Rain

4. WHEN I WANTED SUNSHINE

What's the use of trying?

All you get is pain

When I wanted sunshine, I got rain

(Smash Mouth, I'm A Believer)

"You're an ass!"

I was just exiting the Wiz.Net building when those three words whizzed by my ear. At first, I didn't recognize them for what they were. Then, my face broke into a smile. This was an encounter that was long overdue. I had foregone lunch and visitors to make sure that I never had to run into my oldest and best friend, but now he had camped outside to wait for me. As usual, he was wearing a Disillusionment Charm, but he was so obvious that I could have picked him out of a crowd. "Wotcher, Harry!" I voiced. "You're looking quite spiffy, mate."

"Everyone's been worried about the two of you!" he continued as if I hadn't said a word.

"Nice weather we're having. Last month was absolutely dreadful, wasn't it?" I made a face. "All that bloody rain. Ri-di-cu-lous."

He ranted on. "Molly and Arthur are going out of their mind with worry. The twins are thinking about taking some desperate measures--"

"Those two needs to shag," I said quickly when he mentioned my older twin brothers, Fred and George. "Or better yet, let them shag each other."

As usual, the word 'shag' agitated Harry. "Is that all you ever bloody think about?!" he squawked.

I tried to think of the weirdest thing to say, but could only manage, "I also think about lemons."

He stared at me as if seeing for the first time. "Lemons?"

I nodded complacently. "Yeah, lemons. They're fruits, don't you know? Yellow, round, and--"

Harry looked exasperated. "We all know about the baby, alright?!" he cried. "So why are you two hiding?"

"We're not hiding," I said casually, totally ignoring the pang I felt with the mention of Bryce. "Just because we're too busy to answer a few owls--"

"A few? Over a hundred, Ron. A hundred!"

"--or a few knocks on the door--"

"I was there at least five times a week."

Somehow, I seriously doubted that Harry visited that often. "--or a few Floo calls, doesn't mean we're hiding," I finished with a shrug. "Maybe Hermione and I just need some alone time."

Harry thought on the idea for a while before saying, "Well, I hope you two have had enough alone time. Molly and Arthur are now hosting dinner every Sunday. You're invited. At the Burrow."

He had turned to leave when I stopped him with careless rhetoric. "It's just an invitation, right? We don't have to accept."

He growled as he whirled on his heels to face me. "You'd better accept it!" Was he actually threatening me?

"Or what?" I guffawed. "You'll eat my children?"

He spat the first thing that came to mind. "If I have to!"

"I don't have any children, remember?" And never will, I added silently, but Harry was so stunned by the statement that the addition wasn't necessary.

He stared hard at me for a moment, gaping, and I could almost tell the words running through his mind: How could he say that? What is wrong with him? Doesn't he give a damn about Hermione at all? Well, actually, those were the words running through my mind as I silently berated myself for what I had said. My mouth definitely had a mind of its own.

Harry's mind, on the other hand, was nothing like my mind, because he voiced all his opinions in one statement. "You're an ass."

* * * * *

Not that I was afraid that Harry would eat my children or anything, but I had to insist that Hermione accompany me to dinner at the Burrow. She agreed so readily that I was caught off guard.

"Dinner? At the Burrow? Sunday?" I repeated, to make sure that she had heard me properly.

She nodded. "Of course. Why not? I haven't seen--" She swallowed. "--everyone in a while. Dinner would be nice."

I had to pinch myself quite a few times throughout the week. Hermione hadn't accepted the dinner invitation, hadn't she?

Sunday came too soon. Naturally, I slept until two in the afternoon and when I woke, the flat was empty. Obviously, I hadn't heard Hermione, or I had been dreaming. I supposed that I would have to go alone, which was an accurate manifestation of how I truly felt. Hours later, just as I swung open the front door to leave, a Crack! announced someone's arrival.

I nodded unceremoniously as if I wasn't surprised to see my wife and without a word, we both Apparated to my family home. For some reason, I was a bit nervous, almost as if I was afraid that meeting my family would destroy the barricade that Hermione and I had obviously erected upon the loss of our child. Apparently, she was also afraid, for we both stood wordlessly in the front yard, staring at the door.

"Would you like to return to our flat?" I asked.

"No," she answered too hastily. "Would you?"

I shook my head. "No, but if you do--"

"No, I don't," she interrupted.

"I don't either."

But neither of us moved so much as an inch. "So . . ."

She nodded in the direction of the door. "Go on," she urged. "Knock."

"You do it."

"It's your family home."

"But you're also a Weasley," I said. "It's your family home, also."

We were saved the argument when the door slid open to reveal a smiling Harry. "You're here!" he squealed, as he dashed over to give each of us a hug. Ignoring the fact that his blatant displays of affection were met with awkwardness, he turned and rushed back into the house, beckoning us in.

"After you, Mrs. Weasley," I said.

She scowled, but said nothing as she headed after Harry. In the house, we were bombarded with another round of hugs, including a pronouncement of Harry and Ginny's engagement! As my family merrily chatted away, I wondered what exactly had we missed in the last two months. Apparently, they were hurriedly trying to fill us in, because they all seemed to be talking at once.

Suddenly, one voice rose above the rest to ask one of the questions that I had hoped to avoid. "What deed you do last Friday?" asked Fleur. Honestly, if that stupid bitch didn't watch her mouth, I would have to actually kill her. This would be the second time in two dinners that she said something stupid.

"What did we do?" Hermione repeated.

"Your anniversary," Mum elaborated.

"We, uh--"

I decided to save her from the blushing frenzy in which she had gotten herself. She was obviously trapped. "--looked at photos for the most part," I replied. It wasn't quite a lie. "They were, uh, fascinating."

Mum and Fleur exchanged glances, but a chorus of "Ah" was all I received from them.

I smiled at my family. "It's interesting how much you can learn about yourself when you look back at the person you used to be."

Ginny blinked wildly. "Wow, Ron, that was very . . . insightful."

Hermione was glancing at me gratefully. "Does that not scare you?" she asked and, though her eyes hadn't left mine, I wondered at whom was the question was directed.

"Ron the sage?" Ginny said. "Of course it scares me." She turned to me. "You've actually grown up."

"I would've sworn there was a compliment in there somewhere," I joked.

"Or not," my little sister quickly mumbled, making everyone in the room collapse into chuckles. Perhaps this dinner wasn't such a bad idea after all.