Written for BlueGreenAndPurple for the HPRomione Discord Secret Santa Exchange 2021. Thanks to Avatar Vader who beta-read this for me and to remedialpotions who organized this wonderful exchange for us.

A little announcement: I probably won't post my stories on FFN for much longer. My stories do a lot better over on AO3 and I barely get reviews here. I'll post my stories on here for a little longer, but if you like my stories, consider subscribing on AO3. My name there is AC underscore Nelli.

This is the sound of an orchestra

I can hear it playing everywhere that you are

There is a sound for everything you do

This is the sound of my love for you

Listen to the sound of my love for you

–Sound of an Orchestra by Mika

To say Ron Weasley was a helpless romantic would certainly be an exaggeration. He wasn't one for grand, outrageously heartfelt love confessions, or painting hearts with rose petals and candles, or –Merlin forbid– writing poetry.

But compared to Hermione, he was, without a doubt, an utter sod. The witch had tried, of course, and it had always resulted in them ending up breathless with laughter. What Hermione didn't know though was the fact that for Ron, she didn't need to be romantic. After all those years together Ron knew Hermione loved him. He knew it as much as he knew how to breathe.

Ron couldn't help but smile into the silent darkness of his old room at the Burrow. There was a pretty good chance Hermione would lie awake herself at her parents' house, going over her wedding vows for tomorrow. It was a thing she wasn't good at, and it drove her mad that something so personal couldn't be thoroughly researched and perfected with the help of books.

His own mind kept him awake as well. Ron had his vows ready as he, for once, knew exactly what he was going to say to her. But the excitement about this big event tomorrow made sleep only a foreign concept. Some old habits die hard, and his stage anxiety was one of them. He and Hermione would be the center of attention tomorrow and it made him once again regret that they only joked around about eloping. And there was also missing a warm, soft body which was usually curled up against him, the wild hair tickling his nose.

Finally giving up on a proper good night's rest, Ron made his way down to the kitchen where he fixed himself a glass of Firewhiskey before he got comfortable on the sofa in the Weasley living room. The only light source was the glowing of the fireplace, the orange flickers reflecting in the amber liquid inside the heavy crystal tumbler.

For some time Ron just stared into the fire as he thought about tomorrow, but after a while, his gaze drifted to the old piano right beside the fireplace. Most of the year it served as a place for the wireless and some potted plants to sit on, safe for Christmas Eve where Ron always had been forced to play by his mother. He never had the patience and ambition to continue playing it after Molly had shown him the basics. Instead, he had been much more interested in his grandfather's chessboard, and Molly didn't have any luck either in getting her other kids to play the piano. Even Bill, the golden boy, never picked it up. That Ron ended up learning that one Christmas song had only been the result of him not knowing what to get his parents for Christmas. Their resources for presents were rather slim, after all. So, Ron had played it for them on Christmas Eve, resulting in his mother demanding it every single year from there on out.

One day, after Hermione had taken him to a concert where an orchestra accompanied one of the Star Wars movies he had been obsessed with back then, he had wished he would've continued playing an instrument. He remembered how brilliant he had thought the orchestra was as they perfectly matched the different scenes.

Ron put his now empty glass onto the coffee table and moved from his sitting position to lie down on the slightly too small settee, his feet dangling from the arm rest.

Music had a way to find a sound for every feeling, for every occasion, and Ron thought back at his life with Hermione. Their life couldn't be underlined with a soundtrack he found. It had been so full of ups and downs already, that a single song could hardly capture their relationship. And none of these songs were from his childhood nightmare with the name Celestina Warbeck, thank you very much.

No, it wasn't a song for Ron. It was a whole orchestra playing in his head when he thought about his soon-to-be-wife and their life together.

Like the tiny, innocent moments of their friendship, before the two of them had become more. The chipper, playful tunes of the clarinets accompanied them when Ron closed his eyes.

"We have to hide your eating habits from my parents," Hermione laughed as Ron sucked on a sugar quill he bought at Honeydukes, "They don't even have a taste. They're just pure sugar."

Ron just looked at his friend as if to say 'Well, what's not to like?' and fished out a chocolate frog from his robes, offering it to Hermione. "Take this then. Should be more to your liking."

"Chocolate Frogs probably have just as much sugar." Hermione said, but Ron didn't miss the look of longing crossing her face for a hot second.

"But they're chocolate," Ron reasoned, shoving the sweet over the table and leaving it right in front of Hermione, "So, they don't just taste like sugar. That was your point, wasn't it?"

"My point was," Hermione said with a huff, ignoring her friend's mischievous grin as he first sucked on his sugar quill and then took a long sip of his equally sugary Butterbeer, "that processed sugar is not good for you."

"One would never guess you're the daughter of teeth healers."

"We call them dentists and just so you know, sugar isn't just bad for your teeth. It can make you sick if you eat too much of it. And you are eating too much of it."

"I'll never get sick of sweets. Do you know me at all?"

Ron laughed as Hermione sent him a death glare for misunderstanding her on purpose. "Come on, Hermione! You offend me by declining my offer."

Hermione huffed, hiding her smile behind the red and gold Gryffindor scarf she wrapped around her neck after she finished her butterbeer. They made their way out of the cozy warmth of 'The Three Broomsticks', starting to make their way back to the castle.

"Give that chocolate frog to Harry."

"I already got a ton of sweets for Harry," Ron said, hoping his best mate's mood would light up when they ate their way through every single flavour of the 'Bertie Botts Beans' later, "This chocolate frog is for you."

"What if there's a card in it you don't have yet?"

"Unlikely."

"I won't give it to you, you know." Hermione said with a challenging tone.

Ron grinned at her, very satisfied with himself when Hermione finally put the sweet out of its wrapper to eat it. He turned around again to continue walking down the road.

Today was one of the funniest days he ever had. And while he was sad Harry wasn't allowed to join them because of the stupid Dursleys and the even more stupid school rules, Ron and Hermione had a perfect day at Hogsmeade. They explored the whole village together and Ron couldn't wait for the next Hogsmeade weekend.

"Oh, wow," Hermione gasped from behind him, "It's Riccadoroccia Riddaria!"

Ron whirled around to see if Hermione really got one of the rarest chocolate frog cards, when a snowball hit him right in the face. The witch wheezed from laughing, clutching the card of Dumbledore in her hand.

A high pitched shriek startled a couple just making their way around them, when Ron scooped up some snow to arm himself, chasing after Hermione.

And then their relationship had changed, along with their feelings for each other. For the longest time both of them had thought their love was unrequited. Ron remembered the anxiety and excitement of this time, especially when, at some point, he hadn't been able to talk himself out of the possibility that Hermione might fancy him as much as he had fancied her. Suddenly, every touch, every smile, every look felt different.

It was like the orchestra played something that was both too fast and too slow all at the same time. Too fast to get rid of the anxiety about the prospect of complicating, maybe even losing the other's friendship. And too slow because sometimes, all they had been able to think about was to snog the other senseless, the feeling so powerful and relentless that they had felt like they would burst any second.

Sometimes, there even had been the clear sound of a triangle at the end of these tunes, leaving you with hope and anticipation about what's to come.

Ron couldn't put a finger on how he was feeling right now, because a teaspoon certainly couldn't captivate the emotions buzzing through him as he felt the revealed skin of Hermione's back under his finger tips. Here on this dance floor at his brother's wedding, he was both content and restless, but Ron decided that tonight, he would only focus on how good all this felt.

The way she smelt. The way some strands of her wild, bushy hair kept escaping the knot at the nape of her neck, framing her flushed face. The way she looked at him with those brown eyes that had been the last thought before sleep for years now. The way her body moved in sync with his own to the music.

As the band started to play a slower song, he summoned some of his Gryffindor bravery and pulled her even closer. Hermione looked up at him, her dark eyes reflecting the light of the lanterns floating around them.

Ron couldn't help but stare at Hermione's slightly parted lips. A strand of hair fell in front of her eyes and without thinking, he reached up and tugged the lock behind her ear. They were so close now that he could feel her breath against his lips. Just a few inches and…

And sometimes the music would stop all of a sudden and the sound of two drums and the short, tight tsss of a hit-hat hung awkwardly in the air. In case of this almost-kiss in the form of his best mate who had had the tendency to interrupt important moments. It wouldn't surprise Ron if Harry would manage to interrupt their first kiss as husband and wife tomorrow as well.

Of course, their life hadn't always been accompanied by the pleasant, enjoyable tunes. An orchestra could make you press your hands over your ears and recoil in agony when every instrument played high-pitched, mismatched tunes, creating a feeling of chaos and panic.

Ron was sitting in a chair beside Hermione's bed and despite feeling more tired than ever before, he couldn't stop looking at her. She was asleep, her even breathing giving Ron a small amount of peace tonight.

He probably should've taken a shower as everyone else had done after they buried Dobby. But beside the time it took to say goodbye to this wonderful, brave elf, he had not left Hermione's side. Not for a shower and not to change his clothes.

His gaze fell on Hermione's neck where a thick layer of a purple healing balm hid away the wound Bellatrix' knife cut into her. 'I almost lost you.' It was like he could think of nothing else anymore. He should be grateful and happy they came out of this alive, but he was just terrified and heartbroken.

When he looked up again he saw two brown eyes staring at him. He didn't dare touch her, too afraid he'd hurt her. "Hermione," he whispered instead, his voice breaking with the last syllable of her name, now hoarse from screaming it in the dungeon of Malfoy Manor.

She didn't answer. Couldn't, as it would hurt her too much. Instead, a trembling hand reached out and Ron didn't hesitate in meeting her halfway. Her fingertips grazed over the dried blood on his knuckles, her gaze flitting to his injured hands before meeting his eyes again.

Hermione guided his hand to her lips and it was all too much. The touch of her lips on his injuries, the emotions swimming in her eyes, the echo of her soul splitting screams in his mind. It made him fall apart.

Hot tears ran down his dirty cheeks and Ron couldn't stop the sobs forcing themselves out of his chest. And Hermione cried too as she tugged on his hands until he was lying with her on the bed.

Ron closed his eyes for a brief second, letting the memory fade and change to something that wasn't the fuel of his nightmares. To something accompanied by violins, clarinets, timpani, drums and more, playing in perfect sync. Playing a melody Ron could listen to forever.

"So, why did you and Harry hide this from me for so long?" Ron asked as they walked back to Grimmauld Place.

"Hide what?"

"The joys of Muggles making brilliant movies. Can we watch another one tomorrow? And I want Popcorn again. Not the disgusting salty stuff you got though. That was revolting."

Hermione laughed, grabbing Ron's arm a little tighter as the cold wind picked up again. "Well, I like my popcorn the way I like my men."

"Are you calling me revolting?"

Hermione pretended to have to think about it for a moment, earning herself a slight shove before Ron wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "More like spicy and delicious."

"Good answer."

They continued to walk down the snowy path for a while before Hermione suddenly stopped. Ron was about to ask what the matter was when Hermione threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, hard.

Ron didn't need long to get over the surprise and pulled Hermione even closer as the other hand found its way into Hermione's hair. He was nothing if not open to a snogging session in the middle of the street.

When they finally broke apart for air, their lips were swollen and cheeks flushed. Ron just wanted to dive in for another kiss when Hermione lifted her hand to Ron's stubbled jaw.

"I love you," Hermione whispered before leaning up again to continue kissing him. And the only thought remaining in Ron's head was that he never felt more brilliant than in this moment.

Ron drowned the last gulp of his Firewhiskey before he made his way back to his old bedroom. Sleep finally seemed to claim him and he could barely hold his eyes open while climbing up the stairs.

What Ron didn't know as he drifted off to sleep was that tomorrow this orchestra will stop playing for a moment when he would see Hermione walk down the aisle. And it would resume with the most powerful melody as he would take her hand, played by what seemed like a hundred people. It would be the beginning of yet another chapter in their life, accompanied by this orchestra playing just for them.

Reviews make me sing :)