Time After Time. *Complete*

Chapter Twenty Six - The Vial

Ron watched as Hermione giggled and swung her hips as she skipped back to the dance floor. He checked his watch impatiently and then looked back to Hermione. She looked bloody hot tonight in her dress, with her hair and makeup sitting to perfection.

She always looked good when she put an effort into her outfit. He could remember the first time he saw her at the Yule Ball. She was walking into the hall with that Bulgarian bastard. But she took his breath away. She looked elegant and effortless and perfect. Only outdone by the way she looked tonight.

He once again cursed himself for his own foolishness at letting this girl go. Not chasing after her and demanding she come home. He would have even begged if needs be. But he didn't. If truth be told he barely even looked. He believed she would come back to him with her tail between her legs. He expected to see this lousy little fragile doll that looked lost and completely diminished. Someone who looked lost and who had given up hope. Not the strong, confident woman he ended up seeing.

After the war, and for his bravery, Ron fully believed he would have lots of girls falling at his feet and he did. For the first time in his life, he was the interesting one. He was the one that everyone wanted to speak to or spend time with. Girls wanted to be seen with him. He loved going out every weekend and lavishing in the attention. Girls with very little clothing on, sitting on his lap, dancing for him and putting on a show. They would buy him drinks, and some even poured the champagne on their chests for Ron to lick off. He loved that.

These girls were sexy as hell and not one bit shy about expressing their feelings and doing whatever the heck they wanted to. The things they would whisper in Ron's ear would be enough to get any man going. They practically lay in front of him, legs spread simply begging to be taken. And he couldn't disappoint them.

Any guy in the same situation would have reacted the exact same. Why would you turn down something you were getting for free? I The first night he took a girl home (or back to her place) he and Hermione hadn't even talked about what their relationship was. Sure they had kissed, but that didn't mean he was tied down with a ball and chain. So there was no need to feel guilty.

But even after Hermione confessed her feelings for him and he for her, he still thought there was no harm in having fun. He knew lots of Pure Blood men had mistresses. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. He wanted to marry Hermione. But maybe, until they were married he could keep going like he was. Getting it out of his system now, before there were commitments and vows. Before it was (in his eyes) cheating.

When Ron realised that Hermione wasn't coming back, after breaking lots of things in the flat and drinking himself into a three-day hangover coma, he thought for a few months that he was better off. Now he could be with whomever he wanted whenever he wanted and had no responsibilities.

He never intended to get another girl pregnant or marry her. And when the dust settled, and he was suddenly expected to provide for a family, he thought of Hermione once again and couldn't help compare Susan to the girl he held a torch for, for so many years. And he knew... Susan never even came close. He wanted Hermione.

So imagine his horror when he arrived to the reunion expecting to see Hermione, for her to fall into his arms and for them to pick up where they left off and finally be a family, only to discover that she wasn't spending everyday pining over him, wondering where he was and if he still loved her. She was fucking married! She had a child! And all to that fucking waste of skin and oxygen!

He checked his watch again nervous now at what was about to happen. There was no way he could pull this off and not raise a few eyebrows. He was desperate though. Hermione was the love of his life and he had to save her. He had to help her. He had to do something. His friends and family would see that eventually. He had to rescue Hermione. She was blinded by whatever potion Malfoy had forced fed her. It had to be a potion. That's the only logical reason for her being with him after everything that happened. Malfoy obviously found out where she was hiding and attacked her one night, feeding her a love potion and wasting no time in trapping her into a marriage by getting her knocked up.