Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

Chapter 2 Love

Astoria didn't realize her sister ditched her until it was too late. Like a lost child, she looked around the stadium with huge, blue eyes that were already watering. Ron felt a dull ache in his chest as people started to leave, and she stayed rooted on the spot, waiting for her mean sister to return.

"She had to do something with Ginny," Ron told her as her eyes continued to search the crowd. "So…"

"But… I can't apparate." She didn't give up and kept scanning the sea of people leaving. Ron frowned. If she was under seventeen, she would be at Hogwarts right now.

"I can erhm…" If he offered to take her home, she might think he was a creep trying to figure out where she lived. "We could get some pizza, if you're hungry. After that, I'll send Ginny a Patronus so your sister can meet up with us."

Astoria bit her lip. "I'm not allowed to eat Muggle food."

How old are you? Ron wanted to ask, but he had a feeling that one rude remark would reduce her to a puddle of tears. Hermione hated it when he spoke without thinking. "The place is in Diagon Alley… And I won't tell."

"You won't?" She sounded genuinely surprised. Alright… Maybe she was sixteen or younger. At twenty two, Ron felt ashamed for being attracted to her. He could already hear George calling him a pervert once Ginny told him.

"No…" He scratched the back of his head. There was nothing wrong with making sure she got home alright. "But I could take you back to Hogwarts if you want."

She frowned in a confused way that Ron found adorable. Because you're a pervert, George laughed in his head. "I haven't been to Hogwarts since I graduated three years ago."

So she was twenty. Ron couldn't help but be surprised and relieved at the same time. He looked up at the sky in thanks before realizing he called her a kid. "Oh. I…"

"Daph says I look sixteen." Astoria looked annoyed at the memory but continued looking for her sister anyway. If he was in her shoes, he would've told Daphne to stuff it and go eat half a pizza. "She wouldn't leave me here…"

I'm sure she would, Ron thought dryly. He didn't know why, but he really didn't like Daphne Greengrass. Ginny didn't either. He was sure of it. "She's with my sister. I could send a Patronus now if you want."

"She'll be mad at me." The stadium was nearly empty now, and Astoria chewed on her lip nervously. She must think he was a serial killer or something. "But I'm mad at her for leaving me. Let's go."


Although she would never tell Ronald Weasley, Astoria had never been allowed to be alone with a boy so close to her age before. Daphne said it was improper. That didn't stop her from sneaking off with Ginny Weasley though, who Astoria knew her older sister fancied. Sometimes, Astoria felt like life was passing her by and that she only got to taste a few crumbs of it when Daphne approved. Now she was getting an entire meal.

"This is so good!" Pizza was greasy and cheesy, and Astoria found herself liking it more than she should. "Daphne says its poison."

"So?" Ronald winced when her eyes widened in alarm. Was it like fish? Daphne said that Muggles polluted them so they couldn't eat a lot of it. That they could die. She had already eaten half a piece. "I-I mean, it's like sweets. It's bad for you, but people eat them anyway."

"Not Daphne," she mumbled resentfully. She loved her sister, but she was tired of Daphne showing that she loved her by treating her like glass. Ever since Mother left when she was still in nappies, Daphne took it upon herself to raise her. It was a switch that she never managed to turn off. "I mean, uh…"

"She sounds like my brother Percy." Clearly that wasn't a compliment. Ronald snickered like it was funny as he grabbed another slice of pizza. "I could tell at the game she has a fat head. Percy mellowed out a bit since…" He paused and cleared his throat. Since the war, Astoria filled in to herself. "Anyway, for my own sanity, I learned to ignore the git."

With a shrug, Astoria took a sip of her fizzy drink and tried not to act like it was no big deal. What was wrong with her? She finally got a night out without Daphne chaperoning, and she couldn't stop talking about her. But, she didn't really have much of a life without Daphne. She couldn't let Ronald know that though. He was the first person in a while who didn't make her feel stupid, even though she knew nothing about pizza or fizzy drinks or fake plates. If she steered the conversation to him, maybe he won't notice.

"Draco said you have ten brothers and six sisters," Astoria said, reciting the only thing she knew about the Weasleys except for the fact that they were poor. Was that rude? Ronald was staring. It must be rude. "I… I mean… Sorry?"

"Ferret," Ronald muttered before grabbing a third slice of pizza. "I have five brothers and one sister. Malfoy's just jealous that his inbred parents couldn't give him siblings."

"Oh…" Astoria bit her lip as she felt herself turning redder than the pepperonis on the pizza. This was why the Sorting Hat didn't want her to be in Slytherin. She could never tell when someone was lying. Following Daphne seemed like a good idea at the time, but she wasn't even perceptive enough to realize that Draco and Ronald hated each other. "He…"

"Is a royal prat," Ronald grumbled, but then, he smiled, making Astoria's half a dozen apologies die on her lips. She held her breath, waiting for an insult. "Will you think I'm a pig if we get ice cream too?"

He didn't make her feel small or beg for forgiveness. Most normal people didn't, but being in Slytherin, half the people in her life did. Millicent, Tracy, Pansy, if she was in a mood. The other half treated her like a baby and would have lectured her on what would've been a proper conversation starter. Daphne, Draco, Theodore. Ronald didn't seem to care. Astoria tried not to blush as he waited for her to answer.

"That would be nice, thank you."


Ron wasn't sure if things were going awkwardly or if she was trying to be polite. He tried to think before he spoke. Hermione hated it when he blurted out whatever was on his mind. It's been two years, he told himself. Get over it.

But he couldn't. For the first time ever, he wasn't comparing someone he found attractive to Hermione. And that made him only think about her more. Hermione's criticisms jumbled about in his brain, as if trying to force things to go smoothly and making the evening worse. He liked to tell himself that her nitpicks were what made them fall apart. That wasn't fair, since it wasn't true, but it was a hell of a lot easier to swallow.

"We don't have to get ice cream, if you don't want to." Ron shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked to Florean Fortescue's. "Since, you know, it's February."

Astoria frowned as they stood outside the shop. "So? I love ice cream."

"Thank Merlin." Her frown quirked into that adorable smile, making Ron's ears burn. Hermione always said he ate too carelessly, that his teeth would rot and his pants wouldn't fit. He was going to get extra hot fudge on his sundae tonight.


"Daphne says that Muggles are shaped like spheres," Astoria said as she tucked into her chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles and brownie chunks. "Because they eat like this every day. She says that—"

"Daphne isn't here." Ron cursed himself when his words came out awkwardly instead of cool and inviting like he wanted them too. Hermione was a stickler when it came to health too.

Astoria ate another spoonful, seeming deep in thought, like this was a new development. Well, she was twenty. Daphne was his age. If she was as controlling as Ron suspected, he doubted Astoria had ever been on her own, not even for a meal.

"What do you when she's at work?" he asked bluntly before swearing under his breath. Smooth, real smooth.

She flushed and put her spoon down. Ron had a feeling she was trying not to say, Wait for her to get back. "I… Daddy's terrible at his maths. I help him with his work sometimes. And I read and… Wait for her to get back?"

Ron couldn't help it. A small laugh escaped, but it was enough to make her turn crimson. "I-I'm sorry!" That's what Hermione always told him. You could at least apologize for acting like a gorilla! "But that's what I thought you'd say!"

Astoria tried to glare at him but didn't seem to have it in her to do so for too long because she soon looked away and continued eating. It took a while for Ron to figure out he was getting the silent treatment. She didn't look angry at all.

"She is my best friend," Astoria said stiffly. Hermione was his best friend too, but towards the end of their relationship, she felt more like his mum. Astoria didn't seem to know the difference.

He could fix this. All he had to do was make a joke. Hermione hated when he made jokes when she was upset with him, but Astoria wasn't Hermione, and for once, that didn't bother him. "I didn't know it was possible to be best friends with a banshee."

Oh God… That was literally the most forced, unfunny thing he could've said! He was ready to crawl under a rock until Astoria snorted. She covered her mouth with her hand, as if laughing was somehow rude.

"I'm sorry!" A small giggle escaped from between her tiny fingers. "It's just… You were trying so hard to come up with something!"

Now she was laughing at him. Great. Ron stared at his melting ice cream, as if that could distract him from her twinkly laughs. "She is a banshee…"

"She just misses Mum." The smile faded from her lips but didn't leave completely. "… I… never told anyone that. Not even her."

"Was it the War?" Ron asked before he could stop himself. This was a date, and he was asking how her mum died! If he could even call it a date. He was too afraid to ask.

Astoria titled her head to the side. "You don't know? It was quite the scandal."

"My family doesn't keep track of that stuff." Because we aren't slimy snakes. At least he didn't blurt that joke out…

"Hmm…" She didn't speak until she scraped the last of her ice cream out of her cup. "She left because she realized she didn't want to be a mum after she had me."

It was official. He was going to be single for the rest of his life. So far he had laughed at her, made fun of her sister, brought up the War, and reminded her of how she blamed herself for her mum running off. And then there was the awkwardness. To top it all off, he didn't even have the courage to say that this was a date, not a way to pass the time while Gin was forcing herself through that interview.

Ron cleared his throat, having no clue how to fix this. For once, his ice cream was left untouched. "She's probably just… stupid."

Astoria froze with the spoon halfway to her mouth. "Did you just call my mum stupid?"

"Yes?"

"She's not stupid. She…" Astoria put down her spoon. Now he could add making her cry to the list. "She didn't want to be a mum. Her parents made her marry my dad. I think she thought she could handle one kid. But two…"

Hermione didn't want to be a mum. Ron hated to admit how much that still bothered him. "Then you're better off without her." Just like he was better off without Hermione. "If she doesn't want you around, that's her loss."

"She sends me chocolates." She pursed her lips, but thankfully, her tears didn't fall. "And my sister cookies. That's why Daphne doesn't like sweets. And that's why I love them… I know I should send them back like she does… Don't tell her I said that."

"Don't try to be like Daphne. Just be you." Oh, so now he was trying to be one of those corny blokes from the Muggle movies. Her eyebrows shot up. Maybe he should drop her off at WWW so he could spend the rest of the night crawling under that rock. "Er, I mean… Is there anything else you want to do?"

She paused, probably trying to think of the most polite way to say that she wanted to go home. Ron nearly choked on his melted ice cream when she said, "Let's go to your house."


This was absolutely scandalous! And terrifying, exciting, wonderful! For once, Astoria was going to do whatever she wanted. She had one night before Daphne started hunting her down, and she wasn't going to waste it sulking about Mother or worrying about what's proper. No more being soft spoken or constantly wondering what Daphne would think of the situation.

"You live above the pizza shop?" Astoria exclaimed breathlessly as they hiked up the stairs. "How'd you get so lucky?"

Her back was to him, but she could tell Ronald was embarrassed. "My flat smells like pizza cheese."

"Again, how'd you get so lucky?!"

Astoria didn't know what she was thinking would happen as Ronald unlocked the door. Aurors all looking like Daphne swooping in to arrest them? He awkwardly gestured to the small apartment. "It's not much but…"

"Are you kidding?" Astoria took one step in. Then another. No blonde, grumpy aurors swooped in yet. "You have this whole place to yourself! I bet you can have friends over whenever you want!"

Was that weird? Ronald frowned like it was. "Er, yeah. Neville and Hannah like to come over and cook so I don't live off leftover pizza and butter beer."

Okay. Now what? She was never very brave, but she always wanted to be. And tonight was about what she wanted.


Ron nearly jumped out of his skin when Astoria stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him. Her eyes flew open when he kissed her back, like she thought he was going to push her away. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. All thoughts of Hermione flew from his head. He felt like himself again.

Like it was involuntary, she arched her back and pressed her breasts against him. Ron wrapped his arms around her, feeling like they couldn't be close enough. This was mad. They hardly knew each other.

"What's wrong?" she asked fearfully as he came to his senses and pulled away.

"I, uh…" Ron looked away, knowing he would want to kiss her again if he looked her in the eye. "We hardly know each other—"

"So?" The frustration in her voice made him face her. Her eyes were hard, determined, like he was taking something away from her. "If I was some other girl… woman, you wouldn't think twice—"

"Because I wouldn't care then!" Was it too late to crawl under that rock? She blinked in surprise. "You're the first person in a while who I…" Say it. Don't play it off or struggle with fancy words. Just say it. "Who I actually feel something for."

Now she was the one struggling with fancy words. Her tiny hands balled into shaking fists. "You're the first person who doesn't make me feel… small. I don't want to go home and feel like I missed another opportunity. Because if I go home without taking the risk, I'll go back to waiting for everyone to come to me. I want to feel in charge for once. I want to feel like risks are worth taking."

One more kiss wouldn't hurt. There was so much energy behind it that Ron forgot to breathe. One more kiss wasn't enough.

Before Ron knew it, they were laughing in both relief and joy between kisses and clumsily stumbling into his room. She threw herself onto his bed and squealed with delight when he jumped next to her. He brushed her dark red bangs from her face before asking breathlessly, "Are you sure?"

The joy never left her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't make me come up with another fancy speech. Because I won't be able to and we'll just wind up eating more pizza."

That shut him up.


She came back. Even though he had to leave soon after because Sirius had a heart attack, she still came back. He had off from Auror Training on Wednesdays. Daphne was working. That was their day to eat sweets, make love, and sneak off to London and watch crappy movies. Whenever he thought about Astoria jumping in the theater, thinking Muggles were going to jump out of the screen, he smiled. In fact, for the first time in ages, Ron couldn't stop smiling.

Four Wednesdays went by before they said they loved each other. Too soon, Hermione would've said. And how can she love you if you're her dirty little secret? Ron didn't care about that though. Hermione's lectures were started to disappear and became easier and easier to ignore. If they bothered him so much, he should've told her instead of spending years resenting them.

Another four Wednesdays went by before Astoria became distant. She still stuck to him like glue and even started sneaking to his flat when Daphne was asleep. But something was bothering her, and she wouldn't tell him.

Two Wednesdays later, they were listening to a radio show when she couldn't hold it in anymore and told him what was bothering her.

"I think I'm pregnant."

Thank you for reviewing randver, gr8rockstarrox, and ActualWeeb!

And thank you everyone for your patience! Sorry for the wait. It took so long because I felt like this kind of dragged, and they didn't really have a spark until the end, so I'd be happy for advice on how to improve it!

Was the date too awkward? I think all first dates kind of are. My first date was, and I found out through Facebook stalking later that the guy was a lot older than me. Like more than ten years. :O What about you guys?

You'll have to skip around if you don't like fem!Harry, but Astoria has the baby in Chapter 30 of Is it Too Late to Start Over? The next chapter will feature Daphne and Astoria's mother, and you'll see how Astoria handles this! (Not well. :P)