Daughter and Mother-in-Law
Hi everyone, I feel like this chapter took a while. Oh well, I hope you enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who is reviewing, it really means a lot!
Hermione stepped out of the steaming shower cautiously as not to slip on the misted tile floor. She reached a dripping arm towards the tiny counter and grabbed her towel; first dabbing her skin dry, then bringing the towel to her wet, curly tresses. She rubbed and scrunched at them vigorously when suddenly the door flung open and a tall red-haired boy stepped in and closed the door quickly behind him.
Hermione swiftly pulled the towel from her hair down to her torso, concealing her naked body.
"Ron!" She hissed with a scandalized tone.
He returned her an innocent look and shrugged. "What?"
"I'm naked!" She hissed again, sounding more and more like a cat.
"Again," Ron said casually. "Nothing I haven't seen before."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and pulled the towel around her tighter.
"Still, you don't just go barging in on people while they're in the bathroom," She lectured.
Ron's innocent façade remained as he said. "Well, maybe you should lock the door."
Hermione cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips.
"I did," She said dully.
Ron didn't say anything in response to her statement as he moved toward the counter.
"I just need to brush my teeth," Ron muttered as he pulled his brush out of the cabinet and proceeded to brush his teeth.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him and moved next to him at the counter; picking up a bottle of sleek-eezys hair serum, squeezing a small portion in her hand, and rubbing it through her damp hair.
Ron spit a glob of toothpaste and saliva into the sink. As he did so, he noticed a small pile of jewelry set on a wash cloth. They were Hermione's: A necklace, a bracelet, and two rings.
The image sparked a moment in Ron's memory.
"Hermione," he said wiping his mouth, "yesterday when you told me that if you had a ring, you'd throw it at me…what did you mean by that?" He asked.
He looked over at his wife who now had one of her lithe legs propped up on the toilet seat. She was rubbing lotion on it slowly. Ron swallowed and averted his eyes.
Hermione looked up at Ron with a mild look of surprise.
"Oh," She stated softly, "I hadn't realized that that might have just been a muggle thing."
Ron looked on in confusion. She'd have to explain better than that.
She removed her leg from its position on the toilet and stood facing him.
"It's a muggle tradition—the guy gives the girl a ring when he asks her to marry him—usually a diamond or some other jewel—she wears it until they both exchange wedding bands at the ceremony."
"Oh, that's weird," Ron commented and Hermione shrugged, still clutching the bottle of lotion. There was a moment's silence before Hermione spoke again.
"Will you put some of this on my back?"
She then handed the lotion bottle to him and turned around; letting her towel fall to the small of her back.
Ron stood silent for a moment as he gazed upon her creamy, bare flesh. Each of her shoulder blades stood out slightly, a feminine ripple of muscle spread across her back and in the lower right corner was a tiny mole. Ron knew that he could spend days looking over every inch of her body.
"Well?" Hermione pressed.
Ron snapped out of it and quickly squeezed a dollop of lotion in to his palm. He licked his lips nervously as he lowered his hand to her left shoulder blade. Her skin was warm and smooth; the distinct scent of strawberries drifted past his nostrils filling his mind with not so innocent thoughts.
Ron's hand maneuvered its way around her back gently and elegantly. When his hand reached the small of her back he felt Hermione tense and take in a shallow breath. Ron watched the goose bumps spread across her flesh as he continued to spread the lotion liberally across her. It wasn't until Hermione let out a soft moan when Ron suddenly stopped his movement and stared silently.
"Ron?" Hermione asked and turned around to face him, her towel hung loosely in front of her. "What's wro-"
"Hermione," Ron whimpered, cutting her off. "All the blood has gone from my head."
Then, suddenly, without waiting for a response, Ron grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her close, and crashed his lips down on her hers. Hermione showed no signs of resistance as he backed her against the wall and continued his frantic kisses. This continued on—passion heightening until Hermione felt Ron's hand slip under her towel. She broke the kiss and held Ron at bay.
"Ron," She said breathlessly, her cheeks flushed. "We can't do this here and now."
Ron's eyes were filled with passion and it was clear that stopping was the last thing he wanted to do. There was a moment's silence.
"I'm going to go get dressed," Hermione stated firmly; carefully removing herself from between Ron and the wall.
She was making her way towards the door when she turned around and saw Ron taking his shirt off.
"What are you doing?" She asked curiously.
Ron looked at her with a mix of frustration and sadness as he moved to the shower and turned it on.
"I'm taking a cold shower," He stated dully and stepped in with his pants still on.
Hermione chuckled lightly and shook her head before exiting the small bathroom.
Hermione stepped out in to the hall, closing the door behind her. She heard a sudden jangle and clank of what sounded like pots and pans and she turned around to inspect.
It was Ginny Weasley trekking down the hall with a large box in one hand and a sack of something in the other. The tiny red-head stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted Hermione and both girls starred at each other guiltily.
"What?" They said together.
"Nothing!" They both responded quickly at the same time.
There was a moment's silence as both of their cheeks grew pink. Ginny let her eyes wander over Hermione's appearance. She was wet, flustered, and barley had her towel on. Her first thought was that Hermione had simply taken a shower…but she could clearly hear the water still running through the door.
"Did you leave the water running?" Ginny asked oddly.
Hermione's eyes suddenly widened and she instinctively looked back at the bathroom and quickly tried to think of a cover up story.
"No—I didn't—I haven't taken a shower yet—I was just stepping out to go get my robe," She explained nervously.
Ginny furrowed her eye brows at her and looked over her appearance once more.
"But," Said Ginny, "You're hair is wet."
Hermione's hand shot up to her hair and felt it as if she didn't know it was soaking wet.
She snapped her hand down and glared at Ginny. "What are you, an auror? Stop questioning me!" She hissed.
Realization suddenly washed over Ginny and her expression light up.
"Ron is in there isn't he?" She accused loudly.
"No!" Hermione answered without hesitation. Ginny pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow in question.
Hermione's face turned bright red. There was no lying to Ginny.
"Nothing happened! We were just brushing our teeth!" Hermione explained rapidly.
Ginny let out a chirp of laughter. "Is that what you guys call it?" She asked cheekily.
Hermione glared at her and finally noticed just how suspicious Ginny appeared.
"What's in the box?" She asked stepping closer to the box to see for herself.
Ginny maneuvered and pulled the box away from Hermione's gaze.
"It's nothing," She snapped.
"No it's not, it's…dishes!" Hermione stated. "What are they for?"
Ginny frowned at her friend and attempted to move the box away from her gaze once more. This action only resulted in Hermione getting whacked with the large bag on Ginny's back.
"Is that bedding!" Hermione asked.
Ginny violently pulled the bag and box away from Hermione and glared at her.
"I'm going over Harry's to help him set up," She explained shortly.
It was Hermione's turn to raise her eyebrows in suspicion.
"Don't you think Grimmauld place is set just fine with house supplies?" She asked knowing full well that Ginny was just making excuses to go over to Harry's.
"It still needs a bit of cheering up." Ginny retorted with a blush.
It was silence once more as the girls looked each other over with doubt.
"Look," Ginny finally said, "Why don't we just go our own ways—you don't believe me and I certainly don't believe you—let's just pretend this hallway meeting never happen," She suggested.
Hermione nodded haughtily. "Sounds like a plan," She replied.
"Good," Said Ginny. "I'll see you tonight."
Ginny smiled lightly before turning on her heel and continuing down the stairs.
Hermione shook her head after her. The girl was definitely up to something. Ginny had barley been around the last week; a week Hermione had expected her to be present often, helping her to set up for the wedding. Ginny either could not stand to be without Harry for a moment or she was up to something more sinister.
Hermione quickly completed her morning routine and made her way down the old stair case.
The kitchen was alive with movement and chatter from friends and family gathered to help prepare for the wedding.
Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Tonks, and to Hermione's pleasant surprise, Mr. Granger, were all seated in the living room working on some unknown project. Hermione greeted her father with a warm hug and waved to the three women in the tiny kitchen; Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, and…McGonagall all waved back.
Hermione then briskly proceeded out the back door and in to the garden where the twins, Angelina, and Bill were already setting up.
Bill and Angelina were busy duplicating small, white, wooden chairs, while Fred and George looked over a beautiful, large arch.
The white, wooden, latticed, beauty caught Hermione's eyes right away and she jogged over to the twins.
"Oh! It finally arrived," she stated blissfully.
"What's it for?" Fred asked with a disgusted gaze.
"It's to stand under for the ceremony," she replied staring unblinkingly at the structure.
"Why?" asked George.
Hermione finally broke her gaze and shot George a dirty glare.
"You wouldn't understand—now, will you two move it to the center—I'll show you where."
Hermione moved away from the boys and jogged to the exact place she wanted the archway placed at.
"Right here!" she called to them.
Fred and George sighed before pulling out their wands and muttering together, "Wingardium leviosa."
The archway rose into the air and as the twins walked along the structure followed behind.
"Gently now," Hermione instructed, "Okay…that's good."
Fred and George carefully lowered the archway onto the grassy earth.
"Perfect, but—could you maybe—I don't know—raise the ground a bit so this area stands out?"
The twins exchanged looks before grudgingly uttering another incantation that caused the ground to rise up—three steps lead up to a small, flat, grassy platform.
"Wonderful!" Hermione squealed.
"Oy! Hermione! Is this enough chairs?" Angelina called from a distance.
Hermione turned in her direction to inspect the job. There were quite a few chairs stretching the vast expanse of the garden, but Hermione frowned.
"No…maybe some more—I'm expecting over a hundred guests," She explained measuring the garden with her eyes.
Angelina and Bills jaw's dropped.
"What?" asked Bill, "What you inviting that many people for?"
Hermione returned him an innocent look. "I have a lot of friends."
Bill and Angelina sighed tiredly before they began duplicating more chairs.
"Oh," added Hermione, "I'm going to need two of the seats in the front reserved."
"Why?" Angelina asked.
"Well—I—er—I kind of invited Rita Skeeter…" She replied awkwardly.
"Why in the bloody Hell did you invite that nasty old bird?" Asked Fred who received a slap over the head from Angelina at his words.
Hermione bit her bottom lip and blushed furiously. Fred and George were not the ones she wanted to explain this to.
"Well, basically I told her that if she promised not to write anything about what me, Harry, and Ron did on our trip, she would be the only media I invited—she'd be the only reporter with the story," She explained.
Hermione caught Angelina's eye for a split second and she knew that she had understood.
Rita Skeeter had connections everywhere and it was only a mater of time before she found out that Hermione and Ron had gotten wasted, continued to a Handfasting temple where they got married. Once back from the trip, Hermione quickly made it a priority to Owl Rita and make a deal with her: If Hermione invited her and no other reporters to the wedding, then Rita wouldn't write anything incriminating about their road trip. Rita agreed and requested a front row seat for her and her photographer.
"Anything else you want from us Queen 'mione?" George asked with a mock bow.
Hermione paid no attention to his mockery and she scanned the garden pensively.
"Yes, actually, I need that material-- the material that was delivered to be draped along the back of the chairs; each end tied of with up with a lily," she said as she looked out over the mass of chairs and imagined the finished product in her mind. The wedding was going to be absolutely perfect! She had been imagining this ceremony since she was a little girl and nothing was going to make it go otherwise.
Her friends began working on the decorations while Hermione decided to step back into the house to see what the others were working on.
Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Tonks and her father were still in the sitting room working on what looked like seating arrangement for the reception. Hermione smiled down at them; reveling in the fact that she had so many friends and family to help her out.
"How is it going?" She asked.
"Jolly good," replied Tonks.
"Great—Dad? Was Mum coming over today?" Hermione asked anxiously. It was nice having her parents around during this time.
"No, Dear…She has quite a few late appointments tonight," He replied sadly.
Hermione understood. Her parents had very important, bust jobs which pulled them away from family life.
"That's, okay—where's Ron," She asked. He had to be done with his shower by now.
"He said something about going out," Lupin answered.
Hermione furrowed her brows. He didn't say anything to her about going out today. He was supposed to help her set up everything. How could he disappear two days before the wedding?
Her bitter thoughts of Ron disappeared as she left the sitting room and sauntered into the cramped little kitchen. A plethora of smells wafted past Hermione and she assumed that the women were experimenting with ingredients to determine what foods to serve at the wedding reception.
"It smells wonderful," Hermione commented receiving smiles from Mrs. Weasley, Fleur and McGonagall. "It's nice to see you here, Professor," she added.
McGonagall smiled at her and gave her a friendly hug. "Call me Minerva, Dear. I'm so proud of you and Mr. Weasley," She chirped very uncharacteristically.
"Thank you," Hermione replied weakly.
"Oh! Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley called suddenly as if she had just realized something.
"Your dress arrived—it's upstairs in your room. The Bridesmaid dresses aren't here yet—that's because I re-ordered them. Peach just isn't a very elegant color—I ordered lavender—so I had to re-order more flowers—lilacs will go much better-"
"But," Uttered Hermione, "I wanted lilies."
Mrs. Weasley shook her head patronizingly at Hermione and laughed.
"No, dear—lilies are for funerals, lilacs are much more romantic—I ordered red roses as well—peach is to light—to friendly."
Mrs. Weasley was just jabbering on. Hermione didn't know what to do or say. She had always wanted the dresses and decorations to be a light pink—peachy color—and the flowers to be Lilies! She didn't care if they were funeral flowers—she thought they were gorgeous!
"Oh! And the ribbon for the Handfasting---I changed the color to red—it symbolizes Love!"
"But," Said Hermione again, "I wanted a white one, with gold trim."
"Trust me;" Said Mrs. Weasley with an air of wisdom "red will look much better."
Hermione was about to argue her point politely. This was her wedding after all. She was cut of, however before she could say anything.
"One more thing," Mrs. Weasley continued, "the cake—isn't this perfect?" She asked as she waved her wand and a large, towering, white cake appeared on the table. It was pretty enough, but there was only one problem.
"Oh! Its lovely, but my Mum wanted to order a cake from her favorite bakery—the same one her and my Dad got their wedding cake from," Hermione explained calmly, expecting this explanation to me enough.
"You can never count on those muggle bakers! Trust me, I know what I'm talking about—you don't need to worry about anything, I'll take care of it!" Mrs. Weasley said happily.
Hermione only frowned on at the whole scene. What was happening? Mrs. Weasley couldn't do this! This was her wedding! Her Mum was so excited about getting the cake!
"No!" Hermione suddenly shouted very loudly, cutting off Mrs. Weasley's rant. The women in the kitchen all starred at her.
"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked politely.
"No!" Hermione repeated. "This is MY wedding, not yours! This is going to be done MY way!" She yelled, surprising herself.
It didn't have an effect on Mrs.Weasley, though. The older women only smiled sympathetically.
"I understand that this is a big deal, but I know what I'm talking about. You wouldn't want to mess it up, would you?" She continued sweetly.
Mess it up? Hermione thought. I don't mess anything up!
"You are the one messing it up!" Hermione yelled, her face turning red.
The shouting had carried into the sitting room and now the others had all joined in the kitchen to witness the outburst.
"I want Peach colored dresses and décor—NOT lavender! I want Lilies—white ones, NOT lilacs! The ribbon will be white with gold trim! AND MY MUM WILL GET THE CAKE!" Hermione yelled so loudly that a deafening silence followed.
Every vein was surging with anger, but a second emotion suddenly surface. Guilt hit her and Hermione felt tears threatening her eyes as she dashed out of the kitchen.
Hermione felt so horrible for yelling at Mrs. Weasley like that. She had been like a second mother to her for years and she had just treated her horribly. Mrs. Weasley was only trying to help.
Tears streamed down her face as she flung herself onto her bed in Ginny's room. As she hit the soft mattress, she also noticed something else touching her skin. It was her wedding dress. Hermione wiped at her tears and held up the dress before her.
The action only caused more tears to flow has she saw how utterly stunning the dress was. It was exactly as she had imagined it.
Hermione smiled and hugged the dress to her tightly. She didn't know what emotion to be feeling at the moment--there were just too many! Excitement at the prospect of the wedding ceremony, Stress over the same thing, worry that it wouldn't go smoothly, guilt for just yelling at her family….
Hermione let her self lay back onto the bed, tears falling down her cheeks and fell asleep.
It was the day of the wedding and she couldn't be sicker. Her nose wouldn't stop running and every time she tried to talk, she let out a loud cough--Word had leaked out about the wedding and every member of the media was there; harassing her with questions. Mrs. Weasley decided not to come to the wedding because she hated Hermione--Dumbledore had to back out as the one who married them and was replaced by Viktor Krum. Fred and George had jinxed the beverages so that anyone who drank it would sprout gills from their necks and momentarily gasp for…water. To top it all off—Hermione had been standing under the archway for ten minutes and Ron hadn't shown up. The media sprang from their chairs and began questioning her.
"Hermione? Where is the Groom?" asked one.
"How do you feel about all this?" asked another.
"Hermione!" "Hermione!"
"Hermione,"
Hermione felt a warm hand on her shoulder gently rocking her awake.
"Hermione, wake up," a familiar voice called softly.
Hermione's eyes fluttered open. The room was now dark. She had just been having a dream. How long had she been asleep for?
She then rolled over onto her other side and came face to face with-
"Ron?" She asked groggily. The handsome red-head was kneeling beside her bed offering her a sympathetic smile.
"Hi," he said softly and pulled something from her arms. It was her wedding dress she had fallen asleep with; he set it down carefully at the end of the bed.
"I just got back…I heard what happened," he stated gently.
Hermione frowned, the memories rushing back. She moaned in agony and brought her hands to her throbbing forehead.
"I can't believe I snapped like that," Hermione whispered and she heard Ron let out a light chuckle.
"Mum deserved it…she feels real bad though," He explained.
"So do, I," Hermione replied as she scooted over on the bed to let Ron lie beside her.
"You two can talk in the morning and fix everything, it's not too late," Ron said consolingly. It was so wonderful how just his voice could sooth her.
"I embarrassed myself down there."
"Maybe a little," Ron laughed, "Luckily everyone there is used to your outbursts."
Hermione laughed. He made her feel so good.
"So," she said getting off the other subject. "Where were you all day?" She asked curiously. She had never found out where he'd 'gone out to'.
"Oh," Ron said as if he'd forgotten he'd been gone the whole day. "I got you something."
Hermione felt Ron reach down into his pocket and pull something out.
"It took me all day to find the right one," he stated and handed her a little black box.
Hermione held the small box in her hands oddly, wondering what in the world it could be. The only gifts Ron had ever given her were books—unless you counted that interesting perfume he gave her in the fifth year.
Hermione found the opening and lifted the top off. The little bit of moonlight that filtered into the room suddenly shined on the object in the box. Hermione strained her eyes to see it and moved the box into the ray of light beside her.
When she did this, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
"Oh my," She gasped quietly.
Inside the little black box was the most spectacular ring she had ever seen. There it was—a tiny silver band that met in the middle with two hands encircling a heart that had a crown on top—a small, sparkling diamond centered neatly in the heart.
Hermione found that for the first time she was completely speechless.
Ron cleared is throat nervously—frightened that she may not like it. Had he messed up? He didn't really know what to get for an engagement ring. He just knew that it had to be special.
"There were so many to choose from, but they were all so gaudy or meaningless…This one means something though," he stated excitedly.
"This here," he said while pointing to the hands. "Means friendship, that's how we started off."
"And this," he continued, pointing to the crown, "Means loyalty, because that is why our friendship is so strong."
"And this," He finally stated while pointing to the jewel incrusted heart, "means love, because, well, I love you."
Hermione remained simply starring in awe at the ring. Her first thought was that she must still be dreaming, but she knew she wasn't—this was real!
"Do-do you like it?" Ron asked nervously.
Hermione was finally able to tear her gaze away from the ring and look to her husband.
"No," she whispered. His face fell, "I love it!" Hermione smiled widely at him and she brought her lips down on his.
"It's perfect Ron!" She whispered gleefully as Ron slipped it onto her finger.
Once again, Ron had utterly surprised her. She now realized that he wasn't the same Ron Weasley at Hogwarts who made fun of her all the while being oblivious of her feelings for him. He was a man now, and a very romantic one at that. Hermione hadn't really expected a ring, or found one necessary, but Ron's gesture of getting her one without having to, was beyond anything sweet or romantic. Hermione had no doubt in her mind that he loved her.
The feeling of worry left her…everything would be perfect.
Well, what do you think? I really hope you like this chapter even though the end was sappy. I guarantee you that you will love the next chapter….the bachelor party! See you next chapter!