Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Hermione Granger and the Weasley Wedding ❯ A Disastrous Proposal ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7: A Disastrous Proposal

 

The next day, Hermione was half appalled with herself. She had truly crossed the Rubicon this time. There was no going back now. The worst part was that she really had no one she could confide in. She could tell Ginny, but she felt like Ginny had enough on her plate. She spent several whole days wandering around aimlessly with a silly grin plastered on her face. Every little while, Ron would steal kisses from her. She was now spending every night with Ron and Apparating before anyone was up. She would climb into Ginny's bed for the remaining hour or so before everyone got up and sleep a little while there before really getting up and going about the day's activities. This gave Mrs. Weasley the illusion that she had slept there. Sometime during the day, she would get one of Ron's shirts out of the clean laundry when no one was looking and stow it in her room. When she was sure everyone was in bed, she would don just his shirt and make sure she was wearing nothing else, and Apparate to his room. This way, she could leave his shirt behind and none of her clothes, and there were no traces of her in the room except the light scent of her lavender soap she used. So far, Charlie had kept his promise not to tell.

She absolutely loved this arrangement. But she loved sharing her pleasure with Ron most of all. Any fool could see what was going on, but Ron's parents gave no indication of knowing. She had even forgotten all about that small unopened package in her trunk that Ron had had sent to her about a month ago. One day, about a week after their nightly interludes had begun, Ron found her wandering around the garden, stopping to smell a flower here or there.

“Oi, Hermione, I need to tell you something.” Ron called to her from the doorway. She looked up dreamily, thinking about taking Ron to that garden shed of his. He walked over to her and kissed her. She was so thoroughly in love with him that she was saturated with it. “Do you remember that small package I sent you before you came here?”

“Of course I do,” she said looking up at him. “What about it? Do I finally get to open it?” she asked excitedly.

“Bring it to dinner with you. When we get to the table, give it to me. Then after dinner, I'm going to open it and give it to you.”

“If you're going to open it, then why send it to me in the first place?”

“It's tradition.”

“What is it tradition of?” Hermione asked.

“I'll explain tonight, I promise.” Ron kissed her again. “I've got to go do some other stuff, but I'll see you at dinner. Hey,” he called to her as she turned to wander back toward the tree. She turned back to look at him. “I love you, Hermione.”

“I love you, Ron,” she replied softly, smiling at him. He went back into the house, and she went back to smelling the flowers. Ginny went outside a short while later.

“Ginny, what are you doing out here?” Hermione asked, delighted to see her doing anything other than throwing up and looking green.

“Harry seemed to think the fresh air would do me good. Come to think of it, I do feel a bit better, now that I'm out here. Oh, Mum said to tell you that you should wear some dress robes to dinner. Everyone's dressing up tonight.”

“Why are we dressing up?”

“It's a very important dinner. That's what Mum said,” Ginny replied smiling. “I'm kind of excited myself. Harry bought me new dress robes on our vacation. They're the newest fashion from Venice.” Hermione was puzzled over this whole thing. First Ron wanted her to bring the package to dinner, and now Ginny was telling her that everyone was dressing up. Were they going to clean out the living area and have a dance?

“Ginny, now that you're feeling better, I want to tell you something.” Ginny looked at Hermione in suspense of what she was about to disclose to her. Hermione told her all about her and Ron's nightly rendezvous. Unexpectedly to Hermione, however, Ginny was unsurprised by this information.

“I already knew,” Ginny told Hermione.

“But how did you know? Did Charlie break his promise and tell you?”

“Charlie didn't tell me anything. For one thing, we're best friends and I can sense things about you. But I first knew the night that Dad lost his wand.” Ginny sat down under the tree beside Hermione and continued to talk. “I had gone to my room, and I saw your clothes from earlier piled on the floor like you had been in a hurry. I knew it wasn't like you to leave your clothes just lying about like that, so I deduced that you were in a hurry for something important. The only thing, or person I should say, that important to you around here is Ron. My suspicions were only confirmed when Charlie Apparated after going to Ron's room to ask him about Dad's wand. He gave me that cock and bull story you had fed him to tell me about you going for a walk. Well, I figured that you certainly had not gone for a walk in naught but your skin.” Hermione giggled at the mental image this brought up. “The next day, though, when I saw you wandering around with that silly look on your face, I knew for sure. That's exactly how Harry described me while we were on vacation. He would always ask me what I was thinking about. When I asked me why he wanted to know, he would tell me that it was because of the ridiculous look on my face. I had no idea what he was talking about until I saw you that morning.”

Meanwhile, Ron had gone to seek out Harry. He found him sitting at the kitchen table rubbing his temples. His eyes were bloodshot from losing sleep over taking care of Ginny.

“Oi, Harry, you look like you could use some sleep.”

“That's exactly what I'm going to be getting some of as soon as I'm sure Ginny feels better.”

“Harry, get some sleep. We will take care of Ginny. She's my sister after all. Come on, we're all her family. No one is going to let her throw up alone, I promise.” Harry and Ron laughed together. “Seriously, though, before you go to sleep, I want to talk to you about something. You know what I'm planning tonight.”

“Yes, and I would like to be rested up so that I can be there mentally as well as physically.”

“Well, I just wanted to talk to you about something personal.” He, like Hermione, let their little story of their nightly meetings pour out. Harry sat there with raised eyebrows taking this all in. He then shrugged.

“Ginny told me she suspected as much last week. I figured it out, too.”

“Did Charlie tell Ginny?”

“Charlie? No, he didn't tell either of us anything. Ron, you're my best friend. I know when something happens to you most of the time…especially when it's something that's happened to me. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed.”

“You sounded just like Hermione our first year when she said something like that.”

“Yes, but she was talking about getting killed by Fluffy, remember?”

Ron laughed. “She thought being expelled was worse, though.”

 

“Ginny, how did you know when you were pregnant?” Hermione asked. They were just having general girl talk now.

“Well, I started getting sick right off. That's why we left Venice so early. Harry thought it was something I caught there. When we got back here, though, I was still sick. I told him we should just go get one of those Muggle pregnancy tester things.”

“Oh, yeah,” Hermione said, “I remember when my aunt used one of those to find out if she was pregnant or not. She was, of course, and had my cousin. He's two now.”

“Well, anyway,” Ginny continued, “the tester said I was. When I told Harry, I thought he was going to die. If it's a girl, we're going to name her Lily Evans Potter after his mother, and if it's a boy, we want to name him James Arthur Potter, after both our dads.”

“That is so great, Ginny. That's a good way to keep the memory alive. Oh, my goodness, Ginny, look at the time! It's almost time to eat dinner and we're still not ready! Come on, and we'll help each other.” Hermione helped Ginny up and they headed inside to get ready. Once inside the house, Ginny headed upstairs to locate Harry and Hermione went to Ginny's room to get dressed. She would wear her new pink silk dress robes she had bought from Madame Malkins. The dress was lovely, falling in little tiers, almost in layers to the floor. The neck was scooped, and the dress had velvet edges with roses, just like Madame Malkins had promised. Madame Malkins really had outdone herself, Hermione thought. She had just said pink velvet, but Hermione had not truly expected something this nice. After she had gotten dressed, she carefully applied a little makeup and put a smoothing charm on her hair. It became sleek immediately and she swept it up into a bun, leaving a few little tendrils hanging about. It was almost exactly the way she had worn it to the Yule Ball. All she needed now was a rose to adorn her hair. She had one somewhere in her trunk. She dug it out, but it was rather crumpled. She supposed she would have to use a flower from the Weasley's garden. She went outside, praying Ron wouldn't see her yet. She chose a nice pink flower that looked similar to a morning glory and tucked it in above her bun. She Apparated back upstairs, as she didn't want anyone to see her yet, and grabbed the unopened package. She wanted to make a grand entrance to the kitchen, so she decided to walk down the stairs. However, upon encountering the living area, she realized she would not have to go any further.

The couches were gone, probably by having used the vanishing spell, Evanesco. The enlarged table stood in the middle of the living area. The table was elegantly set with Mrs. Weasley's finest china dishes and crystal goblets. The ceiling was enchanted sort of like the Great Hall at Hogwarts, but it looked like the night sky with stars twinkling. The one at Hogwarts was supposed to reflect the sky outside. This was just enchanted to look like a clear night sky. It was dazzling all the same, though, Hermione reflected. Everyone was already seated around the table, including a few people Hermione had not expected. Dean, Seamus, and Neville had come back at some point which Hermione had not been aware of. Every single one of the Weasleys was there, and of course Fleur and Ellie were there. Harry was seated beside Ginny, who was positively glowing in her emerald dress robes. They perfectly matched her eyes.

Ron stood and pulled out Hermione's chair for her. She noticed that he was looking a little ill. “All right there, Ron?” Hermione asked, smiling. He smiled back a little and nodded.

Ron was afraid to say anything. He was feeling nauseous. He hadn't expected all of these people to actually show up. It was bad enough that he was doing this in front of his family, much less in front of his friends. Harry gave him an encouraging grin. When they sat down, he felt Hermione's hand cover his and she slipped the package into his lap. He groped to open it under the table so as not to draw too much attention to it yet, and so as not to let Hermione see it yet. He finally got the paper off and muttered a vanishing spell under his breath making that part disappear. He put the box in his pocket. The food had already been served to their plates and wine had been poured into their crystal goblets.

Wine was hardly ever served in the Weasley household. Only the most special occasions called for it. Hermione wondered what could be so special. Perhaps it was in celebration of Ginny's pregnancy. However, Hermione considered, it apparently had something to do with that package.

The food on the plate looked absolutely scrumptious. There was a steak, cooked to perfection, mashed potatoes seasoned with herbs and garlic, and a piece of garlic bread. There was a gravy bowl going around the table. Suddenly, Ron tapped his fork gently against his goblet. Everything stopped, and Hermione set the gravy bowl down next to him, since she was about to pass it to him. Everyone was looking toward him expectantly. He cleared his throat. Then he cleared his throat again. “Yes, Ron?” Mrs. Weasley prompted encouragingly. He again cleared his throat.

“Er—um—well,” he finally had gotten one word out, and Harry was trying not to laugh. He knew what was going on, and he found it tremendously funny. “I've known Hermione a long time, ever since our first year at Hogwarts.” Hermione gave him an odd look which didn't help his bravery at all. He was reaching in his pocket. “As you all know,” he continued unsteadily, both hands trembling, “Hermione and I started dating seriously after the defeat of Voldemort.” He stopped to grin at Harry, as if thanking him for providing the opportunity for them to finally start dating. Fred and George were poking each other and laughing under their breath at this open display of affection by “Ickle Ronniekins.” “Hermione,” he said, finally addressing her, and taking a deep breath. He was now pulling his hand out of his pocket. He had spent the time he had been talking to everyone and clearing his throat extracting the ring from the box. He pulled it out now, enclosed in his hand. “I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you—” Just as he began to open his hand to reveal the ring, it plopped into the gravy bowl. Ron's eyes widened and he looked at his mother. “I'm really sorry about this, Mum,” he said, pushing his sleeve up. He plunged his hand into the gravy bowl and fished the ring out. He pulled out his wand and muttered “Scourgify,” and all the gravy disappeared from the ring. Fred and George were now laughing so hard, tears were rolling down their cheeks. When their laughter subsided Ron continued. “Hermione, before this ring falls in the mashed potatoes next or gets cooked into the steak, will you marry me?” He had just wiped the remainder of the gravy off his hand and was holding the ring toward her, the edge of his new brown dress robes having fallen back into place. He slid the ring onto her ring finger of her left hand.

Hermione gawked at him. She couldn't believe her ears. All this time, the secret everyone had known was that he was going to propose. They had all known, except she hadn't. They honestly had kept the secret very well. Her mouth was open in an “O” and she suddenly realized she needed to answer him. She blinked, and her face broke into a broad smile. Her cheeks blushed, and she stood and threw her arms around Ron. “Yes, yes, yes!” she squealed. She felt Ron's tenseness melt away when she said this. Everyone was applauding for them. She looked into Ron's eyes with so much love; she thought she would burst with it. Again, in front of everyone, they were kissing, but this time, no one stopped them.

 

Dinner was over and Ron and Hermione decided to take a moonlit walk before bed, approved by Mrs. Weasley, of course. Still in their dress robes, they walked around the field enjoying each other's company. Hermione kept admiring the ring sparkling in the moonlight. It was also enchanted to sparkle like stars. It seemed there was a recurring theme with all these sparkling stars, but Ron knew that it was Hermione's favorite. “I should have known,” Hermione murmured. “You kept hinting at it the whole time I've been here. You told me we definitely had a future together. I guess that should have been my biggest tip off. It's sad that I could figure out all about a basilisk but I couldn't even tell when you were going to propose to me. I'm still a bit in shock.”

“Well, now we have to set a wedding date. Oh, and Professor McGonagall is coming in a couple of weeks to tell us something important that we have to know before getting married.” Ron was looking off into the distance. They were standing at the same place at the fence they always stood, and he pulled her into his arms once again, resting his chin on her head.

“You mean to tell me that Professor McGonagall knew that you were going to propose as well?”

“Of course she knew. She helped us find that jeweler's shop that made enchanted rings. Hagrid knew as well. He sent you that ribbon, because it is wizard tradition that the bride-to-be must receive a ribbon for her wedding before she is even engaged.”

“That's odd. What if the engagement falls through? I mean, what if the girl says no?” Hermione asked, wrinkling her brow.

“I dunno. I've never known of a wizard who has been turned down. Most of the time, if the wizard is unsure, he waits until he can pose questions about the future to the girl he fancies.”

“We talked about it, but only after you had bought the ring. You took a big risk, you know.” She was admonishing him for buying her the ring! “Not that I don't appreciate it,” she assured him.

“I didn't have much of a choice. You know we don't have much money, and the man was offering a special deal. The only thing was he was only offering it to the first one hundred people in his shop that day. There is no way I could have gotten that ring without the deal he offered. I figured if you said no, I could always put it away and save it. Let's don't talk about that. I'm glad you said you would marry me.”

“I am, too. Are you ready for bed?” she gave him a mischievous look when she said this.

“Yes.” They walked back to the house slowly, and he stopped outside Ginny's room. “See you in my room in a bit then?” Hermione nodded.

Later, in Ron's room, he was snoring lightly with Hermione held gently against him. Hermione was thinking about their future. She fell asleep, this time dreaming of a baby boy with red hair. She was kissing his little cheek and then smiling up at Ron.