Chapter Five It's in the Blood
Hermione tapped her pen against her chin as she considered what items she needed for her potions. She could have sent her secretary for everything, but decided she would stop and pick them up herself on her way to work. With a click of her pen, she jotted the items down on the pad of paper; bloodroot, dittany, and flux weed.
She missed the smell of fresh parchment and ink from her Hogwarts days, but muggle items like pens and pencils were more convenient to use with less mess. Her muggle roots had even affected Ron, who now carried a pen around in his pocket.
A stop at Millar's wouldn't be remiss. She could pick up her favorite Assam tea, and surprise Ron with some of the expensive coffee he liked. It had been several weeks since she had placed their entire family in danger with her genetic discoveries. Ron should have been furious with her, he should have berated her, but he hadn't said a word against her. He didn't even complain when she had confided her discoveries to Harry before telling him.
She sighed, put down her pen and rubbed her forehead. Would she ever stop chastising herself and feeling guilty? No matter how busy she tried to make herself, she couldn't stop her negative inner dialogue. She shouldn't have been so curious. Why couldn't she just let things go? Why did she have to always get involved in things she shouldn't? Tears pricked her eyes, but she refused to give in to them. She didn't deserve to cry.
She jumped to her feet, dashed her eyes on the sleeve of her robe, and angrily tore off the page with her shopping list. It would accomplish nothing to wallow in self-pity. Harry and Ron had helped her destroy all of her documented notes on the gene findings and the CRISPR process. But she still knew. She still remembered. She couldn't wash it from her brain, much as she wished to. But she didn't wish to, did she?
"Shut up!" she told herself aloud.
A bleary-eyed Ron chose that moment to shuffle into the kitchen. "What? I didn't say anything."
Hermione smirked at Ron, "I remembered I forgot to shut theā¦oven off." She rushed over to the stove and made a show of turning knobs already turned off, hoping Ron wouldn't notice.
He didn't. Ron was busy filling a mug with coffee and was oblivious to her performance. He turned, rubbing his stomach, "Sweetheart, tell me you made more of those cranberry scones."
He looked so excited by the prospect that she almost wished she had gotten up early enough to make a batch.
"Um, sorry. I was going to, but I'm missing some ingredients. I need to run to the store this morning. Do you need anything?"
She grabbed her list and jotted down white chocolate for the scones.
Ron put his coffee mug on the counter, enveloped Hermione in his powerful arms, and pressed his cheek against her hair, heaving a sigh of contentment.
"I love you; you know. I wish you could love you as much as I do."
Tears pricked Hermione's eyes for the second time that morning. She clutched his shoulders, absorbed his warmth, and swallowed her tears.
Ron kissed her ear, and murmured, "You are, without a doubt, the best thing that ever happened to me."
She wrapped her arms around his waist, and tucked her face into his neck. Breathing deep, she inhaled his scent, a sweet mixture of spearmint toothpaste, tangy pine, and musk. His warmth and strength surrounded and supported her, soothing and arousing simultaneously.
"I love you, too, Ron," she whispered huskily.
"You know," he said with a chuckle, "I can be late for work."
Hermione laughed and pulled him closer. Ron nuzzled into her neck, kissing her softly below her earlobe, then captured her lobe softly between his teeth. A jolt of desire pooled in her stomach. Being late for work sounded like an excellent idea.
Her cellphone rumbled and vibrated across the table. She and Ron looked at each other with disappointment and reluctantly moved apart as Hermione reached for the phone. The screen was lit up with a picture of her daughter.
"It's Rose."
They had purchased a cellphone for Rose to use in case of an emergency while at Hogwarts. The reception in Hogsmeade was better, as it was outside the school's protective enchantments, so her calls were usually when on one of her weekend trips to Hogsmeade. It thrilled her and Ron to hear Rose's excitement about her outing and brought back memories of their own happy times at Hogwarts.
But this call was unexpected. It was the middle of the week. Could there be an emergency?
Hermione answered the call, "Hello? Rose?"
There was a fuzzy static sound and some indistinct background noise, then a large crackle.
"Mu-? You - hear?"
"Rose?"
"Mum! It's me."
"Your father and I are here. I have you on speaker. Is everything OK?"
"Need" a garbled noise, more static "today."
Hermione whispered to Ron, "Did you get any of that?" Ron shook his head.
"Come" line went entirely silent, then "today."
"What? Rose, we can't hear you. Can you leave the grounds? Can you go to Hogsmeade and call me?"
She heard a shout, "Teddy!" more static "missing!"
Hermione looked at Ron and they both said, "Teddy is missing?"
