For some reason, Harry is singing "Build Me Up Buttercup"

[boy_who_lived]

Who: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley
What: Dinner!
Where:  Harry's London Flat
When: Friday evening
Rating: PGish
Status: In-Progress

"Damn it!"

Harry cursed under his breath as the smoke detectors went off in his apartment again. He wasn't sure whose brilliant idea it was to have them EXACTLY in the kitchen, but if he was ever the kind of person to have a hit list, they would certainly be on it. No matter what he was making, even if he were boiling water for tea, it would set off every single alarm in the flat. He sighed inwardly as it went off, this time, for the vegetables that he had been attempting to steam on his stove top. He still hadn't mastered the fine art of it, but he felt a strange need to be able to impress Hermione; if he were at her flat, Hermione would have made sure that all of the basic food groups were covered, wouldn't she? Ron was more like him and wouldn't have cared, but this way was just... easier. His eyes had narrowed at the small beeping box that rested above his head before he pulled out his wand. He would have sorely liked to blow the little box into a hundred different pieces if he hadn't been informed by his landlord that getting rid of the device would have made him liable for some building code infraction or whatever rubbish he had tried to spew at Harry. Rethinking his plan, he instead flicked his wand to move the smoke away from the detector before he tucked it back into his back pocket. "Yeah, keep it up and I'll give you something to beep about you bloody- ... Great, now you're talking to your smoke alarm..."

It felt like ages since he had invited anyone over for dinner; true, he saw Ron at work nearly everyday, but it was rare that he got the chance to sit back and relax with him on a social visit, so he was excited... He could smell the dragon steaks wafting into his little apartment from the balcony where his barbecue sat. Summer was winding down and he had planned to take full advantage of his time outside for as long as he could. Taking a sip from his beer, Harry rotated the meat on the barbecue before he glanced down at the old watch on his wrist. It was still early... He had just shut the lid to his barbecue when he heard the smoke alarm in his kitchen going off once again, startling him. "Oh for crying out loud! I swear I'm going to blast you apart this time, building code or not!"

Comments

[hermione_j_granger]

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at Harry's reaction. "Yes Ron's right, Harry. We're not old, you prat. Your parents were married right out of Hogwarts, and so were Ron's! We're just engaged... and likely will be for quite a while. No need to rush into a wedding!"

It was much easier to talk about their engagement-- and for Hermione to start feeling excited about their engagement-- without their impending wedding right around the corner. Instead, it could be a vague thought far off into the future. That was fine for now!

At Ron's comment, Hermione shot him a nasty glare. "Feels like we've been dating since the stone age?? Thanks, Ron." She ate another piece of her dragon steak, washing it down with wine before adding, "I feel as though we've been dating twenty minutes-- UNDERWATER."

Turning her attention back to Harry, she gave a nod. "Surely you'll be Ron's best man, but don't worry. I don't want to have a huge fussy production like Bill and Fleur's wedding, everyone panicking about shades of gold dresses and how to wear their hair... that's entirely unnecessary." She was sure Ginny would be pleased to hear that, at the very least. Or perhaps she should have a go at her-- tell her she must wear a pink dress. Hermione made sure to remember that one for future reference.

[boy_who_lived]

Harry shot a glare in Ron's direction at the mention of the bridesmaid dress and he had to roll his eyes, "Sure Ron, but I'm sure whatever dress you can pick out for me can't be half as bad as what you were stuck wearing for the Yule Ball." He grinned at him teasingly. "I'm sure Hermione's bridesmaid dresses won't have frills and lace of the cuffs."

He found it strange for him to say those words... Hermione's bridesmaid's... Hearing each of them talk about the plans made it feel a little more real for Harry, but from the sounds of it, it was going to be quite a long time away from now. He picked up his glass of wine, mulling that over; they probably wouldn't get married for what, two, possibly three years?

"Well, congratulations, to BOTH of you," Harry said as he raised his glass in a toast. "I never thought I'd see the day that you two would be telling me that you were engaged, more because I never thought Ron would ever pluck up the courage to ask, but you've proved me wrong." He said, still grinning at his friend. The idea of the wedding not being a huge ordeal, like Bill's had been, was very appealing. He had never seen Mrs Weasley so worked up as she was the days leading up to the ceremony. "Right, be sure to tell Ginny, I'm sure she'd appreciate that, I can't see her wanting to have to go through that torture for a second time in her life.

"So is this the big news you were referring to in your letter that you couldn't tell me about?" He asked, glancing at Hermione over the rim of his glass. "You letter was so cryptic!"

[roonil_wazlib]

Ron suddenly gave Harry a look when he said that he wouldn't have plucked up the courage. That probably annoyed him more than it should have... mostly because he really didn't HAVE the courage to ask her. It just... HAPPENED. But he would have done it on his own anyway! ...Right?

He gave Harry a little grin when he spoke to Hermione, and Ron's eyes moved to the woman as he chewed his food. ...Then he swallowed, before speaking. "She's terrible at making things seem exciting. She just ends up making you think that the bloody world is about to explode, doesn't she? This... is REALLY good steak, Harry." He finished his off, before groaning and leaning back. After a few moments he stood and went into Harry's refrigerator, grabbing a beer before tossing one to the boy at the table.

"Unless she has MORE news that I don't know about, that is."

[hermione_j_granger]

"I'm sorry, Harry! I really, truly am. I would've told you sooner, but someone made me promise to wait..." Hermione also knew she couldn't tell Harry sooner because she'd gone and told Ginny, but Ron never had to know that! She also had a bit of a reaction to Harry's comment about Ron plucking up the courage, and her eyes shot over to Ron. He didn't seem to want to share what had really happened, so she followed his lead. The proposal didn't really matter anyway, it's the engagement that counts! ...Isn't it?

Thankful that he changed the subject, she finished off her last piece of meat before washing it down with the remainder of her wine. "Not that I care to reveal just yet, thank you for checking. And Ron's right, Harry. Dinner was top notch. I'm very, very impressed."

Hermione wondered if Ron was referring to her book idea that she'd fleshed out a bit when she was intoxicated. She had forgotten that she'd told Ron about that until she found the messy outline the next morning when she sobered up. Hermione decided she needed something more substantial than an outline-- and that she needed to concentrate first and foremost on her house-elf liberation initiative.

[boy_who_lived]

He winced at the looks that he received from the pair of them and he quickly picked up his glass again to take a sip from his drink as an excuse to do SOMETHING with his hands and not have to look so embarrassed. He had guessed that he had hit upon a touchy subject, but he couldn't figure out what he had said or done that could have caused that much of a recoil. With one gulp, he finished off the last of the alcohol that sat in his glass and he looked between the pair of them, fishing around for a change of subject as he stood to clear their plates. "Thanks, Hermione... I'm not as good as YOU are at hosting, but I thought I'd give it a shot this time around."

He tipped the dishes into the sink, figuring he'd do them some other time - who could be bothered with them? - and he casually flicked his wand to start the small coffee maker he had in the corner of his kitchen. "So when are you going to tell Ron's mum? ...She's going to have kittens, you realize this, yes? I can see it now. Your mum will cry, and your dad will look dumbfounded. Charlie and Bill would be both proud and impressed and Percy would try to impart some new pearl of wisdom he's stumbled across. George is going to find some way to take the mickey out of each of you and Ginny will more than likely be on his side and teasing you both." he told them as he returned from the kitchen, holding a few large, steaming mugs and he was grinning broadly, "I hope you're prepared for this, yes?"

The Weasley's were practically his family, he knew them all too well by now. "Now, you say this wedding won't happen for a long time yet - how long of an engagement are you talking about...?"

[roonil_wazlib]

Ron was leaning against the counter now as he watched the other two speak and he smiled a bit when Harry mentioned what would happen to the family... he had everything pretty spot on, but Ron wasn't surprised. How long was Harry part of the Weasley family? Since they were eleven, really... at least.

His face fell, however, when Harry asked them just how long their engagement would last, and Ron's eyes moved to Hermione. He was obviously a bit unsure of the subject, and letting her make the decisions seemed to much easier. Then again, she would probably just get annoyed at him for wanting her to do that in the first place. "Um..." He glanced at her again...

"I... dunno. A year, maybe?" Maybe more? He didn't want to put a time on it... it made it a bit too... real. Was he ready for this? No. He wasn't. But he wasn't ready to admit that to himself either. "What do you think, Hermione?"

[hermione_j_granger]

"Rubbish, you're a wonderful host. Thanks for the coffee-- you've just read my mind." She pulled her wand and "Accioed" the box of Treacle Tart over to the table, breaking off a small piece and popping it into her mouth.

When Harry had inquired about the length of their engagement, Hermione shrugged and immediately stood, walking over to Harry's sink to start on the dishes. It was the least she could do, and this way, with her back toward him, she could think about a response to this question that Ron had attempted to field. She realized they'd better come up with some sort of estimate, as that's likely the first question the Weasleys (along with her own parents) will be asking.

"Oh, we haven't really decided yet. At least a year. Perhaps two. No need to rush into anything yet. It'll give us more time to plan, get more settled into our careers so we can afford a house, things like that..."

Her rationale made sense to her, and she was fairly sure it would sound convincing.

[boy_who_lived]

At least a year... Perhaps two... For some reason that seemed to sit quite well with Harry and he was able to breathe a sigh of relief - a year or two. That was still quite a distance away. It was a good thing, wasn't it?

The appearance of the Treacle Tart and Hermione starting his dishes were two things that had distracted him. He quickly shoved a piece of the dessert into his mouth before he looked towards his kitchen, "Oy! Those are my dishes, thank you very much, I don't need my guests slaving away over them. Besides, I'll just use a scowering charm, it usually works quite well on those..." He added rather sheepishly at the end. "Ron, tell your fiance to stop washing my dishes. This is my apartment and I like things sloppy!"

After knowing Hermione for this long, he knew that it was no use trying to interfere with this girl once her mind was set on something. This was now, unofficially, Ron's department.

[roonil_wazlib]

Ron's face suddenly brightened when he heard Hermione's answer and he nodded quickly. "Two! Definitely around two, at least, yeah." He nodded at that, hardly even noticing when Hermione started to wash Harry's dishes... until Harry himself said something.

He looked at the man as if he was absolutely insane. "What? ...YOU try telling her to stop something. Go on! Try. See what happens!" He pointed at Hermione while staring at Harry, but he sighed, and he looked at his fiance sheepishly. Finally, he spoke out, and he says cautiously, "Hermione... You know that you would get angry if someone started washing YOUR dishes. And... you know... don't do to other people what you don't want other people to do to you. Remember that? It's from that... commercial on the radio, I think..."

[hermione_j_granger]

Hermione couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head at both of them. "Honestly, Harry, it's the least I can do. If I cook you an expensive steak dinner at my flat you're more than welcome to wash my dishes after." She was so quick at washing dishes the muggle way, by the time they finished trying to talk her out of it, she was done.

Well, she washed them at least. She chucked a dish towel at Ron's head. "Here. Dry. I did the hard part." Without even looking at Ron or waiting for his reply, she moved down the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee.

[roonil_wazlib]

Ron blinked when the towel was thrown at him and he grabbed it from his head, giving Hermione a look before he pulled out his wand and he flicked it, drying the plates where they sat. "See that, Hermione? WANDS. WITCH. REMEMBER??" He threw the dish towel onto the counter before he looked at Harry, almost desperately. "Do you see? She FORGETS, I swear she does!!"

He gave a sigh before he walked over to the beer he left on the table, sipping it with a small smile. "Just... keep the engagement to yourself for now, mate, we want to tell the family together... you get it, right?"

[hermione_j_granger]

Shaking her head for what seemed like the tenth time that evening, she looked at Ron reproachfully. "For the billionth time... oh, never mind. It's not even worth it!" She watched as the dishes magically dried themselves and zoomed back into their respective cabinets.

"Oh! Right. Please don't say anything, Harry. We're going to announce it to my parents and Ron's family over the next dinner at the Burrow... which should likely be soon, knowing Mrs. Weasley..." Mum.. It would be strange getting used to that.

Hermione rejoined Ron at the table, quite enjoying her coffee. She usually chose tea as her caffeinated beverage of choice, but it was a welcome change. Regardless, she stifled a yawn, breaking into a soft laugh and looking into her cup. "Is this decaf, or have I set my tolerance too high?" It could just be that she had quite an exhausting week. Friday evenings were usually her stay at home, read a book, and turn in early nights!