A/N: Hope you like it!


For the past couple of days Ron had gone into the warehouse for work. Normally George was the one who took care of things there, but they'd decided to switch places for the time being.

If only to place distance where it was needed.

In the years since Fred and George had first opened Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, the standalone shop in Diagon Alley had grown into one of the most successful magical businesses in the world. They shipped everywhere that owls could reach and had just recently opened two new locations in Seoul and New York.

Suffice to say George had worked hard, tirelessly.

When he had finally admitted to his family that he was struggling to maintain the business on his own, Ron had dropped everything to help him. Not only had he always wanted to be a part of the shop that he'd loved so much since its opening, he also cared about his brother and wanted to be there for him.

In many ways George had been there for Ron as well.

He gave him space, he listened to his ideas, and in letting Ron join the team, he had really helped build his confidence.

The past year of Ron's life had been the best and fastest moving in terms of work. He'd enjoyed his year and a half as an Auror, but the job just wasn't right for him. In part he'd only taken it to prove that he could do it, and that he could keep up with Harry, but once they had restored the magical world to its original state after the war, he'd decided to take a step back.

That was when George had admitted he needed help at the shop.

The pieces had fallen into place quite easily after that.

All of them apart from one.

Nodding hello to the workers on his way up to the office, Ron took one look at the large stack of business letters on his desk, and immediately sighed.

If there was one aspect of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes that he didn't particularly care for, it was having to read through and reply to business letters.

With a deep yawn, he shrugged his cloak off and draped it over the back of his chair, taking hold of the stack of letters and tearing them open one after the other. For the most part they were from young witches and wizards who had ideas of their own and who were hoping to secure some sort of financial investment, but there were also quite a few letters from some established businesses.

Personally Ron preferred the first option.

As long as they were inspiring young witches and wizards to think and to create, he was happy.

Once he had reached the last letter in the stack, he decided to make himself a cup of coffee as he read it.

Only as he stirred sugar into his hot coffee and brought the cup to his lips, did he realize the letter he'd been holding onto for the past couple of minutes, had been sent to him from The Academy. Suddenly his mouth went dry and his fingers loosened around the cup as he instinctively lowered it.

With a deep breath he tore through the wax seal once and for all, knowing deep down that he was ready for whatever was inside. He'd only asked to speak to her after all. The worst possible thing she could potentially have communicated to him in that letter, was a no.

Swallowing the lump of anxiousness in the back of his throat, he quietly unfolded the parchment and read, taking in just one line before the coffee cup fell from his grasp and shattered to pieces.

Later That Night

"I'm fucked," Hermione said out loud, grasping the roots of her hair as she paced back and forth within the walls of her dormitory. "I'm so unbelievably fucked."

Malfoy calmly flipped through the romance book that he'd found on her bedside table, smirking as he reached the good bits. "It's no wonder you had a sex dream about me if this is what you're reading before bed every night …"

Within seconds she tore the book from his grasp. "Stop it! I-I didn't let you in here so you could make fun of me!"

"Granger, it's really not that big of a deal …"

Her face twisted into a look of disbelief at just the sound of that. "Have you lost your mind?"

"No, but you have if you think a sex dream is worse than cheating," the wizard countered, calmly rising from the foot of her bed in the seconds after. "As far as I'm concerned, you've been single from the moment you stepped off of the Knight Bus last week."

Sighing deeply, Hermione blinked up at him, barely a foot away. "It's just … such a horrible way to end a relationship."

"Cheating, you mean?"

"Honestly I'm starting to wonder about that …" she quietly confessed, earning a look of surprise from the wizard in front of her. "I saw him going up to the second floor of The Leaky Cauldron with another witch, but … that's all I saw. There's a chance nothing happened."

"Granger, are you listening to yourself? Why else would he have gone up there if not to have sex with her?"

"I don't know! I-I'm just … I'm really confused."

Malfoy tensed up at that, the truth in her words sinking in slowly. "You want to be with him," he realized. "After everything that's happened, you still want to be with him."

There were countless ways in which Hermione could have denied that, but she simply glanced to the floor, emotionally exhausted. "I don't know what I want."

"I know what I want."

Her cheeks flared with heat at the sound of that, a feeling that swiftly traveled through every inch of her body as Malfoy came closer, ghosting a hand along her cheek and biting his bottom lip as he blinked down at hers.

"I'll stop if you want me to, Granger … just say the word," he murmured to her quietly, dragging his hand down her body, to the small of her back where he then slowly pulled her in, waiting for her to stop him. "We don't have to have sex if you're not ready yet. I just … I really want to kiss you right now. All over."

There was something so presumptuous about the words he'd said to her just then. For a moment she thought to turn away and open the door for him, but she stayed exactly where she was, taking in just a short breath before his lips came crashing down on hers in the quiet of her dormitory.

In a matter of seconds her body was flush against the wall and her fingers were in the roots of his pale blond hair.

The moment he dipped his tongue between her lips in search of hers, she couldn't help but moan, the vibration of it traveling all the way down her body as he slowly began kissing down her neck.

I should stop him.

I should really stop him.

Instead she tugged his shirt off and pushed him to the foot of her bed, climbing on top and slowly pressing down on his lap to find that he was already quite hard. For a moment they simply kissed like that, quietly rubbing against each other and tugging at whatever pieces of clothing remained. Only as he dragged his hand along her thigh, past her skirt and under her knickers, did they stop kissing and lock eyes in those few seconds.

She felt her cheeks burn as he grazed the tips of his fingers over her clit, gently rubbing it in soft, small circles as she sucked in deeply, trying to contain the short, broken string of moans that rose quickly up the length of her throat.

Suddenly the world went quiet again.

The only thought that managed to enter her mind just then, seconds before he pushed two slender fingers deep inside her, was the thought of how badly she wanted him in just about every way.

Chest rising and falling inside her top, she swiftly parted her lips as the orgasm tore through her, rippling through every inch of her body in long, warm waves as she held onto him. By the end of it she was sweating, the roots of her hair prickling with heat as he then lifted her up and lowered her onto her back.

Slowly he began unbuttoning her top, working his way down her body and dragging her knickers down her legs.

The air was cool against her skin and the tip of his tongue was hot and firm against her clit as he took her legs in his arms and dipped his head down between her thighs.

Within seconds she came again, and within seconds she was urgently pulling him in for another kiss, the taste of her still on his lips as she began tugging at his belt. It was only as he quickly and unexpectedly grabbed her by the wrists and pinned her down on the bed, that she snapped out of it, blinking up at him, confused.

"Wh-what … what's wrong?" she asked, still trying to catch her breath.

Going by the way he was looking at her just then, he wanted nothing more than to finish what he had started, but there was a trace of disquiet in his eyes.

"Not tonight," he told her, firmly.

For a moment she just looked at him as though he'd gone mad, uttering the first words that came to mind. "What is it? Are you worried you'll come too fast?"

Malfoy glared at her, tightening his hands around her wrists just for a second. "I should fuck you in the mouth right now just to shut you up."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Hermione smiled, teasingly.

Flinching a little at that, he swiftly released her, grabbing his shirt from the floor and shrugging it on in the seconds after.

She sat up, scrunching her lips into a frown as he buttoned his shirt. "So, that's it?"

"For now," he uttered, sparing a moment to glance back at her as he unlocked the door. "Talk to your boyfriend, figure out what you want. You know where to find me when you're ready."

Before she could so much as open her mouth, he was gone.


She took one large step back, wheeling a look around her new flat after two days of trying to fix it up into a livable state. Once she had done away with most of the clutter and changed the placement of some of the furniture that George had left there for her to use, she had to admit the flat itself was a lot larger than it had looked when she had first walked in.

It was a small, one-bedroom flat situated directly on top of the joke shop. The view was nice and the location was without a doubt better than any of the other flats that she had been looking at.

George said she could live there without charge for as long as she worked at the joke shop, but of course she insisted on paying him monthly. Although she appreciated the kindness that he had extended to her in the past week, she didn't want to take the easy way out. She had moved out of her family's house specifically to get the life experience that she felt she was missing out on.

In any case there was still a lot of work to be done around the flat.

There were no dishes, there was no kitchen table and there was nowhere to sit in the lounge, but it was still a nice change from her room at The Leaky Cauldron.

She had her own kitchen, her own bathroom and her own balcony and rooftop accessible through the bedroom.

It was quite a nice place … a place she wasn't sure she deserved.

With a deep breath Astoria made her way to the bathroom for a quick shower before bed, turning some music on along the way. To her knowledge the others had all gone home for the night. Not that she was expecting anyone anyway.

Ron had been working at the warehouse for the past two days, undoubtedly avoiding her after his brother had caught them speaking closely in the back the other morning.

Of course she couldn't blame him.

For the most part she had no idea why she couldn't just ignore her feelings and move on. They'd only just started working together a week and some days ago. She felt ridiculous … immature … completely and utterly unlike herself in nearly every way.

If I can move on from Draco of all people, surely I can move on from a bloke who's already got a girlfriend.

The thought of it made her stomach turn. Not only had she kissed him twice, she had also invited him up to her room for sex.

What kind of person have I become?

Swallowing the rush of guilt in her throat, she tried not to think about it. On the one hand, he was the one in a relationship and it was his job to make sure he didn't do anything that he didn't want his girlfriend doing, but on the other hand, she had always thought that she knew better than to get involved with someone else's boyfriend.

Hermione Granger's boyfriend of all people.

They looked so happy together in those photographs.

How could I do something so horrible?

Maybe I should have just stayed at The Academy.

The moment that last thought crept up into her mind, she knew she needed a drink. A big drink. A drink the size of Gringotts.

Climbing out of the shower and wrapping herself in just a dressing gown, Astoria made her way to the kitchen. Within moments she located the wine that she'd bought earlier in the day and just barely pressed the rim of the bottle to her lips before she heard a knock.

For a split second she was worried thinking George had changed his mind about letting her stay there, but as she rushed to the door and glanced through the peephole, she was surprised to find Ron there instead.

She hesitated a moment, stepping away from the door until he knocked again, this time softer.

Don't open it.

Just go to bed.

Squeezing her eyes closed as if it helped, she quickly released the breath that she'd been holding in and ignored the voice in her head. In a matter of seconds she unlocked the door and opened it, her insides jumbling up as Ron looked to her, the ends of his hair wet and jagged as though he'd been walking in the rain.

With one look over his shoulder, Astoria noticed that it was indeed raining, and that most of the snow had melted away.

Only as she glanced back at him, did she gather the strength to ask. "What happened?"

It was clear that something happened.

Something he probably didn't want to talk about.

His Adam's apple plunged the length of his throat as he finally spoke. "You said I could come to you if I ever need someone to talk to or someone to drink with when I don't feel like talking …"

The memory of it came to her slowly, sinking deep into her chest before she motioned for him to come in.

Without a word they settled into the empty flat, taking to the kitchen in silence as she poured him a glass of wine and handed it over. She leaned against the sink and he leaned against the counter directly across from her, just a foot of distance between them.

The music was still going in the background, echoing faintly through the dimness of the flat.

"You … you don't have to tell me what happened, but … can you please tell me if this is only for tonight?" Astoria finally asked, ignoring the bundle of nerves in her chest.

Ron took a small sip of the wine, the tension in his muscles slowly tapering away as he looked to her with question marks in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" she repeated, her eyebrows twitching up before she motioned between them. "This! One day you're ignoring me, the next day you're kissing me, and the day after that you're just … you're back to acting like I don't exist. Do you have any idea how emotionally draining that is?"

"Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea," the wizard said back, his throat tightening a little. "It's not as easy for me as you think it is, Astoria."

"Why, because you have a girlfriend?" she snapped, releasing a humourless laugh. "If you want to be with her, then you go right ahead and be with her. Just don't come knocking on my door in the middle of the night when you know I have feelings for you."

Swallowing a mouthful of wine, Ron set the glass down on the counter, firmly. "Had."

"Had?"

"I had a girlfriend," he clarified, looking to the younger witch in the dimness of the kitchen. "I'm done with her."

Astoria was silent for a moment, at a loss for what to say, how to react. "Since when?"

"Since I found out she's been having sex dreams about the bloke who bullied her for six years of her life," Ron snorted, not a trace of amusement in his eyes.

The pieces slowly came together in Astoria's mind, her body turning rigid after. "Draco Malfoy, you mean?"

Ron nodded. "He's one of your friends, I take it?"

"Used to be."

Opening his mouth to ask for the story that was undoubtedly attached to that response, his efforts were quickly silenced as Astoria swiped the bottle of wine from the kitchen counter and knocked it back without a word. There was a small drop that dribbled down her bottom lip and into her dressing gown, but she didn't seem to care.

For a moment Ron just looked to her in a state of shock, quickly lifting an eyebrow at her as she glanced back at him, swallowing the wine in her mouth. "Maybe friend isn't the right word?"

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Let's just say … I could go the rest of my life without ever seeing him again, and it would still be too soon."

"Fair enough."

"We were never together … in case you're wondering."

"But almost?" he guessed, receiving a short nod from the witch before she took another sip.

Sparing a moment to gather her thoughts, Astoria decided to just tell him. "Do you remember the scarf that I made such a fuss about?"

He nodded. "The blue one."

"Yeah, the blue one. It was, erm … it was given to me by my favourite aunt. An aunt who helped raise me and who … who died in the war … at the hands of a Death Eater."

Facing paling for a second, Ron had to ask. "Malfoy wasn't involved, was he?"

"No, he wasn't … but given that he was a Death Eater, he did know the truth … and he chose to hide it from me for years," she explained. "My parents told me that my aunt had died of Dragon Pox because they didn't want me getting involved in the war. I knew it was a load of shit coming from them, but I … I didn't expect that from Draco. We were best friends. He lied to my face … like it was nothing."

"You love him," Ron deduced, gently.

Astoria swallowed another mouthful of wine. "Loved. I loved him … but I don't anymore."

"It sounds like he thought he was protecting you."

"I know," she nodded. "That's the frustrating part. He probably doesn't even realize that what he did was wrong."

Ron was silent for a moment, allowing her words to sink in. "When did you find out he knew?"

"A month ago," Astoria uttered to him, taking one last sip of wine before she set the bottle down. "That's why I left school. I-I had to get out of there and just … be on my own."

"I understand. I left the Auror Office for similar reasons."

"Do you miss it?"

He shrugged, finishing the wine that was left in his glass. "Sometimes."

"For the record I don't miss school at all," she added, a playful glint to her eyes.

Chuckling, Ron nodded along. "That makes two of us."

There was a moment of silence after, wherein the pair of them just stood in the kitchen without saying another word. It was only as the music stopped, that Astoria glanced up at Ron to find that he was looking at the time on his wristwatch. She had a feeling that he was about to leave, make some sort of excuse as to why he had to go, and she wasn't sure that was such a bad idea.

"I like you," Ron said instead, earning a surprised look from the witch. "It's been a confusing … horrible fucking week for both of us to say the least … but I really do like you, Astoria."

She wasn't sure what to say to that apart from, "I like you, too."

"I'm leaving for New York tomorrow … and then The Academy after that to officially end it with Hermione," he went on to explain. "When I'm back, I would really like to go on a date with you."

The distant pitter patter of rain filled the silence between them as Astoria simply looked to him in the quiet of her flat, her heart filling up. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"I've been ready," Ron said to her, the sincerity in his gaze staying with her long after.


A/N: It's not over yet. That's all I'm going to say lol. Thoughts?