A/N; Hey everyone, haven't posted in ages. I went to work on this story again and felt so unfamiliar with it after so long that I decided to rehash it. Will follow the same general storyline of course. Updates should come every 3-5 days. Hope you enjoy ;)
Disclaimer; I own nothing, etc...
The War After the War – Chapter One
Hermione clasped a hand around her thumb which was turning bright red. She pursed her lips in pain and whirled around to face the dark paneled wall of the office when Harry walked in, hoping he wouldn't notice. He was carrying something heavy, and quickly losing his grip.
"Hey Hermione, can you help me with this?" He set the large box on the floor, exhaling forcefully as he kicked the heavy brown door to the outer office shut. "Couldn't really use an owl for it."
"Um in a minute. I'm busy with... something." She brought her thumb to her mouth, blowing on it.
"Huh?" Harry peered over her shoulder. "Did you burn yourself again? That's the third time this week, your hand is going to fall off." He grabbed her wrist. "Here, lemme see it."
"Ow, Harry! Its fine," She protested, sucking in a breath when he touched it.
He turned her hand over, holding her palm open between his own thumb and forefingers. "Right, Hermione. Its turning green. Perfectly okay."
They had been working on a reinvention of veritaserum for weeks now in the potions lab at the Ministry of Magic, and though they were making great progress it was still a dangerous chemical when spilled or misused. Every eleven hours the elixir required folding, like you would eggs into a batter. They tried skipping this step, and stirring instead which somehow seemed easier for Hermione, but that had turned out to be a disaster. They had also thought to wait until Harry could do the folding, even if it meant doing so a little before or after the eleven hour mark, but that had also turned out to be a disaster. The mixture simply didn't take when those two particular steps weren't followed meticulously, and this was surprisingly one of the few things Hermione just wasn't that good at. It made for a lot of overtime at the office while they worked on it.
"How are you even managing to burn yourself?" Harry asked, rummaging in the back closet for a first aid kit. "This isn't that hard. It's literally just like... making a cake or something, and you knew I'd be in this morning. Why bother?"
She sighed, annoyed. "I don't know, I guess I was just hoping I'd eventually learn how to do it on my own before we finished. It just keeps splashing all over me, I can't-"
"Do it slower?"
"-I was doing it slower-" she glared. "I cannot wait until we finish this. Its like it hates me or something."
Harry took her hand again, squeezing a small tube of healing agent over the wound. It soothed instantly as he rubbed her thumb gently with it, and then her palm and her knuckles in firm little circles. It was unnecessary, but she said nothing, letting him finish.
Hermione was silent as he worked, listening to the faint noises of other employees arriving at work to start their shifts. After several minutes, he curled her fingers into her palm, making a fist. "There, good as new."
"Thanks Harry." She looked away, embarrassed.
He shrugged, gesturing to the large box he came in with. " Here, help me with this now."
"What is it?" She grunted under its weight as she helped him heave it onto a table.
"Open it."
"Really, what is it?"
"Just open it. I'm not sure its exactly what you had in mind, but I thought it looked really nice."
Hermione gasped, knowing exactly what it was. "Oh my God, Harry!" she beamed at him. "You told me the parts wouldn't arrive for another few weeks at least." Carefully, she removed a sturdy plank of rich mahogany wood from the box. It was warm to the touch, like it had a life of its own, and she relished in its smooth and shiny surface.
"Will that work for you?" Harry asked, smiling.
"Oh Harry, this is just what I wanted" she breathed, admiring it. "You will help me make it, wont you? I've been looking up models and I have some ideas but I really don't know what Ron likes. I just know it has to be absolutely and completely perfect."
This was going to be her gift to Ron, for his birthday. A very expensively constructed broom designed to fit his body and flying style to a tee. He had just recently fulfilled a lifelong dream in signing with the Chudley Cannons, and she thought there could be no better gift than the most vital tool he would be using while he played. Yes, Hermione had money; she could have easily bought him a Firebolt and left it at that, but she wanted something unique. Something no other player had, and Harry, who knew just about everything as to the way a broom should handle had agreed to help her make it.
After the fall of Voldemort, they had both secured jobs as aurors at the new Ministry of Magic, becoming partners almost immediately. For a time Ron had worked with them, content to become an auror as well, but when the Cannons came calling he was unable to resist their offer. It had been as much a surprise to him as anyone that his favorite quidditch team of all time would want to recruit him, but Hermione didn't think it so strange. They had all sort of become celebrities after the war, and it was easy to see why they would want Ron on their team. Not only was he a great player to begin with, but he would be able to bring in a lot of publicity.
Hermione figured it wouldn't be long before something much the same happened to Harry, but he had made it perfectly clear that he was content to continue what he'd spent most of his wizarding life doing- keeping the magical world safe. Being an auror had been his dream since he had learned what one was, and the lack of Voldemort to fight was simply an added bonus.
If she were being completely honest with herself, Hermione might say she had joined the Ministry because of Harry. They had all seen each other through so much, that the thought of anything happening again... Not that she hadn't been requested outright – her intellect and resourcefulness were invaluable – but they were also greatly aware of the ease in which the Ministry fell to corruption. As members of The Order, they had vowed to prevent that from happening again, as much as they were able. Keeping the Ministry close was much safer than ignoring it, which brought them to where they were at present.
She smiled at Harry, laying the parts for the broom out before her along the table. "Do you think Ron will like this? Or do you think I should have done something else?"
Harry nodded encouragingly. "Are you kidding? There isn't much Ron loves more than quidditch. Now-" he reached across her for one of the parts, "-lets see what all we have."
-Chapter 1, part 2-
Later that evening, after spending an extra hour at the Ministry with Harry to work on the broom, Hermione climbed the winding steps up to the quaint little flat she shared with Ron in the small town near the Burrow. The porch light was on and she wondered if she had forgotten to turn it off that morning.
"Ron?" she called as she came in, taking her scarf and coat off and hanging them on the rack. A hearty, delicious aroma wafted into the front room and she smiled when Ron emerged from the kitchen. "What are you doing home so early?" she asked, steadying herself against the wall as she slipped off her shoes. "I thought you had practice until ten."
Even before responding he crossed the room and took her in his arms, kissing her firmly on the mouth. She grinned against his lips as he ran his large hands up along her sides and back down to encircle her waist.
"We were supposed to," he said between kissing her, "but the Coach had some family thing. What kept you at work?"
"I'm sorry, if I had known you were already off I would have come straight home." She stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the forehead, skirting around the question and heading into the kitchen to sample whatever it was that smelled so good. "There was a lot to do today, but now I have a three day weekend." Sitting on the table was a large pan of steaming lasagna. "Wow, did your mum bring this over?"
"Well I stopped by the Burrow and she insisted I take it home. Here, have some, its really good."
"It looks good," she agreed, grabbing a dish from a small stack Ron had set out.
"Just a minute," Ron took her plate, and setting it back on the table, "I can't wait any longer, stay right there."
"Um.. okay?" Hermione put her fork down, not surprised when her stomach let out a little grumble. She took a seat at the table, rubbing a socked foot on the leg of her chair. Ron returned a moment later, holding something. "What's going on?" she asked, curious.
"Look, I wanted this to be special and romantic and... amazing for you, but we've both been working so much and I just barely signed with the Cannons and..." it didn't need to be said that Ron wasn't the best at planning things out.
"Ron what is it?" She stood up, concerned.
"No, sit back down." He gave her shoulders a gentle push and stepped back, his hands out awkwardly. "Hermione..." he breathed nervously, sinking down to a knee. "I was at the burrow today... to get this." He produced the small, shiny object that he had been concealing. A ring.
"Ron..." her mouth fell open. The ring was a pretty little single stone, with a silver gray band that shimmered in the light. She considered how it could be meant for her when Ron had so many siblings.
"Would you...? Marry me, I mean... " He looked up at her, his heart clearly pounding out of his chest in fear. "I love you Hermione, so much."
Hermione was rarely speechless in her life, but right now was one of those times. She looked down at Ron, his face earnest in his proposal. He was dressed in a dark brown sweater that zipped up with a collar, and she could see that he wore a white t-shirt underneath that poked out at the neckline. His hair was tousled across his eyes like usual, and the ring looked small and delicate between his fingers. She focused on it, unable to breath.
"Is it too soon?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably, still holding the ring out.
A million thoughts circled in Hermione's mind, some about finances, others about work and her future. A random image of two little first year boys eating chocolate frogs on the train to Hogwarts came into her head. This was what she wanted, right?
"If its too soon we can just..." Ron withdrew his hand, unsure what to say.
"No!" Hermione half shouted, her brain catching up with itself. "I mean yes! Sorry I was thinking..." she trailed off, unsure what she wanted to say, still seeing the eleven year old Ron and Harry in her mind's eye. She slid out of her chair onto the floor to kiss him, feeling him relax as she took the ring from him.
-Chapter 1, part 3-
Harry sighed, facing Ginny in their large king sized bed. He took a strand of her hair between his fingers, twirling it. He could see a faint smile on her lips in the shadows of the room, and he leaned in to nuzzle the crook of her neck.
"I stopped by the Burrow today," she whispered softly, running her fingernails lightly up the back of his neck. "Guess who was there?"
"Hmm?" he mumbled distractedly, kissing along her collarbone and the curve of her breasts.
"Ron," she said quietly, biting her lip when he hit a sensitive spot.
"This isn't unusual for Ron."
Ginny laughed, his stubble tickling her. "He had a little box with him."
Harry reached over to grab the underside of her leg, pulling her to him. "Mmhm."
"Come on Harry, a little box. You know?"
"No I don't know," he replied against her lips, rolling onto her.
She brought one of her knees up invitingly and kissed him hard, on the verge of losing her train of thought. He sat up, pulling at her shirt, unconcerned with conversation.
"I think he might be proposing soon," she breathed, flushed.
"What?" Harry stopped, his tone serious. "Ron is proposing? To Hermione?" His hands rested, unmoving at her rib cage.
"Well yeah, its about time, don't you think?" His shock surprised her, and she placed her hands over his. "He's been in love with her since he was like... twelve." Harry's face was a mask in the darkness, but she could feel the tenseness in his body. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I... I'm just stunned. I didn't realize they were planning to do that so soon. It hasn't even been... well not very long." He left her shirt as it was, and laid his head down against her breasts.
It had actually been a little over 4 years, he realized when he actually thought about it.
"You're just worried about losing your friends aren't you." A strange band of some incomprehensible emotion wrapped itself around Ginny's chest, and she held her breath, waiting for him to respond.
He was quiet for a long while before answering. "Yeah, I guess so. We've just always been together."
"You know that's never going to happen. Ron and Hermione have stood by you through just about everything. What makes you think marriage would change that?"
"I don't know... you're right. I'm being stupid," he sighed, getting up to grab a glass of water from the kitchen.
"Is there anything I can do?" she asked hopefully, wishing she'd waited to say anything. This was supposed to be good news. She wasn't really sure why he wasn't happier about it.
She could hear the faucet turn on, and the cupboard open, but he didn't answer.