AN: **Word: Covering** This one is set post-series and was oddly difficult to get right.
Harry still remembered the first day it happened.
It was his first Friday at work as an auror, which he only remembered because Fridays were the days when the staff had to report their work of the past week to their supervisor. Taking into consideration the fact that he had previously defeated the most powerful dark wizard of all time, the supervisors had outrageously high expectations of him. Then there was the other fact to note: that he had only been an auror for one week, and he and Ron had so far managed to accomplish arresting one wizard who was selling cupcakes that bit your tongue when placed in your mouth, and even then they had only discovered the wizard when Ron took a break and attempted to buy one of his cupcakes. Unfortunately, these two facts didn't go well together when trying to set up an impressive report.
So there he and Ron were, sitting back to back at their desks in their tiny cubby office, attempting to find a way to phrase, 'Arrested a man selling dangerous cupcakes,' that made it sound important.
"How about, 'We arrested a wizard selling lethal baked goods and auror Weasley sustained near-fatal wounds in the process.'?" Ron offered.
Harry considered it. "That might be stretching the truth a little too much. Besides, the 'baked goods' part makes it sound lame again anyways."
Ron opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Harry's cell phone, a gadget that had been taken apart and put back together by Mr. Weasley on four separate occasions.
"Hold that thought. Hello?"
"Harry!" A feminine voice on the other line shouted, so loudly Harry held the phone away from his ear.
"Hey, Hermione," across the room he saw Ron straighten in his seat, "what's up?"
"I just got off the phone with Ginny, and she told me the most adorable story about you…"
Harry waited patiently as Hermione rattled on about what a great boyfriend he was, requiring little to no input from him, until he glanced at the clock and realized he and Ron had half an hour to finish their report. He nearly jumped out of his seat, said, "Sorry, Hermione, it has been great talking to you, but I've got to go, I'll call you later okay?" and hung up before she could protest.
"What was that about?" Ron asked.
"Nothing, really. She just wanted to talk about when I surprised Ginny and took her out for dinner. Alright, so we've only got half an hour left, let's buckle down, okay?"
"WHAT?" Ron leaped to his feet.
Harry nodded. "I know, I know, but we can get it done if we really focus-"
"Not that!" Ron interrupted. "I meant you took Ginny out for dinner and let Hermione find out? Are you trying to ruin my life?"
Harry stared. He really couldn't think of anything else that was appropriate to do.
"Do you realize what this means?" Ron continued, really working himself up now. "Now that Hermione knows you've been all romantic and crap, all I'm going to get for the next month is, 'Ronald, why can't you be more romantic? Harry takes Ginny out!' God damn it! She'll never let it go!"
Harry opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
"Never mind. I'll just go home now and take her out tonight. That should put off the nagging for a while."
"But what about the report?" Harry asked, finally finding his voice.
"Oh right. Cover for me, will you?"
"No wait!" But Ron was already gone. Harry stared at the empty office. Then he glanced at the clock. Then he shouted at no one in particular, "Are you kidding me?"
The second time it happened, Harry's thoughts were far less focused on work. He and Ron were sitting in their new, larger office that had their own filing cabinet. He and Ron were attempting to complete the gigantic task of researching potential locations for death eaters to hide in the Himalayas, but really, though Harry's eyes were on the page of the book he was reading, his thoughts were back at home. He had just asked Ginny to marry him, and she said yes. He was happier than he could ever remember being, but he was also extremely apprehensive. He had to find a way to tell Ron, and he had no idea how to do it. The conflicting emotions were causing turmoil within him, and there was no room left inside to focus on the Himalayas. He was very aware of the ticking of the clock, the crinkle of Ron's page turning, and his own shallow breathing. He bit his lip nervously. Now or never. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth- and was extremely grateful when his cellphone rang, and not only because it meant that it was still working after being rebuilt seven times.
He answered the phone with an overly excited, "Hello!" which, thankfully, the person on the other end didn't even notice under the weight of her own excitement.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted. He shifted the phone back an inch. "Congratulations! Ginny's just told me! I am so excited for you two! I've already started the planning and I think a spring wedding would be best, I mean, if we're having it at the Burrow then all the flowers would be in bloom…"
Harry settled deeper into his chair and allowed Hermione to drone on about wedding plans he was sure Ginny would change when she had her back turned anyways. It was nice to just sit in silence with his thoughts, without needing to feel guilty about not talking to Ron, since he had a perfectly legitimate excuse. All too soon, however, Hermione said, "Oh no! I forgot to ask Ginny how she feels about daisies- I've got to go, Harry!"
Sitting up suddenly, Harry said, "Wait, Hermione!" But she was already gone.
Ron glanced over at him. "That was Hermione? What did she want?"
Harry took a deep breath. Ron was going to find out tonight from Hermione anyways. "Ginny and I got engaged last night. She was calling to congratulate me."
Ron's mouth dropped. "What the hell, Harry?"
"I'm sorry, I was going to tell you sooner, but I was trying to find the right words and-"
"Like that would have made any difference. You realize I have to propose too, now, don't you?"
"I- wait what?" Harry blinked at him as he stood up and started quickly gathering his things.
"She won't say anything outright, but that's how they break you. It'll just be little hints here and there, comments on how lucky Ginny is, remarks about when it'll be her turn. God! She'll drive me nuts!"
"Where are you going?" Harry asked, rather confused.
"To buy a ring, obviously! Thanks a bloody lot, Harry!" He grabbed his wand off the desk. "Cover for me, will you?" And then he was gone.
Harry stared after him. Then he looked down at his book and grinned. Well, he'd have to do all the research by himself, but at least now he'd be able to focus!
The third time it happened, Harry was already on his cellphone as he walked into the office. Ginny hadn't been able to wait until he got to work before flooing over to Hermione's office to share the news with her. And Hermione in turn hadn't been able to wait more than half a second before calling him in her own excitement. Harry laid his hand on the door to his and Ron's latest office and allowed it to scan his palm print as he struggled to hear Hermione through the crackling of his phone. After being taken apart and put back together eleven times, not to mention its age, it was beginning to lose a bit of its luster.
"I just got into the office, Hermione, so I've got to go. I'll stop by later, though!" he said, as he dropped his stack of papers onto his desk.
Ron rolled around to look at him. "You're stopping by and talking to Hermione on the phone? What happened?"
Harry laughed. He was so happy, he couldn't help it. "I do do those things normally, you know. But today is special. Ginny found out she's pregnant!"
Ron jumped to his feet. "What?" he shouted.
The smile dropped from Harry's face and he stared in shock. Sure, Ron had shown some resistance to his and Ginny's relationship in the beginning, but he'd always been supportive since. He couldn't understand where this was coming from.
"What's the problem?"
"You're kidding me! The problem is that now Hermione is going to be all baby this and baby that. It's all she's going to want to talk about! Then the next thing you know, I'm the bad guy because she's not pregnant yet! Well, not this time!" He grabbed his coat off the rack.
Harry was completely baffled. "Where are you going?"
"To get Hermione pregnant before she can start complaining!"
"Umm… Ron… I don't think it works that way."
"Well, I'm going to make it work that way. Cover for me."
And he was gone. Harry glanced at the stack of forms on his desk and sighed, shaking his head. Someday, he was sure he would finally get used to Ron's thought process.
The next time it happened Harry was lounging in his chair, trying very hard to drown out the bustle of people around him in his and Ron's small department. He was flipping idly through his magazine with his cellphone pressed to his ear.
"Oh, it was no big deal, Hermione. I was happy to help out. Alright, well thanks for calling. Bye." He closed his phone.
Ron turned towards him. "What were you and Hermione talking about?"
Harry flipped a page in his magazine. "She was just calling to say how nice she thought it was that Ginny and I babysat Freddie last weekend so that George and Angelina could have a little time to themselves."
"You did what?" Ron shouted, causing several nearby assistants to jump. "When will you learn, Harry? You can't just go doing nice stuff like that and letting Hermione find out! She's going to be on at me now until I do the same!"
"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly.
Ron sighed exasperatedly. "Are you and Ginny doing anything of importance next week?"
"No, why?"
"Because you're going on vacation. Hermione and I will babysit the kids."
Ron headed towards the door. "Cover for me, I'm going to get you the time off."
Harry waited until Ron had left the room before slipping the broken cellphone back into his pocket. After being taken apart nineteen times, the poor thing had finally given up. But Ron didn't know that, and Harry still kept it as a prop for times just such as these. He turned back to his magazine with a grin and continued to look for a nice vacation spot for him and Ginny.
As he imagined Ginny in Hawaii in her bikini with no children to distract her, Harry decided covering for Ron wasn't so bad after all.
I hope you all enjoyed it! If you have any thoughts you'd like to share or words you'd like me to write, leave me a review! I really appreciate them! Have a great weekend everyone!