We walked up the lane a short while later. It had taken some time for my legs to not feel wobbly after being out on the water, but Ron's hand in mine helped steady me. I pulled away once I felt strong enough to walk on my own. I didn't want him to feel like he needed to keep showing affection when no one was around.
"Ron. Hermione." I looked up to Mr. Weasley walking toward us.
"Yeah, Dad?" Ron asked, looking just as confused as I felt. There was something in Arthur's tone that wasn't settling well.
"You two need to come with me."
I looked at Ron, who looked back at me. Neither of us had a clue what was happening.
"Your mother, Muriel, and the rest of the family, for that matter, are not to know about any of this."
"What's going on?" I asked.
"You have visitors, Hermione."
Arthur led us to his shed/workshop and opened the door. I stumbled back into Ron, who caught me, when I saw my mother and father standing there.
"M-Mum?" I said faintly.
"So, you really did get away for the weekend. I'm impressed."
"Do you two care to explain why Mrs. Granger here seems to think this whole marriage between you two is a sham?" Arthur said before my mother could continue.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, ignoring Mr. Weasley's question.
"I told you I was coming to England to visit you so I could properly acquaint you and Cormac. Mr. Weasley here made things a bit easier since he got in touch with me."
"I thought it'd be a nice surprise to have your parents here for the vow renewal tomorrow," Arthur said, furrowing his brow.
My mother cackled. "What renewal? How can there be a renewal if they aren't even married?"
"We are, too," Ron said, as I was at a loss for words. "Mrs. Granger, I don't know what you're playing at, but your plan isn't going to work. You can't just arrange a marriage for your daughter. Especially when she's already committed to someone else."
"Where are your rings, then? And where's the marriage certificate? If you claim to have eloped on holiday, is it even legal?"
"Of course it is—" Ron began to say before I managed to find my voice.
"We didn't buy rings on holiday. We have them now, and we'll exchange them tomorrow, and you can see the marriage certificate after the renewal tomorrow. The officiant has it with him, and there's no reason for you to go disturb the kind gentleman on a Saturday evening."
"Ron, this better not be a sham. Your mother and aunt will be completely devastated," Arthur looked past me and gave his son a hard stare.
"It's not, Dad. I love her, and she loves me. I'm sorry that we didn't tell anyone about it, but everyone is acting bloody insane! It'd be nice if you'd all just sod off and let us be happy."
"Language, son," Arthur warned.
"Mr. Weasley, I appreciate that you were trying to do a nice thing for me, and I am thankful for the thought behind it, but I need to go lay down. " I said to Arthur before turning to my mother. "I can't be around you right now."
"We'll find out tomorrow, then, won't we," Mum smirked knowingly at me. "Once it's all out in the open, you'll be coming home with me, and I'll have you married off to Cormac in a week. He's here too, you know."
I couldn't listen to her anymore. Ron was still holding me so I broke free of his arms and left the small building quickly. It hurt too much to hear Ron say he loved me when I knew it wasn't true. I needed to get away from it all, and the easiest thing to do would be to pretend to sleep it off. So I ran into the house, past the rest of the family lounging in the main room and upstairs. I hid in the bedroom for the rest of the night.
I barely slept that night. Ron came in several times to check on me, but he didn't sleep there. I'd given up with sleep at about five in the morning and made my way downstairs to make a cup of tea and find something to eat. I'd skipped dinner, and I couldn't miss another meal. The house was blissfully quiet as I grabbed a leftover cinnamon roll and an orange I found from the fruit basket on the counter.
"Hey, you're awake."
I turned to see Ron standing behind me. "Yeah. I'm sorry I took off like that yesterday evening."
"It's fine. Dad sent your mum back to the hotel before she could say anything to the rest of the family."
"I'm so—"
"Stop with the 'I'm sorrys,' yeah? It's going to be fine."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I just know, alright?" Ron came over and sat next to me. "I know that Mum wants to keep us separate until the ceremony, but do you think you could meet me out on the path you took on your walk around eleven? Ginny said she'd cover for us so that we can get some privacy."
I looked into his bright blue eyes. There was something in the way that he was looking at me that I didn't quite understand. I nodded because I couldn't find my voice, even though my heart was breaking. I knew what I had to do.
Ron smiled at my answer. "You should probably get upstairs, so no one sees us together."
He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, letting his face linger close to mine. I breathed in the scent of him one last time before I took my tea and breakfast and went back up to the room we'd shared for two nights. After I finished eating, I reached into my briefcase and pulled out the legal pad I kept for notes, as well as my favorite pen. What I was about to do wasn't going to be easy, but it needed to be done.
RonI checked my watch for the tenth time in the last five minutes. Where was she? I was trying to stay positive, but I was beginning to worry. Hermione was never late, I kept telling myself. It was the same mantra I chanted just a few days ago at the train station, but this time it was already 11:10, and I was beginning to worry. My phone started buzzing, and I saw that Ginny was calling me.
"Hey, what's the hold-up?" I answered.
"I—Ron, I don't know how to tell you this," Ginny said softly.
"What's wrong?" I said briskly.
"Hermione's not here. There's a letter for you and one for her mum. I don't see her bags or anything."
"No!" I couldn't believe it. I knew something had shifted in her mind last night, but I thought she'd at least talk to me first. "I'll be right there."
I set off at a run back to the house, ignoring the shrieks from my mother when I took the stairs three at a time. My dad gave me a peculiar look. When I got to my old bedroom, the first thing I noticed was that Ginny was right; Hermione's bags were gone, and her side of the bed was made—almost as if she was never there to begin with. There was a letter on my nightstand along with a hair clip I'd never seen before. Ginny was hovering at the door when I looked up to assure her I was fine. She needed to ward off Mum and Muriel.
I carefully opened the letter, unsure of what I was going to find. My heart was beating uncontrollably out of my chest, but I needed to know what Hermione wrote.
Ron,
I know you told me to stop saying I'm sorry, but I am. I know it looked like I was sleeping last night, but I wasn't. When we talked this morning, I'd only gone downstairs because I'd finally given up on trying to sleep. I've had a lot of time to think about things, and I've finally come to a conclusion, which is why you're reading this, and I'm not there.
Ultimately what it comes down to is that I can't let you do this. Sure, the whole arrangement started off as a good idea to ward my mum off, but that was before I met your family, and she showed up at the Burrow's door. I can't drag you or your family down with this. It's my battle to fight. Not yours. I know you've probably seen her letter, too. I've essentially told her that I will not be entering any arranged marriage. If she pushes the issue, I'll be filing for a restraining order against her.. By the time you've read this I would have already filed the charge against McLaggen.
I should have done all of this to begin with, and not involved you but I panicked when he showed up at my door. Zabini's job is still yours. I'd never take that away from you. You deserve that promotion, and I know you're going to do amazing things for the team. I'm going to put in for a transfer in the morning when I get to the office, so we don't have to work together anymore. I'm sure you won't want anything to do with me after this. I almost wish we could go back to Wednesday and find a different solution, so I don't have to lose your friendship.
I said this on the boat yesterday, but I don't think you heard me. I don't deserve you, Ron. You are kind and caring, and you're going to make some woman incredibly happy someday. I don't want to stand in your way. The other night meant more to me than you'll ever know, so please don't take me running away as a sign that I don't care. It's the opposite, I care too much. I'm leaving now before I break my own heart.
I hope I haven't left a terrible mess behind. I'll reimburse your family for any of the expenses they can't get back. Thank you for being the best friend I could have ever asked for. You've made me a better person, which I think is why I couldn't see this through.
Yours,
Hermione
I reread the letter three times. I knew I should have told her this morning. Why did I wait? Now, she was probably back in London by this point, most likely having left hours ago.
"Is everything okay?" I looked up to see my dad in the doorway.
"She left."
I didn't have the energy to lie, and I hoped he wouldn't pick an argument over this. I had bigger fish to fry. I needed to get to Hermione and I didn't have the patience to sit on a train, bus, or even drive myself.
Dad walked into the room and closed the door behind him before sitting next to me on the bed. "So, it was a lie."
"Yeah. At least, it started out as one."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
I looked up at my dad, completely surprised. I shouldn't have been, though. He'd always taken an interest in my life, and he and I were close before his vision for the company came between us. He was always there for me, and this showed me that nothing had truly changed in that respect.
"We're friends, Dad. Not just colleagues. We had dinner plans at hers Wednesday when that slimy git was outside her door, eyeing her up and down. I knew something was wrong, but she handled it well, and he scarpered off once I showed up."
"So, no fights, then?"
"No. When I asked Hermione what was going on, she told me she'd lied to him and said we were married to get him off her back. Her mum really is trying to arrange a marriage. It's archaic! I couldn't let that happen to her, so I agreed to help her pull this off to get her mum off her back. But then her mum called her and threatened to come up this weekend, and she needed somewhere to go. So, I invited her to come here with me. I wasn't going to say anything; we really are just friends.
"But it hurt when you accused me of only getting that promotion because we were friends, and I lost my temper. The lie just spiraled out of control."
Dad sat there quietly, taking in my words. "Why does something tell me you aren't just friends anymore?"
"Because something changed."
"Did you sleep together?"
I nodded. "There's something about her. Up until this weekend, I only really knew the work side of her. I'd only catch glimpses of who she truly was when we'd get together for dinner after a particularly stressful week. This weekend, though, I feel like I know her now, and I don't want to not know her anymore. That probably doesn't make any sense."
"You love her." It wasn't a question.
"Y-yeah. I was going to tell her, too. When Mum and Muriel took her shopping, I went back to Goldstein's and bought the engagement ring that matched the band she chose. I wanted to do this the right way, but now she's gone."
"So, what are you going to do about it?"
"I need to get to her." I felt the small box that was still in my pocket. "But I don't have the patience for a two-hour ride to London."
"Well, it's a good thing I never sold the private jet."
"You don't mean…"
"I already called MacMillan and he's getting it cued up as we speak. You can be in London in fifteen minutes if you want."
"You're serious?"
"Yes, Ron. She's a special woman to you, and if you love her, you need to go after her."
"Do you think you can stall everyone for the ceremony at least?"
"The ceremony was only meant for family. The party's not supposed to start until three, so you've got time."
I hugged my dad, and he set the keys to his car in my hand so I could get to the small airport on the outskirts of town. This wasn't over. Not even close.