The day Fred was buried it was as if the life at the Burrow ceased. No one laughed, no one smiled, no one even cried. Hard to believe but it was true. After everything that happened at Hogwarts Hermione and Harry went back the Burrow to stay. They didn't have anywhere to go. Hermione decided to put off finding her parents for a little bit so she could be there for Ron when Fred's funeral came. Ron was really glad that she was there for him.
Ron could be found in either of two places, in his bedroom or outside under a tree on the outskirts of the Burrow property thinking about life and Hermione. More times than not Hermione was sitting next to him silently. Ron was ever grateful that she would just sit by his side and not ask any questions. Today Ron decided that since it was nice out he would think under the tree. Hermione walks out to him and sits beside him, like always. But today Ron wanted to talk.
"Hermione, I want to find a place of my own and I want you to live with me." He says.
"Umm, I really don't think your mother would like that. I will gladly stay at the Burrow with you if you want me to stay." She says, she reaches over and grabs his hand then puts it in her lap gently rubbing it.
"No she won't like it but I need to leave. Everything reminds me of Fred. I just can't be in the same house where all these memories keep popping into my head. I just can't." Ron said. He jerks his hand away from Hermione and stands up quickly.
Hermione stands up just as quick and rushes over to Ron to give him a hug.
"Ronald if you ever need to talk, come to me day or night. Anytime. That's why I am here. To help you grieve. I don't want to see you go to waste. I am here for you and only you." She says crying into his chest. Ron wraps his arms around her and cries with her. This is the first time that they cried like this with each other. They stood there for what seems like forever .They let go of each other when they heard Mrs.Weasley call for dinner. So they walked back to the house with Ron's arm around Hermione's shoulders and her arms around his waist. They walk inside the house and sit down at the table. Everyone has a somber face.
"Ron, dear do you think you can help clean up the dishes tonight when we are done eating?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Yes Mum I will." That was all the conversation that was heard in the Weasley household the whole night. Ron did as he was told and then went straight to his room. About an hour later Hermione knocked on his door.
"Come in." said Ron
"Hey I was just checking up on you." She walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge of it. Ron reaches up and pulls her down with him. This is how he liked it, with her head on his chest and his hand playing with her ever so unruly hair. He wishes he could stay like this forever, with her in his arms.
They stayed like that for a long time until Ron spoke up.
"Hermione, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you, have bushy redheaded kids with you, grow old with you, and just be with you and only you." He sighed
"Are you asking me to marry you?" She lifts her head up and looks him in the eyes.
"Well if you want me to I can, but if not I just wanted to say I love you and only you Hermione." He says while looking down at her.
"What you just said about wanting to marry you and have bushy redheaded kids and growing old, I want that too." She said waving her hands around.
"Then we should get married. How 'bout it, that will help Mum out a little. Plus that would get everyone out of there haze they have been in. I am tired of being in a house full of sad people."
"Wait a tic; I have to get my parents back from Australia before we can get married. Plus we don't have jobs and a house or flat to live. We just can't go down there and be like "Hey we are getting married and you all are invited." She sits up Indian style on his bed.
"I know that but we can tell them that we are going to get married and then we can go look for your parents. Then I can ask your dad for permission to marry his sexy daughter, then BAM, we'll get married somewhere. I really think the Burrow would be a great place to get married. "He says excitedly.
"You know that doesn't sound all that bad when you say it like that. Now my parents don't know you so you would have to let them know you first before we get married."
"Hold up, let me ask you okay." He says and she nods her head.
Ron gets up off the bed and gets down on his knees and takes Hermione's hand.
"Hermione Jane Granger, you are my heart and soul. We have been through so much crap in the past 7 years that no one should go through. But we did anyways. I fell in love with you the moment you told me in your snotty little voice "You got dirt on your nose, did you know, right there." (This made Hermione giggle.) Ever since then I knew that we were destine for great things together. I want you so bad that it hurts sometimes. You are my everything. Hermione will you marry me?" Hermione shook her head yes. He gets up and pulls her into a big hug while spinning her around the room.
"I know I don't have a ring or anything but I will get one soon. I promise." He said
"I don't care about rings, I just have to know that I will be with you forever." She gives him a kiss on the cheek.
"Now you know exactly where you parents are right?" Ron asked
"Yea, they'll know who I am when they see me. They think I am their daughter Kitty, who is away at a university and they moved away to get some sun. So it isn't like they will be totally shocked when they see us."
"Then I purpose that we head off sometime next week to get them back. The sooner we are married the better right?" Said Ron
So the week went by and then they headed off to Australia much to Mrs. Weasley dismay. They finally reached their destination and sighed in relief. They planned on staying in Australia until everything was sorted out with Hermione's parents. Hermione reaches the house and knocks on the door nervously. Mrs. Granger opens the door to find her daughter and some strange man standing next her.
"Oh Kitty what a surprise, we weren't expecting you at all. Please come in." Mrs. Granger said.
"Mum it's so great to see you again. This is my boyfriend Ron Weasley. We met at school." Hermione said. Ron reached out his hand for Mrs. Granger to shake it. She took his hand apprehensively. Hermione frowned at her mother for this.
"So Mum where is Daddy?"
"He will be back in a short minute. Please sit down we have a lot to discuss. Like how you haven't written to me in over a year. Plus how you met Ron." Her mother said
"Well I have been really busy with school and what not. I like I said I met Ron at school."
"Oh." Said her mother Hermione's dad walks in the house to find his wife looking agitated and his daughter looking upset, plus a guy he didn't know.
So Hermione introduced Ron to them and everyone seemed to be okay. Then what Hermione did next baffled her parents. She took a stick from her jean pocket and pointed it at the both of them. Then what she did next was just as weird, she said a few words. Her parent's memory was back. They looked completely confused.
"Hermione Jane Granger what is going on here? Why are we in this strange house?" asked her father.
"Well…" said Hermione. With the help from Ron, they both explained what has happened and why Hermione altered their memories. All seemed well…for tonight anyways. Needless to say it was a stressful time when her parents bring up memories Ron and Hermione want to forget or ask questions that they both don't want to answer.
Ron was lying in bed when he heard Hermione scream. He jumps out of bed dressed only in his boxers and runs down stairs to where she was. What he saw almost made him scream out, not in fear but in frustration. There was Hermione and her mother standing face to face, almost touching each other's nose yelling at one another.
"I can't believe you would say that about my life. I only did this because I wanted you to be safe. You have no idea how awful that disgusting thing was. He would kill for fun and never look back. I wanted you to be safe; I wanted to come back from this war knowing that I still have my family." Hermione yelled
"So now we are your family, what happen to the Weasley's? Huh? Aren't they your family? They seem to love you more than us, the way you talk about them all the time. "Oh Mum they are so great, Mrs.Weasley's cooking is wonderful, their house is so magical, I could just live there my whole life!" Well you want to live there then go live there." Mrs. Granger yelled
"Maybe I will, Mrs. Weasley seems to care about me more and treats me as her own daughter more than you do. The whole time I went to Hogwarts you just hated that I made friends and was happy. You were never happy that I finally accepted who I am; you hated that fact that I didn't need you anymore. That I found a mother figure that could help me out more then you could. I tried mother, I really did. I would go to you to ask advice about Ron and you just turned me away saying that you had more important things to do. "Hermione said almost on the verge of tears. Ron rushes over to Hermione and wraps his arms around her in a hug. He rubs her back gently and soothingly. He whispers encouraging words in her ear. He lets go of her and turns to her mother.
"You listen to me and you listen good. Hermione has been through a lot to make sure you have a nice environment to go back home to. She wanted you to be safe, I don't know why because right now you are being selfish. How dare you say those things to her, she was a downright mess when she came knocking at our door all that time ago. She wouldn't even talk to anyone because she felt ashamed of herself for changing you and your husband's memories. It took me weeks just to get her to smile again and now you just made her take 100 steps back from the progress we were making." Ron just stared at Mrs. Granger with a furious face.
"Well I never, I have always looked out for Hermione's best interest. I have been a good mother to her and for her to do this to me. Well it just breaks my heart."
"You don't get it do you? She saved your life. Voldemort and his followers don't care who you are. They would have killed you anyways. She wanted to make you safe and she wanted parents when she was done with that horrible war." Said Ron
"THAT IS ENOUGH! JANE YOU WILL NOT YELL AT HERMIONE OR RON EVER AGAIN! OUR DAUGHTER SAVED OUR LIVES AND IF YOU CAN'T ACCEPT THAT THEN YOU CAN PACK YOUR BAGS AND LEAVE!"Yelled Mr. Granger, Hermione looked at her father then her mother, and then ran up the stairs to the room that she was sleeping in. Ron ran after her to her room.
Ron leans on the door way to Hermione's room. He watches her for awhile until he decides to walk over and comfort her. He pulls her covers back and gets into bed with her. He wraps his arms around her and she puts her head into the crook of his neck. He just lets her cry until she falls asleep in his arms. After a couple of hours of sleep Hermione wakes up to see Ron staring at her.
"What are you staring at Ronnie?" she asks
"I was just looking at you thinking how in the world I got so lucky to be with you." Ron smiles down at her.
"Thank you for sticking up for me. I really appreciate that. She can be hard to handle sometimes. She gets moody when she doesn't understand things. "
"But that doesn't mean she has to be mean to you and treat you horrible." He says
"I want to go home; I don't want to be here anymore. I can't stand staying in a house where someone treats me like shit. I want to go home to my real family. "She mumbles into his chest.
"Okay, we can leave as soon as you want to. I will be ready when you want me to be." He says with a smile.
"Let me go talk to my dad and tell him some things. Then we can get ready to leave for home." He nods his heads and reaches down to kiss her on the lips. She leans into the kiss and makes it more passionate. She lets her hands roam over his naked torso. He arches into her touch and starts to move his hands up her shirt. She loves the feeling of his hands on her. He stops her from doing anything she was going to regret doing in her parent's home.
"Your right Ron, I need to get dressed and talk to my dad." She said. So she just pulls on one of Ron's t-shirts and a pair of jean shorts. She walks down the stairs to find her dad sitting at the bottom of the steps with his head in his hands. Hermione sits down next to him.
"Daddy I am so sorry for what I did, but I wanted to make sure I had you when we were done with this war. You mean everything to me. I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me, please." She pleaded with him. Hermione's dad reached over to grab her hand and turned to look at her.
"Chickadee, I am not mad at you. I am very proud of you. You have done something that your mother will never be able to do. You put someone else before you. You sacrificed yourself for me and your mother. Don't get me wrong, I love your mother very much. She just doesn't know how to show her love because her father never treated her with respect. You know that right." He said.
"Yes Daddy, I do know that. I just wanted to know if you will be home in time to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day." She says a little hesitant.
"You are getting married to Ron? Well that's great! He seems like a great guy and I am happy that it is you two getting together. All I have to say is FINALLY!" Mr. Granger says, with a chuckle.
"Well I don't agree with that." Said Hermione's mother
"And why not?" Asked Mr. Granger
"Because Ron will hold our smart caring daughter back. Hermione needs someone that will make sure she is provided for. Someone who has some sort of money, someone who will provide for her
and the children she will have when she becomes a stay at home mum." Hermione stands up real quick on to the step, which made her taller than her mother.
"HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT! RON LOVES ME SO MUCH AND HE WOULD NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS HOLD ME BACK. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE MONEY. I JUST WANT TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH HIM. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH. I HAVE BEEN TO HELL AND BACK AND RON HAS BEEN THERE THROUGH IT ALL. "Hermione yells at her mother. Ron comes out of his room and stands at the top of the steps. He calmly walks down the stairs, fully dressed now. He looks at Mrs. Granger and then to Mr. Granger.
"I have loved your daughter since I was 13 years old. It was the moment where she punched this guy in the face. I knew right then and there that she would be my wife. She was someone who could stand on her own two feet. But it was when we were in the Malfoy Manor that I knew that I couldn't live without her for one second. I had to be with her and only her. I need her. I need her more than what you think or what she thinks I need her. If I had to go through life without her it wouldn't even be worth me living." Said Ron
"How in the world would you a 17 year old know what it means to need someone like you said? You haven't even known each other long enough to know what love is." Said Mrs. Granger
"Ma'am all due respect but I have known Hermione for 7 years, I had loved her for 7, been IN love with her for 4 and needed her for almost a year now. So I do know what love is. I know what it means to give my whole heart and soul to one person and I know what it means to put someone else before myself. So please do not tell me I do not know what love is. Hermione and I are getting married next month at my parent's house. You both are invited. Mrs. Granger you don't have to come but you are invited. Then we are going to move to the country side and raise a family there someday. You two are more than welcomed to come and visit but if you, Mrs. Granger, so much as disrespect me and my family, and that's including Hermione, at anytime from here on out, you are banned for life. Meaning you can't see Hermione or your future grandchildren EVER." Ron said calmly.
"Ron, I am proud that you are marring my daughter. Just let me know the date and I will be there to walk Hermione down the aisle. Welcome to the family! "Mr. Granger said. Hermione hugs her father tightly and then walks up to Ron to give him a kiss.
"Daddy, Mum we are leaving in an hour to go home. We need to start looking for a flat to live in for right now until we start having children." Hermione says. She walks up the stairs and packs her bag then gets ready to leave.
A month went by since the whole fiasco at her parent's house in Australia. Today was Hermione's wedding day. Her mother wasn't coming, but she wasn't upset over that. She figured that she wouldn't want to hurt her pride. That was okay with her. She didn't need her mother to help her get ready for her big day.
"Hey Hermione are you ready to walk down the aisle?" Her father poked his head around the corner.
"Is it time to go? I guess I am ready. Daddy, do you think I am too young to be getting married?" She asked him.
"Honestly, no. You were always more mature for your age. So you getting married now not a big problem at all. Just remember when you start to fight not to lose your cool with him. He means well it's just he goes about it sometimes in the wrong way it seems. I saw how well you work together when we were in Australia. I have no doubt you two will be great together." He said
"Thanks Daddy." They walked outside to see Ron standing at the end of the aisle. Hermione becomes excited and can't wait to get down to the end of the aisle. The pastor says his words and now lets the young couple speak their vows. Hermione goes first.
"Ron, goodness, this was a long time in the making. We've been through so much already. But I can't think of anyone that I would rather spend all those great…and horrible memories with. You have been there for me when I thought I could take care of myself. You saw something in me that I still can't see. You are my life Ron. I can't think of anyone else to spend the rest of my life with, you are it for me. So I promise to let you win some fights (the whole crowd laughs). I promise to love you for eternity and then some. I promise to be your best friend. I promise to just love you for you and not expect anything more than what you have already. Because Ron I love you for you, not for your good looks and red hair. Those are just a perk. I love your personality and the way you rub your eyes when you think you aren't tired. I love the way you separate the food on your plate only to shove it all together on the fork then into your mouth. But the one thing I love the most is the way you seem to know when I need a hug or a kiss on the cheek. I love you Ronald Bilious Weasley. You and only you." She says while he wipes the tears out of her eyes. He then wipes the tears out of his eyes and proceeds to say his vows.
"Hermione, I love you so, so much. You are my universe. I wish I was better at words, but I am not. I promise to love you for infinity. I promise to not make you angry as much as I use to. Goodness, Hermione I love you so much. I promise to make you your favorite snack when you are feeling down. I also promise to be more intuitive when it comes to your feelings. I know I can have an emotional range of a teaspoon sometimes (Harry and Hermione are the only ones who laugh at this.) but I promise to be better at that. I love you and only you Hermione Jane Granger." Ron is now crying and Hermione mimics his actions and wipes his tears off of his eyes. The pastor says the traditional vows as well and they both say I do. They finally kissed each other and now are sitting at a table talking to Harry.
"I guess it's time for me and Ginny to say our speeches. We tried not to be too harsh or funny. So forgive us if you get embarrassed. (Harry magically made his voice louder.) Can I have your attention, it time for me and the maid of honor to say our speeches. Ginny, love, come up here please. I'll go first. Ron and Hermione, what can I say. Those two are really a pair. I have been through everything that they have been through and then some. I watched them grow from hating each other, but secretly liking each other, to hating each other even more, but secretly loving each other. They are my best friends and they will always be that. But now I can't think of them as two separate people any more. They are one
person now, and all I can say is FINALLY! For Pete sakes we all have been waiting for a long, long time for this. So congratulation you two. I am extremely happy for you two. Good luck in this new adventure, that doesn't include me in it." Harry magically made his voice quiet again and let Ginny take the floor.
"Now really Hermione, what in the world do you see in my brother. He really is a git. ("Ginerva Weasley, stop that right now." Yelled Mrs. Weasley) No seriously now, you two are really great for each other. When Ron came back from Hogwarts his first year, he would tell me about Harry and this girl named Hermione and how she was a downright bore. I knew right then and there, even at the age of 10 that he liked you. He only mentioned Harry but went on and on about you and how you supposedly knew everything about everything. He was smitten with you and it was so cute. But I really didn't take it to heart because he was an icky boy and my brother what did he know about liking a girl. It was when I got to see it firsthand that I knew that you two were meant for each other. It was when everyone was at the Burrow. He would intentionally pick fights with you and call you names that I knew you two would be together forever. So (she raises her glass) to the git of a brother and his new wife. May you all live life happily. Cheers." She fixes her voice to be back to its normal voice and walks over to the newly married couple give them each a hug and a kiss. Then tells them it was there turn to dance their dance.
They both get up to the center of the floor and start to dance to their song. Slowly in a circle. They were oblivious to the world and that's how the wanted to remain. Life for them was going to be great. They eventually found a flat in muggle London and found jobs that made life a little easier. All was well in there world. They were extremely happy and wouldn't change anything for the world.