Love: An Irresistable Desire...HP Fanfic

Chapter 20:

Chapter 20: Heart in a Headlock

(mid to late August, 2001)

The months passed. Hermione and Fred were happily in a relationship, a very strong and wonderful relationship. They were, at the moment, searching all over Britain for the perfect house for their future family.

No, they weren’t pregnant. And no, they weren’t married. Fred had answered Hermione’s spur-of-the-moment proposal with an “eventually.” And, of course, with and “I wanted to ask you first!” But that obviously wasn’t going to happen since Hermione beat him to the punch.

Nevertheless, Hermione was okay, for now, with “eventually.”

Let’s catch up a little from the trial in late February.

Hermione gave her two weeks notice as soon as she left the Ministry with Fred. Bert, the fat pervert that he was, was not happy. That is, until he realised a new skirt would be hired. Amalia, the Japanese-speaking Swede, was indifferent. Especially since she got Hermione’s intern, Khalid. On the plus side, he was hot.

Fred managed to get Hermione enrolled in Healer classes that he paid for. (At first, Hermione didn’t want to be a charity case, but Fred persuaded her, in multiple ways.)

Hermione couldn’t have been happier with her life. Sure, she had a lot of extra work to catch up on since her classes had started in mid-January and she didn’t start until late February, but she loved it. Hermione loved that Fred was so supportive as well. Especially when he helped, yes, helped her, study for her weekly exams. Fred was the best boyfriend anyone could ask for. And he loved her unconditionally.

Fred was ecstatic that Hermione was following her dream (though, with a little persuasion) to become a Healer. He also was very ecstatic that she allowed him to pay for her classes.

Hermione, as busy as she was with lessons and labs and hands on experience at St. Mungo’s, always found time to help Fred with new WWW products. And she loved every moment of the pure joy she experienced with Fred when a new product was a success.

Fred couldn’t have been happier with his life. Yes, he had mounds of experimenting to do and plenty of business deals to make, but he loved it. He loved it that Hermione was so supportive of the booming business he shared with his twin George. Especially when she found ways to make their products even better. Hermione was the best girlfriend anyone could ever ask for. And she loved him unconditionally.

Hermione had moved in with Fred. Fred, somehow, adjusted to female closets; they didn’t scare him anymore. And Hermione, miraculously, learned how to cook. Hermione claimed Fred’s culinary skills rubbed off on her, literally. And they had a good meal system going. Hermione made breakfast Monday through Friday; Fred made breakfast on the weekends. Fred cooked dinners Monday through Thursday while Hermione did so on weekends. Every Friday, Fred and Hermione went out, either by themselves or with friends and family. Every other Sunday was a Weasley gathering; brunch, a picnic, dinner, whatever. They had it all down to a science.

Now is the perfect time to examine the Weasleys and how they had faired since February.

They were all doing quite well.

Arthur was still quite active in the Ministry and still very enamored with everything Muggle. Molly was very busy knitting baby booties and blankets and sweater for four babies.

Bill and Fleur welcomed their fourth child, a third little girl, Aurelie, on August fourth.

Charlie and Nadalyna were very occupied with Cea who was showing extraordinary magical abilities at only eighteen months. Dragons and Cea were a handful.

Percy and Penelope were planning their wedding accordingly. The date was set for April 5, 2002m a little less than eight months away.

George and Alicia were decorating the perfect room for their baby; it was now a pale green room with a border of magical creatures. (The couple didn’t want to know if it was a girl or boy; pale green was a neutral colour.) They had already decorated it two times before, but Alicia didn’t like it either time. Anyway, you know what they say, third times the charm. Alicia was due in early October.

Ron and Margaret were adjusting to their new life in America. Ron loved his position as the Head Auror of his New England branch. Margaret was enjoying all the time she got to spend with Ron, since she was an Auror too. She didn’t mind the closeness to New York City either.

Harry and Ginny were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their twins. Ginny still had not found the perfect names for her son and daughter, and Harry was getting frustrated with her fluctuating emotions. September 25 wasn’t coming soon enough.

The entire Weasley clan was doing quite well, as you can see.

Let’s get straight down to Hermione and Fred’s house shopping, for lack of better topics to hear about.

Now, seeing as they were a serious couple, Fred and Hermione had talked about their futures already. They had (mentally) premeditated their wedding, down to the silverware and food. They had spoken about children; Fred wanted twelve, but Hermione put her foot down and told him that seven was the limit, no matter what. They had discussed how long they wanted to wait before having kids. Hermione told Fred that she wanted him as her husband for a year or two before kids came into the picture; Fred agreed. And, Fred and Hermione had already envisioned their perfect house.

It would be a lovely country cottage, three stories and a lot of square footage. It would have a very large master bed and bath, nine bedrooms (at least two for the guests, since seven kids was the limit), five full bathrooms, a cozy and spacious kitchen with a island and eat-in area, a living room with a fireplace, an elegant dining room for dinner parties, a formal parlor, a library (for Hermione), and a furnished basement for the kids…and Fred. There would be a small garage on their 25 acres for a WWW workshop, as well as a garden complete with gnomes, a pond for swimming, and enough room for a full sized Quidditch pitch. There would also be lots of trees and bushes and foliage for privacy. The location would be prime; not too close t the rest of their family, but only a few streets away. Unfortunately, Fred and Hermione had yes to find their dream home.

On one particularly gloomy summer day, August 21 to be exact, Fred and Hermione had found the house they had been looking for, down to the last nook and cranny.

And so, they bought it. Even though it did cost hundreds of thousands of Galleons.

They were one step closet to their happy ending. Now all they had to do was get engaged (officially with a ring and everything), get married, wait a year or three, then have kids.

And Fred was in the process of getting it into motion.

He was going to ask Hermione to marry him. He just didn’t know when.