A/N ~ Finally, here is some more of Harry, Hermione & Mathew, I hope you enjoy it and I'm sorry it took me so long to update… I'm unfortunately not in a position where I can type all that often so… please forgive me…
Consequences ~ Chapter 4
It had been an eventful day to say the least, a day full of firsts. He'd arrived in England for the first time, met his Dad and his mothers best friend Ron for the first time. He'd been to The Leaky Cauldron for the first time and gotten his first broom. He'd had his first flying lesson with his Dad and had his very first ever family hug with Mum and Dad. It had been an amazing day and it was being finished with a family dinner, the kind that all of his friends had had and the kind that he'd never thought he'd have. They were all in the kitchen, Matt and Hermione sat at the kitchen table while Harry made them dinner.
`So Matt is there anything that you particularly don't like that I should know about?' Harry asked as he pulled various things from cupboards.
`Nope I'm good.' Matt replied staring at the assortment of ingredients now littering the bench, `what are you making?'
`Just a ragout, nothing special.' Harry replied smiling.
`What's a ragout?' Matt asked
`It's beef and stuff,' Harry paused wondering how to describe it, `it's really yummy you'll like it.'
`Do you like ragout Mum?' Matt asked now turning to Hermione.
`Oh yes, ragout is delicious, I haven't had it since I left England.' She replied
`Why not?'
Harry chuckled, `your mother is many things, Matt, but a good cook, unfortunately, is not one of them!'
`Just watch it Potter or I'll come over there and help!' she replied also chuckling.
`Mum is a good cook!' Mathew protested, defending his mother's honour, `she makes the best…' he paused unable to think of something his mother made really well. It suddenly occurred to him that everything she did make well came from a jar or packet. Harry and Hermione both laughed at Matt's extended pause.
`My point precisely.' Harry said still chuckling. Matt coloured feeling embarrassed.
`Hey, don't worry about it Scruff, I know I'm no chef.' Hermione said leaning over and ruffling his hair.
Matt smiled at his mother, he loved it when she called him Scruff.
`So what does scruff mean anyway?' Harry asked looking over at the affectionate display as beef began to sizzle away in the pan in front of him. Hermione laughed,
`It's shortened from scruffy, which is just messy.'
`So you're calling our son a mess?' Harry asked incredulous, `that's not very nice.' Matt smiled, `it's ok, my hair is a mess. I just can't seem to get it to lie flat or even to spike properly.'
`Yeah, my poor boy, he got his Daddy's hair.' Hermione said the laughter evident in her voice.
`Well yeah I'm sorry about that Matt, but I got my Dad's hair so really we can both blame him.'
`Yeah I suppose.'
The conversation lulled for a minute while Harry added a few ingredients into the pan on the stove. He then turned to a small pile of potatoes on the bench and got them to start peeling themselves with a flick of his wand.
`So how was your visit with Ron and Ginny today?' he asked Hermione.
`It was good, Ginny looks so much like her mother these days and I was surprised when she told me that she married Neville.'
`Yeah, but he's a good guy. They're a good couple.'
`Like Ron and Luna, honestly I'm so glad he married her, I always thought they were so sweet together.'
`Yeah, and their kids are the cutest little things, they all have strawberry blonde hair and freckles galore.'
`I met the eldest, Katie, how old is she, I forget.'
`She's ten in about six months so she'll be in Matt's year at Hogwarts.'
`Of course, you know Ron invited us over for a big lunch at the Burrow this weekend. You know to introduce Matt to everyone.'
Harry flicked his wand and sent the potatoes flying into a pot of water bubbling on the stove, `that sounds nice, what do you think Matt are you up for meeting everyone in one hit?'
`I guess so' Matt answered feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, `Ron's your best friend isn't he mum?'
Harry stopped what he was doing and looked at Hermione waiting for her answer. `Well him and your father.' She said seeing Harry's look. Matt looked confused, `but I thought Dad was your boyfriend' he said his confusion evident.
`Well he was, but he was my best friend first.' Hermione said confused that in the last ten years it didn't seem to be communicated to her son that she and his father had ever been just friends.
`Oh, but…' Matt trailed off unsure why this didn't seem to fit with what he'd always thought.
`Didn't you know that Matt?' Harry asked feeling a little hurt that Hermione had told her son that Ron was her best friend and not him.
`I suppose when I told him about Hogwarts it was always, Ron, my best friend and your father, Harry. Maybe that's why he didn't realise that for a long time we were just friends, well, best friends.' Hermione answered for Matt.
`Oh right, well that makes sense.' Harry replied as he put the lid on the ragout, leaving it to simmer, and came to sit at the table.
`So you guys weren't always boyfriend and girlfriend then?' Matt asked innocently. `No, in fact I don't think we ever were, not really anyway.' Harry answered looking to Hermione for confirmation. Hermione shrugged and nodded, `No that's true, I don't think you could have ever really called us that.'
Matt was shocked to say the least, `but what about me?' he demanded looking from his father to his mother, determined to get an explanation.
His mother blushed, `Well it wasn't that we weren't a couple I suppose, I guess…'
`What your mother means, or at least what I think she means, is that we were more than just boyfriend and girlfriend, after we stopped being just friends that is.'
`Oh,' said Matt slightly appeased, `so when did you stop being just friends then?' he asked curious to hear the whole story now that it had begun. His parents exchanged a significant look.
`You want to hear the full story do you?' Harry asked finally. Matt nodded eagerly, he'd never really been able to ask his mum about this before, it had upset her too much. `Do you want to tell it or should I?' Harry asked Hermione.
`You tell it.' She said softly taking his hand in hers.
`Alright then, well I suppose you know that we first met on the train on the way to Hogwarts in our first year?' he asked and at Matt's nod continued, `well Ron and I were friends straight off but it took a little longer with your mum.'
`You rescued her from a troll right?' Matt asked familiar with that story.
`Yeah that's right, and we were friends after that, best friends. We did everything together.'
`But when did you, become more than friends, was it during the Tri-Wizard tournament, I read a newspaper article that said you were in love then.'
Harry laughed, `No, that was wrong, we were still just friends then. In fact we weren't anything more than friends until about a month before everything went wrong.'
`A month! Only a month?' Matt asked astonished, `But…' he couldn't think of a way to voice his objection to this astonishing news. His mum had always referred to his father like he was the love of her life. How was it possible they'd only been together for such a short time?
Harry tried to explain, `We'd been such good friends for so long Matt, and it wasn't friendship like you'd understand it. We'd been through everything together, our connection was so strong…' he trailed off unsure of how to explain.
`Us becoming a couple, wasn't like how it might be for normal people, it was the most important thing that had ever happened.' Hermione offered.
Harry nodded agreeing with her assessment, `We had loved each other for so long as the very best of friends that being a couple really changed very little about our relationship, it was new but at the same time it was as though that was how it had always been, how it was always supposed to be.'
Matt didn't understand and his confusion must have shown on his face.
`Honey, I know it's hard for you to understand. But your father and I, our relationship was strong because it had to be. One day when you're older maybe you'll understand better.' His mother said as she leaned over to pat him on the arm.
A timer went off, `Oh the ragout is ready,' Harry said getting up and going back to the stove, `how much of this do you want Matt?'
`I want lots thanks, I'm really hungry.' Matt said enthusiastically.
`You know if you didn't look so much like me, I might've thought you were Ron's son talking like that!' Harry said laughing as he served Matt a big dish of ragout and mashed potatoes. `Here you go.'
He dished up portions for himself and Hermione as well and the three of them sat down together to eat dinner. Matt loaded his fork with the beef in sauce and scooped up a large dollop of the mashed potato and shovelled it into his mouth hungrily. It was delicious, `This is really yummy.' He said through his mouthful of mashed potato.
`Don't speak with your mouth full please Matt.' Hermione scolded him lightly.
Matt swallowed, `Sorry Mum.'
`That's ok.'
He ate another mouthful and swallowed fully before speaking again.
`So how did you get together then?' He asked.
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, `Are you sure you really want to know this?' he asked Matt. Mathew shrugged, `Sure, Mum never liked to talk about you that much, it always made her cry.'
Harry looked over at Hermione and reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, `Well, it was kind of silly really the way it happened.' He grinned remembering, `you see I'd always had this silly idea that your mother and Ron had something going on. I never let myself consider that I might want anything like that. When I found out from Ron that he was seeing Luna I immediately rushed over to see her, to comfort her. I was shocked to discover that she wasn't upset about that at all.'
They were looking at each other over the table and Matt had the feeling that they were lost in their memories.
`I was upset because I thought you were getting back together with Ginny and now that Ron was with Luna, I'd be all alone.'
`I still don't know where you got the idea that I had any intention of getting back together with Ginny,' Harry caressed her cheek with his hand and continued, `then of course we found out that we'd both misunderstood what was going on, I couldn't believe you thought I'd ever leave you alone.'
`I know, how silly of me,' Hermione answered a touch of irony in her voice.
`So then what happened?' Matt asked not wanting to intrude on their memories, but at the same time eager for his curiosity to be satisfied.
Harry blinked and looked back at his son, almost surprised to find him still sitting there, `Well of course, your mother told me that I was an idiot to think that she'd been interested in Ron that way-`
`I believe I actually said that "Voldemort must have really messed with your head if you thought I wanted Ron to be my boyfriend" Hermione interjected.
`Why what's wrong with Ron, I thought he was your friend?' Matt asked confused.
`Well as I explained to your father at the time, Ron is a lovely guy and a good friend but if we got together I would either end up in therapy or in prison,' she laughed, `we just drive each other a little mad, that's all.'
`So, yes, after I was corrected in my assumptions I corrected your mother's assumptions about myself and Ginny.'
Hermione laughed, `Yes I remember you took great pleasure in telling me that I'd been wrong.'
Harry laughed too this time, `Yeah that was fun, anyway,' he said resuming the story and turning back to Matt, `from there it didn't take much for me to admit to myself and to her that I was in love and of course she was powerless to resist my charm, hey' he said raising his arm to defend himself as Hermione whacked him lightly on the arm. `Well still I suppose it is true.' She said still smiling at him as feigned a mortal wound.
Matt laughed at his parents playing around and then asked the question that had been bugging him ever since he'd found out his father was alive.
`So, are you going to get married now?'
They both blushed scarlet and looked at each other before looking away, after a few seconds of awkward silence Harry finally spoke.
`Look, Matt, I'm not going to tell you that it's not something we've talked about, but I think, at least at the moment, that we just need to take this one step at a time.'
P.S ~ I've also now fixed up all the mistakes I could find in 1st kiss… if you haven't read it yet please do.
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