| �I don�t believe it!�
�What?� �I cannot believe this!� �What?� �Oh my gosh!� �WHAT?� Ginny was so delighted that she could barely hold still. Harry was staring at her in confusion. Hedwig had just returned with the morning post. Ginny flung a few letters at her husband, rushing out of the kitchen to open her letter. Harry stormed after her, setting down the letters he had received. �What are you doing? Aren�t you going to let me see that?� Ginny didn�t answer him. She was too preoccupied with the name on the front of the envelope. Could it be? Could it? After eleven long years� The letter wouldn�t open soon enough, and before she knew it, Harry was right behind her, pulling on his good robes. �If we�re late to your parents� again, Fred will have my head. Are you going to quit ogling that and get a move on?� �Right, Harry,� she said, turning around to kiss him playfully, �you just want me to set it down so you can read it.� He smiled at her mischievously, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her nose. �You bet,� he said, and after kissing her passionately while trying to grab the letter from her flailing hand, they broke apart and laughed like they were still teenagers. �Okay, if you�re not going to let me see it, can I read over your shoulder?� he asked, jutting out his lip. �All right,� she said, and turned away from him to read. He wrapped his arms around her waist again and rested his chin on her shoulder. She opened it and Harry instantly recognized the small, loopy script. �Dearest Ginny, I know it has been a long time with a lot of past regrets, but I wanted to write and let you know that I am doing just fine and that everything is going well. The real purpose of this letter, however, is to let you and Harry know that I have returned to England. There were some unforeseen circumstances that I had not counted on back in America and it forced me to return. I look forward to seeing you soon, Ginny. I have greatly missed all of you. Love from, Hermione. PS Please do not let Ron know that I am here yet. I plan to tell him myself.� Ginny�s eyes blurred with tears. They poured down her cheek and onto to the letter. With a shaky hand, she handed it to Harry. He took it, scanning it over and over, taking in the contents of the letter. He set it down and stared at Ginny, sighing, �I never thought I�d miss her so much.� Ginny walked into his arms and held him as they both cried happily. Their Hermione was coming back� she was coming home� but they couldn�t tell Ron. They figured that if Hermione wanted Ron to know she was back, she would tell him. Daisy was still in her room playing when they were ready to leave for Molly and Arthur�s. It was a Weasley tradition to gather at the Burrow at the end of the summer. The seven original Weasley children showed up with their families for the festivities. Even Uncle Ron was there. He was a favorite among his nieces and nephews. As Ron had not only made a good living for himself working for the Magical Law Enforcement, he also dabbled in designing and creating toys. He always had something new to give to the children each year upon entering the Burrow. Deep down he wished he could do this with his own children as opposed to his siblings.� Mrs. Weasley was already bustling about when Ginny, Harry, and Daisy arrived. Bill and his wife were there, with their children, Derek and Jenna. Charlie had yet to arrive with his wife and his two daughters, Anna and Monica. Percy was there with Penelope, who was helping Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen. Fred and Angelina were there with his daughters, Arianna and Rachel. George and Katie were busy chasing around their son, Ben. Percy�s oldest son Michael was to begin Hogwarts that year. His siblings, Samantha and Andrew, were talking excitedly about his first year. The fireplace shifted and shook a little, and within seconds, Harry appeared followed closely by Ginny and Daisy. The family made their fusses and gave hugs and kisses. Daisy wriggled to get free and go play with her cousins. Charlie and his family arrived not too soon after. The door being kicked playfully open was always a sign that Uncle Ron had arrived. The children screamed, thrusting themselves toward the door. Ron stepped in, clutching his familiar blue bag that held all of his toys. Harry always felt a pain in his heart when he saw that bag. Hermione had stitched it for his birthday in their fifth year because he always complained of having too many books to hold in his hands. He�d kept it for all the obvious reasons. �UNCLE RON!� the tumultuous uproar was unbelievable. Children were flinging their dirty hands and smudged faces at his knees and legs, while the three older children gave him hugs calmly. Finally getting some breathing room to sit down, he gave the command for all of them to sit and they did so, staring at his bag excitedly. �Oh� kay!� he exclaimed, reaching in and making confused and shocked expressions as he reached in and fished around. �What have we got here?� he pulled out a miniature replica of a Hungarian Horntail. George�s son held out his hand eagerly. �Oh is this for Ben?� Ben nodded. Ron handed it to him. George cleared his throat. �Thank you, Uncle Ron!� �What have I got in here?� Ron said, pulling out a stuffed teddy bear and a dog that sang and danced. Arianna and Rachel�s eyes lit up as Ron gave them their treasures and brought them in for a huge hug. It went on that way for almost twenty more minutes, each child receiving a desired gift. The older kids had walked off with color changing quill pens, candy, butterbeer, interesting books, and edible ink. After thanking Ron profusely, the kids wandered off with their presents. The living room was completely empty save Harry, Ron, and Monica. Harry stared at his friend with growing concern. He was staring at Charlie�s daughter Monica intently, and it was obvious why. Monica was the star student of the Weasley children. She was fully dedicated to the fact that getting good grades meant true success. She always had her nose buried in a book. It was Uncle Ron�s huge mistake when at the age of three he made Monica a flying doll. He was then savagely yelled at because she had wanted a book. Curled up on the end of the couch, staring fixedly at the words on the page, flipping them every few seconds, she was an exact picture of eleven years ago. Except for the red hair, of course. Harry took it upon himself to go sit next to his friend, breaking him of his reverie. �Hullo, Harry,� he greeted, smiling warmly at him. �Ron,� he regarded. They sat in an all too comfortable silence before Ron finally broke it. �What�s it like to be married, Harry?� he asked, staring down at his large shoes. It was one thing he had always hated about himself, but for some reason Hermione had always found irresistible. �Uh�� True, it was an unexpected question, but it was a good one to think about. �It�s like nothing I�ve ever known before, that�s for sure. It feels great. You�d love it.� Harry instantly felt stupid. �You�d love it,� like it was a sport or something. Ron smirked, kicking at the floor with his shoe. �If I ever found anyone worth marrying.� Again. �Don�t you mean� if you ever relocate her?� Harry could read his friend like a book and Ron smirked. �Yeah, if I ever could.� Harry was bursting at the seams. She�s here! She�s here! She wants to see Ginny! He wanted to scream it so loudly. �She�s probably married with kids by now. I can�t just intrude on her life like that.� Would she be back in the country if she weren�t single? �I don�t know. I guess I gave up too early. Maybe if I just asked her to marry me like I wanted to.� Harry had vaguely remembered Ron buying the ring but at the last minute, deciding it was too risky to go off and fight in the war and leave her a widow. He couldn�t break her heart like that, so he did it in another way. �I definitely gave up too soon.� �Do you still have the ring?� Ron nodded absently. �It�s been in the back of my closet since the night I decided not to use it. I just found it a few weeks ago.� So that was why Ron had been so distant. He had started to seriously think about Hermione. �For some reason, I don�t know what it was� I was lying in bed, reading, and I got this sudden urge to clean out my closet. I stopped right when I found that ring. It was almost like I was meant to go in there and find it. I just� felt broken�� His voice took a noticeable change and he buried his hand into his hair, clenching his left hand into a fist. Harry didn�t know what to say. He�d never agreed with Ron�s reason to break up with Hermione. They�d had a wonderful relationship, but Ron had let it slip away from him. �Uncle Ron!� came a short, shrill voice from inside of the kitchen. Breaking from his thoughts, Ron looked up and then stared at Harry quietly. And before realizing he�d said it, he mumbled, �What I wouldn�t give to have that cry be �Daddy.�� Harry watched his friend�s retreating back and knew that if he sat down with Hermione himself, he could ultimately convince the girl to come back not only into his life, but Ron�s as well. |
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