Chapter Eighteen
"Ron, we're going out for a meal on Tuesday." Looking up from the meal he was preparing, Ron could tell that Lavender wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. When she had that particular look in her face, Ron knew that she was even more stubborn than he was.
"Is there a special occassion I should know about?" he asked, feverently hoping that he hadn't forgotten her birthday or an anniversary of some kind.
She shook her head and Ron gave a silent sigh of relief. Ron turned back to his cauldron, and Lavender gave a sly smile that he couldn't see. "What are you making?" she asked curiously.
"My special Weasley soup." He stirred the orange mixture and Lavender raised an eyebrow. This was the first she had heard of a 'special Weasley soup'.
She took a seat at the kitchen table. It was littered with all sorts of documents that Ginny had left lying around. A thick pile of parchment looked as though it was a draft manuscript for Eva's next novel, but Lavender resisted the temptation to read it. Eva (or rather, her pseudonym 'Calista Lovejoy') had been a favourite author of Lavender's since she was in fifth year and Parvati had introduced her to one of her books.
There was a tapping at the window, signalling the arrival of the owl post. Lavender looked at the clock.
"They're late today," she commented, before opening the window. Two owls swooped in, dropping letters on the table before flying out again, though not before leaving a trail of feathers in their wake.
One of the letters was addressed to Lavender, the other was for Ron in the unmistakable scrawl of Molly Weasley.
Wondering why his mother would be writing to him (again, he was sure he hadn't forgotten her birthday or his parent's wedding anniversary), he opened it, half-expecting it to be a Howler in disguise.
The twins had been working on the 'Howlers in disguise' for their joke shop. They looked just like regular letters until you opened them and their true nature was revealed.
Molly Weasley had commented that she if the twins had invented them while they were still in Hogwarts they would have been very useful.
Luckily, the letter didn't explode in his face. It was a normal letter, and Ron heaved a sigh of relief.
Dear Ron,
I can barely believe this as I write it. It's about Fred.
Ron was sure he stopped breathing as he read that. Had his brother been in in some ort of accident? Then next line of his mother's handwriting clarified the situation.
He eloped. I wasn't even aware that he was in a serious relationship, but he owled me this morning to tell me that he got married to a young lady called Abigail Winters.
He didn't even tell me! When I see him he'll be very sorry...
Molly Weasley's ranting went on for another page and a half of parchment. It appeared that by the time Molly had gotten through with Fred he was going to have problems having children. She was not happy, and Ron was glad he had decided not to go round to the Burrow for a visit.
"Guess what?" asked Ron, turning to Lavender. He faltered. Lavender looked devastated. "What's wrong?"
Lavender put down the letter she had received. "It's from Parvati," she explained.
"And?"
"And she says that Padma has called off the wedding."
"As in Padma Patil? As in Padma and Draco who are a couple almost as perfect as Harry and Hermione?"
"The very same."
Ron let out a low whistle. "Does Parvati say why?" Lavender shook her head.
"Just that Padma's staying with her ad Dean until they get something sorted out. Padma's in quite a state." Sighing, Lavender stood and picked up her navy cloak which was lying across the back of a chair and her bag (matching, obviously). "I'd better go and seen if there's anything I can do."
"Not much point," said Ron, realising something. "Padma's got Quidditch practise - England have a friendly against Australia next week."
Lavender frowned. "Oh." A wicked grin crept across her face. "How do you fancy going to watch?"
"Lav, you can't just sneak into the England Quidditch practise."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to! I don't have to - not when I have the junior ambassador for Australia for a boyfriend."
It was Ron's turn to grin. He quickly lowered the temperature of the fire that was heating his soup (the advantages of magic), and put a lid on the cauldron. "Let's go."
"Are you ready?"
Ginny nodded nervously. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to know or not, but she had decided to bite the bullet and cast the spell. Or, more technically, get Hermione to cast the spell while she closed her eyes not quite sure what she wanted the result to be.
She pulled up her t-shirt, a squirmed slightly as Hermione placed her wand on her stomach. The brunette cast the spell, speaking the incantation in barely more than a whisper.
With her eyes still tightly closed, Ginny didn't know the result.
"You can open your eyes," Hermione told her, putting her wand back in the pocket of her robes. "It's negative, Ginny. You're not pregnant."
Ginny's eyes snapped open. "You're sure?"
Hermione nodded. "The spell is 100% accurate. There aren't going to be any baby Ginny and Seamus's running around. Well, not yet anyway," she added with a wry smile.
Ginny wasn't entirely sure why she started crying. She wasn't sure whether it was because she wasn't pregnant and they were tears of joy, or if it was because she wasn't pregnant and they were tears of sorrow. Either way, she cried, letting the tears fall down her cheeks, and then onto Hermione's shirt when the older witch wrapped her arms around her in a protective hug.
"Tell you what, Gin, why don't we go and watch the England Quidditch practise? Lots of good-looking men in training gear." Hermione grinned as Ginny wiped her eyes on a tissue she had summoned. The redhead nodded, still a bit tearful.
"Sure. Um, Hermione, can we keep this between us? I don't really want anyone to know."
"If you're sure." Ginny nodded, then smiled.
"What are we waiting for? There are men in shorts waiting to be watched!"
"Urgh! Is that Harry and Hermione snogging again?" asked Lavender, taking a seat in the stands at the training ground. She pointed at a couple down on the pitch who were quite caught up in a kiss. Getting into the training grounds had been no problem. As soon as Ron had mentioned his name they had let him in willingly, and even offered to open the Top Box for him. He had declined, of course, preferring to be a bit closer to the action.
"Actually, it's Oliver and Trisha." Ginny sat next to her brother, grinning.
"What are you doing here, Gin?" Ron asked.
"I came with Hermione," she explained. "You know - men in shorts." She scowled slightly scanning the pitch. "Damn. They're all in their robes." She pointed at two more people on the pitch. "That," she explained, "is Harry and Hermione."
Another couple on the pitch were talking animatedly, and it was clear to see that Ginny was right - Harry's unmistakable hair could be seen clearly against his new white training robes.
"Hermione are you sure you should be here?" Harry looked seriously at her, running a hand through his messy raven hair. He had already done a couple of laps of the pitch on his broom and it was even more unkempt than usual.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm.."
"Not an invalid," Harry finished. "But you haven't been looking too well recently. I'm worried."
"You're always worried," said Hermione resting a hand on his shoulder. Looking into his eyes, she said, "I know you love me, and I love you too, but you can't worry about me constantly."
"Yes, I can," Harry murmured before kissing her gently. He placed a hand on her stomach. "I worry about both of you. You know the doctor said you could get ill if you do too much."
"Of course. That was also the same doctor who told me it was very unlikely I'd ever be able to have children," Hermione reminded him. She kissed him, then said, "I'm going to go and sit with the others before you quit Quidditch to care for me full time."
"I will if you want me to!" Harry called after her retreating back. Hermione turned around, grinning.
"Don't you dare!" she shouted.
"Lavender, isn't this a little... expensive?" Ron asked, looking nervously up at Le Petit Choux. Ron and Lavender had only been there once before, shortly after they had graduated from Hogwarts and Harry had insisted on treating them. "Valentines day was a couple of weeks ago," he reminded her.
"I know that!" Lavender exclaimed. "I just thought it would make a nice change."
"On a school night? Why aren't you at Hogwarts?"
"Stop asking questions," she commanded, brushing down her navy dress. It sparkled in the street lights, and looked rather striking when paired with her hair, which was currently black. "Let's go inside."
They were shown to their table by a stuffy-looking waiter, who obviously didn't think they were good enough to be in the restaurant. He didn't seem to think they were good enough to even work at the restaurant. However, when Lavender just happened to mention Ron's job in the waiter's presence he seemed to warm to them.
When they had were waiting for their desserts, Lavender surprised Ron by asking; "Do you know what day it is today?"
Ron thought this was a rather strange question. Lavender had to know what day it was. "It's Tuesday," he responded.
She didn't look impressed. "I meant the date," she scowled.
"Oh! Err... the 29th."
"Of...?" she prompted.
"February?" Ron asked uncertainly. Lavender nodded. "Is there something special about that?" he asked. "Apart from it, you know, being the 29th of February?"
Lavender looked pensive, as though she were trying to come to a conclusion on a very big decision. She pulled something out of a pocket in her dress. Ron decided that the dress must have been enchanted, as there had been no pockets visible, and judging by the way that it clung to her, there was nowhere to hide anything. She placed something on the table.
Ron turned pale.
Lavender didn't look much better. She looked across the table at Ron, and licked her lips nervously. "Ronald Weasley, you mean the world to me, and I can't imagine growing old without you. Will you marry me?"
A/N: Wow. There's Chapter Eighteen, and I managed to break 300 reviews with Chapter Seventeen - well done to everyone who reviewed! People have been asking for a very long time whether Ron and Lav are getting married, but what will Ron say? Is Harry ever going to stop worrying about Hermione and the baby? Will I ever listen to my reviewers and do a Dean/Parvati scene? Have I started asking these stupid questions again?
Here's a thanks section for Chapter Seventeen:
Dark Moon - Thanx!
Gem Stone - Thanx, I think it's probably my best story yet - when this one's finished I have another H/Hr in the pipeline.
mystical - Tha Padma/Draco situation will get sorted out, I promise!
SilverTears13 - I have a Dean/Paravti scene planned. It should appear in a couple of chapters.
potter-chick - Hermione's parents dying is mention in Chapter One, but the actual event isn't mention in this fic. It happens in the spin-off fic called 'Life's a Song'.
The All Red Chameleon - I found my planning sheet! Yay! It was in one of my many writing folders. I now know what's going to happen in this fic and how it's going to end. I even know exactly how many chapters there are going to be.
Alexandra6082005 - Thanx!
Hermione2003Potter - Thanx for offering to help with the baby's name, but I have it all picked out now - only a few more chapters until it is revealed!
Sonata - A twist? Me put a twist in the plot? Well, yes actually.
Mushroom - Well, I mentioned Fred in this chapter. George'll probably show up at some point.
bookworm4ever - Yeah, we all change - just compare my writing style of this to 'The Matchmakers'!
Invisblegrl - I know it was short, and I apologise - this one is slightly longer, though.
hyperwhich - It seems that your author name is quite accurtae, then! :)
Oliverwoodschic - That part didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to, but it will get resolved, I promise.
Pragmat - Thanx for not holding the H/Hr thing against me. Personally I can't stand H/G, to each his/her own, I suppose.
Seanluvr - Exactly. That's why I write cliffhangers - it makes people read the next chapter.
Noodlejelly - Cheer up - maybe you'll start writing again one day - your fics are really good. I have taken notice of your campaign and I'll see what I can do. Seeing as Sirius already has a wife, I think Remus needs someone. A cameo by a reviewer maybe? Hmmm... I'll have to have a think...
Viwiel - Thanx!
orange-bunny - I hope you're happy: she isn't pregnant.