The bright sun shone overhead as Ron walked the perimeter of the Hogwarts grounds. The snow had melted and the temperature had risen significantly. While still cool outside, his sentry duty was immensely more enjoyable wearing just his robes than when bundled up in multiple layers, slogging through deep snow with frozen toes.
In the distance he watched as young students flitted about the grounds, seemingly oblivious to the dangers outside the castle. He suspected one day the fight would come to them. In the meantime, he was happy they were blissfully unaware. In fact, he was a little jealous; he pined for the days when he, Harry, and Hermione had strode about the campus like they owned the place. The problems then had been perilous, sure. However, cloaked in their naïveté the dilemmas always appeared surmountable. They always seemed to have adults poised at the outskirts, ready to jump in and save the day if needed. The difference now was that they were the adults. They were responsible for fixing things. They were responsible for life or death.
Ron knew the weight of these responsibilities laid heavy on Hermione's shoulders. He wished he could take on that burden for her. But, he knew his weaknesses and he knew her strengths. They were performing the parts required of them.
His walk took him down to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. This was his least favorite part of his rounds. Every time he got near the forest it felt like spiders were crawling across his skin. Hurriedly, he made his way along the perimeter, glad to see Hagrid's hut up ahead — a sign that he could put the Forbidden Forest behind him soon enough. As he got closer, he saw someone emerging from the trees behind the hut. Hagrid was away from the castle so there shouldn't have been anyone lurking there. Instinctively, his hand darted deep into his robe's pocket and pulled out his wand.
As he moved closer he saw it was Hermione, distractedly muttering to herself as she made her way from the foliage.
"Good morning Hermione," Ron said as he approached her.
"Oh, Ron. Hi. I didn't see you there", she answered. The bemused look on her face changed to one of pleasant surprise. "Oh! I have something I want to show you."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the back door of Hagrid's hut. She swung the door open and pushed him inside. He stumbled into the hut and turned around as she closed the door behind her. She reached into her pocket and grabbed her wand. Pointing it at him she said, "Incarcerous!"
Rope sprang from her wand, pulled his arms behind his back, and affixed itself around his wrists in a knot. She took a step towards him and pushed him down into Hagrid's enormous chair.
Before he could comprehend what was going on she climbed on top of him and straddled his lap. She grabbed his face and fell into him, kissing him deeply.
When she came up for air he gasped, "Mione, what are you doing?"
"Shhhh," she whispered with a crazed look in her eyes. "Just enjoy it."
She kissed him again and he finally closed his eyes and surrendered. Wiggling his wrists behind his back he realized that the rope wasn't bound tight; he could release himself anytime he wanted.
Her hands moved from his faced and explored his broad shoulders, sinewy arms, and sculpted chest. They both moaned with pleasure. The stress trapped within them seemed to evaporate.
She broke their kiss and sat up, looking him in the face. He could see the pain, confusion, and torment deep within her eyes.
He broke the silence by saying, "I see you've learned a new trick."
That broke the tension. She started giggling and collapsed down on him, burying her face in his neck. He pulled his arms loose from their binds and wrapped them around her. They stayed crumpled together for a few minutes until their breathing synchronized.
Finally, Hermione stood up and pulled Ron to his feet. They held hands as they walked out the front door of the hut and into the late morning sun.
"I gotta grab some lunch but can I catch up with you later?" Ron asked.
"Maybe. I have some work I need to do. I'll try to come find you later."
"Ok," he said reluctantly.
He wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her to him. He kissed her softly and let her go.
"See you later," he said and turned to resume his patrolling.
"You hear about the Carrows?" Neville asked through a mouth full of roast beef.
"No," Ron answered, not taking his attention away from the sandwich and chips in front of him.
A kaleidoscopic array of light shone down from stained glass windows around the Great Hall. They were eating lunch in the packed hall, surrounded by students, teachers, and Ministry visitors.
"They murdered a group of muggles in broad daylight yesterday in Manchester," Neville explained in hushed tones to keep from being overheard.
Ron shook his head and said, "Damn." He continued, "I know Lupin just missed catching up with them in Leeds. He's going to be blaming himself for this I bet." Then he added another, "Damn."
"We need to get a win sooner or later, right?" Neville asked rhetorically. "I'm tired of those scum wreaking havoc wherever they go. Aside from the Lestranges, I don't know if there's a family I hate more than the Carrows."
Ron still seemed to be processing the murders. Instead of eating he was now just fidgeting with the chips on his plate. "Damn," he said again.
Changing the subject, Ron asked, "Hey, have you seen Hermione lately?"
"I've seen her around, but I haven't talked to her. She's looking a little frazzled if you ask me."
"Yeah, I'm worried about her," Ron admitted. "She just hasn't seemed like herself. I think she's trying to take the whole war onto her shoulders by herself. She's the strongest person I know but even she can't do this alone. She used to write to members of the Order every day, but I haven't seen her send a single owl out in days. I think she needs a break."
Licking his fingers after having cleared his plate, Neville responded, "Yeah, I agree. We all need some time off. Too bad the Death Eaters won't agree to take a break. 'Hey You-Know-Who, mind taking a break for a few days? We could sure use a quick vacation down to Edinburgh.'"
They both let out a half-hearted chuckle. That's the best they could muster.
Finally, Ron said, "Alright. I have to go. I'll catch up with you later Neville."
"See you later Ron."
Ron tumbled into bed; he was exhausted. He'd spent the remainder of the afternoon and most of the night practicing defensive spells with some students. He rubbed his eyes, prodding them for a few more minutes of usefulness before they closed for the night. He still wanted to write a letter to Lupin, although he didn't quite know what he was going to say. He turned over to grab a quill and parchment from his bedside table when he noticed a strange object there. It was a small cube, shiny black and about the size of a Quidditch Snitch.
He picked it up, carefully turning it in his hands as he examined it. Five of the six sides were mirror smooth; the remaining side consisted of an etched pattern with a flat circle at its center.
He placed his finger on the smooth circle and the cube began to vibrate. Startled, he dropped the cube on his bed between his outstretched legs and shuffled backwards against the headboard.
Suddenly, a puff of multi-colored smoke erupted from the pattern on the cube. The smoke swirled in front of him until it constituted itself into a the form of…Hermione! Three feet tall and dressed in her black robes, she stood smirking at him. He was astonished at how real and solid she looked. He reached out and passed his hand through the smoke. It dispersed and quickly reformed back into the image of his girlfriend.
Then it spoke, "Hello Ron. I've made a present for you. You'll be able to take me with you wherever you go." With a coquettish smile she added, "This should keep you company on lonely nights away from me." Then her countenance turned serious, "To ensure it's really you Ron, you'll have to say the password. Think back to our first year at Hogwarts. Snape refereed Gryffindor's Quidditch match against Slytherin. The password is related to that."
Her image went silent, tapping her foot awaiting the password. Ron's tired brain went into overdrive. To what could she be referring? He remembered that Harry had caught the snitch quickly, giving Gryffindor the win. Could it be something about that?
He tentatively said, "Gryfindor wins."
The Hermione image briefly flashed a shade of crimson and said, "Nope, try again."
He thought about the match a little more. At the time they suspected Snape was trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. Of course, it was Professor Quirrell who was after the stone, but they didn't know that at the time. The previous match Harry was almost thrown off his broom by a curse. They believed something like that was going to happen again.
He looked at the image and muttered, "Curse."
Again, Hermione flashed crimson and said, "Nope, try again."
Ron felt the exhaustion again. The adrenaline was starting to wane. Then he realized the password had to be something only he knew. Anyone could have guessed the passwords he tried thus far. He struggled to remember what he and Hermione were doing by themselves at that time. They certainly weren't as close as they are now. Then it hit him. Before the match while Harry was training they got together, just the two of them, to practice a particular spell to use on Snape in case he tried to curse Harry's broom again.
Confidently, Ron said aloud, "Locomotor Mortis."
Hermione's image momentarily flashed green and with a beaming smile said, "Very good Ron. I'm glad you remember."
She then continued, "Now then, since we've got that out of the way, I have a present for you. You may want to make sure there's nobody else around."
Ron looked around the empty room, thankful the rest of his roommates had nighttime duties to which they were attending.
"First let's get rid of this." Hermione began unfastening the buttons on her robes. Ron swallowed hard and sat up straight. She let the black robes fall from her shoulders to her feet and it disappeared from sight. "How do you like this, Ron?"
Ron sat still, completely amazed and engrossed. Hermione's image was now standing in front of him in bright orange clothes. Across the front of her skin-tight, short-sleeved shirt was the crest of his favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons. She started to turn around slowly, letting Ron get a 360 degree view of her. With her back to him, she looked over her shoulder and bit her lip seductively. As she did this, pictures of cannons on each side of her shorts shot cannon balls across each other.
As she continued to turn around slowly, Ron thought about how he'd never seen this side of Hermione, both literally and figuratively.
When she was back facing forward, she started swaying her hips back and forth, as if to a slow song playing in her head, and lifted her arms over her head. She put her head down forward, her hair covering her face. Then she threw her head backwards, staring straight at Ron with hungry eyes and open, pouty lips.
"Do you like what you see, Ron?" she asked him. Ron silently nodded, his mouth agape. He didn't respond not because he knew he was just staring at an enchanted image of Hermione, but actually because he couldn't form the words in his mouth. He was too shocked to vocalize his thoughts.
Not needing an answer from Ron, Hermione's image continued, "I knew you would. For how long have you thought about this body?" She then teased, "Do you want to see more?"
Again, Ron just nodded, frozen in place leaning back against the headboard of his bed.
Slowly, Hermione crossed her arms in front of her and grabbed the bottom of her shirt. In one motion she pulled the shirt off over her head. She tossed it to the side and, like the robes, it disappeared. She then turned her back to Ron, grabbed the waistband of her shorts, and slowly bent forward pulling her shorts to her ankles. Arching her back, she stood up slowly, and kicked off her shorts. Turning back around, she put her hands on her hips and looked at Ron with a smirk on her face. Her bra and panties were scarlet with gold lace. She continued to dance gracefully, exploring her body with her hands.
After a few minutes she stopped dancing. She reached and grabbed her wand. She muttered something and with a flick of her wrist she was fully robed again. She looked forward again and earnestly said, "I love you Ron. Please be careful out there." She blew him a kiss and dissolved into a swirl of smoke that returned to the cube whence it came.
