In honor of it being one full month since I began posting Red String of Fate, and the fact that I crawled out from under my Criminal Minds binge, here is a new chapter. And it's a long one too! AND the story so far is now over 40k, which has to be a new record for me if they're not already together.
Her first date with Ron Weasley came on a Saturday, two weeks after they had watched movies at her house. She was indecisive on whether she felt comfortable being alone with him. It was Ron, a boy who didn't fully understand her reservations, but he made the effort.
He had told her, after school where she sat on the fountain with her legs crossed, that they could go somewhere public. Skip the traditional film and movie date, he said, and hit the nail on the head when he assumed she wouldn't have felt comfortable in a dark theatre. She smiled and nodded, not reacting when he took her hand in his own.
She had read her book while his thumb brushed across her knuckles, bringing a blush to her cheeks. She'd let her hair down to hide it, smiling when he laughed. He'd brushed it over her shoulder, telling her he liked to see her face.
Hermione wasn't sure what to make of the butterflies, they felt more like hornets, that were trapped in her stomach. He was incredibly sweet, loyal, she'd learned when Cormac McLaggen egged her on once more in the hallway. She'd whispered in Ron's ear to not worry himself with McLaggen, that he would get what he deserved.
He might receive more than he deserved if Lucius Malfoy had anything to do with it. The man kept his emotions well in check, but Draco hadn't been the only one yelling in the hospital corridor that night.
Ron simply shushed her with his index finger feather light against the bow of her lips whenever she asked where they were going. "It's a surprise." he would tell her.
And she always grumbled, "I hate surprises, Ron. They make me anxious." Still, she couldn't help smiling when he looked at her. Cerulean blue eyes that were too blue, too pretty, and she was effectively silenced.
Hermione had laid out five different outfits across her bed, the shoes sat neatly on the floor as she paced in front of them. "Ginny, I don't think I need to worry this much about what I'm wearing."
The redhead was lounged on her bed, flipping through a magazine that Hermione would never have been caught dead reading. One of the headlines read, Ten Tips to the Perfect Blowjob, and she wanted to die. If her father walked in, it wouldn't matter if Ginny tossed the bloody issue, he would be mortified.
"I agree that Ron probably won't notice the difference between any of these, but it's for you. You need to feel confident in your own skin." she replied, peeking over the top of the paper.
"That sounds like another headline in that trash." Ginny only rolled her eyes. "I have no idea where we're going. If I'm going to be walking around all day, I won't wear these." Hermione scooped the pair of wedges off the floor, her fingers slipped under the straps. "And I feel perfectly comfortable in this." She waved towards herself and Ginny slammed the magazine on the nightstand.
"Oh, you can't wear that." Luna chimed from her spot in Hermione's computer chair. However, she was also sat upside down in it, and was spinning herself by pressing her hands against the carpet. She'd already knocked a bottle of perfume from the desk, and Hermione was just waiting for one blonde curl to get caught in the wheel.
"Why not?" she replied, shoving her hands into the pocket.
"Well," Ginny drawled sarcastically, motioning for Hermione to turn around. "While the hoodie is slim and fits your figure nicely, it also says Malfoy across the back. What kind of message will that send?"
Hermione flushed.
"Ron is jealous of Draco." Luna said cheerfully. "Who can blame him? With his pretty blond hair, gray eyes, and have you seen him without a shirt?"
Ginny laughed loudly while Hermione groaned. "Draco is my best friend, and his hoodies are comfortable."
"Yeah, I bet the smell good too." Ginny teased her, watching Hermione stumble over a response. "I'm giving you a hard time. Though if I had the chance to jump into bed with Draco Malfoy, I would."
"You are a horrible, horrible person." Hermione tossed a hanger at her. "I see how this would be a problem. I guess I'm just used to not having to worry about it."
"It's okay." Ginny crawled to her knees, patting Hermione on the head. "Ron is my brother, so I'm a bit biased. I think he's an idiot, and a prick sometimes. I know the jealousy has put you on edge of course. Draco had always been here for you, I told Ron that won't change just because he entered the picture."
"I'm," Hermione paused. "That might not be true. He's been rather distant." It had started small, with him picking up studying in the library more when they were at lunch. It had turned into him vanishing completely when she offered to study with him.
There was a missing piece, she was sure of that.
"I thought it was because he didn't want to be around Ron, but he's avoiding me altogether, even when I'm alone." Ginny pursed her lips, appearing as if she hadn't noticed at all when she had.
Yet Draco was still crawling through her window every night, and she said nothing. She didn't ask why he was drifting away from her, afraid she wouldn't be able to stomach the answer. It wasn't because of Parkinson, who had confronted her days earlier about Draco dropping her once more. Hermione hadn't been willing to admit that she was in the same situation.
He slept there, told her goodnight and good morning, and they parted ways at the entrance of Hogwarts. It left her feeling empty. She wasn't the type to search for another friend to ease her loneliness, she would be fine on her own. Just Ron was already there, with wide blue eyes when he asked her what was wrong and she shrugged him off. She told him they should talk about other things.
"Have you thought that he could be jealous of Ron being with you?" Ginny asked gently. "It's okay if there's something there, you know, as long as you try to spare my brother."
"I have thought about it." Hermione admitted, wincing as Luna kicked a bottle of lotion into the floor. "I just don't think it's possible. Not because we've always been friends. I'm not so blind that I don't realize feelings can change. I'm just not his type. I'm annoying and insufferable, and we fight all the time. That's not it."
"Ginny's magazine says," Hermione's bedroom door opened, but Luna continued. "That fighting leads to makeup sex, and also that angry sex can be the best." she paused. "Hi, Mr. Granger, how are you?"
He had walked in at the worst possible moment and Hermione met Ginny's astonished expression. Frank Granger looked as if he didn't know if he should be horrified, or if he should laugh. "I'm well, and you, Luna?"
She chatted animatedly with her father about the weather as if she hadn't been suggesting that fighting with Draco could lead to angry sex. "Did you see his face?" Ginny asked, barely containing her laughter.
"Unfortunately." Hermione grumbled, biting her nails until her father shut the door, muttering under his breath. "Luna, that was the worst possible timing."
She shrugged. "It's still true. Do you feel anything beyond friendship for him? Is that why you're so upset he's ignoring you? If he is jealous, he won't be able to stand looking at you when you're with Ron. It would hurt him."
"No, I've never wanted," she paused. "All this conversation has done is confuse me even more. I really like Ron." Hermione rolled her eyes as Ginny gagged. "And I hope you're wrong, because if you're right, Draco is lying to me. And that's so much worse."
"Would it change anything?" Ginny asked her. "If you called him right now and Luna was right, would you go to him, or go on your date with Ron? Ignoring the fact that he's my brother, of course."
She answered immediately. "I'd go with Ron."
"Then that's what really matters here." Ginny told her.
"But what if that changes?" Luna calls out, and Ginny doesn't see how Hermione's face drains of color.
"Hermione has to do what Hermione wants." Ginny says easily. "Which if this did happen, I wouldn't be angry." she tells the girl standing beside the bed. Hermione saw the way she hesitated, wanting to be the best friend she could be, but she was clearly worried. "You have to be with who makes you happy, even if it's not the person who makes you happy right now."
Hermione nods, pulling the last outfit from the bed. "I don't think I could hurt him, Gin."
"And," Ginny exclaims brightly, ignoring the elephant in the room that might crush them. "That did come from my magazine, so there."
Ron was the first person she told she'd decided to press charges. Lucius had called her father, she suspected. Just like she suspected that it would be a turning point for her father to watch her more closely, something she had to understand and something she wanted to avoid for as long as she could.
"Do you want to tell me what's been bothering you?"
Hermione paused, setting her drink down on the table. She looked around the cafe, eyeing Oliver Wood behind the counter in an apron, but he'd never be able to hear her from here. Ron looked over her, eyes wide and worried. "I decided to press charges against Cormac McLaggen for attempting to rape me and then beating the hell out of me." Hermione was blunt, hopeful hearing the truth would make it any easier to swallow.
It didn't work.
"That's great!" he exclaimed, reaching across the table to take her hand in his. "It's a good thing, isn't it?"
She nodded, snatching the cookie from his side of the table, nearly knocking over her glass in the process. "It should be a good thing, but it makes me feel uneasy. As if he could do something to get back at me."
"Ah," he brushed his thumb over her knuckles, a trait he had developed once he saw it calm her down once. "I understand that. The fear must be,"
"Crippling." she told him, lifting her glass to her lips. "It's more than the fear he appears out of nowhere and tries to choke me again, it's that there is no way around reliving it."
"Your nightmares?" he asked her.
A smile curved her lips. She hadn't told him, but he'd noted the bags under her eyes since the week she'd begun tutoring him. He was sweet, and was far more observant than anyone gave him credit for. "No." Hermione told him finally. "I have to sit down and describe what happened in detail, to a police officer. Lucius will be there, but I've only told one person. It was the night that I spent in the hospital. I was inconsolable, I'm surprised I let him anywhere near me, much less break down."
"Draco is a good friend to you." It might have been the first time there hadn't been underlying animosity in his tone, and she peeked up at him.
She noted the genuine concern, the way he handed her the other cookie that he'd actually nabbed for himself. "Does he make you uncomfortable?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "It seems you've let it go partly, the worry that he was something more to me."
"In the interest of not keeping secrets from you, I don't like him very much. He's your friend, and I wouldn't ask you to choose as I would lose. What does he think of pressing charges?"
"Oh," she sucked in a sharp breath. "I haven't told him, so I wouldn't know."
His eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Why haven't you told him?"
"He's been avoiding me like a disease so I haven't had the chance to share the news is all. There was some sort of problem a few weeks ago, the day you got the perfect score on the quiz, he was extremely vague. He wouldn't tell me a thing. I assume it must be related. I wanted him to be there when I had to say it outloud."
Ron nodded. "Would you like me to tell him?"
She jerked, knocking the cup over in the same moment Ron caught it. "No, I'll think of something. I hope it doesn't bother you."
He shook his head. "You'd think so, but whatever makes you feel better, that's what I want. I can't imagine what you're going through. If it were Ginny,"
She squeezed his hand. "Somehow we always end up on the conversations neither one of us really want to have." she laughed.
Hermione let go of his hand, leaning back against the booth, the black upholstery smooth against her back. She glanced around the quiet restaurant as he ate, picking her freshly painted nails below the table. The pretty mauve Luna had painted a few hours earlier was already chipping away.
Oliver was leaning over the front counter, laughing with a few classmates that she recognized. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas sat in the barstools, Dean spinning himself repeatedly. There was a red rag -it matched the interior of the establishment- under his hand. No surprise that he wasn't working at all.
When Ron had opened the door for her, she'd wanted to drag him back down the street and tell him no, he did not need to take her to a ridiculously expensive restaurant just to prove he could. Ginny was forthcoming of her brother's insecurities, and had told her quietly with Luna in the room that he worried about taking her to a nice place, about not spending enough money on her. The red head had also told her it would be useless to tell Ron it wasn't necessary.
The excitement on her face had been real as a hostess asked them if they would prefer a booth or a table. Ron had answered. She'd been preoccupied with staring at the chandeliers that seemed to sparkle as the fake crystals in front of them swayed.
Hermione noted the artwork along the walls, stunning oil paintings of the scenery with the changing seasons. "It's beautiful here." she smiled as he stopped eating suddenly, a noodle hanging precariously from him lips. Hermione laughed lightly as he covered his mouth. "Thank you."
"You liked it?" he asked, and it was the first time he'd been nervous, save for when her father had tried to shake his hand once more.
"Very much so. I like the paintings."
"Would you prefer to receive a gift or have an experience? Going somewhere, I mean."
"I suppose it depends, but I like to see new things. Memories are important to me."
"There's a book store down the street, but I think that's a little obvious." Hermione's teeth showed as she smiled. "There's a museum,"
She cut him off. "The museum," she gushed. "I'll pay even if you'll just go with me. I love the garden they have there."
"Slow down." he chuckled. "That answers that then. We will go after we finish eating, yeah?" she nodded happily, taking another bite of the chicken she'd ordered. "And, no, you aren't paying."
"Next time." she challenged, crossing her legs under the table, accidentally knocking into his. "Let it be my treat sometime. Who conforms to social norms anyway?"
He didn't agree, but flashed her a small smile that made her think he was eventually going to cave. She folded her hands in her lap while he waved to one of the waitresses, smiling and asking for the check.
Hermione opened her phone beneath the table, opening a notification from Malfoy. Good luck today, hope you have fun.
It knocked the wind out of her while Ron wasn't looking. Her fingers shook as she typed out a reply. I'm having a great time, thank you. We're about to go to the museum, so my phone will be off, but I really need to talk to you soon. It's important.
"Ready?" he asked her.
She nodded, grabbing her handbag from the booth and letting the strap fall across her chest. "It's not very far from here," He opened the door for her, letting her step out first, her wedges tapping against the pavement. The same shoes she had said she would not be wearing. "We could walk."
He glanced down at her shoes and then arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"
"You underestimate me too easily." she mumbled, flipping open her handbag and pulling a pair of black flat from inside. "Ginny made me wear these, but Luna slipped these," she waved him in front of his face while he put his hands up in surrender. "In my handbag for me."
She hung an arm on his shoulder to keep her balance as she switched pairs. The air was brisk in October, cold against the knit stockings that covered her thighs. Ginny had agreed that the dress was the best option, a pretty color that matched her nails, or had.
It did nothing against the cold air when it blew, tangling her hair. Ron shrugged out of his jacket, holding it out to her. "If you want," he offered, and her heart thudded at the smile it earned her when she slipped her arms through the sleeves. "Looks good on you."
She glanced down at the too long sleeves, holding her arms straight out so he could see it draping off of her. "Is that just a thing for men? Liking when women wear their clothes?"
He spluttered and Hermione could only grab his hand and walk beside him, pointing out little things that only meant something to her. "Oh, I broke my arm down there once. It was Harry's fault." She pointed towards a fire escape in an alley.
"Why the hell would you go down there? It looks like someone has been murdered there."
She shrugged. "Theo and Harry wanted to climb up to the roof. Draco and I followed along, but I was the only one who wasn't fit enough to climb up there. Plus I'm shorter than all of them, I was never going to make the jump to the bottom rung."
"Okay, but how did you break your arm if you couldn't make it up there?"
"Well, Harry put me on his shoulders, and I had it, until I didn't. I knew I was going to slip, and if if let go I would have taken Harry with me, so I jumped off the side."
"You did what?" he choked on the breath he'd been inhaling. "That's bloody insane!"
"Yeah," she laughed loudly, her head falling backwards, hair tangled. "No one else got hurt though. I only say it's Harry's fault because he felt so guilty. I'm no stranger to breaking bones."
He looked horrified. "Tell me more then."
"I've broken my arm, this leg," she patted her right leg. "A bone in my foot. Lucius thought I had fractured my skull from a nasty fall -Draco and I used to climb in a treehouse in his backyard. One day though, I climbed on top of it, and I fell to the ground."
"Please tell me Malfoy started crying." A grin split his face and she thought this, this is how I always want to see Ron.
"No, he did not." she swatted his chest. "We were also fourteen, so I doubt he'd have let anyone see him cry anyway. The tree house is still there by the way. I broke this wrist in an arm wrestling match with Theo."
"I see, so you're not prone to danger at all? You just dive into it, and you must be stubborn as hell since you should have just lost in that arm wrestling match."
She gasped, placing a hand to her chest. "As if." she scoffed. "Growing up with boys will do that to you. I may not be able to jump fences, or climb trees, but that doesn't stop me from trying."
"And failing." he snorted. "At least Luna is some kind of normal, you're just a little daredevil apparently."
"Don't let her fool you." Hermione sang as she pointed to the gated entrance of museum up the street. "When Draco let me take his car, I let Luna drive, and she raced Theo."
"By raced,"
"I mean she is insane and Draco kept screaming we were all going to die." she quipped. "Also, she won that race and Theo had never mentioned it once more."
"Ah," Ron nodded. "I had no idea you were so bold."
Her cheeks heated up while she nodded. "I guess I haven't been much of myself then, have I?" Hermione tugged him to a stop, fishing her phone from the pocket of her jacket. Her heart ached when she saw Draco had not texted her back at all, but she shoved it away the best she could. "Take a picture with me?"
He nodded, letting her guide him to where they were standing in front of the drive leading up to the building. She glanced for traffic before turning into the curve of his body and lifting her phone to take a picture. His breath caught, she saw it through the front camera. "Smile." she told him and took the picture.
They stepped back onto the sidewalk, her looking at the picture they had taken. She saw the allure of her wearing his jacket. It swallowed her, somehow made her look smaller than she really was, and god, that smile on her face. She didn't think she had seen herself smile like that in at least a month, and then she took a good look at Ron.
He wasn't looking at the camera at all. He was staring at her, and it struck her rather hard, how far she'd been falling without realizing. "I love it." she tells him, stretching up to kiss his cheek.
Ron didn't have an interest in art, she knew. He had brought her here because she would love being surrounded by the paintings, the sculptures. He'd listened to her lame explanation of how it was nice to be around things that were still standing, despite all of the events in the world, and it looked as if they had never been touched by anything horrible.
Then she'd apologized for rambling and contradicted herself by saying how she couldn't really compare herself to inanimate objects, and-
He'd cut her off, telling her his silence wasn't to laugh at her. He'd just been rather stunned and was struggling to think of a reply of the same wit.
His favorite part, he'd told her, was watching the way her face lit up whenever they entered a new exhibit. It was like watching her on Christmas, he imagined, only he didn't have to wait a year to see it.
Hermione was certain that he hadn't any of his statements planned, and she was also certain that wasn't bloody fair.
He was saying things on the spot that made her blood rush, she could feel it between her ears, or the uneven beating of her heart. He had no idea what reaction he was drawing from her, and she attempted to remain calm so she wouldn't embarrass herself.
Her favorite part had been the ending of the day. Her phone had already rung twice, still no sign of Draco, but it didn't hurt her as it did earlier. Her dad was expecting her home soon, but she'd begged for a bit more time. They hadn't gone through the gardens yet.
Hermione had been leading Ron down stone stairs, they led to a gazebo that overlooked a pond. She told him how she'd counted the lily pads as a child, and the last time there had been sixty seven, and he'd asked her if he wanted to have a contest of who would count them all first. She had looked back at him midlaugh, and he'd been ready, his phone out as he snapped a photo of her that was going to be her favorite.
She'd hopped onto the railing, crossing her legs and looking back at him. "Did you have a good time?" she asked quietly.
"Highlight of my year." he answered, shoving his hands in his pockets. Ron was looking at her oddly, she thought, and then she realized when his eyes flicked from her lips to her eyes when she'd caught him. "Uh, I'm sorry."
She shook her head, crooking her finger and motioning for him to come closer. "Don't apologize for wanting to kiss me." she whispered, playing with the hem of his shirt. "I know it would be easier if,"
"If you apologize for something you can't control, I swear." Ron moved to step away from her, but she caught him. "Hermione, really, it's fine. I'm sorry I was even thinking of it."
"What was it you said? If you apologize for something," she murmured, looking him over.
"These are two entirely different things. I didn't ask you out today because I wanted to snog you." he told her, but she didn't let go. "Hermione,"
"Kiss me." she told him, her voice steady, though she thought her chest was going to burst. "You're not him, I'm not afraid of you. And if it makes me remember, then maybe new memories, better memories could help."
"It sounds like you're trying to talk yourself into it." he commented, watching her uneasily as she slid off of the railing.
"It's just my thought process out loud." she replied. "Ron." Hermione tried to stretch up to meet him, but in the end he had to lean down to meet her height. "You have to close your eyes." He chuckled at her and complied.
Hermione pressed her lips to his, her hands framing either side of his face. His lips were soft, the taste of chocolate was barely there from desert from earlier in the day. He didn't move at first, until finally relaxing against her and wrapping his arms loosely around her waist. It was a chaste kiss, one he let her control.
She imagined he would be just as afraid if suddenly she began to hyperventilate, and she waited for the moment to come, but it never did.
He pulled away when her tongue slipped against his lips, shaking his head. "No rush here," he whispered, leaning his forehead to hers. "I could tell you were fine until the end. You tensed up."
She nodded. "I think you might be perfect." she said lowly, mostly to herself but he heard regardless. "I appreciate your sensitivity to this and not snogging me senseless when you probably could have."
"It wouldn't have been what you wanted, and I want you to feel comfortable around me." Ron led her up the steps and she felt incredibly light headed. "We have all the time in the world, right?"
"Yeah," she breathed.
Okay, so, writing Ron is actually kind of fun. I mean I wish I was writing dramione more, but hey at least it will pay off when we get there, right? So, if you could drop your opinions, especially for Luna. Because I've never written her, so I might not have done her justice. Also, I never thought I would be capable of writing slow burn, and now I have a special kind of respect for authors who do it so well. This shit is hard.