Fred's funeral seemed to allow closure for some at the Burrow. The first few evenings were downright dreadful and eerily quiet. The days seemed to drag on so slowly that Ron was sure he had spent years in his room before anyone had spoken or sat normally at the table together. Mrs. Weasley was getting along much better now that Mr. Weasley was home and spent the majority of her time cleaning rooms that had been ransacked by Death Eaters. Bill and Fleur had gone back to Shell Cottage much to the disappointment of Mrs. Weasley who had gotten used to cooking alongside someone and pestering Bill about his hair.
Ron was sitting in his room, long legs dangling over the edge of the bed, watching Harry pack what little he had into an old rucksack. Harry had decided to go back to Privet Drive to get anything he might need and then to 12 Grimmauld Place, where he would stay until he decided what to do.
"Mum is going to have a fit once you leave," said Ron. Harry grinned as he picked up a package of homemade sweets Mrs. Weasley had made him that morning. Ron knew that Harry sincerely liked his family but he also knew that Harry liked to be alone. He was used to Harry's need for solidarity by now and that sometimes he liked to be alone with his thoughts. But as he thought of his sister, he wondered what Harry's departure would do to her. "I reckon Ginny will be upset too." Ron glanced down at Harry warily, waiting for his reaction.
"She knows I've got to get my stuff straight," Harry said quietly. "I won't be too long. I'll come back before summer is over and by then she'll be getting ready for Hogwarts." Ron shrugged, trying to look indifferent. He was concerned for his sister's feelings but also relieved that he wouldn't have to see she and Harry snogging all over the place. Harry got up from the floor and left the room, leaving Ron alone.
Ron was a bit envious of Harry. He could leave whenever he wanted and have somewhere to go. It was stupid, he knew, to be jealous of someone who had never had a proper home. But as Harry talked about going back to Grimmauld Place, Ron wanted a place of his own too. He picked up the letter sitting by his bedside and read it for the fourth time:
Mr. Ronald Weasley,
In light of recent events, the Ministry had decided to offer not only its deepest and sincerest thanks for the restoration of our world but an opportunity for future employment. The Ministry is well aware of your assistance to Mr. Harry Potter, in which you acted most selflessly and valiantly to help bring upon the downfall of the darkest wizard of our time. Your strength and abilities were proven most successfully and your endeavors are of those most highly valued here at the Ministry. There will be no need for N.E.W.T. results or an age requirement, etc. You are welcome to continue your education if you please and this offer will still stand. If you wish to seek employment and are interested in this opportunity, please send word no later than July 30th.
Sincerely,
Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt
Ron smiled at the letter and straightened out a corner crumpled from wear. The prospect of not having to take any N.E.W.T.s gave him an overwhelmingly happy feeling. When he realized that Harry and Hermione had received similar letters, his happy feeling swelled like a balloon that dared to burst. He walked over to his small window and looked outside. The sun was shining brightly as if it were personally inviting him to enjoy a game of Quidditch beneath its rays. He considered asking Harry if there was enough time for a quick game when he glanced down at another letter sitting on the window sill. He rolled his eyes at it and went back to staring out of the window, remembering what it said:
Mr. Ronald Weasley,
I am aware that you, along with several others, did not complete your studies here at Hogwarts due to the war and fight against Lord Voldemort. You are welcome to return to finish your seventh year of magical education and take your N.E.W.T.s. There are other matters in which I have to attend to so please reply with your decision before July 31st.
Well wishes,
Minerva McGonagall
The letter was entirely too short, Ron thought. He could hear McGonagall's voice as he read it, stern and to the point. It seemed like she wanted him to make a decision at once and return to the school without a second thought. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he left his post near the window and began pacing his room. The choice was obvious, was it not? Another year of schooling was unnecessary, really. And a job without qualifications measured by test scores was an added bonus.
Ron smiled to himself. A job and money sounded like glorious things to pursue right now. His best mate would work alongside him, no doubt, and Hermione, well he would have her right next to him, too. And maybe, he thought dreamily, he'd be able to get a place of his own with the money he would be making.
He felt a surge of emotion as he slammed the door behind him and bounded down the stairs. He skidded into the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny were making quick sandwiches for an after dinner snack. Ginny carried a plate into the sitting room, passing Ron on the way.
"Ron, do you want –" she began to ask, but Ron pushed the plate away from him and continued to the kitchen, sending Ginny's sandwiches toppling to the ground.
"Mum," he said breathlessly. He looked between Mrs. Weasley and Hermione wildly, smiling as he did so. "I'm not going back to Hogwarts." He raised his eyebrows as he waited for their reaction, his chest heaving.
"Well, Ron, that's—that's," Mrs. Weasley sputtered. She seemed to be lost for words.
"Ambitious," said George entering from the sitting room. "Another Hogwarts drop-out." He smiled sadly at Ron who, surprisingly, beamed back.
"But it's for a good reason!" he exclaimed, still smiling. "It's a job! What's another year of school going to do but land me somewhere I could've already been for a year? Face it, Mum, going back to school is just going to be getting in the way of me being an Auror."
Mrs. Weasley stared at him, gaping. She wiped her forehead, getting bits of bread on her brow, and looked at Hermione for help. Hermione gave her a crestfallen look and glanced downward. Ron didn't notice the two witches' exchange looks of disappointment and hastily went back to defending his decision.
"Don't you see? I can start training at the Ministry and making money and get out of here." As soon as he said it he knew he had said too much. Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed and her cheeks grew red. Ron took a step back as if she was going to go at him like a Hungarian Horntail. Hermione just stared at him, her brow slightly furrowed like she was trying to read his thoughts. George and Ginny hung back near the sitting room, their eyes darting from Mrs. Weasley to Ron.
"You already want to leave?" asked Mrs. Weasley through her teeth. "You've just gotten home from being gone for months! And now you want to run off to your next adventure hoping you can make some gold along the way?"
"Mum," Ron interjected. "I didn't mean—"
"We don't know if there are still Death Eaters out there waiting for someone to come along and find them! You're too young, Ron. You need to go back to school and after that you can start thinking about work and leaving." The last word came out as a sob. Mrs. Weasley stomped out of the kitchen and out of the backdoor leading to the garden, nearly knocking down Harry who was coming through.
"What's going on?" he asked. The kitchen was eerily quiet except for the knife Mrs. Weasley had bewitched to cut the sandwiches slicing against the cutting board. Ginny and George were staring at Ron who was too flabbergasted to speak. Harry walked around the table and tried to lock eyes with Hermione, which was especially difficult because the sandwiches were now stacking themselves into a high pile in front of her.
"Ron isn't going back to school," she said quietly. She raised her wand and flicked it quickly to stop the knives and sandwiches. Harry didn't look surprised.
"She didn't take it well, huh?" he asked Ron.
"Yeah, you could say that," said Ron quietly. He looked behind him to see Ginny and George snickering. "You're not going back, are you Harry? You're going to take the job, right?"
"Well, yeah," said Harry. He glanced at Ginny. She had taken to looking at her feet. "I mean, Hogwarts is great but, I want to be an Auror and now I can." Ron looked relieved until he saw Hermione looking up at the both of them through heavy eyelids.
"You're going to come with us, right Hermione?" asked Ron tentatively. She gave him a small but believable smile.
"Of course."
Ron beamed. He grabbed a plate and piled some sandwiches on it before heading back up the stairs, dragging Hermione by the hand with him.
Ron kicked aside dirty clothes and discarded scrolls of parchment as he balanced a plate of sandwiches and entered his room. He moved Harry's camper and smoothed out the orange Chudley Cannons blankets on his bed. Hermione began picking up his old textbooks and arranging them on a bare shelf on the opposite wall.
"We're not cleaning, Hermione. I'm just making room," said Ron. He placed the plate onto the bed and walked over to her. She continued to pick up his books and dusting them off with her hand.
"Well you don't expect me to just leave these on the floor! You'll need to save them," she said huffily. She continued to put them away, slamming them on the shelf with more force than Ron would have liked. "You never know when you're going to need them when you're off saving the world," she added grumpily. Ron could hear the annoyance in her voice.
"What do you mean?" he asked. He grabbed her wrist lightly and tugged her around to face him. She had quite a bit of dust on her clothes and looked a little peeved. As soon as her eyes met his concerned ones, her features softened.
"Oh nothing," she sighed. She moved with him over to the bed and took a sandwich.
"Yuck," said Ron after taking a bite of his own. "I hate corned beef." Hermione laughed and gave him hers.
"Here," said Hermione, shoving the sandwich in his mouth. "Bacon sandwich." Ron choked a little on it but ended up eating four more. He and Hermione ate in silence except for the occasional sounds of chewing. Three times, Ron counted, their hands brushed against each other. He was sure that by now, after kissing her and holding her, that he would be able to touch her without burning red.
"I need to talk to you about something," said Hermione, breaking the silence. She moved the plate from the bed onto the floor and sat cross-legged on the bed.
"Is this going to involve mostly talking or…?" asked Ron playfully. Hermione glared at him before starting to talk again.
"I think that after Harry leaves I need to go too," she said quickly. Ron looked at her dumbly, trying to figure out why Hermione would just up and leave. Sensing Ron's confusion, Hermione spoke again. "I have to find my parents. I have to modify their memories again and send them back home. You understand, don't you?"
Of course he understood, but how had he forgotten? Hermione's parents were in Australia, completely unaware that they had a witch for daughter. They had no idea that she spent the last year hunting Horcruxes throughout Britain or faced the darkest wizard and his supporters. They would never understand what is what like to hear her scream in pain in Malfoy Manor or to see her work so hard to keep fighting. No, her parents had no idea who Hermione was at this moment.
It was then that Ron had a brilliant idea.
"I could go with you," he said eagerly. He expected Hermione to hug him for being so understanding and considerate. Instead, she gave him a sympathetic smile.
"I knew you were going to say that," she said. Ron looked at her questionably. "I think it would be better if you stayed here. It'll be a nasty shock to my parents at first and I think you being there would only—"
"Get in the way, yeah," said Ron, cutting her off.
"—distract me," finished Hermione snappishly. "I wouldn't be able to focus with you around me. I would be too busy wanting you to even think about what I'll tell my parents. I mean, they're going to be furious that I did this to them! Besides, your mother would snap your wand in half before you step foot out of your house." Hermione said this all in one breath. Ron was gaping at her. She had actually thought this through.
"It would only be for a few days, Ron," said Hermione quietly.
"Did you say that you'd be 'wanting' me?" asked Ron. His eyes were shining with mirth. He grinned at Hermione who looked defeated. "I understand though," he added quickly so that she knew that he heard all of it. "You should go, I mean, and it's okay."
"I'm glad you understand," said Hermione, relieved.
"You did say that though," said Ron matter-of-factly. "I know you said it so there's no denying it."
"Ron," said Hermione, "How do you think I feel about you?" It was a rhetorical question, Ron knew, but he answered it anyway as he leaned in to kiss her.
"Dunno," he mumbled against her mouth. He kissed her softly and slowly. He was getting used to kissing her by now and found it a degree less embarrassing. His thoughts drifted elsewhere, to place where he was glad Hermione couldn't see. He was lucky, he reminded himself, that as smart as Hermione was she never pursued Legilimency.
"HARRY'S LEAVING YOU GIT!" roared Ginny from downstairs. Startled, Ron pulled away from Hermione and rather reluctantly, they headed downstairs.
"Come to see me off?" asked Harry, grinning. He clapped Ron on the back before giving him a warm hug. "I'm a little nervous about going to Gringotts and getting my money. You think I'll be arrested?"
"Probably," laughed Ron. He hadn't even thought about that. Hopefully, they'd be pardoned or something. Taking into consideration that he had no gold of his own to put into a vault, his spirits dropped slightly.
"Kingsley wanted us to get back to him before September so I'll get on that after everything else," continued Harry. "I'm sure the Dursleys will be disappointed to see that I didn't die."
"They should be grateful that you risked your neck to save them, those Muggle relatives of yours," said Mrs. Weasley angrily as she hugged Harry. "Utter rubbish, the way they treat you."
"Mum, those Muggles are a rotten lot," said Ron, getting an approving look from Harry. It was common knowledge that Harry's aunt and uncle were the worst Muggles to be around and completely intolerant of anyone deemed out of the ordinary. Harry could probably jump in front of a moving bus to save them and they would still treat him like dirt. Right after he spoke Mrs. Weasley turned to look at him so quickly that she could have cricked her neck.
"Don't you go on about people you know little about, Ron," she snapped. "For all you know, they might have turned over a new leaf." Ron was flabbergasted. Mrs. Weasley was obviously very upset for her to change her mind as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Harry, you must write," pleaded Hermione as she gave him a tight hug. "But we'll send you a letter first, of course, seeing as how—" Harry looked down sadly at her words "—Hedwig." There was an awkward silence and Ron, true to character, felt the need to fill it.
"Hermione's leaving too," said Ron abruptly. Hermione shot him a look that could have rivaled Mrs. Weasley's.
"To bring your parents home?" asked Harry. Ron could have kicked himself.
"Yes," said Hermione. "I was going to say something tonight but yes, I think I'm going to leave in the morning."
"What?" asked Ron. "Tomorrow morning? When you said you'd be leaving after Harry I thought you meant a few days later or something."
Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Ginny cut in.
"Let's walk Harry outside," she said. "It's beginning to get dark. He's Apparating just on the hill."
They trooped outside until they were standing among the fields of rolling grass, the fair wind tousling their hair and the last of the glow from the sunset creeping behind the hills. Mr. Weasley had found his way out of the shed where Ron was well aware that his father kept many of his Muggle contraptions. Harry hugged each of them again, lingering with Ginny and kissing her (Ron looked down pointedly). And then, he was gone.
"I think that I should talk to your dad too," said Hermione as she and Ron walked back inside the house. In the dim moonlight Ron could only make out Hermione's face. She looked stuck on an idea.
"Why?" asked Ron gruffly. He wasn't in the mood to talk about her departure.
"Because I can't just Apparate there," she said as it was the most obvious thing in the world. Since when had Apparition not been enough? "It's entirely too far. I don't want to risk anything and I suppose your dad can help me contact some wizard officials over in Australia."
Ron silently agreed. He wouldn't want Hermione to Apparate either for fear of her landing in the middle of an ocean. Still, he didn't want to speak to her. She could have mentioned that she would be leaving in the morning when they were alone.
Everyone gathered in the sitting room as there were a few hours before bed. Hermione sat down next to Ginny but Ron stomped up the stairs and into his room, deliberately ignoring Hermione and her reasons for going to Australia. Hermione bade him goodnight and Ron, rather grumpily, grunted goodnight to her. Closing his door, he lay down on his bed, feeling cold and lonely, and drifted to sleep.
Ron awoke, startled that he should be up only after a few hours of sleep. He glanced at his watch, squinting in the dark, and read that it was two a.m. He looked up to see who or what had disturbed him. All he could see was a female a silhouette, though, with a mane of bushy hair ending halfway down her back.
"I need to talk to you," said Hermione. Her words were barely a whisper and Ron picked his head off of the pillow to hear her better. "I don't want you to be upset with me. I need to go, Ron. I must."
"You didn't have to keep me thinking that I had at least another day with you rather than—" he looked at his watch again, "—a few hours."
"You forced me to spill everything downstairs!" exclaimed Hermione. Ron did not know how someone could whisper so loud.
"I know," said Ron, surprising even himself. "I'm sorry about that."
Hermione stared at him. Ron's eyes had become adjusted to the dark by now and he could see that she looked a bit relieved. He picked up the blankets and motioned for her to get under them. Smiling, Hermione tied her hair back and crawled into his bed, lying with her back against his chest. Ron wrapped his arms around her and began to whisper in her ear.
"When you get back to your house with your mum and dad, do you think I could meet you there?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to miss me?" he asked her.
"Yes."
Ron smiled as he ran his hand down her shoulder and arm. He touched the front of her pajama shirt and let his hand rest on her stomach.
"Are you tired?" he whispered. Hermione shook her head against his neck. Ron, feeling not so tired himself, began to kiss her neck. He felt Hermione's body tighten and push back into his. He brought his hand back up to her arm and started stroking it again while kissing her neck harder. He decided to test his limits, which might or might not have been a smart thing to do, and moved his hand back to the base of her shirt. Hermione didn't protest but turned her head back to capture his lips in a kiss.
They were kissing feverishly now, Ron subconsciously moving the lower part of his body harder against her. He moved hand lower until he could feel the elastic fabric of her pajama bottoms. He ran his hand over her until he reached between her legs. He contemplated briefly whether it was wise to touch further, but seeing as Hermione was still snogging his brains out, he pressed his fingers against the fabric just outside of her.
Hermione froze from the touch and broke away from the kiss. She turned her head back around and grabbed his hand. Ron remained still, his hand over her, fearing for his life. It was when Hermione pressed his fingers harder against her that he relaxed and kissed her again. She had begun to breathe heavily as Ron sucked on her neck and kissed her shoulders.
Not knowing what he was doing, Ron slipped his hand under the thin fragment. Hermione leaned her head back against his chest as he moved his fingers until they were rubbing right over her opening. Nervous, Ron touched her for the first time. Hermione guided his hand once more so his fingers touched her where he guessed was the right spot.
"Ron," she sighed. Ron groaned in her neck as he continued to both kiss her and press himself against her. He moved his fingers over where she had indicated, eliciting a moan from Hermione. He used his other hand to touch the small of her back while continuing to kiss her neck.
Hermione turned her head around to face him again and kissed him back. His hand was moving faster and she was slightly rocking her hips against it.
"Oh, god," she moaned. Ron moved his fingers in a circle over her as he watched her draw deep breaths. "Oh, Ron!"
With his free hand, Ron clapped a hand over her mouth as she moaned. He closed his eyes, hoping that maybe she would touch him, as her breathing slowed and her body loosened. He pulled his hand from the inside of her pants and rested it on her hip. Hermione looked at him with wide, almost frightened eyes. Her cheeks became red as he smiled nervously at her and she scrambled out from under the covers.
She looked at him before turning around, panting from embarrassment.
"I've got to go," she whispered.
"Hermione, wait," said Ron. But Hermione was already tip-toeing out of his room and closing his door behind her.
A/N: Okay, so I've been trying to update faster but I'm going back to school soon so I've been busy. Hope you like it and thanks for all of the reviews! I am debating on how long this story should be. I've got ideas swimming around in my head and I know what I want to do with the characters but I'm not sure how many chapters it should contain. Any ideas?
