She looked up slowly from her book, her lashes long as they brushed her cheeks with every blink. "Yes, Ron?"

"I'm tired of all the pretense and I'm tired of pretending. I don't care about what anyone else says and I don't bloody care who or what your parents are and if anyone, and that includes Malfoy, thinks that I do, they can shove a cabbage up their arse."

"All right."

His eyes narrowed as he watched her face for any sign of amusement. "I want you to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend."

"I had planned to do so, Ron."

"No. Not with me and Harry. Not like always, not like every time. I want to go to Hogsmeade with Harry and with you, but with you as my…"

The collective gasp seemed to take all the air from the room. Hermione's smile was nothing more than a hint of promise on her curved lips. "Yes, Ron?"

Ron felt every eye on him. The silence was deafening, not even the rough edge of breathing seemed to break it. "Well, er, my, uh…"

Hermione sighed, the light in her eyes dimming slightly. Her mouth tightened slightly as he shifted nervously from foot to foot. He watched as she picked up her book, turning away from him. "Go away, Ron."

"Iwantyoutobemygirlfriend." He swallowed hard as she turned her head, her eyes catching his. "Please?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that." She stood, ignoring everyone around them, the excited chattering that suddenly filled the common room. "I think I know what it is that you said, but if you meant it, Ron, you need to say it without sounding like it's a horrible thing you can't bear to think about."

"I…" Ron swallowed hard again. "I want you to be my…girlfriend." He smiled weakly. "Will you?"

She took a deep breath and started for the stairs to the girls' dormitories. "I'll have to think about it."

"What?"

She looked back at him, throwing a smile over her shoulder as the heat rose in his face. "I'll let you know in the morning. Goodnight, Ron."