A/N: Thanks for all of the great reviews on the last chapter; I wasn't sure how it was going to be received. This is a little fluffy; I thought we could use it after all of the angst!

Chapter 35: The First Step

Hermione stood outside the chamber, leaning against one of the cool marble walls. She had been up in her office when Lodge came in saying that they were close to a decision. All of her months of hard work were coming down to this one moment. The Wizengamot was going to rule on the laws she had been researching, the laws regarding Muggle Borns and Pure Bloods. Hermione had made her presentation over four hours ago and had just been called back down now.

Hermione jumped as the door opened and Mafalda Hopkirk, the court scribe, came out and said to Hermione, "You may come back in now," smiling kindly. Hermione returned her smile to the woman she had once posed as and followed her back in.

The court consisted of fifty appointed wizards and witches. Kingsley Shacklebolt was there as well but as Minister, didn't have an official role on the Wizangamot. As she stood before the court, Hermione tried to figure out what had occurred based on the countenances of the wizards and witches but they all had the same stoic look on their faces. Finally, Eugene Sneely, the Chief Warlock, spoke.

"I would first like to thank the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for this great undertaking. If we are truly going to move forward in this world this was the first of many, many important steps to take," he said in a serious tone. Lodge nodded her head in acknowledgement of Sneely's words before he continued. "We would next like to thank Ms. Hermione Granger for all of her research on this matter. It is clear that you have a personal stake in the outcome of this decision but yet you were able to perform your duty without the interference of bias. This is a remarkable characteristic for someone so young in her career."

Hermione spoke in a clear and strong voice, "Thank you sir."

Sneely nodded. "Now, after much discussion, we have decided that of the twenty-five laws you have researched and presented we will be overturning all twenty-five."

Hermione heard Lodge gasp as well as other's in the courtroom. They hadn't been planning on all twenty-five being overturned. Hermione's mind was racing but she forced herself to focus on what Sneely was saying.

"The time for these laws has come and gone and has made us question whether there ever was a time for such laws. In a vote of forty-three to seven, the Wizengamot has therefore decreed the aforesaid laws null and void," finished Sneely with a bang of his gavel.

A cheer went up in the small crowd sitting in the gallery and Hermione looked Lodge who was clapping and beaming at her. As Hermione turned around to the gallery, she spotted Ron. He must have snuck in while Sneely had been issuing the decision. He was clapping as well and smiling at her. Hermione could see the pride shining in his eyes even from where she stood several feet away. Seeing the way he looked at her just made all of those hours of hard work worth it. She bowed slightly the court, Sneely looking down at her benevolently and smiling.

"I think we shall see a lot more to come from you Ms. Granger," he said. Hermione watched as he stood and filed out of the courtroom along with the other members of the Wizangamot. Before she could even turn to Ron, members of the press crowded her and Lodge, firing away questions. Lodge stepped forward saying, "Today we have witnessed history. Thanks to the determination and work of Hermione Granger, we are ready to proceed into this millennium free from outdated and prejudice laws."

Hermione shied away as she saw the bulbs of cameras go off and declined comment as she moved past the reporters to where Ron stood. He saw her coming and opened his arms. She went straight into them, not caring who was there to see. "I'm so proud of you," he murmured against her hair.

Hermione looked up at him, beaming and said, "Thank you. I can't believe we did it!"

"I can," Ron said. "I couldn't believe that laws like that actually existed. It truly is time for them to go and it is all because of you." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes at his words and suddenly wished they were anywhere but the crowded courtroom. Before she could suggest it, however, flashing bulbs were going off once again, this time in their direction.

"Mr. Weasley, is it true that you and Ms. Granger are currently together?"

"Did the relationship begin before or after your adventures with Harry Potter two years ago?"

"What are your plans for the future?"

Hermione looked aghast at the reporters and caught Lodge's sympathetic eye. She cleared her throat loudly, attracting the attention of the reporters, saying, "We will be making an official statement upstairs in the Office of Magical Law Enforcement including the release of the report Ms. Granger made. If you would please follow me."

Hermione almost laughed as the reporters trotted out after Lodge, like lambs to the slaughter. She looked back at Ron and saw the intense look he had on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Well, what are our plans for the future?" he asked. Even though Hermione had said yes to his suggestion to moving in together, they hadn't taken any steps towards that goal. It had taken him a little longer to recover from the injuries he received during the botched raid last month and Ron had to spend more time at the Burrow than originally intended. He hoped that Hermione hadn't forgotten or thought that he wasn't serious in his suggestion.

Hermione smiled. "Well, this will mean a little promotion for me I am sure. I will probably go up at least one pay grade. We should start to look for our own flat now, shouldn't we?"

Ron returned her smile. "That sounds like a good place to start. But I think our immediate future should include some sort of celebration of your victory, preferably somewhere alone and naked."

Hermione blushed and swatted him on the shoulder. "Ron! There are still a lot of people around!"

"I don't bloody care, love," he said. "I need to show you how proud I am of you and I think I need to do it right now. Do you think you'll be able to get away early?"

Today had been Ron's day off and he had come into the Ministry just to hear the decision of the Wizangamot. The proceedings had been closed, no one but Hermione and Lodge were in the court when her presentation had been made or Ron would have been there earlier. The thought of leaving work early and spending the afternoon with her by themselves had already sent desire coursing through his body.

"Let's go down to my office and see," she replied huskily, grabbing his hand and making her way towards the bank of lifts.

They had only been standing there a moment before one opened and they walked in. The doors closed and Ron was utterly surprised to feel himself thrown against one of the lift walls, Hermione's lips on him. It took a moment to comprehend what she was doing before he kissed her back, fumbling under her robes to grab her around her waist and pull her closer to him.

"Hermione," he murmured as she kissed his neck, "what are you doing?"

"Really Ron," said Hermione, as she sucked on his earlobe, "I thought as an Auror your skills of observation would have improved somewhat."

Ron chuckled and then gritted his teeth as he felt Hermione's hands glide down his chest and stop at the top of his trousers. He looked down at her and saw the devilish gleam in her eyes. "What's gotten into you? This is very un-Hermione like behavior. Not that I'm complaining or anything," he said, closing his eyes as she pressed into him, her hands going around his back to squeeze his bottom.

"I guess I am just happy," she replied, her hands moving up and around his neck, pulling his face down to hers. He opened his eyes to see her brown ones open as well. "I love you so much," she said. Ron smiled down at her, a lump suddenly formed in his throat. He didn't trust himself to say anything more than "I love you too."

The lift came to an abrupt halt giving the two of them just enough time to straighten their clothes before it opened onto Hermione's floor. As they walked into her office, applause suddenly broke out. Hermione looked at Ron, tears in her eyes again, as her co-workers came forward to shake her hand and give her hugs.

Madeleine Lodge came forward as well, arms extended and embraced Hermione. "Congratulations! I can't tell you how pleased I am as well as the other upper level Ministry officials. There has been quite a lot of talk generated today about you Hermione!"

Hermione flushed slightly saying, "Thank you ma'am. I am thrilled beyond belief."

Lodge nodded and looked over at Ron. "Well young man I think you should take our rising star off to celebrate! " Lodge glanced at Hermione. "Take the rest of the day Hermione and rest up! We have a lot to discuss tomorrow!" With one last hug she took herself off down the hall and to her office.

Several hours later, after "celebrating" a few times, Ron and Hermione were lying in her bed comfortable in one another's arms. The sun was just beginning to set and they were considering getting out of bed to eat. Ron was playing with Hermione's hair as she made lazy circles on his chest with her finger. Suddenly she sat up saying "I almost forgot!" and bounded off of the bed. Ron watched her naked form retreat from the room and wondered what the world record was for the number of shags in a five hour time period.

Hermione came back in carrying a number of newspapers. She sat back down on the bed, spreading them out between them. Ron sat up, fascinated by the way her long curly hair was just brushing the tops of her breasts. Before he could make any move, however, Hermione held up one of the papers. "Here!" she exclaimed. "Take this one and start reading. I circled the one's I really like in red, the one's I thought you would really like in orange, and the one's I wasn't sure of in black."

Ron tore is eyes away from her naked torso to look at what she was holding. "Excuse me, what?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Possible flats for us, remember?"

Ron took the page for her hand and skimmed down. "When did you have time to do all of this?" he asked as he looked down on the bed and saw more papers with similar circles on them. He smiled at the color coded circles; Hermione was nothing if she wasn't organized.

"When you were at the Burrow," she said. "Ginny was away and I spent the nights alternating between working and looking for a place for us to live." She looked up and smiled at him. Ron felt his heart melt a little bit, thinking of her all by herself on her couch, books and newspapers surrounding her.

"C'mere," he murmured, his hand going behind her head bringing her face towards his. His lips moved gently but insistently over hers and he heard the smallest of sighs as he withdrew. "It really wasn't easy for you, was it?"

Hermione's brow creased as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Ron sat up, the sheet covering his waist sinking a little lower. "I mean the past year. At least I was with other people but it sounds like you were alone a lot. I thought when you and Ginny moved in together it would be a good thing. I never considered how much time she would be away from home."

Hermione looked down at the papers between them, trying not to be distracted by the sheet slowly moving down on Ron's lower half. "It wasn't that bad," she said. "It was probably why I was so successful today, you know. There were no distractions." She looked up at him, her eyes glimmering with tears. She hadn't realized until now how lonely she had been.

Ron pulled her closer to him and twisted her gently until she was lying next to him, the papers forgotten and pushed to the floor. He propped himself up on one arm, leaning down and kissing her eyes, tasting the saltiness of the tears that had made their way down her cheeks.

"I am sorry I was away for so long," whispered Ron. He used his finger to wipe away the remaining tracks of her tears before moving it to trace the outline of her lips.

Hermione kissed his finger and said, "There's nothing to be sorry about. We both knew it was going to be difficult." She paused to brush a lock of hair off of his forehead. "The most important thing is that we are here now and we are together and-"

"We always will be," Ron finished firmly. He wanted to say so much more to her. He wanted to tell her right then and there how he had been putting away money, a little at a time, for their future. He wanted to tell her that how he had been walking by the jewelers shop in Diagon Alley just the other day and popped in out of curiosity to look at a display of rings. He mostly wanted to tell her about the trip he had taken with his father a few weeks ago when he was still at the Burrow.

It had been one of the last days he was there and his father had come into his room saying he wanted to show him something. Ron had followed his dad out towards his workshop and was surprised when instead of going in, his father had turned, grasping his hand and Disapparating them both to a lovely meadow with weeping willows and a babbling brook.

"Where are we?" Ron had asked.

"Not too far away from the Burrow," responded Arthur, "Just a few villages over actually."

"It's beautiful Dad but why are we here?"asked Ron, looking at his father curiously.

Arthur had turned to him and said, "When your Uncle Bilius died, he left you and your siblings' part of his inheritance. Your brothers and Ginny all received a monetary sum but your uncle chose to leave you this land." Arthur paused a moment, taking in the landscape. "Your mum and I never told you, we figured we had plenty of time and there was no reason to. But, well now, I think it is time that you know."

Ron looked at him incredulously saying, "You mean this is all mine?"

Arthur nodded and smiled, "Yes, about five acres actually. It is lovely, isn't it? One could almost picture a house just grazing the shade from these magnificent trees, which, by the way, would be perfect for a tree house or tire swing, eh?"

Ron didn't know what to say. He was stunned. Uncle Bilius always had a soft spot in his heart for Ron when he was little, and much to Ron's delight, had seemed to dote on him more than his other brothers and sister. Ron had always thought it was because Bilius himself was the youngest of four sons and grew up in a loud house like the Burrow, probably feeling a bit overshadowed from time to time, just like Ron. Ron couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of such a bequest. But then, the future came rushing to him in a delightful way. Images of a house like his father described with a library for Hermione and a nursery for a baby with a shock of ginger hair and large brown eyes. When Ron had looked over at his father his heart swelled with love as he saw the tears in his eyes. Before Ron could say anything, Arthur had grabbed him in a tight hug.

"I am so very proud of you Ronald," he said. "You have become the man I knew you would always become and more."

As Ron looked down into Hermione's face he could feel tears start to prick his eyes at the memory of that afternoon.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, her finger going up to the crease between his brow.

Ron bent to kiss her lips gently and replied, "How much I love you." All thoughts of finding something to eat flew from their minds as Ron kissed Hermione again deeply, intent on showing her once again how much he loved her.

"RON! What are you doing?"

Ron grimaced at the shrillness of Hermione's tone. He had been in the process of making a bacon sandwich but he had a feeling if he stated the obvious it would just make the situation worse.

"What?" he said as he pulled bread out of a cabinet. "I'm hungry!"

Hermione looked at him in disbelief. They had just had breakfast three hours ago, how could he possibly be hungry again. She threw her hands up in the air then grasped her hair. Ron almost laughed; she looked quite demented when she did it, her curls literally standing on end.

"We both took the day off so we could do this!" she said, her hand indicating the boxes that were scattered throughout the flat. It hadn't taken them too long to decide which flat was the most suitable for them. It had come down to two: one in a Muggle building that Ron had liked and one in a wizarding building that Hermione had liked. Naturally, the one she had liked was a bit more expensive but she saw a potential problem in the Muggle building: they would have to pay with British currency, not galleons. There were also things included in the rent that weren't necessary, like electricity and cable. After presenting her evidence to Ron he had grudgingly admitted she was right, muttering something under his breath about probably never being able to win an argument if his girlfriend was the wizarding equivalent of a solicitor.

"C'mon Hermione," he whined. "It's not going to take that long to put all of this away! Besides, we have the weekend too!" Really, he thought, sometimes she does forget she could do magic. It would take no time at all to put their belongings away; they were just starting out and didn't own too much to begin with.

"No Ron," said Hermione, arms crossed over her chest. "I have the weekend—you have to work. That's why we took off, so I wouldn't be stuck moving us both in by myself!"

Ron sighed. "You're right. I'll wait for lunch. Now what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to move all the boxes that have "bedroom" written on them into our bedroom. Those are mine from my parent's house," she said indicating a pile of boxes stacked neatly on the floor. "Then, take whatever you took from your bedroom at the Burrow and put it in there as well."

"Fine," he muttered, flourishing his wand in the direction of the boxes. He started to follow the boxes into the bedroom, stacking them into "Hermione" piles and "Ron" piles. Ron stopped suddenly, digesting the words that Hermione had just said. Our bedroom, he thought to himself. He looked around the room which contained Hermione's bedroom set from her parent's house. There was a small walk-in closet and he peered in, imagining his clothes and hers hanging there together. Everything they owned would soon be side by side. He smiled at the thought before his eyes caught sight of the double-bed that had been placed in the center of the room. The mattress was bare; Hermione hadn't found the sheets yet. Ron flushed with pleasure thinking about how he would be able to wake-up with her every morning after a night of lovemaking.

Ron walked back out to the living room and into the kitchen where Hermione was unpacking plates and other kitchen things. She was wearing a light pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, her hair piled on top of her head, barefoot. He smiled to himself as he watched her try to put a stack of plates on a high shelf before muttering something under her breath and picking up her wand to do it. She did forget, he thought with a smirk. After giving a grunt of satisfaction, she turned to see him standing there with his goofy grin.

"What?" she asked, trying not to sound too annoyed because he really did look quite handsome in a t-shirt and shorts, his well-defined arms crossed over his chest. Merlin, she thought, becoming an Auror really did agree with him.

Ron shrugged, taking a small step towards her saying, "Nothing. It's just that before, you said 'our bedroom'."

"Well," she replied, "it is our bedroom."

"I know that Hermione," Ron said, "but I just liked the way it sounded, you know." His eyes moved up and down her body and he took another step forward towards her. Hermione caught on to what he was about and deftly ducked under his arm, backing out of the kitchen.

"Oh no you don't Ron Weasley," she said. "We still have lots of work to do before any of that can happen."

Ron turned around to see Hermione retreating into the living room, his face wearing feigned a look of ignorance. "Any of what Hermione? I was just making a simple observation, that's all."

The day was becoming a warm one and Hermione had opened up the windows to air out the flat as well as to capture any bit of a breeze. Ron could just make out beads of sweat starting to dot her forehead and noticed the flush of color in her cheeks as she looked at him. A wicked smile began to spread across his face.

"You know," he began, "it really has become quite hot in here." Hermione felt her mouth go dry as he removed his t-shirt. "I really don't think I have to keep this on."

Hermione shrugged saying, "Suit yourself." Two could play at this game, she thought. She moved past him into the bedroom, rummaging through a box that contained her clothes. She pulled out a pair of denim shorts and a tank top, using her wand to make the shorts even shorter and the tank top snug. Hermione quickly put them on and walked back into the living room where Ron was looking over boxes, waving his wand over them so they began to hover.

Ron looked up as Hermione re-entered the room. He figured she hadn't taken his bait but he now realized his first fatal move: Hermione liked a challenge. Ron could feel the blood rush to choice parts of his body as he took in the sight of all of her bare flesh, the shorts clinging provocatively to her rounded bottom, the tank top molding itself to her lush breasts. Where did she get clothes like that, he wondered. She looked like one of those Muggle models in the magazines Fred and George used to hide under their beds.

Hermione walked back into the kitchen, fully aware of Ron's eyes on her, and resumed the task of putting all of the items away. She stole a quick look behind her to see that Ron had also started to move more boxes into the bedroom. Hmm, she thought, I'll just have to try harder.

She sauntered out into the living room, surveying the various items that had piled up until she saw what she wanted: a stepstool. There really was no reason to have it; she wasn't even sure why she had bought it. Maybe just out of habit of living in the Muggle world for so long.

Hermione picked up the stepstool and turned to Ron saying, "I'd rather put everything away without magic."

Ron watched as she carried it back into the kitchen, opening it so it was positioned in front of the cabinets. She stood on the top step on her toes, stretching up and down as she retrieved plates. With every movement she made, her shorts rode up even further, her tank gapping away from her body. Ron stood still and in an instant realized he had underestimated her. He gritted his teeth and decided the best way to win their unspoken challenge was to remove himself from her presence. He followed the boxes he had just moved into their bedroom, determined to distract himself.

Hermione smirked as she watched him leave the room. Stepping down from the stool, she used her wand to finish up in the kitchen before going into the living room to sort out the boxes there. The room was large and had a fireplace against one wall which was already connected to the Floo Network. Last week Hermione had gone to a Muggle furniture store and splurged on a living room set that had just been delivered earlier in the morning. Her favorite part of the room, however, was the built-in bookshelves that flanked either side of the fireplace. She decided to start there, unpacking the boxes labeled "books."

At some point Ron walked into the room again but Hermione did her best to keep her back turned. She heard him drop down on the oversized chair and couldn't help but sneak a peek at him. He was stretching, flexing his muscles and twisting his back in attempt to relieve any "pain" from moving he might have been feeling. He tried to hide a smile as he noticed Hermione finally turn around to look at him, a slow flush creeping up her chest towards her neck

Hermione looked at Ron through narrowed eyes. He really was playing dirty. Fine, she thought, I can play dirtier.

"I am so sore," Ron said as he continued to move his torso as well as stretch out his long legs. He knew he was laying it on thick but he couldn't help it.

Hermione stood, putting a few more books on the shelves. She walked towards one of the windows and peered out. They had a beautiful view of a park right across the street and she watched as people jogged through or walked their dogs. Although she was hoping to catch a breeze, the air was still. She smiled as an idea took shape. She took her wand, muttering a fan charm silently and turned slowly to look at Ron.

"You were right Ron. It really is quite warm in here," she said. Hermione made sure Ron was looking at her as she took out the pins holding up her hair so it came tumbling down before it was lifted up by the fan charm she cast.

Ron squirmed uncomfortably on the chair as he watched her shake her curls down, her eyes closed and her head thrown back in delight. "That breeze feels so good," she murmured. She could barely keep a straight face as she saw Ron shift in the chair.

Hermione started to walk back to where the boxes of books were. Ron's mouth went dry as she bent over and he couldn't suppress a groan as her shorts rode up higher causing him to doubt if she had on any knickers.

Hermione turned and said innocently, "I'm sorry Ron but did you just say something?"

Ron sat up straighter on the chair and wiped some sweat off of his brow. "No," he said, "not a word."

Hermione started to walk toward him slowly. "Are you done already?"

Ron shook his head, "No. I am just taking a break."

"Do you feel alright?" Hermione asked in a concerned tone as she stood before him in the chair. "You do look quite flushed. Maybe you have a fever?" She slowly bent down to brush her lips against his forehead, lingering for a moment.

Her lips on Ron's forehead were scorching but it was really his eyes that were burning. Hermione's breasts were swaying seductively in front of him and he almost groaned aloud again.

"No," she whispered in his ear. "Hot but not feverish. Definitely hot." She let her mouth linger by his neck for good measure before she started to rise.

As she went to move away from him, Ron grabbed her hips forcing her down on top of him. "Alright, Hermione," he said. "You win. I don't have the willpower to hold out anymore."

Hermione smiled at him. "Good, neither do I."

Ron's hands went behind her head as he pulled her face down to his, crushing his mouth against hers. He had barely touched his tongue to her lips before she had it in her mouth, sucking on it greedily. Ron's hands went to the edge of her tank top pulling it off of her to reveal her bare breasts. "Hermione," he murmured as he kissed them, "I had no idea you could be such a naughty girl."

Hermione arched her back, pressing her breasts further against him as Ron's hands went down her back to cup her bottom and pull her even further down on his groin. She moaned lightly as his lips licked the hardened tips of her breasts, her hands threading through his hair. All thoughts of replying to him went out of her head as his fingers moved to her shorts and she shifted so he could pull them off of her. Ron groaned as he saw she didn't have any knickers on. "Very naughty."

Hermione pushed Ron's shorts and boxers down as far as they could go and lowered herself onto his hard length. They both moaned as they became one and Hermione began to move slowly on top of him, bracing herself on the arms of the chair to give herself more leverage. Ron filled her to her core; she loved that he was so deep inside of her. She looked down at his face to see a look of amazement.

"You're incredible," he said, moving up his hips to meet hers, his hands on her breasts, pinching her nipples.

Hermione leaned forward to kiss him, sucking on his lower lip before exploring his mouth with her tongue. As she moved even closer to him, she gasped as she brushed her center against him and she began to increase her movements. Her breasts were practically in Ron's face and he wondered if a person could actually die from pure pleasure.

It didn't take Hermione too long to reach her climax, she was so turned on by the little charade that she and Ron had played and she was soon calling his name. When Ron felt her muscles tighten around him, he too climaxed and they both lay in the chair, hearts pounding.

Hermione curled up against Ron and he shifted to kiss her lightly. "I think we need to do that on every piece of furniture we move into this place."

Hermione chuckled. "That was brilliant, wasn't it?"

Ron nodded. "What is even more brilliant is that we can do that whenever we want now. We don't have to worry about sneaking around the Burrow or doing it in your flat and worrying about Harry and Ginny hearing us."

Hermione smiled against his shoulder as she dropped a kiss. "It's going to be wonderful."

The hardest part of moving in together had proven to be when they told Hermione's parents their plan. Ron had insisted on being there when Hermione told them. Hermione wasn't sure how they would react; they could be a little old-fashioned when it came to certain things. As they sat there on the patio and showed the Grangers pictures of the flat they had found though, Ron could see they were pleased. When Hermione had gotten up to go get more lemonade for everyone, Ron had taken the opportunity to talk to the Granger's privately.

"I just want to let both of you know what my intentions are with your daughter," Ron had begun. "This is just the first step in my plan. We aren't just doing this on a whim."

Mr. Granger had nodded. "We know that Ron. We can see how much you love and respect our daughter."

"And we think the world of you too Ron," said Mrs. Granger. "And your family as well. You and Hermione have been through so much together. This seems like the right direction for both of you to take."

Ron felt relief rush through him and sat back slightly. Before he could say anymore to them, Hermione had returned with the replenished lemonade pitcher. She had smiled at them, her heart warmed at the sight of Ron enjoying the company of her parents.

Hermione shifted slightly in the chair again, bringing Ron back to reality. "So" he said, "I guess we really should start to get some work done."

Hermione sighed and stood up, gathering up her clothes. Ron watched as she used her wand to restore them and smiled. He knew Hermione couldn't own clothing so revealing. His mouth went dry though as he she put them back on, without her knickers or bra.

Hermione smiled down at him and said, "What? We might get distracted again later."

Ron smiled broadly as he watched her walk towards the bedroom. Our bedroom, he thought. A good first step indeed.

**Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans! I hope everyone enjoys the day!**