"We need to go," Hermione said as she broke their kiss, both still in bed despite the late hour, the sheets a mess and tangled around them. Ron went back to kissing her immediately, his hand going up under her shirt to squeeze her breast. "Roooon..."
"Just a bit longer. Fuck, I love your tits," he insisted, going to kiss her on the neck-his current secret weapon. She liked it, a lot.
"Ohh... Ron," Hermione tried to insist, squirming under him, shivering. He played with her nipple, enthusiastic, unable to stop. "The shop... we're late..."
"I know," he said as he quickly lifted her shirt up to her armpits, shimmying down her body until he could close his lips around a puckered tip. She moaned, making it all harder for him-both literally and figuratively. "I don't want to stop," he said.
"I don't want you to, but..."
"C'mon, we have five more minutes," he said, quickly checking his watch, and jumping a bit when he saw the time. "Shit, no, we don't," he corrected, quickly standing up and away from the bed. "I can't be late, not with the new people working here."
"That's what I was trying to tell you!" Hermione agreed, following him out of the bed and pulling her shirt down, looking for her pajama pants. She found them and quickly stepped in them, reaching then for her wand.
"I reckon I have to set the example, now."
"Exactly!"
"What have you made of me, Hermione?" Ron dramatically complained, jumping into his own pajama pants. "I'm thinking of being responsible now, and of setting examples!"
She laughed, but didn't bother answering him.
"Got to go; I need a shower. Will be back in twenty minutes," she announced.
"Sure. See you later?"
"Yeah, bye," she said, impossibly turning and twisting in her spot, curling into herself as she Disapparated.
With a big, silly smile, Ron went to take a shower himself, to then make breakfast in record time. He was in the process of stuffing himself with food when George came out of the bathroom.
"I made you breakfast," Ron tried to say through a mouthful.
George was adept at that kind of language, though, because he came to the kitchen and thanked him.
"Brilliant," George said, and began stuffing his face as well.
Only two minutes before the workday began, and as they went downstairs, Ron asked George about the current state of his new inventions.
"Oh, it's hit and miss right now. I'm mostly testing simple stuff, you know, to get into it again. Roman finds it hilarious, and is really a good help. And Cassia, well, she's been really into it, asking questions and everything. It's good; it's stimulating."
"That's great," Ron commented and, stopping him by the arm a second before they were going to go their own ways, he awkwardly asked, "and... the rest? How's the... other stuff... you know..."
He decided to shut up and hope George had gotten his meaning.
He did, shaking his head in a negative as if it were something he didn't really want to discuss, one of the corners of his mouth curled down. "It's still there, but... less. Or shut down a bit, rather, with all the work."
"So it's working... your idea, I mean."
George didn't answer, but this time his head nodded a yes.
"Good! Good. Then..." Ron tried to change topics, feeling more awkward than ever.
"I'll just go," George announced through a groan, walking to the storeroom and disappearing behind the door.
"Fucking idiot," Ron mumbled, referring to himself, as he went to check that everything was okay on the shopping floor. "Hi, how's everything?"
"Hi!" Cassia said, coming back from opening the front door for the day. "Everything's great."
"Awesome," Ron replied, smiling.
"Hermione going to be here soon, do you know?" Ginny asked, preparing the cashiers with Rajeev.
"Yeah, should be here soon," he confirmed, unable to stop himself from thinking of what had made them late, his ears going slightly red as a result.
"Good morning, can I come in?" a familiar voice came from his back, distracting him.
"Neville!" Ginny exclaimed, having seen who it was. Ron turned around, excited to see him again.
Ginny had reached him first, hugging him close. Ron got to him, and did the same.
"Hey, mate! What are you doing here so early? I haven't seen you since-" the joy in his words quickly died, a flash of the last images he remembered with Neville running through his mind. "Since the battle," he finished, in a serious tone, noticing how the happiness at seeing each other again was quickly dampened by the memories of the fight. No one could think of the battle and feel lightly about it.
"Yeah, we haven't," Neville confirmed, lifting his hand to a small scar on his jaw. "A few things have changed."
Ginny lifted her hand to it, a finger touching it lightly before coming down. "I think you still look dashing. And you'll always be my first dance, too. That always stays in a girl's heart, you know?"
Neville laughed softly. "And here I thought you'd remember me for all the fighting we did last year together. I thought I was your partner in crime?"
It was Ginny's turn to laugh. "That, too. It reminds me, have you heard about Luna? I know she went on a little trip with her dad."
Ron started to feel a bit uncomfortable. He had not thought to keep track of everyone, like Ginny evidently had.
"Yeah, she's back! She came back last week. Wrote to let me know she had brought back a few samples of strange plants she found while exploring around."
"Neat," Ron exclaimed. "I'm curious to see what those will be! Probably some innocent weed, but she'll insist they're Pepperwish Callendonis, which can cure plantar pustules or something like that!"
They all laughed, but it contained a lot of affection. So much so, that Ron knew what he wanted to do about not keeping track of them. "We should all get together, huh?"
"Yeah, let's," Ginny insisted, as Cassia motioned her for help. "Let me know what the plans are, and I'll pass it along to Harry."
She left them, and Neville turned to Ron. "So, are you going to join the Aurors?" Neville asked.
"Yeah, I am! I'm starting in September."
"Me too! We should be in the same group, then?"
"I hope so! It'll be good to be in there with a friendly face. I hear the training is exhausting."
"Oh, yeah? Harry, then? I thought you two would do the training together."
"Me too, to be honest," Ron explained. Then he pointed about the shop, his finger doing a big circle around. "But this happened."
"I see. But this is good, too, isn't it?"
Ron, surprised to discover what the answer was, replied in a bit of a shock. "It... is, actually, yeah."
"That's nice. Well, I was in the Alley and thought I'd stop by, say hi and all. I want to invite Hannah Abbott to the ceremony the Ministry is organizing, do you remember her? I want to buy her a little something, too. But let's talk about getting together on Friday, then?"
"Yes, of course I remember. Hannah, eh?" Ron teased, smiling. Neville smiled back, evidently happy with the whole thing. "So yeah, sounds good. Let's go out on Friday, after we close here. Will you let Luna know?"
"Sure! See you on Friday," Neville said, waving and turning to go. Before he took a step away, Ron spontaneously reached him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey," he said. "It was really nice to see you."
"Same, Ron."
A few hours later, Hermione's mind was blank as she silently stacked boxes in the storeroom, one on top of another in her cart. One by one, shiny new packaged products were organized, ready to be taken to the showcases as people bought one thing after another. She then checked the list she was holding in her hand, to make sure she was taking back everything that was needed.
"Here you are," Ron's voice came from behind her, and she had barely enough time to start turning before he had reached her, hugging her from behind.
"Oh, hi," she said, smiling, pleased at this show of affection.
He lightly kissed her on the side of her face. "You want to go out for lunch?"
"Sure. Let's just finish with these products, here."
Ron helped her, and she couldn't help but smile again at the easy companionship of being side by side, replenishing the shelves of the shop.
"Ready?" he asked her once they were done, offering her his hand, and she took it at once.
"Yeah, let's go," she said, and they left the store hand in hand.
It was a hot Summer's day, the sun bright on them as they walked to find some place to eat. Finally Ron mumbled something about making a tradition out of it as he took her to Fortescue's.
"We're lucky they expanded the menu, really, at this rate," he complained, although he was in a good mood still.
"I like it here," she said.
"Good, because it's one of the few damn places we go to. There's not much in Diagon Alley, is there? Hey, maybe that should be the Weasleys' new endeavour: Weasleys' Flavourful Foodstuffs. Then we could always have a full menu's worth of food I like!"
Hermione laughed at his dreamy fantasy and slight crankiness, knowing it was all fueled by his hunger.
They ordered, and went back to talking easily.
"Maybe we should go to a Muggle place on Friday," Hermione suggested, thinking back to what Ginny had told her about Neville's visit.
"Yeah, sounds good. And, well, talking about Neville," Ron began, with a little smile. He looked like he was laughing at himself almost as much as he was feeling self conscious, immediately piquing her interest.
"Yes?"
He reached for her hand, clearing his throat. "Hermione, I realised I forgot something important..."
"Oh?" she exclaimed, curious and unavoidably a little nervous.
"It's been nagging me for a few days, but it wasn't until Neville mentioned something about it that I connected the dots."
"Tell me, then," she insisted, bracing herself for whatever was to come.
"Hey, a bloke is entitled to feeling a bit jittery with these things..."
"Ron," Hermione began. "Stop it, and say what's on your mind."
He leaned in closer to her, looking her in the eyes. Hermione unknowingly held her breath.
"Hermione... will you be my date for the ceremony at the Ministry?
"Ron!" she exclaimed in a much different tone, reprimanding him, letting go of his hand and swatting it away.
He laughed, and she laughed, too, reaching again for his hand.
"I'm sorry," he began, "but I meant it, in a way. I realised I just assumed we'd go together, and, well..." he shrugged. "I thought I'd ask you. Make it official and all..."
"Don't be ridiculous. We're together. Who else am I going to go with? Besides," she added, "I already sent our RSVP, noting that I'm your guest and you're mine."
"Oh, you did? Sure we were going to go together, were you?"
"Of course! Or were you planning on inviting someone else?"
"Don't you be ridiculous, now. It's not about that, but... well... you did tell me not to ask you as a last resort, remember?"
Hermione was shocked at his words, but the memory easily returned to her mind.
"That... that doesn't apply here, unless you were actually considering your options?" she asked, her eyebrow raised in question, her voice slightly shrill.
They got their food, and he laughed as the waitress left them alone again.
"'Course not, Hermione! That's not what I mean. But the whole thing did remind me of the Yule Ball, in a way. We're going to get all fancied up and spend a few hours in a kind of party and, well... dunno, I thought I could at least make the effort to ask you out for it, you know... to sort of compensate... never mind, forget it, I'm a total git for even thinking about it."
Ron, who had quickly lost his confidence as he tried to explain his motives, looked down to his plate, playing with his food for a moment before realising what he was doing. He left his fork on the plate, taking his hand away to the side and looking up to Hermione again, gauging her reaction.
She smiled at him, touched at his awkward thoughtfulness. "I think that was sweet, Ron," she told him, and saw him smirk, rolling his eyes. She knew he didn't agree with her; she knew he would never see himself as sweet.
The next day, Ron finished the work day by holding a meeting in preparation for Friday evening and Saturday. He stood by the cash register, leaning against the counter and surrounded by everyone who worked at the shop, George next to him.
"So, three of us are taking a few hours off Friday evening. George will be here, and those of you working can come to him if you need anything." Ron saw them all nod their understanding, and continued. "On Saturday, Ginny will come to work a bit late, but she'll be here. She'll have the day off on Sunday, but Hermione and I will be back."
"I'll be here both days," George added. "We want to see how you all feel with taking charge of the business, though we do want to be around in case you need us. We think you'll do well, though."
"This is a test, really," Ron further explained. "Like we've told you before, if this works out, we'll look into hiring a few more people so that we can have a nice shift schedule going, with all of us having days off."
"Sounds good?" George asked, and again everyone nodded their approval.
"If anything comes up, just come to my office during the day tomorrow," Ron said, lifting himself from the counter to indicate the meeting was finished.
Everyone scattered around, saying bye as they left the shop. Hermione remained behind, waiting to talk to Ron, and he smiled at her as she stepped close to him.
"What are you planning to do for dinner?" she asked.
"Nothing, really. Probably just make something quick, or go buy something. You want to eat together?"
"Yes. Why don't you make us something? I need to go pick up a little thing from home and call my parents. Then I can come back for dinner."
"Sounds good," he commented, kissing her quickly before she Disapparated away.
Considering Hermione would take a bit of time to return, Ron decided to actually spend a bit more of time cooking, and tried his hand at a bit more complex dish. He was done with the prep work and had set everything to cook, setting the pots on the wizard stove and intonating the cooking charm.
"Coceri Finabilis," he said as he did the proper wand movement, when he heard George coming behind him. "Hey."
"Hey, Ron."
"Will you have dinner with us?" Ron offered.
"No, I'll go to Mum and Dad's. Just wanted to let you know."
"Sure, see you later then. Say hi from me."
"No problem," he said, walking back to the sitting room and reaching for Floo Powder, before he disappeared through the green flames.
As Ron continued cooking, his mind wandered back to George. Even though he had made a point of asking how he was doing the day before, Ron felt like he wasn't really doing much to help George anymore. True, he had said he was better now, but Ron felt he still should be able to do more. But what?
He was still trying to figure out what he could do when he heard Hermione Apparate in the flat. He checked that everything was cooking properly before he turned to see her as she came into the kitchen, all smiles and a package in her hand.
"Hey, what's that?" Ron asked, looking at the gift-wrapped box she placed on his hands.
"Just a little something. Open it," she said, both eager and nervous.
Curious and excited, he pulled at the ribbon she had tied around it, to then open the box. He found tissue paper obscuring the gift, which suddenly seemed like just a barrier to get to his gift.
"Why did you add paper to this, Hermione? Or is the paper my gift?" he complained as he started unwrapping his gift from the colored tissue.
He quickly glanced at her to see her rolling her eyes at him, when he went back to his present to finally unwrap two photo frames.
The first one was of Harry, Ginny, Hermione and himself, all hugging together during the first full day of working at the shop. He remembered the moment, and looked curiously at how it was displayed on the moving picture; the laughter in all of their faces, and the quick yet lingering look that he shared with Hermione. He smiled to himself, noticing how the picture showed him pulling her to him, and her smile in response. Still smiling, he shifted his look to the second frame, this one holding a photo of the two of them alone.
His lungs took a break from their work in his shock. He remembered the moment recorded in the photo, but he hadn't known a photo had actually been taken of it. It had happened right after Harry and Ginny had come into the store with the camera, when he had been trying to get her to stand closer to him.
It was strange looking at the two of them in the photo. Their faces showed such open adoration, totally unaware that they were being observed by the camera lens. The way she smiled, the way he looked at her; her hand barely hesitating before resting on his hand on her waist, and how her eyes glinted after he told her something, to finish with her hand making its way around his back. It was so obvious they were nervous in their closeness, that they hesitated as much as they longed for each other. It was all over their eyes, in every single gesture! He suddenly understood what everyone had always seen in them; why so many people had said they had obviously fancied each other for so long. If this was what everyone saw, then no doubt everyone had known what was between them. How could they have been so blind?
"I know you're not sentimental and that photos probably don't mean so much to you," Hermione began, evidently nervous about his reaction and needing to explain her reasoning to him, if only to fill the time. "But I noticed how your room looks so austere right now; so different from your room at the Burrow, you know? So I thought I could give you something to make it feel warmer, more comfortable... and, you know, it took me a while to think of it, and I didn't know if you'd like it, but-"
Ron left the frames on the counter next to him, and interrupted her by wrapping her in his arms. "Thanks, Hermione," he whispered into her hair.
She responded by wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. She sighed. "I'm glad you liked it."
"Love it. I had forgotten about those pictures."
"Me too. But when I was thinking about what I could give you I remembered, and asked Ginny for copies. They had had them developed, but hadn't really checked them out. She helped me pick these two."
"These two are brilliant," Ron asserted. She lifted her head from his chest to look at him as he talked. "The one of the two of us..." he tried to comment, but didn't really find the words.
She nodded her understanding. "I know. It seems... so obvious, now, in retrospective, doesn't it?"
"It does."
"Ginny said it was a good example of what they could all see, and though a bit disgusting to her-I'm quoting-it shows how we feel."
Ron scoffed. "Well, I like it. I'll put them in my bedroom after dinner. Thanks... it's... it's really nice, Hermione."
She smiled and squinted at him. "You don't know what date it is, right? We've been together for a month today."
Ron quickly considered this piece of information. "Oh, shit, didn't think of it," he exclaimed, dumbfounded. "I didn't know we were... counting, or celebrating, either, to be honest."
"Oh, don't worry," Hermione said, dismissive. "I didn't mean to give you the gift because of the date, it just worked out that way. But since I was giving it, I thought maybe you'd think of it."
Ron scrunched his face as he let go of her to check on the food. "I didn't... it honestly feels like we've been together for much longer than that."
"It does, doesn't it?"
Later, having finished dinner and after cleaning up, Hermione went with Ron to his room to find a place for the photo frames. He finally decided to put them on his dresser, but asked her to place them on it.
"I don't really know how these should go here," he shrugged. "You'll probably know better."
With a smile, she put them on the furthest corner from the door, not quite facing the bed. "There," she said. She turned to Ron, who was looking at the pictures still.
"Blimey," he said. "I keep looking at us on that photo and... can you believe it?"
"What do you mean? That it took us so long to get together, or that we could still doubt we both wanted to after looking at each other like that?"
He scoffed. "I reckon both."
"You've said it before. What matters is that we're together now, and that we're not letting go."
He shook his head as if trying to clear it, and then gave her a sweet smile. "That's right." He reached for her with a hand on her waist, very much like he had in the photo, and brought her closer to him. Unlike what had happened all those weeks ago, this time he kissed her. "Will you stay tonight?" he asked, looking into her eyes.
"I don't think so," she sighed. "I woke up here yesterday and I should at least pretend that I'm still living at my parents'."
"So you woke up here yesterday, and didn't this morning. Should wake up here with me tomorrow to keep the pattern going, right?" he suggested with a mischievous smile.
"Nice try. We shouldn't get used to it, as much as we like it. I'll stay here on Friday, since we took Saturday off."
"Fine," he dramatically said, letting her know it was a big effort for him to accept it. "Will you stay a bit longer, though?"
"Gladly," she replied, taking his hand and taking him to the sofa.
She sat down and Ron sat a bit away from her. She wondered about it until he dropped his head to her lap, shifting a bit on the sofa until he found a comfortable position, his calves hanging down from the sofa's arm. He closed his eyes, sighing, and she took her hand up to run her fingers through his hair.
"There were a few times I wished I could do this, back in Hogwarts," Ron said, his eyes still closed. "You know, on those long nights we waited for Harry to return from his missions with Dumbledore in sixth year, when everyone went to sleep and we were left alone."
"What about when we were on the run?"
"Yeah, there, too. But the couch in the tent wasn't very comfortable, was it?"
"I don't think I would have complained if you'd done it, though," Hermione said. "Your hair is getting long again."
"You want me to cut it?"
"It's up to you. I'm not going to tell you how to do your hair, Ron."
He smiled. "I wouldn't mind. Do you know the spell? Would you cut my hair?"
"Of course I know the spell," Hermione said. "But are you sure you want me to? I mean, I'm sure your mum is a safer option, considering her experience."
"Doesn't matter. You want to do it?"
"If you're sure..."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's do it tomorrow before we go out. I have better ideas for now," he said, turning his head to kiss her lower belly over her shirt.
"Would you have done that in the common room, too?"
"Would it have mattered?" he joked, his eyes still closed. "With those robes covering you I'm sure you wouldn't even have felt it."
She laughed. "Possibly, but... I've been meaning to ask you..."
"Oh-oh. I know that voice," he said, opening his eyes to look at her.
She smirked. "Oh, yeah? So what does it mean?" she asked, miffed.
"That there's something serious you want to discuss but you're afraid of our-my-reaction."
She pursed her lips, annoyed. "Fine, yes, you're correct," she conceded. "I want to talk about our possible trip to Australia."
"Oh," Ron said. "What's the problem with that?"
"I don't want to offend you again-I'm trying not to, but I want you to know that if I do, I didn't mean to."
Ron scoffed. "All right, then, shoot. I'll try my hardest not to be offended."
Hermione squinted her eyes at him, wondering if she should complain about his attitude, but decided against it. She wanted him in a good mood, and she truly was trying to be careful with what she said.
"I was thinking," she began, "that we should decide what exactly we are doing. Whether I go alone or the both of us go, it would be happening in three weeks or so. We should start thinking of buying aeroplane tickets and setting up Portkeys and, you know... making a reservation in France somewhere..."
As Ron mulled her words, he got up and turned around to sit on the coffee table in front of her. "I said I'd go, Hermione. That is, if George can handle it."
"Do you think he will?"
"I don't know. He says there's still some... things... to be concerned about..."
She couldn't help the question that appeared in her mind and, without considering much further despite her intentions, she asked, "Ron, do you really want to go?"
"Yes!" he exclaimed, offended after all. "I'm afraid of meeting your parents as your boyfriend, yeah, but I'll get over it. And a few days alone with you... well, it makes it all worth it, doesn't it? I'm not using George as an excuse, if that's what you're trying to say."
"No, no, I'm sorry," she said. "I truly wondered. I wouldn't want you to go if you really didn't want to!"
"I want to go, of course. I just can't... I'm not letting myself get too excited about it, in case it doesn't work out."
Knowing he did want to go excited her. "Oh, but then we just have to plan for it! We can see how to organize things here at the shop, and I can- I can look into trips and itineraries!"
"And... do you think that you should perhaps tell your parents I'm going? See what they say, too? What if they change their mind and don't want me to go?"
"Oh, but I'm sure they're expecting it by now!"
"Hermione, just tell them and confirm it, all right? It'll make me feel loads better about the plan."
She bit her lip as she considered his question, knowing he was right with this. "All right. I told them I won't be calling them tomorrow, but I'll tell them on Saturday."
"Good. And I'll talk to George, and see what he says."
"Yes!" she exclaimed, happy and eager. "Oh, now I can't wait. It'll be great! Things are looking up for us for a while, aren't they?"
Ron reluctantly smiled. "Yes. Three weeks, you said?"
"Or so. After the ceremony, in any case. Oh, Ron," she said as she leaned forward and surrounded Ron with her arms. "This is going to be great. Things will be great from now on."
"Until September, anyway."
"Yes, September," she said, loudly kissing his cheek and refusing to think of September first.
AN: hello again my lovely readers! I'm sorry I haven't been around—I've been SO busy! Which also means I still haven't written a single new word and, yes, that also means I am PAN ICK ING
Hope your enjoy this chapter though, and wish me 27-hour long days!
