After Hogwarts

Prologue:

Before the last war had even started, the great Professor Dumbledore saw the signs of what lay ahead and tried to warn Cornelius Fudge, the previous Minister of Magic.

"Voldemort has returned and together we need to take appropriate action to save the situation before it gets out of control," Dumbledore forewarned.

Fudge's face drained of all color at the mere mention of Voldemort's name as fear, horror and terror raced through him. Voldemort had been one of the most powerful and dangerous wizards ever born and Fudge's response to Voldemort's name was quite typical.

Dumbledore was one of only two wizards that could actually pronounce Voldemort's name. Most wizards commonly referred to Voldemort as You-Know-Who.

Fudge thought he was too intelligent to bow to the great Dumbledore and heed his advice. In Fudge's opinion, Dumbledore was a very old, eccentric wizard who was given latitude to run Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as he saw he saw fit. Dumbledore may have been a great wizard at one time; but now he was surely crazy and that meant his opinion was nothing more than the ravings of a madman! The solutions that Dumbledore suggested for the problems that he claimed were at hand included inane nonsense like making alliances with many of their sworn enemies such as the giants and the werewolves. Dumbledore even had the nerve to suggest that they should release the guards who guarded the darkest wizard prison of all time, Azkaban, because they might align themselves with You-Know-Who. Dumbledore thought they were untrustworthy. Ridiculous!

By the time Fudge realized his mistake in his dismissing Dumbledore's warnings, it was too late. The Ministry of Magic had long since started falling apart. The Ministry of Magic, which at one time had been a great organization that worked together protecting their wizarding society, no longer held any power. It was nothing more than just a name. They had long since worked together as a cohesive collective, but rather as individuals with their own agendas.

It was once Fudge realized that he was powerless in a very powerful battle, he finally went to Dumbledore. Dumbledore couldn't do much for Fudge, besides he had his hands full in the battle that raged against You-Know-Who and it was too late for Fudge to make a difference. Fudge's initial indifference to Dumbledore's warnings was greatly to blame for the Ministry falling apart and Dumbledore knew that You-Know-Who had to be defeated before he could even begin to think about The Ministry, let alone restructuring and reestablishing it.

The same time Fudge tried appealing to Dumbledore, he also contacted Lucius Malfoy, who was part of an underground group known as Death Eaters whom were devoted subjects of You-Know-Who. Fudge felt that he would have an instant rapport with Malfoy because they both were extremely conservative and shared the same passionate views that only pure blood wizards should be allowed to practice magic. In their shared opinion, there was no room in the world of magic for half bloods, wizards with only one wizarding parent and there definitely was no place for mudbloods, wizards born from people with no magical powers.

Fudge had fancied himself as so clever for taking this duplicitous approach and was certain that it would save him from the death and destruction to come, but as foolish men often were, he was wrong - very, very wrong and he paid with his life.

The battle against You-Know-Who went on for over a year and was eventually won after great loss of life. A young wizard, Harry Potter, finally defeated You-Know-Who permanently, but with great personal loss. When the news was spread across the wizarding society that You-Know-Who was dead and the war was over, people were relieved and happy, but remained unusually somber because so much had been lost and there was so much to still rebuild.

Most wizards were hopeful that now that the war was over that Dumbledore would take over as Minister of Magic, but surprisingly that was not the case.

Dumbledore shocked the world of magic the day he announced," I appreciate the vote of confidence that you have in me to head the Ministry of Magic. It is a great honor to be so respected. However, I have no desire to get involved with politics at my age, besides, my place is back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is there that I will continue to build our future by shaping the young minds of wizards and witches that are just beginning their journey of study and self exploration." The world went silent as the same thoughts raced through every wizard's mind. Dumbledore was going back to Hogwarts? Who would be the new Minister of Magic? What was to happen now?

Dumbledore then continued as if he could read their minds, "But rest assured that I know that the Ministry, among other things, need to be sorted. Trust in me as you always have. Together we will put things right. My ways are not always clear at first; but there are reasons behind what I do. All will be made clear soon."

Chapter One:

The Burrow:

Molly Weasley, a plump woman with flaming red hair, looked at the grandfather clock to see where her husband was. This clock wasn't an ordinary clock; it had only one hand and no numbers at all. On the outside rim, the clock had a list of places, for example, The Ministry, Hogwarts, The Leaky Cauldron and also a list of things to do, time to feed the chickens, time to clean the house, time to study and so on. Each one of her children, her husband, and herself had their name next to either a location or a chore. All the names said home except for Mr. Weasley's name and her youngest son, Ron. Mr. Weasley's name still read Hogwarts, as did Ron's. She was anxious for her husband to return home and she was hopeful that Ron would be with him. It was going to be the first time in a long time that she had her whole family in one place.

"I think Cream Canaries are going to be our best seller," Mrs. Weasley heard Fred, one of her sons, talking with his twin brother in the kitchen. "I am so glad that all this serious stuff is over now so we can get on with our business!"

"I'm still particularly found of our Swollen Sweets. Remember when we fed one to Harry's cousin? What was that stupid git's name? Oh yeah, Dudley Dursley. I nearly fell over when his tongue grew over four feet!" George laughed.

"Yeah, that was great wasn't it?" Fred chuckled.

"It surely was, but now check this out!" George said.

THUMP!

"What is going on in here?" Mrs. Weasley rushed into the kitchen to investigate the noise. She immediately looked to her sons and was met by sheepish grins as they stood next to a freshly baked cake that was now spattered all over her clean kitchen floor.

"What is this?" she pointed to the cake, wagging her finger. Both men started roaring.

"It's a sponge cake!" Fred hooted.

"It's more like a mess," Mrs. Weasley scowled.

"No really... it is a sponge cake," George's face was bright red as he laughed. He then bent down and lifted the cake off of the floor and put it on the kitchen table. Surprisingly it left no mess and once it was on the table it took the shape of a freshly baked cake.

"It is made of a magical sponge," Fred explained, still trying to catch his breath.

"When it is dropped, it looks like a real cake that has fallen," George then dropped the cake back on the floor, once again splattering it and then quickly picked it back up. "Only none of the mess!"

"It's our newest invention for our joke shop," Fred proudly announced.

"Isn't it great?" George's pride was evident.

"You boys really need to try to think about jobs as adults!" Mrs. Weasley scoffed. "Joke shop, indeed!"

"Mum," Fred walked over to his mother, putting his arms around her plump body and then leaned really close like he was going to give her a kiss on her check, but whispered instead. "We are serious"

"Hmph!" Mrs. Weasley folded her arms, giving him a disapproving look.

"You've got your accomplished sons. We are going to be your entertaining sons and we are going to make money from it," George shot his mother a flash of his a magnificent smile as he walked over to the refrigerator, opened it and pulled out a two cans of cola. He threw one to Fred who caught it with one hand. Both men opened their beverages and sat down at the table and began going over their plans, ignoring their mother's disapproving scowl.

Mrs. Weasley loved all of her children; but fretted about the future of her twins. Whereas the rest of her children had focus, the twins just seemed to want to play. They wanted to open a joke shop, how preposterous! When they were younger, she secretly found it amusing, but now, after everything they have seen, they still wanted to open a joke shop! It just seemed to her that there were more important, serious, profitable things to do. And then to top it off, they somehow found an investor to back them!

She was thankful that the rest of her children were more grounded. Her oldest, Charlie lived Romania and worked with dragons. Bill, her next oldest, did something for Gringotts, the bank that most wizard's kept their money. Bill spent most of his time traveling around the world on Gringotts business, although nobody really knew what specifically he was doing. Both men tended to be far from home most of the time, so Mrs. Weasley was delighted when both sons had decided to come home for a visit and celebrate with the family the defeat of You-Know-Who. Mrs. Weasley's third son, Percy, had already been working for the Ministry before it crumpled. Percy's alliance never wavered from the good side and not many of the previous members of the Ministry could make the same claim. Mrs. Weasley swelled with pride whenever she thought of Percy; he had always been such a serious student when he was younger and always a hard and dedicated worker. The Ministry was lucky to have him as far as Mrs. Weasley was concerned and she had no doubt that Percy would get a prominent position when Dumbledore restructured the Ministry. Her youngest son Ron had spent the past year fighting against You-Know-You with his best friend, Harry Potter, who was an exceptionally talented and powerful wizard. Normally Mrs. Weasley would have fretted over Ron doing such a dangerous thing, but with Harry at Ron's side, she knew that he would be just fine. Then there was her youngest child and only daughter, Ginny, who had just finished Hogwarts and wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do. Ginny's lack of decision didn't concern Mrs. Weasley, after all Ginny was young and Ginny had always been such an exemplary student at Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley was confidant that Ginny would sort it out.

To be honest, worrying about Fred and George was her favorite excuse to avoid worrying about other things. At this time, she desperately did not want to think about her youngest son, Ron who had been at Hogwarts for the past few days with his friend, since the defeat of You-Know-Who. It didn't concern her at first, she was sure that Ron and Harry were just resting and recuperating after such a perilous, but victorious battle. But then earlier that day, Dumbledore mysteriously requested a private meeting with Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley knew that she had no reason for concern, but she had this niggling feeling that it had something to do with Ron. She immediately dismissed such concerns as being absurd. There were a million reasons that Dumbledore might want to meet with Mr. Weasley, especially with Dumbledore restructuring the Ministry. Arthur Weasley had been a loyal member of the Ministry for years, but just the same she was worried. She reassured herself that if there were something wrong with Ron, Dumbledore would have wanted to see both of them.

Mrs. Weasley ran her fingers through her hair as she glanced to the clock once more. Mr. Weasley's name finally read home! When she saw Arthur's name on home, she assumed Ron's would be as well.

"George, Fred! Go get your brothers and Ginny!" Mrs. Wesley beamed. "Your father and brother are finally coming home!" The words had barely finished coming out of her mouth when green and orange sparks starting flying from the fireplace in the foyer and then with a little help from some Floo powder, a magical powder that allowed wizards to travel using fire as a means to transport, Mr. Weasley burst through the fireplace. Mrs. Weasley rushed over to her husband she kissed his face while wiping some soot off of his forehead, "I have missed you!"

"I am so glad to be home," Arthur Weasley smiled, but his eyes looked tired. "It has been a very long day."

"You will have some time off before you go back to work. Well, I mean..." Mrs. Weasley began to prattle, but then stammered because she wasn't sure what was going on with his job in the Misuses of Muggle Artifacts Office. She wasn't even sure that was what Dumbledore wanted to see Mr. Weasley about. "Well...I suppose we'll have time to discuss that later."

As Mrs. Weasley watched her husband take off his coat, the immediate excitement of seeing him began to fade; she then realized something was missing.

"Arthur, Where is Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh dear, oh dear..." he stalled. "There is so much to tell you! First, I want to see our children and clean up. It's been along time since we've had so many of our kids in one place. Besides, a lot has happened and well, I will get to all that after I wash up." He kissed her on the check and before she had a chance to reply, he walked up the stairs. He heavily sighed as climbed the staircase, he was not looking forward to having to say what he had to say to his wife and his family.

Molly stood at the bottom for a moment with a feeling of dread that far outweighed any of the fear she ever felt while You-Know-Who was still alive as she watched her husband go up the stairs, but she pushed the fear from her mind and wasn't going to think about it.

"Fred, George, Bill, Percy, Charlie and Ginny!" She yelled as she walked back into the kitchen. "Please come down here, your father is home."

The Weasley family scurried around the kitchen to prepare for their evening meal. Ginny gathered knives, forks and plates while Mrs. Weasley was finishing up a load of bangers and mash. Charlie and Bill got glasses and juice while Percy collected enough chairs for everyone. Fred and George were desperately trying to sneak in "special treats" of their own humorous design, but Mrs. Weasley was used to their practical jokes and was quick to reprimand them.

"George! Fred! For heaven's sake! Can't we have one meal all together without you two trying on your shenanigans?" Mrs. Weasley scolded them.

"Who us?" They responded together looking rather sheepishly.

"You two have no sense of decency," Percy sharply added. Percy had no patience for his younger brothers. He found them to be quite childish. Percy was much more a practical man. There was too much to do to waste so much time on frivolous jokes and horseplay.

Charlie then rustled Percy's hair as Bill patted his back and Bill said, "C'mon Perce, it is perfectly decent to want to laugh."

Charlie then added, "You act way too old for someone so young. Life can be serious enough. We're together and the worst of times are over. I think we can afford a little laughter. Mum is supposed to be overprotective, she is after all, a mother, but what's your excuse?"

Mr. Weasley entered the kitchen and his face looked almost contorted and he lowered his eyes as his oldest son, Charlie, spoke of the worst of times being over. He quietly took his seat at the head of the table and waited for the rest of the family to sit as well.

Mrs. Weasley was unaware of her husband's anguish, but was quick to join the banter with her sons.

"Well my oldest sons, I am a mother - to all of you. Can you blame me for wanting all of you to be successful and happy and..." Mrs. Weasley over emphasized with her hand over her heart.

Bill then affectionately kissed his Mrs. Weasley on the check, "Yes mum, we love you too." At this Percy rolled his eyes and took his seat. He wasn't quite sure how he fit into this family. They were all so lacking in ambition. He felt that their priorities were somewhat backwards. Although he knew that there was no denying that he was one of them, he had the same flaming red hair and light complexion that all the Weasleys had. They were the easiest family to identify because they were like a small clan with matching heads of hair that almost glowed in the dark

"Great," Percy muttered, "I'm going to get a lecture on behavior from my older brothers the dragon chaser and the long hair, ear pierced wanderer."

"Did you say something, Perce?" Bill asked.

"No nothing," Percy replied.

The table was now set and Mrs. Weasley had just put tons of hot and hardy food on it. The rest of the Weasley's each took a seat and they began to eat their dinner. They chatted and laughed and truly enjoyed being with each other as a family. All expect Mr. Weasley. Arthur Weasley was hoping that this meal would never end because he then would never have to share the news that hung in his heart like a cloud of doom.

The rest of the family was missing Ron presence; but they were confident that he was fine and still at Hogwarts for some unknown reason. There was no doubt in any of their minds that Mr. Weasley had just been with him and would surely fill them in what is going on with him at some point. They were certain that the stories would be very interesting because Ron was with Harry Potter and whenever those two were together; they were always finding themselves in spots of trouble and always surviving with the most curious tales to tell.

After dinner everyone went out into the garden, except Mr. And Mrs. Weasley who remained behind in the kitchen to clean up. Although the Weasley children were all grown, when they all got together they couldn't help but goof and play like when they were children. Bill and Charlie were flying on their broomsticks. They were flying straight up in the air and then zooming down as quickly as they could while trying to grab a garden gnome. Fred was flying on his broomstick furiously trying to knock Charlie off his broomstick. George was trying to do the same to Bill. They called it Weasley Quidditch even though it barely resembled real game called Quidditch. The only thing they had in common was that they were played on broomsticks.

In real Quidditch, there were four balls used. Three people, Chasers, would try to get the big red ball, the Quaffle, through one of the three long poles with hoops at the end of the playing field. Each team had a Keeper, who would try to prevent their opposing team from scoring. Two medium sized balls, Bludgers, would try to knock players off their broomsticks. Each team had two people, Beaters, who carried clubs and tried to prevent the Bludgers from doing their job. Finally, there was the last ball, the Golden Snitch. It was very small and very fast. Each team had one player, the Seeker, whose job it was to catch the Golden Snitch, which was very difficult to do. The Seeker had to be fast on their broomstick and usually suffered the most injuries. The Quidditch game never ended until the Golden Snitch had been caught. Whichever team's Seeker caught the Snitch earned his team a hundred and fifty points on top of the current score and that almost always won the game.

Weasley Quidditch wasn't truly Quidditch at all. The point of the Weasley's family game was to collect the most gnomes and to have fun, whereas the real game of Quidditch was taken very seriously and was very, very competitive.

Ginny was both the scorekeeper and the cheerleader during Weasley Quidditch matches. She was fair with the score; but constantly changed her mind as to whom she was cheering for. She always seemed to cheer for whoever was losing. Ginny had a big heart and was always compassionate for the underdog.

Ginny remembered when Ron wrote home during his first year to tell about how his friend Harry was going to be the only first year student in over a century who was going to be allowed to play Quidditch at Hogwarts, just not play any position, but play as a Seeker. Ginny had been so excited, yet terrified at the same time for Harry. Harry was definitely the underdog then, but as time went on, Ginny got very used to watching Harry surmount the most impossible odds. He was the most amazing person she had ever met. She would never dare say such a thing out loud; but secretly and privately, she was always cheering for him in the depths of her heart. He fascinated her since the first time she met him on the platform of the Hogwarts Express, a train that took all students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, when Ron was leaving to start his first year. She was only ten years old, but the memory of Harry Potter standing there with his crooked glasses and his messy black hair falling in his face, looking a bit disoriented made an imprint on Ginny's heart. She would never forget that moment. She took a deep breath and sighed heavily, she knew that Harry saw her only as Ron's little sister and that greatly saddened her. But secretly she held on to the hope that now that she was finished Hogwarts and was about to embark on the world as an adult, maybe Harry would see her as an adult, a young woman. Now that You-Know-Who was gone, Harry no longer had to be so focused on one thing and he could concentrate on other, more pleasant things.

"Ginny!" Charlie yelled from fifty feet above, "We just scored! Did you get that?"

"Um, yeah." Ginny lied as she quickly marked a point for Charlie and George. She hadn't been paying attention to their game for quite awhile.

"I think Ginny was daydreaming again," George teased above her, flying his broomstick close to her so only she would hear his next taunt, "Perhaps about a certain retired Gryffindor Seeker???"

Ginny felt her face get red. She never told any of her brothers how she felt about Harry, especially Fred and George, because she knew they would have teased her unmercifully. Unfortunately for Ginny, they figured it out for themselves and rarely passed up an opportunity to let her know it!

"She better pay more attention or we might get her confused with Per, Per, Percy who can't get his head out of a bo, bo book!" Fred laughed as he zoomed over Percy's head. Ginny smiled, they were on to a new target. One thing about Fred and George, they had short attention spans when it came to teasing and a better target almost always came unwittingly along.

Percy was sitting quietly on a bench with his head deep into a book called The Improper Use Of Magic Rulebook. Percy had hoped that when the Ministry gets up and running again that he would have a pivotal position. Percy always did aim high. At Fred's jeer, he did look up from his book.

"Did you say something Joke Boy?" Percy asked.

"Ohhhh noooo...it is alive!" Fred hooted, before he returned to playing Weasley Quidditch.

Meanwhile, Molly and Arthur Weasley were in the kitchen. Mr. Weasley was quietly collecting the plates while Mrs. Weasley was scrubbing pots and pans. She noticed that he was unusually somber. It seemed like he had a lot on his mind. She figured that once they finished cleaning the kitchen, they would join their children in the garden and they'd have time to talk.

"Will this never end?" Mr. Weasley mumbled.

"I couldn't understand you dear, did you say something?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"No, nothing dear," Mr. Weasley lied, but the tears in his eyes betrayed him.

"Listen Arthur, I know that we were going to talk once we are done in here..." Molly started. "But, you really are beginning to make me nervous."

Mr. Weasley didn't respond, he just looked at the floor and started fidgeting with a fork that was still on the table.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" She queried.

"Oh Molly," he began. "I don't know how to..."

"How to what?" Mrs. Weasley's pitch cracked as it escalated upward in tone. She was beginning to feel panicked.

"Oh heavens Molly," Mr. Weasley dropped the fork and slumped into a chair at the kitchen table putting his hands over his thin face, "I don't know how. I don't know how..."

Mrs. Weasley left the sink and walked over the kitchen table and took a seat right next to Mr. Weasley. Her heart was pounding and that feeling of dread she felt earlier in the foyer was returning.

She took a deep breath and calmly said, "It's just like we taught the children Arthur, if you have something bad to say, just say it. Don't him and haw, just say it!"

"Molly..."Mr. Weasley couldn't find the words. How was he supposed to break her heart?

"Arthur!" She pleaded, "Just out with it!"

Mr. Weasley took a deep breath and finally said, "Okay then, it's about Ron." Mrs. Weasley gasped as Mr. Weasley took another deep breath and collected all the strength he had to continue.

"He was hurt during that last battle with You-Know-Who," Mr. Weasley eventually stated.

"How could he? He was with Harry. It's not possible..." She denied what he told her. She was praying with all her might that her Arthur was wrong. Ron had to be okay; her baby boy couldn't be seriously hurt, it just wasn't possible. Not her boy...but when she looked at her husbands face, she knew that he spoke the truth. She then barely whispered, "How badly?"

"It's worse than that." Mr. Weasley established as the tears began to trickle down his thin face. "It was at the end when Harry faced You-Know-Who. Harry told Ron to stay away and let him face him alone, but Ron didn't listen. Ron followed Harry anyway because he was sure that he could help. Harry and You-Know-Who were dueling like it hasn't been done since Dumbledore and Grindelwald back in 1945 when Ron entered the room. You-Know-Who was in the process of casting a powerful, deadly spell on Harry, but Ron intercepted the spell."

"NOT MY RON!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, her body crumbling in her chair. Her voice was so loud and full of agony that her children outside stopped dead in their tracks outside and came running in. In minutes all of her children were in the kitchen as she continued to shriek, "NOT MY RON! NOT MY SON!"

The entire Weasley household stood paralyzed as Mr. Weasley continued, "Molly, he fought. He didn't go down without a fight. Harry quickly cast a protection spell on Ron as soon as he realized what happened, but it wasn't enough and Harry had to finish You-Know-Who before he could tend to Ron."

Mrs. Weasley stared at him, red eyes streaming tears down her plump face. She heard his words, but they weren't making any sense.

"Harry said that Ron saved his life and without Ron showing up when he did, he might not have been successful," Mr. Weasley added, not knowing what to do to comfort his wife and was still in shock himself.

"But he's dead? Are you sure?" Mrs. Weasley eventually whispered between sobs.

"After You-Know-Who was defeated, Harry brought Ron to Dumbledore at Hogwarts. He thought that if anyone would know what to do, Dumbledore would," Mr. Weasley further explained.

"Heavens no!" she cried. Dumbledore and the meeting today, she knew something was wrong, but didn't want to believe it. This had to be what it was about and without a shadow of a doubt; she knew that if Dumbledore said this to be true then she knew that it must be.

"Ron fought for days. He held on longer than anyone thought he would. And although Harry cast a protection spell on Ron, it just wasn't enough."

"Why weren't we contacted before he...he..." Mrs. Weasley wailed; she couldn't bring herself to say that he was dead. "We are his parents..."

"Ron made Harry and Dumbledore promise not to fetch us. He didn't want us seeing him looking like that and he was determined to survive, he wouldn't hear of anything else..." Mr. Weasley whispered, "But he didn't survive, he died..."

"NOT MY RON," Mrs. Weasley covered her face with her hands, no longer able to speak. She just sobbed and sobbed while the rest of the family stood there in shock.

"So that is why Dumbledore contacted you today?" Mrs. Weasley's voice cracked with painstaking agony as the truth of it all started to sink in and she finally composed herself enough so that she could speak again.

"Yes." He somberly said as a tear trickled down his face.

The Weasley family stood there grieving in silence, trying to make sense of a senseless situation when from back of the room, Ginny finally broke the silence, "Does Hermione know?"

Hermione Granger was Harry and Ron's other best friend. Since their first year, the three of them were always together. Over their last years together at Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron had actually become much more than just friends, they had fallen deeply in love and were planning on getting married. They hid it from everyone when they were younger and at school for fear of teasing, especially from Fred and George. After they graduated, You-Know-You was such a threat that the timing never seemed right to share their news, let alone plan a wedding. The only reason Ginny knew the truth was because she and Hermione had also become close friends over the years. Hermione and Ginny shared those types of confidences with each other. In fact, aside from Ron and Hermione, Ginny was the only person who knew the truth.

No one replied to Ginny's question because nobody knew the answer.

It felt like time stood still for the Weasleys as they all stood transfixed in place with oceans of tears streaming down their faces, all except Percy who's face looked like it was made of stone, hard, cold stone. This was the first member of their family to die and the horror of it was too much to be real. It wasn't possible was it?

Just then a burst of white flew in the kitchen and dropped a piece of parchment in front of Mr. Weasley. The white burst was Hedwig, Harry's owl. She had brought the Weasley's a letter. Mr. Weasley fingers were shaking as he opened the piece of parchment.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Weasley,

I will be coming out tomorrow to see you. Something has happened that I need to talk to you about in person. I still can't believe Ron is gone. He was my best friend. He saved me. I am so sorry. Please don't be mad at me. You are the kindest people I know. I'll see you tomorrow. I will be bringing Hermione.

Love,

Harry

Mr. Weasley crumpled the piece of parchment. It wasn't that he was angry with Harry. He just was too full of grief to do anything else. Hedwig hooted and stomped around waiting for her reward. When she got nothing, she flew upstairs indignantly to rest with Errol and Pig, the Weasley's family owls.

The rest of that evening was spent in silence. One by one each member of the Weasley household went to bed. None of them had a good night of sleep. They all tossed and turned as they dreamed of Ron only to wake up and be faced with the painful reality that they would see him no more.

The next morning Mrs. Weasley awoke very early; the sky was still dark. She wandered down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. She found her daughter Ginny was already there with a pot brewing.

"Would you like a cup a tea Mum?" Ginny offered.

"That'd be lovely, Ginny." Mrs. Weasley said and sat down at the kitchen table.

"I still can't believe it," Ginny started as she brought over two cups of tea and sat next to her mother. She didn't know what to say. She knew whatever she was feeling; it had to be worse for her mother. No parent should have to lose a child like that.

"I know love," Mrs. Weasley murmured. "My Ron. Gone."

"I loved him too, even if I rarely told him that." Ginny said.

"You're his sister. Brothers and sisters aren't supposed to declare how much they love each other. They tease each other instead," Mrs. Weasley stroked Ginny's long red hair as she went on, "But Ron knew. I believe he knew we all loved him," and then whispered, "I least I hope he did."

"He did Mum," Ginny quickly reassured her. Mrs. Weasley forced a smile as she picked up her cup of tea. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny sat quietly for a few minutes drinking their tea.

"You know mum, Ron is a hero," Ginny finally broke the silence.

"Yeah, he is, " Mrs. Weasley's voice cracked with emotion as she spoke, "I just wish I could tell him how proud I am of him."

Ginny and Mrs. Weasley continued to quietly sip on their tea until it was gone. Ginny then brewed another pot and they shared their pain in silence. Hours literally went by before the sun rose or anyone else woke up.

Later that morning when everyone else woke, they all pretended life was okay and life went on like usual, even though there was an aura of sadness that filled the house. Fred and George chatted about their plans to open their joke shop. Percy was planning on contacting Dumbledore to find out what was going on with the Ministry. Bill and Charlie were each making plans to each return home.

Mr. Weasley spent a good portion of the morning tinkering with his muggle possessions. He loved to collect objects that muggles, non-magical people, used and then would add a magical element to them. He had once taken a muggle car and gave it the ability to fly. Ron and Harry once flew that car to Hogwarts their second year when they missed the Hogwarts Express. He decided he was going to get another muggle car and make it able to fly. He thought Ron would have liked that.

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny spent the day busy in the kitchen preparing lots of food. Mince pies, fish and chips, simosas, cream pies, fudge, chocolate frogs, trifle and more. After all, Harry and Hermione would be arriving soon. It wasn't so much that two extra mouths required that much additional food to feed, rather, it was an excellent diversion from thinking too much about what Harry had to share with them.

Throughout the day, the Weasleys received loads of owl posts from friends who were sending them their sympathies and condolences for their loss. It came from kindness from their friends, but owls that arrived were like hearing the news all over again.

At three o'clock a burst of thick, black smoke came through the fireplace in the family room and out came Harry and Hermione. Both were covered from head to toe in soot. Harry had never been particularly good at using Floo powder, but it seemed the best way to get to the Weasleys. Harry looked the same as always, black messy hair, crooked glasses, and bright green eyes. He was a tall man, although, he was still lanky as he had been as a child. He also still had the distinguishing scar on his forehead that resembled a lightning bolt that was a gift given to him from You-Know-Who, years ago.

Hermione's hair was bushier that usual. Her face was red and blotchy. She was also looking very worn and thin with dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn't slept in days.

"I'm sorry we took so long," Hermione began, wringing her hands. "But, I just can't seem to get moving and..." Her voice then cracked and it took all her will power to keep her composure. She wasn't going to fall apart in front of Ron's family. She may have loved him, yet she knew they were his family. Their grief far outweighed her own.

"It is okay Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said as she walked over and embraced her, "You and Harry loved him, each in your own way." Mrs. Weasley looked over at Harry while still holding Hermione. She saw his eyes full of uncertainty.

Harry wasn't sure if the Weasleys would hate him, but would understand if they did. He prayed that wasn't the case because he wasn't sure if he could lose them too. Ron was like a brother to him and they were the closest things to a real family he ever had.

Hermione embraced Mrs. Weasley like her life depended on it and cried and cried. It didn't seem possible for one person to cry for so long, but the tears kept coming. Hermione wanted to speak, but she had this giant lump in her throat that prevented her from doing so.

"You loved my son?" Mrs. Weasley whispered to Hermione, although she was certain she already knew the answer. A mother just knew those things, she just knew.

Hermione pulled back from Mrs. Weasley's embrace. The tears were still streaming down her checks and her face was stark white. She slowly looked around the room before she answered the question Mrs. Weasley asked her. She didn't want to lie about how she loved Ron, but she wasn't up to an audience to hear her response either. To her relief, no one else was in the family room aside from Mrs. Weasley, Harry and herself.

"Yes, I loved him," Hermione gushed. "I loved him very much."

"Then this is where you belong," Mrs. Weasley had tears streaming down her face as well when she spoke to Hermione. She then cupped the young woman's face before she continued, "You belong right here with the other people who love him." Mrs. Weasley looked deeply into Hermione's eyes and their teary eyes locked. In that moment, they understood each other and the depth of each other's sorrow like no one else could.

Mrs. Weasley walked over to Harry. Harry began to fidget. He wasn't sure if he'd be embraced or if he'd be slapped.

"Did you think we'd really blame you Harry?" Mrs. Weasley looked at him harshly.

"I didn't know," Harry meekly responded. "I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"You told Ron to stay back. Right?" She questioned.

"Yes," Harry looked away; he couldn't bear to look at her.

"And he didn't listen?" She put her hand under his chin and forced him to make eye contact with her.

"Yes," Harry once again tried to look away, but Mrs. Weasley wouldn't go of her grip on his chin.

"My boy, my son Ron..." she released Harry's chin and her voice softened as she beamed a mixture of pride and sorrow as she continued. "He was loyal and brave to the end. After all, he was Gryffindor too. He died saving you dear and I don't believe he wouldn't change that, even if he could. He loved you. You were his best friend since the three of you were sorted first year." When Harry, Ron and Hermione all met during their first year at Hogwarts, they were all sorted Gryffindor, the house known for being courageous and brave. Gryffindor was one of the four houses that all students from Hogwarts were sorted into.

Mr. Weasley had heard Harry and Hermione arrive, but wanted to give them a few minutes in private with his wife before he joined them.

"My dear boy, Harry," Mr. Weasley walked over to Harry and out his arm around him. "Don't look so lost. Neither my wife nor I blame you for what happened to Ron. We blame the monster who did it." Harry felt a rush of relief. He wasn't going to lose the Weasley's too.

"Volde..." Harry began to say, not thinking.

"Yes!" Mr. Weasley cut him off; it actually hurt when You-Know-Who's name was spoken aloud. "But please don't say his name!"

After several minutes, Hermione went with Mrs. Weasley into the kitchen where Ginny joined them. They started bring all the food they had made outside into the garden where they would have their afternoon tea. Once the food was on the table, Ginny set the place settings while Mrs. Weasley went in the house to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

Hermione wasn't much help in getting the meal ready. She just walked around the garden seeing memories of Ron everywhere she looked. "Just breath," Hermione told herself. So she concentrated really hard on simply breathing in and slowly exhaling. She wondered if the pounding weight on her chest would ever cease aching?

Mrs. Weasley double-checked the kitchen and she hadn't forgotten anything, but she did find Percy reading by himself in the next room and asked him to join the rest of the family. Everyone else was outside. Mr. Weasley was sneaking food from the table while Bill and Charlie were playing a game of chess with real live pieces, although none of the chess pieces wanted to move once they found out Ron was dead, which made the game was very difficult. Harry, Fred and George were on the other side of the garden engrossed in a serious conversation. Mrs. Weasley figured that the twins were telling Harry about some new prank, so she thought nothing about the three of them off to the side. What she didn't know was that it was Harry's money he won from the tri wizard tournament years ago that was financing Fred and George's joke shop.

Once Mrs. Weasley and Ginny had everything ready, everyone joined them at the table for tea. They quietly ate all the delicious food that had been prepared.

Harry finally broke the silence.

"You all know that I said I needed to speak to you today." Harry began. Nobody knew why, not even Hermione. Harry had her meet him at The Leaky Cauldron, but didn't tell her why they were going to The Burrow. He only told her that they had to go to The Burrow and that he needed to talk to everyone together.

"I don't know if you know yet; but I have accepted a position at Hogwarts teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry stated.

Everyone just looked at each other a bit confused. This couldn't have been the reason Harry came to The Burrow bringing Hermione with him and wanted to talk to everyone.

"That's great Harry," Ginny finally said, not knowing what else to say. She saw that this was difficult for Harry and wanted to help in any way that she could.

"Thanks," Harry replied. "But that's not why I'm here. I have been at Hogwarts with Ron since he was hurt," Harry's voice then got very soft, "and when he died."

"Go on dear," Mrs. Weasley urged.

"I was with him the whole time..." Harry stressed, but then stopped. Harry felt his pulse began to race, his temperature felt like it was rising and he felt unable to find the words he was searching for. You-Know-Who never physically hurt him so severely as he did when he took the life of his best friend.

"Of course you would have been dear," Mrs. Weasley knew that he spoke the truth. Ron and Harry had been as close as two friends could be. Over the years Harry had become like another member of their family and she understood Harry's pain, but didn't know how else to make him feel any better other than to reassure him.

"I loved Ron, he was like my brother. We knew each other better than anyone..." Harry glanced at Hermione and she knowingly smiled at him, "...or almost anyone." Hermione knew in that instant that Harry understood that she and Ron were beyond friendship even though neither she nor Ron actually told him.

"First of all," Harry continued as he walked around the table," I wanted to tell you that if I could have done anything to prevent this, I would have. I would gladly trade places with him. And I want you all to know much he loved all of you and he knew how much you loved him." Harry then stopped behind Mrs. Weasley and hugged her as he said, "I want you to know Mrs. Weasley that Ron kept every sweater you sent him every Christmas. Even the ones that he out grew."

"Oh my dear," Mrs. Weasley cried, putting her hands over her mouth.

"Since he died, I remained at Hogwarts because I had already promised Professor Dumbledore that I would teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, even though my heart isn't in it," Harry walked back to his seat and sat down. He paused when his voice cracked.

"I've never lost anyone I loved before..." Harry wasn't quite sure how to tell them what he knew.

"Harry, there has got to be more," Ginny meekly said, barely making eye contact with Harry. "You're not telling us much we don't know or couldn't have guessed or wouldn't have found out." Ginny then looked away from Harry and saw Fred wink knowingly at her. Once again Ginny immediately felt her face get hot as she blushed. Without delay, she looked down at her plate of food, horrified that Harry might notice.

"You're right Ginny, there is more," Harry gratefully smiled at Ginny; unaware that Ginny's face was crimson.

"Tell us already," Hermione, who hadn't said a word until now, finally spoke up. As much as she understood that Harry was hurting too, she didn't want to hear about it and if there was a point to this gathering, then she wanted to get to it already.

"You all know that there are ghosts at Hogwarts. We all went to school there with them," Harry stated and everyone nodded in agreement. "Usually whether one becomes a ghost is not a choice. It either is or isn't. Well, two nights ago I learned that isn't always the case."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked Harry. She saw from the corner of her eyes that Fred was just about to opened his mouth and surely say something to embarrass her, so she shot him a quick, nasty look warning him to back off. Fred promptly shut his mouth.

"What does this have to do with Ron?" Hermione asked. She wanted this to be over with.

"Is there a punch line?" Fred cracked. If he couldn't tease Ginny, he had to tease someone. It wasn't that Fred wasn't sad, but Fred dealt with sadness and most emotions through humor. George was so like his twin brother and he was the only one to laugh.

"Hush boys!" Mrs. Weasley scolded Fred and George. "Please continue Harry."

"As I said two nights ago...I thought I was having a dream. I saw Ron. Only he wasn't alive. He was so glad that I could see him and rushed on and on about a choice. You get a choice when you die selflessly. He could go on or remain. He spoke really fast and I didn't get all of it." Everyone looked confused.

"Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, "Maybe you just need some rest. You're overwrought and grieving..."

"I'm not crazy!" Harry declared, "I was doubting that as I was talking to a dead Ron, but now I know I'm not."

"Harry..." Hermione began.

"No Hermione, it's true," Harry insisted. "I didn't want to believe it either, but I'm telling you it's true! I was skeptical when Ron said he could prove it. But since I was sure I was dreaming, I just went with it. It was very late when we walked through the corridors at Hogwarts and ended up in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady that guards the secret doorway to the Gryffindor common room. She didn't seem surprised to see Ron, but since I was sure I was dreaming, I didn't think it strange. When I was about to say the password to get inside the common room, he told me to stop. He then vanished through the walls. The fat lady tried to explain to me what he was, only I wouldn't listen. She just laughed at me. Eventually Ron came back and was able to tell me every student that was in there, where they were sleeping and what position they were sleeping in. He shouldn't have been able to tell me any of this because not all the students had arrived yet because the semester doesn't start for a few more days. In fact, until Ron told me who was there, I didn't even know which students had already arrived. I'm not being officially announced as the new Defense of the Dark Arts Professor until Monday morning. Regardless, I didn't believe him anyway, so I gave the fat lady the password and went up for myself so I could actually see who was there. I didn't want to admit it, but Ron was correct about every student he named. Everything he told me was correct."

"Harry," Hermione whispered, "You already said yourself that you were just having a dream."

"No Hermione, your wrong!" Harry paused to collect himself before he continued, "Look, I understand your doubts. At that point I still didn't believe him either. But Ron was determined to prove himself, so Ron then woke up a first year named Cameron Candlewood. The first year was startled at first and didn't see me, but looked at Ron and said that he should have introduced himself with the others and it was rude of Ron to wake him. The first year then pointed out that it wasn't his fault that Ron didn't need sleep before he rolled over and went back to sleep." It was tradition that all the ghosts introduced themselves to all the new first year students when they first arrive at Hogwarts.

"This could still be a dream Harry," Hermione pleaded.

"I thought the same thing, so when I saw Cameron the next day I asked him about Ron. Cameron seemed confused that I knew about it, but was able to confirm my recollection of the prior nights events perfectly."

"Harry please..." Hermione begged.

"If that doesn't convince you, what would? Would rather believe I'm crazy..." Harry paused, feeling his insides swell with anger. He had never lied to any of them and although he didn't want to hurt anyone, but he had to make them understand what had happened.

"Harry, I don't want to hear anymore. Believe what you want to, but leave me out of it," Hermione began to get up, but Mr. Weasley put his hand on Hermione's hand, urging her to stay.

"Even if I didn't want to believe it, Ron came to see me the next night," Harry was hoping that he wouldn't have to tell them about when Ron visited him the next night and shared some very interesting news with Harry. Hermione wasn't going to like this, but she wasn't giving him a choice. "I can prove what I am saying."

"Then just prove it already, please," Hermione begged.

Harry took a deep breath because he knew that he was going to have to punch below the belt, "Then you tell me Hermione, when were you and Ron planning on telling anyone that you two were planning on getting married?"

Hermione's face turned a brighter red than any of the Weasley's hair while Ginny's mouth gapped open like she was trying to catch flies.

"Married?" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley exclaimed together, looking directly at Hermione, who began to sink in her chair.

"I'm telling you!" Harry yelled, causing all eyes to focus back on him. "Ron is a ghost!" Hermione and Mrs. Weasley both fainted.