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Chapter 8

Ron had never felt more uncomfortable in his life. Not only was he on a date with Hermione, she had taken him to Muggle London, and they were now standing out the front of a building that she called a cinema.

She'd tried explaining exactly what it was to him, and what he got from it was sitting in front of one giant, talking portrait for two hours, and he was supposed to enjoy it.

Well, he was going to enjoy it, but it wasn't going to be because of this giant talking portrait thing. Hermione had dressed up for the occasion, and while he considered her amazing all the time, he really couldn't help but admire just how beautiful she looked under the street lights in Muggle London. And he'd told her as such. It felt strange saying it, but she seemed to appreciate the compliment.

"Are you ready?" Hermione asked. "It starts in ten minutes."

Ron nodded. He'd probably never be ready for an introduction into the Muggle world — not completely — but he supposed he'd have to get used to it if he wanted to be with Hermione for the long haul. And he wanted that more than anything (though he wouldn't dare tell her that yet).

"You just do all the talking. I don't want to look like an idiot."

They walked slowly into the building, and Ron's first thought was of his dad and how this would have been some kind of heaven for Arthur Weasley. He'd probably be unable to contain himself with all the new things that were here to play with.

Hermione made her way to a counter where a young Muggle girl was standing. There were lots of sweets around, things Ron had never seen before. He looked at them, stunned.

Hermione purchased the tickets using Muggle money (it amazed him that she knew exactly what she was doing), and then they left the counter and stood by a door with the number 3 plastered across it.

"I think you'll really like the sweets here, Ron," Hernione whispered after a moment. "I'll be back." And before he could ask her not to leave him alone, she disappeared again, digging into her small handbag for more money.

It slightly bothered him that he wasn't able to contribute to their very first date, but at the same time, he knew that in the coming months he'd be able to make up for it. He'd sent a reply to Kingsley that afternoon to accept his offer. Training as an Auror was a paid job, and for the first time ever, Ron was going to have his very own money. He was excited at the idea, but also relieved. Harry had always had a lot of money, and despite having Muggle parents, Hermione never seemed to be short of Galleons either (apparently her parents were paid well in their Muggle jobs). Now, he could join them. He could even contribute to things like he'd never been able to before.

While Hermione was gone, Ron took the moment to take in his surroundings without looking like he didn't belong there. It was a fascinating place, this cinema. He doubted he'd ever learn how everything worked, but he supposed he could try. Hermione was proud of her Muggle parentage, and it would mean a lot to her if he tried to embrace aspects of it. He just hoped she would be patient with him.

She returned a little later carrying lots of food he'd never seen before. His eyes drifted from her to the food and then back again.

"You'll like it," she promised, beaming. "I tried to pick things that are similar to what you're used to."

To Ron, none of it looked the slightest bit similar to the abundance of wizarding sweets he was used to, but he nodded. There was a queue forming out the front of the doors they were supposed to be entering. The people around them were talking eagerly about the anticipation of this 'movie' they would be seeing, and Ron listened in on the conversations with wide eyes.

Soon, the doors opened and people began filing in slowly. Ron took some of the food from Hermione to help her carry it, remembering that she couldn't just use her wand to levitate everything in front of her. Reaching the front of the line, Hermione handed over the tickets to a worker and she led them to their seats.

This cinema reminded Ron very much of the Great Hall, but smaller… and with the long House tables removed. And rather than the teachers right at the front, there was a ginormous thing that Hermione called a 'screen.' As they sat down, she muttered to him quickly, trying to explain how it worked.

So, that was where he'd see the big talking portrait thing in a moment. He'd been expecting it to be quite a bit smaller.

"You alright?" Hermione asked, seeming to sense his discomfort. She suddenly looked concerned, as if wondering if she'd made the right decision coming here.

"Yeah," he breathed. "Just going to take some getting used to, isn't it?"

She smiled. "You'll like it, I promise. I… um… picked something gentle for your first experience."

Ron wasn't sure what she meant by that, and he didn't have time to ask her to explain either, for in that moment the lights turned off and the giant portrait in front of them flashed on. He nearly jumped out of his seat, and might have done so had Hermione not seemed to anticipate the reaction and held firmly onto his arm.

"What the hell is that?" he hissed, pointing to the giant portrait.

"The movie," Hermione said calmly. "Well, it will be. These are just some ads."

Ron directed his gaze up to the screen, eyeing it suspiciously. Muggles would continue to amaze him, he supposed, if this was what they considered entertainment.

But, by it turning on, it seemed to have some kind of magical effect on everyone, for they all fell silent at once. Ron looked around. Every single person had their eyes looking up at the screen.

He sunk into his chair and looked down at the food in his lap. Well, if he was going to be here for two hours, he may as well try everything.

Hermione had been right about one thing, at least. He did like the Muggle sweets. She'd bought quite a mix, but hardly touched any of them herself (something about her parents being Muggle teeth Healers and convincing her too much sugar was bad).

The movie started, and for a while, Ron watched it in fascination. He once again thought of his dad who would have been absolutely thrilled to be here. It was quite entertaining, the show. He laughed a few times, along with everyone else. They said some ridiculous things, but he understood it enough to find it funny.

After a while, though, his attention drifted to Hermione. She really was beautiful, and he wished he had told her more often over the past month and a bit, because now he wasn't going to be able to tell her for a long time.

Seeming to sense his eyes on her, she turned her head and smiled at him. He really wanted to kiss her, but even he knew this probably wasn't the place to do it. It seemed a little too open.

So instead, he settled for reaching across the armrest and holding her hand, which she accepted and her smile widened at the gesture.

It seemed strange that this was to be their last night together for a while, and yet it was their first time on an actual date. Everything had been so backwards because of the war, and he couldn't help but wonder, if they had started out normally, would he have felt the same way about her?

He decided he would have. The situation hadn't made him feel this way; it was her. It was all her.

When the movie finished, everyone stood up to leave. Ron watched them, mildly fascinated at how normal this seemed for everyone. This was what they did for fun, when they couldn't do magic. This was what Hermione must have done before she got her Hogwarts letter.

A thought occurred to him as they walked slowly from the cinema, hand-in-hand. "Hermione, I've never asked you before, but do they have Muggle schools?"

"Yes, Ron," Hermione said, sounding mildly amused. "Harry has mentioned it more than once over the years. I daresay I have too."

"And you went to one?" Ron asked.

"Yes, I did. Since I was about six."

"What did you learn there?"

Hermione stopped right before the exit, turning to face him, and looking exasperated. "Are you really wanting to spend tonight talking to me about my educational history?"

"Er, no, not really. I was just curious, is all."

Hermione smiled. "Can you be curious another day?"

Ron nodded. He then looked around. People were beginning to file out of the building and disbanding in different directions. "Where to now?"

Hermione gave him a rather devious look as she grabbed his hand again and dragged him onto the streets. It was quite busy, and they blended in nicely.

"I really hate it when you get an idea in your head and don't tell me what it is!" Ron huffed as Hermione turned down a quiet road with very few people. "Where are we going?"

Still without answering, Hermione pulled him into an alley off the road. The moment they were out of sight, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her so quickly that he didn't think she intended for her back to hit the wall as hard as it did.

"Are you alright? That sounded —"

"Just shut up for once, Ron," Hermione breathed, and she drew him into a deep kiss.

Surprised, Ron pulled away, both of them breathing heavily. He stared down at her. "Hermione!"

"What?"

"This is so very unlike you."

The devious look she'd given him before, returned. "Well, I feel a little adventurous…"

"Here?" Ron asked, gesturing down the alley. "Really?"

She shrugged, drawing him towards her again in another attempt to kiss him. This time, he let her, moving his hands to her face. She tasted the sweetest she ever had, her lips the softest they had ever been.

He groaned, reluctantly breaking away.

"What?" she asked, the street light giving him a glimpse of her very flustered face.

"I love you," he breathed. "You do things to me, you know? Amazing, wonderful, incredible things."

Hermione smiled up at him, her arms tightening around his neck, as if she was making a point — though, he didn't know what that was. Then, just as Ron was about to kiss her again, three people walked past the alley and Hermione lowered her arms. "Should we go?"

"Where?" Ron asked, his voice weak.

"Your room?"

Ron gripped her tightly and she smiled.

"Come on, I'll Apparate us both."

Ron didn't have time to ask anymore questions before they were spinning through the air and landing moments later in his bedroom.

He stared at her. Out of courtesy, his family always Apparated from and to the Apparition point just by the boundaries of the Burrow. Especially so late at night, when…

But his thought never finished, because Hermione had thrown herself at him once more, kissing him so furiously that he lost his footing.

No thoughts were in his head now aside from her. All he could comprehend was her and how much he loved her, how much he wanted her, and how much both of them seemed to want their last night to be memorable.

He kissed her back with so much force that she sighed in response and her hands came around his neck and then she pulled him onto his bed.

Then he was entirely lost in her, his mind turning into a big pile of mush simply by having her so close to him.

He was going to miss this. He was going to miss everything about her, about their relationship, so damn much.

…

Ron woke the next morning to a feeling of complete bliss. He savoured the moment, keeping his eyes closed and remembering every detail of last night, every detail of Hermione, from her eyes, to her mouth, to the way her body felt against his. He knew that once he opened his eyes, the reality of today would hit him, and he wasn't ready for that quite yet. He'd savour the last moments with Hermione for as long as he could.

There had been a moment last night where he'd been overcome with so much love for her and he'd accepted something that he'd not allowed himself to think about until then — there was no one else for him who could possibly make him as happy as she did. She was it. It was either her or no one, but Merlin, he hoped it was always going to be her.

He had a vague memory of perhaps telling her that at some point, but he couldn't quite remember. If he had, he hoped she didn't mind him being so forward. She didn't seem to have minded, though. Or maybe she thought he'd only said it because of the moment they were in. But he'd mean it without sex being a factor. He hoped she knew that too.

He felt her stir within his arms and he smiled, finally opening his eyes. "You're not going to forget about me while you're gone, are you?"

"You're not going to forget about me when you're immersed in your Auror training, are you?"

Ron's smile widened. "Never."

She returned his smile. "Then, never."

He shuffled forward, kissing her, drawing her body towards him. He'd spent most of the night doing that, but it never got boring. Besides, he had to make up for all the times he was going to miss while they were apart.

"I love you, Hermione. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Ron."

He began absently stroking her hair, watching her, knowing that soon this would have to end; that soon they'd have to get up and she'd be going away and that he'd not see her for at least a month.

"Let's just stay here forever," he said. "You, me, forget about everything and everyone else. Who needs to be an Auror? Plenty of jobs out there, right?"

Hermione laughed. "Can you really see yourself working at the Leaky Cauldron, washing dishes your whole life?"

Ron shrugged. "If I got to come home to you every night after, then why not?"

Hermione smiled, then grabbed his wrist to look at his watch. "The Portkey leaves at eleven, so we still have a few hours. I'm all packed, so we've got the whole morning together. What would you like to do?"

Ron considered telling her that sex would be good, but by the look on her face, that didn't seem to be an option, so instead he settled against her and said, "I just want to stay here."

And that was where they laid, for at least an hour longer. Then his mother called them for breakfast. She no longer came into his room ever since the incident some weeks ago now.

Reluctantly, they got out of bed, dressed, and then headed downstairs to find everyone else already up.

"How was your evening, dears?" Molly asked as they sat at the table. Ron immediately began helping himself to eggs and sausages.

"Do you really want an answer to that, Mum?" Ginny asked, smirking, and both Ron and Hermione turned a bright red.

Molly, shooting Ginny a rather disgusted look, said, "How was the picture… moving… thing?"

"Hilarious," Ron said, grinning. "I think I'll go again. There's different ones, right, Hermione? You'd like it, Ginny."

Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"You, me and Harry," Ron continued. "Harry can work out the Muggle money for us. Will be fun."

Ginny didn't look convinced, but Harry, who was sitting beside her, nodded. "You know, I've never actually been. The Dursleys didn't really feel it necessary to invite me to any, whenever they went."

"Hm, sounds like the three of you have already got plenty to do for the next few weeks," Molly said, and a smile crossed her lips. She'd been thrilled to learn that Ron was no longer going to another country and had made a point to emphasise this delight whenever she got the chance.

Breakfast was one of the best in a long time, Molly going to an effort to make Hermione's final morning with them memorable. After they'd eaten, they made their way to the living room where Charlie and Percy were talking about dragons and the Ministry's handle on them before they left for work. It seemed that the two brothers disagreed with one another, and not wanting to involve themselves in the argument, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny hurried up to Ginny's room.

"Percy is a lot more tolerable now," Ginny said, "but he's still a prat at times. That will never change. Have you heard, he's got himself a girlfriend?"

"What?" the others all asked at the same time.

Ginny nodded, grinning. "He hasn't told anyone, but I caught him trying to work out how to send a letter the Muggle way the other day. Her name is Audrey, I think. She must be a Muggle." She shrugged.

Of all his brothers, Ron thought Percy would have been the least likely to find a Muggle to go out with. Ginny must have been mistaken. "Maybe she doesn't have an owl?"

Ginny shrugged again. "Maybe, but I don't think so. He kept muttering about how he didn't know how she survived with this kind of post…"

"The weirdest part in all that is Percy has a girlfriend," Ron said.

"Oh, Ron, he's so much better now," Hermione said. "I mean, after the war. And if she is a Muggle, then she's not going to know about… everything."

"You think he's told her?" Ron asked. "He's a stickler for rules, and telling her would be breaking a lot of them. Or does she think she's just dating some office bloke with a good, but secretive, job?"

No one had an answer for that, so they changed the topic, Harry wondering when the Quidditch league might start up again.

"Eh, soon, I hope," Ron said. "Maybe the break will do the Cannons some good. Honestly, they just keep putting together the worst combinations…"

The morning moved on far too fast for Ron's liking, and as much as he enjoyed the company of his sister and Harry, he now only had one hour left with Hermione. He dragged her from Ginny's room, and into his own.

"Ron—"

"I just want it to be us," he said. "At least for half an hour."

Hermione's face softened and she smiled.

Ron wrapped his arms around her, hugging her, but not in a way that was romantic; it was a way that said I'm going to miss you so goddamn much.

They stayed that way for some time, and when they did pull away, Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. And she actually said the words.

"I'm going to miss you."

"Just write every few days," Ron said. "Keep me updated."

"Of course," Hermione said. "I'll let you know what happens when I find them. I'd imagine they'll be disoriented for a few days. Of course, that's if I can—"

"You will," Ron assured her. "You'll do it."

She smiled, her arms still around his neck. "I love you," she said. "I love you so much, and I wish I'd had the confidence to tell you a long time ago."

"Nah," Ron said, "if you had, we probably wouldn't be here right now. We probably would have broken up over something silly and may not even be speaking to each other. The timing was perfect."

"Broken up over what?" Hermione asked, sounding curious.

"I dunno." Ron shrugged. "Something really stupid. Maybe I didn't do my homework on time. Or maybe I said something insensitive, and it resulted in a silly argument. You know, old time's sake."

"We were a bit stupid, weren't we?" Hermione said.

"Yeah, just a bit," Ron agreed.

Eventually, they couldn't delay any more. Hermione picked up the beaded bag from where it sat on Ron's bed, and they headed back downstairs.

"All ready, dear?" Molly asked, smiling kindly.

Hermione nodded.

"And the Portkey leaves at eleven?"

Hermione nodded again. "So we better be going." She looked over her shoulder where Harry and Ginny emerged from the living room. "Are you two coming as well? If not, I'll say goodbye here…"

"Of course we're coming," Harry said. "We can't miss seeing you off."

Hermione smiled at them, then said goodbye to everyone else. A moment later, Molly put some Floo powder into the fire.

"Good luck, dear. I'm sure you'll manage to help your parents. And, do know that if they ever need somewhere to stay, they're welcome here, of course."

"Thank you, Molly."

"Because that's what they're going to want, Mum," Ron said. "After learning their minds had been altered by magic, to come and live with a whole family of wizards."

"Oh, Ron, stop!" Hermione said. "I'll see you there." And she disappeared in a wave of green flames.

When they'd all reached the Ministry, they were greeted by Percy, who was personally organising her travel. He looked at Hermione with a small smile.

"All ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Hermione said, and they began following him to a lift.

They reached the level the Magical Transportation department was on and Percy led them into a large room.

There were so many odd and mis-matched objects in there, they could only be Portkeys.

"Which one are you going to take, Hermione?" Ron asked, amused. "An old sock or will it be a tin can?"

"Actually," Percy said, "it's a cushion."

Sitting on a desk was the frilliest, pinkest cushion Ron had ever seen. He snorted. "I love Portkeys."

"Five minutes, Hermione," Percy said.

Hermione turned to Harry and Ginny, and gave them each a hug.

"I'll miss you guys," she said. "And I'll be sure to write and keep you all updated."

"We'll see you when you get back, Hermione," Harry said. "If anyone can do it, it's you."

Hermione smiled gratefully at Harry, and then, looking rather teary-eyed, she looked at Ron and flung herself into his arms and kissed him hard.

Ron vaguely heard Ginny say to Harry, "What a goodbye!" He held onto her just a little longer until Percy's warning that she had thirty seconds forced her to break away (Ron kissed her one more time) and she clutched the cushion to her chest, as if using it for comfort.

"Have fun," Ginny said, waving. "See you when you get back."

Ten seconds and wanting to get the last word in, Ron said, "I love you!"

But before she could reply, the Portkey and Hermione vanished from the office.

A silence filled the room for some time, and Ron felt Harry's arm across his shoulders in an act of comfort.

It was Ginny who broke the silence. "So, Perce," she said, "you going to tell us about this girl?"

Percy stared at her. "What — how?"

"Is she a Muggle?" Ginny pressed.

Percy looked at her, an incredulous expression on his face. "How did you know?"

"Are you going to tell her?" Ginny continued. "Or will you wait until you're married? Imagine the shock..."

"What are the rules anyway?" Harry asked. "When you marry a Muggle? I've always wondered."

Percy just stared at them, lost for words.

Ginny grinned at him. "Well, you should introduce her to the family. Imagine the look on her face when she learns about Quidditch!" And leaving Percy with a thunderstruck expression, Ginny left the office with Harry and Ron following behind her.

Thank you for all of your kind words and comments. They have been much appreciated! I hope you liked this chapter!