Marriage Counseling…Chapter 1
For Gillian, who read this story first, and never yells at me when I nag her. 3
Chapter 1
Harry awoke late Saturday morning and silently thanked the gods for letting him sleep in. He stretched, got out of bed and dressed quickly. By the time he had finished his morning coffee it was close to 11:30, and since he knew that they had to be at the Burrow by noon, he walked down the hallway to wake up Ginny, whom he shared his flat with.
When he came to Ginny's door, he knocked tentatively before opening the door and walking in.
"Ginny, love, time to get up," he said nicely. Ginny didn't move. "Okay sugar, seriously, we have to leave in half an hour!" he said, much more sternly. Finally Ginny began to stir.
She turned over to see Harry standing at the foot of her bed, dressed and ready to go. "Ah, my own personal human alarm clock. How lovely to see you this morning," Ginny said coyly smiling at him.
Harry smiled back. "Gin, come on, get up. We have to be at the Burrow for brunch…ah…" he looked at his watch, backing up towards the door, "five minutes ago."
"Okay, fine. Let me get dressed, and I'll meet you there okay?"
"Yes, fine, but don't be late!" Harry knew she would go back to sleep if he wasn't sure that she was completely awake and out of bed before he left.
Ginny sighed. "Oh, Harry, how little faith you have in me."
Harry laughed as Ginny crossed the room and slammed the door in his face. "I'll see you there!" she shouted from her bathroom.
Harry walked back into the kitchen and approached the fireplace, just as an owl flew in through the open window.
Dearest Harry, and Ginny, of course,
Molly and I are terribly sorry to do this with such short notice, but we'll have to reschedule the Weasley brunch for next Saturday. Molly has fallen ill with a cold, and she doesn't want to get anyone sick, especially Hermione, because she is due in a just a few months. Please don't worry, she will be fine. Molly sends her love!
Sincerely,
Dad
Harry smiled at the end of the letter. Dad, he thought. Has a nice ring to it. Mr. Weasley had insisted on Harry calling him that ever since Harry proposed to Ginny a few months ago. Both Harry and Ginny wanted to wait to have the wedding until after Ron and Hermione had the baby, so it would probably be in the next six months, since Hermione is due in three.
"Ginny!" Harry called down the hallway, "we're not going to your parents' this morning! You can go back to bed!"
Ginny answered him from her room, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, your mom has a cold," he shouted back at her.
Ginny came out of her bedroom and into the kitchen where Harry was standing with the letter in his hand. He handed it to Ginny, and she read it quickly.
"Oh, bugger. I'm already dressed," Ginny said. Harry laughed at her and she kissed him to shut him up. She turned away to get a cup of coffee and muttered something that sounded like "Just because I'm not a morning person…"
Harry laughed again just as a second owl flew through the window and landed next to Ginny.
Harry and Ginny,
Ron and I would like to invite you two over for brunch this morning, seeing as the Weasley brunch was cancelled…and I've been craving bacon. Please write back!
Love,
Hermione
Ginny handed the letter to Harry. "Harry, we can go to brunch after all. Ron and Hermione invited us."
"Great…I'll answer her, and then we can go." Harry reached for a pen and wrote the reply on the back of Hermione's letter.
"I dunno, maybe we should wait until a few minutes. We don't wanna interrupt anything." Ginny looked at Harry with a look that said quite clearly, "if we did it would be gross, and I really don't want to see that"
"Yeah, sure," Harry looked slightly disturbed, "but do you really think that that's what they would be doing Saturday mor-"
"No." Ginny looked even more disgusted. "Oh, my, no. I just meant that they've been fighting a lot lately. And anyone who interrupts usually gets a mouthful from the pregnant one." Ginny scowled. This person had been her a lot lately.
"Right…" Harry thought for a moment. "They really have been fighting a lot haven't they?"
Ginny looked nervous. "Yes. And not the regular stuff either. They sometimes go days without talking. I mean…Hermione's an emotional wreck right now. More than usual. I think she always saw herself getting married before having a baby, and not the other way around.And even though they signed a hasty legal document stating that they're married, she really doesn't feel like she is a wife yet…"
"Yeah I know," Harry answered. "And Ron doesn't seem to realize that next time he pushes her too far by making her angry, she may not come back."
Ginny nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We should think of something we can do to help."
"Sure," Harry agreed, "maybe they can try marriage counseling for witches and wizards?"
Ginny nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. But we'll have to work hard to get them to try it."
They both agreed that Hermione and Ron were fighting too much, and that if the opportunity presented itself today, they would certainly let the struggling couple know about their idea.
Review!
Next chapter: The Brunch
And I need ideas for baby names! So if you would like to be in the story, review with your first and middle name, and I'll pick the most interesting one. (Boy or girl… it doesn't matter)
I almost forgot…I need another woman's name, and the marriage counselor's name…something wacky.
Thanks for reading!
