5
Hello!
So full disclosure this is a snippet that I originally wrote for another story, but I don't know that I will end up using it in the final draft. The unfortunate part of my writing process at the moment is that I am writing a lot, but it is not necessarily ready to post yet because the order is all out of wack so… here is a small tidbit for anyone willing to read and consider it. Thanks!
Stay safe, my darlings…
Hermione's eyes watched as a gnome's head popped out of a bush on the other side of the garden. He ducked back down upon spying her on the bench, and the bush shook. She pulled her feet up on to the bench and looped her arms around her knees before looking up into the starry sky. It seemed as though the usual cloudy skies held off in favor of this day. She heard cheers and laughter through the open window behind her. She smiled to herself thinking about the announcement of the first Weasley grandchild.
Ron stumbled briefly as he made his way through the back door. "Hermione!" He called out before spotting her. A goofy smile spread across his face as he bounded over to her. He thrust a glass of some dark liquor towards her before attempting a sloppy yet chaste kiss.
She attempted to grin back at him, and she hoped it wouldn't look as forced as it felt.
"Yeh're missing the party!" He slurred before dropping down onto the bench next to her.
She slid her feet back to the ground, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry I just wanted a moment. It's such a beautiful night."
He looked briefly confused but quickly brushed it off. "Come on! Have some fun once in a while!"
She shook her head. "I am enjoying it." She let the moment settle in silence. "But you should head back in. I'm just tired from work and everything. Go. Be with your family."
He looked at her with adoration. "Hermione, they're your family too. I mean, who knows how long before it'll be before it's us in there."
Her chest ached with unspoken words. There were nights when they'd had this row. But tonight was not that night. So, unable to hold his gaze, she cuddled up into his arms and rested her head against his chest. She felt his arm tighten around her. They sat there in silence, enjoying the night for a few moments before an audible crack echoed in the air.
Ron jumped up and lumbered over to welcome Aunt Muriel. "You made it! Did you hear the good news?" While his drinking often irritated her, Hermione was tempted to laugh as Ron conveyed his intoxicated enthusiasm with his gangling arms to the stern older woman.
"Of course. Why else do you think I would be here at this hour?" Ron's shoulders slumped a bit before the woman pushed her oversized handbag into his arms. "Now, mustn't keep them all waiting." She walked ahead of him back to the house.
Ron looked back at Hermione a bit a helplessly. "I'll be back!" He called out before following the woman back inside. Hermione's wistful smile lingered. She looked back up into the starry sky then grimaced through a gulp of the firewhiskey he left her with.
When the door opened again, she expected Ron to come bumbling back out, but George stepped through with his hands tucked into his pockets. Silently, he took the seat next to her on the bench and looked up into the sky.
"How's the shop?" She asked to break the small silence that had settled around them.
"Good." He said simply.
She nodded and looked back up into the sky. "It's nice to see the Alley returning to normal. Seems like most of the shops have been rebuilt. It's almost like...nothing ever happened."
George chuckled. "Eh. Dunno, some things certainly changed. Never thought I'd see the Malfoys take up their own shop." She looked at him in confusion and waiting for an explanation. And so he continued. "It's been all over the papers. Everyone is throwing a fit because they bought the old Northend Apothecary. Not open, but…"
She bit her lip. "Aren't they still under house arrest?"
George shook his head, "Only the old bastard. The young prat has been skulking around."
Hermione chewed on her lip a bit more and stared off into the distance. She honestly wasn't sure what should have been done with the Malfoys. In the end, she had testified at their hearings for the sake of fairness but had refused to offer an opinion as to their sentence. It didn't seem right. Who was she to say what they deserved? Still, for some reason, she feared running into Malfoy out there on the streets. Not because she feared him, but this sense of normalcy, they were all slipping into seemed too fragile to be disrupted by such dark memories.
At the same time, it reminded her anyone of them could take control of their own destiny.
She mulled over the thought in her head, oblivious to the silence, until George wrenched her from her thoughts.
"When are you going to do it?"
She looked over to him. "Pardon?"
He smirked a bit, still staring off the distance before turning to look her in the eye. "You are planning to dump my tosser of brother, yeah?"
She was thankful that the darkness covered her flushed face. "What—I don't know what you—"
George looked over at her. "Oh come off it. It's why you are out here." He paused as though waiting for her next denial. Though just as she opened her mouth, he cut her off again, "I'm not mad. Just curious is all."
She eyed him carefully before taking another painful swig from the glass. "I'm not sure what I'm planning to do. Or what I want to do."
He nodded. "You want to talk about it?" Hermione scrunched up her nose in disdain, and George let out a bitter barking laugh. "Fair enough, you are probably looking for some bloke with two ears." He smiled, mocking himself.
Her mouth twitched towards a smile, but ultimately Hermione sighed. She had no intention of speaking to anyone about it, but it might be nice... Harry was like her brother but also Ron's best friend. Ginny was away more and more for Quidditch. And everyone else just couldn't get past the image of the perfect couple from the golden trio.
"The thing is… its all just perfectly fine. I mean, we have fights and things, but everything is—it's exactly the way it's supposed to be. Ron and Hermione. The Golden Couple of the Golden Trio. Frankly, I can see it too. I can see what everyone else sees. I can see what our life would be like- filled with petty and infuriating arguments but always with support. I can see him settling for two children instead of four. I can see myself settling for a slower career because it would be nice. It would be perfectly simple and perfectly nice."
She paused for a moment. "I can see a lifetime of chaste kisses on the way out the door and holding hands on walks down the street. I can see him making stupid corny jokes and laughing. I can see us in endless arguments about how he leaves his socks everywhere. I can see him teasing me about the books and papers I can't leave behind. I can see us in a cozy home. I can see him hoisting little ones on his shoulders. I can see us around a Christmas tree smiling. I can see him attempting to sneak sweets behind my back. I can see a lifetime of family gatherings with all of you. I know exactly what it will be like. I can see every moment of the rest of our lives, almost like its already been lived." She trailed off.
"But…" George prompted.
"What if it's not enough?" The question she had been suppressing burst out of her lips.
George chuckled darkly.
"I mean, it is a great life." She paused somberly. "It is even perhaps a perfect life. I just don't know that I want it." She swallowed. It was the first time she admitted it out loud. "Does that make me a terrible person?"
George smirked and shrugged.
She huffed and looked away.
"Staying won't make you a good person."
Hermione looked back at him and saw the sincerity in his expression. She felt the prickle of tears in her eyes.
He nodded at her in affirmation and looked off back into the distance. "I won't tell you what to do, but decide sooner rather than later, yeah?"
She nodded and brushed a rogue tear away from her face.
It was at that inopportune moment that Ron popped his head back out the door. "'Mione! Come on back inside, it's last toast of the night!"
She attempted to call back but had to clear her throat first. "Be right there!"
Hermione and George walked back to the house. As George held the door for her, he offered one piece of wisdom. "You'll still be one of us. Whether you want to make official or not."
She gave a sad smile. "Thanks."
Inside, most of the Weasleys gathered around the living room. Fleur glowed from her seat in one of the large armchairs by the fire with Bill perched on the armrest looking down at her with adoration and wonder. Aunt Muriel sat in the other armchair with a primly proud smile on her face. Molly continued to wipe away happy tears as she stood off the side with Arthur's arm wrapped around her shoulders. Percy stood with a genuine smile on the other side of the fire but still a bit uncomfortable and unsure of what to do. Ron and Harry repeatedly bumped into him while swaying arm in arm, singing a celebratory chant. Ginny laughed joyously at them from her spot on the couch, where Hermione joined her. George leaned against the banister for the staircase, watching it all.
Molly took a step forward and motioned with both hands for them to quiet down. "Yes, well, Bill, Fleur— I just want to say…" Her eyes welled up with fresh tears.
Arthur stepped up to fill in his wife's tearful pause. "We couldn't be more proud."
From the side, George shouted, "To the next Weasley!" They all cheered and grabbed glasses to cheers.
Ron plopped down on the couch next to Hermione. "Blimey, imagine it though! Lots of little Weasley's running around out there." He gave her a broad smile and looked down into her eyes.
And the picture in her mind had never been so clear. Because as she had told George, she truly could imagine it all. Everything a future with him would be. The good and the bad. The perfectly fine life they would lead with countless nights like tonight. They would enjoy the camaraderie, go home, and with a kiss goodnight, fall into a peaceful slumber—knowing that everything would be alright. That lovely, simple life that became her dream during the war when it seemed like the world was burning down around them.
She sincerely wished she still wanted that life. More than anything. But she knew some years down the road she would wake up in a cottage not too far from here with that man, those children, and that seemingly perfect life, wondering where Hermione had gone.
Hermione looked off to the side and made eye contact with George across the room. It was her final moment of acceptance, and he knew it too. He gave her a sad smile, and she looked back up at Ron. Hermione knew her own smile wasn't all that convincing because of Ron's furrowed brow, but she nodded anyway.
He leaned down and planted a chaste kiss on her lips, but when he pulled back, she surged forward, stealing just a few more moments. As they broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers.
With his face so close, she could see those bright blue eyes—eyes that would always be an open book and could never lie to her. They held so much hope and faith in her. And so she looked down and clasped his hand in her own. "Ron," she paused. "Do you think we could find some time to talk tomorrow?"
He was confused and concerned but agreed nonetheless. "Sure."
She nodded, and they stayed there like that pressed forehead to forehead for a moment, before turning to watch the others continue to celebrate the impending future. Hermione tried to remember this moment because even though she knew this future wasn't for her, she also knew she would miss this life—this almost perfect other life she could've had.