A/N
Yes, this story is back! Huge apologies for the delay (due to, well, reasons). I've actually finished writing this story before I even posted it on wattpad, so rest assured that this story won't ever be abandoned. This is the THIRD TO LAST chapter, meaning after this, there are only two more to go. We're so close to the end!
So, totally random (or not so random) question, now that I've actually made Ron hot in Astoria...do you think I could do the same for Harry?
x Noelle
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SHE SNEEZES FOR the third time in five minutes. "Bloody dust bunnies," she mutters under her breath, and casts a wandless spell to dispel them from the back of the bookshelf.
Ron laughs. "You alright there?"
"When was the last time you cleaned your office?" She yanks out the last stack of books and drops them into the box. Of course, magic would make this whole process much easier. But she's made up her mind not to follow in the footsteps of her Slytherin friends. Pansy and Draco use magic for almost everything, and she sometimes wonders if they're even capable of functioning without a wand.
"Do you really want to know?" Ron asks.
"So, never?"
"Never." He grins unrepentantly at her from his corner of the room, then returns his attention to the task at hand. She's momentarily distracted by the way he's leaned over his desk to clear out the drawers. That gorgeous arse in those faded jeans...
A memory from long ago rises, unbidden, to her mind. Her fingers sliding along the curve of his arse, urging him deeper, faster, harder into her. Don't go there. She swallows hard and quickly looks away.
"You know, I really appreciate you helping me," he continues. " Are you sure your boss is okay with you being here?"
"It's fine, honestly. I work harder than anyone else in the Department, and he knows it. And you've already thanked me five times over. Six, counting this one."
"Fine, I'll stop thanking you and bring over takeout from that Italian place you love tonight."
She smiles. "That's more like it."
"You taped my wrestling show, right?"
"I knew your offer was too good to be true." She sighs in mock disappointment, and lowers one foot from the step ladder. "But yes, I did—oh!"
She chokes out a gasp as her foot misses the lower step. One moment she's perched on the step ladder. The next she's flailing, the box having slipped from her arms and her hands desperately scrambling for a hold on the ladder again. She doesn't manage to grab it.
But she does slow in mid-air. Strong arms catch her before her head hits the floor. And she catches a glimpse of the box in her peripheral—still intact and upright on the floor.
"Fuck, Astoria, what the hell?" Ron sets her right on her feet, but his arms don't move away. He twists her around so that she's facing him, and his blue eyes are wide with worry as he regards her. "Are you alright? Astoria!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," she murmurs, dazed from her almost fall. She clutches his elbows, aware only of his body heat pressed against her. "That was...really impressive."
"Yes, well, I did fight in a war and I am an Auror. You don't get to do either of that without developing some seriously fast reflexes." He slides his hands up her spine, and she can't help but shiver. His fingers come to rest on the base of her neck, and his eyes rove her face as though to check for any injuries. "You were this close to splitting your head open in my bloody office. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
"No." She reluctantly pulls away from him, and offers him a faint smile. "I'm okay, see?"
He sighs in relief and nods, although his eyes are still fixed on her. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I won't."
He seems satisfied with her answer and finally releases her. "I've got it," he says, when she reaches for the box. He sets it down alongside the rest of his other boxes, then looks around his office. "Wow. It does seem much bigger now when there's no clutter, doesn't it?"
She looks around as well. Gone are the haphazard paperwork, cluttered shelves and Chudley Canons posters. All that remains are the high ceiling, vinyl floor and the laminate desk in the middle. She thinks she'll miss this place almost as much as he will.
Lost in her thoughts, she doesn't notice Ron step up beside her until his arm brushes her shoulder. "I'm making the right decision, aren't I?"
She turns to him. She sees the hint of sadness in his eyes that comes with leaving the Ministry after three years. But behind that, she sees the anticipation. He's also eager for what the future will hold, and what he can do now that he's no longer an Auror.
"I don't know if it's the right decision," she says honestly at last. "But if it's what makes you happy, then I'm with you. One hundred percent."
His eyes widen a little at the familiarity of her words. Then he smiles and brushes the back of her hand with his fingers. "Thanks."
Footsteps make them look up. Moments later, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger arrive at the doorway. Over the past year, she's gotten to know Ron's two best friends better. It's one thing to know them as the Boy Who Lived and the Brightest Witch of Her Age. Quite another to recognise that, much like her, Harry has had unwanted visions surface in his mind before. And that Hermione's parents are living in another country like hers are.
She nods and smiles at them, only to earn a smirk from Harry in return. "Are we interrupting something...?" he asks slyly.
That earns him an elbow from Hermione, before she moves over to the boxes to rearrange Ron's things. Meanwhile, Ron throws Harry a look that Astoria can't quite decipher. "Sod off," he grumbles.
"Funny, I came here to tell you just that," Harry says, unfazed. "McKinley and Gaben already started fighting for your office. You'd better move out, and quick."
Ron nods and starts to shrink his boxes. The other three go to help him, and it's not long before he's got all his boxes stuffed into his bag. Astoria hands him his Auror robes and badge, and he takes them both with a smile.
"Well, this is it," he says, as he passes them to Harry. "I'm leaving the Ministry in your capable hands, Head Auror Potter."
Harry rolls his eyes, even as he fights back a grin. "Don't mock me."
"And you too, Minister for Magic Granger."
Hermione's eyes widen and she turns to Astoria. "Did you See...?"
Astoria simply smiles. "See you two this weekend!" Without waiting for their reply, she lets Ron tug her out of the room. She hears Harry and Hermione's goodbyes behind her, sounding almost faint and dazed.
"Did you really See it?" Ron asks, as he leads her down the hallway. She knows that they attract a lot of stares—one of the top Unspeakables on the arm of a top, but now ex, Auror. But the more time she spends with him, the less she finds herself caring about what people think.
"No. But you have to admit—Head Auror Harry Potter and Minister for Magic Hermione Granger doesn't sound too impossible, does it?"
"It doesn't." He hums in quiet agreement, then his lips turn up in a smirk. "You seem to have a lot of fun teasing people with your Sight, huh?"
"Well, now I do. At first, I was scared of it. I tried to shut my eyes all the time, but I ended up Seeing things in my dreams anyway. Then during the war, I started to rely on my Sight. Just Seeing a future that could be was enough to pull me through the darkest days. And now that the war is over, and I've started to embrace it. I figured that instead of pretending I don't See things, I could just mess with people's heads and pretend that I do all the time."
He grins so widely at her that she blinks.
"What?"
"Nothing." He chuckles softly as they step into the empty lift. On instinct, she tightens her grip around his arm so that she won't fall over when the lift starts. "I just forget how much of a Slytherin you are, sometimes."
"And proud," she adds. "We are, after all, the superior house."
His eyebrows lift in a silent challenge. "Oh, you really want to go, Greengrass?"
"Anytime, Weasley."
They grin at each other for a moment, before she belatedly notices the proximity between them. He's looking down at her, and his face is so close that she can almost count the brown flecks in his blue eyes. If she lifts her head just so, or he lowers his, their lips will brush.
Her smile fades and so does his. He seems to notice how close they're standing too, and his muscles tense beneath her hand. She pulls away and he frowns. Thankfully, before things can get too awkward, the lift lurches to a halt.
She steps out of the building first as he holds the door open for her. Sunlight hits her eyes when she heads out into the open air. But instead of descending the steps, Ron stops and turns around to take one final look at the place that had become his new Hogwarts after the war.
"You're going to miss it, aren't you?" she says quietly, as she watches him.
He shakes his head. "Not the place. Just the memories I made. It was fun while it lasted, you know?" he adds. "All those months Harry, Neville, Theo and I trained together. Field missions where Theo was my partner, then those stakeouts I had with Harry. When Hermione joined the Magical Creatures Department, Harry and I would occasionally team up with her to crack a case. It'd feel like old times all over again. And remember all those afternoons when I'd take you out to lunch because the cafeteria food tastes like shite? Or how your boss would yell at me when I'd wander your Department looking for you? Or those evenings I'd wait for you to finish with work, so we could head back to your flat and eat takeout together? I'm going to miss all of it."
"Yeah, me too."
His eyes widen, and she quickly looks away. She's really not good with these sort of situations. Knowing that Ron will not be here tomorrow leaves a knot of dread in her stomach.
"Hey." His hands reach up to wrap around her arms and he pulls her a little closer to him. "It's going to be okay. Nothing will change."
"How do you know?" she blurts, unable to help herself. "I can't see the future—at least where this is concerned. And everyone in my life has left me before. My friends from Hogwarts, my parents, even my sister—"
"I won't." He fixes her a firm look, and his hands tighten around her as though he's afraid she'll pull away. When she meets his gaze, his blue eyes are open and clear. "You won't be able to get rid of me. I promise."
She swallows hard and manages a small nod. He hesitates, then leans in to press his lips to her forehead. He lingers; his lips warm on her skin, and his body shielding her from the wind. She holds her breath, barely daring to move for fear that this moment would be broken.
Far too soon for her liking, he pulls away just a fraction. Unable to help herself, her gaze flickers down to his lips, slightly chapped from the cold. Kiss me. She doesn't know if she accidentally slips the thought into his head, or if he's already thinking it. But his palms come up to frame her face, rough and calloused against her cheeks. He glides one thumb gently against her jaw, then tilts her up just so. He lowers his head and she closes her eyes.
The door opens behind them.
Immediately, she steps back and looks up. Three Ministry workers give them cursory looks and polite nods before continuing on their way. When she looks back at Ron, a rosy blush has coloured his cheeks. He sighs and scratches the back of his neck.
"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" he says, with a smile that swiftly sets her at ease. "We can have lunch and then I'll show you around my brother's shop. Well, it's technically now mine, too."
She nods and watches him leave. He seems just as reluctant as she is, and pauses at the bottom step to wave and shoot a reassuring grin at her one last time. She smiles back. Somehow, she knows that he'll be waiting for her tomorrow.