RP: There Goes My Life
Title: There Goes My Life
Pairing(s): Pansy/Ron
Rating: PG
Summary: The very last thing she needed was to be saddled with a Weasley's kid, but Pansy finds out that it's not as bad as she thought
Word Count: 3936
Notes: Written for HP_Bunintheove at LJ. This is a sequel to Brandy and Eggnog, There's Plenty of Cheer. You don't have to read that one, but it will make more sense if you do. Otherwise, Hermione and Ron have split up, Draco and Pansy have split up and this is January 1999.
It was a dark and cold night. Gone were bright lights of the Christmas season, leaving behind a darkness that went deep in your bones. No one should be out unless they had to. Ron Apparated at the gate of his small cottage outside of Hogsmeade, ready to get inside and sit in front of his fireplace. He stopped abruptly when he saw Pansy standing by the door, scarf wrapped around her face. "Parkinson, what are you doing here?"
"We need to talk," she answered.
The lack of sassy response put Ron on notice that this was serious. He used his wand to unlock the door and let her in. "Do you want something to drink?" he asked once the torches were on and the fire crackled in the fireplace, warming the small house.
"I'd better not." She hinted a smile. "We know how it went last time we drank together." She gestured toward the chair. "May I?"
Ron smiled. "We did have a good time, and make yourself comfortable. How about tea, or hot chocolate?" His mother had ingrained into them certain habits, which were hard to break. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
She laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "School, I guess I should be, but I sneaked out. Hot chocolate would be nice." She looked around the house. "Nice place you have here."
Ron shrugged. "I know it's small, but rent is cheap and it's all I can afford on my salary. I've only been working since May."
"I wasn't being sarcastic," she answered with a sigh. "With all the grief we've given you in school, I can see why you'd think so, but at least you have your own place, a job. We're back in school, repeating our seventh year, while worrying about relatives' trials."
"You have a whole manor," Ron pointed out.
"True, but it's not very pleasant when the reason you have it is because your father was killed and your mother is in Azkaban." She rested her arms on the table and stared at him. "You never came to the New Year's Eve party. I know a drunken one night doesn't lead to a lasting friendship, but I thought you'd show up."
"Something came up at work. I wasn't at the Burrow either if it makes you feel better. I probably should have owled." Ron wasn't sure if he should or shouldn't have, but it was the polite thing to say until he figured out why she was here. He moved around the small kitchen getting the hot chocolate ready and giving her the time to say what she came to say. "Is this why you're here? Want to yell at me for my bad manners?"
Pansy snorted. "I wish, although my friends think that I lied about being with you. My way to get back at Draco for dumping me. I was upset about that until-" She leaned back and put her hands on her stomach. "Something else happened."
Ron put a mug in front of her and sat next to her. "Will you tell me what? I don't mean to rush you, but if McGonagall finds out you left school, she'll expel you."
"She probably will anyway." She wrapped her hands around the mug and blew on the chocolate before taking a sip. She finally raised her eyes and met Ron's. "I'm pregnant."
"Fuck-" Ron didn't have to ask who the father was. Pansy had been a virgin when they had sex, both too drunk to think and certainly too drunk to worry about precautions. His mind raced through the options, but there was only one option for a Weasley. "We'll get married."
Pansy frowned. "That easy? We get drunk together once, two weeks ago, and you think that's the basis for a marriage?"
Ron shrugged. "What other options are there? Do you want to have the baby by yourself?"
"Merlin, no," she said, horrified.
"Then what? You can't possibly-" Ron glared at her. "You don't want to get rid of the baby."
"Maybe I do," Pansy answered, defiantly.
Ron had to count to ten and backward, before answering. If there was one thing that he had learned from being an Auror, it was that lashing out without thinking led to a world of hurt, almost always physically, but there was the occasional emotional pain. "If you wanted to, you wouldn't be here to tell me about our child. You certainly can afford a potion."
Pansy put down the mug and crossed her arms. "I… Maybe I wanted you to tell me to abort it." She got up and started pacing. "I'm eighteen, with no family. I'm still at Hogwarts. And you- You certainly don't like me. One night! Christmas Eve. We were alone and drunk. It doesn't make us friends. Hell, you don't even know me. I don't know you. An abortion would make things easier."
Ron got up and stood in front of her. "I've never done what's easy. Easy would have meant never getting involved with Harry, ignoring what was happening and let others deal with it. It would have been easy. We're part of the Sacred 28. People might dislike us, but they couldn't question our bloodlines, but I didn't do easy. My family didn't do easy. Bill still has scars from a werewolf. George lost an ear. Fred- Fred is dead. We could have done nothing, but we chose to do what's right. Having this baby is right."
"I don't do what's right," Pansy said quietly. "I was happy to hand Potter over if it meant staying safe. I've only ever had to worry about me. I don't even have siblings."
"I do, plenty of them," Ron said with a smile. "And I'll be there to help you."
"What if we hate each other? What if don't want to be married? I could never get a divorce. What would people say?" Pansy asked, the worry and fear creeping in her voice.
"Screw what people would say. Mum would kill me!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I wish I could tell you that we could wait and take our time, getting to know each other, but we can't. Babies have their own time table. We know when it was conceived, Christmas Eve, so while we have time, you'll be in school. It's not like we'll learn much about each other when we can see each other once a month on Hogsmeade weekend."
She frowned. "You're suggesting that we get married now. That's- I mean people will know the reason. It'll be obvious when I start showing, but we can always say that that it was a wedding night baby. No one will believe it, but they can't really call us on it. Do you really think this could work?"
Ron nodded. "We'll have to tell my parents. They'll go mental if we elope and if we don't, Mum will insist on having the huge wedding, which requires time."
Pansy shook her head. "No, we can't wait. We can tell them the reason and we'll do it quickly." She tapped her foot, the heel echoing through the room. "Why are you not freaking out? I'm freaking out. This wasn't what I expected. You were supposed to call me names and tell me to end this."
Ron laughed. "I've been dealing with the most powerful Dark Wizard since I was eleven. I might not be Harry, but I've seen my fair share. A baby is a happy thing. Seriously, did you really think a Weasley would complain about a child?" He closed the gap between them and cupped her cheeks. "I'm not saying this will be easy, but I've got a job, you have money-"
"And a manor and house-elves. You can move in there," Pansy said.
"When you finish school. I'd feel weird to move in there without you," Ron said. "The point I was making is that we are a lot more financially stable than most people our age. The rest- We'll figure it out. Plenty of arranged marriages in the Sacred 28, right? We have one up on them. At least we know that we enjoy sex with each other."
Pansy laughed. "Now, you're being an idiot." She put her arms around him and leaned against him. "I still don't know if it'll work, but I didn't want to get rid of the baby."
"I know and neither do I. When's the next Hogsmeade weekend?" he asked.
"Next week. I'll need to get back inside without being seen or they won't let me out," she said.
Ron grinned. "Now that's the easy part. I'll let you in, don't worry about that. So Saturday, I'll make sure to be off. I'll have my family here and we can do the marriage spell. The rest- we'll worry about it later." He kissed her forehead. "Okay?"
Pansy nodded. "I'm scared."
"It's okay, it's why you're getting married to a Gryffindor," Ron said.
"So I can watch you do things that are insane?" she said, huffing. "I'm not sure that helps with the fear. I like things I can fix with a few words and letting others do the work."
"Can't help you there, but look at it this way. You can tell people that you were so impressed with my cock that we had to get married. It'd really fuck Malfoy up."
Pansy laughed at that. "I can work with that."
Ron grinned. "All right, let's get you back to school before anyone notices that you're gone, and I'll see you back here on Saturday."
Ron felt slightly guilty that he hadn't told Hermione or Ginny. They were in school and he wasn't going to have that discussion at Hogwarts, where nothing stayed secret. On the other hand, he knew they would be the hardest ones to convince.
His parents had been surprised, but then there had been tears of joy in his mother's eyes and talk of the first grandchild and marriage, and they had forgotten about Pansy's identity. His brothers had mostly said that it was his choice and they supported him. Harry had hugged him tight and said that he couldn't wait to be an uncle. When Ron had tried to mention the reasons why Pansy had done what she had done, he waved it away with a big smile and promised that they'd be fine.
Now both Ginny and Hermione were here, demanding to know why the entire Weasley clan was present. Ron wasn't even sure why, considering she had dumped him, Hermione thought she had a right to ask in that tone that implied he was about to do something stupid, but they were still friends.
"So… I'm getting married. Today. That's why everyone is here. We didn't want anyone to know and I couldn't tell you if you were in school, so we waited until today since it's Hogsmeade weekend," Ron said.
"You're getting married," Hermione repeated.
"Today," Ginny put in.
"And to whom?" Hermione asked.
Harry joined them and put an arm around Ron. "To Pansy Parkinson," he said with a smile.
"Are you mad?" Ginny asked. "That bitch-"
"Is about to become your sister-in-law," Ron said. "Can we skip what happened with Fleur and go with acceptance? Because I'm not changing my mind."
"Did she hex you? Did she hex Harry? Look at that stupid smile!" Hermione looked at them confused. "She's dating Draco Malfoy."
Ron shook his head. "They broke up and she didn't hex anyone."
"I know you, Ron, but this is stupid," Ginny said. "There's something you aren't telling us."
"I'm pregnant." Hermione and Ginny turned around and saw Pansy standing there. "Your mother let me in. She hugged me," Pansy said with confused tone.
"She does that a lot." Ron went to put an arm around her and kissed her softly. "The officiant will be here soon and Mum made food for everyone. She would have preferred to do this at the Burrow, but since none of you can leave Hogsmeade she relented."
"I appreciate it. It would have been hard to get married if I couldn't be there," Pansy said. "If you don't mind, I want to change before the ceremony. I brought a dress with me. I know it's stupid with a small wedding, but-"
"It's not. This is forever, remember?" Ron said with a smile. "You know where the bedroom is."
Pansy nodded. "If you'll excuse me." She nodded at the two women, but stopped in front of Harry. "Thank you for being here."
"Are you kidding me? I'm going to be an uncle," Harry said, looking down at her stomach.
Pansy chuckled. "You lot are all insane."
"We agree on something," Ginny said while Pansy walked away. "Just because she's pregnant, you don't have to get married, you know that, right? She probably did it on purpose anyway and you shouldn't be stuck with it. She can raise it alone."
"She didn't do it on purpose and she's not raising our child alone," Ron said coldly. "She didn't trap me. She told me and I proposed on the spot. I will not abandon my child."
"You can co-parent and not be together," Hermione pointed out. "There's also abortion or adoption-"
"Stop. Both of you, stop. I love you and I know you are looking out for me, but I want this child. I'm not discussing options, because there's only one option for me. I'm marrying her and we're having a child together. It's that simple." Or it should be, but he knew that neither Ginny nor Hermione saw it that way. "I want you here, and you don't have to be happy for me, but it is a happy day and you can't ruin it for all of us. Even Mum keeps tearing up about the baby."
"That's the only reason she's okay with this. Remember how she was with Fleur and now- look at her, she's following Parkinson to your room." Ginny shook her head. "You lot have lost your mind, but I won't say anything. Just don't expect me to be her best friend."
Ron nodded. "That's fair."
Harry rubbed the back of his head. "She'll have a rough time in Slytherin once everyone finds out that she's married and is pregnant."
"Oh no, don't you start," Hermione said.
"I'm not saying become her best friend, but maybe you can help her," Harry said with a shrug.
Hermione sighed. "First Malfoy, now Parkinson. Seriously, Harry, we're not the Slytherin Rescue Society."
"No, we're not, but she's family now," Harry said.
"God, I hate you both," Ginny said, shaking her head, but before she could say more, Arthur called out for them.
The officiant from the Ministry had arrived and they got ready for the ceremony. Ron looked around the small room and couldn't believe how amazing his family was. Fleur had arranged to have a bouquet for Pansy without even knowing her. Percy had insisted that music was required and he'd arranged it, bringing over his gramophone and records. Harry was the Best Man and had managed to get them both new dress robes. Bill had decorated the house. His mother had prepared all the food and gotten the wedding cake. George had apparently arranged a special indoor firework display.
"You're smiling like an idiot," Harry whispered.
"I was thinking how amazing you lot are," he admitted.
"We love you and we want you happy, but I hope you're smiling because you're getting married to." Harry stopped talking as the music started.
The bedroom door opened up and Molly came out, joining her husband. She sent an apologetic look to Percy who started the music once again. This time Pansy came out. She was dressed in a red gown, with heavy silver and gold embroidery. She looked regal, with the red a sharp contrast to her red skin and black hair.
The ceremony itself went pretty quickly, having chosen to do the standard spell. When he finally kissed her, he felt butterflies in his stomach. He was married and in nine months, he'd be a father. He was married. "We are married."
Pansy nodded. "We are and- fuck, what's happening?"
Ron laughed as fireworks exploded all around them. "It's George's idea of fun. He made fireworks that can work indoors. You get the effects of the fireworks, but they aren't real." He kissed her again, still chuckling. "You'll get used to it. Now let's mingle. You have to meet your new family."
Being at Hogwarts as an Auror didn't feel different. Being here when he wasn't a student while almost everyone else was did. With the exception of Harry and Neville, everyone had gone back, but Ron didn't think he could spend his time worrying about exams after what they had gone through.
"Mr. Weasley, thank you for coming." The Headmistress had met Ron at the front door.
"Of course, I have to say I'm curious on why I'm here," he said as he got in step with her as they walked.
"As you know, I'm responsible for the emotional, physical and moral well-being of the student," she started, but raised her eyebrows when Ron snorted.
"With all due respect, we were eleven when you sent us to the Forbidden Forest with a man who wasn't allowed to do magic and knowing that there was a killer out there. And spiders." He shivered. "Lots of spiders."
"You seem more upset about the spiders than the killer," she said with a frown.
"What would Hogwarts be without someone wanting to murder you?" he said, laughing.
McGonagall sighed. "We made a lot of mistake with your year, but that's not the reputation I want the school to have. We are doing things a little differently now."
"I doubt it's why you asked me to come here," Ron said. "So what is happening, Headmistress?"
"We have a student who is pregnant, she claims-"
"That we got married last month." Ron stared at her. "Why is that any of your business?"
"We have children at this school school," McGonagall said.
"You have Death Eaters at this school. I'd say that murder trumps pregnancy if you're worried about upholding morals," Ron said.
"Mr. Potter insisted that we make adjustments for Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall pointed out.
"I hear Goyle is back in school, too." Ron hated that the 'students' were given a pass, but he wasn't about to rehash that with the Headmistress, not when Shacklebolt had sided with Harry on this. "Anyway, do you need to know anything else?"
"She's in the infirmary. She was bleeding-"
"Why didn't you start with that?" Ron asked, but before she answered, he realized that they were right in front of the infirmary. He stepped inside. The main room was empty. "Where is she?" he asked Pomfrey. The matron pointed to a private area and Ron ran the last few steps. "Are you all right?"
Pansy nodded. "Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion to stop the miscarriage. I'll have to be on bed rest for a week. I'm sorry that they called you, I didn't want to worry you, but they insisted, said that I'd have to leave the school, being an unwed mother, so I had to tell them."
Ron snorted. "Emotional well-being my arse." He shook his head at her raised eyebrow. "Not important." He kissed her cheek and put a hand on her stomach. "The important thing is that you are both all right, and you should worry me. This is our child. I want to know what's happening." He turned his head when he heard footsteps. "Does she have to stay here? She could come home."
Pomfrey shook her head. "Nonsense. I know the hours Aurors have. You'll be out at all hours and if something goes wrong, she's all alone. She'll stay here and I'll keep an eye on her. I'll make sure that she's fine."
"And I can arrange for her school work to be brought here. We don't allow family members to come here for various reasons, but no one would complain about an Auror keeping the school safe," McGonagall said. "We'll leave you alone now. Stay as long as you need, Mr. Weasley."
"Thank you." Now alone, Ron grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. The hand went back to Pansy's stomach. "Are you really okay?"
She leaned back against the propped pillows and looked up at the ceiling. "I was scared. I knew I didn't want to abort it, but I didn't know how much I wanted this baby until I saw the blood." Her eyes met his. "Our baby. It's so small still. Madam Pomfrey said that we can find out the sex soon. We can do it on your birthday. Ginny said that it's on the first of March."
Ron nodded. "It is. So are you and Ginny doing all right?"
"She's frosty, not that I blame her. I made her life miserable last year. Granger… Hermione has been very nice. It's terrible. How am I supposed to dislike her on your behalf if she's nice?" Pansy said with a smirk.
Ron laughed. "She's terrible with her kindness. You can hate her for that, although-" He shrugged. "I stopped being angry at her very fast. We are very different people. She wants a career and take over the world. I want to live well, get married, have children."
Pansy's laughter filled the room. "You did a wonderful job at getting what you want. We got the estate, the wedding and the child, all in a few weeks. We're set."
His gaze clouded. "I didn't marry you for the money."
"I know, but I'm not throwing away the money so you can feel righteous. I'm sorry it offends your Gryffindor sensibilities, but we'll enjoy life," Pansy said.
"Trust me, I'm not opposed to enjoying life. Our children won't have to worry about hand-me-downs, but they won't be as snobbish as Malfoy," Ron warned.
"That sounds good. There is something else that we do need: wedding rings. Go to the estate. I'll give you a letter to hand my house-elves. You can pick one of the family rings. Whatever you like. I know exactly what I want as my wedding ring. It belongs to my great-grandmother. My mother always said that I could have it when I got married." She leaned over and kissed him. "And don't argue with me about those. They are antiques that you can't find anywhere. I want people to know that this is real, not something we are doing for the baby. The ring will do that, at least with the pureblood families."
"And there she is, the Slytherin, planning and plotting," Ron said, without heat. "I'll go to the estate- Fuck, that's really weird to say."
"You'll get used to it," she answered. Silence fell between them and Ron stayed there, hand on her stomach until Pansy spoke up again. "They talked about sending me home."
"It's over now. You don't have to worry about it." Ron squeezed her hand. "You'll be able to get your NEWTs."
"I know it's silly. It's not like I need them. I have the money, I'm married. No proper pureblood would be expected to work, but I want to do this."
Ron laughed. "Not sure my family qualifies as proper pureblood and my Mum never worked, but you can if you want to. You shouldn't decide now. Let's have this baby and then we worry about the rest."
It wouldn't be easy, but Ron knew that they would succeed.
Pairing(s): Pansy/Ron
Rating: PG
Summary: The very last thing she needed was to be saddled with a Weasley's kid, but Pansy finds out that it's not as bad as she thought
Word Count: 3936
Notes: Written for HP_Bunintheove at LJ. This is a sequel to Brandy and Eggnog, There's Plenty of Cheer. You don't have to read that one, but it will make more sense if you do. Otherwise, Hermione and Ron have split up, Draco and Pansy have split up and this is January 1999.
It was a dark and cold night. Gone were bright lights of the Christmas season, leaving behind a darkness that went deep in your bones. No one should be out unless they had to. Ron Apparated at the gate of his small cottage outside of Hogsmeade, ready to get inside and sit in front of his fireplace. He stopped abruptly when he saw Pansy standing by the door, scarf wrapped around her face. "Parkinson, what are you doing here?"
"We need to talk," she answered.
The lack of sassy response put Ron on notice that this was serious. He used his wand to unlock the door and let her in. "Do you want something to drink?" he asked once the torches were on and the fire crackled in the fireplace, warming the small house.
"I'd better not." She hinted a smile. "We know how it went last time we drank together." She gestured toward the chair. "May I?"
Ron smiled. "We did have a good time, and make yourself comfortable. How about tea, or hot chocolate?" His mother had ingrained into them certain habits, which were hard to break. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
She laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "School, I guess I should be, but I sneaked out. Hot chocolate would be nice." She looked around the house. "Nice place you have here."
Ron shrugged. "I know it's small, but rent is cheap and it's all I can afford on my salary. I've only been working since May."
"I wasn't being sarcastic," she answered with a sigh. "With all the grief we've given you in school, I can see why you'd think so, but at least you have your own place, a job. We're back in school, repeating our seventh year, while worrying about relatives' trials."
"You have a whole manor," Ron pointed out.
"True, but it's not very pleasant when the reason you have it is because your father was killed and your mother is in Azkaban." She rested her arms on the table and stared at him. "You never came to the New Year's Eve party. I know a drunken one night doesn't lead to a lasting friendship, but I thought you'd show up."
"Something came up at work. I wasn't at the Burrow either if it makes you feel better. I probably should have owled." Ron wasn't sure if he should or shouldn't have, but it was the polite thing to say until he figured out why she was here. He moved around the small kitchen getting the hot chocolate ready and giving her the time to say what she came to say. "Is this why you're here? Want to yell at me for my bad manners?"
Pansy snorted. "I wish, although my friends think that I lied about being with you. My way to get back at Draco for dumping me. I was upset about that until-" She leaned back and put her hands on her stomach. "Something else happened."
Ron put a mug in front of her and sat next to her. "Will you tell me what? I don't mean to rush you, but if McGonagall finds out you left school, she'll expel you."
"She probably will anyway." She wrapped her hands around the mug and blew on the chocolate before taking a sip. She finally raised her eyes and met Ron's. "I'm pregnant."
"Fuck-" Ron didn't have to ask who the father was. Pansy had been a virgin when they had sex, both too drunk to think and certainly too drunk to worry about precautions. His mind raced through the options, but there was only one option for a Weasley. "We'll get married."
Pansy frowned. "That easy? We get drunk together once, two weeks ago, and you think that's the basis for a marriage?"
Ron shrugged. "What other options are there? Do you want to have the baby by yourself?"
"Merlin, no," she said, horrified.
"Then what? You can't possibly-" Ron glared at her. "You don't want to get rid of the baby."
"Maybe I do," Pansy answered, defiantly.
Ron had to count to ten and backward, before answering. If there was one thing that he had learned from being an Auror, it was that lashing out without thinking led to a world of hurt, almost always physically, but there was the occasional emotional pain. "If you wanted to, you wouldn't be here to tell me about our child. You certainly can afford a potion."
Pansy put down the mug and crossed her arms. "I… Maybe I wanted you to tell me to abort it." She got up and started pacing. "I'm eighteen, with no family. I'm still at Hogwarts. And you- You certainly don't like me. One night! Christmas Eve. We were alone and drunk. It doesn't make us friends. Hell, you don't even know me. I don't know you. An abortion would make things easier."
Ron got up and stood in front of her. "I've never done what's easy. Easy would have meant never getting involved with Harry, ignoring what was happening and let others deal with it. It would have been easy. We're part of the Sacred 28. People might dislike us, but they couldn't question our bloodlines, but I didn't do easy. My family didn't do easy. Bill still has scars from a werewolf. George lost an ear. Fred- Fred is dead. We could have done nothing, but we chose to do what's right. Having this baby is right."
"I don't do what's right," Pansy said quietly. "I was happy to hand Potter over if it meant staying safe. I've only ever had to worry about me. I don't even have siblings."
"I do, plenty of them," Ron said with a smile. "And I'll be there to help you."
"What if we hate each other? What if don't want to be married? I could never get a divorce. What would people say?" Pansy asked, the worry and fear creeping in her voice.
"Screw what people would say. Mum would kill me!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I wish I could tell you that we could wait and take our time, getting to know each other, but we can't. Babies have their own time table. We know when it was conceived, Christmas Eve, so while we have time, you'll be in school. It's not like we'll learn much about each other when we can see each other once a month on Hogsmeade weekend."
She frowned. "You're suggesting that we get married now. That's- I mean people will know the reason. It'll be obvious when I start showing, but we can always say that that it was a wedding night baby. No one will believe it, but they can't really call us on it. Do you really think this could work?"
Ron nodded. "We'll have to tell my parents. They'll go mental if we elope and if we don't, Mum will insist on having the huge wedding, which requires time."
Pansy shook her head. "No, we can't wait. We can tell them the reason and we'll do it quickly." She tapped her foot, the heel echoing through the room. "Why are you not freaking out? I'm freaking out. This wasn't what I expected. You were supposed to call me names and tell me to end this."
Ron laughed. "I've been dealing with the most powerful Dark Wizard since I was eleven. I might not be Harry, but I've seen my fair share. A baby is a happy thing. Seriously, did you really think a Weasley would complain about a child?" He closed the gap between them and cupped her cheeks. "I'm not saying this will be easy, but I've got a job, you have money-"
"And a manor and house-elves. You can move in there," Pansy said.
"When you finish school. I'd feel weird to move in there without you," Ron said. "The point I was making is that we are a lot more financially stable than most people our age. The rest- We'll figure it out. Plenty of arranged marriages in the Sacred 28, right? We have one up on them. At least we know that we enjoy sex with each other."
Pansy laughed. "Now, you're being an idiot." She put her arms around him and leaned against him. "I still don't know if it'll work, but I didn't want to get rid of the baby."
"I know and neither do I. When's the next Hogsmeade weekend?" he asked.
"Next week. I'll need to get back inside without being seen or they won't let me out," she said.
Ron grinned. "Now that's the easy part. I'll let you in, don't worry about that. So Saturday, I'll make sure to be off. I'll have my family here and we can do the marriage spell. The rest- we'll worry about it later." He kissed her forehead. "Okay?"
Pansy nodded. "I'm scared."
"It's okay, it's why you're getting married to a Gryffindor," Ron said.
"So I can watch you do things that are insane?" she said, huffing. "I'm not sure that helps with the fear. I like things I can fix with a few words and letting others do the work."
"Can't help you there, but look at it this way. You can tell people that you were so impressed with my cock that we had to get married. It'd really fuck Malfoy up."
Pansy laughed at that. "I can work with that."
Ron grinned. "All right, let's get you back to school before anyone notices that you're gone, and I'll see you back here on Saturday."
Ron felt slightly guilty that he hadn't told Hermione or Ginny. They were in school and he wasn't going to have that discussion at Hogwarts, where nothing stayed secret. On the other hand, he knew they would be the hardest ones to convince.
His parents had been surprised, but then there had been tears of joy in his mother's eyes and talk of the first grandchild and marriage, and they had forgotten about Pansy's identity. His brothers had mostly said that it was his choice and they supported him. Harry had hugged him tight and said that he couldn't wait to be an uncle. When Ron had tried to mention the reasons why Pansy had done what she had done, he waved it away with a big smile and promised that they'd be fine.
Now both Ginny and Hermione were here, demanding to know why the entire Weasley clan was present. Ron wasn't even sure why, considering she had dumped him, Hermione thought she had a right to ask in that tone that implied he was about to do something stupid, but they were still friends.
"So… I'm getting married. Today. That's why everyone is here. We didn't want anyone to know and I couldn't tell you if you were in school, so we waited until today since it's Hogsmeade weekend," Ron said.
"You're getting married," Hermione repeated.
"Today," Ginny put in.
"And to whom?" Hermione asked.
Harry joined them and put an arm around Ron. "To Pansy Parkinson," he said with a smile.
"Are you mad?" Ginny asked. "That bitch-"
"Is about to become your sister-in-law," Ron said. "Can we skip what happened with Fleur and go with acceptance? Because I'm not changing my mind."
"Did she hex you? Did she hex Harry? Look at that stupid smile!" Hermione looked at them confused. "She's dating Draco Malfoy."
Ron shook his head. "They broke up and she didn't hex anyone."
"I know you, Ron, but this is stupid," Ginny said. "There's something you aren't telling us."
"I'm pregnant." Hermione and Ginny turned around and saw Pansy standing there. "Your mother let me in. She hugged me," Pansy said with confused tone.
"She does that a lot." Ron went to put an arm around her and kissed her softly. "The officiant will be here soon and Mum made food for everyone. She would have preferred to do this at the Burrow, but since none of you can leave Hogsmeade she relented."
"I appreciate it. It would have been hard to get married if I couldn't be there," Pansy said. "If you don't mind, I want to change before the ceremony. I brought a dress with me. I know it's stupid with a small wedding, but-"
"It's not. This is forever, remember?" Ron said with a smile. "You know where the bedroom is."
Pansy nodded. "If you'll excuse me." She nodded at the two women, but stopped in front of Harry. "Thank you for being here."
"Are you kidding me? I'm going to be an uncle," Harry said, looking down at her stomach.
Pansy chuckled. "You lot are all insane."
"We agree on something," Ginny said while Pansy walked away. "Just because she's pregnant, you don't have to get married, you know that, right? She probably did it on purpose anyway and you shouldn't be stuck with it. She can raise it alone."
"She didn't do it on purpose and she's not raising our child alone," Ron said coldly. "She didn't trap me. She told me and I proposed on the spot. I will not abandon my child."
"You can co-parent and not be together," Hermione pointed out. "There's also abortion or adoption-"
"Stop. Both of you, stop. I love you and I know you are looking out for me, but I want this child. I'm not discussing options, because there's only one option for me. I'm marrying her and we're having a child together. It's that simple." Or it should be, but he knew that neither Ginny nor Hermione saw it that way. "I want you here, and you don't have to be happy for me, but it is a happy day and you can't ruin it for all of us. Even Mum keeps tearing up about the baby."
"That's the only reason she's okay with this. Remember how she was with Fleur and now- look at her, she's following Parkinson to your room." Ginny shook her head. "You lot have lost your mind, but I won't say anything. Just don't expect me to be her best friend."
Ron nodded. "That's fair."
Harry rubbed the back of his head. "She'll have a rough time in Slytherin once everyone finds out that she's married and is pregnant."
"Oh no, don't you start," Hermione said.
"I'm not saying become her best friend, but maybe you can help her," Harry said with a shrug.
Hermione sighed. "First Malfoy, now Parkinson. Seriously, Harry, we're not the Slytherin Rescue Society."
"No, we're not, but she's family now," Harry said.
"God, I hate you both," Ginny said, shaking her head, but before she could say more, Arthur called out for them.
The officiant from the Ministry had arrived and they got ready for the ceremony. Ron looked around the small room and couldn't believe how amazing his family was. Fleur had arranged to have a bouquet for Pansy without even knowing her. Percy had insisted that music was required and he'd arranged it, bringing over his gramophone and records. Harry was the Best Man and had managed to get them both new dress robes. Bill had decorated the house. His mother had prepared all the food and gotten the wedding cake. George had apparently arranged a special indoor firework display.
"You're smiling like an idiot," Harry whispered.
"I was thinking how amazing you lot are," he admitted.
"We love you and we want you happy, but I hope you're smiling because you're getting married to." Harry stopped talking as the music started.
The bedroom door opened up and Molly came out, joining her husband. She sent an apologetic look to Percy who started the music once again. This time Pansy came out. She was dressed in a red gown, with heavy silver and gold embroidery. She looked regal, with the red a sharp contrast to her red skin and black hair.
The ceremony itself went pretty quickly, having chosen to do the standard spell. When he finally kissed her, he felt butterflies in his stomach. He was married and in nine months, he'd be a father. He was married. "We are married."
Pansy nodded. "We are and- fuck, what's happening?"
Ron laughed as fireworks exploded all around them. "It's George's idea of fun. He made fireworks that can work indoors. You get the effects of the fireworks, but they aren't real." He kissed her again, still chuckling. "You'll get used to it. Now let's mingle. You have to meet your new family."
Being at Hogwarts as an Auror didn't feel different. Being here when he wasn't a student while almost everyone else was did. With the exception of Harry and Neville, everyone had gone back, but Ron didn't think he could spend his time worrying about exams after what they had gone through.
"Mr. Weasley, thank you for coming." The Headmistress had met Ron at the front door.
"Of course, I have to say I'm curious on why I'm here," he said as he got in step with her as they walked.
"As you know, I'm responsible for the emotional, physical and moral well-being of the student," she started, but raised her eyebrows when Ron snorted.
"With all due respect, we were eleven when you sent us to the Forbidden Forest with a man who wasn't allowed to do magic and knowing that there was a killer out there. And spiders." He shivered. "Lots of spiders."
"You seem more upset about the spiders than the killer," she said with a frown.
"What would Hogwarts be without someone wanting to murder you?" he said, laughing.
McGonagall sighed. "We made a lot of mistake with your year, but that's not the reputation I want the school to have. We are doing things a little differently now."
"I doubt it's why you asked me to come here," Ron said. "So what is happening, Headmistress?"
"We have a student who is pregnant, she claims-"
"That we got married last month." Ron stared at her. "Why is that any of your business?"
"We have children at this school school," McGonagall said.
"You have Death Eaters at this school. I'd say that murder trumps pregnancy if you're worried about upholding morals," Ron said.
"Mr. Potter insisted that we make adjustments for Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall pointed out.
"I hear Goyle is back in school, too." Ron hated that the 'students' were given a pass, but he wasn't about to rehash that with the Headmistress, not when Shacklebolt had sided with Harry on this. "Anyway, do you need to know anything else?"
"She's in the infirmary. She was bleeding-"
"Why didn't you start with that?" Ron asked, but before she answered, he realized that they were right in front of the infirmary. He stepped inside. The main room was empty. "Where is she?" he asked Pomfrey. The matron pointed to a private area and Ron ran the last few steps. "Are you all right?"
Pansy nodded. "Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion to stop the miscarriage. I'll have to be on bed rest for a week. I'm sorry that they called you, I didn't want to worry you, but they insisted, said that I'd have to leave the school, being an unwed mother, so I had to tell them."
Ron snorted. "Emotional well-being my arse." He shook his head at her raised eyebrow. "Not important." He kissed her cheek and put a hand on her stomach. "The important thing is that you are both all right, and you should worry me. This is our child. I want to know what's happening." He turned his head when he heard footsteps. "Does she have to stay here? She could come home."
Pomfrey shook her head. "Nonsense. I know the hours Aurors have. You'll be out at all hours and if something goes wrong, she's all alone. She'll stay here and I'll keep an eye on her. I'll make sure that she's fine."
"And I can arrange for her school work to be brought here. We don't allow family members to come here for various reasons, but no one would complain about an Auror keeping the school safe," McGonagall said. "We'll leave you alone now. Stay as long as you need, Mr. Weasley."
"Thank you." Now alone, Ron grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. The hand went back to Pansy's stomach. "Are you really okay?"
She leaned back against the propped pillows and looked up at the ceiling. "I was scared. I knew I didn't want to abort it, but I didn't know how much I wanted this baby until I saw the blood." Her eyes met his. "Our baby. It's so small still. Madam Pomfrey said that we can find out the sex soon. We can do it on your birthday. Ginny said that it's on the first of March."
Ron nodded. "It is. So are you and Ginny doing all right?"
"She's frosty, not that I blame her. I made her life miserable last year. Granger… Hermione has been very nice. It's terrible. How am I supposed to dislike her on your behalf if she's nice?" Pansy said with a smirk.
Ron laughed. "She's terrible with her kindness. You can hate her for that, although-" He shrugged. "I stopped being angry at her very fast. We are very different people. She wants a career and take over the world. I want to live well, get married, have children."
Pansy's laughter filled the room. "You did a wonderful job at getting what you want. We got the estate, the wedding and the child, all in a few weeks. We're set."
His gaze clouded. "I didn't marry you for the money."
"I know, but I'm not throwing away the money so you can feel righteous. I'm sorry it offends your Gryffindor sensibilities, but we'll enjoy life," Pansy said.
"Trust me, I'm not opposed to enjoying life. Our children won't have to worry about hand-me-downs, but they won't be as snobbish as Malfoy," Ron warned.
"That sounds good. There is something else that we do need: wedding rings. Go to the estate. I'll give you a letter to hand my house-elves. You can pick one of the family rings. Whatever you like. I know exactly what I want as my wedding ring. It belongs to my great-grandmother. My mother always said that I could have it when I got married." She leaned over and kissed him. "And don't argue with me about those. They are antiques that you can't find anywhere. I want people to know that this is real, not something we are doing for the baby. The ring will do that, at least with the pureblood families."
"And there she is, the Slytherin, planning and plotting," Ron said, without heat. "I'll go to the estate- Fuck, that's really weird to say."
"You'll get used to it," she answered. Silence fell between them and Ron stayed there, hand on her stomach until Pansy spoke up again. "They talked about sending me home."
"It's over now. You don't have to worry about it." Ron squeezed her hand. "You'll be able to get your NEWTs."
"I know it's silly. It's not like I need them. I have the money, I'm married. No proper pureblood would be expected to work, but I want to do this."
Ron laughed. "Not sure my family qualifies as proper pureblood and my Mum never worked, but you can if you want to. You shouldn't decide now. Let's have this baby and then we worry about the rest."
It wouldn't be easy, but Ron knew that they would succeed.