Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. I do not own the song You’re Beautiful, James Blunt does. I’m just borrowing their stuff.


You’re Beautiful


Ron Weasley let the cool water splatter down on his face, then running down the rest of his body, reviving every inch it rushed over. He sighed, breathing in the soothing vapor that was forming around him and fogging up the glass shower door. He felt energy restoring itself inside him. He wanted to forget about work, and just stand here under the pressure of the water. He didn’t want to go to his office and face the pile of work he knew was awaiting. It would give him another headache, and he would have to wait for the next shower he took to get rid of it.

Some fifteen minutes later, Ron stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with a towel. Then he wrapped the towel around his waist and made his way back into his bedroom. As he got dressed, he look outside onto the street, where he knew a little while later he would be, a little bit closer to work. Ron loved being an Auror, but sometimes, like now, it was too much to handle. He would have to talk to his boss about taking one or two days off.

Ron absentmindedly reached into his wardrobe to take out his cloak. When he slipped it on, it felt surprisingly short and tight around the arms. He looked down and saw a great, red and gold lion on the chest pocket. Ron smiled to himself as he realized; he had taken out his old school robes. Just as quickly as it had come, the smile faded. Hogwarts reminded Ron of Hermione.

Hermione and Harry had been his best friends all throughout Hogwarts. They went through everything together. Ron had always nursed a feeling that went beyond friendship for Hermione, but he never told her or anybody else, sure that she felt differently and that it would ruin their friendship. But after they graduated, things changed. Hermione had met another man, and she was slowly spending more time with him that with Ron and Harry. Gradually, Hermione disconnected herself from Ron and Harry. She wrote less, talked less. Hermione was drifting away from her friends.

A year later, neither Ron nor Harry had heard from Hermione in two months.

Ron shook his head and snapped out of the trance. He shoved the old school robes back into his wardrobe and slammed the door shut, sighing. He went downstairs and saw on the kitchen clock that it was already quarter to eight, and he had fifteen minutes to get to work. He quickly downed a cup of coffee and Disapparated to the Wizarding Subway.

He Apparated in the midst of a crowd, and was immediately being pushed out of the way by people who were also in a hurry. He made his way through the throng of people and the winding paths, looking for his train. The Subway reminded him of Hogwarts’ moving stairs.

Ron mentally kicked himself for thinking about school again and spotted his train. He went towards it and hopped in through the door moments before it slid shut and started moving. He panted, looking around for a seat. He saw an empty one by the window, and took that one.

Later, at seven o’clock, Ron was back in the train, this time on his way home. His head was throbbing and his eyelids were heavy. It wasn’t even night time yet, but Ron felt like it was one in the morning. I definitely need a couple of days off work, Ron thought wearily.

The train came to a slow halt. Ron stood up and patiently waited for the people pushing through the train to get out first, and then calmly stepping out onto the platform.

He turned to his right and started walking down. The Subway was emptier than it had been in the morning. As he walked, his eyes thought he caught a wisp of familiar bushy, brown hair. Ron stopped, but when he looked again, he couldn’t see it any more. He shook it out of his mind and walked on. But then, he saw the hair again. He looked back at the spot. His heart froze.

Hermione.

She was standing there, obviously waiting for someone. Every now and then, she would stand on tiptoes and peer over the crowd of people, but then look back down when she didn’t find whatever she was looking for. Ron stood there, watching her. He debated on whether or not to go over and say hello. Just when he had decided to and took a step towards her, Hermione seemed to find what she had been looking for. Her face brightened, her lips spread into a smile, and her eyes twinkled. Ron turned his gaze to the direction on hers, and saw a man with two children at his sides, a boy and a girl, both clutching one of his hands. Neither could’ve been older than ten. The man spotted Hermione and whispered something to the children. They saw Hermione as well, and when Hermione knelt down and hugged them both, one of them cried, “Mummy!”

“Hello, sweeties,” Hermione said, closing her eyes and hugging her children tightly. Ron couldn’t hear them very well. When she let go, she looked at them and said, “How was it alone with your daddy? Did he manage to take care of you without my help?”

The girl grinned sweetly and shrugged, and the boy said, “Not really.”

Hermione laughed and then stood back up. She wrapped her arms around the man and said, “Hello, love,” before kissing his lips.

The man hugged her back, tightly. Ron’s chest swelled with jealousy.

Hermione and her family started to walk in Ron’s direction. Ron’s head suddenly began to swim. He looked for a place to hide, but he found nothing. He gulped and walked forward.

My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

When Ron was ten feet away from Hermione, Hermione spotted him. She seemed to freeze, as Ron had done. But then she kept walking, her eyes locked with his. Ron kept walking and looked right back into her warm, chocolate eyes. The world around them seemed to melt, and they both stood out from everything else. Ron’s heart was pounding in his chest. Neither of them looked away. It was as though they were sharing a small secret. Unexpectedly, Hermione’s lips broke into a small smile.

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You're beautiful, it's true
I saw your face,
In a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As I walked on by
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

Ron smiled back at her. They kept on walking, as if on air, their still eyes locked together, smiling at each other. Ron felt his heart beat alarmingly fast and his breath becoming short. His knees buckled and his stomach performed flips. He felt his brain swim with this thrill he was feeling. She was beautiful.

The little girl tugged on Hermione’s hand. Hermione seemed to say “Just a moment, love,” without even looking at her, keeping her eyes glued on Ron’s. Ron’s heart suddenly sank. She had a husband, two children and maybe more, and a whole life that didn’t include Ron.

She was out of his reach.

She passed by.

Ron didn’t look back.

Neither did Hermione.

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.


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I know it’s a one-shot, but please review!

And by the way, did I do the rating of the story right? Because they don't do anything and the characters don't swear, but there is that one word in the song... Let me know.