The Lake. Pt.2
Hermione practically dragged Ron back around the lake and into the crowd. By the time they got there the original riotous level of the celebration had dropped to one resembling mere hysteria. There was laughter and singing, toasting and jostling. But, there were also pockets of stillness here and there. In these pockets small groups stood or sat, and talked quietly amongst themselves. The Weasley blanket was a mixture: Molly and Arthur sat and watched, sipping wine and smiling indulgently as the younger people did all the carrying-on. George and Percy were dancing around each other with their arms linked singing a Gryffindor House song. The Veelas had joined Bill and Fleur after closing down the joke shop stall. (A group of enthralled male admirers stared hopefully at them from the edge, hoping to catch their eye.)
Ron and Hermione pushed past the last of the revelers that ringed the blanket and stumbled to a stop. No one noticed them at first until Molly glanced up.
"Oh there you are," she said. "I hope you kids had a good view, if not you missed quite a show." She took one look at Hermione's blotchy face and puffy eyes and jumped to her feet. "What's the matter, Dear? You've been crying or I'm a garden gnome!"
"Go on Ron," Hermione whispered in his ear. "They're your family. Tell them." She shoved him forward. By now the others on the blanket had noticed Molly's distress and were staring at Ron.
"Well..." he stammered. "I... ah... that is, we... well."
Hermione was hopping form one foot to the other.
"You all know that Hermione and I..." he continued. He had never considered that this might be even harder than the actual proposal. "We've known each other a long time- since first year."
"What eez he babbling about?" Fleur asked Bill, loudly enough to derail Ron again.
Hermione, no longer able to stand it, stomped her foot, groaned loudly, and extended her left hand towards the group wriggling her fingers. Her Great Grandmothers small but sparkly diamonds shined in the magic globe light. Molly's hand flew to her mouth, a sound somewhere between a cry and a hysterical laugh forced its way past. She flew the distance to Hermione in a instant, wrapped her in a crushing hug, and lifted her completely off the ground. Hermione was laughing through tears again. Ron looked stunned that it all happened so fast.
"Why didn't you just do that in the first place?" he muttered to himself.
That second was all it took for everyone else to catch up. The blanket erupted in cheers and hugs. Ron was buffeted, shoved, and slapped on the back. Shouts of, "Well done!" and, "'bout time!" hit him from all directions. Then his father was there shaking his hand vigorously.
"Good show, son!" he said, then he leaned in and added, "I thought I might need to have a talk with you, the way you've been carrying on lately. I thought you might chase her off with your moods. Always hoped you'd work it out, but didn't want to intrude, you know."
"Had it completely under control Dad," Ron lied, standing up straight.
Molly was still blubbering incoherently. She kept holding Hermione at arm's length, as if to assure herself that she was really there, and then smothering her in a hug again. The only intelligible words she could manage were the occasional "wonderful" and "my darling girl".
Fleur, sincerely happy, had laughed and clapped like everyone else, but she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at Molly and comment to Bill, "She did not act like zat when we told her WE were getting marreed." Bill gave her a look and she exhaled and let it go. "Hermione eez a lovely girl." she said unconvincingly, looking down her nose at her. "But for ze wedding, she desperately needs my 'elp." She turned back to her cousins and they put their heads together, speaking in rapid French while occasionally casting an appraising look in Hermione's oblivious direction.
Harry and Ginny approached the Weasley blanket and saw the family surrounding Ron and Hermione. "What's going on you reckon?" Ginny asked. Harry suspected he knew, but didn't want to spoil the surprise.
"Don't know, why don't you go find out?"
He couldn't completely hide his grin and she threw him a suspicious look, but she ran ahead anyway. She stopped on the blanket just outside the huddle of her family.
Hermione saw Ginny over Molly's shoulder and pulled away. The group froze and watched. Hermione and Ginny locked eyes, Ginny obviously puzzled. Hermione, beyond words for the second time that night just raised her left hand beside her face, ring out. Ginny didn't notice the ring at first and looked even more confused. Then realization hit, her eyes widening to saucers and she glanced from Hermione to Ron and back. They stood like that for what seemed like minutes until Ginny let out a piercing scream that was answered by Hermione's own ear-splitting squeal. They slammed together, jumped around in a circle, and continued to scream.
For several blankets around people stopped and stared, trying to see what horrible creature had just appeared in their midst. Eventually, the screaming stopped and the girls separated.
Ginny hugged Ron savagely. "This," she told him forcefully, "makes up for every stupid, annoying thing you've ever done!"
"That, obviously, was my motivation," he said, rolling his eyes.
They all noticed Harry then, standing on the edge of the blanket, his arms crossed, looking sternly at Ron. "I guess you didn't botch it up too badly then?" he asked.
"Nearly," Ron said glancing sullenly at George. "Thought the bloody fireworks would ruin everything."
"Yeah," Harry said, as his eyes followed Ron's to George. "We need to have a talk with him about those."
George looked a little sheepish and stepped behind Percy.
Hermione looked from one to the other in total incomprehension.
Harry couldn't hold the pose any longer; he laughed, rushed forward, and hugged them both. The band, that had been playing in their grandstand seats, chose that moment to start marching in a line through the crowd as they played.
Harry and Ron looked at the band, then at each other. "Sure," Ron sighed, defeated. "Why not?" He started peering around, searchingly, and asked, "Where do you s'pose they hid the clowns?"
Later, after visiting with friends at Hogwarts, the family returned to the Burrow. Harry arrived in a warm fog from his goodbye walk around the Lake with Ginny. She had to stay and finish her last couple of weeks of school. Hermione rejoined them after a quick trip home to tell her parents about the engagement. The women had congregated in the sitting room with tea, the men in the back yard with pipes and glasses of elf-made wine and fire whiskey.
Harry and Ron had cornered George as soon as they could break away from the rest of the family. Harry made it clear that he didn't want any repeat performances of the 'lightning bolt battling the snake' in fireworks, or any other form.
"But Harry," George argued. "Did you hear them? They loved it! You're a hero. It would be the most popular fireworks display in the country. Every major event will want it. We could make thousands!"
"I've told you George," Harry answered sternly. "I don't want the attention I already get. No more lightning bolts!"
George finally agreed, but Harry wondered if he had some loop hole he couldn't see. You never knew with George.
Ron still couldn't get George to admit that he should have been included in the planning of the celebration, and the engagement was still the primary topic of conversation among the men in the back yard.
"Do you think he knows that the Imperius curse is still banned?" George asked Percy. They had walked up behind Ron and spoke loudly enough for him to hear. "Dunno?" Percy answered. "Maybe it's just love potions, but he'll need a life time supply, won't he?"
"Ha. Ha." Ron pantomimed. "You know," he said, turning to look at George. "I never had a problem telling you and Fred apart. HE was the funny one."
"Ow!," George said, clutching his heart. "Good one, little brother." He punched Ron in the shoulder. "You just might work out after all."
"Well, now that you bring it up, I've been meaning to talk to you about an idea I have for a product for the shop."
"Really? What's that?
"I've been working on a set of self knotting shoe laces. When the wearer stops moving they untie themselves and then retie into one big knot, locking the shoes together."
"Brilliant!" George exclaimed. "Do they work?"
"Well, they untie, and then knot up again. But, so far they just knot themselves to whatever is closest, like chair legs and shrubs. I can't work out how to get them to knot to each other again."
"That's hilarious! I'm not sure that's a problem, but we can work on it together."
"Really? That's great!"
"Harry?" Hermione called from the back door. "Can I have word, privately?"
"Sure," Harry replied. He gave Ron a slap on the back as he headed towards the back door.
"I don't know Ron," George said. "Do you trust this bloke to wonder off with your bride-to-be like that?" This elicited a chorus of chuckles from the rest of the men. But the brothers immediately went back to discussing the trick laces.
"Honestly," Hermione said. "You should consider growing up, the lot of you." But the smile in her voice spoiled the intended scolding. She linked her arm in Harry's and pulled him into a slow walk out of the back yard and around the house.
"What's up?" Harry asked after they had gone far enough not to be overheard. It was much darker around this side of the house and he could barely make out her features as she talked.
"I just wanted to thank you." She stopped and kissed him on the cheek. "My parents are thrilled."
"I don't think I had much to do with that. It's Ron you're marrying."
"Of course it's Ron." she said, exasperated. "But, he never would have thought to go and talk to them if it hadn't been for you. That let my mother give him my Great Grandmother's ring, which meant everything to her, and me."
"Well," Harry said, embarrassed. "I have to be honest; I was really just having a go at him. He was so nervous, I couldn't resist."
"I suspected that when he said you explained how HUGELY important a muggle tradition it was." Harry could feel her eyes roll in the dark. "But it doesn't really matter why you did it. It was brilliant. My parents are going to meet with Ron's this week to start planning. Mrs. Weasley is very concerned that my Mum has her proper say in the arrangements. We're both hoping she'll agree to have the wedding at the Burrow, like Bill and Fleur's, which brings me to the next thing I wanted to talk to you about."
"I can't be your maid of honor. Ron has already asked me to be the best man. Ow!" He winced, as she poked him in the ribs.
"This is serious," she laughed, "Besides, Ginny has already agreed to be my maid of honor so I don't need you."
"Sure, you say that now that I've refused...."
"Stop it." They were both laughing now.
"Ok, ok, what is it?"
"Well," she said as she paused to take a breath. "We haven't set a date yet, but it won't be until sometime next spring."
"That's nice." Harry said, flatly.
"What I'm trying to say is," she continued in her lecture tone. "There is plenty of time. Ginny will be out of school in a couple of weeks and..." she trailed off in hopes that Harry would take the hint.
"Ah..." Harry said, catching on. "You're thinking that maybe there should be a double wedding?"
"Can't you see it Harry?" she said with growing excitement. "Wouldn't it be amazing, the four of us?"
"Yeah," he said, his tone growing serious. "That's the problem, I CAN see it."
"What do you mean?"
"I can see it turning into another Harry Potter media circus. The headlines would be, 'Harry Potter, Hero of the Wizarding World, to Wed'.
Then, buried on page 10 in fine print, 'Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, friends of Harry Potter, following as usual, will marry on the same day'."
"Besides, that," he continued. "How much attention do you think Ron would get from his own family if the youngest child, and only daughter, were getting married the same day? Not that they'd do it intentionally, but they couldn't help it could they? Ron's been playing second fiddle to somebody his whole life- his brothers, then me. I don't want to ruin..."
He didn't get to finish. Hermione had stopped walking and as he drew up at their arms' length and turned towards her she launched herself at him and crushed him in a hug.
Letting go she brushed a tear from her eye. "I thought I was done crying for tonight."
"It's not that I don't think it would be great…" Harry tried to go on.
"Shush, Harry," she interrupted. "You're right. I can't believe I didn't see it."
"I did noticed, though," she continued slyly, as they starting to walk again. "You didn't even bat an eye at the IDEA of marrying Ginny did you? Do you have a plan for her 'perfect moment'?"
Now it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. "I never said it had to be 'perfect'....that was your fiancé."
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" she replied dreamily, but she snapped out of it quickly. "Don't try to change the subject. You didn't answer my question."
"That's because it's none of your business, Miss Granger." he replied in his best McGonagall impersonation, and they both laughed.
"So," she said as they arrived at the front of the house and started through the door.
"What exactly DID you and my mother talk about over tea?"