@wazlibwheezes
It was a truth universally acknowledged that a woman, no matter her fortune, must be in want of a husband.
Specifically, a woman should wish to marry up above her station to be sure she’s taken care of and has the luxuries only the most privileged could afford, and if she was already fortunate enough to be wealthy, staying in that class was the best choice. Hermione Granger knew this quite well, having been raised from birth with the mantra of marrying up in her head, but when her family came into a small fortune of their own by chance, it changed to make sure she stayed right there. Personally, Hermione had been perfectly content at their modest income, but it would break her mother’s heart if she married below her station, so to many balls she went.
It was at one of these balls that she made the acquaintance of Mr. Harry Potter, whom became a brother of sorts to her much to the dissatisfaction of her mother (father didn’t care much, so long as she was happy). Rather than going off and becoming Mrs. Harry Potter, the two of them forged a close friendship, and when they ended up at the same dances she spent a good amount of time speaking with him rather than bothering with the other pompous men that were in their station. This time, however, the ball was being held by Harry himself at his new estate, and Hermione made her way to Godric’s Hollow before even receiving an invite. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be invited.
Of course, tonight Harry seemed to be tripping over himself over one Miss Weasley, the youngest and only female of the Weasley family. She hadn’t heard much of the family, but it didn’t take long for her to distinguish them easily by their bright red hair. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in attendance with two of their children, and though she wouldn’t admit it, Hermione found her eyes being drawn to the youngest son in between her attempts to get Harry to speak with Miss Weasley already.
Eventually, she got tired of playing chaperone and made her way toward Mr. Weasley without fully intending to do so, being at a slight loss for words when she ended up in front of him before finally saying, “You must be Mr. Weasley. If Miss Weasley isn’t interested in Mr. Potter’s advancements, let me know and I’ll dissuade him at once.”