CAMDEN: The Valentine (FF)

Title: The Valentine
Rating: G
And Reason: Simple and sweet with a hint of sadness.
Pairing: Ron/Hermione
Summary: Ron finds an old Valentine from Hermione.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling takes claim to Harry Potter, who is definitely not me.
Thanks: To my fellow Romiones – We shall conquer!”

A true friend is the most precious of all possessions
and the one we take the least thought about acquiring.”-La Rochefoucauld

His wrinkled hand gently caressed the aging keepsake while Ron focused on the written passage.

Memories flooded his thoughts: the first tease, the first save, and the first hug.

After all these years, he had never forgotten. No matter where he went, what he did, or whom he met, she was always around. She was ever present, and he wanted it no other way.

“What is it, Papa?” rang a voice gamboling about in front of him. The young girl with bouncing pigtails climbed on his lap and gazed down at the red sheet of paper.

The scrawl was neat and elegant, and little scribbled hearts littered the page.His voice was rough and hoarse, “A valentine, Puddin’.” She wriggled on his leg and looked up at his face. His blue eyes sparkled as they gazed at the card. A smile grew as he took notice of the girl in his peripheral vision.

“From Nana?” she inquired. The child gazed at him with her brilliant azure-colored eyes; it was the very expression that Ron could never refuse. He sighed, and as she gently wriggled on his knee, he considered what he should say.“No, puddin’.

This was from a long time ago,” his voice was melancholic, “when I was young, before I met your grandmother.”His life had been touched by two women, separated in time by almost a decade. He loved his wife dearly; she was an endearing companion and unfailing friend.

He regretted nothing when it came to her. He was happy, healthy, and lucky to have his first grandchild squirming on his lap.But the gift in his hands had been from his first love and one of his greatest childhood friends. For too long he had been completely blind to it. His more undesirable emotions had gotten the best of him, and Ron had kept her at a distance.

Even when he had received this card, his innermost feelings had yet to be realized.It was in that very year when he had lost her forever. And in that somber moment, he had felt a pain he had never imagined existed. That’s when he had realized his own affection for her.

All that time, his grumblings toward Krum, his superficial relationship with Lavender, and his teasing and arguing, they had all derived from jealousy. He had loved her from the first moment he had set eyes on her. Of course, he had not realized this until it was too late.

Sitting with his granddaughter on his lap, Ron tenderly hugged her while saying, “You know, your mother is named after the very person who gave me this card.”

“She was called Mummy, too?” the girl asked with great interest.

He grinned, “No, Hermione.”