Fic Request Fulfilled for lire_casander
Title: Secret Admirer
Author: manda_lalala
Beta: Octurusstargazer (my awesome English Major boyfriend)
Rating:PG 13
Word count:
Summary:Ron has been receiving Valentines from his secret admirer. Hermione is very upset about it. And completely surprised when she finds out who they’re from.
Warnings: I can’t think of any
Disclaimer:I don’t own anything except the plot.
Author's Notes:I really hope that this is what the requestor wanted. I had a great time writing this. Sorry it was late. I finally have a working computer again.
Swoosh! The fluffy brown owl whizzed past Hermione the moment Harry opened the window for it. Hermione tried to pretend she was engaged in her book, peering over the top anxiously as the cinnamon colored bird dropped a sparkly pink scroll of parchment on Ron’s lap. She watched curiously, as he untied the red satin ribbon and read the glittering paper. Hermione blanched as she noticed Ron’s ears turning red. She had secretly hoped she was the only one to illicit that response from him. It had been happening very frequently as of late and she had thought that maybe, just maybe, he would finally make some indication that he was actually going to make some sort of move to progress their relationship.
She had assumed that that was where things were heading in sixth year, when he had accepted her invitation to Slughorn’s party. She thought it had been apparent that she wanted to go with him, as something more than friends. Then the whole thing with Lavender had happened. She had been very confused about it until Ginny had apologized to her at Bill’s wedding and explained why Ron had panicked. Then it had just confirmed her original suspicions, and when he asked her to dance later in the evening his ears and face blending in with his fiery hair she had become quite hopeful, but that was where it had ended. He did not make another move towards her for months. She figured it was because they were too busy for anything like that.
Their hunt for the Horcruxes had been a very long and tedious time. It took them until December to find even the first clue. Things began progressing much better from there, but they had not had a moment to think about anything other than their work. Hermione could remember a few awkward occasions that arose between her and Ron over the course of their year long mission. It was bound to happen when two teenagers with strong feelings for one another spent a year in such close proximity. Their tent was not as big as they would have liked, and even though it was a magical tent, it was not very luxurious. The draftiness of the worn canvass had caused them to huddle close together at night on many long winter nights. When it was Harry’s turn to keep watch Ron and Hermione had often held each other in the night, but still he never said anything about it.
When they finally returned, just barely alive, and just barely victorious, from their final Battle, Hermione was sure that Ron would finally make his move. They had all been injured. A curse had lost Harry complete vision in one eye, Ron was lucky he hadn’t lost his left arm, which not hung limply at his side with only very little mobility, and Hermione had spent several weeks unconscious, everyone afraid she might not wake. Ginny later told her that Ron had spent nearly every moment of every day at her bedside with tears in his eyes. He read to her, spooned warm soup down her throat and recast the warming spells on her bed. Ginny assured her that it was only a matter of time before he would finally tell her how he felt, and when he had not, she began to give up hope that it would ever happen at all. Whenever Hermione brought up those weeks, asking him what she had missed, he would turn a sickly greenish colour and change the subject. She wasn’t sure he even knew that she knew how he cared for her.
Hermione was happy when the news of the reopening of Hogwarts reached the paper. She hoped that going back to school would put everything back to the way it had been before. It hadn’t however. For the first month there was a very tense atmosphere. Many of the Slytherins had not returned to school and the ones who had ceased from their usual harassment. Everyone was subdued and quiet. By October many students started getting back to their normal behavior, but not Ron. Ron remained quiet and tense all the time. He kept up with all of his studies and spent a lot of time by himself. She had caught him staring into the flames of the fire with tears in his eyes on a few occasions. She didn’t know what to do for him. She tried talking to him and he shut her out. She tried joking with him and he responded only half-heartedly. It was only in the past month that he had started to be more himself.
She first noticed it when she walked in to the common room one day and he was reading a Quidditch magazine. She had asked him if he finished his homework for transfiguration and he grinned his lopsided grin at her and begged to copy hers. She had been so happy to see him acting normal that she didn’t even argue with him. Some time later in the week he had teased her about how she was working too hard and she was so beside herself that she put her work aside and played a game of chess with him. He began teasing her mercilessly after that, almost as badly as he had in third and fourth year. He even asked her about “Vicky” and when they had their first row she only stayed mad at him for an hour because she was so happy to have him acting normal again.
In the past week, things had gotten weird again though, differently though. Now, his ears turned pink every time their eyes met, and she caught him looking at her all the time. It made her feel flustered and excited in a way she hadn’t quite felt since before he had started dating Lavender.
Hermione was startled out of her memories when she heard the girlish squeals of Ginny Weasley. “Who would send you a Valentine, Ronnie?!” she squeaked as she snatched it away from his hands where he and Harry had been looking it over curiously. Ginny had an absolute look of glee on her face, as she read the letter aloud. “‘Dear Ron,’” she read. “‘I’ve been meaning to tell you for ages how I felt about you. Your freckles are absolutely the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen and sometimes when I watch you in class I like to use them to connect the dots and draw pictures on your neck.’ This is bloody brilliant,” Ginny giggled as her flustered brother hid his face in his hands the flush on his face deepening and creeping down his neck.
Hermione didn’t want to hear anymore. She slammed her book shut and stormed up the stairs to her bedroom. She flopped down on the bed and drew the curtains around her. She was so mad. Just when things had finally gotten back to normal some ditzy girl with a schoolgirl crush on Ron was going to ruin things again. It was just so unfair. She through herself into studying the way she usually did.
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The next day Ron was sitting at a table in the common room trying to make Hermione think that he was working on his Potions essay. He sighed and turned the page in his book mindlessly. She was annoyed about the Valentine. She had barely spoken to him after he received it. There was a tapping sound at the window right near him. It was another school owl carrying another gaudy Valentine.
He quietly opened the window for the poor bird and quickly grabbed the letter. He tiptoed back to his seat and tried to open the letter under the table to keep from drawing attention to himself. To his utter horror, the bloody thing began playing a tune and making loud kissing noises at him. He could feel the color rushing to his cheeks as he tried to close as quickly as possible.
It was too late. He heard Ginny’s squeal from across the room. He ducked his head and prayed that Hermione had left the room already. If he hadn’t been such a git, he would have already asked her to go with him to Hogsmede on Valentines day and these Valentines wouldn’t make any difference.
He heard the sound of a book slamming shut and retreating footsteps. He was sure that she had heard. Not again. Now she'd probably never talk to him again.
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Hermione sighed as she lay in bed. Ron had received a third ridiculous girly Valentine, and she was starting to get fed up. He was so busy worrying about the stupid things that he hadn't really paid any attention to her at all in the past few days. She probably hadn't helped the situation by giving him the silent treatment, but she didn't care. This was their relationship, and it was probably all it would ever be. She was ridiculous for ever thinking other wise. Even if he did think of her as anything more than a friend, their tempers and clashing personalities just made it too difficult to do anything about it.
Ginny had tried to convince her once that she and Ron would end up together, but Hermione had just brushed her off as being silly. Secretly she had always hoped that Ginny had known her brother well enough to be right on this. Too bad. It had been worth a try. Hermione was giving up on anything more than friendship with Ron. They were friends and nothing more from this day forth.
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Ron lay in his bed staring up at the canopy. For the fourth time this week he heard the tapping at his window. Tomorrow was Valentine's day. He would be glad when this was all over. He got up from his bed and slipped the pink scroll of paper off of the owls leg, gave him a treat and plopped back down on his bed.
Ron unrolled the scroll, thankful that this time there was no way Hermione would find out about the love letter. He carefully read the scrawling red ink. His mystery crush wanted him to meet her for Valentine's Day. He wasn't sure he wanted to meet this person, but maybe if he knew who it was he could let her down gently and move on with his life.
What if Hermione found out he was meeting this girl. Would she freak out. What difference did it make any way. She was already mad at him. She wasn't speaking to him. He shouldn't have dared to hope he could actually spend a nice happy Valentine's day with Hermione. Things like that never worked out for them. He hadn't been able to ask her to the Yule ball, he hadn't been able to go to Slughorn's party, and he had only just barely asked her to dance at Bill's wedding. Why should asking her out for Valentine's day be any different?
Ron shoved the note into his robe pocket. He made up his mind to go. What did he have to loose? Not really anything. And, he figured, it would be much nicer to let this mystery girl down in person than a return owl. He sighed and changed for bed, dreading the following evening.
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"Hermione, you have to go to the empty classroom on the third floor." Ginny pleaded. "I heard that there's going to be a fight there!"
"Why would anyone go to an empty classroom to pick a fight?" Hermione asked her friend skeptically.
"Because, Hermione, all of the good places are probably taken by snogging couples," the red-head reasoned with her.
"Can't you send someone else?" Hermione asked. "I'm too tired to go break up a fight. I'm not even dressed. I'm in my pajamas," Hermione sighed. Truth be told, Hermione was sure that a fight this evening was probably a fight over a girl or something, and she did not feel like dealing with that. She really just wanted to mope in her room about how yet another romantic day had gone by with out Ron making a move.
"Hermione, you're the head girl. You have the most authority, next to the professors. And I have no idea where any of the other prefects are. I haven't seen Ron in an hour. Please Hermione, just go."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she grabbed her wand and grudgingly climbed through the portrait hole. She trudged up to the third floor scowling at anyone who came into her path. She did not want to break up a love fight. She did not want to witness a love fight. She did not really want to do much of anything.
When Hermione entered the unoccupied classroom, there was no one there. There were just a bunch of lit candles around the room on all the empty desks and rose petals. Hermione groaned when she realized what she had really found. She was lucky she got there as early as she did or she might have walked into a pretty embarrassing scene. Ginny must have gotten the rooms confused, or the whole rumor mixed up. She couldn't believe she had been pushed out of the portrait hole for nothing.
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Ron raced past his sister in the common room trying to avoid her gaze. He didn't want to explain himself to her. He was sure she would go and tell Hermione, and she'd never speak to him again. He flew up the stairs to the place he was meeting his secret admirer. He paused just outside the door to catch his breath before he broke the poor girls heart.
He took a deep breath, opened the door and entered the room. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight in front of him. Hermione was standing in the middle of the room in a pair of green flannel pajama pants and a white tank top. Her hair was in two long plaits and she looked adorable in Ron's opinion. He never would have guessed. He always thought she was too sensible for things like this.
Before he knew what he was doing her was rushing towards her. "Hermione, Oh thank Merlin it's you." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close pressing his lips firmly against her own. Thank God it wasn't someone awful or even worse, someone nice whose heart he would have to break.
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Before she could stop herself Hermione's arms were wrapping themselves around Ron's neck of their own free will. What was happening? She didn't understand why Ron was here, and why he was excited to see her or why he was kissing her, but she hoped he'd never stop.
Finally reason, and curiosity taking over she pulled away from the kiss. She needed answers. "Ron, I think there's a lot that needs to be talked about, a lot of trouble went into the decoration of this room, I think we'd be a lot more comfortable in the common room."
Ron agreed with her and took her hand in his own leading her out of the room and back to the common room. Hermione attempted to piece things together in her mind on their trek back, but all she could think of was the feeling or Ron's eager lips against her own. It was the last thing she had expected for that evening. She had had her first kiss with Ron. They had kissed. It was swirling around in her head and making her feel giddy and light headed. She felt Ron's thumb caressing her own smaller hand.
When they reached the portrait hole, Hermione was reluctant to go inside. She knew their conversation would probably break the easy calm between them; they weren't very good at having conversations about important things without turning them into fights.
The common room was practically empty when Ron and Hermione arrived. Hermione wondered if everyone was off snogging somewhere. She found herself blushing as she thought about how she'd like to be snogging Ron at that moment. They sat on the big sofa in front of the fire place, neither of them wanting to beak the amiable silence between them. Hermione continued to try to piece things together in her mind. Why had Ron stumbled upon her in that room. What was he doing there? Was the room decorated for a love tryst as she had originally guessed? Timidly she asked him about it.
"Ron, were you in that room to meet your secret admirer?" she whispered the question, hoping that her quiet tone would keep the peaceful mood.
"You should know why I was there," he responded, confusing her greatly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked.
"Well, why were you there?" he asked. "Weren't we supposed to meet there?"
"What in Merlin's name are you talking about, Ron?"
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Realization dawned on Ron. She hadn't been the one. This was all just a misunderstanding. He must look like such an idiot. "I'm so sorry Hermione. I thought- well you- You must think I'm a jerk."
"Ron I don't know what you mean."
"I thought you were the one who, you know, sent me those letters. What were you doing there?"
"So you were going to meet, her?" Ron heard the hitch in her voice, and saw the look of defeat on her face. He hated himself for doing this to her. How did he manage to screw up again. He was trying to do what was right and still hurt Hermione. He really must be the biggest git in the whole world. How could he make it better?
"Hermione, please, I-"
"You kissed me! You went to that room to meet someone else!" She was yelling now. "You didn't think it was going to be me. You said so yourself. Would you have kissed any girl that walked into that room?! Were you just happy that some girl was interested in you?! I can't believe you, Ronald." Ron shrank back at her shrill tones. He wanted to yell back an angry retort, but if living with her on their Horcrux hunt had taught him one thing, it was patience when dealing with Hermione. He had finally learned that he would never win if he fought back. When he did win, he didn't really win, because she would usually stop speaking to him all together, and that was even worse than fighting. And reasoning with her never worked either. This time he would have to come up with something else to make her stop yelling. He realized in his contemplation he had not even heard the last few things she had said. Before he could change his mind, he did the only thing he could think of to quiet her yells again.
He pressed his lips firmly against hers for the second time that evening. In her surprise she opened her mouth to gasp. He took the opportunity to his advantage and deepened their kiss. He was afraid she would freak out, but to his pleasant surprise she conceded. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
Reluctantly he pulled away. He rested his forehead against her own and looked into her eyes. "No, I would not have kissed any girl that I found there. I was relieved to find you, because I had planned to go there to gently let down the mystery girl, so that I could come back here and try to fix things with you." He saw the surprise on her face when he said that. Was she really surprised that he wanted to be with her. He certainly thought he made it obvious. Everyone else seemed to know and tease him about it. It didn't matter he realized. "As much as I'm glad that I'm here with you," he laughed, "I'm glad it wasn't you. Those letters were dreadful, and I knew you were more sensible than that. It's one of the things I love about you." He blushed at his own word choice and was pleased to see Hermione had a similar reaction.
"I'll have to thank Ginny for sending me up there," Hermione joked.
"Ginny?" Ron asked.
Ron watched a strange look cross Hermione's face as she exclaimed, "Ginny!" He wondered what she was on about. "Do you still have any of the letters?" Hermione asked. He wasn't sure why she cared, but he reached into his pocket and handed her the sparkly pink note he had stored there. He watched her look the note over curiously. Finally she began laughing out loud and handed the note back to him. "Don't you recognize your own sister's handwriting, Ron?" Ron looked down at the piece of parchment in front of him. The neat letters scrawled across the page did look strangely familiar to him. He began laughing as well.
"I guess we'll both have to thank her," he laughed rolling his eyes. "I can not believe she went through all that trouble."
"I can," Hermione replied as she snuggled up close to him. "Are we ready to try this, Ron?" Hermione asked seriously.
"Yes, I think I've made you wait long enough with all my stupidity," Ron replied. "In fact, I was planning something like this, even before Ginny got involved," he explained as he took her face in his hands and gave her a long sweet kiss that he hoped conveyed all the feelings he didn't think he could put into words. "Happy Valentine's Day," Hermione.
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ORIGINAL REQUEST:
Briefly describe what you'd like to receive: Ron has a secret Valentine, and Hermione gets jealous. When she tries to discover who sends Ron Valentine cards, she is very surprised.
Preferred Rating: PG - R
Specifics you want (optional, maximum of three): a conversation in front of the fireplace, seventh year, first kiss.
Deal Breakers (what don't you want?): Smut, sex, incest
Thanks for participating in the exchange! Happy Valentine's Day! ♥
Author: manda_lalala
Beta: Octurusstargazer (my awesome English Major boyfriend)
Rating:PG 13
Word count:
Summary:Ron has been receiving Valentines from his secret admirer. Hermione is very upset about it. And completely surprised when she finds out who they’re from.
Warnings: I can’t think of any
Disclaimer:I don’t own anything except the plot.
Author's Notes:I really hope that this is what the requestor wanted. I had a great time writing this. Sorry it was late. I finally have a working computer again.
Swoosh! The fluffy brown owl whizzed past Hermione the moment Harry opened the window for it. Hermione tried to pretend she was engaged in her book, peering over the top anxiously as the cinnamon colored bird dropped a sparkly pink scroll of parchment on Ron’s lap. She watched curiously, as he untied the red satin ribbon and read the glittering paper. Hermione blanched as she noticed Ron’s ears turning red. She had secretly hoped she was the only one to illicit that response from him. It had been happening very frequently as of late and she had thought that maybe, just maybe, he would finally make some indication that he was actually going to make some sort of move to progress their relationship.
She had assumed that that was where things were heading in sixth year, when he had accepted her invitation to Slughorn’s party. She thought it had been apparent that she wanted to go with him, as something more than friends. Then the whole thing with Lavender had happened. She had been very confused about it until Ginny had apologized to her at Bill’s wedding and explained why Ron had panicked. Then it had just confirmed her original suspicions, and when he asked her to dance later in the evening his ears and face blending in with his fiery hair she had become quite hopeful, but that was where it had ended. He did not make another move towards her for months. She figured it was because they were too busy for anything like that.
Their hunt for the Horcruxes had been a very long and tedious time. It took them until December to find even the first clue. Things began progressing much better from there, but they had not had a moment to think about anything other than their work. Hermione could remember a few awkward occasions that arose between her and Ron over the course of their year long mission. It was bound to happen when two teenagers with strong feelings for one another spent a year in such close proximity. Their tent was not as big as they would have liked, and even though it was a magical tent, it was not very luxurious. The draftiness of the worn canvass had caused them to huddle close together at night on many long winter nights. When it was Harry’s turn to keep watch Ron and Hermione had often held each other in the night, but still he never said anything about it.
When they finally returned, just barely alive, and just barely victorious, from their final Battle, Hermione was sure that Ron would finally make his move. They had all been injured. A curse had lost Harry complete vision in one eye, Ron was lucky he hadn’t lost his left arm, which not hung limply at his side with only very little mobility, and Hermione had spent several weeks unconscious, everyone afraid she might not wake. Ginny later told her that Ron had spent nearly every moment of every day at her bedside with tears in his eyes. He read to her, spooned warm soup down her throat and recast the warming spells on her bed. Ginny assured her that it was only a matter of time before he would finally tell her how he felt, and when he had not, she began to give up hope that it would ever happen at all. Whenever Hermione brought up those weeks, asking him what she had missed, he would turn a sickly greenish colour and change the subject. She wasn’t sure he even knew that she knew how he cared for her.
Hermione was happy when the news of the reopening of Hogwarts reached the paper. She hoped that going back to school would put everything back to the way it had been before. It hadn’t however. For the first month there was a very tense atmosphere. Many of the Slytherins had not returned to school and the ones who had ceased from their usual harassment. Everyone was subdued and quiet. By October many students started getting back to their normal behavior, but not Ron. Ron remained quiet and tense all the time. He kept up with all of his studies and spent a lot of time by himself. She had caught him staring into the flames of the fire with tears in his eyes on a few occasions. She didn’t know what to do for him. She tried talking to him and he shut her out. She tried joking with him and he responded only half-heartedly. It was only in the past month that he had started to be more himself.
She first noticed it when she walked in to the common room one day and he was reading a Quidditch magazine. She had asked him if he finished his homework for transfiguration and he grinned his lopsided grin at her and begged to copy hers. She had been so happy to see him acting normal that she didn’t even argue with him. Some time later in the week he had teased her about how she was working too hard and she was so beside herself that she put her work aside and played a game of chess with him. He began teasing her mercilessly after that, almost as badly as he had in third and fourth year. He even asked her about “Vicky” and when they had their first row she only stayed mad at him for an hour because she was so happy to have him acting normal again.
In the past week, things had gotten weird again though, differently though. Now, his ears turned pink every time their eyes met, and she caught him looking at her all the time. It made her feel flustered and excited in a way she hadn’t quite felt since before he had started dating Lavender.
Hermione was startled out of her memories when she heard the girlish squeals of Ginny Weasley. “Who would send you a Valentine, Ronnie?!” she squeaked as she snatched it away from his hands where he and Harry had been looking it over curiously. Ginny had an absolute look of glee on her face, as she read the letter aloud. “‘Dear Ron,’” she read. “‘I’ve been meaning to tell you for ages how I felt about you. Your freckles are absolutely the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen and sometimes when I watch you in class I like to use them to connect the dots and draw pictures on your neck.’ This is bloody brilliant,” Ginny giggled as her flustered brother hid his face in his hands the flush on his face deepening and creeping down his neck.
Hermione didn’t want to hear anymore. She slammed her book shut and stormed up the stairs to her bedroom. She flopped down on the bed and drew the curtains around her. She was so mad. Just when things had finally gotten back to normal some ditzy girl with a schoolgirl crush on Ron was going to ruin things again. It was just so unfair. She through herself into studying the way she usually did.
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The next day Ron was sitting at a table in the common room trying to make Hermione think that he was working on his Potions essay. He sighed and turned the page in his book mindlessly. She was annoyed about the Valentine. She had barely spoken to him after he received it. There was a tapping sound at the window right near him. It was another school owl carrying another gaudy Valentine.
He quietly opened the window for the poor bird and quickly grabbed the letter. He tiptoed back to his seat and tried to open the letter under the table to keep from drawing attention to himself. To his utter horror, the bloody thing began playing a tune and making loud kissing noises at him. He could feel the color rushing to his cheeks as he tried to close as quickly as possible.
It was too late. He heard Ginny’s squeal from across the room. He ducked his head and prayed that Hermione had left the room already. If he hadn’t been such a git, he would have already asked her to go with him to Hogsmede on Valentines day and these Valentines wouldn’t make any difference.
He heard the sound of a book slamming shut and retreating footsteps. He was sure that she had heard. Not again. Now she'd probably never talk to him again.
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Hermione sighed as she lay in bed. Ron had received a third ridiculous girly Valentine, and she was starting to get fed up. He was so busy worrying about the stupid things that he hadn't really paid any attention to her at all in the past few days. She probably hadn't helped the situation by giving him the silent treatment, but she didn't care. This was their relationship, and it was probably all it would ever be. She was ridiculous for ever thinking other wise. Even if he did think of her as anything more than a friend, their tempers and clashing personalities just made it too difficult to do anything about it.
Ginny had tried to convince her once that she and Ron would end up together, but Hermione had just brushed her off as being silly. Secretly she had always hoped that Ginny had known her brother well enough to be right on this. Too bad. It had been worth a try. Hermione was giving up on anything more than friendship with Ron. They were friends and nothing more from this day forth.
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Ron lay in his bed staring up at the canopy. For the fourth time this week he heard the tapping at his window. Tomorrow was Valentine's day. He would be glad when this was all over. He got up from his bed and slipped the pink scroll of paper off of the owls leg, gave him a treat and plopped back down on his bed.
Ron unrolled the scroll, thankful that this time there was no way Hermione would find out about the love letter. He carefully read the scrawling red ink. His mystery crush wanted him to meet her for Valentine's Day. He wasn't sure he wanted to meet this person, but maybe if he knew who it was he could let her down gently and move on with his life.
What if Hermione found out he was meeting this girl. Would she freak out. What difference did it make any way. She was already mad at him. She wasn't speaking to him. He shouldn't have dared to hope he could actually spend a nice happy Valentine's day with Hermione. Things like that never worked out for them. He hadn't been able to ask her to the Yule ball, he hadn't been able to go to Slughorn's party, and he had only just barely asked her to dance at Bill's wedding. Why should asking her out for Valentine's day be any different?
Ron shoved the note into his robe pocket. He made up his mind to go. What did he have to loose? Not really anything. And, he figured, it would be much nicer to let this mystery girl down in person than a return owl. He sighed and changed for bed, dreading the following evening.
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"Hermione, you have to go to the empty classroom on the third floor." Ginny pleaded. "I heard that there's going to be a fight there!"
"Why would anyone go to an empty classroom to pick a fight?" Hermione asked her friend skeptically.
"Because, Hermione, all of the good places are probably taken by snogging couples," the red-head reasoned with her.
"Can't you send someone else?" Hermione asked. "I'm too tired to go break up a fight. I'm not even dressed. I'm in my pajamas," Hermione sighed. Truth be told, Hermione was sure that a fight this evening was probably a fight over a girl or something, and she did not feel like dealing with that. She really just wanted to mope in her room about how yet another romantic day had gone by with out Ron making a move.
"Hermione, you're the head girl. You have the most authority, next to the professors. And I have no idea where any of the other prefects are. I haven't seen Ron in an hour. Please Hermione, just go."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she grabbed her wand and grudgingly climbed through the portrait hole. She trudged up to the third floor scowling at anyone who came into her path. She did not want to break up a love fight. She did not want to witness a love fight. She did not really want to do much of anything.
When Hermione entered the unoccupied classroom, there was no one there. There were just a bunch of lit candles around the room on all the empty desks and rose petals. Hermione groaned when she realized what she had really found. She was lucky she got there as early as she did or she might have walked into a pretty embarrassing scene. Ginny must have gotten the rooms confused, or the whole rumor mixed up. She couldn't believe she had been pushed out of the portrait hole for nothing.
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Ron raced past his sister in the common room trying to avoid her gaze. He didn't want to explain himself to her. He was sure she would go and tell Hermione, and she'd never speak to him again. He flew up the stairs to the place he was meeting his secret admirer. He paused just outside the door to catch his breath before he broke the poor girls heart.
He took a deep breath, opened the door and entered the room. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight in front of him. Hermione was standing in the middle of the room in a pair of green flannel pajama pants and a white tank top. Her hair was in two long plaits and she looked adorable in Ron's opinion. He never would have guessed. He always thought she was too sensible for things like this.
Before he knew what he was doing her was rushing towards her. "Hermione, Oh thank Merlin it's you." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close pressing his lips firmly against her own. Thank God it wasn't someone awful or even worse, someone nice whose heart he would have to break.
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Before she could stop herself Hermione's arms were wrapping themselves around Ron's neck of their own free will. What was happening? She didn't understand why Ron was here, and why he was excited to see her or why he was kissing her, but she hoped he'd never stop.
Finally reason, and curiosity taking over she pulled away from the kiss. She needed answers. "Ron, I think there's a lot that needs to be talked about, a lot of trouble went into the decoration of this room, I think we'd be a lot more comfortable in the common room."
Ron agreed with her and took her hand in his own leading her out of the room and back to the common room. Hermione attempted to piece things together in her mind on their trek back, but all she could think of was the feeling or Ron's eager lips against her own. It was the last thing she had expected for that evening. She had had her first kiss with Ron. They had kissed. It was swirling around in her head and making her feel giddy and light headed. She felt Ron's thumb caressing her own smaller hand.
When they reached the portrait hole, Hermione was reluctant to go inside. She knew their conversation would probably break the easy calm between them; they weren't very good at having conversations about important things without turning them into fights.
The common room was practically empty when Ron and Hermione arrived. Hermione wondered if everyone was off snogging somewhere. She found herself blushing as she thought about how she'd like to be snogging Ron at that moment. They sat on the big sofa in front of the fire place, neither of them wanting to beak the amiable silence between them. Hermione continued to try to piece things together in her mind. Why had Ron stumbled upon her in that room. What was he doing there? Was the room decorated for a love tryst as she had originally guessed? Timidly she asked him about it.
"Ron, were you in that room to meet your secret admirer?" she whispered the question, hoping that her quiet tone would keep the peaceful mood.
"You should know why I was there," he responded, confusing her greatly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked.
"Well, why were you there?" he asked. "Weren't we supposed to meet there?"
"What in Merlin's name are you talking about, Ron?"
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Realization dawned on Ron. She hadn't been the one. This was all just a misunderstanding. He must look like such an idiot. "I'm so sorry Hermione. I thought- well you- You must think I'm a jerk."
"Ron I don't know what you mean."
"I thought you were the one who, you know, sent me those letters. What were you doing there?"
"So you were going to meet, her?" Ron heard the hitch in her voice, and saw the look of defeat on her face. He hated himself for doing this to her. How did he manage to screw up again. He was trying to do what was right and still hurt Hermione. He really must be the biggest git in the whole world. How could he make it better?
"Hermione, please, I-"
"You kissed me! You went to that room to meet someone else!" She was yelling now. "You didn't think it was going to be me. You said so yourself. Would you have kissed any girl that walked into that room?! Were you just happy that some girl was interested in you?! I can't believe you, Ronald." Ron shrank back at her shrill tones. He wanted to yell back an angry retort, but if living with her on their Horcrux hunt had taught him one thing, it was patience when dealing with Hermione. He had finally learned that he would never win if he fought back. When he did win, he didn't really win, because she would usually stop speaking to him all together, and that was even worse than fighting. And reasoning with her never worked either. This time he would have to come up with something else to make her stop yelling. He realized in his contemplation he had not even heard the last few things she had said. Before he could change his mind, he did the only thing he could think of to quiet her yells again.
He pressed his lips firmly against hers for the second time that evening. In her surprise she opened her mouth to gasp. He took the opportunity to his advantage and deepened their kiss. He was afraid she would freak out, but to his pleasant surprise she conceded. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
Reluctantly he pulled away. He rested his forehead against her own and looked into her eyes. "No, I would not have kissed any girl that I found there. I was relieved to find you, because I had planned to go there to gently let down the mystery girl, so that I could come back here and try to fix things with you." He saw the surprise on her face when he said that. Was she really surprised that he wanted to be with her. He certainly thought he made it obvious. Everyone else seemed to know and tease him about it. It didn't matter he realized. "As much as I'm glad that I'm here with you," he laughed, "I'm glad it wasn't you. Those letters were dreadful, and I knew you were more sensible than that. It's one of the things I love about you." He blushed at his own word choice and was pleased to see Hermione had a similar reaction.
"I'll have to thank Ginny for sending me up there," Hermione joked.
"Ginny?" Ron asked.
Ron watched a strange look cross Hermione's face as she exclaimed, "Ginny!" He wondered what she was on about. "Do you still have any of the letters?" Hermione asked. He wasn't sure why she cared, but he reached into his pocket and handed her the sparkly pink note he had stored there. He watched her look the note over curiously. Finally she began laughing out loud and handed the note back to him. "Don't you recognize your own sister's handwriting, Ron?" Ron looked down at the piece of parchment in front of him. The neat letters scrawled across the page did look strangely familiar to him. He began laughing as well.
"I guess we'll both have to thank her," he laughed rolling his eyes. "I can not believe she went through all that trouble."
"I can," Hermione replied as she snuggled up close to him. "Are we ready to try this, Ron?" Hermione asked seriously.
"Yes, I think I've made you wait long enough with all my stupidity," Ron replied. "In fact, I was planning something like this, even before Ginny got involved," he explained as he took her face in his hands and gave her a long sweet kiss that he hoped conveyed all the feelings he didn't think he could put into words. "Happy Valentine's Day," Hermione.
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ORIGINAL REQUEST:
Briefly describe what you'd like to receive: Ron has a secret Valentine, and Hermione gets jealous. When she tries to discover who sends Ron Valentine cards, she is very surprised.
Preferred Rating: PG - R
Specifics you want (optional, maximum of three): a conversation in front of the fireplace, seventh year, first kiss.
Deal Breakers (what don't you want?): Smut, sex, incest
Thanks for participating in the exchange! Happy Valentine's Day! ♥