(A/N: This story started out a piece of purposeless fluff, but mid
paragraph, it went out the window and I decided to take the rating up and
make it a bit more interesting (I'm new at this kind of fic so no flames).
It's a bit sad and I'm sorry about Harry, but I had to do what I had to do.
Happy ending inevitable so don't worry. I hope that you enjoy!)
A Cup of Coffee, a Spot of Tea, and a Second Chance
By: Chaser-Chick
"Yuck! What is that?" Ron Weasley said as he looked down at a cup filled with a black substance, "It looks like dirty water, very dirty water."
"It's not dirty water, Ron," Hermione laughed, "it's coffee and it's very good if you'll give it a chance. It's like the America's tea. Coffee."
Ron sniffed it and pushed it away saying, "Thanks, but no thank, Herms. You might have adjusted to it, but for me some things will never change. I'll stick with my roots. Do you have any tea?"
Hermione sighed, but hidden behind her exasperation was a smile. She hadn't seen Ron in such a long time and he hadn't changed one bit. Maybe he had grown, if at all possible, taller, maybe his freckles had faded, and his hair had darkened, but he had not changed. He was still the same Ron that he had always been.
And deep down, under the new addition of make-up, under the status of top student she put so much work into to preserve, under the new sets of robes that were the latest in fashion, under the appearance of being perfect she was also the same Hermione that she had always been. No matter where she was, she was the same person. No matter how hard she tried to move on, she was always missing something. No matter where she ran or what excuse she had to leave, there was always the fact that running changed nothing, but only made it worse. And since she was the same Hermione, when it caught up with her, she would always run away.
And since both of them were the same people, the problem was the same. A problem left too long unsolved. Hermione knew why he had looked so hard to find her. She hadn't made it easy. She had moved across the ocean. She had attended an elite school that was little known of. She had even changed her name. Then he had shown up early that evening and it had been like old times. Except there had been that same problem. The problem that haunted her very dreams even now, and if him coming so far to see her was any indication, it must have still haunted his too.
"All right," Hermione sighed, "if you must have tea." Ron smiled back at her from the table and Hermione sighed louder at his unwillingness to give anything new a try.
She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a teacup from the cabinet. It had been so long since she had guests. Sure, there were the occasional visits from friends at school for studying groups, but she never really got to know anyone. It was too risky. She had worked so hard to disappear as completely as she had done. Not even her parents knew exactly where she was. She sent them an owl every-once-in-a-while to let them know that she was still doing good in school and was alive, but despite their pleas for her to come home, despite their return letters asking to know where she was, despite how much they missed her she would never tell them anything.
Hermione pointed her wand toward the inside of the cup and tea began to flow out of the tip. How had he found her? She had taken every step to prevent this and yet it still happened. Hermione knew that the real reason he was here was not to pay an old friend a visit and she knew that when she returned it would not be avoidable. She knew Ron well, and he knew her well. If she didn't bring it up he would, but first there were other things to address.
A minute later Hermione returned with a tray bearing sugar, cream, and a cup of tea. Her coffee-along with the cup that Ron rejected-was already on the table. It was still warm in her hand when she sat down opposite Ron and took a sip. Ron reached over, took the teacup, and began to fix his tea. Hermione watched him as her poured in the same mounts of ingredients. Ron had always had a large sweet tooth and took his tea very sweet, and it looked like two years had not changed that. Hermione had always taken her tea with plenty cream, but now she drank her coffee black.
Hermione watched as Ron took a sip. There was no denying what was to come. Least she could do was get questions answered first.
"How did you find me?" Hermione asked with her head down.
Ron finished his sip and put down the cup with a soft thud on the table. He began to speak in a low voice that sent a chill down Hermione's spine. She had not heard that voice in so long.
"I read your paper on blocking unforgivable curses and tracked you down from there with the help of a few .resources."
"But that was."
"I know. It was under the name Harmony Grant. But when I read it I knew that it was you. For the number of times I had copied your work, I could tell your writing style within the first paragraph. I also knew you started that paper in seventh year. I told you you'd never prove it could be done, but I was wrong .it was very good by the way."
"You read it?"
"Yes, it wasn't required reading either which may surprise you. I don't really have to read that much being an."
"Aurror for the Ministry. One of the best if I'm not mistaken," Hermione interrupted. Ron smiled.
"You've kept up with me I see. I would have done the same, but you didn't make it easy. I tried your and wand everything. When I found it, all I got was that note you left. Guess you got a new one. It hurt though. It hurt me a lot"
Hermione sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I just needed some time to sort things out and."
"Sort things out!" Ron exclaimed, "I could have understood a few months. It took me a while to accept it too, but two years Hermione? Two years? You could have at least contacted us once! Even your parents, Hermione! Your own parents barely got a "I'm alive" from you."
He stopped and continued but in a calmer more gentle voice, "I could have helped you! I could have helped you accept it, but you never gave me the chance. You ran away and when I found you the first time, you ran again. You weren't the only one to hurt. He's gone! We've all excepted it. I couldn't bear the thought that I'd lost my best friend, but to know I've lost the only other one I ever had. The one that was closer to me than even he had been. To know that I lost you, that was worse."
"Stop it!" Hermione yelled. She looked down at the table intently trying hard not to let him see her cry, "stop it." She whispered quietly.
Ron looked directly at her and continued.
"Why did you go? We all needed you. Ginny needed you. I needed you and I know you needed us."
Hermione looked up at him. Her face was white and her hands shook. The memories were building up. They had been suppressed so long. Ron had let it go. He had let it out, but it Hermione still had it. The grief had been covered up. The pain had been suppressed. The hurting had been covered. But it was still there. Under the mask was where it lived. And slowly but surely, Ron was breaking the mask.
"You can try to hide it, but I know. You still think his death was your fault. You still cry at night when nobody's around to comfort you. To haven't let it go. Even though everyone has, you haven't. He won't be forgotten if you forgive yourself. His death hasn't counted for nothing. I'm an Uncle, did you know that? Ginny's a mother. Harry has a child. He's not completely gone. He was never completely gone."
Hermione's head snapped up and she said, "Ginny was pregnant?"
Ron nodded. "We found out a month after. I tried to tell you, but when I came to tell you, you had gone. Ginny made you Godmother."
Hermione stood up and said somewhat dejectedly, as she walked over to the living room, "So is that why you're here? To tell me about Ginny and that I'm a Godmother. Is that it?"
Ron got up and ran over to Hermione in the living room. He stopped right before she approach him and Hermione gave him a look that clearly showed pain and rejection. There they stood for a moment. Ron trying to put his emotion into words. But the best he could come up with was a simple "No".
"I came to see you again. I came because I needed to see you again. I came because I need you with me again. Harry wouldn't have wanted this. I've been so bloody unhappy and I know that you have been to. That's why I came."
For a second they stood there. Staring at each other. Then, Hermione broke.
She ran across the room and Ron embraced her in a protective fashion. It felt better than the first time that he had held like this. It felt better than life itself. All Ron could was hold her as she cried two years worth of tears.
Hermione had promised herself that she would never love again. She had promised herself that ever again would she care for someone as she had cared for Harry, but all the time she had never stopped caring for the others she had cared about before. She had never stopped caring for her parents, the Weasley's, Ginny, or Ron. Hermione had promised herself that she would never hurt like that again. And with every tear shed, the hurt was disappearing and she was breaking her promise.
"He's gone," Hermione muttered into Ron's shoulder. "He's gone."
"No he's not," Ron said as he rubbed he back and rocked her back and forth, "he's not gone. We remember him. He'll never be gone."
Hermione pulled back from Ron still holding his shoulders and looked into his eyes. Ron looked at her and cupped her face with his hand. Slowly, Ron and Hermione's lips met and they shared their first kiss in two years. Their first kiss since Harry's death. And something inside both of them awakened. Something that had been asleep since the last time they were in each other's arms.
The kiss had started out so gentle and sweet but was now growing. A fire had been lit in both of them that only more could satisfy. Unbridled passion flowed through each of them as Ron nibbled at Hermione's bottom lip and she granted him access without hesitation. Ron could hardly control himself when Hermione unintentionally moaned into his mouth. It had been too long for both of them. There had been too many lonely nights of suffering that only kisses could make up for.
Hermione's hands were wrapped around Ron's neck and his round Hermione's waist. Every place where they touched each other tingled with sensations that no words could explain. Every time Ron's mouth caressed Hermione's, she was filled with more passion than she thought humanly possible. Every movement of Hermione's fingers on the back Ron's neck twisting his red hair around and around make him shiver.
Soon, this wasn't enough. Hermione stumbled back and pulled Ron with her, leaning against her bedroom door. Ron's hand found the handle as she twisted her legs around his waist and he opened the door and brought her inside, gently laying her on the bed and kissing away the remaining tears on her face.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The next morning the phone woke Hermione up. For a second, she didn't know where she was. She felt sheets against her bare skin and it felt very warm. Hermione felt very content to stay where she was and she felt very cozy nestled right next to something soft and warm, something that seemed to be holding her tightly. It felt like heaven. Then, it all came back to her.
The surprise at seeing her old friend at the door. The fight about why she had left. The discovery about Ginny and finally the kiss that had lead to last night. The kiss that had helped her release all her pent up emotions. How he had been so gentle, it had made her want to cry, and so protective that it felt like he had been claiming her all over again. How he thought she would break and how much care he had shown. How he had let her talk herself to sleep afterwards, and how she had fallen asleep in his arms finally free of the problems that followed her for two years.
The phone was still ringing.
Slowly, Hermione de-tangled herself from Ron almost regretfully, pulled on her robe, and answered the ringing phone. The voice on the other end was male but high and nervous. She recognized him at once as an acquaintance from school.
"Hello," said the boy on the other end, "can I speak to Harmony, please?"
Hermione turned and looked at the man lying in her bed. He was the man she would give her life for. He was the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. There was no more running away. This was it. Her choice: to run or to go back and face everyone she so missed.
"Umm. is Harmony Grant there?"
"No," Hermione said soundly.
"Do you know when she will be back? She missed class this morning."
"She won't be going to class anymore."
"Where has she gone?"
"Let's just say she's been given a second chance. She's where she belongs now."
And with that Hermione hung up the phone. She stared at it for a few seconds and sat down on the end of her bed. From behind her she felt a pair of strong arms envelop her in a tight embrace.
"Morning," said a deep husky voice from right by her ear.
"Morning," she replied leaning back against him.
Both stayed silent for a moment reliving last night in their memories and wondering what would happen next.
"I hear a shower is the thing to do," Ron said sighing and kissing the top of her head, "want to join me?"
Hermione smiled and said, "maybe, but I have to make a call first."
Ron let go and got up giving her his best puppy-dog-face as he gathered his clothes from the floor.
"Go on you," Hermione said laughing and Ron retreated into the adjoining bathroom.
Hermione sighed and looked at he phone in front of her. She reached out her hand and touched the surface of it. She hardly ever used the phone except to order take out and to stay in touch with muggleborn peers from her study group. Slowly but surely she brought the receiver to her ear and touched the dial pressing numbers she never thought she would. Soon the phone was ringing and a voice picked up on the other end. Hermione's eyes watered.
"Mum" she choked out, "it's me."
"No. No I'm fine. Never better in fact."
"I just called to say that."
"What I wanted to tell you was that."
"Mum, I'm coming home."
The End
A Cup of Coffee, a Spot of Tea, and a Second Chance
By: Chaser-Chick
"Yuck! What is that?" Ron Weasley said as he looked down at a cup filled with a black substance, "It looks like dirty water, very dirty water."
"It's not dirty water, Ron," Hermione laughed, "it's coffee and it's very good if you'll give it a chance. It's like the America's tea. Coffee."
Ron sniffed it and pushed it away saying, "Thanks, but no thank, Herms. You might have adjusted to it, but for me some things will never change. I'll stick with my roots. Do you have any tea?"
Hermione sighed, but hidden behind her exasperation was a smile. She hadn't seen Ron in such a long time and he hadn't changed one bit. Maybe he had grown, if at all possible, taller, maybe his freckles had faded, and his hair had darkened, but he had not changed. He was still the same Ron that he had always been.
And deep down, under the new addition of make-up, under the status of top student she put so much work into to preserve, under the new sets of robes that were the latest in fashion, under the appearance of being perfect she was also the same Hermione that she had always been. No matter where she was, she was the same person. No matter how hard she tried to move on, she was always missing something. No matter where she ran or what excuse she had to leave, there was always the fact that running changed nothing, but only made it worse. And since she was the same Hermione, when it caught up with her, she would always run away.
And since both of them were the same people, the problem was the same. A problem left too long unsolved. Hermione knew why he had looked so hard to find her. She hadn't made it easy. She had moved across the ocean. She had attended an elite school that was little known of. She had even changed her name. Then he had shown up early that evening and it had been like old times. Except there had been that same problem. The problem that haunted her very dreams even now, and if him coming so far to see her was any indication, it must have still haunted his too.
"All right," Hermione sighed, "if you must have tea." Ron smiled back at her from the table and Hermione sighed louder at his unwillingness to give anything new a try.
She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a teacup from the cabinet. It had been so long since she had guests. Sure, there were the occasional visits from friends at school for studying groups, but she never really got to know anyone. It was too risky. She had worked so hard to disappear as completely as she had done. Not even her parents knew exactly where she was. She sent them an owl every-once-in-a-while to let them know that she was still doing good in school and was alive, but despite their pleas for her to come home, despite their return letters asking to know where she was, despite how much they missed her she would never tell them anything.
Hermione pointed her wand toward the inside of the cup and tea began to flow out of the tip. How had he found her? She had taken every step to prevent this and yet it still happened. Hermione knew that the real reason he was here was not to pay an old friend a visit and she knew that when she returned it would not be avoidable. She knew Ron well, and he knew her well. If she didn't bring it up he would, but first there were other things to address.
A minute later Hermione returned with a tray bearing sugar, cream, and a cup of tea. Her coffee-along with the cup that Ron rejected-was already on the table. It was still warm in her hand when she sat down opposite Ron and took a sip. Ron reached over, took the teacup, and began to fix his tea. Hermione watched him as her poured in the same mounts of ingredients. Ron had always had a large sweet tooth and took his tea very sweet, and it looked like two years had not changed that. Hermione had always taken her tea with plenty cream, but now she drank her coffee black.
Hermione watched as Ron took a sip. There was no denying what was to come. Least she could do was get questions answered first.
"How did you find me?" Hermione asked with her head down.
Ron finished his sip and put down the cup with a soft thud on the table. He began to speak in a low voice that sent a chill down Hermione's spine. She had not heard that voice in so long.
"I read your paper on blocking unforgivable curses and tracked you down from there with the help of a few .resources."
"But that was."
"I know. It was under the name Harmony Grant. But when I read it I knew that it was you. For the number of times I had copied your work, I could tell your writing style within the first paragraph. I also knew you started that paper in seventh year. I told you you'd never prove it could be done, but I was wrong .it was very good by the way."
"You read it?"
"Yes, it wasn't required reading either which may surprise you. I don't really have to read that much being an."
"Aurror for the Ministry. One of the best if I'm not mistaken," Hermione interrupted. Ron smiled.
"You've kept up with me I see. I would have done the same, but you didn't make it easy. I tried your and wand everything. When I found it, all I got was that note you left. Guess you got a new one. It hurt though. It hurt me a lot"
Hermione sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I just needed some time to sort things out and."
"Sort things out!" Ron exclaimed, "I could have understood a few months. It took me a while to accept it too, but two years Hermione? Two years? You could have at least contacted us once! Even your parents, Hermione! Your own parents barely got a "I'm alive" from you."
He stopped and continued but in a calmer more gentle voice, "I could have helped you! I could have helped you accept it, but you never gave me the chance. You ran away and when I found you the first time, you ran again. You weren't the only one to hurt. He's gone! We've all excepted it. I couldn't bear the thought that I'd lost my best friend, but to know I've lost the only other one I ever had. The one that was closer to me than even he had been. To know that I lost you, that was worse."
"Stop it!" Hermione yelled. She looked down at the table intently trying hard not to let him see her cry, "stop it." She whispered quietly.
Ron looked directly at her and continued.
"Why did you go? We all needed you. Ginny needed you. I needed you and I know you needed us."
Hermione looked up at him. Her face was white and her hands shook. The memories were building up. They had been suppressed so long. Ron had let it go. He had let it out, but it Hermione still had it. The grief had been covered up. The pain had been suppressed. The hurting had been covered. But it was still there. Under the mask was where it lived. And slowly but surely, Ron was breaking the mask.
"You can try to hide it, but I know. You still think his death was your fault. You still cry at night when nobody's around to comfort you. To haven't let it go. Even though everyone has, you haven't. He won't be forgotten if you forgive yourself. His death hasn't counted for nothing. I'm an Uncle, did you know that? Ginny's a mother. Harry has a child. He's not completely gone. He was never completely gone."
Hermione's head snapped up and she said, "Ginny was pregnant?"
Ron nodded. "We found out a month after. I tried to tell you, but when I came to tell you, you had gone. Ginny made you Godmother."
Hermione stood up and said somewhat dejectedly, as she walked over to the living room, "So is that why you're here? To tell me about Ginny and that I'm a Godmother. Is that it?"
Ron got up and ran over to Hermione in the living room. He stopped right before she approach him and Hermione gave him a look that clearly showed pain and rejection. There they stood for a moment. Ron trying to put his emotion into words. But the best he could come up with was a simple "No".
"I came to see you again. I came because I needed to see you again. I came because I need you with me again. Harry wouldn't have wanted this. I've been so bloody unhappy and I know that you have been to. That's why I came."
For a second they stood there. Staring at each other. Then, Hermione broke.
She ran across the room and Ron embraced her in a protective fashion. It felt better than the first time that he had held like this. It felt better than life itself. All Ron could was hold her as she cried two years worth of tears.
Hermione had promised herself that she would never love again. She had promised herself that ever again would she care for someone as she had cared for Harry, but all the time she had never stopped caring for the others she had cared about before. She had never stopped caring for her parents, the Weasley's, Ginny, or Ron. Hermione had promised herself that she would never hurt like that again. And with every tear shed, the hurt was disappearing and she was breaking her promise.
"He's gone," Hermione muttered into Ron's shoulder. "He's gone."
"No he's not," Ron said as he rubbed he back and rocked her back and forth, "he's not gone. We remember him. He'll never be gone."
Hermione pulled back from Ron still holding his shoulders and looked into his eyes. Ron looked at her and cupped her face with his hand. Slowly, Ron and Hermione's lips met and they shared their first kiss in two years. Their first kiss since Harry's death. And something inside both of them awakened. Something that had been asleep since the last time they were in each other's arms.
The kiss had started out so gentle and sweet but was now growing. A fire had been lit in both of them that only more could satisfy. Unbridled passion flowed through each of them as Ron nibbled at Hermione's bottom lip and she granted him access without hesitation. Ron could hardly control himself when Hermione unintentionally moaned into his mouth. It had been too long for both of them. There had been too many lonely nights of suffering that only kisses could make up for.
Hermione's hands were wrapped around Ron's neck and his round Hermione's waist. Every place where they touched each other tingled with sensations that no words could explain. Every time Ron's mouth caressed Hermione's, she was filled with more passion than she thought humanly possible. Every movement of Hermione's fingers on the back Ron's neck twisting his red hair around and around make him shiver.
Soon, this wasn't enough. Hermione stumbled back and pulled Ron with her, leaning against her bedroom door. Ron's hand found the handle as she twisted her legs around his waist and he opened the door and brought her inside, gently laying her on the bed and kissing away the remaining tears on her face.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The next morning the phone woke Hermione up. For a second, she didn't know where she was. She felt sheets against her bare skin and it felt very warm. Hermione felt very content to stay where she was and she felt very cozy nestled right next to something soft and warm, something that seemed to be holding her tightly. It felt like heaven. Then, it all came back to her.
The surprise at seeing her old friend at the door. The fight about why she had left. The discovery about Ginny and finally the kiss that had lead to last night. The kiss that had helped her release all her pent up emotions. How he had been so gentle, it had made her want to cry, and so protective that it felt like he had been claiming her all over again. How he thought she would break and how much care he had shown. How he had let her talk herself to sleep afterwards, and how she had fallen asleep in his arms finally free of the problems that followed her for two years.
The phone was still ringing.
Slowly, Hermione de-tangled herself from Ron almost regretfully, pulled on her robe, and answered the ringing phone. The voice on the other end was male but high and nervous. She recognized him at once as an acquaintance from school.
"Hello," said the boy on the other end, "can I speak to Harmony, please?"
Hermione turned and looked at the man lying in her bed. He was the man she would give her life for. He was the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. There was no more running away. This was it. Her choice: to run or to go back and face everyone she so missed.
"Umm. is Harmony Grant there?"
"No," Hermione said soundly.
"Do you know when she will be back? She missed class this morning."
"She won't be going to class anymore."
"Where has she gone?"
"Let's just say she's been given a second chance. She's where she belongs now."
And with that Hermione hung up the phone. She stared at it for a few seconds and sat down on the end of her bed. From behind her she felt a pair of strong arms envelop her in a tight embrace.
"Morning," said a deep husky voice from right by her ear.
"Morning," she replied leaning back against him.
Both stayed silent for a moment reliving last night in their memories and wondering what would happen next.
"I hear a shower is the thing to do," Ron said sighing and kissing the top of her head, "want to join me?"
Hermione smiled and said, "maybe, but I have to make a call first."
Ron let go and got up giving her his best puppy-dog-face as he gathered his clothes from the floor.
"Go on you," Hermione said laughing and Ron retreated into the adjoining bathroom.
Hermione sighed and looked at he phone in front of her. She reached out her hand and touched the surface of it. She hardly ever used the phone except to order take out and to stay in touch with muggleborn peers from her study group. Slowly but surely she brought the receiver to her ear and touched the dial pressing numbers she never thought she would. Soon the phone was ringing and a voice picked up on the other end. Hermione's eyes watered.
"Mum" she choked out, "it's me."
"No. No I'm fine. Never better in fact."
"I just called to say that."
"What I wanted to tell you was that."
"Mum, I'm coming home."
The End