A/N: GO BACK AND READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! I replaced the chapters. Sorry about Fleur's accent. I'm not good with writing accents as you can tell with Hagrid's!
One and Only
Chapter Eighteen
The morning of Christmas Eve Hermione woke with a bright smile on her face. Although they were back at the Burrow and she couldn't sleep next to Ron it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She supposed that it was because their love had grown more from the time that spent there at the end of the summer. Hermione turned on her side and noticed that Ginny was still asleep, and then she glanced at the clock by her bedside. It was only six.
Hermione pulled the covers off of herself and got out of bed. She pulled a hoodie of Ron's over her head before quietly making her way out of the room. She wanted to go see if Ron was awake, and was on the stairs when she heard a person behind her. She turned around and saw Fred rubbing his eyes with his arm. He had just come from the bathroom.
For the vacation Fred and George had been staying at the Burrow along with Angelina and Alicia. They had been allowed to share a room because they were engaged. Fred and Angelina had Charlie's old room until Charlie came and George and Alicia had Fred and George's old room. Bill and Fleur had been staying in the house while Charlie, Allison, Percy, and Penelope would be arriving later that night. (Allison and Penelope are Charlie and Percy's wives.)
Fred yawned before speaking.
"Mornin' Mione." Fred said. "Up early for any special reason?" He asked with notable teasing in his voice. Hermione frowned at him.
"Nothing in particular. Just going to see if Ron's awake." Hermione replied coolly. Fred sniggered.
"Yeah, I'll bet." He said. Hermione scowled deeply at him.
"Angelina's calling." She said sarcastically before turning on her heel and starting for Ron's attic bedroom. Hermione tiptoed up the rest of the stairs and then slowly opened the door to Ron's room. Harry was snoring loud but Hermione ignored that and walked over to Ron's bed. He was hugging a pillow and was closer to the wall as if he was subconsciously making room on his twin bed for someone who wasn't there. Hermione smiled to herself before lifting the covers and lying down next to him in the bed. She moved the pillow and pressed her lips against his. He woke-up smiling and put his arms around her.
"Morning." He yawned. His eyes opened and he looked at her and then his eyes drifted to the clock. "What are you doing up so early?" He asked with another yawn.
"Coming to see you." Hermione said.
"Well you woke me up from a good dream." Ron said.
"Sorry." Hermione apologized.
"No don't be." Ron said with a smile. "Because now I get to live it." He said before pushing his lips against his. She giggled into it.
They got so into it that they almost didn't hear the loud, annoyed groan coming from the other side of the room. Hermione was in mid-moan while Ron was kissing her, when Harry interrupted.
"Honestly, do you two have to go at it this early in the morning?" Harry asked. There was a note of hilarity in his voice that said he thought that it was funny. Hermione pulled herself away from the entanglement that she was in with Ron and sat up.
"Good morning to you too Harry." Hermione said.
"Morning." Harry replied with a yawn.
"So are we still going to that Christmas Fair thingy today?" Ron asked.
"Yup. And speaking of that I better get Ginny up so we can get a head start. I want to get your mum and dad something there and my parents too." Hermione said. She gave Ron a quick kiss before standing up and going to the door. On her way down the stairs she met Mrs. Weasley who was going to the kitchen to make breakfast.
"Good morning dear." Mrs. Weasley said with a bright smile.
"Good morning." Hermione replied. "I was just getting Harry and Ron up because we're going to that Christmas Fair today." Hermione said in a perfectly convincing tone. Mrs. Weasley smiled.
"Well I'll have breakfast ready for you in a jiff." Mrs. Weasley said before finishing down the last couple flights of stairs. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and went into the room she was sharing with Ginny. Ginny was lying in her bed and looking at the door. When she saw who it was she frowned.
"Oh it's you." Ginny said.
"You know, I've never felt so welcome." Hermione said sarcastically.
"Sorry." Ginny apologized, getting out of her bed. "I thought you were Harry."
"No such luck." Hermione replied. "But if you hurry up and get ready I think you might be able to meet him on the stairs before anyone else gets up."
"Good idea!" Ginny exclaimed before getting up and rushing to her trunk.
Ginny had never gotten dressed faster.
Hermione laughed as she went to her own trunk. She had just picked out an outfit when Ginny rushed out of the room with her jacket. Hermione pulled on a pair of jeans and a black long sleeve shirt that said Happy Holidays on it in red and green. After getting her dark brown corduroy jacket she grabbed her multi-colored striped scarf and matching hat and sat down on the bed to put her shoes on. As she was slipping her feet into tan uggz and pulling her jeans over them there was whistling from the hallway. She grabbed everything and rushed out into the hallway to see what was going on.
When she got out there she saw Harry and Ginny part while Fred, George, Alicia, and Bill were laughing at them. Ron came down the stairs with his jacket in hand and Angelina came out of the bedroom she was sharing with Fred. George had been the one whistling.
"What happened?" Ron asked loudly. He still seemed tired.
"Shhh!" Bill exclaimed. "Fleur is sleeping." He said in a quiet voice.
"Your one to talk Ron. I saw Mione sneaking up stairs this morning." Fred said. Hermione went pink while Ron went full out scarlet red. Bill started laughing.
"Oh shut up." Ron said. "It's not my fault that we're not allowed to share rooms and you lot get to have the privacy of your own rooms." Bill laughed even louder but then remembered Fleur was sleeping and quieted down.
"Now why Ronald would you need your own room?" Bill asked. Angelina and Alicia started giggling as Fred and George kept smiles on their faces, watching Ron grow redder and redder.
"None of your business." Ron muttered.
"I think it is." George said.
"No, it's not." Ginny said angrily. "It's none of your business what Ron and Hermione do or Harry and I do just like it's none of our business what you and Angelina do, Fred, or what you and Alicia do, George." Ron started to laugh at the dumbfounded looks o Fred and George's face.
"One…" Fred started.
"…Two…" George continued. Ron and Ginny started to bolt for the bottom stair while Fred and George rushed after them. Harry, Hermione, and Bill laughed because they had been around long enough to know what that was but Angelina and Alicia looked confused.
"That is what goes on here 24/7 when the four of them get mad at each other." Bill explained.
"Well I better go calm Fred down before he gets in trouble with your mum." Angelina laughed. She pulled the sweatshirt that she had in her hands over her head and started down the stairs.
"Ditto." Alicia laughed and followed Angelina. Harry and Hermione were still chuckling as they turned to walk down the stairs with Bill.
"Hey Harry can you do me a favor?" Bill asked.
"Sure." Harry responded. "What is it?"
"If you're going to snog my little sister, don't do it in front of me." Bill said. Harry went red.
"Yeah, sure." He muttered. Bill chuckled to himself before turning to Hermione.
"And Hermione, or Mione. Which one is it now?" Bill asked.
"It doesn't matter." Hermione shrugged. "Fred and George have gotten used to calling me Mione. It's the nickname Ron came up with for me."
"I see." Bill said, looking toward the bracelet. "Well Mione," Bill started. "As long as it will keep Ron's mouth shut, feel free to snog him wherever." Bill said with another chuckle as they reached the bottom step. Hermione's pink turned to a red.
"Why thank you for your permission." She said sarcastically. Bill laughed.
They reached the kitchen as Mrs. Weasley was putting plates on the table.
"Hurry up, it's getting cold." Mrs. Weasley said. Hermione took the seat next to Ron and put her jacket, scarf, and hat on the back of her chair. Harry sat next to Ginny, and Bill sat in the seat where his father would be sitting if he weren't at work (or out shopping for the perfect Christmas present for Mrs. Weasley but she didn't know that.) Hermione started to eat her eggs as Ron opened a copy of the Prophet and picked up his coffee. He was halfway through the paper when he spit out the coffee he was drinking all over the paper and put it down on the table.
"I can't believe her!" He shouted. Curse words started flying out of his mouth and he was glad that his mother had left to go straighten up the rooms.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked as she took out her wand and started to clean up the coffee. Ron let one more, rather rude, curse word before holding the article up for Hermione to see. She picked it up and started reading it aloud,
"A New and Young Prophet. By Rita Skeeter.
In two years our current editor will be retiring on his sixtieth birthday to spend more time at home and he has already chosen a replacement. Ronald Weasley, fourteen, a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be taking his place.
Weasley is the editor of a small paper that he started up at Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore has always favored creative students and called upon our editor and informed him of the small paper and our editor met with the young student of Hogwarts and thought that his 'young' personality would be an asset to the paper.
When asked if Weasley would make a decent editor few students spoke highly of him.
'He'll run the Prophet straight into the ground,' said Draco Malfoy of Slytherin.
'I don't think the editor was in a right state of mind when he chose him,' said Lavender Brown of Gryffindor.
Apparently his fellow students don't think that he does such a good job but what can you expect from a fourteen year old?
Let's just hope that he knows that the Prophet isn't just 'a class project' or we might as well just burn the Prophet to the ground now."
Hermione looked up from the paper with tears of furry in her eyes. Ginny looked angry and Harry looked both angry and astonished that Rita Skeeter pulled something like that.
Fred and George were gripping their wands tightly with angry expressions while Angelina and Alicia had a hand on their shoulders both with disbelieving faces. Bill wore an expression of anger and concern.
"Is your job in jeopardy?" Bill asked. Ron didn't answer he was looking at Hermione with concern in his eyes.
"How could she do something like this?" Hermione asked with tears brimming in her eyes.
"What are we going to do?" Harry asked.
"I'll tell you what we should do." George said angrily. "We should feed her to hippogriffs. She deserves to be eaten by them."
"Her along with Malfoy and Lavender." Fred agreed.
"Why would she do something like this?" Alicia asked, astounded.
"Because Ron got the job instead of her." Bill answered. "I heard people at work talking about how she got beat out for the job by Ron." Bill said with notable proud in his voice.
"That's cruel." Angelina said. "She made Ron sound like a little kid who doesn't know what he's doing. He couldn't pass for fourteen even if he shrunk a couple of feet."
"Heartless." Hermione agreed with tears falling from her eyes. Ron hadn't had a chance to speak this whole time but didn't say anything more. He just pulled her close and stroked her hair to comfort her. "Why would the editor let her print this?" Hermione asked angrily from Ron's shoulder. "It would make him look bad."
"He doesn't read it after he's checked it twice." Ginny answered sadly. "He told me that he thinks of it as bad luck so he checks it and then sends it out. She must have gotten to it in between then."
"But wouldn't it be hard to change all of those copies?" Bill asked.
"No, not really." Harry answered. "I've seen Ron do it and it only take but less than a second."
"She's going down!" Hermione exclaimed, suddenly standing. "Everyone's going to know about her buggy little secret!"
"No." Ron answered simply. Hermione looked down at him, shocked.
"Why not?" She asked as she lowered herself back into her chair and faced Ron.
"We would just be sinking to her level." Ron answered. He took Hermione's chin and looked into her eyes. "I promise that she will be the first thing to go when I'm editor. That and the fact that we're only supposed to check the paper twice before it goes out." Ron said. Hermione smiled as Ron finished. "She can do that as much as she wants but she's not going to get to me. I promise that people wouldn't stop reading the Prophet. How else would they get their news?" Ron asked with a smile. Hermione met their lips for a brief second before throwing her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. He hugged her back and they stayed in that position until someone came crying into the kitchen.
"'Ow can I enjoy Christmas like zis?" Fleur cried. Ron released Hermione and used his thumb to clear her tears away before they both turned to face her along with everyone else at the table.
"What's wrong?" Bill asked as he rushed up to wrap her in a hug.
"Look at me!" She cried. "I am a cow! 'Ow can you love me?" Fleur still seemed to still have her veela effect because she looked perfect even if she did have a pregnant stomach but that was not the beauty in the room that Ron was transfixed with.
"I would love you no matter what." Bill said soothingly to her. "You can enjoy Christmas by knowing the fact that next Christmas we will have a baby to share it with." Bill told her. Fleur's crying abated and she kissed Bill. They all turned their heads when the kiss deepened.
When Bill and Fleur parted Fleur joined them at the table. She refused to eat anything at first but in the end her pregnancy got the better of her and Mrs. Weasley came back in and made a plate for her full of food.
"Congratulazions Ron and 'Arry on you jobs." Fleur said.
"Thanks." Ron and Harry muttered, taking a quick look at her before going back to their food.
"Congratulations to you too." Ron said.
"Yeah, congratulations." Harry said. Hermione was happy to see that Ron didn't seem fazed by her at all and she knew that it wasn't just because she was pregnant because only men who weren't taken or loved and love another person are transfixed by veela. When they finished eating the plates were cleared away and everyone remained at the table.
"What time does the Christmas Fair open?" Harry asked.
"Around ten." Hermione answered. "We should leave soon though, it's a bit of a walk."
"Do you mind if we tag along?" Angelina asked.
"Sounds like fun." Fred shrugged.
"We'll come too." George said before Alicia could speak. She smiled at him.
"The more the merrier." Hermione said with a smile.
"I think we'll stay here." Bill said, taking Fleur's hand.
"You lot need to be back by Christmas Eve dinner." Mrs. Weasley said. They all agreed to that.
"Alright, well I have to get my purse. Ron do you want to help me?" Hermione asked in a tone so that Ron would know what she was talking about.
"Oh…yeah. I forgot my wallet anyways." He said. He grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her away from the knowing siblings and friends and up to his room. He started to kiss her as the door shut but she pulled away.
"Wait one second." She said. "Are you sure your ok because really, we could destroy Rita Skeeter and I would have no regrets." Hermione said with a smile.
"I'm sure." Ron assured her. "She'll get what's coming to her when it comes." Hermione smiled at him.
"Ok, well then…" She grabbed Ron's face and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and they backed up against a wall. They only had a couple of minutes but they decided to make the best of it. After one last kiss…and then one more last kiss…and the "last" last kiss… then one final la– they were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Ron are you in there?" Came the voice of his brother Charlie. Hermione and Ron parted immediately. Hermione ran the back of her hand over her mouth and then the fingers on the other hand through her hair. Ron grabbed his wallet off of his dresser, shoved it in the back pocket of his jeans and ran his hand through his hair before walking toward the door.
"Wait." Hermione said in a loud whisper. Ron turned to her and she wiped the lipstick from off of his mouth. It wasn't a bright lipstick but she wore it because it added a little color to her lips.
"Thanks." He said before he opened the door. Charlie stood before them.
"Oh I see what you were doing." Charlie laughed.
"Mind it!" Ron said and punched Charlie on the arm. Charlie put Ron in a headlock.
"Hello Hermione." Charlie said as he held Ron in a headlock and Ron tried to get free. He acted like this was just a normal everyday conversation.
"Hi." Hermione laughed at the struggling Ron.
"Hope I didn't interrupt anything." Charlie said with suggestive eyebrows. "I know how long I've been waiting for you two to get together so I don't want to interrupt something." Hermione went slightly pink.
"No, nothing at all." Hermione said sarcastically but then saw he was serious. "It's alright we were leaving anyways."
"Alright well I just wanted to make sure that everyone was serious about you two getting together. I was shocked to hear it." Charlie said. Hermione laughed but noticed Ron still struggling under Charlie's arm.
"Do you think you could let him go?" Hermione asked. "I need to bring him with me." Charlie looked as if he were considering.
"Alright I guess." He sighed. Charlie released Ron and Ron scowled at him.
"A hello would have done." Ron said.
"Hi." Charlie said sarcastically. "Oh and congratulations on the job. I read the article Rita Skeeter wrote. I wasn't aware you de-aged."
"Me neither." Ron said as the three of them started down the stairs.
"If I had my way that hag would be writing her own obituary." Hermione said angrily. Charlie and Ron laughed. Ron put an arm around Hermione's waist to calm her as they continued on down the stairs. They stopped in Hermione and Ginny's room so Hermione could get her purse and then they went into the kitchen. Ron and Hermione said hello to Allison and started to get their jackets on.
"Here Ron, your father left this for you lot at the fair." Mrs. Weasley said as she handed Ron a large stack of muggle cash. "I don't think that they're going to accept that but your father knows more about muggles than I do."
Hermione and Harry split the cash evenly between the eight that were going before they went into the living room to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron and then they would walk to the Fair from there.
A/N: Let me know what you think!
