DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Weasley siblings, goals, halloween parties, firewhiskey or snogging.
Six Goals in One Weasley Year.
Blurb …
The Weasley siblings are nobodies, two years after the war. A drunken New Years realises their dreams: to become rich, famous, married to have a baby, to get that top job and to find true love. Too bad they've only got a year … :RHr HG and others AU AU AU:
AU: This story takes palce in an alternate universe where Ron never met Harry and Hermione on the first day of Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione became best friends and were the ones who went off and saved the world while Ron was the unknown redhead who sat at the back of every class with Seamus and Dean and to a lesser extent, Nevile. This story takes place during the year of 2000.
Chapter 10: There's a Halloween Party
October
"Bye, Bill!"
"See you, bro!"
"Do you have to go to Egypt again so soon?" Mrs Weasley cried, launching herself at her eldest son. Bill staggered a bit from the force of his mother's hug, but managed to stay upright.
"I haven't been to Egypt since before the war ended!" He said. "Believe it or not, but I'm actually excited to be going back. Though I will miss you, Mum." He added hastily at the look on Mrs Weasley's face.
They had all gathered to see off Bill as he went back to Egypt; all nine of them packed together in the main hall of the Portkey office at the Ministry. International portkeys were scheduled to arrive and depart from this point and while generally, family members came to see people off, Ron didn't think that the Portkey officers had quite seen a turn out like the Weasley family.
"Ok … Mum … I have to go now …" Bill gasped, but still Mrs Weasley squeezed him. Eventually, Mr Weasley managed to pry his wife off his eldest son. "Thank Merlin, I thought I was going to stop breathing! Thanks Dad."
"Have fun in Egypt, Bill." Mr Weasley gave him a tight (though maybe not a Mrs Weasley-tight) hug.
All of the brothers got their manly claps on the back in and then Bill turned to Ginny, who stood next to Fleur.
"See you, my little sister!" He said, hugging her. "And goodbye my unborn child!" He added to her stomach. Ginny just rolled her eyes as Fleur laughed.
"I'll make sure zat she does not 'ave eet before you get back." She said.
"I'll be back way before May, I'm sure of it," Bill said to them all. "Definitely back in time for New Years, at least."
"Er, Bill Weasley?" One of the Portkey officers asked their group at large. About four other witches and wizards were crowded around a bucket. "Ten o'clock to Cairo, Egypt is about to leave."
They all burst into another round of saying good bye and then Bill wrapped his arms around his wife, lifting her off the ground. They all looked away pointedly at this and Ron wondered if he could ever imagine himself doing that with Lavender.
He knew that if he left it up to his siblings, they'd shove Lavender in the direction of the Portkey and make sure she was long gone before going out and celebrating.
Eventually Fleur managed to peel herself away from her husband and Bill approached the Portkey. They all waved and yelled "Good bye!" and "Love you, mate!" and within a few short moments, there was a flash of blue and Bill was gone.
"And then there were six …" George said.
"Back to work I suppose," Charlie said, stretching as they all traipsed out of the Portkey Office, the workers seeming to be very thankful that they had left. "Though I'm not sure how safe that's going to be …"
"What, have the dragons caused a riot or something?" Ron asked as Ginny snorted with laughter. Charlie only threw him a dirty look.
"No." Was all he said. They all frowned, but didn't press the matter. Charlie had always been more closed off than the rest of his siblings. While generally, there were no secrets within the Weasley family, Charlie did do a pretty good job at keeping them.
"Well, I also have to get to work," Mr Weasley said. "I hope I can trust you lot to behave yourselves while leaving the Ministry?"
There came various, "Yes, Dad"s and Mrs Weasley rolled her eyes.
"I'll keep them in line, Arthur," She said, eyeing George as if he was suddenly going to do something wrong. George looked affronted, but had a gleam in his eye which made Ron worry. "If they don't behave, they don't get tea on Sunday."
"Mum, seriously?" George asked. "We're not five anymore!"
Mrs Weasley gave him a look. "Well, don't act five and then we'll see." Mr Weasley chuckled and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek before leaving them near the lifts. George had settled into a stony silence.
How their mother managed to do that, Ron would never know.
Approaching the lifts, Percy noted he was glad that they were going down, not up like Mr Weasley. "I don't think Peters would ever let me live it down," He complained. "Fired! And now I'm a waiter. It's almost painful to even be here! "
"We know, Perce, that's only the billionth time you've told us," Charlie put in. "But I thought you liked working with Audrey?" Percy just huffed. None of them had voiced it out loud, but Ron knew that ever since Percy got fired, they had all thought the same thing: one goal not achieved.
On the seventh floor, they encountered Dean and Seamus coming from their offices in the Department for Magical Games and Sports. The two joined Ron, his mother and his siblings on the lift. "Hey Ron! Ginny!" Dean said.
"And everyone else." Seamus added, nodding to the rest of the Weasley's.
"How're you, mate?" Dean asked Ron. The two hadn't properly talked since their Hogwarts days, up until Ron had started coming along to the Wizards Night Out's. The same had gone for Ginny, though there was the added factor of the fact that Dean and Ginny had gone out once during Ron's Sixth Year. That made it slightly more awkward during their nights out at the Leaky Cauldron, but luckily Dean and Ginny had become fast friends again. Ron had to be thankful that Harry wasn't the jealous type (or so he hoped).
"Oh er, not bad," Ron said. "Hermione's still not talking to me, but when is she?"
Dean snorted. "I swear that girl keeps you on your feet," He said. He glanced around at the rest of the Weasley's. "Merlin, I feel like I haven't talked to you lot in ages!"
"That's because we haven't, mate," Seamus said. "It has been ages since our last Wizards Night Out. You're all coming to our Halloween party at the end of the month, right?"
Mrs Weasley rolled her eyes at her children's enthusiasm for the party. "If it is anything like the parties we had in my day, then I don't want any of you going." She said, mainly to herself. George put an arm around her.
"But Mum, where's the fun in that?"
"Halloween party sounds pretty fun." Charlie said, nodding.
Ginny hesitated. "I dunno, Dean, Seamus," She said. "You might not have heard, but I'm-"
"Pregnant, yeah we heard all right!" Seamus said, laughing. "I don't think there's one person in the Wizarding World who doesn't know, thanks to that article they wrote in the Prophet."
"And I was worried that people would make a big fuss over it," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "Well, since I can't drink, I'd just be sitting and watching everyone else get entirely shit-faced."
"Oh nah, Ginny," Dean said, enthusiastically. "We're going to make it a real good time! We've talked to Hannah and we're booking out the Leaky Cauldron for the night! It'll sort of be like a themed Wizards Night Out, only there'll also be music, dancing, a prize for the best costume, that sort of thing. Plus we need someone to make sure that Ron doesn't hit the Firewhiskey too hard again …"
"Oi!" Ron put in as Mrs Weasley just shook her head, but Ginny laughed.
"All right then, I'll come." She agreed.
"So will I." Ron said, despite Dean's jest.
"Eet sounds like eet would be very fun!" Fleur said, wishfully. Dean and Seamus only had to glance at Ron's beautiful sister-in-law to immediately say,
"Oh, but of course you can come too!" Seamus looked at Charlie, Percy and George. "All of you can! The more the merrier."
"This means we have to dress up, right?" Percy asked, sighing.
"Definitely," Dean said. "No costume, no getting in."
Percy still looked disgruntled, but he soon brightened up slightly when he asked, "Can we bring girlfriends along?" and the siblings all groaned at the thought of Percy and Audrey being together all night at the party. Ever since getting together, they hadn't let each other out of their sight. It was very amusing in some ways, since it was a high-sight different to the usual Percy. But then at other times, the two became sickening to watch.
"Or mates of ours?" George asked and Charlie agreed. "You two remember Angelina Johnson, right?"
"Oh yeah, you can bring them sure!" Seamus said, waving a hand dismissively. It was then that he seemed to notice that Mrs Weasley was also in the lift. "Oh – er, sorry Mrs Weasley, I hope you don't think that we're corrupting your children …"
Mrs Weasley just shook her head. "My children were long gone, years ago."
"Do your brothers and sister know about all this?" Mila asked Charlie as they sat together in the Reservation's dinning hall.
"About what? That I'm up shit creek without a paddle?" Charlie said, bitterly.
Mila sighed. "This is stupid!" She said, throwing her sandwich down on the table. "You didn't know she was your boss! I didn't know, either! None of us did, or we never would have made you talk to her."
"Yeah, that's the last time I ever let you talk me into something."
"Is this in reference to the 'Christine Pilditch' scenario?" Came Noah's voice and their friend sat down with them.
"Unfortunately." Charlie grumbled.
Noah nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that, mate. Liam and I were asking around and everyone reckons you're sleeping your way to the top."
"What?" Charlie yelped as Mila's mouth opened in shock.
"Yeah, I told them it couldn't be true, but they won't hear a word of it!" Noah said, eyebrows narrowed in concern.
"Shit …" Charlie muttered to the table.
"They won't say anything, of course," Noah added, taking a bite of his lunch, half-heartedly. "None of them know for sure, they're just rumours going around. No one wants to be the one to confront you, so …"
"So we're ok for now." Mila said, relieved.
"Not exactly," Charlie put in. "You're forgetting that I'm the one here who no one will talk to because they all think I'm sleeping with the boss to get ahead!" Mila and Noah exchanged looks. "This isn't affecting you lot, you have nothing to worry about …"
Mila rolled her eyes. "Charlie, this is my fault," She said. "I'm the one who helped you get off with her in the first place. I'm the one who encouraged you to talk to her. I keep trying to make things better like a wingwoman should, but …"
"… But things have turned to shit." Noah finished.
Charlie looked between the two. He didn't really want to blame Mila; she was one of the few people still on his side. Ever since Pilditch had joined their Reservation last month, rumours had cropped up about her and Charlie. Actually, he had a feeling that they might have started with her. Everyone was thinking it, but no one would come out and say it to his face. They all preferred to whisper about it while in between wrestling dragons. Mila and Amy had reported that even the healers had heard about it and Charlie had found himself spending more and more time volunteering to look after the ill dragons with the friendly Sick Bay attendant, Cornel (who thankfully refused to listen to the gossip and knew nothing about the entire scenario).
"This is getting ridiculous," Mila said. "We need to, I dunno, stamp down hard on this now, before it gets even more out of hand."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Charlie asked her.
"Well, obviously you have to talk to her." Mila said. Charlie nearly choked on his sandwich.
"Y-you're kidding r-right?" He gasped.
"She's right, mate," Noah said. "Talking about it is probably the best thing in the long run. I know Layla hates it when I don't talk to her about shit and stuff."
"But that's your wife, it's a completely different scenario!" Charlie said.
Noah waved a dismissive hand. "Witches are all the same, Charlie," He said. "They like to talk about stuff – communicate, you know? Especially in situations like this. I accidentally broke Layla's favourite necklace once and refused to tell her what I had done. Turns out that she knew anyway and made me sleep outside until I confessed."
Mila snorted. "I want to meet this wife of yours, she sounds like a hard-arse. Not like Charlie over here …" She added, giving him a look. Charlie rolled his eyes.
"Look, I'm pretty sure that talking to her about it will only make it worse." He said.
"Hey!" Came a voice and the three turned to see Amy walking towards them with her own lunch. "Charlie, if you get hurt today I'm pretty sure that you'll be worse off if you go to the hospital. The other healers are pretty pissed off at you."
"What? Why?" Charlie asked, irritably as Amy sat down next to Noah.
"On the count of you getting special treatment apparently," Amy said, shrugging. "Since you're 'going out' with Pilditch," She made an emphasis with the quote marks. "They're saying that you now get the royal treatment over anyone else."
Charlie groaned as Mila said, "That's a load of shit! No one gets special treatment here! Everyone's treated the same!"
"Try telling Marnie, Hannah and the rest of them." Amy said, grimly.
"Well, you believe me, right?" Charlie asked her desperately.
Amy nodded. "I was there the night you got off with her, remember?" She asked. "I know it was just a one-night thing. Unfortunately, I think Pilditch might have read a little bit more into it than you thought. These rumours had to start somewhere and I have a feeling that they came from Pilditch herself. You need to talk to her, straighten this out before it gets worse."
"Ha, see?" Noah pointed out. "Just like Layla said – you need to talk to her now, mate."
"This is getting out of hand," Charlie said, head in his hands. "Fine yes, I'll talk to her. I'm not sure what good will come from it, but I'll try."
"Good." Noah said and Amy snorted with laughter, punching his arm.
"You keep listening to Layla and you'll end up looking like a girl as well!" She said and Noah scowled before Amy turned to Mila. "Anyway, what are we going to do about the dragon-catching scenario then?"
Mila shrugged. "We do it?"
"What?" The rest of them yelped. Charlie hadn't forgotten about Mila's crazy plan to get him famous. The others were now in on it, thinking that it was something Charlie had to do for his family. It wasn't much of an excuse and he was pretty sure that they knew there was another reason that Charlie and Mila weren't telling them about, but thankfully they hadn't pushed for a better answer.
He didn't think that they could possibly continue with the plan now. "Mila, if we do it, then everyone's going to think that Pilditch helped me or something." He told her.
"Yeah, they'll think that he got let in or was given help because he's getting special treatment." Amy said.
"Very special treatment." Noah reiterated.
Mila thought about this. "Ah, shit. You're right." She gave Charlie a what're we going to do now? look. He just shrugged.
"Look, I'll go find her now," Charlie said, standing up. "Before anything else crazy happens. Maybe if I can sort this all out before the transfer comes in a few weeks, then we'll be able to continue with the plan. If it doesn't kill me in the end."
"That's the Charlie I know." Mila said, grinning.
"Really?" Noah asked. "The Charlie I know would have run off to the sick dragons by now, hiding away and trying to forget that this ever happened."
"Har, har." Charlie said before bidding his friends goodbye and leaving the dinning hall for the main building, where Pilditch's office was. He caught Mila's eye just before he disappeared out the door. It was clearly a don't be killed look. Oddly enough, it didn't reassure him.
She was in her office, but Charlie's feet didn't seem to want to get anywhere near the place. Unfortunately, just as he decided to scarper, she saw him. "Charlie!" She said, smiling. "Come in, don't just hover around outside!"
"Er … ok …" Charlie muttered, hesitantly approaching her. He'd been trying to avoid the woman ever since he'd found out that she was working permanently on the Reservation, back in September. He was pretty sure that she'd caught onto this however, considering the scrutinising look she was giving him under her smile.
"What's going on with you?" She asked him as Charlie tentatively sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "I've been trying to talk to you ever since I got here! You always seem to run off whenever I turn up!"
"Er yeah, there's a reason for that," Charlie muttered to himself. However, judging by Pilditch's face, she heard him. "Er, look I need to talk to you about somethi-"
"But oh, now that you're here, we can plan everything!" Pilditch said happily, clapping her hands together. She began searching around her desk with one hand, pulling back her dark hair with the other.
"Er … 'everything'?" Charlie asked. Did he even want to know?
"Oh of course," Pilditch said, apparently finding what she was looking for as she held up a sheet of paper triumphantly. "We need to plan what each of us own, so we know what to buy when we move in … I've made a list of what I have, but we need to do you as well, oh and of course telling your parents about us! I've already told mine and they're thrill-"
"Whoa!" Charlie interrupted, now scared shitless. "I'm sorry, about us?"
"Well of course," Pilditch said, looking confused. "We can't stay a secret forever …"
"What about us apparently 'moving in together'?" Charlie said, horrified as he stood up. What spell did this woman take to the head? He thought.
"Of course," Pilditch said smiling, again. "That's what couples do-"
"But we're not a couple!" Charlie said in a panic. "I didn't know who you were when I met you at the bar! My stupid mates were the ones who forced me to talk to you! I'm sorry, but I came here to try and sort this all out so you wouldn't get the wrong idea!"
Pilditch's face seemed to have completely fallen. "I've … gotten the wrong idea?" She asked.
Charlie nodded, eager for her to simply get it. "Yes, I'm sorry and I shouldn't have … er, slept with you without realising what consequences it might have … but I'm here to say that nothing is going to happen between me and you."
He wouldn't have been surprised if she cried on the spot. He'd never seen a woman look so crest-fallen (or met a woman who was crazy enough to jump to such conclusions! They spent one night together, he never tried to see her again and he had been avoiding her ever since she came to the Reservation – not exactly a sign saying he was interested). However, it didn't take her long to switch tracks. She slammed her piece of paper down with a bang that made Charlie jump. "I can't believe you're just going to give up on us!" She said.
"What?" Charlie asked, just simply confused now.
"We could work if you gave us a chance!" Pilditch said, moving around her desk to apparently take hold of his hands. Charlie leapt up and somehow managed to put his chair between himself and the nutcase.
"Look, I've explained myself and I apologise aga-"
"Fine!" Pilditch cut over him, folding her arms and glaring. "If you're not going to stop and see the amazing thing standing right in front of you, then I'm going to make your life hell, Charlie Weasley …"
Oh shit, Charlie thought. She couldn't be serious. What's the worse she could do?
"She put you on probation?"
"What the hell?" Amy added as Charlie agreed vigorously. After managing to escape the hellhole that was Pilditch's office, he'd gone straight to the Hospital to tell Mila. Amy included herself in the conversation as soon as she saw him burst in through the door.
"The woman is a bloody nutcase!" Charlie exclaimed, flinging his arms in the air. "She was under the impression that we're in love and are moving in together! I wouldn't be surprised if she'd planned out our entire bloody lives together!"
"Bloody hell!" Mila said from where she patched up one of the handlers, who had apparently decided that their conversation was one probably best not listening to. "What did she say when you told her you weren't interested?"
"Got all offended and said she'd make my life hell." Charlie admitted, sitting down miserably on the empty bed next to Mila's patient. Amy joined him just as Mila finished wrapping her bandage.
"You're free to go," She said to the handler, who thanked her. She then sat down opposite Charlie and Amy. "This is insane." She said.
"She's insane!" Amy added.
"But she's the boss! I can't do anything about it!" Charlie said.
"Surely there would have to be a legitimate reason for her to be able to put you on probation?" Mila asked. "Surely she can't do that just because she's pissed off …"
"I'll talk to Burnell, but Pilditch is heading the transfer. She could call it off at any time and no one wants that to happen, especially Burnell. He'd back her up, definitely."
Mila made an irritated sound. "Do you want me to punch her for you?" She asked, rolling up the sleeves of her healer robes.
Charlie managed a smile. "Thanks, but I'm pretty sure that'd get me into more trouble."
"That woman should not be allowed to run this Reservation!" Amy said, looking between Charlie and Mila. "I'm sorry, mate, I never would have encouraged that you talk to her in the first place if I knew that she was this crazy."
"Neither, we caused all this," Mila said. "But … probation?"
"Doesn't that mean-?" Amy began.
"That I'm not allowed anywhere near the dragons? Yeah," Charlie said, becoming miserable once again. "I'm on paperwork until at least after the transfer."
"That's bullshit, mate." Amy said.
"And our plan to make you famous has officially turned to shit if you can't go anywhere near the dragons," Mila said, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, Charlie!" She moved to Charlie's other side to place an arm around him. Amy followed suit.
"It's not your fault and it's fine," He said to the two girls. "I can still get famous before the year is over … somehow. Besides, this is why I'm never going to get married. Dragons I can handle – women, however, are bloody scary."
"Come on Ange, you have to tell me what you're going as." George complained. Angelina however, wasn't giving in.
"You'll find out when we go to the party," She told him. "Now get back to work."
"Ron's already mixing up a new batch of Nosebleed Nougat, there's nothing else to do." George said, slumping down onto the table in the back room of Weasley's Wizards Wheezes. Ron just snorted from his space halfway down the table with the cauldron and ingredients.
"Maybe if you just opened the bloody shop, then you would have something to do." Angelina said without even looking up.
"I told you, I'm not doing it-"
"Then you're just going to have to be bored for the rest of your life, aren't you?" Angelina asked. "Ron, how's the nougat coming?"
"Pretty good, how much blood are we talking in this batch?" He asked.
"That's class A, so a lot," George mumbled from where his head was on his arms. "Angelina, you have to tell me-"
"I'm not!"
"Well, I have no idea what to go as!" George said. Angelina rolled her eyes, but she didn't understand the dilemma he was in. Halloween costumes were always something him and Fred had done together.
"You'll think of something."
George just sighed. "If you'd just tell me what you're going as-"
"For the last time George Weasley, no." Angelina said, giving him a stern look. George took that as a sign to shut up. Ron sniggered from down the table and muttered something that sounded like, "Wrapped around her finger,"
"Ready to actually do some work now?" Angelina asked. George just grinned.
"Sure thing, Ange," He said. "What ideas have you got?"
Angelina consulted the list she had made. "Well, we only need one more product to make this section complete, right?" She asked.
"Right."
"Well, I was thinking maybe 'do-it-yourself scars'." She suggested. George narrowed his eyebrows, thinking.
"What's the funniness with that?" He asked.
"Well …" Angelina shrugged. "Think about it, we could come up with some sort of manipulating charm. Sell it as one of those fake tattoos that you just apply to the skin wherever you want, activate the charm and then you can make the scar look exactly how you want. We could have different levels of intensity …"
"You could gross out your friends?" Ron suggested.
"Or freak out your Mum!" George said, leaning over to read Angelina's notes on this idea. "How did you come up with this?"
"At the last Wizards Night Out, Harry was talking about how he didn't like his scar in general, but liked the way it ended up looking like a lightening bolt," Angelina explained. "This got us on the whole subject of what kind of shaped scar we'd have if we could pick and well …"
"Came up with this!" George said, excitably. "Angelina, you're amazing!"
"Well I know, but …" Angelina said, jokingly as George threw his arms around her, still reading the notes.
"This is definitely all this section needed," He said. "Can't be too hard to make, we can fiddle around with charms for a bit …" Who knows? He thought to himself. Fred would have loved this … maybe I'll have to open the shop. Just for him. Thank God for Harry's scar-
"Merlin's beard!" He suddenly yelled, leaping upright and causing Ron and Angelina to jump a mile. "I've got it!"
"Got what?" Ron asked, confused.
"The most brilliant Halloween costume!" George cried, happily. "Yes! I might be a bit late to the party; I've got to go perfect it!" And he leapt up from the table and ran off upstairs to the flat above the shop.
"Are all of your brother's insane?" Angelina asked Ron.
"Only the one's with red hair …" Ron answered.
The Leaky Cauldron was loud and crowded come Halloween night. However, Ron found that he didn't mind the stuffiness of the pub or the amount of people there. Ok, Hermione still wasn't talking to him, but that wasn't anything new – he always managed to piss her off somehow in any conversation of theirs (despite the fact that this was different and Ron knew it).
Nevertheless, he found himself smiling as he and Lavender entered the pub. Seamus immediately called out to them, dressed as a leprechaun. "Hey, you made it!"
"Arr, we did matey!" Lavender said happily. She had decided on their costumes – they were both dressed as pirates. Lavender moved off to speak to Seamus and Ron was finally free to search for Harry, Hermione or any of his siblings.
He moved off through the people, all dressed in weird and bizarre costumes. Neville was sitting next to Luna, looking very amusing as he was dressed as a Viking. Luna was talking enthusiastically, dressed as a Hippy. Ron waved to the fairy-princess behind the counter, who was Hannah Abbott.
"Ron!" Called a familiar voice and he turned to see his sister dressed as a cowgirl, complete with boots and a hat. Or, well a pregnant cowgirl, even though her pregnancy wasn't really showing yet. "There you are! Have you seen Harry in all of this chaos?"
"Nah, I was just looking for him, Ron said, reaching her. "I think he had to work late today, he mentioned something about arriving later once he got his costume together …"
"D'you know what he's going to be?" Ginny asked, interested.
Ron shook his head. "Nah, he wouldn't tell me," He answered. "Does he know you're a … er, cowgirl?"
Ginny just grinned and dipped her hat. "He has no idea."
Ron just shook his head. "Have you seen any of our other crazy brothers?"
Ginny pointed to a corner of the Leaky Cauldron. Ron could just make out red hair sticking out between tuffs of brown fur and a flash of a leotard. "Percy and Audrey are snogging back there. Never thought I'd see the day when a werewolf would kiss an aerobics instructor."
"Seriously?" Ron asked, craning over heads to try and get a better look. Ever since he was fired, Percy had become less and less like the normal Percy he knew.
Ginny nodded, laughing. "And Charlie and Mila weren't very original with their costumes," She pointed out the duo, both looking very concerned as they talked at a table, dressed as a dragon and a healer, respectively. "I told them that they needed a bit more creativity than that, but they both just glared at me."
"Any idea what's wrong with those two?"
"Not a clue," Ginny said, shrugging. "Obviously it's something, but neither will say what. You know Charlie, he always keeps things to himself. Maybe once he's got a few drinks in him, I'll be able to find out."
"Because alcohol solves everything …" Ron muttered, sarcastically. It was then he spotted the drop-dead gorgeous woman who was talking to Angelina, wearing a white sheet draped over her and had a wreath of leaves in her hair. "Holy shit, is that Fleur?"
Ginny followed Ron's gaze and laughed at his expression. Ron had to admit that he had harboured a crush on Fleur when he first met her (the girl was a veela, how could he not?) but he was thankful that that had worn off, at least after she and Bill had gotten married. But that night, the sight of his sister-in-law dressed as a Greek Goddess was enough to make any man fall head over heals for her (and some men actually did that – one bloke dressed as a devil was so busy staring at her that he hit a chair and went flying, devil horns and all).
"Ah, if only Bill were here," Ginny said, still sniggering. "No bloke would get within ten feet of her."
Ron had to agree. It was then when he finally noticed what costume Angelina was wearing. "Er … what the hell is Angelina supposed to be?" He asked. She appeared to be wearing something she had made herself – a cardboard circle was around most of her bottom half, covered in circular bumps. Her top half was made up of a large spring or something, with random sticks poking out of it. Her arms were encased and Ron could only see her head.
Ginny shrugged. "I dunno …" She tugged on Ron's hand and pulled them over to join Angelina and Fleur. Ron awkwardly tried not to look too much at Fleur – she was his sister-in-law and while he didn't really feel anything for her, she was still easily the most beautiful woman in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hey, guys!" Ginny said cheerfully. "I'm sorry Angelina, but I have to ask – what the hell are you meant to be?"
Angelina just laughed. "I'll give you a hint – exterminate! Exterminate!" Her voice went all harsh and robot-like. Ron still didn't have a clue. Ginny apparently didn't either.
"You've lost me." She said. Angelina sighed.
"I'm a dalek!" She said. "From Doctor Who?"
Ron and Ginny both gave her blank looks.
"Don't worry – I deedn't know 'oo she was either." Fleur told them.
Angelina sighed. "I really need to educate you lot in muggle T.V. programs," She said. "Basically, I'm a cyborg from the planet Skaro. I'm very evil and this is my death ray!" She moved one of the little sticks she had poking out of her.
Again, Ron and Ginny said nothing. Angelina huffed. "Fine. Next year, I'll go as a vampire. Have you lot seen George?"
"He said he was still perfecting his costume when I was working today," Ron answered. "I told him that Halloween would have been the perfect time to re-open – we had kids coming all day, banging on the windows!"
Angelina looked disgruntled. "I swear, I'm going to take that man's head and smash it into a wall one of these days," She said. "I'll sort him out, don't you worry."
"I think you might have a bit of a problem sorting him out with a costume like that …" Ginny said, eyeing Angelina's 'dalek' costume. Angelina just snorted.
"Please, I could blast him to pieces."
"I'll take your word for it." Ginny muttered. However, Ron was not listening. Harry and Hermione had just entered the Leaky Cauldron and suddenly, Fleur wasn't the most beautiful woman in the pub.
Hermione was dressed as a black cat. It was nothing particularly exciting – just black leggings with a tail attached that actually moved and a black top, along with ears perched on top of her bushy hair. But Ron couldn't help but stare at her (she was amazing). That is, until he laid eyes on what Harry was wearing.
"Mate, are you wearing your underwear on the outside?" He asked. Harry was wearing what could only be described as a superhero costume, complete with a red cape and a large red and yellow 'S' on a blue top.
Harry laughed. "Of course – I'm Superman!"
"Was the underwear-showing really necessary?" Came Ginny's voice, trying to contain her laughter. Harry caught sight of her and grinned as he picked her up and swung her around.
"Of course, my – I'm sorry, are you a cowgirl?" He asked, putting her down. Ginny grinned as she put her hat on Harry's head.
"Hell yes." She answered, before kissing him.
Ron turned away – he didn't exactly want to watch his best mate and sister snogging, it was weird enough that they were going out – and his eyes landed again on Hermione. She turned away from him, but Ron grabbed her wrist before she could run off.
"Hermione, please can you just talk to me?" He said, desperately. "I hate not talking to you, its very boring."
He had hoped that he might be able to crack a grin out of her, but Hermione just rolled her eyes. Ron sighed. "Hermione, please? I miss your voice."
He almost thought that Hermione was about to give in – but then Lavender turned up, wrapping her arms around Ron's waist, causing him to let go of Hermione's wrist. "Won-Won! We're starting up a game of 'spin the wand', you want to play?"
Hermione just scoffed at this and stalked off through the crowd. Ron glanced down at Lavender, not even bothering to try and keep the irritation off his face. Lavender just looked between him and Hermione's now retreating figure, who picked up a stray bottle of Firewhiskey before downing it. "What's up with her?" She asked.
"Nothing." Ron sighed. However, thankfully he didn't have to entertain Lavender as George decided to choose that moment to arrive, causing even Harry and Ginny to break apart.
At a first glance, he didn't seem to be wearing a costume at all. He wore his old Hogwarts robes, complete with his Gryffindor tie. However, his hair had been charmed black and now stuck up all over the place. He was wearing round glasses and Ron thought he could see some sort of mark on his forehead.
"George?" Ginny asked. "What the hell are you supposed to be?"
"Can't you tell?" He asked, sounding disappointed as he held out his arms so they could all see him. "I'm Harry Potter!"
Ginny gave an amused snort, but Harry burst out laughing. "Y-you're not s-serious?" He asked, gasping for breath.
George nodded, grinning. Now that Ron looked closely, he could see that indeed George now resembled his best friend, complete with a lightning-shaped scar. "The scar was of my own creation! Took a few tries to get it right though, that's why I took so long – holy shit!" He had just caught sight of Angelina. "Ange – you're a robot!"
Angelina sighed. "I'm a dalek!" She said. "But I suppose 'robot' is close enough …"
"I can't believe you came as Harry." Ron told his brother as people crowded around to get a better look. George grinned.
"Remember when Ange and I were brainstorming ideas for the shop and she came up with 'do-it-yourself scars'? That gave me the idea!" George said, glancing at Angelina. The look between them was something Ron had never seen before on George's face. It was something like what Bill gave to Fleur. For some reason, it gave Ron a bit of hope for himself and Hermione.
The Halloween party was apparently a huge hit. Everyone was having a grand old time and Hannah was constantly on the move, her fairy wings accidentally getting caught on one of the Butterbeer taps at one point. Ron however wasn't really in the mood for partying. Hermione was still ignoring him and he sat at a free table, watching her every now and then. He wasn't sure how many Firewhiskey's she'd had, but he was willing to bet that it was more than usual.
That was when Luna joined him, sitting down next to him in her short, hand-painted dungarees, tie-dyed t-shirt, love-heart glasses and a rainbow-coloured cloth tied around her head. "Hey, Luna."
"Hi, Ronald!" Luna said, happily. Ron loved his friend, but there was a good time and a bad time for Luna Lovegood. However, no matter how much he just wanted to sit moodily alone, he had to appreciate her company. Besides, there wasn't much difference between normal-Luna and drunk-Luna except for the fact that drunk-Luna spoke a lot faster, so at least he didn't have to worry about keeping her on her feet.
"Are you having fun?" He asked her. Luna nodded.
"Oh yes, definitely," She said, enthusiastically. "Neville accidentally tripped over his Viking-helmet, so I helped him up. Nargles have been known to breed where there are very jubilant emotions, so I suspect he got hit by a bunch of them-" She cut herself off, which was a first. She seemed to have noticed Ron's subdued face. "Ronald, why are you not happy?"
"Hmmm?" Ron turned to her. "Oh, no I am."
"No you're not." Luna pointed out, bluntly. Ron sighed. He could never hide anything from Luna. The girl seemed to be able to see everything.
"Ok fine. Hermione's not speaking to me."
"The goals not going well, are they?" Luna asked.
"See, I don't know," Ron told her. "I thought they were going fine since Lavender and I got engaged, because well, my goal is to get married. But ever since I told Hermione and she's been ignoring me … I feel like my goal is suddenly hurtling the opposite way."
Luna considered this. "Maybe that's because Hermione is your goal?" She asked. It was a simple comment, but it made Ron's ears go bright red.
"My-my goal is to get married." He reminded her again. Luna smiled.
"Ronald, your family always seems to have their own way of doing things," She said, standing up. "I think your goal can change, if the one you currently have isn't what you want any more. I'm sorry, I must go help Neville, he's fallen down again-" She pointed out their friend who was indeed on the ground once again, trying in vain to sit up. "-but have a nice time tonight, Ronald!"
Ron considered his friend's words as Luna moved off to help Neville. His family was a bunch of nut-jobs. Considering a werewolf and an aerobics instructor were still snogging, giggling every now and then in their corner, 'Harry Potter' and a dalek were having a mock duel to see who would win in an end-of-the-world showdown, Superman and a pregnant cowgirl were dancing happily and a Greek Goddess was talking to a dragon and a healer …
Yeah, Ron thought as he glanced at Hermione again. My goal can be whatever the hell I want …
"Er, Hermione …" Came Harry's voice. "You seem to be hitting the Firewhiskey a bit hard there …"
The look she gave him was actually terrifying. Ginny was quite proud of her in a way. "Harry, I can drink whatever the hell I want."
Harry didn't reply, but continued to watch his best friend down yet another bottle of Firewhiskey. Ginny glanced at the black cat. It wasn't like Hermione. She wasn't someone to ever have more than two drinks at the most.
"What do I do?" Harry asked her.
Ginny shrugged. "Harry, she's her own woman. Unfortunately, we can't tell her what to do."
"Even so, I'm not letting her out of my sight …" Harry said back. Ginny had to appreciate his concern for his best friend. "This isn't like her …"
"Still, drunk-Hermione is always fun, right?"
Harry snorted. "Drunk-Hermione is always a good time, I must admit. She tells stupid jokes, she laughs hysterically and she goes, well, wild. But this isn't the same as usual drunk-Hermione," Harry sighed, still concerned. "She's a lightweight at the best of times, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was ultimately plastered by now …"
"You two should stop talking about me like I'm not there!" Hermione said, pointing at Harry and Ginny, accusingly. "I am not 'ultimately plastered'-! Whoa!" She added as she stood up and swayed, nearly falling to the ground.
"You think my stupid brother caused this?" Ginny asked as she moved to grab hold of Hermione's arm, steering her back into her chair. Harry gave her a look.
"When she first heard about the engagement, she did not want to accept that she was jealous," He said. "Now … I think she's accepting it …"
"You call that 'accepting'?" Ginny asked, gesturing to the normally reserved, sensible girl.
Harry gave a 'well …' look. "It's better than what I thought she'd do. I figured that she'd murder Lavender or something …"
"I thought she'd just punch Ron or something, not get completely pissed." Ginny put in.
The two continued to watch their friend as Hermione finished yet another drink and turned to laugh at a joke that Dean (as a Mummy) said.
"I need to talk to Ron," Harry said, turning to Ginny. "Can you just … I dunno, watch her for me? Make sure she doesn't do something stupid?"
"Hermione? Stupid?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I know," Harry said. "But jealousy's a bitch. God help anyone who gets on the wrong side of her Oppugno charm."
"C'mon Angelina, I'm Harry Potter. No one can defeat me."
"Exterminate!"
Ron rolled his eyes as George and Angelina continued to mock-fight. However, no matter how much George tried to say he was the best, everyone admitted that ultimately, Angelina was winning.
"Go, Ange!" Katie Bell egged on her friend, dressed as a ladybird. Ron ducked a stray spell just as Seamus began complaining about his costume,
"No one takes me seriously as a Leprechaun." He was saying.
"Maybe that's because you do it every year, mate." Ron told him.
"I should have dressed up as You-Know-Who for Halloween …" Seamus said, wishfully. Everyone snorted at this.
"Well, you'd definitely be the scariest thing here, Seamus." George told him, not looking at him as he deflected a blast from Angelina.
"Are you kidding?" Katie said, mockingly. "Even as a Leprechaun, he's still the scariest thing here! That hat of yours is terrifying …"
George just scoffed. "Maybe if he did come as You-Know-Who, then I could be fighting him instead of a robot."
"I'm a dalek!"
Ron sighed. As fun as it was watching his siblings argue with their friends, his heart wasn't in it at all. He glanced over his shoulder once again and saw Ginny trying to persuade Hermione not to do something (and having very little luck). It was probably something to do with the Firewhiskey that Ginny had just forced off her. Ron wasn't even sure if he was supposed to feel bad about it – he wasn't exactly making Hermione turn into a budding alcoholic, but for some reason, he still blamed himself.
He spotted Charlie and Mila sitting at their table and noticed that their faces were looking a lot like his, so he went and joined them.
"Why're you two not joining in the fun?" Ron asked pointedly.
They both just gave him looks. "The goal has gone haywire." Charlie said.
Ron felt like groaning. "Not with you two as well!" He said. "First Percy gets fired, now this … what'd you two do?"
"Nothing!" Mila insisted. "We had a plan … but before we could implement it, things went bad."
"Our new boss got in the way," Charlie explained. "Met her in a pub down at the muggle village, thinking that she was just another witch overseeing the transfer. Ended up sleeping with her without realising that she was the new big-boss who was in charge of everything."
Ron stared. "You're serious?"
Mila nodded, exchanging a look with Charlie. "It was pretty much my fault," She said. "I was the one who said you should go talk to her."
"Would you stop that? It was everyone Mila, not just you."
"Ok, before you start blaming yourselves," Ron cut in. "What happened since you found this out?"
They exchanged yet another look. "Well …" Mila began.
"What?" Ron said.
"Turns out, she's a bit insane. She … kind of got all offended since I tried to make it clear that I wasn't at all interested in her," Charlie said, looking kind of sheepish. "She had planned out us moving in together! Naturally, she got pretty mad when I told her and she … well, she put me on probation."
Ron shook his head. "Well at least you're not fired. So how does that affect your plan for the goal? Oh and Mum is going to kill you."
"I know," Charlie said, wincing as if their mother had already found out. "We had a plan that involved me catching a dragon by myself … but since I'm on probation, I'm forbidden to go anywhere near the dragons. I'm stuck on paperwork until the entire transfer is over."
"We were so close!" Mila said, clearly feeling bad at having a hand in causing this. "And now we have nothing …"
Ron stopped to consider this. He remembered Luna's previous words to him. "Ok, look," He said. "Luna told me something before which I think might apply to you as well. We seem to have a knack for doing things in our own weird way. Have you stopped to think about whether your goal is really what you want any more?"
Charlie and Mila seemed to be stunned at this. Ron felt quite proud of himself and made a mental note to thank Luna later. "Think about it," He said. "At the beginning of the year, you wanted to be famous. It's ten months later and you're saying that that hasn't changed at all?"
"I … never thought about it." Charlie admitted.
"The goals were about making something of our lives," Ron continued, on a roll now. "We all feel like we have to achieve the specific goals that we made, but look at Percy-" He pointed out the third-eldest brother, watching in amusement as Angelina sat on top of George in victory, his arms wrapped around Audrey. "He's made a lot out of his life this year, but it wasn't the goal he made."
"I think your brother might be right, Charlie," Mila said. "Maybe you really don't want to become famous anymore?"
Charlie thought about this. "I dunno …" he said, eventually. "I was just sick of no one appreciating myself or our family. I wanted to be noticed," He turned to Ron. "I get what you mean, little bro. But I still feel like I have to achieve it, you understand?"
Ron nodded, glancing at Lavender who was laughing with Parvati, her costume being a banshee. "I know what you mean …" However, Ron's vision was suddenly blocked out by a lot of bushy brown hair and then, he was hearing the voice he'd been missing for weeks,
"Ron!" Hermione said, happily. "You look sad sitting there, you should come dance with me!"
"Hermione?" he asked, confused. The girl hadn't said one word to him since he'd told her about Lavender and suddenly, she wanted to dance?
"Ron!" Came his sister's voice and Ginny came into view. "Damn it, Hermione! I told you that you need to take it easy on the Firewhiskey or you'll regret it tomorrow!"
"Ah Ginny, sometimes you just need to relax," Hermione said, summoning over another bottle and shoving it into Ginny's hands. "You should have one yourself, maybe then you won't be so uptight!"
"I'll show you uptight …" Ginny muttered. "Hermione, I'm pregnant, remember? No alcohol for me."
"That's right!" Hermione said, crouching by Ginny's stomach. "Ooh, I remember when my cousin had a baby … course she kept it when she gave birth to it …"
"How much has she had?" Charlie asked, looking very amused at the sight of Hermione crooning to a cowgirl's stomach. Ginny just shrugged.
"Way too much, I know that," She said. "I'm sorry Ron, she insisted on asking you to dance. Harry wanted to talk to you and left me in charge of watching her …"
"Yes, looks like that was a good idea in the hindsight …" Mila put in as Hermione had spotted her and Charlie and had moved to hug them enthusiastically.
"Where is Harry?" Ron asked.
"To hell if I know," Ginny said, shrugging. "He disappeared somewhere to try and find you. I'm surprised that he hasn't yet."
"Maybe he got distracted by the dalek beating up George …" Hermione suggested, gesturing to the fight behind them.
Charlie and Mila both snorted with laughter at drunk-Hermione. Ron inwardly admitted that she was very amusing. However, Ginny just scowled at them all, resting on Ron. "Don't bloody laugh!" She said. "You're an idiot, Ron! You did this to her!" She gestured to Hermione, who was now cheering on George and Angelina for a rematch.
"What?" Ron said. "I didn't make her drink!"
Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "Ron, you were the one she was trying to forget about when she downed those first couple of Firewhisky's!"
"Well, it looks like that worked very well …" Charlie put in sarcastically, eyeing Hermione as she came back to tug on Ron's hand.
"C'mon, you have to dance with me!" She said.
Ron looked at Ginny. "You find Harry and tell him that Hermione's all right. I'll look after her."
"You sure Lavender's going to be ok with that?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't particularly care if she has a problem with it," Ron said in answer. "Hermione's my friend and friends take care of each other."
Ginny hesitated before eventually saying, "… Alright."
Ron thought that looking after Hermione would be tedious. On the contrary, it was the most fun he'd had all evening. Not only was he talking to her again (despite the fact that she seemed to have forgotten why she stopped in the first place), but Hermione laughed with him. She told crude jokes that Ron almost never heard from her. She had fun.
And they danced. Music had been playing for quite some time and people had made a make-shift dance floor in a large space between some tables. A particularly jazzy song came on and Hermione dragged him out with her.
"You can dance, right Ron?" She asked him.
"Er …" He could ballroom dance. Mrs Weasley had forced all of the siblings through lessons in their youth. Ron had to be thankful that he was the second youngest at that point, because at least his partner had been a girl. Bill and Charlie were thrown together, along with Fred and George. Since Ron had Ginny, Percy had been left to dance with their Mum. "I can waltz?"
"All right then – show me." Hermione said, standing with her arms held wide.
"The song's a bit fast for a waltz, don't you think?"
"Fast? Ha!" She said, not waiting for him to start the dance and Hermione began to lead Ron around instead. He found himself tripping backwards over his pirate boots as Hermione held him around the waist. "Nothing's too fast for a waltz."
"D'you even know what you're doing?"
"Not a clue," Hermione answered, grinning. "But I'm dancing and that's what matters, right?"
"Right." Ron said, grinning back. He continued to trip over backwards as Hermione led him around in a fast waltz. The dance didn't make sense and neither did them even talking – especially since Hermione was supposed to not want anything to do with him.
But he loved it.
They continued to dance for the next half an hour or so. Harry still hadn't found him, which Ron was a bit concerned about but he hoped that Ginny would find him. Percy and Audrey were sitting in one of the window seats, talking and laughing together while Charlie and Mila managed to smile and chat to George, Angelina and Katie Bell.
"Stop staring Ron, the wind might change!" Hermione said cheerfully, spinning around. Ron just gave her a look. "What?" She asked. "My Dad used to tell me that – whoa!" She cried as she lost her footing. Ron managed to grab her around the waist before she could hit the ground and practically forced the Firewhisky bottle away from her hand.
"That's definitely enough for tonight, Hermione." He told her. Hermione just gave an exasperated sigh. Even intoxicated, she was still Hermione.
"Ron, it's just a drink," She said. "Besides, it's your fault … you're the one I wanted to bloody well forget about!"
"That's what Ginny said." Ron muttered, more to himself than anything.
"Exactly!" Hermione said. "I dunno why I was angry at you, though … I think I was just pissed off that you're marrying Lavender …"
Despite the excessive amount of alcohol that she'd drunk, it was the first time Hermione had even mentioned his engagement to Lavender and Ron took complete advantage of it. "Why are you pissed off?" He asked, leading her over to one of the quieter corners of the Leaky Cauldron.
Hermione sighed again. "I don't know!" She cried, flinging her arms in the air. However this exuberant move threw her off-balance again and she flung her arms around his neck to stop herself falling over. "Sorry," She said. "Look Ron, I know you don't really love Lavender. Not enough to marry her at any rate."
Ron felt kind of awkward standing there with her and he was pretty sure that anything he said would turn around and bite him on the arse, so he just shrugged. Hermione carried on. "I think I was pissed off because well, you're my mate and if I know you're not going to be happy, then I'm not going to be happy and I want to be happy, Ron and I'm always happy when I'm with you, so …"
"Er, yeah …" Was all he could manage to say. Hermione was looking at him straight in the eye. With the cat ears and her furry tail, the top of that he could feel on her back, she looked a right sight. He couldn't let go.
Hermione's hands around him moved to the sides of his face. He felt his ears burning. "Ron," She said seriously, though her unsteadiness sort of contradicted that. "I'm pissed off because you're my mate and I love you. I love you … heaps." She added.
"Yeah … I love you too …" Ron said, not really sure if that was the answer she was looking for. Apparently it was because it was at that point when Hermione pulled on his head and kissed him hard. He was so shocked that he nearly let go of her. However pretty soon his usual senses shut off completely and he threw his arms tightly around her waist, nearly lifting her off the ground as he kissed her back.
Screw Lavender, he thought as Hermione pushed him and his back met the wall of their corner. He'd never had this sort of intensity when he snogged Lavender. A part of him knew that this was wrong and that he should ignore the way her fingers felt in his hair and how her lips felt, despite the breath of Firewhiskey.
But she was Hermione and he couldn't ignore it. Not if she kept doing that with her lips as his fingers found the bare skin at her waist where her black top had ridden up –
"Ron!"
He practically threw Hermione away from him so fast, that she almost did fall over. Luckily she managed to grab his shoulder at the last second and stayed upright. Percy was standing before them, looking completely shocked with his mouth wide open.
"Shit, Percy-" Ron began but then Hermione noticed who it was.
"Percy!" She cried happily, rushing forward to hug him. From over her shoulder, Percy just gave Ron a questioning, what the hell just happened? look. Ron just shook his head. He didn't even really know what just happened.
"I was just talking to Ron," Hermione was saying to Percy. "About him getting married and stuff! You're going to the wedding, right?"
"Er, sure-" Percy began, still staring at Ron but that was when Harry showed up.
Ginny was right behind him and judging by Harry's face, Ron panicked for a moment thinking that Harry must have somehow seen him snogging Hermione and that he was now coming to hex him. Even though it was her who kissed him, Ron knew that Harry would always back up Hermione – besides, Ron was supposed to be engaged to Lavender.
He froze when Harry stopped in front of him, Ginny tugging on his sleeve, "Harry, come on-"
Ron wasn't surprised when his best friend said, "I warned you not to hurt her."
He was surprised however, when Harry punched him straight in the face.
Ron was pretty sure that Mrs Weasley didn't want to know what they were all whispering about, come the next night's Weasley Sunday Dinner. She hadn't asked where Ron got the fist-shaped bruise on his cheek, just silently asked him if she wanted him to fix it. He had refused.
With Bill still in Egypt and Percy staying over at Audrey's that night, it was a lot quieter than usual. This didn't deter Ginny, however.
"What did you do?" She hissed for the billionth time. The two of them stood in the Burrow lounge together while Fleur chatted to Mrs Weasley and Charlie and George helped set the table.
"I said I didn't do anything." Ron insisted.
Ginny just scoffed. "Like hell I believe that," She said. "Your face was as guilty as hell at the party. What did you do that made Harry punch you like that?"
Ron had managed to avoid his sister's glare up until then but unfortunately at that moment, he couldn't ignore the withering stare and he cracked. "Ok fine," He said. "But just remember that she was really smashed and didn't know what she was doing …"
Ginny's glare, if possible, became even more withering. "All right …"
Ron took a breath. "She kissed me."
"WHAT?"
"Ginny!" Ron yelped and Charlie and George looked up from in the kitchen. Ginny waved them over to Ron's disbelief and when Fleur saw where they were going, she followed immediately. "You can't te-"
"Ron kissed Hermione at the Halloween party!" Ginny said and the other three's faces widened in shock. "That's why Harry punched him!"
"No!" Ron insisted. "No! She kissed me, she was drunk, there's a difference!"
"Well you can't forget the fact that Harry punched you." George said.
"That wasn't because of the kiss," Ron said. "I … I'm pretty sure he didn't see that … and you can't tell him." He said to Ginny, who looked affronted.
"And who says that I'd tell him?" She asked. All of them gave her looks. "Ok fine, I tell him everything. He's my boyfriend, I can't keep secrets from him. Besides, Hermione's probably already told him."
"I dunno, she was pretty trashed that night …" Charlie pointed out.
"She zought I was an actual goddess." Fleur agreed.
"Ok fine, you all have a point," Ginny said, rolling her eyes before turning back to Ron. "So Harry might not yet know about you snogging. So why did he punch you then, if it wasn't because he saw you kiss?"
Ron had an inkling he knew and voiced his idea. "I think … all right, you all know that Hermione's been pretty pissed off with me ever since I told her that I was marrying Lavender. Harry's seen how mad Hermione's been and, I dunno blames me for it? I promised him that I'd never hurt her and I guess I did, though I dunno what her problem is …"
His siblings all exchanged looks. "Ron, have you ever considered why Hermione's refused to talk to you for over a month now?" Ginny asked him. Ron shook his head.
George snorted. "It's called jealously, mate," He said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "It's a bitch, but it works wonders."
And his siblings all walked away, sniggering and laughing at Ron's face.
A/N: That scene between Ron and Hermione at the party was completely inspired by the September episode of "Go Girls" (the NZ T.V. show where i got the idea for this story). In that episode, characters Kevin and Amy get completely drunk, Amy specifically more so and she starts going on about how much she loves Kevin. Naturally, this leads to the two kissing and sleeping together. Obviously, Ron and Hermione did not get that far, but i'm pretty sure that if Percy hadn't turned up, that's definiately where it would have gone, lol.
So this is October! I couldn't leave you without something RHr, could i? Poor Charlie with the crazy-stalker-like boss and George finally getting some inspiration for the shop.
Angelina dressed as a dalek was completely for my friend, Catie who is a big Doctor Who fan and i'm pretty sure that she would go as a dalek for Halloween if she could. I admit that while i liked the two episodes i was made to watch of the show, i generally know next to nothing about dalek's. So i did a lot of wikipedia-ing and youtube-watching. I hope i got the facts right and I hope you all liked it.
I'm afraid that i have arrived at exam time, which means that November might take longer than usual. Expect the next update to come in maybe three weeks or so. Once exams are over then i'm out for the summer which means shit-loads more time to write! This story will be finished by the end of the year! (Heeey, i guess that's my goal, right?)
So what will November bring? Well, we're nearing the end of the year, Ron has a rather huge realisation, George acheives something and Percy defies all of the rules ...
Thank you so much for all of your support! I know you will all definately have something to say.
You all know reviews are appreciated! So ends yet another ridiculously long AN, until next time-
-Moon. : D