This is the first story of mine that I'm actually trying to finish. It's been really hard lately to actually sit down and write, but seeing as I'm grounded, I finally have the time.

So I hope you like it. Please R&R!

Gracias!

Chapter One: Humming, Dirty Laundry, and Gnome Envy.

Ron woke to an annoying humming coming from the next room. He was sure it was Harry singing in the shower again, even though Ron was sure he had made it clear to the entire household that it was too early to sing in the shower. He kicked the wall, and closed his eyes again, but the humming didn't stop.

"Dammit Harry! I thought I told you to knock it off yesterday!" He made for the door, but stopped abruptly as he noticed he wasn't alone in the room.

"Hermione! What the bloody hell are you doing in here!??!" He quickly grabbed for his robes. Ron had the habit of sleeping in hardly anything.

"Honestly, it's not as if I haven't seen a boy in his knickers before. I'm just collecting your laundry for your mother. She's pretty busy, what with all of the people in this house."

As Hermione spoke, she continued to dig through the mounds of dirty clothing that hid Ron's floor. She carefully separated the darks from the lights, the reds from the whites. He watched as she did this, finally understanding where the humming had come from. But he shook his head, remembering that it had been the humming that had woken him in the first place.

"Well, you could have had the decency to knock. I have to get at least ten hours of sleep if I want to be awake enough for breakfast. Honestly. What if I had a girl in here or something?" She stared at him with a slight smile on her face, but as he finished, it slowly vanished.

"I mean... I wouldn't have a girl in here ever! Unless it was y-" Ron cut off. Hermione's eyes began to look watery, and he noticed, a small tear slid from the corner of her eye. She quickly drew the laundry basket up onto her hip, and left the room, and with a teary, fake smile, slammed the door in his face.

As if by magic, no pun intended, Harry entered the room. Ron knew it was the loudly slammed door that had caught his attention, and was trying to prepare himself for the worst.

"What did you say this time? You know, it seems you're getting yourself into more and more trouble this summer. You're supposed to be nice to the girl you like, not force her to slam the door in your face three days in a row." Harry chuckled to himself, and Ron knew that he was thinking about him and Ginny. They had been exceptionally closer this summer, much to the Weasly brother's distaste. But if Ginny was happy, then so was he.

"I just don't understand why every word that comes out of my mouth hurts her feelings. I just don't know what to say to her. When it's the three of us, we're buds, you know, laughing, joking, the norm. But when I'm alone with her, I always seem to slip up. I just want to impress her, but instead, I make a fool of myself." he ran his hands through his hair, noticing how badly he needed a shower. Why couldn't he get this right. He loved this girl. Of course, she didn't know that, but, he'd get around to telling her sometime.

" You're lucky she isn't like Ginny. You would have had a hex every one of those times. She justs needs some time to cool off, then I'll go talk to her again. But really, could you stop insulting her, I'm sick of getting my head chewed off." Harry laughed and started to get up to leave, but Ron grabbed at his sleeve.

"Harry, I'll do it. It's my fault, not your's. I just need to tell her everything. I'm going to tell her how I feel. I love her and she doesn't even know. She's my world, and I at least need to give myself the chance to be hers" He tried to lift himself off of the bed, but his arms gave out, and for some reason his legs weren't working like they were supposed to. He tried again, but in the end, needed Harry's help to finally get on to his feet.

He first made his way to Ginny's room, knowing that out of anyone in the house, she knew where Hermione would be. He knocked on the bright yellow door, hoping that she was in a good mood. As the door opened, he noticed that Harry had already apparated to her room.

"Hey there, long time no see!" He said, sarcastically.

"OK, out! I need to talk to Ginny," he said, hiding his anger.

"No! This isn't your room, Ronald. Either you talk with Harry in the room, or you can just leave!" Her hair was tousled, and Ron could only hope they weren't doing what he thought.

And so, covering up his disgust, he began. He started with the events of this morning, and then told her what he was planning on doing. She sat politely enough, but as soon as he got to his speech on his undying love for Hermione, she scoffed, and tried to hide her laughter behind her hand. Harry punched her in the shoulder and gave her a, "Give him some credit, he's trying," look. Something he often did.

"Alright, Ronnykins, I can help you, but only on one condition. You leave me and Harry alone for the rest of the summer. No more unannounced visits to my room or his. And, you can't tell mom what's been going on. It's not as if she doesn't have enough on her mind, without you tattling like a little kid every five minutes."

Harry looked at him in an almost pleading way. Ron knew he'd have to give in, or else he'd never get Hermione alone.

"Fine, but, you have to promise me that Hermione will never find out about this conversation. Promise?"

"Promise," they said in unison.

"OK, how do I start?"

"Well first off, quit being such a prick. In case you didn't know, girls don't like smart asses. And second, try not to talk about other girls, especially Lavender. She doesn't want to know about the past. No one does actually. So, try and apply that one to your everyday life, Ok?" Harry nodded in agreement.

"But you said that didn't bother you! I was just trying to compare Hermione-"

Ginny cut in, "See, that's where you go wrong, a lot of the time. She doesn't want to be compared to other girls. She wants to be herself around you. She's not Lavender, and that should be enough."

"Yeah, and thank Merlin for that." Harry added.

"OK, well, is that it? Because I kinda wanted to talk to her while she was still mad. I don't want her sympathy. This has to be raw." He couldn't believe he was saying this. Hermione was pure evil when she was angry, but for some reason he didn't care. He loved her when she was angry, happy, or sad. To him, she was always beautiful.

"Yeah, she should be out back in the garden. Just try to come back alive please. Can't lose my best mate to my other best mate, now can I?" And with that, Harry and Ginny both pushed him eagerly from the room. Ron could have sworn he heard triumphant laughter as the door shut, but he could care less.

He made his way down the hallway, but as he passed Hermione's room, he gave in to his curiosity and went in. As he walked in, he was engulfed in the wonderful aroma of her perfume. For a second or two, he was lost in the scent that was so familiar to him. It was a light, crisp, apple scent that made his nose tingle with delight. He reminded himself to tell her how much he loved that, when he noticed a book he had never seen Hermione with before. As he walked to the desk, he noticed that the binding was old and worn down. The lock that would normally have held it closed was laying open at it's side.

He realized that this must be her diary, and, giving in, he grabbed the book and sat down on her bed to read it. He began on he first page, and the memories rushed back.

It was their first day at Hogwarts through the eyes of his best friend.

September 1st

Dearest Diary,

I can't believe this day is actually real. I'm on the Hogwarts Express, and believe it or not, 9 and 3/4 actually exists. I met a boy named Neville on the train today, and Harry Potter. He was in the compartment next to me. I showed him my magical abilities when I fixed his glasses, it was amazing! There was also another boy with him, Ron Weasly I think his name was. I hate to admit it, but, he was very sweet, in an odd sort of way. Hopefully all three of us will be in the same house, possibly Ravenclaw, then I might get to know him a little better. Oh, look at the time, the train is stopping. I wonder how they'll sort us into houses.

Yours always,

Hermione

Ron was shocked as he read the passage. It was an eleven year old Hermione, writing about him on the first day they had met. He tried to remember that far back, but all he could remember was last night's dinner.

He was caught up in his curiosity and read on, this time, skipping a few years ahead.

December 5th

Diary, my friend,

I am lost. Viktor Krum asked me to the Yule Ball, but so did Ron. I know who I want to go with, but if I said yes to Ron, I'd have to tell Viktor. And he has been so nice to me. But what if Ron feels the same way I do? And I know I'd blow it. If only I could go with them both. There's the bell, must run. Until tomorrow!

Hermione

He knew he shouldn't read on, but he had to...

January 1st

Dear Diary,

Ron is dating that slug of a girl, Lavender Brown. I knew I should have hexed her in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I don't care if I would have lost points, she'll break his heart. He's too caught up in his hormones, he can't actually love her...Can he?

I just want him to be normal again. We used to be so close.

I l...

The rest of her writing was blotched out by tears. His heart felt heavier than before. He had hurt her when he was with Lavender.

Was he really that dense. How could he not have seen the signs. Maybe he had lost her forever because he had to prove to Ginny that he could snog a girl. It wasn't fair, why did he have to be such an idiot.

He knew he had to tell her everything. He took one last look around the room, and left, closing the door gently as he left. He ran down the stairs, only to trip on one of Fred and George's swamp kits. He made sure to show his anger, loud enough for the whole house to hear, and then made his way to the back garden.

There she was, kneeling down in the center of the garden. It was almost a heavenly sight. Surrounding her were wildflowers of every color, and the sun shone down on her, giving her an angelic glow. He noticed she was talking to one of the garden gnomes. She was cooing to it, and it's droopy eyes looked up at her with an almost loving gaze. As he walked closer, he heard what she was saying to it to make it look at her so.

"I know you've lost the worm, but there are other's in the garden. Yes, you'll get another. It's not as if the worm cared for you anyway. They only see you as a friend. Just go and find another worm that will love you for you." Her face was covered in tears, and her eyes red and puffy. But Ron had never thought she was more beautiful.

"Hermione? Can I talk to you please?" he tried to sound innocent, like a child hoping for forgiveness.

"Yes, Ronald? What do you want to tell me this time? Maybe that Lavender is back for seconds?" She tried to hide her tears from him, wiping them away with her sleeve, and instead getting mud all along her cheeks.

He reached up and gently turned her face, so that he could see her eyes. Her beautiful, brown, loving eyes. He had never felt the urge to kiss her this strongly. It took all he had to contain himself. He took his handkerchief and wiped away the dirt from her face. She closed her eyes as he touched her face, thinking to herself that this was the first time he had actually shown any affection towards her all summer.

"Hermione, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry," he finally began," You don't deserve to be yelled at. I wanted to tell- I wanted you to know that I- I am so, deeply lost in love with you that you could never understand. Every thought in my head is you, everything I want is you. Your the sun, the moon, your my savior when I'm lost. You've never left my mind. I love the way you laugh, I love the way you cry. I love the way you bite your lip when you think, and the way you smile at me when I'm an idiot. When I look in my future, all I see is you, all I want, all I need is you. Hermione, I have to have you in my life or I would die..." He finished, feeling the tears build up. His pride was shattered and he let them fall down his face. It was relief that washed over him, only renewing his love.

Her face was unreadable, her eyes unmoving from his. The suspense was killing him. Maybe she didn't feel the same anymore. Maybe he had waited to long to tell her how he felt. Or maybe she had never really loved him. He couldn't take the silence much longer. When she finally spoke, much to his relief, her voice wavered.

"Ron, I've known I loved you since the first day we met. I loved you when I was with Viktor, and I loved you when you were with Lavender. I have never wanted someone to hold me more than I want you to hold me right now. Please... Tell me you love me, please?" She pleaded with him to say something, anything to reassure her that he really had meant everything he said.

"Hermione Jane Granger, I love you, and I will always love you." He wrapped his arms around her, and, not forgetting what he had promised he would say;

"Hermione, I love the way you smell..."

And she just laughed.