***DISCLAIMER*** I don't own any aspect of Harry Potter, JKR and Warner
Bros. do.
Andie ~ Just a note, Hermione is 23 and Ron is 22. I wrote that in chapter 4.
Felicia ~ Yup! Thanks for your faithful reviews!
Alyx ~ Hey there girl! Ahhh, stressing about prom. *sigh* It will be ok. I just have to keep telling myself that over and over! Glad you like the story! See ya tomorrow.
Sakeena ~ Haha, don't worry! There are plenty of Rons out there; we just have to find them. I think they are all hiding in a cave somewhere . . . anyway, thanks for the review! Yup, Malfoy is a stupid git. I don't like it when people completely change the characters. It annoys me. Haha, why do you think I'm writing this story if not wishing I had my own boyfriend? I'm getting my "romantics" out of my system 'cause I have no one to share them with! Enjoy chapter 10!
Lily Michelle ~ All in good time, hehe! I can't wait for the next few chapters after this one - I'm excited! Enjoy the chapter!
TallemeraRane ~ Thanks! I hadn't found any stories where Ron had to prove himself, and I thought it would make a great one! Glad you are enjoying it!
Triniroo ~ Thanks!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
How Many Ways
Chapter 10 ~ Mops, Meals, and Meetings
By Americanangel
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ron and Hermione got together over the weekend for dinner at his house on Saturday and at her house again on Sunday. Ginny and Marc ate with them at Hermione's apartment, but they were alone at Ron's apartment. Sticking to his promise, Ron didn't touch her any more than to hold her hand at both dinners. Hermione had still not met Harry's new girlfriend, although Ginny told her that she was very nice.
Hermione left work at noon on Tuesday to come home early and do some housework. Ginny had started at the hospital along with Marc and was not home as much as Hermione was, so Hermione took over some of her jobs since Ginny had been so helpful in the previous month. Percy hadn't left her much work to do that day, so she was excited when she finished by noon and could come home to do some of the mounting chores which needed to be completed. She changed into some old clothes and set to work. First she vacuumed so that she could do the rest while listening to her charmed CD player. She had finished cleaning the bathrooms and was just starting to wash the kitchen floor when she heard a knock on her apartment door. Curious, she went over to the door and found Ron.
"Afternoon, Hermione," he said casually, giving her his trademark smile, "What are you up to?"
"Cleaning," she replied, "I just started the kitchen.
"Cleaning," he repeated, "Not exactly my forte, but that doesn't matter. May I be of some assistance?"
"You want to help me clean?" Hermione asked incredulously.
Ron laughed, "Sure, why not, at least I get to be around you. Where do we start?"
Hermione giggled, "Right this way, knight of the mop. I was just about to wash the kitchen floor. It will go much faster with two people."
Ron laughed again, "Alright, do you have two mops?"
She nodded, "Yes, I'll go get the other one." Once she had returned the pair set to work cleaning the kitchen floor and talking. The enchanted CD player continued to play its music.
"Hermione, where is that music coming from?" Ron asked her.
She nodded towards the player, "That Muggle CD player. I enchanted it so that it won't run out of batteries and it plays all the songs I like in a random order. It must have three hundred some songs in it."
Ron whistled, "Wow, sweet! Who sings this song that is playing now?"
"An American Muggle group called Lifehouse. They are coming out to London next month sometime. This song is one of my favorites of theirs!"
Ron smiled, "Yeah, I kind of like it too. Hey, just a question, but why aren't we doing this with magic?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Sometimes I like doing things the Muggle way. This is how I grew up, and I don't want my future children to see me using magic to solve all my problems. I like to be self-sufficient too. Plus, cleaning and listening to music is a great stress buster."
Ron nodded, "This is true. I've never actually cleaned before."
"Well, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to teach you a life skill."
"Oh, I can assure you that you have taught me more than this, Ms. Granger." Hermione giggled.
They continued the motion of dipping the mop in the water, wringing it out, and washing the floor. Dipping, wringing, washing. Dipping, wringing, washing. The first time Hermione felt a splash she thought Ron must have forgotten the integral second step of the process, but with the second it became clear that it was not a mistake she was wet.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. Ron grinned and splashed her some more.
"I'm going to get you for that!" she promised him and sprayed him with water as well. He looked down horrified at his old pair of Muggle jeans and proceeded to again splash his girlfriend with the sudsy water.
"Ahhh, now I'm really wet!" she yelled. He laughed and they threw more and more water with the mops at each other, in the same motion as a lacrosse player.
Hermione and Ron became engaged in a war of water, splashing everything within splashing range. The tables, the cabinets, the refrigerator - all became covered with sudsy water, culminating in Hermione dumping the entire bucket on Ron's head.
"Oh, it's cold!" he said and Hermione laughed.
"Still? How odd; we've been washing the floor for twenty minutes."
Ron gave her a lopsided grin, "More or less, yes." Hermione laughed.
"Well, I suppose we should dry this place."
Ron nodded, "Yeah, I agree. Don't want Ginny to come home to a soaking kitchen." The two of them laughed and Ron followed Hermione to the linen closet to get towels. They enchanted the towels to dry the kitchen independent of their hands and Hermione dried Ron's clothes and her own with a drying spell.
"Well, that's about all for cleaning," she told him once everything was dry and put away.
Ron smiled, "Great! So, if someone wanted to, say, take you to a casual dinner tonight, how long would you need to get ready?"
Hermione laughed, "Well, probably about an hour. I have to shower and all that jazz. What about yourself?"
"Well, I'd like to shower and get dressed myself but we never said it was me who was taking you out!"
"Is it?" Hermione teased him.
"Probably," Ron replied, "We'll just have to see in an hour or so. Talk to you later, my dear."
"Bye, Ron."
* * *
An hour later Hermione was showered, dressed, and reading the Daily Prophet at the kitchen table when Ginny walked into the kitchen.
"Hermione, are you and Ron going out tonight?" Ginny asked her.
Hermione nodded, "Yes, we are. Why, are you and Marc going out also?"
"Yeah, we are," Ginny said, "Do you know where you are going?"
Hermione shook her head, "Nope, Ron didn't tell me."
Ginny looked thoughtful, "Marc didn't tell me either. I wonder . . ."
The girls didn't have much time to wonder, though, because Ron and Marc both arrived at the same time with single roses for their girlfriends. All four were wearing Muggle clothing and the boys were excited that their plan seemed to be working, although they refused to tell the girls what the plan was.
"Ginny, for the hundredth time, we are not going to tell you and Hermione what the plans are," Marc told her as he rolled his eyes.
"Marc's right, don't get any ideas Hermione," Ron said just as his girlfriend had opened her mouth to echo Ginny's words."
Hermione folded her arms, "Fine, will you tell us when we are going to leave then?"
"Soon enough," came a voice from the door.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed and ran to give him a hug as she had not seen him in at least two weeks. Harry smiled and hugged her back, as Ron looked at the pair longingly.
"How are you, Hermione?" Harry asked her.
"Good," she replied, "You? I hear you have a girlfriend now and you didn't tell me!"
Harry grinned, "Yes I do have a girlfriend now. Her name is Cassandra, but people call her Cassie."
"How did you meet her?"
"I was in Hogsmeade last Tuesday alone at the Three Broomsticks and she was alone as well, so we sat together and sort of hit it off. We went out to dinner the next night and I asked her if she wanted to go out with Marc and Ginny, Dean and Sara, and Seamus and me on Friday. We just had dinner together but it was a lot of fun and we all had a great time, so I asked her out. She is from Bristol and she is a year younger than Ginny; she was a Ravenclaw," Harry said told her blushing, "And you'll get to meet her tonight!"
"Speaking of tonight," Ron said, "Shall we go pick up Cassie?"
Harry nodded, "Definitely. I told her to meet us outside the Leaky Cauldron at six, and she's usually early, so she should be there."
The other four nodded and they all Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry saw Cassie sitting at the bar drinking a butterbeer and went over to bring her to meet Hermione and Ron. Hermione studied this new girl and decided that she looked nice enough. She had blue eyes and straight brown and blonde hair just past her shoulders in length. Her cheeks were rosy and she seemed to be full of life and energy. She was, like the others, wearing Muggle clothing. She had chosen to wear a pair of dark blue jeans and a red shirt with a black sweater jacket over top.
"Hermione, Ron, this is Cassie. Cass, this is Hermione and this is Ron, my two best friends," Harry said with a smile.
Cassie returned the smile, "It's so nice to meet you! Harry has told me a lot about you; and I heard a lot about all three of you at Hogwarts. I never thought I'd meet you though, especially Harry. Just my luck that we were both at the Three Broomsticks that night."
"It's nice to meet you too, Cassie. I didn't know many Ravenclaw girls, but that doesn't matter. What do you do?" Hermione asked her.
"I'm hoping to write for the Prophet someday. Right now I am in a pre-reporting program doing research for one of the regular writers and learning from them, which is why I was in Hogsmeade. My project is an article on current security regarding attacks from Death Eaters still on the loose and my boss told me to go to Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and Hogsmeade. I went to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade last week, and Diagon Alley today so I'm all set with his information," Cassie told the group.
Ron nodded, "That sounds like a fun job, I guess. I'm an Auror if you need any first hand accounts."
Cassie's eyes widened, "Really? My boss would love me if I got a first hand account! Maybe we can arrange to meet later?"
Ron nodded, "I'm sure that could be arranged. But, if I'm not mistaken, the start of this evening for you lovely ladies begins in about fifteen minutes. I think we should head out of here, mates."
"Definitely, let's go," Marc agreed, "Where is your car, Harry?"
"Car?" Cassie asked apprehensively, "Do you know how to drive Harry? Is it run by magic, or is it a Muggle car?"
Harry nodded, "Yeah, I grew up wanting to know how and so I got my license and I bought a used car, but it's enlarged on the inside. Very handy for times when I can't simply Apparate to a place to which I want to go, like tonight. It's a Muggle car, but don't worry; I've had it for a while."
Hermione nodded, "Harry is a good driver, Cassie. I drive too. My parents are Muggles."
Cassie replied, "Okay, then. My parents are scared of Muggle objects, especially cars, so I've never been in one before, even though there are some run by magic."
Harry grinned, "Well, I'm glad you get the chance tonight. I'm parked outside. Let's go."
* * *
The Harry, Ron, and Marc took their girlfriends to a themed Muggle restaurant which provided dinner and entertainment. The restaurant had a medieval theme, and the entertainment was a mock jousting tournament. Tables were arranged in a tiered fashion to allow all to see the entertainment. Guests were referred to as "lords" and "ladies" and the "knights" brought roses to each "lady" and gave her hand a kiss. This, of course, made Ron uncomfortable since he knew he couldn't kiss his lady; Hermione sensed this, however, and she gave his hand a squeeze as if to make up for it. He sighed and sat back in his chair, wishing with all his heart that she was completely his.
* * *
After the group departed from one another's company, Ron and Hermione decided to Apparate to Hogsmeade and take a walk in the cool, early October air.
"It feels so great to be back here, even if it's just to take a walk," Hermione said as she and Ron walked hand in hand on the Hogwarts grounds near the lake.
Ron nodded in the darkness, "Yeah, I've missed this place. So many memories, some bad, and some wonderful."
Hermione sighed deeply as they continued their walk around the lake and back into Hogsmeade, sharing memories, laughing, and enjoying one another.
Suddenly, Ron pointed to a tree by the lake, "Mione, remember that tree?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I do. That's our tree."
"Our tree - let's go take a look."
Ron tugged on her hand and they ran over to a giant willow tree whose branches hung over the lake, blocking the outside from seeing the two figures underneath. Quickly, they found the spot: R + H forever. Ron had carved it before the final battle in their seventh year when they weren't sure if they would make it out alive. Hermione ran her hand along the letters and then looked back at Ron.
"Our tree."
* * *
"I had a great time tonight, Ron. I have to say that the entertainment strayed a bit from historical fact, but it was a great evening. Thank you," Hermione told him.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it," Ron replied. It was late; he blew her a kiss goodnight, she blushed, and they whispered their goodbyes before parting for the evening.
* * *
Ron lay in bed that night unable to sleep. He had been trying for hours, but he couldn't banish thoughts of his beautiful Mione from his mind. Just saying her name made his skin tingle and his breath catch in his throat.
Well, one thing about sleepless nights is that one has the opportunity to think through situations, and Ron's was no exception. He brainstormed ideas to prove his love to his Mione, but not just to prove that he loved her, but to show her that she loved him too. He was sure that she loved him; she just didn't know it yet. Their tree had proved it to him. The tree reminded him of everything he loved about her and everything they had gone through, and served to make him want her even more.
What to do, what to do? Finally, just before he fell asleep at three AM, he came up with something. It was a long shot, and it was long term, but it was something. Sleepily, he decided to do it in the morning.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Review!
A/N If you are wondering about the "themed restaurant" from the story, it is based on a show in Anaheim (Los Angeles, California - where Disneyland is located).
One month left of school!!! YES! And then summer before going back to school . . . well, we can't have everything we wish for! Hope ya'll have a great week!
~Americanangel
Andie ~ Just a note, Hermione is 23 and Ron is 22. I wrote that in chapter 4.
Felicia ~ Yup! Thanks for your faithful reviews!
Alyx ~ Hey there girl! Ahhh, stressing about prom. *sigh* It will be ok. I just have to keep telling myself that over and over! Glad you like the story! See ya tomorrow.
Sakeena ~ Haha, don't worry! There are plenty of Rons out there; we just have to find them. I think they are all hiding in a cave somewhere . . . anyway, thanks for the review! Yup, Malfoy is a stupid git. I don't like it when people completely change the characters. It annoys me. Haha, why do you think I'm writing this story if not wishing I had my own boyfriend? I'm getting my "romantics" out of my system 'cause I have no one to share them with! Enjoy chapter 10!
Lily Michelle ~ All in good time, hehe! I can't wait for the next few chapters after this one - I'm excited! Enjoy the chapter!
TallemeraRane ~ Thanks! I hadn't found any stories where Ron had to prove himself, and I thought it would make a great one! Glad you are enjoying it!
Triniroo ~ Thanks!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
How Many Ways
Chapter 10 ~ Mops, Meals, and Meetings
By Americanangel
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ron and Hermione got together over the weekend for dinner at his house on Saturday and at her house again on Sunday. Ginny and Marc ate with them at Hermione's apartment, but they were alone at Ron's apartment. Sticking to his promise, Ron didn't touch her any more than to hold her hand at both dinners. Hermione had still not met Harry's new girlfriend, although Ginny told her that she was very nice.
Hermione left work at noon on Tuesday to come home early and do some housework. Ginny had started at the hospital along with Marc and was not home as much as Hermione was, so Hermione took over some of her jobs since Ginny had been so helpful in the previous month. Percy hadn't left her much work to do that day, so she was excited when she finished by noon and could come home to do some of the mounting chores which needed to be completed. She changed into some old clothes and set to work. First she vacuumed so that she could do the rest while listening to her charmed CD player. She had finished cleaning the bathrooms and was just starting to wash the kitchen floor when she heard a knock on her apartment door. Curious, she went over to the door and found Ron.
"Afternoon, Hermione," he said casually, giving her his trademark smile, "What are you up to?"
"Cleaning," she replied, "I just started the kitchen.
"Cleaning," he repeated, "Not exactly my forte, but that doesn't matter. May I be of some assistance?"
"You want to help me clean?" Hermione asked incredulously.
Ron laughed, "Sure, why not, at least I get to be around you. Where do we start?"
Hermione giggled, "Right this way, knight of the mop. I was just about to wash the kitchen floor. It will go much faster with two people."
Ron laughed again, "Alright, do you have two mops?"
She nodded, "Yes, I'll go get the other one." Once she had returned the pair set to work cleaning the kitchen floor and talking. The enchanted CD player continued to play its music.
"Hermione, where is that music coming from?" Ron asked her.
She nodded towards the player, "That Muggle CD player. I enchanted it so that it won't run out of batteries and it plays all the songs I like in a random order. It must have three hundred some songs in it."
Ron whistled, "Wow, sweet! Who sings this song that is playing now?"
"An American Muggle group called Lifehouse. They are coming out to London next month sometime. This song is one of my favorites of theirs!"
Ron smiled, "Yeah, I kind of like it too. Hey, just a question, but why aren't we doing this with magic?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Sometimes I like doing things the Muggle way. This is how I grew up, and I don't want my future children to see me using magic to solve all my problems. I like to be self-sufficient too. Plus, cleaning and listening to music is a great stress buster."
Ron nodded, "This is true. I've never actually cleaned before."
"Well, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to teach you a life skill."
"Oh, I can assure you that you have taught me more than this, Ms. Granger." Hermione giggled.
They continued the motion of dipping the mop in the water, wringing it out, and washing the floor. Dipping, wringing, washing. Dipping, wringing, washing. The first time Hermione felt a splash she thought Ron must have forgotten the integral second step of the process, but with the second it became clear that it was not a mistake she was wet.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. Ron grinned and splashed her some more.
"I'm going to get you for that!" she promised him and sprayed him with water as well. He looked down horrified at his old pair of Muggle jeans and proceeded to again splash his girlfriend with the sudsy water.
"Ahhh, now I'm really wet!" she yelled. He laughed and they threw more and more water with the mops at each other, in the same motion as a lacrosse player.
Hermione and Ron became engaged in a war of water, splashing everything within splashing range. The tables, the cabinets, the refrigerator - all became covered with sudsy water, culminating in Hermione dumping the entire bucket on Ron's head.
"Oh, it's cold!" he said and Hermione laughed.
"Still? How odd; we've been washing the floor for twenty minutes."
Ron gave her a lopsided grin, "More or less, yes." Hermione laughed.
"Well, I suppose we should dry this place."
Ron nodded, "Yeah, I agree. Don't want Ginny to come home to a soaking kitchen." The two of them laughed and Ron followed Hermione to the linen closet to get towels. They enchanted the towels to dry the kitchen independent of their hands and Hermione dried Ron's clothes and her own with a drying spell.
"Well, that's about all for cleaning," she told him once everything was dry and put away.
Ron smiled, "Great! So, if someone wanted to, say, take you to a casual dinner tonight, how long would you need to get ready?"
Hermione laughed, "Well, probably about an hour. I have to shower and all that jazz. What about yourself?"
"Well, I'd like to shower and get dressed myself but we never said it was me who was taking you out!"
"Is it?" Hermione teased him.
"Probably," Ron replied, "We'll just have to see in an hour or so. Talk to you later, my dear."
"Bye, Ron."
* * *
An hour later Hermione was showered, dressed, and reading the Daily Prophet at the kitchen table when Ginny walked into the kitchen.
"Hermione, are you and Ron going out tonight?" Ginny asked her.
Hermione nodded, "Yes, we are. Why, are you and Marc going out also?"
"Yeah, we are," Ginny said, "Do you know where you are going?"
Hermione shook her head, "Nope, Ron didn't tell me."
Ginny looked thoughtful, "Marc didn't tell me either. I wonder . . ."
The girls didn't have much time to wonder, though, because Ron and Marc both arrived at the same time with single roses for their girlfriends. All four were wearing Muggle clothing and the boys were excited that their plan seemed to be working, although they refused to tell the girls what the plan was.
"Ginny, for the hundredth time, we are not going to tell you and Hermione what the plans are," Marc told her as he rolled his eyes.
"Marc's right, don't get any ideas Hermione," Ron said just as his girlfriend had opened her mouth to echo Ginny's words."
Hermione folded her arms, "Fine, will you tell us when we are going to leave then?"
"Soon enough," came a voice from the door.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed and ran to give him a hug as she had not seen him in at least two weeks. Harry smiled and hugged her back, as Ron looked at the pair longingly.
"How are you, Hermione?" Harry asked her.
"Good," she replied, "You? I hear you have a girlfriend now and you didn't tell me!"
Harry grinned, "Yes I do have a girlfriend now. Her name is Cassandra, but people call her Cassie."
"How did you meet her?"
"I was in Hogsmeade last Tuesday alone at the Three Broomsticks and she was alone as well, so we sat together and sort of hit it off. We went out to dinner the next night and I asked her if she wanted to go out with Marc and Ginny, Dean and Sara, and Seamus and me on Friday. We just had dinner together but it was a lot of fun and we all had a great time, so I asked her out. She is from Bristol and she is a year younger than Ginny; she was a Ravenclaw," Harry said told her blushing, "And you'll get to meet her tonight!"
"Speaking of tonight," Ron said, "Shall we go pick up Cassie?"
Harry nodded, "Definitely. I told her to meet us outside the Leaky Cauldron at six, and she's usually early, so she should be there."
The other four nodded and they all Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry saw Cassie sitting at the bar drinking a butterbeer and went over to bring her to meet Hermione and Ron. Hermione studied this new girl and decided that she looked nice enough. She had blue eyes and straight brown and blonde hair just past her shoulders in length. Her cheeks were rosy and she seemed to be full of life and energy. She was, like the others, wearing Muggle clothing. She had chosen to wear a pair of dark blue jeans and a red shirt with a black sweater jacket over top.
"Hermione, Ron, this is Cassie. Cass, this is Hermione and this is Ron, my two best friends," Harry said with a smile.
Cassie returned the smile, "It's so nice to meet you! Harry has told me a lot about you; and I heard a lot about all three of you at Hogwarts. I never thought I'd meet you though, especially Harry. Just my luck that we were both at the Three Broomsticks that night."
"It's nice to meet you too, Cassie. I didn't know many Ravenclaw girls, but that doesn't matter. What do you do?" Hermione asked her.
"I'm hoping to write for the Prophet someday. Right now I am in a pre-reporting program doing research for one of the regular writers and learning from them, which is why I was in Hogsmeade. My project is an article on current security regarding attacks from Death Eaters still on the loose and my boss told me to go to Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and Hogsmeade. I went to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade last week, and Diagon Alley today so I'm all set with his information," Cassie told the group.
Ron nodded, "That sounds like a fun job, I guess. I'm an Auror if you need any first hand accounts."
Cassie's eyes widened, "Really? My boss would love me if I got a first hand account! Maybe we can arrange to meet later?"
Ron nodded, "I'm sure that could be arranged. But, if I'm not mistaken, the start of this evening for you lovely ladies begins in about fifteen minutes. I think we should head out of here, mates."
"Definitely, let's go," Marc agreed, "Where is your car, Harry?"
"Car?" Cassie asked apprehensively, "Do you know how to drive Harry? Is it run by magic, or is it a Muggle car?"
Harry nodded, "Yeah, I grew up wanting to know how and so I got my license and I bought a used car, but it's enlarged on the inside. Very handy for times when I can't simply Apparate to a place to which I want to go, like tonight. It's a Muggle car, but don't worry; I've had it for a while."
Hermione nodded, "Harry is a good driver, Cassie. I drive too. My parents are Muggles."
Cassie replied, "Okay, then. My parents are scared of Muggle objects, especially cars, so I've never been in one before, even though there are some run by magic."
Harry grinned, "Well, I'm glad you get the chance tonight. I'm parked outside. Let's go."
* * *
The Harry, Ron, and Marc took their girlfriends to a themed Muggle restaurant which provided dinner and entertainment. The restaurant had a medieval theme, and the entertainment was a mock jousting tournament. Tables were arranged in a tiered fashion to allow all to see the entertainment. Guests were referred to as "lords" and "ladies" and the "knights" brought roses to each "lady" and gave her hand a kiss. This, of course, made Ron uncomfortable since he knew he couldn't kiss his lady; Hermione sensed this, however, and she gave his hand a squeeze as if to make up for it. He sighed and sat back in his chair, wishing with all his heart that she was completely his.
* * *
After the group departed from one another's company, Ron and Hermione decided to Apparate to Hogsmeade and take a walk in the cool, early October air.
"It feels so great to be back here, even if it's just to take a walk," Hermione said as she and Ron walked hand in hand on the Hogwarts grounds near the lake.
Ron nodded in the darkness, "Yeah, I've missed this place. So many memories, some bad, and some wonderful."
Hermione sighed deeply as they continued their walk around the lake and back into Hogsmeade, sharing memories, laughing, and enjoying one another.
Suddenly, Ron pointed to a tree by the lake, "Mione, remember that tree?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I do. That's our tree."
"Our tree - let's go take a look."
Ron tugged on her hand and they ran over to a giant willow tree whose branches hung over the lake, blocking the outside from seeing the two figures underneath. Quickly, they found the spot: R + H forever. Ron had carved it before the final battle in their seventh year when they weren't sure if they would make it out alive. Hermione ran her hand along the letters and then looked back at Ron.
"Our tree."
* * *
"I had a great time tonight, Ron. I have to say that the entertainment strayed a bit from historical fact, but it was a great evening. Thank you," Hermione told him.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it," Ron replied. It was late; he blew her a kiss goodnight, she blushed, and they whispered their goodbyes before parting for the evening.
* * *
Ron lay in bed that night unable to sleep. He had been trying for hours, but he couldn't banish thoughts of his beautiful Mione from his mind. Just saying her name made his skin tingle and his breath catch in his throat.
Well, one thing about sleepless nights is that one has the opportunity to think through situations, and Ron's was no exception. He brainstormed ideas to prove his love to his Mione, but not just to prove that he loved her, but to show her that she loved him too. He was sure that she loved him; she just didn't know it yet. Their tree had proved it to him. The tree reminded him of everything he loved about her and everything they had gone through, and served to make him want her even more.
What to do, what to do? Finally, just before he fell asleep at three AM, he came up with something. It was a long shot, and it was long term, but it was something. Sleepily, he decided to do it in the morning.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Review!
A/N If you are wondering about the "themed restaurant" from the story, it is based on a show in Anaheim (Los Angeles, California - where Disneyland is located).
One month left of school!!! YES! And then summer before going back to school . . . well, we can't have everything we wish for! Hope ya'll have a great week!
~Americanangel
