I don't own Harry Potter

I love Ron Weasley

And I'm envious of J.K. Rowling's fat mountain of cash

That's all there is to it!

A/N: To anyone who is still reading this fic after 3 long years, I'M SORRY!
I do hope you enjoy this new chapter though! xoxo

Pirouettes and Pyromania

Tick, tock, tick, tock

Ron was pacing the living room floor, wringing his hands and glancing nervously at the clock. Hugo sat on the floor alternating between shrieking and giggling at his father and trying to stuff an elderly Crookshanks tail into his little mouth. Tonight was going to be an interesting night, a very interesting night indeed for you see, Rose Weasley was having her first ever ballet recital. Hermione was fiercely adamant that whilst their children would be primarily educated in a magically safe setting before Hogwarts, they would take part in muggle activities and hobbies. "best of both worlds" she said proudly whilst flicking through brochures of dance classes and mummy and me swimming lessons while Ron sat there, agog at the notion of trotting around a room rather than flying on a broomstick.

So there she was one night a week at a little dance studio in the closest muggle town, prancing around to classical music and having a ball with the muggle children then trying to re-enact her pirouettes at home much later and kicking over daddy's work brooms by accident and watching them splinter as she hopped away in her tutu...

Tonight the 4-5 age group of Ms. Bennett's ballet studio would be performing for the first time, and 4 year old Rose Weasley had been chosen to be lead swan in the highly modified and adapted version of Swan Lake. Many a night during classes Hermione would sit with a sheepish look on her face as Rose would side-eye any child doing better than she was and the bar would mysteriously become slippery or their slippers would somehow become untied or knotted causing them to trip (not even the countless lectures after her spiders landed Ron in St. Mungos could hold back that fierce Weasley spirit).

"DON'T BE LATE" Rose squealed as she ran excitedly out the door to the car while lugging her immensely feathered costume with her, feathers and glitter coming free and trailing on the carpet to the door.

Hermione handed Hugo over to Ron and grabber her handbag off the table as she readied herself.

"Ok, so, I'm dropping Rosie to the auditorium and then picking up Mum and Dad..."

"Check" said Ron, beaming while looking out the door at an impatient Rose waving a stick as some kind of makeshift wand to unlock the car door.

"And then we'll go back to the auditorium and wait for you"

"Sounds like a plan love!" Ron leaned in for a goodbye kiss, but Hermione continued

"And then your parents should be arriving by floo around 5pm..."

Ron snapped to attention

"Sorry... what?"

"What what Ron? Your mother and father are coming tonight" she looked at him, exasperated.

"When? When did you invite them?" he was starting to stress "you know what happened when we took them to that shopping centre last month, Dad nearly flipped when we walked past that electron store!"

"Electronics Ronald and it will be fine! Besides, they really want to see her dance after all that practice she's been putting in at the burrow" she smirked, thinking back to when Rose ran riot trying to perform a Grand Jete multiple times in all over the house.

"Bloody hell" Ron exhaled.

"BLOODY HELL!" came a high pitched voice from out side

"OI!" Ron yelled out the door.

"Anyway, we're running late and I- ROSE! STOP HITTING THE CAR! – We've got to run, love you! And you're parents will be over at 5" she kissed Ron and Hugo quickly and ran out the door to confiscate the stick which was once a wand, now a vicious weapon.

Forty minutes later and there he was pacing back and forth watching the clock and fireplace alternately until the flames started to rise then burst, eliciting shrieks of mirth from Hugo and hissing from crookshanks.

Arthur came through first, then molly close behind.

"Ron! How are you son" he enveloped his youngest son in a hug as molly leant down to pick Hugo up off the floor and smother him with kisses.

"Hello darling, how are you? Have you had supper yet? You look a little tired" Molly said whilst fussing with Ron's hair and patting his cheeks.

"I'm fine mum! Fine! Now about tonight... take a seat quickly..."

Arthur and Molly sat transfixed while Ron listed off the do's and don'ts for the evening, placing specific emphasis on wands staying in coats at all times and that there was to be no shrieking, giggling or pointing at any foreign objects throughout the evening.

"Ron, really now, if we can manage a family dinner with Audrey's family we can manage this"

Audrey was Percy's wife, and Ron suspected molly had a very different memory of what actually happened the evening of their engagement party, wherein half the guests had to be obliviated due to a mass family freak out when the festive sparklers on their cake was lit...

"Now, will we be taking the car?" Arthur clapped his hands together eagerly looking out the window in the hopes of seeing Hermione's car.

"No, she's taken it to pick up her parents and drop Rose off dad. We'll be taking a cab-"he noticed Arthur beaming at the thought "and please for the love of Merlin do not speak for the entire ride!"

They both looked a little disheartened as he said this.

"I just... I just want her concert to go well without any magic going on and freaking out the muggles, yeah?" he looked at his parents, concerned that he had offended them.

"Of course not sweetheart" Molly smiled warmly while bouncing Hugo on her lap.

A while later they piled into a cab, Arthur with a look on his face that was so ecstatic, the driver asked if he was having a heart attack.

Parents crowded in the foyer of the auditorium, enjoying drinks and nibbled before the show was to start.

"Ron! RON!" Hermione rushed through the crowd to her husband, who was standing with his parents, trying not to stand out.

She was followed by Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who looked a darn sight more in the norm than the Weasley's.

"Hermione my dear! How are you? Where's little Rosie?" Molly asked, handing Hugo over to his mother as she untangled his fist from her hair.

"Oh she's all dressed and they're preparing now, shouldn't be long!" she quickly looked over her shoulder and leaned in closer "there was a little incident with untying other peoples shoes from the other side of the room but I've sorted it out. No Honeydukes for a year if she does it again"

Ron looked appalled at the proposed punishment, but they had begun to be ushered in to the auditorium before he could say anything.

They sat down in the front row, a special honour for the family of the lead swan indeed!

It went Arthur, Molly, Ron, Hermione and Hugo, Mr. Granger and then Mrs. Granger, all ready and rearing to see their feisty little red head steal the show.

The room went dark, curtains parted (whisper's of amazement and hurried shushing came back and forth from both Weasley men) music started to play and 20 4 – 5 year old girls trotted out onto the stage, stumbling, tiptoeing and prancing about in some sort of routine. They were covered in feathers and glitter and couldn't look happier. Everybody beamed as Rose popped out from behind the forest props and galloped into the middle of the designated "lake".

Everything was going swimmingly for the first number, the audience clapped enthusiastically as they prepared for their next dance. Hugo started to fidget and squirm as 2 year olds do and slipped off Hermione's lap.

She leaned down to pick him up, but he had scooted over to grandma Weasley before she could catch him. Molly leaned over to pick up her grandson and nodded to Hermione who smiled and sat back to enjoy the second number.

The music started up, a cheery number, and once again the little girls trotted into the middle of the stage. Hugo began to wave his arms wildly as he bounced on his grandmother's lap, and then it happened...

Without notice, one of the large painted trees onstage busted into flames. Screams came from the audience as the girls began to panic onstage, some jumping off into the crowd and others starting to cry. As soon as it started, the fire stopped. Parents in the audience were on their feet and were running to the stage to get the girls down fast. Seconds later, another tree went up in flames, and then another, and a third. All three stopped as soon as they started, and began to combust alternately in patterns and waves. Everyone was screaming and running around like mad except for the Weasley's and grangers, who calmly but quickly exited their seats and made for the exit with Hugo flapping his arms excitedly.

Ron had to run back inside through the frantic crowds to remove rose from the stage, who despite the protests of those around her, was dedicated to finishing her duty as lead swan and complete the performance.

Hermione stood outside and out of view near her parked car with her parents and the Weasley's as they heard fire trucks whiz past. Ron eventually appeared with rose slung over his shoulder, furiously beating on his back screaming "PUT ME DOWN!"

As he set her on her feet she straightened out her feathers and looked up at the adults staring at her.

Hermione's hair was as wild as the look in her eyes as she crouched down and held her daughters shoulders, facing her.

"Was it you" she asked sternly

"Was what me, mummy?" Rose fluttered her eyes in an innocent manner

"You KNOW what I'm talking about young lady" Hermione tried not to shriek at her defiant four year old.

Rose started to tremble as her mother's stare bore down on her, a tear ran down her cheek and she confessed

"I did it mummy! I'm so sorry but sally said her feathers were better than mine and they WEREN'T but all I did was make them fall off I SWEAR! PLEASE don't get rid of Honeydukes PLEASE!" she wept and turned, fleeing into molly's arms.

"Rose, I'm not talking about the feathers, I'm talking about the rather obvious fire..." she stood up and placed her hands on her hips, looking at Ron to step in.

"Rose... rose?" he tried to coax her away from her grandmother for questioning, but she just held her closer weeping and crying "I didn't do it! I didn't do it!"

Ron looked back at Hermione and shrugged

"Is that all you're going to do? Bloody useless Ron, how are we supposed to teach her if you're just going to stand there and do nothing?"

"What, me? At least I'm not yelling at her!"

They began to argue back and forth while rose sobbed in Mrs. Weasley's arms, Arthur prodded awkwardly at the car and the grangers fussed over Hugo who had begun to wave his arms about again.

"Hermione dear, Hermione!" Mrs. Granger said an odd tone to her voice.

Snapping out of the row with her husband, Hermione turned around to her mother.

"Umm, I think you'd better look behind you" Mrs. Granger pointed to the shrubs behind her daughter as she frantically tried to hold Hugo's arms in place.

"Oh bloody flipping hell!" Ron yelled as he too turned to see the shrubs in the parking lot flame in patterns as they had done inside.

"Hugo!" Hermione beamed breathlessly, racing over to her son she pulled him from her mother's arms and squeezed him tight, babbling praise and adoration over his first signs of magical skill.

"Oh he's picked it up so early! Rose only showed hers a few months ago and he's only 2! Aren't you so clever my darling!" she nuzzled into his cheek and he laughed.

The whole family crowded Hugo as he laughed; kissing and praising the little boy while rose had calmed down enough to congratulate her little brother.

"FIRE! THERE'S ANOTHER FIRE OVER THIS WAY! QUICK!"

Ron turned around frantically as he saw a fireman run from the distance.

"Oh bloody hell, in the car everyone now, now, now, LET'S GO!"