Love in the Library
By Brando
Rated: PG-13-ish
Summary: Voldemort and Harry are fighting for the fate of the world. But to Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, who have sought shelter in the school library; the only thing they know is each other. A charming Ron/Hermione romance.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or places listed in this fic, they belong to JKR and the Warner Bros people.
Nor do I own the song "Love in the Library"; which is owned by the Great Master Jimmy Buffett.
---- Halloween, 1997 ----
On the corner of government and bay avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens were wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat
Sounds like thunder could be heard for miles. So loud and booming with their fury that no one in England could mistake them for anything other than the true fury of Lord Voldemort. Showers of fire and rain made entirely of acid were falling everywhere. And not that muggle acid rain; no this was actual acid that burnt through the skin and engulfed the ground in flames. Most of England was ablaze and never before had anyone experienced it. Needless to say that whatever happened today on the roof of Hogwarts; whichever one of them won, the muggle and wizard worlds would never be the same again. It would be impossible for the Ministry to hide the magical world anymore and Ron had no clue what muggles would think when they learned the truth.
O'course his dad would be happy. Ron's dad loved muggles. He worshipped them. He loved muggles more than he loved Quidditch; which was unheard of in the magical world. But today Ron Weasley wasn't thinking about his dad's obsession with muggles, nor was he thinking about the future or about his best friend's duel with Voldemort on the roof of the school he sat in now. All Ron was thinking about was unfinished business.
Paid no attention, revolved through the door
Past the newspaper racks on the worn marble floor
Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat
She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet
Ron was lying on his four-posted bed, not even changed out of his Quidditch robes yet. It had been the Gryffindor versus Slytherin game when Voldemort's armies had come. Dementors attacked the school and only those in the DA whom Harry had taught to conjure patronums had a chance. Dumbledore had stood and conjured a giant silver bird as his own (Harry had suspected it was a phoenix) and the Dementors had fled. Unfortunately while Dumbledore was saving everyone, Voldemort had murdered the old man in a sneak attack. The students fled into the school and the Death Eaters had followed. Ron was the only boy in the Gryffindor dormitories right now. He had no clue where Ginny or Hermione were and he worried about them.
His fingers absently stroked the covers of the bed and his eyes stared at the hangings around him. He didn't know what he could do. He felt like he was hiding, and of course he was. The problem was Ron couldn't fight this battle. It was too much for him. He felt like if he was going to die, he wanted to do somewhere else. With someone else. Ron's mind drifted to Hermione and he wondered if she was safe. He knew that she'd be a target for those death eaters since she was muggle-born. Suddenly filling with rage and worry, Ron tore off his bed hanging and ran out of the dormitories.
As soon as Ron reached the common room he found many faces; some he knew some he did not. Dean Thomas was nursing an injured shoulder and Pavarti Patil was sitting in a corner, he dress covered in blood and tears silently falling down her face. Neville Longbottom; who looked as if someone had hexed, was about to leave the portrait hole. Ron quickly followed Neville out without a word to anyone and he tore off down the marble stairways until he reach the third floor corridor and he fell to his knees.
Where am I going? Ron thought desperately. Where are you Hermione?
Ron heard footsteps and he blazed around, his wand out in front of him. His navy eyes fell on a group of three people huddled inside of dark black cloaks with white masks on their faces. One of them gave a laugh and removed his mask and began to speak in a cold drawl.
"Weasel." Draco Malfoy laughed as he let his Death Eater mask fall to the ground.
"Malfoy." Ron said bluntly. "Not really a shock that you're on their side."
Malfoy's thin lips curved into a smirk and Crabbe and Goyle (who had also removed their masks) began to cackle beside him as if Ron had said something terribly funny. Ron ignored him and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes narrow and his face twisted in annoyance. He wanted to spend time with Hermione; in case they all died today, not with Malfoy.
"Looking for your mudblood bitch?" Malfoy spoke suddenly, as if he could read Ron's mind. Ron felt anger bubble through his veins like boiling water in a pot and he glared up at Malfoy.
"You have no right to talk." Ron sneered. "Everybody knows you have a thing for your bloody aunt."
Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. "Bella's hot, what can I say?"
Feeling torn between the want to vomit and the want to kick Malfoy in the crotch, Ron shakily rose to his feet and held his wand out in front of him. He didn't really want a fight right now but if he was going to have one he may as well have one right now. He needed to find Hermione and didn't want to bother with this annoyance; but he had no choice. Ron knew that this may be his last day alive and he wanted to spend it with Hermione Granger. He didn't get what he wanted.
"Well Weasel." Malfoy sneered as if he was bored. "Let's just kill each other then."
Malfoy began to hiss a spell but Ron's shout of "EXPELLIARMUS" was much quicker and louder and the wands of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle went flying down the corridor behind them and slipped under the crack of the far door. Ron smirked happily and Malfoy cursed loudly as he ran down the path towards the door. Ron fired stunners down the path, not wanting to play by the rules today and instead wanting to finish this for good, but they all missed.
Twisting his way down the stairs until he found himself outside the library, Ron quickly pushed the door open and ran inside. A second later he felt a stunner pass just by his face and he could feel it singe the hairs on his unshaven face. Hermione gasped and began to apologize frantically before he even saw her.
"Hermione?" He breathed, his eyes scanning for her.
"Here." Hermione dropped the invisibility cloak off herself and allowed it to fall on the floor. Ron gave a grateful smile and closed the door behind him, walking over slowly and taking a seat on a chair in near one of the desks that was adjacent to a row of books. Ron knew that if he was going to find Hermione it would be in this damn library. Even if she believed like he did that this may be their last day of life; she was here.
Ron had no clue what he wanted to say to her and he did not know what it was that he could say to her at a time like this. He let his eyes mingle on her for a second as she walked over to one of the bookshelves and began to look at the various book titles. Ron's brow rose above its normal place in surprise and he began to wonder if he was seeing this right.
Was Hermione reading?
"You've got to be bloody kidding me."
"Reading?" Ron ogled at her. "Honestly reading? Armageddon is here and you're reading."
She was now sitting on her knees in front of the bookshelf, her book long since forgotten and her face buried in her hands. Ron could barley hear it over the sounds from outside, but he knew she was crying. Biting his lip Ron quickly made his way over and placed a warm hand on her back.
"Hermione?"
She gave one huge sob and then she flung herself into his arms. Her own smaller arms wrapped around his shoulders and she buried her face in his chest sobbing quietly. Every now and then between sobs she would say Harry's name or mutter something about being sorry; but Ron paid no attention. He rubbed her back softly and held her tightly at the same time, wanting the tears to stop.
Before Ron really knew what he was doing, his lips had found her forehead and he was kissing her softly. It was surreal; sitting here on the cold library floor as the fate of the world was decided on the roof and their lives hung in the balance of good and evil. Hermione sobbing softly in his arms and his lips touching her forehead every few seconds in an attempt to comfort them both. Ron's lips reached down to find her forehead once more, but this time they found her own instead.
Somehow the combination of sweet lips, roaming hands and an unquestionable true love made that day somewhat remarkable. No one remembered that today was Halloween and no one remembered that today was the day James and Lily Potter died. Perhaps it was because a new and wonderful love was born today and no one could remember the sadness in the past.
Around them the world was ending. If Harry managed to win; muggles would learn about the wizarding world. If Voldemort won; everyone would die and those who did not would be plunged into a new world of hell on earth surpassing any horror in the true hell. Still; they did not care. While clothes were removed and lips devoured one another as if trying to eat each other they did not care what was happening around them.
The smell of sex and old books was strong in the air and somehow the two youths had managed to find happiness even in the darkest of circumstances. It is perhaps comforting to see that even on the brink of all doom two people can forget their worries in one other's eyes. Moans and confessions of love echoed off the walls of the library and in the minds of those making them they were all the sound in the world.
As the song says "Write your own ending and hope it comes true".