Hey I am so sorry for the long wait, but my word software had a bad bout of computer sickness and refused to work...However i have a new chapter beated by the wonderful steph (huggles) i hope you enjoy and thank you so much for the great reviews!
"Whoever wishes to keep a secret, must hide that fact that he possesses one" - Johann Wolfgang
Chapter seven: Unsettling secrets
Two weeks later…
Knock, Knock
"Seamus, can you get that?" Hermione called as she carried a stack of paperwork to her desk. The recent break in at Gringotts had left the magical law department in utter chaos; Hermione had'nt been able to sit down for more than five minutes having been snowed under with memos and stacks of mountainous paperwork. As much as she liked working for the magical law department, she positively hated it when there was a public riot.
Sending another batch of complete lists of the people obliterated at the scene, she dropped the paperwork to the desk and pulled the quill from the back of her ear.
"Hermione, Harry's here for you!" Seamus shouted from the doorway, as Harry entered the room along with Lily and Hugo.
"Mummy!" Hugo cried running full pelt towards her. She caught him before he tripped over a pile of memos and embraced him in a motherly hug.
"Have a good day with Uncle Harry?" she asked him. He nodded furiously and went on to describe a fun-filled day with his uncle and cousin.
"…and he let me fly with him on his broom!" Hugo grinned, using his hands to emphasize his excitement. Hermione raised her head to Harry, her eyebrow cocked in mock fury.
"He did, did he?" she asked jokingly.
He looked at her innocently letting a sheepish smile grace his lips; his hands rose up defensively. "You know I wouldn't have let him get hurt."
"Uh-huh, Uncle Harry is the best!" Hugo added.
"And he'smydad" Lily told Hugo proudly.
"Shut up" Hugo ordered, "I already know." Harry chuckled and ruffled his hair.
"I'm sure Ron'll take you up sometime"
"Nu-uh, Daddy never comes home; he's always at work…" Hugo added somewhat disappointed. Hermione frowned at her son's observation and quickly cast a glance towards Harry who was tactful enough to pretend to be observing a book. Trust Hugo to keep letting out the family secrets, heaven forbid if Molly ever found out, she registered in her mind that she would have to have a little chat with her son sometime soon.
"So-" Harry moved on quickly, "anyone up for some lunch?" Lily and Hugo nodded quickly and immediately whipped around to Hermione.
"Auntie Hermione?" Lily asked hopefully. Hermione couldn't help but grin at her expectant expression and sighed, once more observing the heavy load of work that she had to complete.
"I'll help you with that later." Harry offered.
She quickly wagged her finger and shook her head.
"Harry. It's your job to catch the crooks, it's mine to sort out the paperwork and to make sure they are kept in confinement, there's no need." she told him adamantly, he didn't need the extra work especially after catching several of the wizards behind the Gringotts bank heist.
"I'm sorry guys, but I need to get this done; maybe at the weekend when I have a little more time?"
"Muuuuuuum!" Hugo whined, "You're just like dad! Come on, come to lunch with us!" he pleaded.
"Please?" Lily added with a pair of puppy dog eyes. Hermione looked towards Harry and he simply shrugged his shoulders. Her son watched her eagerly and she'd hate to disappoint him as his father frequently did. She felt terrible for having to work instead of being at home with him, especially now that Rose was at Hogwarts.
"You work way too hard Hermione, come on, I bet you anything you haven't even had a break yet." Harry added as an interruption to her thoughts, daring her to contest.
"Well, actually I haven't." she replied thoughtfully.
"There you go then. You'll be ok here for an hour or two won't you, Seamus?" Harry asked his former roommate.
"Yeah, sure, get going Hermione before I change my mind!" he called out from behind a rather large stack of papers. She couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto her face, Seamus was a lifesaver. He had joined the law enforcement team after she had passed the pro-muggleborn laws and had been a great asset to the team, as well as a good friend.
"But, Hermione, we have to have these papers finished by tonight, so don't be too long will you?" Seamus asked.
"Don't worry, Seamus, I'll be here to help!" Harry called back all the while pushing Hermione through the office door.
"Harry! You will do no such thing!" she ordered. Harry simply ignored her and continued to push her down the hallway with Hugo and Lily close behind.
The quartet quickly shuffled into the magical lift and the elders laughed, as Lily and Hugo lost their balance due to the erratic vertical and horizontal movements it produced. After another few stops, the lift stopped at the ground floor of the ministry and they left accordingly.
The younger two were chatting animatedly between themselves and Harry took it as an opportunity to ask her about her feelings and the issue of Ron and his disappearances.
"How're you holding up?" he asked in an almost whisper as they neared the ministry floo stations. She shrugged her shoulders and he could sense the unease she felt, especially as they were talking about it in the bustling reception of the ministry.
"We'll talk about it later the-"but he was soon cut off by a gruff calling.
"Mrs. Weasley?"
They instantly turned to face the head of the upper departments; he was a tall man with a saturnine face. He wore black, square framed glasses upon the bridge of his long and thin nose, highlighting his sharp bone structure.
"Yes, Mr. Garrett?" Hermione asked worriedly, if it was anything to do with her paperwork on the goblin bank heist, she swore that Harry and the kid's outing would have to wait. Her usual work was completely acceptable and to the highest of quality, but due to the recent events in her life, the paperwork had been lacking in detail and tended to miss the deadlines. She also noticed the formal use of her name; usually people would refer to her as plain old Hermione, but not in this case. She grimaced slightly at the use of her surname, it reminded her of Molly Weasley, and she always found it slightly weird that she too was addressed the same way- it made her feel slightly uncomfortable.
"I was wondering if I could have a private word?" he asked in a monotone drawl. "That is if you aren't in any rush?" he added.
"Go on, Hermione, we'll meet you at the restaurant in…ten minutes?" Harry said, whilst checking his watch. She nodded and he ushered the kids to the exit whilst she followed the rather uninviting man to his office.
"You can take a seat if you want." he offered pointing to an overstuffed armchair positioned in the direct view of his desk. She nodded gently and perched herself on the edge of the seat, folding her hands in her lap.
"Is there a specific reason for this abrupt meeting?" she asked curiously. Her heart pounded painfully as she thought about being reprimanded for her shoddy work.
"Yes, I'm afraid there is." he spoke, taking an orange file from his desk. She bit her lip in angst as he pulled a few pieces of parchment into her view and laid them on the desk.
"The Auror department has expressed a few concerns about your spouse Mister Ronald Weasley" he told her bluntly.
"Really, why would that be?" she asked, partially curious. What her husband did these days was rarely shared with her and she hadn't a clue what he'd been doing for the past week.
"They've been concerned with a few absences. We haven't received a sick note or calls from home to suggest an illness or injury, so we've brought you here to, maybe, justify these absences" he told her.
"He's not been at work? I thought he spent most of his time here?" she asked puzzled. She had assessed that he had been coming to work and working overtime to avoid her, but to hear that he clearly hadn't been only raised her suspicions.
"So you don't know why he hasn't been to work?" Mr. Garrett asked slightly confused. She shook her head and felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment; it registered in her mind that it would seem odd for a married couple to be unaware of each others daily routines and she bit her lip once again.
"Odd." was all Mr. Garrett replied with, before assuring her that she was able to leave. As soon as the door opened, she practically sprinted out of his office and into the lift to escape her previous embarrassment.
_____________________________________________________________________
After an hour or two at lunch, discussing trivial matters and topics, Hermione's mood was uplifted as they spent the afternoon playing with the kids at a muggle park. Hermione was able to spend time with her only son, dismissing her feelings of sadness so that she could enjoy the little time she had with him. Lily also enjoyed her company, letting Hermione braid her long red hair into a neat little French plait. Lily being Lily decided that flowers would be the prettiest accessory and picked a few daisies to slip into her plait. She beamed when Hermione told her that she looked like a princess and continued to do so throughout the time at the park.
Hugo enjoyed having Harry as a source of male company and used it to his full advantage by insisting that Harry teach him how to act like an auror, as well as some basic stances that they used on several occasions.
"You know, Uncle Harry, I want to be an auror just like you!" Hugo smiled as he raised his twig 'wand' and pretended to shoot a green bush.
"Your dad is an auror too you know." Harry reminded him, as much as he hated Ron's behavior at the present time, he couldn't let Hugo forget about his father.
"I know, but he's really moody, you're funny- I like you." he replied casually, flicking his wrist to send a 'spell' towards the climbing frame.
"Thanks Hugo." Harry said a bit unsure of himself, ruffling his red hair in an affectionate gesture.
"Just don't let your dad catch you saying that." he laughed uneasily, glancing up to see Hermione and Lily playfully talking as she continued to fiddle with her hair.
After another half an hour of playful mirth and several laughs, the four returned to the Potter household where Teddy agreed to baby-sit the two children whilst Harry accompanied Hermione to the ministry to help with the ever growing amount of paperwork.
"Yous sure these kids aren't fraternal twins?" Teddy asked as he flounced into the room with one red-headed child to each leg.
"We're sure, they're just very similar cousins with the same streak of mischief that Fred and George had." Hermione assured him, whilst taking a sip from her coffee. Harry nodded and shook his head at the kid's ministrations, they were best friends indeed and he loved that they had so much in common unlike when he was a child growing up with Dudley.
"I wish I was old enough to have seen those two together." Teddy smiled as the freckle faced children pulled his sleeves for attention.
"What is so important that you guys need to almost decapitate me at every given moment?" Teddy asked the troublesome duo as they practically pulled his jumper from his body.
They looked at each other quizzically and Hugo mouthed 'what's decapitate?' Lily shrugged and told Teddy about the new training brooms her dad had bought Hugo and herself.
"You bought Hugo a training broom?" Hermione asked Harry unreservedly shocked.
"Err…yeah." he replied slightly abashed. He ruffled his hair with his free hand and avoided her gaze.
"They cost a fortune Harry! Especially with the training gear that they include!" she told him, slightly mortified. He simply shrugged and gestured towards the two kids, who were now retrieving their new brooms. Hugo's face was a mixture of pride and excitement at the prospect of having his own broom.
"He's happy." he simply added. Hermione couldn't deny it and she too silenced at the look upon her son's face.
"Plus, I think if Ginny is allowed to buy three new dresses a week, I'm at least allowed to buy my daughter and nephew a treat. It'll keep their minds off of the other kids whilst they're away." he explained. Hermione's heart swelled with affection at Harry's thoughtfulness and she quickly relented with the thought of giving Harry a talking to.
Taking a look at her watch she quickly drained the last sips of coffee from her cup and placed it on the kitchen counter.
"I'll meet you at the ministry; Seamus is going to be leaving soon so we can take over. You can have a little catch-up with Teddy." she whispered the last part, observing the sight before her. Harry nodded and watched her apparate, intent on finding out about what Teddy had meant by the comment he made about Ginny and himself.
"So, do you kids want to get your gear on while Teddy and I have a little chat?" he asked the two who were grinning from ear to ear. The immediately nodded and ran to find their safety gear in the living room.
Leaning against the counter, Harry folded his arms and paused for a moment as Teddy swayed on his feet. There was a short silence between them, and Harry felt awful for dragging it out.
"Is anything on your mind?" Harry asked him, not asking him outright.
"Not particularly." Teddy replied. Harry noticed that he seemed tense, something he'd always been able to tell from Teddy as his eyes gleamed a light gray, a little trait he had received from his mother's side of the family.
"It's the eye thing Ted, I know there's something wrong-spill."
Teddy looked mortified at the prospect of telling Harry his problems and quickly shook his head.
"I'm fine, absolutely fine" he replied nervously. His gaze held the floor, showing more resemblance to a submissive wolf pup than a nineteen year old, working boy, and was almost a man.
"Yeah, and I'm Viktor bloody Krum." Harry tried to lighten the mood-to no avail.
"It's nothing really." Teddy sighed, "nothing" he repeated.
"Is it about what you told Hermione the other night?" Harry asked causally. He too had been curious and being subtle hadn't proved worthwhile so far.
"S-She told you?" he asked slightly alarmed. He nodded and watched his godson for his reaction, his eyes darkened to a deeper gray and he felt terrible for putting him on the spot.
"What did you mean by it?" Harry continued to pry.
"I-"
"Harry, are you home?!" came a rather sickly sweet voice from the hall.
"There you are!" Ginny cried, flinging herself onto his muscular frame. She dropped several shopping bags to her feet and brought him in for a deep kiss. Teddy contorted his face at the scene and turned away as Harry reciprocated.
"Where HAVE you been?" she asked quickly. Harry immediately informed her of the day's events and she pulled a face at his choice of company.
"You were with Hermione again?" she asked somewhat annoyed. He nodded and furrowed his brows.
"You seem angry, any reason why?" he asked.
"No, not at all, but you seem to be spending a lot of time with her recently" she inputted.
"I would with you if you were ever home." he quickly told her, he didn't want her to get the wrong impression.
"So sweet," Came her simple reply. She said with a 'princess' like smile, flipping her hair behind her, as she let go of Harry. He smiled slightly and moved away from her embrace to glance at the clock.
"I'd better get going; the paperwork at the ministry has to get done. Hermione'll be furious if I leave her to do it alone." he muttered grabbing his jacket. He chuckled lightly to himself as he imagined a furious Hermione, although he didn't want to pay the hell for making her mad.
"I thought that was Hermione's job?" Ginny called from the hallway.
"I offered to help, it's been mayhem, and I'll be home soon." Harry assured her.
"Fine. I was going out soon anyway. It's Lavenders birthday and I've been invited to the spa for the evening, I'll be back late!" she shouted climbing the stairs. He shook his head slowly and then turned to face Teddy.
"So, what was--" but the space Teddy had previously occupied was empty. A quick glance outside the kitchen window informed him that Teddy was currently helping the kids onto their brooms, whilst holding his own.
"Too eager that one, too eager". Harry muttered jokingly to himself, before Apparating to the ministry to help Hermione.
_____________________________________________________________________
Mindlessly tapping his foot on the linoleum floor, he tried to break the silence that had fallen upon the corridor. The irritating smell of disinfectant lingered around his nostrils, causing him to contort face in an annoyed fashion. He hated this place. Colourless walls pained his eyes and reminded him of the insecurity he held for this corridor. He sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair and had been for the past half an hour. They had assured him of a quick wait, but so far, he had been glanced at by a fellow visitor and then nothing.
He was starting to get bored of his continuous visits. The hope he held during the first few had soon been diminished and he now saw no point in continuing with the appointments he had to attend due to 'procedure'. I mean what procedure? They have a procedure for this? He thought angrily. It seemed quite unorthodox to him, but then again so did the thought of muggle doctors cutting up patients to find out what was wrong with them, instead of treating them magically.
A dragon skin wallet weighed down his left hand and he opened it occasionally, taking a peek at the small pictures he had of his children. They smiled back up at him, waving excitedly and sometimes pulling faces. He released a small chuckle every time- he still couldn't hold a straight face when his youngest charged into the lens. However, there was one picture less than usual. He hadn't lost it, nor had he forgotten to replace it when he last looked at it- he had purposely removed it to aid the discord he felt. The picture reminded him of the mistake he had made, the picture of his wife, had haunted him in every visit, and so he removed it. He had felt terrible for doing so, but it had to be done.
The recent visits he had made here had opened his mind to the possibilities to what could have been. The time after the war had been full of pressure and his teenage need for female attention had overridden him, and now he was severely regretting it.
His wife had no idea he even came here, in fact, no one in his family even suspected it in the slightest. She probably thought he was having an affair, he thought it best for her to think that way; he was too confused and full of regret to tell her otherwise.
Returning to the twiddling of his thumbs, he shoved his wallet into his jeans pocket and let his head fall back to meet the whitewash wall. His breathing was deep and he stared at the door in front of him in pure frustration what the hell is taking them so long?! Open the bloody door and tell me I can go! He shouted mentally. Suddenly, the door flew open and a green robed healer walked out.
"Mr. Weasley?"
"Yes?" he asked gruffly.
"If you wouldn't mind." the healer said whilst gesturing towards his office door. Ron Weasley immediately jumped up from his chair and shook his head.
"All I want, is for you to tell me that I can go, and that I don't have to return" he told the healer determinedly, he didn't want to spend another minute within the walls of St. Mungo's hospital for magical maladies and injuries.
"Mr. Weasley, I'm afraid that we will need several more appointments between us over the next couple of years. This is a matter that should not be taken lightly-"
"YOU THINK I TOOK THIS LIGHTLY?" Ron bellowed. The healer looked anything but embarrassed at his outburst and once again mentioned towards the office door.
"Mr. Weasley, I advise you to follow my lead, it wouldn't be prudent to do otherwise." The healer warned.
"Look Mr.--what's you're name again?" Ron asked squinting at the nametag displayed on the healer's robes, "Mr. Walker, I know there's nothing that can be done, I know! I don't want to waste my time coming here twice a week for nothing!"
"I assure you that it is not pointless Mr. Weasley. Your life can be prolonged if you attend the weekly visits, at the maximum we could be looking at two more years. You need to come here frequently to be given the strengthening serum, along with the Partizip potion. Ignore the visits and your life expectancy will be shortened drastically"
"It already is!" Ron retorted hotly.
"Without the visits we could be looking at six months, it's your choice." healer Walker stated firmly. Ron cast him another disbelieving look, six months? Six bloody months? This is a joke! My whole bloody life is one big laughing stock!
"Six months?" he asked somewhat startled. The healer nodded and quickly turned to enter his office, leaving the door open as an invitation for Ron to follow.