Meet the Parents

Hermione gave Ron a reassuring kiss on the cheek. They were on their way to meet Hermione's parents for dinner, and she could sense his apprehension.

"Don't worry, they love you already," she assured. Ron didn't look convinced. Hermione gave him another kiss, only this time on the lips.

"Then why do we have to do this?" he asked.

"Because they want to take you and me out for a muggle dinner. Besides, we have something to tell them." Hermione was all smiles as she rang the doorbell.

A few seconds later, Mrs. Granger answered the front door with a bright, cheerful smile plastered across her face.

"Hermione!" she exclaimed as she pulled Hermione into a warm hug. "It's so good to see you, sweetie. Oh Ron, it's so nice to see you again too."
"Umm, uh, hi, Mrs. Granger," Ron stammered as he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Come in, come in. We'll leave in a few minutes." Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and literally dragged him inside.

Ron looked around the Granger household taking it all in. His father would be in heaven that was for sure.

"Richard will be ready in a moment," Mrs. Granger said before disappearing into the kitchen. Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and began to pull him upstairs.

"Come on, I want to show you something," she said slyly with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Ron allowed himself to be pulled upstairs.

Hermione lead Ron to a door at the end of the hallway upstairs. Ron was still pretty uneasy about having dinner with her parents.

"Wanna see my room?" Hermione asked as she opened the door. Ron entered the room and looked around. The walls were painted a shade of stunning lavender. A desk and computer took up the far wall while the wall to the left was completely dedicated to overstuffed bookcases, and the bed occupied the wall to the right.

"What's that?" Ron asked as he walked towards the computer. Hermione trailed after him slightly.

"That's called a computer. I'll explain it to you when we have more time." Ron wandered around Hermione's room aimlessly as he inspected it. He had never even been to her house before, and she basically lived at his. Something caught his eye. He pulled out a bikini top that was sticking out of a dresser drawer and held it up for a closer inspection.

"Do you actually wear this out in public?"

"So what if I do?" Hermione replied with a shrug. "It's exactly like the one Ginny has." Ron's eyes got wide.

"Ginny wear one of these!? Oh no, no, no, no, no. We're going to have to talk about this one."

"Ginny's a grown woman, Ronald." Hermione's face softened. "Besides, I didn't bring you up here to argue."

"Huh?" Hermione grabbed the front of Ron's shirt and pulled him against her. Their lips met in a fiery kiss. When the kiss finally broke off, Ron asked, "Should we really be doing this with your parents right downstairs?"

"One, this is exactly like what we do at the Burrow with your parents downstairs, and two, my parents trust me to be alone with you. Happy?" Hermione swung from Ron's neck as she spoke.

"No, because at the Burrow we charm the room incase someone tries to disturb us, but I can't do that here because somebody took my wand away." Hermione gave Ron a cheeky grin.

"I didn't want you to be tempted to use it. Don't worry; it's safe in my purse with mine."

"How come you get to hold on to both wands?" Hermione gently ran her fingers through Ron's soft hair.

"Because I was raised a muggle," she reasoned. "I know how to live without whipping out my wand every two seconds." Ron scowled, causing Hermione to laugh. "You're so adorable when you're upset."

"Why thank you. I'm much more adorable when I get out of these damn muggle clothes." Hermione looked Ron over. He was in black slacks and a black and red striped polo.

"I think that you look very handsome," she said matter-of-factly.

"I don't want to be handsome, I want to be sexy." This sent Hermione into a fit of giggles.

"I'll call you whatever you want later, as long as you promise to never say that again."

Just as Ron and Hermione leaned in for another kiss, Mr. Granger called from downstairs, "Hermione! Ron! Let's go!" Both of them let out a sigh.

"Later I promise," she said to him. "Oh, before we go, I promised Ginny a few books." Hermione grabbed three novels off her overcrowded bookshelf and showed them into her purse. "Come on, before my parents get worried." She grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him out of her bedroom.

Half an hour later, Ron sat at the Italian restaurant looking over the menu. Everything looked so strange to him, even the drinks. Hermione put her hand on his shoulder and leaned against his muscular upper arm.

"What's wrong, honey?" she asked innocently even though she already knew the answer.

"I don't know what I want to eat."

"How about to drink?" Ron shook his head. Hermione planted a kiss on his arm softly. "Don't worry, I'll order your drink." Ron's head whipped around.

"I don't know…"

"Trust me, I'll order your drink. Get a Coke."

"Coke?"

"Yes." Hermione lowered her voice. "Now please try to act normal," she hissed.

"I am acting normal," Ron argued.

"Normal for where we are." The waitress reappeared at the table. Each person ordered their drinks. Ron looked a little skeptical about what he was ordering but ordered it anyway.

Once the waitress left, Mr. Granger turned to Ron and asked, "So tell me, Ron, how is your family?" Ron shrugged. That was a tough question to ask.

"They're okay, I guess. My older brother, Fred, died in the battle." Mrs. Granger nodded sympathetically.

"Hermione told us. I can't even begin to understand how difficult that must be for your mother," she said.

"She's been trying to keep herself busy. Other than that, nothing much is happening."

"What about Bill?" Hermione reminded.

"Oh yeah, my oldest brother, Bill, and his wife, Fleur, are going to have their first child."

"That's so exciting!" Mrs. Granger gushed. "That must life your parents' spirits." Ron shrugged.

"Yeah, it does a little."

"Tell them about George," Hermione told him as the drinks arrived. He simply rolled his eyes, he hated when she got bossy like this.

"Fred's twin, George, is expanding their shop to the village by Hogwarts to appeal to all the students."

"Makes sense," Mr. Granger commented.

"Ginny's also back at school for one more year. She and Harry are always writing letters." Ron turned to Hermione. "There, did I miss anything?" Hermione stopped to think.

"No, things have calmed down a lot in the past for months," she replied. Ron slipped his hand under the table and rested it on her thigh. "Ron and I have something exciting to tell you guys though." She paused for a second. "We're getting married!" Hermione showed her parents her right hand. On her ring finger was a beautiful diamond set in white gold.

"Oh Hermione," Mrs. Granger breathed. "That's so exciting!" Hermione and Ron were both beaming. Mr. Granger didn't seem as pleased as his wife.

"Daddy, what's wrong?"

"I'm a little worried about this. You're both so young!" Hermione and Ron looked at each other. They had been expecting this.

"We're going to wait a while before getting married," she assured.

"Besides, Harry's parents got married young," he added. Hermione turned her attention to Ron.

"Times were different then. James and Lily didn't know how much time they would have together. Bill and Fleur did the same exact thing. So did Remus and Tonks." She said the last part quietly. Mrs. Granger jumped at the opportunity to change the subject.

"How's the baby, umm, uh…Teddy?" she asked. Hermione's clouded face lit up slightly.

"Teddy's getting so big. He's almost seven months old already. I brought some photos I took." Hermione fished half a dozen muggle photos out of her purse and handed them over to her parents.

"Harry has him over every weekend. I think he's trying to make up for his relationship with Sirius." Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked through the photos.

"He's absolutely precious," Mrs. Granger said as she returned the photos.

"He looks just like his father," Hermione said as she put the photos back in her purse. Ron gave her knee a reassuring squeeze.

After dinner, the Grangers and Ron and Hermione went their separate ways. Ron and Hermione walked down the sidewalk hand in hand.

"I think that this evening went well," Hermione said.

"It was nice to go out for some muggle food. I liked that Coke stuff." Hermione rolled her eyes. Typical Ronald Weasley behavior, always thinking about his stomach.

"Told you so. See, muggle life isn't as bad as you make it out to be."

"I never said that." Ron paused. "I want my wand back now." He wrapped his arms around Hermione and tried to reach into her purse.

"No way, I said when we get home." Hermione broke free of Ron's grip and dashed down the street and into an alley. Ron rushed after her, but by the time he got there, she was gone. Sighing, he Disapparated after her.