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“Come on!” Hermione urged. “Don’t tell me you two are afraid of this?”
“We can be afraid of whatever we want,” Ron said stubbornly.
Looking exasperated, Hermione agreed. “Of course you can, but this is just silly. A tattoo doesn’t hurt half as much as other things we’ve been through. And we deserve to have something that ties us together.”
“I think we have plenty that ties us together,” Harry commented with a smirk, making her roll her eyes at him.
“Yes, of course we do. And lots of it is good as well as bad, but well… I wanted to share this experience with the two of you.” Hermione frowned, looking sad. “As I said at home, you don’t have to.”
“Yes we do,” Ron complained. “If we don’t, you’ll pout.”
Hermione gave him a severe look, but couldn’t hold it, breaking into a smile as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I just might,” she admitted.
“And I’ll pout if I get left out of that,” Harry said, putting his lower lip out in an exaggerated pout until Hermione rolled her eyes and gave him a peck on the lips.
“Now quit whining and let’s go in,” she said, feeling weird at the length of time they had now been standing in front of the tattoo shop arguing.
Ron stepped forward and opened the door, holding it for the other two to step inside. He came in behind Harry, pinching him lightly on the bum as he did. Harry jumped and shot him a look, but smiled conspiratorially nonetheless.
Their relationship, being together romantically, was new — the three of them in general, but especially Harry and Ron exploring together. Hermione was beyond happy for them, and no little bit turned on at watching them kiss and try new things.
Of course their closeness in general was nothing new, and that’s what Hermione wanted to commemorate with a matching tattoo. She had gotten the idea from a crowd of giggly girls who were getting matching tattoos at the same time she was getting her cover-up over the mudblood scar. Thankfully, Bill had been able to pull the curse out of her wounds after some extensive studying, so it had just been the basic scars that needed covering.
Looking around today, the shop wasn’t quite as overrun as it had been the day she had been before. Hermione was thankful for the lack of giggles. This would help the boys feel calmer about the whole process, she was sure.
“So what are we going to get?” Ron asked, shoving his hands deep in his pockets as they waited.
Hermione had a few ideas, but she wasn’t sure what would be best. Before she could suggest anything, Harry said, “Maybe the Deathly Hallows?”
“That might be a more of a you thing, mate,” Ron told him.
“And some see it as a hate symbol,” Hermione spoke up. “We know it’s more than what Grindelwald made it, but most people wouldn’t.”
Harry nodded thoughtfully. “Well, what do we have in common, besides staying alive through that mess?”
“The troll?” Ron said with a lop-sided grin, easily accepting it when Hermione lightly slapped his arm.
“I’m not having a troll tattooed on myself,” she said.
He shrugged and snickered. “Well, it was the first thing we had in common. Maybe a snitch?”
“That would be perfect for you and Harry, but I barely tolerate Quidditch,” Hermione pointed out.
“Maybe we could have something that represents each of us?” Harry suggested. “Like the things we went through when we were trying to protect the Sorceror’s Stone?”
“I like that idea,” Ron said. “I could be a knight chess piece.”
“That would make me a potion bottle,” Hermione contemplated. “I like potions, but I’m not sure that’s the best thing for me.”
“You should be represented by a pile of books,” Ron said, obviously bracing for another hit.
Instead, Hermione glowed. “I love that idea! What about you, Harry?”
“Well, going with our first adventure, it would be the Mirror of Erised, but I don’t think I want to remember that on my skin.”
“Maybe the snitch could just be for you,” Ron suggested.
Hermione added, “Or a stag — our Patronuses were one possibility I had thought of.”
“I could do a lightning bolt for my scar. It certainly would identify me for anyone,” Harry said with a sardonic laugh.
“You already have that on your body, though,” Hermione pointed out.
“That’s true, but it’s faded a bunch,” Harry said. She knew he both loved and mourned that fact. It had been a part of him as long as he could remember. He was thrilled to be rid of the identifying mark, but it was also a part of his identity in a way.
“Would you want that to symbolize you?” she asked him.
Shrugging, but smiling, Harry explained, “Well, I figure these are all bits of our past — except you’ll never give up your love of books — so it’s part of my past, too.”
“True,” Hermione agreed, but it didn’t feel quite right. “What about the Sword of Gryffindor?”
“The Sword?” he asked.
“You used it in second year on the Basilisk. And then it was instrumental in the Horcrux hunt,” Hermione explained her reasoning.
“Merlin, we could have gone with a tattoo of that bloody tent. That tied us together,” Ron said with a snort. Harry and Hermione both gave him a look.
“I like the idea of the sword,” Harry said.
“Then let’s do it. A knight chess piece, a pile of books, and the Sword of Gryffindor. This artist can make a design with all three together. He’s brilliant!” Hermione assured them, though they knew that already from the rendering of Hogwarts on her arm.
They had decided just in time as the tattoo artist was walking up to them at that moment. Within a few minutes, he had a workable sketch that all three of them loved and Hermione volunteered to go first. After some debate, they decided to get the tattoo on their backs, on their right shoulder blades.
The process of magicking the design onto her skin tingled, but didn’t actually hurt the way Hermione imagined a muggle tattoo would. It was also a far faster process, especially since this was an easy design. Her cover-up had taken considerably longer since he was making sure to get things in just the right spot to properly cover her Mudblood scar that time.
Harry went next, Ron still looking hesitant. “It tickles,” Harry announced. He would feel it that way. “But it already makes me feel even more connected to the two of you.”
Finally, it was Ron’s turn. Hermione half expected him to back out, but he didn’t. “Hermione, Harry, could you each hold one of my hands while it gets started?” he asked and her heart just melted. Looking at Harry, she knew he felt the same. For a moment, though, she wasn’t sure if he would make such a public declaration of his relationship with Ron.
Harry didn’t even hesitate. He stepped forward and held Ron’s hand while Hermione took the other. The tattoo artist smirked at the three of them, but made no comment. He stepped behind Ron and began his work.
“I wouldn’t exactly say tickles,” Ron said, gritting his teeth a little, “but it’s not bad.”
“And it shows how we work together, so it’s really good,” Hermione said.
“Just like we are,” Harry agreed, squeezing Ron’s hand.