Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of these characters. That belongs to JKR, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, etc. This is just something to pass the time while waiting for the next book.
Chapter Ten : Worries
Fortunately for all concerned, Mr. Ron Weasley did not make an appearance at dinner. Hermione duly informed Harry about the sudden arrival of his best friend and his subsequent urge to wet his throat. Harry thanked her for telling him and later that evening, set out to find his wayward friend before he drowned in his sorrows. Harry wondered privately what could have set Ron off. He hoped that Ron did not really expect him to marry Miss Weasley. Miss Weasley was a sweet girl who would make someone a good wife, but she wasn't for Harry, despite the fact that Ron had always tried to get Harry to take interest in her. Harry had always resisted, knowing that he would not be able to love any witch like he loved Hermione.
It was not that hard to find Ron. Harry had simply mentioned his name to Dobby, and the little house elf was nodding his head, saying that he knew where Ron was. Dobby led Harry to the parlor where Ron was holed up in, but Harry thought he could have relied on his nose. The stench of liquor was that noticeable.
His eyes watered as he entered the room, and he had to squint to see. He saw that Ron had went through most of the bottles of wine and champagne in the room, and had recently begun on the brandy. "Hello, Ron," he said. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Ron glared at him. "Not long enough, eh, Potter?" he snarled. Harry was taken aback by his response. He had no idea what caused Ron to be in such a foul mood. "I bet you wish that I never darkened your doorstep," Ron said, taking a swig of brandy from the bottle.
"I think you have had too much to drink," said Harry, moving forward to take the bottle away from Ron. Ron pulled away from him, hugging the bottle to his chest with one arm with the other reaching for his wand. "There is no need for that," Harry said. "And I would not dare if I were you. I was always better at hexes than you."
"Bloody bastard, that's what you are," Ron cursed, but he stopped reaching for his wand. "So you must be proud of yourself."
"Whatever makes you say that?"
"You mean you're not? You mean you are ashamed of the way you acted?" Ron curled his lip. "Too little, too late, if you ask me."
"You are being purposefully vague here. What do I have to be ashamed of?" Harry asked.
"Stop with the act, Potter. I know you are still congratulating yourself over the way you stole my witch."
This time it was Harry who itched to hex the wizard in front of him. "What do you mean your witch?"
"You know bloody well that Hermione was in love with me . . . is in love with me. You knew when you left that I was going to come back for her, but you were too cowardly to tell her that. No, you just had to go and take her for yourself, not even giving me a word of warning."
"If I remember correctly, you were too pissed drunk and enamored of the blonde witch that was sitting in your lap at the time I left to pay attention to anyone else, much less Hermione. And you never, ever intimated to me that you even thought Hermione was pretty."
"That's a damn lie and you know it. I was off my rocker for her. Would have given the girl anything just for a single smile. But no, Harry Potter is a rotter, he doesn't play fair, he steals the girl out from under you."
"You knew that she was going to London for her Season. If you loved her so much, you ought to have come back then rather than seeing how many wenches you could lay in a week."
"Oh, hell no. Do not try to take that high road with me. You cannot pretend that you never had your head turned by one of those wenches."
"I never said that. But when I heard about Hermione going to London to look for a husband, I knew better than to sit and wait and hope that no other bloke would take her."
"None of them would have if it weren't for you!" Ron shouted. "She did not want to get married. Ginny told me. Said that it was tiring to listen to Hermione complain about being put out on the marriage market and all that rot. So I waited. But when I come back, what do I find? My best friend stabbing me in the back and taking my girl, the girl I always dreamed of."
"Bullocks! If you loved her, you should have come back to make sure that no one else asked her, to make sure no one swept her off her feet."
"Did I not tell you that no one would have if it weren't for you? She only accepted you because she had to. She could not have refused a noble like yourself." Ron grinned maliciously at his friend. "Face it, Potter. She did not want to marry you. She only did it because she had no choice. If I had been there, she would have never given you a second glance."
"You are quite out of her mind," Harry said quietly. "I hope you recover your senses by the morning. Good night." He walked out of the parlor, not quite sure with whom he was more disgusted with. Ron, for coveting another man's wife – or himself.
For after five years of marriage and two wonderful children, he felt a shred of doubt.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning found Ginny walking arm in arm with Hermione around the small park that surrounded Godric's Hollow. Breakfast had been a strained affair, with Ron alternating between glaring at Lord Potter and looking lovingly at Hermione. Ginny hoped desperately that her brother would demonstrate some sense while at the manor. She did not expect for that to happen, however, for her brother could be remarkably dense at times. Knowing how apt he was to misjudge female emotions, she was willing to bet that he would completely miss how much Hermione doted on her husband.
"You are unusually quiet today," Hermione said as they rounded a corner.
"I am? Perhaps it is because I am appreciating the scenery," Ginny replied. As luck would have it, she tripped over a rock in the path. Ginny started to plunge forward, and she knew it was going to be a bad tumble, but Hermione managed to pull her. Muttering her thanks, Ginny rubbed at her arm, where Hermione had gripped her. She was grateful to her friend, but it hurt. Though not as bad as a fall on her face would have.
"I can see that you have been enjoying the scenery," Hermione remarked. They started walking again, as she spoke. "You have been rather inattentive ever since we set out, and that was just the latest example of your behavior."
"I know. I cannot explain why, but I am not quite myself today."
"Is something worrying you?"
Ginny sighed. "Just my family." She did not want to go in to specifics about who in her family she was worried about. Ginny might have underestimated Ron (and she dearly hoped so) and if that was the case, it would not do to put him down in front of Hermione.
"I see. I suppose your brother must have told you something," Hermione said. She echoed Ginny's sigh. "Truth be told, I do wish I had some type of prior notice before your brother appeared. No, no, I am not upset at you or at him," she hastily said when she noticed Ginny getting ready to apologize. "I merely regret that we will have a very unbalanced table until I can find another female guest."
"We will?" Ginny's face wrinkled in puzzlement. "I count two ladies and two gentlemen . . . though I could understand why a person would not want to count my brother as a gentleman . . ."
"Ginny! What a thing to say! About your own brother, no less."
"That is precisely why I can say something like that. Because he is my own brother."
"Still you know you shouldn't."
"Hermione, you and I are far too good friends for us to mince words when speaking. It was hardly the epitome of politeness when my brother helped himself to your cellar as soon as he arrived."
"I must admit I was taken aback, but he seemed none the worse for wear this morning." Hermione shrugged. "I am not so hungry for gossip, however, that I would pry into a visitor's personal business."
"Hermione, you were never hungry for gossip. You were positively boring in that regard."
"So sorry to disappoint you. Was there someone you wanted to check up on?"
"No, not really." Ginny could not think of anyone she wanted to hear about. She was curious about what had happened to her year-mates, but knew that it might make her feel depressed all over again to learn that they had married while she had retired to spinsterhood.
"In that case, as I promised to warn you, the reason why our table will be unbalanced is because I invited an old friend of Harry's over for the next few weeks. You might remember him from Hogwarts."
"Is he a student from Gryffindor then?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, but from a long time ago, before any of us were born. You might better remember him as being a DADA professor for one year."
Ginny blanched. "Please do not tell me that you invited Gilderoy Lockhart here. And if he told you he was in Gryffindor, he must be lying. I think the only House that would not be up in arms to kick him out would be Hufflepuff."
"No, not Lockhart. I get enough teasing about that as it is, even though I was only twelve—"
"But what a smitten twelve you were. How long did you spend composing that—" A deadly glare from Hermione stopped Ginny in her tracks. It promised much pain in the near future if she continued with that thought aloud. "Fine then. Who did you invite?"
"Remus Lupin. You remember him, right? He was at the christening as well, standing in as James' grandfather."
"Yes, I do." Ginny had vague memories of a man, gray before his time, who she tended to ignore as he faded into the background. He did not socialize much at the christening, and Ginny had not been one to complain. Despite her knowing that the Wolfsbane Potion kept him from harming others whenever he transformed, she remained wary of him and any other werewolf, as she had been warned to stay far away from them ever since she was a little girl. Intellectually, she felt pity for them and hoped their conditions would improve, but she could not help but fear them. Ginny supposed it was different for Hermione and her husband as they had not been raised to despise werewolves.
"Do you mind?" Hermione asked. "I can assure you that he will be supplied with Wolfsbane Potion when he needs it, even if I have to brew it myself."
"I would expect you to be looking forward to brewing it yourself. Why you actually like Potions, I will never understand." Ginny shuddered. Seven years of having to deal with Snape were seven years too many. To be fair, she doubted that she would have liked the subject anyway, with the intense amount of preparation and fine attention to detail that it required. However, Snape had made the ordeal that was Potions even more tortuous.
"I find the subject fascinating. Though I admit, our professor was horrible for taking the joy out of potion brewing—"
"The joy out of potion brewing? Hermione, have you gone mad?" Ginny asked.
"I have to agree with my sister. That does sound stark, raving mad," said a male voice. Ron Weasley stepped forward quickly, catching up with the two woman. "Good morning, Ginny, Hermione." Before she could step back, he pressed forward to grab Hermione's gloved hand and plant a kiss on it. He smiled up at Hermione, ignoring his sister all the while.
"Good morning, Mr. Weasley," said Hermione. Ginny merely nodded her response, silently cursing her brother's dullness. She could see that Hermione was not pleased with how forward he was with her and the way he assumed that he could call her by her first name.
"Oh, Ron is fine. We are practically family, you know," her brother blithered on.
"If you say so, Mr. Weasley," was Hermione's stiff reply. Ron pressed forward to take Hermione's arm, but she quickly dropped Ginny's hand to move to the other side of her friend. That left Ron with no choice but to walk beside Ginny.
"So how are you two fine ladies this morning?" Ron asked, peering around Ginny to stare at Hermione.
"Tolerable."
"We are both fine. I am surprised that you are out and about so early," said Ginny.
"Early? Why it is nearly noon!"
"It is?" Hermione asked. She looked surprised to hear the time. "I must be going. I meant to see James and Alex before this. If you will excuse me . . ." She began marching back towards the manor.
"Here! Let me accompany you," said Ron. Ginny wondered if she ought to use a full body-bind on him. That might be preferable to letting him continue on annoying Hermione and winding up with any number of unorthodox and unpleasant hexes that she might throw his way.
"Thank you for the offer, sir, but there is no need. I expect Harry will be along to see them as well. We like to spend a bit of time alone as a family." Ron only grimaced at Hermione's words and continued to approach her, intent on escorting her back to the house. Hermione quickly pulled out her wand, and with a swish and a flick, she was gone.
Ginny let out the breath she had been holding. She had been certain that Hermione was going to do something to her brother for being so familiar. She wondered briefly how Hermione managed to Apparate given the wards around the manor, but then noticed a trail of footprints leading on the path in front of them. Ginny smiled to herself. Hermione must have turned herself invisible to avoid dealing with her brother. When Ginny felt that Hermione was far enough away, she turned to berate Ron, who was muttering under his breath.
"What was that all about?" she asked sharply.
"What was what all about?" was his reply.
"You know what I am speaking about. You practically drove Hermione away, acting that way."
"I do not see anything wrong in the way I acted. I was merely trying to be friendly with my sister's best friend." Ron sulked. "I thought you would appreciate that."
"From the looks of it, you were being a bit more than friendly. I did tell you about her marriage, did I not?"
"Yes, you did, and it should have never happened," he said.
"Ron, you are both dull and blind. Have you not noticed how happy she is?"
"Is she really happy?" he replied. "Or has she merely convinced herself that she is happy being tied down to a man she barely knows at such a young age, because she was left with no choice?"
"I cannot believe this. You have clearly lost your mind." Ginny paced away from Ron. "I do not know when you started to fancy her—"
"I never said I did!"
"Your actions speak more loudly than your words ever could, brother dear. I must point out that out of all the males at Hogwarts, she knew Lord Potter best and doubtlessly, she knows him even better now after being married to him for years."
"I suppose so but—"
"And it reflects poorly on your character for you to behave like this! So please, stop this—"
"You can only suggest that because you have never been in love," Ron said accusingly. "If you had . . . you would know how I feel. And I never had a chance with her, because of him." His voice dripped with scorn. "If he had let me know that he planned to . . . if I had a chance to court her, to give her an alternative . . . but no, he was too afraid to do that because he knew she would chose me. He was not sporting enough to give me a chance, best friend though I was. So I will take my chance instead. Now that I am here, I will take my chance to woo her and prove to that bastard that she always was mine."
Ginny slapped him across the face. "You have lost all sense of honor," she told him. "I hope you come to your senses before you embarrass the family completely." She walked away, not wanting to deal with him any further at the moment. When she got back to her room, she locked herself in and started thinking of how she could foil her brother's foolish plans, without letting either of her hosts know about them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Are you excited? To see Remus again?" Hermione asked as Harry crawled into their bed.
"Yes, dear," he answered absently. Hermione bit her lip, wondering what was wrong. Whenever they had spoken of his parents' friend coming to visit them previously, he could hardly say enough on the topic. Hermione had been rather proud that she had thought of inviting him, both for the joy it gave Harry and the chance it gave her to set Ginny up.
There would be a certain symmetry if James's godmother was married to his godfather. If Ginny had visited her sooner, Hermione was certain that she would have had children of her own by now. Trying to seeing if she could engage her husband more in her plans, she continued, "Our dinner table will be unbalanced, I fear. Can you think of any other witch that we might invite?" she asked. "Maybe one that Mr. Weasley might be interested in seeing." If anything Harry seemed to sink deeper into his depression at her question. He didn't answer her, but stared off at the wall, as if deeply troubled. Hermione sighed. She hated to see him like this. "Love, whatever is bothering you?" she asked. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I . . . it is nothing, Hermione," he said quietly.
"It does not look like it is nothing from the way you have been acting. You have seem positively disheartened all day." She paused, not sure if she should continue with her thoughts as it might be a touchy subject with him. "Are you upset with me? For ignoring Mr. Weasley so?"
"Upset with you? No, not that, love." He turned to face her, his arm encircling her out of habit. "You've done nothing wrong." Here, Harry looked away from her and towards the covers. "Though you do not have to ignore Ron, if you do not want to."
Hermione quivered, wondering if she should tell him what she thought of his best friend. "I find his manners too forward for my taste.," was what she settled on saying. When he did not reply, by word or deed, she pressed on. "In fact, I found myself close to hexing him at time. He . . . I wish he would leave me some space. I fear I do not like him." Harry did not respond, making Hermione wonder if she had angered him. "I shall try to like him though . . . for your sake and Ginny's."
"You need not try to like him for my sake," he said bitterly, his eyes meeting hers finally. "Indeed, if I had my way, you would never go near him."
"Harry," she started. She leaned forward to kiss him gently. "Is there something you are keeping from me?"
"What makes you—"
"Please, love, I want to know. If it is affecting you this much . . . I want to know, so maybe I can help you."
"And what if it simply makes you furious with me?" Harry tore his gaze away and bit his lip, fretting al the while. Hermione laughed, partly from his question but mostly at the proof that they were beginning to pick up on each other's habits. He did not used to do that before. Startled, Harry began to pout. "I do not think what I said was all that amusing."
"Oh, but it is. Yet what is even funnier"—she leaned forward so their noses were touching—"is that you were biting your lip, just like I do when I'm worried. It was"—and at those words she kissed him, then settled back to look into his eyes—"adorable. I love you so much."
"And I you," he said, returning the kiss. She sighed happily, but he did not join her. "I do not think you are taking seriously the possibility that—"
"That whatever is troubling you so will rouse in me a fast and furious tempest directed at you?" She quirked an eyebrow at him. "It might. But you know as well as I do that it is ever so much fun to make up."
"Is it?" Harry grinned, his first real grin of the entire day. "I thought that making up landed you in your present condition."
"It did. Isn't that lovely?" She beamed at him.
"I have this recollection of you swearing something to the tune of never again when it comes to having more children."
"You cannot credit what a witch might say during labor, love. I was never snippy during my pregnancies."
"Not counting—" Hermione pounded his arm, knowing what he was going to say next. "Fine, fine. I shan't count anything you said during labor. Though I thought that still counted as part of your pregnancy."
"It does, and yet it doesn't." Hermione shrugged. "That has always been painful, and I doubt there will ever be a way to prevent that. And that is all I wish to speak of on that subject. You, sir, are trying to get away from our original topic. What is bothering you, Harry? Trust me please."
"I do. And I should trust you more." He took a deep breath and gathered his courage to tell her. "I never did tell you why I came to London back then, did I?" She nodded her head no. "Well, I did not want to say it at the time, as I thought it would sound presumptuous, but I came back to marry you. After I heard about you going to London to find a husband . . . I could not stand the thought of you marrying someone else, so I came back right away to see if you would have me." He smiled sadly. "And you did."
"Harry." Impulsively, she hugged him. "How could I be upset at that? I . . . I love you. It makes me happy to hear how much you love me. I am not mad, and I wonder why you think I would be."
"I'm not finished yet," he told her. "I did not tell anyone why I was leaving because I did not want anyone to know in case you refused me. I suppose, in retrospect, I should have . . . but I cannot do anything about that now." Hermione waited patiently as he stopped to collect his thoughts. "It . . . it seems that by doing so, I left you with no choice but to marry me . . ."
"Stop right there, Harry. I had a choice. I could have said no."
"But you wouldn't, would you? Because of the difference in our stations . . . and you always been so mindful of . . ."
"That is enough, Harry Potter," Hermione said, feeling miffed that he would assume that she would marry anyone who asked her. "Since when have I bowed to the pressures of society? If I did, I would have been on the marriage market as soon as I left Hogwarts, and you know it. I said yes back then because I love you. My head did not know it, but I think my heart always did. That I love you so much that . . . sometimes it gets hard to breathe, feeling the way I do about you." She trembled, not sure of what she could say to impress upon him the depths of her love.
"That was stupid of me, wasn't it?" he asked softly, speaking to himself. He raised his head to look at her. "I almost hate myself for being so stupid, for doubting you, for . . ."
Hermione pressed a finger to his lips, stopping his self-incriminations. "I understand. You do not doubt me per se, but you love me so much that you find it hard to believe at times that I feel the same way." She smiled sadly at him. "It is the same with me at times. It usually does not last that long, because you are always there to remind me that you do."
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too." Their lips met, and he pulled her against him. She snuggled into his side, happy to be so close to him.
"I should tell you what brought this on. So you know. I had a talk with Ron earlier"—Hermione stiffened as she knew that talk could not have been good—"and he accused me of never giving you a choice between suitors. I think if I had told him where I was going and why, he would have come back as well . . . but as my rival." His confession finished, he shuddered from the weight of it being lifted from his shoulders.
"I am glad you did not. The way it happened was much more straightforward and happier for all those concerned, I think," Hermione said softly.
"I do not think Ron would agree."
"I was speaking of ourselves, as I do believe we are the principal parties in our marriage." She smiled roguishly, thinking that changing the subject might make him feel better. "Or is there something else you have not told me, Harry? Maybe I should have read those marriage documents when you offered."
Harry broke out into laughter, which filled the room. "There is nothing else, my love. I do not know how I would get on without you."
"Very badly, I am sure," she told him, smiling all the while.
Inwardly, she worried how she would survive being in close quarters with
Mr. Weasley for however long he decided to stay. She could not simply
kick him out, as whatever his faults were, he was Harry's friend and Ginny's
brother. Hermione resolved to not be found alone by him at all costs.
She knew that so long as she was inside the House Elfs would aid her, no
matter how much they disagreed with her policies. Their loyalty was
unquestionable. Unlike that of a jealous friend, as her husband was
unfortunate enough to find out.
Author's note: Another early update to make up for the
latest of the last one. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and would
love to hear what you thought. Finally, I would like to thank ears91,
riddikulus_leigh, lynn joe, Quis, malu (Draco
showing up will probably cause Ron to offer a temporary truce), Tracy3,
mutsumi (actually, she's still waiting), jenbachand (not
with the way they're going -- and they're still young!), Bladefanatic
(see chapter twelve), Izabel, harrys_girl5, Cinderelly,
Blue_Rain1, Jabba1 (he was a bit occupied at the time and
was ignoring his owls, assuming they'd be from his mum telling him not
to do what he was doing), Leah6, Rachel A. Prongs (*cough*
you'll see that later), Sarmi, Amynoelle (you probably will
wind up wanting to hurt him after what he does to Luna), Pretto
(thanks!), Mistress Desdemona, Lil-frankie14, danielerin
(I don't think mischeivous is a word Hermione would use for being too mild),
piper-h-99, Rita Skeeter (plenty of angst in this one, but
I shan't say on for who), Anarane Anwamane, PoTtErSPaYnE,
Sheilalein (are you suggesting I hook up Ron with Draco? ^_~), and
mdemanatee for taking the time to leave reviews. ^_^
I really enjoyed reading them. As for everyone asking about when
Draco is going to appear -- later.