"We are so dead." Hermione muttered. She and Ginny were sitting in the last compartment of the Hogwarts Express, on their way to Platform 9 ¾. Hermione was having conflicting emotions; they were so bad in fact, that she felt as though she were going to be sick. She was scared to death of seeing Mrs. Weasley again, and her finding out about Hermione and Fred's…unusual marriage. But then again, she couldn't wait to see Fred. She'd been missing him so much in the past few weeks, that she didn't know what to do. Ginny on the other hand, was just down and out scared. She had agreed to be Harry's girlfriend, and she loved it. Harry was just sweet enough to make her feel special, but just open and direct enough to put her in her place when she got out of it. They got along great, and she was shocked that she had been blind enough all along to realize how perfect they really were for each other. But then again, nobody knew about her and Harry, and she dreaded the 'I-told-you-so' comments she'd receive from her family. So she and Hermione sat in the back of the Hogwarts Express, alone and afraid, clasping each others hands for support. Each girl was lost in her own thoughts when the compartment door slid open. The noise startled Hermione and made her jump.
"What the—" She yelped, standing up. Ginny just stared up at the door, as usual in complete control.
"Hey Girls." Harry said, swinging down and sitting next to Ginny, pecking her quickly on the cheek. He felt Ron staring daggers into his back, so he kept a little bit of room between he and Ginny and resisted the urge to put his arm around the back of her seat and let her lean on him. He contented himself with holding her hand. Ron followed him in and sat across from Ginny, arms crossed in front of him, and a small scowl on his face. Hermione sat next to him, and rolled her eyes.
"Oh Ron, grow up. They are dating, they are allowed to touch. They aren't four years old and Ginny does not need your permission to have a boyfriend!" She snapped at him. He stared at her with his mouth hanging open for awhile, then lowered his arms and sat with his hands in his lap, fiddling with his fingers. They rode in an unbroken silence the rest of the way to the station. Hermione groaned quietly as they pulled up to the platform.
"God please let them understand…" She muttered under her breath.
"What was that Hermione?" Ron asked, leaning towards her until he was too close for comfort.
"Nothing Ron, n-nothing…"
The minute she stepped off the train she saw him. He was standing apart from his family—only about three or four feet, but just the same. Hermione saw him and a wave of emotion came over her. Finally, she thought. Without even thinking, she hurried in his direction. He met her halfway and she dropped her bags on the floor to throw her arms around his neck. He picked her up and swung her around. She giggled and smiled and could hardly contain how happy she was to see him. As he lowered her to the ground, she looked over his shoulder and saw the Weasley family (plus Harry) standing there and staring at her and Fred. She smiled, waved, and she and Fred grabbed her bags and ran out of the station to his car.
"What the hell was that?" Ron finally broke the silence. He was standing in the middle of the Weasley group, surrounded by Harry, Ginny, George, Percy, Charlie, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Bill.
"R-Ronald Weasley--" Mrs. Weasley started to yell at him for cursing, but stopped in mid-sentence.
"Wow…" Charlie and Bill said at the same time. Mr. Weasley just turned a bright red color. George looked perfectly normal. Harry looked down at Ginny and saw the lack of surprise on her face. He slipped his arm around her waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"They're perfect together aren't they? Maybe this'll be like the honeymoon they never had." She started to nod, smiling slightly, but then the smile vanished as a thought hit her.
"HARRY! How did you know they got---" She looked up at him with wide eyes. Harry nudged his head towards the rest of her family, and made a discreet motion across his lips, signaling her he'd tell her later. Before she could pressure him into telling her, Mrs. Weasley descended on them, swooping both of them up in her arms. She had obviously recovered from the shock of seeing Hermione and Fred very quickly.
"Ginny! Harry! Welcome home!" Ginny glanced over at Harry and gave him a half smile.
"Um, Mum…I—we need to tell you something."
"Fred!" Hermione laughed after he threw her bags into the back of the car and joined her next to the passenger door. "I should not have flown at you like that…"
"I'm glad you flew at me…fly at me again." He said, with a 'Weasley' lopsided grin on his face. Hermione giggled.
"Oh Fred," She said quietly as she threw her arms around his neck and he spun her around again. She was reluctant to let go, but knew she had to. Fred smiled down at her as he opened the door and held it as she climbed inside. He slammed it closed once she'd cleared it and ran around to climb in the driver's seat. Once he'd gotten his seat belt buckled and the car started, he reached over and held Hermione's hand.
"You're my best friend Hermione...apart from George, of course." He said quietly.
"And you're mine…apart from Ginny, of course." She smiled back at him. He gave her hand a quick squeeze as they drove off.
They drove for maybe a half hour before Fred turned into a short driveway.
"Here it is Hermione…our new home." Hermione looked up at the house in front of her. It was amazing. It was small, but big enough for two people. It was painted white, with a white picket fence all around it, and a garden out front. Amazingly, it was two stories. She slid out of the car and walked around to the hood and leaned on it; Fred joined her.
"It's—wow, Fred." She smiled as he looked up at the house with her, obviously proud.
"C'mon…" He said after a minute. "Let's go inside."
"Oh Ginny!" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Harry were sitting in the living room of the Burrow. Ginny sat on the sofa next to Harry, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat across from them. Ginny had just told her parents about she and Harry….and her parents couldn't have been more thrilled.
"Oh Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley said again, swooping down and throwing her arms around them both. "This is such good news! I'm so happy!" She laughed and giggled and looked like a little girl on Christmas Day. "Oh! I am so—Harry you wonderful boy!" She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek with a loud 'smack'. Harry, of course, immediately turned beet red. Ginny smiled over at him and discreetly slipped her hand in his while Mrs. Weasley went on, and Mr. Weasley sat with a slight smile on his lips.
"Molly." He said finally, standing and putting a hand on her waist. "Could you and Ginny leave Harry and I alone for a minute? I want to talk to him." Mrs. Weasley nodded and hustled Ginny out of the room. She looked over her shoulder and mouthed at Harry, 'I'm sorry!' just as she and her mother turned the corner. Mr. Weasley stood in the middle of the living room for a moment after the ladies left, gathering his thoughts; then he turned and sat on the sofa next to Harry. He clapped his hand down on Harry's shoulder and sighed.
"Now, Harry. I know you know that I'm going to give you the line about Ginny being my little girl, and she's the only one I have and I don't want her getting hurt…but there's something more I want you to know. You are like a son to me already—you've been around so long, I think of you as one of my own…especially since James—and Lily—and…well you're like one of mine. I would hate to have to kill one of my sons…but if you hurt my little girl…that just may happen." All the blood drained from Harry's face and he turned deathly pale before he looked up at Mr. Weasley and found out he was joking…or at least…Harry thought he was joking…..
