"I've missed this place," Ron breathed out with a sigh as he looked up at the outside of the home he used to share as Hermione unlocked the door, "it's hardly changed a bit."
He couldn't help but smile as memories came back to him as he stepped in over the threshold of the door.
"Just wait a second," Hermione stressed, her back to Ron as she opened the door to the living room, checking if Draco was in the room, however, she found that and the kitchen joining empty, except for the occasional discarded sweet wrapper. "Okay, you can come in." The woman called into the hallway to Ron, who was checking out the single pair of man's shoes left beside the door.
Ron entered the familiar room, taken aback by how much the interior had changed, from the wall colour, to the decorations, to the furniture. Everything had been rearranged and reshaped-the only thing that remained standing in the same position, seemingly untouched was his old rack of muggle videos.
"I like what you've done with the place." Ron lied after a moment of him taking in the room.
"Yeah, I redecorated to the way I wanted it." Hermione smiled sarcastically, a fake smile on her lips for a split second as she brought in two mugs of coffee into the sitting room.
"Of course." Ron muttered under his breath, taking the steaming mug with a nod and sitting down on the couch behind him. He knew the sweet plaster they'd put on the day would rub off again eventually, he just wished the sourness hasn't come in quite so quickly.
"I'm glad you like it." Hermione smiled genuinely, reminding herself to treat him like any other guest, and to just ignore the pounding of her heart that was punching her chest with every beat.
"Yeah, it's very...homely." He was running out of words, Hermione confusing him with every sentence she spoke. He sipped his coffee in silence.
"Remember when we bought this house?" Hermione asked suddenly, the mug half way to her lips.
"Well, your parents bought it," Ron laughed slightly, looking around the room again, "but yeah, I remember when we looked around and stuff."
"That was a lot of work."
"Yeah..." Ron trailed off again, thinking to himself how just living with Hermione was a lot of work.
"We had some good days, didn't we." Hermione smiled to herself, nursing the coffee mug in her hands.
"Yeah, bloody amazing," Ron laughed slightly, a smile of remembrance etched on his face. "I'll never forget when we babysitter Teddy for the first time."
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione laughed out loud, a hand covering her mouth as she let giggles take over, "And he nearly broke the TV by staring at too long!"
"I think we lost him under the sofa for a while, too." Ron laughed smartly, little chuckles adding colour to his face.
"A good hour," The woman continued to laugh, shaking her head slightly at the memory, "And you tried to coax him out by enlarging a Chocolate Frog!"
Ron laughed at the stupidity he could admit to, his smile widening as he watched Hermione laugh like he hadn't seen her do in a ing while.
"We were petrified at the time, but you can't help but laugh now."
"How is Teddy?" Hermione asked once her laughter had passed, leaving her a little breathless.
"He's good-growing up fast."
"How do you think Harry's going to cope with a little one of his own?" Hermione had almost forgotten, but it was something she couldn't really forget.
"He's had enough practice with Ted, but he's still scared-you saw that the other week," Ron swallowed, "I just hope he sorted it all out with Gin."
"Yeah…me too." Hermione said seriously, her grin disappearing momentarily.
"It'll be scary seeing him a dad though, won't it."
"Definitely." Hermione breathed out a long breath, her chest tightening slightly under the realisation.
"I guess I've always just thought we'd be the first of us to have the kids." Ron laughed slightly, his ears turning pink.
"I guess so." Hermione chuckled slightly, taking a sip of her drink awkwardly.
"Harry'll be a great dad." Ron stated after a moment.
"Oh yeah," Hermione nodded in agreement, "Even Victoire, she adores him."
"Everybody adores Harry," Ron scoffed slightly, "So that kind of doesn't count."
Hermione smiled widely, watching as Ron laughed at his own joke, "You know what I mean, he is great with all the kids."
"Better than Ginny anyway, she always seems to be in the kitchen hiding every Christmas, avoiding the mess and excited screams."
"Christmasses at the Burrow were always the best."
Hermione's heart warmed as she pictured the scene of Molly and Arthur sitting beside the fire, young Victoire, Dominique and Louis playing with Harry and George, Teddy and his grandmother holding baby Fred as Ron and herself laughed at a joke long ago told.
"You should come this year, mum'd love to see you there." Ron said seriously, trying to keep the plea out of his voice.
"Yeah, I'll see-I don't know if I'm taking work off though yet."
"You should, give yourself a break."
"I've given myself enough breaks." Hermione laughed a little, although she knew he was right.
"What, like one weekend?"
"There was that time when we went up back to Hogwarts with Harry, and then when we went to Wales with my parents. It's all time added up."
"They were great times though." Ron smiled slightly, memories flooding back again.
"I'm not denying that at all."
"Remember the World Cup?" As soon as Ron said the words his face dropped,
"How could I forget?" Hermione's voice switched sour, her chest rising and falling as a knife twisted in her gut, sparking up the memory she wanted most to forget.
"I-I didn't mean...that." Ron coughed slightly, embarrassed at the subject they'd been avoiding for so long.
"What did you mean then?" Hermione laughed bitterly, standing up.
"The trip-the trip itself, I mean." Ron corrected, standing up and following Hermione into the kitchen.
The woman went over to the sink and started the tap, washing her empty mug under the running water angrily, "That was okay, I guess."
"The game was good." Ron smiled despite wanting to cry, trying to keep the conversation light.
"Hmm..." Hermione thought for a moment, "Forgettable." she added sarcastically.
"I liked it." He told her, passing her his own used cup.
"I bet you did." The woman laughed again, taking the mug off Ron aggressively before banging it into the sink and walking out of the room, leaving Ron to turn off the tap.
"Don't do that." He said sadly, coming back into the room, his shoulders hunched.
"Don't do what?" She span around, her face red, "Bring it up?"
"Yeah..." He knew even without her scoffing that it was pathetic.
"What did you think would happen? It was going to be brought up eventually."
"I know, I just didn't-"
"Didn't think?" Hermione interrupted with raised eyebrows, "That's because you never do." The woman sniffed, rolling her eyes as Ron tried to defend himself.
Ron suddenly broke down, his bright red face breaking as he contorted into himself, tears running down his cheeks, "I'm not sure of the way it was, I mean-I don't know what I could have done."
"Well, I know what you couldn't have done." Hermione retorted sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest.
"I planned to tell you," he stumbled on the words, running them into each other as his sobs rang out louder, "but at first I was so confused. I didn't know what to say, how to tell you." he pleaded, his arms outstretched, reaching for Hermione.
"That's your excuse for not telling me?" Hermione shrieked, disbelief pouring out of her voice.
"You dropped me without a word!"
"What did you expect? There's cowardly, Ron, and then there's cruel! Is that who you've become? Because I don't even want to look at you if you have."
"I'm-I'm sorry, I should have told you. Should've explained. But you weren't all that easy to talk to."
"Oh, bullshit, Ronald. Excuses." Hermione shook her head, stumbling back slightly.
"I'm not making excuses!" He shouted down at her, his ears turning pink, "You have no idea what you're like to live with, do you? You were hardly here! And even when you were here, you weren't. Not really."
Hermione looked so taken aback, that Ron had to turn away from her in order to keep his calm.
"You know things got bad at the Ministry at that point. The one time I took a break, and look what happened! And you know I had Harry's books being released." The woman spat out, tears building up in her throat.
"Oh yeah, Harry's books. How could I forget." Ron turned to look at her through narrowed eyes, waiting for her reply.
"For fuck's sake, Ron! You just don't let anything go do you?"
"Says you!" Ron spat out before he had time to think.
Hermione's hand collided with his face without a second's hesitation, her mouth wide in shock as she watched her hand slap against him.
"What was that for?" He asked, his hand on his now flaming cheek, his expression completely stunned.
"For being so...insolent!" She screamed, then clamped a hand to her mouth and turned her face away from him as tears spilled out of her eyes, sobs tearing through the hand over her mouth.
Ron's stomach plummeted as he watched the love of his life cry so innocently in front of him, her shoulders shaking with each cry coming uncontrollably out of her.
"Hermione?" Ron took a tentative step forward, all anger drained out of him like someone had flicked a switch, "Look, I'm sorry." He put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't shake him off, instead turning to face Ron, her eyes gleaming with fresh tears.
"I hate you." As soon as she'd said the knife cutting words, she'd crashed her lips into Ron's, her hand suddenly on his head as she pushed him further into her.
Ron didn't hold back, and in turn pushed his hands through Hermione's hair, bringing her closer to their already locked mouths.
"I heard shout...?" Draco's voice suddenly came to a standstill as he caught sight of the pair in front of him, entangled in each other's arms as their faces merged together.
Automatically, Draco's heart melted inside his rib cage, but he couldn't take his eyes away. They hadn't seemed to notice him, and for some reason that made him only angry. A heat rose in his chest as the coldness seeped over his body, pouring out of the edges as he turned on his heel and grabbed the front door, a rush of wind greeting a loud slam that took Hermione out of the trance.
"Draco!" Hermione shouted as she pulled herself away from Ron, disgusted with herself.
"What?" Ron asked, bewildered as his mind fought to come back into life.
Hermione left no time to answer before she too was out of the door and at the bottom of the garden path. Draco was no where to be seen.
"Draco!" Hermione shouted again, fear and shame bubbling in her stomach as she searched the streets, praying to a God she didn't believe in that he hadn't apparated away.
Screeching his name with all the breath left in her, a few muffled "Sorry"s hanging in the air fell beneath her as Hermione ran left as she saw the world though another's eyes, cursing herself as the tears streamed down her face.
Without warning, Hermione spotted a Draco shaped huddle at the side of the road, pushed up against himself with his head hung low to shield his tear soaked face from view.
"Draco." Hermione sighed out, relieved as she slowed to a small jog to meet him at the curb.
"Sorry, I just needed to get away..." Draco trailed off, his head still hung low.
"I-I..." Hermione couldn't find the words, her arms flapping in front of her as she stuttered, her mind shutting down.
"There's no need in apologising." He sniffed, watching out of the corner of his eye as Hermione sighed and sat down next to him.
"I didn't mean that." Hermione shook her head, looking at Draco slightly, her heart melting as she saw the tear tracks on his pale face.
"Didn't mean what?" He knew the answer before it was on Hermione's lips.
"Kissing Ron," she sighed, a tear bubbling up in her own eye, "I...I shouldn't have done it." She let her own head hang in shame as she let out a shaky breath.
"You don't need to apologise to me."
"I do." The words were barely more than a whisper, but Draco heard them clearly.
They were silent for a while, both willing their tears to stop falling as they shivered from the cold, their breath echoing out in front of them. They hadn't said a word about it, but right then they realised together that this upset only meant that they felt something. Something for each other.
"Do you love him?" The sentence had been hanging in the air, but finally the question had been asked-and Hermione had no answer.
"I-I don't know." She let out another sigh, her head shaking slightly in anger at herself.
"You must know!" Draco's voice turned sharp, and he hated himself as soon as he had said it.
"Erm..." Hermione started, taken aback, "Maybe...No."
Another tear fell onto her lap.
"Then wh-" Draco stopped himself short with a sharp intake of breath, forcing himself not to make the pain worse.
"Because, a long time ago, I did..." she blinked and the tears started falling again, "And I guess I just got confused..."
She swallowed, placing a hand on her cheek to wipe away the tears.
They took a moment to pause conversation, as they wiped away their tears, sniffing slightly before the crying ceased altogether.
"Why?"
"Why what?" Draco replied, a beginning of a headache starting to blur at the edges of his eyesight.
"Why did you ask if I love him?" Her pulse stopped as she waited for the answer.
"Because I don't want you to be." His eyes met Hermione's for a split second before turning away again, his fingers intertwining.
Hermione took a sharp intake of breath, her heart beating in her throat, "I've been looking into a cure."
Draco took a double take, not quite realising what she'd said straight away, "what do you mean?"
"I mean, I've been looking into a cure." She repeated, trying not to allow a smile to form on her lips.
"Have...have you found anything?" Draco tried to keep himself calm, Hermione's voice wasn't giving anything away and that always meant bad news.
"Kind of..." Hermione turned her body slightly to properly look at him, "I need to find out more, but I've found something."
"That tells me nothing!" Draco laughed slightly, his mind coming up with a thousand possibilities.
Hermione took a deep breath, "This wasn't how I wanted to tell you."
"That doesn't matter, what have you found?"
"Basically, in the library, there are muggle medical books that alchemists and healers have written in, telling their view on muggle techniques and whatever. I've been reading /lots of books, and I've found a lot of interesting stuff; some useful, some not at all. Saying this, there was one note that left a clue-only someone had ripped out the page before the sentence had finished." Hermione paused to concentrate her frustration, "I've looked everywhere, but I can't find the single page that I'm sure will tell me everything. Every time I feel like I've got closer to it, I end up being even further away."
"Oh..." Draco couldn't help but let his disappointment show as he dropped his gaze from Hermione.
"I'm not going to give up on it." The woman tried to find his eyes again.
"You don't have to do that for me."
"I want to." Hermione smiled slightly, still watching him.
"I'm just scared."
"Of what?"
"Dying...getting more ill...being a burden."
"You're not a burden, not to me anyway." Hermione told him defensively, aghast that he'd ever thought that.
"I might be one day, maybe one day soon-when I get too sick." Draco's shoulders hunched over again, his head dropping into his chest.
"It's not what happens," Hermione placed her hand onto Draco's cold fist, "it's how you deal with it."
Draco's eyes flickered up to hers, their eyes connected and a flutter drowned in their stomachs, they waited a beat. Draco cocked his head slightly to the side, his breath freezing in the air as he parted his lips slightly, edging his face closer to Hermione's. The woman closed her eyes for a moment, leaning in tentatively as she swallowed down any restriction.
His breath was reflecting off her skin, but neither of them noticed. He closed his eyes and removed all space between them. His nose fitted in perfectly beside hers, his lips encasing hers in a beautiful but delicate touch.
She felt herself falling into him, her whole body melting as all coherent thought floated out of her mind, leaving only a buzz in her stomach and a whirlwind in her chest.
He opened his eyes fleetingly and lent back, watching as Hermione, now breathless and slightly rosy cheeked, looked back at him with a smirk.
She bit down on her lower lip, and then rushed into him again, her mouth colliding with his as they breathed each other, all sensation and fear lost in a kiss.