Pride and Prejudice

“My word, Mr. Bennet!” A red-faced Mrs. Bennet squealed as her weary looking and dust-covered husband walked though the door. “Arthur, you will not believe the news I have just heard from dear Mrs. Sprout.”

“Oh what is it, Molly?” sighed Mr. Bennet.

“Gryffindor Manor has finally been purchased! And from what I have heard it’s been taken by a wealthy young man no less! We are in luck, Arthur! You must visit him at once!” Screeched Mrs. Bennet as she toddled down the staircase with tendrils of red hair falling loose from underneath her frilly cap.

“Do you know the name of the gentlemen who has taken the place? And how could this possibly be of any concern to us?” queried the less than curious Mr. Bennet as he slid off his overcoat and stomped mud off his boots.

“His name is Mr. Bingley,“ answered his dubious looking wife. “How could it be lucky for us? My word, Arthur! Have you forgotten our five daughters? Why this will be a wonderful chance for one of our girls to finally get married!”

“And how do you know this Bingley fellow is looking for a wife, dear? Did Mrs. Sprout tell you that as well?” Mr. Bennet shot his wife a questioning look before making his way into the sitting room where his two eldest daughters, Ginny and Hermione, were employed in trimming hats.

“Oh don’t be ridiculous, Mr. Bennet. All single men with lots of money are looking for wives. It’s a given.” replied Mrs. Bennet with an all-knowing look pasted on her plump face. “And you must visit him so that we can arrange for him to meet the girls.”

“I’m certainly not going to introduce myself to this young man right now, Molly. He needs time to get settled and I’m sure he is probably tired of being hounded by the rest of the neighborhood,” said Mr. Bennet in a teasing voice. At this Mrs. Bennet seemed to swell twice in size and Hermione shot Ginny a concerned look from across the room.

“I cannot believe you! Our girls won’t stand a chance of gaining his notice if you do not introduce yourself to him. You do not care a bit for your daughters or for my nerves, Arthur,” yelled Mrs. Bennet and at this half-fainted into a lounge chair sobbing hysterically.

Concern flooded Ginny’s blue eyes as she moved over to be nearer to her mother even though she new Mrs. Bennet was prone to fits of overreacting. Hermione on the other hand did not even look over at her mother but kept her long head of golden brown curls bent over her stitching. Only a slight snicker showed that she was even paying attention.

Rolling herself up into a sitting position Mrs. Bennet adjusted her cap before shooting a look at her second-eldest daughter. “Hermione, you should not be laughing about this. Both you and Ginny are getting to the age where you must be married soon or you could end up like that poor old maid friend of yours...Luna Lucas!”

Hermione rolled her eyes before setting the hat she was working on down. “Oh mother, Luna is my dearest friend. And besides father is just teasing you. I bet he has already gone to meet this Mr. Bingley.”

Mrs. Bennet sat up quickly at this and excitedly asked her husband, “Did you, Arthur? Have you gone to see Mr. Bingley?”

Peering over the top of his book, Mr. Bennet drolly replied, “Yes, of course woman. I went to see him this afternoon.”

“Oh well there you see, mother. There is nothing to fret over,” said Ginny as she gently patted her mother’s hand and moved back to sit near Hermione. Hermione merely rolled her chocolate brown eyes at her mother’s theatrics.

“Oh Arthur! This is so wonderful. What is he like? What does he look like? When do you think he will return the visit?” Mrs. Bennet seemed close to floating on air as she shot out a long list of questions.

Abandoning his book to a side table, Mr. Bennet replied, “Well he said he would not be able to visit soon because he is traveling to Hogsmeade shortly. Although I did find out that he is planning on throwing a ball upon his return to Gryffindor Manor.” After this announcement Mr. Bennet wisely excused himself to his study to get away from the excitement that would ensue upon news of a ball.

“Oh girls can you imagine? A ball at Gryffindor Manor! We must tell your sisters.” said Mrs. Bennet jumping up and practically running to the bottom of the stair case. “Lavender! Parvati! Padma! Get yourselves down here! There’s going to be a ball!” Lavender ,the youngest daughter, was the first down the staircase screeching the entire way with Parvati not too far behind. Padma was the last to make it down the stairs with a morose look on her face and a book in her hands.

“Oh, Mama! Can you imagine? A ball. How wonderful. I wonder if the soldiers will be there?” Lavender exclaimed as she draped herself across a sofa. “Can you imagine, ‘Vati? All the dancing? And all the handsome men?”

Parvati sighed theatrically and draped herself on the other half of the sofa. “Oh I know, Lav. All the men. If I have to sit out a dance I will be mortified.”

Hermione set side her work and gave her two youngest sisters a disapproving look. “You two would do well to not act like a couple of blithering peacocks in front of the entire town. You are far too young for most of the men there anyways. You would do well to apply yourselves more to your studies like Padma.” The mousy Padma looked up gratefully from where she was practicing the pianoforte.

Mrs. Bennet chuckled delightedly saying, “We must have all of our girls looking their best for this ball. Anyone of you could meet your future husband. Especially our lovely Ginny. I would not be surprised if this Mr. Bingley does not fall head over heels the moment he puts eyes on you, Ginny dear. That poor Luna Lucas doesn‘t even stand a chance…humph.” Hermione sighed inwardly at her mother’s stupidity although she silently agreed that Ginny would most definitely be the loveliest at the ball.

Ginny blushed lightly to the roots of her long auburn hair. “Oh, Mama. Don’t say that. Luna has a wonderful personality and I’m sure we are all going to have a lovely time at the ball.”

Mrs. Bennet wore an all knowing look as she replied, “Oh we shall see.”