Hours after the last traces of sunlight had disappeared over the Hogwarts grounds, Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained in the Common Room. Harry and Ron sat at either end of a table, struggling to complete their homework, while Hermione read quietly in a corner, systematically glancing up at them with an eyebrow raised.





Time passed, and the crowd in the Common Room started to thin. When the last cluster of people had finally filtered out to their dormitories, Hermione broke her silence.





“Now do you think it was a good idea to play Exploding Snap all night instead of studying yesterday?” she said with a sigh.





“Have you been waiting to say that all evening?" Ron asked bitterly. “Well, it’s too late now, isn’t it?”





“It wouldn’t be too late if you had listened to me yesterday. Just because you-”





“I think,” Harry interjected, “that I’ve done all I can. I’m going to bed before my head explodes.”





“Yeah,” said Ron, vaguely, “I’ll be right there. I just have to double check my answers.” He glanced at his paper and then cast a hopeful look in Hermione’s direction.





“If you think I’m going to tell you the answers, you’re wrong,” she said sourly.





“Oh come on, Hermione! You know I’ll never get it without you. D’you want me to fail?”





“If you fail, it wouldn’t have been my fault.”





Harry could still hear Ron pleading with Hermione as he shut the Common Room door behind him.








***





“Just give me the answer to number six, okay?”





She gave him a venomous look and walked swiftly over to his table. She then glanced at his textbook.





“What is so hard about this, Ron? We discussed it all last week. Haven’t you been-”





Ron bit his lip and looked down at the rug.





“Oh, all right,” she said, yanking the paper away from him, “just copy it down in your own words.”





“Oh, Hermione, thank you!” he said, touching her shoulder with his finger tips, then quickly drawing away.





“Umm, don’t mention it,” she said quietly.





“Umm, yeah. Well, thanks...you’re a great friend,” he added.





“Oh, a great friend, am I? I see you only dole out these compliments when I help you cheat,” she shot, her voice developing a sudden frosty tone.





“H-huh?” Ron stammered.





“You never notice when I do...oh, never mind. Forget it,” Hermione said, flushing.





“No, really, what do I not notice?” he asked, giving her a sideways look.





“Nothing,” she hissed. “Drop. It.”





Most of the time, Ron knew that if he questioned further he might as well go poke a sleeping dragon in the eye. But in this instance his curiosity out-weighed his will to make it out of the Common Room in one piece.





He glared at her and opened his mouth defiantly, but Hermione cut him off. “I think I’m going to go to bed,” she said through clenched teeth. She gathered her belongings and collected them into her arms. As she did so, a letter from the top of the pile fluttered gently down in a spiral formation and landed at Ron’s feet.





Hermione quickly dumped the contents of her arms into a chair and lunged for the letter, but was too late. Ron had stood and picked it up, and was about to hand it to her, when he saw the name on the outside.





“Viktor Krum!” he said scathingly, accentuating each consonant.





“Yessss, Viktor...Krum!” she spat, grabbing his wrist and prying the letter out of his hand. “As if it’s any business of yours!”





Ron began to shake with fury. Hermione could obviously see what was coming, because she had hurriedly started gathering her things again. She had almost made it to the door, before he went off.





“Why…how…what...What do you see in him?! He’s using you!” he said dramatically.





Hermione gave Ron a furious, yet almost pitying, look.





“In case you haven’t noticed, Ron, the Tri-Wizard Tournament is over. And he hasn’t yet entranced me to murder Harry in his sleep, so I think it’s time you gave up the act.”





Every ounce of color drained out of Ron’s face. “A-ag…” He seemed to be choking on his tongue. “Ag-act?” he managed. “Wha- act?”





Hermione clicked impatiently. “This whole protective act,” she said, gesturing with her finger, “I don’t get what’s behind it.”





Ron relaxed slightly.





“I mean,” she continued, “Harry doesn’t care, my own parents don’t even care. I don’t-”





She suddenly looked at Ron with a shrewd expression. “What’s going on here?” she said keenly.





“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said as he leaned on the back of a chair to steady himself.





“Yes you do!” she said, walking forward. Ron backed up. “Why would you ...Harry doesn’t...”





Ron looked suddenly agitated.





“Harry wouldn’t.” he muttered indignantly.





Hermione moved forward again. “Why not?” she said, frowning.





”Because!!! Harry doesn’t feel about you in the same-”





Ron halted with a look of pure, abject horror. He shot a desperate look at the door, but then realized she had backed him into a corner of the room and blocked his escape.





“In the same what?” she whispered, her eyes wide.





Ron grimaced. “In the same...” he grabbed his hair between his fingers. “The same…way. As I…do.”





These words, once uttered, seemed to reverberate off the walls. Ron slapped his hand to his face so hard, that if he had been more on target he could have broken his nose. He winced and closed his eyes.





After he had recovered somewhat from the pain, both in his face and emotionally, he looked up, expecting to see Hermione dashing up the stairs to the dormitories, glancing back only once to give him a disdainful look. But she remained where she stood.





Her mouth was hanging slightly open, but her eyes, although intensely pensive, were unreadable. Just when Ron looked as if he would’ve liked very much to hurl himself out the window, or better yet, perform a memory charm on her and pretend nothing had ever happened, Hermione’s lips twitched into a small, distinct smile.





***





Ron strode forward perhaps a little too eagerly. Because even though her smile broadened as he approached, he hadn’t been planning on doing what happened next.





As he rushed towards her, to perhaps take her hand, he tripped over the edge of the embroidered rug that lay between them, and toppled into her. She managed to cushion both their falls with her hand, but that didn’t change the fact that he had landed directly on top of her, completely parallel, and staring her right in the face.





He instantly rolled himself onto the floor beside her, and buried his face in his hands.





“I…oh my God....” he groaned, his voice muffled. “I didn’t...mean...I definitely didn’t mean to do that."





Small hints of his now bright red face peeked out from behind his fingers. Ron, trembling, slowly lowered his hands, his face now shining like a beacon. In stark contrast to Hermione’s face, which had gone white.





“Well, umm,” she said in a shrill, squeaky voice.





Ron gripped his hands out of embarrassment and frustration. “I guess I’ll go,” he gasped, as he attempted to lift himself off the floor.





“Ron.”





“Y-yes?” he asked, pausing his sprint towards the exit.





“I didn’t say I wanted you to go.”





She smiled impishly; a visible tsunami of relief spread over Ron’s face.





“So…so…umm, okay…” he stuttered.





She slowly rose to her feet as well, and grinned. For a moment, neither of them made any advances, and they stood, nervously staring at one another, several meters apart.





“Do you want to... move closer?” said Hermione eventually.





Ron jumped. “Sh-should I?” he asked tentatively.





Hermione simpered. “Yes, that would work,” she said.








Ron looked very carefully at his feet this time while walking towards her. Which thankfully propitiated the mood, since by the time he had reached Hermione, she was laughing.





“Umm, okay, so…”





He moved closer still. Beads of sweat were now dripping down his nose. He then appeared to notice that he was staring down at the top of her head. Slowly, he leaned to one side to decrease his height, and gazed into her face. Hermione, who was shaking from head to toe, timidly placed a quivering hand on Ron’s cheek.





Immediately the intensity in the room became more palpable, and the air around them grew cumbrous with tension. Ron’s breath could be heard in sharp bursts as he slowly brought his face level to hers. However, neither of them having decided which direction to turn their heads, they bumped noses and laughed.





“Well, shall we try again?” she said good-naturedly.





“Yes, I think so,” said Ron, inclining his head slightly.





Hermione smiled. First on only one side of her mouth; then the other side rose up to join it, and she beamed at him. She reached her previously quivering hand up to cup the back of his head.





Ron leaned forward anxiously, placing one hand daringly in the small of her back, and kissed her.











A/N: This was my first fanfic and I hope that you enjoyed it!! The idea for an alternative to the other first kiss fanfics came to me one night when I had read three stories that portrayed the characters as people they aren't....That really bugged me so I set out on a mission, to write something new. Please read and review you guys!!

Also, if you all have a Myspace, go to this link and rate this guy....AMAZING singer!!!! Playing acoustic!!!

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=199906185

Love always and forever!!

Cara