Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.
"Good morning, good morning, good morning!" George roared in their ears. The curtains were viciously pulled apart and the sun seared against Hermione's closed eyelids. She didn't even try to untangle herself from Ron, who was refusing to acknowledge any of this.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Hermione seethed, finally opening her eyes. She tugged on the blanket and Ron lifted his arm so she could pull it free to cover herself better.
"Not a morning person, are we? Mum ordered me to come wake you two, seeing as it's one thirty in the afternoon. I figured you would appreciate me rather than her." He dragged his gaze over them but Hermione was too angry to even blush.
"Well perhaps you could have done it a little gentler." She growled. Ron grunted in agreement. "Or sent anyone but you." She added and George put a dramatic hand to his chest as if wounded.
"Unfortunately, I am the only one here today besides Mum and Dad. Everyone else is at work. Gin-gin's at Andromeda's."
"Is Malfoy still there?" Hermione asked, despite herself.
"Hermiiione." Ron groaned. "Don't encourage him. George, get out."
"Took you long enough to wake up properly, honestly Ronald I just don't understand how you can't immediately wake up eungh!"
He had rolled over clumsily, pinning her to the bed and kissed her sloppily to silence her. He was still only half awake, after all. George had mercifully vacated the room by this point and Hermione pulled away from him and slapped him.
"Get up!" She exclaimed and he grumbled. "Weren't we supposed to go see the flat at two?"
He looked at her in panic at that, and began to frantically get ready. "That's more like it," she muttered to herself as she slowly dragged her body out of bed and made her way into some clothes.
They exited the house at one fifty pm with Ron grumbling about missing breakfast. They apparated from the front yard into the courtyard of Ottery St. Catchpole. Ron stuck his wand into the street and with an explosive BANG the knight bus appeared in front of them.
Hermione beamed at the sight of Stan Shunpike hanging out of the front of the bus as he gave them his traditional speech.
"Yeah, yeah. We got it." Ron interrupted, pushing into the bus as Hermione's reprimand fell on deaf ears.
"I was hoping to stay upright this time around." Hermione sighed as she took in the lack of empty seats. Ron grinned mischievously and she raised one eyebrow at the look on his face.
"Come here." He told her. He had wedged himself in between two rows of seats, luckily with the backs of seats facing him. She eyed him suspiciously and he rolled his eyes. "Come on or else you'll fall over." He implored her as Stan began to count down from ten.
"Oh, alright." She said in resignation. He motioned for her to stand in front of him. She looked back at him incredulously. How on earth was she supposed to fit between him and the other seat? He was standing sideways, pinned between them. He motioned hurriedly as Stan hit four.
She threw herself in front of him just in time and he wrapped his arms around her to keep her put, leaning back on the seat behind him for leverage. She was extremely close to him and much too aware of their position. She could feel the length of his body pressed up against her and the disapproving stares of the other passengers.
"They're just old ladies." Ron whispered on the back of her neck, as if reading her mind. "They won't say anything."
Hermione shivered at his warm breath on her neck and tried to fight the blush she was sure was colouring her cheeks better than any painting.
"You are horrible, Ronald Weasley." She hissed. He chuckled against her and she felt it rumble through his chest. "What if someone sees, what if the press gets a picture?" She demanded.
"That's what makes it thrilling." He whispered wickedly, and Hermione almost fell over in shock. Who was he, and what had he done with Ronald Weasley? To her immense relief, the bus came to a stop and she extricated herself from Ron with a couple of hits to some unfortunate parts of his body. He winced as he followed her up the lane to the Wizarding establishment in the middle of London. It wasn't very far from Grimmauld Place, Hermione thought to herself. Maybe they'd stop in and visit Harry later, if he was home.
Hermione gasped as she got closer. Much like the Leaky Cauldron, the community was invisible to muggles. It displayed itself for the first time with a shower of red sparks. What had been a broken-down old house transformed into a cobble-stone lane with a magnificent cream-coloured gate which lead to winding streets filled with houses.
Hermione turned accusingly to Ron. "You said we were getting a flat!"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "About that. It's more of a condo. But wizards don't really do apartment buildings."
Hermione found this ridiculous, but slipped her hand into his and said nothing. She did want a future with him, after all. "It's close to the Ministry and Grimmauld Place." She said some time later as they walked down the street.
"I figured we'd see Harry after." He said, echoing her earlier thoughts.
"That would be nice." She replied. "Which one are we seeing?"
"The one with the blue front door." He responded, right as they happened upon it.
It was a humble yet not three-story condo that looked only slightly slimmer than a house in width. It was sort of curved which gave it a magical feel, in Hermione's opinion. They had barely made it up the stairs to the front porch when a real estate lady waylaid them.
"You must be Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger!" She didn't acknowledge their fame which made Hermione eternally grateful. "Well come in, come in, let's take a look at the place.
Hermione followed her into the front hallway and found herself immediately charmed by the house. Sometimes places could do that to you; they just fit in with your soul. She couldn't really explain it, but she had felt it when she entered the Burrow for the first time, Diagon Alley too. She could almost feel Ron's excitement and it warmed her heart.
She pictured him throwing his robes over the railing and her despairing over baking in the kitchen. She saw late nights in the study and their bedroom and a Quidditch pitch outside. This made her both exhilarated and apprehensive (common feelings surrounding Ron) but she decided this was a good thing. No matter what she told herself, she wanted him forever.
"Well?" He murmured as the real estate agent gave them some space to discuss. He seemed nervous.
"I like it." She whispered back and he beamed.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. It's rather perfect." She lopped her hand through his arm.
"It is, isn't it?" He pulled her closer. "I think we'll take it." He told the agent when she returned. Hermione insisted on paying for exactly half of the house, and to her satisfaction this barely made a dent in either of their finances. She didn't like to spend on anything excessive that was for herself. They were told they could move in next week and then were sent on their way with their copies of the paperwork.
Ron handed that directly to Hermione, who chuckled and put it in her purse to deal with later. If she was being honest with herself, she couldn't wait. They disapparated from the front lawn to the front step of Grimmauld Place. She grasped Ron's arms as she nearly fell off of the step. It had been quite some time since they'd had to hide their coming here. They shared uneasy glances, and Hermione really hoped Harry had managed to get rid of Mad-Eye's protective spells.
She winced in anticipation of the ghostly Albus Dumbledore, but none came. It was even stranger to hear loud noises coming from the kitchen and see light streaming through the hallway. Mrs. Black's picture was nowhere to be seen, but he had kept the Troll-leg umbrella stand.
"Harry?" She called, and was rewarded with a crack as Kreacher appeared in front of them.
"Master Ron, Miss Hermione!" He exclaimed. "How wonderful to see you!"
"It's great to see you too, Kreacher." Hermione responded warmly. "Is Harry home?"
"Master is in the kitchen." He responded, waving them through. Hermione stopped cold at the sight that greeted her when she pushed open the door. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were sitting on the floor covered in flour as a diaper-clad Teddy crawled around them, his hair changing from shocking blond to black.
Ron made a choking sound behind her and she fully understood the sentiment. Both wizards' heads shot up and they began to laugh even harder. "Mental. He's gone mental." She muttered to Ron.
"Absolutely." He agreed.
"Tergeo." Hermione murmured, still in shock. The kitchen and their clothes were immediately cleaned.
Draco picked up the squirming baby and was working hard to stop from laughing. "Granger. Weasley." He turned to Harry. "Harry, it's been nice. See you next week?"
"Sure." Harry replied easily, deliberately avoiding their eyes.
"What the hell?" Ron burst out the second he left. "We leave for two weeks and you become friends with Malfoy?"
"Yes." He responded quietly. "He helps Andromeda out with Teddy so he and I have been spending more time together and he's really not that bad. It's my decision, and I'm not going to change my mind so please don't try to make me." He said wearily.
"Of course." Hermione interjected smoothly, to stop Ron from saying something asinine.
"So, what brings you here?" Harry asked her, resolutely not looking at Ron.
"Well…" she exchanged a look with Ron who nodded jerkily in assent, "we just bought a condo in Vertic Alley! It's not very far so we thought we would stop by."
"That's wonderful!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, on the topic of moving in with people, Mrs. Weasley knows Ginny basically lives here. Just thought you might want to know."
Harry groaned. "Thanks."
"I like what you've done with the place, it looks brand new!" Hermione exclaimed.
Harry nodded. "Would you like to see the tapestry?" He lit up at the mere mention of it, and Hermione did desperately want to see it.
"Of course." She smiled at him. She dragged Ron behind her as they followed Harry up the stairs. As soon as his back was turned she pinched Ron in the ribs.
"Stop sulking." She hissed quietly. "You'll always be his best mate."
Ron dropped his brooding look for one of surprise. "I wasn't…"
Hermione just gave him her most infuriatingly knowing look and he dropped the façade, though grumpily. Harry opened the door and Hermione gasped. Before it had seemed magical, but this one seemed positively alive. It felt the way Hogwarts did, and she had long believed the castle to be sentient.
The tapestry covered the entire room and she noticed he had kept the golden thread, although it looked like it had been updated. She touched it and marvelled at the magic she could feel in it. She marveled at his ability and how powerful he seemed to be, despite only using one spell against the greatest dark wizard the world had ever seen.
Ron was across the room from her and she heard him suck in a breath at something. "Hermione, come here." He said in a curious tone of voice, so she did. Harry was watching them with affection, but he didn't respond to her questioning stare. She came to stand beside Ron and he pointed at the spot directly in front of him. She gasped and turned to look at Harry in wonder, eyes bright. He shrugged, but he looked pleased.
Because there were both her and Ron's families, directly next to Harry. Hers was interwoven with his as a sister, and his also joined to the Weasley's as an adopted son. "Oh, Harry." She said, before crushing him in a hug. Ron seemed to have no words as he too hugged Harry. He clapped him on the shoulder and Hermione was pretty sure he was trying not to cry. She gave in to no such pretense and wiped her eyes rather obviously with her sleeve.
She turned away to examine the rest and found Sirius and the good Black's to still be on it which included Narcissa and Draco but not Lucius, as well as all of the Tonks and of course the Lupins. There was a line extending between Bill and Fleur's names that ended in a question mark.
"Harry," she began, "how does this work? It feels…alive." Harry grinned at her.
"That would be because it is. It is sort of sentient and all I had to do was cast the spell and place my hand on the wall and it gleaned all of the information from my mind. Now it adds things however it wants, and I don't stop it. I'm not entirely sure that I could. That," he pointed at the question mark where Bill and Fleur's baby's name would be, "appeared the second she became pregnant. I have no idea how. I knew before anyone else, before she even knew, probably."
Hermione gaped at him. "That is incredible magic. Is it linked to our specific magic, or does it simply recognize that the magic of people on this tree exists so when the baby was created it recognized the magic being sent into the atmosphere…" she trailed off at their expressions.
Ron grinned. "I have no idea what you just said."
"Oh well. I guess the point is, it's wonderful." She said earnestly. "When you get engaged, do you think the line will appear? Or only after you've married?"
"Assuming she says yes." Harry murmured. Both Ron and Hermione gave him an incredulous look. He grinned. "I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out tonight."
Hermione's eyes bulged out of her head. "I can't believe I forgot! Is Mrs. Weasley having a party?"
"Yes." Harry responded with amusement. "Dinner at seven, after I ask her."
Hermione hugged him again. "Well good luck, although you don't need it. Ron and I have some shopping to do now, entirely unrelated. Don't tell Ginny."
"Of course not", he chuckled, seeing them out. "And feel free to visit anytime you want."
Hermione nodded and dragged Ron out of the house. "I cannot believe we almost forgot it was Ginny's birthday."
"We've been a little preoccupied." He reasoned. "But I think we should disguise ourselves to head to Diagon Alley. If the press see us there'll be pictures which she would see and probably figure out we didn't get her anything until a couple of hours before we saw her." Hermione thought this was a good idea. "I can be Dragomir Despard again." He suggested.
She set to work on his appearance and then began her own, thankful she needn't turn into Bellatrix this time. She simply straightened her hair and made it blonde, gave herself blue eyes, and changed the length of her nose and mouth slightly so no one would recognize her.
"Good?" She asked Ron.
"Good." He agreed. "I wouldn't have known it was you if I didn't see you do it. You can be Agatha Despard." Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"It'll be more believable." He muttered, ears turning red. She smirked at him and took his hand.
"Whatever you say, dearest." She burst into giggles at the ridiculousness of the phrase. He shook his head in amusement and they set out to Diagon Alley. Hermione bought her friend a magical spa gift set, as she happened to know that while Ginny was definitely a tomboy, she also delighted in receiving girly presents every now and again.
Ron bought her a new set of Quidditch balls that were reliable and would be her very own. Satisfied, they apparated back to the Burrow, where they were immediately accosted by Mrs. Weasley.
"Where have you been? Ginny's party is in three hours and it is a fancy affair. We have so much to do and so little time!" She exclaimed.
"We bought a condo." Ron said softly. Hermione wondered if he had a death wish.
"You what?" Mrs. Weasley seemed to be broken out of some sort of reverie. "That's wonderful," she said, a touch too brightly, "but don't tell anyone else tonight, it's Ginny's night." She said sternly.
"Yes Mum." He agreed, kissing her cheek. This seemed to mollify her slightly, and she patted his cheek before setting them to work. They set up a smaller version of the tent that had been used for Bill and Fleur's wedding, and then Ron helped get rid of gnomes while Hermione helped Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen. The older witch was much too busy for any kind of talk, so Hermione wisely kept her mouth shut and did everything Molly asked her in companiable silence.
"Water." Mrs. Weasley murmured. "Or juice. We have to have something non-alcoholic for Fleur."
"If she's due in May, she can't be more than a couple of weeks along. How could she know already?"
"Wizarding equipment." Mrs. Weasley responded absently. "Wizarding tea has a built-in pregnancy test for women, so that when they go to the washroom after they see bright blue, and then they know they're pregnant."
Hermione found this absolutely preposterous, but decided it was best not to say so. "Every wizarding tea in the world does this?"
"Oh yes. And the muggle ones."
"And the…" Hermione trailed off faintly. The wizarding world was a very strange place indeed. She was saved by any more startling information as Fleur herself waltzed in in a pretty periwinkle dress.
"Arthur asked me to tell you that zey are on zere way."
"Heavens!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, throwing off her apron. "Time to find out if this is just a birthday party, or also an engagement one." They all traipsed out to the tent. The plan was that Harry would send Ginny to get something from her room, and he would come to where he knew the tent was to tell them if they were engaged. They would then make the tent visible if they were, and the party would commence.
To her surprise, Mrs. Weasley nudged Ron forwards. "You go find out." She told him with a smile. Hermione thought it right that Ron got to find out first. After all, Harry was his best mate, and Ginny his sister. He motioned to Hermione but she shook her head and waved him forward. He disappeared out the tent flap and she could feel everyone assembled holding their breath. Hermione wondered what the Weasley brothers thought of their younger sister being the second of them to get engaged, if she was indeed engaged. Hermione had no doubt she would say yes. She knew in her soul that she had.
The tent flap reopened. Ron stuck his head in. "Well come on, we've got to make this tent visible." He beamed, eyes finding Hermione's. Everyone erupted into cheers, and Hermione even teared up a little. She muttered the revealment spell and waited for the happy couple to appear.
"Surprise!" They all exclaimed when they walked in.
"What's this for?" Ginny asked.
"Your birthday." Her mother responded, but her eyes were suspiciously emotional.
"Hmmm. I thought it might also be an engagement party." She flashed the crowd her ring and they all went wild. Hermione reached Harry first, who she had never seen look so happy, and hugged him hard.
"Congratulations." She murmured. "I am so happy for you."
After much pushing and shoving, she finally got to Ginny and exclaimed in delight as she threw her arms around her. "Congratulations, soon-to-be Mrs. Potter." Ginny beamed at this and Hermione oohed and ahhed appropriately over her ring. Apparently, it had been Harry's mother's. She briefly wondered where he had found it.
She backed away from the couple to allow everyone else to swarm them, and backed right into Ron. He hooked his arm around her waist and she leaned into him.
"I'm so happy for them. They deserve it." Ron murmured. Hermione just nodded and leaned back against him, revelling in the delight and magic of the night, thanking her lucky stars for the Mountain Troll in their first year that had bonded the three of them. Odd, what events ended up shaping your life. She wouldn't imagine it any other way.