The Seventh Year Soap Opera

RECAP OF CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: Hermione watches Harry and Ginny play with her children, gets a pep talk from Fred and George, has a flashback, and makes cookies. Harry and Ginny snap at each other about their daughter now that Harry has told Ginny about the "ketchup" incident. Ron learns that he can go home early, gets an explanation from Seamus about why Hermione ran to Viktor, and goes to their home, then Apparates outside Hermione's house.

WHERE WE LEFT OFF:

"Do you have the Apparition address for Hermione's place?" he asked Lavender, who was cooing over Seamus and Sam.

She turned him with little tears in her eyes. "Harry and Ginny named it," she sniffed, "because Hermione is so depressed--"

"She's still depressed?" said Ron, feeling his heart sink.

"Well, I only went over a week ago, and Harry and Ginny haven't owled me, so I suppose she is. Hopefully, this party will cheer her up some, you know? Anyway, the Apparition address is The Library." She sniffed again, and turned away.

"You go on ahead," said Seamus, looking at his son proudly.

Ron merely nodded, and Apparated, nearly Splinching himself because he wasn't concentrating. He appeared outside a large house that had a cobblestone walkway. Gardens surrounded the house, giving it color. The windows were a beige color, but the outside was a pale blue. Looking around, he saw that it was by the water, and he whistled admiringly, trying to ignore the knots in his stomach.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Hermione walked up to her bedroom just as she heard two 'pops'. "We're back!" she heard Ginny say. "I'm upstairs," she called back, and she sat on her bed, twisting her fingers. A part of her still felt miserable about Viktor, despite what Fred and George had said.

"Hermione, you should probably come downstairs, now," said Harry, followed by two high pitched shrieks of laughter.

Hermione sighed and was a little angry now. She really wanted to be left alone! Oh no you don't, she thought. You want to stop being depressed and angry. Viktor's dead--move on with your life.

And she descended down the stairs.

Chapter Thirty- Turning Back Time

"Ron!" a voice said, and Ron turned to see Harry and Ginny behind him, closely followed by Raven. He gave them all hugs, and Ginny and Harry Apparated straight into the house, smiling broadly.

"Uncle Ron," said a small voice. Ron bent down so that he was face to face with Raven and grinned at her. "I have something of yours." She pulled something small from her pocket, opened Ron's hand, and pressed it into his palm, closing his fingers tightly around it. Then she walked into the house, and Ron opened his hand.

It was the golden book pendant that he had given Hermione all those years ago. He vaguely remembered reading in a letter that she had thrown it across the kitchen, and his he swallowed the lump forming in his throat and sighed shakily. He pocketed it and told himself to give it to her later. That is, if he didn't have a heart attack before then.

Ginny and Harry opened the door for Ron and led him into what was unmistakably the living room and Ron barely had time to look around before he heard...

"Ron!" shrieked another voice, and Ron turned to see Katarina running at him at full speed. He gathered her in his arms and threw her in the air, caught her, and set her back down on the ground, surprised at how much he had missed her.

Charlie walked into the room timidly, eyeing Ron carefully. Ron wondered why this was, but Charlie was always mysterious... But then he signed something that nearly made Ron's heart stop.

'Dad'.

How does he know? Ron thought briefly, but then Charlie hugged him tightly around the knees. Ron knew tears were forming in his eyes as he was truly united with his son, and he bent down and wrapped his arms around Charlie, not caring that others were watching, not caring that he was showing emotion. He had his son, and that was all he needed. He had ached to hold his son as a father for too long, and now it was all coming true...

"I knew it," Raven said dully in the corner to Katarina, who was giggling with happiness.

"We're back!" Ginny suddenly yelled.

"I'm upstairs!" a voice called back, and Ron released Charlie and looked up the staircase.

"Hermione, you should probably come downstairs, now," said Harry, and he threw Ron a knowing look. Ron tried to speak, but found he couldn't.

"Ron, here!" said Katarina, and she shoved a circular brown thing that Ron recognized as a cookie into his hand. "Mum made it," she explained, "but they're awful." She and Raven watched Ron curiously as he sat down, raised the cookie to his mouth, and took a bite, thankful for the distraction.

He immediately wished he hadn't bitten into the cookie. His tooth nearly fell out as it met the metal like cookie. "Ow," he groaned, spitting the crumbs out of his mouth. Charlie grinned; Katarina and Raven let out two shrieks of laughter.

"Hermione, are you coming?" Ginny called.

"I'm right here," said Hermione in a tired voice, and Ron looked up to see her walking slowly down the steps. She was dressed in a white sundress that looked new, and her bushy hair was pulled to the nape of her neck in a brown clip, though tendrils hung loosely around her face. Ron's heart flopped as he stared at the woman he hadn't seen in six years.

His eyes were glued to her as she made to give Ginny a hug, and then Harry. When she turned to him, he was anxiously hoping for a hug, but it didn't come. Hermione just smiled awkwardly at him and said, "Ron."

"Hermione," Ron acknowledged. He realized that her name coming from his mouth sounded strange, as he hadn't spoken her name out loud for a long while. His throat was scratchy all of a sudden and his stomach was flipping so horribly it was painful. It made him a bit uncomfortable, to talk to her like she was a stranger, but he reminded himself that in a way, she was. The two of them would have to start over.

Both of them stared at one another, taking in the changes in each other. His heart was constricting as she stared at him, her eyes slowly brimming with tears. She reached out to him, looking avidly at his hair, but then drew back her hand like an invisible fire had burned it, sucking in a deep breath. Ron shifted his feet and stared at the floor; this was much more tense than he had thought it would be.

Time seemed like it was standing still for them, as no one else talked or breathed. Slowly, Ron lifted his head from the floor to see Hermione still staring at him, a tear rolling down her left cheek. He wanted to brush it away softly, tell her he was happy to see her, but he didn't. As their eyes met, a shock went through his body, the same familiar shock he always felt when around her. It had been gone for so long it was like he was experiencing it for the first time.

"What time is it?" said Harry, disturbing the silence, and Ron and Hermione broke eye contact to answer quickly.

"Four thirty," they said simultaneously and the quiver in her voice told Ron that he wasn't the only one feeling nervous.

"Guess I'd better do the decorations, then," said Ginny, extracting her wand from Harry's pocket and flashing him secret smile. Concentrating hard and murmuring spells, Ginny was able to make the rooms look lovely. The living room carpet had been lifted to reveal a wooden dance floor, two long tables had been set up for food and drinks, confetti was now falling from the ceiling, balloons were everywhere, and a banner hung in the middle of the room that said, "House warming party-The Library."

"Exhausted?" said Harry with a smile as Ginny pretended to faint in his arms.

There was a small 'pop'. "I'm here!" said a voice, and Ron recognized her as the teenager he had seen in Harry's house, babysitting Raven.

"Sally!" Hermione said, going to hug her pretty cousin.

"Sally!" said Katarina, running over to her. Charlie ran over to her as well, hugging her knees. Raven stood back, her arms crossed, a superior smirk on her face.

In ten minutes, nearly everyone had arrived. Neville brought Padma, his longtime girlfriend. Parvati came with Dean, whom she had recently married. The two of them seemed to be in a heated argument about something. Seamus and Lavendar brought Sam. Sally had taken him right away to have to herself. Justin Finch-Fletchey had come by himself, claiming that Susan was at home with a head cold; Ginny shrieked at his arrival, happy at seeing her best friend after all this time. 'The Crowd' came, with the exception of Moody, because he was busy cleaning his new eye at home. Flora was eyeing Ron in a way that made him extremely uncomfortable, and Tonks was involved in a rapt discussion with Lupin.

Food had been brought by Molly, and after being checked dozens of times for hexes, she began to serve it. She had always loved being the host. Charlie and his current girlfriend arrived, and so did Bill, with Fleur Delacour on his arm. Fleur made the announcement that they were engaged. Percy and Penelope came as well, proudly showing off their new son, Matthew. Matthew was two, and Percy and Penelope had just adopted him three days ago. George came with Katie, of course. After him, Fred and an eight months pregnant Angelina arrived. Ron was surprised to see that Oliver Wood and Cho Chang had been invited as well. Their son James was extremely handsome for someone so young. He looked about Katarina's age, and it was amusing to watch him try to get her attention. Eventually, the boy resorted to yanking her ponytail and telling her she was 'as skinny as my dad's broomstick', at which time she stuck out her tongue. Eventually, Sally led all the children to the basement, which was a playroom of sorts.

Ron wasn't paying any attention to this however. He just couldn't keep his eyes off of Hermione. They were both on opposite sides of the room, sitting on different couches, but their eyes locked every so often, but then one of them would look at the floor. Ron's hand kept going to his pocket, fiddling with the book pendant.

After an hour had passed, Hermione stood up from the couch to walk around, for her legs were going stiff. She checked in on all the children, all in the playroom, laughing and having a good time. "You're doing a wonderful job," she told Sally, who was watching them all on her own.

"Thanks," said Sally, as baby Sam tugged on her hair. She laughed. "What I really need, though, is a boyfriend." Hermione rolled her eyes, grinned, and left to go to the kitchen for something to drink.

She sighed deeply, her heart racing, as she saw that Ron was in there, pulling out a bottle of Firewhisky. She wanted to ask if he really should be drinking that with his, er, problem, but thought to keep her mouth shut. She just watched him, his back turned to her, as he pried the cap from it, threw the cap across the room and put the bottle to his lips. He turned around abruptly, spotted Hermione, and sputtered Firewhisky all over the place. "I...er..." he managed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, growing deep red.

Hermione remained silent, twisting her hands behind her back, biting her lip nervously. "I-I-I'm not a drunk anymore..."

"That's good," she said softly, not trusting herself to speak any louder for fear her voice would shake.

Ron nodded vigorously. "Christine helped me out of that," he said.

Hermione was confused; who was Christine? As if sensing her confusion, Ron went on, "...my girlfriend."

Hermione's heart sank and she knew her face had fallen. She bit her lip, trying to keep her composure, trying to hold back the tears. He had a girlfriend. Just when she had realized how much she needed him in her life, how much she loved him, he had moved on. "That's good," she repeated, her voice cracking. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the floor. Is this what it had been like for Ron? Every time she had broken his heart? Had it been this painful? So hurtful that all the oxygen suddenly disappeared from your lungs and you felt like your body would collapse at any moment? Because that's how she was feeling.

She looked up into his face, that familiar, loving face, her eyes shining with tears. He was looking down, concerned. Hermione opened and closed her mouth several times, not finding any words. Even if she had, she didn't think her mouth would work properly anyway.

"Ron, could you get the door?!" someone yelled into the kitchen.

Ron shifted, not really wanting his encounter with Hermione to end. He looked anxiously around the kitchen and then back down at Hermione. A lump was swelling inside him as he watched several tears run down her face as she stared at him. "Hermione," he started, his throat rasping, "I'm-I'm sorry about Viktor."

Hermione looked back down at the floor. He thought she was crying about Viktor, not him. In truth, Hermione didn't think she'd ever cry over Viktor again. Not when Ron was standing right here. She wiped at her tears, sniffing. "That's not..." she started, but she was cut off by Fred, who waltzed into the room.

"Ronniekins, the door!" he said, but then he noticed Hermione and said, "Oh." He left, winking at Hermione, and giving her the thumbs up. Ron couldn't think of why he would do that, but it didn't really matter to him right now.

"Hermione..." he said, preparing himself to say the three words, "I lo-"

"RONNIE, WILL YOU ANSWER THE DAMN DOOR?"

Hermione had been looking up at him expectantly, but gave a little sigh of frustration when George yelled into the kitchen. Ron had closed his eyes and clenched his jaw in anger; interrupting him at a time like this! He opened them slowly. "We'll...er...talk later," he said quickly, and then he sprinted out of the kitchen, his face still red.

Hermione let out a choked sob and fresh tears sprouted to her eyes, but she wiped them hurriedly. She walked out of the kitchen, and noticed that music from the Weird Sisters was now playing in the room, a loud, fast song. She could see Ginny and Harry dancing in the middle of the floor, a crowd of people surrounding them as she walked to the front door.

She could hardly believe her eyes. Eloise Midgen was standing in the doorway. A tall, handsome man stood behind her, looking bored. A man in his late teens, who was also very handsome, stood beside her, smiling at Ron. Two little girls stood in front of her. The oldest was holding the younger man's hand, and looked about five years old. The younger girl was sucking her thumb and holding Eloise's hand, and was about two.

Eloise and Ron just stared at each other. "Well," Eloise prompted with a grin, "can we come in?"

"Yeah!" said Ron excitedly, moving out of the way. "ELOISE IS HERE!" he yelled.

One by one, people drifted into the entrance hall, all gasping as they looked at Eloise. She had certainly become beautiful. She was by far the prettiest woman there, with a curvy body, a tan, and dirty blonde hair that stopped just below her shoulder blades. She greeted them all, looking increasingly nervous.

"Let me introduce," she said with a smile. "This is Hamilton," she said, gesturing to the teen.

"Milton," he corrected, grinning at Ron, who apparently understood the joke.

Eloise rolled her eyes. "Milton," she said, "is what I call him because his name is too long. Anyway, he's my nephew..."

"But she's raised me like her own for the past five years," said Milton, still grinning.

"Yes," Eloise said, tousling his hair. "This is Eleanor," she said, picking up the oldest girl, "and this," she added, lifting the smaller girl into her arms, "is Mandy. She's shy."

"What about me?" said the man.

Eloise grinned. "My boyfriend Jake."

"Are there any other eighteen year olds around here?" said Milton, peering over the crowd.

"No," said Hermione, smiling, "but my cousin Sally is sixteen. She's downstairs watching the other kids."

"She likes kids?" he asked eagerly, though he was trying to hide his excitement.

Hermione nodded. Milton looked down at Eleanor and Mandy, and then he swiped Mandy into his arms and ran down the stairs, Eleanor running behind them. "Don't break anything!" Eloise yelled after them.

"We won't!" yelled one of the girls, and Hermione figured it was Eleanor.

There was complete silence. Then Eloise gave Hermione a hug, and said, "It's so good to see all of you! Jake, darling, could you go find me a jam tart?"

Jake looked disgruntled, and Eloise pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks very much," she said as he walked off. Eloise looked at Hermione, and her face seemed to soften. "It's been so long," she said to her, kissing her on both cheeks. Hermione nodded. "I was so sorry to hear about Viktor, I didn't know him that well, but he always seemed nice enough."

"Thank you, Eloise."

"And Ron, I don't know if Percy's told you this, but I'll be working with him come this year." She beamed.

"You're going to work at Hogwarts?" Hermione said, aghast.

Eloise nodded. "In the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey retired and St. Mungo's was releasing some of the workers, myself included, and Dumbledore owled me. I honestly don't know why he would choose me to heal the kids, I'm not really that good at all. I only went into Healing after Eleanor--" Here she cut off and looked at the floor.

"What is it El?" asked Ron. Hermione started, as though she had forgotten that he was there.

"I really don't want to talk about it right now, if you don't mind. Rather, I'd like to enjoy this lovely party. Ron, how is Christine doing?"

A small pang went through Hermione's heart at the other woman's name, and Ron sighed. "Well, er..."

Not wanting to hear this conversation, Hermione trudged up the stairs to her bedroom, feeling utterly miserable, and opened the door. She closed it gently behind her, and climbed into her bed, seeking comfort under the covers. When she closed her eyes, the image of them staring at one another clouding her mind. Their old spark was still there, she could feel it. But he was in love with another woman, this Christine or whatever. The very thought tore Hermione up inside.

She let out a single breath that sounded like a small sob, and, even though she was telling herself not to, the tears rolled down her cheeks freely. Hermione closed her eyes, and she bit her lip hard to stop crying. Her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably, and her fists tightened around the bedsheets. She wanted nothing more than to stop this pain; she had thought maybe that seeing Ron would be different, maybe he still had feelings for her. Hermione's arms went around her pillow and she buried her face into it, muffling the sound of her cries.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"So, El how have you been?" Ron asked, handing Eloise a Firewhisky in the kitchen, the same kitchen that he had been speaking with Hermione in only a couple minutes before.

"Good," Eloise said, grinning. "Well, no one's left me because I'm a witch." She took a swig of Firewhisky, then wiping her mouth and leaning closer to Ron, admitted, "But the occasional man has left me when finding out I'm pregnant with his kid, but you already knew that." The two of them sat in companionable silence for a bit, then Eloise said, "I-it's so good to see you, Ron. Really it is."

Ron smiled and held out his arms to Eloise. She hugged him tightly and said, "I missed you so much, you know. Milton missed you."

"Yeah," said Ron as Eloise pulled away. "He's grown into a fine boy."

Eloie chuckled. "Don't let him hear you say that. He thinks he's all man. After all, he is eighteen."

"Popular with the girls?" Ron asked with a grin, taking a seat at the table.

Eloise shrugged. "He's had a couple of girlfriends. But none real serious. He says he needs a woman, not so many, and these are his words, "little girls". You know, a lot of people just aren't on his level. I'm very proud of him. Got all 'O's in his N.E.W.T.S." She beamed.

Ron stood up and pointed. "Look at that! Seems to be getting on just fine with Sally, doesn't he?" The two walked into the kitchen, both smiling.

"We just came up here to get drinks for the kids," Milton said to Ron. Sally nodded.

"So...er...Sally, you like Milton here?" Ron said, not rudely.

Sally blushed scarlet, and Milton looked at her swiftly, before shaking his hand at Ron. "Hey, just leave her alone why don't you?" He took Sally's arm and led her out of the kitchen.

"I was just joking!" Ron complained to Eloise as they left.

She nodded. "Yeah, well, he didn't seem to take it too well. You made him forget the drinks," she stated dryly, as Dean strolled into the kitchen. "You look as mad as an old bear," she commented to him, taking a drink of the Firewhisky.

"Parvati and I got into a little...er...argument."

Eloise laughed and gestured to the seat across from her. Dean sat down and she pushed her Firewhisky toward him. "Well, I'm all ears. Besides, Ron has someone else he needs to talk to."

Ron looked at her curiously, and she gave him a pointed look. He gulped.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Trembling, Hermione sniffed and got out of bed. Glancing at herself in the mirror for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, she realized that she once again looked a mess. Puffy eyes, tear streaked cheeks, hair everywhere.

Trying to regroup, she headed over to her dresser and picked up a photo of she, Ron, and Harry and swallowed. A charming, happy face waved to her, then looked at the bushy haired girl beside him and rolled his eyes. He was such a beautiful person, and at one time, he had thought she had been someone beautiful as well. Now he believed someone else was beautiful, he had moved on. Why couldn't she just turn back time? All she needed was one moment in the past, before he had left her. Before Viktor had come along. Before Harry had come back. Hell, if she could have done it over again, she would have just asked him to that damn Yule Ball when they were fourteen.

She could feel the urge again, but she refused. "I won't cry," she whispered. "I am not going to cry. I am NOT going to CRY!" Whirling around, she hurled the picture as hard as she could at the bedroom door.

Just as it opened.

In what seemed to be slow motion, Hermione's eyes widened and she clapped her hands to her mouth as the framed picture hit a tall man with freckles and bright red hair directly in the face. He yelled in pain, and she felt suddenly sick.

"Sorry, Ron," she said quietly, as he clutched his eye, bending down to pick up the photo; the glass had now cracked.

"Er...b-bad time," he said, taking his hand from his eye. "I-I'll just sit this..." he made to place the picture on her dresser, but stopped and looked crestfallen at it. He held it up. He was moving his mouth, but no words were escaping from his lips. "I-is this how it's going to be between us?" he asked, and Hermione's heart broke at the sound of his voice. "I thought we could at least be friends, Hermione.

Ron turned and made to leave the room, still holding the photo, and Hermione said, "Ron, stop! Please!" He must have heard the desperation in her voice because he froze and shuddered slightly, as though hearing her beg had affected him somehow. "Turn around," she added in a whisper.

Though she couldn't see, Ron closed his eyes at the sound of that, the familiar waves of her voice raising a flood of emotions inside him. Taking a deep breath, he pivoted and waited for her to speak. "L-look at me, please." Ron's eyes focused on her face, and she felt her cheeks heat as she saw the compassion in his face. "I've missed you horribly," she declared, sniffing. "You must hate me."

"I thought you hated me," said Ron, looking nervous and confused.

"No!" She said the word sharply, then there was a silence that could have possibly been written down in Fred and George's catalog of World Records.

"Uh..." started Ron.

"Yes," Hermione said. The word was really a question, but she was speaking so low that it couldn't be heard as such. Something inside her was fluttering wildly.

"You want to go downstairs?" He wanted to talk to her, but her bedroom was not the place he wanted to. It was very intimidating to him. She seemed to realize this and walked quickly past him to the door, her body touching him only slightly. They both shivered and tensed; Hermione cleared her throat, as though that would stop her tears, and grasped the door knob.

Ron followed Hermione down the stairs, aware that Harry was staring at them interestedly. He and Ginny were taking a rest from dancing; it seemed that Luna Lovegood and her Muggle boyfriend were the center of attention now. Normally, it would have been Fred and Angelina, but Angelina looked extremely cranky and green. She was ordering Fred to fetch her every single type of food imaginable, and when he protested, yelled, "I am the mother of your child. You got me this way, damn it, and you're going to suffer!" at which time Fred would kiss her on the cheek and do whatever she asked.

"Hey you two!" said Harry, motioning for Ron and Hermione to come over; they did, not looking at each other. "So how are...things?"

"Harry!" said Ginny.

"Hermione, would you like to dance?" The voice did not come from Ron, but from a tall man with a somewhat smug expression, and a turned up nose.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ron loudly.

"I was invited," the blonde responded, and he looked down at Hermione questioningly; she nodded, feeling somewhat obligated, and went off with him.

Ron rounded on Harry and Ginny. "What the bloody hell is he doing here?"

"Well, he was at Hannah and Ernie's when we invited them and he looked interested in coming," said Ginny.

"Hermione doesn't even like him!"

"Seems like he's not picking up on that, though," said Harry grumly, nodding towards them. Zacharias Smith had his hands on her hips, and she grabbed them and pushed them away, shaking her head. He leaned closer to her and whispered something in her ear that made her turn magenta. Harry stood up and reached for his wand, but Ron was beyond angry.

"Hey, Smith!" he bellowed, striding towards them in the middle of the dance floor, ears tinged pink.

"Yeah, Ron?"

"I'm cutting in," Ron growled, practically shoving the former Hufflepuff out of the way. Hermione stopped dancing, and Ron made no move to dance as they just stared at each other. "Er...that is, if you want to."

"Yes!" Hermione said immediately.

The tempo of the music suddenly changed, and Ron looked around to see why, in the middle of a fast paced song, the music had suddenly turned slow and romantic. Hermione seemed to be looking around as well, and her eyes landed on Fred and George bewitching the speakers, giving her the thumbs up.

"You little weasel!" said Zacharias, standing up from the ground. Nearly the whole room was silent, watching the three of them.

"What did you call me?"

"Hey, Zach! Come over here, dude!" Eloise was waving both arms frantically in the air, smiling widely. "I want you to meet somebody!"

Looking reluctant, Zacharias walked over to Eloise. Ron awkwardly turned back to Hermione and took a breath. Hermione looked at him interestedly. Ron sighed, and licked his lips, then looked at Hermione determinedly; his intense gaze took her aback for a moment. "We need to talk," he said in a voice of surprising calm. He was honestly surprised he wasn't shaking.

Hermione bit her lip and nodded. "Er...where?"

Hermione was positive that whatever Ron needed to say needed to be said, and she wasn't about to disagree. It had been too long, way too damn long. But she wasn't about to talk in the middle of the dance floor, the music so romantic Lavender was sniffing in a corner. Ron was looking around the house, his eyes searching the place for a private area. "Outside?" he suggested in a low voice.

"All right," Hermione said slowly, her stomach flopping. She felt fourteen all over again. Quietly, Hermione and Ron walked through the dance floor and out the side door. Hermione settled herself onto the porch swing, but Ron remained standing, pacing back and forth.

Then he stopped and stared directly at her. "Where are we?" he said.

She didn't have to ask to know what he meant. "I don't know," she responded truthfully.

Ron sighed. "I'm not good at feelings," he blurted out. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Don't interrupt or else this won't get out." Hermione closed her mouth. "I love you," Ron said quickly, "with all my heart. And I always have. Even after what you did to me."

"Ron..." Hermione started, tears welling in her eyes.

"Don't talk, damn it!" he said, frustrated, and also amazed that after all this time, Hermione knew how to push all his buttons. "Now, I have no idea how you feel about me, Hermione. I thought that you cared for me once upon a time, but after that whole thing with Harry and Viktor, you convinced me otherwise. I couldn't bear it, and that's why I left. I know it was cowardly, but I felt there was nothing else I could do. The mere sight of you and Viktor..."

His voice trailed off and his hands trembled a bit. "Anyway, I've changed. I-I've grown. And I know you have. But I need to know how you feel about me, where we stand. This might seem sudden because of Viktor, but I can't stop living because of you. That happened once and I'll be damned if I let it happen again. If you need more time, that's fine. I'll still be here. But I can't wait forever for you, and I don't want to force you to do anything you'll regret. Either way, I won't ever stop loving you." Ron broke eye contact and exhaled, waiting for her to absorb all that he'd just said.

Hermione just sat there, too stunned to speak. He still loved her, after all she had put him through? Why? She didn't deserve him!

Ron figured that the silence meant she still didn't feel the same way. "I understand," he said quietly. "Just forget we ever had this conversation." The meaning of his words hit her as he reached out for the door handle.

"No, Ron, wait!" she said, standing up. Ron turned to face her, and dropped his hand to his side, his heart pounding.

"Yes?" he whispered.

"I loved Viktor," she started and Ron bowed his head in defeat. "But it's a different kind of love. And I love Harry too, but that is a really different type of love."

"What are you trying to say, Hermione?" asked Ron, confused. He didn't need to hear the names of all those she had loved in her life.

"If you'd let me finish without jumping in, you'd know!" Hermione snapped. Ron grinned at the way they were bickering; he had dreamed for this during the past six years. Hermione smiled too. "These past years have been tough for me, and it's because you weren't a part of my life." Her eyes began to water again, but the tears didn't fall. "And I realized that I can't live without you, no matter what I convinced myself to believe at Hogwarts. I was naive and I couldn't see what was standing right in front of me. And I'm so sorry I've made you suffer because I was too thick to realize I was in love with you too."

Ron narrowed his eyes; he had to be hallucinating. "I don't believe you," he said suddenly, and a look of confusion spread on Hermione's face.

"I just admitted I love you, Ron," Hermione said softly.

"But you chose Viktor over me," he challenged, not willing to believe this. Sure, he had dreamt of her saying the words, but how could it be true?

"I was afraid of love!" Hermione burst out. "I wasn't raised to deal with feelings that strong and so I ran from them."

"Why should I believe you?" Ron said stubbornly.

"Why would you just give me that speech if you didn't at least hope that I felt the same way?" she retorted, her cheeks growing pink. Why was he doing this to her?

"Don't change the subject, just answer my question!"

"Why should I if you don't believe a thing I say anyway? You know, after all this time apart, I would've thought that you'd be ready to leap in my arms," said Hermione, sitting back down on the porch swing and crossing her arms. "Especially since you just told me you loved me still."

"Is that so?" said Ron, grinning slightly. "Well, maybe I'm just waiting for you to make the first move. I'm tired of taking charge." Ron and Hermione both knew that they were both rambling, probably because of their pent up emotions and frustrations, but they didn't care.

"Fine," Hermione said, feeling determined. She stood up again, ready to kiss him, but found that she just couldn't do it. She didn't know why, but she couldn't. "I can't," she said, turning away from him. She couldn't kiss him; she would be taking him away from Christine. That was monumentally wrong; Hermione knew Harry had felt awful when she had cheated on him, and she wasn't about to let Ron make someone else feel that way.

"You just said you loved me," Ron said, hurt flashing over his face.

"I do!" Hermione insisted, new tears springing to her eyes.

"Please," Ron said, closing his eyes, and sighing, "please don't cry."

The next thing he knew, lips were brushing softly against his. Once Hermione had seen that he had closed his eyes, she felt the strength to do what she had wanted to for so long. She had stood up on tiptoe and kissed him. She was slipping...where, she didn't know. All she knew was that she needed this. Needed him.

The first thing that connected into Ron's brain was that Hermione's lips were soft. The second was that she was crying. As he deepened the kiss, he could taste her tears and he found himself noticing that whenever he had kissed her before, she had been crying.

Soon though, the saltiness disappeared. Fire was shooting through his body, compelled by need. This was like nothing he had experienced with Christine and Hermione felt the same way about Viktor. Ron's head bent slightly to kiss her better and his arms wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

Hermione was dissolving into a puddle of goo, she was sure she was. As she slowly slid her tongue into Ron's mouth to mingle with his own, she felt tingling everywhere, like electricity was shocking her. This felt so good, he felt so good. She couldn't remember ever feeling more content.

Ron's hands were now tracing patterns on her back, small circles, all the while continuing to kiss her. They broke apart for air, breathing heavily. Both were trembling. "That..." Hermione started, but she choked on her own words, as Ron grinned slightly and bent down to kiss her again.

The next thing Hermione knew, someone was tugging at her shirt. At first she thought it was Ron, but she realized when she opened her eyes, it wasn't. She pulled back from Ron and saw that Katarina was the one tugging on her shirt, Charlie standing behind her, a sort of look between disgust and amusement on his face as he stared at his mother and father.

"Mum, I wanted to show Ron my new broom...because he hasn't seen it...and you guys are taking a really long time!" she said, and Ron felt a blush creep to his cheeks. Hermione felt no embarrassment after all the times she and Viktor had been interrupted.

"Okay," Hermione said, with a quick glance at Ron. "B-but what about Christine?" Her heart was sinking. Her face was downcast.

"She left me," Ron stated. "The only person I care about is you, Hermione, and it'll always be you." He reached out to lift her chin, and she looked up, hardly believing what he was saying. It shocked her a bit to see someone staring deeply into her eyes the way he was now. That spoke more than a thousand words. Ron pulled his hand away, and a smile touched Hermione's lips, and she stroked Katarina's black hair happily, as Charlie lead the way inside.

Just as they approached the sliding glass door, Ron touched Hermione's arm and pulled her to the side, grinning. Charlie stopped at the doorway and turned to see why they had stopped and held out a hand to stop Katarina from going inside. In the living room, Ginny had waved her arms for silence, and everyone was staring outside.

"What is it?" Hermione asked curiously, her heart thumping. Ron reached out for Hermione's arm and held it. Her arm grew warm as he ran his palm down to stop at her hand. He gently opened her closed fist and Hermione shivered a bit at his touch. Shakily, he put his other hand inside his pocket and drew something out of it. He gazed at the object fondly before placing it into Hermione's hand, eyes locked with hers as he closed her fist around it.

Hermione didn't need Ron to tell her what it was. As soon as the precious metal touched her skin, she knew. "Where did you...?" she started, but Ron pressed a finger to her lips.

"That doesn't matter," he said. "What matters is that it's yours again."

Hermione kissed him on the cheek, feeling ready to cry at any second. How could she ever have denied him? She loved him. She loved him.

Hermione opened her hand to gaze at the book pendant and then made to clasp it to the collar of her white sundress. "Here," Ron said, in a husky timbre, and he fastened it to her collar, knuckles brushing softly against her neck.

"Thanks," she said quietly. Ron nodded, now looking sheepish, his cheeks a deep shade of red. Noticing his nervousness, Hermione took a breath and then held out her hand. Ron looked down at the hand outstretched toward his and felt something deep down inside of him that he couldn't put into words. She was telling him that she'd always be there, she was telling him that there was no one else she would rather be with than him.

He took it and entwined his fingers in hers, feeling warm all over. Ron looked up from their hands to meet her eyes, and saw that tears were running down her face, and she was smiling. The two of them didn't want to move from that spot or end that moment. It was all that mattered now.

Inside, Raven was smirking knowingly and curled her hair in her fingers before leaving the living room to nick her father's broomstick. Harry, who was grinning and stroking Ginny's hair, didn't notice. Eloise was holding Mandy in her arms lovingly, and Lavender was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. Others watched the redhead and the bookworm in awe as well, and Fred could be seen counting out 12 Sickles and a Chocolate Frog to George, who was grinning.

Katarina stepped forward and took her mother's left hand, and nodded at Charlie, who walked over and grabbed Ron's right. Charlie looked up at Ron, a small smile on his face. Ron stared down at his son for what seemed like an eternity, as they shared an understanding that not even words could convey. Ron turned to glance at Katarina with tears in his eyes, and she winked. She accepted him as her father.

Hermione and Ron's eyes met for another time, and Ron squeezed her hand softly. She squeezed it back. Hand in hand, the four of them stepped through the door.

As a family.

THE END