Spells and Spiders

~*RW*~

It was only one day until graduation, and Ron was more relaxed than he had been since September. His written exams had been at the beginning of May, and had been brutal. If he thought the NEWTs had been bad, they were nothing compared to the Auror's exams. He had one three-hour exam in each of his seven subjects, one every other day for three weeks. The day before was spent cramming information into his brain, and trying to remember everything he had learned the past year. Hermione helped, of course, on the phone, and in person for Ron's harder exams.

The following weeks had been spent shadowing more experienced Aurors, then the practical exams were the last week of May. These were the obstacle courses, potion testings, and curses they had to perform, whereas the other tests had been essays and short answer questions in thirty-page packets.

But finally, it was all over. The graduation ceremony was the following morning, and Ron was looking forward to it. Only about fifteen students were graduating, and they all were guaranteed jobs. Ron knew that he would be working hard and making more money than his father or any of his brothers. That scared him a little bit, but he didn't worry. He had wanted this job.

Hermione was taking the day off of work to go to his graduation, and his parents were coming. It wasn't going to be a big deal. After that, Ron had the week off before he had to get moved into his new office and start working all over again.

Ron woke up the next morning with butterflies in his stomach. He had felt the same way about his Hogwarts graduation. But he didn't have the same love for the Academy than he had for Hogwarts - or the people for that matter. When he was dressed and ready, he and his parents Apparated together, and met Hermione in the front hallway.

"All graduating students, please report to the stage. We are about to begin. Will all guests please find their seats?"

Hermione and the Weasleys sat down. Ron watched them from the stage, as he sat down with his classmates. At least he wouldn't have to give a speech.

The Auror's graduation ceremony was short. Gudgeon Post made a short speech about what the Aurors had had to go through to get this far. Then, each of their names were called and they received a diploma. Afterwards, there were a few tables of cookies and punch, and gradually everyone left to report back in one week.

Hermione was invited back to the Weasleys' for the night. Ron owled all his family members to tell them the news, and he told her that he was finally ready to get his license. He had saved up a few bucks to get one.

"Ron," his father said, approaching the kitchen table where Ron and Hermione had been sitting for the past few hours. "We have a little graduation present for you."

"A graduation present? You didn't have to…"

"Well, it's not quite the whole thing, but you'll see in a minute."

His mother held out a key.

"What's that for?"

"Your new apartment. Hermione helped us pick it out. We made a down payment."

"Wow. Thanks!" He could hardly believe that his parents would do that for him.

"Let's go look!" Hermione suggested. So all four of them Apparated to the front of the building.

"What, you can't Apparate inside?" Ron asked, disappointedly.

"You can," Hermione answered. "I just didn't want you to at first."

They walked inside and up a few flights of stairs. Then they came to a door, which Hermione opened with a key.

"This is a wizard apartment building," she explained, "but they still use some Muggle devices, and all electronics still work here. That's why I thought it would be best for both of us."

Ron smiled as she opened the door. The apartment was small. There were two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living room around the fireplace. It was empty now, but once they moved in, it would be cozy. Ron loved it.

"This is great!" he exclaimed. "When can we move in?"

"I thought this week, since you don't have to work. I could take off."

"I'm not sure your boss would approve you taking a whole week off, Hermione," Mr. Weasley joked.

"Well maybe her boss should take some time off, too, and help out," Mrs. Weasley said.

So it was settled. Ron and Hermione gathered their things and packed them up. They each moved their beds into each of the bedrooms. Eventually they would get a larger bed for the master bedroom. Hermione's parents had an old sofa in their basement, so they took that, too. All of Ron's relatives had a few things to donate, and Hermione had some money to buy new things when needed. By the end of the week, they were half settled into the new apartment.

The next step was getting married.