I Thee Wed
Chapter 4:
The Ball Begins to Roll
Author's Note: All I ask is that you don't kill me for taking so long with this. Please? If you decide not to kill me because of that, I will take hope that none of you will mind any mindless errors in here. My editor is hard to reach sometimes, and I can't keep this sitting here any longer.
Disclaimer: Still not mine. If you hear differently, definitely send me an email.
***
The shifts of Fortune test the reliability of friends.
-Cicero
***
When Ron woke up later he was neither ignorant of his surroundings nor his plight. He remembered it all with the clarity of an elephant. After all, it's been said that elephants have extremely good memories.
For a few minutes Ron only stared up at the ceiling, listening to Crookshank's shallow breathing. When that got boring he dumped the cat off his body and walked into the kitchen. Upon entering he was extremely surprised to find no Harry, Hermione, and no note from either of the former. A quick raid of Hermione's fridge offered did not offer clues, but in all honesty, it hadn't been clues he was searching for.
Sadly, Hermione's fridge did not contain anything that could be considered appetizing. There was yogurt, lettuce, milk, and some leftovers that looked suspiciously like corn beef. Giving up, he moved on to rummaging through his friend's—his wife's actually, but who's noticing?—desk and found a quill, some parchment, and a picture of Hermione that had been taken when she'd been ill with the Gangling Garble. Ron had been "taking care" of her and had happened to pick up her Muggle camera, with which he had proceeded to take picture after picture of anything that was nearby.
Placing the picture back in its drawer, Ron settled down to begin his letter.
Dear Bill,
Hi! I hope everything is going well in France. I'm sure you and Fleur are getting lots of work done between you. I'm just not sure what kind. Perhaps I should warn Gringotts about you. Anyway, Bill, I'm in a bit of a situation. Do you know of a spell that can help you remember stuff from when you're a bit drunk? If you do, could you please send it to me A.S.A.P? If you come through I'll get you all the autographed quidditch equipment you could ever hope for.
Love,
Ron
P.S. Please don't tell Mum about any of this, that's the last thing I need.
When Ron had finished his letter of eloquence, or something to that effect, he rolled it up and stuffed it in the pocket of his robes. Ron's owl, Mars, was at the Burrow; he had sent the bird there before coming back to England, thinking it would make things easier on the trip home. Now he was without a way to send his letter, a problem he could only fix by making a stop in Diagon Alley.
***
Ron's trip to the Leaky Cauldron was incredibly uneventful. Thanks to the glamour he had cast on his features not a soul recognized him for the celebrity that he was, giving him enough privacy to wallow in his depressing thoughts. Usually Ron loved the attention paid to him by adoring fans, but as he got older he realized more and more why Harry had always been dodging Colin.
Actually, he had always realized why Harry would dodge Colin, just not everybody else.
After stopping to deliver his letter in Musty Mail Express, Ron worked his way to his favorite restaurant. Moonshine was a place that he, Harry and Hermione had discovered three years after they had left Hogwarts. In those years Hermione had studied furiously to become a Healer, Ron had thrown himself into quidditch, and Harry had wandered the world aimlessly. On one of their short reunions the trio had stumbled upon the tiny restaurant, a place that served wonderful food, was full of friendly service and always had a quidditch game on the wireless. They had immediately designated it "their place", and Ron was eager to stop in, even if he was on his own.
When he was standing across the street from the establishment Ron looked up to view the large, deep-blue sign that had first attracted he and his friends. Silver stars were dotted across it, many of which were whizzing to and fro. A crescent moon hung in the corner, shimmering in the sunlight or glowing warmly in the moonlight. Though he'd never say so out loud, Ron thought it was beautiful.
Eventually the redhead moved to enter, and as soon as he did so the smells of a first-class kitchen assaulted his nostrils. His stomach began grumbling in earnest, protesting the fact that it had not been adequately filled earlier. When Ron caught sight of a middle-aged man serving drinks at the bar he cast off the glamour that had kept him from being recognized, then made his way towards him.
"Frank!"
The man named Frank squinted and shook his head from side to side. "Am I supposed to recognize you?" he asked with a distinct Scottish brogue.
"Put on your glasses, old man!" Ron responded, failing to hold back a grin. "Folk your age need all the help they can get."
"See if I serve you today," Frank retorted loudly. Both broke into laughter only seconds later, sending many odd looks their way. "So, where have you been off to as of late?"
"You know perfectly well where I was," Ron replied.
Frank continued to play dumb. "I heard something about you managing some sport or another. Can't be very good, though, being as I've never heard of you."
"Shut your trap and get me a drink, Frank, I'm tired of listening to your yammering."
"I suppose you'll be wanting the special as well?" Frank asked. Ron's stomach grumbled again, ensuring an end to his mock fight as well as answering the barkeeper's question. "I guess I'll be putting the order in then."
"Thank you, Frank."
"Just glad you're back is all! But tell me, why isn't your lady-friend sitting with you?"
Astounded, Ron got off his chair. "Hermione's here?"
Frank nodded in surprise. "Didn't you see her? She's over in one of the back booths with some fellow."
And that's when Ron saw Dylan for the very first time.
***
"And then I told Professor Laurette that she was completely misreading the data. Shakespeare's home held an astounding…"
Hermione sunk into passive listening as her thoughts drifted to Ron. She felt bad for having abandoned him back at her place, something she would not have done if she hadn't been so angry with him. If she'd been in a better state of mind she would have told Dylan she was going out, effectively sending him away. Now she was stuck in a booth in her favorite restaurant, unable to enjoy neither the atmosphere nor the food. And to be perfectly honest, she felt guilty about taking Dylan to Moonshine. It hadn't seemed like a bad idea when she had originally brought him here, but now she was realizing that half of the charm of the restaurant came from the fact that she usually came here with Ron and Harry—not dates. Especially not dates she had cheated on less than twenty-four hours ago.
"But the physics behind such a thing would be nearly impossible, not a modicum of success should be expected. Don't you think so, 'Mione? Hermione?"
"Pardon?" Snapping herself back into reality, Hermione looked up at Dylan embarrassedly. He stared back at her with annoyance, knowing full well that she hadn't been listening.
"Hermione, this could be the biggest discovery to hit the magical world in centuries! Don't you even care?"
"Of course I care!" said Hermione, not at all sure what she cared about.
Dylan's annoyance ebbed and the blond nodded kindly. "I'm sorry, 'Mione. You know how I can be sometimes."
"'Mione?" Ron's astounded voice echoed.
***
"Ron!" It didn't escape Hermione that her voice had become very shrill.
"In the flesh."
Dylan was looking from one friend to another in complete confusion, unable to decide which was more surprising: Ron being here, or the fact that Hermione's voice had just become very shrill.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.
"Eating. What else would I be doing here?"
"Who are you with?"
Ron felt like he was on trial for living. "Me, myself and I."
"Stop being silly."
"Stop being a pain in the arse!"
Luckily, Dylan chose that exact moment to jump in with one of his booming 'Hello's', so nobody heard Ron's demand.
"Er…yeah," the redhead said in way of greeting.
Rolling her eyes, Hermione took over introductions. "Ron, this is Dylan. Dylan, this is Ron."
"I think we got that much, Hermione," Ron said coldly.
Hermione was beginning to feel less and less guilty as time went by. An awkwad silence passed before Hermione got up grabbed Ron's arm and marched him to the other end of the room.
"Stop being so rude!" she scolded when they were out of Dylan's earshot.
"Why did you bring him here? This isn't someplace where you should bring people like him!"
Too angry to admit she realized this, Hermione shot back, "What, I can only come here with you?"
"Yes!" Ron shouted in response. The answer surprised both parties.
A pregnant pause passed between them. In a calmer voice Hermione said, "You know, if you're bothered by me bringing Dylan here, you can just say so. I'll respect your opinion as long as you convey it to me like the adult that you are."
"You sound like my mother," Ron grumbled.
"Your mother is very wise," Hermione replied. She worked up the will to smile. "Why don't you come eat with us? We're still friends. We'll just not talk about anything that happened at the party. Besides, you should get to know Dylan."
For some reason the prospect of 'getting to know' Dylan was not an exciting one. "Does he like to talk about quidditch?"
"He doesn't like sports," Hermione admitted.
"Do you like him?" Ron glanced over at Hermione's new beau, who appeared to be inspecting the workmanship of his silverware.
"He has many of the same interests that I do. He's very respected in his career. We're probably a very good match."
"What does he do?" Ron asked, not because he was interested but because he wanted to delay returning to the table.
"He studies architecture and how magic has effected the different types of it over the years."
"Didn't Binns try to tell us about that stuff?"
"Every year, Ron. We even did an essay on it. I still have mine if you want to look at it when we go home."
"Er…that's okay, Hermione." A few seconds passed. "What do you mean when 'we' go home?"
Hermione winced. "Talk to Harry about it. Now, do you want to eat with us or not?"
Ron nodded, but when he walked over to the table he felt as if he was walking to the guillotine. When all were settled, Dylan gave Ron the once over. "So," he began.
"So."
"Hermione tells me you're the captain of a quidditch team."
Ron tried very hard not to gouge Dylan's eyes out with one of the restaurant's spoons. "No, I don't actually play, though I did when I was in school. I'm the manager of the Chudley Cannons."
"They used to be extremely terrible, correct?"
Hermione quickly put a hand on Dylan's shoulder. "They're not anymore, though. Ron's really helped to turn the team around. He hired a new coach and commissioned Oliver Wood as the team captain! They've won every game this season, usually by a landslide!"
Both Dylan and Ron looked at the brown-haired witch quizzically. Dylan regained speech first. "You follow quidditch? I thought, well, I didn't think you liked that sort of thing."
"What sort of thing?" Ron spat.
Hermione, meanwhile, was at a loss for what was so wrong with what she'd said. "Of course I follow Ron's team, he's like a brother to me!"
"A brother?" Dylan asked suspiciously.
"A brother," Hermione reinforced.
For some reason this statement bothered Ron, and he was pretty sure it was because of the events that had taken place last night. "Gross," he said without thinking.
"What is?" Dylan asked.
For a moment, Ron seriously debated the answer 'your face'." He was saved the trouble of finding something more suitable when a waitress came bearing their lunches.
***
When they were finished and walking back down Diagon Alley, Dylan announced abruptly that he had to be leaving. "Clodaugh's coming over to pick up some of my old school books that she'll be needing this year," he said gruffly. "Besides, people are beginning to notice you two celebrities." He did not sound happy about the situation.
"Oh dear, we forgot to recast the spells! I suppose it's too late now," Hermione conceded, worried by Dylan's tone. She reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek none the less.
This did not seem to make Dylan feel any better, but he managed to remain courteous and even turned to say goodbye to Ron. "Nice meeting you," he began. "Any friend of Hermione's is a friend of mine." Ron couldn't help but notice that Dylan seemed less than sincere. The two shook hands, though, which helped to soothe Hermione's nerves.
At least it would have, if Ron's other hand hadn't glinted in the sunlight, due to the gold ring that was upon it.
___________________________________________________________________
I'm so sorry to make everybody wait so long for so little. This chapter was a bit tough because I began it so long ago, though. I hope the next update will be timelier!
A special thanks to:
Zoe Potter, mine veela, divagoddess1, Azyne, Alchemist, Fanciful Sovereign, AngelicFairy, my dog ate my penname, Isadora, just a random reviewer, Lacasta Jungling, BlackMage3, kimberly vines, yvonne, Essie Aster…
Powerpetal- Thanks, "out there" is a term I definitely think describes this!
Redgem- Wonderful job editing so far…that is, if you had actually done so! But I love you anyway
Druhill513- You find a cast I'll supply the script!
kevin luver- Hmm, I don't know when there will be any more action, you'll just have to bear with me on that. ^_~
piano-rock- Yeah, but if you don't torture Harry it's not a HP fanfic! ^_~
feather- I promise you, Ron is NOT having a thing with Ginny. Hopefully you didn't mean that the way it came out.
LadyArwen14- Thanks for your loyalty in reviews. I may not be timely, but you sure are! Oh, and sorry about "shire", do you forgive me?
Starstrucked- I know, Gretchen just seemed like THE name, hehe.
lolo1- You are too sweet! Your reviews put a smile on mine!
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Mysticalolo- I didn't actually think of Friends when I conceived the idea, but now that you mention it, maybe it was a subconscious thing. Interesting.
Lawwwren- Is it just me or does being put on a person's Favorites list make a writer feel like they've won an Emmy?
YourALoserSoAmI- I have a book that I get a ton of them from, but www.quotaionspage.com is also a huge help.
MysticVigil- You flatter me more than I deserve! Thanks for being such a great a kind reader.
Megaroni- Do you realize this is the first season where Rob Lowe will be gone entirely? I think I might cry now.