Professor

{18}

{18~Surprise}

"Well then, I'll get it," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed towards the un-answered knock at the door.

She went and swung the door open to bring Ron in first, hugging him and then hugging a figure still hidden behind the door, "It's lovely to meet you, dear," she said and then pulled the rather bashful girl into the warm and exuberant house.

"Pans?" Draco exclaimed quickly, the first one of the whole bunch to speak as he let go of Luna and ran to give her a hug. "Wait, Pansy? You're Ron's mysterious girlfriend?"

Everyone had the same exact reaction that Draco did, but they certainly weren't running to hug the black-haired witch. She stood rather shyly in front of many of her Hogwarts enemies and took a few steps back into Ron's awaiting embrace. Obviously nervous, her eyes wondered in question over the motley group, keening especially on Severus Snape as she stood awkwardly in Ron's arms.

"Professor? Ron didn't tell me you were with... her."

Pansy gulped, obviously trying her hardest to see the people around her as friends... and everyone knew she wanted to do that, it was obvious the way Ron smiled down at her, blue eyes brimming with the most certain look of love.

"Miss Parkinson, a wonder seeing you here."

"Yeah, now I want details!" Draco decided for the lot, eyeing the couple with a need for confirmation that what he was seeing was actually true.

"Alright, let her be, I reckon she's scared enough by the hundred or so of you here," Ron said and somehow was able to squeeze his way over to Harry where he placed Pansy at the edge of the couch and stood over her like Snape was doing to a confused Hermione just across the room.

"I met her... just before 'Mione got her new job, actually, bummed out a pub after a brutal Quidditch game that Ginny won, but of course my team lost..." He looked sparingly at his pregnant sister who was grinning with pride. She was one hell of a chaser.

"I literally picked him up from the bar, he was sleeping," Pansy joined in, apparently the moment was much more romantic to them than anyone else.

"So, I looked at her, and I was confused a bit. I knew her, but at the same time... she'd changed from Hogwarts and I had this sudden need to know exactly what I didn't."

"I reckon," Parkinson interceded, "He stared at me a solid few minutes."

Ron laughed, emabrassed by far, "And then I mumbled through asking her out-- she said yes!"

"Obviously," George commented making the room chuckle.

"Git."

"Ron... I wasn't expecting it, I only said yes because I had just gotten off a shift and wanted a drink, but Merlin, I was hooked, the whole night, not wanting it to end."

"You've gone soft, Pans, completely bonkers!" Draco seemed to say in horror as he clutched Luna's waist earning respective glances from Xenophilous and Luna herself.

"You're just as smitten with my daughter," the man said factually, as serious as Harry, Hermione, and Ron had ever heard him speak. It stunned the whole room how thoroughly stright-toned Xenophilous had voiced the opinion.

That shut the blond up, however, leaving him to gesture quite pathetically towards Ron.

"And it went really well from there. I didn't want any opinions, and neither did she, so we agreed that we would do introductions on Christmas after we got through summer, and so far, everything has worked out great."