Magic and Misperceptions Chapter Six: At the Burrow
By addisonj
Beta: DeeMichelle
(A/N: 'Accomplished ladies' discourse found in Chapt 8 of Pride and Prejudice, and 'Don't laugh at Darcy' from Chapt 11.)
Disclaimer: : The following story is based on situations and characters owned by J.K. Rowling, Jane Austen, and their publishers.
***
"Mrs. Weasley, can I help you with the potatoes?"
"No, Hermione dear, why don't you enjoy the outdoors. Clary will help in here."
Clary, the Weasley house-elf, was a recent addition to the family. With the riches from conquering Voldemort and the profits from the joke shop, the Weasley family had moved up in the world. No more hand-me-downs; they now had-in addition to a house-elf-major renovations to the Burrow. It was no longer rickety; it was still eclectic, but no longer dilapidated. New furniture, clothing, and furnishings were apparent throughout the home. Evidence of Ron's travels in Asia was unmistakable in new Chinese vases and silken cushions.
"I'll go see Fleur and Victoire," Hermione said as she exited the kitchen. She found her fellow old Beauxbatons student in the back garden enjoying the sunshine with a beautiful four year old daughter bouncing in her pregnant lap, mother and daughter with matching white blond hair, blue eyes, but daughter with the Weasley freckles.
"Bonjour, mon amie et ma petite!" Hermione called and sat down beside her on the bench.
Fleur returned with a dazzling smile. "My dear! I am so glad you are here in England with me! We must see each other often! Why didn't you owl me sooner? I must find out from Ron that you are here! He has no idea we are friends!" Fleur answered in French.
"It's all my fault, but if you forgive me, I will make it up to you," Hermione responded in French as well. "We must make sure I don't forget my French. And I must spend time with Mlle Victoire, and the next," Hermione nodded towards Fleur's rounded belly, acknowledging the child that was due in several months. "I can help when the next baby comes as well."
"You're a dear! Molly already has dibs on her grandchild of course, but her French is not equal to yours."
"Fleur, her job is not to be a French tutor to your children but to spoil them as only a grandmother can. Speaking of, when is Angelina due?" Hermione nodded outdoors to where George and his wife were playing Quidditch. "She doesn't look or act like she's expecting at all."
Fleur cast her eyes towards the Quidditch pitch and nodded. "She's quite a girl, Angelina. I think she will be flying her broom until the baby pops out! What an athlete!"
"She seems to make George quite happy."
Fleur smiled. "Yes, she does," Fleur glanced about to see if they could be overhead, and lowered her voice. "You know about Fred?"
Hermione lowered her head and nodded. She knew the story, and noticed that Fred's clock in the kitchen was pointed towards "Heaven".
"Everyone knows that Angelina did not marry George to replace Fred. But, there is love there, can you not see it?"
Hermione thought of the affectionate glances between the two, the warm flush that spread over George's features when he glanced at his wife's face, then at her flat stomach, as if imagining the future baby Weasley currently residing therein. When they were seated on the sofa, his hand stayed pressed against her belly, with Angelina's hand over it.
"Yes, I see it."
"And I notice how Ron looks at Miss Lovegood. There is love in his eyes," Fleur commented. Hermione smiled broadly.
"Yes, isn't it? I'm so happy for her. Aside from you and Padma of course, Luna is my dearest friend. I can't believe when she told me how much she was teased at school! She is someone who certainly deserves happiness."
"And I understand our Ronald Weasley was one of the ones who teased her the most."
Hermione was shocked. "No! Ron? He's absolutely smitten with her now." Her brow suddenly furrowed in thought. "Do you think his attentions to her now are some sort of act of contrition? Do you think he even knows himself?"
"Hermione, you're a smart witch. Is he acting like he's doing this out of good will?"
Hermione laughed and shook her head as she plaited Victoire's hair. "No, you're right."
Fleur looked out at the young couple, seated on a blanket under a tree by the orchard. "We got married here, Bill and I, the day the Ministry fell to Voldemort. What a day!"
"Well, that makes it easy to remember for anniversaries," Hermione commented wryly. Fleur laughed.
"Yes! Well, I look at those two and I think of Bill and me. He wore his heart on his sleeve as well, and I played close to the vest, too. I could not believe I was falling for Bill Weasley!"
"Bill is quite handsome and accomplished. Wait-what did you say about 'keeping close to the vest'? What do you mean by that?"
"I'm only saying that I hid my feelings, too, as Luna is doing."
Hermione frowned in irritation. She did not realise that she was pulling Victoire's hair a bit too tightly until a small cry came for the girl. Hermione, genuinely upset, patted the little girl's hair and apologised profusely in French, lowering her head to the girl's eye level to make the apology as sincere as possible. She noticed Fleur's persistent gaze.
"Sorry! It's just that you're the second person to say that. I don't understand. I think it's obvious that Luna cares for him."
"Oh she cares for him. She cares for me and you and Molly as well. Caring and loving are different."
"Should she be all fluttery like our housemates Lavender and Parvati then? And fall in and out of love at a moment's notice? Is that preferable?"
Fleur reacted to the defensive tone of her friend. "Mon amie, don't be upset. I'm sure Ron knows that Luna cares deeply for him. That's what matters. And we can see it as well, for what it's worth. Now, Harry, he likes to think he keeps his feelings hidden as well. But I can read him, too. What? Why do you make that face?"
"What face?"
"Your eyebrows! Your eyes! You rolled your eyes! What are you hiding Hermione? Has he already proposed to you?"
"What!" Hermione exclaimed so loudly that Fleur quickly did a silencing charm around them. "What do you mean?" Hermione continued in a quieter tone. "Believe me, I'm the last person he would ever propose to." And she proceeded to tell Fleur about Harry's insult at the Puddlemere United gala, as well as at the pub, then his actions at the Ministry. Fleur just smiled which continued to irritate Hermione.
"Now don't be ridiculous and tell me that boys who like girls tend to tease them and pull their pigtails. He actually doesn't like me. At all. And I have no idea why. Other than I'm not 'handsome enough to tempt him'," Hermione mimicked Harry's low tone.
"Silly girl! You're pretty enough." (Hermione realised that was a compliment coming from Fleur who was quite honest, and part-Veela).
"Isn't he dating Ginny, though? She seems more his sort."
"They dated in the past. I don't know what happened." Fleur moved her hands in a Gallic gesture to indicate I-don't-know. "Molly would like nothing more than for Harry to officially be part of the family. I'm sure Ginny would like that as well. More than anything."
"Well, she's welcome to have him. Say, why are you even joking about him proposing? Is it because it's so obvious he feels totally the opposite towards me?"
"Opposite? No, not at all. I told you I can read Harry better than Harry can." Even though there was a silencing charm, Fleur glanced around, then covered Victoire's ears. "He looks at you," she whispered. "When you're not looking, he looks at you."
"Oh! With a look of absolute disgust?"
"No! Hermione, your insecurity is insufferable! No, the look of a man towards a woman. He sees you as a woman, Hermione. A desirable woman."
Warmth spread over Hermione's cheeks as Fleur's direct gaze left no other interpretation to her words. Bloody hell!
Hermione switched to German. She didn't want Victoire to repeat anything that was being said.
"I'm sure you are wrong." Hermione said in German.
Fleur noticed the language change and Hermione glancing between the little girl and herself.
"Do you wish me to be wrong?"
What Hermione wished was that her friends were not so clever. She didn't say that out loud. "I wish that Luna and Ron find happiness together," she said very carefully in English and she removed the hands from covering Victoire's ears.
Fleur smiled cunningly. "Have it your way," she said in English. "But I'm never wrong."
Just then, Ginny came bounding over to the young women. Her red hair was blowing in the breeze, and a thin sheen of perspiration covered her skin. She looked amazing. The Quidditch uniform perfectly fit her athletic form and she seemed to know it.
"Come join us!" The redhead smiled in their general direction, but looked at Hermione specifically. "You do know how to play Quidditch, don't you?" Her tone was slightly sarcastic, a characteristic not lost on the Frenchwomen.
"You know I cannot play in my condition, Ginny," Fleur answered in a slightly proud and condescending tone. Hermione felt even more close to her friend at that moment.
"Hermione! Please!" Ginny gave her a smile that did not reach her eyes.
"Oh, I know how to play. I prefer to watch," Hermione responded with a matching smile.
"What Hermione isn't saying is that she's afraid to fly," Luna volunteered from the orchard, and then chose to ignore Hermione's glare.
Ginny laughed in amazement. "Afraid to fly? A witch afraid to fly? Amazing! Harry, did you ever hear of such of thing!"
Harry swooped in on his broom, demonstrating his own superior flying skills. He saw a very proud Ginny, an irritated Fleur and a very angry Hermione. He knew it was a delicate situation, but he couldn't believe what Ginny had yelled out.
"Afraid to fly? Really?" he said with a smile. Even Ron started to notice and walked over.
"Hermione, Luna never told me that! Really?" Ron asked.
"Yes, and Luna could have easily kept that information to herself. Fleur did," Hermione grimaced at the young blonde woman with the radish earrings who appeared oblivious to the angry stare.
"Hermione, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Luna protested in her defence.
"Really Hermione, it's not to be ashamed of," Ginny echoed Luna's words, but not the tone. Her tone was said the opposite of her words. Hermione then turned to glare at Ginny.
Harry felt this sudden urge to protect the bushy-haired witch. "If you like, Hermione, I can teach you …" his voice stopped abruptly as Ginny frowned and Hermione moved her hand in front of her face, as if physically blocking a distasteful object.
"No, everyone's tried. I have a fear of heights. Unless I can fly blindfolded, it's not going to happen," Hermione answered, attempting to hide the irritation in her voice.
"Surely there's a spell to cure that," Ron tried to suggest helpfully.
"Hermione's so smart, if there was a spell that worked, she would have found it," Fleur replied for her friend. "Don't worry. We all tried at Beauxbatons. I would dare an Old Hogwartian to accomplish what we could not at Beauxbatons."
"Oh, a challenge?" Bill wandered into the conversation, walking with the masculine grace that Hermione and Fleur both admired in him. His eyes met Hermione's with a wise amusement. He liked Hermione almost as much as his own wife, and he knew his feelings were echoed. Hermione was as smart as Fleur, but half as beautiful. Still, her intelligence and personality were a winning combination and he knew that one day she would make a wizard very happy.
Hermione's angry glares and grimaces vanished when she met Bill's gaze. She didn't know him as well as she'd like, but she knew how Fleur felt about him, and how well suited they were. Fleur had very high standards and Bill managed to meet them all, scars and all. She had had some wonderful conversations with him about some curse breaking he had done for Gringotts in Egypt, and they had quite a heated discussion about the last Goblin Wars. He was someone whom she would allow into her inner circle.
"Bill, you might be the only person I'd allow to teach me. You wouldn't prank me-" Hermione looked specifically at George who was now joining the conversation with Angelina, "-nor would you make me feel the fool." Now her eyes glanced quite quickly at Ginny and Harry, then glanced back to Bill's twinkling eyes quicker than most anyone noticed.
Harry noticed, and he felt anger well in his gut. He was trying to defend Hermione, but then he had seen her eyes brighten when Bill approached, and her eyes darken just then when looking at Ginny and him. She actually assumed I would insult her! Harry thought angrily.
"Now let's not tease Hermione," Bill started, seeing the need to ease her anxiety, "She can't be proficient in all things."
"What, her many accomplishments do not include flying?" Ginny asked.
"Her accomplishments include being the brightest witch of her age. Athleticism is not included there," Bill joked.
"Now if we took Angelina and Ginny's athleticism, and paired with Hermione's brains, we'd have a woman of accomplishments," George spoke. The women smirked.
"We'd have Fleur Weasley," Bill replied. There was a loud smack as Bill kissed his wife full on the mouth.
"No, you're missing something crucial in this formula," Hermione added. "Even without a tutorial I can deduce that you're missing the most important element of an accomplished woman."
"And what would that be?" Harry took the bait.
Hermione smiled at her best friend. "The heart and soul of Luna Lovegood is missing. You can't be a true paradigm of femininity-or woman of accomplishments, as you say-with brains and brawn alone. Love and compassion is necessary."
"Supper!" Molly called from the kitchen, and the group headed in that direction.
As Hermione was about to follow Fleur and Bill inside, Harry grabbed her lightly by the wrist, noting that she nearly grabbed her wand as he did so.
"Hermione," Harry said, "if you ever want to learn to fly, I'd be happy to teach you. I assure you I'm a good teacher and I promise I won't prank you."
Hermione looked at her adversary. She could actually feel the intensity of genuine emotion flowing through the young man.
"Harry, I actually don't mind not flying. I enjoy watching you all fly, well, you especially. You look glorious, like a falcon. It's rather thrilling." Hermione suddenly blushed and ducked her head, thinking she had said too much. But Harry looked thrilled.
"Thanks. It really is one of my most favourite things to do in the world. I just feel so limitless there. It's just me and the sky, the wind and a broom. I have so much freedom, I can go anywhere. Up, down, sideways, here, there, and back again. It's bloody brilliant!"
"I can feel your enthusiasm, but it's precisely that … you have just yourself, a broom and the sky which frighten me, because there's nothing to stop you from crashing down off the broom through the sky to the hard hard ground."
Harry chuckled. "I promise you. One day we will go up and you will enjoy it."
"Hmm, that sounds more like a demand than a promise." Hermione was surprised to suddenly hear the husky tone of her voice. Harry's arched eyebrow indicated his own reaction.
"Perhaps it could be both."
Harry was now standing directly before Hermione, close enough to count the freckles on her nose.
She thought she heard him whisper her name. She thought his nose was suddenly slowly moving towards her own, angling slightly to accommodate hers. She thought she stopped breathing; his scent was already filling her nose. She knew that somewhere in the distance, Ron shouted, "Come along, you two, or there will be nothing left for you to eat!"
Moment broken, if there was one. She blinked, returning to real life. She suddenly realised where she was and whom she was with. "I-, we-""
"Yes, let's," Harry stuttered as well.
"Right. Well."
"Quite. Uh, yes. Um, after you." He motioned for her to enter the house before him.
"Oh, um, thanks. Right."
"Yes, right. Well."
"Merlin's beard, Harry! Did you just have a lobotomy?" George asked from the dining room table.
"No."
"No!"
"Well, this looks lovely. May I?" Hermione found an empty chair between George and Ginny. Ginny frowned briefly; and Hermione suddenly realised that that chair was saved for Harry, but before she could say or do anything, Harry took the empty chair across the table next to Fleur. Neither Ginny nor Mrs Weasley looked pleased.
Hermione suddenly found herself chuckling, then escalating into true giggles. She couldn't stop. The reality of what had nearly happened in the garden hit her just then, and she couldn't stop.
Harry looked puzzled, hurt, and a bit angry.
"You're not laughing at Harry, are you?" Ginny asked with a hint of bitterness.
"No, but why do you ask?" Hermione responded, dabbing her cloth serviette to her eyes.
"Don't laugh at Harry!" said Ginny. "Nobody laughs at Harry."
"Mr Potter is not to be laughed at? I hope that's not a habit because I love a laugh," Hermione responded, forcing an English upper crust accent. No one laughed, but Luna, Ron and George had a twinkle in their eyes.
"But wouldn't you agree, Granger, that the best men may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose goal in life is to joke?" Harry asked bitingly.
Hermione winced. What a change from that near kiss moments before in the doorway! Maybe it was a dream and this is the real Harry; rude and arrogant?
"Certainly, but I don't ridicule what's wise and good. Nonsense, frivolousness, I laugh at those. But I'm sure you have nothing to worry about then since you're probably lacking in those areas?" Hermione raised an eyebrow in query.
"I'm not sure if anyone can be totally lacking in those areas, but I do try to avoid being the butt of a joke."
"So what don't you lack? Vanity and pride?"
The tension was thick. The rest of the room followed the conversation back and forth, like a tennis volley.
"Vanity is a weakness, but pride is acceptable, if there is reason for it."
Arms folded, Hermione cocked her head to the side, contemplating the dark haired wizard as her voice dripped with derision. "Potter, you have no faults. How fortunate for you."
"No, I know that's not true. I may have the fault of my temper. I cannot forget and forgive others if they have acted against me. Once I have a bad opinion of someone, it will not change. Ever."
"That really is a fault!" Hermione responded. "You have chosen a fault I cannot laugh at. You, Mr Potter, are quite safe from my laughter."
The conversation was ended by Mrs Weasley calling the young people to stop talking and eat supper. They commenced, and moved on to happier topics.
Harry Potter tried to avoid glancing in her direction. He did not prevail.
*****
Next Chapter: Jane gets sick, or, Luna at St. Mungo's
Please read and review!
A/N: BTW, if you're interested in modern P&P fanfics, I found one of my favourites; this one I did read all the way through and can recommend it in its entirety: "You, Me and the Bourgeoisie" by orchardvines on fanfiction.net. It's based on that Nic Cage film, 'The Weatherman', where he has a second chance at life, in this case, the single Darcy is suddenly long-married to Lizzy with kids. Hard to describe but really good.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5146182/1/