Air
You think your days are ordinary
But she can hardly
breathe without you.
Hermione
arrived in good time for the wedding, wearing a coral blue dress. She
had tried her best to tame her unruly hair into curls, and it had
worked- for the most part. She made her way into the garden, where
the ceremony would be taking place. The rows of rickety, mismatched
chairs were obvious handiwork of Fred and George, but Hermione felt
that the flowery arches and platform had been conjured by the more
careful work of Mrs Weasley and Tonks. A light wind rustled the
branches of nearby trees and loosened a few flower petals, scattering
them over the grassy aisle.
Turning to go into the kitchen she
walked straight into Ron, who had quietly approached as shed gazed at
the setting.
'Ron!' she shrieked and a large smile broke
across his face
'Hermione… you're a bit early' he
laughed.
She blushed and looked up at him earnestly,
'I hate
being late'
'Don't I know it' he muttered and she gave him
a friendly clip on the shoulder.
A few stray petals whipped
through the space between them, she followed them with her eyes into
the luscious field of mint green grass next to the house. He noticed
her glancing towards the meadow and smiled
'Want to take a walk
while you're waiting?'
Her eyes lit up briefly but quickly
dimmed as she glanced down at her shoes and grimaced.
'I'm
not exactly dressed for...'
'Take them off' he said simply.
She grinned and loosened the ribbons at her ankles.
'Ron… are
you wearing a suit?' she stared at him in disbelief. He
turned magenta and mumbled something about muggle dress robes before
marching down the garden. She laughed lightly and followed.
'Where's
Harry?'
'Probably sulking around Ginny' Ron said with
deliberate carelessness, 'He's been doing it since he got here,
staring at her and trying to make deep conversation' He
chuckled. 'He seems to have forgotten that it was him who broke up
with her, when he was being all noble and stuff.'
Hermione
sighed, 'He thinks that if he allows himself to love her, Voldemort
will kill her. Oh, be a man, Ron' she cuffed him on the arm when he
flinched at the mention of the name.
'Well I say if…
You-Know-Who wanted to kill Ginny he would have done it already. He
had the opportunity once before. He'll kill us all whether we love
Harry or not, we're "blood traitors"' He spat out the words
with malice and quickly looked towards his feet.
'You're in
the company of a mudblood, Ron. I say we're well matched.'
His
pupils dilated and she looked down, furious at herself.
She
stopped suddenly, they were at the entrance of the woods that lined
the back fields of the Weasley's land.
Ron turned, 'Are you
coming in?'
The wind echoed teasingly through the trees, calling
her to dance among the strong green leaves.
She nodded and he
reached out his hand, pulling her through a clump of bushes quickly,
her hair and dress escaping snagging on the long finger-like tendrils
of the prickly monster.
On the other side of the hedge there was
a small clearing carpeted with bluebells and thick luxurious
grass.
Ron sat against a thick oak tree, Hermione followed suit,
arranging herself carefully on the clean ground.
'Harry told me
about you and Krum.'
'Harry told me about you and Krum'
she laughed.
'Eh, what?'
'You were jealous,' she said
slyly. Seeing his shocked expression she laughed louder, 'You
should have told me.'
He looked away awkwardly, 'What would
you have done?'
She shrugged and wiggled her toes amongst the
flowers and waited.
Realisation dawned. 'And you were
jealous of Lavender!' He said triumphantly, she smiled nervously
and he looked at her woefully.
'I made that perfectly clear,
Won-Won' she teased. His finger grazed a small scar on his cheek
and stared. 'I never know what to expect from you, Hermione'
She
shrugged, 'I thought you could tell,'
'Well you can't'
She
granted him a small half-smile, 'Maybe Harry and Ginny have the
right idea, it's too dangerous for this.'
Ron felt suddenly
light-headed, unable to breathe. This was not happening.
'It's
not too dangerous,' he said uneasily. '… if you're
careful.'
She was suddenly a lot closer, or was it he who had
moved? She bit her lip habitually,
'Ron, w-'
He caught her
doubts with his kiss and a sharp jolt of excitement rocked her, he
left her weak. He moved back with unsure eyes and she gazed at him,
drained. She returned his kiss with all the strength she could
muster. It lasted years, when they finally broke apart she could see
her happiness reflected in his face.
He was bright pink and very
ruffled, her cheeks were burning and she was quite sure her curls had
gone out of control some time ago.
The scent of honeysuckle and
fresh soil caressed her as she moved back against the tree, he came
close once again. A gust of wind danced past them and he paused,
searching her sparkling eyes. She smiled, breathless, and gave up in
helpless, sweet surrender.
