Arlene POV
"We're home!" Harry shouted as we walked in the door, and I pulled down the sleeves on my sweater before Mrs. Weasley and the kids came into view. I hugged Lily as she hugged my legs, then picked her up and put her on my hip, kissing the top of Albus' head simultaneously. Now that I was engaged to Harry, his kids literally seemed like mine. It was a great feeling knowing that I would be with them everyday.
"How was flying?" James asked, automatically focused on Quidditch. Harry and I shared a secret glance, making us both grin.
"Fantastic!" Harry said, kissing me on the cheek, then scooping Lily out of my arms.
"It was a lot of fun," I added, shedding my jacket and hanging it up on the coat rack, exchanging greetings with Mrs. Weasley. Then Harry popped in a movie for the kids (Muggles aren't entirely useless, kids LOVE movies) to keep them entertained, leaving us and Mrs. Weasley to talk privately in the kitchen. We were sitting around the kitchen island, sipping coffee. I still had the sleeves of my sweatshirt pulled down over my hands, cuing Mrs. Weasley to ask me on numerous occasions if I was cold. Finally, Harry broke the ice.
"So, Mrs. Weasley. I have something really important to tell you. Well, we have something important to tell you." Harry amended, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"Merlin, you aren't pregnant, are you Arlene?" Mrs. Weasley asked, and I laughed, especially at the look on Harry's face, shaking my head.
"No, I'm not pregnant. Harry proposed to me this afternoon, and I said yes." I told her, my voice full of giddiness I couldn't control if I wanted to, rolling up my sleeves and showing Mrs. Weasley the ring.
"Merlin! I'm so happy for the both of you! The ring is beautiful. Harry, Arlene, I'm so glad that you are getting married. This is wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley raved, her whole face lighting up.
"And Mrs. Weasley, I just wanted you to know that I have big shoes to fill, and I will never be able to fully replace your daughter. This ring really isn't mine, but I'm honored to wear it." I told her, and she smiled sadly, patting my hand.
"Oh, I know, dear. I'm sure Ginny would approve if she was here."
"You're the first to know, Mrs. Weasley, we thought that would be best." Harry said, and she beamed again, so easily pleased with us.
"Then I must go home and tell Arthur. And don't worry, Harry, we'll be sure to keep it a secret until word gets out some other way. Goodbye dears and I'm so happy for you." She kissed us both on the cheeks and gave us hugs, then Apparated away. I kissed Harry before grabbing my coffee and going back to the living room where Lily was watching the movie, Albus was reading, and James was reading too- but only Quidditch books.
"Hey guys," Harry said, coming in after me and drawing their attention away. Lily climbed up into his lap, and I sat down between Albus and James, who both put down their books, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. "How was it with Mrs. Weasley?"
"Fine," Albus and James said simultaneously with equally monotone voices, while Lily launched into the full story of all the great things they did.
"That sounds great," Harry said when Lily finished, and looked at me, cuing me to step in.
"Your father and I did more than just fly today on the pitch." I said, sparking a smile from Harry. He was probably thinking about the kissing.
"Really?" Albus asked, while James started peeking under his closed book again, anxious to get back to Quidditch.
"I asked Arlene a really serious question. I asked her to marry me." Harry said, and both boys looked up in shock while Lily just squealed and hugged Harry.
"Wait, you're going to be my mom?" Albus asked, open mouthed.
"I'll technically be your step mom. I know that I can't fully replace your real mom, but I'm going to try." I said with a smile. Seconds later, Albus threw himself at me, hugging me for all I was worth, and James joined in. Then Lily wiggled up under her brothers and showered my neck with little-girl kisses, squealing happily. When I looked up after kissing all three of their heads, I got a good look at Harry, quickly mopping at his eyes with his sleeve, but grinning. "Ok, come on," I said cheerfully, my heart ready to explode with happiness and joy. Harry's adorable, well behaved children were going to be half mine, I could love them and take care of them like I wanted to, and they'd grow up with a mother. I stood up, picking up Lily. "Let's get you three ready for bed." Albus held my other hand as James walked in front of us backwards, talking to me excitedly about how we'd play Quidditch every day. Lily went to bed easily, too little to really remember her real mother and be emotional about the exchange. I had to rock Albus for awhile, he'd started to cry. James was the hardest- he clearly remembered everything- and I knew that he didn't want to forget his mum over me. When all three were situated, I went back downstairs. Harry was standing at the mantel, holding a picture frame, his shoulders hunched. I silently came up next to him and looked at the picture. It was Harry and Ginny's wedding photo. Ginny was beautiful, her arm around Harry's waist She was beaming, then stood on her tippy-toes to kiss Harry's temple- something I was fond of doing, and it gave me a shock. Harry himself looked extremely handsome, his hair messy even on his wedding day.
In one move, Harry put the photograph back on the mantel and hugged me close. I knew he was taking the transition harder than anyone. Harry had really loved Ginny, I knew that deep inside. I rubbed his back, my eyes just making it past his shoulder to look at the photograph. Just because I was like Ginny, didn't mean that I could truly do her justice. But I was bound and determined to love Harry and raise his kids like they were mine, and maybe, just maybe, I could try to fill Ginny's shoes. "Harry," I said quietly, pulling away only to cup his face in my hands, using my thumb to wipe away moisture. "I know you still love her, and if you didn't, I'd be worried. It'll be ok." I stretched up to lightly kiss his lips. "You good?" I asked, and he laughed shakily, breaking a smile.
"I'm good," he said, kissing my forehead.
The next morning was hectic. Harry and I agreed that because the ring was so large, and that we still wanted our privacy, I'd not wear it to work- it'd only get us in hot water. He went to pick up Teddy and tell him and his Grandmother while I got the kids situated with Mrs. Weasley and got James to practice. Reporters were already staked out outside of the entrance to Quidditch for Kids, taking pictures until I got James in the office. "Morning," I said hastily to Taylor, scrawling on my time card and throwing it into the basket, then shepherding James out and down into the stadium to get his stuff. We'd already talked- as soon as we were on the field, I was going to treat him like anyone else- and he should do the same. I knew it was hard for him, but once his friend got there, it wasn't a problem. As usual, I got everything set up; ignoring the Malfoy's as much as possible. Practice for the kids went perfectly, James played his part, and nobody fouled, much to my relief. James pretended to wait for his dad as the kids and parents slowly Apparated away. I finished cleaning the field and the locker room, then to James up the stands. Making a snap second decision, I took him to the Quidditch office, where Marty and Alfonso were in a heated wizard chess battle. "Guys, can I talk to you a minute?" I said loudly before Marty could start swearing as one of Alfonso's knights viciously killed his pawn.
"Sure, what's up? Hey, James," Marty greeted him cheerfully, but still eyed the chessboard. I flicked the door shut with my wand and let all hell break loose.
"Guys, I'm getting married." I said, and dead silence descended.
"¿Con quién?" Alfonso asked in shock, as Marty suddenly whooped with laughter. Alfonso's eyes found James and he put two and two together fairly quickly. "You're marrying Harry Potter?" Alfonso choked, making Marty shut up.
"Yes," I said, putting an arm around James and grinning down at him.
"Congratulations!" Marty said after a second, getting up and giving me a hug, nearly crushing me. "Wow," He said a few times as Alfonso gave me a hug. I knew what he was thinking- Harry Potter- the most eligible bachelor and oh yeah, Savior of the wizarding world. You couldn't do much better than that. I gave him a warning look, then a grin and a wink. He got it instantly and grinned like an idiot.
"Just thought I'd tell you. It'll be awhile yet, but I think it'll be great." I said, beat off a few more goodbyes, then took James to my office and we Flooed to Hermione and Ron's home. As soon as I got there, I slipped the ring discreetly on while Ron and Hermione greeted James, saying Harry would be there any minute.
"Hey, Arlene. Butterbeer? Firewhiskey?" Hermione offered, and I accepted a butterbeer. She went to get it and I chatted easily with Ron about how his favorite team, The Chuddley Cannons were doing.
"Thanks," I said, taking the butterbeer from Hermione when she offered it to me without thinking and she gasped, seeing the ring. I was going to wait until Harry got there…but…
"OHMYGOD." Hermione gasped again, dropping her glass of firewhiskey.
"What's wrong, 'Mione?" Ron asked, concerned, and Hermione seized my left hand and pulled me up. I hastily set down the butterbeer with my right before she shoved my left hand in Ron's face.
"Arlene, you're getting married?" Hermione squealed, and hugged me as Ron sat on the couch, dumbfounded. Over Hermione chanting: "Merlin, yes!" the Floo lit up and seconds later, Harry, Mrs. Weasley, Albus, James, Lily and Teddy stepped through.
"I take it you told her?" Harry called over Hermione's hair, laughing and getting a bro-hug from Ron.
"I'm so happy for you!" Hermione said breathlessly, finally releasing me and cleaning up the remnants of her firewhisky as I got a hug from Teddy and Mrs. Weasley.
"How did you propose, mate?" Ron asked, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, even though he was still grinning.
"Center field at the Quidditch pitch. Hogwarts." Harry said, beaming, and put an arm around my waist.
"How romantic," Hermione sighed happily, (even though she hated Quidditch) cuing the kids to start talking to each other, already bored with the mushy gushy parents. "When will it be?" She asked, and Harry and I looked at each other. We hadn't even talked about it.
"Probably after a tabloid finds out, with my luck," Harry said humorlessly.
"Don't be so sure. Maybe once everyone close to us knows, we'll set a date." I added, seeing Mrs. Weasley's face fall. It lit back up again almost instantly, and it made me feel good inside.