After reading this brief interlude, please read the Author's Note at the end. It's long, but everyone that reads this story and has been badgering me about updates NEED to read it. Thank you.
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:: 10 - Interlude ::
It would be a disaster when Hermione came home. She cries a lot now. When I kiss her good-bye or say 'I love you'... she cries. When she loses a sock, she cries; wears pants that are too short, etc... the doctors told me her crying fits would end in February. It's the beginning of March now... and she still cries.
So when the caterer called to cancel our wedding service, I knew she'd cry. I didn't think she'd be so angry about it though.
"It's NOT okay, Fred Weasley!" she roared, I'm sure disturbing some neighbors.
"Hermione, he can't help it," I said, trying to calm her down.
"Of course not!" Hermione cried. "No one can help anything!"
"His mother died!"
"And his bloody mother dying is more important than my wedding!?" she asked.
I didn't want to point out that it was actually our wedding, so I responded with, "Of course not. What a wanker. Canceling on us so he can plan his mum's funeral? Cad."
Hermione huffed.
"You've made your point, Fred," she said. "But what are we going to do? The caterer has canceled. To get a new company to cater our wedding to the extent we need it to be on this short of notice is going to be next to impossible."
"I still think we should just hire a magic caterer."
"Fred, there are going to be almost fifty Muggles at the wedding," Hermione said practically. She of course has said this before, but that didn't stop her. "We need to minimize the amount of magic we use or we could be at risk of breaking a lot of Ministry Decrees like Misuse of - "
"Calm down, Percy," I said jokingly, earning a glare (accompanied by a smile) from Hermione. "We'll figure something out."
"Fred, I am beginning to think this wedding should just be postponed," Hermione said.
Seeing as how the wedding was all she could bloody well talk about, this statement caught me off guard. Sensing this, she explained.
"Please don't take that to mean I don't want to get married because I do. I really do. I love you and I know that we'll be happy together. But so much is going wrong. We are getting signs from... from somewhere telling us that we shouldn't do it. And maybe we should just wait until the baby comes." Hermione took this moment the rest her hands on her belly. "You know, get the whole 'parent' thing off the ground because that's going to be hard. And then, after that, we should get married. And how great would that be, for our baby to actually be able to experience that?"
Looking in her eyes, I could tell that was false enthusiasm.
"Hermione," I responded. "I am going to marry you. If you feel that we should wait, I am not going to rush it. We'll do what we do, when we do it."
"How poetic," she responded.
I laughed as well and glanced down at her belly. It was the fifth month of her pregnancy and she had surprisingly not developed a very large stomach. Her doctor said she was carrying the baby high and that she would be developing the same protrusive belly that most pregnant women do. Hermione was a little upset at first, knowing she wouldn't have the tell-tale sign she was pregnant but she wouldn't have to take out her wedding gown as much which would save some money.
Suddenly, I was hit with an amazingly brilliant idea. An idea that was nothing like the ideas I had in school. Those were destructive and comical. This was nothing like that.
"Hermione, why don't you go shopping for a little bit?" I asked. She looked at me funny so I explained. "You know you like shopping. Going to that book shop in Diagon Alley always makes you feel better, so maybe you should go."
Hermione nodded and left to get ready. I began to put my plan in action. I scribbled notes quickly to George, Lee, Ginny and Ron to get over to the flat in ten minutes after Hermione had left. Once there, we would begin the plan.
The most brilliant plan in the history of the world.
"I don't believe it," Ginny said. "That's brilliant!"
"That's really not something I would expect you to think of," was Ron's contribution.
"Quiet. Do you think it will work, though? Do you think we can manage it?" I asked.
"Fred," Lee answered. "We are five highly trained witches and wizards. Of course we can do it!"
I smiled broadly, knowing I had all of them to help.
"Okay, here's the plan. I have divided tasks for all of you - Harry, since you came with Ginny, I'll give you some of everyone else's. They have to be finished within four hours. Four. Can you do that?"
"We might need to know what are tasks are, oh Mighty Taskmaster," George said.
"Oh, right," I said, picking up my scraps of paper and discarded table napkins. "Ginny, you are on diversionary tactics. Keep Hermione as far away from the Burrow as possible. Until four. Take her back to your flat and somehow convince her to get her into the dress. Do whatever you have to. Ron, get Mum working on food. Attached is the list of meals that we had planned on having before the caterer cancelled. Also, get the rest of the family to help set the back yard up. I need more minions to help me. George and Lee, I need you to gather the groomsmen and bridesmaids and finish the last of the tailoring. After that, get to the Burrow and help set up. Harry, can you get in touch with Hermione's family? Tell them what's going on? Good. I have to get ready and write my thing... can we do this?"
All of my minions looked at one another, then back at me. I must have had a desperate expression on my face because a few mouths started twitching like they were so close to laughing, but thought better of it.
Ginny finally took my hand and said,
"Of course we can do it."
At that point, I felt that old mischievous smile creep back onto my lips, as if it knew that I was being very cunning - very Slytherin (but in a good way) at the moment.
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Author's Note: Okay. I am posting that little bit of the chapter because I need actual writing to post an Author's Note and not infringe on 's Terms Of Service. So three and a quarter pages in now an interlude of 'RCP.'
I am sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I know it is not fair to write a story that obviously so many people love and then just stop writing it. It's mean and I too have stories I enjoy that have not been updated in ages and I get frustrated too. But really, is all of this harassment necessary?
I am nineteen years old. I have a life. My life does not revolve constantly around fan fiction. Here's a schedule of what my life has been like since I last updated (March 19, 2004):
March-April: As the new quarter of high school started, the realization that in mere months I was graduating was setting in. My school had senior projects and I chose for mine to be remodeling my bathroom. So from March to April, every open moment I had was remodeling a bathroom ON MY OWN. It's hard, just so you know. After the remodeling was finished, I had to write a presentation and make a notebook of the project. All of this is the main determinant of whether or not I will graduate from high school. Therefore, I worked very hard.
May: Work for the spring theatre production began. Being student chair of the make-up, hair and costume departments, I was required to spend the hours of 2:30 in the afternoon to 10:30 at night MTWRF and then do all the homework I had for my AP classes (including physics, English, history and Calculus). I would usually get to bed at around three in the morning. On Saturdays and Sundays I was in the Green Room from 9am to 12am...
June: Graduation and the release of my yearbook. I was editor-in-chief of the staff and to plan the events for Annual Day meaning more late nights and phone calls. Then Graduation came and my grandmother came to visit for a week and I showed her around Seattle. I began working at this point.
July: Schedule for work included eight hour shifts four days a week. Seeing as how I also have a large circle of friends and enjoy being around my family, days I was not working were spent doing those things. Since my best friend was leaving for school in August, I of course wanted to see her a lot. As I was leaving for school in September, being with my family was also very important.
August: Continued working, though now the shifts changed to eight hour days six days a week. Time for my friends and family lessened, so open times was spent with them and not writing.
September: I moved out of my house and started college. Obviously a very trying time for me. As I was building relationships with my roommates, I was also struggling with taking 17 credits (standard freshman load for fall quarter is 12-14).
October: Classes began swamping me with homework. I was not in standard freshman classes, either (i.e. 101, 103, etc). My schedule consisted of Art History 220, Communications 235, Math 205, English 303 and History 375. Ten page papers were a weekly occurrence in two of those classes. My writing ability was tapped.
November: Intensity of classes lessened. Was able to post new story, Much Mistletoeing and work on other original works but after the Thanksgiving break (where I resumed working again to help pay for my textbooks and schooling), Finals Week started. I had Finals in each of my classes, all test and essays combined. Therefore, studying v. important.
December: Finals and the holidays. Worked constantly. Over a three week period, was able to see my father three times. Saw my mother five. Whenever I wasn't working, I was sleeping. Got sick with an unknown disease (most likely five Flus at once, or at least that's how it felt).
January: Went back to school. Now am taking eighteen credits. Classes are now at 200 and 300 levels.
So no, I don't think some of you all understand what its like to be in school and working so much that all you are able to do when you get a moments rest is homework or sleep. And as I said before, it isn't fair. And I really am not appreciating the reviews saying "come on you can't leave all your reder hanging like that ! it's been like a year since youve updated i had this story on my favs but if you dont update i'll have to give up on it and i never like to give up on a good story" and "What's up with that?! Come on! Update!! Pretty, Pretty please??" and "thats it? is that the whole story? WHY HAVENT YOU UPDATED!?"
So here it is: If I receive any more reviews of that nature, I will take my stories down off of this site and start posting only on FictionAlley.
Sorry to be a bitch, but its just really starting to piss me off. And I know there are fans out there that have been very kind and who I love dearly as fans, but... I just can't take it anymore.
- Sneezy Mouse