Anywhere but in Between

Same as always. I only own the plot.

Chapter 4 – Where Loyalties Lie

Hermione strode purposefully through the sterile halls, pulling her hair into a tight bun as she went. She wasn't exactly late; she just wanted to be extra sure she was on time for today's rounds.

In another week, she'd know if she was one of the five chosen residents for the intern program at St. Mungo's. She couldn't afford to slip up, even in the slightest. So if that meant that she was five minutes early for rounds, so be it.

She rounded the corner, still fussing with her hair. Seconds later, she was winded and on the ground, staring up at Terry Boot.

"Hermione! I'm so sorry!" Terry exclaimed, reaching down to help her up.

She accepted his help and tried to catch her breath, finding her footing on the squeaky clean floors.

"Are you alright?" he asked, bending again to retrieve the paperwork that had fallen out of his own hands.

She nodded, still not able to find the breath for words. Terry straightened and looked at her, concern etched on his face.

"Are you sure? I barreled into you pretty hard there," he said, his eyes roaming over her in a practiced way. Hermione smiled. She wouldn't be surprised in the least if he became one of the most popular doctors in the ward. He was good – really good, and his patients loved him. Especially the women.

Terry had grown into a very attractive man since their days together at Hogwarts. She'd had a few classes with him her sixth year, his seventh, and she'd seen him at all of the prefect meetings. He'd been head boy that year, and she'd thought he'd made a fine one. He was stable, self-assured, mature and good-natured; all qualities she admired greatly.

And recently, she had added handsome to that list.

His dark hair fell carelessly over his forehead, and his blue eyes held true concern for her as he continued to study her.

"I'm fine, Terry," she managed finally, brushing herself off and patting her hair back into place. "I'm a lot tougher than I look."

Terry smiled at her, a genuine smile that transformed his already handsome face. "There's never been any doubt about that."

She returned his smile. They had been casually flirting for the past month or so, every time they saw each other in the halls or on rounds. They would trade little comments back and forth, allowing only slight insinuation into their tones. Hermione found it quite exhilarating if she were being honest with herself. She had never had someone flirt with her, and here was a successful, handsome doctor who seemed to want to spend time with her.

"Well, I'll be late for rounds if I don't get going," she said, not really knowing what else to say. That was the only downside to the flirting thing; she never really knew where to go with it when the conversation lacked.

"Okay," he said, moving to the side to let her pass. She had only taken a few steps when she saw him walking by her side.

"I was thinking," he said, staring straight ahead down the hallway, "that maybe we could get a cup of coffee or something tomorrow after work." His voice sounded odd, as if he'd practiced what he was going to say before this conversation.

She chanced a sideways glance at him, but his eyes were still trained down the corridor. "Um, sure," she found herself saying. "That sounds great."

He stopped walking, facing her with a smile on his face. She stopped as well, again returning his smile. She couldn't help it. It was infectious.

"Really?" he asked, "You don't think you'll be too tired or anything?"

"Of course not. Even if I am," she said, raising an eyebrow, "didn't you offer to take me for coffee?"

He laughed, and she found that she liked the sound of his laughter. It was deep and quiet, almost as if he were trying to maintain the aura of professional doctor even while he laughed.

"Always the quick one," he said, walking backwards away from her. Before he turned to go in the opposite direction, he waved and said, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye," she said, watching as he made his way down the hall. She had to admit, Terry Boot was a very handsome man indeed.

When she arrived home that evening, she found Ron lounging lazily on her sofa.

"You know, when I gave you a key, I assumed you'd only use it when I was out of town so you could look after the place," she said, tossing her keys on the table and shrugging out of her coat.

Ron leaned back to look at her almost upside down, grinning in his usual way. "You never go out of town, so I figured I should get some kind of use out of the key."

"What's up?" she asked, heading into the small kitchen to fix herself a cup of tea. He came in after her a moment later, brushing her aside and putting the kettle on the stove.

"Take a load off. You've had a long day," he said, reaching up to the shelf for two mugs.

She smiled at his back, realizing she shouldn't be so shocked anymore by the random thoughtful things he did. He'd been like this ever since they'd graduated. Ever since –

She stopped her train of thought. She didn't like thinking about the details of what had happened after the war.

She sank onto the stool at the breakfast counter and rolled her shoulders to ease some of the day's tension away. "You seem to be in a really good mood," she commented lightly.

He turned and grinned at her, and for a moment, he looked exactly like he had when she'd first met him - an eleven year old precocious boy with dirt on his nose. Although, this time, there was no dirt. His face, no longer boyishly round, was perfectly spotless, except for the small sprinkling of freckles along the bridge of his nose.

"I am in a good mood," he answered, taking the stool next to her. "We've just gotten some news at home."

For a moment, Hermione's heart thudded painfully against her ribcage. Had they heard from Harry?

Ron immediately sensed that he'd misspoken, and a shadow crossed his face briefly. "We heard from Bill," he said, almost apologetically.

Hermione refused to let herself show the disappointment outwardly. She should be used to the lack of news about Harry by now.

"Really? What did he have to say?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice light.

The smile came back onto Ron's face. "He asked Fleur to marry him, and she accepted."

Hermione gasped, then rose off the stool and hugged him quickly. "Ron, that's wonderful! A wedding! Oh, your mum must be in a state," she said, laughing.

Ron laughed as well, releasing her. The kettle whistled, and he got up and saw to the tea, shaking his head the whole time. "She's been pretty much unbearable, going on and on about plans and all, but it is nice to see her this happy again."

Hermione accepted her tea, and she found that she, too, was happy about something for the first time in a long time. "It's going to be an amazing wedding, don't you think? Fleur is going to be the most beautiful bride."

Ron gave her a sideways glance, and she rolled her eyes at him. "I'm allowed to compliment her, Ron. She is a beautiful woman."

"That's not how you used to feel about her," he teased, pretending to toss his hair over his shoulder. "She thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?" he mimicked, laughing when she swatted at his arm.

"Come off it. I was a silly girl back then and the last thing a girl wants is a pretty girl around to make her feel ugly," she grumbled, sipping her tea.

Ron waved off her comment. "You were never ugly. And she was only around that one year anyway. But you're right. She's going to be a stunning bride."

Hermione's gut gave a small twist at his words, and she chided herself for the girlish jealousy. The woman was going to be his sister-in-law after all. He was only agreeing with what she'd said anyway.

"When is the big day?" she asked.

"Sometime before the holidays. They want to do it as quickly as possible, which makes me wonder," he trailed off, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him again. "You can be so silly sometimes. She's not pregnant. They are probably just so in love that they want to be together as soon as possible."

Ron shrugged noncommittally, taking a drink out of his mug.

Hermione suddenly had a thought, and it made her even happier than the news about the wedding itself. "That means Ginny will be home soon!"

"I know, I thought the same thing," Ron said, sharing her enthusiasm. "I mean, she can't very well stay away from her own brother's wedding."

Hermione sipped at her tea, thinking of the day in the not-too-distant future when they would all be together again. Well, almost everyone, she reminded herself painfully, trying hard to push down the anger she felt toward Harry at staying away so long.

"So, do you want to come to the Burrow for dinner tomorrow and celebrate with us?" he asked, finishing his own tea and taking his mug to the sink.

Hermione blinked at his back, wondering why she felt so awkward all of a sudden. She had plans, and that should have been alright, but she knew, somehow, that she couldn't just come out and say that she had a date. For as good of friends as they were, there were still things that she didn't feel comfortable talking about with him.

"I don't think I can make it. I have to work late tomorrow," she said apologetically.

"Oh. That's too bad. Mum is making a feast," he said, relieving her of her own mug and rinsing it at the sink.

"Sorry. Maybe I can stop by this weekend and congratulate everyone. I have Saturday off," she said, rising off the stool and following him out to the living room.

He shrugged on his coat and grinned at her. "You mean, they actually give you time off for good behavior now?" he teased.

"Ha ha. Do you want to do something Saturday afternoon?" she asked, walking him to the door.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll come by after breakfast then," he said, opening her door. He paused, leaning against the doorframe.

"What?" she asked, taking in his thoughtful expression.

"I was just thinking how nice it will be to have something to celebrate again," he said with a small smile.

"I know," she replied, returning his smile. She really was so happy for Bill and Fleur, and even more so for the rest of the family. They needed something joyous and good in their lives, and the wedding would be a perfect opportunity for them to all be together and happy again.

Ron seemed to mentally shake himself as he pushed away from the door. "Look, sorry I let myself in before, but as soon as I found out, I wanted to tell you the good news and I wanted to do it in person."

"You know it's not a problem. You're here all the time anyway," she pretended to scold.

He wrinkled his nose at her, then waved. "Don't work too hard tomorrow," he said over his shoulder as he turned to leave.

Hermione closed the door behind him, hating the fact that she lied to her best friend. After all they had been through together in the last few years, it made her feel slightly sick that she had to lie about something so trivial. She should just be able to tell him that she was meeting someone for coffee.

Then again, if things were reversed, she wasn't quite sure she'd like to hear that he was having coffee with some woman.

Grumbling to herself about her own stupidity, she leaned against the closed door and wondered just when she was going to grow up.