«And what about, you know…I mean, do you love her ?» asked George. I got closer to the door, because if there was one thing I wished to know, this was it.

«Yes.» said Ron, his tone of voice clear of any doubt. «I do.» Tears started streaming down my face. Ron loved me. Love. What a strange concept for an academic girl like me. For a long time, I could not understand what love was. When Lavender or Parvati came into the dormitory gushing about «the bloke they loved!» (which was a different one each week), I felt different. More different than normal, that is. I felt strongly for Ron, of course, but I didn't tell anybody. I didn't know if it was love, either. How could I know? What is love? But I knew at Shell Cottage. Oh god, I knew. That feeling, when I heard him scream my name, when I thought of him, only him when I thought I was going to die. That is love. After that fateful day, I wondered if Ron knew what love was. Ron-with-the-emotional-range-of-a-teaspoon. It was doubtful. But now…

«Wow. This is big.» said George, echoing my thoughts. «Where has my baby brother gone?», he teased.

«He grew up.» This is when I did it. I sniffed.

(Inside the room…)

Ron's eyes grew large in a second. He spun towards the door, but saw nothing. He went back to George, who had a knowing smile on his face.

«She's there.» he mouthed.

«Bloody-fuckin'-hell» Ron mouthed back. «What do I do?»

«You go to her, stupid! She needs you more than I do.» And then, in a louder voice, just loud enough for Hermione to hear, he said: «I'm feeling quite tired, Ron. You probably should go back to your room, now. Thanks for the talk.»

Ron shot him a murderous look. He responded. «Yeah… I'll get back to my room now.» He got up on his feet, suddenly feeling nervous.

«Tell her» mouthed George. And Ron went for the door. He opened it and Hermione was there, sat down on the floor just besides the door. She had her eyes closed, like she wished he would not see her, because she could not see him. Tears stained her cheeks. She opened one eye, very slowly.

«Ron! Ehhum… Hi?»

«Hi, yourself. Would you, ehh… would you come up with me? I think we need to talk.»

He extanded his hand to her and she took it. They climbed up the stairs towards the bright orange room in the attic.

He went for his bed. Hermione didn't know where to go. She felt so embarrassed, right now. She'd been caught. She knew it was a conversation she wasn't supposed to hear, she knew it wasn't ok to spy on private moments like this. At this moment, Ron patted the spot next to him on the bed. She sat down and he took her hand.

«Sooo…» he began. «You weren't supposed to hear all this, I guess. But you know what they say about eavesdroppers…» he tried to joke.

«Did you mean it?» Hermione asked looking straight in his eyes.

«Yes. All of it.» he answered back, his whole face reddening. «I know we haven't had time to really talk about all of this since we got back. Or maybe we didn't take the time, I don't know. But I do love you, Hermione. I really do.»

(Back to Hr P.O.V.)

«I love you, too.» I felt so giddy, it was ri-di-culous. «And I feel the same way about everything else you said. Everything.» I said, trying to convey my message without blushing.

«E..Everything?» I could tell he didn't want to get his hopes up for nothing.

«Yeah. Everything.»

«Wow…» I laughed at his hopeful face.

«But, you know… Not tonight, I mean. I thought… Well, I wished that I could stay here tonight and sleep with you. Just sleep.»

«Whatever you say, love. Whatever you want.»

«Good. I love you.» I said, setteling down in the bed next to him, my head resting on his chest. I felt like I was dreaming.

«Love you, too. Is it normal to say that so much?» We started laughing. After a few minutes, the laughter subsided and I felt really sleepy. Just before closing my eyes, I said:

«Personally, I think your masculinity is perfectly intact, love. From what I could tell, it was more than intact, in fact!» I felt him groan and I setteled back on his chest, my heart pumping so fast I wasn't sure it was normal and a smile on my face. Yeah. Everything would be alright.

Fin

Thank you for all the support! I might be back with another story soon, who knows ;)

SomeKindOfMagic12