Hermione was sure there had to be a reason her head hurt so much as she woke, blinking in to the bright light that shone through the window. There was a large blank space where the events of last night tried there best to fight for supremacy. She remembered the rock she remembered the two bottles of wine, she remembered watching Bill and Flure dancing wishing she could turn back time to the day of there wedding. The last time they had all been together, all happy and whole, not the fall out from a magical blast that had torn a un fixable hole in to the lives of everyone it had touched.
The first Wedding of the Weasley Clan had been hardley tainted by the threat of the inevatable war that was coming there way, Hermione could remember the crispness of the early morning dew as they had prepared the Garden of the Burrow for the ceremony. The white roses were in bloom on the bushes that made up the, for once. neatly shaped hedge. The boys had spent the morning de gnomeing the garden, whilst the girls had set the decorations in the trees and around the garden. Pretty flower garlands and paper lanterns floated around the place being expertly guided by Hermione as Ginny was far to preoccupied with the time consuming job of watching Harry's every move.
"If you were planing on hiding the fact that you are madly deeply smitten with your brothers current roommate, I would stop staring at him your arousing your mothers suspicion." Hermione said sitting down next her on a bag of rose petals.
"I'm just enjoying the scenery. That's all." Ginny smiled. "Actually Hermione,i have to applaud you." she pulled her hair back securing it with flowers that she had stolen from one of the garlands. " The fact that you have been here a week and i haven't seen you and my dullard of a brother sneaking off anywhere together must be worthy of some sort of award."
Hermione cast a glance across at Ron, he waved and in his momentary loss of concentration the gnome he was holding took a chunk out of his finger.
Hermione bit her bottom lip to stop from laughing so openly that Ron would notice. She couldn't help it he still made her feel electric, so alive that even though they were about to undergo a fight they were highly unlikely to win, Hermione no longer felt afraid. Some how the few snatched moments together made her feel stronger than any thing that they could be told by the Members of the order. Ron was her Rock something she had always known deep down but never really noticed until she had figured out what he meant to her.
"Right which of you twerps are coming with us to go collect the last of the stuff before mother dearest has a heart attack." said George Walking over to the group. "by that he means you and Ronald the rat if you haven't guessed" said Fred slinking up to his brother.
"What about me and Harry we don't want to be here when Mum explodes."
"Sorry sis."
" Order's orders can't have anyone with us that could get in to trouble if they use magic."
"No matter if they are the chosen one." added Charlie seeing that Harry was about to open his mouth to speak.
"No offence Harry, but you would get us far to much attention, we need to keep the wedding under wraps so no uninvited guests decide to crash it."
" But i will be seventeen in something like fourteen hours time..."
Fred and George looked at each other.
"hate to do it to you mate."
" but if you try and come we will have to resort to drastic measures."
Hermione cast a side long glance at Ron who just shrugged.
"Think Ron, in the mood mums in today think how considerably worse it could get if Mum was to find out about The chosen one here and our little sister."
"The tears"
"The hugs"
"The screeching..."
Both twins started laughing manically.
"What?" asked Charlie looking slightly lost at this new information.
"I'll explain on the way to the shop." Ron said pushing his oldest brother in the trail of the twins.
Hermione shrugged mouthing an apology to Ginny as she went.
Aspirin, she had to have some somewhere or some really good potion, she would make some but seeing as how most of her worldly belongings seemed to still be in tea crates it didn't look like either were an option, begrudgingly Hermione summoned up some tea, only to find on tasting that it was coffee. She almost spat it out but her manors wouldn't let her. Here she was alone in her own place and still she couldn't bring herself to act normal, even with the headache from hell.
Why had she agreed to go there yesterday, her emotions were running way to high to start with, it was hard enough to cope with being home let alone having her past raked over in public. The whole thing felt like a public display that she could have done without.
As she let the heat of the shower was away some of the groggy emptiness that she wore like a shell.
When she had finally emerged from the shower dressed in her most unfancy outfit, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt she stared at the boxes that her and Fred hadn't quite gotten around to yet. Having barley touched the first box of books, there were seventeen in total!, there was a knock at the door.
Hermione waited a few moments before getting to her feet and looking through the peep hole.
A bright purple haired pink sunglasses monstrosity looked back at her.
"Wotcher Tonks" said Hermione opening the door to let her oldest and dearest adviser in to the room.
"How on earth did you know it was me?" she said smiling from behind the oversized pink sunglasses.
"I don't know anyone else apart from maybe Luna who would put that combination together." said Hermione indicating the bright orange robes, red trouser suit and blue suede shoes that Tonks in her current formation wore.
"Yeah i know bad isn't it but you know i came straight from work!" There was a loud pop and Tonks returned to a slightly more familiar shape and size. pointing her wand at her clothes she changed them back to the usual band t-shirt and baggy black track suit bottoms that she always seamed to wear outside of the office. "Ron asked me to come see if you were alright, he said you were in quite a state last night when he brought you home."
Hermione stared at her. Well at least that almost filled in some of the blanks.
"Yeah, other than the worst hangover I've ever had I still have all my limbs and I'm not dead so as far as I'm concerned that a good sign."
Tonks helped herself to the coffee that Hermione had abandoned.
"That was quite a interesting fight you and the wonderstuff had last night."
"You herd that then?" Hermione stared down at her fluffy slippered feet.
"Just a smidgen, but only because i was checking on Remus, full moon and all that, he slept in the barn last night..." she said explaining."And before you start on any of that Rights stuff he offered to... didn't want to spoil the party for the happy couple."
"So just how much of our fight did you hear?"
Tonks shrugged. "Enough"
"You know i think somethings going on between the two of them." said George loudly a few steps in front of her.
"I know they havent had good fight in days."
"Oh ha ha ha." said Ron from her side, she glanced at him smiling as she did so.
"Man i wish someone would smile at me like that." said Fred faking heart ache.
"You two need to grow up." Hermione said pushing past the two of them and going in to the cake shop.
"You shouldn't be so upset over things." said Ron catching her up as she carefully took hold of the tiny ornate sugar sculptures for the
table centers. " they don't mean anything by it most of the time."
Hermione smiled at him over the top of the bright scarlet box.
"I have to let them think that im still an uptight little witch now dont i."
"You were never up tight, you just like to be the one in the right."
Hermione followed him out in to the street and down towards the robe shop. As they waited for the twins to finish up Hermione looked at the odds and ends in the junk shop window. Her eyes were drawn to a little ornate jewlery box.
"I didn't think you would like something as tacky as that..."
"Why not..."
"It's just so I dunno..."
"girly?"
"Yeah."
"My gran had one like that when I was very young." Ron looked down at her.
"I doubt it was like that one, that one would probably have had my dad having kittens."
Ron lent around her resting his arm against the dark metal frame. Leaning in he kissed her gently on the cheek.
"Some times you are adorable without even trying."
Hermione felt herself going red. She cast a glance in the shop window drawing her eyes away from Ron's sparkling blue eyes. It wasn't a moment to soon.
"I told you Ron , You can't have any icing till at the dinner tonight ...honestly."
Fred and George looked at each other.
"About time, i was starting to think that something was seriously wrong with the world."
She looked at the two brothers Fred was holding a large green bag that was trailing the ground.
"Honestly, give me that, if you get half the streets of london on the bottom of Phlegms wedding dress we will never hear the end of it."
she swaped the box for the bag and they headed back up the street towards the pub.
"Two seconds we forgot to get the place cards, i'll go get them." Said Ron disapearing down the street again.
"Shouldn't someone go with him?" Hermione said stepping up the curb.
"He can look after himself and if you hadn't noticed its not as if there isn't enought security about." said Fred pushing the door open as a group of aurors passed them. " He's fine."
"So what are you going to do? I meen the man told you that he loved you last night." Tonks said as she passed her another glass of water.
"I don't know. Thinks have changed so much."
"So!"
"I dunno, it's just..."
"Listen it's not as if he's grown a extra head."
"That i could live with..."
she sighed as she played with the hole in the heal of her sock, she would give everything to hold him the way she used to, kiss him, hear his stupid running comentery on every day life...
"Well to get to the point of my visit, Ron's coming over... i just thought i would warn you."
Hermione jumped to her feet. " you were just going to let me talk to him looking like this, what sort of freind are you ?"
"Do you really think he cares?"
"Probably not ..."
The knock on the door made them both jump.
"Sorry Hermione but i'm out of here." there was a bang and she was gone.
Turning to the door Hermione suddenly found it very hard to breath.
sorry about the editing i just got a new word prossesor and i'm getting the hang of it. love as ever paula-lou