It was already five o’clock in the evening, the next day, and Ron STILL had not told Hermione. Every time he saw her he cringed with butterflies, but he just could not get the words out.
The Advance Guard, Harry’s retrieval committee, had left long ago, and Ron knew he did not have too much time left.
He and Hermione were in his bedroom playing a game of Wizard’s Chess on Ron’s bed, and Ron was beating her brilliantly.
But it wasn’t that he was winning that made him feel good, it was that she was actually alone with him.
“I think the Queen is the best piece,” Hermione noted, picking hers up and examining it.
“What? You’re mental!”
“Why?”
“Because the knight is most obviously the best piece!” Ron retorted.
“First of all, ‘most obviously’ isn’t proper English.”
Ron grinned. He loved it when she did that.
“And second, “Hermione continued, “how? That thing can only move in an L shape. The queen can move in any direction she wants for as much as she wants.”
“She might be more valuable, yes, but there’s only one of her and a knight has a better chance of knocking out another player anyway.”
“At least you think so,” Hermione said.
“Yes I do.”
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Silence followed as they continued the game and Ron was soon once again lost in his thoughts.
Just do it! Please just say how you feel! Please, there’s not much time left. You’ll never know how she feels unless you tell her how you feel!
“Is that my checkmate, Ron?” he heard Hermione’s voice from somewhere in the distance.
Tell her how you feel!
“Ron?”
Just hurry up please!
“Ron…”
GO!
“Hermione,” Ron said quickly, surprising himself. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked deep into her chocolate eyes.
This caught her attention.
“Yeah?”
He couldn’t believe he was going to do this. “I…I need to tell you something-”
“Yeah?” She looked at him as if she expected something, and leaned in closer to him across the chessboard.
Ron leaned in as well. They were now just a few inches apart. “I’ve been holding this in for a long time.”
“What is it?”
They were now just one inch apart.
“I- I-”
“What is it, Ron?” Hermione reached out her hand and slid it into Ron’s.
Ron spat it out. “Hermione, I love you."
At first, Hermione seemed frozen, but then she started to blink. A lot.
Oh, Merlin, what is she thinking? She got a blank look in her eyes, what does that mean?
“I love you, too,” Hermione said suddenly.
Ron blinked. “What?”
“I-love-you-too.” She laughed.
“Are you joking?” Ron asked, narrowing his eyes playfully.
Hermione grinned. “Of course not!”
“Prove it then.”
“All right.”
Hermione closed the gap between them and kissed him on the lips, taking Ron by surprise.
FINALLY!
They slowly broke away from eachother.
Hermione grinned broadly. “I’ve been waiting for that for such a long time.”
Ron looked down at their hands, which were still holding on to each other’s. “So does this mean that you’re my girlfriend now?”
“If you really want me to.”
“I do.”
“Then I’m your girlfriend.”
“Thank goodness.” Ron leaned in again, but Hermione held him back.
“What about Harry?” she said.
“What about him?”
“Well, do you think we should tell him about us or not?”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Ron asked, perplexed.
“Ron, think about it. He just saw You-know-who again, saw Cedric die, and almost got . Do you think he really wants to focus on us now?”
“But he wouldn’t be focusing on us. This is our relationship, he doesn’t have to do anything for it.”
“I know, but I think what he needs right now is just the both of us; his friends. If he knew what we were doing, he might feel like the third wheel or something.”
She’s right…
“I guess so,” Ron said.
Suddenly, a board outside the room squeaked and they both knew who was there. They shared one last, quick kiss before the door opened to reveal Harry, bags and all.
Hermione ran over to Harry and smothered him in a tight hug, making Ron only slightly jealous. She then started talking about everything that happened and how sorry she was that they weren’t able to tell him anything about Grimmauld Place.
Ron smiled, but not because Harry was there. It was because he had achieved his goal of telling Hermione of his feelings, and getting her feelings back in return, all before Harry arrived.
I did it.
Ron’s happy ending turned out not to be an ending at all, but a happy beginning.
When Harry Wasn't There by bratface0201
Chapter Notes: An alternate ending to the story in which Ron has his last chance to tell Hermione how he feels before Harry arrives.