Before the April Showers

Author's Note Beware, I didn't do a second proofread, so if you find any mistakes, I'm sorry. Apologies for the month wait, but I warned you last chapter not to expect them that often. Thank you to my wonderful reviewers. I love you guys so much. I honestly don't know how much writing I would dowithout your support. And to answer Wickedly-Wondeful's question, this is roughly 2 years after 'One Night Stand'.

Oh, yeah, I have a shitty mouse. :-P

Disclaimer Harry Potter equals JKR's.


Chapter Two

"So, what's up with you and Ginny?" I muttered that night at dinner.

"Nothing," Harry replied, picking up a biscuit.

"And that's why she showed up on our doorstep at three in the morning, is it?"

"We had an argument. Nothing serious. Really, Hermione," Harry added, seeing my questioning look. "We'll work it out. We always do."

"Yeah, you do," I agreed. "But, Harry, you are always fighting!"

"Not nearly as often as you and Ron," Harry bit back. Ouch. As if on cue, Ron spoke up from across the table.

"Pass the potatoes," he said, swallowing whatever had been in his mouth. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and sighed. I picked up the bowl of mashed potatoes and practically shoved them into Ron's outstretched hand.

"See?" Harry said, emphasizing his point. I glared at him and turned my head towards the head of the table, where Mrs. Weasley's was scooping more vegetables onto her grandchildren's plates. Every one of them was protesting, looks of pure dislike on their small faces.

"Eat up, Anna," I heard her say. "Even the birthday girl needs to eat her vegetables. You want to keep growing, don't you?" Little Anna nodded, and rather reluctantly brought a spoonful of peas to her mouth. I noticed Cade-- Fred's two and a half-year-old son-- and Aiden trying to put their own peas on to the other's plate. Mrs. Weasley saw this and as punishment, added another spoonful to each of their already large helpings. The look of disgust on Aiden's face could rival that of Ron's when I tried to get him to lay off the sweets and eat healthier.

"Look, Grandmum," Bill's five year old step-daughter, Hannah, started, "I've finished my peas." Her younger cousins gave her looks of loathing as Mrs. Weasley praised her. Hannah beamed. "When can we have cake?" she added.

"Soon, dear, soon."

"This food is absolutely delicious, Mum," Charlie's wife Holly said from the other side of the table.

"It is," I agreed, smiling. "I don't think I've had a meal this good since the last time we were here."

"That's because you can't cook," Ron mumbled. My head snapped to my fiancé. His mouth was open in a small 'O' as if he hadn't meant to say that aloud. His next statement proved that. "I didn't mean that!" Of course, by then, it was too late.

"Well, Ronald, at least I can turn on a stove without burning something!" I yelled. Another one of our infamous rows had began; we had everyone's undivided attention.

"At least it still tastes like something recognizable. That crap you make doesn't deserve to be called food!"

I stood and threw my napkin onto the table, mouth open to retort. He was not going to win this one. But, before another word could escape my lips, Mrs. Weasley was on her feet too.

"ENOUGH!" she yelled. "Hermione, sit down. Ron, don't insult Hermione's cooking. It's not that bad," she added as an afterthought, but I knew she didn't mean it. "We will not fight tonight. Is that understood?" Ron and I nodded sheepishly. Even as adults, we still cowered under Mrs. Weasley glare. "It is Anna's birthday, and therefore a time to celebrate. Fight at home, not here." I nodded again, staring at my plate. Oh, if only she knew, I thought bitterly. That's all Ron and I do when we're together.

Ron and I did not acknowledge each other for the rest of the night. In fact, we stayed in separate rooms. I was so mad at him that I ended up leaving early. I collected Aiden from Fred and George's old room-- which had at one time been Aiden's room, but was now the playroom. Then, I went to find Ginny, to see if she was staying with Ron and I again.

"No," she said when I finally found her.

"Staying here?"

"No, Harry and I made up."

"But-- but--" I stumbled over my words, confused. "You were still avoiding each other less than two hours ago!"

"I know," she said, a slight blush creeping along her cheeks. "He apologized and said he'd make it up to me tonight." She giggled and I sighed.

"I wish Ron and I could work out our problems just as easily." Ginny patted my shoulder sympathetically and I went off to say goodbye to everyone else.

"Ron's a prat, but he loves you," Harry told me, putting his arms around me.

"I know," I said, smiling weakly.

"He's just a bit stressed. You know, with work and all. Give him some time."

"Stop making excuses for him, Harry. Work may be a part of it, but that's not it. We've changed. Simple as that," I said sadly. "We've changed," I repeated as I stepped into the fire, Aiden clinging to my neck tightly.


When Ron asked me a second time to marry him, I had been ecstatic. After a year of establishing our relationship and settling down, I felt as if we were finally ready. Ron and I were so giddy over the thought of marriage, we started planning our wedding right away. We'd picked out the hall, the colors, and even made out a guest list. But, then, Ron's Auror training became more demanding, and I had started working longer shifts at the hospital that left no time to plan a wedding ceremony. When we did get a moment of peace, we were both too exhausted to even think about marriage, and we had to put our plans on hold. Two months ago, though, we had sat down together in hopes of finalizing details and picking a date. The wedding in question was scheduled for April 6, 2001, and there was over one hundred people on the guest list. But, with the way our relationship was headed at the moment, I didn't think that was going to happen.

Ron had come home an hour after I did, an irritated look in his eyes. Obviously, he wasn't ready to forgive and forget either. I had been sitting at the desk in our room, going over some medical records for the patients I was tending to. He didn't say anything to me when he came into the bedroom. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed, not even looking my way. I ignored him, scribing notes onto the margins of my papers. After an hour of silence, in which I knew Ron was not asleep, I stood from the chair and walked over to the bed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, placing my hand on his exposed shoulder. He flinched and did not speak. Sadly, I pulled my hand away, but repeated, "Ron, I'm sorry." He grunted and I sighed. I left the room and made my way into the bathroom, not knowing how to feel. I was furious with his behavior, of course, but hurt all the same. What was happening to us?

Ron and I had always been an odd pair, even as friends. It was such an improbable friendship, that I was certain Harry alone had been what kept us together. We were always at each other's throats, bickering about such silly things. I think the most ridiculous row we had ever had was over what color toilet paper would be best in the prefect's bathroom. When I had become pregnant, Ron and I were connected by much more than friendship. Slowly but surely, we were able to set aside our differences and realize our true feelings for each other. And, for awhile, we were the perfect couple. We rarely fought and got along great, even without Harry around to keep us in line. But, now, our differences were once again coming to surface.

Still fuming, but a bit calmer, I returned to the bedroom and changed into my pajamas. Ron still wasn't asleep, but I wasn't sure if I should try apologizing again. He was at fault, too; it was his turn to say sorry. My side of the bed was cold as I climbed under the covers. Ron was as far away from me as he could get without falling off the bed. Realizing that we weren't going to get anywhere tonight, I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. But, my thoughts of our relationship and upcoming marriage kept reeling through my mind. Were we really ready for this? After fifteen minutes of mulling over our differences, I turned and came face to face with Ron.

His eyes were open, and he seemed to be deep in thought. He didn't even notice I had turned around. My eyes focused on his, and instantly I remembered why I had fallen in love with him, git if there ever was one. Before I knew what was happening, I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips. This seemed to snap Ron out of whatever thoughts he was having and he looked at me in shock.

"I thought you were mad at me," he muttered, making to turn away from me. I reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

"I apologized," I reminded him.

"That's not always enough, Hermione," he snapped, glaring at me. I looked at him questioningly.

"I didn't even start this!" I protested, looking at him accusingly.

"That's not that point," Ron said evenly, sitting up. I followed suit, my gaze never leaving his. Ron refused to look away, obviously hoping to make me back down.

"Of course that's the point!" I was shouting, but trying my best to be quiet about it. The last thing I needed was for Aiden to wake up to his parent's fighting. "I wouldn't have any reason to argue with you if you didn't start something."

"You'd find something," Ron growled. "You're always pointing out my flaws, hoping to start a row."

"Oh, that's RICH!" That time, I couldn't keep my voice down. By now, I was out of the bed, arms folded across my chest. "I know what you're trying to say though. You're trying to blame me for your faults."

"I-- I--" Ron sputtered. "YOU'RE TRYING TO PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH!" he roared.

"NO! I'M JUST TWISTING THE WORDS COMING OUT OF IT!"I bellowed. No sooner were the words out of mouth when I heard a small voice from behind me. Slowly, I turned, only to see the worried looked on Aiden's tiny face. My heart sank. Sending one last look at Ron, I took Aiden into my arms and left the room. I heard Ron call out that it wasn't over just as I closed the door to Aiden's room. Instantly, all of my attention was on him.

There were tears forming behind Aiden's eyes as I tried to soothe him. "It's okay, honey," I muttered, running my hand over his hair. He placed his head on my shoulder and began to cry. Very carefully, I sat down on the bed, holding Aiden close. "Everything's fine. Mummy and Daddy were just having a disagreement," I told him, knowing full well he didn't really understand what I was saying. The only thing he knew was that he heard yelling, and Mummy was very mad at Daddy. It took the better part of the hour to calm him, and when he finally fell asleep, I didn't leave him. If I returned to my own room, there was a good chance Ron and I would fight again. I didn't have enough emotional strength to keep bickering. I, myself, was on the verge of tears.

It was becoming slowly apparent that mine and Ron's relationship-- and soon to be marriage-- was not going to last without some extra effort. If we really wanted it to work, if we really wanted to be together, we would have to drop our pride. Being in love left no room for one's pride. Committing yourself to someone meant you had to look passed the other's faults. Right now, all I could see were Ron's faults. Every single one of them seemed to be written across his face. There was no real trace of the Ron I loved when I looked into his face. He just wasn't himself. That wasn't my fault.

But, a voice said, have you been yourself lately? That voice would be the death of me. No, I hadn't been myself. With Ginny's own problems added to mine, I was working overtime with the advice. And work wasn't much help. I was only a meager mediwitch, busting my ass to become a Healer. I was supposed to start a six week long course starting in November to receive my Healing license, and I still hadn't told Ron of the staggering tuition fees. I was worried that he would tell me that we couldn't afford for me to go. That, I knew, would only start another fight. This was my dream. Nothing was going to stop me from becoming a Healer, not even Ron.

And, then, there was Ron's Auror training. Harry's words had been lingering in my head since I had arrived home. Something was stressing Ron out, yet he hadn't felt the need to confide in me. I thought he knew he could tell me anything. Harry obviously knew what it was, but I wondered if he was just as stressed. He didn't seem to be, but he didn't have a fiancée or a child. He did have Ginny, and she could be just as bad. But, whatever it was, it either didn't affect him as much as it did Ron, or it just didn't pertain to him period. Maybe it wasn't work at all; maybe that was just Harry's cover up. Was Ron stressing about our marriage and having second thoughts?

Before I knew it, the tears were flowing.


Author's Note Chapter 3 may be out within the month, but I'm not promising anything. ALSO, I HAVE STARTED A PUBLIC LIVEJOURNAL FOR MY FANFICTION. I plan to make entries on my stories' progress, that way you guys know what is going on. The URL is www. livejournal. com / users / hldurhippogrffs/ just Remove the spaces. The link is also on my author's page. The userinfo and links to my stories isn't finished, but I should have that all taken care of within the week. In the meantime, check it out, keep reading, and REVIEW.