Why Boring is Good
"Daddy," said Marley. "Tell me about Mummy."
"I've told you about Mummy before," said Ron, braiding his four-year-old daughter's hair. "She was beautiful; great long hair and real knowledgeable eyes. Very smart, and real insightful. Commented on my lack of tact a fair few times, too. But she was cunning. Got Rita Skeeter to write an article about Uncle Harry in the Quibbler. And she insisted that I know how to braid hair," he finished, tugging on the braid he was creating.
"I already know all this, Daddy," Marley said impatiently. "Tell me something I don't know. Where did you meet?"
"On the Hogwarts Express. I didn't like her at first, but she started to grow on me after a while."
"Aww, just like Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione!" the girl exclaimed happily.
"Yes, sweetheart, just like Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione. What else do you want to know?"
"When did you know you liked her?"
"Sixth year, about a year and a half after we met."
"When did you kiss her?"
"About six months after the final battle. Everything had settled down, Harry and Hermione started going out, even though I was the one that liked her. But--"
"Wait you liked Aunt Hermione, too?" Marley was scandalized. "Does that mean you kissed her?"
"Yes," said Ron smiling, "and I thought I loved her."
"But you do love Aunt Hermione! I've heard you say you do!"
"I do love Aunt Hermione, but in a different way than I thought I did. I thought I loved her the way Uncle Harry does, the way I love your mum. But I really only love her like a sister."
"Oh."
"Yes," Ron continued. "It's a good thing, though, that she realized that we weren't right for each other. Because then I would have married her! Ew! Can you imagine living with Aunt Hermione every day?"
Marley squealed. "That would be so much fun. She lets me do anything!"
"Does she now? I'll have to have a talk with her." He chuckled. "But, really, if I'd married Hermione, I wouldn't have your mother, and I wouldn't have you. And you, my Marshmallow, are the best thing that ever happened to me."
Marley turned around, whisking her hair out of her father's grasp. "Oi!" he exclaimed. "Now I'm going to have to do that all over again, silly goose!"
Marley ignored this, planting a big kiss on Ron's cheek. "I love you, Daddy," she said.
"I love you, too, Mar," Ron said, smiling. "Now turn around so I can finish your hair."
"Finish your story, too," she said. "Tell me about when you kissed Mummy."
"That's right. We got a bit off topic," Ron said, Resuming the braiding. "Where were we? Oh, yes. Anyway, I thought I loved Aunt Hermione, and when she broke things off and started dating Harry, I got in a big fight with both of them. I tried to avoid seeing them, but since we were back at Hogwarts redoing our seventh year, it was hard. Sharing classes, sharing dorms...but since Hermione wasn't talking to me—or rather, I wasn't talking to her—I started hanging out with Mummy, because she was in Ravenclaw and could help me with my homework. I began realizing that what I felt for Hermione was only a fraction of what I felt for your mum. But I wouldn't admit it, because, well, she was Loony Lovegood after all!
"So, even though I'd been ignoring Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione, they'd been watching me, and they saw that I wasn't doing a da—darn thing about my feeling," Ron continued catching himself just before swearing in front of his four-year-old. "So one day, they locked us in one of the caretaker's closets and left us there for four hours. We started playing Truth or Dare after a while. She made me dance with a mop!" Marley burst into laughter at this. "Then, she got me to admit I liked her, I asked her to go out with me, and she dared me to kiss her." Then he was back reliving the memory, his grip on his daughter the only thing keeping him in the present. "Not as romantic as a beach at sunset, but memory-worthy all the same."
Father and daughter say there together, silently rocking in the rocking chair. Ron cherished his last connection to his wife.
"Do you miss her, Daddy?" Marley asked softly after a while.
"Every day of my life, Marshmallow," Ron said sadly. "I miss her so much I feel like my heart is ripping in half. You're the only thing keeping it together. OK, goose, bedtime. You should have been asleep half an hour ago." He lifted her off his lap and onto the floor, and smacked her behind lightly. She yelped and laughed. "Good night, Daddy. I love you!" She gave him on last kiss on the cheek.
"I love you, too, Marley. Now get to your room. I'll be there in a minute."
Marley ran out into the hallway. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Good night, Aunt Hermione. I love you, too. Just not the same way Uncle Harry does."
Hermione laughed. "You're absolutely right, sweetie. Off to bed, now." Hermione said, walking into the room to meet her. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I forgot you were coming tonight. I'd have had her to bed already Give me one second to go tuck her in. Make yourself comfortable."
After he tucked Marley in, gave her one more hug and kiss and tuned off her light, he walked back to the kitchen, where Hermione was making tea. "I'm really sorry, again, about--" Ron started, but Hermione cut him off.
"It's fine, Ron, really" she said. "Besides, I got to eavesdrop on a wonderful conversation."
"Ron choked on the tea Hermione had given him. "How long were you listening?" he asked, coughing.
"Oh, just from 'Daddy, tell me about Mummy,'" Hermione said with a small smile. "Really, is the idea of marrying me that disturbing to you?"
"Oh, now I feel really bad," Ron moaned. "I wasted half an hour of your time. You should have come in."
And ruin your moment with Marley? No, my time wasn't wasted at all. I love watching you talk about Luna. You get this look in your eyes like—like—oh, I can't even describe it! They just light up the entire room. It's wonderful."
"I miss her so much, Hermione," Ron said, his voice cracking. Out of his eyes spilled the tears he wouldn't let his daughter see.
"Oh, Ron," said Hermione. She hurried around the table and took him in her arms. He buried his face in her shoulder and cried. He cried for his missing wife; he cried for their daughter, who didn't know her mother; he cried for himself, because his heart was in shambles.
When he felt he had no more tears to cry, he pulled himself up and dried his eyes. Hermione looked at him, pain and concern in her own. "They'll find her, Ron," she said. "They're trying. Every time Harry gets a new lead, he follows it for three and a half days, forgetting to eat and sleep. He only stops when he collapses from exhaustion."
"It's been four years, Hermione," Ron said, a few more tears escaping. "What if they don't find her?"
"They will find her!" Hermione said fiercely. "Don't you dare give up hope, Ronald Weasley! Luna wouldn't want you to. You have to stay strong for her. For Marley."
"Marley," Ron whispered. "For Marley," he said again, stronger this time. "OK, for my Marshmallow."
Hermione chucked. "I've always loved that nickname," she said. "Do you want me to stay tonight?"
"Yes, please," Ron said.
"All right," she said kindly. "Can I borrow some Floo Powder?"
"By the fireplace."
Hermione went to the fireplace and went home for a minute to tell Harry she was staying with Ron, as she often did when he had a breakdown like this. She also changed into sweats and a t-shirt so she would be more comfortable. Then she returned to Ron's house.
Hermione sat on the end of the couch, and Ron laid down with his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through her hair and hummed a lullaby as she read a book. He finally fell asleep, dreaming of his Loony Luna.
*****
3 months later...
Ron finished braiding Marley's hair. "Off to bed, Marshmallow. Aunt Hermione's coming to visit me tonight."
"Good night, Daddy," she said kissing his cheek and running off to her room. She stopped, once again finding Hermione in the hallway. "Good night, Aunt Hermione. Oh!" she cried. "Who are you? You look like me."
Ron, who was in the process of standing up, froze, hardly daring to believe his ears. He know of only one other person who looked like Marley...
"Hermione poked he head through the door. "Ron come here," she said, grinning broadly.
Ron walked slowly to the doorway, then stepped into the hallway. There he saw Marley and Hermione standing next to a skinny young woman with blonde hair and big blue eyes.
"Luna?" he asked in disbelief.
She nodded, and simply said, "Ron."
Ron couldn't believe it. He thought he'd never get to hear that voice, stare into those eyes again.
He fell to the floor at her feet and started sobbing hysterically into her shoes. Luna lowered herself to the ground, also, and pulled Ron's head into her lap, stroking and kissing his head, tears running down her own cheeks.
Marley looked around to see Hermione crying, too. "Aunt Hermione, why is everybody sad?" she asked, confused.
"We're not sad, honey," Hermione answered, lifting the girl into her arms. "We're unbelievably happy."
"But--" Marley was completely perplexed. "People smile when they're happy. They cry when they're sad."
"People also cry when they're too happy to express otherwise."
"Oh. That's weird."
"Yes, well, would you like to know why we're so happy?"
"Uh-huh."
"Ron!" said Hermione loudly. He looked up. "Marley has a question for you."
"What is it, Marshmallow?" he asked her. Luna laughed at the nickname she hadn't hear in years.
"Why are you so happy, Daddy?"
"Oh!" Ron exclaimed. He dried his tears as best he could, got to his feet, the pulled Luna up with him. "Marley, I'd like to introduce you to someone very important to me. This is your mother."
"Mummy?" Marley asked, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"It's me, sweetheart," Luna said, fresh tears leaking from her eyes. She reached toward Hermione, who surrendered Marley to her. "Oh, Merlin, I've missed you so much, my baby girl."
"Hey!" Marley protested. "I'm not a baby! I'm a big girl now!"
"Of course you are," Luna laughed quietly. But you were a baby when I . . . left."
"Where did you go?" Marley asked accusingly, putting her hands on her hips and missing the pause in her mother's words. "Daddy was really sad. He missed you."
"I missed him, too," Luna said. "But it's a long story, and I think it's someone's bedtime. How about I tell you tomorrow?"
"OK," Marley agreed, yawning. "Will you tuck me in?"
"Of course, Marshmallow," Luna said. "Let's go."
She took Marley to her room, and Ron turned to Hermione. "How did they find her?"
"Draco Malfoy had her," Hermione told him. Ron's fists curled up. That ungrateful little bastard! They saved his life multiple times in one night, and how does he repay him? He steals his wife. "I'll kill him," Ron vowed, and started stalking toward the door.
"No need, Ron," Luna said quietly from behind Hermione. "Malfoy's dead. That's why there were able to find me. One of Malfoy's dinner guests poisoned him, and he died. That broke his house elf's servitude. So she Apparated me to the ministry where we found Hermione.
"I told you I'd come back," she finished, as Hermione sneaked out the door.
"Yes, but why did it take you so long?"
Luna told him her story. They sat on the couch, while she talked about getting captured, all thing things Malfoy did to her, and finally how she was saved.
"Tonorrow," Ron said, when she finished, "we are going to find that elf and thank her. I owe her my happiness and my sanity."
"It's an exciting tale, huh?" Luna asked. She wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.
Ron hugged her back, and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "Too exciting. I think it's time for a nice, boring life at home."
"Yes," Luna agreed. "Boring sounds good."
The End
Author's Notes:
Yes, Ron seems very mature here. As stated on my profile, I like to think that the War matured Ron a little bit (or a lot). This way he can act like a human around Luna, so that the pairing works. Also, I love the idea of a father who can french-braid his daughter's hair. I got that off of an episode of Home Improvement.
No, there is nothing going on between Ron and Hermione except a deep, strong friendship. Hermione is very good with emotions and she loves Ron as a brother. She wants him to be happy and can't stand when he breaks down, so she stays the night to comfort him. Harry understands, is OK with it, and isn't at all suspicious.
I realize that Marley probably wouldn't take to her mother so quickly after only just being introduced to her for the first time since she was a baby. But I needed Hermione to tell Ron about Luna's capture. Rationalize it this way: Ron has pictures of Luna all over the house. Since they are magical, Luna moves around, and Marley can see her interacting with both Ron and herself. This way, she feels a bit closer to her than Muggles would in that situation.
There will be a sequel sometime here, called Luna's Tale, telling the story of what happened to Luna while she was away.