Always- a Hinny / Romione fanfic

Chapter Fifty One: A Teaspoon

Harry sidestepped into the fairly large, double office he shared with Ron. The walls were plastered with everything from pictures and newspapers of criminals they were tracking down, to the whirring Chudly Cannons poster above Ron's desk, to photos, of Harry Ginny and Teddy, laughing at the camera, Ron and Hermione with their arms around eachother, Harry and Ginny in a long white dress and suit, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione, tiny first years, waving. That seemed so long ago.

"Hey," Harry surveyed Ron's already tired, freckled face above a stack of self-shuffling papers. "Got anything?"

"Zero," Ron sighed. "He could be anywhere in London. You know, there have been five hundred of these...we could have a huge problem with the Branch of Secrecy if we don't act soon,"

There was a theif who was stealing magical creatures, all the way from non-tradable ones, like baby dragons, to garden gnomes, and releasing them into random muggle places. It was quite a job for Obliviators.

"Hermione catching onto you," Harry smiled. To his confusement, Ron grunted inaudibly. "What's wrong?"

"She's been so...distant. Since George and Angelina's reception. I try to hug her, she shrugs me off. I try to kiss her, she draws away quickly. I try to talk to her, and she just nods. I don't know what I'm doing."

Harry bit his thumb, thinking hard. This was Hermione, and she was also a girl, and girl, plus Hermione, plus angry, could never be good.

"Ron...You don't reckon that it could be that you haven't...well...proposed to her?"

Ron looked at him, bemused.

"Well, you said it was ever since George and Angelina's wedding, and they're married, Percy and Audrey are married, Gin and I...and you haven't made a move,"

Ron sat up indignantly.

"You have no idea how many times I've stressed about it, thought about the just so way to propose, what she'd say, what her dad would say..." He burried his face in his hands.

Harry didn't know what to say. They sat in silence, Harry occasionally clearing his throat, or shuffling a paper. Finally he muttered with a last hearty stab at conversation.

"Guess she was right. You really do have the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Ron looked up. His face was sparked with a mixture of confusion, inspiration, and excitement.

"What? When did she say that?"

Harry thought, dumbstruck.

"Dunno...years ago...it's silly, really that I remember it." Harry secretly tried to hold onto so many tiny memories, afraid of letting them go, although he had trouble remembering why he walked into certain rooms.

"Say that again."

"Er- it's silly-"

"No!" Ron was straight backed, and his blue eyes were wide. "The other thing!"

"You have the emotional range of a teaspoon?" Harry's eyebrows crept together, not sure where Ron was going with this.

"Yes!" Ron slid the papers to the far side of his handsome, mahogany desk.
"I just have to prove to her that I don't..."

The head of Auror Office, Frederick Addleback, stuck his his bald, brawny head in the office.

"You boys got any leads yet! The Obliviators are breathing down my neck here, having to modify all these muggle's memories-"

"We're working, sir, I think just a couple more hours should give us a lead on how he hides himself-" Harry wished sometimes, that he could have Hermione here to do the thinking for him. He smiled at what she'd say to that.