Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Harry Potter, I am simply borrowing J.K. Rowling's wonderful characters, history and locations!
Soon Arthur had found his way back into the kitchen, looking flushed. "Have fun barbequing, Dad?" Ron asked, sharing a smirk with Hermione across the kitchen. She was helping Molly bring the dishes to the center of the table. It was funny how used to the house she was.
"Ah, well, maybe another day. I can't seem to find the manual..." He thought, scratching his head, which was growing balder as the days grew on. "Funny contraption that is though, isn't it? Who would think with a quick flip of the wrist you could make this little thing burst into flames." He grinned as he took the matches out of his pocket, holding them up for Ron to see.
"Maybe Harry can give you a little run through of how to use that. You could make us all dinner one night." Ron added. Mr. Weasley's eyes lit up.
"No more talk of that nonsense! I have a perfectly good meal prepared without the use of those toothpick things. Come on now, supper's on the table." Molly interrupted, ushering everyone to the table.
Caden reached over and pulled Hermione's chair out for her as she loaded the table with the last bowl of beans. "Here you are, my lady." His teeth gleamed as she smiled a thank you. He then took his seat at one of the head's of the table next to Hermione as Molly found herself next to Arthur at the other end.
"Sure make yourself at home…" Ron mumbled as he strolled to the seat across from his mum. "Any idea when Ginny'll be here, Mum?" He started.
"I'm here! I'm here!" A voice called from the living room. "Oh, it smells delicious in here. Did you make the roast beef?"
Everyone turned to see a tall, redhead fumble into the room. Ginny took her scarf off with much difficulty and plopped herself next to Ron. "Of course, training difficult today?" Molly asked passing the beans to Ron.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Just like every other day. You know, Mum, I've been training for two weeks straight, I'd prefer not to talk about it here, if you don't mind. I feel like I haven't had a meal in ages. Can you pass the potatoes?" She nodded to her dad.
"So Harry was right then? Auror training getting to be too much?" Ron questioned, having missed fighting with his little sister.
"I won't even justify that with a comment. I'm doing quite well with training, thank you." She said, taking a dollop of mashed potatoes. She subtly passed them to Caden before jabbing Ron in the side.
"Ow! What'd you do that for?" He yelped.
"You know exactly why I did that." She muttered. Hermione laughed across the table to herself. But Ron noticed.
"Think that's funny, Hermione?"
"Quite. You're acting like your brothers." She tried to scold but failed as her smile escaped again.
Caden cleared his throat, "How are those brothers of yours? Business going well?"
Molly interjected, "Oh wonderful! Fred and Angelina just bought a new flat and George is able to take on the one above the shop alone. They're trying to open their market globally." She said coolly. Even though Molly would never admit it, they did do the right thing by leaving Hogwarts. Not only was their business booming, but the two of them had begun to settle themselves down.
"Speaking of worldwide… Ron, Viktor owled me a few days ago and told me about your interview with him. Why didn't you tell me? He said it ran front page!" Hermione sparked up, her eyes glaring at Ron.
"He told you about that?" Ron swallowed hard and shrugged. "It wasn't anything really. I just had a few leads; thought I'd use some old connections."
"It was the front page, Ronald! Of course it was something." His mum cued in.
"It was more than connections, you know that. You're a great writer. Do you have a copy I could read?" Hermione asked, taking a bite of her meal. "I forgot to resubscribe to the Prophet last month."
Ron began to blush. "Sure, I'm sure I've got one somewhere." In truth, his article was in the bottom drawer of his dresser upstairs, along with the other big leads and a few snippets about the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
"You know, Hermione, I read this wonderful article today; about Jobberknolls." Caden remarked, eyes darting between his fiancée and the redhead.
"Oh, I remember those! They're amazing creatures really. What was the article about?" Hermione asked excitedly. "We saw them in America, very rare to see one in action. They're so quiet."
"It was all about the importance of protecting them. Along with the benefits and uses there are for them in magic, like their role in memory potions. Welsh was thinking about cutting it, but I had to tell him no. It's an important piece of the American and British culture." He said smartly.
Molly smiled slightly, "How nice it must be to be able to reject or support stories like that, Caden. You are doing quite well here, away from home."
Ron muttered, "It's not like he writes the damn things." Luckily, Ginny seemed to be the only one who heard him. Unluckily, this earned him a swift kick under the table.
"Ow!" He bit his lip, and dared not ask what that was for.
"It is quite the honor. I will be the first to say what a great idea it was to fly across the ocean. Things seemed to have worked out perfectly." Caden chuckled, and let his hand grasp Hermione's on top of the table. He squeezed it and Ron watched as Hermione giggled nervously at the public display.
"Oh Caden," She whispered back, embarrassed.
Ron's eyes squared in on their hands, and the smile that he saw on Caden's face. He understood it well. It had been a year and a half since the wedding dance, but Ron remembered the feeling of her hand in his like it was yesterday...
His mum made brilliant cake. The Burrow had been frantic the last few weeks, getting ready for this spectacle; all of the napkin folding, chair setting, name card writing, and invitation sending was worth it though. Without those napkins and name cards, there would be no cake. And Ron just could not see that happening. He stuffed another large bite into his mouth and looked up at the very tall and very white cake beside him.
It had almost fallen over in its journey to the yard. What a tragedy that would have been, Ron shuddered at the thought. His gaze moved out towards the dance floor. Within seconds, he saw her. She was wearing a simple, silver dress. Simple but elegant, and Ron quickly noticed how nicely it fit her soft curves.
He could almost feel himself drooling. His eyes found their way to hers, and saw that she was starting at him. Swiftly, he rubbed his sleeve over his mouth, just to be sure. The drooling dog look did not go over well for anyone.
"Good cake?" She asked smiling.
"Oh yeah, it's mum's best." He explained, pointing his fork in the direction of his mother who was dancing with his dad. He's never seen that kind of dance before. He looked away quickly, happy to know most of the people here were part of this estranged family too, and he had no reason to be embarrassed.
"Yes, your mum worked hard on it. Has to be the largest wedding cake I've ever seen." Ron noticed something different about her as she said this. She almost seemed nervous. Of what, he couldn't be sure.
He tried to lighten the mood. "You know mum never stops." He grinned wide, shaking his head slightly.
"Didn't your mum ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?" She said, laughing at him. She swatted at his arm lightly, resting a bit longer than normal. Ron felt his heart skip a beat. Lately, even the smallest thing from her, like saying his name, could get this effect. What she was wearing didn't help much either.
"Sorry." He mumbled. He knew his ears must look like tomatoes by now, but he tried not to dwell on it. So he did whatever would have done in this situation, change the subject. "I can't believe Fred's—"
"You could make it up to me." Hermione interrupted.
Ron's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. He wasn't sure what he was making up for exactly.
"For making me see your dessert…in your mouth." She explained. He still was a bit confused but decided to go along with it and nodded slowly. "You could, ask me to dance?" She finished.
Ron wasn't sure if he heard her right. The last chance they had had to dance was the Yule Ball, and of course, that didn't go very well. He wasn't a good dancer, the reason for that could be seen by the many redheads on the dance floor already. He didn't necessarily want to add to the mess. But… Hermione would be leaving soon. How many chances would he have after that?
"I think I could do that. I need to keep an eye on Harry anyway. He's been getting much too close to my baby sister." Ron confirmed. Which, on some part, was true. Ginny was more so the one to worry about though. She'd been following him around all night, trying to get him to listen.
Pushing aside the fear in the pit of his stomach, Ron grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her onto the floor. However, he seemed to have forgotten how to begin. He stared at their hands for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do next, when Hermione took charge. Feeling more than awkward in his steps, Ron chitchatted without much thought for a few minutes. He tried to follow along with the beat.
Concentrating hard, Ron was shocked when he felt something crash into his back. He yelped as he was forced to close the gap between him and Hermione. "Oops, sorry Ronnie-kins." George smirked. Ron's shock turned to angry in a flash as he heard Fred say something to Hermione as well a few inches away.
Both his brothers pulled away and left the two stumbling for balance. Ron's hands instinctively grabbed Hermione sides as she fell into him. He breathed a sigh of relief as they steadied. Then he felt her body so very close to his. He could feel her breath in dramatically, and met her gaze. That same nervous look flooded her eyes, along with something else.
Ron didn't trust himself, he stepped back quickly and mumbled, "Bloody tossers." Before he knew what he was doing, he started to apologize.
Hermione just straightened herself up, and smiled. "It's okay. I just hate when they call me Hermy." Ron wasn't sure what she meant but laughed a bit anyway. He loved her unfailing confidence. Nothing could embarrass her it seemed.
Funny how long ago that was. So much had happened since then. The rest of the dinner took on talk of Charlie's homecoming, just in time for the wedding. When they finished, the lot found their way to the small living room and chatted lightly. Caden and Hermione sat on the love seat, Caden's arm draped over Hermione's shoulder as she read. Arthur had found his way back in from the kitchen and was in a heated discussion about muggle things with Caden. Ron sat at the fireplace, trying to concentrate on him and Ginny's game of wizard's chess.
It was crazy how easily Caden got under his skin, even if he wasn't talking directly to him.
"It's the strangest thing I'd ever seen. Almost like magic itself." Caden exclaimed. Arthur leaned closer from the stool he was seated on in front of Caden. "You just clap, and it turns on or off."
"What an intelligent device. Are you sure it's not just an American thing?" Arthur asked, rubbing his finger over his chin in thought. "I've never heard of it before."
"Oh no, it's a globally muggle thing. Hermione's got one, too, for reading." Caden said as he nodded in Hermione's direction. Her nose was still deep within her book. "I've used it even."
That was the part that caught Ron's attention. He knew this clapper device well. It was in fact a gift from him and Harry last Christmas. He also knew where she had put it in her apartment, because he had been the one to do so. It sat on the right hand side of her bed, perfect for nighttime reading she had said. Ron's grit his teeth. "Bishop, B4."
Ron hated the thought of Caden using that lamp, knowing full well when he would have probably used it. Sure, Ron had made it around the block a few times. But the thought of Hermione and Caden? He was still digesting that.
"Ron," Ginny interrupted his thoughts. "If you aren't going to play, I've got places to be." She pushed back from the table and laid against the back of her cushy chair.
"If you're in such a hurry, leave." He scoffed.
Ginny glared at him and started to stand up. "Anyone want to play with a sore loser, the chair's open." She called out to the rest of her family.
"You were not winning!" Ron gritted back.
"Look at the board, Ron. Really?" Ginny shouted back as she went to see her mum in the kitchen.
Ron looked down and his eyes widen. She was right, how had that happened? Ginny was horrible at chess. Even worse, when it was Ron she played. He supposed his head hadn't exactly been in the right place though.
"I'll play you, Ron. I've been told I'm pretty good." Caden boasted subtly, and unhinged himself from Hermione. Her eyes caught Ron's eyes. He grinned like a bobcat and she scolded him with a fiery look.
"Really? Pretty good's not exactly going to cut it." Ron said coolly as Caden replaced Ginny in the seat across from him. He sat his cup of coffee down and rubbed his hands together.
"Oh really?" Caden challenged. "You think you can't be beat?"
"No one has yet. What can I say? I seem to be able to put myself in the game; to be one with the pieces so to speak, particularly the knight." Ron laughed, when he caught Hermione's eyes again. She was trying hard not to smile. "How about you, Hermione? You seem to connect most with the Queen's side castle, right?."
She let out a laugh, her eyes shining. "I suppose so."
"We'll see about that." Caden said coldly, noticing there was a joke he was unaware of. When Hermione went back to her book, his mouth turned into a slight sneer and he almost whispered, "You can do whatever you want with your knight. Besides, Hermione is always amazed at the wonders I can do with my bishop."