Written for "HP Canon Fest" with the prompt: "Two things only a man cannot hide: that he is drunk and that he is in love." Antiphanes
Warnings: Cursing and suggestiveness
A/N: Thanks so much to my great Beta, Pili204, for being awesome. I´d be totally lost without her :) All mistakes you may find here are mine.
And thanks a lot to the Mods (Mugglemama and Readheadsarehot) for their incredible patience!
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.. I´m just playing and enjoying with them.
If I could tell
"HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"
Ron's screams broke the tranquility of the first floor in the house, and Hermione thought for a moment that she might be dreaming again, trying to reach the surface of an awful and deathly vivid nightmare.
She was not.
The screams were indeed coming from the first floor and she ran upstairs in desperation, crossing the hallway with her heart hammering wildly and searching for where the sound of his voice might come from.
When she arrived at the door that separated her form from him, Hermione knew she just couldn't go through all that again.
So she was the one who started to yell.
Truth to be said, William Weasley had had his good share of hangovers, but he never before had had to cope with an intoxicated man who, for brief amounts of time, had full conscience of how drunk he really was. The mix of alcohol and mortification was the worst blend ever, and Bill cursed the twins for umpteenth time for their dark sense of humour.
"Stop! Ron, stop it! You're going to hurt yourself! "
Bill gave an irritated sigh while maneuvering his younger brother inside the bathroom.
"Listen to me. Stop shouting! Stop shouting now, Ron!"
"Why? Why me? Why am I always the one drinking from the w-wrong bottle? Jesus, I can't even think straight…"
"I know, I know. You need to calm down and I'll bring you a Sobering Potion, but I don't think it will help anyway. The effect of that shit lasts for two or three hours, and you'll just have to go trough it. I'm sorry, Ron."
Ron looked aghast at having to endure the hangover for even a minute longer, let alone three hours. He wiped his forehead clean and asked, "What the fuck did I drink?"
"Long story. Now shut up. I need to go and soothe your girlfriend who's also screaming on the other side of the door."
"My girlfriend... Mine. Mine. Mine."
"Bloody hell, boy…" Bill shook his head wondering what part of Ron's babbling belonged to his inebriated state and which part to what was not so hidden under the surface. "… you're so taken."
"What's it? What's happening to him?" Hermione asked desperately while Bill used his own frame to try and block Hermione's decided stance.
"Hermione, please. Ron is okay, but I don't think you should see him right now. "
"But he was calling for me! "
"I know. I know… but he's… indisposed."
"What? Is he sick? Let me in, please. "
"No."
"Why not? I'm used to nursing him when he is ill!"
The worry and the awe clouding the girl's face hit Bill hard. He marveled at the deep and unbreakable bond between his youngest brother and this amazing witch. For a short second he felt in the middle of a deja vú; it was something like hearing his mum talk about his father.
"I do understand, but I honestly think he'd feel ashamed if you see him in such condition. "
"What condition? Bill, please! "
"Okay, let me explain. After having the toast with Remus "
But Hermione didn't give him a chance to explain and interrupted him hotly, "Ron didn't drink that much!
Bill arched an eyebrow and couldn't avoid a smirk at her declaration. The girl had it badly. "Would you let me finish, please?"
She flushed, suddenly embarrassed at her forwardness. "Yes, yes. Sorry."
"No problem. As I was saying, after the toast we opened a second bottle and when Ron was helping me to take the tray to the kitchen, he started to act… weird. "
"Weird? Weird how?"
"He was dizzy, and saying nonsense, and he started to laugh. It surprised me because I know he is not much of a drinker, so I looked for the bottle… and there was the answer."
Hermione clutched at her chest clearly alarmed. "Don't tell me he was poisoned again!"
"No, it's not poison." Bill looked at his feet uncomfortable "It's an Embarrassing Potion."
Bill didn't need to add more. He was talking to Hermione Granger, the cleverest witch of her age, after all.
"The twins," she affirmed without any trace of doubt.
"The twins," he confirmed with a shrug.
"And what exactly are the effects of that potion?"
"As its name indicates, the purpose is to cause embarrassment and mortification to the poor human being who dares to drink it. It's a mix of Veritaserum and alcohol, and its effect fluctuates, which means that at times Ron realises what he is saying, but he just can't avoid it. It's difficult to distinguish between what he truly means and what he is rambling just because he is… high. "
"I think your brothers clearly crossed the line this time. .Vile."
"My mother is an immaculate woman but those two are a pair of sons of a bitch." At his outburst, Hermione glared at him disapprovingly. "Sorry, you know what I mean. I don't understand how they had the nerve to put a bottle of that among our stuff."
"And may I ask how do you know what the effects are? Did they tell you? "
"Yes, they did. At the wedding they told me about this creation. Their original plan was sending it to Percy at the Ministry. "
"To make him suffer an uncomfortable moment among his co-workers?"
"Exactly. Percy has been acting like such a moron during the last years, and the idea of mortifying him presented itself as something highly tempting, to be honest."
"You approved of it? You're a member of the Order, good Lord! It was a dangerous idea! What if he was forced to say something inappropriate? He is working at the Ministry; his life is in danger all the time just for being a Weasley! "
Damm. Even with Bill's older brother status or his semi-wolf condition, she still wasn't intimidated.
"You are right. You are absolutely right. And I didn't approve of it, for your information." Hermione had the decency to blush at his statement. "I forbade it, in fact. And I guess they felt the need to punish me in some way, so the damm bottle was conveniently packed between the few things we were able to recover after the attack during the wedding reception. "
They both remained silent for a few moments, their thoughts clearly running in different circles.
Bill was stunned and sadly impressed at his brother's bird´s behavior. The strength the girl possessed was legendary within the confines of his family, as well as the way she could lead Ron to his finest; but it was distressing to witness how their youth had been affected by being forced to live in a state of constant fight and pain, how the fear for each other and their beloved ones had pushed into the background what so obviously was meant to be between them.
He secretly wished they could remember one day what it was like to be eleven again.
Hermione needed to be with Ron. Now. She couldn't explain to Bill what it did to her hearing him scream her name like that. How could she tell him that each terrifying second of her existence came to life again with those cries? Would he be able to understand that when Ron asked for her, she needed to be by his side immediately?
For a second she closed her eyes, secretly wishing that the next time Ron screamed her name, it could be in a much more intimate way. And preferably against her bare skin.
"I need to see him. Please. "
"Hermione, he's in the shower…" Bill sighed. "I made him enter there hoping the cold water would sober him up a bit."
"Is it working?"
"No…"
"What if he drowns in the middle of his fog?"
"He is not unconscious, Hermione. He is just resting."
"But you left him alone!"
"I was on my way to look for the Sobering Potion when I was tackled by an obses... caring witch." He looked mockingly at her.
"I'll keep him company."
"Fine. I won't be able to dissuade you, right?" Hermione just shook her head. "So let me warn you that he is half-dressed. "
"Half?"
"His trousers are on. He didn't let me to help him. "
"As if this were the first time I see him shirtless…"
"Excuse me, young lady? "
"I don't know if you are aware of it… but a couple of months ago Ron got Splinched, quite badly Splinched." Her voice lowered at the end of the sentence "And I was the one changing his bandages and taking care of him. Harry was there too… but he needed me."
Bill suppressed his brotherly urge to interrogate her about that incident because he suddenly realised he really didn't know anything about them or anything about these kids' journey. At least anything more than the obvious.
He suddenly understood why this girl was so desperate to be at Ron's side, even if it was to just hold his hand.
It was because they were bonded. And not by law or magic. They were bonded because they simply had chosen it a long time ago.
"So, you shouldn't be here talking to me." He knocked the door for her to enter the bathroom. "Ron also needs you now."
Hermione barely fought the lump in her throat to smile at him and, before crossing the door, she turned around again "Bill…"
"Yes…?"
"Thank you. Not only for understanding. Thanks for taking care of him when he was here last December. "
"He is my blood, Hermione. Of course I'd take care of him. "
"I know. I do know how important family is for you all and I don't want to be disrespectful. I just…" She bitted her lip shyly. "I just want to say that... it means a lot to me he was safe here."
Bill nodded his head in consideration while watching her turn away, seeking eagerly for his brother.
That sense of deja vú smacked him again in the back of his head, until he swiftly recognised the reason.
He had seen the same eagerness in Ron.
They were always seeking for each other.
Hermione took a deep breath and pushed the door open; a wave of warmth surged trough her at the image welcoming her presence.
Ron was sprawled in the bathtub, long legs nearly over the edge and faded jeans dripping wet. Longs locks of fringe covered his closed eyes while he braced himself in a vulnerable way that fueled Hermione's ache to get into the water with him, round his body with her own arms and legs, and cover each freckle with her own body.
"Ron…" she called softly as she kneeled beside him.
He opened his eyes and looked at her with an excessive dreamingly smile. "Hey… you're here, gorgeous."
She tried bravely to harden herself against the intoxicating loveliness of his endearment. "I'm here. How do you feel? "
"I-I… I don't know!" He let out a tremendous laugh.
"Does your head hurt?"
"Nope, not my head… my heart does."
"Your heart? Are you sure? "
"Yeeeep... Right here." He took her hand, splashing water over every side of the bathtub, and enclosed it over his bare chest. "When I look at you, it hurts here… a lot."
It was reasonable that the potion affected his actions.
But it was not so reasonable that she was the one ready to pounce against him defying the most logical of her judgments.
"Don't be silly." She extricated her hand between his and brushed away his fringe. "Your eyes are really irritated."
But he insisted on her to be his focus of attention. "Where… where're you?"
Some part of an old song came rushing to her mind. Where, where, where were you? When I needed you most, when I needed a friend…
"Downstairs with Fleur. She was showing Luna and me some pictures of the wedding. In spite of all the mess, they were able to take some good ones." She avoided telling him that there was this one with the two of them dancing in the background of the happy couple. They were totally oblivious to the camera, and the photographer had caught them when Ron was swirling her around. During the tiniest of seconds his right arm had taken a hold her left hand behind her back, their chests almost touching. There was something hot, almost erotic about his lean body leaning over her small one, like the promise of something to happen. Like the promise of how steamy it would be the fulfillment of that need between them
Maybe some day, she could ask Fleur for a copy of it.
"Everybody looked really fancy. It was such a pity everything turned to be so dramatic…" Hermione grinned as she remembered. "I know we are talking about Fleur, but she looked really gorgeous, as if she were glowing."
"You'll look hot… prettier than her. "
"What?"
"At your own wedding. You'll look bea-beautiful… why can't I say it? "
"And how do you know it?"
"Because I'll be there."
The nakedness of his speech was breaking down each one of her barriers, in the same slow but sure way it had since they were kids. And all the girly dreams of her life took form in that very exact moment, in that small bathroom, and with the owner of her heart drunk at her side.
"I really hope so."
"I'll be the one waiting for you down the aisle."
"Ron…"
"It's going to be me. It has to be me. "
He closed his eyes again and rested his head again the cold border of the tub.
Hermione tried to convince herself that he didn't mean it. He couldn't mean it. He couldn't mean it right now because, otherwise, her heart was going to explode and the entire house would know that Ron planned to marry her.
And that she was totally out of her mind because she would accept in a heartbeat.
"I think you need to rest for a while," she added in a tiny voice. "You're not yourself right now."
"You shouldn't be here, Hermione… You are not safe now. Here with me, I mean. "
"Safe? What are you talking about? "
"Because… because I'm so ready to attack you and shag the daylights of your glorious body in this bathtub…"
He hid his head as if he couldn't believe what he had just confessed.
"God. What the fuck did I say? "
Hermione wanted to tell him the truth: "You just have said that you want to shag me. And I think that the word is quite vulgar, but I share the idea wholeheartedly. "
But she couldn't. Instead, she opted for an easy answer. "Don't worry. It's not your fault. It's just that awful potion talking. "
"It's me. It's me telling you all that I'm not supposed to tell you if I don't want my bollocks cut from root…"
"And here you go again…"
He dropped his head down in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"
"Don't apologize to me, Ron." She had her own secret to hide. "I'm here for you. That's all that matters now. "
"Yes…" He looked at her intently for a moment and then asked as if asking for the butter over breakfast, "Would you wash my hair?"
"Excuse me?"
"Wash my hair? Please, please, Hermione, pretty please?"
Now he was starting to truly embarrass himself.
"Okay, okay, I'll do it, just… don't talk like that."
He took her wrist and brought her upper body closer to his. When he talked, the words were murmured directly over her breath.
"Thank you so much."
Hermione nodded and thanked every one of the deities above that she could position herself behind him and cover the blush creeping up her cheeks.
She couldn't believe she was doing something so intimate in a cottage full of people. She was washing his hair, and his whimpers of pleasure were confirming her notion that Ron was the one who wasn't safe with her.
It would take only a few minutes and a sealed door to take advantage of him.
"Remus was happy, right?"
The tender subject he touched made her smile and her stomach danced with joy.
"Yes, he was. In these dark times, the miracle of life is a very special wonder. "
Ron pressed her face against her palm, leaving a loving kiss there, and then turned around quickly to surprise her again.
"Can't we have one of those?"
"One of what exactly?"
"A baby," he answered with the brightest smile ever. "Couldn't you give me a baby?"
Hermione felt in a blur.
She died to say that she definitely would give him one. Or first practice a lot and then give him one.
Five years of practice at least twice a day would do it.
"I think that it's not the moment to think about that right now and_ " Her lame excuse was, thankfully, interrupted by a knock on the door.
Bill was back; this was her hint to leave. No matter how much she hated to.
"Bill's here. I'll leave you in very good hands." She attempted to stand up, but he held tightly to her writs again.
"Wait! Can I tell you a secret? "
"Of course you can."
"You… you are not in love with Harry."
"That's not a secret!"
"No? It was for me! "
"Because you are daft."
"Oh… I thought that was a secret…"
She caressed his stubble with her fingers to quiet him, but he was not taking any of it.
"Do you love anybody?"
"Yes. I love lots of people."
"Nah… like "in love". Are you in love? "
Difficult question. Very easy answer.
"Yes."
"Do I know him?"
Absolutely overwhelmed by everything transpiring between them in those last moments, Hermione opted for a tricky way out.
"Yes, you do. But I know him better than you. "
As she had planned, his foggy mind didn't allow him to follow her words.
Or her declaration of love.
But down there, below the dizziness, he might have understood something because he was not fuming in anger; he just insisted like the persistent Ron with the power to melt her.
"Who is he?"
"I'll tell you when you are sober. I want you to remember it. "
"You promise, Hermione?"
She brushed again his stunning locks and whispered two words that one day could mean absolutely everything.
"I do."
Three hours, a bunch of giggles, and thousand of goose bumps later, Hermione tiptoed to the sitting room to find Ron snoring peaceful in his sleeping bag.
It seemed that the worse had passed and she felt grateful to be the only one to know about it, except Bill of course. She didn't like the idea of Ron suffering shame and, in some twisted way, she relished over the idea of knowing a secret about him, knowing something that even him wouldn't be able to remember.
She decided to go back to her room when his whisper broke the silence.
"You promised to tell me something."
Hermione held her breath and movements, praying for him not to continue with that line of thoughts. He wasn't supposed to remember!
But, wait a minute. Who had told her that he wouldn't remember? Of course he could remember!
"Oh, you're awake." She tried to look everywhere but his eyes. "I see you feel better."
"I do." He was staring at her, piercing her with the openness of his stare "I think you promised to tell me something."
Ron's grin was teasingly devious. And something more.
It was the smile of a man who was a moment away from getting what he wanted more than anything in life.
And when Hermione found the braveness to hold his gaze, she knew that potion or not potion, he was going to get it.
∞∞FIN∞∞