Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Hermione Granger and the Weasley Wedding ❯ The Burrow ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: The Burrow

 

Ron and Hermione, along with Crookshanks, and Hermione's trunk, appeared moments later, holding hands in the Weasley's kitchen fireplace. Ron's mother was magically preparing lunch and was mysteriously absent from the kitchen, as knives chopped vegetables on their own. A pot was on the stove with a spoon stirring it as if a magic invisible hand was on the spoon. Fred and George stood at the kitchen table testing a new product for their joke shop. It appeared to babble speech, and looked like a candy mint. The paper wrapper lying on the table said “Mixing Mint” on it. Fred and George sounded as if they were talking in a different language and they were laughing their heads off. Suddenly, they were talking normally again.

“Can you believe this? We can go ahead and put it out next week for our new monthly product! Oh, look! Ron's back.” Fred looked delightedly toward the fireplace when George pointed and continued, “Hermione! How have you been?”

“Fine and the two of you?” Hermione replied.

“Old Ronniekins has been hiding from us for the last two days straight,” Fred, grinning, informed her.

“Have you got any ideas on getting him out?” George asked, a mischievous smile sneaking across his face.

Hermione frowned as Crookshanks let out a yowl and jumped from her arms, scurrying from the room. Mrs. Weasley saved her from having to answer George's question. “Hermione, so good to see you, dear!” She pulled Hermione into a bear hug. “Ron, take her trunk upstairs, please, and then be so kind as to come down to lunch and call everyone as you come back.” Ron scowled, as he had been planning to just Apparate upstairs and back down, but now as he had to call everyone, he would actually have to walk back down the stairs.

“Mum, why don't you just ring the dinner bell? It's worked fine all these years.”

“Because, Ronald, I can't seem to find it. Now, don't talk back to me, young man. Do as you're told!” Then, she muttered something in his ear that no one else could hear, and he Disapparated from the kitchen. A few minutes later, loud cracks were heard as everyone Apparated to the kitchen. More people were present than Hermione had thought. Of course, all the Weasleys (minus Ginny, Mr. Weasley, and Percy—Mr. Weasley and Percy were at work at the Ministry) were there. Also, Fleur Delacour, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom were also present.

“Why are all these people here?” Hermione asked Ron when he had managed to fight his way through the crowd back to her.

“They were here for Harry and Ginny's wedding, and just haven't gone home yet.” Ron looked harried from calling all the people to lunch.

“Are you sure that there isn't something you want to tell me?” Hermione raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, looking at Ron suspiciously.

“I—” Mrs. Weasley cut him off, and he looked rather relieved.

“We won't all fit in this kitchen unless we enlarge the table. Engorgio.” She had pointed her wand at the table and enlarged it using the Engorgement Charm so that they would all fit and she had zapped in a few chairs. Everyone took a seat, and Hermione distinctly heard, “Ronniekins has a girlfriend,” muttered under Fred's and George's breaths as they all were serving themselves some vegetable stew. “Now boys, that is enough. If you want to tease, don't do it at mealtime. We're supposed to be enjoying each other's company. Now, as to sleeping arrangements—Hermione, dear, you will have Ginny's room. Dean, Seamus, and Neville, you will continue to share with Ron. Bill and Fleur will continue to sleep in our living room, I suppose. Fred, George, you will have your room until next week when Harry and Ginny come back. I am afraid that you will have to share with them. Charlie, you and Percy will have to continue to share.”

“How are we going to do that?” Fred asked incredulously.

“Yeah, our room hardly fits us.” George chimed in.

“You'll take all of those boxes out of there and over to your flat in your joke shop. Then a bed for the two of them should fit nicely. You two will then room with Charlie and Percy.” Everyone began to eat in silence. Hermione was eating, but looked anguished.

“Is something wrong?” Ron whispered in her ear.

“I feel like I'm out of place. I'm the only one with my own room,” she whispered back. “I mean, Harry and Ginny could have had Ginny's room if I weren't sleeping in there. Isn't there someone who could share with me?”

“No there isn't, because Mum won't let boys share with girls unless they're married.”

“Sometimes, Ron, I wish Ginny and I were still girls, with nothing more to worry about than who was going to win the House Cup.”

“Yes, but we're all grown up now, aren't we, Hermione?” Ron replied, a look of sadness crossing his face. “Don't worry,” he said brightening, “we'll be starting out on our own adventure soon.”

“What does that mean?” Hermione asked suspiciously.

“Oh, nothing,” Ron whispered, having almost given away his secret. “Just that we'll have lots of new adventures as professors, that's all.”

“Oh.” Hermione looked a bit disappointed, and Ron so wished that he could tell her the secret they were all keeping, and just what was in that parcel he had had sent to her. But it wasn't right yet. Everyone wasn't there, Harry and Ginny most importantly. “I was wondering,” she continued, “if you had heard anything from Professor Lupin or Tonks. They did so like each other.”

“Tonks stopped by just the other day,” Ron replied, a little more loudly than a whisper now, because chatter had picked up now that everyone was finishing off their stew. “Lupin finally decided to give it a go with her, although they are still searching for a cure for his ailment. He's been getting potion to help him with it when it comes round, though, at Tonks's request. That way, they can spend more time together. I think he's still working with other werewolves, too.”

“What about Sirius Black? Is he still living at Grimmauld Place?”

“I think so. Last I heard, Harry said he had fixed it up pretty nicely. That's where Harry and Ginny are living right now, even though they are coming to visit soon.”

“Surely that's not where they took their vacation?” Hermione's eyes widened.

“No, no. That's just where they will spend their holiday vacations between school years.”

“Oh,” Hermione said, relieved to know that they hadn't been there all this time and not telling her. She already felt like the Weasley family was keeping something from her that she just could not put her finger on. Ron kept saying the strangest things, but when she asked about them, he always had an excuse. Although, he did get a weird look on his face, like he wanted to tell her something but could not get up the courage. She sighed and excused herself from the table.

 

It had been several days since Hermione's arrival at The Burrow, and Fred and George had said they had to make a trip back to their joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They had said that they needed to take care of some business and would be back in about a week. Mrs. Weasley had not been happy at all to hear this for some reason, but had been forced to say it was all right, as they were going to go with or without her permission.

Hermione and Ron had taken to walking and talking in the garden in the evenings. They would hold hands and sometimes sit on the ground under a tree. Occasionally they would even wander out into the field beyond the garden. One such evening, they were walking in that field and talking about the future.

“Hermione, have you thought about your future?”

“Well, of course I have, Ron. I've obtained a job and will enjoy it immensely.”

“I didn't mean your career. I know you're going to be a teacher. I'm going to be one too. It's hard to think of us as Hogwarts professors, isn't it?”

“Yes, and rather funny, as well. Can you imagine taking points from Gryffindor? It would be horrible! But Slytherin, as you can imagine, would be our well-deserved revenge on them. Oh, I meant to tell you. Since McGonagall is headmistress now, she feels she can no longer be objective if she remains the head of Gryffindor House. She's going to choose a new one.”

“It ought to be Harry, of course.”

“Oh, it can't be Harry. Didn't he tell you? He's teaching D.A.D.A. this year and he's an Auror, now. He'll be far too busy to be head of Gryffindor House. No, I think perhaps one of us may be chosen. You know Slytherin is going to need a new House leader as well.”

“That reminds me, there is no Potions master.”

“You're right.”

“I just hope McGonagall doesn't choose someone horrid,” Ron replied, grimacing.

“Look, here comes an owl. Perhaps it will be McGonagall's message. I sent her an owl yesterday asking her about all the new teaching positions.” Sure enough, it was Pig that was returning.

“You sent Pig?” Ron asked, trying to hide his smile.

“Oh, you know how insistent he is when he doesn't get to carry anything for a few days. I just had to let him out into the wide world.” She took the letter off Pig's leg. “Sorry, Pig, you'll have to wait until later for your owl treat. I don't have one out here.” Pig flew to Ron's shoulder and lighted there as if to say he wasn't leaving until he got something. Hermione just shrugged and tore into McGonagall's letter.

 

To all Hogwarts professors, the new appointments are as follows:

Charms: Ronald Weasley

Arithmancy 2: Hermione Granger

Potions: Draco Malfoy

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Harry Potter

Head of Gryffindor House: Hermione Granger

Head of Slytherin House: Draco Malfoy

If your name did not appear on this notice, you will retain the same position you have had these many years.

Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress

 

“Suspicions confirmed, Ron.” Hermione and Ron looked over the letter together. Pig flew away indignantly, deciding he wasn't going to get any treat until later.

“You're going to be the House leader! That's great!” Since Hermione's and Ron's positions were at the top, he noticed them first, but as he read farther he noticed something that was not to his liking as much.

“Yes, yes, but did you see who is teaching Potions and head of Slytherin?” Hermione was asking just as he saw Malfoy's name beside Potions, and Head of Slytherin House further down.

“Malfoy—well that figures, doesn't it? He was Snape's favorite. Oh well, it will be like old times. Only this time around, I think Malfoy will be a bit more forgiving than he has been in the past.”

“Let's just hope that he doesn't go round calling Harry `Professor Potty' or something of that nature.”

“Yes, Hermione, and let's hope he doesn't call you a Mudblood anymore.” Hermione flinched as Ron said this. She hoped that McGonagall's choosing was good.

“Oh, Ron, do you think that teaching will be much like being a student there?” Hermione leaned on a fence that was around the field they had been walking in and looked off into the distance.

“I dunno. I mean, there's no Voldemort anymore, but that doesn't mean there can't still be adventures. I'm sure there will be exciting things to fill our years as teachers.” He thought to himself about the adventure he and Hermione would embark upon even before they took their positions as Hogwarts professors. He smiled down at her as she turned to look at him. He pulled her into his arms and held her close, inhaling the sweet lavender scent of her hair. He remembered her hair the first day they had met on the train. It had been bushier than any cat he had ever had the misfortune of meeting. He had called her mental on many occasions. Her bushy hair had only added to the effect. She had begun using a smoothing charm on it so that it would stay a bit flatter, and she could even make it straight when she wanted to. Right now, though, it was pulled back a bit haphazardly and small tendrils were escaping the binding she had put them in. A small breeze lifted some of these tendrils off her neck. He felt her wrap her arms around his back and relax her head on his chest.

“Ron, do you think we have a future together? I mean, besides teaching together at Hogwarts?” Hermione asked wistfully. Ron pulled his head back from where he had been resting his chin on her head and looked into her eyes.

“Oh definitely,” he replied, smiling, and he leaned down to kiss her. When he pulled away, he rested his chin again on the top of her head.

“Good,” she replied, “Because I honestly couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. Besides, we need more red-headed Weasleys!” She laughed, and Ron laughed with her.

“Then our whole family would be at Hogwarts. Let's just hope we don't have twins! We certainly couldn't name them Fred and George!” Hermione burst into a fit of giggles and pulled out of Ron's arms.

“Catch me if you can, Ron!” Hermione took off running back towards The Burrow, and as Ron hurtled after her, he couldn't help but think how much he loved her, and that he couldn't imagine chasing after anyone but her through an open field where anyone could see them. He caught her in the garden, and they tumbled onto the ground, Ron on top of Hermione. They looked into each other's eyes, hearts pounding from the good run they'd just had back to The Burrow.

“Hermione,” Ron said uncertainly, “I think I'm in love with you.”

“Ron,” Hermione replied breathlessly, and pulled him down to her in a passionate kiss.