Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: As always, I must apologize for the delay with posting. I was working on a short story for a class last year for literally like seven weeks of the semester and then holidays came up, etc. Not to mention I just started a Jane Austen course, the reading for which is taking up quite a bit of my free time. Regardless, I do hope to have this story completed within the year. Not too lofty of a goal or anything but still.

So to start, thank you to everyone who reviewed last time. Despite my less than consistent updating schedule, I am still always blown away by your words, so thank you so much! I hope you all enjoy this one, and continue to leave feedback! Just as a warning, there will a big time jump after this chapter.

Chapter 43: Suspicions

Hermione batted almost subconsciously at one of the flying memos that threatened to embed itself in her mane of hair. When the second one did the same, she wrapped her fingers loosely over her vinewood wand and murmured Finite, causing the tiny paper memos to collapse limply upon her desk.

She swiped the memos to the side until she could finish the report she was reading.

It was early Saturday at the Ministry of Magic, and as such there were few people milling about. By all rights she shouldn't have been there either, but there had been a few very important cases she had wanted to complete before she could fully enjoy her weekend. The files themselves contained little of value - they were mostly blank, at least to her eyes - but certain elements of the files were required to achieve approval from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The reports, being from the Department of Mysteries, were of utmost secrecy and only revealed things on a need-to-know basis. In fact, she found that more often than not she could remember very little of what she had just read when the file was out of her sight. The procedure was more for show than anything, and once they got the faux-approval from the DMLE, the Unspeakables would send the final project summary to the Minister himself.

However, Hermione knew that the Unspeakables could be an impatient lot when it came to beginning a new project, and she wanted to complete the reports as soon as possible.

Hermione yawned as she flipped the file shut and tucked it into the box on her desk.

Her career track had been a little hectic since she had switched departments, and the changes occurred so rapidly she was usually just becoming accustomed to one role when it would be exchanged for another. Or worse yet, another role would simply be added to her other responsibilities. Less than three years ago she had barely been more than a glorified intern in the Department, and now she was a high-ranking official for the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol. She liked to think her quick climb through the ranks had nothing to do with her friendship with Harry, but she suspected it was a contributing factor. But she knew her skills and dedication were also being noted. As Harry had informed her, there was even a rumbling of her being offered a position with the Wizengamot, a rare enough offer to a witch of -

"Is there any particular reason you're here on a Saturday? And on your birthday no less?"

Hermione looked up from one of the memos she had pulled before her and raised an eyebrow at Harry, framed within the doorjamb of her office.

This was one of the perks of having switched departments. Hermione was both unspeakably pleased and mildly flustered at having Harry a few doors down from her. By working on the second level, it was fairly common for her to see not only Harry, but also Ron, Arthur, and Mitch at regularly intervals throughout her workday. Hermione had to admit that it was a very pleasant work environment, even if it was a little distracting.

"A few reasons, actually," Hermione said, returning her attention to one of the memos detailing a dispute between two goblin clans over ownership of a particular vault in Gringotts. "Namely the whole employment thing."

"Ah, that," Harry said, stepping into her office. "A bit of a drag if you ask me."

"It pays the bills," Hermione said. "And you're one to talk. When was the last Saturday that you didn't come into work?"

"Well that's what happens when you're a Division Head," Harry said. "As you should also know. I won't be here much longer, though. Birthday party to attend."

"Is that your way of implying I should speed things up so the guest of honor will actually be there?"

"Something like that," Harry said. "So how does it feel to be thirty?"

"Great," Hermione said, sliding the second memo towards her. "I've never felt better."

"So it's sort of a delusional thing?" Harry said, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Yes, luckily," Hermione said, rolling her eyes slightly as she felt her lips curve upward as well. She looked down at the memo, squinting a bit to see the tiny print, and heard Harry snort with amusement a moment later.

"What's so funny?" Hermione said, her eyes still on the parchment.

"Nothing really…it just seems like all those years of reading are finally catching up with you. Should I read that memo for you or would you like to borrow my glasses?"

Hermione glanced up as she realized she was holding the memo about a foot from her face. Harry slid his glasses off his face in a swift motion and, before she could object, hooked the glasses over her ears and took a step back.

She blinked rapidly as her vision turned sharply blurry, causing Harry's features to fade into hazy ambiguity.

"Harry, my vision may be fading a bit, but it's nowhere near this caliber. Merlin your sight is awful!"

"I guess it doesn't help matters that I'm near-sighted," Harry replied.

"Can you even see me right now?" Hermione asked as she slid the glasses down her nose to peer over the rim. Harry's features again came into focus, and Hermione thought it was odd how strange he looked without his glasses.

"Not especially," he said, squinting his eyes slightly.

"How close do you have to be to something to see it clearly?"

"Pretty close," he said. "I can see you clearly about…"

He stepped around her desk and bent down until his face was as close as the memo had been a moment before.

"…here," he concluded.

Hermione felt her pulse quicken and leaned back in her chair to decrease their proximity slightly.

Harry reached forward and lifted his glasses from her face, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort, and replaced them on his own nose. He straightened and stepped away again, and Hermione let out a pent-up breath.

"So are you ready to go or do I have to drag you out of here?" Harry asked.

"I just - I just need to take these down a few floors," Hermione said, tapping the side of the sizable box of files. "I'll be ready after that."

"I have to grab something from my office anyway," Harry said. "I guess we'll meet up in the Atrium?"

"Sure," Hermione said. "Sounds good."

Hermione began binding up the box as soon as Harry left the room, and once that was completed she hefted the box into her arms. It was a little heavy, but not so much to warrant a levitation spell.

She met no one on the way to the lift, and the lift itself was empty of inhabitants as well. Hermione fluidly rode the lift down seven floors, never once being jolted to a halt by the interruption of a new passenger.

"Department of Mysteries," the cool voice announced as she reached her destination. The golden grilles of the lift slid apart and Hermione stepped onto the black floor, gripping the box a little more tightly. Even though it had been over thirteen years since she, Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny had come here in that reckless attempt to rescue Sirius, she still felt extremely uncomfortable when she had to come down here.

Her shoes clacked echoingly through the corridor as she hurried toward the far door, the noise amplified by the lack of all other sound. Already she could feel a smattering of gooseflesh coat her arms and an irrepressible shiver ran down her spine, as if a cold breeze had just swept by her. A sudden urge came over her to glance over her shoulder, overwhelming her better judgment until she finally gave in.

As she knew would be the case, there was no one behind her - only blackness.

Gratified and mentally berating herself, she turned her head forward. Intent as she had been on what lay behind her, she didn't realize someone was in front of her until she collided with him.

She let out a yelp of mingled surprise and fright as the box began to fall from her arms, but the man in front of her balanced it between them.

Hermione felt slightly embarrassed at being so easily startled, but her heartbeat continued to race.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said, trying to regain her grip on the cardboard. "I almost bowled you over!"

"No apology necessary," the man said, still holding a corner of the boxes as well. "I should have been watching where I was going."

Hermione peeked over the top of the box to see who she had run into. The man was very good-looking, with high cheekbones that tapered down to a thin but angled jawline. His dark brown hair was perfectly coiffed, and the lack of alarm in his gaze seemed to suggest he didn't appear remotely flustered at almost being knocked flat.

"Hermione Weasley, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Hermione said, jostled from her intense scrutiny. There was something about him that seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't place what it was or why it seemed familiar. She was fairly positive she had never seen him before.

She wished he would let go of the box.

"Excellent," the man said, his lips parting to reveal straight, pearly white teeth that would have made her parents swoon. "I was just being sent up to see about your progress on these files."

She felt a tug as he began to pull the box away from her, but she tightened her grip.

"I haven't seen you around before," she said.

"I'm fairly new," the man replied. "That's why they're sending me on these little errands."

He smiled again, a small smile, polite. It disarmed her as much as it gave her chills.

"Thank you for saving me the trouble, Mrs. Weasley. I'll make sure they get to the proper officials," the man said. He pulled the box again, his blue eyes fixed unblinkingly on hers, and this time Hermione allowed it to slide from her fingers.

Without another word, the man turned and strode toward the black door at the end of the hall, his robes swishing behind him. His footsteps made no sound as he walked, and he soon disappeared into the next room, leaving Hermione standing alone in the corridor.

She stood, shivering, and stared at the door for a moment, trying to assess why such an innocent encounter had left her feeling so ruffled. Swallowing, she turned and practically ran back to the lift, allowing it to take her up to the Atrium.

Harry greeted her as she stepped onto the polished wooden floors. He immediately picked up on her uneasiness.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Hermione said, as much to convince herself as him. "Just feel a little light-headed. I probably just need to eat something."

"Well, you're in luck because I'm sure Molly made plenty," Harry said. He offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

Hermione smiled, dismissing her thoughts as she looped her arm through his.

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

Mrs. Weasley had taken the reins wholeheartedly when Harry (to Hermione's annoyance) had surreptitiously mentioned Hermione's upcoming birthday. While Hermione had made a few feeble attempts at dissuading the plans, it had soon spiraled out of her control. In the end, Hermione had simply insisted that it be held earlier in the day - with half a dozen children under the age of five present, she felt an evening party was asking for trouble, and Harry quite agreed.

He was even more inclined to agree when he and Hermione Apparated just outside of the Burrow's gates. The noise bombarded them instantly, and Harry had absolutely no trouble believing that all twelve of the Weasley grandchildren were present in full force.

The children were all darting madly about the yard, and Harry grinned as he saw Albus and Rose chasing each other in an ungainly imitation of their older cousins. A fair portion of the adults were milling about as well, seated at numerous picnic tables and talking loudly in an attempt to be heard over the kids. Harry spotted Neville, Hannah, Charlie, Arthur, Bill, Percy, Audrey, Angelina, and a few Ministry acquaintances of Hermione's and waved his greeting when the group noticed their arrival. Hermione likewise greeted them, warmly thanking them for coming. As soon as these pleasantries were exchanged, Harry and Hermione both went inside to find their spouses.

Hermione was instantly delighted when they entered the house due to the sight of her mother conversing with Ron and Ginny. She dashed forward and embraced her earnestly, leaving Harry to approach at a more subdued pace.

Over Hermione's shoulder, Harry could see that Katharine was holding Hugo, and Ginny was holding Lily. Just as Hugo's flaming red hair made him a miniature of his father, Lily's identical mop of hair made her a miniature of her mother. In fact, this similarity in looks caused Harry's daughter to be referred to more often as MinGin than her actual name. The nickname, for the time being, had stuck, a habit that Harry was somewhat grateful for. Even now, a year after she had been born, he was still marginally aggravated that Ginny had been so adamant on naming their daughter after his mother. James had been enough, in his opinion, but he couldn't very well have expressed the aversion to Ginny at the time. The most he could do was hastily tack on "Luna" in an attempt to polarize the choice, and though Ginny had been a bit taken aback by the suggestion, both she and Harry were pleased at the idea once it had been brought forward. Luna, of course, had been even more pleased.

"Happy birthday, sweetie!" Katharine said as Hermione broke away.

"Thanks, Mum," Hermione said. "I'm so glad you came!"

"I couldn't have missed your thirtieth birthday!" Katharine said. "And I haven't seen my grandbabies in ages! Hugo wanted to spend the day with his grandmummy! Isn't that right?"

She directed her last question to Hugo, who grinned at the attention and blurted out a brief and incoherent garble.

"See? He's positively delighted!" Katharine said.

"Clearly," Harry said. "He obviously has great taste." He threw in a wink for good measure.

"I'm standing right here, you know," Ginny said, putting on an air of shocked affront as Katharine, Hermione, and Ron laughed.

"Oops, sorry Gin, I didn't see you there behind our daughter," Harry said.

"Hey, she's my mum! If anyone should have reserves about this it's me," Hermione said, trying to remain serious through her laughter.

"Oh, don't listen to them, Harry," Katharine said. "I, for one, am downright flattered."

"See? Katharine doesn't mind," Harry said. He winked again at her, and Katharine winked back.

"Hey, now," Ron said. "How about we leave the flattery to the son-in-law, eh?"

There was a beat of silence before Katharine let out a laugh, which seemed a bit forced to Harry's ears. He also noticed a flash of discomfort in Hermione's eyes as her eyes shot to him and back to Ron.

Just as Katharine's laugh faded, Hugo began to cry, and both Granger women seemed relieved.

"He probably needs his nappy changed," Katharine said quickly.

"I'll take him," Hermione said, reaching for her son.

"No, I'll do it," Katharine said, retaining her hold on Hugo. "Where should I go to change him?"

"This way," Hermione said, turning and already walking from the room. "Molly always keeps a few nappies upstairs."

Katharine fell in quickly behind her daughter, and they disappeared from the room. Harry knew they had most likely begun speaking the moment they were out of sight, and was extremely curious as to what they were discussing.

Fleur swept in at that moment with a tray of various sweet tarts.

"'Arry!" she said, flouncing forward and kissing Harry's cheek. "I `ad no idea you were `ere! Would you like a tart? Zere are treacle, Molly and I made zem just for you!"

Harry immediately plucked one of the warm sweets from the tray, thanking Fleur profusely. Ginny also picked one, a cherry-flavored, and then wafted it beneath Ron's nose.

"How about you, Ron? Would you like one?"

Ron glared at his sister and shook his head tersely.

"No? Are you sure?" Ginny said.

"Zey are quite delicious, Ronald," Fleur added, holding out the tray.

He shook his head again, though his gaze was locked on a particularly bulky apple tart. Fleur shrugged and swept back into the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Harry asked Ginny, furrowing his brow.

"Oh, Ron didn't tell you?" Ginny said. "Ickle Ronniekins is on a diet."

"It's not funny," Ron grumbled, shoving a hand into his pocket.

"It's a little funny," Ginny said. She took a large bit into her tart, and made an exaggerated eye-roll as she chewed. "Mmmmmm. It's hard to pick the best cherry tart I've ever had, but this one is definitely in my top five."

"Ha ha ha, you're a real comic," Ron said.

"It's so delicious though…I just wanted you to know what you were missing," Ginny said. She waved the tart in front of him again, and he batted it away.

"If this torture isn't against the law, it should be," Ron said.

"Hey, this was your decision…you can't have your cake and eat it too," Ginny said, her lips twitching.

"Lay off, Gin," Ron said, although he seemed mildly amused.

"Okay, okay, I'll shut my pie-hole," Ginny said.

"You know, instead of teasing a little motivation would be nice," Ron said.

"Fine," she said, adjusting Lily so she could pull her wand out of her pocket. She brandished it at him threateningly. "How about if you eat anything I'll hex you to within an inch of your life. Would that be motivating?"

"I don't know," Ron said, finally giving in to a small grin. "Would I get a last meal?"

Ginny laughed. "Touché, Ronald. Now, if you'll excuse me, Lily and I are going to round up some more snacks."

"I guess I'll just stay here, shall I?" Ron said.

"That would be for the best," Ginny said, and left for the kitchen.

Harry said nothing during this exchange as he was curiously observing Ron. While he could see that Ginny's statements hadn't hurt his feelings, there was a level of discomfiture in his countenance that Harry didn't quite understand. Even with Ginny gone, he looked marginally distracted and pensive, swirling his bottle of butterbeer by its neck as he looked towards the door Hermione had just exited through. Furthermore, Harry couldn't exactly see why Ron would be on a diet. While his lanky frame had certainly filled out over the past few years, and even more so since his children had been born, it wasn't necessarily excessive.

"So," Harry said after a moment of silent contemplation on both their parts. "How long have you been on this, er, diet?"

Ron blinked as he broke away from his thoughts, seeming to have forgotten Harry was there.

"Oh. Just a few weeks," he said. He took his hand out of his pocket, exchanged his butterbeer to his other hand, and then pressed his other hand into his other pocket.

Harry felt extremely uncomfortable as he shoved his own hands into his pockets as well. He felt obligated to ask why Ron felt the need to lose weight, but considering the likelihood of the response he would get, he wasn't exactly keen on it.

Luckily (or perhaps rather unluckily), he was saved the trouble of asking by an abrupt outburst from Ron, although it gave Harry his answer nonetheless.

"Has Hermione seemed a bit off to you?" Ron said.

Taken aback, Harry took a moment to answer.

"No…" he said. "Not especially. What do you mean, exactly?"

The tips of Ron's ears turned a bit red, and he took a swig of his butterbeer.

"I...well, I guess I just thought she might have mentioned something to you."

"Like what?" Harry said.

"Just…something. Something that was bothering her, I guess," he said, his ears turning an even deeper shade of red. "We just...we haven't exactly been, er…talking much."

Harry remained silent as he considered Ron's words. He could appreciate how difficult it was for Ron to admit to him that he and Hermione were having marital issues. He could especially appreciate the admission given Ron's history of jealousy and insecurity involving Hermione's relationship with him. But this did nothing to prevent Harry's own feelings of awkwardness and guilt on the matter. Harry truly had no idea what to say, especially because he had no idea what the actual problems were. Had they simply been arguing a lot and were avoiding each other? Had their respective work schedules prevented them from seeing each other? Or were they just drifting apart?

Harry had no idea, and, if he was being honest with himself, he was too close to the situation to have the right to offer advice.

The seconds of tense silence seemed to drag on.

And then the lights began to flicker, and there was a sound of a glass vase shattering as tiny Rose burst into the room, a particularly loud bawl escaping her lips. Angelina followed closely behind her.

"Uncle Harry!" she cried, running up to him.

Harry winced that her outburst was directed at him instead of Ron. He crouched down and allowed her to run into his arms. Her thick curly brown hair brushed his nose and he couldn't help but want to smile despite her distress.

"What is it, Rosebud?" he said as she continued to cry and the lights continued to flicker.

"She lost something," Angelina explained, clearly hoping Harry could soothe her as quickly as possible and prevent any more minor destruction. "She said you would know where it was."

"Ella!" Rose bawled, and several books on a near shelf shot outward and tumbled to the floor.

"Oh no," Harry said. "You lost Ella?"

Rose nodded fervently, still crying. "Where is she?"

"I don't know, sweetie. Did you bring her here?"

"Yeah, she did," Ron said. "It has to be somewhere around here."

"Sorry to interrupt, but who's Ella?" Angelina said.

"Her elephant," Harry said.

"Wow, then I'm surprised we haven't found her yet. She shouldn't be hard to miss," Angelina said.

"Her stuffed toy elephant," Harry said. "I bought it for her when we went to the zoo."

"Oh, that makes much more sense," Angelina said, smiling.

Harry returned his attention to Rose. "So she's not outside?"

"No," Rose said, shaking her head.

"Did you give her to someone?"

Rose seemed to ponder this for a moment as she sniffled quietly.

"Rox," she finally said.

"Roxy and Lucy were playing inside earlier," Angelina offered. "They probably went upstairs at some point."

"Excellent," Harry said. "It sounds like we have a search on our hands, Rosebud."

This concept seemed to intrigue Rose, and her crying quickly ceased. The lights also stopped flickering.

"A search? What are you looking for?"

Harry looked up to see a very pregnant Luna, dressed in a brightly striped dress. Her stomach looked quite like a beach ball.

"Hey, Luna," Harry said. "And Rose lost her stuffed animal."

"Oooh, can I help?" Luna said. "I'm very good at finding things, you know."

Harry grinned at her cheerfulness and nodded. "Sure, the more the merrier," he said. "We're looking for a stuffed elephant named Ella."

"Ella the Elephant," Luna said serenely. "That's a wonderful name."

Rose beamed at the compliment.

Harry stood up from his crouched position, stretching his cramped muscles, and hugged Luna.

"Where's Rolf, by the way?" Ron asked.

"He's at some function or another," Luna said vaguely.

Luna had been married to Rolf since June, and had announced that she was pregnant soon afterward. Suspiciously soon, really. So far, Harry hadn't taken much of a liking to Rolf, who, while very intelligent and attentive to Luna's eccentricities, was quite pretentious at times and had a surprisingly lackluster personality. But he was nice enough, and as long as Luna remained happy with him, Harry would keep up an effort. Ron especially seemed to dislike the magizooologist, who he claimed could recognize a joke about as well as Percy.

"That's too bad," Angelina said.

"Yes," Luna said. "He really wished he could make it." She turned her eyes to Harry. "Where should we start looking?"

"Well," Harry said, "Ella could be anywhere around here, really. How about I look in the house and you look outside?"

"Okay," Luna said. "I can check the Wrackspurts colonies while I'm at it. Mrs. Weasley really should get rid of those hawthorn bushes…"

"Right," Harry said. "Rose, do you want to come with me or Luna?"

"Wacksurts?" she said, looking up at Luna.
"Wrackspurts," Luna corrected. "I can tell you about them if you'd like."

Rose nodded and reached up to grab Luna's hand.

"I guess I have my answer then," Harry said, amusing himself with thoughts of how exactly that conversation would likely go.

Luna led Rose from the room, and Harry decided he would begin his search upstairs as Angelina had suggested and strode in that direction.

"Hey, Harry?" Ron said.

"Yeah?" Harry said, looking back.

"Can you…could you talk to her?"

He spoke tentatively, almost timidly, and if there was one thing he would never describe Ron Weasley as, it was timid.

"Sure, mate," Harry said. What else could he say, really?

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

Harry managed to find Ella in a very short time. He started with the first bedroom on the first floor, which had belonged to Ginny, and found the stuffed elephant submerged in a pile of other toys that looked like a failed construction site.

Pleased, he quickly left the room and walked downstairs, avoiding the living room and exiting the house through the kitchen.

Harry noted that Mitch had joined the party, talking animatedly to George. Harry was disappointed to see that Mitch's wife Becca was nowhere to be seen. He felt like he hadn't seen her in ages. Andromeda had also arrived, and Harry thought that she seemed a little misplaced. It had only been two weeks since Teddy had left for his first week of Hogwarts, and she was having difficulty adjusting. Harry couldn't blame her - this was the first time she had been truly alone since her husband and daughter had died. Anyone would have trouble adjusting to that. He also noted that Mrs. Granger was speaking to her, and by the watery smiles on both their faces had little trouble realizing what they were discussing.

He noticed Hermione in the crowd as well, sitting next to a subdued Victoire, who was also having trouble adjusting to Teddy's absence. The young girl was quite upset that she couldn't accompany Teddy for another two years. Percy's daughter Molly was also nearby, and Victoire's purple Pygmy Puff, Coco, was playing with Molly's pink one.

Rose and Luna were only a short distance away from Hermione, examining the hawthorn bushes with interest. Harry immediately weaved his way to them, suddenly feeling a bit silly holding a stuffed elephant under his arm.

Rose spotted him as he drew nearer and dashed towards him, squealing in delight. When she was a few yards away, the elephant seemed to leap of its own volition from Harry's arms and zoomed towards Rose, who caught it happily.

"Ella!" she said, squeezing the elephant tightly to her chest as she ran the last few feet to Harry. "You found her! You found her!"

She then tried her best to wrap her arms around Harry's legs while still clutching the stuff animal, hugging them both.

Harry grinned and ran his hand over the crown of his daughter's hair affectionately. When she stepped back, Harry knelt and kissed the tip of her nose. She flashed him one last overjoyed smile, and then took off to rejoin her cousins.

Luna had reached Harry by that point.

"She seemed pleased," Luna said.

"Every now and then I feel that my existence is justified," Harry said, still grinning like an idiot as he watched his daughter.

"Yes, destroying Voldemort wasn't a very existence-justifying act, after all," Luna said. She then patted him on the back. "You're a good dad, Harry."

"Thanks," Harry said, feeling a little confused as he glanced at Luna.

Luna, however, was just gazing dreamily towards the house. "I suppose I'll go speak with Neville…" she said. "It looks like Hermione wants to talk to you about something."

She then patted him on the back again and wandered back towards the picnic tables.

Hermione arrived by his side a moment later.

"Why do you kiss Rose's nose?" she asked quite abruptly. "You don't do it with Al or James or Lily, but you do it all the time to Rose."

"I dunno…I guess it reminds me of you," Harry replied truthfully.

"Why?" Hermione asked. "She doesn't have my nose. She has your nose."

"Exactly," Harry said. "She's practically a carbon copy of you in every other way. I guess I just like seeing that little bit of me in her."

"Ah," Hermione said.

A beat of silence.

"Do you think you'll have any more kids?"

Harry couldn't help but feel mildly refreshed by the frankness of her questions. Perhaps being another year older made her wish to be more forthright. Merlin knew they had already spent enough time beating around the bush.

"I don't think so," Harry said. "I think Ginny still wants more, but…I feel like I already have enough kids to give my attention to."

There were more reasons, like the fact that the more kids he had the more people he could potentially hurt if things didn't work out with Ginny in the end, but he felt like enough of an ass for thinking those thoughts, let alone speaking them out loud.

"What about you?" he added, as Hermione had not contributed her own opinion.

"No, I'm done," Hermione said. Again, a strong level of bluntness, perhaps even to a degree of harshness. Maybe Harry just thought it seemed harsh after his conversation with Ron.

"And Ron?" Harry prompted.

"He hasn't mentioned anything," Hermione said.

Harry looked towards the picnic tables and saw Ron near its edges, looking towards him and Hermione with something akin to hopefulness in his gaze. Harry tugged at his collar uncomfortably.

"Did you…er…did you know Ron's on a diet?"

This seemed to arouse Hermione's interest, and she looked at Harry with transparent curiosity.

"Really? When did he tell you that?"

"Earlier," Harry said. "He told me he'd been on it for a few weeks."

Hermione seemed genuinely surprised, and then her cheeks colored at her ignorance of her own husband's habits, especially one as close to Ron's heart as food.

"Why would he do that?" Hermione asked. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Nothing…specific," Harry said slowly, beginning to quite dislike the job of mediating Hermione and Ron's love life. He felt like he was back in Hogwarts, except the situation was grimmer and the stakes higher. The awkwardness, however, was still there in full force.

"Well, what did he say?" Hermione said, clearly becoming impatient.

"All he said was that you both haven't really been talking to each other," Harry said, and then he grimaced slightly. "Although I assume it's more than just not talking that has Ron thinking he should lose weight."

Hermione blush deepened considerably.

"I don't exactly think that's any of your business," she said.

"That's perfectly fine with me. Trust me, I really don't want to hear about it," Harry said. "Although by your defensive tone I can gather that it's been a while."

Hermione looked uncomfortably towards her feet and Harry knew he had guessed correctly.

Harry let her stew in her own embarrassment for a moment before continuing.

"So why haven't you been talking?" he asked.

Hermione looked up again, and though her cheeks were still slightly pink she had mostly regained her composure.

"We just haven't," she said simply. "We go to work, we come home, one of us makes dinner while the other watches Hugo and Rose, we eat together, we put the kids to bed, and then we occupy ourselves with our respective hobbies before we go to sleep."

"And only to sleep," Harry said, and Hermione punched him in the arm.

"Quit that!" she said. "This is a serious conversation!"

"Sorry," Harry said. "But I guess it's good you haven't been arguing or anything."

"That's just it," Hermione said, crossing her arms across her chest. "We hardly ever argue now, but it's all still there, you know? I get so frustrated with him when he lets Rose stay up too late or gives her too many sweets or wakes up Hugo from a nap when I just got him to sleep. Obviously he means well, he just wants to have fun with the kids and what not, so what can I say? It's like we've become overly polite roommates…like we don't want to upset each other so we don't confront anything that would make us upset." She let out a bitter laugh. "Our marriage has turned into a game of how not to make each other unhappy."

Harry sighed. "I take it neither of you are exactly winning the game."

Hermione nodded, her eyes glassy.

"Who would've thought that all that bickering in Hogwarts was your method of communicating with each other," Harry said, giving her a small smile.

Hermione laughed, wiping at her eyes and sniffling.

Harry didn't say anything else on the matter. He knew there was nothing else he could say to help the situation, and false words of comfort would get Hermione nowhere. No, Harry knew this was something that Hermione had to work out for herself, and the less involved he was in her decisions the better.

By unspoken agreement, they turned to rejoin the party. As they were walking, Harry noticed Luna watching them. She smiled at him serenely when she caught his eye.

Harry nudged Hermione's shoulder as they neared the group.

"Do you ever get the feeling that Luna knows about us? Or Rose?"

Hermione seemed surprisingly unruffled as she answered him.

"Sometimes," she said. "Or at least that she suspects. And of course with Luna, a suspicion is as good as a fact in her mind."

"Does it bother you?" Harry asked.

"Not really," Hermione said. "Does it bother you?"

"No," Harry said honestly. "I mean, it's Luna."

Before Hermione could reply, James ran up to them, dragging an old Cleansweep of George's behind him.

"Daddy!" he said. "Can you take me up? Charlie's gonna take Freddie up and I wanna play too!"

James was practically jumping up and down in excitement as he waited anxiously for his dad's reply.

"Sure," Harry said, and took the broom from his son. "As long as it's okay with Aunt Hermione. It is her birthday, after all."

James immediately turned his brown eyes entreatingly to Hermione. "Pleeeaase, Aunt Hermione? Can I?"

Hermione put a hand to her chin and made an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose I could spare the both of you for a little while," she said. "But make sure you come down before we cut the cake."

James' face lit up at the mention of cake, and he bobbed his head up and down enthusiastically. "We will!"

"Alright then, be careful," Hermione said.

"We will!" James said again.

With that, Harry threw his leg over the broom and pulled James up as well, seating him in front and wrapping his arms securely around his torso before gripping the wooden handle. Then Harry kicked off, soaring swiftly into the air and leaving Hermione waving after them.

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

The stillness of the Black Lake was shattered as a stone was thrown into its inky depths.

Caius watched the ripples the stone created move gently to the shore, flowing over the rocks at his feet.

One action creates an outcome that influences another outcome…he thought, until it is allowed to drift away into nothingness.

He tossed another pebble into the dark water and watched as more ripples were created, counteracting some of the waves and making others twice as large.

Another action, enacted at just the right time and place, can create an even bigger outcome. But to miss that time and place could mean the collapse of all.

Caius waited patiently for the water to return to its previous tranquility.

He knew Potter was still alert, still aware of a threat, but he also knew that the longer they waited, the more complacent he would grow.

Caius turned his back to the lake and returned his attention to the object of his previous scrutiny.

The white marble tomb stood out vividly from the night, the sharp edges slicing through the darkness with ease. Caius approached the grave and ran his hands over the smooth surface, as he had done numerous times before.

He knew the Elder Wand was still here, still well protected. He had tested for the wards himself.

Harry had not come for it as Dolohov had suspected. Caius had known he wouldn't, not even when he returned his Invisibility Cloak. Dolohov had been biding his time, waiting for a sign to make his move, and Caius allowed him to sulk in his impatience. Caius, for one, had plenty to do in the meantime.

And if the Wand hadn't been collected by the time his task was completed…well, something could always be done about that when the moment came.

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