Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

A/N: I've decided to post this chapter a little early, because I realized that though I put out two chapters, the material was pretty close to the original. This chapter, in my opinion, has changed a lot and I really like how it came out. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Chapter Three

First Date

Hermione was extremely nervous, and she has been since the moment she had agreed to go on a date with Ron, but it was now almost overwhelming her as she put on the final touches to her outfit. She shouldn't have been so surprised she felt this way, seeing as all last week she had battled with both her nervous butterflies and dread in anticipation of seeing Ron again, and that was just to see him while she was working. She had realized, somewhere during the middle of that time, that she was feeling more excited and hopeful as her apprehension with dating seemed to dwindle.

However, as soon as she actually agreed to the date, that apprehension seemed to come back with a vengeance. After all, it had been a while since she's gone out on a date, and even longer that the guy she was dating was someone she picked out for herself (and not someone her mum set her up with). Add to it how her last relationship had ended … it wasn't easy to get through her turmoil. However, that never stopped her from wanting to see Ron again, from picturing his smile … hear his laugh … see his blue eyes sparkle with amusement as they talked.

Looking in the mirror one more time, her hand framing her curls as she twisted to make sure her hair still looked okay in the back, she decided there was nothing else she could do, so she ran out the door and rushed as fast as she could in her nicest dress and high heels. She appreciated that Ron had told her that they would be going somewhere nice before they had agreed to meet in front of the coffee shop. She wasn't surprised to see he was there waiting for her by the time she got there.

Ron's breath caught as he took her in. He allowed his eyes to travel over her, taking in her dark red dress and the way that it seemed to perfectly fit her body and yet was still sensible; it really did bring out the best in her. As his eyes moved up to meet her own, he could tell that she had done something with her hair, it was more tamed than it had been the few times he had seen her before, but there was still something wild about it that Ron found fascinating. "You look sma- … er … beautiful," he said when he found the ability to talk again.

"Well, you look smashing," Hermione teased, her eyes twinkling with amusement and Ron smiled at her sheepishly, knowing that was what he was about to say to her. Still, she had meant what she said, he looked amazing wearing a cobalt blue button up shirt and black slacks that seemed to bring out his eyes and matched well with his hair.

"You know, it's rude to show up late on a date," Ron decided to tease back.

"Come on, it was only ten minutes," Hermione laughed, "besides, it's not the same thing. Who expects a girl to be ready on time, anyways?"

"That's true," Ron laughed too, not mentioning how anxious he had been the last half hour (when he had shown up early) nor that his nerves seemed to have doubled when their meeting time had come and pass, and she still hadn't arrived.

"So, where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"The Pearl," Ron named the restaurant.

"Oh," Hermione said and bit her lip, he had told her he would be taking her somewhere nice, but she hadn't expected it to be that nice.

"Is something wrong?" Ron asked, noticing her discomfort.

She wasn't sure how to answer that and finally decided to say, "I … er … I don't think I can afford …"

"I'm paying," Ron said before she could even finish, looking at her incredulously.

"I'm not the kind of girl that thinks the man has to pay for everything," Hermione said bristling slightly at his tone, but reminded herself that they never really discussed this before so she shouldn't be so hard on him. "I think we are equals."

Ron was a little taken aback by this comment, he wasn't sure if he had ever heard of a witch offering to pay for a date (not that he asked anyone about this before). After a moment he thought, this must be some kind of Muggle thing. He shrugged and said, "Fine then, you can pay the next time."

"What makes you think there will be a next time?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at his presumption but realized that wasn't what was really bothering her. So, she decided to be honest with him. "It wouldn't be fair … I can't take you to a place this nice."

"Is this place really that expensive?" Ron asked, a little wary by her reaction.

"It's not the most expensive, but it is pretty pricey," Hermione admitted though his comment only made her feel more nervous, she didn't want him to put himself out, especially if he was just trying to impress her.

"A friend told me about it, and I thought it would be nice to go," Ron admitted, in truth he had wanted to go to this restaurant for years, ever since his coworker told him about it, but he never had a reason to go before now. "They're supposed to have excellent food there."

"I've heard that, too," Hermione agreed and smiled shyly, "I'd love to go there."

"I'm not used to this you know," Ron said feeling awkward with the charged silence between the two as they started walking to the restaurant (that was only a few blocks away). Upon seeing her confused expression, he added, "I'm not used to being the one who's not worried about money. You see, I came from a large and … er … poor family. I'm more used to being the one that's uncomfortable when money is involved. I never got anything new, I always got hand me downs that if I was lucky, it only belonged to one of my brothers before I got it. We never even got to go on vacation until I was thirteen and we won a raffle. We didn't have anything but each other."

"How many brothers do you have?" Hermione asked softly, noticing his subdued tone. He didn't answer at first as he slowed down and when he noticed a bench nearby, he sat down on it. Now really feeling worried, she sat next to him.

"I had five older brothers and a little sister," he gave her a sad smile as he answered, he could hear the tremor in his own voice. He felt her hand grab his arm in support and he knew that she hadn't missed the fact that he said 'had'. He could also tell that she wasn't going to push him for more details, and he was grateful for that. He had not meant to broach this subject today and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Not to mention he didn't want to lie to her, not on their first date, and he was sure if he started talking, what he said now would be filled with lies.

"I can't say the same," Hermione said sometime later, trying to give Ron a few moments to compose himself. "It's not like my parents were rich or anything, but we went on at least one vacation a year and I pretty much always got what I wanted as a kid. Of course, mostly what I wanted was books, and I loved going on vacations so I could learn more about the culture I was visiting."

"I take it you really enjoyed learning," Ron said smiling at her, though his eyes were still sad, he couldn't help but watch her as she tried to distract him. Plus, moving the conversation to her seemed like a good idea to him.

"I more than enjoy it," Hermione admitted embarrassedly.

"Oh really … should I be jealous?" Ron asked.

"Maybe," she chuckled. "My studies are my top priority."

"We'll see about that," Ron said under his breath, but she heard him anyways. Before she could say anything more, he stood up and held his hand out to her, "we probably should get going, I made reservations, and we only have a few minutes left."

"Okay," she said, taking his hand and was pleased when he didn't let go as they started walking again. "You totally made me forget that I was angry with you about the restaurant thing."

"Then my diabolical plan worked brilliantly!" Ron laughed, giving a decent impression of a cartoon villain (not that he realized it). "Don't worry, I'll let you take us someplace sensible next time if that's what you want."

"I do," Hermione said. "By the way, I just realized that I've never asked you what you do for a living."

"I think we should save that for dinner," Ron smiled, "and I can't wait to hear more about you."

"Well, there's not much to tell," Hermione sighed.

"I bet I'll find it interesting," Ron smiled at her; he couldn't imagine a thing about her that wouldn't interest him. It was only a few moments later that they got to the restaurant, just in time for their reservation and they were seated and served their drinks before they could resume their conversation.

"So, you were telling me about your job," Hermione said after taking a sip of her glass of wine.

"Actually, I wasn't, you were asking me about it, and I avoided the question," Ron pointed out with a smile and laughed out right at the face she made.

"You know what I meant," Hermione glared at him.

"I'm an inspector," he sobered up as he said this, Harry had told him that an inspector was the closest things Muggles had to an Auror, but he still felt bad about the lie he had just said. It's only a difference in terms, he tried to convince himself that it wasn't really a lie, and with the Statute of Secrecy he couldn't tell her, but it still made him feel uneasy.

"Oh, that must be interesting," Hermione said, caught by surprise, and trying to keep her voice cheery, but she couldn't help but worry about the fact that he had such a dangerous job.

"Not as much as I thought it would be," Ron said, finding himself smiling at her reactions again, he could see that she was worried and was happy that she already seemed to care about him. "There's a lot of paperwork … it's mostly paperwork if I'm being honest. But yeah, it can be interesting and dangerous at times … however, I'm good at my job," he added the last bit when he noticed she looked apprehensive.

"I would hope so," Hermione said, she could tell that he was proud of what he did with his life and that made her feel better about the job itself. "Why did you decide to become an inspector?"

Ron's smile faded at the question as his mind traveled to the war and everything else that happened since then.

"I'm sorry … I shouldn't have asked that," Hermione sighed, and seeing the turmoil in his eyes she realized that she broached a sensitive topic again … and perhaps it even has something to do with his brother …

"It's okay," he said softly, sliding his hand across the table so he could touch hers, and then he looked at her in the eyes. "It's only natural for you to ask. But the answer is kind of complicated …"

"You don't have to say more," she interrupted as she could tell that he was struggling to find the right words.

"The easy answer is that it's the only job I thought of doing," Ron went on, trying to give her as much information as he could. "The older I got, well … let's just say I had more reason to want to do this job … to do my part to make sure the world was a better place … a safer place. I know it's impossible to do that … to stop bad things from happening, but the least I could do is try."

"I'm sure with you on the job the world 'is' a better place," Hermione said moving her hand so she could give his hand a squeeze this time. She hesitated for a moment, his family seemed to be a touchy subject, but he had brought them up several times when they talked before and even today, he was the one that brought them up first, so she added, "I bet your parents are really proud of you."

"Yeah, they are," Ron smiled; though things hadn't been the same after the war he could see the pride his parents had for him in their eyes. "Though Mum probably would be happier if the job I love wasn't so dangerous."

"Yes, well, mums do tend to worry a lot," Hermione agreed not showing the sudden panic she felt as she tried to push her thoughts away from how her own mum worries about her.

"You can say that again," Ron chuckled, his mum had worrying down to an art, thinking only of his mum's unwarranted worry (and forcing the last two years of the war out of his mind).

He wasn't sure if he could handle talking about this subject much more and was grateful when their food arrived. Ron had ordered the filet mignon and Hermione had gotten the chicken cordon bleu, and they had ordered vegetable and potatoes to share. Ron was pleased that the silence between them, as they sorted out their meal and taken their first bites, was comfortable and, though his mind was still a little gloomy, he was able to enjoy her presence.

"How about you tell me about yourself," Ron requested as they settled into their meal.

"There's not much to say," Hermione sighed, she never felt comfortable talking about herself. "My family life was pretty standard. I'm an only child, so it was just me and my parents all the time."

"There were times when I wished I was an only child," Ron supplied, "so I could have a bit more of my parents' attention."

"Well, with six siblings I can see how it would be hard for your parents to keep track of everybody," she smiled.

"Oh, it was, Mum never could remember that I hated corn beef, and that maroon was my least favorite color," Ron said smiling fondly. "My twin brothers, Fred and George's favorite joke is …" his voice broke a little as he was filled with grief again, but this was something that he could tell her, this was just one of his childhood memories of happier times. "Was," he forced himself to continue, "pretending to be each other. Of course, you can tell them apart if you're looking at them … I mean they're identical but they're not the same. But they pulled the joke when Mum was flustered or busy, so she always fell for it."

"They sound like a handful," Hermione smiled sadly, clearly one (or both) of the twins was gone.

"You have no idea," Ron laughed, a balance of grief and amusement filling him, and he found it easier to talk to her about this than he would have thought possible. "They opened a joke shop … you know, after they pulled an amazing prank on our horrid Defense Professor and then ditched school before they could take their final exams."

Hermione dropped her fork and blinked rapidly in shock; she couldn't have heard him right. "They didn't really …!"

"Of course they did," Ron's laugh was boisterous this time, he would have to try to shock her more often, if this was the expression she was going to have. "George still runs the shop now. It was hard in the beginning after F-fred ..." he forced himself to go on, but he wasn't able to say the next word, so he skipped it before continuing, "... but everyone came together to help George get things back in order, I even worked there full time for a while before I became an inspector."

"You're a good man," Hermione stated, it was so obvious in everything he did.

"I was just trying to do what I needed to," Ron mumbled as he blushed at the matter-of-fact way, she had said that. "How did we get back to me," he had suddenly realized they were off topic, "weren't you supposed to be telling me about you?"

"Yes, but you interrupted me," Hermione smiled, allowing the subject to go back to her. "I envy you somewhat, I had always wished I had a sibling … I wanted a little sister … but I guess a little brother would have been okay. It's funny how people always get jealous of things like that, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I was always jealous of my best mate, Harry, he's super famous and rich … he seemed to have everything I wanted," Ron said shaking his head. "I never realize that he was jealous of me too, mostly because of my family, but there were other things too."

"Your family," Hermione questioned with a raised eyebrow, sensing that was an odd thing to be jealous about.

"His parents died when he was one," Ron explained. "And the … people," he spat out the word bitterly as he thought of Harry's relatives and how they had treated him, "that raised him – his mum's sister – never wanted him and they made sure he knew it. I'm not sure how bad they were … he's never told me … but I know enough to hate them.

"Oh bugger … I've taken over again, haven't I," Ron said suddenly.

"Honestly Ronald," Hermione said, not sure if she was exasperated with him for his language or amused that he seemed to be embarrassed by monopolizing the conversation. "I enjoy hearing what you have to say. Besides, I think it might have been my fault this time."

"So, it was just you and your parents … what about friends?" Ron prompted but immediately regretted it.

"I didn't really have any friends," Hermione said looking down, but when she felt Ron squeeze her hand, she looked back at him. He had shared so much with her, she didn't want to shy away from telling him, even if this had always been a sore subject for her.

"I had started reading at a very young age and my parents always encouraged me to ask questions, so when I started primary school, I was really eager to learn … well … everything," she started smiling as she remembered how excited she had been her first day of school. "In one way, it was the perfect place for me, I was able to ask any question I had … answer all the professors' questions in class … go to the library every day and read anything I wanted. I was top of all my classes, but as you can imagine it didn't really endear me to my fellow classmates … add to it that I had horribly bushy hair and huge buck teeth … it wasn't really a place for me to find friends."

"It's probably a good thing that I didn't meet you when we were kids," Ron said, though he was smiling at the image of her as a girl going to school as she had described. "I doubt there's any possibility that we wouldn't end up fighting."

"You think so," Hermione said curiously.

"Oh, absolutely," Ron nodded, "I was an insecure big mouth twerp that wore my emotions on my sleeve. You would be there all opposing and smart, and you'd be beautiful, disguised behind that bushy hair and buck teeth, but of course I would have seen through that. That would have freaked me out more than anything, and I would have lashed out at you because I wouldn't know how else to react. Besides, I bet you wouldn't have been able to stand my complete laziness I had at that time … especially when it came to schoolwork."

"Well that certainly does paint a picture, doesn't it," Hermione laughed as she imagined herself and a young redhead bickering. "Were you really that lazy?"

"Never had an assignment done until the day, though in most cases it was minute, it was due," Ron grinned at her scandalized expression.

"You're right, that would have annoyed me to no ends," Hermione agreed, "there's nothing that bothers me more than someone wasting their potential."

"Back then, when I first started at Hogwarts …"

"Hogwarts?" Hermione questioned, her eyes slipping out of focus for a second as her mind wandered.

Ron cringed at his slip, his ears turning red, but he tried to sound nonchalant as he went on, "yeah … that's the secondary school I went to."

"I've never heard of Hogwarts," Hermione said feeling peculiar, she had done plenty of research on schools in the country as she wanted to know what school would be the best fit for her. Even after she had chosen her school, she had still looked up information to see if there might not be somewhere better for her. "And I heard of a lot of schools."

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it, it's not really widely known," Ron said, this wasn't technically a lie, as there were more Muggles in the world than wizards. "It's kind of a specialized school."

"I see," Hermione said her tone turning wary, but she decided to let it go this time, "you were saying."

"Er …" Ron tried to remember what he was saying before he slipped, but it was difficult since he could tell that she wasn't impressed by his explanation. "I was … oh … right … back in my first year I didn't really think I had potential. I couldn't help but compare myself to my brothers … and Harry too after a few weeks … and I never thought I'd measured up."

"That must have been difficult," she found herself relaxing again as he continued to be open with her, she wasn't sure what was bothering her about the mentions of his school, but she didn't' want to let that ruin their night.

"It really was … my brothers are all bloody brilliant," Ron said, after mentioning the twins earlier he felt he could handle telling her a bit more about the rest of his family. "Bill's the oldest and even though he was smart, Head Boy even, he'll always be the coolest. Then there was Charlie," Ron's voice broke for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

Hermione gasped, realizing that Ron had lost more than one brother. She sincerely hoped that he hadn't lost anymore.

"Yeah," Ron said softly with his sad smile. "I had always looked up to Charlie, he taught me all kinds of things and didn't seem to mind when I tried to tag along with him … at least as long as I could keep up. Then there's Percy … he's a real stick in the mud, complete prat … but also the smartest bloke you'll ever meet. I told you about Fred and George, I don't think I need to say more about them. Ginny was born after me, but it was different with her, her being the only girl … and the only girl born to the Weasleys for generations … well, she got plenty of attention.""

"That does sound like a lot to live up to," Hermione said, she could only imagine how trying to live up to his many successful brothers would put a lot of pressure on him.

"Like I said, it was hard to see that I had any kind of potential back then," Ron shrugged, "though I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the fact that I never did my homework on time. I just didn't want to do it."

"Typical," Hermione shook her head in amusement.

"It was different when I was training for my job," Ron went on more seriously. "And it wasn't just because I was going to lessons for my job, and I knew I had to pass to get what I wanted. I actually liked the lessons. After my classes … I wanted to learn more … look up facts … about what I was studying!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Hermione smiled brightly as she watched how animatedly he talked about this, "It sounds like you've found the joys of learning."

"I suppose I did," Ron chuckled. "It's funny, when I was a kid, I never realized how much I enjoyed learning … not reading or writing or history … or any rubbish like that," he laughed knowing how Hermione would take that comment and he wasn't disappointed, she was completely scandalized. "But about chess or the Cannons, my qu – team … I learned every bloody fact about them I could and didn't even realize it."

"You play chess," Hermione said (after rolling her eyes as he called essential subjects rubbish) she was a little surprised about that. "Are you any good?"

"I can't remember the last time I lost," Ron said proudly, there was a time when his skills in chess was his only source of pride, and even though he now feels better about himself, he reckons it was still what he was most skilled at. "It was something that I did with my grandfather. At first, I loved listening to him explain about the pieces, telling me how each piece was special, even the ones that seem irrelevant. After I got the basics, grandpa would teach me more complex strategies as he told me stories about all the great chess matches throughout history and, of course, I soaked up that information without even realizing it. He completely tricked me into learning things!"

Hermione laughed and she couldn't help but imagine an adorable little boy as he sat with rapt attention as his grandfather played chess with him. "Well, I never had to be tricked into learning anything … I love learning new things. For the most part it doesn't even matter what I'm learning, as long as it something new … or something I'm interested in, I just plow through as much information as I can.

"As you could imagine, my obsession with learning didn't make it easier for me to make friends, I couldn't really relate well with my peers, especially at primary school. Things got a little better in secondary school, I was going to one of the top schools in the country, so my classmates were more serious," she shrugged, though she couldn't place why, she had always felt like she was different than her schoolmates. It could have been because she was on a scholarship and most of the other students were rich (and rather snobby), but she knew it was more than that. "It was the best place in the world to learn, the professors were fantastic, and they had such a vast library … there was so much information available there … I was able to get so far ahead. I was even able to finish number one in my class and made good headways in my college courses."

"You really are keen on schoolwork, aren't you," Ron smiled, holding back his laugh. "Look how excited you are just talking about it."

"Shut up, schools all I had, remember," Hermione tried to look offended, but she laughed too, which was odd, she normally felt uncomfortable telling people her sad lonely school life (and more likely would have cringed when someone teased her about it).

Before she could say more the waiter came to clear their plates and hand them the dessert menu. It took them a few moments to choose which dessert they wanted and settled on chocolate raspberry cake.

"So, University is next," Ron prompted after the waiter left, "by the number of times you mentioned your classes last week, I know you're still in school."

"I'm going to the University of London," Hermione said and then hesitated, wondering if she should tell him more, and again deciding to share more than she normally would. "I actually got into Oxford – that was exciting – but I knew I couldn't afford to go there. But the University of London is an excellent …"

"Is it as good as Oxford?" Ron asked furrowing his eyebrows, he had actually heard of Oxford so he knew it must have been a very good school, and judging by their limited conversation he could tell it was just the kind of place she would want to go. He also noticed that she was agitated about something but he couldn't figure out what.

"Of course not, Oxford is top in the country … and just thinking about their library …" Hermione sighed as she shook her head dreamily but then became more serious. "I don't see the point in getting an education if I was going to put my parents through bankruptcy."

"Hmph," Ron hummed, pressing his lips together so he wouldn't say anything more. He hated that she wasn't able to go to the university she deserved to because of money, but he knew what that felt like and there really wasn't anything to say that would make that situation better.

"It's not as bad as you seemed to think it is," Hermione said, seeing his understanding and appreciating it. "The University of London has an excellent law program, top in the country really, and when I got a full scholarship … well I couldn't pass that up. Besides, you should be happy I chose to go there, that's why I'm in London right now, working at the coffee shop."

"Well, I am certainly happy about that," Ron agreed, "I just hope you're happy with your decision."

"I know I made the right decision," Hermione said; it was the most important one she ever made but, in the end, she knew it was right. "I got a free ride and I have one more semester before I take my SQE exams and then I'll become a solicitor. I was also able to get a degree in psychology. I'm going to get my masters in four and a half years; besides I've already been accepted in an Oxford graduate program, and I'll be going there in little less than a year. I'm working on getting grants for that now."

"Sounds like you're planning on being busy for a while," Ron observed nervously, "do you think you'll have time for me?"

"I think I might be able to squeeze you in," Hermione laughed, but before she could say more their dessert arrived and she moaned as she took a bite, "this is really good."

"It's bloody brilliant," Ron said, not sure if he was talking about the dessert or the sound she had just made. They didn't say anything else as they traded off bites of the delicious dessert. "So, let's talk more about this squeezing you want to do with me," he said wagging his eyebrows at her.

"Honestly Ronald," Hermione shook her head in annoyed amusement. "This really is the best time for me to meet someone new," she went on seriously, "I'm only taking four classes ..."

"Only four, she says," Ron shook his head as she shot him a glare.

"And I work only once a week," she went on as if he didn't interrupt her. "So, I think I could make time … but I'm not sure I want to now ..."

"I'll be good, I promise," Ron said holding up his hand and they laughed. "I think I like spending time with you."

"I do too," Hermione agreed, realizing that she wasn't feeling the anxiety she had before the date started, and she wasn't sure when that had gone away. She just felt comfortable when she was near him. That comfort was challenged a little when the bill came a few minutes later.

"I suppose you're right, this place is expensive," Ron said as he put the right amount of Muggle money down, letting her know that he noticed her discomfort. "Maybe you can take me to two … three even … dinners to make up for this."

"We'll see," Hermione laughed.

"Though, I do have to say there is an advantage to coming here," Ron said, as he got up and held out a hand to her, she took it and as she stood up his eyes traveled over her body again making her blush. "I get to see you in this gorgeous dress. I think this shade of red is my favorite color now."

"I thought you said you hated maroon," Hermione said her eyes sparkling with amusement, even as she continued to blush over what he said.

"This is not maroon!" Ron exclaimed and then shook his head. "Is it?"

"I think it could be call that by some," Hermione said, "I personally think of it as being burgundy, but …"

"You thought it would be funny to take the mickey out of me," Ron laughed, "still, it seems you might be turning everything I think I know about myself upside down."

"I think I'm enjoying the advantages of coming here too," Hermione said some time later as they made their way out of the restaurant and then started walking back to the coffee shop. She was still holding his hand as they walked, and her eyes were often looking him over. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize that they had reach their destination until he told her they were there. She didn't want the night to end so she said, "my flat is just a few blocks away … I could use a big strong inspector to walk me home."

"Where are we going to find one of those at this time of night!?" Ron joked, but then squeezed her hand and his smile showed that he didn't want the night to end either.

When they got to the main door, she led them up to her flat and unlocked her door, before she turned around and faced him. "I guess this is it," she said and looked into his eyes.

"I know it's proper to wait for the third date to kiss," Ron said brushing away one of the curls that had fallen into her eyes, "but I don't think I can wait. Besides, I figure I've gone to the coffee shop three times … that should count for something."

"Er … I'm not sure that's how it works," Hermione said breathlessly, her heart pounding in her chest and all she really wanted to do was kiss him.

"Then you're going to have to tell me to stop," Ron said leaning towards her, moving slowly so she had time to move away if she wanted to. She didn't move and she didn't want to. She closed her eyes and lifted her head to meet his and a second later their lips met ….

A/N: Wow, that chapter was so different than I thought it would be. I knew that I was going to make a lot of edits to this chapter, every time I would re-read this fic, I would cringe at how Ron had talked about the war. But worse was how I just had Hermione believe him ... believe that he was in a secret war (that she never heard about) and not to mention that he would be allowed to tell her those details. There was no way that she could have believed him with the way it was described in the original version, so I was planning on re-writing it in this chapter to make it believable. I had every intention of writing that, I even thought of Ron thinking of the time he planned it out with Harry how it would be best to describe the war to Hermione, but when it came time to put it in the story, Ron didn't want to talk about it. As soon as I wrote that Ron didn't want to lie to Hermione on their first date, I knew I couldn't have the war mentioned in this chapter. I'll just have to add a chapter for that soon. The next surprise I had was how similar this chapter ended up being to the original story, however, I think the conversation flowed better this time around.

This time around I have decided to call Ron and inspector and Hermione is trying to be a solicitor, instead of a detective and lawyer as they were in the original fic. I'm an American so I was using the terms that I'm used to, but I wanted to change it here. It was funny, when I got to the University of London part, I looked up the best law schools in the UK and I was shocked when it said London School of Economics and I was going to change it to that in this fic. I had thought I had looked this information up when I first wrote this (by browsing the internet just like I did today) so I wasn't sure how I got this wrong and then I read about LSE and realized that it didn't have its own degrees until 2008 (which it is about 2003 in the fic's timeline) and was its own university since last year. Before that it was part of the University of London, so I didn't have to make any changes.

On another note, it seems that all of my edited chapters are much longer than the original ones. I've added on average 2000 words per chapter on the ones I've edited so far. This chapter is only 300 words longer than the original but seeing as I had taken out the war conversation (which that chapter will be about 6,800 words) I imagine I met my quota.