-Chapter 27: How is This Going to Work?-

The girls joined Hermione's parents in the sitting room. They sat together on the couch, Hermione held Ginny's hand.

"So, Ginny," Mr. Granger started, "Hermione has told us a lot about you and your family. We are very grateful to you and them for taking such good care of her these past few years."

"We were glad to do it, sir. Hermione did quite a bit for us as well. You have a magnificent daughter."

"She is quite spectacular, isn't she?" Mrs. Granger smiled. Ginny nodded, Hermione blushed.

"So you are the youngest of several children, correct?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Yes, I have si...five brothers. My brother Fred was killed at the Battle at Hogwarts."

"Oh we are very sorry to hear about that, dear," Mrs. Granger said solemnly. Ginny nodded.

"I imagine having such a large family you have a lot of people who worry about you," Mr. Granger said.

"Well, yes and no. My brothers don't cut me any slack because I am the youngest or because I'm a girl but they are protective of me. My parents are as well. There hasn't been a girl in the Weasley line in generations so my parents, especially my mother, were ecstatic when I was born."

"Ah, I see," said Mr. Granger.

"Ginny, I think what my husband is trying to get to is that being the youngest is a lot like being an only child," Mrs. Granger said, nodding towards Hermione, "everyone feels quite protective. My husband and I are no exception with how we feel about Hermione."

"I understand," Ginny said with a nod.

"Her mother and I want the same things for Hermione as any parents do, for her to be happy and healthy. When she confided in us about her attraction to girls we were, and still are, very accepting of that. We were shocked, however, when she informed us of her engagement to you. Not because we don't approve of the relationship but because you two are quite young."

"I understand your position and your concerns, I really do," Ginny said, "but I love your daughter and I know that we are young in numbers but I don't think you can disagree with me when I say that because of this war the both of us have had to mature beyond our years. We've faced and gotten through things that most will never experience in their lifetimes and I think that is a factor to be considered."

Hermione smiled. She was proud of Ginny for controlling her temper, she was very aware of how much Ginny hated being told she was "too young" for anything.

"And besides," Hermione chimed in, "we still have one year left at Hogwarts and Ginny's parents would like for us to wait until she is eighteen. We're not getting married tomorrow or anything. The engagement will be plenty long."

"So do you have a time frame in mind?" Hermione's mother asked.

"Possibly late September or early October of next year," said Hermione, "after our birthdays but before Christmas is what we're aiming for but if it is to be outdoors we don't want to wait too long or it will be too cold."

"And a location?"

"Mum it is still quite a ways off. We have plenty of time to figure it out."

Ginny smiled, she now knew where Hermione got her obsession for plan making and details.

Ginny took careful notes for her father; one thing she was especially fascinated by was the odd black box in the sitting room which turned out to be a television. Hermione explained that it was kind of like the portraits in Hogwarts only you couldn't interact with what was on the screen. They watched movies all day one day; one of them was an animated version of the story Hermione had read to her the night she spent in the Hogwarts hospital wing.

Ginny tried to make Hermione breakfast the second morning she was there but couldn't figure out how to light the oven or the stovetop since there were only metal coils on the stovetop and no apparent place to light a fire. Hermione showed her how to use it and after she finally got the hang of it Ginny would get up before her fiancée every morning and cook her breakfast. She loved the mornings when Hermione slept through all the noise in the kitchen and Ginny got to take her breakfast in bed.

Ginny did have a bit of trouble sleeping, they weren't in the middle of the city but there was still more noise outside than she was used to.

"What the hell was that?" Ginny said as she sprang out of bed when a loud siren went passed the house.

"Police car," Hermione groaned as she rolled over onto her back. "Come back to bed baby."

"What do they think they're doing? Don't they know people are trying to sleep?"

"Everything is fine Gin, please come back to bed." Hermione yawned.

"Well obviously everything isn't fine if they have to go..."

"Sweetheart, if you come back to bed I promise I'll answer all of your questions in the morning."

Ginny crawled back into the small bed and snuggled up against Hermione and wrapped an arm around the brunette's waist. Hermione ran her fingers through Ginny's hair until the younger witch's breathing slowed and she fell asleep. The next morning Hermione barely remembered what had happened when Ginny started firing off questions.

One day Hermione's parents took them both to their dentistry office. Hermione even consented to having a full check-up so Ginny could see how it all worked. The redhead watched, wide-eyed, as Hermione's father explained each metal instrument and what it did. Although he didn't have to use it, just the explanation of the drill and filling a cavity was enough to make Ginny feel queasy. When he was called in to help another patient his assistant came in to do Hermione's cleaning. She was an older woman, while she prepared the instruments she and Hermione talked, Ginny found out the woman's name was Lucy and she had obviously been working at the office for quite a while.

"Mint, raspberry, cinnamon, or bubble-gum flavor toothpaste today Hermione?" Lucy asked.

"Mint tastes good," Ginny blurted out. Hermione laughed and nodded.

Ginny jumped when a high pitched whirring noise came from the metal instrument that looked absolutely nothing like a toothbrush and Lucy started cleaning Hermione's teeth and asking Ginny questions about school and what her plans were for after she graduated. Ginny answered them as vaguely as she could. Hermione later told her that she wasn't sure how many times the Ministry had to come and modify Lucy's memory because of different slip-ups or overheard conversations so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for them to have to do it again if Ginny had slipped up.

...............

"No, Ginny, it's a regular train only it's underground. Hence the name, London Underground."

"Why don't they put it above ground?"

"There's no space."

"Why can't we take a cab?"

"Because I've got passes for us."

"How do you know the tunnel won't collapse?"

"They know what they're doing when they build it, Gin. Muggles can make things work without magic. Come on or we're going to miss it!"

"I don't know...after the incident with the microwave last night I'm not sure if I trust..."

"That was my fault, I should've told you to take the spoon out of your bowl before you put it in there."

"Are you sure..."

"Yes, I am sure. Now come on!"

The girls sat down on one of the seats. The train started moving and lurched left and right as it moved. There was a shudder and the lights flickered. The train came to a halt.

"'Mione..."

"I'm sure it's just a glitch."

"Ladies and gentlemen, sorry for the inconvenience but we're experiencing some technical difficulty. We should be back up and moving in a few minutes."

"Told you we should have taken a cab."

"Oh hush."

...............

On the last night the girls were sitting on Hermione's bedroom floor sorting through the pictures they had taken throughout the two weeks. Ginny smiled at the one of the two in front of the Palace of Westminster that a stranger had taken for them. They laughed at a picture Hermione took of Ginny in a telephone box, remembering the time Ron had tried to call Harry at Privet Drive.

There were a few pictures at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Ginny wanted so badly to animate the wax figures to scare the other tourists but Hermione had to keep reminding Ginny that she was still underage for a few more weeks. A couple in their mid-thirties with two children heard Hermione use the term "Muggle" and smiled at the two, the man flashed his wand that was in his coat pocket and the girls smiled and nodded. He looked around to see if anyone else was watching then pulled out his wand and made Napoleon I of France do a jig. The girls and the man's children rolled with laughter until his wife yelled at him.

Ginny picked up one of the pictures of the two of them on the waterfront of the River Thames that Hermione's father had taken. Their backs were to the camera, Ginny's right hand was in Hermione's left and the redhead was looking at Hermione while the brunette pointed across the river to the enormous clock tower next to the palace where they had been the day before.

"Hermione, how is this going to work?" Ginny asked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean, love?"

"This, us. Where are we going to live? Will our kids go to Muggle schools before Hogwarts? Will they grow up like you did or like I did?"

"Well, I honestly don't know. I suppose it is something we need to think about before we're at a point where we are forced to make a hasty decision. What do you think?"

"I like living outside of the city. I want our kids to have space to run and play."

"Okay. I would like that, too. I'm not sure if I want them to go to a Muggle school though. You grew up in an all-magic family so you never felt like an outcast. Growing up I felt very much alone, I was picked on and I didn't have many friends, that's why I turned to books. The characters in the books were my friends, I always imagined being submerged into a world of dragons and spells and magic with them. I guess that is why I always felt so much more comfortable at Hogwarts."

"Do you remember who picked on you? I could hex them."

"Oh Ginny!" Hermione laughed, "You really are one of a kind, you know? It was a very long time ago and I don't remember any of them. I've made enough good friends now that I rarely think of life before Hogwarts anymore." Hermione leaned across the piles of pictures scattered on the floor and gave Ginny a soft kiss. "You're sweet for offering though, love."

They finished sorting through the pictures, a stack for Ginny to take home and a stack for Hermione to keep with her. It was midnight when they settled into bed together. Ginny pushed her stomach up against Hermione's back, wrapped her arm around the elder's stomach and nuzzled the back of her neck.

"Mmmm brings back memories," Hermione said with a sigh.

"Uh-huh. I can't believe we've been together for almost two whole years."

"August fourteenth. Would you like to do something special? We didn't get to last year, I think we should."

"What did you have in mind?" Ginny asked then yawned.

"Well I would like to take you out to dinner. There is this really nice restaurant in London that my parents took me took before I left for the Burrow the summer before last. Do you like that idea?"

Ginny groaned a little and shifted a little. Hermione knew she was asleep. She put her arm on top of Ginny's that was around her waist and intertwined their fingers.

"We'll talk about it later then." Hermione smiled and fell asleep.