Always

I woke up to faint sounds of the twins talking upstairs. I refused to open my eyes and actually wake up. I could feel Ron next to me. We were on our sides facing each other. My arm was around his middle and his arm was around my waist. He was gripping his hand in mine, and they were placed up by our heads. I moved closer and rested my head against his chest. I inhaled, letting the smell of cinnamon fill me. He was my home. He shifted slightly, pulling me into him.

“Going around smelling people again?”, he hummed.

“Only you. It’s my comfort smell!”. I craned my neck to look up at him. He pulled my face towards his by grabbing my chin. His kiss was gentle and soft. His lips moved slowly against mine. He moved his hand to the back of my head, gripping my hair slightly. I nibbled his bottom lip, his lips parted granting me access. I tried to press myself closer to him. I could feel his erection against my stomach. I groaned and pulled away.

“Mmm. No. nope. We promised Mum”, I sighed getting out of bed. He groaned, plopping over on his back. It was chilly so I pulled an oversized jumper over my head and slipped on a pair of jeans.

“It’s still early. Go back to sleep”, I kissed him quickly before heading down to the kitchen. I was about to grab a cup of tea when I heard the twins come down behind me.

“You guys are up early. Tea?”, I asked, reaching for more cups.

“Sure. Thanks sis”, George replied.

“We wanted to get some work done for the shop before everyone wakes up. And what about you? Did our dear Ronniekins wake you up with his magical wand?”, Fred asked with a wink.

“Oh gosh! Shut up!”, I knew I was blushing. I threw a hand towel at him.

“I’m going to hit the showers before everyone wakes up”, George said, picking up the hand towel I threw at Fred and throwing it back at me. I sipped on my tea slowly.

“Hey Freddie?”, I asked.

“Yes, Katie?”, he questioned, looking at me over the brim of his cup.

“Can I ask you something? And be serious please”, he put his cup down and looked at me.

“Of course,”, he replied sincerely. I could always count on Fred at school for serious questions. Now that we weren’t around each other as much, we didn’t get to have too many personal chats. Will is great too, but he was around even less.

“Do you think Ron and I moved too fast?”, I asked, tentatively.

“Katie, too fast? You’ve known each other since you were in the wombs. It’s been nineteen years”, he joked.

"I'm serious! It's only been a few months since we started dating. We're already… having sex. And... I'm... I'm terrified of losing him. It's not like we can go back to what we were if this doesn't work out". I sighed and took a sip of my tea to try and prevent myself from crying yet again. Fuck these emotions.

"I don't know if I believe in soul mates, but I can tell you there are not two people more meant for each other than you and Ron". I smiled at his response, but quickly frowned.

"It's just... we fell in love so quickly. We're still young. How do we know this is for life? I mean… I want it to be… but again, what if it doesn’t work out”, I hated thinking so much. No-one else would give any of this a second thought.

"Again Katie, it wasn't fast. You've loved Ron your whole lives. You've been in love for years; you just didn't know it. And from what I hear you guys spent all summer getting… closer". He was staring at me waiting for me to talk again. I sighed loudly.

"I know. I just... I don't know. We're only nineteen! We're young! Isn’t that too soon? Too soon to know he's who I want by my side for the rest of my life? Too soon to be feeling this way?" I questioned him, standing up to bring my cup to the sink.

"And what exactly are those feelings, Katie?”, I gripped the edge of the sink, thinking of my response.

"Like I can't breathe. Thinking of ever losing him makes me feel like I'm suffocating." I turned to face Fred. "I miss him when we're not together. It physically hurts to be apart. Like a part of me is missing. The smallest touch brings me comfort. His smell... cinnamon and a lovely fall day... It's my favorite smell. He makes me feel like I'm home, no matter where we are..." I trailed off. Looking at my feet, I found myself smiling thinking about how he makes me feel.

"One more question then. Do you regret anything with Ron at all?”, Fred asked me, standing to bring his own cup to the sink.

“No”, I answered immediately without hesitation. “I love him with all that I am’, I added quietly.

“Then I think you have your answer. I think your anxiety is causing you to think too much. Katie, the way that you’re feeling… most people wish to feel that with someone. Don’t fight it so much. Not everyone is so lucky to be with the person they want to be with forever”, Fred said. I walked over to him and hugged him.

“Thank you, Freddie. I love you”, I said to him.

“Love you too sis”, he replied.

“Oy mate, lay off my girl!”, Ron announced himself, walking into the kitchen. He swatted Fred’ head.

“Just giving my little sis here a pep talk”, Fred winked at me and walked away.

“Hmm what was that about?”, Ron asked, squeezing my hand on his way to the fridge.

“Just a little heart to heart. You coming with me this morning? You know… to our house”, I smirked at him and bit my lip. He responded by chasing me up the stairs to our rom. He shut the door behind him and maneuvered us so that my back was against the door. He put his hands on the door by my head. He moved to kiss down my jaw to my neck, nipping the spot below my ear. A soft moan escaped my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pushed us towards the bed. He sat on the edge and pulled me into his lap, our lips never leaving each other. He placed his hands on my hips and made his way up the front of my shirt, massaging my breast with his palms.

“Mmm, Ron…”, I sighed. “Uh. Our house now. Stupid promises”. I got off his lap and reached for his hands. I used my magic to transport us to over living room. Somehow, we landed in a tangled heap on the floor. Our laughter filled the room. Standing up I noticed our mail on the floor. I took a closer look and noticed all of it was the letters I have been sending to my parents the past few months. The letter on top, came from their address, but the return person was not them. I frantically opened the letter.

Hello Dear,

I wanted to return all of your letters to you. I own this apartment complex. The couple you’ve addressed your letters to… they moved out about 2 weeks ago. I noticed they left all your letters behind. When I went to return them… they said… they didn’t know you and to just return them to the sender. I’ve seen some of your letters say Mum and Dad. I am so sorry sweetheart. If you have any questions about them, you can contact me back. My phone number is below. Hope you…

I stopped reading. I didn’t want to read anymore. Crumpling the letter, I threw it in the trash and walked to my bedroom. I tried to call, but it just kept going to voicemail. I slammed the door to my room shut and threw my phone on the bed. I was pacing. I wanted to break something. I was so frustrated. I could not understand why they never had time for me, or why they apparently did not want to know me. I felt Ron come over and grab my wrists, pulling me to his chest.

“Kat, it’s okay”, he rubbed my back up and down to comfort me. I stepped away from him.

“No, it’s not okay. They don’t even try to make an effort anymore. They know nothing about me. They chose to pretend I didn’t exist. They don’t want me anymore Ron. They never knew I am now dating the love of my life. They never knew what my job is, or who my friends are. They never even knew what my favorite color was!”. I started pacing again. I grabbed an old jewelry box off my dresser and slammed it to the ground so it would break. Using my magic, I put it back together, just to break it again. I did this over and over until finally I just sank to my knees and let the frustrated tears drip hotly down my face. Ron sat down next to me and pulled me into his lap.

"I don't know love. But I do know that you are dating me, I know that your job is something that you love doing and you're going to make the world a better place. I know you are friends with literally everyone, but your best friends besides me are Hermione, Ginny, and Harry. And your favorite color is technically teal, but if anyone asks you would say the color of my eyes". He grinned down at me, brushing his thumb across my cheek to wipe away the remaining tears.

"I love you Ronald", I said quietly.

"I love you more Katherine", he smiled at me.

"Liar", I grinned at him.

"I'm not a Liar, I'm a tMippyer". He smiled back, kissing my head. I kissed his neck as he picked me up and brought me to the bed. Leaning over me, he brushed a stray hair behind my ear.

"You're so beautiful" he said, his lips meeting mine. He moved his lips down my jaw and to my neck. He reached for the bottom of my shirt, and I sat up so I could take my shirt off. He took his off for me. I reached my hands out his chest and made my way down his hips. Tugging slightly at his jeans, he got off me to take them off. I removed my bottoms and pulled him back on top of me, kissing his lips hard. Fireworks went off in front of my eyes and Ron made his way down my body with his mouth. Pulling him back up to my face, I pressed my lips to his, tasting myself on his mouth.

“Make love to me Ron”, I whispered, kissing his lips again. Ron positioned himself at my opening and slowly slid in. He kissed down my jaw to my neck and back up again. I pulled lightly at his bottom lip with my teeth. We kissed each other deeply, saying a million things without actually speaking as he thrusted slowly, but hard in and out of me. We made love for what seemed like hours.

We laid in bed for a few minutes afterwards, just holding each other before taking a shower together. I kissed him slowly once more after getting dressed again.

"Do you know how long we have been here"? I asked, kissing his jaw.

"Hmm... no idea. Probably a few hours".

"We should probably head back. It's almost time for lunch." I groaned and pulled away from him. I went into the kitchen and put down fresh food and water for Jynx. As I was feeding him, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, Ron bent down to give Jynx a few scratches on his head. I stood back up and turned towards Ron. He was stretching his muscles, and I watched in wonder. I had to twine my hands together to prevent myself from touching him and keeping us home even longer. Using his magic, Ron transported us back to his Mum’s house.

“Where have you guys been?”, Mum asked. Ron was letting her know we went home to feed Jynx and decided to take our showers there. Bill caught my eye, but immediately blushed and turned away. I looked down confused, thinking I forgot to zip my jeans or something, only to realize my arms had that faint golden glow I had told him about. I blushed as well and turned back to Ron.

“What was that about?”, Ron asked, confused. I filled him in on my conversation with Bill yesterday. Ron laughed until he had tears in his eyes. “Nice” he said, still laughing.

After lunch, we said goodbye to Bill and Charlie, and made Charlie promise he would either come home more often or allow us to visit him. Ginny made her way back home stating she had quidditch practice tonight. Ron and I decided to join Hermione and Harry at her place so we could catch up with Blaise and have a few drinks.

"Bye Mum. Thank you for everything" I said to Molly, hugging her tightly.

"Of course, my girl. Don't be silly. My children are always welcome home" she replied, cupping my cheek before moving on to Ron and making him promise to behave himself and to take care of me. With a wave goodbye to Arthur, we drove away to Hermione’s house.