A/N: Well, at least I know I'm charming! Hi, guys, me again. I thought you did a great job reviewing last chapter I hit my goal, 80 reviews! So, yey! Make sure to review this chapter cause I just really love it for no particular reason at all, sort of like cheeseburgers, you know? Like they're super duper good but they're so bad for you. Never mind. I'm gonna go sit in a corner. Enjoy!
"Mummy, Mummy, wake up!" I slowly opened my eyes to look up at my daughter standing excitedly on the edge of my bed. "Time for bweakfast!"
"What?" I mumbled sleepily.
"She wanted to bring you breakfast in bed." I glanced over Baker's shoulder and found myself staring at Ron. "See, Ginny threw some bacon on me while I was asleep this morning and told Baker it was breakfast in bed so naturally she wanted to make sure you got some too, so there you go." He floated a tray over to my bed.
"You were up that early?" I asked Baker. I had slept in as I was only working a half day today.
"Eat!" Baker said, ignoring my question.
"Why don't you taste test it for me?" I asked her, handing her my fork.
She took a bite of the eggs on my plate. "Mmm mmm!"
"Sounds delicious," I said. I took a bit for myself. "Don't you have to work today?" I asked Ron, who was still meandering in the room.
"Not till later," he said. "I took a half day. But, Harry's already gone in."
"I dunno what I'm going to do with Baker; I have to work," I told him, stroking her hair.
"I can watch her until I have to go. And maybe Gris could watch her. Gris loves kids." Isn't Gris just perfect?
"But doesn't she have to work?" I asked.
"Well, see, Gris is in the later stages of Healer training. She goes in nights to work with patients. It's supposed to give her some hands-on experience." And I bet she was giving Ron some 'hands-on' experience. No, not a good thought.
"Well, you should probably go now," I said.
"What?" he asked, like I had accused him of doing something wrong.
"So I can change?"
"Oh." He turned red and walked out. I guess some things never change.
"I can't believe you're going to be living with all those people!" Allyson yelled at me across the store. She was behind the counter, checking out a girl who reminded me distinctly of myself at her age. She had about 4 thousand page books. "You could've lived with me or something!"
"You live with Miles and his brother and his brother's family. That's crazy. Listen, we'll talk in a second!" I yelled back over to her while putting a sale sign over a pile of books. "Can I help you?" I asked a tall boy of about fifteen who looked to be hiding behind the book pile.
"Uhm—no, I'm just waiting for my friend," he said, pointing at the girl who was getting the large books put in a bag by Ally.
"Oh, that's nice," I said, thinking what a cute couple the pair would make.
"She's just my friend," the boy insisted as if I had said otherwise.
"All right. Well, have a nice day," I told him, smiling brightly.
"Thanks," he said as his friend walked over to him.
"Ryan, d'you have to be such a drama queen? None of your friends are going to see you in here and if they do, who cares? Ooh, how much on sale are these books?" she asked me quickly.
"C'mon, Madeline," Ryan said, grabbing her by the wrist and quickly letting go like he had touched a hot oven. "I want to get to Quality Quidditch Supplies some time this century."
"Fine, fine."
"Have a nice day!" I called, waving after the cute pair who seemed not to notice me and continued arguing.
I walked back over to the counter where Ally had buried herself in the entertainment section of the Daily Prophet. "Ah, young love," she said, following me eye line.
"Love? Are you sure?"
"Oh yes," she said, brushing back a piece of her sweeping black hair. "No boy would've waited for me while I bought books at that age. Especially not one who's 'just a friend.'"
"They were rather cute, weren't they?"
"Rather, but let's get back to you. And your living arrangements?"
"I told you, I'll be living at the Weasleys for all of five days and then I'm moving in with Ginny. You just wait till you meet her; she's the sweetest thing. You'll love her."
"But what about this Ron character? Haven't I heard mention of him before?"
"Probably, he was my friend in school."
"Oh, he was the one with the whatever- and Harry Potter. You led an interesting life back then."
"When did I ever tell you about that thing?"
Ally folded up the paper and shrugged. "Sometime. D'you reckon he still likes you?"
"Who? Ron? Are you kidding?"
"Ron, of course. Harry was totally insignificant in the matter."
"Ron has a girlfriend. A 'serious one.' And how was he insignificant?"
"Ooh, what's her name? I might know her."
"Griselda something. But seriously, Ally, you don't know everybody."
"But, I did know a Griselda. But I just can't believe they still—hold up. Who is that?"
"Who?" I asked, completely thrown off. "What are you talking about?"
"Over there," she said, pointing out the window. "That guy is so...wonderful."
I looked at her and shook my head. "Think about Miles. Anyway, who are you talking about?"
She rolled her eyes and turned my head in the direction she was looking.
She hardly had time to let go of my head before I was sprinting toward the door the boy was coming in. "Anthony!" I squealed excitedly. I jumped up and gave him a big hug before he was even halfway through the door.
"Hey," he said. "I was on break and thought I'd come visit you."
"That's really-- thanks! Here, I want you to come meet my friend." I pulled his hand and led him to the back of the room where Ally was sitting. "Anthony, this is Allyson. Ally, this is Anthony."
"Nice to meet you," Anthony said.
"The pleasure's all mine," Ally answered, resting her head in her hands.
I whispered to Anthony, "She thinks you're highly attractive. Spikes and all."
He smiled. "What are you up to?"
"Business isn't booming so we were sort of just talking. Ally was saying she thought she might know Gris."
"Really?" Anthony asked, turning to her. "Griselda Raleigh?"
"Yes, I believe we've met...somewhere. Maybe—no that wasn't it. I'll let you know when I think of it."
"Both of you lovely ladies work here then?"
"Yeah," Ally answered. "Where do you work?"
"The Ministry of Magic. In the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
"Really?" Ally went on. "That sounds fascinating."
"Hi, Miles!" I yelled, waving at the blank wall behind us.
"Cute, but he has the day off," Allyson told me. "I have a shipment of books to disperse anyway. Hermione, take five." She picked up a box and winked at me. I snorted inwardly; as if Miles would ever leave her in charge.
"She seems nice," Anthony said, watching her black hair disappear.
"She's the only thing that makes work fun."
"So, Harry was telling me this morning about all the heartache you two had been having over those houses Dumbledore had rented to you. I understand you've moved in with the Weasleys."
"Yeah, we have. Speaking of the Weasleys, what's with you and Ginny, huh?"
"Nothing," Anthony said quickly. "Well, what I mean to say is we're just friends. I would prefer to not have Harry hate me, you know?"
I laughed. "For sure. So, any particular reason you stopped by?"
"No," Anthony said, averting his eyes. He seemed to have a quick, silent struggle with himself. "Well, actually, I lied, yes. I wanted to ask you something."
"And what is that?" I asked, trying to hide my anticipation.
"Would you- d'you wanna- I mean to say. Can I take you on a date? Please?"
My brain had to take a moment to compose itself. "Sure! Where, when?"
"Really?"
"No. I'm kidding."
"Well, I just wasn't sure you'd say yes."
"Oh, c'mon, Anthony, I've liked you for ages."
"See, that's what I thought, but then you had a kid, and I didn't think you had ever been interested in me. So, I guess it's been a long time coming."
"Yeah."
"Well, I'll owl you the details soon. I had better get going."
"All right, see you soon. Can't wait!"
"All right. Bye!" he said, and turned to walk out. Just as the door closed behind him, I heard a huge crash from the other side of the room.
"Ally, are you ok?" I called, still watching Anthony.
"France!" she screamed. "That's where I met her—France!"
I was too busy watching Anthony to even bring myself to care.
"Mummy! Mummy's home!" Baker screamed, jumping off the backyard tire swing and tackling me in the leg. I pulled her up in my arms and kissed her on the forehead. "Did you have a good time?"
"Oh, yes," Baker said, bobbing her head up and down profusely.
Mrs. Weasley and Ginny followed up behind her, both grinning. "You've got yourself a live wire there," Mrs. Weasley said. "Reminds me of Ron when he was younger."
I tried not to make a face. "Better Ron than Fred and George." I shifted Baker around to my hip so I could speak to them better. "Did she behave?"
"She was a good girl, "Mrs. Weasley said. "Now, if you girls don't mind, I'm going to head in to cook supper."
"I wanna help Mrs. Weasley!" Baker said excitedly.
"Now, Baker, I think you've taken up enough of her time today."
"Oh, no," Mrs. Weasley said. "I would love to have the help. And you and Ginny can have some time to talk."
"You sure?" I asked.
She nodded, so I put Baker down on the ground and allowed her to walk in with Mrs. Weasley.
"Wait till I tell you about our day," Ginny said, walking over to a stump and sitting down. I did as she did. "How was work?" she asked.
"Fine. I have a date. With a certain cutie you were discussing."
"Anthony finally asked you out? Hallelujah."
"Did you know?"
"Of course."
"What's been going on here? And what happened to Gris? I thought she was going to watch Baker."
"Funny you should mention that," Ginny answered, looking away innocently.
Suspicion began to form. "Why?"
"Well, because... it was a complete catastrophe. She made a mess, trying to cook some lunch and kept swearing things were exploding- flour and such." She inserted an eye roll. "She kept breaking nails in sandwiches too. She broke Baker's favorite toy. Then, broke it more, swearing she could fix it. She proceeded to nearly burn Baker to death by way of hot bath water and almost drowned her. She rounded off the whole fiasco by almost burning down the house. In between all this, she tripped about two thousand times. Mum finally came out and took some pity on her and took Baker off her hands."
All the pieces clicked into place. "Let me guess, you were there to save the day every time one of these little 'catastrophes' happened?"
She half-smiled. "Well, you say that like I could just sit and watch her burn down the house and kill your child."
"C'mon, Ginny. You can't just do that to somebody. She was trying to help."
"Hermione, please. She was trying to seduce my brother."
"By watching Baker? What did I miss?"
"She's trying to prove what a perfect little goody two shoes she is. She needs to get over herself. I'm simply helping her go about it."
"That's absurd! What on earth are you talking about?"
"Just leave it alone."
"I will not. It's wrong!"
"Anyway, who says I did anything?"
"Oh, Ginny, I'm not that thick." I did my best Ginny-impression. "'You won't have to worry about Griselda much longer, Hermione.'"
"Oh, get over it. I'm just messing with her mind a bit. It's not like you're a saint either."
"I'm well aware. Now, where's Ron?"
"Out on that bench by the pond. Why?"
I got up from where we were sitting and walked in that direction. Ginny dashed up behind me. "Hermione, no! What're you going to do? Don't tell Ron!"
I kept walking and she kept chasing until we were right on the water's edge and could see Ron and Gris sitting on the bench together quite clearly. She seemed to be crying and he was doing the best he could to comfort her. I stopped, not wanting to get in the middle of their problems. Ginny and I glanced at each other. We didn't want to hear this.
"God, Ron, I feel like such an idiot. I can't even watch a kid."
"It was fine. Nobody got hurt or anything and you took the time to do it. That's what counts."
"But I want to have a kid someday. And I know you do too. Imagine it; if I couldn't even take care of my own child."
He sighed. "You'd have to learn. Everybody has to learn, right? We're too young to be worrying about that sort of thing, anyway." That stung.
"Hermione does it. She's not that much older than me, and she's not nearly drowning her own daughter in a bath tub. I know that's what you're thinking."
"That is ridiculous. C'mon, Gris. She had to learn too. You know what? If you couldn't deal with kids, I wouldn't care anyway. Forget kids. I care about you."
"I just want to be a good mum some day. Is that so much to ask?"
"And you will... some day. Just not right now."
"You're sure, Ron?"
"Listen. That's not what matters to me. What matters to me is that I'm with you. Because I love you, flaws and all." He turned a distinct red color, but Gris smiled all the same.
I watched as their lips met just under the setting sun. Ron had never said those three words to me. I'd remembered that for a long time now. Every time the memory of that night floated through my mind, there he was again and again never saying he loved me.
"I love you too, Ron," Gris whispered back. It was sort of like the feeling you'd get if someone shoved a knife through your heart and turned it, I figured.
"At least now I don't have to worry about knowing whether you can cook later on," Ron joked.
"Hermione, are you ok?" Ginny whispered, staring not at them but at me, with a slightly concerned expression on her face.
I pushed the moisture out of my eyes. "Fine."
"Let's go back up to the house and help Mum," she said, taking my arm and leading me back up the hillside. I didn't say anything. I was too busy thinking.
If he was so unconcerned with her flaws, she could take a bit more. They were going to be happy no matter what, right? So what if I let Ginny have a little fun. They were still a cute couple. I wasn't really involved anyway. Besides, Ginny had made all those nice plans. Why rain on her parade?
A/N: Yey, I get to be mean. I feel mean. No, not really! I am not feeling good to day, so everyone should review. I think I will do a cheer.
Ra ra ree, review 'em in the knee!
Ra ra rass, review 'em in the other knee!
La la la, bend over, grab your ankles, and I'll show you something exciting... God, I love AG!
Good, glad we got that over with! Review!
cheese riot: Interesting proposition, cause see, I've always wanted a beta. It would be so fun! You could make corrections, and suggestion, and we could stay up late talking, and we could paint each others' toe nails! YEY!!! JK. Lemme know if you're still interested. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the story. I have had one chick who said the character were OoC, but your review cheered me right up! Keep reading, yey!
Lisa Potter: Because I'm an asshole. JK! I have to edit these a lot before I put 'em out (me the perfectionist), 2 chapters aren't typed, and I like to give people time to review one before I put out th next one.
Visi0n0fDeath: Wow, to have such a scary name (j/K) you're so nice!!!!!!!!!!! Lol. I'm glad you like it. I think instead of all my nice little twists though, I'm just gonna drive right off the orad! YEY!
Clubbananna: I am insightful in my insighting of insightment. Tee hee, I'm glad you loved it. That is off the heezy!
Justme: Thanks. I think this post is soon for me!
elijahsbaby1981: Welcome, welcome. Your review, I think was my favorite I've ever gotten. It's the only one worth reading! In all seriousness, thanks so much! Maybe we can make you learn to love Ron/Hermione after all. Mmm Hmm!
Sodasgirl678: Thannks! YEY! YEEEEEEEEEEY! Huzzah!
Bhekie: Thanks for loving my story. But you can't hate Gris, was iit something she said, I'v- I've tried so hard! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! flips out
PiNaYPeAcHiE: Hi, ANNA! How are you?! Yey, somebody's excited about the plot. YEY! If you think everyone should like this story, make sure to tell everyone to read it! Lol. Yey, for tension. I love to torture people. Hahaha, I've actually enjoyed torturing Gris... bad me.
PixieGirl2009: Holy crap. Please tell me you are kidding. No, this is a Harry/ Hermione sotry! Gak! Dies! No, just your regular old Hermione loves Ron, Ron loves Hermione story.
Ms.Pissy: Uhm... yes, yes, I'm sorry. Gris is a human being. You lost me. Gris is just a regular person. is confused well, please keep liking the story!
Mufleta: Hola! (hello) Que libro? (What book) desfile (parade)... ok, Spanish isn't my best subject. Ok, I do love English, with all it's complicated ness. I admit is ALRIGHT?!?!?!?
Emilyshka: I'm not exactly sure what story you're talking about. The only thing I've named 'From Bad to Worse' is the last chapter of this story. I think you mean 'Spoke Too Soon,' but for awhile, this is the story I'm going to be updating.
MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: Yey, no suck-age. Now I can do the happy dance! La la la la la lalalallalalalallalalalla!