Once they arrived, they realized that security had been upgraded in the village. Aurors were patrolling around town in their purple uniforms and they were happy to cross people they knew from the Order of the Phoenix like Tonks, Mad Eye and Kingsley, though the latest had only come to get Tonks' report before going back to the Ministry where his boss, Scrimgeour, wanted more updates than ever before, because of Voldemort's rise. Mad-Eye Moody wasn't an Auror anymore but he had volunteered to be extra security for Hogwarts and the Ministry had welcomed his help. He was now sharing his time between the school and the town, doing his best to keep everyone safe and to locate potential threats.
After greeting their friends from the Order, the couple was ready to start their day-date. Fred started by giving Rose the grand tour of the village, telling her the bits and pieces of history he knew along with a few amusing stories about what happened to his brother, Lee and him in some of these places. After that, they went to buy some candy though they mainly looked at everything the store had to offer. When they walked out of the shop, it was time for lunch and Fred led his girlfriend to the Three Broomsticks so they could have a bite to eat. They crossed a few of their friends there, though most of them chose to sleep in, eat at Hogwarts and go to Hogsmeade afterwards.
"This is nice." Rose smiled at him as they finished eating.
"I'm glad you liked it. I was afraid you'd want to go with your brother for the first time."
"I kind of did go with him for the first time, when it was his first time."
"How?" Fred frowned.
"In our sleep, when we saw each other in our sleep, he showed me everything he had seen and done. He was under the invisibility cloak and even attacked Malfoy and his friends. It was hilarious. But I have to say that the tour you just gave me is much better." Rose explained and finished with a small kiss for her boyfriend.
"Sometimes I wonder if George and I would have the same mental bond as you do with Harry if we had been separated for a long period of time." Fred confessed.
"Probably. We haven't joined each other in our dreams ever since we've been reunited." Rose replied.
"Hermione did say that it's happened before. George even suggested we separate ways this summer to see if it would work but then we have to work on opening our shop so it won't work."
"Maybe in a few years you'll have an opportunity to test the theory." Rose encouraged.
"Yes, I figured as much. In a few years, when you and I get married, George will stay here and tend to our shops, we'll have several employees by then, while you and I go on our honeymoon. I guess we'll see then if we can have the same bond." Fred replied, not realizing that he had just confessed how far he saw ahead for their couple.
Unable to answer because of the overflow of emotions, Rose simply smiled and kissed him, making a mental note to tell Hermione and Ginny all about what Fred said later that night. he didn't seem to expect a reaction from her, he had spoken about their future wedding and honeymoon like it made sense, like it was somehting they had spoken about hundreds of times before and Rose didn't know what to say. Of course it made her happy because she, too, wanted this.
The couple spent the rest of the afternoon walking around, occasionally stopping to talk with friends of theirs or to make out in a comfortable or pretty corner.
At the end of the day, Rose had had a pretty perfect day and she knew that Fred had as well. She was definitely happy that he didn't keep with his original plan to wait longer before asking her out. They were happy together.
.
Once they got back to the castle, they parted ways to put what they had bought away and to spend some time with their friends, promising to meet for breakfast the next morning.
Once in her bedroom, she quickly found her friends. Once everyone was there, they started talking about their day.
"He really said that? That he'd marry you?" Hermione asked Rose as she, Ginny, Lavender and Parvati were in the bedroom.
Of course Ginny was in another dorm, but she had joined Hermione and Rose to discuss the day's event.
"Not in so many words, I don't even think he realized how much it hit me to hear him say it. That's the thing, he said it like it made sense, like it was the most logical think for us to be together forever, like we had spoken about it several times before even though we hadn't. He was talking about something that he would try with George later and he said that he would have the perfect opportunity to do it once we got married and went on our honeymoon." Rose explained.
"What did you say?" Lavender asked her.
"I couldn't speak, I was so touched… I just kissed him and smiled. I don't think he realized how much it surprised me and moved me to hear him say that." Rose added.
"That's so cute! You two are so perfect together, I can totally see you married with children in a few years." Parvati smiled.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up being my sister in law in less than 5 years." Ginny chuckled.
"Our parents married right after Hogwarts... Maybe I'll end up following in their footsteps." Rose smiled.
"And do you intend to follow in Fred's parents footsteps in the baby making department?" Lavender asked with a smirk, making everyone laugh and Rose blush.
"I wouldn't mind having a big family... Anyway, Ginny, how was your afternoon? Fred and I saw you and Harry walking alone at some point. We decided that it would be best not to interrupt." Rose asked.
"Hermione told me that she'd like to try and spend some time alone with Ron to see if he'd grow a pair and ask her out, so I asked Harry if he'd like to go with me to check out something at Zonko's, inventing a story that I didn't want to go on my own with everything that's going on, and he agreed. After we left the shop, I told him I'd like something to drink. It was a test, to see if he'd suggest finding Ron and Hermione or invite me to get something with him. He asked me if I wanted to go with him to Madam Puddifoot's tea shop. Not really our style but I knew there was a message there somewhere so I agreed." Ginny replied with a soft blush.
"What happened there?" Lavender asked her, eager to know more.
"We talked, we laughed, we had fun. When we left it… he… He said that he'd like to do it again sometime, spend time with just me. I told him that I'd love it. Then when we walked back, our hands brushed a couple of times until he took mine in his. I… I think I blushed a lot but I didn't remove my hand. When he saw me smile at him, he held it tighter, with more confidence." She replied.
"That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Hermione exclaimed.
"We're not officially together yet but I think it's going to happen eventually." Ginny nodded happily.
"What happened with you and Ron then?" Rose asked her friend who suddenly looked down, sad.
"I don't think he's interested in me that way. As soon as we were alone, he looked around for several minutes until he spotted George who had just left Lee with his girlfriend and we joined him. George quickly got that I was hoping for some alone time with Ron but Ron kept on insisting he stayed with us and didn't stay alone. When George finally left, we took a walk and I figured, maybe this was it, but he spotted Mad-Eye Moody from across the street and he rushed to talk to him, then we came back here." Hermione explained.
"My brother's an idiot." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Maybe he just didn't get that you wanted to be alone with him, he seems a bit dense when it comes to relationships, girls and feelings." Rose suggested and Ginny immediately nodded her agreement to her statement.
"Or maybe he was nervous about being alone with you, maybe he's not ready for this yet." Lavender encouraged her.
"Well, in any case, I'm done trying to wait for him to open his eyes. I'll go out with the next guy who asks me out, even if it ends up being a Slytherin!" Hermione declared in a strong voice that didn't leave any room for discussion.
"Do you want us to get the word out for you?" Lavender asked Hermione with an amused smile.
"Draco and I are on speaking terms, maybe I could ask him for a favor about this." Rose suggested, thinking, in the back of her mind, that this would fit perfectly in Draco's plan, it would show his aunt that he was progressing and she promised herself to speak to Hermione and Draco discreetly about it later.
"Just… Let this happen the way it's supposed to happen." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Wouldn't it be fun if someone like Goyle asked you out. You'd have to say yes because of what you just vowed. I'd pay big money to see Ron's face then." Ginny suggested and the girls in the room started laughing, imagining who they could pair Hermione with to make Ron jealous and this is how they spent their evening, laughing their asses off while pairing Hermione with their top 10 worst guys in school.
Even Hermione laughed and added a few suggestions.
What did you think? Who will ask Hermione out?
The story is written until chapter 54 so far, and the storyline is set for about 15 more chapters I think, probably more... We'll see.
Lorelei Candice Black