Legitimement Maries

Ordinaire Part 2

Chapter 12: Ordinaire

Regular

Part 2

The knee-length silk dress was such a shade of bright red, and cut in such an impeccable way that it was impossible not to notice the curly-haired Gryffindor as she tottered down Diagon Alley in matching cadmium red heels.

As always she vehemently ignored the stares of the passersby and other late night shoppers. Her brown eyes were peeled; opened wide for both searching purposes and in anticipation.

Finally she spotted him, flaming red hair illuminated by the flickering candlelight. She walked over sedately, shoulders pulled back, an air of confidence surrounding her, even if she did not necessarily feel that way. He pulled her into a tight embrace, causing her already racing heart to increase its speed ten-fold.

"You look beautiful, Mione."

In a matter of moments, her face and neck had flushed to such a colour that they matched her dress.

"Thank you," she said feeling very flattered, "you're not looking too bad yourself."

Hermione's nerves had calmed down enough for her to giggle when Fred came around to her side of the table to pull out her chair for her so that she could sit down.

A waiter, in what appeared to be dress robes, appeared at the side of the table in an instant. And within seconds he was pouring them a complimentary glass of wine.

Finally settled in her seat, Hermione took the change to gaze around at her surroundings.

In the far distance she could see the blinking lights of 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes', and she knew that it would remain like that for the night. Fred and George maintained that it was all part of their marketing strategy, even if it did keep all the neighbours awake all night. Even Hermione accustomed as she was to seeing it from certain windows of their apartment, would get annoyed at it.

Fred's hand on hers jolted her back to the present.

"What are you going to order?" he asked her in a gentle voice, as he hoped he sounded nonchalant enough so that he would not scare her.

"Don't know," she replied simply, casting her eyes downward towards the menu, "but now that I think about it, the roast chicken sounds pretty good."

"Mhm," said Fred, giving a cursory glance towards his own menu, "think I might get the same."

The black-jacketed waiter appeared before them once more, and they were able to place their orders without further ado, chatting about inconsequential matters until the arrival of their meal.

The benefit of magic was that they did not have to wait very long for food, and they were spared talking about the unusually warm weather for too long.

Hermione could feel her mouth begin to salivate before the cut piece of juicy chicken reached her mouth, and in what seemed like no time at all, her stomach was satiated.

"Wow," said Fred, clearly impressed with Hermione's fervour towards her dinner, "with a stomach like that, you could be a Weasley."

Hermione let a half-hearted smile escape her lips.

"Technically, I am a Weasley. We are, in fact, married, or have you forgotten already?"

Fred let out his trademark laugh.

"Couldn't forget it even if I tried. You wouldn't let me!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and continued to eat.