Risking Hearts

A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews, I really appreciate them! Here is the chapter that you've been waiting for! I really hope you enjoy it.

A/N: Unlike the previous chapters that are from Harry's POV, this one is from Hermione's POV.

Oh no! Oh no! This has gotten so out of hand! What was I thinking pulling a stunt like this? Harry must be furious…Ron IS furious, and he doesn't even know the whole truth! I have to talk to him though…I have no idea what I'm going to say, but I have to talk to him before our whole friendship is destroyed.

I'm running through the corridors of the old, dark castle, praying that Filch doesn't catch me. I dash up the stairs, taking them three at a time. When I finally reach the portrait whole, I utter the password through jagged breaths. It opens and I race into the common room.

It is crowded. Students from all years look up from their activities and stare at me with concern. I spot Lavender and Seamus sitting at the wood desks in the corner. I approach them, and as if they know exactly what I'm looking for they answer my question with out even having to ask.

"He went up to his dorm," Seamus states calmly.

"I haven't seen him this mad since after the Yule ball," Lavender adds.

I sigh deeply and heavily. I still have no idea what I'm going to say to him, my face is more than likely flushed and I don't even want to see what my hair looks like after all that running. I definitely won't win him over with looks.

"Thanks," I mutter raggedly and jog quickly up the stair case to the boys' dormitory.

I reach the top of the stairs and stop at the door to Ron's dorm room and stand there starring at it.

What am I going to say? I've never felt so scared before in my life! I'll just tell him I'm sorry and I love him…NO! I can't say that! I don't even know if he likes me! If I say I like him and he doesn't reciprocate those feelings…Then I'll be embarrassed. Besides, Ron's the one acting like a prat! Just go in there, listen to what he has to say and then base my response on what he says. Perfect, now take a deep breath…and do it!

I listen to my advice, take a breath and open the door slowly.

It clicks open and I push it in gradually and creep through the opening.

I see Ron right away. His face is red and he's breathing hard; debris is thrown all over the room.

"Ron?" I call to him softly yet confidently. I close the door behind me and take a cautious step towards him.

"Go Away!" He hisses at me with an angry glare in his eye.

It scares me a bit. Ron really is furious! Just breathe Hermione; you are a strong, smart, confident women.

"No," I respond firmly.

Ron holds his glare on me, searching for a sign of weakness.

"Fine, I'll leave," He growls and walks quickly in my direction; barley brushing past me as he makes his way for the door.

I can't let him leave like this. I can't let him cause anymore havoc or stress on himself.

"Colloportus!" I say quickly while waving my wand at the door. It slams shut right before he reaches for it. Ron turns back to me quickly, red in the face.

"Open the door!" He says firmly. I turn to face him, staying strong in my resolve.

"You know the charm to unlock it…you can leave whenever you want, but we need to talk," I state simply. It was the truth too. I wasn't going to force him to do anything, but I did want him to realize that I wanted to talk to him.

"What's there to talk about?" he shouts at me and I feel my self flinch a bit at his anger.

"There's plenty to talk about Ron! I mean, you just punched your best friend!" I retort strongly.

"He deserved it!" Ron shouts back without hesitation.

"You're so immature!" I yell back at him growing angrier. Hitting someone wasn't the way to solve a problem, although I was beginning to feel like hitting Ron.

Ron huffs loudly and throws his arms in the air in frustration. "I don't need a lecture right now Hermione! Least of all from you!"

"Me?" I say stepping closer to him. "What about you Ron? You've been acting like a prat all week!"

Ron let's out a short incredulous laugh. "I wonder why?"

"Yes Ron, please explain to me why!" I respond impatiently. I already know why, but I want to hear him say it.

He looks at me with so much anger. Anger that shows through in his tone.

"Dam it Hermione!" He shouts. "There are loads of Blokes at this school that fancy you and Harry wasn't one of them! A relationship between the two of you was the last thing I expected and I didn't know how to react to it when it did," He says, his anger slowly ebbing. He sighs deeply. "I guess I just felt…" He mutters how he felt, but it is too soft for me to hear.

"What?" I ask softly.

This only invokes his anger again.

"I felt left out!" He shouts. "It's just-I'm so used to it being just the three of us, or you and me. Now suddenly you've fallen for Harry and I'm nothing."

I had no idea he felt that many things. I didn't even consider this scenario; Ron might not even fancy me at all, he just feels felt out of the friendship, not jealous.

"Ron," I start with a sympathetic tone, but he speaks before I can finish.

"I'm happy for you guys, it's just…I miss you," He says sadly and I can see in his light blue eyes that he's being sincere. That doesn't tell me how he feels about me though. I have to know for sure, I have to get him to tell the truth.

"Is that the only reason…because you feel left out?" I ask gently, and wait expectantly for the answer.

Ron's features twitch a bit in thought. His mouth opens in hesitation for a moment before he speaks. "Er-yeah, of course."

I look down sadly, forgetting to hide my emotions. It has been solved. Ron is only my friend, my good friend and nothing more. Now, to start the long process of getting over a crush. But Ron is more than a crush, and he doesn't like me they way I like him and now I'm crushed!

"Oh," I respond sadly. I look up at him, his eyes are not angry anymore, but are soft and making me feel weak. "I'm sorry about all of this Ron…I should probably go check on Ginny and Harry now," I tell him softly as I move past him towards the door. My heart breaks as I feel his gaze upon me when I reach for the knob. None of this went the way I wanted. Ron was supposed to get jealous to the point of gently taking me aside and admitting to me that he loved me and didn't want to see me with any other man but him. So much for that! I unlock the door and I'm about to turn it when-

"The worst way to be missing someone…" I hear a soft voice croak. I turn around slowly and look at my best friend before me. "Is when your sitting right beside them, knowing you can't have them," He says in such a sincere and sweet tone that my heart melts, I don't even know for sure what he's trying to tell me, but it was beautiful none the less.

Ron Weasley was so confusing! I step away from the door and toward him, without loosing eye contact.

"I don't understand," I say softly.

Ron suddenly looks uncomfortable. His face flushes pink and he absently plays with a stray string on his quidditch robes.

"I er- I was jealous," He admits quietly. My heart leaps and I try to hide the smile tugging at my lips. It's not confirmed yet. Maybe he's just as frightened as I am…maybe I should just swallow my pride and tell him the truth, but what if he doesn't' fancy me? I'll be humiliated…just suck it up you silly girl.

"Ron…" I say and he looks up at me. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

He offers me a curious look. "What do you mean?"

Good question, what do I mean? How will I tell him this?

"Harry and I…We-we weren't really dating…" I confess shyly, in fear of another outburst from Ron.

He doesn't yell though, but his expression hardens just as it does when he's thinking really hard.

"Why would you pretend?" He asks me.

My voice catches in my throat. It's hot and scratchy and my heart begins to pound. How am I supposed to tell him the truth? This is so horrible! I have to do it though, if there is going to be any sort of relationship between me and Ron, it has to be an honest one.

"It's silly really," I say and my whole body heats up, I know that my face is probably beat red and I start to laugh uncomfortably. "Actually…It's quiet embarrassing now!" I say trying to make the situation humorous.

Ron just stares at me though, his expression unreadable. I had now choice but to continue my rambling.

"I-I thought that if maybe I set up a situation where in I could judge your reaction, I could determine whether you like me or not, because…I-I like you," I say and I feel my heart stop right then. I can't believe I actually just told him! What he says next is going to change my whole life. I might loose a best friend! Or I could gain the love of my life! This is too much…Just don't faint Hermione.

Ron's expression remains unchanged. He shifts a bit in his position and purses his lips together. "Did you find your answer?" He asks quietly.

I swallow hard. In all honesty, I hadn't! But, he obviously isn't thrilled by the news.

"Oh, Well, I don't really know but…You're not mad are you?" I ask shyly.

His eyes widen as if in shock and he steps nearer to me.

"At your selfish attempts to read my feelings?" He says firmly and steps closer. "You successfully sent me into shock," He continues and begins to circle me. "Used Harry! Pissed off Ginny! Caused me to HIT my best friend…" Ron suddenly stops straight in front of me. His expression is firm, but there is a glint of something else in his eyes. He looks at me deeply and I know that I'm not breathing. I feel ashamed, embarrassed, and extremely nervous to hear what's next…I wish I could just disappear!

"And…" I close my eyes waiting for the final horrible thing I did.

"Drove me into complete, insane jealousy because I'm crazy about you!" He says without any malice.

I look up in shock, not knowing for sure if I heard him correctly. He's smiling at me with the adorable, humiliated smile he always wares.

"You are?" I ask in a shaky, girly voice that's not my own.

He smiles at my awkwardness and let's out a breath that he'd been holding.

"Yeah, since…well, since girls stopped having cooties!"

I laughed at his confession. God, I loved this boy!

"So," He mutters. "What do we do now?"

I suddenly stop laughing as reality hits me.

"Oh…Well, I never thought of what would happen after the confessions," I admit.

Ron looks scarred now. "I never even though about the confessions part!"

"Well," I start, and I'm sure I appear just as terrified as he is. "We could-

"Not if you don't want-"

"Only if-"

We both laugh awkwardly at our inability to complete a sentence for fear of the others answers.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. "I guess I should have planed a little better…It's just, I'm scarred. I mean, you're my best friend and I don't want anything to ruin that and what with the war going on and all of our friends will talk! Are we ready for this? Do we have enough time? We already bicker so much as it is! And what will your mom think, and now I'm nervous and when I'm nervous I can't shut up unless-"

I don't have time to complete my frantic rambling because Ron's warm lips have made firm contact with mine. Every thought, every feeling is swept away in that instant. All I feel at this exquisite moment is my heart attempting to break through my chest, the butterflies in my stomach and the feel of his glorious lips against mine. The kiss is passionate, but chaste and short.

He pulls away slowly leaving me breathless and desperate for more. I open my eyes slowly and see him starring back at me.

I smile nervously, "That works."

He smiles back at me, relieved by my reaction. As the tension slowly fades I realize his hands are rested gently on each of my cheeks, my hands resting on his upper-arms, and our bodies close together.

"That still doesn't answer what happens next in the long run," I tell him.

"Uh, yeah," He says nervously. His hand moves away from my cheek and pushes back a strand of hair from my face. I close my eyes reveling in his touch.

"Hermione…" He starts quietly.

I give him my full attention, urging him to go on.

"Will-will you be my girlfriend?"

He looks so nervous and my heart melts. This is such a different Ron than the thick, stubborn, prat that he was earlier.

"Yes!" I answer, smiling.

Ron leans down and kisses me again. The same feeling rushes over me and I pray to whoever is listening that this is how it feels every time he kisses me for the rest of my life.

Rest of my life?

What if it doesn't last? What if I get my heart broken and we're never friends again?

I pull away from the magnificent kiss.

"Ron?"

He looks down at me with confusion.

"Aren't you scarred? What if this doesn't work?" I ask with the panic returning to my voice.

Ron offers me an incredulous laugh. "Hermione! I'm scarred as hell! But we have to be brave! I mean, anyone can risk their life, but it takes a hero to risk their heart."

That was the sweetest, most romantic, most….profound thing I had ever heard Ron say.

"Ron... where are you getting all these quotes from?" I ask, my voice returning to its usual brash tone.

His face suddenly turns a deep shade of crimson and he averts his eyes. "I, erm…I got bored one day over the summer and the only thing there was to do was read…and the only book that I could find was a book of Ginny's."

"And what book was that?" I ask him, loving to see how cute he got when embarrassed.

Ron swallows hard. "It-it was a 'Witches guide to romance'," he says shyly.

I smile widely, not able to control myself and let out a quiet giggle.

"And you remembered quotes from the books? Ron, that's a first for you!"

"Shut up," He grumbles irritably.

I still can't stop laughing. "Ron…I'm sorry, I think it's adorable!"

"I don't want to be adorable!" He whines.

"I won't tell anyone," I say reassuringly.

I take his hand before he can protest. "Come on. Let's go find Harry and Ginny and tell them…You owe him an apology anyway," I say and start to lead him out of the room.

"Don't you mean WE owe him an apology?" Ron states.

I suddenly feel guilty and selfish. I've got what I want now and I couldn't be happier…But look what it took to get here! Harry had been my lapdog, and I broke the girlfriend code by 'dating' Ginny's crush! However, if I played the cards right, Harry and Ginny shouldn't be concerned with me anymore.

"Sorry…we." I correct myself and we head out of the door.

I like that sound of that, the sound of "we". Ron was right, we had to be brave. Not just in the war, but in our feelings for each other.

So, how was it? Please let me know what you think, I would really appreciate it. I think this is the last chapter. I'm content with ending it here, but if you feel differently let me know and I can probably whip up some more. Thanks for reading!