Post by nemi on Feb 18, 2006 10:31:52 GMT -5
Take That!
Notes: It’s a little late, I know. I really wanted to write a oneshot for Valentines Day but this only came to me today and I just had to write it. It’s also the first time I’ve ever written Ron/Hermione in a story – I’ve come to accept that they’re meant to be, and while I still write other ships I couldn’t not include them in this!
Summary: It’s Valentines Day at Hogwarts and Minerva is completely fed up of the students teasing her about having no one to spend it with. She decides to show them just how wrong they are…
Ships: Albus/Minerva (obviously), Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny
“Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, I understand that it is Valentines Day, but could you please save that until after this lesson?”
Minerva peered disapprovingly at the young couple, kissing instead of doing the task they had been assigned. They stopped as she reprimanded them, and rather sheepishly took out their wands.
“Just because she’s got no one to spend Valentines Day with,” she heard Ron grumble as she walked off to make sure Neville Longbottom wasn’t about to blow up the classroom.
Minerva sighed. She was sick to the back teeth of students making jibes about her love life, or, as they put it, lack of it. She had always believed the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, but it seemed they didn’t. She knew she appeared strict and she could understand why they teased her (behind her back or otherwise), but there were times when she wished they knew so they couldn’t say it.
Harry Potter had defeated Voldemort earlier that year, a lot sooner than people had expected. It was probably due to his neverending dedication. He had found all Horcruxes in three months, arrested most of the Death Eaters in another, and had spent January tracking down Voldemort and his closest supporters. The final battle had lasted six and a half hours, before Harry finally dealt the final blow and got rid of Voldemort forever.
It was the first Valentines Day that the staff and students did not have to worry about Voldemort ruining; the first Valentines Day that they didn’t have to fear their loved ones being targeted. Everyone who had left Hogwarts had come back to continue their education; the seventh and fifth years had to work extra hard, although the professors were letting them relax more than they usually would.
Even Severus Snape had confessed his love to Xiomara Hooch. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other (in fact, Xiomara was pregnant already, something that took the students – and the professors – a long time to really register).
So why hadn’t Minerva revealed her secret to the rest of the world? It had been kept so long she didn’t know how. No one would expect it. Only her close friends and family knew.
“Mr Potter. Your attention seems to be elsewhere.”
“Sorry, Ginny, wasn’t I listening? I must have been – Professor! I’m sorry. It’s because it’s Valentines Day and Voldemort’s gone, I keep getting distracted.” Harry blushed. At least he had the decency to apologise rather than mutter something as Ron had done. Then again, Ronald Weasley wasn’t really that type of person.
Minerva allowed him a smile. “I understand, Mr Potter. Just save the rest of your fantasies until after class, when you can make them reality. You’ll have something to look forward to.”
Harry looked astounded. “Professor!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” she laughed, and returned to her desk.
“Did she just do what I think she just did?” asked Draco Malfoy, who was sitting next to Harry. The two boys still weren’t the best of friends, but had learnt to tolerate each other and weren’t too far away from real friendship. After Harry had accepted that Draco didn’t have the same beliefs as his father, who was now in Azkaban, and Draco had accepted that Harry’s fame didn’t make him arrogant, they had come to understand each other a lot better, and as they were the most intelligent males in their classes, often sat together. Ron was all over Hermione every minute of every day anyway.
“I don’t know, Draco, I’m still struggling to believe it myself,” Harry responded.
“Well we can’t call her a prude any more, because she’s not,” Draco said thoughtfully. “She just… disapproves of… um… actions in classes. She didn’t seem to mind the idea of you impregnating Ginevra, either, surprisingly.”
Ron and Hermione stopped flirting. “What did you just say?” demanded Ron.
“Nothing,” Harry said quickly.
“As you know, it is the Valentines Ball today,” Dumbledore was saying at lunch. “For those of you who are forgetful, it starts at half past seven and will probably finish at around one in the morning, knowing you lot.” Everyone laughed. “You may wear dress robes or Muggle formalwear, and it is not necessary to bring a date, as pupils can dance with each other anyway.”
Neville sighed with relief.
“Gin’ll dance with you, Nev,” Ron said reassuringly. “If Harry’ll let her away from him for more than two seconds.” Neville smiled gratefully.
Ginny glared at her brother. “Ron,” she hissed, “if you’re going to volunteer me for something, you could ask if I agree, let alone inform me before you open your big trap,” she snapped. “What if I don’t want to?”
“Go on, Gin, you can dance with Neville when it comes to the time for me to get the drinks. I have a secret recipe I want to employ for you that I’m sure you’ll love,” Harry grinned. “I even asked Professor Dumbledore if he’ll let me behind the counter while I make it.”
“Mum and Dad probably won’t approve of you preparing Ginny something that she doesn’t know the identity of,” Ron said suspiciously.
“Oh, that’s okay, I already showed them the recipe. They think it’s fine,” Harry answered.
Ron’s eyes shot up and a light went off in his head. He smirked, and then nodded once and continued eating. Ginny smiled. “What does it taste like, Harry?” she asked, oblivious.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” Harry laughed.
Hermione, opposite Ron and next to Harry, whispered into his ear: “That’s clever, that, Harry. You’re getting better at strategy and logic.” The group fell into companiable silence and carried on eating their lunch.
Lessons were over and Minerva was now furious. In every single lesson, at least one student (if not more) had made some sort of remark about how she was going to spend Valentines Day. One cheeky third-year Slytherin boy had actually asked her how she was going to spend it! She merely told him to mind his own business, and said that if not for the ball later in the day he’d be in detention.
She was going to show them. She really was. She snapped the password (“White Hat”) at her portrait and stormed through her chambers to her walk-in wardrobe. There were school robes of different colours, blouses and skirts for underneath, the robes she had worn for the Yule Ball three years ago and similar garments, and then the best was at the back.
Picking up four hangers in each hand, she carried the robes back into her bedroom and laid them all out on the bed, trying to decide which set to wear. Blue, green or red? She was head of Gryffindor and it was Valentines Day, but she found green suited her skintone and hair colour more – that and it matched her eyes.
She settled for green and put the red and blue robes to one side. Now she had to decide whether to wear light green or dark green. After a few minutes of debate, she concluded she would wear the light green dress, with the dark green outer robe.
Minerva had never really believed she was attractive but she accepted it when people told her so. She knew, at least, that she’d shock the students. She knew that from experience – someone had actually fainted at the Marauders’ graduation ball last time she’d pulled this stunt. It was no surprise Remus Lupin or Sirius Black had not told the trio; they hadn’t really accepted it themselves.
The dress was fitting and emphasised her curves, and the V-neck showed off her breasts, something she wouldn’t usually do. Her scars were still faintly visible, but she’d been told so many times that they didn’t matter, and was tired of trying to hide them anyway.
What was it Genevieve had said? “They’ll be too busy envying Dad to really notice, Mum, seriously.” She had been backed up by her brother, Nicholas. “If they’re anything like Dad they’ll be concentrating on something else,” he’d added.
She pulled on the outer robe and buttoned it for now – she could undo the buttons later when she went into the great hall; if she did beforehand it’d spoil the effect and someone would warn the others. She reached up and pulled her hair out of its customary bun, and brushed it so it cascaded down in waves to just above her waist. Having it down made her look twenty years younger. She granted herself a small smile as she looked in the mirror. She wouldn’t wear any make-up. She’d never really used it and didn’t really need it either.
After putting on her shoes, all that was left was the final touch. With a satisfied grin on her face, she pulled her wedding ring off the chain around her neck, and slid it onto her finger.
“I see you’re wearing your hair down today,” Albus commented with a twinkle in his eye. He had shortened his hair and beard to a normal Muggle standard and was wearing a Muggle suit with a robe over the top.
“Yes,” Minerva smiled. “It being the first Valentines Day since Voldemort was defeated, and also, I’m fed up with the students making silly remarks.”
“Remarks?”
“Remarks such as that I don’t have anyone to spend Valentines Day with.”
“Ah.” Albus smiled, and then suddenly noticed the ring on Minerva’s finger. His smile grew wider, and she smiled back as he mirrored Minerva’s earlier actions.
“You look beautiful, Hermione,” Ron was saying to Hermione over the table.
Hermione blushed. “Thank you,” she replied, “you look quite handsome yourself.”
Ron gave her a fake offended look. “Quite? Only quite, eh? I’ll show you…” They both dissolved into a fit of laughter as they were joined by Harry and Ginny, who looked equally smitten with each other.
“You two are excited today,” Harry remarked. “It’s not usual to see you both laughing about the same thing, you’re usually laughing at one another.”
“We are,” Hermione and Ron said in unison, and Harry and Ginny began to laugh too.
“Where are Dumbledore and McGonagall?” Ginny asked suddenly. “Most of the other teachers are here except Snape, but he takes as long as he can getting ready… No, wait, Hooch isn’t there either. That explains a lot.” Ron pulled a disgusted face. “They’ll be along soon. But what about Dumbledore and McGonagall? They’re usually the first here. Dumbledore at least.”
Ron shrugged. “Wonder if Dumbledore’s shortened his beard? He might trip over it while dancing.”
“Ronald!” Hermione exclaimed.
“What? It is about five feet long.”
Ginny had stopped listening, and was now looking over at the stage at the end of the great hall. It was decorated with red tinsel and there were hearts floating around in the air above and around it. Until now it had been dark, but a light had appeared and there was a faint noise that sounded rather like a microphone being tuned. Everyone turned to look as Ginny’s suspicions were confirmed and the Weird Sisters, clad in dark red dress robes, stepped up onto the stage.
The lead singer cleared his throat. “Alright, Hogwarts!” he called. “Are you ready for some romance?”
The great hall erupted into cheers and students everywhere were pulling their partners up to dance. The Weird Sisters had struck up a lively tune to get everyone into the Valentines Day spirit, intending to move on to a more romantic, slow song later on.
As he swung Hermione round and round, laughing, Ron suddenly stopped, causing Hermione to almost trip. “Ron!” she squealed. “I could have fallen over and been trampled on! What on earth are you – ”
“Harry,” Ron called weakly. Harry and Ginny stopped dancing and looked over at him.
“What is it?” Harry asked. “Hurry up, we’re trying to dance!”
Ron merely nodded over to the door. More and more pairs had halted and were staring as hard as he was. Even Hermione looked rather surprised. Soon the whole hall – including the Weird Sisters, had fallen silent.
“Having fun?” Albus asked. “Don’t let us spoil the show. Carry on!”
After another few seconds of silence, the Weird Sisters started playing again, and slowly but surely, everyone began to dance again. Dumbledore and McGonagall’s entrance was forgotten as the dance got faster and faster before stopping, receiving a loud burst of applause.
Most people then sat down, tired out, as the band continued to play Valentines tunes. When the group had been chatting for a while, Neville came over and asked Ginny if she would like to dance. Ginny accepted, and Harry made his way over to the drinks bar, retrieved his ‘recipe’ from behind the counter, and returned to the table.
“Just don’t hurt her, alright, mate?” Ron asked.
“I’d never,” Harry responded with a warm smile on his face. “How does brother-in-law sound, eh, Ron?”
Ron smiled back. “Sounds great.”
Two songs passed before Ginny returned. “Gosh, Neville sure was enthusiastic,” she said rather annoyedly as she reclaimed her seat. “Never do that to me again, Ronald Weasley, I am warning you. One dance was quite enough, but I had to practically yell at him to let me go after two.”
“Ooh, admirers, Ginny,” Hermione joked. “Watch out, Harry. You’ve got competition.”
“In his dreams,” Harry replied with a grin. “Come along, Ginevra dear, how would you like an enjoyable dance?” He and Ginny smiled at each other as they stood up simultaneously and made their way onto the dance floor as a slow song began to play.
“Can we dance now?” Albus moaned.
“Alright, alright,” Minerva laughed. “I don’t know why you’ve been moaning so much, it was implicit that I wanted to wait for a song with impact.” She let Albus pull her up and twirl her onto the dance floor. “Mr Potter and Miss Weasley look happy,” she smiled as they moved in time to the music.
“Indeed,” Albus agreed. “I believe Mr Potter intends to propose to her this evening. At the end of this song, it seems.”
Minerva smiled proudly. “I love it when Gryffindors propose to each other in front of the school. It makes me feel proud to know that they’re so brave. They’re remarkably like Lily and James, aren’t they? Although Ginny has always liked Harry. But their personalities are quite similar, they look quite similar and Harry’s proposal looks like it’s going to be almost identical to James’.”
“I still say my proposal was better,” Albus protested.
Minerva laughed. “You know it was, Albus. Spelling the question out in pebbles, putting the ring in an oyster and ducking me under the water is the most original, bizarre and yet wonderfully adorable idea I’ve ever come across.”
“No one could possibly match that,” Albus grinned.
“What made you think of that?” Minerva asked, still laughing.
“I was just thinking that I would want to kiss you afterwards, and tried to think of the most unrestrictive thing you could wear,” he smirked. “Then I realised it was a swimsuit, and I knew it had to be something to do with water.”
Minerva giggled. “You nitwit,” she squealed.
The song came to an end and Albus and Minerva turned their attention to Harry and Ginny. As they slowed, Harry twirled Ginny round and dropped onto one knee.
Everyone began to slow down and looked at them as Harry said something that only Ginny could hear, holding out a box. There was a sudden shout of “Yes!” and Harry stood up and swept Ginny into his arms as the room started cheering. Albus and Minerva clapped enthusiastically.
“I still say my proposal was better,” Albus muttered.
The eventful Valentines Day ball drew to a close and most people had left. Ginny and Harry had retired to bed shortly after Harry’s proposal (although not without Minerva’s customary use-a-condom warning). Not many students were left now. Severus and Xiomara were still dancing, as were Albus and Minerva, and Ron and Hermione had just stopped.
The two Gryffindors began to make their way over to the door, but as they had almost reached it, Hermione halted. “You look beautiful, Professor,” she said, smiling. “And you two make a lovely couple,” she added, smiling at Albus also.
“Thank you, Miss Granger,” Minerva replied, blushing.
“Do you have any children?” Hermione enquired. Ron looked at her incredulously.
“Two,” Albus laughed. “Nicholas and Genevieve.”
Hermione nodded and smiled. “It must be great to not have to keep it a secret,” she said softly.
“Believe me, it is,” Minerva replied, smiling back. “Quite amusing, as well.”
Hermione, Albus and Minerva laughed. “Good night, Professors,” Hermione said as she and Ron walked over to the doors of the great hall.
“Don’t hold this against me, ‘Mione,” Ron said slowly, “and I say this in a completely objective way… But he’s a lucky bastard, isn’t he?”
“RONALD WEASLEY!”
Hermione’s squeals of "WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE OR YOU'LL BE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH!" could still be heard as they made their way down the corridor. Minerva smiled to herself and recalled Ron’s words earlier in the day. “Take that,” she whispered to herself, as she and Albus kissed.
A little bit random and perhaps rambling, but it just popped up in my head and I absolutely love torturing Ron. ^^"
Notes: It’s a little late, I know. I really wanted to write a oneshot for Valentines Day but this only came to me today and I just had to write it. It’s also the first time I’ve ever written Ron/Hermione in a story – I’ve come to accept that they’re meant to be, and while I still write other ships I couldn’t not include them in this!
Summary: It’s Valentines Day at Hogwarts and Minerva is completely fed up of the students teasing her about having no one to spend it with. She decides to show them just how wrong they are…
Ships: Albus/Minerva (obviously), Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny
oooo
“Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, I understand that it is Valentines Day, but could you please save that until after this lesson?”
Minerva peered disapprovingly at the young couple, kissing instead of doing the task they had been assigned. They stopped as she reprimanded them, and rather sheepishly took out their wands.
“Just because she’s got no one to spend Valentines Day with,” she heard Ron grumble as she walked off to make sure Neville Longbottom wasn’t about to blow up the classroom.
Minerva sighed. She was sick to the back teeth of students making jibes about her love life, or, as they put it, lack of it. She had always believed the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, but it seemed they didn’t. She knew she appeared strict and she could understand why they teased her (behind her back or otherwise), but there were times when she wished they knew so they couldn’t say it.
Harry Potter had defeated Voldemort earlier that year, a lot sooner than people had expected. It was probably due to his neverending dedication. He had found all Horcruxes in three months, arrested most of the Death Eaters in another, and had spent January tracking down Voldemort and his closest supporters. The final battle had lasted six and a half hours, before Harry finally dealt the final blow and got rid of Voldemort forever.
It was the first Valentines Day that the staff and students did not have to worry about Voldemort ruining; the first Valentines Day that they didn’t have to fear their loved ones being targeted. Everyone who had left Hogwarts had come back to continue their education; the seventh and fifth years had to work extra hard, although the professors were letting them relax more than they usually would.
Even Severus Snape had confessed his love to Xiomara Hooch. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other (in fact, Xiomara was pregnant already, something that took the students – and the professors – a long time to really register).
So why hadn’t Minerva revealed her secret to the rest of the world? It had been kept so long she didn’t know how. No one would expect it. Only her close friends and family knew.
“Mr Potter. Your attention seems to be elsewhere.”
“Sorry, Ginny, wasn’t I listening? I must have been – Professor! I’m sorry. It’s because it’s Valentines Day and Voldemort’s gone, I keep getting distracted.” Harry blushed. At least he had the decency to apologise rather than mutter something as Ron had done. Then again, Ronald Weasley wasn’t really that type of person.
Minerva allowed him a smile. “I understand, Mr Potter. Just save the rest of your fantasies until after class, when you can make them reality. You’ll have something to look forward to.”
Harry looked astounded. “Professor!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” she laughed, and returned to her desk.
“Did she just do what I think she just did?” asked Draco Malfoy, who was sitting next to Harry. The two boys still weren’t the best of friends, but had learnt to tolerate each other and weren’t too far away from real friendship. After Harry had accepted that Draco didn’t have the same beliefs as his father, who was now in Azkaban, and Draco had accepted that Harry’s fame didn’t make him arrogant, they had come to understand each other a lot better, and as they were the most intelligent males in their classes, often sat together. Ron was all over Hermione every minute of every day anyway.
“I don’t know, Draco, I’m still struggling to believe it myself,” Harry responded.
“Well we can’t call her a prude any more, because she’s not,” Draco said thoughtfully. “She just… disapproves of… um… actions in classes. She didn’t seem to mind the idea of you impregnating Ginevra, either, surprisingly.”
Ron and Hermione stopped flirting. “What did you just say?” demanded Ron.
“Nothing,” Harry said quickly.
oooo
“As you know, it is the Valentines Ball today,” Dumbledore was saying at lunch. “For those of you who are forgetful, it starts at half past seven and will probably finish at around one in the morning, knowing you lot.” Everyone laughed. “You may wear dress robes or Muggle formalwear, and it is not necessary to bring a date, as pupils can dance with each other anyway.”
Neville sighed with relief.
“Gin’ll dance with you, Nev,” Ron said reassuringly. “If Harry’ll let her away from him for more than two seconds.” Neville smiled gratefully.
Ginny glared at her brother. “Ron,” she hissed, “if you’re going to volunteer me for something, you could ask if I agree, let alone inform me before you open your big trap,” she snapped. “What if I don’t want to?”
“Go on, Gin, you can dance with Neville when it comes to the time for me to get the drinks. I have a secret recipe I want to employ for you that I’m sure you’ll love,” Harry grinned. “I even asked Professor Dumbledore if he’ll let me behind the counter while I make it.”
“Mum and Dad probably won’t approve of you preparing Ginny something that she doesn’t know the identity of,” Ron said suspiciously.
“Oh, that’s okay, I already showed them the recipe. They think it’s fine,” Harry answered.
Ron’s eyes shot up and a light went off in his head. He smirked, and then nodded once and continued eating. Ginny smiled. “What does it taste like, Harry?” she asked, oblivious.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” Harry laughed.
Hermione, opposite Ron and next to Harry, whispered into his ear: “That’s clever, that, Harry. You’re getting better at strategy and logic.” The group fell into companiable silence and carried on eating their lunch.
oooo
Lessons were over and Minerva was now furious. In every single lesson, at least one student (if not more) had made some sort of remark about how she was going to spend Valentines Day. One cheeky third-year Slytherin boy had actually asked her how she was going to spend it! She merely told him to mind his own business, and said that if not for the ball later in the day he’d be in detention.
She was going to show them. She really was. She snapped the password (“White Hat”) at her portrait and stormed through her chambers to her walk-in wardrobe. There were school robes of different colours, blouses and skirts for underneath, the robes she had worn for the Yule Ball three years ago and similar garments, and then the best was at the back.
Picking up four hangers in each hand, she carried the robes back into her bedroom and laid them all out on the bed, trying to decide which set to wear. Blue, green or red? She was head of Gryffindor and it was Valentines Day, but she found green suited her skintone and hair colour more – that and it matched her eyes.
She settled for green and put the red and blue robes to one side. Now she had to decide whether to wear light green or dark green. After a few minutes of debate, she concluded she would wear the light green dress, with the dark green outer robe.
Minerva had never really believed she was attractive but she accepted it when people told her so. She knew, at least, that she’d shock the students. She knew that from experience – someone had actually fainted at the Marauders’ graduation ball last time she’d pulled this stunt. It was no surprise Remus Lupin or Sirius Black had not told the trio; they hadn’t really accepted it themselves.
The dress was fitting and emphasised her curves, and the V-neck showed off her breasts, something she wouldn’t usually do. Her scars were still faintly visible, but she’d been told so many times that they didn’t matter, and was tired of trying to hide them anyway.
What was it Genevieve had said? “They’ll be too busy envying Dad to really notice, Mum, seriously.” She had been backed up by her brother, Nicholas. “If they’re anything like Dad they’ll be concentrating on something else,” he’d added.
She pulled on the outer robe and buttoned it for now – she could undo the buttons later when she went into the great hall; if she did beforehand it’d spoil the effect and someone would warn the others. She reached up and pulled her hair out of its customary bun, and brushed it so it cascaded down in waves to just above her waist. Having it down made her look twenty years younger. She granted herself a small smile as she looked in the mirror. She wouldn’t wear any make-up. She’d never really used it and didn’t really need it either.
After putting on her shoes, all that was left was the final touch. With a satisfied grin on her face, she pulled her wedding ring off the chain around her neck, and slid it onto her finger.
oooo
“I see you’re wearing your hair down today,” Albus commented with a twinkle in his eye. He had shortened his hair and beard to a normal Muggle standard and was wearing a Muggle suit with a robe over the top.
“Yes,” Minerva smiled. “It being the first Valentines Day since Voldemort was defeated, and also, I’m fed up with the students making silly remarks.”
“Remarks?”
“Remarks such as that I don’t have anyone to spend Valentines Day with.”
“Ah.” Albus smiled, and then suddenly noticed the ring on Minerva’s finger. His smile grew wider, and she smiled back as he mirrored Minerva’s earlier actions.
oooo
“You look beautiful, Hermione,” Ron was saying to Hermione over the table.
Hermione blushed. “Thank you,” she replied, “you look quite handsome yourself.”
Ron gave her a fake offended look. “Quite? Only quite, eh? I’ll show you…” They both dissolved into a fit of laughter as they were joined by Harry and Ginny, who looked equally smitten with each other.
“You two are excited today,” Harry remarked. “It’s not usual to see you both laughing about the same thing, you’re usually laughing at one another.”
“We are,” Hermione and Ron said in unison, and Harry and Ginny began to laugh too.
“Where are Dumbledore and McGonagall?” Ginny asked suddenly. “Most of the other teachers are here except Snape, but he takes as long as he can getting ready… No, wait, Hooch isn’t there either. That explains a lot.” Ron pulled a disgusted face. “They’ll be along soon. But what about Dumbledore and McGonagall? They’re usually the first here. Dumbledore at least.”
Ron shrugged. “Wonder if Dumbledore’s shortened his beard? He might trip over it while dancing.”
“Ronald!” Hermione exclaimed.
“What? It is about five feet long.”
Ginny had stopped listening, and was now looking over at the stage at the end of the great hall. It was decorated with red tinsel and there were hearts floating around in the air above and around it. Until now it had been dark, but a light had appeared and there was a faint noise that sounded rather like a microphone being tuned. Everyone turned to look as Ginny’s suspicions were confirmed and the Weird Sisters, clad in dark red dress robes, stepped up onto the stage.
The lead singer cleared his throat. “Alright, Hogwarts!” he called. “Are you ready for some romance?”
The great hall erupted into cheers and students everywhere were pulling their partners up to dance. The Weird Sisters had struck up a lively tune to get everyone into the Valentines Day spirit, intending to move on to a more romantic, slow song later on.
As he swung Hermione round and round, laughing, Ron suddenly stopped, causing Hermione to almost trip. “Ron!” she squealed. “I could have fallen over and been trampled on! What on earth are you – ”
“Harry,” Ron called weakly. Harry and Ginny stopped dancing and looked over at him.
“What is it?” Harry asked. “Hurry up, we’re trying to dance!”
Ron merely nodded over to the door. More and more pairs had halted and were staring as hard as he was. Even Hermione looked rather surprised. Soon the whole hall – including the Weird Sisters, had fallen silent.
“Having fun?” Albus asked. “Don’t let us spoil the show. Carry on!”
After another few seconds of silence, the Weird Sisters started playing again, and slowly but surely, everyone began to dance again. Dumbledore and McGonagall’s entrance was forgotten as the dance got faster and faster before stopping, receiving a loud burst of applause.
Most people then sat down, tired out, as the band continued to play Valentines tunes. When the group had been chatting for a while, Neville came over and asked Ginny if she would like to dance. Ginny accepted, and Harry made his way over to the drinks bar, retrieved his ‘recipe’ from behind the counter, and returned to the table.
“Just don’t hurt her, alright, mate?” Ron asked.
“I’d never,” Harry responded with a warm smile on his face. “How does brother-in-law sound, eh, Ron?”
Ron smiled back. “Sounds great.”
Two songs passed before Ginny returned. “Gosh, Neville sure was enthusiastic,” she said rather annoyedly as she reclaimed her seat. “Never do that to me again, Ronald Weasley, I am warning you. One dance was quite enough, but I had to practically yell at him to let me go after two.”
“Ooh, admirers, Ginny,” Hermione joked. “Watch out, Harry. You’ve got competition.”
“In his dreams,” Harry replied with a grin. “Come along, Ginevra dear, how would you like an enjoyable dance?” He and Ginny smiled at each other as they stood up simultaneously and made their way onto the dance floor as a slow song began to play.
oooo
“Can we dance now?” Albus moaned.
“Alright, alright,” Minerva laughed. “I don’t know why you’ve been moaning so much, it was implicit that I wanted to wait for a song with impact.” She let Albus pull her up and twirl her onto the dance floor. “Mr Potter and Miss Weasley look happy,” she smiled as they moved in time to the music.
“Indeed,” Albus agreed. “I believe Mr Potter intends to propose to her this evening. At the end of this song, it seems.”
Minerva smiled proudly. “I love it when Gryffindors propose to each other in front of the school. It makes me feel proud to know that they’re so brave. They’re remarkably like Lily and James, aren’t they? Although Ginny has always liked Harry. But their personalities are quite similar, they look quite similar and Harry’s proposal looks like it’s going to be almost identical to James’.”
“I still say my proposal was better,” Albus protested.
Minerva laughed. “You know it was, Albus. Spelling the question out in pebbles, putting the ring in an oyster and ducking me under the water is the most original, bizarre and yet wonderfully adorable idea I’ve ever come across.”
“No one could possibly match that,” Albus grinned.
“What made you think of that?” Minerva asked, still laughing.
“I was just thinking that I would want to kiss you afterwards, and tried to think of the most unrestrictive thing you could wear,” he smirked. “Then I realised it was a swimsuit, and I knew it had to be something to do with water.”
Minerva giggled. “You nitwit,” she squealed.
The song came to an end and Albus and Minerva turned their attention to Harry and Ginny. As they slowed, Harry twirled Ginny round and dropped onto one knee.
Everyone began to slow down and looked at them as Harry said something that only Ginny could hear, holding out a box. There was a sudden shout of “Yes!” and Harry stood up and swept Ginny into his arms as the room started cheering. Albus and Minerva clapped enthusiastically.
“I still say my proposal was better,” Albus muttered.
oooo
The eventful Valentines Day ball drew to a close and most people had left. Ginny and Harry had retired to bed shortly after Harry’s proposal (although not without Minerva’s customary use-a-condom warning). Not many students were left now. Severus and Xiomara were still dancing, as were Albus and Minerva, and Ron and Hermione had just stopped.
The two Gryffindors began to make their way over to the door, but as they had almost reached it, Hermione halted. “You look beautiful, Professor,” she said, smiling. “And you two make a lovely couple,” she added, smiling at Albus also.
“Thank you, Miss Granger,” Minerva replied, blushing.
“Do you have any children?” Hermione enquired. Ron looked at her incredulously.
“Two,” Albus laughed. “Nicholas and Genevieve.”
Hermione nodded and smiled. “It must be great to not have to keep it a secret,” she said softly.
“Believe me, it is,” Minerva replied, smiling back. “Quite amusing, as well.”
Hermione, Albus and Minerva laughed. “Good night, Professors,” Hermione said as she and Ron walked over to the doors of the great hall.
“Don’t hold this against me, ‘Mione,” Ron said slowly, “and I say this in a completely objective way… But he’s a lucky bastard, isn’t he?”
“RONALD WEASLEY!”
Hermione’s squeals of "WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE OR YOU'LL BE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH!" could still be heard as they made their way down the corridor. Minerva smiled to herself and recalled Ron’s words earlier in the day. “Take that,” she whispered to herself, as she and Albus kissed.
Fin
A little bit random and perhaps rambling, but it just popped up in my head and I absolutely love torturing Ron. ^^"
