Ron

"Ron, hey! Have a good weekend?" Neville Longbottom approached me as I walked into my office at The Telegraph.

"Hey, Nev. Yeah, I guess. You?"

"It was great! You missed out on Saturday night. The film festival was spectacular!"

"Yeah, well, in case you've forgotten, I work Saturday nights. I call it the curse of the commitments."

I knew Neville meant well and he was a good friend, but he seemed to forget that I'm stuck in this hell hole having to attend weddings and then portray them as these beautiful, fairy tale level events. This was not what I anticipated my writing career to look like, yet here I was.

"Right. Sorry. It must be a truly despicable life. Dining on free food and red velvet cake. Was it a good wedding, at least? Find anyone to shack up with?" Neville asked.

I almost snorted out the sip of coffee I'd just taken. Nevile knew that I wasn't on the pull, right? Let alone looking for someone to move in with. "Hardly. How many times do I have to tell you, one night stands and weddings are not a good mix, no matter how many people say otherwise."

"But there has to be single bridesmaids looking for a fun night with no commitments," Neville pressed.

"Maybe there are, but I'm not going for it. It's not worth it." I waved Neville off as I set my stuff at my desk and made my way over to my boss's office.

I'd been waiting the rest of the weekend to unveil my brilliant story idea. I was convinced this would finally promote me out of the commitments section. Not bothering to knock, I strode in and dropped the overflowing Filofax on my editor's desk.

"This better be important, Weasley," Rita Skeeter said.

"Er, yeah. I've got a story idea I wanted to run by you," I said. All the confidence I was feeling before somehow disappeared as soon as I stepped into her office.

Rita kept on working as she said, "We've been through this before. I hired you to write wedding announcements, not investigative pieces." I could tell she was not in the mood, but I'd given this far too much thought to give up.

"All I'm asking for is a chance to prove to you that I can offer my writing skills to other sections of the paper—"

"If this is another story proposition about exposing some minute detail of how the wedding industry is ripping people off, you can walk right out of this office. I don't have any interest in hearing it."

"But those were meaningful stories! People deserve to know that bakeries are overcharging for cakes. You could ask for an elaborate birthday cake design and the price would be significantly less because it's not for a wedding! They're conning innocent people just because they're in love!"

"Readers don't want stories on the price gouging, Ron! They want happy, feel good stories that give them hope, and you do that quite well. Your articles make most of our money, and I'd be insane to switch you to a different section!" Rita said with a tone of finality.

"Just hear me out. Please? I promise this is a good one." I opened the Filofax. "This girl's been in seven weddings—"

"So?" Rita responded. She sounded unimpressed.

"—This year. She was in two this past weekend alone. On the same night! There's a story here, and I can sense it. She's like a perpetual bridesmaid. There has to be a reason for it. She doesn't strike me as the type that has that many friends."

Rita finally looked up at me. I couldn't read what she was thinking, but I was mentally preparing to be shot down again. Not this time, though. I needed to fight back for this one. It might be the only way I can get close to Hermione again.

"Fine."

"Seriously, Rita I can make this—wait, what?"

"I said, 'fine.' I'm giving you a chance. Two weeks to find something out of this, and we'll see what happens."

"Four," I said. Two was nowhere near enough time.

"Three, and that's it."

"Okay. And if you like it, I move out of commitments for good," I said firmly.

"Ron—"

"I'm serious. I'll quit. I can't spend the rest of my career finding creative ways to highlight baby's breath and sugar roses."

"Fine. But you won't quit. I know you better than that." Rita picked up the Filofax and handed it to me before ushering me out of her office. "Now, get that adorably cute face out of here before I change my mind."

I flashed a grin at her. "You won't be disappointed."

If the indication from our conversation in the taxi told me anything, it was that I had my work cut out for me. I opened her Filofax and set to work. A plan was already formulating, and I was eager to set it in motion.

This was my chance. My ticket out. Now, I just had to get close to the woman who drove me insane two nights ago. The woman I was unable to get out of my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about her. It was just because of the bridesmaid thing, I kept telling myself. That was it.

Hermione

Monday rolled around far too quickly, but I was okay with it. Harry was coming back from a conference after being out of the office last week. I made sure things ran smoothly while he was gone since that was my job. You could call me his assistant, but I was also second in command of the company he'd started from scratch: Second Chance Publishers.

Harry Potter was the ultimate entrepreneur, and I was lucky to work for him. He was everything you could wish for in a boss. Kind and understanding, yet firm and determined in his vision. He was always one who wanted to help the underdog, hence the company's name. We read author's manuscripts that had been tossed aside from leading publishing agencies, and gave the promising ones a chance. It'd been eight years and the company was still going strong.

Harry had taken a chance when he hired me fresh out of university, and I like to think I've proved indispensable since then. I was incredibly lucky to work in a position where my opinion mattered and I felt needed, like I belonged. Not to mention my boss was unequivocally sexy, and somehow still single.

Single was a good thing. That meant I may still have a chance. He had to notice me eventually, right? Okay, yes, I'll admit it; I fancy my boss, but it's innocent! I swear.

I needed to stop thinking about him. The anticipatory butterflies were already fluttering in my stomach, and I needed to get them under control. Coffee in hand, I walked the remainder of the two blocks to the office, and met Lavender on her way in.

"Never made it home this weekend, I see," I said with a smile as I handed her coffee over. I was totally judging her and she knew it. I was never one to engage in one night stands and she knew it.

Lavender gave me a smug smile and ignored my question. "Maybe. Not that I could find you to stop me. What happened to you the other night? You were hardly there and then you left with that guy. Did you get lucky?"

"What? No! Of course not."

"Oh, yes, I forgot. You're holding out for Mr. Right," Lavender scoffed.

I ignored her comment as we meandered through the main doors into the office. Luna Lovegood, the receptionist, was sitting at the front desk. "Morning, Luna!"

"Hi!" she said brightly.

"Question for you: have you seen my Filofax around anywhere by chance?"

"No," she answered simply.

"Oh, okay then. It's probably in my office. No problem. I'll keep looking. Did you happen to send out the order I left on your desk Friday afternoon for the manufacturer?"

She looked nonplussed. "No."

"Alright. No big deal, I'll take care of it," I said as we continued on down the hall.

"Wow, Hermione, you really told her," Lavender said.

I sighed. "It's fine, Lav, I should have done it myself anyway.."

"But you're the boss, you're allowed to tell people what to do."

"I'm not the boss, and you know that. I'm the boss's assistant. There's a difference."

"Correction, there would be a difference if the boss didn't rely on you so much as well."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe I just like my job."

"Or maybe, it's not the job you like, but the boss," she raised her eyes knowingly at me.

"Get to accounting, Lavender," I told her, since I wasn't willing to admit that she was right.

"Oh, sure, now you get bossy," she said as she meandered off.

I chuckled to myself as I walked into my office and got settled for the day. My first point of business was to find my Filofax. That held my life. Every appointment and event was written in there. Not to mention all my cut outs of details I loved and wanted to incorporate for my own dream wedding. I searched high and low and it was absolutely nowhere to be found.

Giving up, I turned to my computer and attempted to get some work done. My productivity didn't last very long, though. I looked up a half hour later to see a flower delivery at the front desk. Did Luna just point to me? My heart beat a little faster in my chest. I think she did. The man was walking towards me and stopped just outside my office.

"Hermione Granger?" he asked.

"That's me," I said in a hushed voice.

"These are for you," he said as he handed them to me and turned to leave.

I was dumbstruck. I never received flowers, let alone at work! Setting them on my desk, I began searching for the note card that should have accompanied the beautiful bouquet, but nothing was there to reveal the mystery sender.

"Oh, sure, I spend all weekend in bed with a guy and you're the one who's sent flowers!"* Lavender sounded annoyed as she strolled into my office. "Who are they from?"

"I don't know. It doesn't say." My voice still sounded shocked.

When I turned to look at Lav, I watched as her face went from annoyed, to understanding, and then it finally settled on pity. "Hermione, no, you can't possibly think it's from him."

"Well, who else could it be?" I asked indignantly.

"I don't know, but you've got to stop this! You're in love with a man who doesn't even know you exist."

"I am not in love with him," I lied. "And he does too know I exist."

"Yeah, in a 'she's my assistant' kind of way, not in a 'she's so sexy I want to rip her clothes off and have mind blowing sex with her' way."*

"You don't know that," I said weakly.

"I do too know that! Honestly, at least get it under control, will you? The whole office knows," Lavender argued.

"They do not!" I said incredulously.

Luna, who was passing by my door at that exact moment, must have heard Lavender and chimed in. "Yes, we do." She smiled at both of us and kept right going before I could stop her.

"See?" Lavender pressed. "I'm telling you—" she was cut off by a dog barking, which could only mean one thing.

"Pads!" I cried as the large black dog darted towards me.

"Hey, Padfoot, easy there. Hermione doesn't want a face full of slobber this morning," came Harry's sultry, baritone voice.

"No, no, it's okay!" I said quickly as I stood back up. "Hi. How was the conference?"

"Brilliant! If things went as well as I hope they did, we may be expanding into the American and Canadian markets."

"That's wonderful!" I noticed Lavender pretend to gag from over Harry's shoulder.

"How are things here? Have we met our quota for the end of the month?" Harry immediately began business talk. I liked a boss who was no nonsense and wanted to make sure things stayed on track.

"Almost. There's a few manuscripts to get through, and we're waiting on approval from Hopkirk on the illustrations. If we can get that soon, the art department can move forward, and we should have the new publication out by the middle of next month.

"Great. I'll make a point to call her personally to see if we can get the process moving more quickly."

I nodded. "Just so you know, you've got an 11:00 meeting with marketing. Oh, and the Boys and Girls Club has an event coming up that they'd like you to speak at. Nothing too intensive, just a few words on the impact that reading has had on their kids, and how you've seen the program grow since you've become involved. But it will be a formal affair," I added.

"Ah, so I suppose that means I'll need to bring a date," Harry acknowledged.

"Yes, probably," I said with a small smile. I was trying to hide the hope that he might ask me. It was a work event. Sort of…

"Well, I guess that's one aspect of my life that I shouldn't need your help with, right?" he said with a chuckle.

"Er, yeah, right," I said regretfully.

I watched as he turned and left my office. Lavender looked like she wanted to say something. "Don't even start."

"Fine. Hey, what are you doing before Luna's sten party tonight? I'm meeting some friends for pre-drinks. You could use the distraction!"

I laughed at her brazenness. "My neighbor is coming back into town. I promised I'd pick her up at the train station

and we'd grab a bite before the party." I lowered my voice for what I was about to say next. "Who schedules a sten party on a Monday anyways?"

"Are you just starting to question Luna's decisions now? And is that the neighbor you've been friends with since you moved in, but know nothing about? The one who disappears for months on end?"

"Yeah, Jenny. But she's really nice, and fun to hang out with when she's in town. There's only so much I can take of you," I joked.

"You wouldn't know what to do without me," Lavender scoffed.

Just then, Harry popped his head back in my office. "Hey, Hermione, did you leave the coffee on my desk?"

"What? Oh, yes. It was nothing. I, er—I figured you might want it," I said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Thanks! You were right, just like always," he smiled and I thought my legs were turning to jelly. "That's why I love ya," he added as he disappeared from my doorway.*

I was awestruck. "I love you, too," I said quietly under my breath as I watched him walk away*.

Slap! Lavender smacked me hard across the face. "Get it together!" she snapped.

I shook my head as I cleared my head from the haze. "Y-yeah. Yup. Thanks. I needed that."

Lavender had no words for me. I always appreciated her realistic view on things, even if it was a bit crass. The fact that she was speechless over what had just happened was like someone dumping ice water down my back, and the cold realization creeped through my veins. I had it bad for my boss, and I was stuck.

~o~

I was right on time when I arrived at the train station to pick up Jenny. She'd been away for six months, which was longer than normal, but I was excited that she was coming home for a while. I loved Lavender and her friendship, but sometimes she was a bit much. Jenny was way more relaxed, and didn't press me as much about my personal life. Soon enough I saw her flaming red hair in the crowd. I waved and it didn't take long for her to spot me.

"Hermione!" I heard her cry as she made her way over to me. She wrapped me in a hug. "It's so good to see you! I'm sorry you had to pick me up. My brother bailed on me last minute."

"Ah, yes, this mysterious brother you insist exists, yet I've never met in our five years of sharing the same building," I joked. "Come on, I've already called for takeaway."

"Brilliant! I'm starved. Fish and chips, I hope? I can't tell you the last time I've had a good English classic," she said eagerly.

"Of course, would you expect anything less?"

Jenny threw her arm around my shoulder as I took one of her bags and we made our way to the taxis. The ride took a bit longer than usual since it was rush hour, but our takeaway was still warm by the time we got to the flat. Jenny dropped her bags off in her flat next door to mine, and then met me a few minutes later.

"Finally! I was drooling in the taxi," she said.

"So, how were your travels this time around?" I asked between bites.

"Eh, same old, same old. It's a rough schedule being on the job for six months and then off, but I wouldn't change it for the world."

"You're an athletic trainer for one of the female football teams, right?" I attempted to verify.

"Something like that, yeah. It's hard to believe I've finished my sixth season already."

I nodded, storing that information in the file I had in my brain for her. I'd learned a good deal about Jenny over the past few years, even if it was nothing terribly close to her personal life. I knew she wasn't overly fond of animals, hated cleaning, and could drink anyone into the ground and be completely fine the next day. She was strikingly beautiful with chocolate brown eyes that possessed a hardness to them when she showed the world her 'no nonsense' attitude. I was sure she had no trouble finding men even with her crazy work schedule getting in the way.

"Soooo," Jenny said, interrupting my thoughts. "What's been going on with you? Have you met a man yet?"

Maybe I'd spoken too soon when I said I appreciated her friendship more than Lav's. "No, still single, but I received flowers from some anonymous person at work today," I mentioned with a chuckle.

"Oh? Tell me more!"

"It was nothing, really. Just a delivery with no note. I have an idea who may have sent them, but they never came forward."

"Do you think it's from your mysterious workplace crush? Have they finally noticed what they've been missing out on?"

"One can only hope," I said as I shrugged. "What are your plans for tonight?"

"Probably dumping the contents of my luggage on the floor of my bedroom and crashing, if I'm being honest. Why? Do you have anything planned?"

"Luna, the receptionist at work is having her sten party at XOXO," I told her. "You're more than welcome to join if you'd like. Meet new people, reacquaint yourself with London's nightlife…"

"At an Indie bar? We'll see how I'm feeling after this food digests. I'm way too full to think about going anywhere," she said.

"Well, the offer stands if you decide you want to meet me there later on, though I don't blame you for wanting to make a date with your sofa instead."

We got up and took care of the containers. As Jenny was getting ready to leave, I saw her pause by the counter. "What are these?" she asked as she picked up several newspaper clippings.

"Nothing!" I said quickly, snatching them out of her hand.

"Do you really save wedding announcements?" Jenny asked me.

"Not all of them! Just the ones written by Billy Weston. He's the best!" I insisted.

Jenny was looking at me quizzically before she headed for the door. "Well, you do you, I guess. Thanks for picking me up again! And for dinner. I owe you one."

"No problem! It's good to have you back." Jenny flashed me a smile before she left.

I hoped that maybe someday she'd trust me enough to let me in on the parts of her life she kept locked up tight. The least I could do in the meantime was be a good friend. For now, I needed to get ready for the sten party.

~o~

Lavender and I were walking away from the bar in the club when I heard someone say Harry's name. He was here! I turned in time to see him making his way over to us.

"You got them annual passes to the London Zoo and Aquarium," I said, noticing the worried look on his face.

"Great! Thanks, Hermione. Any chance she'll believe it's from me?" Harry asked.

"Maybe. You do an okay job of getting to know your employees, so I'd say there's a fifty-fifty shot," I quipped.

He gave a look of approval. "Excellent. I'm going to head to the bar and get a drink. Do you guys need anything?"

I chuckled as I said, "No, thanks. I'm set." I held up my own drink as Lavender also shook her head no.

Harry nodded and walked away as Lavender looked at me incredulously. "Are you kidding me?" she shot me a look.

"What?"

"When a guy asks to buy you a drink, you always say yes! Even if you already have one. If you ask for a sex on the beach, it's a subtle hint to indicate what you're hoping for later."

I shook my head. "Honestly, Lav, do you ever not have sex on your mind?"

"What's wrong with that? It might finally get you what you're hoping for. He buys you a drink, you talk about something other than work, he sees you more than just his assistant and voila! Happily ever after!" She lifted her drink in a cheers motion.

I couldn't help but laugh at her ridiculous statement. "We already do talk about things other than work. I'm not going to rush him into anything.'

Lavender rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

"No, I'm responsible."

"What guy wants responsible?" Lavender was clearly getting flustered now.

"Harry! He loves my responsibility and appreciates me for who I am," I insisted.

"Well, yeah, but he might appreciate you more if he knew what you wanted," Lavender said just before clamping her mouth down on her straw and taking a big swig of her drink.

I gave her a look as Harry made his way back over to us. "Hey, Hermione, I hope that thing I left on your desk this morning was okay…" he said quietly.

"That...thing?" I said breathlessly, immediately thinking of the flowers.

"Yeah. I mean, I know it's kind of a new level for us and I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it."

'Y-yeah! Yes! Totally fine with it! Definitely," I said as a grin broke out on my face.

"Great. Er, thanks," Harry said as he nodded to me and took off to mingle.

I turned to Lavender. "It was him. He sent me the flowers. Oh my God! Lavender, he sent me the flowers!"

"Holy shit, he really did!" I could tell by the shocked look on her face she couldn't believe it either. "What are you waiting for?!" she asked.

"W-what?" I asked, confused.

"What are you waiting for? Go over there and tell him how you feel! He made the first move with the flowers! It's now or never! Go declare your love! I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's your fairy tale moment."

"Oh, yeah, right. Go. Yes, I'll go," I said awkwardly.

Lavender pushed me in his direction and I began walking slowly his way. This was it. The moment I'd been waiting for years to come face to face with! My heart was beating faster with each step.

I was only a few paces away when I saw him notice something. I followed his gaze across the dance floor and saw Jenny looking around, probably for me. I was used to seeing her dressed down in a pair of jeans or sweats, but she was actually done up nicely. Her makeup was done, and her straight red hair fell over her shoulders. She was wearing a shimmery emerald green dress that showed off a bit more than I would have ever expected from her.

I saw her notice Harry, giving him a small smile. I should have stopped and turned around when they were clearly making their way toward each other, but I couldn't stop my feet. They just kept propelling me forward. Ironically, I met up with them just as they stopped in front of each other.

Jenny noticed me out of the corner of her eye and muttered, "Hermione."

"Oh, er, right. Harry, this is my friend Jenny, Jenny this is my Harry—no! I mean, this is my boss, Harry," I clarified. How humiliating!*

"Yeah, Hermione's the best assistant anyone could possibly have. Half the time she knows what I need even before I do, and she's always willing to help," he said nervously. Since when did Harry get nervous? "Just this morning I left Padfoot's groomer appointment slip on her desk. It was last minute and I had a meeting, so I asked Hermione to drop him off for me."

I felt like I'd been sucker punched in the gut. The flowers weren't from him after all. How stupid was I to get my hopes up?

"Ah, Pads' appointment. Right," I tried to say as lightly as I could.

"Well, a clean dog is rather important," Jenny agreed in a sweet voice.

"Would you like to get a drink?" Harry asked. He only had eyes for her.

"Well, I came to get a drink with my friend, but I couldn't possibly say no," Jenny giggled. Since when was Jenny a giggler?

My worst nightmare was coming true. Harry was clearly smitten with my neighbor. This wouldn't be happening if I'd never invited her to come along, and now I'm watching them get a drink together.

Before I could turn and leave, there was a tap on my shoulder. It was Ron. "What are you doing here?" I asked. I was totally shocked to run into him again.

"Fancy meeting you here! Did you like the flowers?" he asked me.

"What? Those were from you?" I asked. My voice definitely sounded rude.

He nodded with the lopsided grin flashing across his face. "Er, yeah. Did you like them?"

"Oh great, the marriage hating cynic left me romantic mystery flowers this morning. How ironic!" Could this day get any worse?

"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way. Oh, also, I have something for you." He paused, and I watched him dig around in his satchel. "Here you go!"

It was my Filofax. "Oh, thank God! You found it!"

"Yeah, it was in the back of the cab. You should be more careful where you leave stuff like this. It was either I meet you here tonight or Thursday at your dad's birthday party." He laughed like it was a joke, but I was deeply offended and creeped out.

"You read it?"

He shrugged. "I tried to. I didn't know anyone could fill up every possible centimeter on the page," he joked again.

I didn't find it funny, and what made matters worse was I now saw Harry leaning in and whispering into Jenny's ear. She was smiling and flirting and it felt like my life was falling apart.

"Hey, Ron, could you hold this for a sec?" I asked as I shoved my drink in his hand.

He never got a chance to respond as I made my way to the nearest exit to get some air. Luckily the club was loud enough so no one inside could hear the scream of fury that was escaping my lips. I wasn't proud of the vulgar language I let out, but tonight called for it. I stopped abruptly when I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up and realized the door I'd left didn't actually lead outside, but to another room where a child's birthday party was taking place.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't—5 years old, wow. Congratulations!"

I knew my face was red as I swiftly turned around and made my way back into the club. I reluctantly walked back over to Ron. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," he said, handing my drink back to me. "Do you want to get a drink?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't know…" I said. I suddenly wasn't in the mood.

"Come on, it's just one drink," he said. "Let me prove to you I'm not some creep."

"It's not that. I just—I won't be any fun tonight," I admitted.

"Oh, er, alright then. Well, maybe I'll see you around? Thursday?" he joked again.

I glared at him. "Goodnight, Ron."

He gave me an awkward wave as he turned to leave. Lavender had suddenly appeared behind me. "Ooooh, who was he and where can I get one?"*

"He's no one, Lav," I said. I wasn't in the mood anymore, and I just wanted to go home.

"What happened?" She asked, concerned.

"It's a long story. I'm going to call it a night. I'll see you tomorrow," I said.

I found myself walking over to the bar, approaching Harry and Jenny in a last ditch effort before giving up. "Hey," I said to them. "Jenny, you must be tired from all that traveling today. Do you want to share a taxi?"

"What? Oh, no Hermione, I'm fine," she said dismissively. "Harry, do you want to go somewhere more quiet?"

"Sure, I know a place a few blocks from here."

"What? No—Jenny, it's getting—" I tried to interject, but nothing could break their attention from each other.

"Brilliant! I hardly ever explore this side of town," Jenny said to him.

"Do you want to join, Hermione?" Harry asked.

I looked between Harry and Jenny, and she was giving me a frown and a slight shake of her head, willing me to say no. Of course, I couldn't let her down, so I said, "Oh, no. You two go. I need to get back." That was it. My chance was officially blown.

"Maybe next time," Jenny said convincingly. "Let's get coffee in the morning, yeah? I'll text you!"

I nodded weakly as I watched them get up and head for the door. Jenny turned around mouthed 'Thank you! You're the best,' before taking the arm Harry held out for her. My heart felt like it was shattering to pieces.

I caught a taxi and made my way home, resisting the urge to cry. There was no way I was going to sleep tonight. I tried to do a few things to tire myself out, like clean the kitchen and doing a home workout, but I found myself obsessively checking the peep hole in my door, and listening intently to hear whether Jenny had come home and whether or not Harry had joined her.

Just the mere thought sent needles through my heart. At around two in the morning, I gave up and forced myself to go to bed. It was everything I could do to avoid getting up. Eventually, after a lot of tossing and turning, I managed to fall asleep.