Hermione wrung her hands nervously. As she paced in her office her assistant tutted loudly.
"Stop pacing for the love of Christ," Steven muttered. Hermione didn't listen to him and bit her fingernails nervously. "Wanna talk about whatever's bothering you instead of you making annoying noises?" he asked lazily, not looking up from the magazine he was reading.
Hermione glared at him. "It's a personal issue," she said shortly. Her eyes flicked down to the engagement ring on her left hand.
"You're pregnant?" he said boredly.
"No!" Hermione snapped, her face flushing red. "It's not an issue you need to concern yourself with! Get back to work and stop reading the Quibbler."
"Nah," he said, flicking the page infuriating Hermione. She sometimes regretted hiring him. "It's my birthday in six and a half months. No one should have to do work when their birthday is so soon."
"Wickham! Get to work now. I am your boss and you will do as you're told!"
Steven jumped and continued his paperwork. He could never disobey Hermione's stern voice. He didn't really even have that much to do! It'd been a slow week for her. All he had to do was write a couple of letters to other departments, prepare some forms on equal rights with all magical beings for Hermione to look over, write a draft speech about integrating Muggle psychological therapies into the Wizarding World, and organise three meetings with her clients.
How hard could it possibly be?!
Although, now that he was quiet and no longer distracting her, she got back to pacing and fiddling with her engagement ring. Her wedding was in four months and she'd gotten the form today to apply to legally change her surname.
And it sent her into a panic.
Not about marrying Ron. Never.
The panic was about changing her name. She thought she'd always change her name to her husband's surname but when she wrote it out, she didn't know if she really wanted to anymore.
She loved her last name. It wasn't a Wizarding last name and she was very proud of it. She'd accomplished so much as Hermione Granger, not Weasley. And she continued wanting to achieve accomplishments as Hermione Granger.
Besides, Hermione Weasley just didn't sit right in her mind.
So after a few minutes (hours) of debating with herself, she decided she was going to keep her last name.
The relief she felt lasted about an eightieth of a second.
She had to tell Ron.
What if he got offended? What if it hurt him? They wouldn't match on their documents! When they'd have children, they would have to revisit this conversation and feelings might get hurt again!
He might get angry. He might get mad and think she was insulting him by not picking up his name.
That made her mad to think. Yes, it was a hypothetical situation but how dare he get mad! (That was if he did indeed get angry.) She was her own woman; she did not need to take her husband's name. She wasn't his property!
Then again, he might get sad.
Hermione resumed pacing.
Deciding to worry about it when she got home and could properly talk to Ron (rather than make up ridiculous scenarios which only had a nineteen per cent chance of happening), she went back to her own work and tried to distract herself, not thinking of how heavy her left hand felt.
Especially the ring finger.
When Hermione had gotten home, she'd made Ron's favourite dinner to butter him up a bit. Hermione waited at the table for him to come home. He was working in the Auror Office and had sent her a quick memo saying he couldn't come home with her as he had to have one last meeting. They generally Apparated together but there were often times where one of them had to stay later.
He was due home any time. Hermione still got anxious when he wasn't home when he said he would be. It was something she could never shake off after the war. Her mind immediately jumped at the worst possible case and she felt the incoming of a panic attack.
Breathe in for five seconds. Hold it for two. Breathe out slowly, her therapist's soothing voice came floating through her mind.
But she couldn't breathe. Had something happened to Ron? He was almost an hour late with no memo or owl – nothing. What if he'd been attacked? How could she live without Ron?
The world was getting narrower, Hermione's breaths shorter and quicker. She felt like a hand was on her chest, drowning her. Her heart thumped loudly around her and she squeezed her eyes shut because she couldn't breathe.
"Hermione!" Ron's voice came through her panic-induced haze. "Hermione, breathe," he said calmly. "With me." His hands on her shoulders made her feel like she was being brought back into reality.
With Ron's help, her heart rate slowed down and she could see clearly again. She was so relieved to see the familiar, freckly face. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "You were late and my mind started telling me things again."
"Don't be," he said, kissing her on top of the head. "I'm sorry for not letting you know. The meeting dragged on forever. I can't promise it won't happen again but I'm going to try and make sure that it doesn't."
She smiled. "Well, thankfully dinner won't be too cold but it's ready."
"Hermione!" Ron scolded her. "You knew it was my day to cook. I know I'm hopeless but I won't get any better without any practice."
She laughed and stood up (when had she fallen to the floor? She didn't think about it) with Ron's help and together they helped themselves.
"Oh, and you cooked my favourite," he said reverently. "Have I ever told you I love you?"
"I think you've mentioned it here and there," she replied with a warm smile for her fiancé.
They ate, chatting about their days and Hermione firmly kept the surname matter far behind her. She'd ask him later.
After dinner they sat on the lounge to enjoy a cuppa together. Ron was reading the Daily Prophet, occasionally commenting angrily at it, and she made the occasional hum but her mind wasn't on the article about the rights of magical creatures – something she was usually very passionate about. All she could think of was her surname so she decided to just bite the wand and go for it.
"Ron?"
He grunted. Typical.
"Um… I've been thinking about something…"
"About what?" Her husband-to-be was always a charmer.
"My surname," she said timidly.
"What about it?" He tried to fold the paper neatly but half of it fell onto the floor so he left the rest on the pillow next to him. "I'll pick it up later," he sighed when he saw Hermione's sour look.
"Well… what about your surname?" Ron prompted when Hermione hadn't said anything.
She hesitated before coming to the conclusion that eventually he would have to know. It was better to be sooner than later. "I don't think I want to change it to Weasley," she said very softly.
"I didn't hear that," Ron said, "as you basically breathed it. Could you please speak up?"
She may have ridden a dragon as an eighteen year old and been on the run from the most dangerous man in Britain for almost a year, but this felt so much scarier.
Well… maybe not.
"Hermione?" Ron asked again, looking at her in concern.
"Oh, sorry. Mind wandered. But…" She took a deep breath and said clearly, "I don't want to change my surname to Weasley."
"Oh," Ron said, picking the newspaper back up from the floor and attempting again to put it back together. "That's fine."
Hermione blinked. She wasn't expecting this reaction.
"So you're fine with me staying as Hermione Granger? You're fine with me not being Hermione Weasley?"
Ron smiled at her. "It's your choice, isn't it? I understand why you'd want to stay as Hermione Granger. I definitely don't mind it as Hermione Granger was the woman I fell in love with."
Hermione softened at his words, a smile playing on her lips.
"And besides, there's enough bloody Mrs Weasleys in the family already. They can deal without an extra one."
It was almost very sweet.
Hermione laughed anyway. "Thank you, Ron," she said earnestly. "I was so worried you'd be upset."
He laughed. "Nah. I don't see you asking me to change my name so why should you change yours?"
"You could give it a go," she suggested.
"Ron Granger," he said, his nose wrinkling. "Doesn't really go, does it?"
Hermione shook her head, shaking with laughter. "No, it really doesn't. So in four months instead of Mr Weasley and Miss Granger, we'll be Mr Weasley and Mrs Granger."
When she said that her body tingled with excitement. Ron seemed to share the same feeling because he leant in to kiss her, throwing the ruined newspaper behind him and ignoring Hermione's annoyed sigh.