Journey to You

Chapter 7: The Moment

"Finished?" said Ron from the kitchen entryway. "We're thinking of packing in here next."

Hermione folded a letter and turned around. "Just about," she sighed. "I need to send this to Kingsley immediately. I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Mr. Granger asked, walking into the kitchen with a huge box.

She lifted an eyebrow. "You don't expect me to just think us back to England, do you?"

"Hey, you were able to erase my memory," he teased. "Frankly, you are capable of a lot more than we ever imagined."

"And it's not scary at all," added Mrs. Granger cheekily. She kissed Hermione on her temple and said, "Come back soon, yeah? I may have been someone else for a year, but I still remember how to make a mean stew."

Hermione passed Ron and walked towards the front door. "Want me to come with you?" he asked.

She considered him for a moment. Then, she shook her head. "I'd rather you stay with Mum and Dad. I don't want to lose sight of them."

Ron furrowed his brow, wanting to admit that he didn't want to lose sight of her either. He knew that she would be able to take care of herself, but still. They were in a foreign country after all. For all they knew, they were still in danger. Nevertheless, Ron nodded stiffly. "Please, be careful."

Hermione replied with a quick peck on Ron's cheek. "I will."

Ron learned very quickly how Hermione was just like her parents. The way they discussed how to best place the cutlery into one box was very methodical and rational. And it was also, in Ron's opinion, quite pointless. But, he let the couple converse, not wanting to seem intrusive. He found it so easy to argue with Hermione over these trivial matters, but he was nervous to stand up to her parents so directly.

"The plates should go on the bottom, in size order. Then, the cutlery," mulled Mr. Granger, rubbing his mustache with his thumb in thought. Ron levitated the kitchenware on the table, stacking all of them together.

Mrs. Granger shook her head. "The stack is too high for the box. It would just be easier to stack the larger ones on the bottom, place the smaller plates on their side, and fill in the rest of the room with cutlery." Again, Ron took direction.

"There would be more damage."

"Not if we used newspaper to cushion the impact for the trip."

"Darling, that would be a lot of newspaper."

Mrs. Granger folded her arms and bit the inside of her lip, a habit, Ron recalled, that Hermione had when she would think about something important. "We can get newspaper. It's not that hard."

"What do you suggest, Ron?"

Mr. Granger's question shocked the young man, as both pairs of eyes were on him. He was not expecting to be part of this discussion. "Well," he said, praying that he didn't sound stupid in front of Hermione's parents. "I could just form the box to fit everything. Or I could replicate copies of newspaper."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at each other as Ron shuffled his feet nervously.

"Well that doesn't help us," chuckled Mrs. Granger.

"Sorry."

"Don't be," Mr. Granger reassured him with a clap to Ron's back. "We like your ideas. We just need you to pick one."

Mrs. Granger ruffled a stack of paper to find an old newspaper. "Usually, Hermione just interrupts us and solves things like this with magic."

"But, not all the time," Mr. Granger added. "She told us the laws about not using magic outside school until you're eighteen."

"Seventeen… actually," Ron couldn't resist, but Mr. Granger nodded.

"Ah, that's right…" His eyes glossed over for a second, as if in a daydream.

Ron looked at Mrs. Granger, who was also aware of her husband staring off into space.

"Mr. Granger?" Ron said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

The older man shook his head and stared at Ron as if looking at him for the first time.

"Are you alright, dear?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"Yes," he said slowly, refocusing. "Sorry, I… just… had a moment."

Ron's mind was racing. What if the spell didn't work as well as it should have? "What happened?"

Mr. Granger squinted his eyes, a concentrated look upon his face. "I just phased out for a moment. I am very tired. Why do you ask?"

"I just want to make sure you're alright."

"Nothing to worry about," he said, smiling. "Now, let's get to packing. Hermione should be back any minute."

Mrs. Granger, although wary about leaving her husband after seeing him space out, left the kitchen to fold and pack the linens in another room.

"Hermione's told us all about you and Harry," conversed Mr. Granger. "But a lot more about you."

Ron tensed up. He knew how much of a hard time he gave Hermione through the years. "Good things?" he chanced.

"Mostly good things," the man said. "But I could tell that she cares about you."

"I care about her too."

"I have no doubt about that… Why else would you accompany her to find us?" Mr. Granger was silent for a while. Ron glanced up to check if he went through another trans; however, he looked as if he was debating on saying something. "I can't help but wonder if you have other intentions."

"Sir?"

"I see the way you look at my daughter, and that's no vague stare into space, I'll tell you that." He gave a knowing smile. "And you don't have to tell me you'll take care of her. We both know she can take care of herself just fine."

Ron considered him, his palms sweaty. "Well, I guess, I love her, and I want nothing but the best for her."

Mr. Granger nodded. "I see we have something in common."

"I'm back!" Hermione called from the front door.

Relief rushed over Ron as he strode over to her. "Well?"

Hermione looked a bit flush, but that could have easily been from the heat outside. "We're all set," she beamed.

Ron felt a whooping sensation in his stomach as he picked her up and spun her around. "You did it!"

"We did it," she corrected him.

He put her back down, but the excitement quickly halted to them staring into each other's eyes. Ron's instinct was to kiss her. All roads in this scenario lead for him to kiss her. And she looked expectant.

Unfortunately, their moment passed when Mrs. Granger came in with a tall basket of folded laundry. "Oh! Hermione, I'm glad your back. Would you be able to shrink these? I have more in the back room, but I'd rather fit it all in one- Oh, I'm sorry," she interrupted herself, realizing what position her daughter and Ron were in. Naturally, she put two and two together, and felt terrible. "Did I interrupt something?"

Hermione let go of Ron, who was on his way back to the kitchen. "No, not at all," she said quickly. "Of course, I'll help, Mum."

With the help of magic, the Granger's valuable items were all packed up and ready to be shipped back to England. Kingsley's letter arrived the night before they departed for the longest plane ride Ron would ever have to endure. It said that an Advanced Guard would be there to escort them from the London Airport to back home.

The twenty-hour flight was full of conversation and catching up. Hermione and Ron told them of their missions with Harry, but made sure to be brief and ambiguous. Anyone could be listening in, and they didn't want to chance being caught. They left out some gruesome details to spare Mr. and Mrs. Granger some grief, like the fight at Malfoy Manor and bits about the Battle of Hogwarts. Of course, her parents were concerned about the lengths that their daughter and her friends went to. But, at the end of the day, they were proud of Hermione and relieved that she was alive after all that had happened.

Ron gathered that Hermione was very close to her parents. They shared witty jokes and memories of different vacations. Hermione laughed a lot during the flight, of which Ron thoroughly enjoyed. He was happy to see her so full of life again: her eyes scrunched up, her cheeks full of mirth, showing off her pearly teeth. It was so refreshing and heartwarming that he didn't realize that they were descending into the London Airport.

A sea of red greeted them at the gate; their Advanced Guard was Ron's family and Harry. He ran over to his mother, who looked as if she needed Ron's affection the most.

Mrs. Weasley squeezed Ron by his torso. "I'm so glad you're home!" she cried.

It warmed his heart to see her cry of joy this time around, considering how she was before they left. "So am I," he admitted.

Harry looked very worn, but relieved to see his best friends in one piece.

"I'm glad you're home," said Ginny, hugging Hermione. "It's been so boring with no one around."

"Hey!" Charlie chided, giving Ron a robust one-armed hug. "I told you all about the Romanian Longhorns I've been training. How is that boring?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I rest my case."

"Where's Dad?"

His mother answered him. "Why, he's right- Oh, for Merlin's sake!"

Lo and behold, Arthur Weasley was chatting with a flight attendant a few feet away.

"Arthur!" called Mrs. Weasley. "Your son is here!"

Mr. Weasley turned around. When he saw Ron, he immediately forgot about the flight attendant, who looked rather glad to be rid of the old man, and he gave him a warm embrace. "We've missed you, Ron," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "How was flying?"

Ron chuckled. "Brutal. But you'd love it."

They all accompanied the Grangers to their home in Heathgate. It was too small for everyone to fit in, but they managed. It was the most people the Grangers had ever had in that house, and they were not keen to have this many people again. The Grangers were quiet and orderly. Having this many people in their little house was a bit overwhelming, even for Hermione, who was used to the chaos of the Weasley clan.

Knowing that Hermione would want to stay with her family, he knew it was only a matter of time before he left for the Burrow without her. He would see her again, but it just wouldn't be right leaving without a proper goodbye. His mind flashed back to the Yule Ball five years ago. Hermione had told him to pluck up the courage to say what he wanted to say. He tried to do that during Bill and Fleur's wedding. He tried to do that when he came back from leaving her and Harry in the woods. He tried to do that numerous times after this bloody war was over. He tried to do that back in Australia. Coming to the quite concrete conclusion, he asked Hermione to accompany him outside while everyone else said their goodbyes.

They stepped out into the small backyard in silence. Ron held out his sweaty hand, cocking one eyebrow and grinning goofily. Hermione chuckled softly and put her hand in his. They walked further into the yard.

"I talked to your Dad-"

"I know," she said, turning pink. "I overheard the two of you."

He stopped them in the middle, looking embarrassed. "So, so you heard me say…?"

Hermione shifted. "I actually heard you both times," she admitted.

"Both times?" Ron asked, confused.

She nodded. "Once when you told Dad, and the other back in the dentist office, telling Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins about my terminal illness."

They both laughed nervously, trying to break the tension.

Ron glanced down at Hermione's expectant face. The same face she gave when they were in Australia. "I'm not a romantic person," said Ron. "I don't know how girls work, and even if I think I got it, I say the wrong thing."

"I don't want you to be perfect, Ron."

He caressed her face in pure admiration. "But you deserve perfect."

She placed her arms around his neck, forcing them closer together. "You said the right thing."

And he kissed her this time. It was just like their first kiss but without thinking that it might be their last. They kissed like they had a tomorrow, like they had their whole lives ahead of them. He lifted her off the ground and she was flying.

They finally broke apart, staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you, too," she whispered. They both beamed, their eyes twinkling with happiness.

"Now that," said Harry, breaking them out of their embrace. "Is what I call 'the moment'."

A/N: Thank you for allowing me to indulge into my Romione head canon for a bit, and I truly appreciate the followings and comments! My writing might not be perfect, but I'm glad I have a platform to just let it all out. Although this story is over, Ron and Hermione's is not. I have at least two more stories in mind for them. Spoilers: they might not be as happy as this one, and the last one is AU (because I created my own version of the Cursed Child in my head after I didn't like what I read). I will definitely explain when I get there, but for now, I'll see you on the flip side ;)