A Trip to the Beach
Chapter 1
It was a stifling summer at the Burrow, and Harry, Ron and Hermione had been planning a trip to the beach for ages. On this particular day the heat had intensified to the point where even the mischievous Garden Gnomes refused to wreak havoc, instead choosing to doze in the shade of the Weasley's ramshackle house.
The trio planned to take Mr Weasley's Ford Anglia to the nearest beach, suggesting they would make use of the persistent sun, although their ulterior motive was to escape the cramped house for a few hours, because all of Ron's siblings had returned home to spend the summer; along with their respective wives and girlfriends. Percy and Penelope had commandeered Ron's room; Bill and Fleur were reluctantly in Fred and George's beds with the twins on the floor in sleeping bags. Charlie had also returned, along with a rather exotic girlfriend he met while backpacking in Bulgaria, taking up Ginny's room, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to sleep in the lounge on sofas. As much as Harry loved the Weasley's, there was a distinct lack of alone time when sharing a small house with thirteen other people, the queue for the bathroom was just ridiculous.
He sat on one of the many sofas in the cluttered living room, and as he cast his eyes over the various items of clothing and general debris that is created when four people share one room, he began to feel drowsy. He hadn't been feeling too good these past few days, bouts of dizziness kept washing over him when he stood up, and he had a grinding headache that was sending a pillar of numb pain down his spine. He was getting annoyed with the weather, how could he look his best to impress Ginny when he was sweating so profusely? Slowly he turned on his side, drawing his knees up to his chin to rest his thumping head. "Stupid weather" he thought to himself and it was not long before he drifted into uneasy sleep, plagued by queasy dreams.
"Come on Harry, we've packed everything in the car, let's go" spoke Ron as he shook Harry, who was sound asleep on the soft purple sofa that sat in the middle of the lounge.
When Harry didn't respond Ron leaned in close to him and realised his breathing was shallow, and that beads of sweat were collecting on his furrowed brow, concentrating around the edges of his scar.
"Back in a minute mate" Ron muttered as he left the room, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the crooked door frame.
He headed outside into the heat to find his mother watering the scorched grass of the garden in the morning sun, a jet of water streaming from the end of her wand. Ron gazed at the flow of liquid, imagining standing under it and allowing its cold crispness to wash over him, taking away the sticky heat. This only made him want to get to the beach as soon as possible; the murky sea he knew lapped its shores suddenly extremely attractive.
"Mum, I don't think Harry's very well, he's all sweaty and won't wake up." Ron explained.
Mrs Weasley turned towards her son, perspiring from her own effort in the garden and frowned,
"Oh poor dear, it's probably heat stroke from this damned sun, I told him to keep hydrated! Well I'll take care of him, but I suspect he won't be going to the beach today."
Ron scowled, kicking the burnt soil in disappointment, the images of the cold water refreshing his body slipping away. It was hard to keep cool when Mrs Weasley had banned water fights because Fred and George had destroyed her flowerbeds with a giant tidal wave they had conjured and when so many people wanted to access the one available bathroom, frequent cold showers were impossible.
"Excuse me; I haven't spent all morning trying to restore this grass to its usual state just so you can mess it up again!" Mrs Weasley said tersely.
"Sorry, I just wanted us to go to the beach that's all" Ron said as he tried to stamp a large piece of turf back into the rip in the ground he had created. Together they walked into the house and back into the living room were Harry lay sprawled, now mumbling incoherently to himself. Mrs Weasley crouched down next to him and pressed her hand to his forehead while peering into his scrunched up face.
"Yes, just as I thought, he's got heat stroke. You see Ron this I exactly why I remind all of you to keep drinking a lot of fluids every day because I haven't seen heat like this since I was…." but Ron had stopped listening to his Mothers ramblings for he had spotted Hermione standing in the doorway.
"What's going on?" she enquired, "We're all packed and ready to go, I've been waiting in the car for ages….." her eyes scanned the room, pausing over Harry, who was now sweating so much the white T-shirt he was wearing had turned yellow.
"Oh! Is Harry all right?" she exclaimed, rushing forwards, "It's not his scar again is it?" she crouched next to Mrs Weasley.
"No, no dear he's got heat stroke, not drinking enough water you see, I did warn you all!" muttered Mrs Weasley looking from Ron to Hermione, an expression of contempt on her face. When Hermione gave her a strained smile she patted her arm.
"Don't worry dear, he'll be alright once he's drunk enough water, but I'm afraid he'll be stuck on this sofa for the next few days at least."
She used said sofa to lever herself up. Hermione turned towards Ron.
"So he can't come to the beach? Well I guess we should go another time then." She sighed. "And I was so looking forward to having some peace and quiet to read a few books; it's hard to concentrate with so many people around."
Before he could think the words were out of his mouth, "Well" started Ron, a smile filling his face "We could still go."
Hermione looked confused for a second, Ron's words clearly slow to register, but when they did her mouth fell open.
"What, just me and you?" she whispered.
A silence fell in the room, and not a comfortable one. Ron looked surprised at what he had said and tried to think of something to make it less awkward, but his mind wouldn't work, so they both just sat staring at one another. Mrs Weasley, who had been fetching a cold flannel for Harry's head from the adjoining kitchen, smiled to herself as she hovered in the doorway watching the two teenagers from afar.
Hermione's mind was racing. "Did he just say that? Maybe he didn't mean just the two of us? Maybe he did but just as friends? But then why is it awkward? He's not saying anything. Wait, is he blushing?"
Sure enough Ron could feel the blood rushing up his cheeks, quickly turning his face scarlet. He clenched his jaw and pulled his eyes away from Hermione's, choosing to stare at a magazine that had been discarded on the floor. A few seconds passed and Ron thought he was going to faint, not from the heat but from the burning sensation on the side of his face where he could feel Hermione's gaze upon him.
"Okay."
Ron snapped his eyes back to Hermione's, his stomach plummeting like it always did when he looked at her.
"Sorry?" he managed to croak. He wasn't sure if she'd actually said it, or whether he'd just heard her say it in is head.
"Okay, let's go together." Hermione said tilting her head to the side with a small smile.
"Oh, uh, yeah." Ron stuttered "Yes, definitely, that's…yeah." He broke into a broad smile and rubbed the back of his neck.
Hermione's heart filled with joy as she watched him splutter under her gaze, wondering whether this was actually happening.
"I'll just get a drink and then we'll go yeah?" she said as she stood up. She took a last look at Harry as she left the room, and then slowly glanced back to Ron, who was frozen to the floor, and she gave him small smile, causing him to turn redder still. She walked into the kitchen and over to the sink, trying to stop herself from shaking as excitement buzzed through her.
Mrs Weasley had gone unnoticed by Hermione when she entered the kitchen. The girl was deep in thought and smiling to herself as she filled a glass with water at the kitchen sink. Mrs Weasley's heart warmed and she couldn't stop smiling herself as she walked back into the living room and started to tend to the still sleeping Harry. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ron still hadn't moved.
"Oh god. She's going with me out of pity isn't she? She thinks I'm pathetic, suggesting we go somewhere together. Christ, why am I such an idiot? She obviously likes Krum, she's always writing to him, she'd probably prefer to be alone on a beach with him."
Ron closed his eyes. He had lapsed into his usual thinking about Hermione, that it could never happen between them, but he had seen something in her eyes just then, when he'd suggested they go to the beach alone together that countered these beliefs. He'd seen it before, that look, when he had been poisoned and she'd visited him in the hospital wing. She had looked at him like that then as well. Sometimes he even caught her looking at him. Whenever he did his stomach would flip over and he would wonder if maybe she did like him. He stared at her a lot too, he couldn't help it, and he loved to be around her. Whenever they were alone together they laughed about everything and talked about nothing for ages. This realisation lifted his spirit and he smirked. She does like me.
Mrs Weasley watched her son go from looking depressed to confident and relaxed. She continued mopping Harry's forehead with a cold flannel and gave a small laugh. She couldn't wait for them to go the beach!
Hermione was still in the kitchen. She had taken one sip of water before pouring it down the sink; she thought she was going to be sick. She leaned on the kitchen counter with her head in her hands.
"It's okay, we're friends right? This should be easy; it's never been like this before. Whenever we're alone together there's just the right amount of awkward, enough to make it terribly exciting. It must just be the heat."
Deep down Hermione knew it wasn't the heat. She liked Ron more than anyone in the world. Whenever she was alone with him she would come alive. She knew she was uptight about schoolwork and exams, but once they were alone together all that took a back seat - she wanted to give him her full attention. It had never been like that with Krum, their conversations were severely one sided and she never experienced the pang of disappointment when she couldn't see him or the burst of joy when she made him laugh. She knew Ron liked her. She could tell by the way he looked at her sometimes, how he was jealous of boys interested in her, the way he said her name, and how he acted around her compared to other girls. Well apart from Lavender. Their relationship was the only thing that ever made her doubt Ron's intentions. But apart from that she was sure he liked her too. She was just clueless as to how he seemed unable to realise she liked him back.
Hermione took a deep breath and headed back into the living room.
"Ready?" said a voice from the corner of the room.
It was Ron, standing by the front door; he was composed, his belief that Hermione liked him giving him confidence. Hermione broke into a relieved smile, everything was as usual.
They said their goodbyes to Mrs Weasley, who could only manage a small squeak, and made their way out of the front door to the Ford Anglia. They passed Bill and Fleur who were sunbathing on deckchairs looking extremely tanned already.
"Where you off to?" asked Bill, lifting his sunglasses.
"The Beach." said Ron "You two want to come?"
Hermione's heart sank.
"Nah, you're alright, too hot to move!" Bill said, then he paused, narrowing his eyes, "So, it's just you two going then?
"Uh, yeah" said Ron, suddenly nervous again, "Harry was coming too but he's got heatstroke and mum said he was too ill to come."
"Oh!" interjected Fleur's velvet voice, "I 'ope e' feels bezzer soon."
"Well, have fun you two!" Bill said, lying back in his seat. Before he settled his sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose, he exchanged a knowing look with his wife, who returned to reading her book smiling to herself.
Ron and Hermione bid farewell to the couple and walked down the gravel drive to the blue Ford Anglia that was waiting for them.
Chapter 2
Ron clambered into the driver's seat and shut the door. Hermione was in the passenger's side and had already put her seatbelt on. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and turned the key in the ignition, blinking when the engine roared into life.
"So, what's this beach like then?"
Hermione's voice was loud in the still atmosphere of the car. Ron turned to his left to faced her.
"It's not much, but it's got what you'd expect. Sand that gets everywhere and water that stings your eyes."
They both grinned. Hermione lent forward and flicked on the radio. Ron pulled the car off of the drive and turned left onto the deserted main road. Sizzling heat rose from the tarmac as the Anglia powered along it towards the beach.
"Is it close enough so we don't have to fly?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah it's not far" Ron replied, "We've been going there since we were little and it never takes longer than 15 minutes."
Hermione looked relieved, and Ron smiled to himself. He knew she hated any kind of flying. Although it actually was quicker to fly to the beach he had already decided not to for Hermione's sake.
"So, how are your parents?" Ron said, flicking his head in Hermione's direction whilst keeping his eyes on the road.
"Oh, you know, they're fine I suppose. They moved into new offices last week, so their dental stuff was piled up in the house while they waited to move it all in, they were getting pretty stressed out. To be honest I think they were glad when I said I was spending the summer at yours." She gave a small laugh. "The holidays are always better at yours; living in the city does have its disadvantages. We think it's hot at the Burrow, imagine how bad it is in the middle of London!"
"Yeah" replied Ron, "I bet the tube feels like an oven."
"Oooh!" exclaimed Hermione. "Look at you and your Muggle terminology! Next you'll be telling me how you were talking on the phone the other day whilst watching TV and surfing the internet!" She laughed; teasing was the easiest form of flirting for her.
"As a matter of fact I was on the phone the other day" Ron retorted "It's just, I was trying to get Harry and ended up calling someone in India."
They both started laughing, and spent the last minutes of the journey recounting other instances of their own stupidity, feeling totally at ease with each other.
"Here it is" said Ron as he rubbed his aching cheeks caused by the story Hermione had just told about the time she front flipped over a locked ticket barricade when she was late for a train. He turned the car into a narrow lane, which was lined with mud and patches of grass that slowly turned to sand the further down they drove. Ron stopped the car at the end of the pathway and they both got out. A cool sea breeze blew across the sand and enveloped the car.
"Thank god we came here!" said Ron as he ran down the beach, revelling in the icy wind. He hadn't felt comfortable in days, the heat was so intense.
Hermione was had walked to the rear of the car and had started removing items from the boot, watching Ron as he was buffered by the wind.
"Careful you don't get blown away, I wouldn't want to have to eat this picnic by myself." she called out.
Ron turned and jogged back to the car. Standing next to her he peered into the boot, spotting a rather large wicker basket.
"You brought lunch! Nice one, I thought we would have to go back early in order to eat, but now we can stay here even longer."
He seemed genuinely happy that they could spend the whole day on the beach, and Hermione was too. They both watched the other with smiling eyes.
Ron helped Hermione carry some towels, the picnic basket and various sports equipment including tennis racquets and a Frisbee onto the beach, which was totally deserted.
"Is there usually no one here?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, not many people know about this bit of beach." Ron replied. "I think Bill found it when he was our age, we used to come here a lot but lately there hasn't been enough time. It's nice to come back actually, haven't been here in ages."
Hermione surveyed the small stretch of beach below her. A small amount of sand was sandwiched between two large strips of pebbles and rocks. The sea was murky and opaque but the brilliant sunshine made it sparkle like diamonds. It certainly wasn't the Bahamas, but why would she want to be there when she could be here - alone with Ron?
"Race you to the sea?"
They were standing on the beach, about twenty metres from the first ribbon of pebbles. Ron and Hermione stared at each other while Ron's proposal hung in the air. Ron kicked off his shoes. A smile crept onto Hermione's face, as she removed her shoes too. Ron was momentarily mesmerised by her face, made radiant by the sun that shone behind her, before he realised she had already whipped around and begun sprinting towards the ocean. He quickly gave chase, catching up easily with his long legs; he reached out to his left and grabbed her arm, trying to slow her down.
"Oh it's like that is it?" she smirked.
As they ran they tussled with each other, both laughing in delight. When they reached the first strip of pebbles they had to slow down considerably in order to see where they were placing their bare feet. Ron reached the sand first and opened up a big lead, Hermione was only halfway across when he reached the second strip of pebbles. With a whoop of triumph he dived headfirst into the sea, disappearing from sight. Hermione stopped running as she reached sand made wet by the waves that lapped the shore. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was still catching her breath when Ron emerged from the water.
"Oh yeah! Weasley wins!" he shouted as held an invisible trophy aloft.
"Oh whatever" Hermione gasped "I almost beat you."
"Almost being the key word here." He teased.
Hermione put her hands on her knees, nursing a stich that had developed in her side. She noticed Ron coming towards her, crouched low with arms outstretched.
"What are you doing?" she said staring at him half amused, half confused.
He spoke as he moved towards her, a sly smile appearing on his lips, "You didn't get wet, so your forfeit for losing the race is to be thrown in the sea."
"No Ron," she said, rolling her eyes, "we didn't say anything about a forfeit."
When he only moved closer still she put her hands up in defence and started to walk backwards, away from him.
"Come on Ron, let's go play Frisbee or something" she reasoned.
He ignored her protest and carried on towards her, his exaggerated footsteps slapping the wet sand.
"It's really hot out here Hermione, and the water is so refreshing."
His tone was patronising and a smirk plastered his face. Hermione opened her mouth to protest again, but Ron had lunged forward and grabbed her around the waist. She cried out in surprise and he lifted her up so that he was carrying her over his shoulder. The blood rushed to Hermione's head and she breathed deeply.
"Ron, put me down, your sopping wet!" she tried to struggle and shift her weight so that she would fall off his shoulder, but he was holding on to her with surprising strength and her efforts had no effect. Her vision was blocked by her hair, which had fallen in her face.
Ron started walking, and from the small patch of ground she could see, it was towards the ocean.
"Oh Ron, come on, don't, look I'm already wet from you," she protested, "Please don't?"
At this, Ron stopped and sighed as he let her drop down from his shoulder. She was red in the face and quite damp from being pressed against his soaked clothes. They were aware at how close they were standing, but neither moved away. Soft waves lapped at Hermione's ankles, making her shiver, even though the race had made her hot.
"Well, er, thank you." she said, relieved. She was blushing, but he couldn't tell because her face was glowing already.
"S'alright," Ron replied, looking deep into her eyes, "I just thought I'd let you get your bearings before I chucked you in the sea, don't want you to drown now do we?" he said jokingly as he reached out and tucked some unruly hair behind her ear.
Distracted by his touch, Hermione hadn't really listened to what he'd said.
"Um, yeah, well, I mean…wait, what?"
She had no time to cry out, as before she knew it Ron had scooped her up and tossed her into the ocean. Swirling water surrounded her and a loud roaring filled her ears as she hit the ocean floor. She pushed off of it and broke the surface into the sunshine. She was gasping for air, and her eyes were stinging because of the salt, but annoyingly, she felt a lot better. No longer sticky with heat she had been cooled and refreshed by the water. Hermione wiped her hair from her face and realised she was standing up. She hadn't even been that far in the sea. She looked up and saw Ron standing before trying not to laugh.
"Alright there?" he mocked, "Feels better doesn't it?"
Hermione scowled and started towards him, splashing through the waves that were up to her knees, she knew what she was about to do, but couldn't believe that she was actually going to do it. She fixed her eyes on him and saw his expression change to one of uncertainty.
"You're not angry are you? I thought you'd laugh," he sounded genuinely upset, and seemed more so as she arrived in front of him, silent still.
"I'm sorry Hermione; I honestly thought you'd find it funny! Please don't be angry, you can push me in the sea if you want!"
He was staring at her intently, trying to read her expression, waiting for a reaction. Hermione just watched him, hands by her sides, refusing to speak. Ron swallowed and his breathing became fast. He kept clenching and unclenching his jaw while he waited for her to speak. Hermione noticed they were both drying quickly in the intense heat of the sun and her eyes flicked to Ron's half dry T-shirt, the bottom of which was still wet. There the fabric was clinging to his stomach muscles, clearly visible through the thin linen, which made Hermione smile and look back at Ron's face. He looked panic stricken.
"Hermione, please I –"he started, but he couldn't finish because Hermione had reached up, put her arm around his neck and placed her mouth over his.
Surprised by the current situation, Ron did nothing at first. Once he realised he was actually kissing Hermione Granger, he wound his arms around her waist and intensified the kiss. She responded automatically, gripping his back and running her hand through his damp hair. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, changing pace and intensity at will. When they eventually broke off, jthe resumed staring at each other like they had before until Ron spoke.
"Well, I don't know about you" he whispered, " but that was a-m-azing."
Hermione couldn't help but smile, her eyes filled with adoration for the person stood before her.
"Seriously," he continued, "Best. Kiss. Ever."
"Hey" Hermione said, breaking her silence, "Speak for yourself!"
"Oh!" Ron laughed, crossing his arms, "Had a better kiss than that have we? And who was that with might I ask?"
"Viktor Krum" Hermione said calmly, trying to look nonchalant.
Ron's face fell.
"What?" he breathed, eyes wide, "Really?"
Hermione paused, and then looked away. When she looked back at him she was laughing.
"No you idiot!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air, "God, I don't think someone that dull could ever kiss like that!"
Ron gave a relieved sigh, "I thought you were being serious then," he grinned.
He stepped forward and pulled her into another kiss, this one gentler than the first. Ron contemplated how soft her lips where and how amazing it felt to finally be able to kiss her. Hermione was filled with such joy that she could have fallen over; it was only because Ron gripped her so tightly that she didn't.
"So." she said once they pulled away.
"So." Ron breathed.
They stood face to face, smiling at each other, both flushed from their embrace. Ron took Hermione's hand in his and squeezed it.
"This feels so right." He said simply.
Hermione smiled broadly and pulled him into a tight hug. She laughed into his chest as he swayed her slowly from side to side. He took her hand in his as they began walking back up the beach towards their pile of belongings. Ron opened a duffel bag and took out a large, soft towel. He turned to Hermione, and draped it lovingly around her shoulders. She had been almost completely dried by the sun, but she let him wrap her up anyway, relishing the intimacy of the gesture.
"Let's eat" he said "All that kissing made me hungry"
Hermione laughed and reached for the picnic basket. She laid out the food it contained on a blanket and they began eating. They didn't speak but just enjoyed being next to one another.
"Well, this will be something to tell Ginny" said Hermione, when she had finished eating.
"What?" exclaimed Ron, "You're not going to tell her are you?"
"So you're not going to tell Harry?" she countered.
Ron opened his mouth but said nothing.
"Don't worry" she soothed, "I'll miss out some parts"
"Like the kissing bit?" Ron said, sounding hopeful.
Hermione smirked and shook her head, causing Ron to groan and lay back on the blanket.
"Why?" he moaned. "She can't possibly be interested?"
"Of course she's interested" Hermione said, sitting cross legged next to him, "She's your sister."
Ron closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
"Well, if you have too, just say how brilliant everything was, especially the kissing."
Hermione scoffed, "Okay, I'll make sure she understands that her brother is a good kisser, I'll stress that part. Then she won't think I'm weird at all!"
Ron laughed playing with one of her hands.
"Well, Harry won't care how good you are at kissing, just the fact that we kissed will probably surprise him, it certainly surprised me!"
Hermione smiled and turned so she lay on her back next to him. He put his arm behind her and gripped her shoulder protectively.
"Why didn't we do this earlier?" he said softly "We've wasted all this time faffing around."
She sat up and looked into his eyes "Is that what you call your relationship with Lavender? 'Faffing around?'"
He contemplated the curve of her cheekbones before he said "I like to think of our time together as practice."
"Practice?" Hermione said her brow furrowing.
"Yeah, for you." Ron replied, "I mean if I hadn't gone out with Lavender, I wouldn't have refined my technique." He paused again, this time to study the nape of her neck. "Obviously, I did enjoy the time I spent with Lavender; otherwise we wouldn't have been together as long as we were. But it feels like all the months I spent kissing her have been totally eclipsed by the two kisses I've shared with you today. With you, it feels so amazing; it never really felt like anything more than physical with her."
Hermione was stunned by this confession, but tried not to show it. She lay back down next to him, with her face pressed against his shoulder. Seeing as he was being so honest she felt she might as well confess something too.
"Well," she began, her voice a little muffled, "Viktor and I –"but she was cut off by Ron.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa" he shouted, sitting up and displacing her from his side, "I don't want to hear about what happened between you and him!"
"Hey!" Hermione scowled, "I didn't particularly want to hear about you and Lavender!"
Ron looked sheepish and lay back down.
"Okay I'm sorry, carry on." He said, his face stony.
Hermione sat up and started toying with the corner of the towel still draped around her.
"As I was saying, Viktor and I only kissed twice, so I wouldn't say I've had the best kissing experience ever. He was always lovely to me, but we're too different to be a couple. If I'm honest he's a tad self-obsessed, but I suppose you become that when you're a celebrity and everyone you meet instantly adores you. The kisses we shared weren't spectacular and he wasn't very charismatic, but the kisses between you and I were pretty exceptional."
She had started at her hands coyly as she spoke looking up at Ron only when she had finished.
Ron's face softened, and he pulled her back down next to him and kissed her forehead.
"For your information," he said matter of factly, "your lack of experience didn't show, if that's what you were worried about. If anything, you're a natural."
Hermione smiled into his shoulder and gripped him tighter. They lay like this for a while, interspersing long, passionate kisses with soft and gentle ones. Soon enough they noticed a drop in temperature and both sat up as the sun set over the beach.
"I spose' we should probably go back" Ron said squeezing Hermione's hand, "But I'd rather just stay here forever."
She laughed, "We can let people know Ron; it's not some secret we have to keep."
"I know" he replied, "it's just; the house is so crowded at the moment, how are we going to do stuff like this in peace?
Hermione stroked his face affectionately, "We'll find a way"
He leaned in to kiss her again, and then they packed up their stuff in the car, took one last look at the beach, and headed back to the Burrow, knowing they were at the beginning of something beautiful.