// Happy Christmas Jodi @wildegreenlight ! I really enjoyed writing a fic for you, but this one really ran away with me, I hope you donât mind. I hope you have a lovely festive season, and donât get too exhausted with all the holiday parties youâre throwing! //
Christmas Day, The Grangersâ house
âIs everything alright, Ron?â
Hermione has already become engrossed in the book sheâs just unwrapped, but she looks up when she hears concern in her motherâs voice. Ronâs expression is unreadable for a moment. âRon?â she asks, and now both her parents are looking at him in concern.
He pastes a bright smile on his face. âAll good!â he says cheerfully. âI just think that Mumâs sent me the wrong present. Iâve got a jumper and itâs not maroon.â
âShould it be?â asks her Mum, confused.
âWell, all the others have always beenâŚand I just thoughtâŚâ he drifts off, checking the gift tag again. Hermione bites her lip. âNo, itâs definitely for me!â he says, and both her parents seem satisfied with the positivity in his voice, because they go back to passing out presents.
Hermione is still worried, though. Ron keeps running his fingers over the beautiful blue wool, but he hasnâtâfor the first time sheâs known himâjammed the jumper over his head straight away. âEverything okay?â she adds in a lower voice, whilst her mother tactfully exclaims loudly over a box of sugar-free mints her father has just presented her with.
âFine,â Ron says, still eyeing the jumper. âI like it! Itâs a great colour. I justâŚdid she forget?â
âForget that it should be maroon?â Ron nods. âDo you want it to be maroon?â He shakes his head. âSoâŚâ Hermione says. She drifts off, unsure of what to say next and trying hard to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Ron opens his mouth, glances sideways at her parents, and closes it again.
âGosh, I think itâs time to put the sprouts on!â her mother says loudly. âRichard, do come and give me a hand. And you twoâno opening any more gifts without us!â
âI justâŚshe always gives me a maroon jumper, and I always hate it. Thatâs whatâs supposed to happen,â Ron says, once her parents have left. âThisâthis is actually nice! What am I supposed to do with a nice jumper?â Itâs a joke, but not really. Hermione thinks it might be time to come clean.
âItâs my fault,â she says.
âYou charmed it a different colour whilst I was opening it?â he asks.
âNot exactly,â she says. âIâŚI asked your mother not to give you a maroon jumper this year. But I didnât know if she would listen, orâŚâ
âItâs kind of a long story,â she says, glancing at the door her parents have just departed from.
âThey have rather a lot of sprouts to prepare,â Ron says, so Hermione sighs, and begins.
âSo the idea is, itâs a treasure hunt!â Ginny says delightedly. âAll the presents will be hidden somewhere around the houseâIâll give him the clue to the first one, and each one then has a clue to the next one. And the presents themselves are mostly just little things, but they all spell out the name of the place weâre going on holiday, which is obviously the main present.â
âThat soundsâŚamazing,â replies Hermione. âWhere are you going?â
âCanada!â Ginny says, passing her the plate of mince pies. âNeither of us have been, and I have a few months off in the early summer between officially leaving the Harpies and starting with England. I asked Harry if he wanted to go away; he said yes; I asked where and he said to surprise him. So. Christmas is sorted. And Iâve got most of the clues today, too.â
âWhat are they?â Hermione asks, because she can tell by the way Ginny is all but bouncing in her seat sheâs dying to share.
âCauldron Cakes for âCâ, because he loves those. And a bottle of aftershave for âAâ, because heâs nearly out, and I love the way he smells. And then for Nâlook, I thought this one was really good.â She carefully takes a small snowglobe out of a bag at her feet and hands it to Hermione.
ââNâ forâŚQuidditch player?â she tries.
âNo no no,â says Ginny. âCanât you see?â She points to the little figure flying around the snowglobe. âHeâs riding a Nimbus! They made a bunch of these, apparently, as promotional items when the Nimbus 2000 first came out years ago. I saw it at the flea market today. Itâs amazing.â
âOh, how lovely,â Hermione says, and Ginny beams. She shows her the next three items, explains the clues sheâs going to use, rambles on about how excited she is whilst Celestina Warbeck croons on the wireless, and the scent of pine needles from the Christmas tree in the corner fill the air, and Hermione lets her, because she knows just how tough it can be when someone is away, like Harry is currently, on some dangerous Auror mission. The plan is that he will be back for Christmas day.
Sometimes plans are just theoretical.
Hermione and Ronâwho is safely on desk duty for the month, having done six weeks in the field earlier in the autumnâhave agreed to take it in turns to distract her, which for Hermione today means going out Christmas shopping. Having split up for a while (Hermione found the perfect book for Ginny in her absence), theyâre now back together in a quaint little cafĂŠ in Hogsmeade, comparing purchases. Or rather, Ginny is explaining in intimate detail exactly how sheâs going to give Harry the most wonderful Christmas ever, and Hermione is letting her, because Ginny is just as kind to her when Ron is away.
âAnyway,â Ginny says, a plate of mince pies later, once theyâve gone through the whole Canadian itinerary. âWhat have you got for Ron?â
âOh,â Hermione says. âI found quite a nice scarf. Itâs grey.â She digs it out. Ginny makes the right noises. âAnd a book, Steve Harlowâs autobiography. You know, the Cannons player? And then I thought, maybe some fancy chocolates from Honeydukes, and Iâd be sorted.â
âOh,â says Ginny. âI mean, oh! Thatâs lovely!â
âMmm,â says Hermione. Ginny turns her head to the side, raising an eyebrow, and Hermione sighs. âOkay, so I know itâs not that exciting. Itâs not a treasure hunt, or even a fancy holiday.â
âI didnât meanââ Ginny says at once, looking guilty.
âNo, no, itâs fine!â she replies. âI justâŚwell, Ron and I are going to have a lot of expenses next year. The wedding, hopefully weâll be moving, if we can ever find the right houseâŚthe point is, we agreed to go very minimal for Christmas this year. Thereâs no sense buying lots of stuff that will only have to be packed up in a few months, is there?â
âAbsolutely,â Ginny says, âand youâre going on honeymoon in the summer, too. It makes sense not to do much.â
âAbsolutely,â repeats Hermione. âThatâs absolutely what we said.â
âAbsolutely,â Ginny says, nodding vigorously. Thereâs a pause. âButâŚthe problem is?â
Hermione heaves a sigh. âThe problem is, Ron is irritatingly, annoyingly, unfairly good at giving gifts. And IâI once gave him a homework planner.â
âThat was a way of showing you cared, though, right?â Ginny can always be relied upon to find the positive. âAnd besides, that was years ago. Youâre much better at presents now.â
âNot that good,â Hermione mutters.
âCome on, last year you got him his own seat at the Cannons ground, thatâs pretty good! And I recall the enormous trek we went on the year before last to track down that Martin Miggs first edition, that was good too,â says Ginny.
âYes. And thatâs the problem. I think Iâve set the bar too high,â Hermione says. âItâs not like I can repeat either of those things. Itâs not so much that I want to get him something expensiveâthe Martin Miggs didnât cost that much in the endâjust something meaningful. Something Ron. Because heâs always so good at getting the right thing for me, and especially this year, after the effort he put in with the ringâŚwell, I feel like itâs got to be spectacular.â
âHmm,â says Ginny. She takes a contemplative bite of mince pie. âHmm.â
âAnd Iâm worried that the fact that I seem to have peaked before weâve even got married, isnât the greatest sign,â she sighs. âIf heâs this hard to buy a present for now, how am I going to cope ten years down the line when Iâve had ten years of Christmas and birthday gifts to stress over?!â
âWell, donât panic. You canât do a holiday this year because of the honeymoon, but next year you can totally steal my treasure hunt reveal, I wonât tell anyone,â Ginny jokes.
âYouâre too kind,â Hermione says dryly. âBut what am I going to do this year? I mean,â she gets it out again, âthis scarf is nice, and I think heâll like it. But Iâm not going to lie, it was a bit of a panic buy. A sort of, if I donât find anything else, at least heâll have something halfway decent to open on the big day. I just wish I knew what he really wanted.â
âAsk him,â Ginny says. Hermione scoffs. âNo, Iâm serious. It doesnât have to be a surprise. I didnât know what Harry wanted for Christmas this year, so I asked if he wanted to go away on holiday in the summer, when weâve both got time off. He said yes, so he knows thatâs his present. Itâs true that he doesnât know where, and thereâs the little treasure hunt gifts that will be a surprise, too. But thereâs no sense making life hard for yourself when you donât have to. Just ask Ron what he wants for Christmas.â
âYou know, that might just work,â says Hermione.
âI am amazing, right?â
The thing was, despite everything Ginny said being true, Hermione still couldnât bring herself to outright ask Ron what he wanted for Christmas. It felt like one of those things a proper girlfriendâno, wait, fiancĂŠeâshould just know. It was an admission of failure, basically, to have to ask what he wanted. And she didnât like failing.
So she waits and waits, frantically wracking her brains for ideas whilst waiting for inspiration to strike, butânothing. She does, however, get a lucky break on the night of the Weasleys Wizarding Wheezesâ Christmas party, when he comes back more than a little inebriated, trying to tell her a story that is, apparently, very funny, but not quite managing it because he keeps bursting into sickeningly adorable giggles.
Ron isnât really a big drinker, so it doesnât take much to get him fairly tipsy, and heâs not really a frequent drinker either, so his cheery, puppyish antics are rare and therefore amusing rather than annoying. Hermione wishes for a moment that sheâd come out too, but she has a huge case to finish preparing for before Christmas, and besides, she doesnât fully trust what George might or might not do with any incriminating photographs (the evening had been fancy dress; Ron had gone as a reindeer. Heâs come back with his red-bobble nose hanging around his neck, and his antlers rotated through ninety degrees, so he looks like heâs trying to spear her.)
Instead, she decides to use the situation to her advantage. Heâll never remember her questioning, and he might just let something useful slipâŚ
âRon?â she asks, once he gets to the end of the story (the punchline, which she doesnât understand, goes âAnd then he said, Iâm HAIRY Potter!â).
âMmm?â he says, looking askance at her.
âWhat do you want for Christmas?â His eyes light up, so she immediately holds up a finger. âAnd remember, weâre opening our gifts at my parentsâ on Christmas Day. Any ideas about me and a few strategically placed bits of ribbon should be shelved for now,â she says.
âWhat about that, but tonight?â he asks hopefully.
âWe canât, youâre drunk,â she says.
âScrooge!â he says cheerfully, and she laughs.
âSeriously, what dâyou want? A squadron of firebolts? A castle? Chocolate frogs?â
He pauses for a moment, clearly thinking hard. âI would likeâŚâ he begins slowly. âI would likeâŚfor ChristmasâŚa jumperâŚfrom MumâŚthat isnât maroon. I hate maroon. And she never listens. What I wantâŚwhat I really, really want, is a not-maroon jumper.â
Hermioneâs momentary excitement disappeared. Sheâd thought for sure heâd been about to announce something good⌠âAnything else?â she asks lightly.
âMmmâŚhow about, not having a hangover tomorrow?â he asks.
âThat one,â she says, getting up to fetch him a large glass of cold water, âmight be slightly easier.â
The more she thinks about it, the more she realises how much this would mean to Ron. Sheâs never fully understood, growing up as an only child, what it is to feel occasionally overlookedâespecially when the Weasleys clearly love all of their children to the moon and back. But then, she remembers last Christmas Day. Ginny had just been chosen for the England Quidditch team, so her jumper had an English flag on the front, and âCHASERâ on the back. Ginny had been so excitedâand she could think of several occasions over the years when each child had had a jumper personalised in some way. Ronâs jumpers, however, were always, always maroon. He never got so much as a different colour, and the more Hermione thinks about it, the more strange it felt. She knew it wasnât because Mrs Weasley put less effort into Ronâs jumpers than any one elseâs.
Perhaps it was time for a change. And perhaps that change was something she could organiseâŚ
âOh, hello Hermione,â says Mrs Weasley. âWhat a lovely surprise!â
âI hope this is a convenient time?â asks Hermione, slipping in the back door of The Burrow. Â
âOf course, come on in. You must have something to eat!â Mrs Weasley makes tea and finds some cakes, which she insists Hermione takes, and Hermione explains that she has been thrown out of their flat so Ron can wrap her Christmas presents. âWith a whole week still to go?â asks Mrs Weasley. âGoodness, you have had a good influence on him!â
Hermione laughs politely, and makes some remarks about Ron already being very well brought up. Mrs Weasley preens. âWhat about you, dear? Are you ready for the big day? Presents sorted?â
Sheâs been planning out this speech all week, drafting and redrafting, editing and practising like she does with her speeches to the Wizengamot. Sheâd decided she needed Mrs Weasley to give her an opening, rather than launching in herself, and sheâs barely been in the house five minutes before just that happens. âOh, just about,â she says. âIâve got all of my presents sortedâwell, all but one. And itâs actually one I was hoping you might be able to help me with.â
âOh?â asks Mrs Weasley.
âYou see, I was struggling with what to get Ron for Christmas. Iâve got a few little bits, but I wanted something special, you know?â Hermione says. Mrs Weasley nods, looking interested. âSo I asked him what he really wanted andâŚwell, at first I thought he was joking. But I think itâs something that really would mean a lot to him, and itâs just not something I could do alone.â
She pauses. Mrs Weasley still looks interestedâpossibly even intrigued by this pointâand so far, Hermione seems not to have offended her. She lets her guard down just a little. âWe were talking about the jumpers you knit for everyone. I think itâs such a lovely tradition, I really do,â she says earnestly. âWe never did anything like that when I was growing up, and I canât help feeling I missed out on something.â
âWell, we never really had much money for new toys and games, soâŚâ Mrs Weasley says, looking slightly embarrassed.
âBut itâs such a lovely tradition,â Hermione repeats. âIt really, really is.â She pauses. âThereâs just one thing. RonâŚwell, he doesnât like the colour maroon. At all.â Sheâs been working so hard to keep her voice friendly and light, to keep the conversation convivial, but already she can see her mother-in-law to be stiffening, pulling back from her, and she curses mentally.
âItâs not the jumpers, he loves getting them and so do I! But I asked him what he wanted most for Christmas, and he said, well, he said a not-maroon jumper,â she says, speeding up. âAnd I mean, he was jokingâbut not really. He meant it, and I know heâd really appreciate it, and of course, if youâve already done all your knittingâI know this is such a busy time of year for youâbut if you could maybe just considerââ
âI appreciate what youâre saying,â Mrs Weasley says, in a voice that makes it quite clear that she doesnât, âbut Iâm afraid Ronâs jumpers are maroon. They have to be.â
âBecause they always have been?â Hermione asks. Sheâs prepared for this argument, too. âBecause I know youâve changed the colours for everyone elseâs a few times, so I was hoping that Ronâs might also getââ
âYou donât understand,â Mrs Weasley says, turning back to face her, and Hermione is horrified to see that she seems close to tears. âRonâs have to be maroon.â
âWhy?â she asks, as gently as she can. âIf you donât mind me asking?â she adds hurriedly. There is a very long pause. Â Â
âWhenâŚwhen I was pregnant with Ron,â Mrs Weasley begins carefully. âI was very poorly. Very, very poorly indeed.â
âOh,â says Hermione, unsure what this has to do with the jumpers.
âYesâŚâ Thereâs another long pause, then Mrs Weasley seems to give herself a mental shake. âI was very ill,â she continues, much more briskly. âI wonât go into the details,â she says. âItâd put you off for life. There wasnât anything wrong with Ron himself, you understand, it was just me. As long as I survived, heâd be okay.â
Some of Hermioneâs horror at this statement must show on her face, because Mrs Weasley hastens to reassure her. âI wasnât at deathâs door, exactly,â she says quickly. âIt was just a very dangerous pregnancy for meâIâd just had the twins, I was exhaustedâŚanyway, like I said, I wonât go into the details. Ron was born, he was fine, I made an excellent recovery. We were told under no circumstances should I risk falling pregnant again, we dutifully agreed, but of course dear Ginny always has had a mind of her own, but that all ended up being fine, tooâŚâ
âI see,â Hermione says, blinking.
âAnyway,â Mrs Weasley says. âIâm telling you all this because, when I was ill, I was put on bed rest. Complete and total bed rest. From month five, I recall. It was the only way, the Healers said, to ensure I would be well enough to continue with my pregnancy, and deliver safely. They also told me there was a fair risk of myâŚmy not surviving the birth. Of course, it seems silly nowâhere I am, absolutely fine, thereâs Ron, a strapping lad in his twentiesâof course weâre fine. But at the timeâŚâ
âYou had no way of knowing,â Hermione says.
âExactly,â nods Mrs Weasley. âSo, my mother moved in to look after the children. You can imagine⌠And I started to go completely and utterly stir crazy. Iâd been doing so muchâof course, that was part of the problemâand there I was in bed. All the time. I mean, thereâs only so many times you can read Witch Weekly before you want to throw it out the window. So I told Arthur, I want to get knitting. I wanted this baby to have an entirely new layette. Iâd used the same one, you see, from Bill onwards, and I thought, well, this baby isnât going to have much new anyway, and I worried that he wouldnât have anything to remember me by if IâŚwell, you know.â
âOf course,â murmurs Hermione.
âI told Arthur to get me some new wool. Well, of course, we were poor as church mice. But he dutifully went out, and he came back into my room with a ball of wool. Maroon.â Hermione isnât sure, but she thinks Mrs Weasleyâs lips might be twitching. âAnd he asks me what I think of it. And I think, well, itâs not perhaps the colour I wouldâve chosen for the babyâs layette, but itâs certainly different to the one Iâve got. And we didnât know if I was having a boy or a girl, so I thought, maroon could be for both. So I told Arthur that, and he said, thatâs good.â
Hermione definitely isnât imagining things now. Mrs Weasley is starting to giggle, and laugh harder at Hermioneâs bemused expression.
âImagine it,â she says, suddenly turning serious. âYouâre a month and a half into bed rest. Youâve got two and a half months moreâminimum. You havenât had anything to laugh about in weeks. And then, your husband says: wait there. As though youâre going to go apparating off at any moment. And then he comes into the room with the most enormous sack of maroon wool you have ever seen in your life.â
Hermioneâs own lips start to twitch. âTwo hundred and sixty-seven balls of wool. All maroon. I made the children count it,â Mrs Weasley says. âAnd I asked him what on earth he was thinking, and he said that the lady in the shop had had it for years and she was sick of the sight of it, so he could take it all for a Galleon just to get it out of her sight.â
âAnd he took it all?â
âHe took it all,â she confirms. âWell, it was going for a song! And he said, and I quote, âif this doesnât keep you busy, I donât know what willâ. I swear, I laughed so hard I thought I was going to go into labour there and then!â
âAnd youâve been making Ronâs jumpers out of it ever since?â Hermione asks. She feels incredibly guilty, imagining how Mrs Weasley must feel, being told that this thing sheâs had such an important emotional connection to for all these years is something that Ron canât stand.
âI have,â she says. Then she sighs. âFor no reason, really. It just feltâŚwell, heâs always been so fit and healthy! I mean, apart from the poisoning issue, of course. And the months you were on the run, and we were all at Mortal Peril.â She says this very matter-of-factly, but then they both realise what a ridiculous statement it is to make, catch each othersâ eye and burst into peals of laughter.
It isnât that funny, maybe, but it breaks the tension, and, after a moment, Mrs Weasley wipes her eyes and looks at Hermione with a small, but genuine, smile. âI suppose it was a superstition,â she says. âAs long as Iâm using the maroon, everything will be okay. But Iâm just a silly old woman. We donât need superstitions to keep Ron alive and well.â
âRonâor you,â Hermione says gently.
âYes, wellâŚâ She sighs. âIt was a very good buy, though.â
âMy dear,â says Mrs Weasley, âI once calculated that if I made Ron a jumper out of it every Christmas, heâd be one hundred and three before it ran out.â
âOh, goodness,â Hermione says, imagining their small flat with one hundred and three maroon jumpers shoved under the bed, in cupboards, behind the sofa⌠Thank Merlin sheâs got that Undetectable Extension Charm down pat.
âQuite,â says Mrs Weasley. Thereâs a pause. âSo maybeâŚmaybe it is time for a change, after all.â
âOh, no, I wouldnât want toâI mean, I didnât know your story, and Iâm sorry if I stepped on any traditions that it wasnât my place to, and you donât have toââ
âNo, dear, itâs quite alright,â Mrs Weasleys says, patting her knee gently. âLet me have a good think. ButâŚIâm sure Iâll come up with something.â
The Grangersâ, 25 December
ââŚandâŚwell, I suppose it appears that she did,â Hermione says, finishing the story.
Ron is silent for a long while. âDidâŚdid you know?â she asks tentatively.
âAbout Mum beingâŚill, I guess, when she was pregnant with me?â he asks. âYes, a little. Bill and Charlie remembered; theyâd talk about mostly âwhen Granny Prewett came to stayâ occasionally, and when we asked why, theyâd just say that Mum was ill. I hadnât realised it was for so long, though. I donât really know what was wrong with her, but I suppose itâs like she saysâwhen someone makes a complete recovery, you donât like to dwell on it, do you? As for the knittingâno, no I didnât know.â
âI felt awful when I told her that you werenât a fan of the maroon,â Hermione confesses.
âYou shouldnât,â Ron says. âIâve been telling her for years. Now I feel guilty.â
âDonât,â Hermione assures him. âI think she took it better, coming from me. If youâd asked her to stop completely, sheâd have been devastated. I think I was the middle-man, so to speak. And she clearly took it on boardâŚâ
They both look at the blue jumper, and Ron picks it up again. âItâs actually really nice,â he says, sounding slightly surprised. âI mean, I would genuinely wear this. Itâs a bit of a shock, really.â Hermione laughs. âThank you,â he says seriously. âI mean it. I appreciate the effort you went to.â
âYouâre welcome,â she says seriously, and then adds, âbut, you did say that was what you really, really wanted for Christmas.â
âActually, all I remember is you talking about yourself, wrapped up in ribbons and nothing elseâŚâ he says hopefully.
âAnd I said that you had to remember weâd be at my parentsâ!â Hermione says primly, then spoils the effect rather by winking.
âYes, but only until dinnertime,â Ron says.
She rolls her eyes affectionately, making a very feeble attempt to bat him away as he leans in for a kiss. Just as their lips touch, the door bangs open and they jump apart, both crimson, as Hermioneâs dad strides into the room. âAre you finished talking?â he asks jovially. âWhatever the matter was, it must have been very complicated, weâve finished all the sprouts, and the carrots, and we even started on the parsnips!â
Hermione and Ron exchange glances. âItâs all sorted now,â Ron assures him, and then he leans over to squeeze her hand. She squeezes it back, and smiles.
Two days before New Yearâs, Hermione and Ron go to his parentsâ for dinner, where Hermione is immediately accosted by Arthur, who had been presented with a brand new âEkletikric drillâ by Harry and Ginny for Christmas. He is very keen for Hermione to come down to his shed to help him in charging it up, which Ron doesnât mind, as it gives him time to speak to his mother in private.
âGood luck,â he mutters to Hermione, who grins and kisses him on the cheek, heading back to the shed with his father. Ron watches them go, then catches sight of his own reflection in the living room mirror. The blue wool of the jumper looks good on him, he thinks. What his mother will say, thoughâŚ
âHi, Mum,â he says cheerfully, heading into the kitchen.
âHello dear, how are you? Did you have a good time on Christmas Day?â Mrs Weasley wipes her hands on her apron, then turns around. âOh,â she says, pausing just slightly. âOh, goodness. Donât you look lovely!â
âThanks Mum,â he says, resistingâjustâthe urge to roll his eyes affectionately.
âOh, come here,â Mum says. They meet each other halfway, and wrap their arms around each other. Each time they hug, Ron feels like his mother is getting even shorter.
âThanks for the jumper, Mum,â he says, when they finally break apart.
âDo you like it?â she asks.
âI love it,â he says, truthfully.
She breaks into a smile. âGood. ThatâsâŚthatâs good. Now then! Donât stand around there, Iâve got vegetables that need preparing!â
He falls into line, telling her about Christmas at Hermioneâs parentsâ house, and she returns with the story of Christmas at home. âAnd what have you been up to since the big day?â she asks, flicking her wand over her shoulder at a saucepan, which starts bubbling, throwing something else into the pan, and moving a stack of plates simultaneously.
âOh, well,â Ron says, and thereâs something in his voice that makes her stop everything sheâs doing. âWell. We went to see a house.â
âA house?â she says lightly.
âYes,â Ron says. âWeâll tell you all about it at dinner, but we think we might have found the one. We, um, actually put in an offer earlier. Of course, we donât know what will happenâweâre trying not to get too attached. ButâŚâ
âWell, how exciting! Where is it? How many rooms?!â she says.
âWeâll give you all the details later,â he says. âI know Hermione wants to share them with you, too. Itâs three bedrooms, but what really sold it to usâwell, one of the thingsâis that the main bedroom has a little ante-room off it, and we thought that would be perfect for a nursery. And before you say anything, I wanted to tell you that straight off, because Hermione isnât pregnant, we donât want children just yet, weâre justâŚplanning for the future. Thatâs all it is, I swear. Weâre not even married, yet!â
âYou wouldnât be the first,â she says, supressing a smile. âI think thatâs very sensible, but of course I shanât say anything.â
Ron looks relieved, and starts telling her an amusing story about the estate agent. She listens, of course, and laughs in all the right places, but her mind is elsewhere, with a stack of wool, a pair of knitting needles, and ideas for little maroon booties, and maroon hats, and maroon blankets, andâŚ