A/N I know I said I wouldn't focus on Ron's time in the hospital wing just yet. I know I said there was another story I wanted to write. And I did write it. Unfortunately, not well. I was not happy with it at all, which was why I decided to focus on another project - on this. I'd said I wanted to make sure this scene was just right, but surprisingly, it turned out better than I thought it would. It turned out well enough for me to post it. I hope you like it, because this is a very important scene for me, one I wanted to write well.

A Glimpse of Hope

Floating. Not flying, floating. Slow, graceful, simple movements cause him to shift slightly in mid-air. He doesn't know where he is, he can barely describe it. His feet aren't touching the ground, because there is no ground. There's just air. Fog billows around him, thick and confusing. He's turning around and around, trying to escape, because there's something sinister about this rather than peaceful and soothing. He needs to get out, he needs help, he needs her...

Where is she? He misses her... so much. He feels like he hasn't spoken to her in so long... he needs her voice, where's her voice, where is she...?

Something muffled enters his ears, somehow breaking past the fog..."then the poisoner... Slughorn... slug... known... that tasty..."

He knows that voice. She's here. "Hermione!" he calls out, searching desperately, trying to make out her bushy hair. "Hermione!" He concentrates on his hearing, hoping to hear her mellifluous voice echo back to him once more, calling his name in return.

I don't want slugs... they're disgusting, I should know... why does Hermione want slugs?

She's not responding. Why isn't she responding? "Hermione..." He heard her, he swears he did. He's not sure if she's there anymore, though. He can't feel her... she's not here... she's gone... The air is getting colder, the fog thicker, nothing is getting through, nothing... nothing...

And suddenly he's falling and he can't control himself. He's falling, down, down, down. No one can help him, no one's there...

Hermione is long gone.

Eye lids slowly and unsurely began to drift open. Half-way up, they bobbed down again and it took a few goes for Ron to completely open them once more, and a few more blinks for his vision to clear and for all the fog and blurriness to dissipate.

The lights above him were glowing, but the room he was in wasn't as brightly lit as it should be. Ron could see in the window across from him that outside it was night time. He was in the hospital wing, and the dim lights meant that it was nearly time for everyone to go to sleep. He felt tired and sore all over, but there was something extremely warm and pleasant in his right hand. Ron shifted his head softly to see what it was, and his heart nearly stopped.

Hermione sat gracefully in the uncomfortable chair, the book in her lap resting in such a position so that as much of the light that could was landing on it. Her left hand held onto Ron's and her curly brown locks covered her face slightly as she bent over her book. The beginnings of a smile started to form on his face as he quietly leaned a little further back into his pillows and relaxed, silently watching her and appreciating being in her presence once more. Then he felt confused...

What in the bloody hell was Hermione, of all people, doing sitting beside him in the hospital wing, holding his hand? Not that he was complaining, no, it was actually rather nice, but she had made it perfectly clear she didn't want anything to do with him after he started seeing Lavender, and it'd seemed that their friendship had been broken beyond repair. But she was here... she was here, with him... why was he here, come to think of it?

Choosing to break the tranquillity, he opened his mouth to speak. "Herm—" And then the pain hit him. His throat felt like it was on fire and as he leaned forward in mid-cough all his muscles began aching even more than they had originally. His eyes were watering and he could barely see anything, but he knew Hermione was there, her hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly, and he could vaguely make out the outline of a glass of water. He gratefully took it but it shook slightly as he coughed, causing some of the water to spill out of the glass and onto the pale blue blanket.

Finally the water reached his mouth and it was such a relief for Ron. The water rolled down his throat, cooling it and making him feel a lot better. Once he'd drained the glass Hermione took it from him and placed it on the table beside them. Ron settled back against his pillows as Hermione murmured, "Aguamenti," and the glass filled up with water once more.

"Thanks," he croaked out as she put away her wand and sat down on her chair again.

"Don't worry about it," she said quietly, placing her hands on the mattress in front of her, but not taking his hand. Ron felt disappointed at that.

"Wha—" he swallowed. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione gave him a small smile. "Happy Birthday, Ron."

Ron hadn't felt this happy in a long time. "You... you decided to come?" He'd practically begged her to put aside her anger for a small portion of his birthday and instead spend that time with him. She'd told him she'd think about it, and Ron had been very worried that he'd spend his birthday without Hermione, something that seemed just cruel.

She appeared a little hurt, but ignored it. "Of course." She replied. "Ron, you... you nearly died." Her eyes seemed to fill with tears. Shaking her head gently, she grasped his hand tightly. "I don't... I couldn't imagine what I would've... if you'd... if you'd actually— and you went thinking I hated you, and..."

Ron placed his other hand atop of hers. "What happened to me?"

She glanced up at him. "You don't remember?"

He shook his head.

"Oh, goodness." She murmured, wiping her eyes with her other hand. "Where do I begin?"

"The last thing I remember is being in Slughorn's office, and... something about Romilda, love potions and... Harry was there..."

"Yes, your cauldron cakes were spiked with love potion from Romilda, meant for Harry. You took it and once Harry realised what was going on, and that you weren't in your sane mind when you attacked him and fawned over Romilda—"

"Attacked him?"

"He took you to Professor Slughorn, and you were given the antidote. Harry said that you felt really weird afterwards, so Slughorn offered some mead as a pick-me-up. He said it was meant for Dumbledore but given the circumstances he'll give it to you. It turns out that mead was poisoned. Harry, he... he got a bezoar in just in time. If there weren't any there, if he didn't know..." Hermione breathed in to try and calm herself.

"Slughorn poisoned me?" Ron asked, shocked.

"We don't think he knew about it. We think there was someone else who was actually going after Dumbledore."

"Blimey..." Ron murmured.

"You were rushed to hospital, obviously. Your parents came by earlier and sat with you."

"And you?" Ron asked, feeling a little embarrassed, but wanting to know. "How long've you been here?"

She blushed. "I'm not entirely sure I'm meant to be here..."

Ron couldn't help but feel a little pleased with himself. "What do you mean?" he asked, grinning. It's not often Hermione Granger broke the rules, and she was doing it for him! Him, Ronald Weasley, whom she had attacked with canaries four months ago and had barely given a civil word to since.

"Your parents left as soon as visiting hours were over. I was so worried that... I just, I just had to see you, so I sneaked in. Madame Pomfrey will be coming round soon, giving her final checks on patients. I guess I better go and—"

"No." The word was out of his mouth before he could register it. All he knew was that he didn't want Hermione to leave. Not yet. Not now. Not ever. "Please, stay." He held onto her hand tightly. "I... I missed you."

Ron didn't let his eyes leave Hermione's, which was why he saw them fill up with tears and he saw the way her strong expression crumbled, revealing just how frightened she'd been. "Oh, Ron!" she exclaimed and flung her arms around him. Recovering from the sudden attack, and subtly clearing his throat so she didn't pull away, he carefully placed his arms around her body and closed his eyes, relaxing into her embrace. So long... so long. "I missed you too!" she cried, and he hugged her tighter.

"I'm really sorry about Lavender," he murmured, stroking her hair and breathing deeply.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said quietly, lifting her head back slightly to look up at him.

He heard her catch her breath. He too felt like his heart had skipped a beat. Their faces were so close, closer than they'd ever been before. Their breath mingled together. Ron could see every freckle on her nose, freckles that were so tiny and faint they might've been dust. He kept watching her eyes, brown and wide. They were sparkling – a result of the dim light and recent tears. He could see himself in those eyes. He couldn't look away from her, and he wasn't sure how long they'd stayed in that position, in each other's arms.

Finally, she pulled back a little further. Ron could think coherently again. "Don't apologise," she continued. "You have no reason to do so."

Ron frowned. "You're the one who was mad at me—"

"I know." Hermione said, interrupting him, apparently not wanting to elaborate on her irrationality. "It was stupid of me." she said quickly, blushing as she did. "I had no right reacting like that. You're..." she trailed off.

"I'm what?" Ron asked, prompting her.

"You're at perfect liberty to kiss whomever you like." she said, sighing softly. I am? Ron couldn't help but look at her pink lips, so tempting and inviting. What would she do if he leaned over and kissed them?

"It was still stupid of me to do that when we were going to Slughorn's party, though." Ron told her. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's alright." Hermione said, not looking at him. "You probably didn't want to go, and—"

"I did!" Ron exclaimed, trying to sit up a bit more. Immediately he started coughing and Hermione was quickly there with the glass of water. Ron gulped it down quickly. As soon as he'd swallowed, he continued. "I did want to go. I was actually... I was really glad you'd asked me."

Hermione gave him a soft smile. "It's just a shame that you never actually went."

"I'm sorry." Ron said, looking down at his blanket. It still had a few drops of water on it from the earlier coughing fit. He quickly looked up at her. "Hermione," he began.

Hermione nodded at him. "Yes?"

"Why did you react like that?" Ron asked. "About me and Lavender?" There was a part of him hoping she was jealous, just hoping that maybe, just maybe, she felt a little bit of envy.

"Oh," Hermione said, blushing. "Well, I just... she's not right for you." Ron's eyes widened slightly, though he was a little disappointed that that was the reason. "I mean, honestly, you need someone with whom you can actually talk, and not about shoes and hair."

Ron chuckled.

"I guess it just made me mad that..." Hermione trailed off, looking down at the mattress and smoothing the sheets, "that you thought she was the right person."

Ron looked down at his blanket once more. I always knew she wasn't, he thought, though he wasn't brave enough to say that aloud.

"Who... who do you think is the right person, then?" he asked, and then dared to look at her.

Hermione glanced up hurriedly, her face a beautiful pink. Ron watched her, unable to tear his eyes away from her. She appeared flustered and stumped. Ron found it rather amusing, and in another situation would've laughed, had he not been so nervous. After waiting a little longer, Ron felt compelled to fill up the silence. "I just, you've got a good record when it comes to being right so... I figure your opinion'd be... really good."

Hermione gave a soft laugh. "Well, thank you, I..." she licked her lips, and Ron found himself doing the same. Bloody hell... "I suppose the right person... well, it's not really up to me to decide."

"If you could though," Ron persisted, leaning over towards her slowly so as not to get into another coughing fit, "if it was up to you... who'd you be happy with?"

She visibly swallowed. "Ron, it's—"

"I just want to make sure that next time I choose a girlfriend I don't get attacked by canaries." Ron joked.

Hermione gasped, and Ron was about to ask her what was wrong about what he'd said when she answered him. "Next time?" she asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Ron felt his face soften. Was that a glimpse of... of hope on her face? "Well, yeah." Ron said. "It's obvious that Lavender isn't really the best for me, and she has been getting a bit annoying lately... and you're obviously not happy with it so—"

"It's not up to me, like I said." Hermione said hurriedly, sounding breathless.

"I know. It's up to me." Ron told her. "And I want to end it."

Silence filled the air between them once more, a good kind though. Ron knew eventually Hermione would say something, but currently she seemed a tad bit stunned. He allowed her to recover.

"You, you really want to..."

"Yeah." Ron said. "I don't know when, but frankly I'd like to finish it soon. I've been wanting to for awhile, and... I figure it's about time I did something 'bout it."

"And... and after that?" Hermione asked, her voice low. "After you and Lavender end things?"

Perhaps it was because he'd nearly died, or because he felt like pushing his luck a bit more, or maybe it was because he simply wanted to, but Ron gently rubbed her soft hand with his rough finger and replied back, in just as low a voice, "We'll have to wait and see, I s'pose," Ron could see her perfect lips beginning to curve upwards, and decided to add, "But I think that—"

"Mr. Weasley!"

Both Ron and Hermione let out a sigh and quickly untangled their hands. Hermione quickly placed hers in her lap and looked down bashfully. Her hair was once again covering her pink face. Ron tried to greet the concerned nurse with a casual smile, even though he wanted to scream. "Hi, Madame Pomfrey," he said brightly.

"Mr. Weasley, quickly, drink this up now." She murmured, handing him the glass of water Hermione'd offered him a short while ago. As Ron drank obediently, Madame Pomfrey turned to his visitor. "And Miss Granger, what are you still doing here, and why did you not inform me of Mr. Weasley's awakening?"

Hermione swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry, Madame Pomfrey, I—"

"It's not her fault," Ron intervened. "I wanted her to stay here and—"

"I'm sure she is well aware that visiting hours finished awhile ago." Madame Pomfrey murmured. "There's only five more minutes until lights out and—"

"I'm dreadfully sorry, Madame Pomfrey." Hermione repeated and stood up with her book, looking down at Ron whilst the nurse tended to him. "I'll be going now."

"You may visit your friend—" Ron couldn't help but beam as he heard that word. Friend! Hermione was finally his friend once more! "-tomorrow before school, if you like." She gave Hermione a stern look. "Within visiting hours."

Hermione blushed, but nodded. "Of course." She gave Ron a small smile. "I'll see you then, if that's alright?"

Ron had never nodded so strongly in his life. "Absolutely!" he exclaimed, ignoring Madame Pomfrey's cries for him to not raise his voice.

Hermione beamed at him. "Good night, then, and I'll see you in the morning." She turned away from him and hurriedly walked out of the hospital wing.

Ron continued to look at the doors long after she left, a smile still on his face. "Good night, Hermione." He murmured. He was so happy that the smile did not leave his face, not even when Madame Pomfrey forced a disgusting potion down his throat. The smile still remained when he fell asleep, his mind being filled with dreams of him and Hermione finally, finally together. It was a dream that was, for once, not completely implausible.

A/N As always, I'd love it if you could leave a review telling me what you liked and what I could have improved. I consider this a very special moment in Ron and Hermione's relationship and I wanted it to be written well.

(Also, the dream at the beginning is when Ron calls out to her.)

It was extremely difficult for me to not include a confession of love in this, but I wanted to stay true to the book. In Ron's Request, a few of you asked if I could write an AU or sequel. This is a bit of a sequel to that, and I do mention Ron's request when Hermione says, "Happy Birthday, Ron." I do think that writing an AU on this - in which they doadmit their feelings to each other - isn't a bad idea. I just want to know if I should do it. You can let me know in a review, if you choose to do so.

Thank you for reading!