[A/N]: Hey everybody, and once again welcome to another exciting one-shot! I really love these two, and I think they're absolutely adorable together, so I just have to satisfy a little sweet tooth every once in a while. Nothing serious here, just fluff with some drama but not anything major. Don't worry, there's a happy ending to this story!

Hermione had to admit that she was enjoying herself.

The scars from the Battle of Hogwarts were painfully bitter, and there were still many holes that were left from the havoc that was wreaked that night. She and Ron had not found much time to themselves lately, but today was different. Today was a day devoted entirely to enjoyment, love, and healing. It was Slughorn's first post-Voldemort dinner gathering. He had extended the invitation to his closest friends, inviting them to spend the day at his new manor house. Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Neville, as well as a few other students were present. Neville was accompanied by Luna, while Hermione was of course with Ron, partly in hope that he would no longer be remembered as Wallenby.

Slughorn's new manor was located in the middle of acres and acres of gardens, criss-crossed with lovely winding streams and dappled with small ponds. While his grand driveway was lined with weathered oaks, his gardens were inhabited by lush groves of cedar and pine. It was in such a grove that Hermione had found such pleasure with Ron. They had been spending the afternoon getting to know each other better on the banks of a dabbling brook, as well as in the icy water.

As she snuggled up to Ron's chest, he sighed. "Do you feel bad about this? Like we shouldn't be doing it?"

"What do you mean? It's a little late to have doubts now."

"No, no, nothing like that. It just feels wrong to be doing this on someone else's land. It takes away our independence, don't you think? Almost makes it feel like an affair, not a serious relationship."

"Ron, think about it for a moment. I'll bet you anything Harry and Ginny are doing the same thing somewhere else. I'd also be willing to bet that their first time was in a much more awkward place."

A huge grin split Ron's face. "You're right, of course. All those poor tapestries at Hogwarts…"

"Ron! That makes them sound dreadful! You shouldn't talk of your best friend that way, let alone your sister!"

"I was just joking! What time is it? Slughorn's dinner starts at six." Hermione didn't answer, instead closing her eyes and listening to the birds singing. After a few minutes, Ron's voice came back to her. "Do you ever wonder if this is really it? It seems like we've beaten Voldemort every year, and he just finds some way to return. Can we really expect to just live happily ever after? What if this paradise doesn't go on forever? What if it ends? Will we really be able to handle it? This whole thing reminds me of watching Harry dive into that frozen pool to get the sword of Gryffindor. All seems well right now, but at any moment, something may take hold, and there is every possibility that we will drown"

Silence followed this statement for a few moments before Hermione said, "I don't care what happens as long as I'm with you." There was a long period of pause after this during which Hermione squeezed Ron's hand harder than ever before. "Come on, it's nearly six, and we wouldn't want to be late for dinner."

~discidium~

As Hermione and Ron made their way through the entrance hall and into the grand dining room, they kissed one last time. The great wooden doors boomed open, and the pair saw that the table was already supporting about thirty people, Slughorn at its head. Hermione saw that there were only four seats left, two about halfway down the table on the left, and two directly to one side of Slughorn on the right. Realizing that Harry and Ginny were missing, Hermione smirked and led Ron to the seats on the left.

"Hello Miss Granger, and that must be Mr. Weasley, correct? I did hope that you would come. I regretted not sending an invitation."

Ron looked flustered by his sudden and unexpected recognition. Hermione laughed and whispered, "I might have had Harry speak with him."

"Well, my friends, we shall be off soon enough; we are missing but two of our number. Where is that rascal Harry and his lady? I'm sure that there were here earlier!" Just as he said it, the doors once again boomed open and in ran a rather out of breath Ginny, followed closely by a forcibly composed Harry.

"Sorry Sir," Ginny said quietly. "We were out… walking, and lost track of time." Ron snorted, earning dark looks from both Ginny and Hermione. However, Harry smiled and winked at his friend.

"Well that's quite alright, my lovely dear. Would you be so kind as to take a seat here by me?" Slughorn motioned towards the two remaining chairs, and there was a pause as they moved towards them. When they sat, Slughorn continued into a small speech. "My friends, it is wonderful to see that we are all here. The past few months have been stricken with grief and madness, and it is unfortunate that we lost so many loved ones and family members. I would like this feast to honor all those who fought against the Dark Lord. I would like to honor those who had the courage to fight and die for their cause, to let them know that their lives could not be wastes against such a monster. I want to also honor the living amongst us, to let them know that they are lucky to still laugh, love, and live. All humans have courage and bravery, and we all displayed it not only that fateful night at Hogwarts, but throughout the entire time that our good ministry was corrupted and darkness ruled. You may think that I have invited you here today because of your connections, or your lineage, but these are of no value to me anymore. Every last one of you played a huge part in the Battle of Hogwarts. Each of you put your life on the line to defeat He-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named. I wish I could have had a party for every survivor of the Battle, and perhaps I will someday. But I recognized that all of you did amazing things. Harry has recently informed me that two people in this room tonight did not receive invitations, but he told me why they deserved to be here, and Harry's word is good enough for me." Slughorn raised his glass. "To courage!"

"To courage!"

The feast commenced, with food appearing on the silver platters much in the same way that it did at Hogwarts. Hermione could easily think of many others who deserved to be there and were not, but she understood that Slughorn could not be everywhere at once. Looking around, she noticed that there were no Hogwarts professors present. Surely Slughorn could not have missed all of them doing their part in the battle?

"Sir?" she called down the table.

Slughorn, who was having an animated conversation with Neville about his plans for the future, looked up and replied, "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Excuse me, Sir, but I couldn't help notice that there are no professors here. We have all either just graduated or are still in Hogwarts. Surely you saw at least some of the professors during the Battle?"

"Miss Granger, how observant! Yes, Professor McGonagall arranged for a party for all of the professors, as well as most of the Order, several days ago."

Hermione was unsure why this meant that they could not attend this one as well, but Ron mumbled, "Don't even worry about it. The old bat will probably forget your name by the end of the party." Her attention turned back to other matters.

~discidium~

The dinner gathering last until well after nine, and all of those in attendance staggered out with bulging bellies and only slightly cloudy minds. To Hermione's delight, Ron had remained a perfect gentleman and had hardly touched his wine. As he stood to leave, he helped Hermione out of her seat, offered her his arm, and then proceeded to march grandly all the way out of the hall and onto the driveway before Disapparating, which was a far cry from most of the men who barely managed to stumble out of the dining hall before departure.

Hermione was giggling as they arrived back at Diagon Alley. Ron glanced at her, smiling shrewdly, and said, 'What?"

She laughed and simply shook her head. Ron reached out his hand toward hers, took it, and pulled her close to him, and kissed her gently at first, but then with more passion and urgency. "Today was magical, Ron. I never want this to end."

Ron smiled and said, "It never will." He put his arm around her waist and kissed her gently one last time before taking her hands and leading her back towards his room in the Leaky Cauldron.

It was not a large room. It was reasonably furnished with a double bed, a padded sofa, a wooden table, a large chest of drawers, and a set of shelves. Hermione sat on the sofa, still smiling, while Ron removed his heavy dress robes and hung them from the top corner of the chest of drawers. He then walked over to where Hermione was removing her shoes and pulled her up towards him. He held her tightly for a moment, inhaling the scent of her hair, before leading her over the bed. Pulling her down beside him, he said, "Now, let's start where we left off this morning."

~discidium~

Hermione awoke with her hair in a tangled knot covering her face. She had been having a dream that was really a memory from the day before when she and Ron had been relaxing in a grove of pine trees. She brushed hair and sleep out of her eyes and looked up towards the dark ceiling of Ron's room at the Leaky Cauldron. After a few moments, she realized that he was missing. Sitting, she pulled the bed sheets up to her chin and looked about the room. Just as she did so, the door opened and Ron came in.

He grinned upon seeing her holding the bed sheets up and said, "There's no need for that anymore." Hermione blushed furiously but did not relinquish her hold on them. Ron held out a simple but elegant pink robe towards her and said, "I've just been to get one, because I didn't think you'd want to wear that massive dress from last night just to get home. Sorry about the color, but it was either that or lime green."

"Oh Ron, it's lovely!" There was a long pause during which Ron smiled at Hermione. "Ron… Yesterday was amazing, and last night was… well, last night, but I'm not sure if we're ready for this yet. I feel like we're still too young, and we need more experience, not just in…" she waved her hand vaguely at the bed, "but also in the world. I think it's a little early, don't you?"

Ron at first tried to pass it off as a joke. "Hermione, weren't you the one telling me yesterday that it was a little late to be having doubts?"

Hermione blushed again. "I've… I've thought it through, and I've realized that… I'm not really sure I'm ready for this." Ron paused for a moment, his mouth hung open in shock. His eyes began to tear up. He looked down at the dress, no longer smiling. "Oh Ron, don't take it like that, I just… I need… I need time to think."

Ron looked up at her and she saw tears trickle down from the little pools under her eyes. "Yeah, okay." He croaked, swallowing heavily. "I get it. Thinking. Yeah. I do that. Okay." He threw her newly purchased robe beside her on the bed, grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from his chest of drawers. "Alright then, I'll just… I'll just be off to the bathroom to get changed then, and I'll see you around."

Hermione watched him go with tears in her eyes. As he closed the door behind him, she said, "Ron…" She grabbed the robes he had offered and held them to her face, inhaling his scent. She had never, ever intended it to end that way. She had never wanted to see Ron leave the way he did. She remembered his face, the tears trailing down his cheeks, and the look of pain and confusion that had entered his eyes. Obviously he expected her to be gone when he returned.

Disjointedly, she slid on the robe and gathered all of her clothes from the previous night. She stumbled out of the room and down the staircase, tears falling freely from her cheeks. She ignored the looks of passerby as she moved through the bar area and walked out into the street. The autumn air had grown chilly overnight, and she quickly disapparated back to her small flat in London.

Once there, she set about removing the smearing makeup from her face, as well as her earrings and necklace. She held the latter up in front of her, examining it closely. It was two figures, a man and a woman, in a position of dance. It could be enchanted to make the two miniature people actually dance within the small golden heart that was the outer frame. The man's head was a fiery red ruby, whereas the woman had small pieces of brown topaz that were linked together to look like bushy locks of hair. She whispered the incantation and watched as the two figures twirled and whirled around one another in perfect harmony. Fresh tears graced her cheeks.

She dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a green and red sweater. She grabbed her "muggle wallet" from her nightstand before leaving the apartment. Not thinking about what she was doing, Hermione walked to the ground floor of the complex, and then down the road to the bus station. When the next bus stopped, she got on and said, "Where is the stop nearest to Grimmauld Place?"

"Grimmauld Place? That's close to Wemeyd Street, innit? So I'd say 'bout three miles. Is that 'right, Miss?"

"Yes, that should be fine." Hermione handed over a two pound note and moved along the bus. She took a seat about halfway down the bus, next to a man who was bent over his newspaper. As the bus lurched forward, she couldn't help but notice that the paper was the Daily Prophet, and that there was a plant in the man's lap that was clearly moving. He noticed her staring at him and said, "Can I help you?" Looking up, he exclaimed, "Hermione?!"

"Neville? What are you doing here?"

"Blimey, I'm working for the Ministry. I'm the head of the Protection of Magical Herbology, although I'm thinking about taking over at Hogwarts when Sprout retires. What about yourself?"

Hermione shuddered slightly. "It's going… It's going alright."

"How are you and Ron?" Hermione stared straight ahead, fighting off tears. "Oh, I see I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. We had a… a misunderstanding this morning. I'm not sure what's going to happen." Neville sat quietly, stroking his little plant thoughtfully.

He looked as though he would say more, but after a few moments, the driver called out, "Wemeyd Street!"

"Well, I'll be seeing you around soon, I expect. Goodbye Neville." Neville just nodded, still staring out the window and stroking his plant. Hermione briefly asked the driver, "Which way is Grimmauld Place. He pointed down a side street and Hermione said, "Thank you, Sir." The sky had taken on a stormy grey cast, and Hermione heard thunder in the distance, so she hurried along the quiet neighborhood street towards her destination. Within a few minutes, she was there on the familiar front step to which she had apparated so many times.

She reached up and slammed the heavy knocker three times, hearing a familiar voice call, "Don't worry about it Kreacher, I'll get it!" Within moments, the door swung open, and their stood the famous, charming, and handsome Boy Who Lived. "Well, hello Hermione. Where's Ron?" Hearing his name again made her burst into tears. She fell into Harry's arms, sobbing into his shoulder.

She heard a voice call, "Harry?" Lifting her head slightly, she saw Ginny coming down the hall. "Hermione?"

"Bring us some champagne, will you Ginny?"

"Yes, of course."

Harry led her through the house and into the sitting room. He sat down on the sofa, pulling Hermione down next to him. She held his arm, curling up against him. He smoothed her distraught hair down and whispered soothing words to her in comfort. She sobbed and sniffled, and made several attempts to speak, but it was clear she couldn't start a conversation. After a few minutes of sitting thus, Ginny came in. "The champagne you asked for."

"Thanks, sweetheart."

"Hermione, what is it honey?" Ginny asked comfortingly.

"I-It's Ron. H-h-he left this m-morning. I said that I didn't know if – if I was – was r-ready for u-us, and t-then he – he left!" Hermione continued crying into Harry's shoulder, and he continued to stroke her hair. Ginny patted her knee for a moment before the kettle began whistling. She quickly stood and left the room. When she left, Harry tilted Hermione's head up and let his lips brush each of her cheeks, wiping the tears away.

"Hermione, Ron loves you more than anything. He wants to be with you every second. I know you love him too, but not the way he needs you. Here you are, the object of his existence, telling him that he can't have you. Of course he's going to be upset. He's talked himself into believing that he's ready, whether he is or not. You know that you are not. He cannot comprehend that. He cannot imagine living without you.

"I love you too, Hermione, but not in the same way. I love you like a sister. I depend on you. I do not think that Ron has left you. I think that he, like you, needs time to think. He is lucky to have you, and he knows it. He will not be parted from you so easily. You both need to realize that your relationship is too precious to waste. He knows that if he leaves you, he will throw away his entire life. You know that you will never truly love another. You are destined for each other, and you both know it. You just need to come to terms with it."

Harry pulled her into a hug that lasted for well over five minutes. Then he stood and gently pulled her up with him. The tears had stopped, and while she was still upset, a new hope had been shed onto the situation for her. "Come on, let's have some tea, and you can stay with us until we get this all sorted out.

~discidium~

The wind ruffled through his ginger hair as Ron Weasley sat in the sand outside of Shell Cottage. He gazed into the deep ocean waves and at the horizon in the distance. The horizon was constantly changing, moving with the rhythm of the ocean, and Ron imagined that the horizon was like his mind. It was an optical illusion. It was always there, and yet you could never reach it. That was like his mind in many ways.

He was thinking about Hermione. About how much he needed her. He had arrived here this morning. Bill was in Romania visiting Charlie, and Fleur was staying with her mum for the weekend. The cottage was empty, and Ron had sat in front of the small hearth for hours, fighting back tears. When he finally awoke from his dreamy state, he had made a sandwich and brought it out to the beach.

The sun was dipping in the cloudless sky, turning it a deep orange atop the cottage behind him. The sky over the ocean remained an even color with the waves, and Ron squinted to make out his mind in between the two. Sand sifted between his toes as he thought.

Ron's mind wandered what the moment of peace and beauty would have been like with Hermione by his side. He thought about her words from that morning.

I'm not really sure I'm ready for this.

This thought swirled around Ron's mind. He knew, deep down in his soul where it mattered most, that Hermione was right. He refused to admit it to himself, however. He remembered the necklace he had given her for her birthday. It was one of the most complicated charms he had ever performed, getting the figures to dance, but it had been worth it. He remembered the tears in Hermione's eyes when he had given it to her, and remembered the feel of her hands as she had taken it, treating it as if it were a newborn child.

His memory continued to tease him as it stretched farther and farther back into the past. He remembered their first kiss in the Chamber of Secrets. He remembered the feeling of his hands in her soaking wet hair. He remembered the taste of her breath. He remembered her back in their sixth year, when he had been getting a bit too intimate with Lavender. He supposed he could thank her, as it was really his relationship with her that had made him realize where his heart belonged.

Stretching even farther, he recalled their fourth year, and how beautiful Hermione had looked coming down the staircase, all dressed up for the Yule Ball. He remembered a night of envy and torment as she danced song after song with Victor Krum. Through all of these memories, Ron had a vision. He needed Hermione more than the very Earth he lived on. He would give anything up to be with her.

~discidium~

Harry first apparated to Ron's flat. He waited outside, banging on the door and calling for Ron to answer, but to no avail. It was obvious that Ron was not there. He next tried the Burrow. Molly and Arthur Weasley were sitting in front of a television, which had been a Christmas present from Charlie. Arthur had been fascinated by how it worked, and Molly just rolled her eyes and used it properly instead of taking it apart and finding Arthur's collectable pieces.

Harry knocked on the door, and Arthur jumped up. "I'll get it, dear!" For a man his age, he was still very nimble on his feet. He worked his way around the large, overstuffed sofas and armchairs of their small living room, stepping over the little robots and other inventions that he had been tinkering with. He swung the top of the door open, and, seeing that it was Harry, hurriedly opened the bottom. "Harry my boy, do come in! Where's Ginny?"

"She's with Hermione."

"What do you mean, 'With Hermione'? Shouldn't Ron be with Hermione?"

"That's what I need to ask you about. You don't know where Ron is, do you?"

"Well, he was at Slughorn's dinner party yesterday. Oh, but of course, you already know that. You were there weren't you, with Ginny? I must be getting frightfully old if I can't remember things like that. Yes, my memory must be fading away. Why, just the other day I…" Harry coughed politely. "But listen to me carry on! I don't know, my boy. Why, has he gone missing?"

"Well, yes and no. He and Hermione had a… misunderstanding, and she can't find him."

"Oh dear, oh dear, um… Oh, dear!" he said, calling to his wife. "You wouldn't know where Ron is, by any chance?"

"No, but if he's missing, try Bill and Fleur's place!"

"Well, there you have it, my boy. I would definitely try…" Arthur stopped because there was no one there. Harry was already gone.

~discidium~

Hermione was sitting on the bed next to Ginny, still crying, when they heard Ron's voice at the bottom of the stairs. "Hermione!" Hermione jumped up in surprise, squealing and rubbing the tears away. "Hermione? I know you're up there! I have Harry with me. Hermione, I'm sorry!" Hermione rose and made her way to the landing while Ron climbed the staircase. They met halfway down, and she looked into his eyes only for a moment before kissing him deeply.

"Ron, I'm sorry about everything I said this morning. Please don't…" Her voice was muffled by another kiss.

"I understand, Hermione. I've been thinking all day, and I really do understand. You and I both need some time. And believe me, you're worth all the time in the world." He kissed her lightly, and she kissed back. They remained like this until Hermione pulled back.

"Ron, I'm sorry."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

After that, there was nothing more to be said.

[A/N]: Well, I hope you loved it, and please tell me what you thought regardless. Remember, a real person spent days writing what you just read, and I'm sure that they would appreciate a little review. Thanks again!