CHAPTER ONE – MOURNING GLORY

"Just do it already."

"Give me a minute."

"It would be better to get it over with, wouldn't it?"

"I'm just—"

"You're what?"

Ron blinked dumbly. Like usual, he didn't have a supportive argument. He couldn't even think of a sarcastic comeback to defensively ease the tension. In fact, his mind was practically numb, so numb that he gave in.

He allowed his fingers to release the stack of papers that been eating away at him for weeks. On one hand, he wanted to keep them hidden away in the back of his closet, beneath stacks of old issues of the Daily Prophet that his mum had forced him to keep because of their mentions of Harry or perhaps even himself. On the other more overwhelming hand, he wanted to dispose of every piece of parchment that reminded him of what was tearing himself, and his family, apart, in the hopes that they could move past it as soon as possible.

Ron averted his eyes to the petite brunette standing next to him. He had no idea how he had gotten lucky enough to finally call himself her boyfriend after years of drama, other love interests on both of their ends, and numerous fights that had temporarily taken tolls on their friendship. She looked cautious, and he understood why. Ron wasn't completely upfront about his emotions the way Hermione was, so she wasn't sure if her assistance was hurting him or helping him.

He looked down at the untidy array of papers that fallen to the ground. He could scarcely make out some of the smaller print.

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes joke shop launches its opening with

Co-owner Fred Weasley declares, 'It was always a small operation between

Ron, do Georgey and me a favor and slip some of these Puking Pastilles into Snape's pumpkin juice at

and I want to congratulate you on making Keeper this year. Try not to get a Bludger to the head, Ronniekins, you're thick enough already.

Snippets of magazine articles, letters, and virtually anything associated with Fred's name lay on the unmanicured grass before him. Photos with his brother's gleaming, handsome face haunted him. The sound of Fred's chuckle played itself repeatedly in his head, giving him the same chills as the funeral dirge that was played in his honor only an hour before.

"Get rid of it, Hermione," Ron gravely muttered.

"Are you sure you want to do it now?" Hermione clarified, removing her wand from the deep pocket of her navy blue blazer. "There's no going back."

Ron took one last peek at the stack, one last listen to the irksome laughs that echoed in his head, and one deep breath before nodding slowly.

Hermione looked at him again, searching his eyes to ensure that he wasn't just putting on a strong front for her. She seemed to believe him because she raised her right arm up and said in a slightly choked-up tone, "Incendio."

Small flames erupted from the tip of her wand, drenching the papers in fire. Ron tried his best to ignore the grinning face of his elder brother as it became engulfed by the bright orange flames.

This suddenly brought his mind back to the funeral, where Fred lay in his open coffin. Although Mr. Weasley had insisted that it should have been closed, Mrs. Weasley protested, telling him that she wanted to see the face of her son one last time. This was a mistake, however, as the sight of her lifeless son caused her to collapse forward, using her hands to snatch at her son's cold face, perhaps to remind herself that one of her babies was truly dead. Ron understood why his mother had been so emotional after seeing Fred's body in the coffin. Fred's normally golden, bright, shining face was something nobody had ever seen from him before; it was grey, unsmiling, and lifeless. His normally untamed orange hair was parted and combed, giving him the appearance of a young boy. After seeing his brother in this condition, he swore to himself, wishing his father had gone through with closing the casket.

He felt Hermione's hand reach out to grab his. He gave it a confirming squeeze, clarifying that he was okay.

Hermione took a step away from the fire to avoid the drifting sparks from leaving marks on her best black heels. Ron followed this action, but took his step closer to her. He unlaced his fingers from hers and brought the same arm around her waist, leaning into her only slightly. She responded by resting into him, her cheek buried into his shoulder.

For a moment, Ron almost thought that he felt a raindrop fall upon his chest, but the blue sky and vibrant sun beating down told him otherwise. He tilted his head down and sideways to face Hermione, whose face was streaked with tears. He brought the arm that wasn't already wrapped around her and used that hand to wipe her damp cheek.

She looked up at him, sniffling. "I'm sorry, Ron. I didn't want you to see me like this." Her lip quivered slightly as her eyes grew raw and red.

Ron shook his head. "It's alright, Hermione. I'm okay." He tightened his arm around her, bringing them even closer. "The question is are you going to be alright?"

Hermione's face broke into a smile as she chuckled past the tears. She reached into her charcoal-colored purse and took out a tissue that had been spared at the funeral. "I'm a mess," she admitted before blowing her nose into the paper.

"It's alright to be upset."

"Fred wouldn't have wanted it that way. You know that." Hermione paused, watching another newspaper article blacken from the fire that she had created.

Ron nodded solemnly. "You're right. If Fred had been there, he would have laughed at how stiff everyone was being. He would've held my mum and convinced her to stop crying. He was always good at cheering her up."

"He was." Hermione smiled a little, remembering.

"And if he saw how serious George was—"

"He probably would have tackled him and wrestled him on the spot."

Ron chuckled. "Or made another ear joke." Ron thought of one quickly. "Like 'You're deaf-initely looking better, Georgey.'" He knew Fred would have come up with something loads better; he was always very witty on the spot.

The fact that he and Hermione were finally laughing again made him feel much better. He knew that as soon as they returned back home, everything would go back to its gloomy, sorrowful atmosphere, but it was nice to have a temporary break from all that.

The two were silent as the last piece of parchment, a fake Howler that Fred had created after the car accident during Ron's second year to mock his mum's commotion, shriveled from the fire and turned to ashes.

Hermione waved her wand again, causing the fire to die out to prevent it from spreading. Her eyes were glassy but not as teary-eyed as they had been before.

"Should we head back now?" she asked him.

Ron nodded. "Everyone is probably wondering where we went off to." He took his arm from around her and faced her, looking into her dark brown eyes. "Thank you for helping me with this, Hermione."

Hermione smiled up at him. "You're welcome," she replied. "Thank you for comforting me. I know this is harder for you than it is for me."

Before he could respond, she leaned up onto her tip-toes and gave him a gentle kiss on his mouth. This small, kind gesture reminded Ron that this was the first time that they had kissed since the end of the war, since Fred's death, and since Harry's victory against Voldemort (a name that Ron had no problem saying anymore). Unlike Lavender Brown, whom he had spent more time snogging than talking to, Hermione had a connection to him that went far beyond physical attraction.

Ron took her hand in his and led her across the field that they were standing in, back to the Burrow, where Fred's funeral reception had surely already begun.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's Note:

I'm so excited to finally jump back into fanfic writing. The first chapter is much shorter than I plan on making the other chapters, but I see it as more of an introduction than anything. The M rating will come into play later in the story, so please be patient!

I'd like to clarify that my story is as if the epilogue had never happened. In other words, we don't know the fate of the Wizarding World and if the gang will really have a happy ending…

Please review! I love feedback!

Lexi