Chapter 37: Victoire
Author's Note: Hi, I am going to try to make this brief because in 3833 words I am trying to hit the 100,000 word mark during this 37th chapter. Since the last chapter that I posted I have moved schools. I admit it'll have its effects but it's better for me in the long run (at least I hope).You can probably guess what this chapter is about from the title and I hope you like it. Please bear in mind that I have never written about a birth and I have never actually had any children myself (I am 14 years old) but I will try my best to make this seem how you think this would go. Anyway here is chapter 37!
As May came around once again, time seemed to have flown by over the past few months. Ginny was still playing Quidditch in Manchester and had agreed to come back within the first couple of days of the month. It was now the second of May. Two years, two long years since their lives had changed forever. Their lives had changed in both good ways and bad but in the end, their lives were a lot better than they had ever expected.
Ron, Hermione and Harry sat in the kitchen of 26, Snowberry Road and talked happily about their lives and how far they had come together. This would have never happened two years ago and they could not wait for the future to unfold before their eyes. Today, Ginny was coming home from Manchester, much to Harry's relief and excitement. They had made plans to meet her at the Muggle part of King's Cross Train Station later on in the day before going on to Hogwarts for the rest of the evening. They assumed that going to Hogwarts on this day would become a tradition over time.
"What time are we meeting Ginny?" Ron asked as he pulled his coat on.
"Eleven o'clock give or take a few minutes depending on whether the train is running on time. We have a good forty minutes to get to the train station. How are we going to get there?" Hermione said as she handed Harry his jacket and slipped her shoes on.
"How do these muggle trains work exactly?" Ron asked curiously and both Harry and Hermione burst into laughter. "What? What is so funny?" Ron questioned
"Oh Ron, you sounded so much like the muggle fanatic that is your Dad then." Hermione chuckled. "They work in exactly the same way as the Hogwarts Express would. Just take away the doddery old lady wheeling a trolley stacked with chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts every flavoured beans and the pumpkin pasties. And take away the magic. Instead of pumpkin pasties they have sandwiches, instead of chocolate frogs they have Cadbury's Dairy Milk and finally, instead of magic they have that wonderful resource called electricity." Hermione added.
"So in a nutshell, everything is almost exactly the same?" Ron summarised.
"In a nutshell, yes." Harry said "And by the way, since when did you know the phrase "In a nutshell?'" He added.
"I have learnt a lot since we the last time all three of us lived together." Ron mumbled.
"Ron, Hermione, I just want to say thank you. For everything." Harry sighed. "It is fine Harry, honestly. Besides you are our best friend. We are always here to help." Hermione smiled as she embraced Harry warmly.
"Well, not always." Ron chuckled and Hermione elbowed him hard in the ribcage, in the slightest hope that he would shut up. "Just stop talking and keep walking Ronald Weasley." Hermione said, quickly opening the front door.
"So take your pick of transport." Hermione said as they stood at the end of their path outside of the house. The road was reasonably quiet despite the time ever so slightly getting nearer and nearer to midday. Every so often, a car would trundle past or a cyclist would glide along on a bicycle but other than that, the small road was almost silent.
"The only one I know how to pay for is a taxi, so I pick taxi." Ron said and Harry gestured for a passing black cab to stop for them.
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"Can you remind me how the muggle money works again?" Ron enquired as they climbed out of the taxi in central London. Harry and Hermione both laughed. "One hundred pence is the equivalent to a pound, you would need either five, ten or twenty pounds in exchange for a pound note." Harry told him as Ron gazed down at the assorted muggle money in his wallet.
"So, how much do I need?" Ron said and Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry sighed at the drama that came along with Ron paying with muggle money. Hermione pulled out a ten pound note and handed it to the taxi driver. "Here is your change." The man said kindly and handed the loose change back to Hermione. "Thank you." She nodded and they walked away.
"Ok from now on I think we can safely say that when going out with you either me or Harry are in charge of any muggle money." Hermione said.
"Alright then. That is fine by me." Ron mumbled and they sat down on a bench waiting for the train to arrive. Hermione looked at her watch and realised they had another five minutes or so until Ginny's train arrived at King's Cross station. She saw muggles happily walking along, there would be couples walking hand in hand together. Pregnant women and couples with their young children and babies in prams would pass by every so often. From Hermione's eyes, those people's lives were perfect, but she knew deep down that those people wouldn't have it completely easy, but made the most of their situation and at least looked happy. She wondered if in the future, if ever she and Ron would have children together. Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't but personally, she liked it being just them two for now at least.
"What is that noise?" Harry questioned sitting up slightly more on the bench.
"It is Big Ben chiming; please do not tell me you have never heard of Big Ben Harry."Hermione sighed and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Of course I have heard of Big Ben, Hermione. I am just saying that I did not think that you would be able to hear it so far away." Harry said trying to remind Hermione that he was not born the previous day.
"Actually it is only three miles away. And I know that you were not born yesterday Harry. I know you are not that stupid, you could be a lot stupider if I am blatantly honest." Hermione told him informatively. Just as Hermione turned her head away, she saw the muggle train pulling into the train station. They got up from the bench and tried to find Ginny, it couldn't be hard to find a girl with flaming red hair in the crowds of muggles flooding off the train.
"Here she is!" Ron smiled and Ginny ran up to them smiling. She wrapped her arms around Harry and they did not let go of each other for a good few minutes until Ron cleared his throat as a gesture for the two of them to break apart.
"How are you?" Hermione questioned happily as she hugged Ginny before she went to greet her brother.
"I am good, tired but good." Ginny beamed and Hermione noticed the greyish purple wrinkles under her eyes from exhaustion. "I tried to go to sleep on the train, but it is not very easy when every one else around you is talking and there is this voice over going "next stop Birmingham" Also the constant stopping and starting does not really help." Ginny laughed
"Are you three ready for tonight?" She questioned, directing the conversation back to their upcoming evening at Hogwarts later on in the day.
"Yes." Ron smiled as they all walked away together. Ron noticed Harry and Ginny's hands going from being a few centimetres apart to be linked and intertwined with each other. Their hands swung to and fro happily as they walked together. Over time, Ron had gotten used to the concept of his sister and his best friend being romantically involved with each other. He admitted that it definitely was not what he had expected from neither Harry nor Ginny. He could remember the first time Harry and Ginny properly met, just before his second year and Harry had just arrived at the Burrow for the rest of the summer holidays. Ginny could barely speak in front of Harry and ran back out of the room as quick as she could. When Ron thought about it carefully, there was not anyone else in the world that he would rather Ginny be with than Harry. He glanced down at his and Hermione linked hands and smiled happily to himself as they walked on out of Kings Cross Station.
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A good few hours later, Hermione stood in front of the mirror in Ron and Hermione's bedroom looking at her reflection. The weather outside was reasonably cool, but in spite of this, she wore a knee length purple dress with wide straps instead of sleeves. A thin plain black belt was wrapped around her waist and she wore matching small heeled shoes on her feet. For the first time she could remember since they had become teenagers, there was a chance of her actually being the same height as Ron. Ron was sat on the bed trying to find a black tie that would match the rest of his suit.
"Ron, could you zip this up please?" Hermione said turning her head so she could see Ron.
"Yeah, sure. Wow." Ron smiled as he stood behind her and began to zip her dress up.
"What?" Hermione raised an eyebrow and Ron just chuckled at Hermione's confusion, given that she was supposed to be the brightest witch of their age.
"You look lovely, Hermione." Ron beamed and wrapped his arms around her waist. A slight red blush crept across Hermione's face and cheeks.
"Thank you Ron." She turned around and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"Hermione, promise me something?" Ron said as she looked deeply into his soft midnight blue eyes.
"I will promise anything Ron. Well not anything but almost anything. Fire away." Hermione giggled. Ron knew it was not really worth asking her to promise him this but, he knew that he would promise her it back. It was simply one of those things that he needed to tell her at some point to show just how much he really loved her.
"Promise me that you will never change, Hermione." Ron questioned and Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Why would I ever change?" Hermione asked with perplexity at what her fiancée and best friend had just asked her.
"Because I love you. I love you more than anything in the world. You are intelligent, beautiful, caring, daring, and even sometimes funny which always seems to surprise me. That is all of the things you are and many more. That is who I fell in love with; you are who I am in love with. And no matter what, I will always love you just the way you are. For the record I promise to never change either unless you really want me to do so. I always have loved you. I was just far to bloody stupid and embarrassed to ever admit it to you." Ron told her, sighing.
Hermione eyes became slightly glassy and shone with tears as she gazed into the sapphire iris' that were Ron's eyes. She understood what he meant and knew that he would do the same in return, because she never wanted to change himself into someone he was not like he would not want her to do the same. Her heart felt like it had swelled ten times its normal size and was beating so hard that she could feel it if she were to put a hand over her chest. It was true that they loved each other for who they were.
"I promise, Ron. I promise." She smiled as she straightened his tie and they hugged one another warmly. They remained like that for a good few minutes, just resting their heads on one another's shoulder and felt each other's love radiating through the warm embrace.
"Hey I have just noticed, I am as tall as you when I wear these shoes." Hermione giggled and Ron laughed, brushing a strand of hair out of Hermione's face when they had hugged one another.
"Come on, we best get going or we will be late. And I am not explaining to Professor McGonagall some made up reason as to why we were late arriving at Hogwarts. It will only be embarrassing." Ron laughed and they walked out of the bedroom and out of the house to the nearest apparition point to them.
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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was quiet as Ron and Hermione walked in and only a soft hum of chatter and talking could be heard upon approaching the doors to the Great Hall. People were smiling cheerfully and laughing, concealing the sadness and grief within their heads and hearts. They could see Harry and Ginny sat at a table near the back by the dance floor where many people were mingling and smiling at one another.
Professor McGonagall saw Ron and Hermione walking towards the golden doors of the Great Hall and quickly approached them. "Mr Weasley, Miss Granger." She called and they smiled at her happily.
"Hello Professor McGonagall." Ron beamed and McGonagall laughed.
"Oh please Mr Weasley, you two are not my pupils any more. Please call me Minerva." She chuckled joyfully.
"How are you?" Hermione asked their old Transfiguration Professor.
"I am brilliant thank you. How are you both, it has been quite a while?" McGonagall questioned in return and Ron and Hermione glanced at each other smiling.
"We are getting married." Ron smiled and Hermione showed McGonagall her left hand and the small diamond that lay on her fourth finger.
"Oh my." McGonagall gasped happily. "I am so happy for you dears, congratulations."
"Thank you." Ron and Hermione replied surprisingly in sync with one another.
"To be completely honest with you both, we all saw it coming. You two being in a relationship was what we all saw coming." McGonagall told them and raised an eyebrow at them both. Ron and Hermione gawped speechlessly, they had been told this once or twice before by either Harry or Ginny but neither either Ron nor Hermione actually realised that other people outside of their two closest friends also believed in this theory especially their old Transfiguration professor.
"You did?" Ron questioned almost speechlessly.
"Yes. Dumbledore thought it as well. You two getting together was going to be the inevitable. When you two were together, you both just seemed to click. In your eyes you might not have seen it but everyone else in the world clearly could." McGonagall said informatively. Then there was a long silence that McGonagall, Ron nor Hermione seemed to be capable of filling to make it less uncomfortable.
"You know, this has been the first year in quite a few that has not had a Weasley in it. Maybe one day you will be bringing your own children here." McGonagall smiled and walked away into the Great Hall. Hermione turned her head slightly to see that Ron had gone as equally red as she had in embarrassment. Sure, they had both said that they would want a few children in the future but right now they were only twenty years old. This also was not something they wanted to discuss with their old transfiguration professor, three years previously.
"Shall we just go in?" Hermione said all very quickly in order to avoid an awkward and embarrassing conversation in the middle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's entrance hall.
"Yeah let's go." Ron instantaneously replied and they stepped into the Great Hall. It looked slightly different to the previous year, now all of the house flags, even Slytherin were hanging from the ceiling, and above that the inner roof was bewitched to look like the blissful midnight sky. But there were also things that would never change, like the house points counter at the front and the row of staff tables with Dumbledore, now McGonagall's regal chair placed in the middle.
"Some things never change do they?" Hermione said and Ron smiled as they sat down at a table next to Harry and Ginny. They could see the rest of the Weasley family sat on the other side of the Great Hall, with the exception of Charlie, Bill and Fleur. Ginny was wearing a dark green dress that came to just past her knee making her vivid red hair boldly stand out. Her hair was worn in a neat bun to stop it from falling in her face.
"Hello stragglers. You two took your time." Harry said raising an eyebrow at his two best friends.
"We were having a conversation with Professor McGonagall." Ron started off as they sat down at the same table as Harry and Ginny, it was a secluded table in the corner, which was great for them as it was private and yet for once nobody would be able to over hear any of their conversations between one another. That was something that had been hard for the three of them ever since they had met just near to nine years ago. "Hey, were Hermione and I that inevitable?" Ron asked curiously leaning over so anyone passing would not over hear much of what was intended to be a private conversation.
"Why are you asking?" Harry questioned, taking a sip of his goblet of orange Butterbeer.
"Professor McGonagall said that from the moment she met us both that people thought it was the inevitable and that our relationship was bound to happen. Is it true?" Ron questioned with a puzzled and confused expression.
"Oh, yeah the "Romione theory?" Yes it was the inevitable." Ginny chuckled
"The what?" Hermione's eyes widened and she stared eagerly at Ginny hoping she would continue.
"What the hell is the Romione theory?" Ron whispered in a slightly angered and embarrassed tone of voice.
"It is a combination of your two names, silly." Ginny told her older brother. "Ron, Hermione, Romione. Sorry but we decided that Hermiron did not sound anywhere near as good as Romione." As she said this Harry laughed so hard the Butterbeer he had been drinking came out of his nose.
"So why did you choose Romione? Why would you combine our names?" Hermione wondered aloud and Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend.
"Because when you two are together you are become one combined version of the two of you that we call Romione." Harry told them. "The Romione theory was that one day you would get together and would be perfect with one another. You relationship has always been the inevitable; just neither of you could see it for yourself."
"Do you want to dance?" Ron said, turning towards Hermione in order to escape the conversation.
"Yeah sure." Hermione smiled, taking his hand.
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The night continued to dance away, as did many others as they held each other and happily spun around. Two years, two years they had been together and right now they could not be happier with one another. Everything was perfect and how they wished they had seen it two years previously.
"Ron, Hermione." George called running over to them and they both stopped dancing.
"What is it George?" Ron questioned
"Fleur's at 's, unless you want to miss meeting your niece I suggest we hurry up." George said and they quickly left the castle and disapparated to London.
"What happened?" Ron asked as he and Hermione sat down next to Charlie in the waiting room of St Mungo's. They had been told by one of the passing healers in there lime green uniforms and floating cauldrons and books following them as they walked along from room to room with some people with the most unusual illnesses Hermione had ever seen.
"What is that?" Hermione asked as somebody walked passed with green and blue spots all over their face and hands.
"They call it Dragon pox. One of the worst things you can get." Ron told her. As he said this, a very loud scream came from a nearby room and Hermione winced, that is was put her off having children. However that was the only thing that put her off, nothing else.
"I take it they haven't put her in a room that far away." George joked and stared at him. "Just joking, I really haven't missed that stare Ginny."
The next few hours passed slowly and sooner rather than later, Ron fell asleep on Hermione's shoulder as did Ginny and several others. That was until Bill emerged into the waiting room.
"So, do you want to meet her?" He smiled and gradually everyone got their chance to meet the newest member of the Weasley family. Ron and Hermione walked into the hospital room and sat down by the bed. "How are you?" Hermione asked
"I am fine; would you like to meet her?" Fleur smiled handing Hermione the small baby and Ron looked over her shoulder. Her tiny hands waved around in the air and her eyes darted between her Uncle and soon-to-be Aunty. She looked just like Fleur, with Blonde, wavy hair and Bill's soft blue eyes.
"She's beautiful. What is her name?" Ron asked and chuckled as the little girl was handed to him.
"Victoire Gabrielle Weasley."Fleur said. "It's French for victory, you know because it's two years since the battle."
"We have asked George to be the Godfather, it is first time he has smiled in ages."
"Congratulations, Bill and Fleur." Hermione smiled as they left the room a little while later.
"Hey Hermione?" Ron asked as they arrived back at their house, happily holding hands.
"Yes, Ron." Hermione replied.
"Do you still want children?" Ron questioned
"Of course I do why?" Hermione wondered
"I don't really know. I was just checking, you know, for future reference." He told her, winking.
"Oh so that is how it is, is it?" Hermione said leaning in and kissing him. "Yeah, that's how it is."
"Happy two years Hermione." Ron smiled, kissing her once again.
"Happy two years Ron." Hermione laughed.
Authors Note: Hi. I hope that in this chapter I will be able to hit the 100 reviews mark as that would mean a lot to me. I am also going to make this brief because I am also about to hit exactly 100,000 words. PLEASE REVIEW!