Chapter Text
“Berlin,” Harry said, with a loaded look in Ron’s direction. “Noth Foundation charity function thing.”
“Me and Hermione’ll do it,” Ron answered immediately, causing Hermione to look up from her notebook and glance questioningly at him.
“It’ll be good.” He patted her hand reassuringly. “Trust me.”
~
They arrived in Berlin on a Saturday morning. Ron had convinced Hermione to come a day early so they could experience some of tourist attractions, without really thinking through the implications of such a casual suggestion.
On reaching their hotel, Hermione had pulled out a type-written schedule and thick, hard-backed guide book and Ron knew then that he might have underestimated her.
As day wore into evening, he checked the schedule again. He was worryingly knackered and knew they needed to rest if everything was going to go as he hoped. He persuaded her to allow him to order room service and broke it to her gently that they would not be visiting the Brandenburg Gate as detailed in her timetable but that he had something else he wanted them to do.
He could tell she was trying really hard not to be thrown by this turn of events- if there was one thing Hermione loved, it was sticking to an agenda- and the fact that she swallowed every doubt she had and agreed made him even happier about his next move.
As they walked through the city, Ron wondered when Hermione would guess where they were going. He anticipated it being quite early on and was surprised that she only seemed to register some understanding as they approached the building.
The former power plant was imposing and covered with bulbous, luminous graffiti along the walls of the bottom floor. A queue of people, five deep in places, wound its way from the front door. Some were dressed plainly in tight, black clothing, others were in various states of undress with flashes of vivid colour and animal print in between.
Hermione slowed next to him. “Berghain?”
“Techno right?” He grinned but it faded on seeing her uneasiness. “Why the long face? Not a good idea?”
“No, I mean, it was a lovely idea,” she replied, stopping altogether. She looked up at him and squeezed his hand. “Berghain is quite exclusive…”
Ron chuckled. “So I hear.”
“I mean it Ron!” Hermione insisted. “We’ll never get in. I’ve read about this place. It’s nearly impossible to get past the bouncer. Sometimes they’ll turn regulars away and we don’t even speak German. They will never let us in.”
Since first deciding he wanted to bring Hermione here, to this most revered of techno clubs, Ron had been doing his homework. Berghain was notorious for many things, the exclusivity of the door policy being one of them. He wasn’t scared of a challenge but he knew that being turned away would ruin his entire plan for their evening and, as they were only here for two nights, he couldn’t afford to leave it to chance.
Thankfully, he had a surprising ace up his sleeve and it was with a certain level of smug pride that he said casually, “It’s been taken care of.”
She trailed after him, still protesting, away from the front of the building and around to the side. A chain link fence blocked their way but Ron continued to walk confidently towards it and, out of the darkness, a man appeared. He said something in German to Ron who answered, hesitantly back in the same tongue.
The man nodded and eased back a section of the fence to allow them passage. As they followed him, Hermione yanked Ron’s arm.
“You speak German now?”
“I learned that one thing,” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, “I hope he doesn’t ask me anything else.”
The side of the building was in deep shadow so the non-descript door cut into it wasn’t visible until they were almost next to it. The door opened on their approach.
Whoever was on the other side stood in darkness. An arm reached out and offered them two shiny black squares.
“For your camera phone.”
The arm retreated and the owner disappeared.
The man who had been at the fence watched them tape the lenses on their phones before nodding them inside. The door closed behind them and they were alone.
In almost pitch black, they moved intuitively up a short corridor towards the music, the lights and the heavy beat of feet on concrete. When they reached the end Hermione squeezed Ron’s hand once and they stepped into the breath-taking, unmistakable and undeniable roar.
~
Hours later, they walked along the cobbled path next to the River Spree, takeaway coffee in hand. The sun had just started to rise, throwing creamy yellow and orange flecks on the water, ducks and swans paddling gracefully through the ripples.
Ron was so tired he couldn’t feel his face. His skin felt stretched, as though it had absorbed the noise of Berghain and was full of it. He looked down at Hermione tucked under his arm. She seemed pale and wan but when he said her name, she turned her face up to him and he could see the fire aglow in her eyes.
“Good surprise?”
“I… I have never been anywhere like that before. The music was incredible.”
Ron had resigned himself to the fact that he was never going to be a fan of techno but seeing Hermione lose herself in the music, free in a way she so rarely allowed herself to be, had been worth every hour they had spent inside.
“I still don’t understand,” she said now, her voice weary with the strain of yelling at him over the music all night. “How we got in.”
“You share an ally in unusual music tastes,” he mused. “My new sister-in-law.”
“Audrey?”
He nodded. “Yep. Acton-Basleys and their almighty reach. Actually, Audrey just really likes music and she knows someone who knows someone etcetera, etcetera. She set it up, told me what to say. Mind you, I got the distinct impression it was a one-time only thing so I hope you had your fill. We are never getting back in there again!”
Hermione grinned tiredly. “I loved it. Thank you. I’ll never forget that last DJ set. Amazing!”
Ron’s eyes widened. “The DJ set? Jesus, that was hardly the most memorable thing in there Hermione. My mind was blown! Did you see…”
“Uh-uh!” Hermione held up finger. “What happens in Berghain stays in Berghain Ron. No telling.”
“Fair enough,” he replied, grimacing, “I don’t think anyone would believe me anyway.”
They walked on and he felt Hermione snuggle further into him.
“Thank you for doing that for me.” She reached up and kissed his cheek. “That I would be walking home in the early morning after dancing all night in Berghain is incredible. It was the best thing.”
He smiled, pulling her over to the wall that ran along the river so they could sit for a moment. Hermione sighed pleasurably as the sun gained strength and grew warmer on their faces, the faint breeze gently lapping at their overheated bodies.
After a beat, Ron said softly, “The best thing huh?”
She punched his arm. “The best.”
“Nothing better?”
“Can’t see it.”
“What is that?” he asked her, squinting into the middle distance and pointing, “Over there.”
By the time Hermione had determined that there was nothing to see, Ron was on his knee next to her, the ring box open and sitting in the middle of his palm.
She gasped, her hands jumping to her chest.
The ring was mostly comprised of one large, emerald cut diamond surrounded by a halo of smaller, pave-set diamonds. The white gold shoulders were similarly set.
“I love you,” Ron said now. “I want us to go on being the kick-arse team that we are. Will you marry me?”
Ron had imagined this moment for a long time, probably far longer than Hermione would ever guess. He had never wanted to give this ring to anyone the way he wanted to give it to her.
Even Zara, whom he had loved very much, even at their most serious, something told him not yet. Something said, ‘This ring isn’t for her’. He had never told anyone that; he knew the family had thought he was mad at the time for letting Zara go. But he knew. This ring wasn’t hers. It didn’t belong on her finger.
Within a frankly embarrassingly short period after meeting and getting to know Hermione, Ron had wondered if the ring belonged on her finger and, later, he was happy and a little nervous about realising that it did. He wanted to see it on her hand and her hand alone.
When he pictured the moment he would present it to her, he could imagine all the way up to the moment she saw it. After that, who knew? With Hermione anything was possible. How she would react was anyone’s guess and that was part of the reason he loved her.
“You got the diamond,” she breathed, wrapping both her hands around his as he held the ring up to her.
“Correction,” Ron replied softly, “I chose the diamond. I picked first, before anyone else. When I was far too young to know who I would give it to. None of the others made any sense. If you’re going to give someone an engagement ring, it has to be a diamond.”
Hermione smiled a little bashfully, eyes still fixed on the ring. “I was hoping you would get the diamond.”
Ron’s heart jumped in his chest.
“Is that a yes?”
In response, Hermione held out her left hand. Ron got to his feet and slid the ring onto her finger where it sat, looking exactly as he had pictured it.
He gathered her to him and she stretched up and pressed her mouth to his, tasting of coffee and endless possibilities. Ron held her there, enjoying the feeling of her warmth against him. When she pulled away after a moment, he let her go reluctantly.
“Of course it’s a yes,” she whispered, rubbing her thumb over his cheek, “It was only ever going to be a yes.”
Ron beamed happily and they started walking again, Hermione slipping her arm into his.
After a few minutes, she yawned. “I can’t believe we stayed out all night. We should get some sleep. We’ll need to start getting ready for the Noth benefit soon.”
Ron groaned. “Oh God, don’t remind me. It was extremely unlucky that the one event in Berlin was for the Noths. Smarmy Carl and dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks Clemmie.”
Hermione face broke into a smile. “Actually, I’m quite looking forward to it.”
Ron was dubious. “Really?”
“Yep,” she replied and she held out her hand. The diamond glistened in the early morning sunlight. “I can’t wait to show Clemmie my new ring.”
She laughed so filthily that Ron joined in almost immediately.
“Hermione Granger! I never knew you to be so vindictive! I love it!”
She turned her face up to him, bliss written all over it, and Ron sighed.
“What?” She nuzzled into him.
“I can’t believe you said yes.”
Hermione grinned.
“I can’t believe you ever thought I would say no.”