It Had To Be You

Author's Notes: This was the product of my father's Rod Steward CD. If after you read this you feel the urge to blame somebody, they're the ones to send your hate mail to. However, if you like the story, feel free to drop a nice review.

Disclaimer: The author of this story would like to announce with great distress that Harry Potter & Co. do not belong to her. Neither does the song It Had To Be You. Your house, your car, and even your pets do no belong to Fleur. That is all.

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The sound of waves crashing was the first thing Ron heard when he Apparated onto his intended location. Even in the dark he realized the ocean wasn't too far away, and that the rustling that had come to his attention was most likely the large palm trees that the Apparation Agent had told him about when he booked the small cottage that stood nearby. The air smelled like tropical flowers, and he briefly wondered why he'd wasted all his life anywhere but there.

Of course, his life would never have really been a waste, as long as he was with her. "It's so beautiful here," he heard "her" say.

          "Not as beautiful as you," he replied.

A giggle, then, "Well, aren't you the charmer when you're trying to undo the zipper of my dress."

          "I thought I was always charming!" Ron protested, omitting the fact that he was indeed fiddling with said zipper.

The female voice was lower now, silky even. "Charming? I don't know about that…"

          "Darling, I'm sure you're just thinking of somebody else."

The addressed party raised an eyebrow, though he couldn't see that in the dark. However, that didn't keep him from sensing it. In feigned annoyance, he asked, "Well, what was I then?"

"Hmm, I seem to recall that you were awfully pigheaded."

Ron gasped. "Never."

          "And you always had a tendency to be temperamental."

          "I don't even know the meaning of the word."

          "That, dearest, is because you didn't study enough in school. Either way, I'm sure you can't deny that you were incorrigible."

Ron smiled, "Well, maybe a bit." He leaned down and whispered in the woman's ear. "Of course, now you're stuck with me forever, Hermione Weasley."

Hermione sighed and leaned into his body. "I hadn't thought of that, perhaps I've made a dreadful mistake. If you're smart, you'll ravish me now, before I have time to think about it."

Ron threw his head back and laughed, delighted in seeing Hermione so laid back after weeks of tense wedding planning. There had been a period when he had not even dared to speak to her, for fear she'd assault him with books on flowers, silverware, invitations, and even the occasional sample of strawberry filling. It didn't help that he was allergic to strawberries.

"What are you laughing at, I'm absolutely serious," said Hermione. She didn't move off his chest, though.

Ron put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back, then seized one of her hands in his own. "Dance with me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "We've been dancing all night, and I've got so many blisters on my feet I may never walk, not to mention dance, again."

          "Please?"

Hermione sighed. "I hate it when you use that voice, it makes you sound like you're on the bloody brink of death."

          "If you don't dance with me, I'll tell everybody you said the word 'bloody.'"

          "And then I'll say it was because you're rubbing off on me, and it is, as always, your fault."

Ron shook his head from side to side. "Typical of you, to place all the blame on others."

          "Yes, well, now that you've finally married me, it doesn't matter anymore."

          "Dance with me?" Ron said again. She didn't say yes, but he heard her kick off her shoes and hike up her dress. When she placed her hand back in his, they started to sway back and forth.

Hermione closed her eyes and put her head back on Ron's chest. "There's no music."

          "So?" Ron took the opportunity to dip his wife, causing her to laugh.

          "Don't you feel silly?"

          "Nah…I felt silly when Snape tried to take points from Gryffindor at the wedding. You remember, it was when Neville knocked over that huge ice sculpture."

          "Yes, well, I should never have let Ginny convince me to get that anyway," said Hermione.

They danced in silence for a few minutes, before something quite unexpected broke through the air. "It had to be you…" Ron had begun to croon the words to an old Muggle song that Mrs. Granger liked to play repeatedly. He'd grown very fond of it when the couple had stayed with Hermione's parents for the week before the wedding. Though he could never tell her so, Mrs. Weasley had driven them up the wall with all her fretting.

          "What are you doing?" asked Hermione.

          "Serenading you. Didn't you say you wanted music?"

Hermione giggled. "No, I said I felt silly without it."

          "Same thing."

          "Well, aren't you going to keep going?"

          "You keep interrupting me, make up your mind, woman."

          "I did, now keep going."

          "You're a demanding wench, aren't you?"

          "Very."

Ron swirled Hermione out of the embrace then reeled her back in. "It had to be you…it had to be you. I wandered around, and finally found the somebody who (Ron leaned in for a kiss here, and Hermione willingly obliged) could make be true."

"Yes, I'm remarkable," Hermione interrupted.

"But there's more!" Ron continued to sing. "Could make me be blue…and even be glad, just to be sad, thinking of you."

Hermione giggled, finally overcome by Ron's performance. He had never given her such a romantic gesture, even if it was a bit out of tune. However, as it was, one good show deserved another.

Before Ron could sing the next verse, Hermione jumped in. "Some others I've seen…might never be mean, might never be cross, or try to be boss, but they wouldn't do."

"I think you're singing about yourself now, love."

Hermione stepped on his foot—quite accidentally of course—and went on, letting her soprano voice go little higher than a whisper. "For nobody else, gave me a thrill. With all your faults, I love you still…itS had to be you."

They sang the next line together, and it came out in perfect harmony. "It had to be you."
 

The End