Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.honestly, why do we have to write
these anyway? Everyone knows only J.K. Rowling is capable of owning her own
creation.
*This chapter is dedicated to Starshine Stargirl because she's the first reviewer who added me to her contact list. She and I had a great talk about music just yesterday. Thank you so much! You really made my day, Natalie!
CHAPTER XXI: TALKING IT OVER
Hermione watched in growing horror as her two best friends battled with Voldemort. She watched as curse upon curse was shot at them, but they refused to back down. All around them Voldemort's supporters, Death Eaters, and Dementors, were engaged in a deep combat with all the wizards who had their lives on stake. But she didn't have any time to pay attention to them. Her friends were much too important, and yet, no matter how hard she tried; she couldn't reach them. She struggled to break away from the grasp that had a hold upon her, but it was hopeless. It was also hopeless, because she was on a high ledge and was incapable of reaching them, in any case.
Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and mingling with the cries of an incantation and the charm of the wands; a bright glow surrounded the trio. "Ron," she cried, as she clamped a fist over her mouth. She didn't want to be heard, even though she wasn't even there. A thick cloud of smoke rose up in the air as everyone turned towards the direction of where Harry and Ron had been fighting previously. Holding her breath, she waited for the dust to clear.and when it did, she saw a frail limp body of Voldemort, lying on the ground.Harry and Ron were nowhere in sight.
"Ron," she yelled, and then she felt herself falling and falling into a bottomless pit and.
Hermione sat up straight in her bed, her chest heaving breathlessly. She glanced around herself frantically, and was relieved to realize that she wasn't near a battlefield but securely safe in her bedroom. But Ron, what if he wasn't safe? What if someone had come and taken him away from her and his family and friends? The dream seemed so real and yet she hadn't even been there for the final battle. Not taking any chances, she grabbed her nightgown from her bedpost and wrapping it around herself she apparated to Ron's bedroom door.
Ron had been having a wonderful time sleeping. It had been one of those rare occasions when he was actually able to fall asleep without any worries about knowing who he was or where he was. In fact, he seemed quite relaxed in the wizarding world; even though, people still wanted to know what made him lose his memories. But right now, he was peacefully lost away in dreamland, having a wonderful time gobbling down Chocolate Frogs, drinking Butterbeer, and thinking what marvelous adventures he would have in his third year at school, when the knocking started to happen on his door. At first, he thought he was dreaming it so he continued to ignore it, hoping it would cease. But it didn't stop. It just grew louder and faster and he was surprised that no one else in his family could hear it.
"Argh!" he exclaimed loudly, lifting his head off the pillow and flinging it across the room. The knocking was disturbing his sleep. Cursing under his breath, he threw back the covers and strode across his now-clean and furnished room.
Throwing open the door, he asked in a groggy yet irritated voice, "What is it?"
"Oh Ron," a female voice cried out, flinging their arms around her, causing him to stumble into his bedroom.
"Off," he grumbled, glaring against the light from the hallway. Blinking away the sleep, his eyes became accustomed to his surroundings, and he was surprised to see Hermione clutching onto him desperately.
"Hermione," he stated weakly. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh Ron," she repeated, burying her face deeper into his chest. "I was so worried about you," she sobbed.
"Hermione, it's okay. I'm right here," Ron soothed her, gently running her hands down her back in a comforting way.
"No, it's not alright. I thought.I thought you were dead," she admitted, sniffling heavily.
"What made you think that?" Ron questioned, completely bewildered.
"I had a horrible dream," she murmured softly. "I don't want to lose you again," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.
"Hey," he muttered kindly, tilting her face up by the chin. Her tear- stained face looked up at him, her brown eyes bloodshot red, her cheeks puffed up from crying.
"I'm still here," he continued and carelessly brushed away a wisp of hair that was covering her forehead. "And I'm not going anywhere," he finished pulling her closer, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder.
"I know. But, I was so afraid," she mumbled.
"Don't be," he reassured her firmly.
"And I came all the way to your house just to check if you were all right and here I am hugging you alone in your bedroom." her voice trailed off, as the sudden realization hit her.
"Ron, bedroom.oh Merlin, Ron, I am so sorry," she said anxiously, as she pulled herself away from his grasp.
"For what?" he queried.
"For this," she replied, gesturing towards the area. "I shouldn't even be here, especially when it's".she squinted blearily at his bedside clock. "Especially when it's 2 o'clock in the morning," she ended.
"Hermione, wait," Ron pleaded.
"No Ron, I should leave. And I really am sorry. I should have never come here." And with that, she had vanished with a pop.
Ron sighed to himself. He really had enjoyed hugging her, but he would never admit it to her. Shaking his head, he crawled back into bed. Maybe would be a good day to talk to Hermione about their third year, after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***********************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mum, why aren't you eating anything?" Kelly inquired at the breakfast table the following morning.
Hermione gave her daughter a small smile. "I'm not that hungry today, darling."
"Oh," Kelly mumbled and returned to her scrambled eggs and bacon.
"Mum, are you feeling alright?" Jason asked innocently looking up from his cereal.
Hermione sighed. "Kids, I'm fine; Mommy's just having a rough day today. Don't worry. I'll be feeling much better during dinner. Now finish up your breakfast; Dillon's mother's going to take you to school today," she informed them, as they hurriedly gulped down the remainder of their pumpkin juice.
"Mum, I hate Dillon. He always smells of fish and onions," Kelly complained, as she put on her bag.
"I know, but it is his mother's turn to take the kids to school," Hermione pointed out, as she gave them both a kiss on their cheeks.
"Now run along or you're going to be late for school," she continued as she started to pile up the breakfast table.
"Bye Mum," Kelly called, as she threw open the front door and rushed down the stairs, which led to the bottom of the building. Jason, however, waited behind, shuffling his feet nervously.
"Is something wrong, Jason?" Hermione queried, as she flicked out of her wand, muttered a quick spell and the dishes were clean and the table was wiped dry.
He shook his head. "No, Mum," he replied, and then he did something very strange. He reached towards and gave her a big hug around her waist, for that was as high as he could reach.
"Take care of yourself, Mum," he stated, releasing her.
"Thanks, kiddo," she answered, ruffling his hair. He gave her another shy smile, and rushed out the door.
Once she was sure her kids had left for school, since she could see them leaving the building from the window, she breathed a sigh of relief. "If only her children knew the trouble she had to go through."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Excuse me," Ron began slowly, as he tapped on the counter of Gringotts Bank. The small goblin sitting on the long chair behind the counter looked up from the coins he was counting and stared at him through his pointed eyes.
"Yes, how may I help you?" he inquired, pushing his glasses up his long nose.
"I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find Ms. Hermione Granger?" Ron asked, eyeing the goblin suspiciously. He'd never seen a goblin before and he decided he didn't very much like the creature as much as de-gnoming gnomes were.
"Oh," a scowl crossed his face; apparently he was displeased that a visitor had come to visit her, especially since she had already taken a week off. He gave him the directions to her office and thanking the scowling goblin graciously, Ron headed for her place of work.
It was easily to locate her room, since on the bronze doors was labeled in a deep shade of gold, Hermione Granger. From inside he could hear voices coming. Leaning against the doorway, he strained to hear what was happening.
"Look, Mr. Smithers, I'm sorry if I'm delaying the orders, but, honestly, I've been quite busy these days," came the voice of Hermione.
"Sorry, Granger. We excused you for a week, and you told us then you could handle the burden. Now that you're back, we're running behind schedule and your desk is a mess. If you can't handle the pressure, we'll have to hire someone else," came the snotty reply of who seemed to be her boss.
"Are you firing me?" she asked nervously.
"If you don't get your act together, yes. If you prove to continue working hard, you can stay," Mr. Smithers answered.
Ron heard Hermione exhale deeply. "All right, you'll have the accounts cleared by tomorrow night," she informed him.
"Very well then. I expect to see them on my office by tomorrow night. Until then, continue on your work."
Ron heard the sound of shuffling footsteps and judging by the movement Mr. Smithers was getting ready to leave. He backed away from the door, just in time before he opened it. Out toddled a small goblin, wearing a long coat and holding a long paper in his hand and a quill tucked behind his elf-like ear. He noticed Ron standing in the doorway. Looking up at his tall frame, he queried, "Can I help you?"
Ron gulped, stifling his laugh. Compared to the goblin, he was a giant, and this greatly displeased Mr. Smithers. "Uh yes, you can. Is this Mr. Granger's office?" he questioned innocently.
The goblin eyed him suspiciously. "Can't you tell by the door?" he sneered, his eyes narrowing.
"Ah yes," Ron replied, smacking his forehead. "Silly me." The goblin scowled at him and waddled away. Smirking to him, Ron entered the office and was surprised to see papers, books and quills scattered everywhere, and Hermione kneeling down to lift the papers off the floor, unaware of his presence.
"Hermione, what happened here?" Ron questioned, astonished by the state of her room.
She looked up from the papers she was collecting. "Ron," she gasped, standing up but in the process, allowing the papers to slide to the floor. She made a grab for them but they had already joined the huge pile scattered across the floor.
"Came at a bad time, huh?" Ron continued, eyeing her flustered appearance. Her robes were disheveled, her hair wasn't comb and her face was filled with exhaustion.
She groaned and pushed her hair away from her face. "Yes, you did, Ron." Sighing, she bent down again and started to gather up the papers.
"Here, let me help you," Ron offered gently, pulling out his wand, giving it a quick flick and the room was in proper shape once again.
"Oops," Hermione whispered. "I completely forgot I could use a magic spell to clean the mess up," she admitted guiltily, staring at the floor.
"Hey, everyone has their moments of exhaustion. You look terrible," he commented, sitting down on the chair across her desk.
"Thanks for the compliment, Ron," she stated sarcastically, rolling her eyes and then reddening slightly at the memory of what she had done last night. Even though, she remembered apologizing to him she had to do it again.
"Look Ron.about last night. I truly am sorry for disturbing your sleep like that. It's just that I was so worried that I might lose you all over again," she said, her voice wavering slightly.
Ron gave her a small smile and squeezed her arm gently. "Hey, it's okay. It's not everyday I have a beautiful girl like you coming in the middle of the night to my room just to check if I was alive," he stated softly.
Hermione blushed slightly at the fact that he thought she was beautiful. "Uh Ron, you came at a bad time. I really need to finish off these papers," she remarked, gesturing towards the huge pile of papers lying on her desk.
Ron waved his hand impatiently. "Hermione, you deserve a break. Come with me and get some ice cream to it."
Hermione groaned. "I really can't leave. Can you imagine what would happen if they found that I wasn't in my office," she reminded him.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Please, Hermione. Live your life on the edge for once. And besides you have to tell me about my third year at school, anyways," he pointed out.
Hermione sighed. It was rather pointless arguing with Ron, especially when he firmly believed he was correct. "Oh all right," she agreed, grabbing her wand from her desk and in a few seconds they had apparated from her office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And then after that, Sirius replaced your rat Scabbers with Pigwedgeon," Hermione finished, while taking another bite of her caramel fudge ice cream.
"So Sirius is Harry's godfather, who was in Azkaban, the wizard prison for the wrong reason," Ron commented slowly, while taking another lick of his chocolate sundae and smearing whipped cream all over his cheek.
Hermione nodded her head and giggled lightly upon noticing how he was unaware of the cream on his face. Even though he was twenty-five, his manners hadn't improved at all. She leaned towards him. "Ron, you've got some whipped cream on your cheek," she told him gently while ever so lightly brushing her finger against his cheek.
He stiffened at her touch as she wiped it off. Hermione, herself, felt suddenly ridiculous that she was doing this and was just about to pull her hand away when Ron gripped her wrist tightly.
Looking up from his cheek, she looked up into his eyes and found his electric blue eyes boring into hers. "What is it, Ron?" she asked cautiously.
"Mione," he began softly. She stifled a gasp upon hearing the special nickname, he'd always reserved for her. "Did I really bother you during our fight over Scabbers and Crookshanks?" he questioned, slowly tracing his finger up and down her wrist.
She nodded mutely and was surprised when Ron apologized, "I'm so sorry, Mione."
She gave him a small smile. Apologizing wasn't one of Ron's major qualities. "It's the past Ron. Just forget it," she informed him. She expected him to release her but at that moment he reached up his other hand and cupped her chin tenderly. She felt herself panic at this sudden action. Slowly and steadily, he pulled her towards him, realizing he was about to kiss her. Their lips were just a few centimeters away when.
"Hermione," a female voice shrieked happily.
Cursing under her breath (a habit she picked up from her two friends) Hermione abruptly pulled away from a flustered Ron and shielding against the afternoon sunlight, she finally made out the images of Lavender, Dean and their two-year-old daughter.
"Lavender," Hermione exclaimed, feigning pleasure. "What a nice surprise!"
"I know, I mean it's been like three years since we last saw you," Lavender squealed. "How are-" her voice faltered upon noticing the presence of Ron. "Is this Ron?" she squeaked.
Hermione nodded her head and turned towards Ron, who had a quizzical expression on his face, concerning the three people in front of him. "Ron, I would like to introduce you to Lavender, her husband Dean and their daughter Natalie."
"Hi, Ron. It's so great to see you after what five years?" Dean asked, shaking his hand exuberantly.
"You and Lavender got married?" Ron asked stupidly, while Lavender gave him a peck on the cheek, much to Hermione's chagrin.
Dean smiled cheekily. "Yea, who would have thought? And all the time during Hogwarts we thought she'd end up with Seamus."
"We did?" Ron asked weakly.
Dean stared at him strangely. "Don't you." his voice trailed off, as he suddenly remembered the article Ginny had printed in the Daily Prophet. "Ron, I am so sorry," he apologized quickly.
Ron waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Never mind, and pray do tell, how is this young girl?" he queried gesturing to the girl Lavender was holding in her arms.
"Oh," Lavender remarked, smacking her forehead with her free hand. "Ron, this is my daughter, Natalie. We were just on our way to get her a birthday present when we passed the ice cream parlor. And what do you know, we find you two sitting *together* in an empty booth."
"Were we interrupting anything?" Dean queried slyly, at once receiving a punch in the ribs by Hermione. The only reason why he and Lav had approached them so they could halt their kissing.
Ron gave a hollow laugh. "So close and yet so far," he thought miserably to himself, while the young couple and their child waved goodbye to them.
"Well," Hermione started awkwardly. It would be difficult to talk to Ron after the little incident that just took place. "I should be heading back to work," she finished lamely.
"Yea, you should," Ron replied, toying with his napkin, his ice cream long forgotten.
Hermione smiled at him shyly. "Thanks for taking my mind off work for awhile, Ron. I really appreciate it."
Ron gave her a lopsided grin. "No problem." He watched her apparate away, leaving him the only one in the booth. Sighing to himself, he ordered for the cheque, and thought back to his first three years at Hogwarts. He was frustrated at the fact that nobody could tell him about his feelings for Hermione, back then. But there was Harry...and Harry was his best friend, so maybe there was a slight chance that he had talked it over with him. Feeling slightly better, Ron left Florence's Ice Cream Parlor.
***
*This chapter made absolute no sense, but I wanted to write it anyways.
*This chapter is dedicated to Starshine Stargirl because she's the first reviewer who added me to her contact list. She and I had a great talk about music just yesterday. Thank you so much! You really made my day, Natalie!
CHAPTER XXI: TALKING IT OVER
Hermione watched in growing horror as her two best friends battled with Voldemort. She watched as curse upon curse was shot at them, but they refused to back down. All around them Voldemort's supporters, Death Eaters, and Dementors, were engaged in a deep combat with all the wizards who had their lives on stake. But she didn't have any time to pay attention to them. Her friends were much too important, and yet, no matter how hard she tried; she couldn't reach them. She struggled to break away from the grasp that had a hold upon her, but it was hopeless. It was also hopeless, because she was on a high ledge and was incapable of reaching them, in any case.
Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and mingling with the cries of an incantation and the charm of the wands; a bright glow surrounded the trio. "Ron," she cried, as she clamped a fist over her mouth. She didn't want to be heard, even though she wasn't even there. A thick cloud of smoke rose up in the air as everyone turned towards the direction of where Harry and Ron had been fighting previously. Holding her breath, she waited for the dust to clear.and when it did, she saw a frail limp body of Voldemort, lying on the ground.Harry and Ron were nowhere in sight.
"Ron," she yelled, and then she felt herself falling and falling into a bottomless pit and.
Hermione sat up straight in her bed, her chest heaving breathlessly. She glanced around herself frantically, and was relieved to realize that she wasn't near a battlefield but securely safe in her bedroom. But Ron, what if he wasn't safe? What if someone had come and taken him away from her and his family and friends? The dream seemed so real and yet she hadn't even been there for the final battle. Not taking any chances, she grabbed her nightgown from her bedpost and wrapping it around herself she apparated to Ron's bedroom door.
Ron had been having a wonderful time sleeping. It had been one of those rare occasions when he was actually able to fall asleep without any worries about knowing who he was or where he was. In fact, he seemed quite relaxed in the wizarding world; even though, people still wanted to know what made him lose his memories. But right now, he was peacefully lost away in dreamland, having a wonderful time gobbling down Chocolate Frogs, drinking Butterbeer, and thinking what marvelous adventures he would have in his third year at school, when the knocking started to happen on his door. At first, he thought he was dreaming it so he continued to ignore it, hoping it would cease. But it didn't stop. It just grew louder and faster and he was surprised that no one else in his family could hear it.
"Argh!" he exclaimed loudly, lifting his head off the pillow and flinging it across the room. The knocking was disturbing his sleep. Cursing under his breath, he threw back the covers and strode across his now-clean and furnished room.
Throwing open the door, he asked in a groggy yet irritated voice, "What is it?"
"Oh Ron," a female voice cried out, flinging their arms around her, causing him to stumble into his bedroom.
"Off," he grumbled, glaring against the light from the hallway. Blinking away the sleep, his eyes became accustomed to his surroundings, and he was surprised to see Hermione clutching onto him desperately.
"Hermione," he stated weakly. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh Ron," she repeated, burying her face deeper into his chest. "I was so worried about you," she sobbed.
"Hermione, it's okay. I'm right here," Ron soothed her, gently running her hands down her back in a comforting way.
"No, it's not alright. I thought.I thought you were dead," she admitted, sniffling heavily.
"What made you think that?" Ron questioned, completely bewildered.
"I had a horrible dream," she murmured softly. "I don't want to lose you again," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.
"Hey," he muttered kindly, tilting her face up by the chin. Her tear- stained face looked up at him, her brown eyes bloodshot red, her cheeks puffed up from crying.
"I'm still here," he continued and carelessly brushed away a wisp of hair that was covering her forehead. "And I'm not going anywhere," he finished pulling her closer, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder.
"I know. But, I was so afraid," she mumbled.
"Don't be," he reassured her firmly.
"And I came all the way to your house just to check if you were all right and here I am hugging you alone in your bedroom." her voice trailed off, as the sudden realization hit her.
"Ron, bedroom.oh Merlin, Ron, I am so sorry," she said anxiously, as she pulled herself away from his grasp.
"For what?" he queried.
"For this," she replied, gesturing towards the area. "I shouldn't even be here, especially when it's".she squinted blearily at his bedside clock. "Especially when it's 2 o'clock in the morning," she ended.
"Hermione, wait," Ron pleaded.
"No Ron, I should leave. And I really am sorry. I should have never come here." And with that, she had vanished with a pop.
Ron sighed to himself. He really had enjoyed hugging her, but he would never admit it to her. Shaking his head, he crawled back into bed. Maybe would be a good day to talk to Hermione about their third year, after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***********************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mum, why aren't you eating anything?" Kelly inquired at the breakfast table the following morning.
Hermione gave her daughter a small smile. "I'm not that hungry today, darling."
"Oh," Kelly mumbled and returned to her scrambled eggs and bacon.
"Mum, are you feeling alright?" Jason asked innocently looking up from his cereal.
Hermione sighed. "Kids, I'm fine; Mommy's just having a rough day today. Don't worry. I'll be feeling much better during dinner. Now finish up your breakfast; Dillon's mother's going to take you to school today," she informed them, as they hurriedly gulped down the remainder of their pumpkin juice.
"Mum, I hate Dillon. He always smells of fish and onions," Kelly complained, as she put on her bag.
"I know, but it is his mother's turn to take the kids to school," Hermione pointed out, as she gave them both a kiss on their cheeks.
"Now run along or you're going to be late for school," she continued as she started to pile up the breakfast table.
"Bye Mum," Kelly called, as she threw open the front door and rushed down the stairs, which led to the bottom of the building. Jason, however, waited behind, shuffling his feet nervously.
"Is something wrong, Jason?" Hermione queried, as she flicked out of her wand, muttered a quick spell and the dishes were clean and the table was wiped dry.
He shook his head. "No, Mum," he replied, and then he did something very strange. He reached towards and gave her a big hug around her waist, for that was as high as he could reach.
"Take care of yourself, Mum," he stated, releasing her.
"Thanks, kiddo," she answered, ruffling his hair. He gave her another shy smile, and rushed out the door.
Once she was sure her kids had left for school, since she could see them leaving the building from the window, she breathed a sigh of relief. "If only her children knew the trouble she had to go through."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Excuse me," Ron began slowly, as he tapped on the counter of Gringotts Bank. The small goblin sitting on the long chair behind the counter looked up from the coins he was counting and stared at him through his pointed eyes.
"Yes, how may I help you?" he inquired, pushing his glasses up his long nose.
"I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find Ms. Hermione Granger?" Ron asked, eyeing the goblin suspiciously. He'd never seen a goblin before and he decided he didn't very much like the creature as much as de-gnoming gnomes were.
"Oh," a scowl crossed his face; apparently he was displeased that a visitor had come to visit her, especially since she had already taken a week off. He gave him the directions to her office and thanking the scowling goblin graciously, Ron headed for her place of work.
It was easily to locate her room, since on the bronze doors was labeled in a deep shade of gold, Hermione Granger. From inside he could hear voices coming. Leaning against the doorway, he strained to hear what was happening.
"Look, Mr. Smithers, I'm sorry if I'm delaying the orders, but, honestly, I've been quite busy these days," came the voice of Hermione.
"Sorry, Granger. We excused you for a week, and you told us then you could handle the burden. Now that you're back, we're running behind schedule and your desk is a mess. If you can't handle the pressure, we'll have to hire someone else," came the snotty reply of who seemed to be her boss.
"Are you firing me?" she asked nervously.
"If you don't get your act together, yes. If you prove to continue working hard, you can stay," Mr. Smithers answered.
Ron heard Hermione exhale deeply. "All right, you'll have the accounts cleared by tomorrow night," she informed him.
"Very well then. I expect to see them on my office by tomorrow night. Until then, continue on your work."
Ron heard the sound of shuffling footsteps and judging by the movement Mr. Smithers was getting ready to leave. He backed away from the door, just in time before he opened it. Out toddled a small goblin, wearing a long coat and holding a long paper in his hand and a quill tucked behind his elf-like ear. He noticed Ron standing in the doorway. Looking up at his tall frame, he queried, "Can I help you?"
Ron gulped, stifling his laugh. Compared to the goblin, he was a giant, and this greatly displeased Mr. Smithers. "Uh yes, you can. Is this Mr. Granger's office?" he questioned innocently.
The goblin eyed him suspiciously. "Can't you tell by the door?" he sneered, his eyes narrowing.
"Ah yes," Ron replied, smacking his forehead. "Silly me." The goblin scowled at him and waddled away. Smirking to him, Ron entered the office and was surprised to see papers, books and quills scattered everywhere, and Hermione kneeling down to lift the papers off the floor, unaware of his presence.
"Hermione, what happened here?" Ron questioned, astonished by the state of her room.
She looked up from the papers she was collecting. "Ron," she gasped, standing up but in the process, allowing the papers to slide to the floor. She made a grab for them but they had already joined the huge pile scattered across the floor.
"Came at a bad time, huh?" Ron continued, eyeing her flustered appearance. Her robes were disheveled, her hair wasn't comb and her face was filled with exhaustion.
She groaned and pushed her hair away from her face. "Yes, you did, Ron." Sighing, she bent down again and started to gather up the papers.
"Here, let me help you," Ron offered gently, pulling out his wand, giving it a quick flick and the room was in proper shape once again.
"Oops," Hermione whispered. "I completely forgot I could use a magic spell to clean the mess up," she admitted guiltily, staring at the floor.
"Hey, everyone has their moments of exhaustion. You look terrible," he commented, sitting down on the chair across her desk.
"Thanks for the compliment, Ron," she stated sarcastically, rolling her eyes and then reddening slightly at the memory of what she had done last night. Even though, she remembered apologizing to him she had to do it again.
"Look Ron.about last night. I truly am sorry for disturbing your sleep like that. It's just that I was so worried that I might lose you all over again," she said, her voice wavering slightly.
Ron gave her a small smile and squeezed her arm gently. "Hey, it's okay. It's not everyday I have a beautiful girl like you coming in the middle of the night to my room just to check if I was alive," he stated softly.
Hermione blushed slightly at the fact that he thought she was beautiful. "Uh Ron, you came at a bad time. I really need to finish off these papers," she remarked, gesturing towards the huge pile of papers lying on her desk.
Ron waved his hand impatiently. "Hermione, you deserve a break. Come with me and get some ice cream to it."
Hermione groaned. "I really can't leave. Can you imagine what would happen if they found that I wasn't in my office," she reminded him.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Please, Hermione. Live your life on the edge for once. And besides you have to tell me about my third year at school, anyways," he pointed out.
Hermione sighed. It was rather pointless arguing with Ron, especially when he firmly believed he was correct. "Oh all right," she agreed, grabbing her wand from her desk and in a few seconds they had apparated from her office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And then after that, Sirius replaced your rat Scabbers with Pigwedgeon," Hermione finished, while taking another bite of her caramel fudge ice cream.
"So Sirius is Harry's godfather, who was in Azkaban, the wizard prison for the wrong reason," Ron commented slowly, while taking another lick of his chocolate sundae and smearing whipped cream all over his cheek.
Hermione nodded her head and giggled lightly upon noticing how he was unaware of the cream on his face. Even though he was twenty-five, his manners hadn't improved at all. She leaned towards him. "Ron, you've got some whipped cream on your cheek," she told him gently while ever so lightly brushing her finger against his cheek.
He stiffened at her touch as she wiped it off. Hermione, herself, felt suddenly ridiculous that she was doing this and was just about to pull her hand away when Ron gripped her wrist tightly.
Looking up from his cheek, she looked up into his eyes and found his electric blue eyes boring into hers. "What is it, Ron?" she asked cautiously.
"Mione," he began softly. She stifled a gasp upon hearing the special nickname, he'd always reserved for her. "Did I really bother you during our fight over Scabbers and Crookshanks?" he questioned, slowly tracing his finger up and down her wrist.
She nodded mutely and was surprised when Ron apologized, "I'm so sorry, Mione."
She gave him a small smile. Apologizing wasn't one of Ron's major qualities. "It's the past Ron. Just forget it," she informed him. She expected him to release her but at that moment he reached up his other hand and cupped her chin tenderly. She felt herself panic at this sudden action. Slowly and steadily, he pulled her towards him, realizing he was about to kiss her. Their lips were just a few centimeters away when.
"Hermione," a female voice shrieked happily.
Cursing under her breath (a habit she picked up from her two friends) Hermione abruptly pulled away from a flustered Ron and shielding against the afternoon sunlight, she finally made out the images of Lavender, Dean and their two-year-old daughter.
"Lavender," Hermione exclaimed, feigning pleasure. "What a nice surprise!"
"I know, I mean it's been like three years since we last saw you," Lavender squealed. "How are-" her voice faltered upon noticing the presence of Ron. "Is this Ron?" she squeaked.
Hermione nodded her head and turned towards Ron, who had a quizzical expression on his face, concerning the three people in front of him. "Ron, I would like to introduce you to Lavender, her husband Dean and their daughter Natalie."
"Hi, Ron. It's so great to see you after what five years?" Dean asked, shaking his hand exuberantly.
"You and Lavender got married?" Ron asked stupidly, while Lavender gave him a peck on the cheek, much to Hermione's chagrin.
Dean smiled cheekily. "Yea, who would have thought? And all the time during Hogwarts we thought she'd end up with Seamus."
"We did?" Ron asked weakly.
Dean stared at him strangely. "Don't you." his voice trailed off, as he suddenly remembered the article Ginny had printed in the Daily Prophet. "Ron, I am so sorry," he apologized quickly.
Ron waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Never mind, and pray do tell, how is this young girl?" he queried gesturing to the girl Lavender was holding in her arms.
"Oh," Lavender remarked, smacking her forehead with her free hand. "Ron, this is my daughter, Natalie. We were just on our way to get her a birthday present when we passed the ice cream parlor. And what do you know, we find you two sitting *together* in an empty booth."
"Were we interrupting anything?" Dean queried slyly, at once receiving a punch in the ribs by Hermione. The only reason why he and Lav had approached them so they could halt their kissing.
Ron gave a hollow laugh. "So close and yet so far," he thought miserably to himself, while the young couple and their child waved goodbye to them.
"Well," Hermione started awkwardly. It would be difficult to talk to Ron after the little incident that just took place. "I should be heading back to work," she finished lamely.
"Yea, you should," Ron replied, toying with his napkin, his ice cream long forgotten.
Hermione smiled at him shyly. "Thanks for taking my mind off work for awhile, Ron. I really appreciate it."
Ron gave her a lopsided grin. "No problem." He watched her apparate away, leaving him the only one in the booth. Sighing to himself, he ordered for the cheque, and thought back to his first three years at Hogwarts. He was frustrated at the fact that nobody could tell him about his feelings for Hermione, back then. But there was Harry...and Harry was his best friend, so maybe there was a slight chance that he had talked it over with him. Feeling slightly better, Ron left Florence's Ice Cream Parlor.
***
*This chapter made absolute no sense, but I wanted to write it anyways.