100 Days of R/Hr: Day 18
Prompt: “Fields of Gold” by Sting
Prompted by: @handsomekazoobagins
I’m not exactly sure what about the song inspired this particular fic, aside from the title and instrumentation, which gave me a little vision of fields, glowing in the sun, whooshing past a train window. Hope you enjoy what I’ve done with the prompt! x
Oh! And let me just dedicate “improper use of shared furniture” to the English Muffins 😂
She was jarred abruptly awake as her head bobbed uncomfortably against the train window to her right. Smoke was billowing by and clouding her view, but, as she fully woke, she realised - the last thing she’d seen had been those endless, golden fields rolling past as they’d crossed through the countryside, mesmerising her to sleep. And now, the Hogwarts Express was rolling to a stop, noisy crowds were just outside on the platform, and she was home.
She gasped and stood, tugging open her window to lean out, even as the train continued its slow movement, loud whistle blowing to announce their arrival. But there were too many people, and she couldn’t see him. At Christmas, she’d been wide awake and sitting on the edge of her seat, and she’d spotted him almost immediately, his ginger head several inches above anyone else around him. But now, she could hardly see the floor of the platform from the crowds, and as she glanced down the length of the train, she watched many other students waving toward their families out their own windows. She knew he’d been out late for work the night before, which actually accounted for her being so tired today. She’d stayed up hoping he would floo when he got in, but he hadn’t, and she’d fitfully gone to bed, setting her alarm for a bit earlier than necessary.
The first few hours on the train had been filled with anxious anticipation, and her stomach had been rapidly fluttering with butterflies since breakfast. It was always a bit like this, seeing him after a long time apart, but it was much, much worse today. This was it. This was closing the final chapter of their time apart. They’d made it through the last time she’d had to say goodbye to him on this platform, the last time she’d had to hug him too tight and breathe deeply and hope he would stay safe and that she would be able to properly distract herself from his absence by getting lost in books and lessons.
As she scanned forward again, she spotted her parents, and she waved, smiling. She was happy to see them, of course, but she felt a bit like she might throw up if she tried to speak.
Just then, Ginny burst into the compartment behind her. Hermione withdrew her head from the window and turned around.
“Oh, good, you’re awake. I waited too long to change out of my robes, but you were asleep when I left to do it. Let’s go, yeah?”
“Did you see-
“Ron?” Ginny smirked. “Nah, I was in the loo. But he’ll be here. Come on!”
Hermione reached for her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and grasped the handle of her trunk to drag it out of the compartment. Following Ginny, she awkwardly turned the corner from her compartment to the main corridor, shifting her trunk around behind her… until a hand closed around hers on the handle and she gasped, turning around so quickly that her hair slapped whoever was behind her across the chest.
Ron was smirking down at her, his long fingers squeezing her hand.
“Found you,” he said.
“Ron!”
She reached out to grab his shirt in her free hand, tugging him closer, but her trunk was in the way, and all she could do was rest her forehead on his chest for a second as he spread a large hand across her back.
“What are you doing?” she laughed, as she lifted her head to gaze up at him. “The train’s still moving.”
“Stopped now,” he informed her, glancing out the window through the nearest compartment. “Just didn’t want to wait any longer, so I hopped on.”
“I was looking for you when we arrived, but I couldn’t find you.”
“Hermione!” Ginny called from the opposite end of the corridor. “What are you- oh.”
Hermione glanced over her shoulder at Ginny who grinned at her and shook her head.
“Couldn’t wait another minute, Ron?”
“No,” he called back, smiling as his sister rolled her eyes.
“Let’s get out of here,” Hermione suggested, and he let go of her to reach up and snatch her bag from her shoulder. “What are you-”
“Never got the chance to carry your bag around at school,” he explained, ears going slightly pink.
“And it’s been bothering you, has it?” she teased him, though she felt those butterflies begin to dance around quite frantically again.
“What if it has? Go on. I’ve got this, too,” he said, swiping her hand out of the way of her trunk and taking hold of it himself.
She studied him for a second longer before turning around, empty-handed, and leading them off the train. They were almost immediately bombarded by Mr and Mrs Weasley, Harry, and Hermione’s parents, who had all gathered together by the door when they’d spotted Ginny. Hermione was tugged between hugs and hellos, losing Ron behind her, and as happy as she was to see them all, she was feeling quite ready to be done with this part of the day and arrive at the part where she was unpacking her things at Grimmauld Place… directly into Ron’s room.
But everyone was discussing plans, and the night seemed to be expanding away from getting Ron alone for long enough to even say a proper hello.
“Let’s eat. I’m starved,” Ginny suggested, holding Harry’s hand.
“How about that pub we went to last summer, Hermione?” her mother suggested. “We all liked it well enough, and it’s not far-“
“Wait,” she interrupted, knowing she was about to do something rash but finding it hard to care.
She pushed back through her family and approached Ron, aiming her wand at her trunk and vanishing it away to his room, doing the same for her bag as he raised a brow down at her. But before he could speak, she grasped his hand tightly and dragged him back through her surprised looking family, blushing at Mrs Weasley’s smile, and they disappeared into the crowds.
“Hermione, what-“ but he was interrupted by someone’s shoulder brushing against his arm, and she dragged him further along, ducking into the dark shadows behind a wide, stone column, one leg of an archway that led to a solid brick wall.
She finally dropped his hand and whipped around, reaching up to hold his face in both hands, pulling him down to kiss her. She watched his eyes go wide for a second, just before she closed her own eyes and leaned into the soft pressure of his mouth on hers. But it took him no time at all to catch up, moaning against her lips and sliding his hands up her back to pull her closer against him.
Within seconds, what she had thought would be a quick kiss out of sight of their families turned into teeth grazing bottom lips and tongues meeting as he pushed her backward against the dark wall. As her body hit the solid surface, she felt the pressure of his chest against hers so much more completely, and she pushed up on the tips of her toes to align his hips with hers, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck. One of his hands scraped down between her back and the wall until his fingers were digging over the swell of her arse, and he bent his knees slightly, tilting his head so his nose bumped hers as he switched sides to kiss her again, hardly taking in one full breath in between.
She forced herself to remember they were only barely hidden in a public place, and they absolutely could not shag right there on the platform.
“Ron,” she muttered into his mouth.
“Mmmm?” he moaned back, sucking her upper lip between both of his.
She almost laughed, giddiness rising up from her belly at the idea of them having a full conversation without their mouths ever completely separating. But she took a desperate measure as he ground his hips into her, biting his lip a bit harder than she normally would have.
“Oi!” But he backed only half an inch away from her, eyes heavy-lidded with desire as she dropped down to her heels again and slid her hands along the sides of his neck.
“Have to stop before I shag you in public.”
“Fucking hell…” he panted, dropping his forehead to the wall over her shoulder.
“Do you think our parents will be offended if we tell them I’m too tired for dinner, and we go right home?”
“God. I’m not hungry anymore anyway.”
“You aren’t?”
“Not for actual food…”
She laughed as she brushed her thumbs over his cheeks, watching his eyes flutter shut with pleasure.
“Well, pull yourself together,” she said with a grin. “We have to go back and tell them, at least.” His eyes popped open, but he was grinning back.
“Oi, who dragged who back here to snog because she couldn’t wait?”
“Oh, you were fine with another three hours without-“
He cut her off by kissing her again, weaving a hand up into her hair. She felt her body melt against the wall, trapped and hidden by his strong body, one of his hands moving to her waist to briefly dip under her shirt and run his fingers up the bare skin of her side. She shivered as he pulled his mouth away from hers again.
“No, I wasn’t.” She blinked, slowly recalling the question she’d just asked him. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
She linked her fingers with his and started to move away from the wall, but he paused.
“Actually, give me a second,” he groaned. “Just don’t touch me.”
She bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh. It really wasn’t fair how much easier it usually was for her to recover in public, considering she had nothing physical to hide aside from swollen lips… He closed his eyes and took a couple of calming breaths, but he kept holding her hand.
“Right,” he said, opening his eyes again and gesturing toward the crowded platform behind her.
They made their way back to where they had unceremoniously left their bewildered families, only to find Harry and Ginny standing there alone.
“You’re not coming with us, am I right?” Ginny asked in a rhetorical sounding way, not even waiting for either of them to speak.
“I did fall asleep on the train,” Hermione tried weakly. “I’m pretty tired…”
Harry failed to hide his smirk and short laugh, which he playfully turned into a cough.
“Which obviously explains why you’re both blushing Gryffindor scarlet and why Hermione’s hair’s a complete mess,” Ginny grinned.
“More than usual?” Ron teased, and she squeezed his hand too tight, watching him wince.
“Go on,” Harry said, still smirking at them, “but I expect silencing charms to be thoroughly tested before I get home.”
Ron laughed and leaned down to speak directly into Hermione’s ear, making her shiver again with the low raspiness of his voice.
“Harry’s got some rules about improper use of shared furniture…”
“Oh, God, you’re disgusting,” Ginny groaned, having clearly heard Ron’s failed attempt to speak quietly.
“Come on,” Harry suggested, gesturing for Ginny to follow him. “We’ll explain to your parents but you owe me dinner.”
“Deal,” Ron called after him, and Hermione linked her arm with his, leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked toward the back of the platform to Apparate home.