InsaneJournal

Ron had been making the most of his time in Middle Earth so far. Between his quest to find a pizza equivalent with Ezekiel, his brief stint as a Hobbit, and a bit of exploration with Harry and Luna, Ron had not spent much time perusing the Network. Of course, not long after he heard the beeps coming from his tablet, he switched on to look for word of who had arrived, or worse, who might have disappeared. And then he saw her entry, as irritable and bossy as ever. And here.

Now, standing outside the entrance to the medical bay, he struggled against his desire to barge in and sweep her up off her feet. Reminding himself that this was still relatively early days for her as far as their relationship went, he tried to reign in the intensity of his feelings. No sense in making Hermione uncomfortable or a fool out of himself. He considered waiting for Harry to show up so that they could go in together, but before he realized it, he had pushed through the doors and found her sitting at the edge of a hospital bed, her face scrunched in concentration of whatever she was reading on her tablet. His heart thudded in his chest. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," he called out to her as he approached.

--

While Hermione was mildly calmer about the whole situation, it didn’t change the fact that she still wasn’t too thrilled about it. She had been waiting for that job to start, and now she was on a ship with people who she knew, but didn’t know. Reaching up, she rubbed her temples. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the concept of time travel, she just preferred to know she was doing it before she actually did it.

Hermione was at least grateful that most of the people she cared most about were here. She didn’t let her thoughts linger long on her parents, or Crookshanks, because she knew it wouldn’t do any good. When the door burst open and he spoke, her eyes shot up from the tablet she had been reading. Up until that moment she hadn’t really realized she’d sort of been holding her breath. Or maybe it was just seeing it that seemed to take the wind out of her. Her heart raced as she sat just staring at him. It was almost as if she was frozen in place. It was Ron, but he looked different and all the same at once. It was comforting and confusing.

Without much thought, she tossed the tablet onto the bed and raced to where he was. Hermione tried to tone it down a little, but she still practically launched herself at him to hug him. She needed to know he was real, and that this wasn’t some weird dream. “You’re real,” she said as she hugged him tightly.

--

Harry had seen Hermione’s post on the network and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He had Ron, but they weren’t complete without Hermione. He wasn’t near Ron when it happened, otherwise he would have just followed the other man.

Harry used the button on his wristband (which was starting to get itchy and clammy on his skin) to bring him back to the boat. He jogged down to the medbay and burst in just as Ron and Hermione were hugging.

“Bad timing, or no?” He asked with a smile.

--

Ron was not prepared for this reception, so he was nearly bowled over by her enthusiasm. But he soon matched it in kind, lifting her off her feet a little and burying his face in her hair. "So are you," he confirmed, tightening his hold on her as if she might slip away at any moment. He had just set her feet back down onto the floor and was about to lean down to kiss her when Harry burst in. Ron scowled playfully at Harry over the top of Hermione's head before giving a nod that said, "get over here." There would be time for that later, he hoped.

--

“I wasn’t sure you really would be,” she said with a little shrug. And in the moments before Harry walked through the door, Hermione studied Ron’s face as if she hadn’t seen him in years. She could feel her cheeks heating up, and was almost relieved that Harry had interrupted them. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at Harry. Hermione glanced up at Ron one more time before releasing him to hug Harry. “You’re real, too,” she said with a sigh. Harry looked different, too. Stepping back, she looked between the two. “Are both of you older than me?” She asked with a little pout.

--

Harry pulled Hermione in and gave her a brief bear hug, squeezing her maybe a little too hard. When he released her, he even gave her a small look of concern and held his hand out. “Sorry, Mione.”

He smiled over at Ron, “I’m 22, I think Ron has a year on me. How old are you, Hermione? When are you from?” It was such a strange question, but one that had to be asked, apparently.

--

The way Hermione was studying his face made his palms sweat, and when she left his side to hug Harry, Ron took the opportunity to wipe them on his pants. She looked exactly the same. There were small differences, sure. The kind that come with the passage of time. But in every way that mattered, she was the same, at least for him. George had been right in that respect at least.

He nodded at Harry's comment and chimed in with, "About to be 24 by the calendar here, though I had only just turned 23 back home." He knew what Hermione's answer would be, had worked it out in his head when she said she had mentioned her job at the ministry. Everything about this was so absurd that, just like when he had first arrived here, he didn't know what else to do but go with it.

--

Reaching out, she grabbed Harry’s hand and squeezed. “I’m nineteen. I’d just finished school, and was about to start my new job at the Ministry.” Her nose wrinkled a little and her brow creased. Her mind was racing. If she was this young, and they were that old, it meant that they both knew things she didn’t. Hermione hated that already. The not knowing was the worst part for her. “You both know more than me.” The questions were already building in her mind.

“You have to tell me everything. I know you’re older, but what happens? What was happening before you came here?” She turned her attention to Ron. “You mentioned something earlier, and you told me to forget, but obviously that isn’t happening.” Hermione looked right at him, her eyebrows raised, to let him know she wasn’t going to just forget so easily. “Oh, and Harry! Your parents! How could I forget that? What does that feel like? And Fred is here. What is this place?”

--

Harry looked down at their hands and grinned. “I remember that, yeah. It was around the time Ron and I started as Aurors. I’m just starting to go out in the field on my own.” He left out the part where Ron wasn’t an Auror with him, he thought it better to let Ron tell that part.

“If we tell you, that’ll spoil everything.” He said it with a smile but passed a nervous glance to Ron. “But if we don’t tell you, you’ll hit us.” She suddenly burst into talking about his parents.

“It feels great. Dad and I fought side by side in a battle not too long ago. Against a Kraken. This place is mad, Hermione.”

--
Ron could see Hermione working out the age differences in her head. He knew that it must be driving her mental to know that she was behind at something. And worse yet, at something that she couldn't readily learn. "I've left the Ministry by Harry's time," he added after Harry. "George needed help. With the shop, I mean," he quickly added. "Apparently it all works out well, 'cause we're still at it where he comes from. Business partners and everything." If he sounded a little proud, that's because he was. From test subject to co-manager, he was surprised to find that he had a knack for business.

Her mind was clearly still going a full steam, so Ron was still hopeful that maybe she would find enough to talk about, ask enough questions, that he wouldn't have to elaborate on his earlier foolish utterance. "I think I'd rather take the blows, honestly," he joked. "There's no way we can tell you everything."

--

Hermione looked between her two best friends and frowned. She knew that they knew this was going to slowly drive her crazy, and she was not amused by it. With one last squeeze to Harry’s hand, she released Harry’s hand. “How can you not tell me? What if something happens and I need to know this information?!” She wondered if it would be a good idea to sit down and start writing all of this down. There was bound to me more information than she would know what to do with. But they were right about the blows. Hermione wanted her information.

“I really am so happy for you, Harry. Even if this place it completely mental.” It didn’t go unnoticed by Hermione what a rare and special opportunity this was for him. For a lot of people. Her attention turned to Ron again. “Honestly, Ronald. If you think I’m going to just let it go that easy then you don’t know me at all.” She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a pointed look. “But, I am proud of you. For helping George.”

--

Harry let Hermione take her hand back and shoved his into his pants’ pockets. “I guess we can tell you as we go along, if you have questions.” He wasn’t sure where to start. Harry did nod happily when Hermione said was happy for him. “My mum’s birthday just passed, too. I didn’t get her anything, though, I didn’t know it was her birthday.” He sounded a little sad but still was smiling goofily.

“George is ancient here, it’s crazy!”

--



Ron looked at Harry. Maybe they should have coordinated something before they got here? Figured out what sorts of things to tell her? But that kind of foresight usually required prodding from Hermione herself, and so of course it had not occurred to Ron until the point when it would have actually been useful. "It's not like anything happens that you really need to prepare for, right, Harry? We'd tell you if there were."

"And he loves it when you remind him," Ron laughed. His ears turned a bit red when Hermione crossed her arms and gave him that look. "What?" he sighed defensively. "How do you know that wasn't my news?"

---

“I’m sure she’s just happy to have you here. Besides, you can always think of something to get her later. I can help you,” she said with a smile. Despite the fact that they were all from different stages of their lives, she still felt like this was normal. It felt comfortable, and for that, she was grateful. At least some things never changed. “How old is ancient? I imagine by your tone that George certainly does not enjoy it when you remind him.”

Hermione focused her attention on Ron as he seemed to be a bit too defensive for her liking. “If you think I don’t know you after all of these years then we should probably talk.” Her hands moved to her hips. “What don’t you want to tell me?”

--

Harry shrugged at Ron. He spoke up when Ron spoke too, “Yeah, there’s nothing big coming up on the horizon. Everything big that’s happened, happened already. All is well.”

Harry suddenly looked embarrassed, “Should I-- uh, should I maybe find something to do while you two talk this out?” He wasn’t sure… I mean, anything they could say in front of each other, they could probably say in front of Harry. Maybe not everything.

--

"Pushing forty," Ron answered dramatically. George did not seem particularly thrilled with the fact that he was now the eldest of the Weasley siblings, but he'd brightened up considerably after his family arrived. Ron understood the feeling.

He took a tiny step back when Hermione put her hands on her hips. Oh, he knew her alright. He also knew himself, and like he had told George a few minutes earlier, he was certain he was going to botch this whole thing up. He'd already started, of course, by making too big a deal out of her missing time. When Harry made like he might leave, Ron shot him a pathetic look that said don't leave me. He could use the moral support. And he could maybe chime in if it looked like Ron was about to take a nose dive. "I told you, it's nothing bad. Just... complicated is all. And I'm worried that telling you about it might somehow make it not happen in the future." He was rambling now, talking more to the empty space between Harry's and Hermione's heads than to either of them directly. "Which might be fine for you because you haven't lived through it yet, but for me--" He stole a glance at Harry and the look on his face made him stop and get to the point. He looked at Hermione sheepishly. "If I was back home, you and me... we'd be getting married this month."

--

The suspense was making her stomach knot. He seemed to be more and more nervous as he talked. And the more nervous he seemed the more it peaked her interest. She didn’t say anything to Harry, but looked at him to reassure him he didn’t have to leave. They’d been through far too much to worry about hiding things from each other.

Watching Ron, she sort of wanted to step in front of him and make him look at her. Her brows furrowed as he talked about whatever it was not happening in the future. What he said, though, was not what she had expected. It was a sort of surreal revelation. They were getting married. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t expected that to happen in their future, but hearing that it actually did happen was completely different.

She stared at Ron, then Harry, and then back again at Ron. “You asked me to marry you?” It was a stupid question that she really didn’t need the answer to, but she was doing her best to process what he’d said to her. “This month? I ...we? Really?” Her cheeks were bright red. “But why would it not happen in the future if you told me?”

—

Harry couldn’t help but grin. When Ron shot him the look and when Hermione’s cheeks went red. One would think that your two best friends being romantically involved would be horrifying. But for Harry-- he was their biggest supporter.

Harry threw his hands up in the air, “Mazel tov!” Then he quickly covered his mouth to hide a laugh.

When Hermione asked that question, Harry decided to help Ron out, “Because you might reject him, Mione.”

---

A smile played across Ron's lips at Harry's celebratory cheer. He couldn't help himself. It broke a bit of the tension, which is exactly what he needed. He was grateful Harry had decided to stay, especially when he interjected with exactly what was on his mind. Ron looked at Hermione with a raised brown and motioned towards Harry as if his statement was the the most obvious answer in the world. "And, well..." he continued in a moment of emotional bravery, "I know four years doesn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things, but you're you and I'm me. And this me was ready to be married to you." He stood there awkwardly then, wondering if he had said too much. But George's advice had been honesty, and so he had went for it.

---

Hermione smiled at Harry. It was nice to have a bit of the tension broken. But it didn’t change the fact that she couldn’t understand why he would assume it would ever change anything. “Why would finding out that the person I have been waiting for forever to notice me, that I’m finally dating, cause me to reject him simply because I found out we were going to be married?” She looked a little hurt at the idea. “Do you really think I would do that?” Hermione bit down on her bottom lip and looked between the two of them.

“You’re right. Four years is a lot of time, but not a lot of time all at once. And admittedly, it is a lot to take in, but it doesn’t change the way I feel about your or our future. Isn’t that what dating someone is about? Hoping for more?” Her head tilted a little. “I suppose the question for you now is, is this you okay with this?”

--

Harry put his hands out, “No no, not that you’d do that, just that maybe it’d be too much for you to know at this point in your relationship.” He looked to Ron for help. The three of them were best friends but sometimes Ron and Harry had The Fear put in them by Hermione.

He folded his arms over his chest and let Ron take over, since she was talking to him now.

---

Ron pursed his lips to the side and gave a kind of regretful shrug, mostly in response to the reminder of his stupidity in failing to pursue her sooner. "Course not, Hermione," he assured her, nodding in agreement after Harry had spoken. "Reject is maybe not the right word. I'm just worried about us not being on the same page again, is all. What if I wind up coming on too strong or you decide it's too much too soon? There's hundreds of ways I can ruin this without meaning to." And that's really what it boiled down to: his worry that Hermione would not be ready for the kind of relationship Ron had already committed himself to, and not really knowing how not to feel so strongly.

This really wasn't how he wanted their reunion to go. Good thing he hadn't mentioned their future children, too. "Let's get out of here," Ron decided, looking at Harry and then Hermione. "You're free to go, yeah?" It wasn't as if he thought they would drop the matter, but put it on hold for the time being, give them both time to get used to this new information.

---

What he said made sense. They weren’t in the same stage of life, but she was with him. It had to count for something. And maybe here it would be different. Maybe she would have to figure out a way to let him know how strongly she felt here in a much faster way. The only thing she did know was that she was beyond relieved that they were both here with her. She wasn’t sure she could do this alone.

Reaching out, Hermione grabbed Ron’s hand, then Harry’s, and squeezed them both. “We’ll figure it all out. We always do.” Whatever all of it was. “I think so,” she said with a little shrug. “I don’t know where to go, though. Is it really safe? Maybe we should just go to the library.”

---

Harry let out a small laugh. “You’ll love the library here, Hermione. Ron and I joined the book club in your honor.” He shot Ron a glance, hoping Ron wouldn’t admit that they dropped out soon after it started.

“We’ll figure it out,” he repeated, hoping it would get figured out. They always did get back on track, no matter what happened.

--

Ron smiled when she took their hands, but rolled his eyes at her mention of the library. "We're in a place straight out of a storybook and you want to go to the library." Some things never changed. He met Harry's glance with his own. Mum's the word. Then a thought occurred to him. He turned to Hermione. "Has anyone told you about the books yet? The ones about us?" He had decided it felt like too big of an intrusion on Harry's privacy to read the books himself, but wondered if Hermione might and would fill them in on what they were missing.

--

“You did?” She asked with a smile. It was nice to know that they were thinking of her even when she wasn’t here. “It’s nice to know someone was thinking of me.” Hermione was sure it wasn’t something they did for very long or very often, but she appreciated it anyway. It was the thought that counted.

She looked momentarily confused by Ron’s question. “I can’t say that anyone has. What books about us?” Hermione knew back home they’d been the talk of the wizarding world for quite some time. Somehow she figured this was probably different. “Is it something I should read?”