Night

Tottering quickly behind Ron to keep up with his long-legged strides, Hermione followed Ron to the end of the garden, where a crowd of tall evergreen trees stood like soldiers brought to attention. Ron stopped at the edge of the trees and looked back at Hermione, exchanged smiles and then glanced around the garden to make sure they would be able to depart unnoticed.

Lupin was sitting in a chair nearby watching Tonks as she danced to a jazzy tune with Ginny, who was laughing wildly as Tonks changed her facial features every time a certain note was emitted from the radio. Ron noticed a faint smile traced on Lupin's lips. Mrs Weasley, who must either have been drunk or overwhelmed by the loving atmosphere in the air, had positioned herself in her husbands lap and was now playing with the remaining wisps of hair beneath his ragged wizard's hat. Charlie and Hannah now seemed to be having a vertical wrestling match against the garden fence as gnomes tied their shoelaces together. Fleur was sitting on the grass with her head on Bill's knees and was tracing circles into his leg with her finger, while Bill snored loudly on the garden bench, his head lolling back unattractively, his tongue sticking out to the right of his mouth. Some of the fairies Hermione had bought for the party now seemed to have mated at brightly lit multicoloured dots flew through the night sky, obviously the offspring of the magical creatures.

Hermione brought Ron back to attention with a light cough. Ron shook the thoughts of blooming romance from his mind to glance at Hermione who was watching him with her head on her shoulder, a tiny grin spread across her lips. The wave of romantic thoughts came rushing over Ron once more at the sight of Hermione.

"Come on then, Madam." Ron joked, gesturing for Hermione to follow him.

Ron held back the last of the trees branches as Hermione climbed through the army of trees. Hermione gratefully followed the path Ron had prepared for her out of the maze of trees, tripping slightly as she neared Ron. Forgetting the braches he was holding back, Ron let them go to catch Hermione as she stumbled forward.

Hermione felt Ron's arms catch her around the waist, his strength protecting her from the fall and from injury. Ron noticed Hermione had also grabbed his arms as she'd fallen.

Ron looked down at Hermione's face; she however was staring at something behind Ron, her eyes wide with apparent amazement. "What is it?" Ron asked. Hermione simply sighed, "Look". Ron turned his head, still not letting Hermione go. The stream was a few feet in front of the, bluish green, glinting in the mix of fresh starlight and the light seeping through the barrier of trees behind them. On the water floated paper boats, abandoned by muggle children and lily pads, similarly abandoned by their inhabitants. Beyond the stream lay the field, stretching far and wide. It appeared to Hermione like a massive blanket of flowers and freshly cut grass. Hermione breathed in deeply as she studied the rest of the sight in front of her. At the left of the field, a muggle play area stood erected, containing some swings, a roundabout and a sand pit.
Rather plain, thought Hermione, but it didn't matter when there was so much to do on the beautiful blanket of pasture that lay to its side.

"Pretty, huh?" Asked Ron playfully, still staring down at Hermione. "Stunning," breathed Hermione. "Like a hidden treasure. So pure but spellbinding." Ron scrunched up his face in thought. He was sure she must have been referring to the sight before them, but somehow she had just managed to describe herself perfectly.

Hermione finally looked up at Ron and met his gaze. Ron blushed, his ears turning their familiar shade of pink and muttered. "You've got a twig in your hair" and raised his hand to remove it from Hermione's hair, the other dropping to his side.

"Ah right… thanks." Whispered Hermione, slightly disappointed. "You wanna go on the swings?" Hermione asked trying, to return her feelings to her previous level of giddy happiness.

"Love to." Ron replied, grinning at her, willing to go along with Hermione's plans.
Hermione went to jump gracefully over the stream in her high sandals, but at the last second, slipped and landed knee deep in the water. "Great…" Hermione muttered as she struggled to climb out of the water. Her exclamation of annoyance, however, was drowned out but Ron who was sitting on the dew covered grass, clutching his side, laughing hysterically. His expression was one of battling emotions, the first being hilarity and the second being difficulty at trying to stop laughing at Hermione's embarrassment. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry," gasped Ron, not appearing at all sorry. "You just shoulda… ha ha… you really shoulda seen your face… ha ha… as you fell" Ron finished off his sentence by imitating Hermione's apparent expression when falling. His eyes were wide as his mouth sort of opened into a small circle of shock. Hermione, sat on the opposite side of the stream, pulling off her drenched sandals, glared at Ron, a small smile clearly hidden though, beneath her frown.

Ron, finally got up from the sodden grass, dignifying brushed himself off and leaped gracefully over the stream with apparent ease. Hermione's frown deepened.

"C'mon." Laughed Ron, holding out his hand for Hermione to use to heave herself up. She gratefully accepted and got to her feet. Before she could finish smoothing out her dress Hermione was sprinting towards the swings shouting back to Ron "Last one to the swings smells like Dragon Dung!" Ron laughed aloud as he rolled his eyes and chased her across the prairie.

When Ron reached the swings, having jumped over the fence in his hurry to beat Hermione, he was greeted with Hermione flying back and forth at an extreme speed.

"Careful, you'll hurt yourself if you're not lucky." Ron shouted to Hermione as she flew by, "No, I won't, unless I do … this" Shouted Hermione as she whizzed forwards and jumped off at the highest point the swing reached. Hermione seemed to have come off her seat at about 60 miles per hour but strangely seemed to float slowly to the ground as if a parachute was attached to her. She landed gently onto her feet, smiling and turned to look at Ron who was holding onto the metal poles for support and gaping at Hermione. "How the frigging hell did you do that?" Ron asked, stunned. Hermione grinned smugly back at him. "One of the first signs I got that I was a witch. I fell off a swing when I was only little, about two, I think. My mum and dad thought I was going to die, until I just sort of soared to the ground. It impressed my Gran the most." Hermione revealed, skipping back to the swings, where Ron was now sitting, swinging backwards and forwards, his trainers skimming the ground where the grass had worn away, smiling, and impressed by Hermione's past.

Ron and Hermione sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to the faint sound of wizard music fill the air from the distant garden, until the heavens seemed to be replaced by a familiar musical sound that both Ron and Hermione recognised.

"Is that… the Monkees?" Hermione asked, puzzled, looking enquiringly at Ron as an upbeat tune skimmed the air around them.

I thought love was only true in fairy tales
Meant for someone else but not for me.
Love was out to get me
that's the way it seemed.
Disappointment haunted all my dreams.

"Oh God…" Muttered Ron. "Yeah it is, Dad bought all their music after he and mum went to a muggle club where they were playing once. Some of the only muggle bands he likes, well them and the Beatles… it's a seventies thing." Hermione laughed and got to her feet.

Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer
not a trace of doubt in my mind.
I'm in love, I'm a believer!
I couldn't leave her if I tried.

"Well, it would be a shame to leave history unrepeated, don't you think?" Hermione asked, as she danced unconsciously in front of Ron. "What do you mean?" Asked Ron quickly, not daring to believe his luck. "Do you want to dance?" He added quickly, before he could stop himself. "You asking me to dance?" Hermione asked, cheekily, glowing pink patches on her cheeks appearing as she spoke. Ron thought for a moment as he stared into Hermione's deep dark eyes. "I'm asking." He concluded. "Then I'm dancing." Replied Hermione, holding out her hand for him to accept, miming Ron's earlier actions down by the stream. Ron clasped his hand in Hermione's and spun her around, in time with the music.

I thought love was more or less a given thing,
Seems the more I gave the less I got.
What's the use in tryin'?
All you get is pain.
When I needed sunshine I got rain.

The music no longer seemed distant and weak to Ron and Hermione, as they danced. It seemed louder and more inspiring than ever. As they danced, they knew they were free. Free of worry. Free of thought. Free of people's opinions. But most importantly, they were free to be together. As the music's tempo quickened their dancing got more elaborate. Hermione's dance was flying up daringly as Ron spun her, barefoot, they pulled each other closer, the heat between them was off the scale. Ron had never felt this way, let alone while dancing which he had always tried his best to avoid doing.

Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer
not a trace of doubt in my mind.
I'm in love, I'm a believer!
I couldn't leave her if I tried.

As the music died away, they finished their dance by Ron twirling Hermione into his arms. Hermione expected to be spun quickly out again, but that certain motion never came. Ron held Hermione close, one arm on her back, one still clutching her own. Hermione looked up into Ron's eyes, letting the emotion within them, crash over her like the waves of the ocean. She had never been surer, than that very moment, that Ron liked her, maybe even loved her, as much as she did for him. Se felt Ron's hand begin to tremble with slight nerves, beneath her own and clasped it harder, as though delivering a secret message, a confirmation of love, to him in silence. The atmosphere around them began to fill with the sound of 'Daydream Believer' but Ron and Hermione did not resume their dance. As they stared into each other's eyes, Ron's fingers pushed some locks of Hermione's hair out of her eyes. Hermione followed Ron's fingers with her eyes and watched them as they ran back down her back, tickling her slightly as they went.

Hermione shut her eyes, to enjoy the sensation and before she could reopen them, Ron's lips had made contact with her own. His lips were incredibly soft and large, and made her feel safe to be with him, the kiss was tender and sweet. The perfect first kiss for two best friends to experience. Ron's lips parted slightly, for breath and in that split second, Hermione had used the gap to her advantage. Skimming her own moist tongue over Ron's lips and around his tongue, and quickly returning to her mouth. Ron suddenly found himself full of a newly found passion for kissing and took his turn to visit Hermione's mouth, running his moist tongue over her bottom lip. He felt Hermione's lips curve into a small smile beneath his. Hermione felt Ron's lips mirror her own against her lips.

Regretting her actions before actually carrying them out, Hermione broke away. Ron looked happy and refreshed. His lips looked slightly swollen due to their recent exercise and his hands were stroking Hermione's hair, which fell down her back in tangled waves.

Hermione entwined her fingers with Ron's and the walked silently out of the children's play area, still making eye contact and grinning wildly at each other.

The new couple walked through the sand pit, Hermione dragging her bare feet through the thick, deep, soft sand as Ron raised his feet amusingly as he walked, in order not to fill his trainers with sand. They both stopped abruptly to wrap their arms around each other once more and resume their kiss. Before they could get really into their kiss, a loud sound like a gunshot or a car backfiring came from The Burrow's garden. Ron and Hermione pulled away and stared at each other in horror before sprinting back to the trees. Hermione and Ron flew over the stream at a great speed and pushed their way through the jungle of branches, grazing their skin as they went. As they entered the end of the garden, they skidded to a halt, still holding hands, now squeezing tightly due to fear.

On the lawn in front of them, where Tonks and Ginny had been dancing nearly an hour before, sat Harry, glasses askew looking dazed and his mouth shining red, with something that looked suspiciously like lipstick. Ginny was standing behind him, screaming at Fred and George who were pointing their wands at Harry looking furious. Ginny's lipstick was smudged around her mouth and her hair was falling out of place as she bellowed at her brothers. "IT IS NONE OF YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS WHO I DO AND DO NOT KISS!" She yelled at the pair. "I THOUGHT YOU'D MUCH PREFER HARRY TO DEAN AND MICHAEL, HE TREATS ME WITH RESPECT AND KIDNESS, NOT AS SOME…. OBJECT!" She bellowed, as Harry turned pink under Ron and Hermione's watchful eyes. Mrs Weasley hurried up to Ginny and tried to quieten her, to no avail. Harry, who had now gotten to his feet, gently entwined his fingers with Ginny's and whispered something in her ear. Ginny stopped shouting at once, glared at Fred and George, flicked her hair over her shoulder and flounced off towards the back door of the burrow, pulling Harry with her. Fred and George looked thunderous. As they turned back to face their audience, Fred's jaw dropped at the sight of Ron and Hermione holding hands. "Wh…what are you two doing?" Everyone else looked around to follow Fred's gaze, although none of them seemed surprised at the sight, they of course thought they had already been courting before they wandered off.

Ron's ears burned red as Hermione's gaze dropped to look at her bare feet. "We're holding hands." He replied defiantly. "Problem?" Fred looked stunned as George raised one eyebrow at Ron's bluntness. "You don't actually go out though… I only told Mum that to wind you up." Came Fred's response, looking incredulously at Ron and Hermione, the fellow party guests now turning their heads to look at the pair as well. "Well, everyone seemed so happy that we'd 'finally' gotten together, and it seemed mean to disappoint them on such a wonderful evening." Ron said slowly, smirking. Hermione looked up into his happy face and grinned, blushingly. Some of the guests made 'Aww' sounds and others laughed lightly at Ron's response.

They continued to smile at each other, until Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and pulled his face down to hers and planted a soft, long and dazzling kiss on his mouth.

Now, that's what I call a happy ending.