To Love Someone

The day was January 12, 2011, otherwise known as Ron and Hermione's anniversary. They had been together for ten years now and were still very much in love. Several close friends and loads of family (mostly made up by the prolific Weasleys) were all present this day for the small party being thrown. The toast had already been made and their best friend, Harry, had done a lovely job.

Hermione sat next to Ron, simply revelling in being close while he talked to everyone. He had chosen to, once again, tell the adults who were outside with them the story of how they finally got together after so many years. She tensed up a bit as he began and watched his face. The story was common knowledge; no one set any stock in Hermione having been a spy, so they all listened eagerly for the romance part. Knowing Ron, he would give that the least attention of all. She smiled.

"Well," he began, "as everyone knows, just as I figured out I actually liked her as more than a friend, it was too late. So I moved on, travelled a bit."

"Yeah, you GOT AROUND all right!" was Fred's raunchy reply.

Ron blushed all the way up to his hair line and blustered on. "Erm...right. So, like I said, I moved on. I helped out Dumbledore with the Order of the Phoenix and, well, you all know about that. So anyway, somehow You-Know-Who was finding out all of our plans before we could do actually use them. We resolved that it was a spy and we began looking for the mole. Dumbledore called me to him one day and asked me to watch Hermione as she was showing many signs of being the spy. He knew we were close and thought that I could do the best job." Hermione allowed herself a small smile as she saw the pride in his eyes and the slight swelling of his chest.

"Of course," he continued with a smile, "I agreed, although I didn't believe it for a second. I spent more and more time with Hermione, watching her every move. I never found anything to implicate her and Dumbledore dropped the investigation. He told me I did not have to stay with her anymore but it was too late...I had fallen in love." He ended his story and smiled at Hermione. She returned his tender smile and remembered.

Dumbledore had not given up immediately, regardless of what he had told Ron. He had sent at least two others over the years to investigate. She had shaken them off. She looked back to Ron and watched his face, listened to his words; she was trying to memorize him.

Everyone began leaving and Hermione stood up to say her good-byes and to thank them for coming. After another hour or so of good-byes, it was finally just she and Ron. They went into their living room and sank onto the couch together and cuddled. Hermione suddenly felt something poking her in the side and giggled. She turned her face up to Ron's and took note of his passion-filled eyes. He gave her an impish grin, stood up and took her in his arms. He carried her to their bedroom and laid her on their bed. 'OUR bed,' she thought. Tender kisses turned fervent and they made love.

Spent, they lay on the bed entwined. She traced his body with her fingers, eyes closed. She wanted to remember how he felt forever. He curled a tendril of her hair around the fingers of his right hand and caressed her skin with his left. "I love you," she breathed.

"Hmm," he replied contentedly, a smile playing on his face. She snuggled up against him.

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They had made their way back to the living room and were snuggled together on their couch again. She ran her fingers down his leg feeling the fuzzy texture of his olive green corduroys then back up to his soft and well-worn bright orange Chudley Cannons shirt, which she had bought him for their first anniversary. "What a great day," she thought. Thinking of the party reminded her of Ron's story. That reminded her of her parents' deaths. She sighed.

It had been June 9, 2000, two years after she had left Hogwarts. The Dark Lord had become stronger and stronger; he began terrorizing the muggle world at large and thousands had died. The situation was impossible to cover over, so all Muggles knew of the existence of wizards and witches. The Muggles had not welcomed them; they only knew of the Dark Lord and did not care to learn about the non-evil wizards. As soon as the Grangers were found to have a witch for a daughter they were lynched and murdered by their own neighbours.

When Hermione found out, her whole world fell apart. These Muggles who had killed her parents were the people she was trying to save! Her world whirling around her, she no longer knew what to do with her life as it was. She and Harry had been dating for three years and she had broken up with him. She stayed in her flat for weeks without contacting any of her old friends.

Finally, she returned to the Order of the Phoenix and picked up where she had left off. Nothing was the same for her though. She had had one purpose in life: Revenge. Everything went well, until she fell in love with Ron. They were like drugs: Revenge and Ron. They were slowly ripping her in separate directions and she knew she would have to choose.

Her choice was indecision. She married Ron, but kept Revenge still buried within her heart. Ron wanted children so badly but she could never give him any. How could she? What she was doing would tear them apart as well.

She looked up into Ron's face and saw all the love he had for her. She loved him so much! How could she choose? She choked back a sob. Composing herself, she touched his face and moved her hands over his body memorizing every inch. "I love you," she said again.

"I love you too, Hermione. You are everything to me."

She smiled sadly into his face. He cupped her chin in his hand and turned her lips to his. They shared a tender, yet passionate, kiss. The kiss held all the love in the world. He released her and stood up.

"I'm going to make dinner."

"All right," she replied. She watched him walk away and measured his steps. He was graceful as he had never been when younger. He was so sure of himself now. She watched his arms swing as he walked and his shoulder muscles ripple under his shirt.

"Ron," she began. He turned toward her with a questioning look on his face. "Ron," she began again in a half-hearted jesting tone. "What would you do if you had found out I actually was a spy? Would you change anything?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. Walking over to her, he took her hand in his and stood her up next to him. He looked into her eyes and said, "I would never change anything about what we've had. You are my everything." A pained look came over his face and he grimaced, "I would rather die before I found out you were a spy for him. I couldn't take that."

She nodded and smiled at him. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They embraced and kissed tenderly. She released him and sent him back into the kitchen. He grinned his unique, lovely, adorable, Ron, lopsided smile and turned. Her right forearm suddenly seared sharply and she gripped it. Steeling herself, Hermione picked up her wand from the table and pointed it at his back.

"I love you," she whispered. "Avada Kedavra."