Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
A/N: So, the timeline for this fic is different than the original fic A Different Life (which takes place in 2003-2004), because this fic started in 2002 and now it's March of 2003. The first reason for this was when I looked up March 1, Ron's birthday, it was on Saturday like I had written it (in 2004 Ron's birthday would have been on Monday because it's a leap year). The other reason was because of Hermione's education. It makes more sense that Hermione is graduating from her bachelor's degree (after three and a half years) and will start the LPC program at Oxford in the fall. In the other fic I had her graduating her master's degree and then going to Oxford for a special program. None of this matters, of course, but I just thought I would tell you anyways.
Chapter Twelve
Ron's Birthday
The weeks that followed only saw their relationship grow, there was just something about being sure about their feelings that made subtle differences in how they were with one another. Though they had spent almost every day together before Christmas, now they were inseparable (besides when Ron went to work). It took about a week for Hermione to realized that she was practically living at Ron's flat, which made sense to her, since it was closer to both Ron's work and Harry's place, not to mention it was bigger, even having a spare room (which was obviously used mostly by Bess as there were plenty of toys and other things that Hermione knew the girl would like).
If it wasn't for Crookshanks she probably never would have gone to her own flat in that first week. She was ashamed to admit it wasn't until she got to her flat on Monday (so she could pick up a few items) that she remembered her pet and that she hadn't fed him in over a day. After feeding him, she had spent almost an hour making up for forgetting him (and distracting herself from missing Ron) until she told Crookshanks about getting back together with Ron. After hearing that her cat quickly got off her lap and left the room.
Later when Ron had come over to pick her up after his day at work, since they made plans to go to Harry's knowing that their friend would like to know they were back together. Though they were only in her flat for a few moments, Crookshanks had glared at Ron the whole time, trying to stand between her and her boyfriend. By the end of the week Hermione was getting annoyed with the whole situation, having to go to her flat to feed her cat, but she wasn't sure what to do about it. It was Ron that said the solution on Saturday morning.
"Mione, this is ridiculous, you need to bring Crookshanks here," Ron said, they were getting dressed so they could walk to her flat. It was only eleven and he had not wanted to get out of his pajamas today, but he wasn't about to let her walk alone (unless she had wanted to be alone of course).
"Really, you're okay with that," Hermione said beaming, she was so relieved that he made this offer, but she knew the relationship between her two gingers had only gotten worse during this week.
"Hermione, you love him, of course he's welcome here," Ron rolled his eyes, and then added in a grumble, "even if the bugger will probably scratch up my legs again. You might want to tell him what happened between us though, tell him we had a misunderstanding, and it was not all my fault."
"You want me to tell my cat that?" Hermione frowned at him, sure she talks to Crookshanks like he's a person all the time, but she didn't think Ron would suggest that.
"It can't hurt, he is protective of you," Ron shrugged, hoping that she didn't ask more questions. He didn't know how Hermione had got him, but Ron was sure that Crookshanks was part kneazle … for all he knew she bought the cat from Miss Figg. He knew the batty old lady breed the cats and he wouldn't put it pass her to sell them to Muggles and wizards alike.
"Er … I guess I can do that," Hermione agreed reluctantly.
"Make sure you explain to him before you tell him you're moving him here," Ron added.
"You're ridiculous," Hermione rolled her eyes this time, but when they got to her flat, she did as Ron requested. She even added that it was Ron that suggested that she bring him to Ron's flat, so that she could spend more time with him. After that Crookshanks treated Ron with indifference whenever they were in the same room, but that was a lot better than his previous overprotective behavior.
It was a good thing that Hermione had moved Crookshanks into Ron's flat that week, because the following Monday she started going to Harry's so that she could start studying again and she wasn't sure how she could have found the time to get to her flat. She hadn't taken any classes this term because she had already taken all the classes she needed for her degree; however, she still had the SQE exams to study for and even though they were months away, she felt like she was already behind schedule. She wanted to be acquainted with her study schedule after all, before she started her internship at a small law firm. Even though she was only planning on working for the firm until the program at Oxford started, they had been impressed by her high marks and had hopes that she would want to return to them once she became a solicitor.
Ron was still working hard at his job, feeling a lot better about keeping the streets clean. In general, he was feeling a lot better about everything in his life. He was even starting to like the slow days at work, so he could let his mind wander to the girl that he loves; wondering what she was up to. At the moment, she had gotten it into her head that she really needed to learn to cook, seeing how Ron loved to eat so much (the two would get take away or eat at Harry's a little too much for her opinion). Ron told her that he could do the cooking, he did enjoy it after all and he was much better at it, but she explained that she wanted to do this for him. She gave her real reason for this only after her first failed attempt, where she had ended with flour all over her (looking utterly adorable) and the kitchen was a disaster and there was a plate full of … something … she never did tell him what it was supposed to be. She had told him, smiling sweetly, that she loved seeing that look in his eyes when he ate something he loves and she wanted to be the one that puts it there, simple as that. That was definitely a good memory.
O
Hermione yawned as she woke up from her favorite spot in the world, laying in Ron's arms, she gave him a quick kiss and then left the room. Today was Ron's birthday and she knew just what to make him. However, before she could get to the kitchen or even the living room, she heard voices. She started to panic and was about to get Ron when she heard the muffled laughter. She really didn't want to disturb Ron if she could help it, so she decided to peak at the living room to see what was there ….
Now, Hermione had seen many strange things throughout her life, things that she wasn't able to explain, and she had learned at a young age to categorize them as just one of those things. After meeting Ron, the occurrences of these strange things seemed to increase a great deal. In fact, she had been unnerved about the many things that seemed to be just a little off with Ron. Since their talk when Ron had described what happened to his brothers (and sister) she had thought that these differences came from belonging to the hidden world that he described.
They had never discussed this issue farther, the fact that Ron had gone to some specialized school and there was some community with influential people in it, but it would come up from time to time. It was most noticeable when Ron would use some term or another (like Muggle or Galleon to name a few), and she would ask what he meant. He would always blush and look uncomfortable as he explained to her what the word was (a Muggle was someone that never heard of his school, and Galleons is what they called money). Then there was also Ron's lack of knowledge when it came to anything electronic that made her think that he hadn't grown up using electricity. This was hard for her to believe, especially if it wasn't just Ron's family but if it was the whole community that he belonged to, which she expected it might be because there wasn't anything electric at Harry's place either. However, Harry did seem to understand more about technology than Ron ... she wondered if that was due to where he was raised.
Those were the little things that made her curious and want to know more about Ron's world, but she never pushed the subject. However, there were odd things about Ron that were harder to explain. Like how he almost always showed up at Harry's (since she is always there nowadays) at five fifteen, even though he gets off work at five and there shouldn't be enough time for him to get there that quickly. Then there were the flowers he would give her after one of their heated discussions (okay arguments). It's like he either had them hidden in some mystical closet or he was making them appear out of thin air, because she couldn't explain how else he would get them so quickly.
All of these things seemed to just become more and more noticeable since they confessed their love to one another. They had become so close that it was hard not to notice that there was a piece of Ron that was still hidden from her. She had always known that Ron was different, in the same way that Harry was different. But it was when she met Lavender, and noticed that difference in the other girl too, that she realized everyone that Ron knows (has mentioned) was probably different in this same way. She had so many questions about this, but she could never bring herself to ask because she knew instinctively that he couldn't tell her more. Though it was getting harder not to ask.
However, everything that she's seen … everything she thought she knew about her world seemed to shatter as she peaked into the living room. What she saw was two red haired men (that were obviously Ron's brothers) one with shoulder length shaggy hair and the other with long hair in a ponytail. They clearly hadn't noticed her, as they were facing the other way, and the shaggy haired man had a stick in his hand, pointing it at one of the pictures that was hanging in the room. He muttered something and a blueish light came out of the stick causing the picture to shake.
Completely caught off guard by this display of … whatever that was, Hermione backed down the hallway, letting her mind try to comprehend what she just saw. She didn't know what to do, what to say, but she knew that she needed answers … and though she wanted them right now, she wanted Ron to be the one to tell her this. She knew this had something to do with the things Ron couldn't tell her but after what she just saw she didn't think she could let this go anymore.
"What …?" she was startled out of her thoughts by a voice and then she saw the shaggy haired man looking at her. "Oh … you're not Ron."
"No, er … George, right?" Hermione smiled as she pushed down her shock about what she'd just seen, which only became easier looking at his flabbergasted expression. "I'm not."
"Yeah … and you must be that bird Ronniekins has been seeing," George suddenly smiled at her. "Hermione, right? I can definitely see why he would be doing that," he added looking her over.
"You better not let Ron catch you looking at me like that … he can be quite jealous when he wants to be," Hermione smiled at George who looked back up at her face sheepishly but laughed it off quickly.
"I'm his brother," George said waving her off. "He wouldn't do anything to me."
"If you think that will save you …" Hermione smirked at him. "I don't think you know Ron very well, but if you want to chance it …."
"She has a point," the other brother said, and she noticed the scars that he had on his face, she was glad that Ron had told her about this, or she might have stared or gasped when she looked at him.
"Thank you, Bill," Hermione smiled at him, noticing that his eyes were they same shade of blue as Ron's, and that made it easier for her to get past the ugly scars and see the kind face underneath them. "So, now are you going to tell me why you two are here? Something tells me Ron wasn't expecting you."
"No, he wasn't," Bill smiled back at her and he looked even more friendly when he did that. "This git thought it would be funny to set up a few pranks on Ron for his big day."
"Yes, and you're just here to supervise him, right?" Hermione commented with a smirk for Bill.
"She's got you there, bro," George said slapping his brother on the back. "You know that you came because you enjoy a good prank as much as the next guy."
"I guess that's true, but I really am here to make sure you don't go too far with Ron. Remember what happened to Percy after the last time you did something like this," Bill said to his brother and they both flinched at the memory.
"I see your point," George sighed and then chuckled as he added, "but you have to admit that was pretty damn funny."
"Especially when he turned …" Bill started laughing too but was able to stop himself in time as he remembered that Hermione was there and that she was a Muggle. "When he turned around and saw all the damage you've done to his place … his face was bloody priceless!"
"What … oh yeah …" George started and then noticed the suspicious looking girl and added, "that was brilliant."
"Well, I just hope that none of the pranks you've set up here are anywhere that I can reach," Hermione said, knowing they had stopped themselves from saying too much and that made her more afraid about what was done to the picture … and nervous there might be other objects that George had done something to.
"Oh … don't worry, we didn't do anything yet," Bill said keeping his face straight, but she noticed that George paled slightly. "I guess we'll just have to give Ronnie a pass this year."
"I knew there was a reason why I keep you around," Ron said walking into the living room, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend.
"Ron!" Hermione turned and beamed at him and happily accepted his morning kiss, though she did turn away after a few moments as she remembered his brothers were there. "Oh no … I was going to make you breakfast in bed, I just got a little distracted."
"Now you see what you gits have done … you better get out …" Ron said glaring at his brothers playfully.
"Ronald don't be rude," Hermione chastised and then turned to the others. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"
"Yeah," George smiled immediately, having been reminded of his mum and ignored Ron's glare, that seemed to be more real this time.
"Why not," Bill chuckled as his youngest brother started to pout as the others walked into the kitchen. Bill, taking advantage of being alone, undid all the hexes and other charms that George had cast.
"So, you're planning on poisoning my brothers as a birthday present," Ron said still pouting. "Not a traditional gift … but it has potential."
"Hush you," Hermione glared at him (and he smirked back at her), then she started pulling out all the ingredients she needed to make her omelets. "Sorry boys, this one should go to one of you, but I don't think Ron could stand to wait," she smiled at Ron, who had already started eating his omelet. "Normally I wouldn't have done that … but seeing as it's his birthday," she added smiling amusingly.
"That's okay, I could never have eaten in peace with Ronnie glaring at me the whole time," Bill chuckled.
"Speak for yourself, I would have loved that," George was the one pouting now.
For that comment, Hermione gave the next omelet to Bill, smirking as George made a face causing his brothers to laugh. A few minutes later they were all sitting at the small table eating happily. Hermione smiled as she watched the three brothers interact together, and though Ron was trying to act annoyed she could see how happy he was that they were there. She was just happy that she was finally able to meet some of his family.
"So, Ronnie, are you excited about the party today?" George asked. "Mum seems to be going all out."
"Mum always goes all out on any special occasion," Ron rolled his eyes at his brother, not noticing that Hermione had stiffened at the mention of the party.
"True … I guess I should have asked if you were ready for this party, Hermione," George turned to smirk at her. "I guess it's a good thing you met us so that will be two less people you'll have to be introduced to."
"What?" Hermione looked at him in shock, she had been feeling dread at the mention of the party, but what he said didn't make since. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, we have a big family … not to mention Ronniekins's friends," George said looking strangely at her as Ron looked shocked and worried. "It's kind of a lot to take in all at once."
"I know I've told you about this party," Ron said in trepidation.
"Yes, you have," Hermione said and then added pointedly, "you just never told me I was invited."
"Shite," Ron groaned putting his head in his hands, this explained so much. He had noticed that she would stiffen anytime that he mentioned the party and she would look sad too, but he had just thought that she was nervous about meeting his family. At first, he had tried to make her relax by telling her that it wasn't much more than a normal Sunday brunch (not that she's ever been to one of those) and that it was no big deal … but that hadn't helped … now he knew why. Merlin he really effed up.
"I'm so sorry love … I'm such a git, but how could I not want you at my party," Ron said looking at her again, pleading for her to understand that he hadn't meant to hurt her. "Why didn't you tell me …?" he added not sure how to finish that sentence, it's not like she could have told him he forgot to ask her … but really … why couldn't she have just told him that he forgot to ask her!?
"I thought you wanted to be with your family," Hermione sighed. "I didn't want to intrude."
"You are family, love, I always want you to be there," Ron said softly to her (his ear's turning red as he remembered his brothers were watching him).
"Ron," Hermione moaned miserably feeling her heart sink knowing she was about to disappoint him, "I can't go … I have a study session with …"
"Can't you rearrange that," Ron felt horrible, he hadn't expected to be parted from her today … in fact he was planning on showing her off. He knew he was being unfair as he added, "I really want you there for my birthday."
"I can't … I made them all come especially today. I didn't think I could handle being alone to think about you," Hermione said, her voice was pleading for understanding this time. "I even made Teri rearrange her schedule to be there today."
"But you don't even need to study … you already know everything," Ron felt crestfallen.
"I know, but they need it, they been trying to get me to do this for months, but I've been so busy," Hermione sighed, looking at Ron she knew that she couldn't do this to him, it was his birthday, how could she let him down. "I'll talk to them … you're right I need to be there."
"Mione," Ron sighed, he could see what this was doing to her, he could see how much she wanted to go with him to his birthday party, to please him, but he could also see that she didn't want to bail on her friends. He looked her over closely and he read all the fear that seemed to be in her eyes, fear that he really hated seeing there. It wasn't the same, but it was similar to the look she had before they broke up. She was panicking over how he would react to her disappointing him.
Ron pulled her onto his lap, holding her close to him and said softly and reassuringly, "It's alright Mione, you can study with your friends."
"But it's your birthday," Hermione said holding onto him, but he could feel her tension relaxing as he held her to him. "I should be there."
"You're with me now," Ron said kissing the top of her head, "and we can celebrate more when I get home."
She nodded her reply knowing that there was nothing either one of them could do about this now.
O
"Hello," Ron said as he walked into his childhood home noticing his mum at the stove, likely preparing some of his favorite foods, and his dad was in the living room trying to charm everything to look the normal, to Muggles, way. Ron wasn't sure how his dad was going to take this news.
"Ron!" Molly said, coming over and hugging him. "Happy birthday! What are you doing here so early? We weren't expecting you here for another three hours and I thought you were driving a car dear."
"Er … about that, well I kind of forgot to ask Mione to come today," Ron said rubbing the back of his head. He had been planning on using a ministry car for the two hours plus drive it took to get from London to his home. He knew that Hermione believed that he used the train to get to his childhood home on Sundays, but he thought it would have been nice to drive there.
"You should have seen her face when he told her she was supposed to be here," George said walking into the kitchen after his brother (his mum going to hug him as soon as she saw him). George had nowhere else to be, so he decided to go with Ron, after all, he didn't want to miss any of the fun.
"You mean she's not coming," Molly frowned, she really wanted to meet the girl that has made her son seem to come alive again over the last five months. Though there was a time a little more than a month ago that her son had been heartbroken because of this girl too. As she looked in her son's eyes, she didn't like how sad he seemed to be and wondered how this girl could disappoint her baby like this.
"No, she's not," Ron said reading his mum's protective expression (he could also hear his dad sigh in the living room) and defended his girlfriend immediately. "She made plans to study with some of her classmates because she didn't want to be alone … I kind of talked about the party a lot but … er … I forgot to invite her."
"And the poor girl looked devastated by that Ronnie," George said putting his arm around Ron's neck. "You ought to be more considerate of her … or perhaps I'll take her off your hands."
"Shut up!" Ron glared at his brother in a way that made George realize that Hermione was right about her warning earlier, and that his little brother could be rather scary if he wanted to be.
"George … how do you know all this?" Molly said, narrowing her eyes at her prankster son.
"Oh, come on Mum, you know why … he was at Ron's flat setting up ..." Bill started to say as he came into the house.
"Bill!" Molly said running to hug her eldest son, he had been vacationing in France showing off the newest addition of his family to his in-laws and had missed the last two brunches.
"So, Billy boy … what took you so long to come in the house, weren't you right behind me?" George said, trying to keep the subject far away from him and his hexing.
"I saw some gnomes out in the yard, I thought I would take care of them before Mum yelled at you to do it," Bill shrugged.
"You're such the considerate boy," Molly beamed and then snapped her head to her middle son, "But you, what kind of trouble were you causing this time!?"
"None, unfortunately," George frowned.
"Yeah, but only because Mione was there," Ron smirked at George. "Didn't want her to see anything."
"You should have seen George's face when he saw her in the hallway," Bill laughed. "This git was casting a spell on a picture …"
"Luckily, she didn't walk in a few seconds earlier, she might have seen everything," George laughed too.
"That's not funny, George, you should be more careful," Arthur said coming in the room frowning, he was thinking mostly about not being able to meet his son's Muggle girlfriend, but he was worried about his other son getting caught Muggle baiting.
"How was I supposed to know that she was going to be there?" George smirked at Ron this time, as his little brother paled. "This git never told us she lives there."
"She lives with you!" Molly gasped, looking at her son scandalized.
"So do you have a veletision?" Arthur asked enthusiastically at the same time. "I would love to get my hands on one of those."
"She doesn't live with me," Ron said as his ears turned red, that was only true in the strictest sense, seeing as he hasn't spent one night without her in his arms since they have gotten back together, but she still had her own flat, so they didn't really live together. At least that's what he told himself to justify not telling his family this before now.
"Well, I'm just glad you're here," Molly said. "You haven't been around as much lately. Oh, and you'll get to stay longer today because you don't have to drive home."
"Yeah, I guess," Ron said trying not to show his sigh. It's not like he didn't want to be here, but he wanted to be with Hermione too. Still, he knew Hermione wouldn't be pleased with him if he showed up home too soon, she wouldn't want him to leave early just because of her. She would probably yell at him … or kiss him … depending on her mood.
It seemed that everyone came to his party, his family, his Gryffindor friends, even Lavender though other than saying happy birthday she seemed to avoid him. Then there were the friends he made in the war including Remus and Tonks (who despite the fact her last name was now Lupin still liked to be called by her maiden name) and their son Teddy, Kinsley (who was the Minister of Magic), Luna Lovegood (who despite her odd behavior, or maybe because of it, Ron really grown to like) and other people that were in the Order of the Phoenix.
All in All, Ron was having a good time talking to his old friends, but he still missed Hermione terribly and couldn't wait to see her again. Though he did have to admit this would have been a little overwhelming for her, having all these people here and he wasn't sure if he would have been able to keep magic secret. Thinking about that and seeing the obvious signs of magic even if it wasn't overt, he wondered if he wanted her to find out. He hated that he hadn't told her about magic yet, but he was a little worried about how she would take the news that he had been basically lying to her since the day they met. He put that from his mind as he enjoyed the rest of the night until it was nine thirty, he couldn't wait any longer, and Apparated to the roof of his flat. That was the spot he always Apparated to seeing as he couldn't risk materializing in front of Hermione.
O
Hermione had gotten home from her study session at eight, having been treated to dinner by her study mates, seeing as they had really asked her down there so she could help them out. Honestly, she had only gone to dinner because she knew that she would only wallow if she was home alone. While she studied, it was almost easy to forget her guilt over what happened that morning as she put her focus on her work and helping the others. However, at dinner she found that it hadn't been the distraction she had hope for, as the other talked about their personal lives and that only made her think more about what happened earlier that morning. She was happy to be home, so she could actually think through everything without anyone around her.
She decided to draw herself a bath, in hopes that it would make her relax, and it worked for her body at least. Her mind, on the other hand, was still going over everything to find out how she had let this happen. She felt guilty about hurting Ron this morning, and she had even felt the beginning of a panic attack as she tried to decide to go with Ron or keep her prior commitment. Ron had been wonderful, wrapping her in his arms and letting her know, with words and his actions, that he understood … he was sad, but he understood.
She pushed aside her guilt, so she could think about the real problem. There were so many ways that she could have avoided this situation. The easiest way was to just ask if she could go, or even just let him know that she wanted to go. She could tell that he had wondered why she hadn't just asked, they had been so open with each other it was odd that she hadn't said anything.
It wasn't until she got herself a glass of water and she was heading for bed, that she thought of the reason why she hadn't mentioned anything to Ron. She had stopped and eyed the picture that George had done something to, and everything seemed to fall into place. When Ron had mentioned that his mum was having a birthday party for him at the Burrow, she had just assumed that she, not only wasn't invited, but that she wasn't allowed to go. This feeling only grew as he mentioned everyone that would be at the party. At the time she felt sad and annoyed when he would talk about it, but now she realized that he was just trying to let her know who she would have to meet. Thinking about all the names he had mention, she was glad that he hadn't force her to go today … that would have been too much for her.
As she got into bed, wearing Ron's boxers and undershirt, she thought about why she believed that she wouldn't be invited to Ron's birthday party, and it had to do with what she had realized when she saw what happened in the living room this morning. She had assumed that the party was only for people in his community, and she wasn't part of that. It always made her sad when she thought that she couldn't be part of his world, but she thought maybe his invitation was a sign that he wanted her to be. Not sure if that was true, she thought about how good things have been between them since they got back together, and how that all seemed to stop the moment he brought up the party. It had reminder her that there was a part of Ron that she only had a vague idea about and it made her hesitant to be as open. It was becoming clearer all the time that she needed to know more about this.
So, she made up her mind to talk to him and then picked up her book and started to read.
O
Ron quickly made his way to their room once he gotten in the flat, and he had to smile as he saw her reading a book in bed. He stood there, just watching her until she noticed him and he loved the smile that she automatically gave him.
"How was your party," Hermione asked and watched as he got ready for bed.
"It was nice, I got to see a lot of people that I haven't talked to in a while," Ron said kissing her briefly as he crawled into bed. "It would have been better if you were there," he added softly after they repositioned themselves until they were comfortable. "I'm sorry again that I forgot to tell you. And I feel like such an arse for bringing it up so often, I just …"
"You were trying to prepare me for who I would have to meet," Hermione finished for him, and he smiled. "I went over our conversations about the party again and I realized what you were trying to do."
"Did I really not ask you?" Ron said softly, knowing that with her memory she would have the answer to this question.
"You said, 'Mum's throwing a party for me for my birthday … er … what do you think?'" Hermione quoted.
"Argh," Ron groaned, he could see why he was confused, to him he was asking her to come, but he hadn't been very clear. And her answer of 'I think that's wonderful,' sounded like a yes to him but he remembered she had seemed so sad … he just thought she was worried about going to his childhood home.
"I know," Hermione agreed. "We just weren't on the same page with this."
He squeezed her to him and asked softly, "why weren't we? Since we've been back together, we've been so in tune … what happened here?"
"I didn't think I could … no … I didn't think I was allowed to go to the party," Hermione said and upon seeing his frowned she added, "your childhood home, your friends … they belong to your world."
"My … world," Ron said confused at first, but it slowly started to come to him. He had told her so much when he talked about the war, only leaving out anything to do with magic, that she had come to believe that he belonged to some other world. And she was right, and she was even right he wasn't supposed to just bring her somewhere that magic was so obvious, not to mention everyone talking about things that she wouldn't understand.
"Don't deny it," Hermione frowned, "I know you said everything was tied to your school …."
"I wasn't going to deny it," Ron sighed, squeezing her to him. "Has this been on your mind all this time?"
"Honestly Ron, I don't think about this most of the time," Hermione said snuggling into him. "Most of the time we're together … it's just us."
Ron smiled at her, feeling the same way, "but other times …."
"I try not to let it bother me," Hermione sighed, "I know you told me everything that you could before … so I've been trying not to ask for more."
"It must be hard on you not to know everything," Ron teased her, and she glared at him, only to see his apprehension.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, stroking his cheek to make him relax.
"It's true that I couldn't tell you back then …" Ron leaned into her hand, feeling her support, as it gave him the courage to continued. "And technically I still can't tell you now, at least not for a little while longer … but that's not the only reason why I haven't said anything."
Hermione furrowed her brows in her confusion.
"I'm just worried about how you'll feel once you know," Ron admitted.
"Ron, you know that I love you, nothing you can say will change that," Hermione reassured him firmly.
"I do know that," Ron smiled at her briefly, before becoming worried again, "but this is a lot. It's a different world … as you said … and," he closed his eyes to voice the real reason he didn't say anything before, "you'll see how much I've been lying to you since the first time we met." And you'll hate me for it, he thought to himself.
"Ron," Hermione shook her head smiling at him sadly, "you've been honest about everything that's important. I know that in my heart."
Ron took a deep breath and then moved so that he was looking into her eyes, so he could read all the emotions he knew she was about to be expressing. "I'm a wizard."
"What?" Hermione's eyes widen in shock, before they furrowed in confusion, "I don't know what that means."
"Magic is real," Ron explained now realizing that saying he was a wizard wasn't enough. "Wizards and witches are real … that's my world."
MAGIC! the word ringed in Hermione's ears as she struggled to believe what she was hearing. How could magic be real? But even as she thought that her mind was filled with all the unexplainable things she had seen throughout her life … this was the answer that she could never find before.
"… I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling you the truth … I can even show you something …" Ron's rambling and more importantly the panic in his voice was what broke through her own frantic thoughts.
"Sh …" Hermione said stroking his face again to calm him down, "I believe you."
"You do," Ron said breathlessly as relief filled him, because looking in her eyes he saw nothing but the love she has for him. Though he hadn't missed the panic that was in her eyes only moments ago. "How is that possible? There's so much I haven't explained."
"There'll be time for that later," Hermione said, she wasn't ready to have the MAGIC talk yet, her mind still had to process everything. So instead, she pushed that to the back of her mind for later, because right now there was something else she needed to say. "That's not what's important right now."
"It's not," Ron smiled as he watched her mind working on the issue before she turned her focus back to him.
"You told me what's important … you told me what you are," Hermione beamed at him, and he couldn't help but returned the smile, knowing that they had just passed the last obstacle they had.
"I love you," Ron said as his heart pounded joyously knowing she really did accept him … knowing that all his fears were needless. He leaned in to kiss her, turning her so that he could press her into the bed.
"Wait … wait," Hermione said pushing him away much to quickly for his taste, they barely been snogging for a minute. "I need to give you your birthday present."
"That can wait," Ron groaned and then tried to kiss her again, but she kept him away.
"I want to give it you on your actual birthday," Hermione pouted.
Ron sighed, giving in, and then looked at the clock and seeing it was already eleven. "You're cutting it a little close, aren't you? What is it anyways?"
"Me," Hermione said shyly, starting to feel nervous as she blushed and bit her lower lip.
"What?" Ron just stared at her as he felt excitement and nerves filled him. He saw the same expression in her eyes, and he had to ask. "Are you sure?"
"I want you to make love to me," Hermione said showing all her feelings as she looked into his eyes. "I love you so much, Ronald."
"I love you too, Mione," Ron smiled and leaned down to capture her lips, his last stray thoughts were that this was the best bloody birthday of his life.