Chapter 9: Victory in Europe

Ron was in the shower when Hermione arrived back at their room. She set the coffee and the potion on the dresser and cast the spell to pack her clothes.

When Ron came out of the shower, he was holding his head and looked as though he'd been on the wrong end of a Bludger all night. He groaned miserably. "Morning." He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed.

Hermione picked up the hangover potion and held it out to him. "Who loves you?"

Ron reached for the little brown bottle. "You are the best wife ever."

"Yes I am." She waited while he drank the thick liquid. "And I brought coffee."

He sighed with relief as the potion took effect. He pulled her to him in a hug, burying his face between her breasts. "I love you."

Hermione laughed. "I love you too."

Ron stood and reached for the coffee. He took a sip and then asked. "How was breakfast?"

"Fine. I ate with Viktor. Apparently, Gabrielle also likes to sleep in."

Ron nodded and sipped his coffee.

Hermione waited for the inevitable comment.

"What time are we leaving?" he asked.

"Um, whenever you're ready, I can activate the Portkey."

"I'm not in a rush. I'd like to finish my coffee first."

Hermione smiled at him. Not for the first time, she wondered what he and Viktor had talked about last night, but she was determined not to tempt fate by asking. If Ron no longer felt the need to throw a jealous fit every time Viktor's name was mentioned, then she could certainly live with not knowing.

"What?" Ron asked.

"I was just thinking." Hermione smiled coyly. "What was it you asked for last night?"

Ron's eyes narrowed as he tried to think. Clearly he couldn't remember.

Hermione reached for the towel wrapped around his waist and tugged.

She sank to her knees in front of him. He sighed as she took him in her mouth. For some reason, whenever she did this, he kept thinking of the phrase head girl giving me head, which made him grin

She had one hand on his thigh and the other cupping his balls and it was pretty evident she was intending to take him all the way like this. "Hey," he said, stroking her cheek. "As much as I like this, it's not really going to help us on the baby front."

She looked up and slowly drew her mouth off him. The air in the room was unbearably cold by comparison. Why did I just tell her to stop?

"Front?" she said, clearly amused. "You make it sound like a war."

"It is a war," he said, pulling her to him. "And my boys are determined to win."

"I think–"

Ron cut her off with a kiss. She thinks too much, he thought and pulled her over to the bed. He took his time, he never wanted to have perfunctory make-a-baby sex, especially since there was no way of knowing how long that might take, if it ever happened at all. They hadn't had the conversation of what to do if it didn't happen. They hadn't been trying long enough for that, but they both knew there were no guarantees. The curse that had left her so deeply scarred on her side had done a great deal of internal damage. The healers hadn't been particularly helpful. They'd said it was possible for her to have a baby just not especially likely. Ron hadn't been nearly as discouraged as Hermione. He was, after all, a Weasley. He had a great deal of faith in his virility.

xxx

Late that afternoon, they arrived back in London. Winky was delighted to see them and sent their bags straight to their room and started making tea. Ron and Hermione went into the parlor where Ron used his wand to start the fire. Horatio, just realizing they were home, came tearing into the parlor and began winding his way around Hermione's ankles, purring loudly. She smiled and rubbed his head before walking over to the window to watch the weather outside. She smoothed a hand over her stomach and smiled.

Ron wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I'm sorry about drinking so much last night. Won't happen again, I promise."

"You're alright," she said. "I won't be drinking either for awhile."

Ron nodded but didn't say anything. He thought that sounded great though. When they were together before, Hermione had the occasional drink but wasn't one to drink to excess. These days she drank more than he was comfortable with, but given his history, he'd been reluctant to say much about it. "Nasty weather."

Hermione looked at the heavy rain falling. "I think it's lovely."

"You're in a strange mood," Ron said, resting his chin on her head.

"I'm feeling rather triumphant actually. Rather like V-E Day."

"V-E Day? Is that some sort of Muggle holiday?"

Hermione smiled at his confusion. "Victory in Europe, you know, when the Allies won the war."

"Wizards weren't really-"

She could practically hear the gears click in his head.

"Are you serious?"

She nodded, and slid her hand over her still flat stomach. He covered her hand with his.

"Then you're right." He kissed her neck and hugged her tighter. "It's a lovely day."

She watched the rain splatter and pool in puddles on the street and felt her life spin out in front of her. It felt right to be building a family with Ron. She felt safe and loved with his arms around her, and she couldn't think of a better place for a child than right there with them.

"This is going to be brilliant," Ron said softly in her ear.

Hermione just smiled.

~finis~

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this story, please fav or follow it, or leave me a comment, and share. It really helps the algorithm show my stories to other readers. If you like my work, I have several books out with Red Adept Publishing. The latest is an urban fantasy, The 7000 Souls of Alma Drake. I also have a mystery series, The Annie Fitch Mysteries: Exposed Fury and Hidden Fury. Or my first book, a contemporary romantic novel, One Big Beautiful Thing. All titles are available anywhere books are sold and on all digital platforms. Have a look. 😊