospital and he wasn’t showing any sign of telling Ron what had happened, not to mention he seemed a little distracted recently… Ron just didn’t know why. He assumed it was due to his late-night classes with Professor Dumbledore and the spells and secrets he’d been learning to help him fight You-Know-Who.

Then again, Harry would talk to him if it was about that. Dumbledore had even asked him to, saying that it would be best to let his two best friends know about Tom Riddle and the dangers that followed. Ginny also seemed to be in a lost world… she never ignored him when he’d greet her at breakfast. And no one seemed to see any sign of Dean anymore. “I really wonder what’s going on with everyone recently…” he sighed. It was a lovely day; maybe the three of them could walk to the courtyard and sit in the sun like they usually do?

“Ron, aren’t you going to take anything down in Transfiguration? Your book has been open to exactly the same page since you took it out of your bag, and your ink and quill haven’t been touched since. You do know our N.E.W.T. exams are around the corner!” Hermione said sounding disappointed. She could see that Ron was lost in his thoughts; in any case, it wasn’t like he or Harry weren’t going to learn from her notes! She always got them to study with her, especially the previous year for their O.W.L.s., or she’d copy notes for them when they had Quidditch. So, he really didn’t have to worry.

Ron loved studying with Hermione. She has this spark in her eyes when she’s passionate about something; he reckons that’s what helped him pull through all these years… Especially in his worst subject: potions.

Ever since the very first day he’d seen her on the Hogwarts Express, when she’d barged into the compartment he and Harry were in, Ron’s heart always skips a beat whenever he hears her voice or sees her smile. Today is one such day and sitting next to her made it more difficult for him to hide his feelings for her… or so he thought!

“Ron, for Merlin’s sake, why are you staring out the window like that?” Clearly, Hermione hadn’t noticed him staring starry eyed at her, she thought he was staring out at the grounds.

“Ron’s probably thinking about Quidditch again…” she sighed sarcastically. “Oh…er… Hermione, nothing… just a little lost since I was in the hospital wing for the past few days.”

He’d hoped she’d believe his fib, he’d been a little flustered, and he was certain she was just trying to make up for the awkward silence.

Neville was having trouble as usual transfiguring his objects, so Harry tried helping. Ron turned and looked over to Harry mouthing, “I’ll catch up with you after class.”

To which Harry replied “yeah, sure.” He wanted to talk to Hermione after class, and since Harry seemed busy helping Neville, which means he’d have to help Neville pack his things away as well and would be delayed; he thought he’d cease the opportunity.

“All right everyone, tomorrow you are going to learn how to transfigure your appearance and I want each of you to note this down carefully, and make sure you read pages 750 to 786 on transfiguring human appearance at will and have the essay ready for me next week. In your essay do not forget to record your experiences after you’ve transfigured. Also remember that this isn’t transfiguration into an animagus like me, but rather more an alteration of the colour of your hair, and basic appearance often used by Aurors…” she looked over at Harry, almost smiling, as she said this, pointing out he needed to work extra hard since he wanted to be an Auror.

She then resumed her usual stern look and continued. “And this time I would appreciate it if you all make an effort to try out the exercise instead of Miss Granger being the only diligent one.” She smiled at Hermione and then dismissed them.

After class, Ron, Hermione and Harry (who didn’t have to stay behind with Neville to Ron’s dismay) had found a quiet place outside in the courtyard to sit. It was a lovely summer day, not a cloud in sight!

“Do either of you fancy a visit to Hagrid? We’ve hardly seen him all term you know.” Harry asked as they sat there just talking about Transfiguration. “And he’s sent me this letter about Aragog.” Ron supposed that Harry was just trying to start a conversation since this was the first time in months the three of them were actually out together since Ron’s episodes with Lavender.

“Wait, Aragog? You mean that thing that told all his children it was perfectly all right to eat us alive in the Forbidden Forest four years back?” Ron started panicking.

“Ron I’m sure he was sorry about it. What kind of beast is Aragog anyway?” Hermione hadn’t met Aragog, or she’d realise why Ron was so worked up over it. “Aragog is an old friend of Hagrid’s and Ron liked visiting his domed web in second year, didn’t you Ron?” Harry mocked. “That thing is sick, and you expect me to visit it? What shall I do, rub it’s pincers with ointment so it can attack me?” Ron replied crossly.

“Are you two talking about that acramantula that is friends with Hagrid?” Hermione asked innocently. “Ofcourse we are, aren’t we Ron?” But Ron was quivering, and he didn’t realise that he had grabbed hold of Hermione’s hand. Without thinking he let go and the three of them laughed at the thought of them ever visiting a sick spider and just how ridiculous that was. Ron felt at ease once again.

Things were back to normal again.

Off late, Ron began to feel that he needed to spend some time alone with Hermione; he needed to talk to her. He just had no idea what to say or how to go about saying it. Nearly all their conversations were about Harry, or school, and most of the time they argued over petty little things, unless ofcourse Harry was around to reduce the awkwardness or stop their arguments.

The next morning, a beautiful Saturday, Ron awoke early in their Gryffindor dorm room, smiling to himself. As usual, Harry was still fast asleep. He usually wakes up a bit late due to his scar burning at night, often as late as midnight…

“Poor Harry, he probably had a rough night; I don’t envy him at all, what with having to see into creepy You-Know-Who’s mind every other night.” Ron was worried about this connection of Harry’s mind to Voldemort’s, it was terrifying… But nothing could change the fact that You-Know-Who was at large again.

This was yet another reason for him to speak to Hermione, but he was scared…more scared, he’d reckon, than he’d be if he had to deal with a Bogart-spider. He just couldn’t seem to muster up the courage and tell her.
He’d tried practicing in front of the mirror in the girls’ bathroom on the second floor; since nobody used it, and they had successfully brewed Polyjuice Potion in there once; but Moaning Myrtle’s ghost appeared through a drain pipe, and thinking that he’d been trying to flatter her, she chased him out the abandoned bathroom.

Ron considered asking Harry for help since he’d successfully dated Cho last year and she was a year older than him, which was remarkable, given that Harry was about as nervous as and shivery around Cho as Ron was around Hermione. Not that Ron was aware of his best mate’s latest fancy to notice the change of behaviour in Harry every time Ginny entered the same room as him!
With one last glance at his best friend sound asleep, Ron decided to ask Harry for advice when he woke up.

He got dressed and made his way down the spiralled staircase to the common room. It was practically empty, apart from a single figure hunched over a table in the furthest corner of the room near the fireplace. It was well into summer, so there weren’t any embers burning like on a typical winter morning, and it was rather unusual for someone to be seated so close to the fireplace in summer.

As he walked closer to the figure, he noticed the bushy brown hair and a large book that stuck out the side of the red sofa. It was Hermione. She had already started learning for her N.E.W.T.s! Walking closer to her, he noticed it was a Transfiguration book borrowed from the library, judging by his unfamiliarity with the cover. She had their prescribed Transfiguration textbook opened out in front of her on the table and was on the chapter they were currently on in class. “She’s been practising those new spells again…” he thought as he noticed a slight reddish colour in her brown hair.
This made his heart do a little summersault, was she trying to see what she’d look like as a redhead? “Hermione, your hair is still red and it’s a Saturday morning for Merlin’s sake! Even Peeves that meddling poltergeist isn’t up to his pranks yet!” he couldn’t help but grin at her. She made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“I was only practicing, and I know that Ronald, but what are you doing down here this early?

And where’s Harry?” she said it all in one go, rather distracted by something intriguing in the textbook, and barely looked up at him. “Oh, come on Hermione, we can all practice later.

I’m sure you’d want to see Harry in disguise, he says he has some ideas he’d like to try.

There’s enough time for Transfiguration.” He was hoping to talk to her for a change, rather than argue over Transfiguration or other petty things. “I’ll be on my way down to the Great Hall for breakfast soon; I shall meet you there.” She looked up at him for the first time since he’d been standing next to her, realising what she had just said. “Ron, what brings you down to the common room this early anyway?” She had him tongue-tied there… Even he didn’t know what he was doing up this early; it was only half past six!

“I was hungry,” he said. “Hermione, er…” Ron had started to ask her about Krum, but then decided he’d rather not, he didn’t want to spoil anything. He’d settled instead, on asking her to join him for breakfast, which was rather silly since they always sat together at the Gryffindor table. After much persuasion, she finally agreed to part with her spell books and they made their way towards the portrait hole.

As they walked out and over the threshold, the Fat Lady awoke and looked at them, mumbling about young couples wondering the corridors this early in the morning and about warning Argus Filch the caretaker… making the long walk to the Great Hall more awkward for Ron to talk to Hermione. He silently prayed they didn’t bump into any ghosts or Peeves, which was the last thing he needed.

The Great Hall was empty, apart from the two of them at the Gryffindor table. The ceiling of the Hall reflected the summery sunrise outside. Slowly more students wandered in; mostly sixth years, as they sat there talking about the latest updates on the Ministry of Magic and sightings of Death Eaters. A moment or so after some of the professors had entered and made their way to the teachers table, breakfast appeared on the tables, as always, direct from the kitchens.
Breakfast was the usual, Ron was gobbling up almost everything before him, unable to satisfy his hunger, while Hermione sat there staring at him, taking tiny dignified bites of toast and occasionally sipping some pumpkin juice, watching Ron in amazement and sighing about “boys” …

About half an hour later, Harry walked into the Great Hall looking tense, spotted them and sat next to Ginny, opposite Ron and Hermione. Ginny looked as though she’d been crying her eyes out all night, and Harry had this strange look in his eyes, almost as if he wanted to comfort Ginny.
Ron was oblivious to this scene of course, he was distracted with the morning’s breakfast special, but he did notice his sister’s strange behaviour after her breakup with Dean Thomas. He’d meant to talk to her about it, but he also wanted to talk to Hermione as well.

By midday Ron decided to write Hermione a note and he slipped it into her Transfiguration book. However, he just couldn’t fathom up the courage to tell her how he felt about her and changed his mind. He wondered if she was still upset about him and Lavender, she seemed a little jumpy to see him up so early this morning.

“I’ll have to tell her soon though,” He thought, “everything is so tense, and this war looming around doesn’t seem to be helping either, with families disappearing and death eater attacks every other night. I have to do something.” He sighed; Ron had it bad. He’d just realised that he was in love with Hermione Granger…

It was late in the afternoon when he finally emerged from his dorm room again. He made his way down to the common room to look for Hermione. After some searching around he found her surrounded by rolls of parchment and piles of textbooks and approached her, holding his breath. “Hermione, I need some help with the essay for Defence against the Dark Arts. Will you help me?” He asked as he sat down next to her. The common room was buzzing with the sound of laughter and of the first years playing wizard’s chess and exploding snap.

Ron looked over at Hermione, they were at their usual spot in a corner near the fireplace, and Ron’s face suddenly turned bright red, so much so, it blended in with his hair and made his freckles almost disappear, not to mention the red arm chairs they were seated on!

He practiced this question about a hundred times over in his head the night before. He didn’t want to ask Harry for advice after all, since he’s appeared distracted recently - Harry was recently confirmed the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team – and had more things to worry about; and Ron didn’t really trust Fred and George or anyone else for that matter with something this personal, except for Hermione… but this time, it was about her!

“Oh Ron, how can you possibly ask such a stupid question, you do know that I am going to check both your essays again, don’t you? You can’t be too sure with Snape, he always seems to favour his house and more especially that prat Malfoy…” she had said the last name with such distaste, it had made Ron almost proud to hear it.

It cheered him up a little as a matter of fact. “Anyway, I’ve always been helping you and Harry and that’s nothing new now, is it?

Besides, I like helping you, it gives me extra practice.” She grinned. She had a quill tucked in her hair, which was neatly tied into a ponytail, and she looked a little like a native Indian with the Eagle feather of her quill sticking out the side of her head while she laughed at his red-freckled face. “Ron, your face is red!” He looked ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it.

A while later the two were busy searching for phrases and key words that may come handy in the essay for Snape. “All done…” She sighed… “I hope Harry makes it in time before bed.

Quidditch practice is getting really tough on him lately, he’s taking this captaincy a little too seriously, even Wood wasn’t so worked up about winning the Quidditch Cup; and he still has his essay to complete.” “No need to worry, along with your essay, I completed Harry’s as well.” She replied smiling. Ron looked at her in amazement.

“I’ll just be back, I need to check on something.” And with that, he strolled off towards the dorm rooms. “How can she be so perfect?” he thought dreamily… “How can who be so perfect mate?” asked Harry. He just walked in through the portrait hole and caught Ron wandering off towards the staircase.

“Harry! Oh, Uhm… nothing; how was Quidditch practice?” He asked befuddled.

“Just the usual; nobody feels ready enough for the match against Slytherin. Ginny didn’t pitch for practice, is she all right?” Harry seemed a little tense. “She’s probably in her room; she hasn’t been well recently." Said Ron.

“Well Hermione says Ginny’s been crying her eyes out ever since that two-faced git hurt her. I won’t spare Dean. He’s forgetting his bed is on the other side of mine. I’ll hex him the next time I see him.” Harry sounded distant and angry…

But Ron was far too busy thinking about Hermione to notice, and absently walked straight back to where she was.

“Ron,” she smiled, “I was beginning to wonder where you had wandered off to.” She was in a good mood he could see, but perhaps he should wait till when they were alone to talk to her.

The walls in the common room had ears and the last thing they needed was for the whole school to spread rumours about Harry Potter’s best friends ignoring him.

Ron looked at the table where Hermione still had rolls of parchment sprawled out. She had begun her essay for Ancient Runes and he noticed next to her essay laid the essay she had completed for him. She had ink stains on her cheeks and wrists, he bent over slowly to wipe it off with his handkerchief and lost his balance as an ink bottle rolled out from under a parchment, pushing him forward onto her and spilling more ink onto both of them!

Surprisingly, nobody noticed the commotion, everyone was rather stressed about the war looming in the air, ministry posters on safety and security during afterhours for households were up on every next pillar in Hogsmeade Village, and this was more than enough to distract everyone for days.

After what seemed like hours, Ron realised he was literally on top of her and sat up again, as Hermione pulled out her wand and cleared the mess away.

“I’m going to call it a night… this essay is really getting on my nerves, Professor McGonagall also wanted me to write an extra roll of parchment for my essay on transfiguration from human to animagus, she says she enjoyed my piece despite me never assuming an animagus form before. And that coming from her, being an animagus; is an honour…” she seemed to be mumbling away to herself, Ron couldn’t take his eyes off her.

And just then, he did the strangest thing, he took her books from her hand, set them aside on the table; pulled her close and kissed her. Right there, in the common room, while no one looked.

“Ron,” she gasped, sounding surprised, “what are you doing?” “Kissing you of course,” and he pulled her close again. “Someone might see… Harry… or Ginny… or worse, professor McGonagall…” she trailed off as he looked into her hazel brown eyes. “Let them. I don’t care.” He said, wrapping his arms around her this time. “Ahem, you two aren’t going to always be like this are you?” came the sound of an amused voice only too familiar to them.

Harry stood there grinning at his two best friends, who both were now blushing so profusely, and still hadn’t let go of each other, now pulled apart in shock.

“Harry!” Ron exclaimed, “When did you get here? How was Quidditch practice?”

“Ron, you bumped into me as I walked in through the portrait hole… hmmm… so this is what you were so nervous about?

You kept repeating stuff in your sleep the past few weeks about a girl; especially in the hospital wing… I was hoping it wasn’t ‘Lav’. Well Hermione, I guess you’re happy now.”

He teased and walked off towards Neville near the notice board.

Ron and Hermione sat there staring at each other, and with a jolt of her thoughts she pulled away from Ron again, who was snogging her and said: “Good night Ron, I shall see you in the morning bright and early.”

And with that she grinned, heaved her books and her schoolbag and walked towards the girl’s dorms. Ron sat there in shock… He had just kissed Hermione, in the common room; and he could not believe he kissed her in front of Harry!!!

He fell back on the arm chair with his hands behind his head and tried to absorb what had just happened… sighing in awe at his luck…

He had finally let her know how he felt.

----- The end -----

A/n: This was my second piece of writing and was written not too long after the first one. So it is also around ten years old as well.