(Sort of) Home for the Holidays IV

Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.

"After the young woman accepts the third proposal, the young man goes to her parents' house and speaks to her father."

Hermione looked up from the book and thought about it. The Bulgarian traditions were very interesting, and she could see that this courtship was not exactly as the book described, but certainly influenced by Bulgarian traditions. Viktor's already been to Severus's house and told him he wouldn't be asking for my hand. I wonder how the rest of this will play out.

As she sat there on the first afternoon of the Easter Holiday, she happened to see a snapshot that was fixed to the wall next to the fireplace. It was a picture of Ron and her on a roller coaster. She walked over and took it off the wall. Ron had loved the amusement park. Sometimes, the way he got excited about Muggle things was just like Arthur. After his first roller coaster, he was hooked. Eventually they went on every one in England. He'd told her that it was the next best thing to flying on a broom.

With a smile, she moved to put the picture back and then saw the rest of the room for the first time in months. It was full of pictures of herself and Ron. After his death, she'd been eager for a reason not to stay in that cottage. She'd got the job at Hogwarts and left everything behind. Then she'd felt naked, and raided her photo albums. With enough photographs and sticking charms, she had managed to turn her lounge into a sort of shrine to Ron.

She went over to the bookcase and took out a photo album. After a few minutes, she found the correct page and put the picture back in, next to two others taken at the same park. As she paged through the book, she realized that there was one missing from a vacation they'd taken in the lake district. She spotted it next to the door to the hallway and retrieved it. On the wall nearby was a picture from the same vacation, so she removed that one too.

They were all over her suite. There were engagement pictures, more vacation pictures, pictures of the various weddings they went to, and all sorts of candid shots. On her bedside table, she discovered two pictures. She quickly put away the official photograph from their wedding, but she couldn't quite place the other one.

She and Ron had their faces close together and looked like they were blowing kisses to the camera. In the background was something that looked, for all the world, like sheets. She smiled fondly as she remembered. It was the first night they had made love. Ron had been terribly inept, which answered the one nagging question she'd had about Lavender. He'd been eager to learn, though, often asking whether she enjoyed things. He'd learned rather more quickly than in Charms and Potions class put together.

With a bit of a blush, she realized that she was wondering what it would be like with Viktor. Would he be as eager to learn about her as Ron had been? Something in her tummy fluttered at the thought of learning all about Viktor. Then her tummy twisted at the thought that she hadn't been as diligent about learning as Ron had been. She would do better the next time.

If there was a next time. Viktor was in the habit of visiting her in her classroom or walking her to her lounge. He continued to kiss her goodnight, and his kisses set fire to her. If their kisses got much more passionate, they would need to look for a broom closet. He didn't seem interested in a bed, although Hermione was pretty sure she had made it clear that he would be welcome in hers. He would look through her open door and stay carefully outside.

She sighed. They would be going to her house in a few days. Neville had suggested several plants that she could add to her herb garden, so they were going to work in her garden for a day. Neville had gone out earlier in the week and set everything up. Luna had been non-committal about the house itself. Hermione wondered if she would ever get back into it.

She finished putting all the pictures away and put the photograph albums back on their shelves. She had kept out a picture of Ron and herself with Ginny and Harry at their wedding. It was a sweet, chummy shot of them all as friends more than as lovers. Resolving to find a nice frame for it, she placed it on the mantelpiece and looked around. The rooms looked clean now, if a little empty. She felt fresh and ready to fill her life with something new.

Viktor smiled at her when she came out of the school on the morning they had arranged for going to her house. They might have arranged a Portkey or even Apparated, but Hermione had asked to ride with Viktor on his broom. He had agreed eagerly, and now as he pulled her into his lap, the way he held her was not quite as chaste as the first time they had taken this ride.

She had tried to ask once what he was looking for, what change would need to occur before the final proposal. She was starting to get anxious. He only rarely mentioned the marriage that seemed to be inevitable, even if some of his kisses left her hot and eager. There must be some way she could speed things along; perhaps the answer was in the book she was reading.

They arrived and the circus tent was still there, looking as garish and obnoxious as ever. Hermione tried a half-hearted "Alohomora!" aimed at the opening and wasn't surprised when there was no effect whatsoever. Shrugging in resignation, she reached for Viktor's hand. Together they walked around the tented house to the back garden.

"Is much vork," he observed.

"That's an understatement."

The whole garden had been dug up, and markers were set out in various places. All of her old plants were in various tubs and planters no doubt raided from the garden shed, while there were quite a few flats filled with this year's annuals and a few perennials Neville had thought she might want to try.

Under the gazing ball there was a long scroll with a note from Neville. So sorry about the mess, it read. Luna dealt with an infestation of puffskeins near your mud room, but before they left they managed to start some sort of war between an animal that seemed to be a type of vole and your garden gnomes. There was nothing to do but dig everything up and lay it out again. The rest of the scroll contained a map and directions for all the types of plants.

Hermione walked along the edge of the garden and lined up the map with the markers. "He's made it far easier than I needed it, but I don't understand this map at all. If I follow it, the main path won't match up with the back door."

"Longbottom vill know best vay, no?"

Hermione shrugged. "Well, yes, his layouts have gotten high reviews from his peers. He's got a real knack for putting things just the way they'll give the best yields."

"Ve do his vay, then. Can always put in short path to connect to door."

"You're right." She smiled and went to the shed to get the various tools they needed. It would take all day to get everything planted.

They worked well together, and things went more quickly than Hermione expected. It appeared that while dealing with the voles and gnomes, they had simply tilled the entire garden. Hermione set the plants where Neville indicated, filling in with mulch. Viktor spread the gravel to create the garden paths. At some point in time, a couple of Hogwarts House elves laid out lunch on a picnic blanket.

While they ran the sprinklers on the last bed, Viktor looked at Hermione and started to laugh.

"What?"

"There is moss in yur hair."

"Can you take care of it?"

He shook his head. "In truth, is peautiful. Yu are garden fairy."

She barely had time to smile before he leaned down and kissed her. She leaned up into his arms, and for a few minutes, time ceased. It couldn't be much longer, she told herself. If he didn't ask again, soon, she would.

He walked her to her rooms that evening and glanced inside as he always did.

"Is different."

She turned and saw the bare walls.

"Oh, it was time to put all those old pictures away. I guess I need to redecorate."

She looked into his face. It was similar to pictures of him just after catching a game-winning snitch. Not necessarily happy, but satisfied and content. She could only wonder what that meant as she watched him walk down the hall in his very well-fit clothing.

A/N: Thank you, once again, to Blue Artemis for beta reading!