Work Text:
Wandering around muggle London was always going to be an experience for Ron Weasley.
Some bits of it were annoying, like the fact that he couldn't pull out his wand to cast a warming charm if he got too cold, and the fact that he couldn't just floo around the city, and he had to use muggle contraptions to get around, but other bits were quite lovely, like the lights that were everywhere, and all the random food carts that were set up.
(And, admittedly, the fact that his muggle wallet weighed less, and was less conspicuous then wizarding money was a plus.)
He stopped, having found the store he was looking for; an herbal tea shop in the heart of muggle London.
He stepped in, thankful that the coldness outside had already turned his cheeks a nice red, and thus his embarrassment wouldn't be clear. It wasn't that he was ashamed to be in the shop; not exactly, but the decor made it clear it wasn't usually frequented by People Like Him, and instead it was frequented by young hip muggle twenty-somethings who drank tea and-
-he stopped, and realized that he was probably younger then all of the people at the tables, even if only by a year or two.
That was a sobering thought.
The proprietor of the shop was a younger woman with black hair that had been streaked with pink, and Ron was uncomfortably reminded of Tonks, though he had not known her that well.
"Can I help you with anything?" She asked him, as he stood there, uncomfortable.
"I'm looking for a tea blend for my girlfriend?" Girlfriend. That was a nice word. And he was glad he was around to use it. There hadn't been much time while they were students at Hogwarts, (not that The Word would have been used in Hogwarts anyway; they were both very stubborn), but in the year since Voldemort's fall, he'd taken a sort of pride is saying that. "It was some sort of peppermint holiday blend, something her parents used to drink?"
"Well, we only have one peppermint holiday tea that isn't new this year" she said, showing him over to the selection. The mix was green leaves and crushed peppermint candies, and when Ron read the label, he recognized the name in that vague way you do when you didn't remember something until you saw it again.
"I'll take some of that, please" he said, flushing as the owner pointed him to the bags, and the scoops. "...Self serve. Right."
Scooping the tea blend into his bag, he hoped that Hermione would like it, and maybe she would forgive him for his initial misgivings about meeting her parents.
Paying, he left the shop with his bag of peppermint tea, and started back home.