The Unpredictable

By Jitterbug Perfume

 

Harry Potter belongs to Warner Bros, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Heyday/1498 films, JK Rowling and Raincoat books. I don't lay any claim to it.

 

This was written before book five came out

 

 

I honestly don't know how it all happened. It was like a big bang in my mind. A bomb that was counting down till the great blast that brought the realisation to me. That's how it feels when you fall for your best friend.

 

I must admit I sometimes looked down to him in the past. I was the smart, law-abiding model student and he was nothing more than a rebel. A rebel everybody found way more interesting than me. Once, this made me feel frustrated but now it's one of the things I love most about him. His sense of humour.

 

I kind of realised my feelings about him in the summer before our fifth year. Once again I had been asked by Viktor Krum to visit but while I was writing my reply to him, another face was wandering in my mind. I was terrified. The thought of losing his friendship because of what I felt scared me so much, that I kept it silent from everyone.

 

Well... almost everyone, Ginny found out soon afterwards. I would never be able to hide a thing like this from Ginny. You see, although Harry and Ron are the people whom I hang around with most, Ginny is a girl and every girl needs a best friend of their own sex to chat with. She knows me better than everyone else and her advice was to wait for him to reveal his feelings about me. If his feelings for me were more than just friendly ones.

 

It was Harry who brought it round one day. I was helping him complete an essay for Snape in the library when he suddenly abandoned his quill and made me look at him.

 

 

"Is there something going on?"

 

I, naturally, didn't understand. Or didn't want to understand. I asked what he meant and he did something I knew he had taken from me. Rolled his eyes. "Between you and Ron of course."

 

"We haven't fought if-"

 

"You like him don't you?" he asked me and I felt my heart beating thrice as fast as usual. I took in a deep breath and returned to my parchment.

 

"What could make you say that?" I hoped that my voice sounded indifferent enough, which apparently didn't as Harry raised an eyebrow.

 

"Come on now, Hermione, I've seen how you look at him and I'm not the only one who has noticed," Harry said airily and I gave him a horrified look and he said that Ginny had noticed as well.

 

I sighed with relief and admitted that, yes, Ginny was aware of it, only to bite my tongue a second later and curse myself on letting Harry know. He gave me a triumphant look and swung his chair on the back two legs.

 

"He also likes you, you know," he said plainly as if he'd just pointed out that Butterbeer is served hot. My jaw dropped in surprise.

 

 "Why don't you talk to him?"

 

"Are you nuts, Harry?"

 

"Why not? He knows anyway." Harry smiled goofily and I found myself in one of the few moments in my life where I didn't know what to say.

 

I must have looked mortified because Harry laughed silently and added "We haven't told him of course, but he knows deep inside."

 

I knew that by we he meant himself and Ginny. I sighed and he reached for his quill again.

 

"Talk to him."

 

My conversation with Harry left me deep in thought. Yes, Ron might like me, but I still panicked. What if we got together and something happened to ruin it all and put an end to our friendship?

 

Losing Ron would kill me so I didn't say anything despite Ginny's constant badgering. I feel bad to say that I got distant with him and I arranged that our only time together was during prefect patrolling. Had it been up to me I would have avoided those as well.

 

Ron of course understood there was something fishy going on. I had ignored him in the past after our fights but this was different. I was avoiding him. I'd never avoided Ron before.

 

It was Sunday evening and we were walking down the Charms corridor when I yawned widely. I had stayed up till three o' clock in the morning studying for a Transfiguration exam the previous night and I felt dead.

 

"Tired?" he asked, trying to get me to talk to him. When I nodded he smiled.

 

"Maybe now I can finally get you to tell me what your big secret is."

 

I felt my insides going numb. Stopping dead in my tracks, I managed to recompose myself and speak up.

 

"I have no secrets from you, Ron."

 

He snorted and made me look at him. It was the first time in months.

 

"You're keeping something from me. I'm not stupid."

 

That was it. I was cornered. I either had to lie or not answer him. Either way would mean the end of our friendship.

 

"And what if I do? I think you already know anyway."

 

Ron looked down and sighed.

 

"Yeah" he said "I think I know." He looked back at me and smiled. I was still daunted though. Sue me. Not looking at him I spoke.

 

"I think it's time we shut up about my secret then and move on."

 

I almost felt his smile vanishing seconds before he touched my elbow and made me look at him again.

 

"I don't feel like shutting up," he whispered and I sensed my eyes watering slightly as my heart was pounding with fear mixed with hope. I knew what was to come next and Merlin knows how much I wanted it. Without taking his eyes from mine, he leaned forward and in no time he was so close that I could count the freckles on his nose.

 

That was it. Since then I've been feeling so happy that even teachers have noticed and other Hogwarts students have understood something is going on between us and if it hadn't been for the school's strict guidelines I wouldn't hesitate to 'Sonorus' my voice and shout for all of Hogwarts to know that Ron Weasley is now My Ron. And if you want to know something, it feels great to fall for your best friend. Especially if he adores you. And you adore him too.

 

 

~The End~