Love's Battle Revisited

12 - Reconciliation

It was late the next morning that Harry and Ginny decided to go visit Ron at the rehab clinic. Of course, neither could be sure Ron would consent to see him, especially now that he knew that Harry was seeing Ginny again, but Harry cared too much about him to stay away. When they reached his room, they looked through the window in the door and saw that Luna was there with the children; she was holding one of his hands while Ron was holding his little daughter Molly with the other; their five-year-old son Ron Jr. stood beside his mother trying to get his father's attention.

Ginny recalled that there was a limit as to how many visitors patients could have, so she thought she'd better go in alone, at least at first, promising Harry she would invite him in if she could manage to get Ron to agree to see him. Meanwhile, the best he could do was observe through the door.

She knocked on the door and Luna invited her in upon seeing who it was. "Good to see you, Gin. Oh, guess what I just found out!" Their eyes met, asking an unspoken question as to whether or not Harry was with her, and Ginny nodded. Luna looked at the door and saw him looking through, smiling and waving; Harry smiled and nodded back.

"What did you find out, Luna?"

"I'm pregnant again! The Healer says it happened just recently, around two weeks ago. That's just about the time Harry gave me some money and told me to take Ron out for a nice dinner, then come home and have a bit of fun and games." Luna looked at her husband, smiled and blushed, then returned to finish speaking to Ginny. "Who would have thought I would have him to thank for a new child?"

"Harry should be pleased to hear that. Which reminds me; do you think Ron would mind him coming in?"

Luna looked troubled, wanting to bring the two estranged friends back together but not knowing just how to go about it. She loved Ron to distraction, but he was one of the most stubborn men she had ever known, bordering on pig-headed. Until and if he decided otherwise, he wasn't about to give in--especially if he thought he was in the right. It wasn't fair to Harry to shut him out when he cared just as much for Ron as any of them, but the question was how to convince Ron of that.

"I think as long as the two of us are here, and Ron neither has his wand or his hands free, it might be safe enough," Ginny opined, smiling and gesturing to Harry to come in. His face lit up as he opened the door and began approaching them. When he reached Ginny on the right side of Ron's bed, he slid an arm around her and nuzzled her nearest ear, then put both around her and squeezed her before kissing her deeply. He kept his hands in discreet places since he was taking enough of a chance doing what he was doing, especially in front of Ron. He wasn't as good with wandless, nonverbal spells as Harry was, but no sense taking unnecessary chances.

Finally Ron handed his little daughter Molly, named after her paternal grandmother, to Luna and said, "Cut it out, Harry! The last thing I need is to watch you and Ginny snogging in front of me like a couple of bloody rabbits!" Even in his lingering anger and hurt, Ron could see that Harry truly loved Ginny and his heart softened, if only a little, toward him.

Harry reluctantly dropped his hands and simply stood next to Ginny for the next few minutes. "Sorry, mate. I forgot how much it bothers you." He did his best to make his tone properly apologetic. "Hope you didn't have too bad a hangover. I know what swilling six bottles of Ogden's can do to a bloke."

"Why would you need to drink? I thought you and 'Mione had a fairytale marriage!"

"Not nearly as much as you might think. She ... even cheated on me. I also had to basically take care of our girls by myself. Drinking was the only way I could forget Gin, even for a little while--but I did my best to make sure the girls never saw me drunk."

"Sorry that things didn't work out for you--but you have to admit both of you had it coming. Even at that, Luna's been telling me that Gin has even met the girls, not to mention the fact that you've met the daughter you had with her. Can imagine how Draco feels about that!" The laughter prompted by that was music to Harry's ears; he had never imagined he would ever hear his friend laugh again.

"What matters is that things are being straightened out little by little. Mum always did say that life was too short and uncertain to hold grudges, right, Gin?" Ron exchanged a knowing glance with his sister as she nodded in agreement, having taken Harry's nearest hand and entwined her fingers with his.

"Can't say it'll be easy to be around you for a while ... 'Mione, either, but I guess reconciliation has to start somewhere. It's going to be pretty hard to stay mad at you since I have you to thank for my new child. Let's just say that forgiveness is far easier than forgetting. Have you any idea whether or not 'Mione intends to come see me, Harry?"

"I have no idea, though I suppose I could have Gin ask her. She sees her more than I do nowadays."

"Might be a good idea," Ron agreed. "Just the same, I'm afraid my declaration regarding your girls will have to stand, at least for the time being, because it's just too hard for me to look at them and know that they could so easily have been mine."

"I understand, mate," Harry returned solemnly. "As I've said, neither of us ever truly meant to hurt anyone, and I hope we can eventually become friends again, because I've never stopped caring about you and I never will."

Even as much as Ron didn't want to, he had to admit that despite his pain, anger and bitterness, that he still loved Harry like another brother, even as much as his and Hermione's actions had hurt him. Just the same, it would take longer than overnight for them to get back to what they were. For the time being, though, what would it hurt to at least be on speaking terms again, as long as they stuck to subjects of mutual interest, like Quidditch, their work, their wives and families, things like that.

"I've missed you, too, Harry." Ron's voice was almost too quiet for those in the room to hear, but Harry heard it. The next moment found them locked in a fierce, albeit brotherly, hug; the girls found their eyes filled with happy tears at the heartwarming sight. Nothing more beautiful than reconciliation, that was for sure.

"I'm also sorry to have driven you to drink again, mate," Harry murmured into his friend's red hair, unable to keep from crying with a mixture of happiness and relief himself. "I should have remembered how much you disliked having things kept from you."

"That just proves that I left rehab too soon last time," Ron assured him. "But I assure you, I don't intend to let it happen again. After all, I've got a new baby coming and a wife and family to think about."

"Maybe one of these days our respective families can even get together, Gin's and my three and your three," Harry remarked carefully, waiting with bated breath for Ron's reaction. "Or maybe Gin's and my five, depending on whether or not we can get Draco to let the boys join us."

"Maybe. Let's get my third born first, though," Ron joked, lifting his hand so he could share a high-five with Harry, both of the newly reunited friends laughing with sheer delight.

"I'd also prefer to actually get married to Gin this time," Harry remarked, more confidently this time.

"You'd better be, mate," Ron warned. "Otherwise I'll get Fred and George to put their nastiest joke spell on you!" That was when everyone knew that the worst was behind them. Now it was only a matter of time before Harry and Ron were back where they once had been. Even at that, who could be sure just how things would go between Hermione and Ron when they saw each other one-on-one again? All they could do was keep their fingers crossed, as it were, and hope for the best.

* * * * *

This time it was only a month before Ron was back on his feet, emotionally and physically, although he had to keep taking antidepressants and have counseling. Luna had also been admonished to not keep Ogden's around anymore, that the most potent drink he should imbibe was an occasional butterbeer, and even then, only under strictly controlled conditions. Which meant that any others associating with him would have to toe the line as well, if only for his sake.

Once Luna told everyone that Ron was due to come out of rehab, Harry suggested that they have a home-coming party for him--but all made it their business to keep an eye on him, see to it that the most potent drink he had was butterbeer or pumpkin juice. And naturally the older Weasleys were thrilled to hear of Harry and Ron's reconciliation. Now if he could manage to do the same with Hermione, their little circle would once again be complete.

Of course, considering his newly rekindled love for Luna which had resulted in their new child, mainly thanks to Harry, it was unlikely that she and Ron would split up and he and Hermione get together. Of course, one could never tell about the future, but no sense tempting fate. What mattered was that life was finally settling down again and that the majority of, if not all, the people concerned were happy.

* * * * *

Within another month after this, Hermione had managed to meet with Ron and they reconciled, at least after a fashion, and were at least able to be in each other's company and be civil to each other, if nothing else. As said before, Ron might have finally managed to forgive his friends, but forgetting was another matter--especially considering the fact of the children who looked so much like their parents ... almost painfully so.

Ron also finally acknowledged the fact that while he would probably always have feelings for Hermione, Luna was the one he had married and had children with, and therefore the one he intended to stay married to. Hermione was somewhat disappointed at this, for she had been hoping that she and Ron could eventually rekindle their romance, but had to accept his decision and be thankful that they were at least friends again, even if they could never be more.

Harry and Ginny's relationship escalated almost geometrically. It was scarcely another month later that he officially proposed to her again ... and this time, he intended to go through with the wedding. They even decided to have their two oldest daughters as dual flower girls and one of Draco and Ginny's sons, David, as ring-bearer. Of course, for Draco to agree to the boy's participating, they had been obliged to invite him, but as long as Draco behaved himself and didn't shoot off his mouth too much, there shouldn't be any problem.

Hermione even offered to come to the wedding, if only to act as sentry and keep an eye on Draco, and while he still wasn't overly fond of her, he did respect her magical abilities. What's more, upon learning that she was to be present at the wedding of Harry and Ginny, Draco told himself it would be prudent to put on his company manners, if only to keep from embarrassing himself or his company in the eyes of the wizarding world. They even gave him leave to invite one guest, which they surmised would be Pansy ... and all would be in for a surprise once they renewed acquaintances--but they wouldn't learn it until the wedding actually took place.