Author's Note: Thank you all for reviewing, I really appreciate it. I just wanted to quick answer the question about the DH kiss. The kiss as well as some obvious deaths did not happen for the purpose of this story.
Ron lay in his bed that night, staring at the ceiling. He hadn't known what to say in response to Caden's remark. That was the first time Caden had been brave enough to taunt Ron, let alone within ear shot of Hermione. What he would have given for Hermione to hear that comment. He could just imagine the wild look in her eyes as she shouted and scolded Caden for making up such a story. Unless of course, it was true; then she would have flamed up like a lobster, shaken her head and walked out of the room. Ron didn't like thinking about that response.
Of course he had beat him. After those words fell out of his mouth, Ron wanted nothing more than to cream Caden. He wasn't very good at all. Most of his moves were too defensive to accomplish much. A classic mistake. The game was over in less than 15 minutes.
Although, after the 'checkmate' was said, Ron's victory hadn't lasted long. Caden let out a sigh and began to rise from the chair. The sudden movement caught Hermione's attention as she looked up smiling.
"Finished already?" Her gaze fell onto Ron, who shrugged with a slight smirk. "Still undefeated then?"
"But of course." Ron boasted, turning to face fireplace and warm himself.
"You were always so modest. Your day will come, I'm sure." Hermione rolled her eyes. Caden had gone to the doorway, grabbed his coat, and was flinging it around his shoulders.
"Ready, Hermione?" He asked sternly. "We'll have a rematch sometime Ron. You can count on that."
Hermione, maybe sensing the tension, closed her book and got ready to leave. "Oh Caden, don't be such a sore loser. Ron's had a lot of pract-" There was a loud pop before she finished, and an empty space where Caden had been standing.
Hermione frowned, "I'm sorry. He's got a horrible temper, a bit like you in a way." She turned to Ron and smiled slightly. "Are you sure you can't leave work early tomorrow? Harry's finally in town, it would be nice for the three of us in the same room again."
"Dress shopping isn't really my thing." Ron made a funny face, trying to hide his grimace. "Although I'm not sure how you roped Harry into that either."
"Well we have a lot to catch up on. Especially now that we're free to talk about you." She grinned at him as she took out her wand. "Goodnight, Ron." With another loud pop, she was gone.
It was a rather depressing end to the night. Even more depressing was the fact that Ron hadn't finished his piece for the Prophet yet. With sleep far off, he reached over to his table and grabbed some parchment.
Ron was staring intently at the page, biting on his quill, when he heard a slight knock on the door. "Who's there?" He grumbled.
The door pushed open slowly. "Hey, it's just me. I thought I heard you still up." Ginny said, peering into the room.
Ron's eyebrows furrowed at her. "Okay." He said, letting his gaze slide back to his paper. He hadn't done much to tidy up the place. Clothes, boxes of old books, and a few half-eaten particles of food lay skewed across the floor. Ginny stepped gingerly through the mess and almost fell on the foot of his bed.
"This… is disgusting." She complained, hopping onto the foot of his bed, making sure her feet were far from whatever lay on the floor. One would think she would be use to the mess by now, after living with six older brothers for most of her childhood.
"I don't remember inviting you in." Ron mumbled. "What do you want?"
"I couldn't sleep." She said simply, picking at the yarn on his quilt. "Why are you still up?" She asked, glanced half-heartily at the paper on his lap.
"Work to do." He said shortly
"Oh," She sat there, eyes glued on the blanket. Ron waited, unable to concentrate. A few minutes passed without a sound. Ron already knew what Ginny was about to ask. It never fails, "Have you spoken to Harry?" She said, quietly, almost at a whisper.
"Yes." He scratched a few notes on the page, trying hard to look busy.
"And, how is he?"
"Fine." He tried to hide his impatience and tapped his quill on his mouth. This had been the third mention of Harry from Ginny in 3 hours.
"Ron, come on. You have to know more than that?" Ginny tried, glaring at him.
"It's not like it really matters anyway. You shouldn't be waiting around for him." He rushed. Ron was tired of telling his sister why she couldn't be with Harry. Because, frankly, he didn't understand it either. But Harry had made it perfectly clear he didn't want a relationship yet.
There was silence. Ron looked up from his paper, and realized then that he probably should have thought a bit more carefully about what he said. Ginny looked as if she wanted to Bat-Boogey his head off. Perhaps he had been a bit too harsh. "Right, and maybe you should stop pining after a married woman."
"W-what?" Ron spluttered, slamming his quill onto the bed. "Don't go turning this around. I have no idea what you're talking about."
She sneered slightly, "Oh Ron, you've been telling me I'm pathetic for ages now. Take a look in the mirror." Her hands lifted up in the air, full of frustration.
"I'm not-" He tried.
"Come off it." Ginny interrupted, pointing a finger at him. "Caden is a perfectly decent guy but you seem to find anything and everything to complain about. It's just like Viktor and Jeremy. You're just pissed at yourself for being too cowardly to do something first. So don't go telling me I'm running after the hopeless. At least I tried."
"I tried…" Ron started. Ginny rolled her eyes and let herself fall completely back on the foot of his bed. "What, I have! That dance at the wedding. All those letters to America the first trip she took. Nothing came back for me. One or two letters, addressed to the both of us."
"You wrote a total of three. You gave up on the rest, remember?" She made an exasperated sound. "What happened to us? When did I become as pathetic as you?"
"You need to leave now." Ron huffed. Feeling agitated, he grabbed for his quill again and made a few scratches on his page. "Get out."
Ginny hopped up on her elbows and looked at Ron intently. She saw the despair and the surrender in his misty eyes even as they tried hard to focus on the work in front of him. "Can I give you some advice?"
Ron groaned, "Stop. I'm working."
"Right," Ginny reached over and snatched the parchment from Ron's lap. "You've written three words. No wonder you're such a big-time writer." She smirked.
"At least I write, and the pieces I work with are completely mine. I don't take the credit for others." His voice grew resentful, his mind clearly somewhere unpleasant.
"Look at yourself. See, this is exactly what I mean. You sit here and complain about how horrible Caden is. He's an editor, Ron! It's his job to work with other people's articles. He's not paid to write his own. Stop comparing, you two are completely different." She tossed the pad of paper back to him as he glared at her. "All I'm saying is that you need to act on these feelings. Don't just sit around here."
"Out. Now."
"Fine, but try and get what I said through your thick skull. Don't be so pitiful, and stop sulking. Do something." She tried again, with no avail. Ron stared at his page, ignoring the words coming from her mouth. "You're so stubborn. You'll never get anywhere with that." She said as she pushed herself up and hopped through the mess of the floor.
"Bye." Ron mumbled as his sister clicked the door shut. At least she was smart enough not to slam. His mind ran through her so called advice.
He wasn't being pathetic. He had tried. Hadn't he? Hermione had left for America and barely written him. Ginny said she was busy, but Ron never understood how she could be too busy to write. And then came Rebecca. Ron shook his head at the thought. He really believed they were getting somewhere. Things had gotten a bit rocky when Hermione came home, but once she left for her second trip back to America, it was smooth sailing. At least that was his opinion, apparently, he had been wrong.
Why did his relationship with Rebecca have to be easier than his friendship with Hermione? Why couldn't he find some sort of solid ground? Even though he had liked Rebecca and missed her occasionally, it couldn't compare to the loss he felt when Hermione was away. Or the heartbreak he felt that day in the office with Neville when he learned of the engagement. Ron couldn't understand it. Why did love have to be so complicated?
Maybe Ginny was right. He couldn't very well sit here and wonder for the rest of his life. He needed to do something, something that would take the pain away.
~*~
"Thanks for coming with me today, Harry. Molly and I had found a few decent dresses in one of the bridal magazines for this place. They're quite inexpensive too, not sure why." Hermione laughed, as she swung her purse at her side. They were walking along the street to Madame Julia's Bridal Shop in Diagon Alley.
"I don't think I'll be too much help." Harry joked. Hermione gazed up at him as he said this. He looked rougher these days. Hermione could see the bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep that came with being a first year Auror and the short stubble framing the bottom half of his face.
"Well I would have asked Ginny to come with…" Harry turned to look at her sharply, "I figured that would be a little awkward." She finished.
He relaxed and shrugged. "I suppose it would have been." Was all he said.
"Have you talked to her lately?" Hermione tried.
His jaw tightened noticeably. "She owled a while back. Haven't had a lot of time to write back. You know how it is."
"You seemed to be able to write Ron and me just fine." She pushed. "She's been asking about you, you know."
"Well she shouldn't be. Is this the place?" He asked, nodding towards the shop sign above.
Hermione looked up, cursing her luck. She would have to find a way to bring Ginny up again later, maybe more tactfully as well. "Looks like it. Is it odd that I'm nervous?"
Harry grinned at her, and laid a hand on her shoulder, reassuringly. "Seems perfectly normal to me. I'd be dead scared of a shop full of dresses, bags and shoes too. After you."
Hermione had no idea where to start first. Luckily, she wasn't Madame Julia's first customer. Within minutes, Hermione found herself stuffed inside a dressing room with plenty of dresses to keep her company. Most of which took her a while to figure out.
"How are you doing in there?" Harry called from the couch outside. He had been sitting there for what felt like 5 hours.
"I'm not entirely sure." Hermione said as she struggled to find the buttons amongst the feathers of the most recent dress. After a few moments, she opened the door to find Harry examining a pair of purple high-heeled shoes. She cleared her throat, "Looking for a new style?"
"No," He said throwing the shoe back in its box. His eyes grew wide as they found their way to the dress she had on. "Yikes, you may want to though." He exclaimed, holding back laughter.
"Harry! It can't be that bad." She scolded. But the mirror said another story. The dress looked even more humorous on than it did on the rack. Feathers clung to the strapless top, and continued down the train in back. A duck, that was the first thing to come to her mind.
"Oh my," Hermione mumbled.
"Oh, dear! You look beautiful!" Madame Julia squawked as she rounded the corner. "What do you think, Mr. Potter? Doesn't your friend look breathtaking?" Her head bobbed in enthusiasm. The beehive bun on top her head threatened to collapse. Hermione could hardly take her eyes off it.
"Oh yes," Harry tried. He clasped his hand to his mouth to keep from erupting with laughter.
"He's speechless!" Hermione called out, she smiled sweetly at Madame Julia. "However, I suppose I should probably come back with one of my female friends. Men can't be great judges of this sort of thing." She giggled innocently.
"Oh yes, very true. I have many other styles with the feathers as well, or sparkles!" Her eyes danced with excitement. "You know where to find me. Please just leave the dress in the room. I'll take care of it. That one's a top seller!" The door chimed brightly. She winked at the two of them and whisked away.
"Oo, she has sparkles!" Harry mocked with fake enthusiasm, a grin plastered on his face.
"Oh stop. Did she say this was a top seller?" Hermione said with a raised eyebrow.
~*~
"I'll take a-," Hermione pondered, staring up at the menu. American's had so many choices. "Caramel Macchiato? Is that good?"
"It's delicious." A smooth voice came from beyond her. She turned to see a tall man in a gray business suit standing behind her, smiling. "I would recommend it."
Hermione laughed, and turned back to the cashier. "Okay, one caramel macchiato then." She handed the teenage girl behind the counter a few American bills and stepped out of line to wait. She was grabbing a few napkins when she heard the man's voice again.
"A long way from home, aren't you?" He said, strolling her way. "Britain, right?"
Hermione blushed at the attention. "I grew up in Oxfordshire, actually. Am I that obvious?"
"The accent kind of gave you away." He grinned at her, his teeth bright white. "I'm Caden Miff, coffee extraodinaire." He said reaching for Hermione's hand to shake.
She took it and replied, "I'm Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you."
His eyes grew a little wider as the light bulb turned on. Hermione shifted her weight, wishing her coffee was ready. She glanced away from the friendly face, waiting for the inevitable. "The Hermione Granger? The brightest member of the infamous trio?"
She smiled shyly and nodded. "Yes, that's me."
A frumpy woman slid a cup over the counter to Hermione, followed by one for Caden. "Two caramel macchiatos, thank you and have a good day." She said robotically and turned back to the machines.
Caden took his cup and Hermione's, "Not to be forward, but would you like to take these somewhere and talk? I, like most of us around here, have always been curious about the trio that saved us all."
She reached over to grab her coffee from his grasp. "I'm actually meeting someone in a few minutes. Sorry. Thank you for the invitation and advice though." She smiled, gesturing towards the cup in her hand. Slowly, she took a short sip of her coffee and felt instantly warmed. "You were right, it is delicious."
He smirked, and brought his own cup to his lips. "No problem. It was nice meeting you Hermione." He bowed his head slightly in her direction and winked, before turning towards the door. "Maybe I'll see you around."
Hermione felt the blush creeping up her neck. Since the news got out about the death of Voldemort and the trio of heroes who had worked to destroy him, she had gotten so much unwanted attention. She never would understand how Harry had dealt with it for so long. She smiled shyly and turned away, pretending to sip her drink. She wasn't quite sure if he was flirting or simply curious as he had said. Ever since Terry Boot 7th year, Hermione hadn't had much time for men aside from Harry and Ron, of course.
"Hermione!" She heard a familiar voice shout. Hermione turned to find bright green eyes smiling at her.
"Harry!" She smiled, as he wrapped his arms around her. "Is it crazy that I've missed you?"
"Nah, three weeks is much too long. Already ordered?" He asked nodding to the coffee in her hand. "What'd you get?"
"Some macchiato thing… It's good. I'll go grab us a table."
Within a few minutes, Harry had found Hermione sitting in the back corner of the café. She was twisting her cup around, absently looking out the window. "I think you have an admirer." He replied as he slid down across from her.
She broke out of her trance at once. "What?"
"A man at the counter asked me to give this to you. Seemed to know you'd be with me, I guess." Harry's eyebrows crinkled. "Here," He pushed a small piece of paper her way; it was folded many times. The person who wrote it must like to be precise.
Hermione took it gingerly, as though it were a Howler. Slowly, her tiny fingers began unfolding, three, four times. A small, elegant script wrote:
Hermione, it was a pleasure meeting you
If you thought my taste in coffee was
extraordinary, you need to try a true
American delight: how about a chili dog? Owl me
and I'd be happy to enlighten you.
-Caden
Hermione's eyes danced across the note, and her lips turned up slightly when she finished. Before looking up at Harry, she read through once more.
"Hermione, are you still with me? What'd he say?" Harry laughed.
"He wants to me to try a chili dog? And said he'd be happy to take me to get one." She said simply, throwing the note in her pocket quickly.
"A chili dog?" Harry's eyebrows rose. "A bit forward, don't you think?"
"Harry!" She swatted at his arm. "That's horrible!"
He grinned, and shrugged away from her swats. "Sorry, it was too easy."
She shook her head. "You sound like Ron. That was so inappropriate." He gave her a look, and she smiled as well. "It does sound somewhat… odd, doesn't it?"
"Here you go, Hermione." Harry said, sliding a large mug her way across the table. "Are you okay? You seem a bit out of it."
"Thank you," Before answering she took a sip of the butterbeer in front of her. Something about this drink always brought her back to the good ol' days in Hogwarts. It was all so simple then. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about the last time we were able to sit down together and have a drink. Do you remember that café in America?"
He laughed, "Of course, how could I forget your chili dog invitation? Quite the creative fellow you've got there."
"Silly really, it all started in a place like this." She smiled. "It was nice catching up with you there. I miss it sometimes. America that is. Can I ask you a question? You have to be completely honest."
"I'm always honest with you, Hermione. Give it a go." Harry fell back on his chair seat with ease. Probably thinking she would ask about his travels, or her job, maybe even Caden. Poor sap.
"Remember you said you would answer…" He rolled his eyes at her hesitation. "Why won't you talk to Ginny?"
"Not fair." He closed his eyes slowly. His voice shook a little as he gathered his thoughts. "If I thought you'd understand, I would have told you sooner. You're going to say it's stupid."
"Well," Hermione began, cupping her mug in her hands. "That's probably because it is." He opened her eyes and raised his eyebrow at her.
Hermione smiled, "At least try. I'll try and be nice."
Harry sighed. "I'm going to get you for this… Someday."
"You're stalling."
Harry took a long drink of his butterbeer, probably wishing it was something stronger. "At first, it was because of Voldemort, obviously. And after that, Ginny wanted to try again. But, I started training and traveling. You know better than most, how dangerous an Auror's job is. I guess I figured it would be too difficult for her. For me."
Harry stared at his bottle while he said this; picking fruitlessly at the wrapper smiling back at him. "I've hurt enough people, you know?"
"Even though you two aren't together, Ginny still feels hurt when you aren't there. Everyday you're away, everyday you don't respond, it hurts a little more." Hermione tried. Harry looked up to meet her eyes.
"Sounds like Ron when you were in America. You won't believe how many letters I have from him, asking if I had seen you…" Harry said, a grin playing on his lips.
"You're changing the subject. I at least wrote Ron when I could. You however, pass on the burden of answering Ginny's questions whatever way we can." She tried to sound stern. Her thoughts were torn between asking what Harry meant about Ron and focusing on the issue at hand. Ginny deserved the answers.
Harry sat up straighter. "At least she's safe. She's going to get a nice, safe Healer job and forget all about me." He smiled slightly, hiding the frown he could feel coming on.
Hermione shook her head, confused. Her bushy hair moved as one, as she was unable to tame it after trying on all those veils this morning. The static was inevitable. "She's not training to be a Healer. Didn't Ron tell you?" Harry's silence answered her question. Although she was nervous about his reactions, she continued. He needed to know. "She's currently at Auror training, Harry. Can you guess why?"
His eyes widened and his mouth snapped shut. Hermione could see him holding his tongue, trying to calm himself. Why were both her best friends so short-tempered? "No. Ron hadn't told me that bit yet." He said through gritted teeth.
"Can't imagine why not." Hermione mumbled. Harry's hands were in fists next to his mug.
"She can't do that. I told her how difficult it was! How dangerous!" Harry exclaimed to no one in particular.
"This is Ginny, Harry. Do you really think that she can't handle it? You remember the Final Battle, or how about that night in the Department of Mysteries." He glared at her, knowing what she said was true.
"But--" Harry started.
"But, nothing. You won't have the excuse anymore. She's in just as much danger as you. And you two would be together." Hermione explained. "I think you'll agree she thought it all out quite well. She loves you, that much is clear."
Harry allowed his head to fall into his hands. He sighed, and looked up at Hermione through sad eyes. "I suppose, I should talk to her."
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