DISCLAIMER: JKR has more class than this. Go read her stuff if you're looking for a plotline.

A/N: Yep, this took me 3 days to finish, a record for fluff stories. Hermione's quite snippy in this one - I didn't expect her to be quite so irritable. Huh/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, Ron, could you pass me that letter please?" Hermione asked, pointing at an envelope by Ron's divination book. Ron glanced at it as he picked it up, and passed it over. In those brief seconds, he saw the return address . . .

"Vicky? What did he write to you about?" Ron asked, trying to keep that jealous tone far from his voice.

Hermione frowned at him. "I don't think that's any of your business, Ron. And I don't think you should be prying into my private matters."

Ron was surprised. This wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting from his light teasing. "I only meant -"

"Don't worry Ron, I know what you meant!" Hermione told him, that same frown on her face. Her cheeks grew red as she continued. "I know how you feel about Viktor! You act like such a prat sometimes, you know that? You have no right to pry into my life."

Ron gaped. "I was just saying that-"

But Hermione interrupted him before he could get any further. She turned on him, and although she never raised her voice too high, Ron recoiled slightly from her tone.

"Oh, give it up Ron, I know what you were saying! You're jealous of Viktor, and you know it! And for good reason! Viktor's a lot more sensitive than you will ever be, and he's sweet, and romantic, and he cares about me! All you seem to be able to do is mock me!"

"Hermione, I never-"

"Don't you 'I never' me! You always find someway to poke fun at me! Bookworm this, teacher's pet that! Will you ever give it up?" Her eyes flashed.

"But all I wanted to know was-"

"What makes you think you have a right to know? It's my life, not yours, and you have no business prying into my life! You know-"

And on and on it went. Ron stood there, gaping at Hermione, as she grew angrier and angrier, louder and louder, lecturing him. It began to attract the attention of some of their housemates, and Ron glanced around anxiously, as Hermione's voice grew increasingly loud.

"- and then, to top it all off, you went behind my back and -"

"Hermione-"

"- flirting with that Fleur girl -"

"Hermione, shush!"

"- when you knew that -"

Ron glanced around as nearly everyone in the Common Room turned to face them. He felt his face grow red. Glancing down at Hermione, he saw that she hadn't noticed their growing audience, and was nowhere near stopping her rant. He needed to get her to be quiet, otherwise there would end up having dozens of rumours flying around the school by mid morning next day.

" - and don't you dare deny it either, because I was there -"

"Hermione, calm down -"

" - being rude and insulting towards him at the Yule Ball -"

"'Mione, there are people watching -"

" - saw the whole thing -"

"You're making a scene -"

" - and then after the Ball, you were still so cruel about it all and -"

Ron couldn't help himself; it was the only thing he think to do to get her to shut up! He took a deep breath, and prepared himself for the worst. He shut his eyes, and leaned in quickly.

Suddenly, the sound of Hermione's voice quieted, and stuttered to a stop.

She was too shocked to react at first, but then, she kissed him back, and felt her knees give away underneath her. She felt her strength wash away, and it was replaced with a feeling of sheer bliss.

At long lost Ron pulled away. His kiss had had the desired effect; Hermione was speechless.

Suddenly though, he felt all eyes on him. He turned around slowly, and saw everyone in the Common Room staring at he and Hermione. If he'd thought that there would have been rumours before . . .

"Ron?" He turned to face the fireball of anger she would surely throw his way.

"Yeah?"

"I thought you should know . . . Viktor . . . he and I, well, we . . . we broke up last week. That's what the letter was about." She stared at the floor, as a silent tear ran down her cheek.

"What? And after all that yelling about my being so insulting towards him?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I blew up at you," she said, sniffling. "It's just, I didn't know how you'd react if I told you, and I've just been really stressed lately, and, with this, too, I just - I -" She burst into tears.

Ron suddenly looked slightly frightened. He held out his hands, and paused with them in midair. Pondering for a moment or two, he made up his mind, and pulled Hermione close, hoping he would be a comfort. He slowly led her towards the couch in the corner.

Hermione sobbed into his robes, and everyone seemed to turn away, sensing that Hermione and Ron needed a little privacy at that moment. Only Lavender and Parvati seemed reluctant to turn away, but they did.

"When I broke up with Viktor," Hermione started, trying in vain to dry her tears, but they wouldn't stop flowing, "I thought it was because I didn't feel for him that way anymore. But, I realized today that I never really did. I liked him well enough, but my feelings didn't compare with the ones I had for y - for someone else."

Ron couldn't figure out what to say. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but before he could decide, Hermione started up again.

"I know I haven't been myself lately. I've been snippy, and annoying and everything. I guess the war is finally taking its toll on me. Plus all the schoolwork the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's been piling on us. It's all stressing me out, and I really just haven't been able to handle it."

Ron, took her hand. ""Mione, what you need is a day off."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide, a few rogue tears streaming down her cheeks. "What? No, I can't! We've got a Transfiguration test next Monday, and I've got my Arithmancy chart to finish, and then Professor Vector's letting me do that extra credit report for Thursday, and-" She didn't get any further.

"Listen to yourself! Going on and on about all the work you have! You need a break, a day to relax! C'mon, 'Mione, we'll go to Hogsmeade on the weekend. Forget schoolwork, forget the war, we'll just go and have fun. Just the two of us, we'll spend the whole day walking, and we'll have Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks, and we'll stop at Zonko's, and can't you just hear Honeyduke's calling your name! And - and - and . . ." He stuttered to a stop.

"Did you say just the two of us?" Hermione was peering at him. Her tears had stopped, and she was peering at Ron with a new glint of curiosity in her eye.

Ron thought for a second, and then realized how much of his feelings he'd let slip in those few words.

"Well, what I meant was, I mean, I was just saying that we could, and, um, it's the first Hogsmeade trip, and, that is, I thought that you and I could, well, and, um, Quidditch, you see, well, um, everyone's going, and Harry will too probably, and then, with Hagrid there, and um, there's always next time, and . . . er . . . er . . ."

"Ron?" Hermione asked again.

He stopped. "Yeah?"

"Were you just asking me on a date?"

A pause, a silence so loud, that the people nearest them turned to watch, causing a domino effect of turning faces.

A silence, that filled the Common Room with a deafening roar.

"Answer her!" someone hissed from across the room, causing Hermione's grin only to grow.

Ron glanced at his brothers, as they loomed out of the shadows, grinning maliciously, prepared, he knew, for any second now when they'd burst into teases about 'their ickle Ronniekins growing up'. He glanced back at Hermione, and the sight of her was now even more welcome than it had been ever before.

"Well, I suppose - I guess I am," Ron said, his ears growing red. "But I understand if you're still upset about Viktor and all that -"

"Ron, you prat!" someone else called from across the room. He turned to see who it was, but couldn't spot the speaker. "Hasn't she already told you she didn't like Vicky? She likes you a lot more!"

"Thank you Lavender!"

"No problem 'Mione, least I could do!"

The Common Room erupted into little chuckles, as the lookers on watched the scene. (Ron could have sworn he'd heard someone mutter the spell to conjure up popcorn, but he convinced himself he was imagining it.)

"Should I get down on one knee?" Ron muttered to Hermione. Louder, he said, so that their audience would be appeased. "Hermione Granger, would you do me the honour, of granting me the pleasure of your company this weekend, on a date - yes Parvati, I said a date - for a trip to Hogsmeade?"

Hermione laughed at his antics, but raised her voice as well. "Why, Ronald Weasley, I thought you would never ask!"

The Common Room erupted into cheers, and, masked by the applause, Ron leaned over to Hermione, and said softly,

"Next time I kiss you, promise me you won't burst into tears?" he said, wiping what remained of her tears of her cheek. Hermione grinned widely.

"I promise," she said, as she leaned up toward him, and kissed him, smiling against his lips.

Just then, the Portrait hall opened, and who should walk in but Harry.

Seeing everyone applauding, and Ron and Hermione sitting rather closely on the couch in the corner, he paused confused.

Tapping Lavender and Parvati on the shoulder, he waited for them to turn around before he asked,

"So, what'd I miss?"

And so, Hermione got her weekend of relaxation, and more, Ron had finally plucked up the courage to ask Hermione what he'd wanted to for ages, and Harry - well, Harry realised that he had the worst possible timing for leaving the Common Room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Please Review!!! Pretty, pretty please, with sugar, and cherries and more and more fluff on top???

. : * PDT * : .