Going Home…

This story was inspired by the song: The Reason by Hoobastank

Chapter 1

"No. I did not." She said.

"You did to." He replied.

"RON! I did not."

"HERMIONE! You did to."

"HEY! Will you two stop! Who cares who took the last chocolate frog? Besides, it was me." Ginny said with a big smile.

"GINNY!" they both said. "Okay... you asked for it. Hermione, you get her feet, and I will get her sides. Ready? Go!" Ginny screamed, ran out of the room and down the hall. She made it into her room, but did not get the door shut in time. Ron entered, with Hermione right behind him. Ginny backed away from the two of them. "Hey, two against one is not fair." She began backing away, tripped over a shoe left in the middle of the floor, and fell to the ground. They were right on top of her. Ron sat on her legs.

"Hermione... grab her arms." Ron said grabbing Ginny's arms and holding them to the floor for Hermione to get.

"Okay, little sister, you know what's coming now, don't you?" he said.

"Oh… Merlin...NO! RON, DON'T YOU DARE!"

"Ohhh… so sorry, little one... but I have to." He said with a big smile.

"It's time for the Tickle Monster!" She was laughing so hard she could not talk.

"Ok…. Ok ….I'm sorry…NO…MORE…PLEASE…STOP." Hermione let go of her arms and Ginny tried to grab Ron's hands to stop him from tickling her. He got up off her legs.

"That was not fair. You two just wait. I'll get you yet." She said with a smile. She got up of the floor and walked over to the door then turned to face the other two. A big smile spread across her face.

"Hey! Fred, George can I have a word with you two?" Ron made a move toward her; she shot down the stairs like lighting.

"She's a handful. I don't know how we put up with her all these years."

"I told you I didn't eat it." Hermione said.

"Yeah, I know… I'm sorry." He replied. She took his hand in hers.

"That's okay." She kissed his cheek and ran out the door. He just stood there for a few seconds taking in the kiss, and then followed her down the stairs.

Hermione sat at her desk, in her office, at the Ministry of Magic. She was looking at a picture of Ron, Harry, and Ginny that she took the summer before their last year at Hogwarts. Those had been such happy times for everyone. That is, before she lost him. Their final year had been hard on everyone, especially Ron. During the final battle with the Dark Lord, Ron had lost his whole family. Only two survived the battle. That was Ginny and him, and he almost lost her too. During the final moments of the battle, Death Eaters were advancing on Ginny and herself. Ron stepped between them and the Death Eaters, and took the force of three different hexes. It took him a month to finally wake up from the attack. They had all survived the war. Harry had finally defeated the Dark Lord. Ginny and he had gotten married, soon after. Ron disappeared right after he was released from the hospital. He could not deal with the pain, of loss, the way Ginny had. He left and they have been looking for him ever since. Ginny was more determined than Harry or Hermione to find him. "He is the only family I have left. I will find him no matter what it takes." She had once said to Hermione. So now, two years later, they are still looking. However, they were closer to him then they thought.

At the end of the bar, a man raised his hand to get the attention of the bartender. "Hey… two more down here." The bartender poured two fire whiskeys for the man, and he drank them straight down. He ran his hand through his bright red hair and stood up, swaying. He staggered from the bar and headed down the alley. To where? He did not know and did not care. An arm reached out and grabbed his shirt, pulling him into the shadows. He was pushed against the wall; his attacker pressed her lips to his.

"Do you need some company tonight, baby?" she said.

He grabbed the woman's waist, digging his fingers into her hips. He pushed his hips to hers, grabbed the back of her head, fisting his hand in her hair, and kissing her fiercely.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"Ow… you're hurting me. I don't do the ruff stuff." She said.

He kissed her once more biting her lower lip, then pushed her away from him and walked away saying, "Your loss, baby." She brought her hand up to her lip then looked at her fingers.

"Hey, you bit me. I'm bleeding." She called after the tall red head staggering down the alley. He reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulled out a dollar, and tossed it onto the ground behind him.

"There you go, baby, that should take care of it." He said without looking back. She ran over, picked up the money, and put it down the front of her shirt.

"You bastard! You're an animal, you know that?" She yelled.

"More than you know." He said to himself.

Hermione was on her way home from work, she only lived a few blocks away so she chose to walk tonight. She was half way home when she heard something behind her. She turned to look but saw nothing. Thinking it was her imagination she continued on her way. Then she heard it again. She stopped and turned, wand in hand. "Is someone there? Whoever you are, I will hex you into next week if you don't quit following me." She used the lumos spell to light her wand, and held it up over her head to see if she could see anything. There was nothing there. She turned and ran the rest of the way home. She made it into her flat and locked the door behind her. She laughed to herself "What is wrong with you, Hermione? You never run away from anything." She hung her coat on the peg by the door and kicked off her shoes. She walked to her room and took off her robes. She put them on the chair by her bedroom door. She opened her dresser, pulled out an old Chudley Cannons tee shirt, and put it on. It was one of Ron's old shirts. It even smelled like him still, she thought. She loved this shirt. She pulled on her big comfy bathrobe and walked to the kitchen. She put the kettle on the stove for tea and sat at the table. She picked up the Daily Prophet and read the headline. "Harry Potter The-Boy- Who-Lived was chosen today as the new Head Leader of the Auror squad." it read. Hermione was so proud of him. He had overcome many obstacles in his life. She continued reading the story, The-Boy-Who-Lived "Merlin how he hated being called that," Hermione thought to herself. She continued reading, "He and his lovely wife, Ginny Weasley-Potter, were joined in their celebration by their long time friend, Hermione Granger. His brother-in-law, Ron Weasley, who has been missing for the past two years, was not present." Hermione thought to herself, "Well if he is still missing then of course he would not be present. How thick can you get?" She laughed at the thought and got up to make herself a cup of tea. She walked over to the balcony and sat on the chair. She sighed and sipped her tea. She looked up at the stars and thought to herself, "I wonder where he is. Is he thinking of us? Is he missing us as much as we miss him? Is he even still alive?" She leaned her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. "God, Ron, where are you? Why did you leave us? We could have helped you. I miss you so much, we all do. Please, come home." She said to herself. She put her face in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably.

He was standing in the shadows, just out of the beam of the streetlight. He was watching her with sorrowful eyes. Eyes that carried the pain of war and loss of loved ones. He watched her walk out onto the balcony and sit down. She took a sip from the cup she was holding, and looked up at the sky. He had once loved this woman. "Hell, I still do." He thought to himself. He wondered how he had come to be here. When he left the bar he had not intended to come here, but this is where his feet took him. He smiled to himself and thought, "I am drawn to her no matter where she is." He watched her cover her face with her hands. He watched her shoulders move up and down. She was crying. She sat like that for awhile; then she wiped the tears away, got up, and walked back into her flat. Her hair had grown longer and it was no longer bushy. It flowed down her back in beautiful brown waves. "God, she is beautiful," he thought to himself. She came back into view. She stood there looking out across the city for a few minutes, then turned and went back into her flat, and closed the doors behind her. He stood there for a few more minutes, then turned, and walked into night.