Don't shout at me! I know I'm supposed to be writing Together Forever and I am doing but it's complicated, and hard! It won't be too long now! (In my defence I started this a long time ago!)
Inspired by the Orson song 'Save the World' (lyrics at the beginning.) Supposed to be a bit of fun, got a bit angsty but there's fluff there too. (Rated T for language.)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Potterverse. I bloody wish! Save The World
(lyrics Jason Pebworth)
I guess I'm hanging out alone, And I'm selfish to complain,
Cause you've always got the best excuse.
There's no use in forcing you to stay- (You'd kick my weak butt, anyway)
I'll watch you on the evening news.
It's just that I see you next to zero- It's so hard lovin' a super hero
You're too busy saving the world, And I think I need saving the most.
I know that you'd stay here if you could, But you're too busy saving the world.
You're sliding on my favourite boots, And those tights are such a tease.
But you never wear that stuff for me.
Look up in the sky, It's not a bird or a plane.
It's the sweetest crime fighter that I've ever seen-
I just wish she'd call in sick And just stay home.
So go and make the world just a little safer-
I'll read all about it in tomorrow's paper.
You're too busy saving the world, And I think I need saving the most.
I know that you'd stay here if you could, But you're too busy saving the world.
I'm so over jumping off buildings, You catching my fall.
So I'll brush up on my Super Villain, And I might see you more
I know you're undercover, But I want you under the covers.
It doesn't feel like I'm asking a lot...
You're too busy saving the world, And I think I need saving the most.
And I know that you'd stay here if you could, But you're too busy saving the world.
…oooOOOooo…
'Fuck it's h…high up here! I'm shhhhure it shouldn't be this…this high!'
He swayed dangerously for more than one reason. He had been drinking for three hours solid, he hadn't eaten for eight hours and he was beginning to realise that keeping his balance when drunk and looking over the edge of the roof of the house he was standing on, was harder than it seemed.
He closed his eyes and started swaying even more than he had been before, so he opened them again and decided to sit down. He fell hard against the tile.
'Ooof!' he exclaimed on impact, but he felt no pain, the alcohol was numbing that particular reflex.
He sighed loudly and looked over his shoulder, obviously looking for something.
'Oi! Fluff ball! Wigpigeon! C'mere!'
The small owl gave an excited hoot and flew the few metres to his master and landed neatly next to him. After a few more hoots the red head noticed where the owl had landed.
'Oh!' he exclaimed, obviously very surprised to see the owl. 'There you are! Right, I need…need to shend this,' he rummaged in his muggle puffa jacket for the letter he had scrawled down before he came out on his little adventure. The jacket was one of his indulgences, he didn't care that Harry called it his 'drug pusher' jacket, Hermione said she liked cuddling him in it and that was good enough for him.
After three minutes of rummaging in every pocket in his jacket, jeans and shirt, he returned to the first one he had felt in and found what he was looking for.
'Ah ha!' he exclaimed cheerily. 'Gotcha!'
At the sight of a piece of parchment, Pigwidgeon flapped his way up to Ron's eye level and hovered in front of him, eagerly awaiting his charge.
'Take thish to Her…Hermione, and don't be long, it's only over…over there, I can shhhe the telephone box from here…well…if I squint I can!'
The owl clamped its beak around the piece of parchment after the third time of trying. Ron wasn't keeping the letter steady and it happened to move every time the small owl made a lunge for it. With an indignant hoot Pigwidgeon turned tail and flew off towards Hermione's place of work and the secret passageway for all delivery owls to the Ministry building.
'Have a shafe journey…li…liddle one!' Ron said with a giggle.
He took his weight on his hands as he leant back a little.
The roof he was sitting on wasn't overly steep, and it was for this reason that he had chosen this particular house. Yes he wanted to prove a point, but he didn't want to seriously injure himself at the same time.
He looked over the edge once more and shuddered ever so slightly. Deciding this was because of the wind his mind was imagining on this uncharacteristically warm Winter's evening, he slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the small bottle concealed in there. He didn't have to rummage for that, he knew exactly where that was.
He unscrewed the cap on the hip flask, the only thing deemed safe and uncharmed from his Uncle Bilius' belongings, and given to Ron by his dad on his seventeenth birthday. Well, actually that only happened because his dad thought it best if Ron only drank from his own hip flask from then on. Ron had told his dad he was getting worse than Mad Eye Moody, but still, he humoured his dad by taking it. On occasions like this, it came in very handy.
He swallowed the mouthful of Firewhisky he had acquired from the flask and replaced the cap on the third attempt. He carefully stowed the small bottle back in his coat and rubbed his hands together in anticipation of what he hoped was about to happen.
'Right, Weasley! What are the pointsh you want…want to get across to' he burped loudly, ''Rmione?'
He held up his hand, his fingers splayed.
'One!' he shouted loudly. 'You never see her any more.'
He tucked his thumb into his palm.
'Two! She puts herself in too much…jeap…jeapid…danger. Three! When I do see her she's too bloody…knackered…to, well…do anything…and my chances of a shag have gone from…slim to fat!'
There was no one else there he was talking to.
'Four!—'
'RONALD WEASLEY! WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?'
He refocused his eyes from his hand onto the garden in front of the house, and the bushy haired witch now occupying the space.
'Bloody hell!' Ron exclaimed, he slipped an inch down the roof and his hands flew down to either side of him to steady himself. He blinked to make sure he hadn't imagined his fiancée standing in front of him. He hadn't. 'How did you get here sho…fast?'
'For the moment, Ronald, I am going to ignore the fact that you are as pissed as a fart and tell you why I am here so fast!'
Ron couldn't help but giggle at Hermione's phrasing but soon stopped at the look of all consuming anger on her face.
'Have you forgotten that the area around the Ministry is watched at all times, Ronald? You aren't even a stone's throw away from the visitor's entrance, so you were, therefore, seen! I was asked to come and see what the hell you were doing before any MUGGLES SAW YOU! Do you know how embarrassing that was?'
'Oh! So I'm an embarrasshment now, am I?'
'At this precise moment in time? Yes! You are!'
'Well thank you, Hermione! I know who to come to, when I need a con…compi…compli…ment!'
'Merlin Ron! Why have you got yourself so drunk? Actually, answer this one first, what the bloody hell are you doing on A ROOF?'
This was what Ron had been waiting for; this was his chance to tell her everything he wanted to. He decided the occasion warranted a change of position. He managed to get to his feet, even though it was with a dangerous wobble.
Hermione had taken two hurried steps forward, ready to cushion his fall if he did slip and take a tumble off the roof.
'I am shtanding on a roof,' he swung his arms out wide, 'so that you would come here and have to lishen to what I have to say to you!'
'WHAT?' Hermione shrieked. 'I listen to you!'
'Not recently you don't…haven't…you're either too busy, or too tired, or thinking about work…or…or…or something else!'
Hermione went to argue, but instead deflated a little and looked at the ground.
Ron decided to sit back down, he didn't like how much the roof was moving underneath him and thought it was for the best.
He looked at Hermione who was switching between staring at the ground and scuffing the grass with her boot, and glancing up at Ron.
He hated to admit it, but he liked the way Hermione looked in her work uniform. It was all black for a start, a colour Ron liked on Hermione, and the top was fitted round her body. Unspeakables couldn't have baggy clothing, apparently whatever they did do could become dangerous if they had robes hanging off them at all angles.
Apparently.
Not that he'd ever find out.
Then there was her boots. They weren't high heeled, they weren't particularly sexy, but it was the image of Hermione using them to kick some bad guys arse that really appealed to him. As long as that person wasn't him. Then again, he didn't know if she did that either.
He'd realised a long time ago that he only knew about half of his fiancées life, and it scared him a little. He could go to her with anything, any problem he had with work, or anything he thought was insignificant but was still niggling him, but Hermione couldn't do that. She couldn't tell him about a hard day at work she had just had, or ask his opinion on something she wasn't sure about, she just had to keep it all inside and she suffered because of it.
Not that she would ever admit that, but she did. He might not know anything about her work, but he knew her moods, her frowns, every expression that she made he could read and knew how she was feeling.
He shook his head to clear it of his thoughts, and instantly regretted it. He wobbled even though his hands were still on either side of him, stopping him from falling to either side.
'When was the last time we slept in our bed…at the same time, 'Rmione?'
Hermione looked up at him. She was obviously still angry but he could tell she was thinking about what he had said.
'Well?' he prompted.
'Eight days ago,' she replied, trying to keep all emotion out of her voice.
'Exactly!' Ron screeched! 'Eight days 'Mione! Eight bloody day's without you next to me as I fall asleep!'
He took his right hand off the roof and rubbed his face. Unfortunately he just happened to slip forward on the roof at the same time and lost his balance.
'Shit! Fuck!' he exclaimed as he somehow managed to regain his balance, although the position he had finally settled in wasn't the most comfortable.
He looked down at the ground and expected Hermione to be standing where she had been before he slipped, scowling up at him, or maybe looking concerned.
But she wasn't there.
He shifted his gaze and looked up. Hermione was hovering in front of him, a wand in each hand, both pointed at the ground as if they were supporting her. Her left leg was straight and her right bent behind it, her foot settling on her calf.
'What the fuck? How in the name of hell are you…you…doing that? And why the fuck have you got two wands?'
Hermione sighed.
'Let me guess,' Ron answered for her, 'you can't tell me.'
'I have two wands because we are required to have two when we're at work. Sometimes one just isn't enough when you're doing…what I do.'
'And the levi…levitation?' Ron asked, his eyes still on Hermione's floating form.
'Exactly that. Advanced levitation. The spell was passed by the Ministry a couple of months ago for use by us and other Ministry personnel. We got the idea from muggles, well, some of their comics actually.'
'We?' Ron asked, his eyes widening. 'Did you invent this spell?'
He shifted so he was once again sitting on the roof in a more conventional fashion. When he was steady, Hermione lowered herself down onto the roof and when she had found her footing, put the wand in her left hand in her robes.
'I had something to do with it, yes,' she replied in a robotic manner.
'Wow, you almost pulled that off! You came up with the whole thing didn't you? And if this…thing…goes to the Wizarding masses then s…someone else'll take credit for it won't they?'
'Ron,' Hermione huffed tiredly, 'this is all beside the point, why are you sat on a muggle roof, drunk?'
'Is that it?' Ron replied. His tone had become sad.
'Is what it?' Hermione replied.
'That…your reply to my little rant. Where did the Hermione Granger go who would get angry at me for being an insensitive prat and demand I apologise before carrying on the conversation or anything…anything else?'
He rubbed his face with his hands, the alcohol in his blood starting to form a dull throbbing in his head.
'Ron, I'm tired—'
'You're always tired.
'I'm supposed to be at work—'
'You're always at work.'
'I'm sick of you performing attention seeking antics just to prove a point!'
Ron stood up, with a wobble. He didn't like the way the roof and ground wouldn't stay still.
'And I'm sick of having to resort to these antics just to get to see my bloody FIANCEE!'
She looked genuinely shocked that he had shouted but he didn't care. This was better than not seeing her. He'd fight with her all day long if it meant he got to see her, talk to her, secretly tell her through his anger that he loved her.
He looked at her and he was alarmed to see tears in her eyes.
'We said we'd give it three years, Ron, that's what we agreed.'
'I know we did—'
'I know it's hard sometimes but…'
'But what?'
She shrugged. His eyes widened, this scared him more than anything. Hermione Granger was not known for being lost for words.
He wanted to take a step towards her, but as he looked down, the roof started spinning again. He looked up and tried to find his focus again, but he couldn't. He closed his eyes and blinked, trying to get his brain to co-operate. He took a deep breath hoping the fresh air would help his brain function properly. It didn't. He started to sway.
'Ron, are you okay?'
He nodded his head. 'M'fine,' he mumbled.
He moved his right foot a few inches forward hoping a new position would help his balance. His leg went from underneath him. He was falling, someone was screaming his name, then everything went black.
…oooOOOooo…
There was a throbbing in his head. He screwed up his eyes further and pressed his heavy hands to his temples.
'Ron?' a voice said to his right.
'Mmm,' he mumbled, slowly coming to.
'Can you open your eyes for me, Ron?'
He opened his eyes a crack and was happy to see the main light wasn't on, just a soft glow of candles around him.
He finally prised his eyes as far open as he thought was wise and looked around him.
A delicate hand wrapped around his and he felt a small kiss be placed on his thumb.
'Ron?'
'Hermione?' he croaked.
'I'm here,' she said softly. 'Do you hurt anywhere?'
'My head,' he mumbled trying hard to focus on her eyes.
She reached across him to the bedside table and picked up two small phials.
'Here,' she said, taking her hand from his and uncorking the bottles for him.
He took them in his hand and swallowed the two together, trusting Hermione in her potion choice. She knew about these things, as did he when he was concentrating on potions and remedies.
He let out a contented sigh when the pain in his head lessened and his thought became clearer.
The memories of his recent adventure crashed into his mind and he groaned quietly.
'What is it? Is the potion not working?' Hermione asked, her brow furrowing with concern.
'No, no, it is. I'm just…remembering…things…'
'What's the last thing you remember?' Hermione asked.
'Do I have to recount my idiocy right after I've woken up?'
Hermione managed half a smile.
'I'm afraid so. I just need to make sure you haven't damaged that brain of yours when you fell. So, which part of tonight's adventure do you remember last?'
''Er…you were hovering, we were shouting, and then someone…you I presume was screaming. I presume I passed out and fell?'
Hermione nodded her head sadly. 'You did. I'm sorry I didn't stop you falling at all. You caught me off guard, but I did manage to cushion your fall. I made sure you didn't bounce!'
Ron smiled. 'Thanks.'
They both fell silent, knowing they had to talk about what had happened and the reason behind it, but not really wanting to be the first to breach the subject.
'So,' Hermione said with a sigh.
'So,' Ron repeated, taking her hand in his and interlinking his fingers with hers.
'I'm sorry,' Hermione stated simply.
Ron looked up at her, trying to gauge whether she had finished talking or not. She looked into his eyes and took a deep breath.
'I didn't realise that it had been over a week since I'd been home at a reasonable hour. Days have been merging into each other recently and it's hard to keep track. I'm so tired at the minute, but there just isn't time to sleep properly. No wonder there's a high leaving rate.'
'There is?' Ron asked quietly.
Hermione nodded. 'It's not surprising really. Apparently people go in with all the intentions to have a life as well as be an unspeakable but most of them either leave or their home life falls apart.'
'Oh,' Ron mumbled.
'I just really wanted to be able to juggle both! There's nothing more challenging than working as an Unspeakable so that was why I wanted to do it, but I love you too much to—'
She stopped speaking, and Ron wasn't surprised to see tears in her eyes. He sat up quickly, and pulled Hermione to him before she could protest that he should be resting.
He felt her grip his t-shirt tightly in her hands and felt her try to keep her tears under control.
'Look, Hermione, I need to apologise for tonight.' Ron said into her hair. 'I shouldn't have got drunk and I shouldn't have done my oh-so-ingenious plan just so I could talk to you. I should have made more of an effort to talk to you here. I just…missed you.'
He felt Hermione try and shake her head against him.
'There's no need—'
'There is a need, Hermione. We said we'd give it three years and after one and a half I'm throwing my teddy out the pram and behaving like a two year old having a tantrum because I'm not getting enough attention! It's not just your schedule that's a pain in the arse, mine isn't the best either! The only way we could guarantee the same timetables is if we worked at the same place!'
He managed a half smile, but it slipped when Hermione pulled back.
'What?' she asked as she wiped her face of her tears.
'What?' he asked in reply.
'You just said, "if we worked at the same place",'
'I know I did.' Ron replied, working out where Hermione was going with this thread of conversation.
'Could we?' she asked tentatively.
Ron smiled at Hermione. 'No, Hermione. You couldn't live with the boring work of a regular Auror after all the things I imagine you've seen and done.'
'Why couldn't you become an unspeakable? You said the other day that compared to the Horcrux hunt and the final fight with Snake Head that it was 'a little boring and predictable.'
'But I couldn't…I can't—'
Hermione punched his arm.
'Be careful how you finish that sentence, Ron Weasley! You know how I get when you put yourself down.'
'Well can you honestly see me as an Unspeakable?'
Hermione gave a cheeky grin. 'Would you like my personal or professional answer?'
Ron's brow furrowed. 'Er, I dunno! Which one will I like best?'
Hermione laughed out loud. 'I'm not sure exactly. I'll go for the professional one first, I don't think I've done anything that you couldn't easily cope with, and we could at least talk about work at work and leave it there. I think that would help me out. I know you're not supposed to bring work home, but you just knowing what I'd done would help me, I think. But that's beside the point. You could easily do it, Ron. We could give it a try at least.'
'But…I…I dunno, Hermione. I just can't see it!'
'Can I tell you what I can see?' Hermione asked, blushing slightly.
'Why Miss Granger, I do believe you are blushing!'
'Oh be quiet, Weasley!' she said with a chuckle. 'I distinctly remember you saying you liked me in my uniform. I think I can safely say seeing you in the same uniform would make me rather happy too!'
She leaned forward and captured his lips with hers. He kissed her back hungrily, realising how much he had missed this sort of contact with her. He moaned contentedly and then sighed when she pulled back.
'But Hermione! If I'm wearing your uniform, what will you wear?' he asked with a grin.
Hermione swatted him on the side of the head, but he caught her hands and laid back on the bed taking her down with him, then rolled over and pinned her underneath him. She couldn't help but grin up at him.
He smiled at her but his expression became serious.
'Look, Hermione, I am a little bit curious about being an unspeakable, although I'm not getting my hopes up at all, but, whatever happens, I really am sorry for pulling a guilt trip on you. I read all about your antics in the Prophet, without your name being mentioned, but I just know it's you that's behind all these really positive and good things that are happening, and I get all excited for you and then I can't see you because you're doing more of it.'
He brushed a stray strand of hair off her forehead.
'The only other option I could think of than causing a scene was to become some really evil dark wizard that the Aurors couldn't handle and they'd call you lot in to deal with me. That way I could see you when you were at work!'
Hermione couldn't help but smile. 'I'm flattered you'd go to that much trouble!'
Ron chuckled. 'For you, nothing is too much trouble. But, you know, if you ever need saving, I'll be there, but without the fancy levitation!'
Hermione brought her head off the pillow and kissed him.
'You know,' she said, a small glint in her eye, 'there are some other spells which I believe could be used to our advantage.'
Ron's brow furrowed in confusion. 'How do you mean?'
She kissed him fiercely and ran her foot up the back of Ron's leg. He broke the kiss.
'I think becoming an Unspeakable would be a fantastic idea. With both of us working on new spells, who knows what we could get up to!'
If you would be so kind as to let me know what you think, it would, as always, be much appreciated :D