Title: Forever a Betty
Author: JaimeBlue
Fandom: Harry Potter-verse
Pairing: Ron/Hermione
Rating: G (I know, nearly unheard of for me!)
Summary: Hermione comes home from work with the news of an "utter travesty"
Notes: OMG, not only did I write het, but a popular pairing too! What has the world come to?! But After reading about a certain literary event, puzzle pieces started to fit, and I couldn't *not* write this. Enjoy!

"Hmph!" Hermione Granger-Weasley exclaimed as she came through the front door, only just paying attention to her surroundings as her eyes were glued to the folded newspaper in her hand.

Her husband, Ron Weasley, looked up from where he had been relaxing on the sofa, watching the Muggle telly to relax after a long day at work. He looked wary, as if he had heard that very tone of voice from his wife many times over, and was hesitant to find out what had brought it on this time. "How was work, 'Mione?" he asked, hoping it was the right question.

"Oh, the usual," she muttered distractedly as she dropped her purse off on a side table before walking over to the sofa. Ron automatically moved his legs to give her room to sit, watching as she did so without actually looking at anything but the paper in her hand.

Ron craned his neck to see the name of the paper, then immediately let out his own groan of frustration. "Bloody hell, I thought you were done with the London Times and had switched to the Guardian instead." Ron didn't care for Muggle papers himself, but he had learned at the very least to pay enough attention to which papers his wife preferred to read.

"Somebody left it at the tube station, and I had left my book at home," she replied. Suddenly, she slapped the paper down onto her lap, shaking her head in derision. "I can't believe it. It's an absolute travesty."

She didn't look distraught, and thus Ron rightly judged that this wasn't a matter worth serious comforting – which was a little disappointing as comforting Hermione often proved rather entertaining, especially with the children over at the Burrow for the evening. "What is it, dear?" he asked in cautious way of husbands everywhere.

She turned to look at him, a strange look on her face that he wasn't quite able to read just yet. "Archie is going to propose to Veronica!"

His lips parted several times to speak, shutting when he couldn't quite figure out what to say, until finally his vocal chords took control. "Um, 'Mione… who're Archie and Veronica?"

This time she gave him a fond smile, the one she often gave him when having to explain to him something in the Muggle world. "They're characters from a series of comic books I used to read growing up." She sighed and snuggled back into the cushions, obviously readying herself for a full explanation. "You see, they center around this American bloke named Archie, a ginger teenaged boy in school who's perpetually short on money…" At this, she looked Ron over more fully, and her smile became more considering. "Actually, he's a lot like you."

"Must be quite the smashing bloke, then," Ron replied with a prideful waggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh, most definitely," she appeased with a laugh. "And all through the stories, he's in a love triangle with two girls, seemingly unable to choose between them. The one blonde girl, Betty, is a sweet, kind, girl-next door type. The other, Veronica, is… well, imagine a sexier version of Pansy Parkinson."

Ron looked confused for several moments, then finally turned to his wife with a frown. "So you're telling me that the bloke who's like me, instead of picking the girl who's like you, took off to marry the bint like Parkinson?" His eyes widened in horror. "Merlin, the bloke must be daft! Doesn't he know what he's getting himself into? The horror!"

Hermione's grin grew brilliant as she leaned over to give him a congratulatory kiss on the lips. "It's all right, luv, it's just fiction." She lovingly traced a finger along his cheek. "Now, why don't we go upstairs and I'll congratulate you for having such excellent taste. We've a bit of time before we have to pick up Rose and Hugo from your mother's, don't we?"

The horror swiftly evaporated from Ron's expression as he practically leapt from the sofa, grabbing Hermione's hand as he moved.

He wasn't bout to waste a single moment of proving how the poor, ginger bloke got his happily ever after, after all.