A flash of gold caught his eye as he walked down Diagon Alley, his hands buried deep in his pockets, eyes kept straight ahead of him as he moved through the crowds of children and their parents getting school supplies for the new school year. For a few seconds he just stood there, looking at the display, at the small smiling faces in front of him. He knew most of those faces on the new set of Wizard cards, knew the people who were grinning at him, waving happily as their cards slowly rotated in the display. There was Tonks and Remus, Tonks' hair still bright pink for the photo and Remus certainly looked happier than he had done in the months before the war. Then again, everyone had looked happier after the war. He scanned the cards and saw Neville, Luna and Ginny all waving at him. Luna had obviously been cleaned up for the photograph as her hair was shorter than it had been during the war, and her eyes weren't so dreamy looking as she smiled brightly at him. Neville too looked different, more heroic as he grinned for the camera. He could still remember a time when Neville had been a podgy boy that kept tripping over things. That was a good couple of years ago. How they had all grown up. Neville would be in his mid twenties now, like himself, Harry and Hermione. They had all grown up. Harry and Ginny were married, their first baby due in about 6 months. He could just see them as they rotated round, smiling happily at him. Hermione was also married, but she wasn't a Weasley, like so many people had expected her to be. No, she was a Diggory, having married Cedric Diggory. They too had their own cards and were smiling at him, waving merrily as they spun round and round in the display.
Scanning the cards he saw himself. The picture had been taken just after the war. Unlike the rest of the pictures, he didn't look happy, well, not as happy as most of the pictures were. The only other sour face was Snape, and Ron was pretty sure the man had never smiled in his life. He knew now, he knew now why Snape always looked so unhappy, as though life had given him a raw deal. It was how he felt now, the glittering name above her picture. Hermione Diggory. Not Hermione Granger, not Hermione Weasley, Hermione Diggory.
"Look Mum, it's the new cards! Look Dad, it's you and Mum!" Ron glanced to his side, seeing a small boy of about 3 stood there, pointing to the display.
"So we are, and there's Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny." Hermione came up beside her son, lifting the child up so he could see the cards.
"Hello Ron." He nodded to her, smiling at his godson as the small boy gazed at the cards. He looked so like his father, thick sandy coloured hair, and crocked smile. But his eyes, the boy's eyes were Hermione's; there was no mistaking them as they looked t him, smiling in delight at seeing him there.
"Hey Hermione." She smiled up at him, her eyes reflecting her son's delight at seeing him there, though surprised all the same.
"You admiring the cards as well?" He nodded, turning back to them, trying to ignore her reflection in the glass.
"Where's your card Uncle Ron?" Christopher Diggory looked up at his godfather, his hazel eyes questioning his godfather. Ron smiled slightly, pointing at his card, just by Hermione's.
She looked up at him, at his face as he tried to look happy at showing off his card to his godson, but she knew Ron, she knew that he was lying about how pleased he was to see his card out, and she knew why. He wasn't sharing it with his son, he was sharing it with his godson, her son with someone else. The boy didn't have Weasley hair or freckles.
"Wow, they're out." Christopher looked up at his father, who had just appeared behind them, grinning as he leant over his wife's shoulder to look at the cards, nodding to Ron when he saw him. Ron just stared back, stepping back to look at this happy family admiring the new Chocolate Frog Wizard Cards. Father and mother proudly showing their son the cards, reeling off the names, pointing out each card, laughing or smiling as they remembered some funny little thing they had said, or a happy memory of them.
Ron turned away from them, from the happy family, walking back down Diagon Alley, hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on the cobblestones.
He took his normal seat in the Leaky Caldron, keeping his head down as Tom placed a bottle of Butter beer in front of him.
"You got any chocolate frogs in stock?" Tom nodded, passing one across to him.
"I hear the new collections out. Aren't you supposed to be in it?" Ron nodded, looking down at the card he'd gotten, sighing slightly as he looked at her smiling face.
"Yeah, but she looks more beautiful in real life." Tom just nodded, attending to his next customer. Ron drank his butter beer, all the time looking into her stunning eyes, her smiling lips that had once kissed him good morning and good night. But no more, no more.
Paying for his butter beer and chocolate frog he got to his feet, slipping the card into his pocket. Collecting them would never be the same again, he thought to himself as he stepped out of the pub and was lost in the crowds of muggle London.