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“This works,” he begged of her, “We work, Hermione.”
“Ron,” she cried, pressing her hand to his chest.
“Hermione,” he breathed back, inching closer as she struggled to find the will to push him away. His fingers encaptured her hand, holding it to his jumper, underneath a thumping heart he’d offered her. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Her eyes filled with tears, as she stared up at him, the ghost of his kiss still causing her lips to tingle. It was impossible to think with him so close, impossible to deny the truth. She loved him. Had loved him for so long. And now here he was, offering her what she had so desperately craved. His love. His affections.
“You’re not wrong,” she breathed, and before she could stop herself her other hand went to the back of his head, tugging his head towards hers.
For the second time, their lips crashed together, his body sinking into hers and pressing her more firmly against the cool stone. And all she could think was finally. Finally, he was hers. The topic they had been cautiously tiptoeing around for weeks was spoken and she was finally able to recreate her favorite daydream. Right down to the way his hand was brushing back her hair and the way his body pressed against hers, his hand on her waist, her hip.
They broke apart only when he needed air, panting, Hermione’s eyes still shut trying to absorb every second. Ron. Ron Weasley. Her best friend.The person she trusted most in this world. Her eyes drifted open, a thrill running through her when it was still him, an awed expression as his eyes drifted across her face.
She clung to him, fingers twisting in the wool of the jumper so he wouldn’t leave. So this fantasy wouldn’t disappear. Hermione might have spent an eternity staring into those blue eyes and been satisfied.
A wave crashed behind him and the air was perfumed with the salt from the water. He ducked his head again, lips featherlight on her face and she threw her head back as he kissed down her neck, each one causing her spine to tingle. And then back up again, the sensation so gentle it made her dizzy.
“I know we can’t,” he murmured into her ear, breaking the illusion. He pulled back despite the soft wine emanated from deep within her. “So just, lie to me then. Just for a minute.”
“No,” she protested and he groaned his disappointment.
She had almost died. Now, more than ever, it was clear what she wanted her future to hold. His voice, screaming her name, offering to sacrifice himself for her hadn’t been forgotten.
“We are going to live,” she told him firmly, “We are going to survive and we are going to be happy, together.”
He stared at her for a moment. “That’s a really cruel lie.”
“It’s not a lie,” she told him. For days she’d been holding back tears and now they were falling from her eyes. “It’s the future, our future.”
“Yeah?” he asked, desperation.
“Yes,” she said, “Tomorrow we’ll get the Horcrux and we’ll find the last one and that’ll be it. All this will be over and all that will be left is happiness.”
“We’ll go to Australia, get your parents back,” Ron went on.
“And we’ll go to the Burrow where we’ll eat so much our stomachs ache.”
He chuckled, “And back to Hogwarts.”
“For a feast?” she teased.
“For afternoons in the library,” he corrected, “Where you’ll read and I’ll try and distract you.”
Laughing felt strange after so much pain. “I don’t know, you’re pretty hard to resist.”
He looked completely dumbstruck at her and she giggled, nuzzling into his neck, breathing him in. For a moment she could forget.
“Just a little longer,” she told him. “And then we can…”
“And then we can live.”