Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of these characters. That belongs to JKR, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, etc.
Chapter Two
Ron took back his earlier statement about how hard it was to keep an insane reporter out of a flower garden. Rather, it was impossible to herd said insane reporter anywhere. He had been trying for the last several minutes to convince his boss that she was going in the wrong direction. It did not appear that she had heard him as she continued to walk the wrong way while blasting Ron for his gullibility.
"You're going in the wrong direction." That was the fourth time he had tried to get her going the right way.
Rita ignored him yet again. "You're never going to get anywhere in life if you always believe what people say, Bell."
Belle? Where did she come up with that name? And besides, wasn't Belle a girl's name? Yes, Rita was still going in the wrong direction but there were more important things to take care of first. Such as getting her to remember his name or at the very least to use wrong masculine names.
"It's Ron," he stated flatly.
"You mean it's not Bell as in Dumbbell?"
Ron knew he was going to hate his boss as soon as he was told whom he had been assigned to. He knew he was going to absolutely loathe her as soon as she had given him his first "assignment." However, he did not realize back then just how much he would hate and loathe her. It was rather disturbing when he thought about it. Before, Malfoy had been number one on his hate list. Now Rita had long since surpassed his old enemy. On a scale from one to ten on how much he loathed her, Rita was not merely off the scale—she had actually managed to break the scale.
He couldn't let that statement stand. "No, it's not Bell. My name is Ron."
"Could have fooled me."
That was enough to make Ron see red. It would be simply lovely to wrap his hands around her neck and choke her for that remark. He couldn't because he needed this job unfortunately and there was the chance that he would wind up in Azkaban if he killed her. Of course, he thought that anyone who managed to put an end to Rita deserved at least an Order of Merlin, Second Class, rather than a prison sentence and he knew he could get some of his friends to agree with him. However, it was hard to argue with a Dementor wanting a kiss and so Ron restrained his homicidal impulses. Besides, he knew very well that he was not the idiot here. After all, he knew what direction Hermione and Harry's house was.
He could rub in that particular fact if he could ever get it through Rita's thick skull. "Putting aside that remark, might I point out to you again that you're going in the wrong direction."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are. I can understand making a wrong turn, even though most people could figure out that the door was around the corner from the window. But speaking hypothetically, even if someone should manage to make a wrong turn, at the very least, I would expect them to realize it after they've been walking in the same direction without reaching the door for the last ten minutes!"
"Could you please not shout? You're hurting my ears. And what if they lived in a mansion? Could it not take more than ten minutes to reach the front door from any given window?"
That was true. Ron knew from personal experience that it could take upwards of twenty minutes to get from a window to the front door at Malfoy Manor. Not that he and his brothers ever spied there to make sure Malfoy was treating Ginny right. Ginny would have thrown a fit if she had thought that but there was nothing keeping them from just strolling about the grounds like tourists. At least that had been their story when they had been caught. Not that the story had helped much. For all her troubles in brewing Potions, Ginny was a bright young woman. She had seen through her brother's flimsy tale and promised to have a "chat" with them later about the grounds if they wanted to learn more about it. Her brothers, being typical men, got the gist of her meaning and fled from the scene of their crime.
Ron shook his head. He shouldn't let Rita get him off track like that. "Yes, that might work if it was a mansion but Harry and Hermione live in a house. Not extraordinarily large or small but very cozy. It doesn't take ten minutes to walk from their kitchen window to their front door."
"You sound like you know them and their house very well."
He shouldn't have said that. He did not want Rita to know about his connection to Harry and Hermione for fear that she would exploit it. Ron did not intend ever to betray anything his friends told him in confidence but at the same time, he did not want to be fired by Rita. As much as he hated her, he needed the work. Furthermore, it would look very bad on his resume to be fired within such a short amount of time.
He could admit to knowing them at least. Everyone knew them. "They were my year-mates at Hogwarts," he said.
"I knew that." Rita stopped and turned around to face him. "Your profile did say you graduated from Hogwarts last year, the same as they. And that your House was Gryffindor just like theirs was."
"You read that?" If she had, then why couldn't she get his name right? It wasn't as if it were long or unusual. What name could be simpler than Ron?
"Of course I read it. It didn't have any useful information but I couldn't know that without reading it."
Ron thought that his name would be a useful item to know. However, now that he finally had her facing in the right direction, he had to make sure that she didn't get lost again.
"Fine. Now I'm going to turn around and if you just follow me, I'll take you to their house." He didn't know why he kept trying. It wasn't like he wanted her to bother Hermione and it was very hard to get her on track. However, this was his job. It didn't matter if he did not like what he was doing or who he was working with. He didn't have much choice but to do his job or risk losing it. While Ron did not want to face an angry Hermione, he most certainly did not want to face his mum after managing to lose the job he just found.
"I think not." Rita made an about-face and started walking.
"For the last time, that's the wrong way!"
"Is it? Perhaps it would help if you drew a map?"
Ron didn't think it would help if he Transfigured Rita into a Map. "I know this neighborhood and I don't need a map to tell me you're going the wrong way!"
"Not even if I make a right on the next street and then two more rights afterwards?"
Ron mentally traced the path that would take. To his astonishment, it would work.
"Never underestimate me, Ron. I took the long route because your shouting may have alerted Granger. I would advise you to remember that while I may play the fool at times, I am never a fool. Let that be your first life lesson."
Ron reconsidered his earlier evaluation about Rita being stupid. He thought she still was because of the way she treated people, but now he thought she was a little scary as well.
****
Hermione was finally feeling like she had made progress. Within the last thirty minutes, she had managed to eliminate two more flowers from her list. They would not have any pansies or narcissus at the wedding. Hermione would not decorate with the first because she had never liked Pansy Parkinson at school. As for the second, she did not want to bring up any bad memories for Ginny about her last relationship, which had ended very abruptly. Hermione thought that Ginny would be able to stand the flowers in spite of their association with Draco's mother. However, she was not sure that the Weasley brothers could.
Having six Weasley brothers steaming mad at some poor flowers would not look good at the wedding. On the other hand, having six Weasley brothers crying because of flowers would be very amusing and lower their entertainment bill. In the end, Hermione had decided against the flowers. She did not want to risk having the Weasleys red with anger at an event that some of them never wanted to happen in the first place1 and besides, they were her friends. It wouldn't be right for her to purposefully embarrass them in front of a large gathering.
Just then, a knock came from the front door. Hermione blinked. She wasn't expecting anyone. If it were Harry coming home early, he would not have knocked. She didn't know who it could be but she got up anyway. If it were a friend, she could invite them in for tea and then grill them about flowers. If it were someone trying to sell her something, Hermione would get rid of them very quickly.
She opened the door. It was Skeeter. Hermione attempted to slam the door in the witch's face but unfortunately Skeeter had already gotten a foot through the door and could prevent that.
"See?" Skeeter said to her companion. "I told you Ms. Granger would try to slam the door in my face. Do you believe me now, you naïve little boy?"
Hermione looked over at Skeeter's companion and was immediately taken aback. It was Ron. What the hell was he doing working for Skeeter? However, before she could ask him directly about that, Skeeter interfered with an inane question.
"So Ms. Granger, is Mr. Potter about? I would dearly love to talk with him."
"No he is not and he wouldn't want to talk with you in any case."
"Perhaps he is having a little liaison with a pretty witch and so is a tad too busy to speak?"
If looks could kill, half the neighborhood would have been obliterated from the force of Hermione's glare. Why couldn't people believe that Harry loved her? She was not the slightest bit insecure about the strength of his feelings for her, but it grated on her nerves to have people always questioning them.
"No, he's not. Harry would never do that me. You can believe otherwise if you want but you'll only be fooling yourself. And as you are apparently unable to figure it out yourself, Harry's at work. He should be teaching the fifth year Hufflepuffs about now. If you really want to talk to him, you can walk over to Hogwarts." Hermione paused, as if struck by a sudden thought and hit her palm with her fist. Snapping her fingers, she said, "That's right. You can't get into Hogwarts, can you? Those anti-Skeeter charms are still in full effect."
Likewise, if looks could kill, Hermione's house would have been reduced to mere rubble by Skeeter. "And you still can't figure out how to get those charms to work can you?"
"It's not a matter of figuring them out. I'm just waiting for the permit."
"I expect you'll be waiting a long time."
That was as good as an admission that Skeeter had done something to hold up the process. Hermione had thought that was the case. "Well, since Harry isn't here, I don't think you have much reason to stay, now do you?"
"Is there something you're trying to hide? Perhaps you're the one who is having a hot and torrid affair?"
The only thing Hermione hated more than people trying to scare her that Harry wouldn't stay true, was people trying to imply that she would ever cheat on Harry. She would never do that. She loved him too much to hurt him. She loved him too much to even think about being with another man.
"I would never do something like that and you know it. You may lie to your readers, Skeeter, but you know perfectly well that Harry has no reason to think that of me."
"Yes, of course. You can't possibly risk him throwing you over, considering that it's doubtful that you could ever fool anyone else to date you, much less marry you. Pray tell, would you be willing to give my readers advice on how to get your hooks into the man of your dreams?"
No one could make Hermione upset faster than Rita Skeeter and Skeeter was using all of her ploys against Hermione today. "There is nothing that you can do to make a person love you. They either do or they don't. All I have to say to your readers is that I'm very happy that somehow Harry loves me."
"In other words, no advice because you don't want anyone luring him away from you. I will make a special note of that."
"There really is no end to your lies, is there? You're a complete disgrace to your entire profession."
"Yes, yes, that's why I'm paid more than anyone else." Rita outright smirked at Hermione.
"I'm not worried about that. Eventually your lies will catch up to you. And if you excuse me, I think this conversation has come to an end." Hermione shoved Rita out of the door, sending her stumbling back into Ron. Hermione turned her attention to Ron and said, "And as for you, we must have a little 'chat' later about your choice of jobs."
With that, Hermione slammed the door.
****
1 Hermione suspected that Molly Weasley was not completely reconciled
to her and Harry's relationship. She knew that Mrs. Weasley had wanted
to match her up with Ron and Harry up with Ginny although she never figured
out why. Hermione hoped that Mrs. Weasley had given up on her awful
matchmaking attempts but from what she had heard regarding Mrs. Weasley's
new plans for Ginny that was most likely a faint hope.
****
That went well, Ron thought to himself. Hermione did slam the door in their faces but she hadn't killed either one of them. It had hurt to have Rita fall on top of him but the damage was temporary.
No, the permanent damage was going to come when Hermione sliced him to bits for his new job. Ron was not looking forward to the promised 'chat' like any sensible male. Ron might not be the brightest bulb in the bunch but no one was dull enough to miss that hint.
On a side note, Ron wondered if Hermione had been taking lessons from his sister or vice versa. That arch to her eyebrow and the intonation she used when she said the word 'chat' was unusually familiar to the time when Ginny had said the same thing after she caught them skulking outside of Malfoy Manor. He wasn't sure as it could just be a trait that was common in all females.
Now that was a frightening thought.
Deciding to stop scaring himself with pondering the mysteries of the female gender, Ron found himself once more having to catch up with his boss.
"Was it necessary to rile her like that?" he asked when he reached Rita.
"Was there any reason not to?"
"I don't know. Maybe out of common politeness you should have been nicer in the way you questioned her. She might have been willing to actually talk to you if you didn't start insinuating that Harry would be unfaithful to her. And you just really went overboard when you then made the same insinuation about her."
"Do you really think that Granger would have answered any question from me? She's the type to hold a grudge and she's been holding one since her fourth year."
"That's because you've been after her since her fourth year! Maybe if you just dropped it, she'd become more pleasant to deal with."
"You do believe that, don't you?" Rita turned to examine her foolish apprentice. "You do think that if I act nice to Granger that she'll just let bygones be bygones and tell me everything I want to know."
"She's not going to tell you everything. Some things in her life are personal."
"I don't believe that. Trust me, nothing is sacred. There are merely things that are interesting enough to print and things that aren't all that interesting but you still file away later in case you need to blackmail."
"That's not very nice."
"I'm not paid to be nice. I'm paid to dish out all the juicy details I can find about whoever has caught my readers' attention. In this case, that would be your two friends."
That took Ron by surprise. "I never said they were my friends!"
"That was clear by her intent to chat with you later. Must I remind you again that I am not dumb? Of course, I still cannot place your name but it's obvious you've had more than a passing acquaintance with them. I should have guessed that considering you were in the same House and year as them." Rita glowered at her apprentice. "You should have told me that. Now they won't tell you anything. I suppose it would not have done any good in the first place, as undoubtedly your morals would have gotten in the way."
"There's nothing wrong with morals. And I didn't know any juicy details anyway."
She rolled her eyes at that remark. "I suppose not. Granger would not be foolish enough to confide in a dull boy such as you." She spun around and waved a hand in his direction. "That's it for today. I'll expect you bright and early tomorrow morning. Please remember I like both sugar and milk in my tea in the mornings."
Ron watched as Rita stalked off, now apparently off duty. This day was too bizarre. He just had to go and get a drink.
Without a second thought, he began to walk in the direction of the Three Broomsticks.
****
Harry always could tell how Hermione's day was just by walking through the front door. If she had a good day, she would be there to greet him, often jumping to give him a hug. That was always nice. He loved it when she did that and he most definitely liked what often followed such a warm greeting.
On the days that had not gone so well for Hermione, she didn't meet him as he walked in. He would have to search about the house to find her. She almost never took that out on him though. He would go up to hug her, just waiting in silence until she told him what was wrong. Taking off his cloak and putting his books down, Harry set off to find his fiancée.
That still brought a foolish smile to his face. He couldn't believe that she had said yes. He was sure that at best she would have asked to wait. He had been terrified that she would have given an adamant no, saying that she had never intended to be in a permanent relationship with him. Thank god she had not said that. She had said yes without asking for any more time. Harry would have waited forever for Hermione but he was glad he didn't have to. He could no longer imagine a life without her and he was happy beyond reason that they would start their lives after Hogwarts together as one.
He found his love in the kitchen, reading a letter. He stopped in the doorway, content to gaze dreamily at her from there. Harry thought she looked her best when concentrating on something. Her forehead would get a little crease and she would bite her lower lip without thinking.
He loved her so much.
After watching her for several minutes, Harry walked forward to get to her. Approaching her from behind, he leaned over to touch her shoulder. She looked up at him and their lips met in a long, lingering kiss. Sighing after it ended, Harry picked her up. He sat down in her seat and set her down in his lap. She cuddled up against him and his arms came around to embrace her.
"Long day?" he asked.
"Very," she replied, "Ginny's letter just came and it seems that she's been having trouble in Potions." She sighed. "I think I'll answer her tomorrow though. I can't seem to concentrate right now."
"What happened?"
"I saw Ron today."
"Oh." Harry did not know what to say. Ron had taken the news of their relationship very badly but he had thought that Ron had gotten over any feelings of jealousy by now. As if she could hear his thoughts, Hermione quickly laid that fear to rest.
"He didn't say anything about us. He's over that now. It's just that I don't know what to think about his new job."
"He found a job?"
"Yes." Hermione paused, reflecting that Harry like Ron's job as little as she did. "He's working as Skeeter's assistant right now."
Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head against Hermione. It was inconceivable. He knew Ron had been having trouble finding a job but Harry could not believe that Ron would work for Skeeter after everything she had done throughout the years. He drew a deep breath and tried to calm his thoughts. Ron hadn't done anything yet. They should give him a chance.
He decided to say that to Hermione. "I guess that was the only job he could find, love. You know that he doesn't want to work for his brothers."
"I know. I can't blame him. Fred and George don't know when to stop the pranks. I can't help but wish he had found a job someplace else though."
"I do too. He's our friend though—our very best friend. We should believe in him more."
"You're right" Hermione glanced up to see emerald eyes staring right at her. She smiled. "We shouldn't take it the wrong way. This is Ron we're talking about. We know that he wouldn't ever take Skeeter's side against us."
"Exactly." Harry tilted his head to place a kiss on Hermione's cheek. She turned in response and their lips met once again. His tongue ran against the seams of her mouth and she responded most obligingly to his silent question. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, exploring its depths and moaning in pleasure when she met it with her own. His hands eagerly unbuttoned the front of her blouse and it was Hermione's turn to gasp when he finally caressed her bare skin.
Hermione broke away several minutes later. "As much as I want to continue with this, love, we can't."
Pouting, Harry asked, "Why not?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, before realizing that he probably could not see it. "We're meeting my parents for dinner tonight, remember? We haven't sat down to talk with them since our engagement."
Harry wanted to groan in frustration. "I would much rather spend my time alone with you."
"We'll have plenty of time alone later tonight, my love. I promise." Hermione got up out of his lap, buttoning her blouse as she walked out of the kitchen. "I have got to get ready and I would suggest you do the same."
Harry stood up to follow her lead. If he had to meet with her
parents tonight, at least he could get a bit of sustenance first by helping
her dress.
Author's note—Another chapter done but the day's not over yet. Next time, Ron runs into his old buddies, Dean and Seamus, who have a new song while Harry can't find anyplace to hide from Hermione's parents. I would love to hear anything you have to say about this chapter so please please leave a review.
And thanks so much to everyone who left a review for the previous chapter:
Nappa and Stoneheart—The name thing is just the tip of
the iceberg for a girl. Not only do people expect you to change your
name personally, although not necessarily professionally, you also have
to get used to things that put you in second place. Everyone says
"Mr. and Mrs." and no one says it the other way. You have to consider
the feelings of the other person in lots of choices you make, including
some smaller ones. That's very scary, especially when you're so young.
I know that at 18 I wasn't sure about who I was yet and how can you start
to live as a unit when you've yet to live as yourself? It only gets
worse when you add children into the equation. You feel like society
expects you to always be there for your kids even if you're holding down
a job and I know some women feel guilty for working while their children
are still young. *sigh* Just thought that I would mention that
as you seemed to be concentrating on the name issue a bit too much.
For a girl, that's the least of her worries.
And Nappa, if you have trouble understanding the fic, let me know so
I can see if I can make it more readable. It might just be the switching
viewpoint rapidly thing and that should not happen too often.
Eric and Noodlejelly—Rita can't be a complete idiot otherwise
she would never have been able to successfully complete the animagus transformation.
When it comes to survival skills, she is very good indeed. However,
when it comes to dealing with people, she's an absolute idiot. It
doesn't help that she doesn't really consider the feelings of other people
because she's arrogant enough to believe she can get herself out of any
bad situation. She's also arrogant enough to severely underestimate
Ron and that will lead to her demise.
Korine—I'm glad you liked the chapter. Ron is an interesting
character, indeed, although I wouldn't worship him. ^_^
Brian—Thanks for the review. It's nice to know the last
chapter made you laugh.
Max—I was giggling at your response to Nappa's review.
I think what might make this fic more confusing to read is the fact that
I'm switching between viewpoints and I also have an omniscient narrator
whose been hinting blatantly at things to come. It's good to know
that you could still follow it though.