A Magical Melody

Author's Note: Originally published on December 29, 2020

Ron's loud footsteps echoed in the kitchen as he barrelled down the stairs of The Burrow, breaking the quiet peace.

"Morning, Mum."

Molly was busy at the stove, preparing breakfast for the Weasley clan. She greeted her youngest son as he strode toward the table.

He slid into the chair next to Hermione and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, both of them blushing under Molly's gaze. She was watching them wistfully, before turning back to a pan of fried eggs.

"Morning, love."

Hermione grinned at him, slowly getting used to the terms of endearment he seemed so fond of using. "Good morning."

He dropped his head onto her shoulder and snuggled close before letting out a wide yawn.

"How did you sleep?"

"Good, until I woke up and you weren't—"

She kicked him under the table, shutting him up. The fact that she'd been sneaking into his room at night to fall asleep in his arms was not something she wanted Mrs. Weasley to hear about.

"Sorry," he murmured in her ear, causing a pleasurable shiver to run through her body. She loved that they could be so close now, after denying themselves for so long.

His volume increased significantly. "How did you sleep in Ginny's room?"

She tutted under her breath, but played along with his charade nonetheless. "I was fine; no nightmares."

"Good. Why are you up so early? I thought I finally convinced you that sleeping in was good for you."

She paused for a moment, running her fingers up and down the teacup in front of her.

"What is it?"

"I've been thinking..."

"That's not a surprise."

Hermione rolled her eyes affectionately and continued on.

"Ever since your Dad and Bill finished checking my parents' home for curses and traps last week, it's been on my mind. What state is the house in? Should I do something about it or wait?"

"You usually don't wait for anything... except maybe me," he quipped.

"I know, I hate just sitting here, knowing there is something to be done," she fretted, completely ignoring the rest of his comment. "I even rang the energy company from the village, when I went with Ginny and your mum the other day, and everything should be reconnected by now."

Ron scrunched his eyes in deep thought. "Electricity, right?"

Hermione nodded. "What if... what if we go to my house today? See how things are? We're still waiting for the paperwork to go to Australia, and it would be nice for them to have a home to come back to." Her voice dropped to a strained whisper. "If we find them."

Ron ran his large hand gently up and down her back, the warmth through her thin shirt soothing her as he leaned forward. "We'll find them, I promise. I think visiting your house, now that it's safe, is a brilliant idea. I've always wanted to see where you grew up."

She turned her head in surprise, throwing him slightly off balance. "Really?"

He sat up and nodded, before looking down and picking at the wooden tabletop to avoid eye contact. "It was always one of those things I wondered about, but if I told you, I was scared you'd realize how much time I spent I thinking about you."

Her face softened at such a sweet, honest admission. It wasn't the first time he'd surprised her with the depth of his feelings in the short time they'd been dating. Before she could reply, Mrs. Weasley let out a sniffle and dabbed her eyes with her apron, before hustling over and placing two plates in front of them, stopping to ruffle Ron's hair.

"Geroff, Mum!" His complaint was half-hearted, causing Hermione to giggle.

"I'm just so happy for the two of you! Now, tuck in."

Ron rolled his eyes, but reached for Hermione's hand under the table, their fingers linking together. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

A quiet pop, barely noticeable in the late Spring afternoon, signalled the arrival of the couple in a posh suburb. Arriving in a small tree-lined area, they emerged onto the sidewalk, hand-in-hand.

Ron shook his head, slightly disoriented from the Side-Along. They thought it was the safest way to go, since he wasn't familiar with the area where Hermione lived. His eyes widened as he took in the houses they were walking past. "Wow, these places are really fancy."

"Dentists tend to do quite well financially, so my parents bought our home in a nice location, both to live in and as a sensible investment. Their goal was to sell it when they were older and retire to the coast."

Ron nodded, still looking around in awe.

"Look, there it is!"

He directed his attention to the neat, two-storey brick home. It wasn't the largest on the block, but certainly not the smallest. It seemed quite grand and spacious for a family of three.

As they reached the front door, Hermione paused and let out a shaky breath. Ron placed his hands on her shoulders, coaxing her to face him.

"You did the right thing."

She took a moment and nodded, her body still trembling. "It just feels surreal to be back here, now that everything is over."

"From what Bill said, it seems like the Death Eaters realized it was abandoned and didn't cause much damage. I think he and Dad set most of it right already."

She nodded, and pulled out a key from her pocket.

He watched her carefully as she unlocked the door and turned the knob. She peered into the dark, a beam of sunlight highlighting the dust in the air. Overcome by sudden emotion, Hermione's eyes welled up, remembering the times she had spent there with her family. Her missing family.

A second later, her nose was pressed into the softly worn cotton of Ron's shirt as he comforted her.

"You are amazing." The deep timbre of his voice was muffled by her hair. "What you did to protect them took so much, and it'll be over with soon. We're going to find them and bring them home."

She gripped him harder, tears soaking into the cloth. She hadn't realized how much her actions had cost her. How big of a weight it had been on her soul.

"I couldn't do this without you," she said into his shirt.

"I'm here for you, no matter what happens."

She wiped her eyes, before pulling him down for a quick kiss. "Thank you."

Letting out a deep, far calmer breath, Hermione turned to the doorway.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

She stepped in and flipped the familiar switch on the wall. The light in the entrance hummed to life as she surveyed her home for the first time in a year.

"Wicked!"

Ron's enthusiasm seemed to shake her out of her thoughts as she shuffled aside and let him in, locking the door behind him.

He looked around in wonder, taking it all in. She in turn was watching him, a small smile playing across her lips. He spied her expression and grinned back. "So this is it, huh? The famous Granger residence."

"I don't know how famous it is, but it's home."

Ron was fascinated. "Everything is so neat and tidy, and the walls are so straight, unlike The Burrow. It does seem much more welcoming than Harry's Aunt and Uncle's. I think that's the only other Muggle home I've ever been to."

She too glanced around. She hadn't realized how much she missed the place she grew up.

"The rest of our things aren't even out yet. I shrunk the valuables and concealed them in the attic."

The lights started flickering, causing Hermione to jump. It was then she noticed her boyfriend, flicking the switch on and off rapidly.

"Ron, what are you doing?"

"Lights on, lights off. This is fun! You should try it."

She grabbed his hand, stilling it. "You can play later. We have work to do first."

Ron groaned, his head flopping back in protest. "We don't have to clean the Muggle way, do we? I still have nightmares about Grimmauld Place."

She playfully poked him in the side, causing him to flinch. "No, we'll use magic this time. We can get the cleaning done quickly, then we can start rearranging the furniture and putting things back in the cupboards."

He kissed the top of her head, before making a sweeping gesture. "Lead the way."

The two set about cleaning the empty house, the thin layer of dust coating the surfaces quickly removed. Hermione opened the curtains and windows, letting in the fresh breeze. With the aid of magic, it only took them a short amount of time to get the main areas of the first floor looking like new.

Hermione was just finishing the kitchen cabinets as Ron stopped to examine some of the appliances.

"I really should have taken Muggle Studies," he remarked as he took a closer look at the electric kettle. "Some of this stuff is interesting. I can see why Dad is so obsessed."

"Your Dad's interest in Muggle gadgets is quite unique amongst magical people, isn't it?"

"It's completely barmy."

"No more than obsessing over books or Quidditch."

He shrugged. "I guess everyone has their interests."

Hermione suddenly gasped and raced to the stairs leading to the second floor. "Wait here."

Her footsteps thumped around above him for a few minutes, until she finally reappeared and descended the stairs, her face flushed.

"What have you got there?" Ron asked as she reached him. In her hand were a number of tiny brown cubes.

"You'll see, come with me." She grabbed his hand, their fingers locking automatically, and practically pulled him to a small room at the back of the house. "This is Dad's den."

The empty built-ins were the perfect place for floor-to-ceiling books. "Your own personal library. No wonder you're so excited."

She chuckled and shook her head, before gently placing the small cubes on the floor.

"Stand back."

With a quick wave of her wand, the cubes expanded into a large pile of assorted boxes. "It's my Dad's collection. Instead of gadgets, music is his passion."

She gleefully opened the first box to find it full of cardboard sleeves. She extracted one and pulled out the thin black disc from inside to show Ron.

"These are records. They aren't as popular anymore, but a lot of purists love them. The music is imprinted in these grooves here."

"Ooh!" She said, shoving the record back into its sleeve and handing it to Ron. "Let me show you these."

Hermione moved a few boxes and found the one she was looking for. The inside revealed piles of small plastic rectangles.

"What am I looking at?"

"These are called cassettes, or tapes," she explained as she opened the case and removed the cassette, pointing out the spools inside. "The tape within contains the music. And last but not least—"

"There's more?"

"Yes!" She opened a third box and pulled out a jewel case. "These are called compact discs, or CDs."

Ron's head was spinning now as she passed him the silver disc. He held the CD in his hands, watching as it caught the light and revealed a rainbow of colours across its surface. "So why does music come in all of these different containers?"

"You'll find that Muggles are creative and adaptable to new technologies. We're constantly inventing and refining how we do things. Innovation moves much faster here than in the Wizarding world."

Ron nodded, gesturing to the records and cassettes. "So all of these have been made in the last few years?"

"Records were more popular in the 1960s and 70s, cassettes in the 80s, and CDs in the 90s. When I was here for Christmas the year before last, my dad had a new computer. He was showing me that digital music can now be downloaded as MP3 files. He thinks it's the future of music."

All Ron could do was shake his head in disbelief. "I don't understand half of what you just said, but I'll take your word for it."

He watched in fascination as she opened more boxes and stacked a number of large rectangular devices on the shelves, then untangled a spool of wires.

Ron was peering at the electronics. "I think my Dad has some of this stuff in his shed!"

"These actually play the music." She pointed out the different devices to him. "This is a turntable, it plays the records, and this is a stereo with both a cassette player and a CD player."

She directed him to lift up the large speakers and place them in the corners of the room.

"What are you doing now?"

"I'm connecting the speakers so that we can hear the music. Think of these as boxes with a Sonorous charm on them."

He watched as she deftly ran the wiring and plugged everything in.

Her eyes were alight with excitement to share this with him. "What shall we listen to first?"

Ron shrugged. "Whatever doesn't sound like the rubbish Mum listens to."

"No, of course not. Muggle music has much more variety. There are so many genres: pop, rock, classical, country, hip hop. Luckily, my Dad has very diverse tastes."

"You're taking the mickey! There's no music called hip hop! Is it made by rabbits?"

She snorted. "It's completely true. I think it's more popular in America."

She started flipping through the records, trying to find something that might appeal to Ron. "Oh, this should work! The Weird Sisters were inspired by this type of music, so it should be familiar."

Ron shrugged. "I never really paid that much attention to them before."

"Surely you've heard Ginny playing their music. They played the entire Yule Ball!"

He suddenly looked pained, his mouth a thin line as he quietly responded. "Like I said, I haven't paid much attention."

Noting his tenseness, she turned back to the audio equipment. "Well, let's see what you think about this."

She fiddled with the knobs on the turntable, before pulling out the record. With a light scratch of the needle arm, the familiar static sound of a record playing filled the room.

Hermione suddenly stomped her feet and clapped in time with the loud music.

Ron clutched at his chest, broken out of his stupor. "Bloody hell!"

She grabbed his hand, her excitement contagious as he reluctantly joined in the pattern. A man's excited voice sang and Ron couldn't help bobbing his head. Hermione was smiling widely watching him.

As the music swelled, she cried out the familiar lyrics. "We will, we will rock you!"

Ron's deep voice hesitantly joined hers as their combined singing echoed off the walls. Once the song came to an end, Ron couldn't help but express his admiration, his mood lifted.

"That was brilliant!"

"See, I told you Muggles had good music. That was a rock band called Queen. I believe that song is quite popular at sporting events."

Ron's eyes lit up. "Imagine a whole Quidditch stadium doing that!"

"That would certainly be a sight. What next?"

As the two continued unboxing and organizing the rather large collection of music, Hermione took the opportunity to play a variety of different songs, just to introduce Ron to some of the genres she enjoyed.

"Dad always had music playing, and I must admit, I did miss it at Hogwarts. The few times I was here, he always had something new to listen to."

Ron was digging through a box, looking at the various CD covers when he let out a gasp.

"What is this?"

She spotted the familiar case in his hands, her face blanching in horror. "No, no, no!"

She launched herself at him, but Ron was quicker, holding the case higher than she could reach. She tried to jump up, but was unable to knock it out of his hands.

"Give that back!" She pouted over his laughter.

"I will, once I've examined it."

Hermione crossed her arms, and shot him a look that would make most people quaver.

Ron read the cover, which had been decorated with a number of hand-written hearts. "Take That?"

"They happen to be a very popular group."

Ron wrinkled his nose as he looked at the five blokes on the cover, all dressed in white. "So which poncy git did you fancy back then?"

She smirked at him, her chin jutting out. "The one I still fancy is Gary Barlow."

"Pfft! Come off it."

"Alright, fine. I did find someone better to fancy soon after that."

"Wait, who?"

She shook her head, before swatting him with the rag in her hand. "You!"

"Bloody right."

She thought she heard him mutter the word "wankers" under his breath as he tossed the case back into the box and continued his explorations.

They took their time, putting everything back by hand to enjoy the afternoon together. Hermione was an encyclopedia of musical knowledge, having learned from her father.

She would sing bits and pieces of songs as they worked, her tone slightly off-key, but it made Ron smile.

As they finished up and vanished all the empty boxes, Hermione turned to him. "What did you like best?"

He thought for a moment, scanning the now full shelves. "Definitely the rock music. I liked that Queen group, and that other one. Lead Zuplin?"

"Led Zeppelin."

"Yeah, them. The pop music was alright, so was the hip hop. I liked the... what did you call it again? Catchy beats? I didn't like the country music much."

She smiled proudly. "Look at you, you're a real expert now!"

"My Dad will be so excited."

"I wanted to play one more song, but I'm not sure if you'll like it."

"Go on then."

Hermione pulled a well-worn record from the shelf and placed it on the turntable. A strong feminine voice filled the room over a slow, romantic melody.

"At last... My love has come along."

She closed her eyes at the familiar sound, picturing the times she'd spent in the room.

"I love this song. It's one of Mum's favourites. We would sit in here on Sunday afternoons, reading, while Dad would organize his collection and play whatever latest albums he purchased."

A loud, obvious clearing of Ron's throat broke her out of her memories. Her eyes opened to find her boyfriend with his hand out, his ears blazing red.

"Didn't get the chance to do this properly last time," he mumbled before he looked up, his eyes meeting hers. "May I have a dance with the prettiest girl here?"

She nodded enthusiastically, her hand clasping his before he pulled her close. She sighed as she nestled against his chest, the two of them swaying together.

She was burrowed in his arms, his warmth enveloping her. The strains of melody echoed around as the two of them danced in a sweet embrace.

"I found a thrill to press my cheek to... A thrill that I have never known."

She never thought she would one day dance with Ron Weasley in her father's den. It was like a dream come true.

Hermione sang into his shirt, her words muffled. "Oh, yeah, yeah, and you smile, you smile... Oh, and then the spell was cast."

She looked up and their eyes met again, drawn together like magnets.

"I always loved that line."

"This music does have a kind of magic to it."

"Mmm, it does."

The two of them slowly spun, holding onto each other as if they would fly away, their eyes still locked. After a moment, Hermione laid her head on his chest and spoke up again.

"Would you really have called me pretty at your brother's wedding?"

He rumbled with laughter. "I'd been working up to it that entire month. Just didn't want to lose my chance with him there, so I panicked and didn't say what I had really wanted to say."

"You never had to worry about him."

"I know that now, but back then, I didn't think I was enough. And for the record, you were the prettiest girl there."

"You can be very sweet. And for the record, I didn't want to dance with anyone other than you, Ron. You have always been more than enough."

"You know, that was one of my favourite memories, dancing with you at Bill's wedding. I thought about it a lot this past year."

She squeezed him tightly, trying to convey how much his words meant to her. She too had replayed those moments over and over in her head, trying to remember what it was like to be so close to him. Nothing beat the real thing.

"Do you know how badly I wanted to kiss you that day?"

She stayed firmly pressed to him as they continued their slow dance. "I was really hoping you would."

"I would've done it, if not for the interruption."

She looked up to find him staring down at her, an unmistakable look of love on his face.

"Nothing's stopping you now."

He grinned broadly and leaned forward, his breath mingling with hers for a second before their lips met.

Though the music had faded out, the two held each other on their impromptu dance floor, lost in one another.

At last.