Weddings with Weasleys

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

Part Three- Dinner Dates

When Hermione entered the Burrow that evening, it was already bustling like mad. Bill's and Fleur's four children were running around like terrors, while their parents calmly had a conversation with Mr. Weasley. Katie, Tonks, Luna and Angelina surrounded Mrs. Weasley, but Remus and Ginny were huddled in a corner, looking angrily over at Mrs. Weasley. Ron, Harry and Percy looked at the crowd of women in fear.

Hermione found Fred and George hiding in the kitchen and hurried to join them. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Mum's gone nutters," Fred replied. "We managed to escape, but Ron and Percy and Harry haven't been so lucky yet."

"We're just waiting on Charlie now," George said. "Hermione, have you told your parents yet?"

"I owled them earlier," she replied. "I didn't tell them it was a legal thing. That would crush them. I just said that we'd decided to get married and that it was in three weeks."

"So they're going to think we're in love?" George asked in fear. Hermione nodded.

"They'll just be there for the wedding, so we won't have to play it up too much," she said.

"I can't believe Hermione Granger lied to her parents!" Fred exclaimed. "George, you've corrupted her, and you're not even married yet." He howled with laughter.

Hermione glared at him and stormed out onto the back porch. George also glared at his brother. "Lay off, Fred." He was about to follow her, but Molly bustled into the kitchen.

"Is Hermione here yet?" she asked excitedly.

"She's on the porch," George mumbled. "I don't think she wants to see anyone right now."

"George, what have you done already?" Molly asked in exasperation.

"Not me!" he cried in response. "It was Fred."

Molly glared at both boys, ordered them into the living room and went outside to speak with Hermione.

"Hermione, dear, are you all right?" she asked hesitantly.

Hermione quickly brushed tears from her eyes. "I'm fine. I was just about to come back in," she said and forced a smile.

"Let's stay out here for a bit, shall we?" Molly asked kindly. "I wanted to let you in on a little secret."

The two women sat on a small stone bench, and Molly took Hermione's hand in hers. "When I first met you, Hermione," Molly began, "I knew I wanted you to be a part of my family. You always have been, but now it will be official." She smiled at the younger woman before continuing. "The kids don't know this, but Arthur and I had an arranged marriage as well."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "But you seem so in love."

"Oh we are, dear, we are," Molly said. "We met about a month before the wedding. I didn't think I would ever love him like I do, but it all worked out. We just learned to be friends first; love came later. It will for you and George. I can feel it."

"But I'm scared," Hermione pleaded.

"I know, but it will all be okay," Molly assured her. "George does care for you, even if he's not in love with you. He'll take care of you and be good to you, just as you will with him." She stood, pulling Hermione up with her. "Let's go in now, shall we?"

Hermione nodded and smiled. The two women returned to the living room. Hermione found George and intertwined her hand with his. He looked at her and blushed just as Ginny and her mother began arguing.

"But Mum, if Remus and I are getting married in three weeks, what's the harm in moving in with him now?" Ginny asked.

"You're not married yet," Molly insisted. "Besides, what happens if while you're there he wants to get a jump on having children?" Fred and George snickered quietly.

Ginny's face grew red, and she mumbled, "But Mum, you'd want to jump him, too, if you saw how big his-"

"What's that, Ginny?" Molly asked accusingly.

"I was just saying that Remus has a rather large house, and there's plenty of room," Ginny answered innocently.

Molly didn't have a chance to respond before Charlie and his bride-to-be tumbled from the fireplace. All the Weasleys and prospective fiancés stared at the young woman with Charlie. She was quite petite, with short, wispy brown hair and large brown eyes. She was clad in a buttery yellow dress and navy blue cloak.

"Everyone, this is Cassandra," Charlie said. "Cassie, this is my family." He introduced Cassie to everyone and led her over to the sofa to sit. Mrs. Weasley immediately accosted her, while Charlie sauntered over to his brothers.

"Lovely girl," Bill commented. The other boys nodded in agreement.

"She's amazing," Charlie said awe-struck. "Right off, she says that a year ago she had a vision that she'd marry a red-haired chap. She's a Seer. She also said we'd be very happy and have two sons."

Fred's eyes widened with glee. "Go ask her how many kids me and Angelina will have...or if the Cannons will win the Cup this year," he said.

"Fred!" Charlie exclaimed. "I can't do that. How thick can you be?" He shook his head and turned back to Bill. "I couldn't be happier with this match. I mean, she's beautiful, brilliant and a bloody Seer! Plus, she works for the Ministry with International Relations, so she doesn't mind moving to Romania!"

"Good show, old boy," Bill said, clapping Charlie on the back.

Dinner went off without a hitch, and everyone talked and laughed together until very late in the evening. Finally, however, it was time for everyone to return home. Charlie had to go back to Romania, but Cassie had promised to join him in a few days, as soon as she could settle things at her job. George Flooed with Hermione to her flat, so he would know where to come the following evening. They said their awkward good-byes, and Hermione fell into bed, completely exhausted.

The next evening, Hermione was frightfully nervous. Ginny watched her best friend flit about her flat brushing imaginary dust off the furniture and straighten the books on her shelves.

"Hermione, it's just George," Ginny said with a laugh.

"I know, but I'm nervous," Hermione explained. "I've never been alone with him before. We're meant to talk about the wedding."

"Remus and I have ours all planned," Ginny said proudly. "That reminds me, I would like you to be my maid of honor."

"Oh, Ginny, of course, I will," Hermione gushed. "I want you to be mine too."

Ginny beamed and the two girls hugged. "So where are you and Remus having the wedding?"

"Mum wanted it to be at the Burrow, like everyone else's," Ginny said, rolling her eyes, "But we're having it at the same church near Manchester where his parents got married. It's going to be at sunset with loads of flowers and candles."

"That sounds so beautiful, Gin," Hermione said wistfully. "Well, you'd better go before George shows up. He should be here any minute." The two girls hugged again before Ginny Apparated to Remus' cottage in Canterbury. Hermione had the sinking suspicion that Ginny had already moved in with her husband-to-be, despite her mother's objections.

George Apparated into the flat moments later, with a bouquet of daisies in his hand. He presented them to Hermione with a grand bow.

"What're these for?" she asked after thanking him.

"I figured a good husband brings his wife flowers from time to time," he said with a shrug.

"We're not married yet," Hermione reminded him.

Half an hour later, they were sitting down to a lovely dinner prepared by George. Hermione would never admit it, but she was quite impressed that he could cook.

Over dinner, they talked about his shop and her job. George hadn't really been sure what Hermione did at Gringott's, only that she worked for Bill. But he was fascinated to learn that she handled most of the exchanging from foreign and Muggle currency to Wizarding currency. Hermione learned that the joke shop was more successful than she'd thought, especially since both Fred and George lived rather modestly. George told her that Fred was the more creative of the two and preferred inventing the products, though George was better suited to Charms than Fred. George preferred the business side of things, such as dealing with the legal issue and safety concerns. He also took care of all the bookkeeping, whereas Fred dealt with advertising and marketing.

After dinner, they sat on Hermione's sofa to talk about the wedding. They decided to have a small affair in the garden at the Burrow, with Fred as the best man, naturally, and Ginny as the matron of honor.

"Since tomorrow's Saturday, I thought we'd go shopping," George said. "Fred can manage the store by himself."

"Shopping for what?" Hermione asked.

"A ring for one thing," George said with a hearty laugh. "No fiancé of mine is going to be walking about town without a big, vulgar ring on her finger."

"George, I don't need a ring," Hermione said. "Besides, they're terribly expensive."

"But I want you to have one, the best one," George insisted. "I thought you might also want to look for a place to live."

"What's wrong with my flat?" Hermione asked. "I know it's small, but it's nice."

"It's very nice, Hermione, a little too girly for my tastes, though," George said, "and I didn't think you'd want me intruding in your home. I thought we could find a place together, that we both like."

"Oh, yes, I suppose that's a good idea. That's very considerate of you," Hermione said, blushing.

"Hermione," George said slowly, "I know you don't think much of me; I know I've always seemed rather silly to you, but I'm trying to be adult about this situation. I really would like to talk about it."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I spoke with Bill, and he said you had some concerns about giving up your life," he replied.

Hermione tried not to be angry with Bill for sharing her anxieties with George. She knew Bill was only trying to help. And being the only Weasley to actually marry on his own, he must feel some type of obligation to help his brothers.

"I'm just upset that we're being forced into this," she told George. "I know there's no point in appealing the law. We'd never be heard before the month is up. But there are so many things I wanted to do and see before I got married."

"Like what?" George said. Hermione looked at him skeptically. "If it's possible, I'll try and make some of those things happen," he replied simply.

Hermione had to smile at his determination. "Well, for one thing, I haven't been to America yet, and that's something I always wanted to do."

"That," George said with a smile, "I can do. How about we go there for a honeymoon?"

Hermione inched away from him slightly. "George, we don't have to do all that. Really, we don't."

"Oh," he replied in a small voice. "I just thought all newlyweds took a holiday together. But if you don't want to, we don't have to." He looked away from her and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"George, it's not that I don't want to," Hermione said, "thinking about...what happens on a honeymoon makes me nervous."

George's face turned a deep crimson, and he stammered out, "Hermione, we don't have to do that any time soon. I just thought it might be nice to go away for a few days; you know, get to know each other better."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "That sounds lovely, George. Thank you."

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Well, I always wanted to own my own home, not just rent a flat, so I could have a garden,"

"Done," he said.

Hermione sighed loudly. "George, you can't just make things happen like that. That's really not helping. You can't make everything all right just because you say so."

"Why not? In case you haven't noticed, Hermione, I'm a Weasley, and we're not exactly known for backing down," he argued.

"But you can't make some things happen," she replied hotly, rising to her feet.

"Yes, I can. I can at least try," he insisted. "What else did you want to do before you got married?"

"I wanted to actually fall in love with the man I would marry!" she yelled. Her face was flushed with anger, and her fists were clenched at her sides.

Instead of getting angry, George merely smiled and stood up to face her. "Well, that's easy." At her puzzled expression, he chuckled. "I won't be able to do it alone; you'll have to help a little."

"What are you talking about?" she asked harshly.

"You can fall in love with me," he replied.

"No, I can't," Hermione replied, struggling to not cry.

"Why not? Are you in love with someone else already?" George asked. "Because this isn't going to bode well if you're already cheating on me."

Hermione's mouth twitched into a small smile. "No," she answered, "I'm not in love with anyone. But I don't think I can love you, George, not as a wife loves a husband."

"Again, I must ask, why not?" he said stubbornly. "You've known me for years; I can make you laugh. And I've got a steady job, a fantastic sense of humor, a great family who already loves you and loads of money. Plus, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm the better-looking twin."

"Yes, you're all those things, George," Hermione conceded, "but it's just not that easy."

"It is that easy," he replied, "you just don't want to admit it."

When she didn't say anything in response, George gave up. "I guess I should be going. How about I come round at noon tomorrow?"

"That will be fine," Hermione replied. "I'll see you then."

"Good night, Hermione," he said softly and kissed her cheek.