Betrayal

It took a bit of time, but Harry and Hermione (along with Ginny, to a degree) managed to set things up so that Hermione would have not only custody of little Solomon, but title to the flat she and the child currently occupied and a means to live and care for him until she managed to find work. [It was also arranged that Harry would have visitation rights basically whenever he wished, he just needed to inform Hermione beforehand. Other than that, he would be able to spend the boy's birthday with him and the occasional holiday such as Christmas.] Harry also saw to it that there was a special fund for the boy's education when the time came. Once that was taken care of and the dissolution had gone through, Harry gave Ginny permission to tell Ron that he and Hermione had officially broken up and that he, Ron, could pursue her if he so chose. How long it would take before it sunk in, no one could say, not even Harry or Ginny, two of the ones who knew him best--but with any luck, they hoped it wouldn't be too long ... if only for his and Hermione's sake.

Of course, Hermione and the child were naturally still welcome at the Burrow; it still remained to be seen, however, how Ron would take to the idea of raising Harry's child, even part-time. The whole point of this breakup was to see to it that the couples who truly loved each other could be together. There would be adjustments to make on everyone's part, of course, and Molly's most of all--but what mattered most to her was the fact that her children, both natural and adopted, would be happy with the ones they loved and not forced to be apart as they had been in the beginning.

As soon as things settled down a bit, which took roughly two weeks for most of those concerned, Harry began searching for a flat he and Ginny could share even as the wedding plans for the two of them shifted into high gear once the dissolution of his first marriage had become official. After that, he stayed at Grimmauld Place temporarily while flat-hunting and Ginny spent part of her time there and part of her time at the Burrow--making plans to move in permanently with Harry once they were officially married.

* * * * *

One day shortly after the dissolution had become official and Harry had moved into Grimmauld Place, he wasn't really surprised to find Ron at the door after he had answered the knock, charming the curtains over the portrait of Sirius's mother to stay closed so she didn't start shrieking racial epithets. "I need to talk to you, mate," was all Ron said.

"I figured that," Harry replied, and could well guess what about ... or more accurately, who.

He went into the kitchen, and while Kreacher got them some food and drink, Ron stated just what was on his mind, as was his habit. "I want to talk to you about Hermione."

"What about her?"

"Gin says the two of you have broken up."

"That's right. The dissolution became official last week, so 'Mione is free to go out with whomever she wishes."

"Including me?" Ron prompted.

"Including you," Harry confirmed. "In fact, I was kind of hoping you'd come by so I could tell you in person that you have my blessing to do so, and that if it makes you too uncomfortable to have little Solomon around, I'd be glad to take him temporarily while you're out with her--at least for a while."

"That might be a good idea, at least at first," Ron agreed. "It's going to take some getting used to, the idea of knowing that 'Mione is free again without having to deal with a child."

"But you'll have to, sooner or later, because I won't always be able to take him--nor will anyone else. It might be a good idea to start preparing yourself to meet and spend time with him, because he's definitely a permanent fixture."

"What about you and Gin?"

"Oh, I plan on officially proposing to her in the not-too-distant future because I want us to be married before she has the baby if we can manage it. I'm also looking for a flat to accommodate all of us. Gin, myself and the baby, that is ... as well as a room for when Solomon visits. Molly is making the plans for the wedding, but we have told her to make sure to consult us because after all, it is our wedding and we have the right to have some input."

"It'd be a good idea to remind her of that now and again because she tends to forget it," Ron cautioned. "Remember how Bill's wedding was."

"Oh, do I ever," Harry sighed after taking a drink of butterbeer and another bite of bacon and eggs. "If it wasn't for Fleur and her mother making sure they had input ..." his voice trailed off.

"Mum loves to be in charge of things, but you've got to watch her or else she'll take over completely--and trust me, you don't want that," Ron remarked in between bites of food and drink. "Oh, one other thing I wanted to ask ..."

"Yeah?"

"Has Gin been able to spend time with Solomon yet? If so, how do they get along?"

"Oh, I think she'll eventually get used to him and learn to love him, if only due to the fact that he's my child. However, she's still a bit standoffish at the moment. After all, it's going to take her longer than overnight to get used to the fact of both my former marriage and the child. For that matter, I'm not even sure if she's completely adjusted to the fact of what happened while we were out looking for the Horcruxes."

"Do you think she'll say yes to your proposal?"

"I can't be totally certain, but I believe so," Harry returned, finishing his butterbeer and food in one last bite.

Ron had finished some time before and was waiting for him to catch up. "Here's the ring, in fact. Don't tell Gin about it, though. I want to surprise her with it next time I see her." Harry pulled something in a dark blue velvet box from his pocket and pushed it across the table so Ron could look at it. Even to his untrained eye, Ron could tell that the centre octagonal stone had to be at least a carat, with ten smaller diamonds surrounding it in a Tiffany setting and 24k yellow gold. "Beautiful, mate. She should love it. Is it a family heirloom? It doesn't look new."

"It isn't. It's the ring Dad gave to Mum when he proposed to her. They left their rings to me. I officially acquired them when I became of age."

Ron sighed deeply and pushed the ring back across the table. "I'd better go now, mate. Just wanted to get a few things clear. Best of luck with Gin."

"Thanks. Same goes for you with Hermione. See you later."

"Later, mate." Ron patted Harry's nearest shoulder and left the room.

Not long afterward Harry directed Kreacher to clean up and then went to clean up himself.