Always

I was in the shower after a long day. I had my phone playing music while I sang along as I washed my hair. I never heard Ron come into the bathroom. I didn’t know he was there until he stepped in the shower behind me. I let out a yelp and threw my hands up in front of me, using my magic to cast a protection spell around me. I slammed the spell up so hard that Ron bounced back away from me and fell into the shower wall.

“Oh, my lords. Ron! You scared me half to death!”, I scolded him as he rubbed the back of his head where he hit the wall. “Are you okay?”, I asked as he held his arms out for me to step into.

“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about you being home alone”, he smiled. “I’m sorry I scared you”, he said sweetly, kissing my head.

“Mmm. Did you miss me?”, I asked, stepping away to allow him to go under the water.

“You saw me at lunch”, he laughed.

“Well, I missed you”, I replied, adding soap to my loofa, and motioning for him to turn around.

“Of course, I missed you. Six hours is a long time”, he said, looking over his shoulder at me.

After our shower, I made him sit down, while I heated up some soup and bread for us. I brought him over his soup bowl on a plate with his bread and used my magic to summon him a beer from the fridge. We ate in a comfortable silence, while we watched a movie on TV.

“How do you like working at the shop?”, he asked me after he was done eating. He stood up and brought our bowls to the kitchen.

“I really do like it. It has only been a couple of days, so I guess time will tell. I enjoy being able to use my magic more there”, I said, accepting the drink he handed to me.

“Beautiful, you worked in the Ministry. What do you mean more?”, he asked, poking my nose.

“When I was with Hermione, I basically just took her calls and proofread her stuff. I never got to do anything on my own. I love working for her but being a secretary… it didn’t offer much opportunity”, I said with a frown. He tilted my chin up.

“Hey”, he said. “You’ve got a new job and I’m betting Blaise is willing to give you plenty of opportunity, him being the owner and all”, he added with a smile.

“What about you? How is it finally being part owner at the joke shop?”, I asked him.

“It’s been nice. I didn’t think the gits would actually let me do anything, but they truly want my help and my ideas”, he said. I smiled up at him and moved his arm so I could snuggle into his side. He pulled us down so that we were laying on the couch, my head on his chest, our legs intertwined together. I awoke sometime in the middle of the night. I tapped Ron’s shoulder and moved us to our bed. Ron again pulled me in close to him.

“I love you, Kat”, he mumbled, still half asleep.

“I love you too, Ron”, I said, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

“Al…ways…”, he mumbled again. I smiled and pressed myself closer.

We fell into a steady rhythm for the next couple of weeks until Christmas. I would wake up earlier than him. I would make us breakfast, and head out while he ate. We would meet up for lunch, and then he would come home just as dinner was finishing. Sometimes, I ended up having to stay late at the shop, as Blaise was teaching me more and more.

Boyfriend <3: Are you still at the shop? I noticed the light is on…

Me: Yeah. Blaise wanted me to learn some of the potions. He is thinking I can take over doing the morning part of them.

Ron did respond to my last message. I returned my attention back to Draco, who was showing me the recipe for the sleeping aid potion he was brewing. If done incorrectly, one could end up asleep… forever. Our heads snapped at the sound of the bell going off over the door.

“I’m sorry… we are cl… oh Ron. Hi”, I said, walking over to him to kiss his cheek, but he pulled away, I stepped back confused. “What’s wrong?”, I asked.

“What’s wrong?! What’s wrong?!”, he practically shouted. “What is wrong is that you said Blaise was showing you some potions. Not him. You lied to me”, he seethed.

“I did not lie. Blaise is in the office, printing me the potion so that I can study it. Draco was giving me some pointers while we waited on Blaise'', I seethed back, tears streamed down my face, hot with anger. Blaise came out from the office.

“What is going on here?”, he asked, looking between the three of us.

“Nothing. Misunderstanding”, Ron said. “I’ll see you at home”, he added before walking out of the shop. I wiped my tears away, before turning around to the two boys behind me.

“I… I’m sorry… for the disturbance. Won’t happen again”, I said quietly.

“Katie… It’s okay. Why don’t you go home? The spell can’t be finished until the morning anyway”, Blaise said, reaching behind the counter to grab my coat and purse. I just nodded my head. “Are you okay to get home?”, he asked, concerned. I nodded my head again, and with a snap, used my magic to get back home. I landed outside our front door. I took a deep breath and opened the door slamming it behind me.

“WHAT IN THE LITERAL FUCK RONALD?!”, I shouted at him. “You can’t just come into my job and start a fight!” I yelled, pacing back and forth behind the couch.

“You lied about Draco being there!”, he shouted back.

“I did not lie! I told you Blaise wanted me to learn some of the potions. I already told you, Draco did the potions!”, I shouted back at him, coming around to face him in front of the couch.

“You know I don’t like Malfoy, and now you are going to spend more time with him?”, he asked angrily.

“I already asked you multiple times if you were okay with me working there, working with Draco. You said yes!”, I replied, trying not to cry again. I turned away from him, before the tears could slip out. He let out a sigh.

“I know. I know”, he said, sighing again. He reached for my hand pulling me towards him. I sat softly on his lap. “I’m sorry”, he said, rubbing his face with one hand, while rubbing circles on my thigh. I didn’t respond.

“I am okay with that. I am. I just… I had a rough day, and seeing him there with you… I don’t know. I just snapped. I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair to you”, he apologized. He kissed the side of my head. I sighed, letting a tear fall down my face.

“You can’t do that again”, I said. “If you don’t want me working there, working with him, training with him, then you need to say something now so that I can pull out”, I finished calmly.

“No. It is okay. I am sorry. I love you Katherine”, he said. I could see tears brimming his eyes. I leaned into him and put my arms around his neck, hugging him close.

“I love you too, Ronald”, I replied. “Always”, I added.

“Always”, he said back, kissing my head again.