Lavender and Ginny made their way to the fireplace in Hermione's home, where they all flooed to a cute little wizarding cafe in Diagon Alley. After they had plopped themselves into seats and Hermione had halfheartedly answered a bunch of questions on her time in France, the waiter came over and asked what they wanted to drink.
"Alcohol," Hermione said as Lavender let out a high-pitched giggle at something Ginny said. "Please."
"Don't forget, Hermione, we're going to the bar later," Ginny reminded her. Reluctantly, Hermione switched her order to lemonade. She didn't like drinking, and she definitely didn't like any alcohol except wine and the occasional fruity drink (read: she'd had one once when they were out of everything else and had drunk half of it), but lately all she wanted to do was tune the world out, and, seeing as she didn't know any spells that made you able to do that, drinking, she thought, might help. She hadn't had the courage to do it yet, but one more high pitched giggle from Lavender...
"How's the game going, by the way?" Ginny asked the waiter as he walked away.
"Cannons are loosing," he said, sounding happy.
"Ron's going to be insufferable," the three ladies groaned at the same time.
The Cannons were indeed losing, and Ron was indeed acting insufferable. He was cursing like a madman, yelling out from the stands, and doing his damnedest to make sure that Viktor wasn't getting a word in edgewise. Viktor's look of complacency never left his face, he just stared out at the game with a little smirk on his face. Ron took this to mean that either Viktor was rooting for the other Quidditch team, or he was being smug because he had gotten Hermione and Ron hadn't. Either way, Ron wanted to pummel him.
So it was a relief, really, when the game ended (a spectacular win- just not for the team Ron was rooting for) and they were able to make their way to an expensive bar of Viktor's choosing. The females were already there, and each got up to greet their significant others. Ginny threw her arms around Harry's neck and breathed into it,"Thank god, I can't stand one more moment of this," Lavender kissed Ron shortly on the lips and said (loudly) "How you doing, hot stuff?" which made him splutter and turn bright red. Hermione and Viktor stood their awkwardly, Hermione not being the type to like public displays of affection.
"Aren't you going to kiss him hello, Hermione?" Lavender asked expectantly.
"Uh, no, that's alright," Hermione said, shaking her head.
"Aw, come on, what's wrong with you guys? One year of marriage and the magic is already gone?" Lavender asked, cocking her head sympathetically.
"Um..." Hermione said. Viktor shook his head.
"No, of course not. Herm-own-ninny just doesn't really like public displays of affection."
"But you guys are so cute!" Lavender said, her tone rising about ten octaves higher on the last word, as though she was talking about a pony or a particularly fluffy puppy dog.
"No, thank you," Viktor said firmly.
"What, are you scared?" Lavender asked. "Look, it's easy!" she said, before stretching a tiny bit on her tip toes and beginning to enthusiastically snog Ron.
"FINE!" Hermione shouted, her breaking point having been met. She turned to Viktor and slammed her lips into his, then proceeded to kiss him vigorously. It wasn't the first time they had kissed, so it wasn't as strange as it might have been, but Hermione still felt like she was kissing her brother. She kept on kissing him, however, until she heard Ginny say,
"Alright, alright! We get it, you're married!"
"Thank you," Hermione said, crossing her arms, while Viktor just stood there looking stunned. "You alright, honey?"
"I don't really know," Viktor said. "Er- beer. Need beer."
"I'll go get you one, love," Hermione said, and she slunk off into the crowd towards the bar.
"That was overkill!" Ron hissed in Lavender's ear. "What are you trying to do?"
"I'm not sure," Lavender said, shrugging. "It's fun, and it felt right, you know?"
"No, not at all," Ron snapped. "And from now on, keep your hands, lips, and other body parts off of me, alright? I'm not sixteen anymore- I want a relationship with some emotion, and that relationship is with Hermione."
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, you can't have her," Lavender pointed out.
"Of course I've noticed! It's you who hasn't!"
"What are you going to do, Ron, if they decide to spend the rest of their lives together? What if they work through all their marital problems and realize that they can make everything work?"
Ron paled. He hadn't actually considered that outcome much.
"Just... just tone it down a bit, alright Lavender?"
"Fine!" Lavender said, and she too disappeared into the crowd. Ron drew in a deep, calming breath before joining the rest of his party.
"It's karaoke night!" Ginny laughed, pointing towards a stage where two people were singing.
"Cool!" Lavender shrieked. Quickly, she vanished into the crowd towards the table and came back a few seconds later. "Hermione, I signed you up."
"What?" Hermione cried, spitting out her sip of wine back into her glass.
"Well, I used to hear you singing in the shower at Hogwarts and you were really good, so I just-"
"You sing in the shower?" Ginny giggled.
"Oh my god, every time," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Loudly, too."
"You sing in the shower as well," Ginny reminded him, "so you can't tease her about it."
Hermione was still staring at Lavender as though she'd never seen her before.
"Lavender, I can't just go up on stage and sing in front of a bunch of people!"
"Remember when my parents arrived two hours early when we had them over for dinner that one time?" Ron said. "They heard you singing in the shower then... so, really, you've had an audience before."
"You are not helping," Hermione growled.
"Next up," shouted the DJ, "Hermy-one GRANGER!"
"NO!" Hermione yelled. "No thank you!"
But the man didn't hear her, and continued looking around, trying to see if anyone was moving
"Aw, Hermy-one, are you scared or something?" the DJ taunted, and the crowd began booing. Hermione clutched her face with anxiety.
"I have to go up, don't I?" Harry, Ginny, Lavender, Ron, and Viktor nodded. Hermione turned paler and began to look like she would rather like to be knocked out. "Ginny, will you come up with me?"
"That's not happening."
"Harry?"
"I love you Hermione, but there is no way."
"Viktor?"
"Sorry, Herm-own-ninny... I got banned from karaoke here after I sang a too literal rendition of I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt."
"Lavender?" Hermione said desperately.
"Sure, if you want to sing a Britney song!"
"No, I was thinking something a bit tamer..." Finally, she turned to her last possible lifeline. "Ron?"
Ron's initial instinct was to say no. There was no bloody way he wanted to get up onto a stage and embarrass himself by singing. But then he stared into her eyes and saw the panic there. He knew how hard this was for Hermione. Putting herself out there to be judged and viewed... it was one of the things she was most afraid of. That was one reason why their relationship had worked- he knew her so well she didn't have to be afraid that he would judge her. Not anymore.
"Of course, Hermione," he said softly, and as he gave her a reassuring smile he saw her expression relax just a little bit.
"Thank you," she whispered. She was shaking as they made their way through the crowd and to the stage.
"Are you Hermy-one Granger?" the DJ asked. The crowd stopped booing. Hermione nodded, looking nauseous. "Great! Is this a duet?" Hermione nodded once more. "Alright, you two hop on stage and I'll pick a song for you."
Ron got onto the stage first, then he held out a hand for Hermione. She took it and he helped her up, but let go very quickly, glancing guiltily in the direction of Viktor. All of this washed away however, as he looked to his right and saw Hermione shaking. "It's just karaoke, Mione," he wanted to say, but he didn't. He understood irrational fear perfectly well... for the past two years he'd had no one to kill his spiders for him. Instead, he wordlessly reached out a hand for Hermione's. Looking grateful, she took it, giving him a weak smile. Music began to play, and the two looked towards a screen, where the song name Don't Go Breaking My Heart was currently being showcased.
"D..don't go breakin' my heart," Hermione sang, so low it was inaudible.
"I couldn't if I tried."
"Oh, honey-"
"LOUDER!" someone in the crowd shouted. Hermione's volume faltered, then increased a little bit.
Two minutes later she was off the stage- bright red, almost in tears, but secretly proud of herself and definitely pleased to be done with singing.
"Can I have what she's having?" Hermione asked, pointing to Lavender's drink, her voice still shaking a bit. The bartender nodded.
"How'd we do?" Ron asked lightly.
"Great," Ginny said warmly, hugging her brother and then Hermione.
"Yeah, great," Harry said, looking at them admiringly.
"Wow, the-boy-who-lived, impressed by karaoke," Lavender laughed. "Who knew?"
At this, Hermione took the drink the bartender offered her and walked off into the crowd.
"Should someone go after her?" Viktor asked, concerned.
"No, let her alone for a while," Harry said wisely.
A half an hour passed, and Hermione didn't reappear.
"Maybe she's gone home," Lavender suggested. She had been leaning her head on Ron's shoulder the whole night, and, unluckily for him, he found the scent of her shampoo a slightly repulsive. He had never liked coconut.
"I need the bathroom," Ron said, trying to politely remove himself from the situation. No one objected as he left, but instead of turning in that direction he headed for a small balcony that he had seen earlier. As he pushed the door open, he realized that he was not the only one who had gotten that idea. Hermione was there, leaning against the railing, staring out into the starry sky. She made no comment as Ron went to stand next to her, so he figured it was within his rights to stand there. They stood, watching the stars and the muggle airplanes in the sky for about ten minutes before Hermione suddenly said,
"What do you miss most?"
Ron looked startled.
"About what?"
"About me. About... us."
It was a rather bold question to be asking for Hermione, and his suspicions that she was probably a little drunk were confirmed as he looked to her glass saw it mostly empty. He must have been slightly drunk, too, because he actually answered.
"There are three things that I miss the most," he said, "and they're all a tie."
"And they are?"
"First, I miss kissing you," Ron said, his eyes slipping down to her lips. "You convey so much emotion when you kiss someone, and it always made me feel warm inside. I forgot everything when I was kissing you... my mind never wandered, it was just all you, and that was the way I wanted it to be. I always felt whole when I was kissing you, not like when I was a teenager and snogging Lavender. With her it always felt like I was being bad, doing the wrong thing. With you it felt like it was right, like you were my other half and we were meant to be kissing from the start and meant to be kissing for the rest of our lives. I never wanted to pull back, I never wanted to let you go."
There was a long, long pause before Hermione quietly said,
"What's second?"
"Second, the array of freckles across your nose," Ron said, the a small grin beginning to cross his face. He lifted his hand and used his index finger to lightly tap her nose, causing her to smile. "I know exactly how many there are, and I think that they are the most adorable things in the whole world." Hermione shrugged and wrinkled her nose. Ron shook his head. "That's cute, too."
This time, Hermione laughed, although her eyes were a little watery.
"I never knew you had a strange fetish with my nose."
"I wasn't going to tell you until we were married," Ron joked.
"What's number three, then?" Hermione questioned, the tears still in her eyes but not falling down her face. Ron hesitated before answering this last one.
"Remember how you used to have nightmares?"
"I still do," Hermione whispered, her eyes in the direction of the inky black sky and all the stars it housed.
"They were the scariest things," Ron whispered. "You would sob and scream and shout things out, and I would sometimes burst into tears just watching it because I couldn't stand it all. I always felt so relieved when you woke up. But there was this moment, every time after you woke up, that was my favorite part of the day, no matter how awful that sounds. You would still be crying a bit, and upon seeing that I was there you would crawl into my lap and sob into my shoulder. I would stroke your hair and try to comfort you with words or kisses, and when you looked up at me during that time you just had this look on your face."
"Look?" Hermione asked. Ron took a moment, struggling to find the words to communicate exactly what he was trying to say.
"Like... like I was priceless. Like I was the most wonderful, amazing person, the best thing in your life. A look like you needed me more than anything in the world, and you couldn't believe that you had me because I was worth that much to you. You looked at me like I was merlin himself. And every time I doubted myself or felt like all of my brothers were better than me, or felt like I wasn't worth anything... well, when you looked at me like that, I felt special again. I had something that my brothers never had or would have, I had someone who looked at me like I was the handsomest, smartest, funniest, richest, most thoughtful and romantic person on the planet. Someone that needed me. It sounds girly and strange, but that got me through, that look did."
"Wow," Hermione said, letting out the word in a quick exhale. Tears had definitely begun to pour down her cheeks.
"What are yours?" Ron asked after a few moments.
"My what?"
"Your top three."
"Oh," Hermione said. "Well, I suppose mine are quite similar to yours."
"Really?"
"Sure," Hermione said, brushing a tear from the corner of her eye. "I used to love to trace patterns in your freckles. Like at night, when I was trying to sleep, I'd draw on your arm or back and make little shapes. I also did it when we were lying on the couch talking or watching a movie or when I was reading. It's odd, but that relaxed me and contented me and made me happy. I think it had something to do with knowing that I was allowed to do those things- at school I'd never been able to touch you like that. But your arm was my arm, and your back was my back, and your shoulder was my shoulder, and it doesn't make sense but I just loved it."
"If only I'd known that when we were at school," Ron said, trying to use humor as a way for him to not cry. "It would have been excellent during exam times. Number two, then?"
"Your facial expressions," Hermione said without missing a beat. "Oh my god, Ron, you have so many! I mean, you have different facial expressions, and I believe about eight types of smiles, and over the five years we were together- plus the seven we weren't- I memorized all of them and made up names for them. I used to play a game with myself, figuring out which mood you were in by the name of your facial expression. I just loved watching you talk, because your face was- and is- so animated and passionate. Not so much your voice. I think my voice shows emotion more than yours does. With you, it's all in the face."
"How many smiles did you say?" Ron asked.
"Eight," Hermione told him.
"That's funny, you have seven."
"Really?"
"Yeah. What's your number three?"
"The way you were so thoughtful even when you didn't know you were being thoughtful. You always managed to do the right thing in the end, even if you didn't have faith in yourself at all. Your Christmas presents weren't always amazing, but you did the little things. Like you kissed me even when I was in the worst of moods and most people would be afraid of me. And when I fell asleep on the couch you would cover me with a blanket or carry me up to bed. And before we fell asleep you would always say the same thing to me, every night. And every mother's day you would make me breakfast in bed, even though I wasn't a mum. And when I was in the shower you would write notes on the mirror. And you were attentive in comforting me, even though you thought that you weren't equipped to handle the situation, the emotion of it all. You always ended up doing the right thing. And sometimes you didn't even have to be trying to make me smile. Sometimes I would be sitting there reading a book and I would look up and see you looking at me like I was the most gorgeous woman in the world, this softness to your eyes and your smile, and it was a variation of the look you got every time you were about to kiss me."
This all came out very fast, but Ron was used to the way Hermione delivered information by then, and he caught and hung onto every word.
"If you could go back," he said slowly, "would you still break up with me that night?"
"No," she said. "And if you could go back, would you sleep with Perdita?"
"You know I wouldn't."
"I just wanted to hear it."
They were still standing there, staring at each other, when Ginny burst through the door, said, "Oooh, there you are! Time to go," and backed out again. Ron wanted to kill her for interrupting their long moment, but on the other hand he felt quite glad, as he was loosing all of his will power to play the game fairly and not kiss Hermione.
"It's been fun," he said, and he kissed Hermione on the nose before walking slowly to the exit. Her hand quickly found the spot where he had kissed her, and she inwardly sighed contently.
I love nose kisses. I love my nose for allowing Ron to kiss it. I love Ron for kissing my nose and loving my freckles and writing notes on mirrors and loving me. I love Ron.