Hermione Granger appeared to be a happy woman. She was working a job she loved and had even married her childhood sweetheart. They even had two wonderful children together, Henry, who was now six, and Sarah, who was only four. They appeared to be one big, happy family from the outside looking in.
But there was a gap. There had always been unresolved tension surrounding the adult Weasleys, something they had made a silent agreement never to speak of: Harry Potter. Harry had been out of their lives for almost ten years now, and they hadn't heard from him, or seen a hair of his head since the day he proclaimed he was going on `vacation'. He hadn't told them he was leaving England for good. He hadn't given any indication or reason why. They had learned of his departure from Molly Weasley and Ron had taken it as a great insult that Harry had informed his mother of his plans rather than his best mate. He had simply told them he was going to Australia to `clear his head'.
Harry had sent a letter to Molly from Australia when he had failed to turn up three days after the date he had said he would be returning. In his letter he had plainly explained that he had fallen in love with the country, the peacefulness, and its beauty. He had every intention of staying there, and didn't plan on returning to England for a long, long, time. He also explained that he was immediately accepted into the Auror Training Program in the Australian Ministry, and he made no effort of hiding his happiness. He immediately liked the Minister of Magic in Australia, much more than Rufus Scrimgeour, who had resigned almost three years ago.
Hermione was heartbroken. She tried writing to him, calling him, and even suggested that she and Ron go visit him. Most recently, the letter she had sent him came back unopened with "TENANT NO LONGER LIVES HERE" stamped across it. Harry never replied to any of her letters, or answered his telephone. Hermione would sometimes call his mobile number that she had come across at Molly's, in case she needed him in for an absolute emergency. He had only answered his mobile once, and had quickly said something along the lines of "In the middle of something important, sorry" and hung up quickly. Now Hermione called the number to leave him small messages and just to hear his voice. Ron thought she was being ridiculous. Harry had made his intentions known that he had no interest in them whatsoever anymore, and for all they knew, Harry could be married with fifteen children by now. Ron seemed perfectly comfortable living just like that.
Ron was a dispatch investigator for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Hermione owned her own bookshop in Diagon Ally. In this result, the Weasleys were living comfortably in central London.
More recently Ron's job had been taking him away, but Hermione knew the real reason he was gone so frequently. She had heard stories from Ron's female coworkers who she was friendly with and knew that Ron had taken to having lunches and `walks' with his new secretary, Lavender Brown. Hermione was forcibly reminded of her sixth year, when Ron and Lavender were all over each other. She dearly wished Ron would tell her about his relationship with Lavender, but she knew how he would react if she confronted him. He had never hit her, but he still had the emotional range of a teaspoon. Perhaps a tablespoon now.
At first, she was shocked, upset, and felt useless and ugly that Ron was cheating on her. It was starting to cut into their personal time as he kept going away on `covert missions'. She was constantly home with the children, and was running out of excuses as to why daddy wasn't as home as much as he normally was. She was getting sick of it, and she was sure she was going to have to confront him with divorce papers sooner rather than later.
She often wondered what she would do if she gave Ron the papers. She would obviously have to move out, perhaps get a smaller house outside London for her and the children, and start all over. She wouldn't marry again. Never. She also considered actually going to Australia and hunting Harry down. She knew she should be furious with her raven-haired friend. They hadn't spoken or seen each other in eleven years. He never replied to any of her letters, returned any of her calls, or sent birthday or Christmas cards. He had practically shut her out of his life, and yet, if he were to walk back into her life at that very moment, she would likely welcome him back with open arms.
X-x-x-x-x
He knew what he was doing was wrong. He was a married man, and had been for almost thirteen years. Yet, he was drawn to this gorgeous woman he had been with when he was sixteen. He had finally come to terms that Lavender Brown was now indeed his mistress and it seemed that he stayed in her apartment more than he did in his own home with his wife and two children.
Lavender had matured over the years. Instead of the gossip queen and fashion obsessed girl she was in Hogwarts, she was now a well informed, grown up beautiful woman. She was his new secretary. Glenda, his former secretary was as old as the hills, but reliable as hell. She was like a second mother to him, but she retired in order to spend time with her dying muggle husband, Nicholas. So then he went through many interns, none of them as reliable as Glenda. Until that fateful day Lavender Brown entered his office, on a particular day when the ministry cleaners decided to charm the windows to a bright, gorgeous sunny day. The fake sun managed to bring out the natural red highlights in Lavenders hair, and Ron immediately hired her on. Hermione, Henry, and Sarah were pushed to the back of his mind ever since the day Lavender Brown walked back into his life.
So Ronald Weasley found himself following his new secretary around like a long lost puppy. They had lunch together, had coffee breaks together, and Ron even went home with her. And most recently, he started spending long, passion-filled nights with her. Of course he felt guilty doing this to Hermione… But the romance had left their relationship a long time ago. Ron liked to think that their relationship was doomed when a certain someone had taken off to Australia, leaving Ron's fiancé in hysterics. After Harry had left, he was having internal conflicts. He would never be able to bring himself to admit to Hermione that he was actually glad that Harry was no longer around. Sure, he missed his best mate, his drinking and Quiddich buddy. But now he was gone. There was no more Harry Potter for Hermione to fuss over, to worry about. He was out of their lives, and Ron felt like he had did not have to compete for Hermione's time and emotions.
During the war, Ron felt like he had to constantly compete with Harry for Hermione's attention. He knew Harry had no interest in his girlfriend and Harry wouldn't even look twice at his sister anymore; he had lost interest in her. But Harry had changed. He and Hermione had somehow become closer friends, closer even than he and Ron had been. Ron began to feel threatened and he was getting horribly frustrated. When he and Hermione went to bed at night, she would always unleash her concerns for Harry, about how he was dealing with his emotions and the new information they had unearthed about destroying the last Horcrux- Nagini the snake.
They destroyed the snake and Harry took care of Voldemort, which left him in a coma for three weeks. Naturally, Hermione was beside herself with worry and Ron was worried that Harry might not actually pull through this one. And finally, one rainy Sunday, Harry Potter's eyes opened. He refused to give an interview to the Daily Prophet, and even declined the Quibbler. He stayed in his small flat in Kensington most of the time. After the whole Harry issue had settled down, things were finally starting to return to normal. Ron became an understudy in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Hermione was the Assistant Manager at Flourish and Blotts, and Harry was taking it easy in Kensington Park.
Ron proposed to Hermione in front of their friends and family a month later at a garden party held at the Burrow. She eagerly accepted. Ron felt like he was the happiest man in the world. He had finally gotten the girl.
Molly Weasley had threatened to skin the three of them alive if they failed to show up at her infamous Sunday dinners, in which all of the Weasleys and their spouses and children were present. Reluctantly, the three of them never failed to show up. Three weeks later, Harry had made his announcement that he was going on a `vacation'. They all said it was well deserved. Harry smiled gratefully, and joined in an enthusiastic conversation with Fred and George about the current winning streak of the England National Quiddich Team.
After everyone had said their goodbyes and good lucks to Harry, he gave them each in turn a hug and said `I'll see you around'. He then walked out the front door, and unbeknownst to them, out of their lives. That was the last time anyone had seen Harry.
There were rumours that he had been in and out of London since he left. He had been rumoured to be in the English ministry itself, yet, Ron had never seen a hair of his head, or heard the deep baritone of his voice. Hermione was the only one now who seemed to give a damn about Harry and what was going on in his life. With this new development that he had moved out of the condominium he had been living in, Ron had started to become suspicious. He even went as far as to contact the Australian Ministry of Magic, to find out what was up with Harry. It turned out that the bloke he had spoken to via floo, was a good friend of Harry's. Harry had apparently desired a `change of scenery', and was now living in a lavish apartment on the Sydney waterfront. Ron had made Lucas Ulrich take a wizard's oath that he would not repeat this conversation to Harry. Lucas reluctantly agreed. Ron wouldn't even dare tell Hermione that he had been in contact with anyone in Australia.
x-x-x-x-x
The Burrow was bustling with life as Ron, Hermione, Henry, and Sarah arrived. It was supposed to be a monstrous occasion, as every single Weasley was to be present, along with their spouses and children. When the whole immediate Weasley clan was together, the Burrow was filled with a staggering 17 people.
After they swung the rickety front door wide, Henry and Sarah made a beeline for the backdoor, where their uncles, Fred and George, were currently entertaining the Weasley children. Hermione smiled warmly as she heard her daughter let out a shrill giggle as she rocketed into Fred's arms.
"She's beautiful," Ron whispered in her ear.
"I know," replied Hermione as Molly embraced her into one of her infamous bone-crushing hugs.
"Ronald! You missed dinner last week, Hermione said something of a mission?" said Molly as they entered the kitchen.
Ron shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. I've been getting called away a lot now, senior member of the department and all…"
"They should be made aware that you do have a family to take care of," Molly continued.
"I also have to help protect the magical world too, mum," Ron countered. "At least I'm home, I don't just leave and decide to stay away," he said as they entered the kitchen. Everyone in the room fell silent. "I-I-I didn't mean it in that way…"
"It's alright, Ronald." Molly said softly, as she and Hermione immediately busied themselves with setting dishes on the table.
He felt terrible. Dinner was now a silent affair. Normally it was loud with the laughter of the children, adults telling each other cruel jokes, and fights over Quidditch. News of his little `reference' had spread like wildfire through the house, and no one really knew what to say on the matter. Harry was a touchy subject for everyone. The children had never met him, but had heard stories of his adventures. Somehow, they knew not to speak of him in front of their parents, especially Ron and Hermione.
Hermione and Ron had fought many times about Harry since he had left. More recently, since she had acquired his mobile number. He argued that since he left, he hadn't contacted them once, so why should she even write him a letter once a month? Why should she call him if he won't pick up? He had let go, but somehow, Hermione could not. He wasn't sure how he would react if Harry came home. He would probably try to come back into their lives. But would he allow it? They had moved on without him. He and Hermione were married, for Christ sakes. They had two children, and if Harry were to come back? That would ruin it. He was sure. What if he left again? What if he tried to get back together with Ginny? She was married now! She was pregnant. And Harry would ruin it.
Ron exhaled. He was over-reacting. Harry was not coming home. Harry was not coming home. Harry was NOT coming home.
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