RP: Home-cooked Dinner

[shh_lavender]

Date: January 10th, 2006
Character(s): Lavender Brown, Ron Weasley
Location: Albus Avenue
Status: Private
Summary: Dinner for two after a day at work.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[shh_ron]

The holidays were over, and so was the cold snap, thank Merlin, and Ron was finally settling into living a normal life with Lavender. He'd finally gone back to Vanateigh Press full-time at the new year, as much for something to do all day as for the money, which he would get anyway, being part-owner along with Hermione. Between the printing business and training for the Quidditch World Cup, he'd become used to being busy and productive, though he didn't take it to the extremes Hermione did

[shh_lavender]

"Mmm. That sounds lovely. I can't wait to try it." Lavender peered into the pot as Ron lifted the cover and smiled. She nodded and went to get a couple place mats from the cupboard, setting them on the worktop as she slid open the cutlery drawer.

"Work was wonderfully quiet," she told him, selecting their knives and forks. "Caught up on all my paperwork and all that sort of thing. The most interesting thing was probably when a mother brought in her baby who was having a slight allergic reaction to her colic potion. She was hiccuping purple bubbles, would you believe? The mum was worried but the baby thought it was like... the best thing in the world ever." Lavender grinned. "She was so sweet."

[shh_ron]

While Lavender worked on setting the table, Ron checked the noodles. Assured they were ready, he carefully levitated the pot over toward the sink, tipping it to drain the noodles into the colander, then levitated the empty pot into the other side of the sink. The broccoli was steaming and would be ready in a minute

[shh_lavender]

"Yeah. You should have seen the look on her face every time one of the popped. Pure amazement and wonder." She smiled, picking up the cutlery and mats, turning towards the dining room. "Luckily it was easy enough to cure."

Lavender went to set the table as Ron finished preparing dinner, sitting down as Ron called that dinner was ready. She was more than a bit surprised at his announcement. "You have, have you? What... brought that on?"

[shh_ron]

"Glad it worked out in the end," he said. Lavender tended to brood about her more difficult cases, so he was glad she was satisfied with the outcome.

Ron realised that maybe he could have phrased things a bit differently, maybe couched in a question rather than a statement. "Well, er, really, I've been thinking I'd like to have a dog. I like the cats well enough, but now we've got a house and a yard, I thought maybe we could have a dog too. Wouldn't have to be a big one. Umm, dinner's ready. Have a seat."

After dishing up the food, he levitated the plates out into the dining room and set one down gently in front of Lavender and another at his own place.

[shh_lavender]

Lavender picked up her fork as Ron sat down, looking at the food. "This looks really good. I could get used to this," she teased.

She frowned slightly, considering what Ron had suggested. "Sorry. Um. You just surprised me. You've never mentioned wanting a dog before. You really think we can handle another pet?"

[shh_ron]

"I could too," Ron teased back. "Maybe you could make it next time. The recipe's not too hard. Cooking's like potions, y'know. You follow the recipe and you get the right results. Though I reckon I'm a lot better at following recipes than I used to be."

He thought about her question for a moment. "Yeah, I think we could. The dog could live outside most of the time, if you wanted. It'd be easy enough to build a dog house out back. And if you're worried about it getting away, I could set up some wards that would let us in and out but keep the dog from getting out."

He took a bite of the chicken. "Not bad. Might keep this one. So what'd'you think?"

[shh_lavender]

"I hadn't really thought about getting another pet," Lavender admitted. "I mean, I love the cats. And the owls are pets, but they're different, really." She gave a small smile. "You've obviously thought about it. I suppose we can handle the responsibility. We could... I don't know. Look at the animal shelter or something?"

She nodded in agreement. "It's nice. Keep this one."

[shh_ron]

"Yeah, I was thinking about the animal shelter," said Ron, who was enjoying the meal now he was done cooking it. "I bet we could find a dog there. I think it's south of the river somewhere, maybe down past the bridge. We wouldn't have to get one right now though. Maybe when it warms up a bit."

He smiled as she agreed about the food. "You'd let me know if it was awful, right? Because I might not know and I'd just eat it anyway."

[shh_lavender]

Lavender nodded. "Yes. I think I just about know where it is. And I do mean an actual dog - not a puppy. I don't think either of us has the time for... housebreaking and that sort of thing, do we?"

She grinned, shaking her head. "It really is nice," she assured him. "But I'll be sure to tell you if you cook anything that tastes awful. Either that or I'll just pick and tell you I'm not that hungry. As it is, I really am hungry tonight and this is great."

[shh_ron]

"A grown-up dog is fine with me," said Ron, pleased that she seemed not to hate the idea. "I've never had a puppy, but it's got to be a lot of work. Don't think I'm ready for a baby dog but I could handle a grown-up one. So maybe once it warms up a little we can go to the shelter and find a dog. I was thinking maybe a smaller one, at least not a really big one. How does that sound?"

[shh_lavender]

"Babies of any kind are a lot of work," Lavender agreed. "I think that sounds like a good idea. And the cats will probably be better with a smaller dog than a big one. I mean, they got on alright with Ginny's cat when we were at The Burrow, so they should be alright with other animals."

She twisted some noodles around her fork. "How was work, by the way? I forgot to ask. Are things okay now you're back at the press?"

[shh_ron]

"Yeah, I reckon you're right. A big dog might scare the cats." He suspected the cats, Molly and Ginny, would probably be freaked out by a big dog inside the house. It would be tough enough getting them used to a smaller one. "And I promise, if the dog doesn't already have a name, it won't be named for anyone in my family. Or any of my friends. Or any historical witch or wizard, though I can't remember most of them anyway."

[shh_lavender]

Lavender laughed, rolling her eyes. "Good. That was confusing enough at Christmas as it was!" More than once, Lavender had called after one of the cats and had either Ron's mother or sister answer back. "Historical figures aren't too bad," she relented. "Just definitely not family or friends."

She took a mouthful of food, musing the thought. "I expect Harry's probably had a few people name their pets after him," she mused.

[shh_ron]

"Probably so," said Ron, chewing another mouthful. "I reckon there's probably a goldfish somewhere named Harry Potter."

They finished eating a few minutes later, and Ron leaned back in his chair for a moment, feeling very satisfied not only with the meal but with the way his life was going. "Oh...you asked about work. Sorry, I was woolgathering for a bit. It's pretty good, really. Better than I thought it would be. Hermione's been great, y'know? I was basically gone for more than four months but she's never seemed to hold it against me. She just worked harder while I was gone to keep things going." He gave Lavender a little smile. "I really lucked out when I met her and Harry in first year. They're the best friends a bloke could have."

[shh_lavender]

"Give it another ten years or so and I bet people'll be naming their kids after him," Lavender remarked with a roll of her eyes.

She didn't finish her food quite as quickly as Ron, but smiled when he mentioned work. Lavender had taken his initial silence at her question to mean work wasn't good and that he wasn't enjoying it. Personally, she didn't think that Hermione would hold a grudge against someone who was able to pursue a lifelong ambition, especially if that person was Ron. "I'm glad she's been supportive. And that you have them both as friends. Merlin, we should probably invite them around sometime. We said we would but never got around to it."