It seems some of you thought that Harry and Hermione should be in a coma or dead in the last chapter because of the amount of alcohol they consumed. It was meant to be taken that Harry and Hermione shared four bottles of firewhiskey. Therefore they would have had about two bottles each, not four bottles each. I realize that is still quite a bit of alcohol but the size I'm thinking of would not cause them any medical injury. To those of you that understood this, thank you. To those of you who didn't, I'm terribly sorry for the confusion.
Also, some of you were surprised that Hermione did not have a hangover. Well, hangovers depend on the person sometimes. Some people can consume a large amount of alcohol and never have a hangover while some can just get tipsy and have one. I decided sometimes Hermione gets them and sometimes she doesn't.
I'm so glad this story is getting such a good response. I honestly didn't expect it to do this well. Thank you so much to those of you who review. I love you dearly!
Please note that in the last chapter it was supposed to say "He took his hands and pushed her wet curly hair behind her ears"…not her wet curly hands. LMAO. I somehow missed this on my read-through. Thank you to ron/hermionetrooper for pointing it out to me.
Chapter 7: The Business Merger
Hermione continued to lie back on her couch in her wet clothes staring giddily at the ceiling. She felt ridiculous for acting so prepubescent but she couldn't help it. She listened to the rain pattering roughly against the window as she thought about Ron and the kiss they'd just shared. She smiled broadly and closed her eyes.
A seemingly distant tapping broke into the steady humming of the rain and made Hermione sit up automatically. She looked over at the window and saw a blurred figure hovering in the downpour. She hopped up and threw open the window. She grinned when a tiny brown owl fluttered into the room and twittered around it happily spraying water everywhere. It was Ron's owl, Pig. After closing the window, Hermione picked her wand up from her couch and did a simple drying spell on the small bird and herself.
She took the letter from Pig's minute beak and let him fly around her living room. She plopped down on her squishy arm chair and opened her letter. It read:
Dear Hermione,
Something's come up and I'm not going to be able to come back. My mum needs me to help her with something. I don't know how late I'll be so I think I'll just see you at work tomorrow. I've talked to Tabitha, but I'd really rather tell you everything in person.
Love,
Ron
Hermione frowned slightly at the letter. She'd really been looking forward to seeing Ron again that night. But, she didn't think much of it. She would be seeing him first thing in the morning. She could wait until then. She got up and opened the window again. She stood at the windowpane looking out at the gray, wet sky until she couldn't see Pig anymore.
Hermione unlocked the door to the candy shop and stepped in. She set everything up and got ready for her day at work. It wasn't but about ten minutes before Ron arrived. He entered with a huge grin on his face. He walked straight over to Hermione. She wanted to kiss him but didn't know if it would be appropriate. So she waited for him to say something. She held her breath in anticipation.
"I did it," he said happily. "I broke up with Tabitha."
Hermione exhaled and smiled at him. She wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and hugged him. He hugged her back and pulled away.
"How'd she take it?" Hermione questioned.
"Well…she wasn't too happy about it," Ron replied. "I don't think I've ever been called that many names in one sentence before. She didn't cry, though, which is a relief. That would have been awkward. I wasn't sure if I should tell her why I was breaking up with her. But I thought the truth would be easier than thinking up a quick lie. So I told her." He finished abruptly and stared at Hermione.
"Well…?" Hermione asked after there was a moment of silence.
"Well…what?"
"Well…what about us?" she elaborated a little.
"Oh…well…" he started uneasily as his ears began to tinge pink. "What do you want us to be?"
"I…I want to be with you," she answered.
"I want to be with you, too," he said. She smiled and hugged him again. This time he pulled away slightly and connected their lips. She was taken aback slightly by the sudden gesture, but quickly recovered and began kissing him back.
She slid her tongue in his mouth and began to massage his tongue with hers. He returned the favor. She ran her hands through his red hair and the kiss deepened. Hermione was extremely disappointed when she heard the bell on the door ring. They quickly pulled apart and saw Fred and George Weasley walk into the store. The grins on their faces told Hermione that they'd seen what she and their brother had been doing. She blushed slightly and looked down, but it was nothing compared to how red Ron's entire face was.
"Now, now, Hermione," said Fred with a smirk, "I'd expect this of Ron. But you of all people should know that it's not professional to snog in the middle of your place of business."
"I'm assuming you two are finally a couple," George said.
"Shut up," Ron said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Hermione looked up and suppressed a laugh. Ron's hair was sticking up at odd angles from when she'd run her fingers through it. "What do you want?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Well, little brother," Fred began.
"We've come to make a business proposition," George said.
Hermione's head jerked toward George and she began to listen much more attentively. "What kind of proposition?" she asked, eyeing the twins suspiciously.
"Well, we were thinking," said Fred, "that since we're not quite ready to branch out into a franchise, we could have you sell a few of our food items here."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms.
"And," George added, "we will split the profits evenly. That way we're not just wasting your space."
Hermione thought it over. She thought it was actually a pretty clever idea. She looked over at Ron and asked, "What do you think?"
"You're asking me?" Ron questioned with astonishment.
"Well, of course I'm asking you," she replied. "This is our shop. You need to help with the decisions."
"Well," he said, "I don't have a problem with it if you don't."
"Oh, way to give your input!" Hermione said sarcastically. She turned to Fred and George. "Okay, but only the food items. This is a sweet shop, after all, and it doesn't really make much sense to sell uneatable items."
"Okay," said George, pulling out a piece of parchment from his pocket. "Well, we have a list here of the things we can sell and their prices."
"Canary Creams and the like," said Fred. "Skiving Snackboxes and--"
"Oh, no you don't!" Hermione interrupted. "I don't mind the other things but I refuse to take any part in helping students skip classes. They shouldn't be doing it."
"Oh, come on Hermione!" George urged.
"The Snackboxes are one of our top-sellers," Fred insisted. "It'll make more of a profit."
"I don't care," she said, shaking her head. "If you persist on us selling them, then we won't do the merger at all."
She looked Fred square in the eye. He sighed in frustration and said, "Fine!" He handed her piece of parchment. "We'll come back later today with our merchandise…excluding our wonderful money-making Snackboxes."
Hermione smiled. "Alright. Ron and I will set up a section for you."
The twins said their farewells and left the shop.
Hermione turned to Ron after the door had closed all the way. "They're right you know," she said.
"About the Skiving Snackboxes being money-makers?" Ron asked, tilting his head slightly.
Agh, he's so cute! Hermione thought. "No," she answered. "About us not kissing in our place of business."
"Oh, Hermione, there wasn't anyone in here to see us!" Ron protested. "Well, except when my git brothers walked in."
"But that's just it," Hermione said. "This is a public place. People walk in and out all the time. Plus, this is a sweetshop. I don't think the children's mothers that come in here would like their children to see us going at it in plain sight!"
"Okay, okay," Ron said, raising his hands in defeat. "We won't kiss in the shop anymore."
"Good," she said smiling and flattening his hair. "Okay," she began, making a sweeping motion with her wand. All the items on the shelves to the far left levitated up into the air and hovered. "Let's get started on this Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes section."
When they'd finished they had a small section cleared off with a sign that read "Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes" in huge, blue letters. Hermione stood back and admired their work. She thought it'd look rather nice when the twins' products were placed neatly under the sign.
She looked at her watch and saw it was time to open the shop. So she flicked her wand at the sign on the door that said "Closed" and the word disappeared. "Open" replaced the old message.
Not long after that the door open several times in a row and the shop was flooded with people. Hermione and Ron barely got to speak two words to each other because they had so many customers to tend to.
After a few hours the traffic in the shop died down. Hermione slumped down onto her stool behind the counter and sighed.
"I don't think we've ever been this busy," she said.
"Yeah, I know," Ron said as he rubbed his neck. They were quiet for a little while. Then Ron stood up and turned toward Hermione.
"Hermione," he began, "Will…will you go out on a date with me?"
He grinned at her. She smiled and laughed. "Of course I will, Ron."
He started to say something back when the bell on the door rang for what seemed the millionth time that day. They both looked up and saw Tabitha walk huffily into the room. Her dark hair was in a ponytail and it was flapping around her head as if smacking away flies. Her face was red and her delicate features were contorted into rage.
She walked right up to Ron and slapped him in the face. His eyes widened in surprised as his hand shot to his cheek.
"What is wrong with you?" Hermione shouted angrily. She stared at the woman in disdain.
"What's wrong with me!" Tabitha repeated in a strangely high-pitched voice. "What's wrong with me! You're what's wrong!" She pointed a thin finger at Hermione. Tabitha turned back to Ron and said, "Why? What can she give you that I can't? This doesn't make any sense. We were just starting to get really close and then you say you can't see me anymore because you're going to be with…with that!" She motioned toward Hermione.
"Excuse me?" Hermione cut in heatedly. "I will not be disrespected in my own store. I am not a 'that'."
Tabitha sneered at her. "You keep your bushy little head out of this."
Hermione couldn't believe how Tabitha was acting. Though, she'd had an automatic dislike for her the one and only time they met, giving the circumstances, she thought Tabitha had been rather nice and polite.
"What is it you want exactly?" Ron asked Tabitha.
"What I want is to give you another chance," Tabitha answered. "I'll give you a chance to come to your senses and I'll take you back."
"I don't want you to take me back," Ron said coldly. "I want you to go away."
"Why?"
"Because I'm with Hermione," he answered simply as if explaining something very plain to a small child. "I don't want to be with you."
"But what does she have that I don't?" Tabitha snapped. "I'm pureblooded. I come from a respectable family--"
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Hermione interrupted.
"Well…you are a Mudblood right?" Tabitha said, tilting her head and smirking.
Anger coursed through Hermione's veins. She picked up her wand from behind the counter and raised it to Tabitha. "Get out," she muttered through clenched teeth.
"What?"
"Get out," Hermione repeated. "That's the second time you've insulted me in my own store. I'm not just going to stand here and let you do it. Now get out. Ron broke up with you. Let it go. Now, leave. Your presence, nor your business, is welcome here so don't come back. Goodbye."
Tabitha looked back at Ron for a moment, and then glared at Hermione. She turned on her heel and marched out of the shop. Ron smiled and turned to Hermione. "Way to go!"
Hermione smiled back. The bell sounded yet another time and Fred and George entered for the second time. Two boxes were hovering behind George who was walking backwards and holding his wand up, controlling them. When they got all the way in he let them drop to the floor gently.
"Man, we almost got knocked over on the way down here," said Fred.
"Yeah," George said. "Some woman went running by us so mad that she bumped right into one of the boxes."
"It wouldn't have been so bad if she'd at least apologized," Fred said with a look of scorn. "I should have hexed her."
Ron and Hermione glanced at each other.
"Well, let's get to work on this display," Hermione said, rubbing her hands together.
