'Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Katie Bell and I'm your chief flight attendant. On behalf of Captain Dean Thomas and the entire crew, welcome aboard this Airbus A319 to Paris Charles-De-Gaulle airport. Boarding is soon finished. We will be taking off shortly. Please take a few minutes to listen to our safety demonstration. Have a great flight. Thank you for choosing British Airways.'
While the flight attendant was describing safety instructions in case of cabin depressurization in the hallway close to his seat, Ronald Weasley, CEO of Ad-Weasley advertising company in London, was not paying any kind of attention. His glance was focused on another flight attendant, who was preparing the beverages cart, that she will be driving along the hallway to offer fresh drinks to flight passengers. Ron, as his family and friends called him, was a regular user of this London Heathrow-Paris Charles-De-Gaulle line. He took this flight at least once a month, to go meet with his clients in Paris, and the flight attendant who was retaining his attention was also regularly on this flight, for his pleasure.
She was short, at least compared to him, with brushy brown hair and big smiling eyes. Her eyes were chocolate-brown, his favorite treats. During take-off, Ron did not stop looking at the young woman. She was keeping busy with the preparation but mostly tried to avoid his glance.
Hermione Granger, flight attendant for more than 7 years, had already recognized the passenger seating in row 7, hallway seat. He was there at least once a month. Despite his ginger hair which allowed him to be noticeable through a crowd, what caught Hermione's attention were his eyes, ocean-blue-like eyes. Smiling and charming eyes. And they indeed charmed her at first glance. During their first commun flight, they only exchanged a few words, regular words. But, since then, they exchanged more and more words and looks. Hermione was feeling butterflies in her stomach whenever she recognized this special passenger. Her friend, and colleague, Katie had noticed it and was making fun of her every time, especially while calling Ron, her ginger-haired lover.
Hermione has felt the ginger-haired man eyes on her during safety instructions and has strongly tried to ignore her wish to look at him and his fabulous eyes. She organized the drinks cart then sat for the take-off procedure.
After several minutes of silence, the 'Please fasten your seatbelt' turned off. The aircraft had reached its cruising altitude. There was 1 hour flight left. Hermione unfastened her seatbelt and set her cart in the alley. She served some beverages to business class passengers at the front of the aircraft.
When she draw nearer to Row 7, her heart started beating faster. Ron was looking directly at her.
'Good morning Mister, can I offer you some refreshments?'
He smiled tenderly while she was pouring his neighbor his coke and salty biscuits. She then turned to him, taken aback by his smile, she could not say a single word:
'- Hello Hermione…
- Good morning Mr Weasley…
- Ron… Call me Ron! How many times should I say that to you?' he answered smiling.
'- One more time I guess…' she answered blushing.
'-How are you? It's been a while since I last saw you…
- Yes I had to work on another long-range flight for a few weeks…
- I am glad to see you again on this good old flight…
- yes me too…'
Then his neighbor from the other side of the alley scraped his throat to show his impatience. Hermione realized her mistakes and followed up on her drinks offering. She had no occasion to come back to have a longer talk with Ron during the entire flight. He started to work so focusedly that the plane started its descent towards Paris before he raised his head from his computer. When she was checking every passenger and making sure that everyone had followed safety instructions, Hermione realized that his seat was empty. Where had he gone?
'Excuse me… but apparently I'm supposed to stay seated…'
She jumped hearing his voice behind her. She turned around blushing. He was tenderly smiling at her.
'Sor… Sorry sir…' she stammered out, moving out of his way.
Nevertheless, Ron stayed where he was, slowly coming closer to her, muttering, bright red from blushing.
'There… There is something that I want to do for a very long time… but I don't know if you…
- Go ahead…'
Hermione was also muttering, they were lost in each other eyes, their faces really close to each others. Then Ron reduced the distance between them and kissed her gently. Hermione kissed him back but they were separated by a turbulence and an announcement from the captain.
'Captain speaking. The plane enters an area of turbulence. please be seated and fasten your seatbelt.'
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, distraught by what just happened between them. Ron walked back to his seat without taking his eyes off Hermione. During landing, they looked at each other. Hermione could not think straight. She felt so much emotions when he kissed her. This kiss has been fabulous and overwhelming. But what did it mean? For him? For her? For them? Them? So much complications...
Lost in her thoughts she did not realized immediately that the plane had landed. Her friend Katie had to bring her back to earth, literally:
'- Hermione? Hello? Forget about your ginger-haired lover for 2 seconds already… It's time, we're here…'
Hermione sprang on her feet and took the microphone to speak to the passengers:
'Ladies and gentlemen, we just landed in Paris Charles-De-Gaulle Airport. It is 6.40pm local time. Outdoor temperature is 12 degrees celsius. We thank you for choosing British Airways and wish you a very pleasant stay here in Paris and a good transfer if you are in transit. See you soon.'
The disembarkation of the cabin started as soon as the aircraft was parked. She was saying goodbyes to the leaving passengers when Ron came closer to her and the exit doors.
'- I am so sorry about earlier… Sorry if it had offended you in some ways…
- No, no, don't worry… I…'
But she could not speak more with him because the same neighbor from Row 7 who had been impatient during drinks service was also impatient to leave and did not give them the opportunity to talk about the kiss.
Three days later, when Ron boarded the BA7523 flight to London Heathrow, his hopes were crushed into pieces when he recognized Katie Bell, the chief flight attendant, but not the flight attendant welcoming passengers next to her.
'Hello Mr Weasley…' Katie said.
'Hello…' answered Ron.
The new flight attendant smiled at him and said 'Hello Sir…' but Ron did not take any notice of her seductive tone.
He sat in his seat, mind clouded. Where was she? He thought he was going to see her again on his return trip and take the opportunity to talk with her… about their kiss… their feelings? well… if she had any… But he thought that she had reciprocated his kiss… Where was she?
When Katie walked by him, he took his chance:
'- Sorry but… is your colleague…
- Hermione?
- Yes… is she sick? I thought I was gonna see her today…'
Katie smiled, understanding. She put her hand on his arm gently and told him:
'- She has been assigned to a private flight at the last minute… She was supposed to be on this plane to go back to London but…
- Oh, I see…'
She went back to the front of the aircraft to take the beverages cart. Ron shook out of his disappointment and took a pen and a piece of paper.
When the flight attendant came back and offered him a beverage, he gave her the piece of paper.
"- Could you give that to her, please?'
She accepted silently and smiled at him.
A few days after, Katie and Hermione met in a café near London city center. They had not seen each other since the flight during which Ron and Hermione had kissed. Katie had not had the opportunity to give her the piece of paper that Ron has secured her with during his flight back to England.
'- So private jet?' Katie asked once they had greeted each other friendly and had ordered a drink.
Hermione bursted into laughter and started to tell her suffering.
'- The lady was unbearable. Really! A real plague, and jealous with all of that! Well… her husband does not look like the faithful type… how he was looking at the chief flight attendant breasts… I think they were a lot more closer than they should be… I was feeling like I was in a middle of your stupid soap-opera!' she added making fun of her friend.
'- Were they famous celebrities? A fancy french celebrity couple?
- No they were american… But I am not like you, I don't know all these famous people we see in magazines! So I would not have recognized them anyway!
- You're not funny at all… we could have gossiped about them… Did you take any pictures maybe? discreetly I mean…' Katie asked, out of curiosity.
Hermione laughed again.
'-Of course no… I am not like you… I didn't even think about doing it…'
Katie laughed too, not surprised at all by her friend's behaviour, not interested in the jetset life. But more likely to be interested by a certain ginger-haired man… Who made her think about something…
'- Anyway… I know someone who deeply regretted that you were reassigned to the american jetset…'
Hermione understood straight away who Katie was mentioning and blushed.
'- Really?
- Oh yes… you would have loved his sad puppy face when he saw Stacey standing next to me and not his Hermione…
- Oh stop it! It is not was you think it is…
- How's that? You kiss even though you know nothing about the other and you see each other 2 to 3 times a month when he takes the plane to go and do god-knows-what in Paris and it is not what I think it is…'
Hermione blushed even more when Katie mentioned the kiss, that she could not stop thinking about.
'- BTW he was so sad, he gave something to me… for you…
- WHAATT?'
Hermione had screamed without realizing it. A few clients turned around and looked at them surprised. She apologized and stared intensely at her friend, who was smiling widely, happy of her effect.
'- Yes, he gave me a piece of paper… that I was supposed to give to you… But since Miss only cares about jetset now… and not about us, poor flight attendants on regular public flights…
- Stop whining Katie!" Hermione replied, laughing. 'What's written?
- I did not look, you know me…
- Right… So what's on it?' asked Hermione, not convinced by her friend honesty.
'- OK I confess, I looked at it… but there's nothing interesting for me… for you in the contrary…
- What?' asked Hermione, worrying.
To answer her, Katie took the piece of paper out. Hermione took it, unfold it and read:
Ronald Weasley
Ad-Weasley Entertainment
230 Oxford Street
London - W1D 2LT
(0044) 6323 159 753
weasley .co
And written below, 'Call me… XX -Ron'
Hermione looked at her friend who was smiling at her.
'- So… Are you gonna call him?
- Did you… Did you choose this café on purpose?' asked Hermione, suspiciously.
'- What do you mean?' replied Katie, innocently.
'- We're two blocks away from Oxford Street…
- And so? I don't understand…' pretended Katie.
'- Don't play dumb with me… Did you do it on purpose?
- Maybe yes… maybe no…' half-confessed Katie.
Hermione blushed evenmore while looking at the piece of paper again, which was a professional contact card of Ron Weasley.
'- You think I should call him?
- Want a piece of advice? You should go there… and surprised him…
- But if he doesn't like surprises…
- Coming from you, he's gonna love anything! I've seen you how he looks at you during every flight… He is madly in love… completely crazy in love with you… and picture the scene! So romantic…'
Hermione was still hesitating.
"- What are you afraid of sweetie? You too are crazy about him, right?
- yes… but… as you said, we don't know each other… We only see each other 2 to 3 times in the plane and we know nothing about the other… I only know his name…
- And now his job… where he works… his number…
- yes but what if he is married?
- again… the way he looks at you… he cannot be married…
- but what if we don't get along in the end…
- sweetie… It's not by staying here that you are gonna know that… Anyway nothing stops you from tying… You're crazy about him, he's crazy about you… You deserve to know more about each other than when you ask him if he would rather have sweet or salty biscuits… don't you think?'
Hermione agreed with her friend.
'- so…
- you NEED to go! You need to see each other again… I come with if you want, but you NEED to go…'
Motivated Hermione stood up, Ron's professional card in her hands. Katie screamed excited which made Hermione smiled.
'- I'm gonna go… I'm gonna go now…'
Katie clapped her hands, excited by the turn of events.
'- I'm so happy! You'll have to tell me everything about it after! But once you stopped licking each other faces, so happy to be reunited…'
Hermione laughed but lifted her eyes to heavens, exasperated by her friend behaviour. She took a long breath, went out of the café and walked to 230 Oxford Street. During the journey, she tried to calm her breathing and heart beating down. It was beating faster and faster in her head while she was coming closer to Ron's work address.
She was trying to ignore all the questions in her head. How was he gonna to react? Was he gonna be happy to see her? How was he really like? Was he as much into her that she was into him? Had he thought about their kiss? Because she could not stop thinking about it…
She arrived in front of his building without finding any answers. The building was quite high and a plate on the wall indicated that she was in the right spot. She read the sign and learnt that Ad-Weasley Entertainment was on the 3rd floor. She entered in the lobby and headed to the elevator. She could only hear her beating heart and her breathing accelerated again.
When the elevator doors opened on the 3rd floor, she hesitated to go out. But her brain pushed to move and she went to the Welcoming Desk in front of her. A young blonde woman smiled at her when she came closer:
'- Good afternoon Madam, what can I help you with?
- I… I…' Hermione was spluttering, she was starting to shake. She took a deep breath and asked:
'- Good afternoon. I wish to see Mr Weasley… Mr Ronald Weasley…
- Do you have an appointment?'
All of Hermione's hopes crushed down. Of course he must have a tight schedule… He was a CEO after all… What did she think? That he would be patiently waiting in his office, in front of his phone, doing nothing, waiting for her to call?
'- No… No I do not have an appointment…'
The secretary smiled at her.
'- I will look if he is busy right now and I will let him know that someone wants to see him…'
Hermione started to silently pray while the blonde woman looked on her computer. A few seconds later, she looked at Hermione with a smile on her lips.
'- Mr Weasley is currently in a conference call but he finishes in 15 minutes, then he is free. If you want, you can wait here. I let him know that someone is waiting for him. Or do you wish me to tell him something else?
Hermione thought quickly of hr answer.
'- No, it's perfect… I wish to keep a bit of a surprise…' added the flight attendant blushing.
The secretary seemed to understand more than what was said. Hermione warmly thanked her and sat on a chair near the welcoming desk. The next 15 minutes were propbably the longest of her life for Hermione. She tried not to panic and freak out. She focused her mind on the several advertisements on the walls, trying to remember any slogans… To keep her mind busy and not worry about the fact that, in a few seconds, she will be seeing Ron again…
She jumped when the secretary talked on the phone:
'- Mr Weasley? Sorry to bother you. I have someone here at the welcome desk willing to see you…'
Silence.
'- No, this person does not have an appointment…'
Silence.
'- Very well.'
She hung up the phone and winked at Hermione, who stood right up starting to have a panic attack.
'- Mr Weasley is coming…' said the secretary, even though Hermione had already understood the fact.
Hermione's heart was beating even faster than before. She tried to calm it down by taking deep breaths. But all this work was crushed into pieces when her eyes crossed ocean-blue-like ones. Ron was coming out of a corridor. When their eyes crossed, he abruptly stopped walking, surprised. Then he started to move again and came closer to her, a big smile on his lips.
'- Looks like the effect of surprise worked well…' muttered the secretary, loud enough for Hermione to hear. She turned around to look at the blonde woman while Ron was still walking towards them, and muttered 'Thanks', relieved.
Ron stopped a few centimeters away from her, eyes lost in hers. He only could mutters an out-of-breath 'hi'.
Hermione answered on the same tone.
'- We… We're gonna…' He coughed and after a look at the secretary who was watching amused said: 'We are going to my office, it will be… better…
- OK… I'll… I'll follow you…'
They stayed quiet for the all walk from the welcome desk to his CEO office. Ron opened the door and invited her to come in his simple and practical office. His office was quite a mess but Hermione found it more cute than anything else. He suggested they sit at the small meeting table in the middle of the room. I sat down next to her. They looked at each other silently for a few seconds because Hermione dared to ask:
'- I hope I am not disturbing you…
- No… no, of course not... '
Everything seemed simple now that they were reunited.
'- I thought your friend did not give you my card… or that you didn't contact me… or worse that you were mad at me… for the…'
He could not end his sentence but Hermione understood what he was referring to and touched her lips, remembering about the kiss.
'- I have not seen Katie… my friend you gave the card to… until today… I was on another flight plan…
- Yeah, that's what she told me when I asked her where you were during last Wednesday flight…'
Hermione smiled, touched by his worry over her disappearance.
'- I… I have to admit I was not ready for this…
- It's true I just came here… I probably should have called before… and not come to your workplace… I must be disturbing you during your workday…' she added standing up, suddenly ashamed that she came to his workplace without warning.
Ron stood up too, took her hands and asserted:
'- no, no, it's not like that at all…. It's just that I'm surprised and I was not expect…'
He was interrupted when the door of his office opened itself wide, he let her hand go and a young woman, similar in age of Hermione, with ginger hair entered the office. Without noticing that she was interrupting a conversation, she said directly to Ron:
'- Sorry. Just to let you know that we meet at the Burrow after work. I go to take the kids at 5 and then I drive directly over there. You join us when you're done.'
She nodded toward Hermione and left, as quickly as she had entered, without closing the door.
Ron and Hermione were still in shock and said nothing for a few seconds. Then Hermione realized what just happened and muttered:
'- It was a terrible idea…'
And she ran away. Ron, still in shock, did not move to catch her.
Arriving to the welcome desk, Hermione took the stairs without answering to the secretary who was asking her if everything went OK, smiling.
When Ron recovered his senses, Hermione was already out of the building. When he ran up to the welcome desk and asked where she had gone, Hermione was already entering the Marks&Spencer shop on the other side of the road, her heart beating faster, her hairs messy and almost crying. She took a dress at random and locked herself up in a fitting room. Just to occupy her hands, she tried the dress on. It fitted perfectly. She looked at herself in the mirror and, seeing her red eyes, burst into tears.
So she had guesses correctly… he was married and he even had kids… What had she thought exactly? She was not in one of those cheesy romantic movies that she enjoyed so much… it was real… never in real life, one could not fall in love with a flight attendant one saw twice a month… one had fun with her, one kissed her to see what it felt like, to do something forbidden, but no falling in love…
After a few minutes of crying out, trying to regain confidence, Hermione went out of the fitting room. She decided to not think about Ron anymore and to ask to me erase of every airlines plans for any London-Paris flights. She did not want to risk meeting with him again on his regular flights towards the french city. She managed to hide her puffy eyes and went to the cashier, to pay for the dress. She was not really into shopping but, for the moment, she thought she needed the dress to remember herself to forget about Ron and this whole story.
However, she almost felt backwards when she recognized the lady at the cash desk. It was the lady that came into Ron's office earlier… It was his wife… The mother of his children…
'I'm so screwed!' thought Hermione.
The ginger-haired woman looked at her and smiled while taking her dress. Hermione tried to keep her head low but the woman recognized her anyway.
'- Good afternoon… Thank you… I kn… sorry but… We've already met, right?'
Hermione tried to deny it but the young woman did not let her any occasion to speak.
'- You were in Ron's office, just before… Weren't you?'
Hermione had to confess. While taking her credit card for the dress, the saleswoman asked her, smiling, without realizing Hermione blush:
'- You too work for the cabinet? You work with Ron?'
Hermione prefered to stay honest.
'- No… We just know each other… I don't work there… I am a… A flight attendant…'
Hermione did not understand why but the woman eyes lighted up, her mouth opened wide and she muttered:
'- You're Hermione?'
Shocked that the woman knew her name, Hermione could only opened surprised eyes.
'- Wha…
- Oh my god, it's YOU, isn't it?' asked the saleswoman again, giving her back her credit card.
'- Yes, but how do you…
- Ron told me so much stuff about you!
- Excuse me?' replied Hermione, completely lost.
'- My brother can not shut up about you…
- brother?
- yes… my brother… Ron… Ron Weasley…'
Silence. Than the two women realized the misunderstanding.
'- Oh you thought I was his…
- Wife? Yes...
- Oh god, no!' affirmed the saleswoman laughing.
Hermione had a small smile. The ginger-haired woman held out her hand coming out of behind her desk:
'- Ginny Weasley-Potter, pleasure to meet you Hermione… The flight attendant… FINALLY!'
Hermione shook her hand and said her name: 'Hermione Granger, pleasure's mine…'
'- Do you have something planned tonight?' Ginny asked bluntly.
'- No… Not at the moment…' answered Hermione, intrigued.
'- Now you do! We're gonna surprise my stupid brother!' said Ginny, a big smile on her face, dragging Hermione with her and intertwining their arms.