It's hard to believe that Harry and I haven't been in England for nearly 18 months. When the war was over, we decided we would do what Dumbledore never go the chance to do and travel to the great wizarding sites of the world. Hermione had already said that she planned to finish her last year of school so she stayed behind with Ginny and the rest. It was an amazing journey and just what the healer ordered.
We now planned to return home, take our NEWT equivalency exams and get on with our lives. "So, you ready to see everyone Harry?" I asked knowing he was very anxious to see Ginny. They had left each other with the understanding that they were still together. They exchanged long owl letters, which was actually quite annoying.
"You know I am mate. What about you? You have to be excited to see Hermione."
I was excited but also very nervous. Unlike Harry and Ginny, our relationship was left up in the air. We hadn't had a chance to talk about it and when I announced we were leaving Hermione was initially shocked then seemed to avoid the conversation. Harry told me it was a mistake and that Ginny mentioned in her letters that Hermione was very confused on my feelings for her.
We exchanged owl letters too but nothing to the extent of Harry and Ginny's. I'd tell her I missed her but didn't want to put my undying love for her in a letter. She seemed fine in the letters and wrote mostly about school and how she was entering the Magical Law Apprentice Program. I knew I had taken a big chance that we'd just pick up where we left off but I wasn't good with saying how I felt like Harry.
We had written the family saying that we would arrive this afternoon at the Burrow. The moment we apparated into the yard, we were bombarded by swarm of redheads.
"It's great to have you back son." Said my dad trying to pull me away from my mum who had me in a death grip.
Harry pulled Ginny into a warm embrace and I was surprised that no one put an end to their little love exchange. My whole family was there – Bill and a pregnant Fleur, Charlie, Percy, George, Ginny, mum and dad. I had forgotten how hard it was to only see one of the twins.
"Wait, where's Hermione? Didn't she get my letter that we'd be here?" I asked knowing that I sounded like a love sick idiot.
"She told me to tell you that she was really sorry but couldn't get off today to come by." Ginny told me.
"What? Not even for her best friends?" Harry joked.
My dad obviously didn't want us to have hard feelings so he explained. "Boys, the training program she's in is really intense the first year. Old Tumblestone doesn't let those kids off if their sick much less for a homecoming. If you are scheduled to be there, you better be."
I nodded a silent understanding but was still rather disappointed. "Ron tomorrow is Saturday and she doesn't have to work. You'll see her then." Ginny said comfortingly.
The homecoming was a blast. Mum made all our favorite foods. As the evening wore on, I was a little put off that Hermione hadn't come by after work.
"She would have come over Ron." Ginny explained, "But you told us on such short notice and she already had a commitment tonight. Something to do with her family." She added quickly as she saw the wheels turning in my head – thinking she was on a date.
"So, do you two live together?" Harry asked.
"No, I live here. She lives in a flat in Muggle London. You know her parents decided to stay in Australia so her parents let her take over their old flat." She explained. "It's huge! She wanted me to move in but I decided to stay here."
I was guessing that she wanted to be with mum. But then it hit me that if she couldn't come to us, maybe we could go to her. "It's not too late." I said. "Maybe we could stop by her place and see her."
Ginny looked a little nervous. "Oh, she might not be home from that thing yet."
"Well, it doesn't hurt to stop by there." I stated and luckily Harry agreed.
We sided along with Ginny since we didn't know the location and knocked eagerly on her door. Just glancing up and down the corridor, I could tell that we were in a really nice and expensive building.
We could hear movement inside and suddenly the door swung open. I was surprised to find young man. "May I help you?" He asked genuinely friendly.
"I'm Ginny Weasley and this is…"
He stopped her before she could keep going. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have recognized you from what Hermione said and the tons of pictures she has around here."
He was obviously very familiar with her flat and I was getting quite angry.
"H!" The bloke yelled. "You're friends are here."
Hermione rushed up to the door and flung her arms around Harry and me. "I'm so sorry I couldn't come by earlier."
"That's okay." Harry said. "Mr. Weasley explained."
"Come in, come in!" She led us in to the living room and the bloke who answered the door was there with another guy and a young woman. "Well, you already met my cousin Peter." She indicated the man who opened the door. "This is Sarah and Michael. Everyone these are my very best friends in the whole world who have finally returned after abandoning me for a year and a half." She laughed.
"We didn't abandon you." I quipped.
"I was just joking Ron!" She countered rolling her eyes then added, "Have you gotten taller?"
Her guests thankfully decided to leave and after she saw them out she returned to the living room. "You guys look great! Tell me all about your adventures."
"Who were those people again Hermione?" I investigated.
She looked a little taken back. "My cousin Peter and his date Sarah. He set me up to go out with her brother for a double date." She didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with the fact that she admitted to one of them being her date. "Did you guys want anything to drink? We had opened a bottle of wine."
She went into the kitchen and brought back the bottle with some glasses. I just kept staring at her, not sure what to say. She continued to talk, "I was so glad you guys didn't mention anything else about my job. They all think I'm in university. They are all Muggles – my cousin doesn't even know I'm a witch."
"He doesn't know you're a witch but you let him set you up with guys?" I asked while Ginny and Harry exchanged weary glances.
"Ron, it was just a blind date. Peter for some reason is always trying to set me up with someone. My parents asked him to keep an eye on me while they are in Australia so he's usually around a few times a week. I think my parents just want me out of the flat since they came to visit one time and I was so swamped with work that I barely had time for them."
She poured us all a drink and she began sipping hers. "Your flat is really nice." Commented Harry.
"Thanks! Let me take you on a tour." She led us around the flat.
When we got back to the living room, Harry, Ginny and Hermione sat back down. I however was anxious to go. This wasn't what I wanted my meeting with Hermione to be like. "Okay, you guys ready to head back?"
Hermione looked up at me and she was obviously confused and a little upset. "You just got here. Stay and tell me about your trip." She pleaded.
"Some other time maybe, we can tell you're busy."
"Ron, its Friday night – I'm not busy and I don't have to work tomorrow. Come on and stay." She stood up in a vain attempt to stop me from leaving.
"That's okay. See you around" and I apparated back to the Burrow.
I just stood there as Ron disappeared. I turned to Harry and Ginny still seated on the couch, "what was that about?"
"Ron apparently expected that you would be running to him with open arms snogging him senseless." Ginny laughed.
"Well, you did have a date here." Harry added.
"It was a blind date; I only met him tonight. My cousin had set it up and he really wanted to have a date with Sarah but she wouldn't without her brother for some reason. I tried to cancel but he pleaded with me." I stopped and thought about how ridiculous this whole situation was. "It wasn't like you walked in on an orgy and I'm sure he's had plenty of women over the past year."
"What are you talking about?" Harry seemed confused.
"Harry, you don't have to pretend. He wrote me that he was enjoying sowing his wild oats as we Muggles would say. That's a direct quote."
"Hermione, I don't think he knows what that expression means." Harry tried to get me to believe.
"What does it mean?" Asked Ginny.
"It's a Muggle expression for playing the field." Harry said and Ginny still didn't understand since he answered in another Muggle expression.
"It means dipping your quill Gin." Ginny had full comprehension of this wizarding expression.
"You're kidding – he wrote you that?" She asked.
"Yep and I realized that he was taking the time to enjoy the many pleasures of life before he came back here. You and Harry are just different from everyone else. I shouldn't have expected anything different."
"Hermione, I still think he meant something else by saying that. I'm sure he didn't know what it meant." Harry defended.
"I hope he didn't hear the expression from you" started Ginny. "You weren't sowing your wheat or whatever?"
"No, I promise. He probably picked it up somewhere and just didn't get it. Look Gin, we should probably get back."
"Okay."
"Well, I'll see you two tomorrow or something okay." I said and they agreed.
I was lying on my old be staring at the ceiling when Harry burst in.
"Ron, I have to ask you something." He began and I assumed it was going to be about Hermione so I was surprised when he asked, "what does the expression sowing your wild oats mean?"
"Taking in the sites, why?" I asked very confused.
"Did you write Hermione that you were sowing your wild oats as the Muggles say?"
"Yea, we were weren't we? We saw pretty much everything there is to see."
"Ron," he looked directly at me, "you are an absolute idiot." He was perfectly serious.
"What the hell does that mean?" I asked a little offended.
"The expression sowing your wild oats does not mean taking in the sites."
"What does it mean then?" I was pretty irritated by the whole conversion.
"It means dating and sleeping around – you know dipping your quill." He informed me.
I felt like I had swallowed a block of ice. "What??? You aren't serious right? Oh Merlin, I must have written that a bunch of time in my letters to her. I thought I was connecting with her heritage."
"Well she thought you were connected with all single women. Why didn't you ask what it meant before using it?"
"I don't know!" So basically, Hermione thought I spent the last 18 months shagging available witches. No wonder her letters were so basic.
By this time Ginny had come in to watch the calamity. "Ron, you are so stupid! No wonder Hermione told me that you weren't interested in her."
"Well I didn't know!"
"I remember one time she got a letter from you and she when she was done she was positively ill. After that she started accepting dates."
"How many guys has she dated?" I asked not really wanting to know the answer.
"Merlin Ron, she's not a slag." Ginny defended. "She didn't start dating until we were out of school and mostly just those blind dates her cousin set her up on. I think her longest relationship was less than a month and consisted of five dates."
"She had a relationship?" I asked in a high pitched voice that was not my own.
"Ron – what was that stunt with Lavender? Give me a break, it's not like she's been sowing her barley."
"It's wild oats." Harry corrected.
"Whatever."
"I'm going back over there. I've got to explain." I said and heard a "Good luck mate." From Harry as I dissaparated and reappeared in Hermione's foyer.
She was walking across the living room from her kitchen wrapped in only a bath towel. She gave a squeal when she saw me and pulled the towel around her tighter.
"Merlin you scared me to death. What are you doing here?" She seemed pretty annoyed.
"Seeing the sites." It was all I could get out. I was trying to get out what I thought that stupid expression meant but she thought it meant trying to sneak a peek.
"You popped in here in hopes of catching me naked? Sorry I had my towel then." She seemed to be teetering on really upset or really mad.
"No…no…no" I tried to get out. "That's what I thought that meant."
"What meant?"
"You know, sowing your wild oats."
"Ron, you knew what it meant – I'm sure Harry told it to you."
"No I didn't. I over heard some Muggles say that they loved traveling in Europe and sowing their wild oats. I thought it meant to see the sites."
"You have got to be kidding me."
"Would I admit to something so stupid if it wasn't true?"
She seemed to relax a bit. "Well you have a point." Then she just started laughing. "When you wrote that in your letters, I thought it was your weird way of telling me that you weren't interested. I thought it was a little harsh but…" She just continued to laugh.
I walked over to her. "It's always only been you Hermione. I didn't know what to say to you before we left."
"I wished you would have invited me along."
"I thought you were determined to go to school."
"I was but being asked would have been nice and when we didn't talk about anything before you left and then wrote me that in your letters I assumed that you didn't ask me because you wanted to, well, sow your wild oats."
"This whole thing is crazy…" I said but was cut off by her gently kissing me.
"I don't want you to think that I was doing anything while you were gone. I had a couple blind dates but nothing come from them. Well, one guy I went out with a few times but only because he kept showing up and somehow we'd be out to eat or at a movie."
She was starting to talk too much so I silenced her with a kiss – a kiss that would hopefully let her know how much I love her…want her…need her.
Hermione was kissing me back and I couldn't have been happier. We continued and things started to become more and more passionate. Her only wearing a towel didn't help me much.
I didn't return to the Burrow until almost dawn and tried to be quiet so I didn't disturb Harry but it was now use.
"Let me guess…you were sowing your wild oats."
I chucked my pillow at him and got in bed. I smiled to myself…what he doesn't know won't hurt him.