A/N: Well, I was bored in class the other day, so I decided – hey! My first fic's completely crap! Why not rewrite Just A Little Closer? So, rather than do my assignment… I did! And here's the result.
Disclaimer: A girl can dream, can't she?
"Bloody hell Harry, you couldn't have possibly made any more of a fool of yourself! You were actually drooling! It was just my baby sister in bikinis! And anyway, I thought you broke up?"
"Yeah, but that was only to protect her. Plus, she did look... you know what I mean."
Ginny grinned at Hermione and rolled her eyes. They were listening under Ron's door with extendable ears. It wasn't Hermione's usual character, but the boys had been acting weirdly after they had been swimming in the dam, and they'd wanted to know why. Well, now they knew.
"Boys." whispered Hermione, shaking her head.
"OK, too much information." said Ron to Harry. "I really don't want to hear about your thoughts of my little sister."
"Shut up! It's not my fault! And it's not as if-"
"Don't go there, Harry."
"Yeah, well," Harry sounded struggled in the attempt to come up with a retort. "You weren't so smooth with Hermione either!"
"Yeah, but… wait! Hermione? Why would I… um… Hermione?"
"I don't need Leligimency for something as glaringly obvious as this, Ron."
Hermione's heart skipped a beat. Was Harry saying what she thought he was? No, he couldn't be. So why was Ginny looking at her like that?
"C'mon, Ron. Admit it. You liked-"
"Shut up!" Ron's voice sounded heated through the extendables.
"What's the bet his ears are darker than his hair?" Ginny chuckled under her breath. Hermione felt herself blush, and Ginny giggled again.
"Well… she did look pretty… well… you know… what you thought about Ginny." Ron's voice sounded raspy. "OK, so I did like seeing her in bathers. But, it's not like I like her or anything." (Harry snorted in disbelievingly.) "It's just… you know how it is. I can't help it, can I? Like with Lavender."
"Like Lavender? Like Lavender?" Hermione half-yelled, forgetting that she was eavesdropping. Ginny signalled for her to be quiet, but Hermione ignored it. "Is that what all he thinks I am? I'm just some… idiotic, unthinking, strumpet of a girl?"
"Oh, ew." Ginny whispered. "Please don't talk about Ron and Lavender like that. Baaaad mental image."
By this time, Harry and Ron had reached the door. They blinked down at the two girls, flesh-coloured strings trailing from their ears.
"What're you doing?" asked Ron. Ginny was right – his ears were darker than his hair.
"Um, duh." said Ginny. Thankfully, she seemed to understand that Hermione couldn't speak.
Ron flushed even darker. "Ever heard of a thing called privacy?"
"Ever heard of a thing called friendship?" Hermione choked out.
"What?" Ron raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking something along the lines of; is she taking the Mickey?
"I though I was your friend! But no, I'm just like Lavender."
"What? Oh! No, I didn't mean-!"
"I think we both know perfectly well what you mean." Hermione fought against tears, ripping the extendable from her ear and running as fast as she possibly could to Ginny's bedroom and her bed for the summer. She screamed into her pillow, her eyes stinging. Furiously, she blinked her eyes dry, doing anything she could to rid her head of what had just happened. But there was nothing… there never had been anything… that could rid her head of Ron.
She had always been thinking about Ron. She loved him. No, not just loved him, Hermione loved Harry too. She was IN love with Ron.
But that was just it. That was why his idiotic, unthinking comments stung like barbs on her skin and, no matter what Hermione did, they would not go away. That was why, every night whilst waiting for sleep to come, she wondered where they had gone wrong, and why they always fought. And maybe… maybe if it weren't for the fighting, then they could have been something more than friends.
Because no matter what happened between them, they were always best friends, Hermione knew that. She knew that, after her blood stopped boiling, she would make up with Ron and they'd begin plotting their defeat of Voldemort together. But the fights, it was something she couldn't stand. And this was worse than ever.
Hermione's heart ached. She now knew that Ron thought of her as nothing more than a girl. She now knew that he'd never thought anything other than friendship about her. She now knew that… that seeing her in bathers was more important to him than their friendship.
Stupid git. Hermione thought. Stupid, stupid git. I thought… we were so close at Hogwarts last year. I thought maybe he did like me, after McClaggen and everything. But, no. He's just a stupid, stupid git. Well, who cares? I don't need love! I can be fine by myself, with my books and my friends, like Harry and Ginny.
Hermione sighed. She knew it wasn't true. She knew she was being stupid, and she needed Ron's love. In fact, she'd needed it ever since second year…
FLASHBACKAs Hermione opened her eyes she saw a large, steaming blue mug being held to her mouth. Holding the mug was Madame Pomfrey. Hermione took in her surroundings, and noticed she was in the Hospital Wing. Hermione's foggy head cleared, and she worked out what had happened. She was petrified by the Basilisk. And right after finding out what was going on…
Hermione sat bolt upright. How could she have forgotten, even if only for seconds?
"I know what's happening! Oh, I have to tell Harry and Ron and Dumbledore, and-!"
"Calm down, please." Madam Pomfrey's voice rose over her own from over at Colin Creevey's bed. "You are confused. Wait, as I arise the others. We can go down to the feast together."
"What? It's the end of the year already?" She had missed her exams! What was she going to do? She would never be allowed into third year. Which meant that she wouldn't get to start any new subjects!
"No, no." Madam Pomfrey reassured her. "Harry Potter has defeated the heir of Slytherin.. There is a feast to celebrate." She shook her head. "That boy, good hearted, but never takes care of himself! He's going to be as scarred as Mad-Eye Moody when he's forty." She muttered to herself.
Hermione grinned as she felt a swelling of pride for Harry, and watched impatiently as Madam Pomfrey revived all the other students that had been petrified. They then walked down to the feast together.
When they got to the Great Hall, the whole school was there, and for some peculiar reason, in their pyjamas. It must have been the middle of the night! Hermione looked among the thick crowd for the red hair that usually helped her to find Harry and Ron, but, unfortunately, Fred and George found her.
"Great to see you up, Hermione!" said George enthusiastically.
"Yeah, it's no fun at all to prank people without the risk of you telling us off for it!" Fred agreed happily.
They both gave her a friendly thump on the back and walked off. Hermione winced. The twins thumped hard. She sighed and continued looking for her best friends until she saw Harry, talking to Seamus, and ran up to him, screaming "You solved it! You solved it!"
Then she turned to Ron and saw, not only relief, but something else in his eyes. What was it? She didn't know – and that wasn't the only foreign thing in the air. Something was filling her stomach. And she realised with wide eyes that it was love. What an idiot she was! She'd fallen in love with Ron Weasley! What next, an International Quidditch Player?
"Well, Hermione! Finally thought you'd join us, did you?" asked Ron. That something in his eyes was gone, but it told Hermione what she needed to know. She bit her lip and forced the emotion down, joining in with the celebrations.
END FLASHBACK
There was a knock on the door. Hermione hastily picked up a book from her bedside and ducked her head behind it, calling; "Come in!"
It was Harry. He looked a little sheepish as he walked into Ginny's room.
"Hey, er, Hermione?" he asked. Hermione looked up from the top of her book.
"Oh, Harry? Sorry, I was just reading." She lowered the book to look at Harry, who was staring at her.
"Er… yeah. Well, sorry about what Ron said. It was just… you did look pretty, er, well, yeah. I mean, if I didn't have Ginny… not that I would ever… you know what I mean. And it's not like he asked you to hear him. He was just saying it to me… guys stuff. He didn't-"
"If he didn't mean it, why did he say it then?" asked Hermione. "And no, I'm not apologising to him, either! I did nothing wrong! If he really wants to make up, he'll apologise to me himself!" Hermione wasn't really mad at Ron anymore, (how could she be?) but she still had her reputation to maintain, and she didn't plan on letting anyone know too soon about her feelings for him, either.
"That isn't what I was going to…" Harry shook his head, looking frustrated. "It doesn't matter."
"Hmph." said Hermione uncomfortably. It was a rare and irritating thing that Harry knew something she didn't, and apparently it was one of those times.
"Well, just make up soon, OK? Merlin knows you two fight enough as it is. And I'll need you to cooperate when we're looking for the Horcruxes. Dumbledore-" Harry stopped, thinking his own thoughts about Dumbledore.
"It'll be his fault if we are." said Hermione defiantly.
Harry rubbed his temples, sighing, and walked out of Ginny's room and shut the door. It was then that Hermione realised that the book she was 'reading' was upside down. Hermione half-chuckled and decided on looking for any extra information she could find out about the founders or horcruxes, expecting to be alone until dinner.
She was wrong about this, however. After a few minutes, to Hermione's disbelief, Ron pushed the door open and walked as dignified as was possible to sit on the bed with Hermione.
"Really, Ron. You could have knocked!"
"Now you know how it feels not to have any privacy! How do you think we…" but Ron stopped, and seemed to decide that this wasn't the best thing to say.
"Anyway, Hermione." He continued. "I just wanted to say I'm, uh, I'm sorry for saying you looked… you know. And… yeah. I just think we should, um, stop fighting so we can help Harry, you know? Because we fight way too much, and I just reckon we should stop being prats and… yeah. Help him."
"Is that your version of an apology?" asked Hermione, clenching her hand by her side to prevent herself hitting him. "Thanks, Ron. I really wanted to be called a prat."
"Look, can you give it a bloody rest? I'm trying to apologise. You see, that's what people do when they feel bad about hurting someone's feelings. I know you wouldn't understand that, but that's what I'm trying to do." Ron got up and wrenched the door open, about to walk out.
"I'm sorry." said Hermione, before she could stop the words spilling out of her mouth.
"What?" murmured Ron, slowly turning around. Hermione stood up and looked into his soft blue eyes. Big mistake.
"Sorry I was being stupid." Hermione's voice floated out as though it wasn't her saying the words. "You're right, I should accept your-"
"Apology?" asked Ron softly. "So you do know what it is."
Hermione laughed, and realised with a small surge of panic, she realised that she and Ron's faces had come much closer together. Well, why not? Thought one side of her. You've liked each other long enough.
But you need to support Harry! Said the other side of her. There's no time for you and Ron to be in love.
Oh, shut up. Said the side of her that Hermione was most definitely on the side of. Her insides danced the only dance they knew, the one they'd danced after the Yule Ball with Viktor.
Viktor who? she asked herself with a grin. What was an International Quidditch Player compared to a Weasley?
They were so close now, that Hermione could actually feel Ron's warm smelling breath of her cheek. She couldn't comprehend it, but it was really happening. It was really happening.
Just a little closer…
"Who wants Coco Puffs?" asked Ginny, pushing the door to her own room open with, for reasons best known to herself, a box of cereal. Ron and Hermione sprung apart, looking up at a mortified Ginny.
"Oh." she said in a high-pitched voice. "Er… sorry, guys." With that, Ginny closed the door, her freckles no longer visible within her crimson face. Hermione stared at the door, feeling Ron's eyes on her.
"Dinner!" yelled Mrs Weasley from the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, Hermione forced herself to look back at Ron.
"Uh… we'd better get down to dinner." He said, moving slightly away from Hermione, his ears flaming red.
"Erm, yeah… let's go."
Ron moved quickly out of the room, avoiding eye contact with Hermione. Hermione followed him out, but stopped at the doorframe. Turning around, she looked at the spot she and Ron had stood at just a minute before, their faces so close. Sadly she turned and walked from the room.
If only we'd gotten just a little closer…A/N: Mmm… yes, well that's it. Hopefully it's not as crap as before, though I don't doubt it's still crap. Once again, the Coco Puffs thing is all PremzaWitchOfWeirdos, though she did think of it approximately four fifths of a year ago. So… yeah. REVIEW!