Hey all you folks! Lauren here, with chapter nineteen! It took me a while cause I couldn't decide whether people in the wizarding world received paychecks, or if they received pay in some other form, but I decided, hey, why not, paychecks rule! Other than that, it's all ready! Hope you all like this one!
Lauren
Disclaimer: Okay, okay, we all know I'm a genius, (go with me here…) but I'm definitely not brilliant enough to come up with Harry Potter and all that stuff. Okay? All right, now that we've got that all cleared up…on to the story!
Chapter nineteen
Brand-new Beginnings
Ron woke up every morning for the next week, taking advantage of every minute he could spend with Hermione, and dreading each moment he was forced to leave her. But somehow, he was able to get through the days at work, ignoring Lavender whenever possible, and thinking of what else, but dinner, and Hermione. And luckily for him, that week passed by with very little physical contact between himself and Lavender; she hadn't pulled off anything like kissing him on the cheek, like she had before. It still made him shudder just thinking about it.
Friday evening, Ron opened the front door, and closed it quietly behind him at the sound of Hermione's and Ginny's chattering. He slipped off his shoes gently, then snuck over to the kitchen, where the two girls were seated at the table, talking about none other than the wedding. Ginny raised her glance to the doorway and spotted Ron, who quickly raised his finger to his lips to quiet her. She smiled, then looked back down at the pictures Hermione was showing her.
"So Hermione, what'll it be, then? Roses, or daisies? Or are you still stuck on the lilies?" Ginny asked, to keep Hermione distracted.
"Well, you know, I'm still not sure yet. Maybe we should ask Ron what her thinks. Speaking of, I wonder where he is, it's getting a bit late…" she said, as her mind drifted to thoughts of Ron and Lavender. She bit her lower lip anxiously. Just then, Ron slipped his hands over her eyes.
"Ginny, what the-"
Ginny giggled as Ron came forward and sat in a chair next to Hermione, still covering her eyes with one hand. With the other, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, and slipped it into Hermione's hand.
"Go on, open it!" he exclaimed, evidently excited. Hermione, had her eyes not been hidden, would have given him a questioning look for that very reason, but since she couldn't, she opened the envelope and pulled out it's contents, a thin, small sheet of paper. Ron pulled back his hand, and Hermione looked down.
"Ron, I'm so proud! Your first paycheck, oh this is so exciting!" yelled Hermione, as she leaned over to kiss him. Ginny clapped for Ron, but he was too preoccupied to stand up and take his bow. Mrs. Weasley came down from upstairs to see what all the ruckus was about, and when she saw the check lying on the table, it was all she could do but congratulate him as well. By the time Hermione let go of Ron, the whole family was in the kitchen. Ron went a little (okay, a lot) pink in the ears. He was glad Hermione and Ginny had been excited, but he hadn't anticipated the whole household practically having a party; it was getting a bit embarrassing. He bent low to the table, grabbed Hermione's hand, and quickly led her through the crowd as best he could, until they escaped into the hallway. Hermione gave him a tight hug.
"Hermione, this means we can start looking for a place to live! Well, naturally, this paycheck alone won't cover the expenses of a house, but now that we've got something to start from-"
"Ron, we don't have to live in a house, I mean, an apartment would be fine, it doesn't matter! As long as I'm with you," she said, pulling her arms back to hold his face in her hands.
"I know, I know, but we can't really have an apartment if we're going to-"
"-Have oodles and oodles of kids? Hmm, good point there…" she said pensively. "Well, we can always…well, how about this: we find ourselves a place to start off with, and then, after we get completely settled and everything, after the wedding, and I've gotten a job, and we are ready for our oodles and oodles of children, we can find a bigger place! What do you think?" she asked happily. Ron rubbed his chin thoughtfully, eyed Hermione decidedly, and nodded.
"Hermione, that sounds brilliant," he said, leaning in for a kiss. When he pulled back, he felt his arm being tugged back in the direction they had just left from. All of a sudden, he was back in the kitchen, where he was thus consumed by his family's congratulations, while Hermione looked on with Ginny from the corner. He pretty much didn't make it out of that room for another three hours. And that was because of Hermione's dragging his half-asleep self up the stairs.
The next morning, Hermione walked down the steps into the living room, where she found Ginny sitting on the sofa, holding what seemed to be some parchment. Hermione sat down next to her and peered over to see what she was holding. Ginny was too lost in thought to notice, so Hermione slid the paper from between her fingers and turned it over. It was a letter to Ron.
From Harry.
"Oh, Ginny…" she whispered. Ginny merely blinked.
After a moment, she looked up at Hermione, her eyes full of disdain.
"I had almost forgotten about him. I had been so very close. Things were beginning to become normal again, you know? I knew it had to happen sometime, but I was hoping it wouldn't be for a while, at least until I had completely gotten over him…Hermione, I'm so pathetic! I can't even get over one silly boy! Why is this so hard?" she nearly cried, but Hermione did her best to calm her.
"Ginny, I'm really proud of you, you know that? I mean, I can't even begin to imagine what I would do without Ron, and I don't want to bring this up, because I know it hurts you, but I have to…what I'm trying to say is, these past few weeks, you've been so unbelievably strong. I wouldn't know what to do if that happened to me, I would be an absolute mess! In thinking about how much it hurts, you haven't been able to see how much progress you've made! You're amazing! Ginny, you're not pathetic. Not on bit. And you're right, though Harry is one of my best friends, he is a silly boy. And the fact that you can admit that just shows how much you've grown, and how much you've gotten over him. Don't you see?" Hermione took Ginny's small hand and gave it a small squeeze.
"Just think about that, will you?" she said with a smile, and she left to take Ron his letter. Ginny stayed in her spot, resting her hand on her chin and sighing. Well, she does have a good point…maybe I am getting over him…
Ginny wasn't quite sure whether this was a good thing.
