A/N: Written for Coyotelaughingsoftly who offered me the prompt on this chapter. - DG

Hermione finished packing the basket for their picnic out in the Orchard. Almost everyone was out of the house at the moment, save Molly and Fleur. They were working upstairs cleaning George's room while he was in London with Percy and Charlie. Every so often, there would be a crash and some yelling – and then it would go silent once again.

Ron moped around the house until Molly turned her ire on him then get shirty with her later for his silence with his Mum. Hermione understood even if she was the focus of much of Molly's ire too.

She grabbed the packet of Wagon Wheels from the second shelf in the kitchen and tossed them on top of the roast beef sandwiches, bottles of butterbeer and the small container of fruit salad for her. Packed further into the basket was 2 ham sandwiches as well. He'd been working outside all morning and she knew he'd be famished.

She stood there a moment to recount that she took the vial of vile potion this morning. She loved Ron dearly but she wasn't ready to be a Mum at 19. She also didn't think he was ready to be a Daddy at 18 either.

One last check of the basket for napkins and mustard and she left the kitchen. She stepped out and saw Ron working on the edge of the garden, tossing gnomes over the fence into the marshy sides of the pond.

Hermione rolled her eyes before getting bossy. "Please tell me you're not resorting to drowning the gnomes now?"

Ron turned around and Hermione sucked in a large breath of air. He was slightly red from working outside with his shirt off and his trousers sat low on his hips, showing the band of the new pants she bought for him last week.

"Nope. They're getting a mudbath. I can't toss'em far 'nough to get them into the pond. They land in the marshy edge. Just wet enough for a bath but not so far to drown them."

"Don't they get hurt?"

"Nah. Just irritated at getting a summer bath."

Hermione held up the basket in her hand. "Ready for lunch?"

"Brilliant!" he yelled back before picking up his shirt from the ground. He threw it over his head before walking over and planting a not-so-chase kiss on her lips. "Food and some fun?"

"We'll see about the fun after you eat. You're also red from being out in the sun too much already."

They started walking to their preferred spot in the orchard. It was out of line-of-sight from the house but close enough that if something happened Ron could be in the house in two minutes. They mutually agreed to it since Mum was still barmy at times if she couldn't account for them immediately.

"Got the blanket?" Ron quietly inquired. Hermione shrugged her shoulder and showed the bloody beaded bag on her hip. "You're never going to part with that thing, are you?"

Hermione gave him a sideways glance. "I might get a newer one but do the same work on it. But I don't think I will ever be without it again." She sighed and squeezed his hand. "Maybe one day I will but it's not today and probably not tomorrow either."

"We'll get there, somehow."

Hermione smiled and they continued their walk to the patch under the last apple tree in the orchard.

She stood back while Ron laid it out for them and she in turn unpacked the basket full of tasty morsels for him to eat. Sure enough, he tore open the packet of wagon wheels and scarfed them down before she could pull out the chilled butterbeer bottles. "Hey, save some for me!"

Ron grimaced. "'orry. Was hungry. I'll get you a packet from the house when we get back."

"That was the last packet."

"oh. Maybe Mum'll be up to whip up some pudding later."

"Don't ask Mum about that. She was in a strop this morning while cleaning George's room with Fleur."

"Oh."

Hermione reached into the basket and pulled out the sandwiches she made for him. "I packed roast beef and cheese sandwiches along with ham and cheese for you, all of them on Ginny's baked bread. I've also got butterbeer for you and a couple of slices of chocolate cake."

"What are you eating?"

Hermione pulled a small bowl from the bottom of the basket. "Just a small cup of fruit salad."

"Hermione, that's not a lunch. That's a snack before lunch."

"Ron, I'm not hungry. Really. And I am eating. You saw me eating bread this morning with butter and I had a cup of tea."

Ron took her hand and put it in his own. "If mum was being her usual self, he'd have dragged you to London to see a healer 'cause you're still entirely too thin."

"And you're not? You've not put on too much weight since we came home from Australia two weeks ago."

"At least I'm eating. That," he waved at the desert bowl in her lap, "that's not eating right. Get Fleur to make you something this evening. You know she will if you ask."

Hermione returned the bowl back to the blanket before handing him a sandwich. Once he had it safely in hand she turned back to her bowl of fruit.

"Please eat something more than just that bowl of fruit."

She picked up a piece of apple from the bowl and bit in, to demonstrate her eating something. He sighed before taking a large bite of his roast beef sandwich.

He then promptly spit it back out, all over her borrowed jumper.

"RON!"

He looked at the sandwich. "Bloody Hell! It tastes just like Corned beef! I can't stand Corned Beef."

"Ron, it's roast beef. I sliced it myself in the kitchen." Hermione was at a loss as to what was going on. "Here, then, eat the ham sandwich. I cut it myself too."

She handed over the second sandwich and Ron took a tentative bite. He spit that one back out as well, this time avoiding Hermione while she cleaned up the front of her clothes. "Bloody hell, it's corned beef too."

"Impossible. Look at them both."

Ron opened both sandwiches and compared the slices of meat on the inside. "What's going on? It's Mum's ham and roast beef. What gives?"

They both looked at one another, befuddled before Ron's expression turned to abject horror.

"Hermione, hand me the glass of butterbeer, please."

She opened a top and handed him the chilled beverage. He took a sip and spit it out too. "Damn it George!"

"George? What has George got to do with this?"

Ron reached over and picked up the packet for the Wagon Wheels. "I thought you got this for you and had it stashed in Mum's cabinet."

"No, I thought she got it for you so I grabbed it from the shelf. But you like biscuits."

Ron looked closely at the package and his eyes turned murderous. "I'm going to kill that prat," he growled under his voice.

"What are you on about, Ronald?"

He handed over the plastic wrapping to her. "Read the back of the packaging."

Wagon Wheezes – guaranteed to make a meal a disaster. For women who really want out of a bad date and don't want to look like a bint. One bite of biscuit and nothing will taste right. Everything tasted will be the food you despise the worst. Handle with care.

"Read the warning label."

Hermione scanned the label further until she got to the bottom.

Warning: Two biscuits maximum. Effects multiply if wholly consumed. If ingested in entirety, purchase one bottle of Weasley's Noxious Neutralizer for immediate care or wait 24 hours for the effects to wear off.

Hermione turned back to Ron. "You ate the entire package, didn't you?"

Ron's face was a shade of red that Hermione rarely saw. "I'm going to kill George. He was by this morning before going to work. I bet he planted it in the cabinet, knowing you'd get it for me."

"And you mentioned the picnic, didn't you?"

Ron nodded sheepishly. "Well, we can tell him it worked."

Hermione sat up on her knees and promptly sat on his lap. "Well, before we go by the shop, I should make things a little better for you, since I was the one who packed them in the basket without checking."

"I ate them. I didn't force you to feed me them."

Hermione worked on the top of his shirt, running her finger across his slightly stubble crusted jawline.

"I'll know to check from now on."

Ron leaned over and kissed her, offering a promise for more.

"We'll get him back someday. You watch."

Hermione smiled right next to his lips. "Yes I will."