Chapter 1 - A Bad Beginning

"Hermione, I still don't understand why you don't want to correct my papers," Ron said, exasperated. Hermione sighed and looked at Harry, giving him a look that cleary read "Here we go again." Harry sighed too and started reading his battered copy of Advanced-Potion Making while Hermione gave Ron a response he had heard so many times it had become absolutely boring. "Ronald," Hermione started, looking at Ron through squinted eyes. "We're already seventh year, which means you have got to start doing your own papers, and not me doing it for you," she said, burying her nose yet again in Hogwarts, A History. "Fine," Ron said, grunting sleepily. "I'll go off to bed. You guys both copy from each other and leave me out of it, okay?" he said, standing up and stomping off noisily to his dormitory room. Harry looked up from his Advanced-Potion Making as Ron slammed the door and realized that Hermione's eyes were filled with tears. He felt a need to go sleep now too. "Hermione, why don't you go off to b--" Harry started but was cut across by Hermione. "I'm sick of Ron!" She sobbed, slamming her book so hard the fire in the common room flickered and almost died out. "I'm sick of everything he's done! I'm done too, Harry! And-- and I'm sorry-- I'm sorry I'm busting all this out on you but-- but--" Harry stopped her but walking over to her and putting an arm around her. "Don't worry, Hermione," Harry said quietly. "I'm sick of him too..." his voice trailed off.

Hermione was shaking with tears. "Look, Hermione, I'm going to-- I'm going to go off to bed right now, and I-- I'll try to talk to Ron," Harry said, struggling with words. He had no idea how he was to persuade Ron into being nicer to Hermione. "No, Harry," Hermione said, sounding like she had a headache. "I'm done with Ronald. Tomorrow, I'll let him know myself. But thanks anyway Harry, it means a lot..." Hermione burried her face in her hands as Harry stood up and walked towards his dormitory.

He opened the door as quietly as he could and peered inside. Ron was sitting in the middle of his bed, staring blankly at the wall. "Ron?" Harry whispered, for fear of waking Dean and Seamus up. "Ron?" Harry said again. He walked up to Ron and ran a hand over Ron's eyes. "Ron?" he repeated for the third time. What was wrong with him? "R--" Harry tried again but he realized it was useless. He gave up and walked towards his own four-poster, lying silently on his bed. He took off his glasses and laid them on his bedside table as he closed his eyes and waited for something better to happen tomorrow, but right before his eyelids slid close he caught sight of Ron wiping something from his eye.

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The love isn't coming yet, but soon, I promise, Ron'll be forgiven. Please give feedback for this fic in the feedback forum

Chapter 2 - Unexpected Change

[This chapter will be in Hermione's POV.]

I woke up the next morning, my eyes puffy and red from crying myself to sleep. I turned around in bed, looking at my dormitory. I wonder... would Ron be nicer to me today? I got out of bed and opened my trunk, searching for Hogwarts, A History. There would be a free period today before any other subjects, so I must do a bit more research during that time down in the Common Room. I snatched my book from the bottom of my trunk and walked outside to a fresh, new morning. Walking down the stairs, I saw Ron sitting on his favorite chair near the fire. It was a cold morning, as I could see he was warming his hands. And, if I was not mistaken, his eyes were small and a bit red as mine were too.

I jumped the last step and tucked my book deeper into my arm as I approached him. "Good morning, Ron," I said quietly, looking at him cautiously. He turned around and gave me a slight smile. "G'morning to you too, Hermione," Ron said, looking me over. "Bloody hell," he said, looking at the book in my arm. "Reading that again, Hermione? For the sixth time?" We both uttered a strange laugh. "Um, would you mind if I sat down?" I asked. Ron shook his head. "No." he said flatly. I sat down and opened my book, but I wasn't really reading it in particular. "Er... what -- what changed your mood overnight?" I asked after a few minutes silence. "I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron started, looking at me with, if I wasn't mistaken, a bit of affection. I almost blushed but I remembered it was his turn to talk. "I know I've been mean, but... er..." he trailed off. I picked up immediately. "It's fine," I said hastily. "Where's Harry?"

"He's still snoring his eyes out," Ron said quietly, staring into the flames of the fire. I looked around, noticing nobody else was awake yet. Was this fate? "Look," I said slowly. "Tomorrow's a visit to Hogsmeade. Would you like to..." I was still in shock. He finished for me as if he had read my mind. "Go to Honeydukes tomorrow?" His face lit up immediately. "What? Oh, er -- yeah, but bring Harry along, will you?" I asked surprisingly. "Yeah, I will," Ron said happily. "So, are we friends?" I asked, holding out my hand warningly. "Yeah, we are, aren't we? Otherwise I wouldn't be asking you to go out on a date with me," Ron smiled cheerily. I grinned back. "Okay, so, er, I'll just go to my room and do a bit -- a bit of studying," I said, standing up and stretching, Hogwarts, A History in my right hand. "'Kay," Ron replied, looking at me with remorse, probably from what happened last night. I was so happy I nearly skipped to my dormitory room.

--

"Harry, I don't know what happened," Ron was muttering in the Common Room. I could hear them through a crack in my door. I peeked over at them. Ron was shaking his head and grinning while Harry was patting him on the back. "Good job, mate," Harry said happily. I bet all my books he was relieved that his two best friends weren't fighting anymore. "Lay off of her, okay?" Harry said. "It would be best if you guys weren't fighting for a while, or, maybe, as long as a year." Ron nodded his head. "And... er... tomorrow, at Hogsmeade, I kind of -- I kind of invited her. On a, you know... a date... and, er, if you could come, that would be great..." Harry grinned approvingly. "Spectacular," Harry said, smiling at Ron. "She'll love that."

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Chapter 3 - Hogsmeade

Back to third person omniscient

Harry and Ron were waiting in the common room, both wrapped up in layers and layers of jackets and scarves. It was a cold, winter morning and they were both warming up their gloved hands near the fire. "Do you think I made the right choice?" Ron asked Harry, looking at him as if he already heard his answer. "Well, yeah," Harry replied. "It's best if you two are both going along well. I mean --" Harry checked around them to see if anyone was watching. "It's not really good if I'm in the middle of you two whenever you both are fighting. Remember last year when she set those canary birds on you?" Harry and Ron both laughed. They both didn't notice as the girls' dormitory door slid open. "I can't believe it," Ron started. "Forgiven, already?" he asked, but was interrupted by a girl's laugh. Harry and Ron both turned around to look at the source of the noise.

"Bloody hell," Ron said, his eyes widening.

She was beautiful.

Hermione was wearing a black jacket with black pants and a very colorful scarf. But what made Ron curse was Hermione's hair and face, which were unusual today. Her face was lit up with excitement, which was usually in deep concentration or serious due to Ron's behavior. Her hair was still bushy, but amazingly well-groomed, so she looked like she was about to go to a very expensive restaurant. "Wow," Harry said, smiling at Hermione. "You look --" "Great!" Ron finished for him, standing up and looking Hermione over. "What have you done to your hair?" he asked, wide-eyed. Harry stayed seated on the floor of the common room. "I used the same product I used in Fourth Year, at the Yule Ball, remember? Sleek hair," Hermione said cheerily. "Wow," Ron said again. "Er --" Harry started. This was exactly what he had been dreading all along. If Ron and Hermione weren't fighting, they were complimenting each other, almost forgetting Harry was there. Harry didn't like being in the middle of their arguments, but he also didn't like being unnoticed.

"Ron?" Harry asked, looking at his best friend. "Yeah, Harry?" Ron said, turning around. "Would you -- would you mind if I stayed over in the boys' dormitory and talked to Neville for a while? I -- I want to look up something for Herbology," Harry stuttered. To his utter surprise, Ron's face fell. "Alright," Ron muttered, looking down at his trainers. "I'm really sorry, it's just that -- this -- this week, I don't really feel very... very Hogsmeade-ish," Harry said. "I'll just stay here. You can go with Hermione if that's fine." Ron nodded, his face lighting up again. Hermione was staring at Harry as if she was scrutinizing him, which made him feel very self-conscious. "Okay, Harry. We'll be sure to bring you back all the new sweets from Honeydukes," Hermione said. "Anything from Zonkos?" Harry shook his head. "No thanks," he replied, already getting up and taking off his scarves. "Bye," Harry said, walking over to the boys' dormitory. He closed the door silently behind him.

Ron looked over at Hermione. "So this isn't really a triple date then," Ron concluded senselessly. "It's more of a... a date," he said. Hermione turned a light shade of pink and nodded slowly. "So, shall we go then?" Ron asked, holding out his hand. Hermione stared at his hand as if it were a trap, but took it anyways. "Sure," she said, and together they both walked out of the portrait hole.

--

"Look, over there," Hermione said, pointing to a small, wooden house covered with snow. "The Shrieking Shack," she muttered, looking at it closely. She looked up at the sky and saw the clouds floating by lazily. "Beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the clouds. "Yeah, beautiful," Ron said. But he wasn't looking at the clouds. He was looking at the person standing next to him.

"Do you feel the sweets?" Hermione asked Ron, finally looking at him. But she still wouldn't meet his eyes. "Huh?" Ron asked, confused. "I mean the sweets for Harry, Ronald," Hermione said in a matter of fact voice. "Oh, well, yeah," Ron said quietly, bumping his hand against his jacket pocket. A bunch of sweets such as Acid Pops, Lemon Drops, Cockroach Clusters, and huge lollipops jingled in his pocket. "It's a cold morning," Hermione said, looking at her shoes. "Definitely," Ron replied, looking deep into Hermione's eyes. She knew of course that Ron was looking at her but had no reason for her to look up into his burning eyes. "Hermione," Ron asked, finally making up his mind. "What?" she asked, looking into his eyes for the first time. Then he said something that made her heart drop.

"I love you," Ron said.

Chapter 4 - It's Not Enough

"What?" Hermione asked stupidly.

"Hermione," Ron said, fidgeting with the zipper on his jacket. "I love you." Hermione closed her eyes for a few seconds and exhaled sharply. "Ronald," Hermione started. Ron's face fell automatically. He knew that tone. "I-- I don't want to think of you as more than a friend. Actually, on certain days, you don't really seem like a friend to me at all. You're just so... senseless and irritable every day it annoys me, it annoys me on how you're always getting mad so fast..." Hermione trailed off. Ron's eyes filled with tears but he wiped his eyes, pretending that nothing was wrong. "Oh. Right." Ron said, looking up at Hermione, his tear tracks frozen on his face due to the snow. "Please," Hermione said, taking his hand slowly and looking deep into his eyes. "Stop sending me these mixed signals, Ronald. I don't know what feelings you truly are feeling. Everyday you're so moody, everyday we both get hurt..." Ron looked at her, his face lighting up. "So if I stop sending you mixed signals--?" His unfinished sentence turned into a question. "Yes, Ronald," Hermione said, smiling. "It could be."

"Alright then," Ron said happily. Hermione had never seen him this happy. "We'll see tomorrow," he grinned stupidly. Hermione grinned back at him and they both trudged uphill towards the main village, hand in hand.

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Hermione opened her door quietly to catch what Ron and Harry were saying down in the Common Room. It was two thirty six A.M. Harry and Ron were the only two Gryffindors in the Common Room. She could catch a tinge of what they were saying.

"...not enough," Ron said in a shivery voice. Hermione couldn't really catch what they were saying because of how quiet they were talking and of the loud cracklings of the fire. "...is, Ron," Harry whispered. "You just..." Crack, the fire went. She opened the door a bit wider and she could see that Ron was sitting on the carpet, his head burried on his knees. He was shaking. He was crying. Harry was sitting on his favorite chair, warming his hands slowly in front of the fire. He was giving Ron a pitying look, as if he would never want to be in his place. Ron was still shaking uncontrollably. He looked up at Harry. Hermione shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, or how Ron looked. He looked so distressed that Hermione couldn't even remember why she was listening to them in the first place. But what actually broke her heart, broke Ron's heart, was what she was hearing.

"...not enough... would... never be... never will.... never has..."

NOT A CHAPTER

Thanks to DeSs, I had no idea that I wasn't writing anything about where my story takes place. Thank you again! Well anyway Only I Could Imagine takes place in Hogwarts. Harry, Hermione, and Ron have decided to look for the Horcruxes after they graduate from seventh year at Hogwarts. They are all seventh years and spending their last year at Hogwarts. Yes, Harry still is Quidditch captain and yes, he let Ron back into the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

If there is any more questions, leave feedback here!