Author's Note: Hello there everyone! I know it's been so long- almost a year!- but here it is! My life was really hectic all these previous months, and even though this one was almost finished for months now, I couldn't really find the strength to complete it... but it's finished now and ready to be read! Too much different from the previous one, this one is kind of fluffy and humorous, set after the final chapter of Deathly Hallows.
Quite important note: When I first published this story, it was under the 'Romance/General' genres, thus some reviewers, due to the contents of "I'll Burn Forever", expressed some sort of complaints, especially that really saddening one that accused me for 'baiting' or something. So, I want to say some things and clear it out; in any way, I did not try to 'trick' people into reading my story by putting it under the Romance genre. I made this choice having in mind that the whole bunch of one-shots intended to be published under this title, will have as their common factor the love between Ron and Hermione; some of them may express it differently than others, or less than others, by, according to my opinion, it is always there. I know that "I'll Burn Forever" is a very dark and angsty fic and focused very much on Ron and Hermione's inner torture and troubles, but, in the end, the love is existent, thus and all the struggling apparent. So, I guess that I should express an apology to all of you that thought that this is my way of 'gaining' some more views- I guess that people that may have read other works of mine know that I'm not this kind of person at all. So, from now on, because it is quite difficult to put a variety of different one-shots under a common genre despite the aforementioned one, I decided on changing the genre every time I upload a new one-shot, and the genre will refer on the particular, new one-shot. Each one-shot, however, will have its own rating and genres mentioned in the beginning.
Warnings: Well, there aren't any particular warnings for this one-shot, except that it may break the 'rules' of this album; it isn't an AU, it's set at some point of Ron and Hermione's life after the Deathly Hallows- but not after the epilogue! It's not ridiculously long, it's kind of fluffy and on the humorous side, and... that's all I can think of...
So, I'll just let you read now... Enjoy! :)
"Eurasia"; Rated T; a Ron/Hermione fic of Humor, Fluffiness and Romance.
Inspired by Muse's song, "United States of Eurasia".
The atmosphere in the flat was one of relaxation and slow-paced routine that didn't really bother the inhabitants, but, on the contrary, made them fall more into that peaceful state of body and mind. As the radio was filling the fresh, spring air with light, pleasant to the ear sounds, one of them was moving around the house constantly, each time she was changing a direction, a different item was filling her hands; in the kitchen, the other one, a male much bigger than the tiny, brunette woman moving around, was drying off the last, freshly washed plates, then putting them in the appropriate cupboard. As he was pushing the last plate in the cupboard, he exhaled a carefree whistle, all the while still hearing carefully the sayings of that cute, little brunette his heart still skipped beats for.
"… and then, after leaving the Ministry, Ginny thought that it would be a good idea if we got to London- you know, Muggle side of London- so we could have some lunch- you know, she simply adored that Italian restaurant we all went at the other day, and she had this craving for pasta with white sauce and anchovies- God bless her and her baby…"
Ron Weasley laughed at that as he shook his head, still not able to believe what sort of weird moods and ever weirder cravings pregnant women seemed to have- especially a quite mental witch, like his sister. He dried his hands off and looked from above his shoulder towards the living room, where his hyperactive wife seemed to be at the particular moment.
"And then what? Don't tell me that the chef actually managed to make a dish like that just for my sister's outrageously extraordinary wishes!"
Hermione Weasley turned around in an instant, looking directly into her husband's blue, blue eyes with a mirthful smile in her pretty face. "Oh, you bet he did! Can you imagine just what would have happened if they had refused to meet her wishes? Oh, I'm pretty sure you would have heard her all the way to the Ministry, Ron!" she said humorously and both laughed slightly hard at that.
"So, why did you arrive here so late last night? I don't think that a very pregnant and starving Ginny would have preferred to prolong a process like eating to the maximum possible," Ron then asked curiously, the tone of almost-never-absent humor lacing handsomely with the natural depth of his voice. Hermione was about to reply to him, but her ear caught a very soft and beautiful sound steaming from the radio, gentle notes that were steadily growing louder and louder, but certainly not harsher; it reminded her something, it sounded so very familiar, triggering alive memories from as far as childhood, but strangely enough, newer ones as well, from the last couple of months or so…
And then, it clicked.
"Chopin!"
"Shopping?" Ron's voice came loudly from the kitchen, confusion tainting the word heavily. "I didn't see you carrying any bags with you when coming here…"
"No, no, no; it's Chopin, on the radio… Nocturne; Op. 9, No. 2… Actually, to be specific, there's going to be some Chopin later on…" Hermione explained quickly to her husband, her eyes fixated eagerly on the radio, her voice slightly hushed in hopes of not losing a single note from the lovely sound. Ron went with slow, curious steps towards her, stopping just some paces away, and stood there immobile for a moment, examining her with big, crystal blue eyes mutely. Then, as he let the music fill him more and more, he nodded once to himself with sudden realization.
"Oh… it's that weird rock song again that has a bit of everything in it, right?" he asked Hermione, as a smooth humming interlaced beautifully with the sounds of the piano and the new-born, almost romantic beat of drums; Hermione shot him a half-serious, half-incredulous look before sitting herself in the sofa, a motion that Ron mirrored keenly.
"It is certainly not weird; it is Muse's United States of Eurasia and it is a piece of wonder, a masterpiece, a perfection…" Hermione started serious and un-bending, but as the words kept flowing out from her lips, the voice kept on getting softer and warmer, till there was a tint of daydreaming-ness. Ron's eyebrow shot up in his forehead in an instant.
'You and me are the same…'
"You sure you ok? Of course, it's an alright song, but the last time I saw you having this look and saying these words was when you were referring to me and my sex skills."
"Ron!"
'We don't know or care who's to blame…'
"Alright, alright, sorry, but you really got me frightened for a bit…"
"Well, this band- they know how to make music; you cannot blame me!" Hermione exclaimed, her hands a bit up in showing of defense. "And for the record, I remember you liking this song as much as I, if not more!"
'But we know that whoever holds the reins…'
"Well… it's pretty good, yes, but I don't get why you fret over the band so much- especially those three chaps! I mean, that Pat guy—"
"Matt," Hermione immediately cut him off, spelling out the name with a bit of sigh; Ron just stared at her in amazement.
'Nothing will change
Our cause has gone insane'
"Why are you always like that when you're referring to him? And then there's that tall, quite muscular one; I mean, I'm taller and my body is very well built, thank you very much!"
"That's Christopher, for your information," Hermione popped in once more, her voice once more lighter than usual, her eyes and ears focused with almost religious faith towards the radio; Ron shot her a quick, half-hearted glare that she never noticed and he kept going on his jealous rambling.
"And the drummer- he's like nuts! I don't get it! They say he's hot but he just wears all those tight clothes with blinding colours…! Yeah, I'm certainly turned on!"
"Ron, please!" Hermione eventually snapped up from her zoning out, turning her head just to take a look of the envy mask on his fair face. "I may fret about Matt, Christopher and Dominic, as you claim, which certainly is not the case, but remember; I chose to marry you and I love you, you silly boy…" Her words, sweet and warm, just like the new-born smile on her bright face and even brighter eyes calmed instantly Ron down, to the point of beaming back to her and wrapping his one arm around her back, thus bringing her closer to his body.
'And these wars, they can't be won
And these wars, they can't be won…'
"Yes, sweetheart, you're right… but for your information, I'm your man…"
'And do you want them to go on
And on and on…'
Hermione chuckled at that and pecked his lips. "Let's just listen to the song please…"'Why split these states
When there can be only one?'
At that precise moment, as the singer's voice reached a peak and the guitars started playing quite harder, Ron, who had already drowned in the peace of the past few seconds, immediately shot up in his seat, gasping a bit and looking around for a millisecond with wide eyes; Hermione stifled a giggle and patted his cheek.
"All right there, honey?"
Ron exhaled noisily before burying himself a bit deeper in the sofa and mumbling out: "I just didn't remember that it gets so hysterical after a while…" Hermione chuckled for real this time. 'And must we do as we're told?
Must we do as we're told?'
"Hermione?" Ron tentatively asked after a second, eyeing her hesitantly as she had closed her eyes, seemingly enjoying the current flowing of the eastern, Egyptian-like music. For a moment, Ron let himself get lost in the warm, exotic vibes of the sound, dreamed of smoothness and silkiness and warmth and a few other things and wondered wildly if Hermione would belly dance to him, moving her petite, hypnotizing body to the rhythm of the equally intoxicating music…
"Yes, love?" she asked lowly, smoothly, and Ron woke up from his momentary reverie.
"What the song talks about? It seems a bit… vague…"
Hermione's eyes opened instantly, looking straight into his, a definite spark in them that Ron recognized as the one signaling the satisfaction to share with him, yet again, another bit of wonderful information. "As far as I'm concerned, it refers to a hypothetical situation, mostly inspired by a novel by Zbigniew Brzeziński, "The Grand Chessboard". It is saying, more or less, how Eurasia could be united and in peace, thus managing to become a new, powerful entity that actually equals the American primacy."
"What the heck is Eur-?" Ron started baffled, but Hermione instantly cut him off, waving her pointed finger wildly in front of his face.
"Ssh, I want to listen to it!"
'You and me fall in line
To be punished for unproven crimes!
And we know that there is no one we can trust;
Our ancient heroes, they are turning to dust!'
"Hey!" Ron eventually piped in eventually, his eyes sparking with both mild curio and almost childish surprise. "That reminds me greatly of us!"
Hermione, with the hearing of that particular comment, forgot momentarily about the song and turned her attention solely to her husband. "Us? What are you talking about?"
"The lyrics!" Ron exclaimed almost enthusiastically, and as he noticed the somewhat confused expression on her face, he fast went on. "It really reminded me of the war; to be punished for unproven crimes- this happened to us; we suffered for things assumed and for the lies of Voldemort! We didn't trust anyone, except each other…! As for the last one, it certainly got me freaked out! It's- It's like I'm in Grimmauld Place all over again, facing dear old Dusty! I mean, Dumbledore was everyone's heroic idol since ever and then… he really became dust! It's outrageous!"
'And these wars, they can't be won
Does anyone know or care how they begun?'
Hermione eyed him carefully, sensing some sort of oncoming, serious freaking-out from her redhead's part. "Ron, love, please calm down, it's just—"
"Do you think they are wizards?" Ron continued with his rambling, his voice getting more and more insanely anxious. "They must be, otherwise, how do they know about—"
"Ron!" Hermione yelled this time, managing, at long last, to capture her husband's alarmed attention. "They're definitely not wizards!"
"And how can you be so sure?" Ron asked her sarcastically, his demeanor shifting fast to one of a child's with the highly disbelieving look and the crossed arms on his chest; Hermione sighed and tried hard to remain calm.
'They just promise to go on
And on and on'
"Because I know! They are Muggles, for goodness sake! They are referring to a hypothetical situation, remember?"
Ron looked confused for a moment, knitting his eyebrows and slightly narrowing his eyes, till realization hit him. "Oh… Oh!"
Hermione just shot him a false glare before turning her undivided attention back to the radio.
'But soon we will see
There can be only one!
United States!
United States!
Of...'
Once more, the sensual vibes of that slightly oriental tune emerged into the room smoothly, with that particular silkiness that got Ron, once again, all warm and, if truth should be told, quite aroused. He took a deep breath and he eyed Hermione with the tail of his eye, observing intoxicatingly the slight, surely unconscious moves of her body, especially of her petite waist and hips. Ron's blood started circulating a bit warmer and wilder in his veins and his swallowed a bit hard, and obviously audibly, as Hermione instantly opened her half-closed eyes and turned her head towards him.
"Is something wrong, love?" she asked his, her voice light and gentle and, deep down, a tiny bit concerned. At that, Ron felt warmth of another kind sprouting in his chest swiftly, more and more, if that was even possible, and all thoughts of seducing her and making her do some belly dance- and then some lap dance, in the spur of arousal, if fortunate enough- for him Disapparated from his mind in a flash, till the only thing apparent would be his immense love for her. This time, he looked properly at her, giving her a smile full of adoration that she loved and quickly gave him back.
"Nothing," Ron replied in a low voice, "It's just, I love you so much."
Hermione's eyes, if at all feasible, brightened even more, to the point that they appeared like two suns covered in warm, milk chocolate, balmy, brilliant and absolutely delicious… Ron was certain that sun was green with envy by now, glowing so faintly in comparing to her. He was blissful, and certainly proud, that he was the one that could rise such an effect on her- so effortlessly, as well.
"Oh, Ron, I love you, too…" she almost purred and Ron's heart got even warmer and more hyperactive, as he noticed her body sliding on the couch closer to his own one, till they were two heats glued together in a process of wondrous and grand sentiment. They curled their hands around each other, tightly, yet comfortingly wrapped around each other with the intention of nothing but showing, wordlessly, the amount of that particular, invincible feeling that was constantly steaming from their hearts.
"This song… it reminds me a bit of that other one… that that slightly reminds of rock opera, with a bit of piano… with that Freddie guy, you know?" Ron spoke softly after a bit, spelling out a question that was bubbling in his mind for some time now. Hermione took her head from the comfortable curve of his neck to watch him more carefully for a moment, then to cherish him with a brilliant smile of hers.
"That's… That's quite right, Ron!" she exclaimed happily, and her tiny hand fast shot up to his face, cupping as much as possible his freckly cheek and caressing with her thumb his cheekbone. "The oncoming part, especially reminds so much the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen! Sometimes you can be so brilliant and observant, sweetie!" At this, Ron smiled with swelling pride, as well as with some faint blush that was spreading cutely on his cheeks. Hermione laughed for a second happily, almost innocently, and gave him a big kiss on the lips.
Ron was even more delighted then.
'Eurasia!
... sia!
... sia!
... sia!'
At the very first sound of the word 'Eurasia', Ron, as if seated on a spring, shot up from the sofa, jumping madly in the air, an almost insane look on his freckly face. 'Oh, I should have remembered of this…' Hermione thought immediately, as suddenly the recollection of the other times they listened to this particular song came into her mind. And yes, this one time, as well, didn't seem to be any different from the previous ones, as Hermione watched with amusement and hardly hidden laughter her husband, jumping like a madman in the air, bobbing his head up and down, left and right, as his hands were playing passionately the invisible guitar all the while Ron was shouting "-Sia, -sia, -sia!" along with Matt…
'I'm really married to a child,' Hermione thought vividly, all the while still observing Ron's spastic moves. 'Oh, who cares? I love him exactly for that!'she thought further and she smiled, because she knew that if there wasn't this all-apparent childish behaviour in Ron, if there wasn't playfulness, this man wouldn't be Ron and Hermione may have not fall in love with him.
'Eurasia!
... sia!
... sia!
... sia!
Eurasia!
... sia!
... sia!
... sia!'
"-SIA, -SIA, SIA, SIA, SI-!" Ron kept on shouting with fervor, jumping up and down while tossing his hair towards every direction possible, making it seem like dancing flames. Hermione was lying on the length of the sofa, watching him with closed eyes and a small, sweet and almost lazy smile on her lips, as her ears were partially focused on the gradually calming music, a so known tune on the piano that made her hum a bit before eventually pitying her husband and decided to drag him away from his peculiar reverie.
"Ron, my love… the Eurasia part ended some seconds ago…"
The reaction was immediate: Ron, being in midair from a very impressive jump and with his hands feverishly playing on his imaginary guitar, snapped his eyes open, his face a mask of faint surprise as he was so abruptly resurfacing from his own, rock world. His arms and hands froze on their current state for a couple of seconds, his eyes locked on hers for a bit, as he landed on his feet a bit clumsily, almost losing his balance. Then he seemed to understand the situation completely and his cheeks reddened adorably as he was clearing his throat and nodding at her, his arms resting nearly dead on his sides. Hermione chuckled and patted a bit of free space on the sofa, beckoning him to sit down next to her. He smiled brightly and instantly went there, although, after some short moments of attempting to get comfortable in such a little space (and seeing Hermione so cozy and serene, with closed eyes and relaxed posture while listening to the music made the idea of a possible, sarcastic moment disappear altogether, in his mind only the image of her being so beautiful and calm and the always apparent sentiment of love bubbling in his chest), he decided on sitting on the floor, just by her side, and losing, lazily he intertwined his fingers with hers, liking the silent, so comfortable motion of affection as much as any other, understanding wholly the worthiness of even such a little action in their life.
Hermione hummed, most probably both as regards the song and her appreciation to his little, loving gesture. "This is so nice…" she whispered airily with her eyes still closed, her head moving a bit on the cushion in hopes of resting more comfortable. "Listen to it, Ron… so soft and peaceful, yet, deep down, a little bit melancholic, even nostalgic… the faint echoes of children playing and, laughing and chattering around, so sweet… Matt's humming, the piano… only, only to be disturbed by the sounds of a cruel reality… soldiers, army…"
She trailed off gently, probably lost in her own thoughts, which Ron understood to be neither completely happy nor entirely saddening or anxious; just a light-to-the-heart blend of various thoughts, maybe along with a passing recollection of a past equally mixed and contrasting, but only too much more vivid… He sighed, surprisingly in synch with his wife, and then they both just focused on listening on the few, remaining tunes of the song, entirely absorbed in the warmth the softness of the piano spread within. And then, a final sound was heard, and along with it, reappeared the buried puzzlement of the redheaded man:
"I still don't get why this aeroplate takes off…"
-So, that's it! I really hope you all liked it and had as much fun as I had while writing it! Thank you for reading, like always, and after that, I'd really, REALLY like to know you opinion by seeing some of your always-precious reviews! That'd be extremely nice! :)
-The next one is already started, but due to its probably big length, it'll take a while... but sure I'll try my best! Till then, be happy and creative! :)
