Chapter 4

As the wardrobe door shut Harry and Ron entered the room laughing. They both stopped at the door and looked at the girls, Hermione thought Ron looked amazingly handsome in the semi-dark room his red hair contrasting with the light. Harry went to walk over to Ginny and sat down next to her, but Ron remained at the door and Hermione gave him a puzzled look.

"What are you doing you great buffoon," said Ginny noticing the space between the two,

"Either you guys are lying about what happened this afternoon or you're just uncomfortable with each other," Ginny said weighing up their options.

"Ginny, maybe we should leave them alone you know," Harry said trying to be discreet, he looked down at her. She looked back at him and she quickly conceded defeat, Hermione knew she couldn't resist those green eyes.

"No you guys, you can stay," interjected Ron from the door. "I only stopped here because I think I stepped on gum," he said lifting up his foot and sure enough there was gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

Harry started clutching his side as he rolled over laughing, but Hermione had gotten up and examined it she knew the exact spell for this. But as she was about to perform the spell

Harry's laughter was suddenly cut of by a muffling sound; apparently Ron had hit his face with Hermione's pillow. She began to laugh and looked up at Ron who chuckled; he looked down at her and gave her an "I-couldn't-help-it-he-was-being-annoying" smile. "Wow, he's so much taller from down here," she thought as she looked back at his shoe. She performed the spell and the gum came off in less than a second and his shoe looked cleaner than it had done before.

Hermione got up off the floor and faced Ron who was examining her wand work, he then looked at her and he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then moving to her ear and said so that only she could hear, "Thanks, I knew you'd help me," He kissed her again and moved further inside, he sat down on Hermione's bed and gestured for her to join him.

She made her way across the room and sat down next to him. He put his arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder, Hermione felt his lips touch her head. She was totally oblivious to other people in the room then as she went up and kissed him on the cheek, the softness of his skin was irresistible.

Then she heard a cough from on the other side of the room, she looked over and Ginny and Harry were looking at them. Slightly embarrassed by her behaviour she sat normally again.

"Oh please, it's not like you two could keep off each other when you started dating. You still can't even now," Ron said, clearly frustrated that he and Hermione couldn't share one moment by themselves inside the Burrow.

"Yes we could, Ron," said Ginny turning on a defensive tone. Ron was about to retort when Harry said, "Enough, Ron's right actually we couldn't keep off each other. But I must say I rather enjoy it,"

His speech was again cut off by another pillow flying at his face.

"Hey, now that's just getting annoying!" Harry said as he hurled one right at Ron's face, it hit

its target. Ron was about to launch another attack but Hermione held up her hand.

"Ok boys, can we please be civilised?" she said, she really just wanted to be alone with Ron that's all.

"Sorry 'Mione, he was being a stupid egg head," Ron said innocently, his blue eyes made Hermione feel less irritable.

"Well why don't we leave you two alone," Ginny said coming to Hermione's rescue; she made a mental note to thank her later. Harry nodded and they got up and walked out of the room, but Harry turned and said, "Oh yeah, Mrs Weasley said that dinner's going to be ready in about 40 minutes," he turned and shut the door behind him.

"Wow, I thought they would never leave," said Ron as he stretched his long limbs and then returned with his arm around Hermione. She could smell his cologne that Fred bought him for his last birthday, "Fred had good taste in cologne," Hermione thought as she sniffed more into her nose.

"So…," Ron said as the silence dragged on. "Why does it seem so hard to talk now? It's just really strange,"

Hermione agreed, ever since he told her he loved her, their conversation topics had been zilch. "Well, I might as well get the ball rolling,"

She slid her hand up his neck and clutched onto his hair, then turned and faced him. Her arms were around his neck in a flash and they were doing things by their own accord. Ron reached her waist and pulled her onto his lap, his hands were sliding up and down her back as Hermione leaned in to kiss him.

Their lips met and unlike last time his tongue came into contact with hers. This touch sent shivers down Hermione's spine and tingles all throughout the rest of her body. He broke apart from her then and she looked at him unhappily, but her unhappiness was short lived as Ron picked her up and put her lying face up on the bed. He came over and hovered above her, "Oh my god,"

He took his shirt off and Hermione was able to see for the first time Ron's half-naked form. He was sculpted around the middle, clear signs of a six pack were there and his chest was muscular. "Oh my god," she thought again as he kissed her with such passion he moaned against her lips. This moan once again sent shivers and tingles simultaneously through her body, "How many times can one man make me shiver and tingle at the same time?" she thought as she felt his tongue on hers for a second time.

She was unaware of it but she was clutching his hair again, the feel of it was more tantalizingly amazing than before.

Hermione shut her eyes and Ron began to play with her hair. She was absent mindedly tracing small circles on his abdomen; she was feeling the clear indentations of his abs. "So this is what a lifetime of playing Quidditch does to people," Hermione thought.

They sat like this until for another 5 minutes until Ron heard someone coming up the stairs, he quickly got off the bed and pulled on his shirt. Mr Weasley's head shot through the open side of the door, he looked around the room and back at Ron and Hermione.

"Ron, your mother says dinner will be ready in about five minutes. She says to put on your best clean shirt and head downstairs," Mr Weasley said as he popped his head back out of the door, Hermione could hear his descending foot steps on the stairs.

"Why does she need me to put on my best shirt?" Ron wondered.

"Maybe you should go get changed," Hermione suggested as she headed for the door.

"Yeah alright…hang on, you're coming with me?" Ron asked when they both reached the door. Hermione was hoping she could pick out his shirt for him as she knew his taste in shirts was horrible, plus she wanted to see that glorious body of his.

"Well naturally, some one's got to pick out a descent looking shirt for you," she said as she turned the handle but Ron's hand was over hers.

"What makes you think I can't do it myself?" Ron asked in her ear, his breath was warm against her skin.

"I never said you couldn't, I merely stated that I should be the one who should pick out a shirt for you to wear. As I am the one who'll most likely be looking at you tonight," Hermione said her cheeks flushing pink as she said it. Ron came down and kissed her cheek from behind, he let his lips linger on her cheek for a while before he said, "I don't know what's happened to Hermione Granger but I like her better now,"

She giggled and turned back to him; she wrapped her arms around his neck while he wound his arms around her waist and she kissed him softly. It only just dawned on her that her relationship with Ron was the easiest relationship she'd ever been in.

"Ok, I think we should go find you a shirt now," Hermione said as she unwound herself from Ron's grasp. He uttered an agreement and they both headed for Ron's room.

Hermione entered the room, it smelled of Ron's cologne and moth balls. She could distinctly remember sitting in here preparing for their Horcrux mission or just lounging about and having fun. Ron entered the room and pulled out his wand, he gave it a flick and his wardrobe draw opened. Inside was all of his shirts, some Hermione remembered when they went on their frist trip to Hogsmeade, it seemed so far away. All of Ron's shirts had to be replaced at some point after his huge growth spurt, one year he was a small 12 year old the next a giant.

Hermione began sorting through Ron's shirts, while he sat on his bed playing with a quaffle. She saw some nice shirts and some horrid ones; there was one with lace around the edges "It looks like his dress robes for the Yule Ball," Hermione thought, she suppressed a laugh and Ron looked over at her.He was looking at what she was holding and quickly got up and took it from her grip, his ears were going beet red.

"Maybe you shouldn't go through everything, Hermione," he said as he threw the shirt across the room.

"But Ron, maybe you'll need it for fancy dress," Hermione said as Ron gave her a dirty look and sat next to her.

He picked up a blue plain shirt and said, "How about this, it's plain and it's blue,"

"Oh Ron, you really shouldn't try to dress yourself," Hermione said playfully as she held up a green and white striped polo, "I like this top; you should wear it more often. You would look…" Hermione was stuck for words. She tried to think of words that suited what Ron would normally hear, however what she was thinking were words like; handsome, gorgeous, irresistible.

She finished by saying, "You would look…dashing," she concluded. Hermione tossed him the shirt and he looked over it.

"I've never even seen this shirt before," Ron said slightly puzzled.

"Well, don't just stand there! Put it on already," Hermione said impatiently.

"Ok, ok…are you…uh…gonna turn around or something?" Ron asked. Hermione suddenly felt her blush on her cheeks, she didn't even think of what Ron might say.

"Um…I don't know. If you want me to," said Hermione, there really was nothing that she could say to make it obvious that she wanted him without a shirt on.

"No, it's fine. You've already seen me with it off anyway," Ron said and he pulled his shirt off once again. Hermione couldn't pull her eyes away from Ron, "Oh god, I've turned into one of those girls who can't keep their hands off their boyfriends," she thought wildly as Ron pulled on his shirt. As he did so Hermione saw his stomach muscles tighten then disappear underneath his shirt. She was brought back down to earth when Ron started calling her name, her head snapped up then and she blushed.

"Are we going to go downstairs or not?" Ron asked while he stretched out his hand towards her. It took a few moments for Hermione to respond, but she came back down to earth and held onto his hand, together they went downstairs for dinner.

When Hermione and Ron came down into the living room a few moments later, Hermione noticed a lot of activity surrounding the sofa. The atmosphere in the room wasn't frantic so no one was dying and no one was screaming so, no one was being attacked. Hermione lead Ron to the table where everyone was gathered, she tried to peer over George's shoulder but he was too tall. She suddenly felt Ron's hand tighten around hers; she looked at his face. "What's happened?" Hermione thought.

Just as she thought this, Harry came over carrying an open envelope.

"Hey guys, you'll never guess what's just happened," Harry said excitedly as Ron took the envelope from him and flipped it over in his hands.

"It's from the ministry, what the bloody hell do they want?" Ron asked when he dipped his hand into the opening of the envelope.

"Just read it mate," Harry said taking a seat. Hermione went over to Harry to ask what was going on but just before she was about to, Ron came over and hugged her tightly. Hermione was crushed too tightly to return the hug, he broke it off and he said, "'Mione me and Harry have got it!"

Hermione was momentarily dazed but she managed to say, "Got what?"

Ron was over at Harry then, he looked happier than when he got an "Exceeds Expectations" on his OWLs. She walked over to where the envelope was lying and took the piece of paper that was inside. It read:

"Dear Mr Weasley,

We would like to congratulate you on your application of becoming an Auror. The Ministry has heard of your past efforts and will hereby be accepting you into Auror training. A ministry official will be arriving at your home on 8th June, at 10am sharp to bring you to the Ministry to commence your training immediately. We would like to congratulate you once again.

Yours truly,

Kingsley Shacklebolt

(Minister for Magic)

Hermione put down the letter and noticed Harry's letter lying next to the envelope. She put down the paper in her hand and she looked up, her gaze was met by two crystal blue eyes. Ron wrapped his arms around her waist and she returned the favour by hugging him around his waist. He uncoiled himself and kissed her gently on the lips, this kiss sent sparks through Hermione's body and the kissing heated up. They broke apart when Hermione heard a soft "Ahem" from somewhere in the room. Harry was still sitting on his chair where she had last seen him and he was looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Wow, you guys really like kissing don't you?" Harry said as he got up from his seat and went over to the door. "I guess seven years of building it all up has something to do with it," he said before he exited the room.

Hermione blushed and Ron went to sit down on the couch, the letter in his hands. Hermione went over and sat down next to him.

"I can't believe I got in," Ron said as she got to him. "I mean I knew Harry would get in for sure but me, that's just unbelievable,"

"You doubt yourself too much, I'm really proud of you," Hermione said, Ron just beamed at her. Hermione felt Ron's hand rubbing her back absent mindedly while she looked over the pamphlets that came free with the letter, some of them were titled, "So you want to become an Auror" and "Fighting dark witches and wizards is dangerous: 10 simple steps on how to maximise your life expectancy"

She flicked through them silently until she noticed that Ron had stopped rubbing her back. Hermione looked at him and she noticed him looking at her. He was looking up at her with soft adorable eyes.

"You now, you've never been more beautiful than when you read," Ron said, pushing away a strand of Hermione's hair from her face. He moved closer to her then his face inches away from hers, Hermione could feel his sweet breath on her face. She reached out for his face and she cupped his cheek in her hand, and he closed his eyes. Hermione then leaned in and kissed his lips, he returned the favour and soon they were locked in a warm embrace. Again Hermione felt like she was the luckiest girl on the face of the earth, "I guess this is what love feels like, if love were a drug I'd be addicted to it," she thought. It was definitely true she only just realised it today but she needed Ron's love more than anything in the world.

Their kissing was cut short when Mrs Weasley let out a quiet cough; she was standing at the door entrance. Hermione broke off the kiss and she was blushing a deep red.

"Dinner's ready dears," Mrs Weasley said then exited the room.

"Great, I'm starving! Come on, let's go eat," Ron said, pulling Hermione to her feet. They headed towards the door when Hermione pulled Ron's hand and he staggered slightly. She went up on her toes and whispered in his ear, "I love you Ron. You don't know how happy you make me,"

Ron looked at her lovingly and kissed her on the forehead; he then moved to her ear and whispered.

"I love you too, Hermione. Even if I am an arse hole sometimes," it still made her heart melt when he said those three words to her.

Hermione laughed at him and they both headed out of the room together.

RON POV

When he and Hermione arrived in the kitchen they sat down at the table and Ron surveyed the scene around him. George was telling jokes to Harry and Ginny about him and Fred when they were at school (Much to the annoyance of his mother). Bill, Charlie, Percy and Mr Weasley were discussing ways to get rid of Fire Blowing Butterflies.

Ron sat down on a seat next to Harry, and Hermione sat next to him. Hermione had begun to tell his dad and brothers about what she read in a book on how to eliminate Fire Blowing Butterflies.

"The answer is simple; you just need to cast a water spell at its wings. It's the most effective way of getting rid of them, or you could use a fire extinguisher," she finished, letting everyone who cared to listen take in what she was saying.

Ron's dad's eyes shot wide open, Ron could see the fascination and curiosity burning behind his eyes. He never got enough of muggle inventions, Ron remembered how his dad would come home from work with a strange muggle contraption. The best Ron believed was a thing muggles called toasters.

Ron knew that Hermione had sensed her mistake in mentioning the fire extinguisher. Even Ron didn't know what it was, to be quite honest he didn't really want to know. But Hermione, the knowledgeable girl that she was, was unable to keep information when someone asked.

"So Hermione, what exactly is the function of this…uh, Fire Extinguisher?" his dad asked, Hermione opened her mouth to speak just when his mum walked in with a big pot of bubbling stew. The smell of it filled Ron's nose and he suddenly realised how hungry he was.

His mum set it down in the middle of the table; it was hovering just above the table top by a hovering charm. Inside the pot was Irish stew, Fred's favourite. Before anyone could tuck into the hearty meal, his dad raised his goblet of Firewhisky.

"Before we eat, I'd just like to say that even though the Weasley family is one member short, we have still gained two more who we have welcomed graciously into our family," Ron turned toward his father who was smiling at Hermione, and then inclined his head toward Harry. Ron felt a hand on his shoulder; he immediately reached up and squeezed it.

His dad then continued speaking, "Fred, I know you can hear me because I am your father. If you are listening, just know that we miss you dearly mate and we love you," he raised his glass and so did everybody else and together they said, "To Fred," and they all took a sip of their drinks. After, they all began to eat their dinner.

Ron dug into his food savouring the flavour; he knew his mum wouldn't make this again for a while as it reminded her of Fred too much. He chewed his meat for a while until he heard an uproar of laughter coming from the end of the table. He looked over and saw George, Harry, Ginny, Bill and Charlie double over laughing. Ron looked at Hermione who apparently wasn't involved in the joke and she smiled at him, he suddenly felt warm inside when she smiled at him. "Blimey, I think I've gone nuts. She looks at me and I can't help but be a total idiot," he thought as she turned away and began a conversation with Percy. No doubt it was about school and what not.

Just as Ron was about to take a sip of his drink a bread roll came flying at his cup, knocking it out of his hand and all over himself. He felt the cold spill all over his clothes at top speed.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Ron yelled at the general direction the bread roll came from. Everybody had quietened and was staring at him, and then his mum came in and inspected the scene.

He realised no one had moved since he had yelled and he wondered why. Then George began to chuckle, then Harry, Ginny, Bill, Charlie and Percy joined in. They were all beside themselves; he noticed Hermione had a small smile in her lips but she didn't laugh. She leaned in then, took out her wand and performed a small spell and the wetness disappeared, leaving him dry.

"Thanks 'Mione," Ron said icily as he glared at his brothers, sister and Harry. They still hadn't calmed down and were still laughing. It was Harry who was the first to regain normality.

"Ron - that - was - so funny," Harry said in between laughs, he wiped away some tears that escaped his eyes. Ron sat there and waited for them to settle down; George spoke up then, "Oh Ron, you are so easy to laugh at,"

Charlie, Percy, Bill, Ginny and Harry all nodded in agreement. It took a few moments for Ron to ask his next question because he so wanted to throw something at George.

"Why did you throw that bread roll at me?" Ron said, trying to not sound too angry.

"Because you were sitting there day dreaming, I called your name a few times but you wouldn't respond. So I went to the last resort, throw something at you, and the only thing that wouldn't cause permanent damage was a bread roll," George explained.

Ron didn't look impressed.