Chapter 4: Reactions

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JKR.

A/N: Many thanks go to my awesome beta, SW69!

After Apparating to the Burrow, Ginny stood immobilized at the door, trembling. She couldn't force herself to actually enter the house.

"Go on then," Oliver encouraged, nudging her at the small of her back. "We've got to get on with things."

"Would you please be quiet? I know all of this is my fault, so please do not repeat that, but for heaven's sake, stop talking!" She wrapped her arms around herself and hugged for comfort.

"You're scared, aren't you?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Of course! Have you met my mum?" When Oliver shook his head that he hadn't, Ginny explained, "Let's just say she won't be at all happy about this. She loves Harry, you see. She won't understand. Hell, I don't understand! It won't be... pleasant."

Resigning himself to the fact that it would be some time before he actually got back to the hotel, Oliver said, "Let's get this over with then."

"Maybe she won't be home," Ginny mumbled hopefully, half to herself. "If we're very lucky..."

Ginny opened the door and all but tiptoed into the house. Hearing the snicker behind her, the new bride turned to glare at her amused husband. "Sure, laugh it up. We'll see how long your amusement of our predicament lasts."

"Really, Ginny. She can't be as bad as all that."

Ginny sucked in a sharp breath and suddenly stopped, causing Oliver to ram into her back.

"Oi! What is it now?"

"Harry! You don't think... You don't think he would've come here, do you? When he left the Ministry?"

"How the devil should I know?" Oliver ground out. Running his hands through his hair, he said, "This is becoming troublesome. We don't have the time you seem to want to waste, Ginny. We've got to get your things and be off."

Ginny opened her mouth to speak and then visibly paled when she heard, "Ginny, dear, is that you? Harry came by looking for you earlier..."

"Mum, this is Oliver Wood," Ginny quickly introduced her husband, cutting her mother off mid-sentence and feeling utterly ridiculous.

"Oh, hello." Molly turned her full attention to Oliver. "You're a friend of Harry's then?"

"I used to be," Oliver said under his breath.

"What's that, dear? I didn't quite catch that," Molly asked as she wiped her hands off on her apron.

"Mum," Ginny began and then stopped, unable to form the words.

"What is it?" Molly asked as she tilted her head to the side. "Ginny, you're scaring me now. Is it Harry? Ron? What? Who?"

"Mum, stop!" Ginny said, rubbing her mother's arms for comfort. "It's nothing like that. I've some news for you, and I just don't want to upset you with it. That's all."

Sighing, the new Mrs. Wood told her mother, "Perhaps we should go into the kitchen and sit down. Um, is Dad here?"

"Now you're really frightening me, Ginevra!" Molly grabbed Ginny by the arm and forcibly led her to the kitchen with Oliver following in their wake.

Pointing to a chair, Molly snapped, "Sit! The both of you and out with it. NOW!"

Ginny jumped, and Oliver looked at his new mother-in-law with his mouth gaped open. Taking a deep breath, Ginny began her tale.

"Last night at Harry's, Hermione, Luna, and I got quite drunk on some elf-made wine that Harry had, and it turns out that that wine was actually dark wine that the Blacks had special made, hoping that Sirius would..."

"Hold it right there, Ginevra Weasley! You mean to tell me that the three of you purposely drank dark wine? What were you thinking, young lady?"

"Well," Ginny said defensively, "we didn't know that it was dark at the time, did we? What? Do you think we would've drunk it if we had known? Jeez, Mum! Give me a little credit, would you?"

"I'm trying, but so far you're making it hard." Gesturing with her hand, Molly said, "Please, go on."

Ginny told her mother the rest of the story, battling interruptions, finishing it with, "ThenwecastthePairing-PlightTrothCharm."

Molly shook her head as if to clear it. "Come again? I don't think I heard you quite right. It sounded as if you said you girls cast the Pairing-Plight Troth Charm."

When the silence became so thick it could be cut with a knife, Oliver turned to Mrs. Weasley. Holding out his hand, he told her, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley. I'm the mate the charm chose for your daughter."

Ginny closed her eyes, mortified. He was brave; she had to give him that. "Oliver!"

"I see," Molly said, resigned. "I don't suppose your brother turned out to be Hermione's soul mate?" she asked a little too calmly, sounding to Ginny as if she already knew the answer.

"No, not Hermione's. It was... er... Professor Snape."

"What? I don't believe that! Not for a second!" She began laughing hysterically. "Oh, good one, Ginny! The things your brother comes up with! All right, George, show yourself." She started to rise. "You really had me going."

"Mum." Ginny laid her hand on top of her mother's. "This is not a joke. I've just come from the Ministry where Oliver and I just wed, as well as Hermione and Snape, and..."

Still laughing, Molly encouraged, "Oh, do go on. Don't stop now. Who did Luna enter the state of matrimony with?"

"Ron."

"Ron?" Molly started beating the table as she laughed. "Really, now. This is enough." She wiped the tears from her cheeks. "As if two of my children...my youngest at that...would dare to get married without even telling me."

"We only had three days, Mrs. Weasley, and I have a game in France at the end of the week," Oliver explained. "There really was no other time to do this because the Minister said he had to leave for Italy sometime tomorrow."

Molly's eyes widened. "Yes, Arthur mentioned it." She turned to look at her daughter. "Ginny?"

"I'm so sorry."

"Oh, no, you don't! Have you... Harry! Does he... Does Harry know?"

Ginny nodded, feeling ashamed as only her mother could make her feel. "Yes. He happened upon us as we were trying to sort it out. He's very angry."

"Well, of course he is! What do you expect him to be? Good God, girl, do you understand what the three of you have done? If you were doing something that only affected you that would be different. But what you did has affected so many. Ginny, how could you?"

"I thought it would pick Harry!" Ginny yelled. "I did everything I could to ensure that!" She waved her hands frantically in the air. "Now, it's done, and I can't change it."

"What I don't understand is why you performed this charm in the first place," Molly scolded. "Were you that unhappy with Harry?"

"Well," Ginny said as she stood, wiping the tears from her eyes that she'd just realized were falling, "that makes two of us, Mum, who don't understand. It was that wine, I'm sure of it. As for Harry, well, let's just say I've had a few doubts as to his feelings. We have to go. I'm going to my room to get my things."

"Ginny..."

"Don't. I just can't take any more today. Really. I can't." With that, Ginny and Oliver walked from the room, leaving Molly staring after them.

~*~

After going to her flat and getting what she thought she'd need for the week, Hermione stopped by Grimmauld Place to pick up a file from work that she'd left there. She decided she could go back to her flat the next weekend and finish packing her things. Damn man! she thought of her husband. I don't know what he thinks, but he won't be bossing me around all the time as he did today!

She'd speak to the owner of her flat about subletting it for a year. Married or not, Mrs. Snape wanted to make sure she still had her flat once her year was up.

Hermione felt horrid about the scene at the Ministry with Harry, but she hoped that he wouldn't be home. She wasn't sure if she could stand to face him again today.

Quickly and quietly walking into the library where she'd left the file, Hermione jumped when she heard, "Do come in. Make yourself at home, friend."

His tone made her shudder, which angered her so much that she walked very deliberately to where Harry was sitting, watching the fire, and drinking what looked to be firewhisky. "Harry, I think we should talk."

Harry snorted. "Too bad you didn't want to talk before you decided to mess up my life!"

"Okay, Harry. That's enough. I didn't do this all by myself, you know!"

"I know you, Hermione. I heard the things you all were saying at the Ministry. It was you who looked it all up and figured out how the charm works." Harry slightly slurred his words as he took another drink.

"Yes, I did. I won't try to deny it. But I didn't twist Ginny's arm...or Luna's for that matter. I know that you're upset, I am, too, but perhaps this happened for a reason, Harry."

"A reason you say? No, the only reason this happened was to satisfy you."

"That's not fair. You're the one who left that stupid wine...a dark wine, mind...out where anyone could find it!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault?" Harry jumped from his chair, spilling his drink all over the floor. "You dare try to put this off on me?" He jerked his thumb at his chest. "Go ahead and do that if that eases your conscience."

"I don't need to ease anything, Harry James Potter!" she lied, knowing she felt extremely guilty. Stomping her foot in aggravation, Hermione said, "If we could just try to..."

"I was finally going to be part of a family! Don't you see that? I was going to belong to a family who loved me! Wanted me!" He kept pounding his chest as the spoke, and his voice rose louder with each sentence.

Hermione paled and took a step back. "Don't you see that you're already part of a family who loves you, Harry? I love you! You're closer to me than any brother could ever be."

"Oh, yeah? Well, gee, thanks, sis. I really appreciate how you show your love. Snape's got himself a winner with you!" Harry told her, stumbling back a bit.

Fury spiking, Hermione informed him, "Maybe you should be thinking on why Ginny wanted to do the charm in the first place, hmm? There had to be a reason. And let me tell you another thing. You're sounding as if you wanted to marry Ginny just to have a family. If that's the case, if you aren't truly in love with her, then you are a selfish prat!"

Harry slumped down in his chair and buried his head in his hands. "Hermione. Hermione, you're wrong. I love Ginny."

"Am I?" she whispered. Going to his chair and crouching in front of him, Hermione laid her hands on his knees and said, "Harry, I know that you love Ginny. But you also love me. Ron. All of the Weasleys. What I want you to ask yourself is, are you in love with Ginny? Does your stomach clutch when she walks into a room? Do you think about her all day? Do your palms sweat, and does your heart beat faster when you kiss her?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Is that how it was for you and Ron?"

"Not on my part," Hermione admitted. "Actually, to be completely honest with you, I have been having these little doubts for some time now."

"You have?"

"Yes, I have. Frankly, Harry, I'm not sure that I would've gone through with the wedding to Ron." Hermione shrugged. "I dunno. I do know that I love him and don't want to lose his friendship, but it's in the same way as I love you, and you can't make a marriage work on that...not in the long run. I wanted to make it work, and God knows I would have tried. But..."

Harry rested his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. "I just feel so alone right now."

"Understandable," Hermione assured. "Promise me something. Promise me that once you get over the shock and anger, you will seriously analyze your relationship with Ginny. You may be surprised at what you discover."

"Why do you sound so unaffected? You've just crushed Ron, you know."

Hermione turned away from his penetrating gaze. "I'm not unaffected at all. I hurt. My life, as I'd envisioned it, will never be the same after this." She turned back to look at Harry. "As I was packing at my flat, I had some time to think though."

"Don't stop there!" Harry told her impatiently. "What did you think of?"

"The charm. It's a soul mate charm, Harry. That has to mean something. Honestly though, Snape?" Hermione shuddered. "I just hope and pray I didn't do anything wrong, skip an ingredient... something!"

"You?" Harry asked in mock astoundment. "Never!"

Hermione smiled slightly. "Don't hate me, please, just don't hate me."

The smile faded from Harry's face, and the sadness returned. Nevertheless, he held his arms out to his friend. Hermione ran gratefully into his arms.

"You've hurt me and so has Ginny. It won't go away overnight, but I could never hate you or her."

Hermione nodded and silently wept on Harry's shoulder...for all of them.

~*~

After showing Luna where his flat was, Ron slammed into the shop hard enough to have the doors rattle.

"Oi!" Called George. "What slug crawled up your arse, little brother?"

Ron walked into the back lab where George stood working on a new sweet designed to cause its eater to lose speech for a time. "You're not going to believe what happened today. Never in a million years."

"Oh?" George asked, looking up, and Ron felt a great stab in the center of his chest for the loss of George's twin, Fred. George seemed... incomplete somehow. "Don't keep me in suspense! Tell."

Coming out of his thoughts of Fred, Ron said, "You may want to sit down. It's a killer."

"My, my! It can't be as bad as all that, can it? Surely Harry and you have managed all the mischief you can for one lifetime? What? Did the two of you pick up some randy ones on holiday and have them follow you back here?" George teased.

"No," Ron said and brooded into the tea his brother suddenly set in front of him.

"Come now," George coaxed. "Tell me everything. Perhaps I can help."

"Unfortunately, there's nothing you, or anyone, can do," Ron informed him and then quickly told him everything.

Once Ron was finished, George leaned back on the table, folded his arms across his chest, and whistled low and long. "Man, that's something. I would really hate to be Oliver Wood right now for two reasons. One, Harry is going to want to kill him, and two, well, he had to marry Ginny."

"George! This is not the time to joke! It's a God-awful mess! I honestly don't see how or why Hermione could do this."

Pulling up a stool, George sat directly in front of Ron. "It's time for some tough love, brother dear."

"Oh no you don't! I am not eating anything you try and force on me!"

"No, you git! It's time we had a talk, you and me. And for once, I don't want you to blow up before we can finish. Ron, do you honestly, deep down, think Hermione was the one for you?"

"Of course I do! I love her!" Ron narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say? You don't like 'Mione?"

"No, nothing of the kind. I love Hermione. I just happen to love you more. Ron," George said with some exasperation in his tone, "it never would have worked. You're too different."

"Humph! A lot you know! Haven't you ever heard the phrase opposites attract?"

"I'll go you one better. Haven't you ever heard like calls to like?"

Ron paled. That was exactly what Looney had said at the Ministry when talking about their auras or some crazy shite. "Maybe once or twice, but the opposites phrase is a better one."

"Not if you're so opposite that you have anything at all in common. Ron, Hermione angers you, and worse, she aggravates you. Gets on you nerves because you don't understand her."

"You know so much? What about Ginny and Harry then? They're a lot alike!"

George shook his head. "Harry is just another brother to me, and whether he is married to Ginny or not, he always will be. But let me tell you, Ginny is no political wife. Harry is going to be wrapped up in the Ministry for the rest of his life, and one day, he'll make Minister. Ginny's not cut out for that because she'll need more focus on her."

"Why have you never said anything before? If you felt all of this, why not tell us?"

George laughed. "You never would've listened. You three, well, four counting Ginny, went through a lot of shite together starting at a young age. There is a deep bond there. None of you would've heard what I said. Especially me because you view me as a prankster."

Ron shook his head in denial. "There is no way Luna Lovegood is my soul mate."

"Weasley. That's Luna Weasley to you."

"Oh bloody hell! Don't say that!"

George shrugged. "I like her. I always have."

"Fine. You marry her then!"

"Can't. I'm for Angelina, although I could see her wanting me. I am the charming male Weasley in the family." George's smile faded as he thought of Fred, who, to him, had always been the more charming of the two.

"I miss him, too. It's hard to look at you and not."

"Yeah, well." George rubbed a hand over his heart. "I have to go. You coming?"

"No, I have some things I want to get done. I'll lock up before I go. I'm on a timeframe, you know," Ron told him sarcastically.

George laughed, and Ron punched him playfully on the shoulder. "That's right. Laugh it up!"

When Ron was alone in the shop, he went to the back room. Noticing the cot there, he decided to lay down a bit. He was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

AN: We'll see what happens once everyone is settled in during the next chapter.