Chapter Two

It was a bright Saturday morning and Hermione sat alone in the Three Broomsticks. She watched the seconds tick by on her watch. "Noon," she said, just as the door blew open and her fiancé walked in. Standing up, she headed towards the tall, red-headed man she loved.

"Ron, you're--"

"Right on time, I know." He kissed her cheek and said, "I missed you, Hermione."

"Oh, Ron," she said, as he pulled her close to hug her. "My morning was hell, how are you?"

"I'm all right. Why, what happened?" he asked, some concern in his voice.

"Oh… I woke up later than I wanted, to find Dobby starting to unpack my things, and it took me an hour to convince him that I didn't need help. He kept i insisting /i that it was his job. Then I got lost coming up from the dungeons for breakfast. And while I was trying to unpack, I found out I left a whole box of my clothing at my parents' house, and had to write my mum to see if she could mail it to me. Of course she was scared of the Owl Post, still hasn't gotten used to it after all these years, and I had to walk all the way down to Hogsmeade so I could Apparate back and get the box myself." She stopped, pausing to catch her breath, and Ron steered her towards a table. "It's just been a horrible start to the day, and I'm so glad to be away from there for a bit."

They sat down near the back of the pub, as Madame Rosmerta came over.

"What can I get you today?" she asked, smiling brightly.

"Um… Could I--" Hermione began.

"We will have two butterbeers and some sandwiches, thanks," Ron said. Rosmerta wrote down the order and bustled away.

"Ron, I can order for myself!" said Hermione, indignant.

"You don't think I know what my wife-to-be wants? I was just being helpful. You had a hard morning," Ron said, reaching over to take hold Hermione's hand on top of the table. He ran his thumb over her ring. At that moment, it was just more than she could take.

"Oh, Ron, please. I suppose you're only ever thinking of me?" Hermione snapped sarcastically. On top of everything else, it upset her that Ron was trying to control the food she ordered. Shooting him an annoyed look, she removed her hand to pick up the butterbeer Madame Rosmerta had just set down, along with the rest of their order. "Thank you," she said to the older woman.

Ron looked down at his food, contemplating. He coughed and began awkwardly, "Um, while we are on the subject, Hermione--"

"What subject, Ron?" Hermione asked, eyes narrowing.

"That I am always thinking of you."

"Uh-huh…"

"Well, I was thinking, I know how happy you are to be working at Hogwarts, but now that we are only a few months away from being married…" He paused slightly.

"What, Ron?" Hermione asked, irritably.

"I just think that you don't really have to work anymore."

"What?"

"Stop asking 'what?' all the time, Hermione. You know perfectly well what I just said."

"No, darling, I have to say that I don't know." Her head was tilted to the side, as if asking him a sweet, loving question, but her eyes told otherwise. Ron had to force himself, with difficulty, to continue.

"I know that you've been working at all those jobs, and you are famous now, but… I just mean, I'm a Auror, with a pretty successful career already, so I can support us, and you can stay at home with the kids."

"And what kids would those be, Ronald?"

"Well, the ones we are going to have soon. Preferably as soon as we get married."

"What makes you think I want to have kids right away? I have a career that I love and so do you. Do you honestly think now is the right time? We have our whole lives in front of us, why rush into anything?"

"I'm just saying that you don't have to work. I can take care of you, and you would do better to just stay at home and raise kids. Its… well, its what married women are supposed to do… Aren't they?"

Hermione opened her eyes widely, trying to process what Ron had just said. Shaking her head, she decided that it was not the time or place to discuss this.

"Whoa, Ron, this is getting out of hand. I am not going to have a feminism talk with you in the middle of the pub, especially after the morning I've just had, so why don't we just forget about this for now? Let's focus on what we came here for: Potions supplies and possibly a bit of shopping." Both Ron and Hermione dropped the eyes to focus on their food. A few minutes later, Ron brought up the subject of an article in Witch Weekly about a whirlwind celebrity romance. It was a neutral topic, and got them through the rest of lunch. By the end, Hermione's temper had ceased, and she was more relaxed on a full stomach.

After finishing their meal and paying the bill quickly, Hermione and Ron headed out to the streets of Hogsmeade, holding hands as they walked out into the bright sunshine.

"So, where should we start?" asked Ron, looking around at all the shops.

"Hmm… Do you want to go into Zonko's for old time's sake?"

Laughing, Ron said, "Yeah. Let's buy some nose-biting teacups while we're in there. Oh, and by the way, Ginny invited us over for dinner at her and Harry's tonight."

"Great, so we'll shop for a bit and then go over. I can't wait to see the baby again; I love being a godmother!" Hermione realised she shouldn't have said this as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Looking at her strangely, Ron said, "Right, but you don't want to be a mother?"

Hermione sighed. "No, not right now. I can't handle the pressure of kids! I'm focusing on my career. Do you listen when I speak to you?"

Ron rolled his eyes, out of view of Hermione. "Yeah, I do. We can talk about it later, though." He grabbed her hand again, and led the way to the joke shop.

Hermione kissed Ron goodbye at the Hogwarts door. Laden down with purchases and food that Ginny had insisted on giving her, she knew it was going to be a difficult walk to the dungeons. She pondered for a moment why Ron hadn't offered to help, but then she figured he had to get back home soon.

Concentrating on not dropping anything, Hermione could barely see in front of her, and consequently ran into one of her old professors.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Professor McGonagall. I guess I didn't really see you there…"

"Its quite all right, Hermione. What are you carrying there?"

"Oh, my supplies for Potions. Ron and I went into Hogsmeade today to get everything."

McGonagall took the topmost parcels out of her hands and started to head towards the dungeons. "I hear congratulations are in order, Hermione. You and Ronald Weasley are engaged?"

"Yes, thank you. We're supposed to get married in September."

"Its coming up soon, then?"

Hermione nodded, as she reached for her wand from her pocket. They had arrived at the door to her room. She quickly unlocked the wards and opened the door, allowing Professor McGonagall to enter first.

Setting down the packages she had been carrying, Hermione said, "Thanks so much for helping me. Er—would you like a cup of tea, or something?"

"No, no. I really must get back to my lesson planning. Perhaps another time, though."

"Okay. Well, goodnight."

Hermione sighed in relief as the woman left the room. That had not been as awkward as she thought it would be. Professor McGonagall had always assumed Hermione would go into Transfiguration, and had been somewhat disappointed when she chose Potions instead.

Sinking into a comfortable chair by the window, Hermione told herself she was resting her eyes for a moment, and would put the packages away in a bit. But when Dobby came in a couple of hours later to clean, he kindly draped a blanket over her sleeping form.