I've just started a fortnight off work (mandatory to burn my annual leave) and we've just gone into local lockdown 😒. I've already done a shed load of writing and it's only day three so I've decided to start posting this fic twice a week to cheer myself up. I hope you enjoy this chapter because I really do. It's full of all the best fluff.
The physical assessments take their toll on Ron and by the end of the week, he is beaten and sore - just in time for his second date with Hermione.
A week of physical assessments, including a 9-hour mock tracking mission, had really taken its toll on Ron. Mix that with the month or so of hard revision he'd put in for his theory exams the week before and he was exhausted; despite the fact he was at his peak physical fitness. He couldn't remember the last time he'd made it home before it turned dark and by the end of the last exam that Friday, he practically had to drag himself into one of the Ministry fireplaces to get himself home.
As soon as he landed in his living room, he threw himself onto his sofa and closed his eyes. His rest only lasted for a brief minute before he remembered he had plans with Hermione that night. He let out a frustrated groan. He really didn't want to let her down and he'd been looking forward to this date all week but he was so tired; his body ached all over and he knew he wouldn't be great company if he was forced out of his flat again that evening.
With a sigh, he carefully rolled off the sofa and wearily threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace before shoving his head into the green flames.
The rushing sound of the floo activating caught Hermione by surprise. She'd not long gotten home from work herself. She'd been busy all week preparing for Betsy's arrival. She was already a bundle of nerves about her and Ron's date this evening, so she'd been making herself a cup of tea in the hope of calming herself down a little. She wandered over to the fireplace with her tea in her hands, frowning as she spotted Ron's face.
"Ron?" She placed the cup on her coffee table before dropping to her knees to look at him better.
"Hey 'Mione… you okay?"
"I'm okay – how about you?"
"I'm tired – I just finished my last exam…"
"Well you have two hours before we're due to meet, why don't you try and get a nap?"
Ron pulled a face slightly. "That's why I was flooing you… do you mind if I get a rain check?"
"Oh…" Hermione tried not to show how disappointed she felt. She knew the last couple of weeks had been hard on him, but she'd really been looking forward to tonight. "No, of course not. You get some rest and maybe I'll see you at lunch Sunday?"
Ron frowned as he noticed the disappointment on her face. He let out a heavy sigh. "No, it's not fine. I was really looking forward to it." He ran his hand over his face. "Look, I can't promise that I'll be great company and my flat is a tip but you're more than welcome to come over if you want? I'm sure I can find something in the kitchen for dinner…" Ron knew he'd said the right thing straight away as Hermione visibly perked up.
"Why don't I sort out dinner, but as long as you're sure?"
"That would be great. I'm looking forward to it. Why don't you just come over when you're ready?" He tried to muster the biggest smile he could before pulling his head out of the fireplace and collapsing back on the sofa, determined to get a nap so he'd have more energy later.
When Hermione apparated to the landing outside Ron's flat an hour later, she was dressed in a clean pair of sweats and a casual t-shirt. She'd considered dressing in something nicer, but then figured they would only be lounging around the flat and Ron had seen her in a lot worse anyway. On her way over, she had popped to the local supermarket and picked up the ingredients to make lasagne, which was one of Ron's favourite meals. Tentatively, she knocked on the front door.
The knock only just woke Ron and he got up from the sofa with a groan. He ached in places he didn't even know he could ache and rubbed his neck softly as he moved to answer the door.
"Hey you…" He gave Hermione a sleepy smile.
Hermione returned his smile as she took in his sleepy appearance. He still had cushion lines imprinted on his face. "Did I wake you up?"
"S'okay…" He rubbed his eyes. "I won't sleep tonight if I nap too long now. Come on in…" Ron held the door open wider for her.
She headed straight through to the kitchen to unload her shopping bags. "It felt a bit weird apparating to your front door, but I wasn't sure if you'd changed your wards after…."
"I can't even remember; I'll check them at some point. I'm on yours so it's only fair I add you in, especially now we're dating…" He leaned against the kitchen counter and watched her move quickly around the kitchen. It felt familiar and good. He smiled as he spotted that she was wearing comfortable clothes instead of dressing up. He was glad she didn't feel like she had to make a special effort for him. His smile widened as he watched her top ride up slightly as she reached for the higher cupboards and he remembered he was still in his Auror training uniform and probably stunk. "What food did you bring?"
"Lasagne… should take me about an hour, is that okay?"
"Perfect! Do you mind if I grab a quick bath? Everything aches and I probably stink…"
"Of course not…" Hermione turned to him with a smile. "I'll make a start on the meal and bring you a glass of wine!"
20 minutes had passed before Ron heard another quiet knock, this time on his bathroom door. He'd run his bath using some of the products Lavender had left after their break-up. Bubble baths had always been one of his guilty pleasures and she always had a great stock of really fancy stuff.
He called for Hermione to come in, laughing as she covered her eyes with one hand; two glasses of wine levitating in front of her. She focused her magic to push one glass in his general direction without removing her hand from her eyes.
"Come on 'Mione, you've seen me naked before…" He reached out for his wine and took it from her, trying hard not to laugh again as she insisted on keeping her eyes covered.
"I know but seeing you naked now is hardly going to be conducive to us taking things slow."
"Why? Are you worried you're going to want to haul me out of the tub and have your wicked way with me on the bathroom floor?!" He laughed again as she nodded her head. "Well I hate to disappoint you but I have absolutely no energy for sex tonight. Come on Hermione…" He reached out to pull her hand away, groaning at the effort it took.
Hermione let him pull at her, laughing as she finally saw his bath was so full of bubbles she couldn't see anything anyway. She settled herself on the toilet seat with an amused smile, taking a sip of her wine. "I love that you still enjoy a bubble bath…"
"And you'll do good to remember I'm a ridiculously good Auror. If you tell Harry or my brothers, I'll hex you silly!"
She looked like she was contemplating it. "I'd like to see you try!" Hermione grinned. "So the food is in the oven and you have about 45 minutes to soak. Do you want some peace and quiet?"
"No… I want you to tell me about your week…"
Hermione sipped at her wine as she filled him in about her preparations for Betsy's first week in work. She was the most excited to introduce her to the Ministry library. In return, Ron told Hermione all about his physical exams; although she could see from the bruises and cuts on his body just how tough his week had been,
"I packed some essence of dittany for you to put on before you go to bed tonight. Some of those cuts really do look sore Ron…"
"You're a life saver 'Mione. I'm rubbish at keeping a stock of that sort of thing in the flat. I probably should…"
"I can help brew you some potions. You should be using healing potions regularly; you have enough scars; you don't need anymore…" Hermione's eyes drifted to his arm where the scars from the brain attack mixed with those from when she splinched him.
"Well you have your fair share too; wars tend to do that to people…" Ron shrugged.
Hermione glanced at her own arm, where the words 'Mudblood' could still be seen clearly carved into her forearm.
Ron leaned forward in the bath slightly, although the effort caused him to groan again. "I always wondered why you refused to use dittany on that scar…" He gave Hermione a gentle smile.
Hermione turned her arm up to look at it contemplatively. "It's important to me. I've been called Mudblood all my wizarding life and although I understand that it's an awful word I've decided to reclaim it and prove how brilliant Mudbloods can be…" She dropped her arm and smiled at him.
Ron watched her, amazed by her courage and spirit. Although he'd experienced a lot of negative attitudes towards him and his family due to their beliefs and roles in the Order of the Phoenix, he had never been tortured for what he was. He sat up more in the bath, making sure the bubbles still covered him, although this was more for Hermione's sake than his own.
"Come over here?" He held out a hand for her, smiling as she came to him immediately. He slid his hand over hers and up her forearm, resting it over her scar as she kneeled next to the bath. "You're going to do more than prove that. You're going to change the Wizarding World for the better and then once you're done, you'll probably change the Muggle world too…"
Hermione gazed up at him, her heart pounding in the usual erratic way it did whenever she was close to him. "Do you think so?"
"Yes and you shouldn't ever doubt it…" He tightened his grip on her arm. His eyes moved from her eyes to her lips as he felt that familiar gravitational pull towards her. His heart was pounding a tattoo against his ribcage and he could feel her breath against his skin. He mustered his courage and quickly bridged the gap, pressing his lips softly against hers.
Hermione felt her heart stop and for a moment, she thought she might be dead. She was finally getting what she had craved since she had left him for Australia over a year ago. The short, chaste kisses they had shared over the last month or so had been leading up this moment and it almost felt a little overwhelming to her.
It wasn't until she felt him tighten his grip on her arm again that she realised she wasn't dead and she started to reciprocate the kiss. It was perfect; it filled her heart up to the brim and she felt it all the way down to her core, although she felt no rush or pressure to push it deeper or take things any further tonight.
They carried on kissing until they both had to pull away for breath. Hermione rested her forehead against his and when she finally spoke, she was still breathless. "I've been wanting to kiss you like that for so long…"
Ron laughed softly and trailed his spare hand carefully over her hair. "Me too. Last week in Hogsmeade was a massive test of my self-control. I really wanted to kiss you and hold your hand…"
Hermione grinned and moved in for another kiss but was distracted by her wand vibrating in her pocket. "I think the lasagne is ready…" She stole a quick kiss from him before carefully getting up. "It's probably good timing, your bubbles are starting to disappear and if we carried on kissing, you'd definitely expose yourself…" She gave him a smirk before picking up the empty wine glasses and heading through to the kitchen to sort out their dinner.
They ate their food together quickly. Ron was obviously still very tired but he made a gallant effort to keep Hermione entertained. He had protested when Hermione got up from the table to start tidying up, but she had just ordered him to the sofa to rest.
She eventually wandered through to join him with topped up wine glasses. She set them on the coffee table then sat at the opposite end of the sofa. "So I have something to show you…" She lifted her wand and accio'd a magazine out of her bag. She passed it to Ron, watching him closely as he read the cover.
"'I had my heart broken by the Golden Trio!' Oh Merlin, that's a headline…" Ron surprised Hermione by laughing as he read, eagerly flipping through to the article. "Lavender warned me this might be coming, though she didn't say it was Skeeter than interviewed her! She makes it sound like all three of us dumped Lav…"
"You're still in touch with her?" Hermione tried to sound nonchalant as she asked.
Ron put the magazine down briefly, eyebrows raised. "Is that an issue?"
"No, of course not…" Her cheeks flushed bright red under his gaze.
He read the whole article out loud, pausing to pull it apart and laugh at the accusations. "Witch Weekly got in touch with her a few weeks ago under the pretence of speaking to her about her werewolf attack and why she'd chosen to be a healer. While they were interviewing her, she started to get the feeling they were after something else. She was worried she may have let something slip unintentionally, so she floo'd me to give me a heads up. She was really anxious about doing something to annoy me or give attention to all three of us. Luckily, she was clever enough not to mention you were back on the scene…"
Hermione gave him a small smile, feeling ridiculous that she'd even been concerned about his contact with Lavender. "I'm pretty sure most of Witch Weekly's readers still think of me as a scarlet woman. Given everything I'm working on at the moment, I'd rather keep my face out of it. I'll have to remember to thank Lavender when I see her. I guess this means we should keep quiet about us for a little bit longer?"
Ron nodded as he put the magazine on the coffee table and let out a yawn. Instead of settling back in his spot, he shifted so he could lie out on the sofa; his head resting in Hermione's lap while his legs extended over the arm on the opposite side. He closed his eyes as her hands immediately started to stroke though his hair. "I think so, just for a little bit longer. It's nice like this though, isn't it?"
"I guess…" Hermione sighed slightly. "I just wish I could hold your hand when we're out or let Harry know and not have to hide in front of him or your family…"
Ron opened his eyes to look up at her. "I just can't put a label on things yet Hermione. This is only our second date after all, however familiar this feels. I don't think you realise how hard it has been for me to let you all the way in like this…"
Hermione let out another sigh but kept eye contact with him. "No, I know. I do understand. I'm not going anywhere though, I promise."
"I know…" Ron puckered up his lips but didn't lift his head. Hermione laughed and dropped her head down, giving him a slow, soft kiss. As she pulled away, he closed his eyes again. "It won't be long, I promise. After tonight, I think I'm going to struggle to keep my hands off you…" He gave her a warm smile.
She watched him with a small smile, still feeling a little bit sad about their situation but she figured this was her punishment for dumping him in the first place. It was going to be hard to prove she won't abandon him again, but she had no intention of going anywhere and was determined to prove that to him.