"The world is going mad," she agreed, kissing him back. "Now come on, before we get distracted."
The walk down to the lake was lovely, and Hermione took her time. She had never taken the time to appreciate the school when she was actually studying here. She rarely slowed down long enough to appreciate a lot of things. Well, this was her chance to change that. Not everything, obviously, she didn't have that much time. But certain things. Ron, especially. She would take the time to appreciate Ron.
She didn't know if she had changed, or he had, or they both had. Maybe it was finding out about the breakup, or about their life together. Their children. Maybe it was all of those things, and this new life, and seeing all the suffering she had inadvertantly caused. Whatever it was, she had a new clarity about Ron. She'd always loved him, always. But she was beginning to see just how much she'd put ahead of him. Of them. And while she never planned to stop working or even slow down all that much it was becoming clearer and clearer to her that some things were worth taking time for. Like this. Like him.
She sat down at the edge of the lake, holding his hand.
"I've been thinking," she said, wondering if it would be too cold to dip her feet in the lake. Probably. "About a lot of things. But about you and I especially."