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Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Savvy?
Chapter 6
Ron was stunned. Hermione had never done anything like that before. Ever. In fact, the only thing she'd ever done that was even remotely close was what she'd done to Andrew earlier that night.
Vaguely, he noticed that she was still kissing him, and he realized that he was kissing her back. Quite forcefully, in fact. He didn't hurt anymore, either. It seemed like the moment her skin touched his, Ron's pain disappeared.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. Hermione all but jumped away from Ron, leaning towards the other side of the bed. Her face was red, and she was trembling.
Slowly, she reached towards the forgotten tray of food. She looked at Ron, and said meekly, "You never answered me. Are you hungry?"
"What?"
"Are- you- hungry?"
"Bloody hell!"
"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked calmly.
"You- you can't do that!" Hermione didn't respond, she just raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, Hermione! You can't keep doing these- these things! You're doing strange, rash, confusing things, and then you ignore them completely and ask if I'm hungry! My world does not revolve around food, you know."
She snorted. "Sure. For your information, I haven't done anything rash or confusing, and I certainly don't consider myself strange. Now are you hungry or not?"
It was Ron's turn not to reply. Instead, he leaned forward, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her passionately.
"You can't just- " Ron never let her finish her sentence, interrupting her with another kiss.
Finally, they broke apart. Looking into her eyes, he whispered, "I can." Then he kissed her. "I will," he kissed her again, "and you're going to like it."
"No problems there."
Ron kissed her one more time before taking her hand, looking her in the eyes, and whispering the words he'd been trying to say for years. "I love you, 'Mione."
There were tears in her eyes, but she responded with gusto. "I love you too, Ron!" Hermione lay down next to Ron, and the two stayed still for quite a while, enjoying the realizations they had come to, and reflecting over various events of the evening.
"'Mione?" Ron asked, finally.
"Hmmm?"
"Why did you break it off with Andrew?"
She sighed. "If you have to know, fine. For days I've been trying to picture my life in the future. I want to be in love, and married. With children, possibly. But I never dreamed of Andrew. I could never see myself spending the rest of my life with him. He was just a filler.. until I found you."
"It was always you, Ron. You're a part of my present, my past, and my future. Always, and only, you." She stood, picked up the dinner tray, and walked into the kitchen. When she returned she lay down beside Ron with her head on his shoulder, and the two fell peacefully to sleep.
~~~
It took Ron two more weeks to fully recover. He and Hermione used a lot of that time to plot and plan for the future.
Immediately it was decided that Ron couldn't go back to the Burrow. He thought that he should probably be someplace where his three-week disappearance wouldn't be questioned.
Also, although he had recovered, 'Dr. 'Mione' as Ron had become fond of calling her, was afraid that he might have a relapse. Their newfound relationship was another matter altogether. As much as they both loved Molly Weasley, neither was particularly eager to tell her about their leap to coupledom.
"I guess I'll get a flat of my own." Ron said, finally.
"With what?"
"I'll manage."
Hermione's face was set, as if she was making a decision. "You could stay here, Ron."
"What?"
"You could stay here. If you think about it, that makes more sense than anything else. If you relapse, or even if you get hurt again, you can come here. I have a guest room, you can take it. Besides, we'll get to see a lot more of each other."
Ron was smiling. "Sounds good to me. There's just one problem."
"What's that?"
"All my stuff is at the Burrow. If we don't want to tell mum about.. us, we'll need a bloody good excuse for why I'm moving in here."
"Because of your job, of course." She said this so nonchalantly that Ron did a double take.
"My- my what?"
"Your job." Hermione smiled smugly. "When you first came here I told your mother that you were in the area looking for a job. We'll just tell her that I needed someone to help me out in the office. You agreed, because I was having a hard time finding someone. Since you have a job now, you don't want to burden your mother by staying at the Burrow. However, you don't have enough money to buy your own flat. So, you'll be living here for a while."
"Sounds good to me."
~~~
That night Ron and Hermione visited the Burrow. Molly Weasley was delighted to hear that Ron was finally getting a job, but she did take the time to inform Hermione that she was a little disappointed her brilliant son was taking a secretarial position.
"Well, all great people have to start somewhere, mum." Ron replied, good- naturedly.
Ron waited until the door had closed behind them on their way out to say, "You were spectacular, 'Mione! I don't think she suspects a thing. Mum means well, but if she knew we were together she wouldn't leave us alone for a second."
Laughing, the couple walked out to the garden, where they could apparate back to their flat. They left just in time to miss Molly Weasley's entrance into the kitchen, so they didn't hear her opinion on the matter. "Arthur, I'm so glad they've decided to live together. This is the last step- after this they have to realize that they're meant for one another!"
The following days passed quickly. Ron was settled into the flat in no time. The amount of time one can save by using magic is amazing, really.
It was a time of surprises. Hermione got two that week, and Ron got one as well. The first came by owl. Hermione was washing the dishes one night when an unfamiliar owl flew into the flat and landed on her shoulder.
It was carrying an envelope with her name on it, and when she opened it she found a check. "Ron, what's this?" She asked, showing him the note.
"My paycheck." He said simply.
"You get a paycheck?"
"Most working people do."
"Well, why is it addressed to me?"
"Because I'm living with you. You're considered my caretaker, so you get the check."
"Ron, this might sound like a stupid question, but didn't your parents ever think it odd to get a check from a strange owl every month?"
"No. They just deposited the money straight into my parents Gringotts account. It's in shambles anyway, they never noticed."
"Oh." Hermione thought that was slightly odd, but it was nowhere close to what happened next.
The following day was a Monday. Hermione awoke to the smell of bacon, eggs, and most importantly, coffee. Following her nose to the kitchen, she discovered Ron. He was fully dressed, and looked as if he'd been up for a while.
She took the mug of coffee he offered her, and sat down at the table. "Why are you up so early?"
"Don't you start work again today?"
"Yes."
"Well then I guess this is my first day as your secretary, right?"
She began to laugh. "Ron, you don't really have to be my secretary. That was just an excuse to your mum."
"I want to."
"Excuse me?"
"I want to be your secretary. It will make your work easier, and you'll get everything done a lot faster."
Hermione was stunned. "Well, then I guess you can come." Ron just smiled, and turned back to the bacon.
~~~
The final surprise, that Hermione and Ron received that night, was nothing like they'd expected. They returned home to find none other than Nymphadora Tonks their living room. Hermione immediately hugged her old friend, while Ron said simply, "It's good to see you safe."
She nodded. "You too. I came to give you this." She placed a key in Ron's hand.
"A key? What's it for?"
She sat back down, and motioned for him to do so too. "Marshall's dead, Ron." Ron's eyes clouded, and he began to rock back and forth where he sat. Pat Marshall had been one of his instructors at the U.A. academy.
"How?" He was trying to get the picture of Marshall out of his head. "He didn't even work in the field."
"I know. The Death Eaters discovered our use of black owls a few weeks ago. They tracked one of them to Marshall's home."
"And Sam- what happened to Samantha?" Ron had always been fond of Marshall's little girl. She'd lost her mother at birth, and was raised as an only child by her father. She and Ron had grown close during the months he was training."
Tonks lowered her eyes. "Dead. They caught them during dinner when they were completely unaware. I'm sorry, Ron. I know you were close."
Ron couldn't even speak. Next to him, Hermione squeezed his hand tightly.
"We've developed these," Tonks continued. "Keys that have been issued to all U.A.'s. When you're needed they glow green, and the time and place of the mission appear on the side. "They can be carried around on your key ring to avoid suspicion."
A few years before, a witch or wizard carrying a key ring would have seemed rather odd, but ever since Fred and George Weasley had invented unlockables- keys and locks that were resistant to the 'Alohamora' charm, they had become the choice safety precaution in the magical world.
"We need you back, Ron. We're down two without you. It's hard enough to work without McHale, but you're practically the leader. We need your help."
Ron sighed. "Of course, Tonks. I guess I'll be back.. whenever my key glows."
"Thanks, Ron. Remember, we've been using these for almost a month now. We're not sure if the Death Eaters will recognize them or not. As long as you don't show them in public you should be fine."
She rose to leave, and Ron gave her a quick hug. "I'll see you soon."
"Yeah. Welcome back, Weasley." With that, she left the apartment. Ron turned to face Hermione, and she hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry, 'Mione, but I can't quit now. I have to do this for Marshall and Sam. And for you."
"I know." She hated watching him go back to the career where he'd been hurt so badly, but she knew it was something he had to do.
~~~
The next few months were relatively uneventful. Ron began to go on missions again. Hermione got used to living with Ron, and their relationship progressed nicely.
I'd like to end the story there. Just write a fluff paragraph that foretold future wedding bells and lives that were lived happily ever after. But I can't do that, because although the beautiful story did almost end there, a single, simple object got in the way of it doing so.
A simple muggle phone that hung on the wall in Hermione's flat. Her line of communication with her parents and a few friends she'd left back in the muggle world. A phone that broke, and refused to be fixed by any magical methods.
Hermione was forced to call a repairman. A wizard that knew a little about muggle objects. When he arrived that afternoon, she opened the door apologetically.
"Hello. I'm so sorry to call you at such short notice, but my phone won't work and I need to call my parents to tell them I won't be able to make it to dinner tonight. I think there's something wrong with the phone line. I tried to fix it myself, but I couldn't, and Ron's at the store."
Silently, he followed her into the kitchen. "Here, this is it. If you need me, I'll be in there." She motioned to a room connected to the kitchen.
On her way out, she missed something the repairman did not. There were keys lying on the table, and one of them was glowing bright green.
~~~
As he let himself out, the man picked up his radio. "Hello?" He whispered into it. "Hello?"
"Yes?"
"I found him. You were right, he has the key. What's our next move?"
~~*~~**~~*~~
Hmmm.. I really don't like that chapter very much. I just wasn't feeling it. At all. Oh well. Tell me, do you like or dislike? Please review, and again, thanks for all the reviews I got for that last chapter.
And I would seriously like to thank all of you for your regrets about my grandfather. Those reviews were a nice thing to look at while I was going through a particularly rough period. Thanks again-
~ Sugar High
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Savvy?
Chapter 6
Ron was stunned. Hermione had never done anything like that before. Ever. In fact, the only thing she'd ever done that was even remotely close was what she'd done to Andrew earlier that night.
Vaguely, he noticed that she was still kissing him, and he realized that he was kissing her back. Quite forcefully, in fact. He didn't hurt anymore, either. It seemed like the moment her skin touched his, Ron's pain disappeared.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. Hermione all but jumped away from Ron, leaning towards the other side of the bed. Her face was red, and she was trembling.
Slowly, she reached towards the forgotten tray of food. She looked at Ron, and said meekly, "You never answered me. Are you hungry?"
"What?"
"Are- you- hungry?"
"Bloody hell!"
"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked calmly.
"You- you can't do that!" Hermione didn't respond, she just raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, Hermione! You can't keep doing these- these things! You're doing strange, rash, confusing things, and then you ignore them completely and ask if I'm hungry! My world does not revolve around food, you know."
She snorted. "Sure. For your information, I haven't done anything rash or confusing, and I certainly don't consider myself strange. Now are you hungry or not?"
It was Ron's turn not to reply. Instead, he leaned forward, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her passionately.
"You can't just- " Ron never let her finish her sentence, interrupting her with another kiss.
Finally, they broke apart. Looking into her eyes, he whispered, "I can." Then he kissed her. "I will," he kissed her again, "and you're going to like it."
"No problems there."
Ron kissed her one more time before taking her hand, looking her in the eyes, and whispering the words he'd been trying to say for years. "I love you, 'Mione."
There were tears in her eyes, but she responded with gusto. "I love you too, Ron!" Hermione lay down next to Ron, and the two stayed still for quite a while, enjoying the realizations they had come to, and reflecting over various events of the evening.
"'Mione?" Ron asked, finally.
"Hmmm?"
"Why did you break it off with Andrew?"
She sighed. "If you have to know, fine. For days I've been trying to picture my life in the future. I want to be in love, and married. With children, possibly. But I never dreamed of Andrew. I could never see myself spending the rest of my life with him. He was just a filler.. until I found you."
"It was always you, Ron. You're a part of my present, my past, and my future. Always, and only, you." She stood, picked up the dinner tray, and walked into the kitchen. When she returned she lay down beside Ron with her head on his shoulder, and the two fell peacefully to sleep.
~~~
It took Ron two more weeks to fully recover. He and Hermione used a lot of that time to plot and plan for the future.
Immediately it was decided that Ron couldn't go back to the Burrow. He thought that he should probably be someplace where his three-week disappearance wouldn't be questioned.
Also, although he had recovered, 'Dr. 'Mione' as Ron had become fond of calling her, was afraid that he might have a relapse. Their newfound relationship was another matter altogether. As much as they both loved Molly Weasley, neither was particularly eager to tell her about their leap to coupledom.
"I guess I'll get a flat of my own." Ron said, finally.
"With what?"
"I'll manage."
Hermione's face was set, as if she was making a decision. "You could stay here, Ron."
"What?"
"You could stay here. If you think about it, that makes more sense than anything else. If you relapse, or even if you get hurt again, you can come here. I have a guest room, you can take it. Besides, we'll get to see a lot more of each other."
Ron was smiling. "Sounds good to me. There's just one problem."
"What's that?"
"All my stuff is at the Burrow. If we don't want to tell mum about.. us, we'll need a bloody good excuse for why I'm moving in here."
"Because of your job, of course." She said this so nonchalantly that Ron did a double take.
"My- my what?"
"Your job." Hermione smiled smugly. "When you first came here I told your mother that you were in the area looking for a job. We'll just tell her that I needed someone to help me out in the office. You agreed, because I was having a hard time finding someone. Since you have a job now, you don't want to burden your mother by staying at the Burrow. However, you don't have enough money to buy your own flat. So, you'll be living here for a while."
"Sounds good to me."
~~~
That night Ron and Hermione visited the Burrow. Molly Weasley was delighted to hear that Ron was finally getting a job, but she did take the time to inform Hermione that she was a little disappointed her brilliant son was taking a secretarial position.
"Well, all great people have to start somewhere, mum." Ron replied, good- naturedly.
Ron waited until the door had closed behind them on their way out to say, "You were spectacular, 'Mione! I don't think she suspects a thing. Mum means well, but if she knew we were together she wouldn't leave us alone for a second."
Laughing, the couple walked out to the garden, where they could apparate back to their flat. They left just in time to miss Molly Weasley's entrance into the kitchen, so they didn't hear her opinion on the matter. "Arthur, I'm so glad they've decided to live together. This is the last step- after this they have to realize that they're meant for one another!"
The following days passed quickly. Ron was settled into the flat in no time. The amount of time one can save by using magic is amazing, really.
It was a time of surprises. Hermione got two that week, and Ron got one as well. The first came by owl. Hermione was washing the dishes one night when an unfamiliar owl flew into the flat and landed on her shoulder.
It was carrying an envelope with her name on it, and when she opened it she found a check. "Ron, what's this?" She asked, showing him the note.
"My paycheck." He said simply.
"You get a paycheck?"
"Most working people do."
"Well, why is it addressed to me?"
"Because I'm living with you. You're considered my caretaker, so you get the check."
"Ron, this might sound like a stupid question, but didn't your parents ever think it odd to get a check from a strange owl every month?"
"No. They just deposited the money straight into my parents Gringotts account. It's in shambles anyway, they never noticed."
"Oh." Hermione thought that was slightly odd, but it was nowhere close to what happened next.
The following day was a Monday. Hermione awoke to the smell of bacon, eggs, and most importantly, coffee. Following her nose to the kitchen, she discovered Ron. He was fully dressed, and looked as if he'd been up for a while.
She took the mug of coffee he offered her, and sat down at the table. "Why are you up so early?"
"Don't you start work again today?"
"Yes."
"Well then I guess this is my first day as your secretary, right?"
She began to laugh. "Ron, you don't really have to be my secretary. That was just an excuse to your mum."
"I want to."
"Excuse me?"
"I want to be your secretary. It will make your work easier, and you'll get everything done a lot faster."
Hermione was stunned. "Well, then I guess you can come." Ron just smiled, and turned back to the bacon.
~~~
The final surprise, that Hermione and Ron received that night, was nothing like they'd expected. They returned home to find none other than Nymphadora Tonks their living room. Hermione immediately hugged her old friend, while Ron said simply, "It's good to see you safe."
She nodded. "You too. I came to give you this." She placed a key in Ron's hand.
"A key? What's it for?"
She sat back down, and motioned for him to do so too. "Marshall's dead, Ron." Ron's eyes clouded, and he began to rock back and forth where he sat. Pat Marshall had been one of his instructors at the U.A. academy.
"How?" He was trying to get the picture of Marshall out of his head. "He didn't even work in the field."
"I know. The Death Eaters discovered our use of black owls a few weeks ago. They tracked one of them to Marshall's home."
"And Sam- what happened to Samantha?" Ron had always been fond of Marshall's little girl. She'd lost her mother at birth, and was raised as an only child by her father. She and Ron had grown close during the months he was training."
Tonks lowered her eyes. "Dead. They caught them during dinner when they were completely unaware. I'm sorry, Ron. I know you were close."
Ron couldn't even speak. Next to him, Hermione squeezed his hand tightly.
"We've developed these," Tonks continued. "Keys that have been issued to all U.A.'s. When you're needed they glow green, and the time and place of the mission appear on the side. "They can be carried around on your key ring to avoid suspicion."
A few years before, a witch or wizard carrying a key ring would have seemed rather odd, but ever since Fred and George Weasley had invented unlockables- keys and locks that were resistant to the 'Alohamora' charm, they had become the choice safety precaution in the magical world.
"We need you back, Ron. We're down two without you. It's hard enough to work without McHale, but you're practically the leader. We need your help."
Ron sighed. "Of course, Tonks. I guess I'll be back.. whenever my key glows."
"Thanks, Ron. Remember, we've been using these for almost a month now. We're not sure if the Death Eaters will recognize them or not. As long as you don't show them in public you should be fine."
She rose to leave, and Ron gave her a quick hug. "I'll see you soon."
"Yeah. Welcome back, Weasley." With that, she left the apartment. Ron turned to face Hermione, and she hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry, 'Mione, but I can't quit now. I have to do this for Marshall and Sam. And for you."
"I know." She hated watching him go back to the career where he'd been hurt so badly, but she knew it was something he had to do.
~~~
The next few months were relatively uneventful. Ron began to go on missions again. Hermione got used to living with Ron, and their relationship progressed nicely.
I'd like to end the story there. Just write a fluff paragraph that foretold future wedding bells and lives that were lived happily ever after. But I can't do that, because although the beautiful story did almost end there, a single, simple object got in the way of it doing so.
A simple muggle phone that hung on the wall in Hermione's flat. Her line of communication with her parents and a few friends she'd left back in the muggle world. A phone that broke, and refused to be fixed by any magical methods.
Hermione was forced to call a repairman. A wizard that knew a little about muggle objects. When he arrived that afternoon, she opened the door apologetically.
"Hello. I'm so sorry to call you at such short notice, but my phone won't work and I need to call my parents to tell them I won't be able to make it to dinner tonight. I think there's something wrong with the phone line. I tried to fix it myself, but I couldn't, and Ron's at the store."
Silently, he followed her into the kitchen. "Here, this is it. If you need me, I'll be in there." She motioned to a room connected to the kitchen.
On her way out, she missed something the repairman did not. There were keys lying on the table, and one of them was glowing bright green.
~~~
As he let himself out, the man picked up his radio. "Hello?" He whispered into it. "Hello?"
"Yes?"
"I found him. You were right, he has the key. What's our next move?"
~~*~~**~~*~~
Hmmm.. I really don't like that chapter very much. I just wasn't feeling it. At all. Oh well. Tell me, do you like or dislike? Please review, and again, thanks for all the reviews I got for that last chapter.
And I would seriously like to thank all of you for your regrets about my grandfather. Those reviews were a nice thing to look at while I was going through a particularly rough period. Thanks again-
~ Sugar High