Hey everyone. This story was brought to you by Ongoing - Gift Tag, and Herbology Hangout on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For Ongoing - Gift Tag I wrote for Deborah's prompts of Ron/Pansy and Wedding law!AU. For Herbology Hangout I wrote for the word prompt of frighten, and dialogue prompt of "That's the most horrid thing I've ever heard. Warnings for mentions of character death. I hope you all enjoy How I Married Your Mother?.
"So are we finally going to get the hear the story of how you and Mom got together?" Ron's fourteen year old son, Harry, asked as he and his sister, Lily, sat side by side on the couch of the family room. The red haired boy looked like he would rather be anywhere else but there at the moment. Which was probably true. He'd told his friends that he'd be able to come out in a bit and play Quidditch with them. Of course that was before his father had taken them into the family and told them they were about to hear the story of their parents getting together.
"Yeah, Dad," Lily grinned up at her father. Lily was the typical Daddy's girl even though she looked like the spitting image of her dark haired mother. "Are we finally going to get to heard the story of you and Mom?"
Ron looked over towards were Pansy stood with arms crossed over her chest a small smile on her chest. Everyone told her she'd get one just like her and she was happy to say that both their had her personality. She nodded her head at Ron telling him launch into the story that they'd kept from their children for so long.
"Well you see it was a little after the Second Wizarding War," Ron began watching as his children settled into their seats to listen. "There had been a lot of deaths in both the magical and Muggle communities. I guess there's never going to be a war where there isn't a lot of deaths and destruction."
Pansy cleared her throat to indicate that Ron should move on.
"The War had been over for about a month when something happened that would both your mother's and my life forever," Ron continued with the story. He could see it unfold like it was happening right in front of him in the present time.
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Ron had been sitting in his room at the Burrow with his best friends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger discussing whether they'd go back to Hogwarts and finish out their magical studies or not when they letter arrived. Hermione had just said she wanted to continue her education that it would help her get a better paying job in the magical world or something like that.
"You're being ridiculous," Hermione," Ron chided her. "We've helped Harry defeat one of the evilest wizards of all time. I think anyone would be happy to hire us just for that fact."
Harry nodded along.
"So I'm guessing neither one of you is going to join me in going back to school?" Hermione asked looking from one embarrassed looking face to the other. "I think it would do you both a lot of good to go back..."
"Go back to the place were we almost died on several occasions," Ron snorted. "You're being totally ridiculous now, Hermione."
"We've already put applications in to be Aurors," Harry exclaimed happily.
Footsteps in the hall halted their conversation. Not that they had anything to fear from being overheard in the Burrow. Everyone basically already knew the others were doing at all times. The footsteps stopped outside the door and the person knocked on the door.
"Come in," Ron called and was shocked when Percy walked slightly into the room.
"Mum wants the three of you to come downstairs," Percy told them. "We've just had a letter from the Ministry of Magic and it's important."
"Why didn't you just bring our letters up here?"
"Mum and Dad want us all together to read them. Something about taking the edge off of things if we're all together. She almost seemed upset when she saw the letters so I didn't have the heart to tell her that she was being ridiculous."
"We're right behind you, Percy," Harry told him watching as Percy walked back out the door. Turning towards Ron and Hermione he waited until he could no longer hear Percy's footsteps on the stairs. "What do you think that's all about?"
"I don't know," Hermione stated. "But I know this Kingsley was looking through some of the older laws in the wizarding community for something to help bolster our numbers."
"We better get downstairs before we're summoned again," Ron said getting up and walking towards the door.
He didn't need to look behind him to know that his friends had followed him. The walk downstairs was one filled with a thousand emotions and thoughts that raced through the heads of the Golden Trio. They wondered what Kingsley had dug up out of those old wizarding laws and why it had upset Mrs. Weasley so much. It was enough to frighten even the bravest of the brave. Which of course was the Golden Trio.
They could hear Mrs. Weasley sniffling and Ginny trying to comfort her mother before they walked into the room. Which heightened the sense of fear surrounding them. They hadn't heard Mrs. Weasley cry this much since Fred's funeral and then she'd tried to hide the fact that she was crying from everyone.
"What's wrong, Mum?" Ron asked he and the other's entered the room.
"Children I want you all to take a seat around the table," Arthur Weasley said as he lead Molly to her customary seat next to his. "This is going to sound a bit cruel but the Ministry has done this before..."
"Done what before?" George asked suspiciously.
"They've instated a new twist on an old law from the wizarding world." Arthur sighed and looked around the table at each of his children. He was happy that Bill and Fleur married when they had. At least this didn't apply to them. "Do you remember after the Goblin wars?"
Ron remembered hearing about the Goblin wars in History of Magic class but the problem was he never paid that much attention in that particular class. If he had paid attention in that class he'd have known what came next.
"The Ministry of Magic has reinstated the Wedding law," Molly Weasley sobbed out.
"The what?" came six shocked voices at the same time.
"The Wedding law," Arthur told them. "It's a old law that states until the magical world is replenished of the blood that was lost during the war people age 16 and older who are not married will be partnered up with a member of the opposite sex and married to each other. I tried to talk Kingsley out of reinstating this law but he wouldn't hear any of it. I'm sorry children." He held up letter that were addressed to each of the people at the table. "You find the name of the person you are to be partnered up with and the date of your wedding in this letter."
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"Wait," Harry interrupted his father's story, "they actually had a law that stated that you had to get married to someone you probably didn't know and have children with them?"
Pansy nodded in answer to her son's question.
"That's the most horrid thing I've ever heard," Lily gasped out.
"Well that's how most of us felt at the moment too," Ron told his daughter. "But things changed for me at least once I talked to your mother about what we were being forced into."
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Ron hadn't come face to face with Pansy since he'd read in his letter that she was the person he'd be marrying. But she'd owled him asking him to help her taste cakes for their wedding celebration and who was he turn up free cake. So there he sat in a little bakery outside Godric's Hollow waiting for his soon to be bride to show up.
Not paying attention to his surroundings he didn't hear the door bell tinkle as the door opened and in walked a dark haired woman of slight build and grace. She walked over to the table he was sitting at and sat down across from him. "Ron Weasley?" came the shocked voice of the woman across the table from him.
"Yeah," he responded not looking up. "I'm waiting for someone."
"Your wife?"
"To be actually. Her name's Pansy."
The woman giggled a little bit drawing his attention towards her. "You don't recognize me. Do you?"
Taking a closer look something about her eyes kept reminding him someone but...no...this couldn't be her. Pansy Parkinson looked like a pug when she was younger. This couldn't be her all grown up. Could it?
"Should I recognize you?"
"I guess I changed a lot since the last time you saw me," she told him. "I didn't always used to look like this..."
"What are you saying?"
"It's me Ron. Pansy Parkinson."
Had you asked Ron Weasley before now if he thought Pansy Parkinson would ever out grow her looks he'd have laughed in your face and told you no. But looking at her now Ron knew he'd be wrong on that fact. The woman sitting across from him was one of the most beautiful women in the world.
"I almost didn't recognize you," he told her. "But your eyes looked really familiar. I always used think they were very beautiful."
A blush covered Pansy cheeks at the compliment. "I know you probably don't want to marry me," she stated looking at her hands, "but I just figured maybe I could talk you into at least..."
"Maybe it wouldn't be the most horrible thing in the world. At least we know each other from school. Not like my brother Charlie whose been paired up with one of Fleur's school friends. You should have heard him complain about her when he first met her."
Pansy's smile stretched across her face as the tension seemed to leave her shoulders. The cake tasting went pretty well because they both seemed to have the same tastes in cake which kind of surprised Ron.
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"So you and Mum decided you'd give being married a try over cake?" asked Harry incredulously. "That's ridiculous."
"Not really," Lily said giving her brother a shove. "I think it's actually quite sweet that they found something they both had in common and built on it."
"Will you kids let me finish the story, please?" Ron asked exasperatedly.
The two kids nodded and quieted down to listen to the rest of the story.
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The wedding day had finally come and Ron stood nervously up at the front of the pavilion. Today was the day that he married Pansy Parkinson. Looking over at Harry to make sure he still had the rings and everything he began to fidget.
"You'll be a good husband, Ron," Harry told him. "Just get through this first. Okay?"
Ron nodded as the wedding march began to play. Turning towards the back of the church his mouth dropped open at the sight that met him there. Pansy Parkinson, who stood next to her father, was beginning the walk towards him.
Pansy was the most beautiful Ron had ever remembered her being in their short courtship. The beautiful white dress was flowing around her and made her look like the perfect princess for her wedding day. Her long dark locks had been collected into a elaborate up do with a few pieces out to frame her face. He could see the way her hands trembled as they held the flowers.
The next thing Ron knew Pansy's hand was being put in his own and they were turning towards the pastor. He doesn't remember the whole ceremony. He blocked out everything that wasn't Pansy. When the time came for the vows Pansy had written her own and performed them quite perfectly. It was now Ron's turn to say his vows.
"I know," he began, "that it wasn't love at first sight for us. But I promise to love you faithfully for the rest of our lives. No matter what happens. And I promise that no one will come between us. I will love you from this moment to our last. Today and always."
"With the power vested in me by the Church of England I now pronounce you man and wife," the pastor said as looked at the beaming couple in front of them. "You may now kiss your bride."
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"And that children is how I married your mother," Ron said.
A loud wailing sound came from upstairs and Pansy went to go get their youngest child Fred. A smile crossed Ron's face as thought back on the vows he'd made to Pansy that day. He'd kept true to his promise and they both were happy because of it.
I hope you all enjoyed How I Married Your Mother?.