Thank you for all being so great after the huge gap between chapters last time! I'm very grateful that I have such faithful reviewers! All you reviews kept me pumped up, so I had no problem writing this chapter. I hope you like it!

Lucidity- One of your questions will be answers will be answered in this chapter. As for the other, you'll find out soon!

Emma- Well, I did the whole Ronald thing because I have a friend named Ron, and I call him Ronald when he aggravates me. It seemed like something Hermione would do to me. I'm glad you like the story, anyway.

Ingenious- Nope, but that's a nice guess! You figure out what it is if you just keep on reading!

Adipodes Poe- Honestly, I've read Wedded Bliss, and I don't see the resemblance. Then again, that's probably because I know where the plot is going to end! You'll see yourself soon!

Luka-black- I can't get into too much detail, but you had the same type of idea I did, so keep reading!

Angel and Devil- My story elicits happy dances? YAY! Thank you!

Cursed Wedlock by MyKonstantine.

Chapter 7: Impeccable Timing

Ron grunted as he threw the last crystal he could stand but into the pile. He had been in Egypt for two weeks with Hermione, but they'd had no luck. None of the crystals had a magical reaction to Ron's touch.

Lucky for them, Hermione had found a charm that turned every crystal Ron touched red so they weren't going through the same piles twice. Large piles of red stood next to a smaller pile of white, but Ron couldn't continue today.

Hermione had found a magical library in downtown Cairo, and after whipping up a few quick translation spells, she began searching for information about the mist that had invaded their hotel room. It never returned to bother them again, but they certainly didn't feel safe.

The large metal vault door shut with an odd squelching noise as the cart took off through the Egyptian maze out into Gringotts main lobby. His white T-shirt was soaked with sweat from the swelter temperatures under the sun was he walked towards the door, too tired to apparate back to the hotel room.

However, a voice stopped him before he managed to leave. "Where's your wife today, Ron?"

He turned back to Bill, who had entered through a side corridor with an all-knowing smile on his face. "She's at the library. We had a little trouble earlier last week, so she's doing what she doesn't best and looking it up."

"Trouble?" Bill repeated, his facial expression converting from amusement to concern. "What kind of trouble?"

"Oh, I dunno! Tell me, is it normal to find silver blobs that blow apart room in Egypt?"

"Blobs?"

"Yeah, big glittery blobs!"

Bill scratched his head in deep thought for a moment. "Well, when you put it that way.. I don't think it's normal for there to be big glittery silver blobs anywhere."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the information, but I've got to get back to the hotel room. I'm knackered." With a quick goodbye to his brother, Ron exited the building he was being to hate and ambled back to the hotel room.

After thoroughly searching the hotel room for any oddities, a habit he'd developed over the past week, Ron threw himself back onto the bed. He began to wonder what was taking Hermione so long to return from the library. Sure, she was known to spend ages there, but he couldn't help but be a little worried.

Yanking his wand out of his pants pocket, he pointed it toward the ceiling. "Tempus Hermione Granger."

A bubble erupted from his wand and there she sat at a little desk, tucking a lock of her behind her ear as she read the text in front of her. A little yawn escaped her lips, but she still looked determined to finish the page.

Ron felt a little guilty, staring at the bubble. He felt like he was really invading her privacy, yet he couldn't help but stare at her. What was it about her that made him stare?

His thoughts were blurred when Hermione seemed to notice something. She leaned in towards the book, reading at a rapid pace before slamming the book shut and cramming it back into place on the shelf. Ron continued to watch as she hurried out the door of the library. Then he lowered his wand and watched the bubble pop.

Figuring that Hermione wouldn't want to come back and find a sweaty man sprawled in the bed, Ron went into the bathroom, stripped away all his clothes, and stepped into the shower.

When Ron was finished, he reached for a towel on the counter, but it wasn't there. His upper body poked out from behind the shower curtain, but there were still no towels on the counter. Hermione must've used the last one that morning before going off to the library.

The problem with hotels was that there were never enough towels. He exited the shower in the buff, dripping wet from head to toe. Dying himself off with his dirty, sweat-covered shirt or his rough jeans just weren't an option in his mind.

Then he remembered that there were two extra towels in the closet by the door to the hotel. All he had to do was walk across the room and grab one. His shower was relatively fast, so he was sure Hermione wouldn't be back by quite yet.

His head went out the bathroom door before the rest of his body to check around the room. As he suspected, Hermione wasn't back from the library.

Swiftly opening the door, he stepped into the room in his birthday suit. He was strolling to the closet when something in the corner of the room caught his eye.

A steel mist floated perfectly still in the corner. It was much smaller than the last time he had seen it. Ron's breath hitched. He didn't move. He didn't think. He felt stuck in time. After what felt like an eternity, Ron picked his wand up off the bed and pointed it at the blob.

He didn't know exactly what to do. Would spells effect this thing? Would they bounce back? Was the mist able to kill him if he harmed it? No matter what, he had to do something.

He opened his mouth to call out an incantation, but at the same time the hotel door opened. The mist disappeared without changing color, but Hermione's face wore about eight different shades of red as he studied Ron standing in all his naked glory in the middle of the room.

"RON! What are you doing?" Hermione yelled through the opened door.

Behind her, a band of young teenage Egyptian girls passing by got a glimpse into the room as well. They stood for a second, startled by the sight. Before anyone could reaction, the girls practically ran down the hallway, their gasps and giggles filling the air.

Without even covering himself up, Ron walked over to Hermione, yanked her into the room and shut the door. He then hurried over to the closet and pulled a towel out.

"We ran out of towels in the bathroom and I was going to get one from the closet. I must say you have impeccable timing!" The towel was now covering the important parts of Ron's body, but Hermione was a bit excited to find that he blushed everywhere when embarrassed.

"How exactly does that require you to stand in the room pointing your wand in the air? Who do you think you are? The magical version of Superman?"

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

"Hermione! That thing was back! The mist was back! It was in the corner, but when you opened the door it disappeared! No red flashes or anything!" Ron tried to explain to the best of his ability, but he was still in a bit of shock.

"The Peregrinus."

"The what?" Ron asked, looking utterly confused.

"It's called a Peregrinus. It's the signal that a curse upon you is about to take effect."

Ron sat down on the bed with nothing but a fluffy white towel wrapped loosely around his waist. It made a lot of sense now. It didn't harm him because it knew that the curse would be doing that sooner or later.

One thought laid stuck in his mind. "But why did it throw that red light out at us last time?"

"Well," Hermione sighed, "It only does that when it's threatened. Since it didn't flash this time, I must threaten it, because it wasn't threatened by you or any part of you."

"Maybe it's threatened by us being together." Ron suggested, patting the bed next to him as a signal for Hermione to sit down.

It took him a minute to register Hermione's comments about his parts, but when it finally did he came back with a usual witty reply. "It should have been threatened by my parts! I'm sure you can agree now that you've got a glimpse of them!"

"Okay, Superman."

"What are you going on about?"

"Nothing, Ron."

"There's something else, 'Mione. It was much smaller than the last time." Ron said, trying his best to remember the short encounter.

A wicked smile played on Hermione's lips. "Your parts or the Peregrinus?"

"The Pere-what's-it!" Ron retorted, looking a bit defeated.

Hermione lay back on the bed where she sat next to him. "Well, the book I found didn't say anything about it keeping a constant size or shape. Maybe it changes from time to time."

"My parts or the Peregrinus?" Ron shot back in an aggravated, mocking tone. He lay back on the bed right to her, both of their legs hanging off the edge.

"Well, you are lying down in nothing but a towel next to me, so your parts could be getting a little bigger." Hermione giggled in response.

"That's one hell of a thing to assume." Ron propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. Her bushy brown hair was fanned across the bed. Her petite body was just inches away from his more muscular one. Something was coming over him that he just couldn't explain.

Hermione's chocolate eyes moved slowly from his face down his chest, down to the towel at his waist. "Well, with the bulge under that towel, it's a pretty easy assumption to make."

"I should go get ready." Ron's entire body blushed red again. He started to lift himself up off the bed, but a petite hand held him down.

She spoke the words he'd wanted to hear from ages. "No! Please don't go."

Ron turned bed to face Hermione. He could see the hunger in her eyes. Everything that she'd been hiding from him for ages shone through.

Without any warning, his lips crashed down upon hers, his tongue snaking into her mouth as he held himself up over her. This was not a kiss of love. It was a kiss of pure passion. It held all the emotions they had both held back since 4th year at Hogwarts.

The buttons on Hermione's blouse popped off and it soon left her body. Her hands crept down around his waist and Ron felt the towel being tugged out from under him.

By now her bra was gone and Ron shoved her skirt up around her waist, their little gasps and sighs filling the room. Neither of them could believe that this was happening. It had taken too long, but they'd make up for it all tonight.

It was dusk when Ron woke up again. After such passion, he and Hermione were both very tired and slept peacefully. She was still in his arms, captured by the world of dreams.

As he looked upon her, a sudden wave of panic hit him. What was he getting himself into? What was he getting her in to? He knew very well that in a matter of months, he could be dead.

That is, unless he married someone. At this point in time, Hermione seemed like the best choice. She had been for ages. But Ron knew in his heart that he wasn't ready for a marriage like that. He wasn't quite romantic, but if he were to many a girl, he wanted to win her over properly first.

Just when the thoughts almost become too much for him, the pair of brown eyes he was looking down at fluttered open, returning his eyes.

Ron couldn't find the words to say, so he clumsily mumbled "Thank you."

"No, thank you." He received as a reply from Hermione.

More silence followed, but it wasn't awkward. It was an indescribable connection that held them in place. Suddenly nothing else mattered.

It was Hermione that broke the silence. "We should probably get dressed and have some dinner."

"Then dessert?" Ron laughed, waggling his eyebrows.

"You've already had your dessert for today!"

It only took Ron about a minute or two for the couple to dress and order their food. Hermione ate at a little side table by the window, and Ron stayed sprawled out on the bed.

"So, I'm guessing you had no luck at the vault today?" Hermione said as she nibbled at some corn on her plate.

Ron shook his head no. "I would have told you if I did find something. There's barely anything left to look through down there."

Hermione stayed silent for a moment, staring at the floor. "Ron, you know that's all the magical crystals they've found in Egypt. If they don't have it, we have to leave here."

"I know." Ron agreed reluctantly. He didn't want to leave Egypt, nor did Hermione. They were far away from the sadness and troubles of England. They could live without the sunburns, but Egypt was still a nice change.

The rest of the night passed rather slowly. So slow that Ron had exactly convinced Hermione to play three games of Wizards' Chess. He even let her win one of the games. It was a rare occasion, indeed.

When they finally tucked themselves into bed that night, it was different than any other. Ron held out his arms and Hermione willingly wrapped herself in them. It felt so good to have him snuggled up tight against her body.

"I love you, Mrs. Weasley."

There was a short pause during which Ron's heart beat faster than it ever had before.

"I love you too, Mr. Weasley."