The first thing which registered was the pain. Hermione had wondered on more than one occasion whether or not her first time would hurt in the way that so many others had described that it might. One of the more commonly shared details was that if a girl felt too tense, that inevitably the experience would be made that much more difficult— and Hermione had absolutely no illusions about her own tendency to grow stressed or agitated over every little detail. But before she could even start to raise protest, she heard Ron's voice, turning to brush a kiss against his temple, breath hitching against his skin.

Exhaling deeply, Hermione did her best to relax as much of her body as she could— a rather difficult task, considering the position that she was in. She licked her lips, adjusting the angle of her hips, foot briefly brushing against his side as her hand reached up to curve around his shoulder.

"It's okay," she mouthed silently to herself, blinking rapidly and breathing deep. "This is okay, we'll be okay."