Life after war
2005:
Hermione wakes up, she's wearing Ron's shirt. Ron is standing by the closet.
"So it's time to wake up now, is it?" Ron teases and puts on a t-shirt.
Hermione rubs her eyes and slowly sits up.
"Yeah, I thought so" she plays along.
"Well, I missed you," Ron says and kisses her on the lips.
"Missed me?" she asks, "you fell asleep before me"
"But still" He kisses her lips again and sits down next to her.
"What time is it?" Hermione slowly asks.
"About..." Ron says and looks at the little clock on the bedside table next to them, "8.20"
"8.20!?" Hermione says in shock and stands up, "I'm so late"
She almost runs over to the closet and begins to look for clothes.
Ron looks at his wife and bursts into laughter.
Hermione slowly turns around and stares at him with a questioning stare.
"What?" You can clearly hear how annoyed she is by her husband.
"It's Saturday" Ron laughs.
She drops the pants she's holding and lean against the wall.
"Why didn't you say so?" she asks, trying to look mad.
Ron just stares at her with a smile on his lips.
Hermione can't stay mad long when he smiles, he knows that.
She can fight off death eaters and break into Gringotts, but she can't stay mad at her husband.
She sits down next to him on the bed. He gives her a hard kiss on her lips and goes out to the kitchen.
"Do you want some coffee?" he shouts from the kitchen.
Hermione smiles to herself. How did they end up here?
"Yeah" she shouts back, "I'll be right there!"
She looks around in the bedroom.
Right in front of her in the little balcony and straight to her left are a drawer and next to that the closet. Except for that, the bedside table and all the stuff on and in the drawer, on the bedside table and on the floor, the room is empty. But she wouldn't call their apartment empty. Never.
Rather messy.
They got things everywhere. Everything from pictures of themselves and their friends to a letter Ron got from Dobby in fifth grade to old flowers and small boxes with stuff in them.
And how hard Hermione even try to clean it up, it always seems to be something stopping her.
She ties her hair up and goes to the kitchen.
The kitchen is pretty small but actually pretty clean. Probably the cleanest room in the whole flat.
There's a stove, freezer, refrigerator, oven and some countertops. And a little table with two chairs. Whenever they have guests they have to eat in the living room.
In the middle of the kitchen stands Ron. In a loose T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He looks at his wife when she enters the room. She's just wearing his shirt, which looks completely oversized on her, but he likes it.
One of the things Ron loves the most about Hermione is when she is just woken up. She looks so calm and relaxed when she doesn't have to hurry to the Ministry.
Hermione stops when she notices that Ron is staring at her.
He doesn't say a word. Just stares.
"Shit!" he shouts when he accidentally cuts his finger while staring at Hermione.
She walks up next to him.
"Are you okay?" she whispers.
Ron flushes of his finger under the water in the sink.
"I love you," he says and looks at his wife, who's standing right next to him, staring into his eyes.
Hermione loves that Ron is a little taller than her. It makes her have to look a little upwards whenever she wants to look into his eyes.
She leans in and kisses him while hugging him.
"You don't have to act strong in front of me," she says.
Ron nods.
"So how much does it hurt?" Hermione asks.
"A lot" Ron cries.
Hermione giggles and kisses his cheek.
"Want a band-aid?" she says while walking over to a shelf.
"Yep," Ron cries, "It's bleeding!"
Hermione looks at her husband, sitting on a chair, holding one of his hands in the other, looking like he just got stabbed with a sword. He's staring intensely at the fingers.
She can't stop herself from laughing. She starts to laugh really hard.
"What?" Ron says and looks at Hermione with a confused face.
She tries to get herself together and to stop laughing but she just can't. The worst part is that she starts to laugh even harder.
"Your husband is bleeding to death and you're laughing?!" Ron says with a jokingly angry stare in her direction.
"Sorry" she laughs. She once again tries to stop laughing and once again she fails.
Instead of trying again she puts the band-aid on Ron's finger and kisses him on the cheek.
"I love you too" she whispers in his ear.
Ron smiles at her.
"So what do you want to do today?" he asks.
"I don't know," Hermione says, "maybe..."
A strong knock on the door interrupts her.
"I'll open," Ron says and walks to the door.
When he opens Harry and Ginny appears in the door.
"Hi?" Ron says.
"Hi Ron," Harry says, "Where's Hermione?"
"In the kitchen," Ron says.
A tense silence appears between them.
"Soo..." Ron starts, "What are you guys doing here?"
"Are you joking?" Ginny asks.
"No" Ron answers. He has no idea why they are here.
"You invited us over," Harry says.
"I did?" Ron says.
"Yeah" Ginny looks with an annoyed face at her brother.
"So can we come in?" Harry asks.
"Uhm..." Ron says, "Yeah sure"
Harry and Ginny stepped into the flat and closes the door behind them.
"Who was it?" Hermione shouts from the kitchen.
"Just us" Ginny shouts back.
"And who is us?" Hermione says while entering the living room where Ron, Ginny, and Harry already is standing.
"Tadaaa," Ginny says.
"Um..." Hermione says.
Harry looks away from the window and looks at Hermione.
"Oh God" He sighs, "Seriously Hermione, Can you put some more clothes on?"
Hermione laughs nervously and says:
"Yeah, Sorry" And goes back to the bedroom.
Harry stares at Ron.
Ginny starts to stare at Harry.
Ron looks between the both.
"What's going on?" He asks.
"Remember," Harry says calmly, "That's my sister. If you hurt her, I will murder you in your sleep"
Ginny punches Harry's leg.
"And remember," Ron says, "That's my sister. If you hurt her I will murder you in your sleep"
Both Harry and Ron burst out laughing. Ginny stares at them both when Hermione enters the room, this time dressed in jeans and a sweater.
"What's going on?" Hermione asks.
"They are having one of their weird Do Not Hurt My Sister- Moments" Ginny explains.
"Again?" Hermione sighs.
Ginny nods.
When Harry and Ron finally can make them selves stop laughing Ginny tells the group that she has an announcement to make.
So they all sit down on the sofas, Harry and Ginny on one and Hermione and Ron on the other.
"You want to tell them?" Ginny asks Harry.
"Yeah sure," Harry says, he looks kind of excited.
He takes a deep breath and takes Ginny's hand.
"So..." He says, "Ron, about not hurting your sister..."
"What have you done?!" Ron says jokingly.
Harry ignores Ron's question and continues:
"Well, it might... It happened... I'm not sure..."
"What do you mean you're not sure?" Ginny asks.
"Well you said it," Harry says, "You might be lying"
"Really?!" Ginny says, "Why would I lie about that?"
"Uhm..." Harry starts, "I don't know. Sorry, my love"
He kisses Ginny on the cheek.
"Can someone just tell us already?!" Hermione almost shouts.
"Well..." Ginny says.
"Ginny is pregnant!" Harry says full of excitement
"What?!" Ron shouts.
"Yeah" Ginny nods.
"Congratulations!" Hermione screams.
"How...?" Ron says.
"Ron I don't want to tell you how it happens," Harry says.
"You obviously already know how to do," Hermione says and crosses her arms.
Ron laughs nervously and Ginny looks slightly traumatized.
"I'm going to be an aunt!" Hermione screams. She hugs Ginny tightly and then hugs Harry too.
"You're going to be a dad" she whispers in his ear.
"I know" Harry laughs, then he looks serious, "What if the baby is anything like me?"
"It probably will be," Ron says.
"Ginny," Harry says with a slight hint of panic in his voice, "The baby will be a mix of me and you"
"Yeah?" Ginny says, "you don't say"
"And Ron is your brother" He continues
"Yep"
"And Ron and I and two of your other brothers flew a car over London to the burrow when we were 12!" he says with a stronger hint of panic in his voice"
"Calm down," Ginny says.
"Well I'm going to get something to drink," Hermione says, "Ron can you help me?"
Ron and Hermione go to the kitchen.
"So... Your little sister in pregnant" Hermione says, "How does it feel?"
"I want to punch Potter in the face," Ron says.
Hermione laughs.
"Please don't," she says,
"Can you take these?" She asks and hands him four glasses. He takes them and they walk back into the living room, where they find Harry and Ginny making out on the couch.
Ron clears his throat loudly.
They eminently stop to make out and looks at Ron and Hermione.
Harry makes a little fake cough. And Ginny makes sure her makeup isn't smushed out.
"Sooo," Hermione says and sits down on the other couch with Ron next to her.