POV: Hermione Granger. July, 1999.

I dedicate this story to my wonderfully and fabulous Dramione family!!😘 I love each and every one of you!

Thank you for everything...

One vanishing year had come and gone since the war was over...

Our lives drastically had changed from the war in more ways than one.

I returned to Hogwarts to graduate with my education and diploma in hand. Immediately after the ceremony, Ginny and I, alongside the other graduates, glided across The Black Lake, one last time into Hogsmeade on the Hogwarts boats we all had ventured into that first day of school so many ages and moons ago... it was incredibly sentimental.  And even more so, when we reached the end of our destination to witnessing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley awaiting for us at the train station with our significant others. Harry was impatiently longing for Ginny. And with Ronald standing next to him, and never taking his blue eyes off of me.

I left the boat with my cap and gown still intact, jumping into Ronald's arms as he swung me around in the air, feeling freedom in the gusts of whirls that I was finally home and finally alone with him.

Harry and Ginny were lovingly embracing each other as well, and excitably referring to their upcoming Autumn nuptials in just three months time, aloud. Harry had asked Gin to marry him after the war was over. In fact, the very next day...

Ronald placed my feet back on the stony platform and was staring at me with a great big smile on his face? I hadn't a clue nor a single inkling as to what he was about to do...

In that simultaneous moment, he dropped to one knee opening a tiny antiqued deep crimson velvet box and proposed to me right there in front of the Hogwarts Express.

Where our entire relationship began...

I screamed "YES!" with awestricken spirits overwhelming my body. I watched him smiling up at me, as he placed the ring on my fourth left finger and we both laughed at my uncontrollable shaking hand as he did so.

My beautiful diamond encrusted opalescent engagement ring, belonged to his Aunt Muriel and was passed down to him to give to the love of his life. As such, was inevitably and undyingly me.

Hermione's engagement ring from Ronald...

It was undoubtedly the happiest day of my life... Nevertheless, there was an empty space in my heart wishing my parents could've seen this. They were still effectively living in Australia in their thriving dentist business, completely oblivious to their truths of ever having a daughter. The emptiness killed me so much so, that I often felt all entirely alone. Even though, I was surrounded by Weasley's majority of the time and Harry, of course. The Weasley's welcomed me into their family as one of their own. Albeit, the company still wasn't enough sometimes. I missed my family terribly and cried myself to sleep on occasion thinking of them.

"Life goes on," as The Beatles say...

Ronald and I had rented a quant flat in London, to start our own family home. And we were planning our wedding as we speak, for a spring wedding in May.

Ron and Harry, decided to stay at home building their careers, while I finished my last year of school... To help The Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt as his new up and coming famous Aurors. Harry had succeeded so much in his new position as the famed 'Dark Wizard Catcher,' that he was now the 'Head of The Department of Magical Law Enforcement.' And speaking of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I was now the lead assistant to Harry in my new role at The Ministry.

Ronald was very victorious as an Auror. However, due to recent and certain troubled conditions of his older brother George, his dreams of furthering his career had come to halt and could only help Harry part-time.

Ronald was now aiding the 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes' joke business that Fred and George vastly built their jokester's empire... was sadly now a quickening failure into becoming a foreclosure... George had suffered so much with the loss of Fred, as well as we all did. The hurt was unbearable to us all. Although, more being so for George. Dark days had come into George's life, because of his heartache of losing his twin, the other half to his soul... so of course, Ronald was going to alleviate him with the business. Now keeping him afloat, both in The Joke Shop, and his personal life, that had become unfathomably concerning. George had gotten himself into more trouble, than we ever could've imagined...

Because of George's despair and manic depression of losing Fred, he turned to quick fixes and mind numbing reliefs to block the gut wrenching agony... George regrettably turned to drugs to help comfort his grief, that would temporarily hinder and hide his suffering. Then, when the drug's concluded their misguided abysmal crafty functions... his returning sober reality would comeback to George. And nothing would get in his way, as he hunted for his next fixated addictions to escape from his truths...

The joke business had suffered tremendously because of George's actions, so we had to take a loan out from Gringott's to keep the business stable... George was basically stealing money from himself to feed his diabolical habits. Ronald finally found out about George, by catching him in an overdose state in his office at the shop. And now, we were even moreover in furthering in helping George out of his misery...

When Ronald saw his brother putting himself further and closer to death, he begged him to go to the rehabilitation center at St. Mungo's. He told his brother he wasn't going to lose him too. George finally agreed, but only if we kept the secret of his addictions just between the three of us. Ron and George, both knew, that if their parents knew what was happening, they wouldn't be able to handle anymore hurt built on by disappointment. This was our only choice. And it was our private covert operation together.

So Needless to say, Ronald and I's hearts were full. But our Gringott's bank account vaults, were not...

Ronald and I, were struggling day to day to keep up with our own bills, planning and paying for our wedding, and as well as providing for George's needs.

I received a notice from Gringotts Bank last week, that we owed in total, seventy thousand Galleons in loans, to keeping 'Weasley's Wheezes' afloat, and if we didn't pay them back, as per our agreement, they would find other means to confiscate.

So, As well as, paying off the private matter of George's treatments and his stay at the rehab program at St. Mungo's... the cherry on top of everything else, was also paying out our renters loans to the bank for our Flat, that the rates had recently fluctuated. And Ronald and I, didn't have a Knut to scrape by, to even pass for collateral for an extension to the loan for The Joke Shop... Everything we made from my job and the joke shop, was for keeping Wheezes' running, profit to bills, our wedding, everyday survival, and more importantly to helping George's medical healing fees for his enslavement to pain killer potions and drug abuses of the Wizarding World known as Blue Crystal Meth and Blackened Cocaine. Ron and I were George's caregivers and soul beneficiaries now...  Mr. And Mrs. Weasley still hadn't a clue what was going on, as well as the rest of the family. Not even Harry, nor Gin, knew our struggles. To help keep them unaware of George's noticeable absences at the family's gatherings, we told them he was taking a summer sabbatical in Burundi, feeding the Wizarding poor and offering 'Weasley Wizard Wheezes' to the children with a new witch he met, named Bexla. Bexla just so happened to be his private healing nurse in his rehab program at St. Mungo's. It was the perfect alibi. We kept our word to George. And we were tremendously in financial suffering because of our impending pounds practically drowning in medical bills of debt and more debts...

I was in the kitchen making stuffed jacket potatoes and a side salad for Ronald and I's dinner, when he suddenly came bursting into our flat practically running over Crookshanks. He angrily meowed at Ron and scoffed towards the bedroom. Crookshanks still hated him after all this time. He never forgave him for all the things Ronald had called him over the years...

"'MIONE! 'MIONE! I'VE GOT IT! I KNOW HOW WE CAN PAY THE BANK BACK!" He fired with enthusiasm as I turned to face him.

Ronald raced towards me, grabbing my waist with brightening epiphanies of excitement dancing in his blue eyes.

"What on earth?! How?!" I gaspingly pondered, almost feeling some form of relief, escaping from my tension filled shoulders.

"Two words... LAS VEGAS!" Ronald blurted with pure purposeful pride.

"Las Vegas? The gambling Muggle city in the states?" I questioned feeling nervous anxiety, Pretty much already having an assumption of what he had come up with.

"Exactly! I remembered today, actually, you mentioning how your parents went there to gamble several summers ago, and made quite a bit of money just in that one trip! So I did some research on that Muggle computer internet contraption thingy... and planned our weekend of gambling to win our lives back!" Ron finished with a hopeful optimistic smile.

I was beyond stunned and extremely hesitant to agree to his plots. This had impending danger written all over it. No one was ever this lucky...

"Oh, Ronald... I'm not so sure about that... I mean it's not guaranteed! My parents had years of practicing certain games! That's why they were successful! And truth be told, they only won a thousand pounds! What if we lose everything?! And what money do we have to even gamble with?!" I barked reminding him with my reasonable and explainable pessimistic views on the idea.

"'Minoe, we've got two thousand Galleons to play with from our savings, that Aunt Muriel left me in her Will, when she died last Christmas! I've already booked our stay at the Wizarding hotel, they have there now! They call it 'The Magician's Hat!' It's our own lil' gamblin' hideaway for us Magic Folks, as Hagrid would say!" Ron laughed in such an infectious way, it made me chuckle. And think of our dear Hagrid, too.

I thought quietly for a moment, as Ron began his familiar pleas. Persuading me with his baby talking ways, that honestly hurt my teeth it was so sweetly irritating, like a cavity rooting itself deeper and deeper... and enclosing his arms around my waist, completely entrapping me against his tall frame...

"Pwweeaassse 'Mione, baby... we can do this. We can win our money to pay the bank back and George's hospital fees," He gave me his big puppy dog eyes, begging me with a pouty lip.

Bloody hell... What else did we have to lose? We might as well try... and if all else fails, oh I didn't even want to think of that. But where on earth did he get the rest of this money to even go on this trip?! We had two thousand to gamble with?! But what about the hotel fees?! And we had to eat?!

"I charged it on the new Gringott's Credit Card account, we got in the post," Ron already knew what I was thinking. Merlin's Beard, more bleeding dooming debt...

My eyes bulged and my lips pursed in disapproval, planting my feet firmly about to let him have it. However, he squeezed me tighter in his arms and jerked me forward, putting his right palm to covering over my mouth to keep me from speaking.

"It'll be fine, love. It's all going to workout. We need a break from all of this," Ron quietly spoke and freed his hand from my lips.

Amongst the impulsive state of things, I had an idea of my own, that could save us some more money and to kill two birds with one Philosopher's stone...

"Okay, Ronald let's do it," I breathlessly drawled, rolling my eyes and smiling with him, as Ron smiled into my kisses and I circled my arms around his neck.

I pulled back from our affections to give him my classified notion, that was swirling in my head.

"Ronald, while we're there... why don't we go to one of those little chapels and elope? We could save so much money in the long run, than trying to kill ourselves with this lavish wedding," I revealed full of my own hope that he would agree.

"You want to elope? Without our friends and family being there?! No, no 'Mione. I think we'd completely regret that," He objected immediately with his voice raising from high to low, in his clear distaste of the thought.

"Well, I think it would be so romantic! Just us... We could have the celebratory party with everyone, when we get back! I just want to get married, don't you?" I asked feeling sick to my stomach waiting for his response. With my intuition already giving me his answer.

"'Minoe, I just... let me think about it. I... I just don't want you to later regret not having the big wedding like Harry and Gin are having," He expressed as if we were in a competition or something?!

"I don't care about all that! I don't care, what type of wedding Harry and Ginny are having! A marriage isn't about the wedding, Ronald! It's about US! Finally being together as one and starting our lives as one! Don't you agree?!" I huffed in aggravation.

How could he be so vain?

"Alright... alright... before we get into another row. How about we settle on this... We'll see how we feel when we arrive, okay?!" Ron suggested with his small emotional range of teaspoon, completely dodging my questions. Again...

"Fine, I'll agree to this. As long as you will seriously consider the idea," I concluded the conversation with my pipe dream floating about in my reasoning mindset, aspiring that he would give me the answer I wanted...

"Come on, let's go pack... our reservation begins in the morning," Ronald completely evaded my question, picking me up over his shoulder like a Neanderthal and carried me back to our bedroom.

I had an uneasy feeling of nerves. The blinding red stop light of intuition, was shouting at me that this was not a good idea. I could feel it in my soul...

Regardless, I couldn't back out now.

So Las Vegas... was in our horizons.

And our hearts were full of hope, wonderment, and anticipation brimming of ignorance of glimmering wishful money to save us.

Love you all!!! And I hope you enjoy my latest Dramione as much as I am enjoying sharing it with you!! 😘💚😘💚😘💚😘