a/n: Here's a mid-week surprise for anyone following this story!
*certain italicized parts are direct quotes from the movie, the Proposal. I do not own them. Nor do I own any of these lovely characters.
HermioneI jolted awake to the sound of my phone ringing. It took me a moment to remember where I was, especially since I wasn't alone. Ron groaned next to me.
"Will you shut that bloody thing up?" he half mumbled into his pillow.
"I'm trying," I hissed, reaching for my phone.
I finally managed to get my hand on it, and held it up to my face. Fully expecting it to be the office, I was surprised, and heavily annoyed, when I saw that it wasn't. Either way, I couldn't ignore it.
"Hello?" I whispered as I answered the phone.
"Hermione, where are you?"
Here we go... "I told you I was going away for the weekend, Mum."
"And I told you I was coming up to London, so you should have canceled your plans!"
I laughed inwardly. It was barely seven in the morning and I already had to start the marriage charade. "Yes because cancelling plans to visit my husband's family for his aunt's 90th birthday would have gone over well."
"Please, Hermione. You can stop now with this foolish game. I know you're not married. You would have invited me to the wedding."
"Not if we eloped."
My mother went into a tirade about how I, Hermione Granger, would never elope when a pillow hit the back of my head. I covered the receiver with my hand. "What was that for?"
"Go somewhere else, I'm trying to sleep."
I picked up the pillow and threw it back at him as I reached for the robe that was hanging on the bathroom door. Wrapping it tightly around myself, I snuck out of the room and down the stairs before slipping out of one of the side doors to sit in the garden. It was a beautiful morning. Too bad my mother had to ruin it.
"...Hermione, are you even listening to me?"
"Yes, Mum," I lied.
"So, what hotel are you hiding out in, then?"
"For the last time, I'm not at a hotel. I'm staying at my husband's house for the weekend."
"And where is that?"
"Somewhere in Devon."
"I don't appreciate your cheek. If you weren't hiding something, you'd give me the actual location."
"Why? So you can barge in uninvited and force me into another marriage? Even though I'm already spoken for?"
"Maybe I just wanted to spend time with my only daughter."
I sighed. "Mum, you know I love you, but when is the last time you flew to London to merely 'spend time' with me? You always have an ulterior motive, so please forgive me if I'm suspicious."
"Well, you can't hide out there forever. And I'll be in London waiting for you to return."
"Wonderful. I'll look forward to seeing you when I am back. Monday night."
I hung up the phone before Mum had a chance to respond. She was never going to give up on her quest to find me a husband and force me to settle down. Why couldn't she just understand that I didn't want that! Well, I did want it eventually, I suppose, but that would require me to actually find a man who would be okay with my work schedule, and still manage to love me for it.
Not to mention the long list of ideal characteristics I looked for in a potential partner, like making me laugh, not being afraid to go toe to toe with me—of course, I needed to win any argument most of the time— and I need a man who can cook in my life. I'd long since accepted I was hopeless in the kitchen. I knew my wishes for the perfect man were lofty, and I should probably relent on some, but maybe I didn't really need a man after all. I was a successful, independent woman. There was nothing wrong with being single. Except for the fact that I was lonely, had no distractions from work to keep me away from the office, and had a mother who was trying to marry me off.
I looked around the Burrows property, and began walking for a bit. No one else was awake in the house when I'd walked downstairs, so I figured I had some time to explore before escaping back to Ron's childhood bedroom. I knew his mum had updated some things about the room, but I thought it was sweet that she'd kept his favorite color on the walls, as well as his old posters.
He didn't think I knew what his favorite color was, or his favorite football team, but I did. I was starting to believe that I knew a lot more than I let on. You don't spend countless hours together working overtime without picking up various details about the other's life. I just chose to keep them close to myself. I knew I underestimated him sometimes, but his loyalty and friendship were unnerving.
I was almost starting to feel a bit guilty for roping him into this chaotic mess. His family had been so pleasant to me last night, and aside from the awkward announcement that we'd 'eloped,' things had been smooth as I got to know his family. It was eerie how easily Ron and I pieced together a completely fabricated story and made it seem believable.
And then there was that kiss. I knew I shouldn't have gone in for more, but I couldn't help it. Maybe it was the glass of wine I had, but I felt drawn to him. My lips still tingled as I thought about it again. It was all I could do to get the image out of my head as I tried to fall asleep last night, and now here I was, thinking about my assistant's—er, former assistant's, lips again.
I pinched myself to stop thinking about him like that. It was bad enough we kissed in front of his entire family, let alone me liking it, but then we shared a bed! I mean, we had to, since his family thinks we're married. Okay, maybe we didn't have to, but I couldn't let him sleep on the floor in his own bedroom. The bed was large enough and I wasn't that much of a bitch to do that to him.
Goodness, what was going on with me? I made my way back toward the house, trying to wipe all thoughts of Ron Weasley from my mind. Well, not all thoughts. Just the ones of us too close in proximity to each other than was customary for coworkers.
When I entered the house, I saw Mrs. Weasley and Muriel sitting at the kitchen counter. "Good morning, dear!" Mrs. Weasley greeted me.
"Good morning! I hope I didn't wake any of you. Early morning phone call," I said as I gestured to the phone in my hand.
"Not to worry! Did you sleep well?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Yes, thank you," I said with a smile.
"Only after you put the baby blanket to good use, I hope," Aunt Muriel said with a wink.
"The what?"
"The red and orange blanket on the edge of the bed! It's brought the Weasley family plenty of luck if you know what I mean," Muriel said with a wink.
"O-oh! Um, no, we were both too tired to er, use that," I attempted to hide my mortification.
"Muriel, don't pester the poor girl too much!" Mrs. Weasley chided.
"Morning!" Ginny as she entered the kitchen. Hermione was happy for the disruption. "Oh, good, Hermione's up!"
"Yes, I am an early riser," I supplied. "Did you need me for something?
"Yes! The girls and I were talking, and we've decided that even though you eloped, you still deserve a hen party! So, we've got the whole day planned for you!"
"I don't think that's necessary," I said quickly.
"Of course it is! You married Ron! That's reason enough," Ginny laughed. "Now, go on and get ready! We'll be leaving around ten!"
I looked between Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Muriel bleakly, and soon realized I wasn't going to get out of this one. So, I walked upstairs to get ready for the day ahead.
I'd been whisked away to brunch mid-morning, and then we spent the better part of the afternoon shopping before the girls pushed me into a small, dingy looking building located on one of the side streets of Ottery St. Catchpole.
"Where are we?" I asked. It was dark and looked almost smoky in the underground pub.
"It's called The Hog's Head!" Angelina said excitedly. "You're in for a treat!"
Ginny, Audrey and Fleur all giggled, while Mrs. Weasley and Muriel looked excited.
We sat down at one of the tables that was located in front of a small platform that looked like a stage.
"Do they do karaoke here sometimes?" I asked, noticing the stool and the machine toward the back.
"Oh, yes, but that's not what we're here for," Ginny told her.
A round of drinks were brought over to them just as the music began blaring through the speakers.
"Here he comes!" Audrey said with glee.
"Hey, girls, mind if I join you?"
I looked up to see Lavender arriving at our table as Fleur moved her chair over to make room. It was somewhat uncomfortable having her there for some reason, but I didn't understand why. She was nice enough. Maybe I was just feeling awkward because of her history with Ron. From the way Ginny talked, they'd shared something real, and here I was trying to fake my way through a marriage with him for my own personal reasons.
"Ooooh, here he comes!" Muriel shouted with glee, which caused my attention to turn back to the stage.
I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the man I'd recognized as one of the servers at the party last night. He'd tried to feed me some hor d'oeuvres that contained fish, even though I'd declined, and then wouldn't stop following me around. I'd stuck to Ginny's side in the hopes that he'd leave me alone. What was he doing here?
"Dave's the town's only exotic male dancer," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as Muriel was clapping her hands with glee.
The other girls erupted into another fit of giggles, knowing this was a joke, and they were watching for my reaction. I was sure I didn't disappoint since I could sense my own horror. Dave was short and wasn't exactly attractive. At least, not to me. He had dark, curly hair, and his skin was an olive tone. His abs were non-existent as he sported the start of a small beer belly. He sounded like he was from Italy based on his accent, which I thought was peculiar based on his name.
I attempted to keep my face diplomatic as I watched him do the weirdest dances. His moves were jerky as he thrust his hips forward and back, and then ran a hand down his own body. Oh my god, why is he staring at me? He was giving me the creepiest smile as his hands moved toward the middle of his chest and tore away his shirt. I closed my eyes. Why couldn't he be like those hot men in that Magic Mike movie? That would have made this much more enjoyable.
All the women screamed for him, which egged him on more. Next thing I knew, he'd ripped his trousers off too, and Muriel was pulling money out and waving it to him. I saw Fleur pull something out of her purse and get up and walk over to me.
"Oh, no, I don't need tha—"
"Nonsense!" she said as she put one of those gaudy veil headbands on my head. "Dave needs to come give our bride the special attention she deserves!"
No, no, no! Before Hermione could escape, Dave was making his way over to me and reaching out his hands to bring me up to the stage. "No, thank you," I said politely, despite the entire party urging me to stand up.
Dave grabbed my hands and pulled me up, and the next thing I knew, I was on stage and sitting on the stool, the recipient of a lap dance that I didn't ask for. He kept twerking his behind in my face before turning around to do the same with his front side. All the women had their phones out and I was trying hard not to think about how red my face was. If Ron ever saw this—no, if anyone ever saw this—my career would be ruined.
I turned my head to the side and leaned back, pursing my lips to try and put more distance between his penis and myself. This man would not let up. Finally, he started to play more toward the crowds who were whooping and hollering for him. He turned and stuck his arse in my face once more and began pointing at it. What could he possibly want now?
"Slap his arse!" Angelina called as Ginny and Muriel were making slapping gestures.
I was sure my face had shifted from mortification to full on disgust now. I shook my head and backed even further away, but Dave was relentless. Realizing he wasn't going to let me go until I did, I just barely reached my hand out to tap him on one of his bare cheeks. I had to turn away when I did it, but thankfully he walked off after that, and began milling about the crowd.
I quickly stood up and stepped off the stage. Instead of returning to the table, I motioned to the door, indicating I needed some air. I walked quickly up the stairs and took a deep breath of fresh air once I opened the door and stepped out onto the sunny sidewalk. There was a bench nearby, and I went over to sit down for a bit as I focused on my breathing.
I had no qualms about being the center of attention. I did that on a daily basis in the courtroom. But this was something else entirely. I felt like I was being put on display and my right to decline the attention was completely dismissed.
Forcing myself to stop thinking about Dave and his ridiculous show that was still going on, I focused on my surroundings. The street was bustling, and there were several shops and businesses that lined the road. It was such a quaint little town, and so vastly different from the bustle of big cities. I could easily see Ron growing up here. Sometimes I wondered whether the big city life truly suited him or not, and now I understood why.
"Mind if I join you?" I looked up to see Lavender standing next to me.
I shook my head. "Not at all."
"Dave can be a bit much, can't he?" she offered with a kind smile on her face.
"That's one way of putting it," I said, perhaps a bit too harshly. "How many videos will I need to beg the girls to delete?"
"A fair few," Lavender said with a chuckle. "I think Ginny was already sending something to Ron."
"Wonderful."
"You two make a cute couple," Lavender supplied.
It wasn't the most natural transition in the world, but I had a feeling it was coming. The way she was looking at him last night made me wonder if the longing meant there was something still between them. Maybe now was my chance to find out.
"Thanks. I know you two have a long history."
Lavender smiled sadly. "Yes, well, how often do high school sweethearts ever end up together in the long run?"
"They do in movies, it seems. What happened between you two, anyway?"
"Ron's never mentioned it?" Lavender seemed hurt. I needed to think quickly about this one.
"Er, he has, but we—it was a long time ago. And there's two sides to every story, right?"
Lavender seemed appeased by my response. "I suppose. We just wanted different things. I was accepted to the same university as he was, but Mum needed me home to help with my siblings. At least that's what I convinced myself. I think I was too afraid to leave home. We tried to make it work, but ultimately we grew apart. I realized pretty quickly he wanted to stay in London."
I nodded slowly, unable to keep from wondering if she still harbored feelings for Ron, and whether I was preventing them from getting back together. Initially, I felt bad about it, but then I felt something else bubble up inside me. The door swung open behind us, distracting me from trying to understand what that strange feeling was.
"It looks like Dave's wrapping up in there. We should probably get back inside," Lavender said as she stood up. She paused again and hesitated a moment before saying, "I know there's a lot of history between Ron and I, but I just want you to know that I am happy for you both. I've only ever wanted the best from him, even if it wasn't me."
"I—um, thanks."
I wasn't sure how to respond. I hoped that came across as me agreeing with her, but I honestly didn't know. She smiled sadly and walked away, and now I felt like a real arse as I followed her inside.
Dave had officially exited the stage as I sat down next to Ginny. "He's not going to jump out and surprise me again, is he?" I asked her.
"No, he's done. I'm knackered, too! A lot of excitement for me and the little one, here. Ready to head back to the Burrow?"
"Yes, please!" I said gratefully.
I needed to have a shower and rid myself of that unfortunate experience. Dave was covered in some sort of slippery oil, and I just felt dirty. The other women decided to stay out a while longer, relishing in their child-free day, while I rode back to the house with Molly, Muriel and Ginny. As we pulled up to the Burrow, I noticed Ron and Harry were further out in the yard, and it looked as though they were boxing.
"That's not good," I heard Molly mutter under her breath as Muriel was shaking her head.
I scrunched my eyes in confusion, hoping someone would elaborate, but no one did. Asking would have looked suspicious, since he was my 'husband.' I waited until we were out of the car before attempting to gather more information from Ginny.
"Should I go over there and say hello? I haven't seen him all day," I said, hoping that it was a good enough cover.
"I wouldn't," Ginny said honestly, "but I'll hazard a guess that you know your husband better than I know my brother, so the decision's yours."
That didn't help me at all. "Any ideas on what got him so worked up?"
Ginny gave me an odd look. We stood there watching both men as Ron clearly let out his aggression. Harry held up a shield to block Ron's punches. Eventually, I excused myself and went inside.
As I made my way down the hall, I could hear raised voices, and I paused at the stairs to get a better idea of what was going on. I felt bad eavesdropping, but I'd never seen Ron so worked up before, and for some reason I desperately wanted to know what was going on.
"...why must you always pick that fight with him, Arthur? We barely see him enough as it is! Just let it rest. Percy agreed to take over as CEO. He'll be able to handle everything just as well!"
"I'd still feel more comfortable if two of them ran it together, Molly. Ron's mind is brilliant, and having a legal background would be so beneficial to the company! You have to understand that I don't want to see twenty five years of hard work become lost—"
"That's not going to happen and you know it! I know you're trying to bring him closer to the family, but you're pushing him away! It's a miracle he even came home this weekend. If you don't stop this nonsense, you're either going to make yourself ill, or he'll choose to stay in London for good, and I won't stand for it!"
I quickly made my way up the stairs, having heard enough. Arthur had done an incredible job of creating a company from scratch, and also protecting himself and his family from the press once Phoenix began to skyrocket. That was why I convinced myself I had no idea of Ron's ties to the company. I didn't hear the conversation he and his father had shared last night, but I knew it was enough to put Ron on edge. It was evident to me that he was determined to make a name for himself, just as I wanted for myself, but his dad was trying to convince him to do the opposite.
I tried not to think about it as I went straight up to the room we were sharing and entered the en suite. When I looked in the mirror, I realized I was still wearing the ridiculous veil, and took it off. I shed the rest of my clothes and stepped into the warm spray of water as I rinsed away all the sliminess I felt from Dave grinding up against me. I'd have to treat those clothes when I returned home to make sure any oil residue was carefully removed.
Once I was finally satisfied that I was clean, I turned off the water and stepped out onto the bathmat. I looked around, but couldn't find the towel I'd just used earlier that morning. I could have sworn I hung it up right there on the towel rack. Where is it? I wondered as I looked around frantically. The only thing I could find was a small hand towel, and that certainly wouldn't do.
I used the small towel to squeeze out the excess water from my hair as I thought about where any extra towels could be. That's when I remembered there was a stack left on the edge of the bed. I set the hand towel down and walked over to the door, listening to be sure there wasn't anyone on the other side. Satisfied that I was alone, I reached for the door handle, and turned it as I pulled the door open. I took two steps to exit the bathroom when I hit a wall of a very naked Ron.
I yelped as the force of the collision caused a loss of balance as Ron fell backwards and I went down with him. Too shocked to do the sensible thing, I remained frozen where I was, on top of him, and shrieked, "OH MY GOD, what are you doing here?!"
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"
"Why are you naked?!"
"Why are you wet?!"
I scrambled to slide off of him at that point, as I reached to grab one of the towels and lunged over to the far side of the bed to cover myself. "I was taking a shower! The towels were gone! Why didn't you hear me?"
"I literally just came into the room! The shower wasn't running, and the bathroom door's always closed. How did you not notice the towels were missing before you showered?"
"I don't know! Will you cover yourself up, please?"
Ron had gotten to his feet and grabbed another towel on the bed. I was trying really hard not to stare as he wrapped the towel loosely around his hips. It'd been a long time since I'd seen a man naked, and that was the excuse I was giving myself for checking him out, and for the fact that I liked what I saw. I felt the heat in my cheeks at that realization.
"I still don't understand why you're home so early."
Wonderful, apparently he was disgusted by the sight and feel of my naked body. "Sorry to disappoint you with my presence. Just go shower, will you? I'll be out of your way by the time you're done," I huffed.
His ears were bright red, as he turned to enter the bathroom. "Nice tattoo," he smirked at me.
"What?" I said quickly, but he already shut the door without responding.
I was left wondering how he'd even managed to see it. Maybe he was checking me out after all. As I rolled off of him I had flipped over on my back for a split second, which would have given him a chance to see everything, including the small mark that sat just above my left hip.
I finished drying myself off before pulling another outfit out of my suitcase, trying to shake away the thoughts of Ron's hard body against mine. If that wasn't tantalizing enough, then he'd draped the towel so loosely on his hips that it was all I could do not to lick my lips and jump him right there, throwing all caution to the wind.
This is all fake, Hermione. It's not real. You're only feeling this way because it's been so long, that's all. I willed it to be true as I gave one last glance at the bathroom door before making good on my promise to be gone by the time he came out.