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 Twelve : Arrivals
Ron stalked through the hallways as he searched for the library. Somehow, he was never able to find a house elf who could give him proper directions. And this house of Harry's was too damn large. How could anyone feel comfortable living here when empty rooms outnumbered people by more than ten to one?
When Ron finally reached the library, he cursed. He could tell from the books that was strewn on the table that he had just missed someone. That someone was likely to have been Hermione, if she was anything like the girl she used to be. She was always one for reading. It drove Ron mad sometimes, how she could spend so much time with books and so little time paying attention to him. And he did so much to try and attract her attention, but he got no results.
Of course, even if he did, he supposed Potter's actions made it a moot point. Ron had been sorely tempted to curse Harry when he had finally learned what had happened that season so long ago. He didn't even give Hermione a choice. He was a bloody earl, for goodness' sake. Hermione couldn't have refused him, given that she had no other options, otherwise she would have been the laughingstock of the ton. If only Ron had been there. He would have courted her. She would have known that she wouldn't be condemned to spinsterhood if she refused Harry. And perhaps she would have. Perhaps knowing that another man wanted her would have given her the strength to say no to a marriage that was so wrong for her.
Because Ron knew Harry and he knew Hermione, though most of what he knew had been filtered through Ginny. Harry needed a warm, loving wife. He not only wanted but needed to have children, as there was his title to think of. Hermione could be a warm, loving wife, but she had always been more independent. It would not have been her first choice to be beholden to a man who expected sons and soon at that. Hell! For proof of that, you only had to look at what she had done after leaving Hogwarts. She had tried to find herself a teaching position, instead of heading straight to London to find a husband. Ron knew that if it weren't for Harry that Hermione might have succeeded McGonagall as Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts. Unfortunately for her, she was pregnant with her second child at the time, if he had the math right.
What hurt most of all was that he never had a chance with her thanks to his best friend. Ron couldn't remember when he first fancied Hermione; it was probably after some lecture she gave him on proper behavior when she was Head Girl. But he would have cherished her for always if he had the opportunity. He would have treated her right. He would have agreed to a long engagement, instead of a short one that raised the eyebrows of everyone around. Maybe it would have been long enough for her to accept that teaching position at Hogwarts. And he would not have minded the fact that his fiancée was a professor. Nay, he would have encouraged her in her academic pursuits, unlike Potter who couldn't get her with child fast enough.
In short, he would have given her everything that she had ever wanted so long as he got her.
It was exceedingly tragic that he never was able to make her that offer. His current offer to her was no where near as generous. There wasn't much he could do as she had gone and married the bastard, and divorces were not easy to come by. And Potter wouldn't give her one anyway, he wasn't that much of a man. But Ron desperately needed to let her know that she had a choice, that there were others who were interested in her.
And if that made Potter's marriage a hell – well, he had made his bed when he left without warning Ron at all. If Hermione did admit to returning Ron's love, Potter would get to reap the consequences of his actions.
Ginny quickly tucked away the letter Hermes had delivered before anyone else could see it. How her brothers had managed to steal Percy's owl to send even a single letter eluded her. She just hoped that there were no nasty surprises included in the letter, as the twins were wont to include. A first time recipient of a letter from one of the twins was oft the brunt of a prank. She and Ron had once agreed that they would rather receive a Howler from Mum, than a letter from Fred and George, as that would be less embarrassing.
Later on that morning, after she had carefully checked the letter for any signs of magical mischief, she opened it in her room to read.
To My Dearest, Most Darling Little Sister—
Ginny snorted to herself. She was Fred's only little sister, so she wondered at his hyperbole.
It is so good of you to look after ickle Ronniekins. After I got your owl, I was tempted to head off myself to help you with him, but alas! Angelina disagreed most strenuously with that proposition. And she tells me to let you know that she'll accept sweets as thanks for that favor, though I hardly would call it a favor. It is more like a disfavor.
Ginny rolled her eyes and made a mental note to thank Angelina later. The last thing she needed here was more of her brothers to mess things up. One was enough, thank you very much.
In any case, of course I am more than happy to help you in ensuring Ron's eternal happiness. Though I suppose you'll have much trouble with that, given how dense he is. I think the best course of action is to supply a love potion—Ow! Damn it! Excuse me, Angelina just hit me.
Inwardly, Ginny cheered Angelina on. How did her brother manage to chose a witch who was so perfectly capable of reining him in? Mum ought to be thanking her lucky stars that Angelina agreed to have Fred, though Ginny knew many would assume it was the other way around, given Angelina's age. It was almost enough to make her think that perhaps she wouldn't be a spinster forever.
Ginny returned to the letter and realized that the handwriting had changed to a neater, more feminine hand. Angelina must have taken the Recording Quill away from Fred when he started acting up.
Sorry for the interruption, Ginny, but Fred was being impossible again. And yes, I can hear you now. Being impossible is his ground state, and I am inclined to agree with you. Anyway . . . yes, yes, Fred, I will tell her. Fred recommends Miss. Padma Patil, who Ron once escorted to a ball, or Miss Cho Chang, as they could both talk about their grudges against Lord Potter. I heartily recommend you ignore that advice . . . and don't bother trying to look as if you're crying. That trick won't work on me.
If you ask me, I would recommend that you attempt to turn Ron's affections to Miss Luna Lovegood. The girl has always been absolutely mad about him—
Here, Ginny winced. She thought Luna had been always a bit touched period.
—but he never paid her any heed. She was at the Burrow when he arrived and was most distressed when he left again. I am certain that she would accept an invitation to visit Godric's Hollow. As for getting Ron to notice her, I would think that the three capable witches ought to be enough to do so. If you find that you cannot, let me know. She is one of my bridesmaids, and Fred was going to ask Ron to be one of those who stand with him. If that is not an opportunity for matchmaking, then I do not know what is.
Ginny grinned as the handwriting changed once again, as Fred must have finally wrestled the quill away from his fiancée.
Finally! Oh good, Angelina did have the quill write down what I said. She wouldn't let me see and I had thought she had crossed it out. Though she shouldn't have recommended Loony Lovegood for Ron will never go for her. She's much better off trying for someone else. But there you have it! All of our ideas about witches for Ron. I wish you much luck.
Fred
P.S. You owe me, Ginny. Your darling brothers were going to include a spell to make you turn into a tortoise. He better not think that he will be able to experiment on our children, like he has tried to experiment on all his siblings. My most sincere regards, A.J.
Angelina definitely was going to get something nice in the owl post from her, Ginny decided. Folding up the letter, she pondered how best to go about getting Hermione to invite one of those witches. Deciding that it would be better to get another opinion on the whole matter, she set out to find Mr. Lupin.
She first checked the library, as he was often found there. That had to be one of the reasons why Hermione enjoyed inviting him to visit, as he loved books nearly as much as she. Seeing that he wasn't there, she turned her steps towards Lord Potter's study, wondering if the two men could be conversing. Once there, she looked at a locked door and winced. She couldn't very well knock, now could she? It wouldn't be proper. Not that she gave a damn what society thought – one nice thing about being off the shelf – but still. Especially with Ron around. If he saw her, he would assume that she was pining after Hermione's husband and that was hardly the case.
Ginny wandered off, not sure of where to check next. She tried the kitchen and the dining room, but both were empty. She could not think of where else he could be, when suddenly, she ran in Hermione.
"Ginny!" Hermione smiled, but Ginny could tell her friend was feeling a bit tired. "How are you doing?"
"I am fine. And you? I was concerned when I heard that you were too unwell for breakfast," said Ginny.
"Oh. I am much better now." Hermione sighed. "There are times when I still am ill in the mornings, that is all. But are you looking for something?" She suddenly grinned wickedly. "Or perhaps someone? Like another guest?" Hermione winked.
Dear Merlin. Ginny realized that Hermione was trying to set her up with Mr. Lupin. Whatever gave her the idea that . . . Ginny recalled some of the conversations she had with Hermione on how she didn't want anyone safe and boring. Hermione must have thought that Mr. Lupin would be perfect for her – sensible but not safe. Ginny tried to appreciate the thought, but it didn't do much for her self-esteem to think that her best friend thought a werewolf would do for her.
And to make matters worse, she was looking for Mr. Lupin. But if she said so, Hermione would take it to mean her plan was succeeding when it was most definitely not. To be sure, Mr. Lupin was a fine gentleman who was helping her with a difficult problem – and he was certainly not unattractive . . . but Ginny was not interested. Or at least, she wasn't interested most of the time.
Ginny sighed. Her choices were not appealing. She could either ask where Mr. Lupin was or wait for later. She did not much like waiting. Of course, there was a third choice and that was to trust Angelina's advice and invite Luna. She had taken the question seriously, which was more than could be said for Fred.
It wasn't that bad of an option.
Ginny took a deep breath before beginning. "Actually, I was looking for you Hermione," she said. "I was remembering what you said about your table being unbalanced and . . ."
"And? Is there someone you would like to see?"
"Yes, very much." Ginny thought how she should phrase this. She originally had not planned to let Hermione know of her plot to set someone else up with Ron, but if that made Hermione switch her matchmaking to her brother . . . well, that ought to be a good thing. "I was wondering if you would like to invite Miss Luna Lovegood. Oh, I suppose you hardly knew her in school, but she was in the same year as me so we shared some classes together."
"And you would like to see her again?" Hermione finished. "I would be happy to invite her, but perhaps it would be better if we send out the owl together. As you said, I hardly knew her."
"That is not necessary, I assure you. She will accept," said Ginny. "Especially as she knows Ron is here," she added in a whisper Hermione was meant to overhear. Ginny saw the smile that graced Hermione's face before she could conceal it and knew that Hermione got the hint.
Which was good. Because she didn't need anyone to match make for her. She was perfectly happy being a spinster. While Mr. Lupin was interesting and charming and she did want to get to know him better, that was only because she wanted to improve herself and get over her senseless fear. And not for any other reason.
Draco Malfoy languidly regarded the list his mother had handed to him at the breakfast table in his London town house. "What, pray tell, is this?" he asked sharply.
Narcissa rolled her eyes at her son's intransigence. "That is a list of all the eligible witches who are suitable to be the next Mrs. Malfoy," she told him. "You have returned to England to get married, have you not?"
"I hardly think they are suitable, Mother," he said. "I will not marry a chit just out of the schoolroom."
"If that is how you feel, then you ought to have returned sooner, like I asked," she responded. "All the other pureblood witches are now taken and are more or less happily married." She regarded her son sternly. "You are not planning on arranging any accidents, are you? For I remind you that our standing is not what it once was, and there is no longer any room for leniency for Malfoys in the Ministry."
"I know that." He tossed the list back at her. "I do not need this, in any case. I have already picked the witch I am going to marry."
"Would you care to share this with the rest of us?" Narcissa asked, her tone an echo of the one her son took only a few moments ago.
"Why of course, Mother. My bride will be none other than Miss Virginia Weasley."
Author's note: A little short, but I hope the ending should make up for it. Anyway, I hope you liked it and would appreciate it if you'd let me know what you think by leaving a review. Finally, I'd like to thank danielerin, Amynoelle, Erik MacRorie, Rachel A. Prongs, Izabel, Jabba1, kristi, myman-harry526, charlotte, juliet's rose, Quis, malu, PoTtErSPaYnE, Sheilalein, Anarane Anwamane, lee74, SlythsRule, Salmon Steak, Galadriel Hermione Potter, Romm, AnImEfReAk81, Pinku-koneko, Jade121, Animagus-Steph, CookiMonstr08, shattered, Bladefanatic, hentai-gigi, Naia, and waking dark for their reviews of the last chapter. It was really interesting to read what you all had to say.
