A/N: R&R please!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and if I did…well…the list is rather long so I'll spare you.
Hermione disapparted from the Ministry of Magic and apparated again at the top of Stoatshead Hill. Throwing out her arms to regain her balance, she began to walk down the hill towards the heart of the village. Ottery St. Catchpole had been a predominantly muggle village in the past. Eight years ago, when dementors became a common appearance and death eaters were launching muggle assaults everyday, most of the residents had fled. Voldemort had been dead for four years now but still the muggles had not returned. These days, the village was inhabited by only a few wizard families.
Reaching the bottom of the hill, Hermione turned to the right and walked down a street called Wiltshire Way. "Morning Hermione!" called Lavender Finnigan from outside of her house, where she had been watering her petunias. Lavender had recently gotten married to Seamus Finnigan and they had moved into a house in the village just two weeks ago.
"Good morning Lavender. How are you?" asked Hermione with a smile.
"I'm good. Isn't it lovely out today? The rain last night really helped out my petunias," replied Lavender.
"Your garden's beautiful Lavender. I keep telling Ron to plant a garden of his own but he just says Herbology at Hogwarts was enough gardening to last him a lifetime," Hermione said laughing.
"You should just plant it yourself. I mean you do practically live there," teased Lavender. "When are you two lovebirds tying the knot anyway?"
Hermione blushed. "Well, actually—" she hesitated, not sure whether she should tell Lavender about her and Ron's engagement just yet. Deciding that she might as well, she continued, "Ron proposed last night."
"Oh Hermione! That's so exciting! Congratulations!" exclaimed Lavender, pulling Hermione into a tight hug.
"Thanks Lavender! We're planning to set the date about a month from now. You and Seamus have to come."
"Of course we'll come! Oh Hermione, you have to let me help you find a wedding dress! And help you plan everything!"
"Oh trust me, I can use all the help I can get," said Hermione. "But listen, I'll floo you later. I want to get breakfast ready for Ron before he wakes up."
"Alright, see you later Hermione."
"Bye Lavender!"
Hermione walked a little farther down the street before turning left onto Bagshot Lane. Strolling a few houses down, she stopped at a small one story house and walked up the lawn to the front door. She took a key out of her cloak, stuck it into the keyhole, and turned. Opening the door, Hermione walked into a living room that had parchment and books strewn everywhere.
Ron and Harry had bought the house together seven years ago, after Mr. Weasley had been murdered by a death eater. Mrs. Weasley was devastated by his death and Ron couldn't bear to leave her without any real protection. Harry and Ron were roommates for three years; but after Ginny's death four years ago, their friendship crumbled and Harry moved out. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since.
Glancing at the kitchen clock, Hermione saw that it was already ten. She went into Ron's room to check if he was awake but found him sprawled out on his stomach, asleep with his mouth wide open. She smiled and felt a sudden surge of affection for her fiancée as she watched him sleep. He was everything she could have ever wanted and more.
Ron and Hermione had been together since their seventh year at Hogwarts, though their feelings for each other had started developing far before then. After Ginny's death, their relationship had gone through a rough time, mostly because of the rift between Harry and Ron. But somehow Ron and Hermione had survived through it all and had gotten closer through the years. The two of them generally avoided the topic of Harry when they were with each other.
Hermione had started teaching Arithmancy at Hogwarts three years ago, after the school had reopened following the death of Voldemort. She lived in the castle during the week but mostly stayed at Ron's house on the weekends. Ron, on the other hand, was manager for the quidditch team the Chudley Cannons. During Voldemort's reign, Ron had helped the Order in planning strategic attacks against the death eaters. After the final war, however, the Chudley Cannons, impressed by Ron's work with the Order, offered him a position as their manager. Ron graciously accepted, of course. The Chudley Cannons, after all, had always been his favorite team.
Tearing herself away from watching Ron sleep, Hermione went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. With one flick of her wand, she mixed together the ingredients for the pancake batter; with another flick, she set a frying pan on the stove; and with the last flick, she started a fire under the pan. Just as she was getting ready to pour the batter, Ron crept up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. "Good morning 'Mione," he murmured into her hair.
"Morning sleepy head. Want some pancakes?" asked Hermione, giving him a quick kiss but promptly making a face of disgust at his morning breath. "Ew Ron, go brush your teeth first!"
"Yes mum," Ron replied teasingly. He left the kitchen to go to the bathroom and came back a few minutes later with fresh breath and a clean shaven face. Hermione had finished making the pancakes and Ron helped her set the table so they could eat. They ate in silence for a few minutes, both of them savoring the morning and each other's company.
Finally, Hermione broke the silence. "Ron, have you thought about who all you want to invite to our wedding?"
"Aer phamliez oph caurze," replied Ron through a mouthful of pancake.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sorry Ron, I didn't quite catch that," she said sarcastically.
Ron swallowed. "I said, 'our families of course.'"
"And who else?"
"Er--Dean, Seamus, Justin, you know, the old crowd from Hogwarts. And Lupin, Tonks, Shacklebolt, and anyone else from the Order that's still alive."
Hermione nodded. With a little bit of hesitation, she continued, "And who do you want to be your best man?"
"Fred or Bill, I suppose. Bloody hell, I'm going to have one hell of time trying to choose between them."
Hermione chose her next words carefully. "You wouldn't have to choose between them if you just picked a friend."
"Maybe. But I can't really think of anyone I feel close enough to."
"I can think of one person."
"Who?" asked Ron curiously.
Bracing herself for an angry reaction, she suggested, "Well—uh—what about Harry?"
Ron choked on the bite of pancake he had just put in his mouth. Hermione gasped and started thumping his back to help him get the food out of his airway. After regaining his breath and taking a huge gulp of water, he became angry. "You want a murderer to be my best man Hermione?"
"Ron, he's not a murderer. He's your best friend."
"No friend of mine could ever kill my sister."
"Harry didn't have a choice. You know that."
"Whose side are you on anyway?"
"I'm not on anyone's side. You're my fiancée and Harry's my best friend. I just want you two to be friends again."
"That's never going to happen. And if you cared about me at all, you wouldn't be friends with someone who killed my sister!" Ron was standing up by this point, his pancakes long forgotten. Hermione sat on her chair looking up at him, beginning to forget her side of the argument as she saw how furious he looked. "You have to decide now, Hermione. It's either me or him."
At his words, tears sprang to Hermione's eyes and she fled to Ron's room. Ron's shoulders fell. He knew he had gone too far and he felt horrible. He hated making Hermione cry. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he followed her into his room. Hermione lay on his bed, sobbing miserably. Ron placed his hand on her shoulder. Without turning around, she said, "How could you say that? You know I love you."
Ron replied, "I'm sorry, Hermione. You're right, I shouldn't have said it. I didn't mean it. I have no right to tell you who you can and can't be friends with." He paused. "I only know that I can never be friends with him again. I hate him Hermione. Every time I think about him, I can see Ginny the way she looked before she died; and it kills me," Ron finished quietly, staring off into the distance but not really seeing anything.
Hermione, hearing the hurt in his voice, turned around and wrapped her arms around his chest. Ron, in turn, circled his arms around her, letting her head rest near his shoulders. They sat like this for a few minutes before Hermione interrupted the silence. "Ron?" she asked.
"Mm-hmm?" asked Ron, who was now feeling very comfortable.
"I really want Harry to be at our wedding." As soon as the words had escaped her lips, Hermione felt Ron's arms stiffen. He released her, and holding her at arm's distance, he studied her face. After a moment of silence, during which his mind seemed to be working a million miles an hour, he spoke.
"He can come. But he won't be my best man. And I won't speak to him." With that, Ron left the house, and Hermione did not see him until dinner that night.
One hour after Hermione had left his office, Harry finally regained his composure and forced himself to answer some of the Interdepartmental memos flying around his ceiling. He didn't have the chance to answer more than one, however, because at that moment Hedwig flew in through his window with a howler. Staring at the howler in surprise as Hedwig dropped it into his hands, Harry watched as it began to smoke and threatened to explode. He opened it quickly and listened as the voice of Officer Bradley, from the Improper Use of Magic Office, echoed from the parchment. "Sir! We have a problem in Knockturn Alley. There's been a robbery at Borgin and Burkes! The whole shop's been cleaned out!" exclaimed Officer Bradley's panicked voice.
Harry frowned. Robberies usually were not reason enough to contact auror headquarters. He could see why Officer Bradley had alerted him in this circumstance though. Borgin and Burkes was notorious for selling dark objects of every kind. The whole shop was cleaned out? Harry sighed. It was a good thing he had decided to come in on a Saturday. He grabbed his cloak, left his office, and started to run towards the lifts.
Harry had gone through auror training seven years ago. Voldemort had been at the height of his reign then and Harry's training had been a shortened one. After Ginny's death and his fallout with Ron, he came to work for the ministry permanently and withdrew from almost everyone. These days, all Harry really lived for was his work.
Harry disapparated out of the atrium and apparated again in front of a brick wall, one that was invisible to the world's muggle population. After Harry had quickly done a series of complicated wand movements over the bricks, the wall sprang apart to reveal a bustling and cheerful street that was Diagon Alley. Harry walked through it but did not enter any of the shops along the sides. He instead turned onto a street labeled Knockturn Alley. Taking only a few more steps, Harry walked into Borgin and Burkes to find a small group of officers surrounding the owner of the store, a man named Borgin. Looking around, Harry could see that the store had indeed been 'cleaned out'. Turning to Borgin, he asked, "What happened?"
Borgin, who looked rather shook up, replied, "I was in the back, getting out some—er--boxes, when I heard someone walk into the store. I was coming out to ask if they needed any help when I saw a blinding flash of green light. Next thing I knew I was on the floor being woken up by these officers."
"Stupefied," Harry said with a nod of comprehension. "Is there anything they didn't take?"
"Nothing—I've lost everything," said Borgin miserably. Harry nodded and proceeded to walk around the shop. Having been to the store a couple times before, he knew of the odd and disturbing objects it tended to carry. As he inspected the shelves, however, one thing in particular caught his eye. On a ledge high above eye level, there stood an empty compartment labeled The Elixir of Life. Harry's eyebrows narrowed.
"The Elixir of Life? The Sorcerer's Stone was destroyed years ago. Where did you get this from?" he asked Borgin suspiciously.
"I don't know where it is originally from, sir. We buy items from a lot of different people. This particular item was brought in by a man just last week, sir," said Borgin in a guilty voice.
"What did the man look like?"
Borgin stuttered, "Er—I don't know sir. His face was covered with a cloak. He sold it for a small sum and seemed eager to get rid of it."
Harry frowned again. Dumbledore himself had told him that the Sorcerer's Stone had been destroyed at the end of his first year at Hogwarts. Where could this mysterious person have gotten the Elixir? His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the officer who had sent him the howler.
"Sir, we found something!" exclaimed the officer from the other side of the shop.
"What is it?" asked Harry, walking over to him. He received his answer before the officer could say anything.
Etched on the wall was an S-shaped snake engulfed in a red flame.
A/N: I know Ron's job is a little random, but honestly I can't even imagine him ever having a job. And don't worry, you'll find out more about the past as the story progresses (hmm kind of ironic).