Yule Ball
"Do you remember the Yule Ball Harry? I haven't thought about that night in years," Ginny reminisced. "Neville didn't want to stop dancing."
"Missing him, are you?" Ron asked and Ginny shot him a look. They all chuckled.
Ginny sat with her legs crossed in the corner of Hermione's living room sofa with James sitting in her lap. He had his head resting on her belly which had once again rounded out like a beach ball. Harry sat on the floor in front of his wife and son holding James's back so that he wouldn't fall backwards.
"No. I saw him with Hannah at the Leaky Cauldron on my way home from the Prophet. We sat for a drink. He's over at Hogwarts these days."
"Teaching Herbology," Hermione said from the kitchen.
Harry glanced at Ron. "Why is that our wives know so much about our friends and we know nothing?"
"Because your wives have nothing much to do but sit around and wait to pop," Hermione replied. She brought a tray of tea and used her own expanded midsection to balance the weight.
"The Yule Ball was disastrous, really," Harry told his wife. "Ron and I waited for the very last moment to ask for a date and we ended up with the Patil twins. We weren't very enthused. And they eventually were asked to dance by a couple gents from Durmstrang."
"Dolts you mean. And speaking of," Ron said, "how's the dolt that asked you to the ball? What was his name…?"
Ginny laughed. "Like he wasn't your idol until he showed interest in Hermione. Viktor Krum."
"And you know well enough I haven't written to him in years. You always got that screwed up blotchy look in your face when an owl came from him. Yes, that one right there," Hermione said pointing at her husband.
Ron covered his face with a cushion. "You know I never knew why you kept on with him anyways. You ended the night crying all over that dress of yours."
Ginny brought a hand to her mouth and looked at Hermione for her reaction.
"You'd just got done yelling at her for 'fraternizing with the enemy' Ron. You made her cry, not Krum," Harry said, shaking his head. "After all these years, you never realized that?"
Ron stared, dumfounded, into his tea cup.
After a few moments of ponderous thought he said very quietly, "So, back in fourth year…had you wanted me to ask you to the Yule Ball?"
Hermione glanced at Harry with undisguised and mocking disbelief. Harry who raised his eyebrows and grinned. He, Hermione, Ginny, and even James burst into laughter and Ron turned bright red.
"Now he gets it," Harry said, "after you've been wed and pregnant and all too, now you know."
"You knew?" Ron asked, coloring further.
Harry shrugged, "I sort of guessed at first. But then Hermione said she'd already been asked so I didn't say anything. After that yelling match though, in the Entrance Hall, I knew. First time I'd seen her cry like that."
"Bloody hell… I feel like a complete arse."
"You are a complete arse," Ginny said and she playfully held up James in front of her when Ron lifted a cushion to throw at her.
"It doesn't matter," Hermione said pulling the cushion from his hands and placing a kiss on top of his head. "Now you won't be able to get rid of me."