Ch 59: Thanks Merlin For Friends And Wingmen
By early February, Hermione had convinced herself that Ron would either propose on Valentine's Day or that she would be waiting a very long time. The independent feminist in her was intensely aggravated that she was waiting on him to propose. But there was still something in her that wanted him to get down on his knee and ask just like in the movies. And while she knew it was unfair to expect Ron to fulfill her muggle Hollywood fantasy, it was what she wanted and dreamed of. And, she didn't want to have to tell him that he needed to do it. On top of that, she was still working ridiculous hours. Ron kept encouraging her to dial back and talk to Nicola about no longer accepting new cases. But she didn't want to let him know she wasn't really willing to do that until she had a ring on her finger.
Oblivious to her worries, Ron was getting closer to finalizing his plans for proposing on March 1st. One evening in early February, Hermione had to work late to prepare for a court case the next morning. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ron invited her parents to join him and Hugo for a simple dinner. He was nervous, but he knew he wanted to tell her parents about his plan and ask for their blessing before asking for Hermione's hand in marriage. While it felt a little awkward to do that with Hugo there, it felt even more awkward to do it without him. So, Ron was moving ahead with his dinner for four idea.
He and Rose had been talking at least once a week when he was up in Hogwarts. She was doing so much better, and not only was closer with Scorp and Al than ever, but had made more friends in her own house after James encouraged folks to apologize to her for cutting her off from the house after the newspaper nonsense.
One day when they were eating lunch together at Hogwarts, Rose had finally asked him about how proposals and engagements worked in the magical world. From that discussion, Ron quickly realized he hadn't really thought about the fact that Hermione might have a different expectation around a proposal. This had set off a series of tutoring conversations in which Rose more or less assigned Ron muggle romantic comedy movies for him to watch and phrases for him to google to get a better idea of what Hermione was probably expecting or hoping for.
It had been rather eye opening for Ron, and he was really grateful Rose had suggested it to him. And then she quickly helped him realize that Hermione would absolutely not want to be proposed to at a quidditch match or other such public location.
"Ok. Good. I didn't think she would, but there were a couple of those movies you told me to watch that had big baseball scenes for proposals."
"Right. But that's so not Mum, Ron. You need to think more along the lines of wonderful symbolism and stuff."
"and stuff?" said Ron nervously. "Like what stuff?"
"Did you see that Julia Roberts movie where the guy proposes by tying a string on her finger and telling her this whole story about what it means and then slides the ring down onto her finger with the string? That is the stuff I'm talking about. Mum would flip out for that."
"But she will absolutely see right through that and know I couldn't have come up with it on my own," he laughed.
"That's probably true. But there are those other movies where the guy just proposes spontaneously and pours his heart out to her. Those are good too."
"Ok. Well, I think it is fair to say that whatever I come up with will probably not be suave enough to put into some muggle movie. But, it has been helpful to know more about the ideas that could be swirling around her head."
"Whatever you come up with will be wonderful, Ron. I just wish I could be there when it happens!"
"Oh. I hadn't really thought about that. I assumed you would be. Maybe I can ask McGonagall if you can come that weekend."
"But what would you tell Mum?"
"Huh. Not sure. I'll keep thinking on that one, but I will figure things out. You totally need to be there."
When Ron had gotten home after that lunch, he'd decided he needed to ask Hermione's parents for help on ideas on how to make sure that Rose was there. When he'd gotten home from WWW he had thrown together a quick casserole and chopped all the parts for a salad so he wouldn't be stuck in the kitchen once the Grangers arrived. Hugo was helping wash the lettuce and gave Ron a funny look.
"What's that look, little man?" Ron asked with an eyebrow raised. Hugo cracked a lopsided smile that he had started to pick up after hanging around his godfather.
"Just curious why Hermione doesn't know her parents are coming for dinner when she's not here," he smirked.
Ron put the carrots he was chopping down on the counter.
"OK. You busted me. I want to talk to them about proposing to Hermione. BUT – You. Can. Not. Say. A. Word. To. Her. Not a word. Or an eyebrow or a smirk – nothing. It has got to be a surprise, ok?"
"Got it," he said as he broke into a huge grin and gave Ron a giant hug. "And I promise. I won't mess it up. I want it to go great!"
"Ok. Thank you. You are definitely my wingman in this. That means you have to help me, and you keep me from screwing things up on accident, ok?"
"Ok."
"And, well, it's kind of terrifying asking her parents about this. What if they hate me and don't really want me to marry her?"
Hugo took a deep breath. "I'm your wingman, so I can tell you honestly, the Grangers are the best and they love you. They will be really happy about this."
"You don't think it's too fast?"
"You mean after years and years and years of not dating but secretly liking each other and then a year of dating and living together and being a family? I'm 9 and this is my first time as a wingman. I'm not an expert, but I am pretty sure that would not be considered too fast."
Ron smacked Hugo with a tea towel and proceeded to chase him around the house until he finally pinned him down in the living room and tickle tortured him. He was holding Hugo down with his knee while tickling him into yelps and screams and laughs when the Grangers walked through the door.
"Hello!" said Mrs. Granger. "Now I see why you didn't hear us knock."
Oh bugger, thought Ron as he scrambled up and tried to tuck in his shirt. His nervous look made Hugo laugh even harder.
"Payback is heckerdoodles, Ron," Hugo teased.
"Yeah, right. Uh, sorry about that," Ron apologized as he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to look presentable enough to ask for their daughter's hand in marriage.
"Oh, don't apologize. It's wonderful!" laughed Hermione's father. "The world needs more belly laughter so loud we lose touch with the world around us."
"Come on and see what we made," said Hugo as he dragged Hermione's mum to the kitchen.
Soon the four were putting the finishing touches on dinner. With a flick of his wand, Ron lit some candles on the table and had wine poured for the adults and pumpkin juice for Hugo.
Once the four had started their meals, Hermione's mum said, "So, Ron, why don't you put yourself out of your misery and tell us why you invited us over when Hermione is at work."
Ron coughed, almost choking on the bite he had in his mouth. Hugo beamed and simultaneously whacked the back of Ron's chest trying to be helpful.
As Hugo got questioning looks from the Grangers, he simply replied, "It's ok. I'm the wingman. I'm just helping him out."
Michael tried unsuccessfully to suppress his laughter. Ron chuckled as well, took a sip of his drink and thanked his wingman for his heroic efforts. Then he began speaking in a rather nervous voice. "So, right. My auror skills certainly haven't trained me for this type of thing. But, well, hopefully it won't be too much of a surprise, but I am hoping to ask Hermione to marry me. And I wanted to ask first for your blessing in doing so. I am not totally clear in how that works in the muggle world. But, at least I was raised that you need to seek the blessing of the witch's parents. It's not the same as asking permission, mind you, as I am sure Hermione would not approve of that. But, anyway, I am rambling. Sorry. Not at all how I wanted to come across in this moment. Let me start again." Taking and releasing a deep breath, he asked in a humble but hopeful voice, "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, would you please do me the honor of granting me your blessing in asking for Hermione's hand in marriage?"
Hermione's mum was crying and had her arms around him in a hug almost immediately. Hugo joined in the hug and then patted him on the back, saying, "You did good, Ron. You didn't screw up too bad at all."
At that Michael Granger chuckled again. "You're right, Hugo. He did do very well. Ron, I think I can speak for both Jean and I in saying that you absolutely have our blessing in asking Hermione to marry you. We have loved her since the day we knew Jean was pregnant. Once we got to know our Hermione, it became clear she would never be satisfied with some ordinary bloke. And then when she found Rose, we thought she might never marry. And then you came along. You have done an absolutely extraordinary job with Hugo, and in teaching Hermione and Rose about the magical world of yours. We couldn't be happier about this news." With that he reached his arm out to shake Ron's hand, which Ron did with great relief.
"Come on, Ron. Did you really think we would say no?" teased Jean.
"Well, I'd hoped not. But you never really know until you ask, do you?" Ron said in his own defense.
"I tried to tell him," said Hugo with a shrug.
"Right, so when is all of this going to happen?" asked Jean, immediately shifting into mother of the bride mode.
Ron smiled, felt himself relax and started explaining that he wanted to propose on his birthday because he thought she wouldn't expect it. But, he wanted help in figuring out how to get Rose to come home from Hogwarts for the evening without alerting Hermione, and he was hoping for ideas on how to incorporate the family into the experience. Finally he turned to Hermione's mum.
"Jean, you are better at figuring out these meaningful, symbolic, emotional but fun moments than anyone I have ever met. If anyone can help me make this perfect for Hermione, it's you. Please help?"
Michael just laughed. "Hugo, my man, take notes. Ron is an example of perfection – buttering up the bride's mum from the start."
Ron went to protest and defend himself when he was interrupted by a crushing hug from Hermione's dad. He hugged the man back, laughing out how tense he still managed to let himself be even after getting their blessing on the proposal. Soon the four were brainstorming, with Ron becoming more excited by the minute. And while they didn't have everything worked out before the Grangers headed home for the evening, Ron was now confident it would all work out well.
Across town in the legal offices of muggle London, however, Hermione was not having nearly as good an evening. She and Nicola were working together on a case representing two refugee families that were related, as the women were sisters. Both of the husbands had drowned in crossing from Libya, as had three children of the extended family. There were five remaining children, all under the age of twelve. The women were working together, one providing child care while the other worked, and vice versa for the other to attend English classes. Nicola and Hermione had argued that their cases should be argued together, as they were truly one family unit.
The first day of the court hearing had not gone well. The judge assigned to the cases had let them move ahead together, but had been very clear in stating that just because they lived together, loved each other and raised each other's children that it did not make them a family in the eyes of the laws of the British judicial system or the European Union. Hearing that from the judge had been like a punch to her gut, and she felt physically ill for a few moments after the judge had pronounced his ruling on the matter. Nicola had simply reached over and touched her hand and nodded calmly, returning her to the present issues in the court room. While they had managed to win several key procedural issues on the first day in court, they still had a difficult few days ahead of them. And while the two sisters were incredibly appreciative, they did not have the educational, linguistic or cultural background to understand everything that was going on. The five children had been rambunctious after an hour or so in the court room. Of course they were – they were children. But, somehow this never mattered to judges.
Hermione was staring at her notes from court when Nicola smacked her upside the head.
"Hey! Watch it! What did you do that for?"
"Because you didn't reply the last five times I said your name. I figured I had to resort to more drastic measures. What is up with you? I know you aren't this worked up over this case alone."
Hermione didn't say anything, but began shuffling her papers again.
"Hermione, please tell me you can't be still upset about that stodgy old judge's misunderstanding of what a family is, can you?"
"Well, he wasn't wrong. I mean, culturally we see them as a family, but legally they aren't. Well, actually they are – the women are sisters and the children are cousins. You know, much more related than, well, other hypothetical families."
"Oh, yes. Other hypothetical families. You know – not asking for me but for my cousin's friend's neighbor or what not. Snap out of it, Hermione. You, Ron, Rose and Hugo are a more loving family than just about every other family I have ever met."
"What if he never proposes, Nic? It has been decades since I let myself be in a position where someone else is controlling my happiness. I know you are going to tell me to just propose myself, but I don't want to! I want him on his knee telling me he loves me and can't imagine life without me. For once in my life I don't want to be organizing or planning or leading this, but I still want it to go exactly how I want it to do. And I know that is utterly insane, but it is what it is. But instead of a proposal what I have right now is him telling me he is totally content with our life and wouldn't change a single sodding thing."
"Wait a minute, this is a bloke we are talking about. He probably meant something like 'wow, ham sandwich good. Hermione good. Me content.'"
Hermione laughed. "Ok, fair. I do believe he'd had a good dinner that evening, and I may have been snuggled up with him. But still, he didn't say anything like 'the only thing that could make this better is if you were my wife.'"
"Hermione. You watch too many movies. Blokes don't say that shite unless some female scriptwriter in Hollywood put it in."
"Cousin Matthew said it in Downton Abbey. That whole show is written by a British man."
"You are certifiably insane, you know that? Let's just say we should remove all examples in movies, tv shows, you tube channels and general literature – especially 19th century British literature - as to what you should actually be able to expect out of a bloke. Especially a bloke who spent most of his life as some bachelor detective lone wolf type. This is Ron Weasley, not Mr. Darcy."
"Ugh. Sorry. I know. I am acting like a 15 year old school girl. But we've been together almost a year now. And we've been living together since September. I just thought we would be engaged by now."
"Well when I asked him he told me it wouldn't be until after the accident of the anniversary."
"Right. Which was weeks ago."
"A few weeks. But not even a month. You need to relax. Maybe he won't do it until Rose is home this summer or something. But you really can't let yourself stay in this crazy mopey state!"
"I know you're right," sighed Hermione. "I just feel like such a twit. I still can't quite get myself totally focused on work, and I am in all this crazy romantic angst, and I miss Rose. And all of these damn Valentines commercials are making me sick."
"Well. Amen to that. But, you need to chill out. You are way too worked up. You don't honestly think he doesn't want to marry you, right? I mean the boy is clearly crazy for you."
"No. I mean, no - I know he wants to marry me eventually. I guess I am worried it is just on a very different timeline than I had in mind."
"So, since when do you not talk to him about this kind of thing? Obviously you two talked about enough relationship stuff to know he wants to marry you. Why don't you just have a check in kind of conversation? You could do it Valentines."
"Ugh. No. Part of me is still holding out hope he'll propose that night, even though I know damn well that would be totally out of character for him."
"Oooh, he isn't one of those ridiculous blokes who would propose at a football match or something is he?"
"No. I can honestly say I don't think he would propose at a football match."
"Ok. So not Valentines. But, well, if you make it past the March fundraising event with no proposal, then ask after that. That would be a year dating, right? Maybe he is waiting for your anniversary. That would be romantic, wouldn't it?"
"Huh. Yeah. I guess I forgot we had an anniversary. Maybe he would wait for that. Ok. If there is no ring by the weekend after the fund raiser, then I am going to be the annoying pestering stereotypical girlfriend."
"Utterly fair. Now, if you don't mind, we really do need to work or we will never get to go home tonight, and that ridiculous judge looks like the type who would make some comment about the keyboard imprinted on my cheek in the morning."
"Fair enough," laughed Hermione.
Friday night Hermione got home, finally able to announce that she had won her case. Ron and Hugo cheered, and declared that she should go upstairs and put on comfy clothes so they could celebrate and relax. Asking if she had time for a shower, Ron assured her they were at least 45 minutes from dinner so she should take her time and relax. Hermione smiled appreciatively, snagged a glass of wine and headed upstairs.
She was truly drained from her week. And while usually the thrill of victory gave her a bit of a high, she was too tired to enjoy the win or to really be happy for her clients. She was utterly exhausted. She didn't want to be the downer of the evening, so she hoped that a hot shower would help her wash the week away and focus on her boys. She stood under the hot water for a long time, just letting it beat against her tight shoulders. She found her favorite body soap, and breathed in the calming vanilla smell as she let the hot water rinse the silky suds off of her skin. She stepped out of the shower and towel dried her hair before putting on her coziest, least sexy flannel jammies. She pulled her hair back in an elastic, found some wool socks and grabbed one of Ron's old Weasley Christmas jumpers before heading back downstairs. Ron smiled as he saw her come in the kitchen. He knew she would think she looked awful, but this was one of his favorite versions of Hermione – the real, unfussed-up, comfortable woman who trusted him with her real self, and who also looked amazing in his beat up old clothes.
"Hi, beautiful," he said as he came up behind her and kissed her cheek.
"Right," she laughed. "I tried to find my most attractive flannel pajamas and wool socks."
"Trust me," he whispered in her ear. "You are beautiful."
She shook her head, but turned her attention to Hugo who was sitting at the kitchen table. "What did you get up to in school today?"
"I had art today. We worked on Valentines cards to send to a local care home."
"That's wonderful," said Ron. "I didn't know you'd done that."
"Actually," Hugo said proudly, "I helped Mrs. Rupesmith come up with the idea."
"You did?" asked Hermione.
"Yup. I was telling her how we took the flowers from the funeral to a hospital and care home and that it was a good thing to do. And she asked if I thought the class would want to make things for people who might really appreciate a thoughtful card. And, I said yes. So, we have all be working on cards in art. Mrs. Rupesmith said she is going to take them to the care home on Wednesday where her grandmum stays. She also said I could go, or we could all go if we wanted. Could we do that?"
"Wednesday, you said?" said Hermione.
"Well, yeah – that's Valentine's Day, right?" said Hugo.
"Right," nodded Hermione.
"Maybe we could all go with Mrs. Rupesmith after work and then go out for ice cream or something?" suggested Ron.
"That sounds fun," said Hugo. "I didn't know if you two were going to be all lovey-dovey on Valentine's Day."
Hermione laughed. "Are you afraid we will embarrass you in front of all of the seniors at the care home?"
Ron chuckled and walked over to where Hermione was standing, snaking his arm around her waist. "I can just see this scandalous behavior sending some proper old ladies into some sort heart rhythm problem from the anxiety of it all. And imagine if I did this," he said as he dipped her back and kissed her.
She yelped in surprise and clung to him, but quickly caught on and kissed him back.
"Ok, ok, I get it. Enough with the demonstration," teased Hugo as he held his hand up like a bobby stopping traffic. "I swear you two wouldn't do this if Rose were here."
"Oh that's not true and you know it," protested Ron. "I would embarrass her just as much as I embarrass you. Or I could kiss you too," he laughed as he bent down and kissed Hugo on the cheek.
"Ok, ok. Enough with the kissing, Ron. So, back to the project – are we all going to go to the care home, then? I will tell Mrs. Rupesmith Monday unless you want to text her this weekend."
"I'll text her," Ron said.
Hermione smiled, but found herself in the midst of a silent argument with herself in her head. Guess that's a no to proposing on Valentine's then. Oh good grief, you are taking cards to old people in the home, don't be so selfish. But it's my first Valentine's ever with a proper boyfriend. I want to enjoy it! Ugh! When did I become this silly girl!?
They all sat down and enjoyed the chicken and potatoes dish that Ron had made. Hermione was clearly exhausted but tried hard to stay attentive through dinner. Finally, Ron said, "Hermione, I'm going to go read with Hugo and get him tucked in. You look ready to fall asleep at the table. Why don't you go on up to bed. Even if you aren't ready to fall asleep you could read for a bit."
She couldn't argue with that offer, so headed up the stairs and was curled up with a book when Ron came in. "Hugo's fast asleep. I kind of thought you would be too. You look beat."
"Thanks," she said with a bit of an eye roll.
"That's not what I meant," he said as he pulled his clothes off and slipped into an old t shirt and some flannel bottoms before crawling into bed next to her.
"Ron Weasley! Your feet are like blocks of ice. You need socks. Get those blocks of ice off me!"
He laughed, snaking his feet after her warm legs which she kept scooting further away under the covers. She giggled, but was insistently moving away from him.
"Hermione," he whined, "please? As you said. My feet are freezing. I could go down and put together a hot water bottle or something, or you could just be sweet and help me out."
"Are you a wizard or not? Can't you cast a warming charm or transfigure your shirt into a hot water bottle or something?"
He sighed, "I should have known better than to try win a logical argument with such a brilliant solicitor." With that he transfigured a throw pillow into a hot water bottle, filled it with water and cast a warming charm on it. Shoving it down towards his frozen feet, he pulled up the covers over the two of them.
He went to pull her back towards him, but he sensed she wasn't in the mood. "You ok?"
"Yeah. I'm just tired. It's been a long week. Actually since the holidays it's been crazy. I am just worn out."
"Did you ever talk to Nicola about reducing the new cases?"
"Not yet. I haven't totally decided yet."
"Anything I can do to help?"
"I don't think so. But thanks for offering," she said as she rolled over and faced the wall.
Ron was confused at her body language. "Can I at least rub your shoulders? You look like you have a lot of tension held in your neck and shoulders and back right now."
"Ok," she conceded. "I am pretty sore."
"See. Maybe I can't solve all these big problems of the world, but I can at least rub your back," he said as he began to work her shoulders.
He could feel how tight she was, and he slowly worked out the knots and tension points in her muscles. He could hear her sigh a few times, but she kept her face turned away.
"Can you believe Hugo helped Mrs. Rupesmith come up with that Valentines project? What a great kid. Should be fun Wednesday going with them. I'm not sure which will be better – seeing the people who live there brighten up when they get their cards or watching Hugo feel so good about finding a way to be helpful."
"Mm Hmm," mumbled Hermione, not trusting herself to say anything.
"Oh – that reminds me. I forgot to tell you. I talked to Harry today. And, well I hope it's ok, but I told him we'd take Lilly tomorrow night and then he agreed to take Hugo next weekend. That way we each get a real Valentines night and no one has to fight the crowds at any of the restaurants or balance child care. Is that ok?"
Hermione couldn't believe it. He had it all arranged, and here she had been berating him in her head. She slowly rolled over so she could look him in the eye. "Yeah. That is more than ok. Brilliant actually. Thanks for working it out. It will be great to have a night to ourselves. I, well, I really appreciate that."
He looked at her, a bit confused at the change in her demeanor, but was happy that it was in his favor. "Of course, love. I know it's not on the actual night or anything, but this way we don't have to work or get Hugo to school the next day." She leaned up and kissed him gently, and then rolled back into the bed. He spooned up behind her and held her in his arms, gently stroking her arm. Her breathing fell into the slow steady rhythm he recognized as a deep sleep. "Sweet dreams, Hermione. I love you so."
Ginny had called up Hermione Saturday morning and suggested they go get manicures together and maybe grab lunch before Harry brought Lilly over later. Manicures had never really been something Hermione did often, but she really did enjoy spending time with Ginny, and it was so rare that they had time just the two of them. So, by 10 am Saturday morning the two were at a muggle manicure salon having their nails done. Following their pampering, they headed to a nearby café and ordered salads and French pastries, which seemed like a logical compromise.
"I haven't really seen you since New Year's," Ginny said. "How have you been these past few weeks?"
"Ridiculously busy," admitted Hermione. "It has not been a stellar few weeks. I have three different cases going to trial. I usually have one a month, but I've had three in the past six weeks."
"Ron said something about how long your hours are when you have a case in court."
"Yeah," Hermione said as she crinkled her nose. "It stinks. But what can I do?"
"I know I know nothing about muggle law jobs, but it seems to me that you could probably have any job you wanted. And I don't really know any details, but I am sure Ron makes enough to have you not work for a bit if you wanted some time to figure it out."
Hermione sighed as she put down the fork with the salad and picked up the éclair. Taking a bite of the delicious pastry, she sighed again. "Yes. Ron has been very generous and said I should quit or work less or take fewer cases if I wanted. But, I, ugh, I don't know…."
"What is it? No niceties crap. Just say it."
Hermione laughed and shook her head at the red head. "Your don't do filters do you?"
"No. Definitely not. I grew up with six older brothers and then worked in professional sports. Filters and I don't mix. Spill it. What is the problem?"
Hermione eyed her friend carefully. "Ok. I need to ask advice from my friend Ginny, not from Ginny the sister of my boyfriend, ok? And you have to SWEAR you won't say anything to Ron or to Harry about this?"
"Done. My lips are sealed. So?"
"Ok. I have to trust someone. My only other female friend doesn't know anything about magic so there is so much I can't tell her. I just don't know what to do with myself. I really do think I should back off of work. And I know Ron has more than enough money to make that happen. He is practically begging me to do that. But, well, I just have always supported myself. And Rose. And for years I have watched women who were in great jobs leave those jobs to depend financially on a man they loved. And then for whatever reason, the financial security they thought they had went away, and they quickly regretted leaving because in the end they were broke and out of the job market."
"Ahh. Ok. So, you want to quit. But you won't feel comfortable quitting until you are married or have some sort of guarantee that you'll be ok if Ron gets a case of the dumbfucks and screws up the best thing that has ever happened to him?"
"Yeah," grimaced Hermione. "Something like that. But it sounds worse when you say it."
"What has Ron said about it?"
"I haven't told him," admitted Hermione. "I feel terrible about it. But I don't want to pressure him into proposing if he's not ready."
"You're being an idiot. I mean - I totally get it. But you're being an idiot."
Hermione started to protest, but Ginny shoved the eclair into her mouth.
"Listen. Even if my idiot brother decided to walk away from the one woman he has ever fallen in love with, which, by the way, even he isn't even stupid enough to do, you are still a brilliant witch who is not only one of the most talented and lauded solicitors in the muggle world, but now has fans ranging from my husband to McGonagall. Trust me. If you want a job in the magical world it would take about five seconds to make that happen, and none of it would be for favors – it would just be about making the right introductions. You are brilliant. Possibly the most brilliant witch of our generation. So – knock off the 'I won't be able to make a living' crap. Now, if you are holding onto the job because you need to hold onto some identity as a muggle or a professional woman or whatever, then that is different. But you and I both know that it isn't really because of the money."
Hermione just blinked at Ginny as she swallowed some of the éclair that had been so unceremoniously shoved into her mouth. She had never met anyone like Ginny. She was blunt and direct like Nicola, but she also had an uncanny way of seeing into Hermione's heart and calling her out on things Hermione really hadn't even understood were bothering her.
"Huh. I honestly hadn't thought of it that way, but that could be part of it."
"Honestly I have no idea of Ron's plans or lack of plans about proposing. He got tired of me asking every few weeks months ago and told me in no uncertain terms to back off. But he has also always been very clear that it was always a question of when – not a question of if."
"I knew that, but somehow it still helps to hear it."
Ginny reached over and took Hermione's hand to give it an encouraging squeeze. "Look. I have no doubt that you two will get engaged and married. So, try not to worry about it. If you want to be engaged by a certain time, you will need to be very direct with my mountain troll of a brother. Direct is best with him, as any subtle hints will go completely unnoticed. But there is not a doubt in my mind you two will be married. You are the best thing that has ever happened to him, and he bloody well knows it."
"Well, he's been pretty great for me too. And I feel like such a schmuck for doubting him. It's just hard, you know? It seems like no matter how strong and independent and successful I am on my own as a woman or a solicitor or a mum, there is still this little piece of me that wants to be swept off my feet and taken care of by a big, strong, handsome man. And I have finally found him, and he is everything I dreamed he would be and then some. But it's like I can't let myself believe this isn't all some sort of dream until we are actually married. Is that insane?"
"You want to talk insane? I knew I wanted to marry my husband before I met him. He was the lead character in my bloody nighttime story books. And then suddenly he was in my kitchen as my brother's best friend. But you know what – I knew. I knew we were the right match. It just took me another seven years to make it to the wedding. But, no. I don't think you are insane. We are blessed with wisdom and intuition and knowledge within us that somehow allows us to comfort a baby or talk gently to a scared child. That same wisdom, I believe, teaches us other things too. Now you just need to take a deep breath, tune out what the muggle world and the magical world are telling you should happen and focus on what you know is right for you. And if that isn't happening in the way you truly believe it should, then take steps to change it. But if it isn't happening the way a movie or a friend or a pushy future sister in law says it should be, then tell us all to fuck off."
Hermione laughed at the red headed witch. "Ginny. You are exactly what I needed today. I definitely needed some of your no nonsense wisdom. And maybe the éclair too."
Ginny laughed. "Well. I have loved it too. I never get to go hang out with another mum without kids or husbands hanging around. So this is perfect. We should try to do it more often. You know – once you quit your job and have more time. But, I am going to go home and pack up my kiddo and dump her at your place because I am absolutely going to get a good dinner at a fancy restaurant tonight where they don't serve chicken nuggets or drinks with plastic lids and then I am going to shag my husband and not use any silencing charms." Hermione just laughed, grateful for her blunt friend and shook her head some more as the two walked out of the café together.
(A/N: See! I know many of you never thought we'd get to a proposal...but we are soooo close now. Thanks for hanging in there with me. As always...I love hearing from you...carrytheotter)
