Chapter Five
The Awkward, The Sweet,
And Everything In Between
Author's Note: Okay, let me clarify something that I knew was going to come up. Ron and Luna's
son's name is a spelled weird but it's really a form of Ian. That first letter of his name is not a lower case
L, it's an 'I.' As in EYE. EYE-OH-AY-EN. Everybody clear? Good! Here's chapter five, idea stolen from
an old fan fiction of mine that I discontinued. Hope everyone likes it!
I sit down at the kitchen table as Mum puts a kettle on the stove to boil. Harry and Dad have only just walked out the door and I'm already worried for them. I run my palm along the surface of the familiar kitchen table, the table I had eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner at so many times. The table that had endured spills, coloring, crying, and some yelling. The table that I sit at now, and would chat with my mother about marriage in a matter of seconds.
She sits down across from me, her shoulder-length curly hair is half up and she's wearing a soft green jumper and tan pants. Her hazel eyes are twinkling as she smiles proudly at me, "Engaged, huh?" she says.
I nod, grinning, "It was quite funny actually," I say. "He sort of blurted it rather loudly at Markie's, with all the Weasley's there."
Mum smiles, "After all you two have been through, it's amazing it's all come to this."
"I know," I sigh. "He was almost going to marry that horrible Natalie," I shake my head in disgust. "Good thing we both came to our senses."
She gets up and pours the already warm water into two mugs, where two tea bags begin to drift soggily. I stir the water just after she hands it to me and blow on it thoughtfully. My stomach twists almost guiltily, I don't want to tear myself away from my Mum and Dad, I always want to be their little girl.... But, I want to marry Harry, there's no question about that.
"Hermione," Mum begins, swirling the water in the mug around slowly with a spoon. "I want to have a talk with you before the wedding, and now seems a good time-"
For a minute I panic, "Mum, we've already had this talk, remember, when I was-
"No!" she laughs. "Not that talk!"
"Oh," I laugh too, extremely relieved. "Then what do you want to talk about?"
She pauses for a minute, "You're going to be a bride now.... There's going to be a lot of planning from now on and quite a bit of pressure will be put upon you."
I look at her, I hadn't even thought about planning the wedding.
"I don't want it to become too overwhelming for you," she says, sipping the tea in front of her.
I shake my head, "It won't be a problem," I reply with a smile. "You know how organized I am, it'll be a breeze."
Mum nearly giggles, "That's what you think darling."
I knot my eyebrows but shrug, she doesn't know how easy I'll make it for myself. I've watched Bridezillas, I know what not to do!
A question pops into my brain, a question I've wanted to ask since I told my parents about the engagement. I'm
almost hesitant to ask it. I don't want to receive the wrong answer, even though I'm pretty sure I know what
she'll say.
I ask it anyway.
"Mum?"
"Yes, dear?"
I pause, then say, "Do you- Do you and Dad like Harry?"
She looks surprised, "Of course we do, Hermione you know that."
"But, do you think he's right for me? The right person to spend the rest of my life with?" I ask, my eyes wide with questioning.
Mum takes her hands off her mug and takes my hand on top of the table surface, "Do you think he's the right one for you?"
I nod.
She smiles, giving my cheek a light pat, "That's what we've known from the start."
I smile brightly at her, "Really?"
She nods, "Really."
Just then she gets up and moves to the cabinet, retrieving a box of biscuits.
"Now, if he can survive what your father has planned for him right now, we'll know he's a real keeper," she jokes.
I swallow, what is my dad going to possibly say to him? I know my Dad's been protective of me in the past but he wouldn't say anything to scare Harry, would be?
I stand up, "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" she asks as I walk out of the kitchen.
"To -uh- visit a friend," I say, walking through the entrance hall.
Mum sighs, "Hermione, if you're going to spy on them you might want to have a disguise!"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
There's only pub in our town, and that's Sammy's. It's small and smokey, dim and friendly. There's a pool table in the back and a couple of dart boards against the wall. The drinks aren't exactly the best and the only waitress who works there is Maureen, Sammy's wife. But everyone there is friendly and you can guarantee no creeps will start trouble so that's where everyone goes.
When I walk into the pub it's darker inside than it is outside right now. I spot Harry and my father sitting side by side at the bar and I sit only four stools away from them. It's risky, seeing as my disguise of dad's old Oxford sweat top, mom's bleached cotton pants that she cleans in, and an ancient newsboy cap that I found buried in the hall closet that shadows my face, isn't exactly the best at disguising.
The minute I sit down Sammy asks me what I want to drink, he looks at me funny as I half-grunt, half-cough, 'Just a ginger-ale!' without even looking up, but he sets about getting it for me.
When the drink sits in front of me I settle in and strain my ears, listening closely to what Dad and Harry are saying.
"So wait," Dad says. "You're telling me you were eleven when you made the quickditch team?"
I smile to myself.
Harry laughs a little, "Quidditch, yeah."
"I'm impressed."
"Thank you, sir," is Harry's reply.
There's silence between them for several long seconds and I wonder if they'll talk about anything worth eavesdropping over. Maybe I should leave. Dad sighs, as if resigning over something and I wait, hardly breathing, for fear I won't hear whatever either will say.
Dad begins, "Harry, I didn't bring you here to talk about sports."
I look out of the corner of my eye and see Harry waiting, a hand on his sweating glass.
"Now, I don't want to pressure you or scare you or anything of the sort, boy," Dad continues. "But you're marrying my only daughter, my little girl."
A sad smile twitches at my lips as I feel my heart tug guiltily.
"Can I tell you the truth Harry?"
"Of course," Harry replies.
Dad looks down, into his glass, and then up, "I remember hearing all about you when Hermione was in school. She was in awe of you, really."
I see Harry smile to himself and I do too.
"Everything you did was amazing to her," Dad confesses. "She told us all about the little adventures you guys had.... We heard all about you both and Ron saving each other."
Harry laughs a little to himself.
Dad looks at him and says, "We were scared for her life when we heard about your problems with- you know- and we didn't want her to be friends with you at all. She didn't even want to tell us about some of the things she went through with you, because she knew we didn't like her being friends with you."
I take a deep breath, everything he says is true, and I'm waiting for more.
Dad takes a sip of his drink, swallows, and then says, "Her mother and I didn't like the idea of you, you sounded heroic, but we just thought you were dangerous and all you could do for Hermione was put her in trouble."
Harry frowns a little.
"And then when we found out about that war- Hermione kept it from us as best she could but she finally had to tell us," he sighs. "We tried to stop her from going with you."
I look at the wood of the bar as there's silence between them for a short minute.
"You did?" Harry asks, it's more of a statement than a question though.
Dad nods, "We forbid her from doing it. We knew there was a chance she could have gotten killed and we didn't give a damn how it made you feel if she wasn't there for you."
A tense silence follows as I remember the day, clear in my mind.
"But for the first time in her life, she didn't listen to us." I hold my breath as he goes on. "She told us she wasn't asking our permission to go, she was just letting us know because it was our right as her parents to know.... But she would go whether we allowed her to or not."
A faint smile tugs at Harry's lips and I look away, if they realize I'm staring at them I could be found out.
Dad scratches the side of his head, a short laugh escapes his throat and he continues, "We physically wouldn't let her go, I had to grab hold of her to prevent her from leaving the front door. She clawed at me and her mother, slapped us, screamed, cried, carried on something awful."
"Hermione? Hermione slapped you?" Harry asked, clearly surprised.
He chuckles a little, "Yes, unbelievable right? But she did, for a good, solid hour," he shakes his head. "And then she collapsed on the living room floor, crying and crying."
I swallow, closing my eyes as the memory remains vivid and sharp in my mind, replaying as Dad reveals it to Harry.
"She kept saying she would never speak to us again, never forgive us if we didn't let her go. We told her she could die and we wouldn't permit her to do that," he tuts. "But she sprang up off the ground, all guns firing, 'I love him and I will be by his side for this!' she said to us."
Almost word for word. That was when I realized I loved Harry, crying on the floor that day. Oh God, I had felt so desperate when they told me I couldn't go. And it only took a few minutes to realize I wanted to- needed to be by his side, to fight with him. What if he needed help? What if he was all alone and needed someone? I knew I loved him then, I denied it to myself no longer.
"She said that?" Harry asks quietly.
Dad nods, "She did. And her mother and I looked at each other, we knew we couldn't do anything after that," he smiles. "Then she said she was leaving, that she loved us, and that she was sorry, but it was something she had to do, and she left."
They're silent and I look at Harry, he swallows hard and sighs a little.
"You didn't know about that, did you?"
Harry shakes his head, "No."
I lift my hand to my mouth and chew on my thumbnail, letting his words roll around in my head a little.
"She never explained to us in full detail why she detached herself from the magical world years ago. She did tell her mother that you had asked her along with you to fight evil wizards," he says softly. "I was glad she didn't go, to tell you the truth."
I look and see Harry's looking down, his eyes downcast as the horridness of that time is presented to him again.
Dad shakes his head, "And then when you came back and that whole horrible fiasco with that other woman and Hermione moving back with us...." he trails off. "I was glad when you two finally made up and everything fell into place but I was always wary."
"Hmmmm."
"But you two would always come and visit us and come for dinner and I started to see how much you truly care about her and respect her," he says. "I saw why she left to be with you during the war, you make her happy, Harry."
I smile to myself.
"I didn't take long for me to realize you were the one she was going to end up with."
"Really?"
Dad nods.
He continues, "But I'm glad it's you. If you can keep her safe through evil wizards and trolls-what have you-then I know you can keep her safe and happy through anything."
They're quiet and I release a breath, staring into my untouched ginger ale.
"But Harry, I want you to be sure about this," Dad says. "Marriage isn't something that one can change their mind about easily. And I understand how someone who's been through a lot of life-threatening events could want to-"
"Mr. Granger, I love Hermione more than anything," Harry says, cutting him off. "You don't have to worry about me being sure, I don't want anyone else but her."
I smile, looking at him. Dad smiles too, "Good," he says. "And if you ever need anything you know you can always come to me and Mrs. Granger."
Harry nods, "Thank you, Mr. Granger."
"Please, call me John."
"John, thanks."
Dad drains the contents of his glass and I realize I should probably leave before they do. I gulp my drink and then put some money on the bar, leaving quickly.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When Harry and Dad arrive back home Mum and I are sitting on the couch, watching TV. I've disposed of my disguise and smile at them, "How was the pub?"
Mum subtly nudges me and I try not to laugh.
"It was great," Dad says as Mum and I stand up.
"That's good," I say, then look at Harry. "Ready to go?"
He nods, "Yeah."
I hug Mum goodbye and then Dad, who takes my hand and puts something in it. Mum and Harry are saying goodbye and don't see what's inside my fist as I open my palm, money? I look up at Dad and he winks at me. I don't understand.
"You don't have to worry, I paid for your drink at the pub."
My mouth falls open and I stare at him.
He nods, "I hope you put my shirt back where you found it."
I laugh, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "I did. And thank you Dad, for everything."
"You're welcome, Minnie," he smiles, using my nickname from when I was toddler. "He's a good man, don't give him too much trouble," he whispers with a smile.
I nod, "I'll try."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I pull the door shut and wait for Harry to start the engine. He sits for a minute, staring at his keys, not even moving to put them in the ignition.
"Harry? Are you okay?"
He nods, "I'm fine."
"Did my Dad say anything to scare you?" I joke.
"No," he shakes his head, looking up and out of the windshield. "Not at all."
I cock my head to the side, "Then what's wrong?"
He looks at me, his eyes deeply set on mine. He looks at me so intensely that I feel the bottom of my stomach drop and every cell in my body stands on end. He's staring at me with such a passion and such a longing that I need to remind myself to breathe. He's quiet for a minute, just looking at me.
"Thank you," he finally says. "For everything you've done for me."
I smile at him, "Harry you know I-"
"No, you've put yourself in danger for me and I never- I never properly thanked you for all of it."
I see my Dad's talk really left an impression on him.
"You have thanked me properly.... You proposed, remember?"
He smiles, his eyes glowing with appreciation, and he leans in and kisses me softly.
Author's Note: Chapter five! Hope you all liked it. I know it's been awhile between updates so I hope
this makes up for it. Leave me some reviews so my Monday won't seem so horribly far from Friday!