So this is my first Fanfic! Based on the lyrics of Stay, Stay, Stay by Taylor Swift. Let me know what you think :D
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters
Hermione Granger was gazing thoughtfully at the bedroom door waiting for her boyfriend, Ron Weasley, to come out. Last night they had had a terrible fight – and right now Hermione couldn't for the life of her remember what it was about. She remembered yelling and screaming – about some ridiculous thing that Ron had done (again!). Ron had been standing there smirking, she knew that he loved getting her riled up, but she was NOT in the mood. She remembered glaring at him aggressively and shrilly exclaiming, "Ronald, wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you!" His grin had widened and she picked up her book and threw it at his head. He dodged it with his fast Quidditch reflexes, but his smile had disappeared and he had stood there momentarily shocked. He had turned on his heel and walked out of their room.
Ron had slept on the couch that night. Not a word was spoken between the pair, but Hermione was scared. Never before had she gotten so angry, and she had never seen Ron look that appalled. What if he decided that he didn't want her anymore? What if she had finally argued too much? What if...
She had spent the night reading books by relationship witches (like "How to Understand Your Wizard", "Witch Relationship Problem?" and "Alohomora: Keys to Unlocking Your Wizard's Heart"). One thing they all had in common was: don't let a fight go unresolved. So that's why she was sitting on the couch this morning, watching the door, waiting for Ron to come out. She steeled her nerves and called out, "Ronald? We need to talk about last night." Even she could hear the tremor in her voice.
She heard his muffled reply of "coming" and wondered what he was doing that was taking so long. She held her breath as the doorknob to their room turned, and Ron walked out grinning.
She couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. Ron was wearing his old Keeper helmet on his head and smiling that intoxicating smile of his.
"I thought I might need this." He grinned, "The weather wizard predicted a book storm for today!"
Hermione all but flung herself at him and kissed him enthusiastically, all thoughts of their fight leaving her head.
"I love you!" she exclaimed.
Ron stood there dumbfounded for a moment, before Hermione realised that they had never said the 'L-word' to each other. She blushed and started to look away, cursing herself, but Ron grabbed her chin gently and turned her face to look at his. He smiled, softly this time, and whispered, "I love you too, Hermione Granger. And don't you ever forget it!" before kissing her passionately.
Hermione was lost in thought as she watched Ron carry her shopping bags to the car. She didn't have much relationship experience, but she knew that he was different from lots of other guys. At Hogwarts she had a a crush on Gilderoy Lockhart(she shook her head at that memory) and that one date she had with Cormac McLaggen. Cormac had spent the whole night talking about how absolutely amazing he was at Quidditch and griping at Hermione like it was her fault that he wasn't on the Gryffindor Quidditch team – it was, but he didn't know that – it had made Hermione want to throw her butterbeer in his face. Ron was different; he could always make her smile even on her worse days.
He was shaking his head as they walked towards the car (Hermione still insisted on doing some things the Muggle way) and mumbling under his breath about the insanity of Muggles. Hermione smiled to herself at this, even though he complained that Muggle shopping was slow and that carrying bags instead of magicking them home was pointless, he insisted on taking them from her every time.
They drove home joking about some of the crazy Muggles they had seen at the shops. It was a game of theirs: they tried to invent reasons why they were buying certain things. As the pulled up to their apartment, Ron was in the middle of a detailed explanation of an orange and salami meatloaf that he suspected that one Muggle woman was going to bake in a pair of sneakers. Hermione was giggling as she reached for some of the shopping, but Ron shooed her hands away grinning.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "At least let me get the eggs!" He shook his head and continued his fantastical tale.
As they walked up the stairs laughing loudly together, Ron tripped and fell over his shoelace sending the shopping bags flying.
Ron sat on the ground looking up at Hermione, his eyes wide, with lettuce strewn all over his clothes. She couldn't help it, she exploded with laughter, she laughed till she nearly couldn't breathe. Ron just sat there staring at her, eggs yolk dripping down his long nose and onto his lap. Suddenly he looked up with an evil glint in his eye.
Hermione stopped laughing and eyed him suspiciously. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"You think that this is funny?" Ron questioned, reaching for one of the bags.
Hermione shook her head and started backing away slowly. Ron got up and moved towards her with his hands behind his back.
"Are you sure?" He asked again and gazed into her eyes.
Hermione nodded her head as she backed into the wall. There was nowhere to go, but staring into Ron's eyes she couldn't remember why she was supposed to be running. Ron moved closer to her, his face was only a couple of centimetres from her own. Her breath hitched as he reached his hand up to stroke her hair – or so she thought.
Ron pecked her on the lips and started to back up the stairs. Hermione stood there dumbfounded for a couple of seconds, as the yolk from the egg Ron had just cracked on her head dribbled down her forehead.
"Ronald Weasley! You are SO dead!" Hermione shrieked as she started to chase him up the stairs, all thoughts of the shopping on the floor forgotten. As she chased him up to their apartment she smiled to herself, she knew that Ron was the man that she wanted to spend her whole life with, even though he infuriated her at times.
Hermione sat on the couch carefully sipping the tea that Ron had just brought over to her. She had had a tough day but was smiling as Ron was sitting across from her telling a crazy story from work. A kid had eaten a Custard Canary at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes thinking it was just a normal custard tart. She giggled as Ron explained how he and George had chased the yellow bird around the shop for half an hour trying to get him down.
He finished his story and looked up at her, his eyes reading her tired expression and posture.
"Ministry getting you down?" Ron prodded gently, he knew work was a touchy subject at the moment.
"How can you tell?" She sighed and put down her mug.
He shook his head as he replied. "I've known you for over 10 years Hermione, I can just tell these things."
He was right about that. He had known from the moment she had walked in the door tonight that she needed a tea to calm down. He had piled her books and folders neatly on the desk in the corner because he could tell she wasn't in the mood to work. And right now, he was sitting there calmly waiting for her to start talking because he knew that she like to get her thoughts in order before talking through her day. She smiled slightly to herself at this, he just knew her so well.
"More protests today?" Ron queried, trying to prompt her into talking.
She sighed heavily again. "Yes, down in Devon. Some pure-bloods rallying against having to pay their elves. They say that it goes against the ancient traditions, and that a Mudblood like me wouldn't understand!"
Ron got up from his seat at this and moved to her side. She cursed herself as silent tears made their way down her cheeks. He used his thumb to wipe away the tears and pulled her close for a hug. He knew how much that horrible word still hurt her.
He pulled away and looked deeply into her eyes. "Hermione, don't listen to a word those disgusting people say! You are the most amazing witch I have ever met! One day when you have freed all the house elves from their slavery, they will have no choice but to look up to you! You are changing the wizarding world one creature at a time."
His words tugged at her heart and she had to smile. She was slowly realising that he had memorised every part of her. Everything that she had ever hoped, or dreamed or feared he knew about. He knew all about her little quirks: the way she liked to read in the strangest positions, the way she sung in the shower when she was in a good mood and the OCD way that she colour organised her robes.
She thought about all the fights that they had ever had; from the silly little ones (like how he used to call the Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare spew) to the big ones where she was terrified that he would leave, but he had stayed. He always stayed. He smiled when he made her frustrated but he was always there for her no matter what. She realised that she didn't know how she could ever live without him.
She leaned forward and kissed him passionately, trying to convey all of these emotions into one kiss. Ron looked slightly shocked but kissed her back just as passionately.
"What was that for?" He asked breathlessly, as she finally pulled away.
She smiled at him, "I was just thinking about how much I love you. And how I hope that you will stay with me forever."
Ron smiled widely back at her and reached for the pocket of his robes, pulling out a blue velvet box.
"You know what... I was just thinking the exact same thing..."