Hello, darlings! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Thank you all for reading, Viktor is back, so enjoy!
Chapter 18 Arrangements
Sunday morning Hermione slept in. Then she lounged about her bed, not wanting to get up. By early afternoon she could no longer the rumblings in her stomach and went in search of food. She found Kreacher preparing sandwiches while Harry rested his head on the table. "Still feeling last night?"
"I took hangover potion, just waiting for it to kick in."
"That's good. Last night was worth it."
"Completely."
"I told Tonks she deserved a retroactive hen party."
"And Remus deserves a stag party."
"Oh good, you're on board. Tonks agreed, we just need to determine when."
"After all the interviews, before the weddings. We should have the twins be the designated sober people." Hermione quirked an eyebrow. Harry chuckled, "Let Bill and Remus get some revenge."
"Good call."
Kreacher placed the sandwiches on the table, "What would runes mistress like to drink? Kreacher bes insisting."
"Apple or grape juice if there is any." The house elf fetched her drink and left the two to eat in peace. As if by silent agreement neither said anything until they both finished eating.
"It feels likes the end of an era or something." Harry looked solemn.
"It is. The lives of everyone we know are about the change. Within a year, we'll all be married. Within two we'll all have at least one kid. In ten, we'll all have at least three, maybe four."
"I guess, I just wish anyone was excited."
"Charlie and Bea are happy. Viktor and I are content. None of us intended to get married so quickly, or really at all, but we do want to. Hopefully once the uncertainty of who is out of the way, more of us will feel excited."
"Maybe. What do your parents think of all this?"
"Well, um, they know Viktor and I reconnected, and kind of picked up where we left off..." she trailed off.
"You left off the fact that the government is making you get married."
"I did. While they are supportive of my life choices. I don't think they would understand the government even suggesting such a thing. Can you imagine if the muggle government did something like this?"
"Not even Communist countries control their lives that closely. At least, I pretty sure they don't."
"You get my point," Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Yeah."
"They get back Tuesday. Do you want to come to dinner with us? I was thinking of arranging for them to meet Nevena and Sigurd."
"I want to meet Nevena Sigurd."
"Hence my inviting you."
"Oh, yeah, sounds good."
"I'll owl them and call Mum and Dad."
"Do you want to do something today?"
"Besides to go the Burrow for dinner, you mean?"
"I'm not feeling crowds. Though I know Ron wants to be with his family."
She thought for a moment, "We could pop down to Dover, walk the beaches, look at France."
"Yell Monty Python insults at it."
"Should the mood strike us."
"You go get ready, I'll let Ron and Molly know we're going to give them some space, and ourselves some space."
"Sounds like a plan." The two friends spent the afternoon strolling barefoot through the waves, occasionally yelling bizarre insults out over the Channel. The two apparated home after an hour of stargazing. Kreacher served them a quick hot supper, waving away Harry's insistence sandwiches were fine. The elderly elf left muttering to himself about foolish wizards and what would he do without loyal Kreacher.
"You did help him fulfill Regulus's last order. And gave him his own Black family heirloom."
"Sure, sure, he waved her off. "Today was fun. I hope we get to do it again."
Hermione took and squeezed his hand, "Even if this was the last time, I wouldn't have changed a second of it."
"Me, neither."
"Good, now go get some sleep. The reporters will be out in force tomorrow trying to get some kind of story."
"Still meeting me at Gringott's after?"
"Ron's meeting me at one, we'll head that way and be waiting for you. His appointment is at three."
"I asked Griphook to have all the rings pulled from my vaults to save time."
"And keep us on task."
"Isn't that what you're for?" He laughed when she swatted him upside the head.
"Git."
"But you love me."
"Sometimes. Let's go to bed."
"Why, Hermione, I didn't think we were those kinds of friends."
"You go to your bed, I'll go to mine."
"Fine, spoilsport."
She rolled her eyes and headed for her room, "Good night, Harry."
"I don't want to be alone."
She kept walking, "Good night, Harry," she called over her shoulder.
"But why do we exist?"
"Good night, Harry."
"Good night, Hermione."
To lighten the sober mood she anticipated at the office, Hermione stopped at the corner bakery and purchased a variety of breakfast pastries and a new assortment of teas. Expecting morose, the annoyance radiating off of Cassius surprised her. "Danish? Muffin? Help hiding the body?"
He chuckled darkly, "No need for murder. My mother just made a few remarks this morning that got under my skin."
"Blood status or nationality?"
"Huh?"
"Did she make a statement about blood status or foreign born witches?"
"What? No, neither, she got all excited about the upcoming wedding and started planning it."
"Your bride might have some opinions there."
"Hell, I have some opinions."
"My dream is to compile a list of non-negotiable items then release the mothers to meddle to their hearts' content. It helps that we'll end up with at least two weddings, maybe even three."
"I promise to keep my complaining to a minimum because you're right, others have it worse."
She grinned, handing him a blueberry muffin, "That wasn't exactly my point."
"I know. Ready to get back to business?"
"You know it."
Their first appointment arrived, a half blood couple recently purchased an old manor. Upon renovation, they discovered runes spread throughout the house. They admitted their hesitancy to do anything to activate or the runes without knowing what they did. "Honestly, we're almost afraid to even use magic in the house. What if those runes are designed to hurt non family members?" asked Mrs. Lansra.
"Unlikely," Hermione remarked, "protection runes of any kind are most effective on the outer walls. You said these are on interior walls."
"They are and spread out in random order. We can't find a single pattern." Mr. Lansra told her. "We marked them on the blueprints like you asked."
"Thank you. I'll look them over and let you know if we discover anything."
"Hopefully, we hear from you soon." Mrs. Lansra said in farewell.
"I'm sure it won't take long," she assured them.
Cassius looked at the five sheets of parchment after the couple left. "You already have an idea, don't you?"
"I doubt anyone went to the trouble of carving runes into the wood of the walls for them to be nothing."
"Agreed."
"Why don't you look over the runes first, see what you think?"
"Huh?"
"I promised you a roundabout apprenticeship. This is how one in
runes begins. My suggested resource books are on the bookshelf by your desk at Haven."
"Hermione, you don't have to do this."
"And yet, I am."
Just before lunch, a smirking Malfoy sauntered in. "Greetings, lesser beings."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Stop stealing my lines, Malfoy."
"Impressive comeback, Granger."
"Thank you. What can I do for you?"
"Potter mentioned you were coming by the Ministry this afternoon. What time?"
"Uh, Ron's meeting is at three, does that work for you? Wait, a minute, we don't have plans to meet."
"We do not. But I have a surprise for you. See you this afternoon."
"Okay." After he left she turned to Cassius, "That was odd and cryptic."
"That was Draco," he shrugged.
Ron and Hermione waited for Harry on the steps of the bank. Aware of the probability of eavesdropping, they analyzed the facade of the bank. "Why Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, how wonderful to see you!" Xenophilious Lovegood grinned at them.
"Xeno, how are you?" asked Hermione, hugging her friend's father.
"Very well, thank you. What brings the two of you to the bank on this fine day?"
"We're waiting for Harry to help him locate an item in his vaults."
"What good friends you are." He beamed, "Though, I wouldn't be much of a newspaperman if I didn't ask your opinion of this new law affecting the nation." Never entirely sure what reality the man currently enjoyed, Ron inquired which law he meant. "The rather unpopular marriage law, of course. Why the Prophet insists on pretending otherwise is just absurd." Ron chuckled at Xeno calling anyone absurd.
Hermione frowned, "Sadly, it is something I have come to expect from the Wizengamot and the wizarding world in general. Being old-fashioned and short-sighted for generations, they never bothered to look into better practices. Inbreeding caused fertility issues. The current rituals are only concerned with producing a male heir. But the resulting destruction of female fertility further stunted the population's genetic diversity. The high mortality rate during childbirth dwindled the population even more. But all over Europe wizards buried their heads in the sand hoping it would go away, or someone else would fix it. This seems to be a pattern. And now, after our generation sacrificed our childhoods and teenage years dealing with other ignored dilemmas, we are being forced to surrender the autonomy to decide when and to whom we wish to procreate with, to once again save our elders from the doom they perpetuated."
"Ah, Hermione, eloquent as always. Should you ever desire a career as a columnist, my door is always open."
"Thank you, Xeno." She waved to Harry, who walked up behind him, "There's Harry, we should go."
"Of course, mustn't keep the goblins waiting."
The bank greeters swiftly escorted them to a private room, the tables stacked with wooden boxes. "Mr. Potter did not specify which of his vaults, so rings were collected from all of them. Curse breaker Weasley verified none of them are cursed." He stopped to look at Hermione, who had removed disposable medical gloves from her bag.
"Just in case the curse isn't activated until a muggle or muggleborn touches it."
"Mistress Granger, after your assistance to Gringott's you could parade through naked and we would merely inquire if you wanted tea. Would, madame, care for refreshment?"
"No, thank you. We're expected at the Ministry at three. We should get to searching."
The goblin bowed, "Very well, simply knock on the door when you are finished to summon me," he departed.
Hermione and Ron looked at Harry expectantly. "All of them listed me as their first choice, no surprise there. But I choose Annika. She made the most effort to get to know Harry."
"So what kind of ring do you want?" Ron asked.
"Something simple, I think. That way if she wants something fancier we can get elaborate wedding bands."
"Good thinking," praised Hermione. She set an alarm for two-thirty and pulled a box towards her.
Each wooden box held five rows of velvet ring beds. Each row held ten rings. Skipping rings without stones, Hermione pulled out several rings with plainer designs. After three boxes she had seven rings. "Harry," called Ron, drawing both their attentions, "look at this."
Ron held up a small red velvet box, a note attached to it. Ron read it aloud, "Harry, this ring belonged to your great grandmother, Olive Evans. She left it to her youngest granddaughter, hoping she would use it. "Now, I give it to you, hoping you will grant her wish."
Harry looked at his friends, "This is the one, even if it is hideous, this is the one."
"Still, I hope it isn't hideous," Hermione whispered, almost to herself.
Harry opened the box. Nestled in the velvet, a large square cut diamond twinkled at them. Pear shaped diamonds lay on their sides flanking the larger central stone. Harry snapped the box closed and rose. "It's perfect." He knocked on the door and informed the answering goblin they were finished. "We even have twenty minutes to spare."
The trio exited the bank and apparated to Hermione's office to floo to the Ministry. Laughter and some kind of ruckus instantly caught their attention. "What's going on?" questioned Harry.
Ron pointed into the atrium, "Some kind of presentation." A large group of employees and visitors gathered in front of a wall. Projected on it Fred's, or George's, memory of pranking Livingston played out, much to the amusement of the crowd. Noticing a smirking Malfoy standing next to a thoughtful Shacklebolt, Hermione hurried Ron on his way before approaching. She arrived in time to hear Draco answer a question Kingsley asked, "No, there is too much possibility for misuse. We're only interested in selling to courts for memory viewing during trials. Everyone can see the same thing at the same time.
"Rather brilliant magic, Malfoy," she complimented.
"From you, Granger, that is high praise indeed," the blond grinned at her. "Enjoy your surprise?"
"Not as much as everyone else it seems, but I already saw this episode." Kingsley laughed at her response.
"Hermione," she turned to scan the crowd, looking or whoever called her name. "Hermione," she finally located Viktor waving his arms for her attention. She waved back and made her farewells to the minister and Malfoy, who resumed their business discussion.
"Hello, you," she grinned up at the taller wizard.
"Hello to you, too."
"What brings you here?"
"Annoying meeting to be told all witches want me."
"That is annoying?"
"Is when I only want one witch."
"Lucky witch."
"Lucky me, she is quite a witch. Have dinner with me?"
"When?"
"Tonight, around seven. We can go to that little pub down from my flat, you know, the usual."
"Sounds good. See you at seven."
Ron returned to the atrium looking shell-shocked. "Is this good shock, or bad shocked?" asked Harry.
"Good. I suspected Turpin would list me first, I was the most famous person on her list, but they all did. Which means I get my first pick, too. Now, all I have to do is propose." He swallowed hard.
"Do girls want big showy displays?" Harry asked.
Hermione shrugged, "Depends on the girl. In this case, I would suggest arranging to meet and just do it. Makes sure you both want the same arrangement. Viktor and I are having dinner tonight." Ron made kissy noises. "Very mature. Though this means he's invited to dinner with my parents. No sense in hiding anything."
"How much are you confessing?" Harry asked.
"Probably all of it. I haven't mentioned either of you dating anyone, let alone it being serious. They might get suspicious of all three of us getting married in the next six months."
Following Viktor's example, and Hermione's advice, Ron and Harry borrowed her mobile to make dinner reservations at muggle restaurants before owling their prospective partners.
For her part, Hermione took a long bath to begin preparing for dinner. She choose a casual, but a bit dressy oatmeal colored cable knit sweater dress, pairing it with dark brown calf high soft leather boots. Having suspicions of the momentous event planned, she wanted to look nice, but not too fancy for dinner at the pub around the corner.
It pleased her to see that Viktor seemed to take the same pains as she did. He fidgeted a bit, pulling his hands out of his trouser pockets, only to shove them back in. "Would be better to get this out of the way," he muttered to himself. He took her hand to pull her into the parlor. He gestured to the couch. She sat, and he sank to one knee in front of her. "Hermione, my sunshine, the most exciting part of my last year of school was not the World Cup or the Tournament. It was meeting a frizzy hair girl, who had no interest in Viktor Krum, the seeker, or Viktor Krum, the Champion. Once she deigned to give him the time of day, she was interested in Viktor. Even after going home, and watching the war unfold here, never stopped thinking of her."
"I never stopped thinking about you, either."
He smiled at her, "When rumors began of marriage law, I left my homeland because I didn't want a loveless marriage while there was still a chance for us." He let go of her hand and pulled a small silk pouch out of his pocket. "Would you grant me the honor of allowing me to stand at your side for the rest of my life as your husband?"
"Yes!" she cried launching herself forward into his arms. "Oh yes, oh, I love you."
"Love you, too." He pulled a platinum diamond ring from the pouch. "Was my great grandmother's ring, chosen because the stones are our birthstones." The larger central emerald cut diamond sparkled between two similarly cut sapphires. The metal band had Celtic eternity symbols etched on it.
"Beautiful," she breathed, "it's perfect."
"Shall we go celebrate?"
"I believe we shall." He slid the ring onto her finger. Standing, he offered her his arm, which she accepted.
Wendy the waitress greeted them as they entered the pub. "Welcome back, Hermione, still with this guy?" she joked.
"Yeah, he's a useful windbreak," she laughed, smoothing her windswept hair, unknowingly flashing her engagement ring. "This November has been brutal."
"Holy cow! Look at that rock, damn. You just proposed, didn't you?" Wendy looked at Viktor, his goofy besotted grin saying everything. "You did! Congratulations."
Hermione laughed, "Signs you eat out too much: not only do they know your name, and preferred entrees, they know your regular jewelry." She held out her hand for Wendy to examine the ring.
"So pretty, he did good."
"He did, didn't he?" Hermione beamed at him. He kissed the top of her head.
"Let's get you two seated." She grabbed menus and led them to a booth towards the back of the pub. She left after taking their drink order.
"Well, if there are any wizards here tonight, the cat's out of the bag now."
"I remember that one. Regrets?"
"Nah, people would have noticed when I kept signing papers Hermione Krum." She smirked, "The bonus to all this is the sheer volume of news fodder. No one bears the brunt alone, or for long."
Charlie, the bartender, and owner insisted their evening was on the house. He kept telling Viktor his money was no good there, so they left Wendy and the bartenders tips large enough to cover the cost of the evening.
After dinner, Hermione suggested a walk through the village. "My parents get home tomorrow. We're having dinner with my mentors and Harry Saturday. You should come."
"We can share our news."
"About that, I haven't told them about the marriage law, just that we picked back up." She twined her fingers with his. "As they aren't stupid, I will have to tell them. I was going to confess all before they meet you again."
"I wrote my parents this afternoon." He swung their arms a bit. "Anton and Britta will be excited to meet you. Viera as well."
"How's she doing these days?"
"Due next month. Hoping for a Christmas baby, I think. Mama will probably use that as excuse for why we need wedding in Bulgaria. Viera and babies can't travel."
"I've given this a lot of thought. My parents will want a wedding here, preferably one our family can attend." She squeezed his hand playfully. "And your extended family will want the same. So, what if we go to the Ministry and get married. We give both parents a list of dos and don'ts and let our mothers plan weddings. It will mean muggle attire and wizarding, but being able to avoid the insanity of fighting over venues and vendors will be worth it."
"Dos and don'ts?"
"Like do use roses, don't invite every person I've ever met."
"What about our British friends?"
"They can attend whichever wedding they feel more comfortable at. Long distance wizarding travel is easier than muggle. But I know not all of them would be comfortable at a muggle wedding."
Viktor nodded, "Better than having three weddings."
"Right? And if by some miracle my parents don't want to plan a muggle wedding, still pop into the ministry and remove the deadline and let your mother do most of the grunt work."
"What if you hate her choices?"
"We get final approval." Viktor kissed the back of her hand. "And I would like for us to pick out our wedding bands."
"We can do that. I would like that." Changing the subject, he asked, "What time is dinner?"
"Saturday at eight. We're going to a Thai place near my parent's house."
"Since we're engaged, I suppose I can move in now?"
She laughed, "You can. Harry bought you a brand new mattress and linens."
"I even get my own room?"
"Right next to mine."
"So trusting of Potter, what's to keep me from ravishing you in the night?"
"Nothing. He will be far more concerned about me ravishing you, and himself having to hear it." She giggled, "Harry is a floor up."
"Good to know. I will start moving in tomorrow."
