Declarations of Love

Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Defense Against the Dark Arts Assignment #3 and the Level Up Competition (Tutorial/Stage 1/Task 3) Romantic, Hot-Headed, Odd

Task: Write about the happiest day in your character's life and why it is the happiest.

Extra Prompts: (Dialogue) "I want you to be happy. I want you to laugh a lot. I don't know what exactly I'll be able to do for you, but I'll always be by your side."

Pairing: Ron/Hermione and Lavender/Charlie

It was a date that the entire wizarding world had been dreading. The 2nd of June 1998, the one-month anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. It was one month since Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort, and good Witches and Wizards everywhere were rejoicing this fact. It was also the day many lost loved ones who bravely fought Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

The Weasley family had lost the much loved and very popular Fred Weasley. A twenty-year-old man who had his entire life ahead of him. He had been smart, funny and brave. His passing would forever leave a hole in the hearts of his family and friends.

Everyone and their dog had turned up for his funeral. There was not an empty seat in the place, and many had to stand up at the back. George Weasley had insisted that everyone ignored the tradition of wearing black and paid their respects to Fred by wearing their brightest clothes. A colourful way of honouring a man who had remained bright and cheerful to the end. George had also made it clear he expected everybody to celebrate Fred's wonderful life rather than mourn his tragic and untimely death. Some had turned their nose up at what they considered a lack of dignity, but those who had been closest to Fred knew that it had been a genuinely bittersweet party and one that would have made Fred proud.

Charlie Weasley had unexpectedly decided to stay for a few months instead of returning to Romania straight away. His family strongly believed that a certain witch named Lavender Brown had a lot to do with this. Charlie had been the one to rush Lavender to the hospital wing after her fall from the balcony and the attack from Fenir Greyback. She had a scar as a painful reminder of the horrors she had endured on that night, and Charlie seemed to be the only one who could make her feel better. They appeared to be inseparable as she supported him through his grief and he reassured her that she was still beautiful, inside and out. Molly Weasley seemed to approve of the blossoming romance between them and hoped that it would encourage Charlie to stay for good.

The surviving Death Eaters had been arrested and put into Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic had been restored to its original state, with many hoping for improvements to be made as soon as possible.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had taken a beating during the battle. Survivors were doing all that they could to mend the damage that had been done, and this was where Hermione Granger was right now. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had returned to Hogwarts with their friends to help out in any way that they could.

Hermione kept sneaking glances at Ron Weasley as they worked in the courtyard with Neville and Luna. One thing that had not changed was her relationship with Ron. She had kissed him during the battle and was delighted when he had kissed her back enthusiastically. This is it; she had naively thought. Finally, we've got it right! Now we both need to get out of here alive.

She scoffed at her thoughts and couldn't hold back a loud snort, making Ron look at her quizzically. "Are you okay over there, Hermione?"

"I'm fine, thank you very much, Ronald," Hermione answered, not managing to keep the bitterness out of her voice as she spoke. How could he be so dense?

Ron raised an eyebrow at her but didn't question her further as he returned to his work. She cursed him quietly and instantly felt guilty for doing so. It wasn't his fault, and he did have a lot to deal with right now; they all did.

But why won't the boy kiss you? If I remember correctly, you made your feelings known when you kissed him, so why hasn't he done anything? Said the voice in her head. These words reignited her anger and she spoke up once more.

"I am not okay, and I think you know why." She took a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves. This was it; she was going to have it out with him right now. How dare he kiss her and then just pretend it never happened! She had been the one to make the first move, and it was his turn now. The ball was in his court, but it seemed like she was going to have to force him to make a decision.

He turned to look at her, surprise written all over his face. "I can't say that I do," He replied wearily, rubbing his eyes. His reaction was like a red rag to a bull.

"You can't say that you do? Really? After everything we went through this past year, you can't think what might be making me upset? Well, maybe it's time for me to clue you in!" Hermione's speech had started calm and was verging on hysterical by the end. She suddenly remembered that they were not alone and looked at Neville and Luna. Neville looked uncomfortable while Luna looked unsurprised and almost amused by Hermione's outburst.

"I think we will go and work elsewhere. Come on, Neville." Luna grabbed Neville's hand, and they walked away quickly. Once they were gone, Hermione turned back to Ron. His eyes flickered with annoyance as he crossed his arms. With all Hermione's experience in fighting with Ron, she could tell that he was itching for a fight. Good.

"Well done, you've scared Neville and Luna off. Couldn't this have waited until later?"

She glared at him. "No, it can't wait until later, Ron. I want to talk to you now."

"Are you going to tell me what this is about, or am I supposed to guess? I'm not a bloody mind reader, Hermione!"

She couldn't help but scoff at this. "Oh, I'm aware of that. If anyone knows how thick you can be when it comes to picking up on hints, it's me."

A look of hurt showed on his face, and she instantly regretted saying it. He had matured a lot over the past year and had been a shoulder to lean on during this awful time. She shouldn't have said that and she wished she could take it back.

"I'm not going to stand here and let you insult me. I'm going to go and find the others if you're not going to tell me what's wrong so I can try and sort it out."

He turned his back on her and started to walk away. She blurted it out before she could change her mind. "I'm talking about the kiss we shared during the battle, Ron. I left the ball in your court, and I have been waiting for you to do something. Even if you tell me that it was a mistake, I'd rather know than be kept in the dark about how you feel."

Ron had stopped walking as soon as she mentioned the kiss. He turned around slowly until he was facing her once more. She looked into the deep blue eyes that had always fascinated her and pulled her in.

Ron looked like he had recently been hit on the back of his head by a bludger. His eyes locked on hers as he moved towards her.

"You've been waiting for me to make the first move?"

She nodded nervously, not knowing where he was going with this. "I knew that after… Fred died…," Ron grimaced as she mentioned his brother's name and she looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Ron. I knew that you had other things to worry about, and your focus would rightly be on grieving and being there for your family. I did my best to help you through it and not put pressure on you to decide for us, but I have my limits and waiting for a sign from you has been driving me up the wall."

"I couldn't have got through it without you, Hermione. You know that I'm terrible with words. I'm probably going to mess this up completely, but I'm going to try and explain a couple of things."

He paused as if he was trying to come up with the right words to say.

"I admit that I've been a little distracted recently and I'm sorry for that, but I thought I had made my feelings for you clear when I returned the kiss. I didn't realise that you were waiting for another sign from me, and how could you think that I would consider our first kiss to be a mistake? Bloody hell, Hermione! I don't know about you, but for me, it was the best kiss I've ever had."

She gasped at his words and found herself unable to reply coherently. Ron grinned adorably at her. "Are my eyes playing up or is Hermione Jean Granger completely speechless? I must take advantage of this rare event."

She smacked his arm, and he laughed, his eyes sparkling with delight. "Much better. There's the Hermione I know and love."

"You live to drive me mad, don't you, Ronald Weasley?"

"Yep, and you wouldn't have it any other way," Ron answered confidently. She hated to admit it, but he was right.

He shocked her once more when he looked her in the eye. "You want to know how I feel about you?" He spoke without a hint of fear, and he held her gaze firmly without breaking eye contact. She could feel butterflies in her stomach as she nodded.

"I love you, Hermione Granger. In a way, I think I always have; I didn't realise it until our sixth year. I was completely lost when you stopped talking to me after the Christmas holidays, and I was so relieved when you started talking to me after I was poisoned. I would've gladly agreed to be poisoned every day just to make sure you never stopped talking to me again."

Hermione felt as light as a feather, and her heart soared at his words. She wondered if she should pinch herself just to make sure it wasn't a dream. "Repeat it," she whispered.

"I love you; I love you; I love you. I want you to be happy. I want you to laugh a lot. I don't know what exactly I'll be able to do for you, but I'll always be by your side. I hope that's enough, Hermione." His confidence seemed to wane as he waited for her reply. She soon fixed that with her answer.

"That is more than enough, and don't you ever doubt it. I love you too, Ronald Weasley. You don't know how long I've been waiting to tell you that."

They beamed ecstatically at each other and shared their second kiss. It wasn't as passionate as the first, but it had much more meaning to it. Hermione had kissed him before because she was worried that one or both of them would be killed and they would never get the chance again; this time, the war was over, and they had their lives ahead of them. Their declarations of love made the kiss sweeter, and they were both on cloud nine.

The kiss was rudely interrupted by loud cheers, and they looked around to find that they had a rather large audience. Ginny giggled as Harry shouted "Oi! Get a room, you two!" Even Professor McGonagall and the other professors looked amused as Dean and Seamus catcalled. Ron stuck his middle finger up at his friends, and Hermione blushed as they wandered off holding hands, hoping to find somewhere private.

Lavender and Charlie were standing slightly apart from the others and holding hands. Nobody noticed when Charlie leaned in and kissed Lavender tenderly on the lips.