Chapter 3

"Mum, don't you think this is a bit creepy?" Ron asked dejectedly, as his mother used her wand to whisk away stray pieces of lint covering his shirt.

"Nonsense, dear! What better way for them to meet the family and know that we are in fact a civilized group of witches and wizards than to see us all at once?"

Well, it might scare them enough to send them running for the hills…Ron saw the flaw in his mother's plan, but she was, as usual, an unstoppable force rivaling the Killing Curse in her arranging of the family's positions by the front door, where Hermione would reApparate with her parents at her side.

He fixed his hair, feeling the butterflies in his stomach for some reason. He wanted his family to make a good impression on the Grangers; after all, they were going to be his future in-laws, right?

Merlin.

He caught Harry's eye; he smiled and nodded at him encouragingly while being herded to the left holding Ginny's hand by Mrs. Weasley. She placed them on the far corner beside Fleur and Bill, with Teddy and Victoire making up the center, sitting and playing with magical blocks. Mrs. Weasley then hurried over to her own husband and Ron on the other side, taking her place in what seemed like a family portrait without a cameraman. She posed, smiling, then looked around and motioned for the rest of the family to take her lead.

Ron felt quite foolish, grinning madly at thin air, but he did so for his mother. The things we do for family…

CRACK!

This Apparating wizard appeared on the wrong side of the family, facing their backsides.

"Mum, what in the name of Merlin are you all doing?"

"GEORGE!" Mrs. Weasley whispered scathingly, her lips the only part of her body moving. "GET OVER BESIDE RONNYKINS, NOW!"

"But—there's no one there—"

"GEORGE! IF you must know, the Grangers will be arriving VERY shortly and you are LUCKY that you appeared before they did, very rude, very rude indeed!"

George cowered, and took his designated spot next to Ron, nodding and waving at the rest of the family.

"How's it going, Ickle Ronnykins? Ready to be embarrassed by your ruddy large family?" George grinned at his younger brother, who was a few inches taller than himself.

"Bugger off, Holeyhead," Ron retaliated with a grin. "How's the joke shop going?"

"RON!" Whispered Mrs. Weasley, looking thoroughly disgruntled. "WE WILL MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION!"

"Tell you later," muttered George, looking sideways at his mother. "She's going to roar like a hippogriff if we don't shut the hell up and smile,"

George put on a sickly sweet imitation of a smile, sweeping his arms out in imaginary welcome, making the children giggle.

CRACK!

The doorbell rang, making everyone jump.

"THEY'RE HERE!" Mrs. Weasley whispered loudly, patting her hair. "EVERYONE BEHAVE!"

She went to open the front door and promptly tripped over the rug, caught before she went down by Mr. Weasley, who then, with his arm around his wife, opened the door himself without further injury.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I presume?" Mrs. Weasley beamed at Hermione's parents, who smiled back with equal radiance.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley!" boomed a man in a suit, wearing a rather interestingly colored tie.

"Pleasure to meet at last!" Mrs. Granger piped up, smiling. "We brought a fruitcake!"

Hermione gave everyone a thoroughly worn out smile, presenting Mrs. Weasley with an intricately wrapped bundle of what was assumed to be the fruitcake.

"Many thanks, many thanks! Won't you come in?" Mr. Weasley shook hands with Mr. Granger, leading him inside while Mrs. Weasley grabbed Mrs. Granger by the hand.

Ron moved from his position and discreetly wound his fingers around Hermione's.

"Having a good time yet?" he whispered in her ear. His hot breath tickled her neck, and she gave an involuntarily pleasant shudder at the feeling.

The couple was interrupted in their moment by a hubbub of noise coming from the introductions of the Weasley family, punctuated by another loud crack coming from Percy as he finally appeared in the midst of the din, his uptight manners useful as he grandly apologized for the late arrival.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, this is my son George, my other son Percival, my eldest son Bill and his wife Fleur, their daughter Victoire, Harry Potter and his wife, my youngest and only daughter, Ginny Weasley, and Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin, and who am I forgetting?"

"Pleasure to meet all of you, heard so much about you! Nice to see you again Harry, it's been too long…" Mr. and Mrs. Granger exchanged pleasantries with the children while Ron and Hermione watched from the entrance.

"Ah! Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, you must know Ron, my youngest son,"

"Hello, Ronald!" Mr. Granger beamed at him, grabbing his hand and shaking it so hard Ron was sure he heard his teeth rattle. Mrs. Granger turned her cheek to the side for a kiss, patting his head. "How long has it been, dear, a week?"

"Mum, the last time we came to visit you was a month ago," Hermione said, giving a perplexed look to Ron, who was behind Hermione's head giving frantic motions to both parents appearing something like a frenetic seizure.

"Of course, of course, sorry dear, my memory seems to ail me," Hermione's mother gave Ron a not-very-subtle, very large wink, and grinned cheekily at him, reminding him of her daughter very much. Hermione simply looked confused, and Ron coughed a bit to cover up Mrs. Granger's mistake.

"I feel like I'm forgetting someone else," Mr. Weasley pursed his lips in concentration. "Oh, of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley chimed in. "Charlie, our second eldest, couldn't make it today, he works with dragons and there's an emergency. And Fred, well he must be—"

Mrs. Weasley clapped a hand to her mouth, uttering a "Oh…" to herself softly. The entire house fell silent, and Mr. and Mrs. Granger gave her sympathetic smiles. Mr. Weasley took her hand from her mouth and entwined it with his own as Mrs. Granger cleared her throat. "Dragons, you say? How interesting!"

Mrs. Weasley sniffled and squeezed her husband's hand. "Oh yes, he is world class, he is. Worked with the dragons at the Triwizard Cup a few years ago,"

"Yes, Hermione told us all about that…"

Ron and Hermione sighed, as Ron's mind wandered back to Fred. There's always something missing…Hermione patted his hand and looked into his eyes with worry and concern. He focused on the beautiful golden flecks and the vision of his reflection in her eyes, and brought himself back to the present.

"We should follow them to the sitting room," Hermione said softly.

"Er, yeah, alright," Ron said absentmindedly, walking in step with his girlfriend.

"Everything will be fine," she whispered in his ear as they entered the chaos that engulfed the Burrow.

"Everything will be fine," he repeated to himself, smiling down at Hermione. "Yes it will."