A/N: Hello, and welcome to chapter 10! Firstly, I'd like to respond to a couple anonymous reviews:
-Vinyalonde: I rather like my head. However, were I Nearly-Headless Nick, my sinew would be extremely thin by the end of this chapter.
-Silver D: Thanks for the praise; it really inspires me to write. And I'm glad you like this fic so far. It was difficult to continue this story after chapter 8, but I took a long break and decided to press on. I am in danger of over-thinking this chapter and the next, though, what with all the dialogue. I trust you to let me know if I have. :)
...
And now, on to business! Last we met, Ron had just wandered in on a "questionable" situation at Ginny's house. What could possibly go wrong?
Enjoy, and I'll see you at the bottom.
(I do not own.)
-Hermione-
"What in Merlin's name is going on here?"
I had no idea that a person could actually feel their skin paling.
I mean, I knew that one could feel a flush. It felt like a rush of heat just under the surface of my cheeks in my experience. But paling... It was another feeling entirely. Like I'd just walked through a ghost.
Unfortunately, that was not the reason that I felt like my skin was rapidly cooling.
No, this was a completely different situation.
Ron Weasley, the man I had refused to marry and had not seen or talked to for almost six months, was standing in his sister's kitchen, gaping at my robe-clad form. His sister, who just happened to only be wearing a t-shirt and underwear, was shielded from view by my body. I believe I was too late in stepping in front of her for Ron not to notice her state of undress.
Oh, and the kicker of the whole situation... Ron's scantily-clothed sister just happened to be my girlfriend. And we just happened to have decided not to tell any of Ginny's family about our relationship in order to spare Ron's feelings.
I swallowed the gigantic lump in my throat as we all stood frozen, staring at each other.
For possibly the first time ever, Ginny did not seem to have a quick response to a question. I cut my gaze to her quickly, only to see that her cheeks and ears almost completely matched her hair in color. That one sign told me that I would probably have the lead for this issue.
"Ron," I started, breaking my tense stance to set my goblet of on the counter and shake some of Ginny's pumpkin juice off of my hand. Ron and Ginny still hadn't moved. I took a breath to try to explain when Ginny suddenly snapped back to reality. She placed her hand on my upper arm and gently pushed me to the side, taking a small step toward Ron and squaring her shoulders.
"I don't see how that's any of your business," Ginny said sternly, Weasley-blush still firmly in place. Ron's eyes widened further, which I hardly thought possible at that point.
"None of my business?" Ron griped. "You're naked in the kitchen with my... Friend."
Ah, I thought. Just as I feared.
There was a reason that I hadn't spoken with Ron since our awful breakup. It was a fact that it was easier to get over problems when you weren't presented with them regularly; Ron already had a hard enough time getting over things on his own without seeing me almost daily.
"I am not naked," Ginny fired off, her blush deepening. "I am wearing clothes."
"Not enough of them!"
"What does it matter how many clothes I wear in my own house? And who are you to Apparate in here without owling first?" Ginny tactfully changed the subject, hoping to distract Ron from our clothing situation. She was a woman after my own heart.
"You didn't seem to mind much any other time I've popped in!"
"Well, I didn't have a girlfriend then!" Ginny winced as soon as she realized what she had said. She had artfully steered the conversation from one touchy subject to another in only three sentences.
I sighed and closed my eyes, knowing full well what would be next.
"You've had plenty of girlfriends before and- GIRLFRIEND?"
There it was.
I opened my eyes to see Ron's eyes as large as saucers, practically bugging out of his skull. With a glance to Ginny, I saw her in a similar predicament.
And then Ron turned to me.
"What does she mean, 'girlfriend'?" he demanded. I swallowed the new lump that had suddenly formed in my throat.
"Well-" I sputtered.
"And when were you going to tell me?"
"Ron, we only-"
"Am I the only one who doesn't know?"
Ron took a step toward me, looking much too angry for me to be comfortable having in my personal space. Ginny noticed and quickly stepped in front of me.
"No. We haven't told anyone except Harry," Ginny stated in a calm voice. I immediately saw the hurt flash through Ron's eyes.
"You'll tell Harry, but you won't tell me," he muttered dejectedly, glancing at me and then dropping his gaze to the floor. "That's not even..."
"Ron, you have to understand," I started, moving Ginny over a step to reassure Ron. "We didn't tell anyone so that you would have plenty of time to come to terms with how you and I left off."
"'Come to terms?!'" he seethed. "Come to terms with how you left me for my sister?"
"I did not leave you for your sister!" I cried, refusing to meet Ginny's eyes and be caught in my half-truth. But I knew she was giving me a look.
"Bollocks!" Ron ran his hands through his hair and turned around stiffly. Once his hands dropped from his head, silence filled the room.
I glanced at Ginny. She was looking at me with an odd expression. I sighed.
"Ron-"
"You know what?" he muttered, holding up a hand to silence me. "I'll just go. See you at the Burrow."
Without another word, Ron turned on the spot. Just before he disappeared with the standard pop, I caught sight of his facial expression.
I felt my skin pale for the second time.
The kitchen was silent as I waited for any kind of reaction from Ginny. She opened her mouth to speak, though no words came out.
"What?" I asked, the shock of Ron's visit still fresh.
"That was not awkward at all," Ginny muttered finally, sighing out a humorless laugh.
"No... But I think we should get dressed. He looked ready to ransack villages or something."
This time Ginny's giggle was genuine. We turned and started up the stairs to Ginny's bedroom.
"You're probably right. It's kind of weird that he decided to turn up on this particular day. He hasn't been to my house since Boxing Day," she revealed, pulling her shirt over her head on the way to her closet.
"He probably found out I was home today and wanted to get some information from you, I suppose." I collected my clothes from the floor and pulled them on, tossing Ginny's robe onto the bed.
"My mum never could contain her excitement when one of us came home," Ginny muttered, returning from her closet fully dressed. She sat on the bed to pull on her sneakers. "I swear, that is where he gets his flair for gossip from..."
I hummed in agreement. In our Hogwarts days, Ron always seemed to know something about someone and wasn't always shy about letting others know. He truly did love gossip almost as much as his mother.
My brow furrowed and I froze in the middle of running my fingers through my particularly bushy hair as a terrible thought occurred to me.
"Ginny." She looked up at my flat tone of voice, confusion marring her features.
"Who do you think Ron Apparated to?" I asked cautiously, pulling my hand from my head slowly. I watched her expression as she worked it out. Finally, understanding dawned on her face and she stood quickly.
"You don't think-"
"I do."
Ginny's eyes widened.
"Fuck."
o-o-o-o
"And I told them that it was the newt's eye!"
Raucous laughter sounded from the den as I opened the back door of the Burrow and entered the kitchen. Ginny followed me, shutting the door behind us. Before I could make another move, I was pulled into a tight hug.
"Oh, girls, you're here! Good, good."
Molly Weasley released me from her arms and moved on to her daughter. I met Ginny's eyes, watching the relief pass through them. If the greeting was any indication, it appeared that our secret was still safe. The real test would be seeing how long the safety would last.
"Welcome back, Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley said, letting go of Ginny and moving back to the stove. "Oh, I can't wait to hear about your trip. I'll bet you met plenty of interesting people."
"Oh, definitely," I replied confidently, gesturing toward the den while Mrs. Weasley's back was turned. Ginny got the message and left the kitchen in search of her brother.
"Do you need any help with anything?"
Mrs. Weasley turned around and lifted an eyebrow at me.
"This is your party and you're asking if you can help me with anything?"
I shrugged. Mrs. Weasley shooed me off with a good-natured scowl and I made my way into the den.
"There she is!" George yelled, immediately wrapping an arm around my shoulders and dragging me into the middle of the group of Weasleys. Bill laughed at George's antics while he ruffled my hair.
"Good to see you, Hermione," Percy said, reaching out to shake my hand.
"Likewise." We shook firmly before I glanced around the room. There was no sign of Ron.
Then again, how would I be able to tell in the sea of ginger that I was stuck in?
"How was the trip?" Bill asked.
"It was wonderful!" I spotted Ginny coming from the staircase. She caught my eye and shook her head. I turned back to Bill. "You haven't seen Ron, have you?"
"No, he hasn't shown yet. He'll probably arrive just in time for the food." Bill laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. I smiled at him.
"Oy, Harry!"
Ginny made it to my side just as Harry and his new "girl of the month" were engulfed in the Weasley sea. The booming laughter almost drowned out Ginny's voice as she caught my attention.
"Did we go to school with this one?" she asked, arching her eyebrow at the vaguely familiar brunette woman on Harry's arm.
"You would think we would remember these girls if we had."
"Gin," Harry said as he finally made it over to us and pulled Ginny into a quick hug. "And Hermione! Welcome back!"
I laughed as Harry embraced me tightly. He seemed extremely happy about something and I didn't think it was my return; I had only been gone for a month, after all.
"Hey, Harry. Who's this?" I asked cheerfully.
"All in due time, I promise."
With a smirk, Harry and his mystery girl moved along toward the kitchen where Mr. Weasley was getting some drinks together.
"Harry!" he exclaimed, clapping the man on the back jovially. "Good to see you!"
"Has anyone seen Ron?" Mrs. Weasley called from the doorway to the kitchen.
"I'm here!"
Ginny and I turned to the fireplace to see a soot-covered Ron coughing as he righted his balance. Bill chuckled and I couldn't help but smile, though my stomach immediately knotted anxiously.
"Wonderful! Dinner's ready!"
o-o-o-o
"Stop hogging all the bread," Geroge snarled, pulling the tray from Ron. I glanced to Ginny again.
So far, dinner had been peaceful. We had no idea where Ron had gone before he arrived at the Burrow, but he seemed normal. Except for the wary glances he shot our way, it was like nothing had changed. He was chatting with his family and eating as he usually did.
For some reason, the normality of the situation made me much more nervous.
"I thought we'd grown past the part where we fought over food," Mr. Weasley scolded, snatching the tray of bread from George and setting it on the other side of the table.
"But dad, he was-"
"No buts. We're all adults here."
"I don't know about that, dad," Bill scoffed, triggering a few chuckles from around the table.
I looked across to Harry and his silent date.
"So, Harry, how've you been the last month?" I asked, trying to shake the anxiety that had settled in my stomach.
"I've been alright. I worked a bit on that goblin regulation you sent me, but otherwise, nothing really interesting happened."
I nodded along as Ginny placed a hand on my upper arm. As I turned to find out what she wanted, she squeezed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ron raise his hands to quiet the table.
"Speaking of interesting things," he began, his words slurring slightly, "I think Hermione and Ginny have something they'd like to tell everyone."
The entire family was silent as they all turned to stare at us. I could feel the heat radiating from Ginny's flushed face and my mouth dropped open in surprise.
"Ah... We... What?" Ginny sputtered beside me, her hand attempting to practically sever my upper arm from the rest of my body.
"Actually..."
My head turned so fast that I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I ignored it, however, and focused my attention on the speaker.
"I think I have something I'd like to announce first," Harry stated, taking his seemingly-mute date by the hand and standing.
He caught my eyes for a brief second and I could see the panic in them. He was trying to stall and pull attention from Ginny and I to himself. I was wondering what he was going to try to do.
As I glanced around the table, I saw that he had been successful in diverting everyone's attention. However, Molly Weasley was still staring straight through me.
"I've been kind of secretive about my personal life lately, as you all know," Harry began, fidgeting slightly. "And I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know before you hear it from anywhere else."
He paused, glancing at his girlfriend. She smiled encouragingly at him and he took a deep breath.
"I'd like for you all to meet my fiance," he said proudly, albeit nervously.
"Luna Lovegood."
A/N: Please let me keep my head.
Next chapter: Luna alliterates and Harry's diversion causes more problems with his best friend.
Until next time...