Chapter 4 - An unexpected encounter
Ron Weasley sat on a barstool in a Muggle bar in London, a few blocks from the Ministry's secret location. He had just downed another pint of lager, ignoring the stares of some of the patrons who thought his Wizard robes looked odd. The bartender paid him no mind, as long as he was getting tips.
He had come here to think about the state of his marriage to Hermione and the job offer she had gotten. Harry had told him to think about Hermione's needs and not his own. The problem was Hermione had spent the last fifteen years as his wife taking care of his needs. She kept his now soft and round belly well fed and kept him physically satisfied most of the time, even when she was tired after working a long day. She was also a great mother, who stepped off her fast career track to raise their two children the first few years of their lives.
He tried to put himself in her place. What if he had gotten an offer for his dream job? Wouldn't he want his spouse to support his dreams, even if it meant that they would be separated for a while? Ron didn't even know what his dream job was anymore; he had spent the last ten years working with Harry in the Auror department at the Ministry, after leaving George's shop.
While Harry wasn't technically his boss, he was always considered the junior associate by their colleagues. When he would occasionally show up at meetings without Harry, he felt he never got the respect that Harry got. He was still second best, the runner up. He wasn't the famous Harry Potter, savior of the Wizarding World.
Well, at least he wasn't the runner up when it came to getting Hermione. He thought back to the last years of the war and how the Horcrux got the best of his insecurities and he was convinced that Hermione was in love with Harry and he had lost her. He remembered that Harry told her that he loved Hermione like a sister. But he still had his doubts, up until the day she kissed him in the middle of battle and everything changed. She was finally his.
Or was she? Even during their post-war courtship and eventual marriage, Hermione's deep bond with Harry never wavered. He often was the person she went to first with news (he discovered that Harry was the first person she told about both her pregnancies), and always ran to him whenever they had a row. He, in turn, was always there for her and sometimes he would feel that familiar jealous twinge whenever he spotted them together in the backyard, whether in deep discussion or sharing a joke.
Whenever they hugged, or Hermione would hold Harry's hand or ruffle his hair; Ron tried to remind himself that they were close friends and that he didn't have anything to worry about. But sometimes he felt that Hermione was more affectionate with Harry than she was with him.
He never really confided his doubts to anyone. He considered telling Ginny, as she was his sister and neighbor. But she was hardly a neutral party; she was living her dream of being Mrs. Harry Potter and the mother of his three beautiful children. He didn't want to upset the apple cart by voicing any concerns of where their spouses' hearts truly lay.
"Ronald Weasley?" A vaguely familiar voice brought him out of his reverie.
Ron turned his stool around and found himself face to face with Luna Lovegood. She looked exactly the same - the same round blue eyes, the same blond hair, although it was cut into a shoulder length shag. She had aged a bit, to be sure, but he would recognize her anywhere.
"Luna!" Ron said, open-mouthed. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm meeting a journalist here that I want to hire for The Quibbler." She said matter of factly. "But I don't see him - I hope he hasn't been captured by the Hummering Dinglebobbers."
Ron snorted lager up his nose and spilled some on his cloak. But it was worth it, he hadn't laughed like that in days.
"Oh, Ronald, you should be more careful."
Luna reached for her wand to clean up the mess but Ron grabbed her arm and told her to put it away since they were in a Muggle bar.
"Sorry, I forgot." Luna said, dreamily. "I usually don't frequent Muggle establishments but this journalist is extremely paranoid and didn't want to meet me in any Wizard pub. I don't even know what to order here. What are you drinking?"
"Lager, it's like butterbeer but with a buzz. Would you like me to buy you one?"
Luna nodded and Ron beckoned to the bartender to get a drink for his friend.
He turned his attention back to Luna who was staring at her drink with interest. "So when was the last time I saw you?"
"I think it was at Harry and Ginny's wedding. You were engaged to Hermione at the time." Luna paused. "You don't still see her, do you?"
"Of course I see her, she's my wife and the mother of my kids!" Ron sputtered.
Luna's blue eyes widened. "You and Hermione are married?" She said with mild surprise. "I didn't think you two would make it to the altar. You're both so different."
"Haven't you ever heard of opposites attract or does that not happen your world of Bummering Hinglebobbers?"
"You don't have be rude, Ronald." Luna said. "And it's Hummering Dinglebobbers. Listen, I didn't mean to offend you. If you are both perfectly happy, then I have to admit I was wrong in my assessment of your compatibility."
Luna took a sip of her drink. "Hmm, tasty."
"Well, if you want to know the truth, our marriage isn't perfect."
"No?" Luna asked, leaning forward.
"No, it's anything but." There was something about Luna that made it hard to lie to her.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Ronald. What is the problem, if I may ask?"
"Well, Hermione was offered a great job at the Ministry. They want her to be an ambassador for International Wizard Relations. She'd have to travel a lot for the job and I'm not sure I want her to take it."
"Is it because she'd be away from you most of the time? You'd miss her, right?"
Ron sighed. Was that it, because he'd miss her? Well, he certainly wouldn't miss her nagging.
"I suppose so. It's just that we've been fighting a lot lately, and I just think she wants this job so she can get away from me."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Luna asked. "If you've been fighting, that can't be good for your relationship. Maybe some time away will help you both figure out what you want."
"But what if she decides she wants to leave me?" Ron asked.
"You start over." Luna said. "That's what I did."
"What do you mean? You were married?" Ron had a hard time picturing Luna as someone's wife.
"Don't look so surprised. I was married for ten years to a wizard I thought would take care of me forever, that is until he met a younger witch and left me. I was terribly depressed for a while but then my father got sick and I went to take care of him. He died six months ago."
"Oh Luna, I'm so sorry." Ron felt awful as he squeezed her shoulder.
"Thanks. Anyway, after my father died, I stopped being so depressed. I realized that life is short and I shouldn't spend it wallowing. I know I will see him and my mum again someday. And I know I'm going to find the right person to spend my life with, too. So I took over The Quibbler and started getting my life back on track. And here I am."
"Have you found the right person yet?" Ron asked.
Luna shook her blond head. "Not yet, but I have a feeling he's going to make himself known very soon."
Ron thought about Luna's story and felt oddly inspired by it. Her life fell apart but she slowly put it back together.
"Oh and speaking of making himself known, there's my journalist!" Luna said, waving at a bald, middle aged wizard who had tried to dress as a Muggle to fit in, but was failing miserably. Ron was reminded of his own father and smiled.
"Well, Ronald, it was nice catching up with you. Good luck with things."
"Thanks." He paused. "Hey Luna, can we keep in touch?"
Luna just stared at him with her big blue eyes.
"It's just that I don't want years to go by before I see you again. We were friends, after all." Ron winced at how corny that sounded.
Luna pulled a business card out of her bag and handed it to him. "Here's my card for The Quibbler, I'm running it out of my house. You can owl me whenever you like."
Ron watched as Luna greeted her journalist and took him to a back booth to discuss business.
He finished his lager and checked his watch. It was getting close to dinnertime and time to face the music.
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