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Disclaimer: These characters do NOT, I repeat, NOT belong to me.
It was now four in the afternoon. The party had lasted a lot longer than Hermione thought it would, meaning that she had been gone almost the whole day. Jerome might have called the room, and would most likely be wondering where she was. Where was she again?
Oh, yes. Still in Ron Weasley's apartment.
She had been the one to lag behind out of all the guests that had come today. She had liked the feel of Ron's apartment; it was homey and cozy and she felt very safe there, despite Ron's complaint about how the place reminded him of a fleabag motel.
"I swear, Hermione," he said again as he sat down beside her. "I'd rather live in a whorehouse sometimes."
"Ron," she laughed, "do you honestly think it's that bad?" She studied his face, and he waited several moments to answer exactly how she'd been expecting.
"Yes!"
"But, really, I like it," she said, letting her voice drop.
"Yeah, well you liked Professor McGonagall," Ron said with a roll of his eyes.
"She was a good teacher," Hermione insisted.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say."
"What's going on at Hogwarts now anyway?" she asked.
"Well, uh.." Ron thought for a moment. Being so close to her was not doing very well for his nerves. "They've got a new headmaster. Hagrid." Ron grinned as far as his mouth would let him.
"Hagrid?" Hermione asked, now astonished. "You're kidding!"
"No," he shook his head at her. "Hagrid, even though he was expelled. It was in Dumbledore's will or something like that." He paused. "Oh, and I feel bad for all the children, because Snape finally got the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."
Hermione made a half false gasp.
"Yes, really," he said, seemingly interpreting her thoughts.
"I-I never would have thought..."was all Hermione could muster.
Ron gave a terse laugh. "Me neither."
"Well, what's the story with you?" she asked. "What do you do now?"
"Harry and I both work for the Ministry at this point," Ron said. "We work in different sections, though. I pretty much want to go into the whole area of befriending unfriendly creatures, you know, sort of like a peacemaker."
"Ron Weasley, peacemaker," Hermione muttered, shaking her head. "Never thought I'd see the day." They both laughed before Hermione chose another question. "What about Harry? Where does he want to work?"
"Harry's really not interested in working for the Ministry at all," Ron told her. "Actually, this is only a donut-shop kind of job for him. He's really into going for professional Quidditch. You know, England's team, that sort of thing."
"Really? Wow," Hermione said. "But hasn't he tried out yet? I would imagine he would've done it as soon as he got out of school."
"He tried the next year, but they've upped the ages since...." Ron's voice trailed off.
"Since what?" Hermione's brow furrowed.
"Well, shortly after you left, Viktor Krum was....killed. Out on the Quidditch field."
Hermione was not quite sure what to say. He had always been an uncomfortable topic for the two of them, so all she could do was nod and say, "I wish it weren't so."
"Yeah," Ron said shortly. "They say he would've kept longer if he'd been a few years older. So the International Quidditch Association has upped the ages to about twenty one. Harry's got a year to go."
"That's.... that's terribly unfortunate, but I'm sure Harry will make the team."
"We've all already made plans to be there at the tryout," Ron said and suddenly turned to face her. "Will you be there, too?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "I don't plan on going anywhere, Ron," she said softly.
"I'm glad," he replied in an equally quiet voice.
Hermione had the all of a sudden desire to kiss him right then. God, it was so hard not to. He, Ron Weasley, was sitting right next to her after all these years. It was all she could do to keep herself from inching any closer to him.
He must have noticed the sudden, silent tension, because he raised himself at once. "Shall I make a cup of tea?" He had eventually picked up his mother's habit of asking the question during an uncomfortable moment.
Hermione nodded, wishing he wouldn't go. He walked away into the kitchen, so she took the opportunity to get a good look at the place. She noticed the very Ron-ish green plaid sofa she was sitting on, but it was so perfectly comfortable. She looked at the crooked wooden table, places set for two (even though Hermione knew he was the only one who lived there now). How depressing that must be, she thought. To have to eat dinner all by yourself every night, with an empty plate in front of you, a plate you know will most likely never be filled. She thought it was the saddest thing in the world, and she thought it even sadder because she had been the one to put him through that for three years of his life. She made a silent promise that one of these days, before Jerome came back, she would make sure Ron Weasley's second plate got filled.
He returned, rather quickly it seemed, with two steaming cups of tea. He handed her one, saying, "Lemon, honey, no sugar. Just the way you like it."
"Thank you," she said, letting a smile play her lips. She was surprised, and actually quite joyous, that he had remembered after all these years. She let the teacup move to her lips, and even though the liquid was scalding, its taste was that of absolute perfection.
"What's new with you?" Ron asked.
"Not much, actually," she replied. She didn't want Ron to know about Jerome just yet. She wasn't ready to break his heart again. "My job was all right, but I guess I have to find a new one now, don't I?"
"Yeah," Ron mused, stirring his tea. "You know, if you're looking, you can go to Diagon Alley and check out some stuff there. They've often got more than one job available. I'm just saying as a temporary source of money, of course," he assured her. "What do you want to do?"
"I was seriously considering a teaching job for a long time," she replied. "But now I think I want to open a shop of my own. I'm not sure for what yet, maybe a wand shop."
"Ollivander's is getting kind of old," Ron agreed. He grinned at her. "What else, though? Did you have any good friends in France?"
Hermione was careful before answering. She had not, however, heard a trace of sarcasm in his voice so she decided to be as truthful as possible. "I had one or two. Not too many, really."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, now that I think of it," she told him. "I think it was more or less the fact that I didn't really want to let go of my life, my friends here. I was still holding on to that, so for the first couple years I didn't bother with friends. By the third year there, I realized there was pretty much no turning back, so I began to talk to a couple people here and there."
Ron chose not to respond to her answer, and just nodded at first. "Was France as good as they say it is?"
Hermione sighed. "It was certainly beautiful, but most everyone's a bit of a snob some way or the other." She laughed with him on this, and then they slowly quieted.
"Were you seeing anyone?" he asked her.
Hermione's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't quite sure what to do. Lying was not her best forte, but she could just..... She shook her head.
Ron nodded.
"What about you?" She nearly choked on her words.
Ron shook his head as well, and something told her that he was not lying as she had been.
Finally Hermione glanced at her watch. She should be getting back, she thought. It was nearly six, and she should call Jerome. She almost cringed at his name in Ron's presence.
"I should go," she said. She stood up, and Ron nodded as he did the same.
"Want me to walk you there?" he asked her.
"It 's a bit of a way off," she replied. "I Apparated over here."
"All right then," he replied. Neither of them were quite sure what to say. "See you."
"Bye, Ron," she said, before Disapparating into thin air.
************************************
Thanks for all the feedback I got on the last chapter!!!!!!! It's cool that you guys are helping me out with the story, I super appreciate it. If you like this story, you might like my favorite fanfic author of all time, Hermione-G-Weasley. She's really good, all her stories ROCK! Check them out if you like. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE FEEDBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: These characters do NOT, I repeat, NOT belong to me.
It was now four in the afternoon. The party had lasted a lot longer than Hermione thought it would, meaning that she had been gone almost the whole day. Jerome might have called the room, and would most likely be wondering where she was. Where was she again?
Oh, yes. Still in Ron Weasley's apartment.
She had been the one to lag behind out of all the guests that had come today. She had liked the feel of Ron's apartment; it was homey and cozy and she felt very safe there, despite Ron's complaint about how the place reminded him of a fleabag motel.
"I swear, Hermione," he said again as he sat down beside her. "I'd rather live in a whorehouse sometimes."
"Ron," she laughed, "do you honestly think it's that bad?" She studied his face, and he waited several moments to answer exactly how she'd been expecting.
"Yes!"
"But, really, I like it," she said, letting her voice drop.
"Yeah, well you liked Professor McGonagall," Ron said with a roll of his eyes.
"She was a good teacher," Hermione insisted.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say."
"What's going on at Hogwarts now anyway?" she asked.
"Well, uh.." Ron thought for a moment. Being so close to her was not doing very well for his nerves. "They've got a new headmaster. Hagrid." Ron grinned as far as his mouth would let him.
"Hagrid?" Hermione asked, now astonished. "You're kidding!"
"No," he shook his head at her. "Hagrid, even though he was expelled. It was in Dumbledore's will or something like that." He paused. "Oh, and I feel bad for all the children, because Snape finally got the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."
Hermione made a half false gasp.
"Yes, really," he said, seemingly interpreting her thoughts.
"I-I never would have thought..."was all Hermione could muster.
Ron gave a terse laugh. "Me neither."
"Well, what's the story with you?" she asked. "What do you do now?"
"Harry and I both work for the Ministry at this point," Ron said. "We work in different sections, though. I pretty much want to go into the whole area of befriending unfriendly creatures, you know, sort of like a peacemaker."
"Ron Weasley, peacemaker," Hermione muttered, shaking her head. "Never thought I'd see the day." They both laughed before Hermione chose another question. "What about Harry? Where does he want to work?"
"Harry's really not interested in working for the Ministry at all," Ron told her. "Actually, this is only a donut-shop kind of job for him. He's really into going for professional Quidditch. You know, England's team, that sort of thing."
"Really? Wow," Hermione said. "But hasn't he tried out yet? I would imagine he would've done it as soon as he got out of school."
"He tried the next year, but they've upped the ages since...." Ron's voice trailed off.
"Since what?" Hermione's brow furrowed.
"Well, shortly after you left, Viktor Krum was....killed. Out on the Quidditch field."
Hermione was not quite sure what to say. He had always been an uncomfortable topic for the two of them, so all she could do was nod and say, "I wish it weren't so."
"Yeah," Ron said shortly. "They say he would've kept longer if he'd been a few years older. So the International Quidditch Association has upped the ages to about twenty one. Harry's got a year to go."
"That's.... that's terribly unfortunate, but I'm sure Harry will make the team."
"We've all already made plans to be there at the tryout," Ron said and suddenly turned to face her. "Will you be there, too?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "I don't plan on going anywhere, Ron," she said softly.
"I'm glad," he replied in an equally quiet voice.
Hermione had the all of a sudden desire to kiss him right then. God, it was so hard not to. He, Ron Weasley, was sitting right next to her after all these years. It was all she could do to keep herself from inching any closer to him.
He must have noticed the sudden, silent tension, because he raised himself at once. "Shall I make a cup of tea?" He had eventually picked up his mother's habit of asking the question during an uncomfortable moment.
Hermione nodded, wishing he wouldn't go. He walked away into the kitchen, so she took the opportunity to get a good look at the place. She noticed the very Ron-ish green plaid sofa she was sitting on, but it was so perfectly comfortable. She looked at the crooked wooden table, places set for two (even though Hermione knew he was the only one who lived there now). How depressing that must be, she thought. To have to eat dinner all by yourself every night, with an empty plate in front of you, a plate you know will most likely never be filled. She thought it was the saddest thing in the world, and she thought it even sadder because she had been the one to put him through that for three years of his life. She made a silent promise that one of these days, before Jerome came back, she would make sure Ron Weasley's second plate got filled.
He returned, rather quickly it seemed, with two steaming cups of tea. He handed her one, saying, "Lemon, honey, no sugar. Just the way you like it."
"Thank you," she said, letting a smile play her lips. She was surprised, and actually quite joyous, that he had remembered after all these years. She let the teacup move to her lips, and even though the liquid was scalding, its taste was that of absolute perfection.
"What's new with you?" Ron asked.
"Not much, actually," she replied. She didn't want Ron to know about Jerome just yet. She wasn't ready to break his heart again. "My job was all right, but I guess I have to find a new one now, don't I?"
"Yeah," Ron mused, stirring his tea. "You know, if you're looking, you can go to Diagon Alley and check out some stuff there. They've often got more than one job available. I'm just saying as a temporary source of money, of course," he assured her. "What do you want to do?"
"I was seriously considering a teaching job for a long time," she replied. "But now I think I want to open a shop of my own. I'm not sure for what yet, maybe a wand shop."
"Ollivander's is getting kind of old," Ron agreed. He grinned at her. "What else, though? Did you have any good friends in France?"
Hermione was careful before answering. She had not, however, heard a trace of sarcasm in his voice so she decided to be as truthful as possible. "I had one or two. Not too many, really."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, now that I think of it," she told him. "I think it was more or less the fact that I didn't really want to let go of my life, my friends here. I was still holding on to that, so for the first couple years I didn't bother with friends. By the third year there, I realized there was pretty much no turning back, so I began to talk to a couple people here and there."
Ron chose not to respond to her answer, and just nodded at first. "Was France as good as they say it is?"
Hermione sighed. "It was certainly beautiful, but most everyone's a bit of a snob some way or the other." She laughed with him on this, and then they slowly quieted.
"Were you seeing anyone?" he asked her.
Hermione's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't quite sure what to do. Lying was not her best forte, but she could just..... She shook her head.
Ron nodded.
"What about you?" She nearly choked on her words.
Ron shook his head as well, and something told her that he was not lying as she had been.
Finally Hermione glanced at her watch. She should be getting back, she thought. It was nearly six, and she should call Jerome. She almost cringed at his name in Ron's presence.
"I should go," she said. She stood up, and Ron nodded as he did the same.
"Want me to walk you there?" he asked her.
"It 's a bit of a way off," she replied. "I Apparated over here."
"All right then," he replied. Neither of them were quite sure what to say. "See you."
"Bye, Ron," she said, before Disapparating into thin air.
************************************
Thanks for all the feedback I got on the last chapter!!!!!!! It's cool that you guys are helping me out with the story, I super appreciate it. If you like this story, you might like my favorite fanfic author of all time, Hermione-G-Weasley. She's really good, all her stories ROCK! Check them out if you like. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE FEEDBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!