"I'm taking a long lunch, Swenda," said Hermione as she approached the desk of the receptionist in her office. She was struggling to get a hold of her bag and the other items she was carrying; awkwardly shifting them around to prevent dropping anything.

"Is that why you were here so early this morning?" Swenda asked. "Big plans?"

"Errands to run," Hermione said with a tired smile. "I have a friend getting married in a few days and I have to plan a party among other things."

"Do you ever have free time, Hermione?"

Hermione grinned before waving goodbye and making her way towards the lifts. She juggled a small box from one hand to the other as she pushed the button to go down. As the door opened, a man with blonde hair stepped out, his face buried in a folder.

"Martin," Hermione said as she grabbed him by the elbow.

He looked up and smiled. "Oh, hi. Where are you headed?"

"Errands to run," she said as she took a few steps forward to enter the lift. "Do you want to come and grab lunch with me?"

"I really need to wrap this up," he held up the folder, "but are you headed to Diagon Alley?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Do you think you could stop by the apothecary and pick me up some Damiana?"

Hermione staggered. Damiana was commonly used as an aphrodisiac and sexual stimulant.

"It's for my anxiety," he said as a smile crossed his face. "It's got a few uses, but don't think I didn't know what you were thinking."

"Are you that stressed?" she asked.

"It's always helped me," he said as someone called his name. "I make tea with it and it calms me down."

"I suppose I can," she said as she gave him a half smile, just before the lift door began to crank shut.

"I'll try to come over later, though," he said before Hermione watched the doors slam shut and he disappeared behind them. She sighed.

"Long day?" asked the man operating the lift.

"Everyday is a long day if you do it right," she said wearily.

The lift cranked noisily to the bottom floor where she exited into the large and noisy atrium. People were milling around on their own lunch breaks, or lost in their own worlds of thought as she navigated her way towards the opposite side of the room and towards the cafeteria. She wasn't hungry, but she knew she had to eat something or else she'd never get the chance. Her schedule didn't allow for diversions from her day's plan very often.

Not surprisingly, the cafeteria was busy. Witches and wizards were laughing and arguing about every conceivable thing there was to argue about, all while they enjoyed the small break that they had in a day full of work. Hermione had always thought how interesting it would be to spend a day just sitting here and observing everyone. The things one could learn just by surrounding themselves with some of the greatest minds in magic today…while they ate.

She picked up a pre-made sandwich and made her was down to the elderly witch sitting behind the cash register. "Is that all?" the woman asked.

"Yes, thanks," Hermione said as she searched around in her bag for some change.

"You sure you don't want an apple or something?" she asked. "You look like you could do with a good lunch."

Hermione's head snapped up to look at her. "Pardon me?"

"You young people are just so on the go nowadays that you're skin and bones," she said, handing Hermione back her change. "When I was your age, people would have thought I was ill if I was a thin as some as you girls."

"I'll take that into account," Hermione said in a forced tone as she grabbed her sandwich and turned to exit. She glanced down at herself. Too thin? Who did this woman think she was?

She grabbed a handful of napkins and glanced around the room to find somewhere to sit. The room was crowded, and empty spots were few and far between as she scanned the tables for a familiar face.

"Oh, there we are," she said to herself as she noticed two people rising from a small table against the wall. She made a quick dash to the other side of the room, juggling all of her things and just managing to snag the table as its previous occupants turned to leave.

"Hermione."

She looked up as she dropped all of her things down. It was Ron.

"Oh, hi, Ron," she said as she glanced at the woman he was standing with. She recognized her as an Auror, but couldn't place her name.

"Not very hungry, then?" he asked, glancing down at her lunch.

"Hungry enough," she said once she took a seat. "I don't have much time to eat."

"You can never be that busy."

"No." She smirked. "You can never be that busy."

"Oh, I forgot," he said. "You were always capable of finding ways to cut eating, sleeping, and all those other essentials out of your day in order to fit in more things to do."

Hermione made a face, as if to comment on what exactly he meant by that, but he was smiling as though he was kidding around. She had far too much on her mind to press the issue further. Plus, seeing Ron made her suddenly remember an idea she had been entertaining earlier that day.

"You know," she said. "I could really use your help with this party I'm planning for Harry and Ginny."

"What do you need from me?"

"When do you think you'll have some time to talk about it?"

He turned towards the woman who was waiting for him. "I'll catch up later," he said. The woman nodded and turned away; he turned back to Hermione and sat down across from her at the table. "I've got some time now."

"Oh," she said, surprised that he had actually sat. "I was actually just going to eat this really quickly and then head over to Diagon Alley to run some errands. I didn't think right now—"

"That works out, then," he said. "I'm headed down to Knockturn Alley anyway."

"Why are you headed down there?" she asked, looking slightly perturbed by the idea.

"We keep getting some reports of odd happenings down there. Someone needs to investigate."

"And that someone gets to be you?" she asked before taking a bite of her sandwich.

"There's not much I can do otherwise."

"Don't tell me you still haven't finished your discharge paperwork," she said with a stern face. "Ron…"

He suddenly looked defensive and opened his mouth to say something, but for some reason, closed it; instead he smiled.

"It's not funny, Ron," Hermione said.

"I know it's not," he said with a small laugh. "It's just that it's been awhile since I've gotten a lecture out of you."

"I've got plenty," she said as she smirked into her sandwich. "Where should I start?"

"Since when did I start getting a choice?"

"Why haven't you finished your work?" she asked seriously. "You've never been this—" She stopped abruptly, seemingly having second thoughts about finishing that sentence.

"Lazy?" he asked.

"That's not what I was going to say."

"So, what were you going to say?" he asked as yet another smile crossed his face. "Irresponsible?"

"Somewhere in the middle."

"I have my reasons," he said before he suddenly started absently studying his thumb nail. "I had a two hour meeting with Robards this morning to talk about it in fact."

"Two hours to talk to your boss about how you're not finishing your work?"

"Something like that," he mumbled, sounding strangely elusive. Whether the elusiveness was intentional or not, Hermione couldn't tell. She merely stared at him until he added, "Anyway, so what do you need to do in Diagon Alley?"

She gestured towards a box on the table. "I told Ginny I'd drop that box off and I have a few books on reserve at Flourish and Blotts that I need to pick up. Then I was thinking of stopping by the Leaky Cauldron to see if it is right for the party I want throw for Harry and Ginny. I'm told it's a lot friendlier now that it's under new management, but I wanted to check it out for myself." She looked at him. "And as best man, your opinion and cooperation is appreciated."

"Why are you throwing them a party?"

"It's customary," she said. "People have stag and doe parties all the time."

Ron blinked. "I was already planning on throwing a stag party for Harry."

"I thought you might be. That's why I thought we could combine his and Ginny's and have one large party."

"Why would we do that?" he asked, seemingly shocked by the idea.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Because a stag party is just that," he said. "It's supposed to be a last hurrah with your mates where you go get pissed and have a laugh. And a doe party is—" He paused. "I don't know, don't you all knit or something?"

She frowned.

"I was kidding, Hermione."

"Harry's my friend, too," she said. "Why is it that because I'm a woman, I can't enjoy his party as well?"

"Because you're a woman," he said. Almost instinctively, he held up his hand to cut-off Hermione's inevitable protest. "And I say that because you're not interested in the things guys do during their stag parties, not because you are in fact a woman."

"Doe parties can involve just as much debauchery as a stag party can," she said pointedly. "I'm sure more so, sometimes."

Ron made an uncomfortable face. "This is my sister you're talking about."

"Which is why," she said quickly, "we should combine them. If we have one large party, then everyone gets to get together and have a good time."

"Isn't that what the reception is for?"

"There's a slight difference," she said as she crumbled up her sandwich wrapper. "I wasn't exactly planning on inviting your Aunt Muriel to this party."

"If you pulled that off I'd be impressed," he said, watching her as she stood, "considering she passed away a few months ago."

Hermione's face dropped. "Oh, I'm sorry. Ginny never mentioned..."

He shrugged and stood. "We weren't exactly close. Plus, she was practically a thousand."

"I only remember her from Bill's wedding," she mused. "She was—"

"A bitch?"

"Ron, don't speak ill of the dead," she said before she began leading the way towards the exit.

"I'm not speaking ill," he said. "I'm stating fact."

Hermione shook her head, though she hid her smirk as she pulled out her wand and turned to him. "The Leaky Cauldron?"

"See you there," he said.

Seconds later, Hermione found herself standing inside the pub she'd passed through so many times in her youth, but found herself so rarely visiting in the last few years. As her eyes adjusted to the room, she noticed Ron appear several feet away. Their eyes met and he gestured in a manner so to say, "after you."

"It's changed a bit, hasn't it?" she asked as she looked around.

"The food's a lot better," he said, waving to someone behind the counter.

Hermione's gaze followed his wave. "Is that Hannah Abbott?"

"Meet the new management," he said once Hannah smiled warmly at them.

"Hi, Ron," she said before looking at Hermione. "Hermione. Hi. It's good to see you."

"Hannah," she said pleasantly. "I had no idea you had taken over."

"Are you two eating?"

"Just passing through," Ron said.

"Actually," Hermione said as she glanced around the pub, "I was planning on throwing a party in a few days, and I'm looking for a place to have it."

"A party?" Hannah asked. "What kind of party?"

"Just a handful of people," she said, waving her hand in a general motion. "It's for some friends who are getting married. Sort of a last hurrah."

Ron smirked.

"For Harry and Ginny, right?" Hannah whispered.

Hermione's face dropped. "How did you know?"

"She's invited," Ron said with a nod towards Hannah.

"I don't remember her being—" Hermione began, though Ron quickly interrupted.

"So, what do you think about us throwing a party here?"

Hannah considered this. "Well, I'd love the business. I can't guarantee that I can keep it private though, what with the lodgers I have and the people who pass through to get to Diagon Alley. I know how important it is to keep this all quiet."

"That's fine," Ron said. "We'd just have to keep the fact that it's more or less a stag party—"

"Co-stag and doe party," Hermione corrected.

"Yeah…what she said," Ron added slowly. "We'd just have to keep our intentions rather quiet."

"I'd definitely be willing to accommodate," Hannah said brightly. "I'm really looking to turn this place around, and I'm hoping to make the pub life here a bit more," she glanced over towards an older wizard who had fallen asleep on the bar, "festive."

"We can do festive," Ron said, smiling at Hermione. "So, next Friday?"

"That's what I was planning," Hermione said. "Do you agree?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't."

"Great minds think alike," Hannah said before she went to grab a piece of parchment and write the date down.

"Great minds," Ron repeated with a smile. "Hear that?"

Hermione grinned, but said nothing as Hannah returned and started to scribble some information down.

"Do you know how many people to expect?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "Did you invite anyone yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," she said. "I didn't have anywhere to tell people to go."

"We'll get back to you," he said. "Oh, and hey, do me a favor and let Neville know his presence is required."

Hermione gave him a perplexed look, but Hannah smiled and said, "I'll do that."

"Thanks, Hannah," Ron said, nudging Hermione and pointing towards Diagon Alley. "Shall we go?"

"Yes…" she said slowly, though watching him curiously. "We'll see you later, Hannah."

"What is that look for?" Ron asked as they stepped into the back alley where a solid brick wall separated them from Diagon Alley.

"Since when are you 'in-the-know' about everything?" she asked. "You just got home and you already know who's dating whom?"

Ron tapped the wall with his wand. "I ran into Neville a few days ago at Hogwarts. He mentioned he and Hannah were seeing each other. Would you really consider that in-the-know?"

"It's more than you used know," she said as the wall began to open.

Ron made a face. Hermione realized what she had said. "I didn't mean it like that," she said awkwardly. "I meant that you used to never care or know who was dating who or who was doing what. You could never be bothered."

"I knew what you meant," he said as they both started walking down the street and towards the shops. They walked in silence for several moments as she observed Ron tucking his hands into his pockets. She suddenly felt a little awkward next to him. She had kept the façade up for this long, but the truth was that actually spending time with Ron for the first time in ages was doing a number on her.

She didn't know how she felt. She had anticipated this moment ever since she realized that this wedding would force him and her to see each other again; she would be kidding herself is she said she didn't miss him. Relationship or not, she had become especially accustomed to his presence over the years, and after their breakup, the void that his absence had caused was larger than she ever thought it could have been. She lost her boyfriend and her best friend at the exact same moment. It had taken a lot of strength to move on from that, and though she was content that she had done just that, the void he had left never quite filled entirely.

She had hoped more than anything that the two of them could reconcile as friends. She knew things would never be the same as they once were, but she couldn't bear the thought of Ron being absent from her life forever. Over the last few days, she had run through several possible scenarios in her head about how things may be between them. Would he be a jerk? Would he be a mess around her? Would he want to talk about things?

Now that that moment was here, she couldn't figure out what he was. He was acting as if they didn't have a five year relationship behind them. He was almost acting as if nothing had ever happened. This wasn't something she hadn't anticipated.

"Neville's going to be teaching in the fall," Ron said suddenly. "Herbology."

"Is he?" she asked, thankful for the random topic of conversation. "Professor Sprout is retiring?"

He nodded. "So, it'll be Professor Longbottom soon enough."

She smiled. "How exciting for him. You know, sometimes I think I should have become a teacher."

"I can't see you as a teacher."

"You can't?"

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "I see you doing bigger and better things."

"Teachers can do great things," she said. "Look at Dumbledore."

"You're right, but I don't know. Teaching just never seemed like enough of a challenge for you." He smiled. "You want to save the world now. Not one kid at time."

"Yes, but isn't one kid at a time the way to do it, though?"

"In a perfect world," he said, "but unless you've got a classroom full of kids like you were, you'd have to wait too long for results." He stopped walking. "You're not one for waiting."

She grinned at him, wondering where all of this perceptive analysis of her was coming from.

"There's that look again," he said.

"Who are you?" she asked with a small laugh. "I mean, honestly, who is this man standing in front of me? What did Paris do the Ron I knew so well?"

"What's wrong with me now?" he asked with mock offense.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just," she looked him up and down, "different."

"Good or bad different?"

"Does what I think really matter?"

"You know it does," he said seriously. "That's a dumb question."

She considered this for moment. "You know Ron, as long as you're happy, then it's a good thing."

"I am happy."

"I'm really glad to hear that," she said sincerely. The thought of the depressed Ron she had known at the end of their relationship quickly crossed her mind. "And I mean that."

He smiled, but said nothing.

She smiled, too. "I'm really glad we can do this," she added. "You know, hang out together."

"I am too," he said, his ears getting slightly pink. Hermione could always tell when Ron was being sincere when this happened. His tells were all too obvious to her. She always knew when he was lying or being less than honest about something simply by watching his face.

"I have to run into the apothecary," she said, gesturing towards a building on her right. "If you want to go ahead and go on to Knockturn Alley, I'll see you later."

"Trying to get rid of me?"

"No," she said. "I just figured you needed to get to work."

"Knockturn Alley isn't going anywhere," he said. "And weird shit is always going on down there. We get constant reports from people who wander down there on accident and witness something they don't approve of. It's usually the nutters just doing what they do, but it's nothing illegal. We give it a once over every week just to keep people happy, but honestly, getting assigned it is more of a joke than anything."

"You know, you wouldn't be getting the joke assignment if you just finished your work already. I mean, it almost seems like you're not doing your discharge paperwork on purpose, Ron."

He stared at her, his expression strange. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know. It just does." She watched his face. "Are you not doing it on purpose?"

"Of course I'm not," he said almost too quickly. "It's just a lot more rigorous than people think. Harry was being nice when he said I didn't have a lot to do."

She continued to watch his face. He was hiding something. She wanted to press the issue further, but realized that now probably wasn't best time. She and Ron were getting along. Accusing him of hiding something and lying wasn't going to help further things into a more positive territory.

"What do you need from the apothecary?" he asked, making an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, I need…" she began casually, until she remembered that what she needed was a well-known aphrodisiac. This was something that she wasn't exactly comfortable telling her ex-boyfriend about. "I need nothing."

"I hear nothing is on sale," he joked.

"Good," she said with an uneasy smile. "I can get extra, then."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll wait outside."

She was thankful for this as she quickly popped into the store, purchased a package of the potent herbal plant and—after making sure the shop keeper thoroughly knew of its anti-anxiety effects—appeared back onto the street to see Ron leaning against the side of the building.

"Did you get your nothing?"

"What?" she asked once she made sure the package was well stuffed into her bag. "Oh, yes."

"Great," he said as she stood up straight. "Where did you need to take that package to?" He gestured to the package in her hands that she had been carrying all afternoon.

"This?" she asked as she started to walk quickly away from the apothecary. "Oh, I'm just dropping it off at your brother's store."

"What's in it?"

"It's left over ink that he let us use for the wedding invitations. He said to just return whatever we didn't use. Fancy a trip to your old stomping grounds?"

"Not particularly," he said before they turned the corner towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, "but if it keeps me out of Knockturn Alley for another few minutes, I will."

They chatted casually for a few minutes until they reached the front door of the shop, where George was standing in the front window fussing with a display. Ron tapped on the glass to get his attention, which caused George to turn, glance from Ron to Hermione, and make a face that seemed to say that he never expected these two particular people to be standing together outside of his shop window. He waved for them to come in.

"You two, huh?" he asked. "I didn't think I'd see this day any time soon."

"Hello to you, too, George," Hermione said as she made her way towards the front counter.

"Oh, Hermione, did you bring me a present?!" he said with fake enthusiasm.

"It's the ink you gave to Ginny," she said. "I told her I'd drop by and return it since I was in the neighborhood."

"Excellent," he began opening the box, "because my stock was running low." He turned around to search for a pad and quill. "So, what brought the two of you together?"

"We friends," Ron said. "Friends hang out."

"Glad to hear you're burying all the animosity," he said distractedly, still busying himself by looking for a quill. "I know I just had a quill here a second ago. Unless, they stole it…"

"They?" Ron asked.

Hermione opened her bag. "Here, I have one," she said, reaching inside of her bag and yanking one out. The force of her pulling the quill out of her bag so quickly forced the package she had lodged so tightly inside to come out as well. It fell to the floor.

"I've got it!" she said urgently, but Ron had already leaned over to pick it up. He handed it back to her without a second glance at it, which she quickly snatched it from him. She could feel her face getting hot, and hoped she wasn't as red as she felt.

"Are you ok?" Ron asked as he stared at her. Apparently, she was as red as she felt.

"I'm fine," she said, throwing a quick glance at George. He was watching the entire display with amusement.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," George said with a smirk. "I mean, we all have our things, Hermione."

"I don't even want to know what you're talking about," she said, her face still red. "I have to go. I have a few other things I have to do before I get back to work."

"Next time, I could get you a break on Damaina if you'd like," George continued. "I use it in some of my products and, when I buy it in bulk, I can usually get it for half of what you pay down the street."

Ron's face went pink as Hermione's face flushed with both anger and embarrassment. If looks could kill, George Weasley would be dead on the spot.

"For your information," she stammered, her voice trembling with annoyance, "it's not for me."

"Maybe not personally," he chuckled, "but one way or another, I'm sure you'll reap the benefits."

"George…" Ron muttered under his breath. His face was only a few shades lighter than Hermione's.

"It just so happens," she said matter-of-factly, still glaring at George, "that it's also used to all alleviate anxiety."

"And depression if I've done my research correctly," he said without skipping a beat, "but we all know what people really use it for."

"Shut up, George," said both Hermione and Ron at the same time. In that same moment, she turned even redder and stormed towards the door.

"Do you always have to be such a bloody prat?" Ron asked George before following after her. "Hey, Hermione! Wait up."

"I've really got to get back to work," she said angrily as she walked quickly down the street.

"Ignore him," he said. "You know how he can be. Who cares if you use—?"

"It's not mine," she repeated as she stopped in the middle of the street. "Why on earth would I need that for, for, for," she stammered, "that!"

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"I don't."

"I know that," he said before quickly countering with, "—er, I knew that." He ran his hand through his hair uncomfortably. "So, wait are you depressed, or anxious, or something?"

"It's not mine," she repeated again. "It's—" She gaped for a brief second, finally resigning her attempts and deciding to just tell him the truth. "It's Martin's."

"Oh," he said flatly. "He's your boyfriend, right?"

"Right," she said as a sudden rush of calm overcame her. "Yes. He has bad anxiety sometimes."

"Sorry to hear it," he said uncomfortably.

"Yeah," she said as she looked at him. She suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable talking about Martin in front of Ron. Worse yet, no matter how many times she denied it, she knew that the thought of the more popular use of Damania was now running through his head. It felt wrong to her to be displaying her relationship like this to him so soon after they had just started speaking again. He was single and—

"Ron?" a female voice said from behind Hermione. She turned to see a pretty blonde girl in magenta robes, smiling in their direction.

"Oh, hey," Ron said with an embarrassed smile, casting Hermione a quick look before stepping towards the girl. "How's it going?"

"Good," she said as she smiled politely at Hermione. "Hi, I'm Lydia."

"Hermione," Hermione said, wondering who on earth this girl was.

"Hermione Granger?" Lydia asked as her smile grew wider. She glanced at Ron and seemed to realize. "Oh, well, of course you are!"

She smiled curiously.

"I've always been," she hesitated and laughed a little, "well, a fan is the wrong word, but an admirer of some of the things I've read about you."

"Read about me?"

"Well, of course. All the things you and Harry Potter and," she looked at Ron and smiled, "Ron did. It's all so fascinating. Plus, your work in the Ministry is inspiring. I actually remember you from school. You were a few years ahead of me."

"I'm flattered," she said, glancing at Ron. He looked rather anxious.

"I'm sorry," Lydia said. "I feel like an idiot standing here saying all of this about what you all have done. Ron's probably tired of hearing it, what with how I kept talking about it the other night."

"Probably," Hermione said, throwing Ron a curious smirk. He was avoiding her eyes.

"I should let you both get back to what you were doing," she said. "I have to be off to work. It was nice meeting you." She turned to Ron. "Nice seeing you again, Ron."

"Umm," he stammered, "yeah, we'll talk later."

"I'm looking forward to it," she said with a small wave before heading away down the street. Hermione watched as Ron slowly turned back towards her.

"She seems nice," Hermione said. "Are you two…?"

"Not really," he said quickly. "Well, I mean, sort of." He hesitated. "We went on one date."

"No need to explain," she said, still smiling at him. "She's a little young, isn't she?"

"She's twenty-one," he said defensively. The awkwardness in his face seemed to suddenly disappear.

"Just turned?" she asked trying not to a laugh.

Ron looked challenged. He crossed his arms and threw a patronizing smile at her. "You don't really think I believe that your boyfriend takes Damania for anxiety, do you? That's if, it's even actually for him."

Hermione's jaw dropped.

"You started it," he said innocently. "You take a piss, I take a piss. It's what friends do." He paused. "It's what we do."

She considered these words and continued to take him in for a long moment. She finally smiled slowly. "Well, at least you haven't completely changed, Ron."

"I suppose that's a bad thing."

"I didn't say that," she said seriously as she continued to watch him. The chiming of a nearby bell suddenly jolted her back to her senses and made her realize the time. "Oh, I really should be getting back to work."

"I probably should do some myself," he said. "I'll see you later though, I'm sure. We'll keep this up." He gestured between them. "It's been far too long since we've really bantered."

"I wouldn't know what to do with myself if we didn't," she joked.

He smiled before he turned to walk in the opposite direction. "Bye, Hermione."

"Bye," she said before she, too, turned and began walking back down the street. She started to smiled. That had gone well. Better than to be expected, actually. She and Ron had joked, and laughed, and had a pleasant afternoon of being completely civil with each other. It was really all she could have hoped for.

She laughed to herself as the image of an awkward Ron standing there with her and Lydia crossed her thoughts. She wasn't quite sure why she was so amused by that, but she was. Apparently, he was happily moving on with his life, which was good. Plus, it seemed that talking about Martin in front of him really wasn't such a bad thing after all. Perhaps soon enough, they could even actually really talk about their significant others with each other…

She stopped and shook her head. No, that would never feel right. It was one thing not to be bothered by seeing him with another girl, but it was another thing to hear about. She sighed as she stopped walking in order to Apparate back to the Ministry. She found herself thinking about how impressed she was with herself for not being bothered by the thought of Ron with another girl. For some reason, she always thought it would nag at her—more out of habit than anything. But it wasn't nagging at her. Not at all. Not one bit…At least, that's what she was telling herself.