Now time for chapter seven.
I'm doing this as I go, so there may be more Ron-Hermione in this chapter, or not. We shall see.
Salemsoriginal99: aye, I'm a sneaky bastard at time. Hell, that's why I'm Irish. Lol. But we'll conclude their first meeting here.
L-Ae-D: MASH person, sweet! I dunno, B.J. brings about less funnier times for the show, but I suppose Skip's more like him in regards to his family. And he looked a lot better without the moustache. The second "choked" was a typo- was typing too fast at the end there, I missed it. Exasperated hit me after I posted also, because I just got the definition watching Shaun of the Dead. My b.
flash wonder cat: When I first thought this story up, that line was one of the first lines I came up with. I'd be ashamed not to put it in. Glad it was funny, though.
SpiderQueenSkylar: Oh… would that be counted? Not sure… I thought light would just be… well… light. But as you can see, yeah, they meet again.
rhinopants: YES! Chills, that's a good thing, meaning this story does have some horrific scenes. With more to come, stay tuned.
juanli: Welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy the trip.
ronweasleyfan5: He's gonna give them a little space now.
hpisthegreatest: He is, isn't he? (grins) Skip's based a lot off of me, in attitude and stuff, so I guess that's a complement in two ways. But- not to get too stuck-up – thank you.
ema: The ending… well, we're just gonna have to wait and see.
Gloryofthesilent: Your review was in a PM, but that's not gonna stop me from putting this up anyway. Thank you- stuff like that helps.
Damn, that was a lot of people.
Oh well. Aaand, onwards!
Chapter Six: New Problem-o
When last we left off:
OOF!"
As he had begun walking again, someone collided into him. Both staggered backwards.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the voice- a female- said.
"No, my fault," he responded, "I should've been paying atten-"
"Ron?"
He finally looked into her face and instantly froze up.
"Hermione."
There was a long silence, which was broken only by Skip.
"Aaaand, here is where I exit," he snapped his fingers and pointed, "Stage left."
Ron was pretty caught up in staring in amazement at Hermione, so Skip was pretty sure he wouldn't have minded if he just tip-toed out of the way. Which probably would've been for the best; they looked ready to pounce on each other.
"I can't-" Ron started.
"-Believe it," finished Hermione.
They stared at each other for a few more minutes, simply amazed. Time had finally allowed them to find each other again, and there was nothing to ruin the moment.
"Wow… what'd you do to your hair?"
Except that.
She gave a mock-annoyed laugh.
"It's called getting it straightened, Ronald," she replied. She had always called him by his full first name when she was annoyed.
He couldn't help but smile. Same old Hermione…
"Where have you been? Why are you here?" she grew serious now.
Ron gulped. He had always feared this part. The part where he would have to live up to his whereabouts of the last three years. Not something he relished, but it was time to live up to his name.
"I…I've been in America for the last couple of years," he answered, "Working in the Auror Division."
"America?" Hermione couldn't understand. Why did he have to be there? Why not here? Here, where his family and friends- and her- needed him?
"Why…?" But before she could ask, a thought came to her head. "America… So you're with those Aurors. The ones that here to try and find the guy who attacked me."
"Yeah, we've been on this case for weeks, but we've got no solid le-" But he stopped cold, what color there had been on his face draining quickly.
"Wait a minute… attacked… You're the one this bloke's after? Are you OK, what happened?" he asked, aghast.
She nodded, and a new wave of tears was coming on.
"It… it was just so sudden… he killed David, but it was me he really wanted to…"
And that was all she managed to get out before Ron threw his long arms around her small body and brought her close to him in a gigantic hug.
Hermione allowed herself to take in his scent. It had been waaay too long since he had held her this close. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be close to him again… forgotten how well his arms fit around her. For that brief moment, time had slowed down, even rewound, back to those simpler days when he held her.
"God, I'm sorry, Mione," he whispered, "I'm sorry. I should've been here."
"No, Ron, it's OK-"
"No, it isn't. and I promise you, I won't let him get you. I swear it."
She gratefully buried her face into his chest. His fingers ran through her hair, messing it up a bit, but she really didn't mind; he had seen it far worse than that.
"There you are."
Hermione picked her head up as Lindsay shoved her way through the crowded room. Ron let her go, not quickly to avert awkwardness, like what normally happened in those books and movies, but just so she could greet her friend.
"I've been looking all over for you and-oh!" Lindsay just noticed Ron, "Who's this?"
"Uh, Ron, you remember Lindsay Green, right?" Hermione asked.
"Um… vaguely," Ron answered.
"We met briefly during the War. It was before… The whole… you know, battle with Harry and…" Lindsay tried to refresh his memory.
"Oh! Oh right, the wounded girl! Right, well you're looking better than last I saw you," Ron said, as politely as he could.
"So do you," Lindsay answered, then turned to Hermione, "We need to go. Those reporters are looking all over for you."
"OK, right."
"Hermione-"
Ron had no intention of loosing her again. It already seemed like she was walking away too soon. She turned back to him.
"Meet me tonight at Fortescue's at eight. You know where that is, right?"
He grinned. "Of course. How could I forget?" he asked.
She smiled. Then, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and gave one last hug.
"I'm so glad you're back, Ron," she whispered.
He gratefully returned the hug.
"Yeah, love," he said, "So am I."
-----
"Old girlfriend? Seriously?" Huntington couldn't believe it.
"Yeah," Skip twirled one of his knives between his fingers. Knives were a useful tool that helped. Magic was terrific, but knives, as they had proved time and again, were a lifesaver. As he always said, "When in doubt, knives out."
"They started out as friends during their first year at Hogwarts," he continued, "In their last year, I guess they finally realized their chemistry and got together."
"How come he never told us about this?"
Skip sighed. "Because his love story is also a tragic one. Like Romeo and Juliet, if you know that one."
Huntington nodded, though he stared off into space.
"Wow," he said finally, "This really changes things for us, huh?"
"Yeah," the more experienced Auror sighed again, "At least, on a personal front. The only tricky part for the rest of us is trying to prevent Ron-o's future wife from buying the farm too early."
Huntington didn't answer. His brain was buzzing with all sorts of thoughts.
"Who knows about this?" he asked.
"I do, because I'm his partner," Skip counted off his fingers, "Brownside knows, because he was there at the end… and now, you know, because I just told you."
As he finished this, the door opened, and Ron came in, obviously looking for someone.
Uh-oh was what went through Skip's mind.
"Where's Brownside?" he asked.
"The General didn't know it was her 'til this morning, Ron-o," Skip replied, side-stepping the question.
"Where is he, Skippy?"
"(sigh) Back room with Rodyle."
"McAllen owl back yet?"
"Naw, nothing."
Ron stomped off towards the backroom. Skip slipped his knife back into its sheath and got up.
"I'm getting out of here before Ron goes flying across the room," he said.
Huntington hurriedly followed.
-----
"Why didn't you tell me?"
General Brownside looked up from his documents to see who his visitor was: Ron. He sighed.
"Rodyle, you're dismissed for the time being," he told Rodyle.
She looked at Ron quizzingly, but seeing the look in his face, she decided it was best not to ask. She gathered up her notes and quickly walked out, shutting the door behind her.
This left Ron and Brownside alone in the room. The General got up and went towards the window, arms folded behind his back.
"I thought I told you to stay with her," he said sternly.
"Why didn't you tell me it was her?" Ron demanded again.
Brownside sighed, defeated.
"If you're asking if I knew from the beginning, no, I did not," he replied, "But when I did find out, I made the decision not to tell you because I thought it best you discovered for yourself. I surmise that she was happy to see you?"
"Yeah, she was happy to see me," Ron said, not losing the anger in his voice, "Still, I would've liked a minute's warning."
"I thought I told you to stay with her, Weasley. Where is she?" asked Brownside, getting back to his original question.
"She and her roommate went back home. I'm meeting her at eight. Fortescue's."
"Be careful with her, Weasley," the General now turned to him, "Don't grow too attached. She's the key to putting this guy out of business."
"Stop treating her like a bloody object!" Ron yelled, "She's a person, who I happen to love!"
"Damn it, Weasley!" Brownside stalked over to him, getting angrier by the minute, "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is becoming? Do you not see? You're playing right into this man's trap! He knows your history with her! Who's to say he won't try and ensnare you, with this girl as the bait? Use your brain, Weasley!"
"And how would you know, Brownside?"
The look of loathing the two men gave each other could've burned up the entire room. Neither backed down. Ron was tall, but Brownside was broader. Whoever would win was anyone's guess. Finally, Brownside sat down and sighed.
"Just make sure nothing happens, Weasley," he said finally, "And I'm not talking about just an attack."
-----
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Hermione sighed. "Lindsay, I already told you. I'll be fine," she insisted.
"I know, it's just…" Lindsay bit her lip.
"I'm worried about you, kiddo. Not everyone's in danger of being killed by a personal stalker. And now Ron's back and-"
Everything is going to be fine. Ron and I are going to enjoy ourselves."
"Hermione… it's been three years. How do you know he's the same Ron he was when he left?"
She didn't answer at first. Of course, there was no sure way to know how much he had changed. For all she knew, he had a girlfriend… or a wife. It's Ron, was all her mind told her. And she believed it.
"I just know, Lindz," she replied, "Regardless of years and where we've been and who we've seen, he's still Ron. That's one thing that'll never change."
Lindsay smiled. Hermione glanced at the clock.
"It's almost eight. I better get going," she took a deep breath, and then turned from the mirror to face Lindsay.
"How do I look?" she asked. Her hair was a little wavy, and she had make-up on. Just a little. Lindsay nodded approvingly.
"I think you look ready to go see him," she replied.
Hermione smiled and went to hug her friend.
"Thanks so much, Lindz," she said.
"Knock him dead, kiddo."
And with an Apparation, she left for her meeting.
-----
"Wow. You sure?"
"Positive. The girl and the Auror are connected."
"Goddam… whaddya think we should do, then?"
"This changes things .I had originally planned to kill the girl, just to lure him to The Point. But now… she may yet be of some more use to us…"
"You're not gonna kill her?"
"Oh, I'll still kill her… I just don't know if I want to kill her right away, or not…"
"Why don't we just kill that damn Auror and be done with it?"
"NO! Weasley is everything in these plans. I need him to be there."
"I'm not talking about Weasley. I'm talking about the other one. The other one who was there."
"Oh… him. Do as you wish. Think twice before you do it, though."
"You will kill him, right?"
"If it comes to it- yes."
"And Weasley?"
"Well… if he's not dead by the end… I'll put him in a position where he just won't care anymore…"
"And that's where Granger comes in, right?"
"Do you expect me to explain everything again? How about you use your own brain for once? If you have one…"
"Sorry."
"… If I can just keep them guessing until it's ready… then that's all the time I'll need."
Another cliffy. Another barrage of reviews screaming to me at the top of their lungs about how they want Ron and Hermione to be together.
Next chapter, I swear it.
Review please.