Venom and Velvet

The Much-Needed Talk

2. The Much-Needed Talk

August 31st had arrived quickly and Hermione and Ginny were packing their trunks for the journey back to Hogwarts. Hermione was excited but nervous. Ginny was miserable at the prospect of leaving Harry again when she had only just gotten him back after his year hunting horcruxes with Ron and Hermione.

Hermione, while disappointed by the idea of being away from the boys for so long, found that her heart wasn't hurting at the thought of being apart from Ron. They hadn't ever really pursued a relationship after their kiss in the Chamber of Secrets. As a matter of fact, they hadn't even talked about it.

She waved her wand and her school robes folded themselves into her trunk gracefully. Then, her street clothes floated one by one from her beaded bag into the trunk, filling it almost to the top before her school books settled themselves in and the trunk clicked shut. She scanned the room with narrow eyes, feeling as though there was certainly something she had forgotten. Her eyes settled on the old copy of Beauty and the Beast on her bedside table. She didn't see anything else of hers in the room, but the feeling didn't go away. She supposed it was only psychological, leftover effects of being on the run so long she'd forgotten how to prepare to leave a place when she had advanced warning.

There was a knock at the door. Hermione opened it to reveal Harry, slightly red-faced and panting, but with his lips parted in a wide grin nevertheless.

"May I borrow Ginny for a while?" He asked, turning even redder.

"Harry, did you run here?" Ginny asked, laughing. "Why?"

"I have a surprise for you, but it's windy and I don't want- well, never mind that. You'll see, come on," he reached in to grab her hand and they were off.

Hermione chuckled and shook her head. Could there be a cuter couple than Harry and Ginny?

Just as she was raising her wand to levitate her heavy trunk down the stair, a voice behind her made Hermione jump.

"Hermione, can we talk?"

It was Ron.

"Uh, yeah. Of course. What's up?" Hermione said, suddenly a little nervous.

Ron crossed the room in two strides with his long legs and sat on the foot of Hermione's bed. His hair was getting too long, and Hermione imagined Mrs. Weasley would be after him about cutting it by the end of the week. He flicked the red strands out of his eyes and looked at her. His blue eyes were looking at her intently.

"Are you sure you want to go back to Hogwarts?"

This question caught Hermione off guard.

"Why do you ask?" She replied.

"Well, I kind of thought you wouldn't want to leave me... and Harry. Yeah, me and Harry."

"Ronald, it's not about wanting to leave you and Harry. It's about finishing school. I want to finish my studies. You should know that about me, Ron. I love school."

Ron gave her a small smile. "I do know that about you, believe me. Remember how often you helped me with my homework when I put it off too long? And those stupid homework planners you got Harry and me for Christmas in fifth year?"

"You mean the thoughtful time management tools I gifted you and Harry with your best interests at heart in fifth year?" Hermione grinned. "Yes, I remember."

"I always thought you'd be a great teacher. Transfiguration or Runes. One of those hard subjects, ya know?"

Hermione blushed.

"Thank you, Ron. That means a lot. You know, I still haven't figured out what I want to do yet. Teaching is an excellent idea." She smiled at him.

Ron smiled, then knit his eyebrows. He looked as though he wanted to say something but wasn't sure how.

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked, trying to prompt him to say what was on his mind.

"Well," he hesitated, taking a deep breath. "I've kinda been wanting to talk to you about something for a while now, but haven't really been sure how to bring it up, you see. The thing is... well, you remember in the," he cleared his throat, "How we... kissed... in the Chamber of Secrets during the... during the Battle...?"

Hermione took a deep breath, wondering where this conversation was going.

"I remember. Did you want to talk about it?"

Ron sighed, then broke into a smirk.

"Not really. I think we probably should, though, right?"

"Probably."

Ron grimaced.

"Here's the thing, Hermione."

Hermione looked at him, studying his expression.

"Go on," she said.

"I've been thinking about it a lot, and... I'm sorry this is hard to say. I just don't see you that way, 'Mione." He looked at her tentatively.

Hermione sighed, but it was not a heavy sigh. She found, to her own surprise, that it was a sigh of relief. She smiled at him.

"It's okay, Ron. I understand. More like a sister, right?"

He nodded, his face reddening.

"Really, Ron. It's okay. I feel the same way."

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze, scrutinizing to make sure she was telling the truth. Satisfied that she was, he broke into a toothy grin.

"That was way easier than I thought it would be." He stood, and Hermione stood with him. She wrapped her arms around him, enveloping her friend in a hug. Slowly, his arms circled around her and they stood there like that for a moment.

"I'm really glad to have you as a friend, Ron." Hermione said, finally stepping back.

He grinned his signature lopsided grin and said that he felt the same way.

Offering to take her trunk for her, Ron left the room to go downstairs.