The clock had just struck then, and Arthur and Molly Weasley were just about to head up to bed when there was a sudden knock at the door, making them exchange curious looks.
"Who do you think it is?" Molly asked. "Harry or Ginny?"
"No, they know better to come at this time," Arthur said, "and they would have used the Floo if it was an emergency. We had better go see who it is."
Molly nodded, following her husband to the door, which he opened once she was at his side.
What stood on the other side of the door, however, gave them the shock of their lives.
After all, the last thing that they expected to see was Draco Malfoy standing there on their front step with none other but their long lost son at his side.
Molly was the first to recover and she dove at Ron, crying out his name as she gathered him up into her arms.
Ron returned the hug with just as much eagerness, pressing his face against his mother's shoulder. "Hi, Mum," He murmured.
A few minutes later, Molly finally released her son to allow him to hug his father as well and it wasn't until Arthur had released him that she switched modes from overjoyed mother to furious mother.
"Where have you been!" She shouted. "Do you have any idea how worried we've been? We searched every corner of the world for you, but there was nothing! Nothing! There was hardly even a trace to follow!"
Ron flinched with every harsh word she spoke, for each of them only served to drive the knife into his heart further.
"I'm sorry, Mum," He mumbled, "but it was something that I had to do."
Molly folded her arms across her chest and fixed him with her fiercest glare. "Oh, so you had to do it then," She said. "I guess that just makes it all better then, doesn't it?"
As Ron's pain began to become apparent on his face, Draco reach out to take his hand while casting a glare of his own over at Molly. He was liking this women less by the second, but he knew he had to keep his temper under control for Ron's sake.
But that didn't mean he couldn't defend Ron. After all, it had been his fault that Ron had had to leave in the first place. If Molly wanted to place the blame on someone than it should be on him, not Ron.
"Excuse me," Draco snapped. "I would appreciate it greatly if you would stop yelling at my husband."
Ron winced as all the color seemed to drain from his parents' faces as they seemed to resemble some kind of demented fish. "Draco, we weren't suppose to tell them that yet!" He hissed.
"Well it got them to shut up didn't it?" Draco shrugged.
Ron rolled his eyes, knowing that trying to argue with his husband would get him nowhere. Besides, he had other things to focus on now, like his mother managing to recover from her shock long enough to yell at him again.
Ron let out a sigh. "It's a long story," He said, "so I'll explain it inside once you've called everyone else here please."
Molly opened her mouth, no doubt to refuse to agree until they explained, but Arthur laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Alright, son," He said.
Ron gave his father a grateful smile. "Thanks, Dad," He said. "I promise it will all make sense soon."
Harry and Ginny apparated to the Burrow the instant they got the news and rushed inside the house to find Hermione there.
"Viktor is at home watching the boys," She said. She paused, eyes shining with hope. "Did you get the same news?" Her hands flew to her mouth when the other two nodded.
The three of them nearly ran into the living room, afraid that this was some sort of cruel dream that they would awaken from at any minute.
But it was no dream and what had been told to them by a frantic Molly Weasley as actually true, making them almost forget to breathe when they saw it for themselves.
Ron gave them a smile when they burst into the living room. "Hi, guys," He said. "Long time no see, eh?"
Hermione didn't say anything in response and ran towards him with tears in her eyes, throwing her arms around him. Ginny followed after her to do the same while Harry remained where he was simply watching.
Ron wrapped his arms around both of the girls, whispering continually, "I missed you too… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"
The girls eventually pulled away, wiping their eyes before giving Ron two hard slaps over the head.
Ron rubbed his head with a wince. "I deserved those," He said.
"You defiantly did!" Ginny scowled. "Running away like that on the day after my bloody wedding! Where the hell have you been?"
"And why is he here?" Hermione demanded, pointing over at Draco.
Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm here, Granger, because Ron is my—"
But before any of them could find out what Ron was suppose to be to Draco, Ron gave a sharp jab to the ribs with his elbow.
"Not yet," He admonished.
Draco thrust his bottom lip out into something that looked eerily like a pout to the other onlookers but said nothing.
"Anyway," Ron said, "I know all of you have been wondering where I was and I'm sorry for putting you through so much pain, but there was a good reason for it I promise. I'll explain it to you all just as soon as you sit down."
Harry, Ginny, and Hermione scurried into the available chairs before turning their full attention to Ron.
Ron took a deep breath to ready himself before he began.
"Well, it all began when Draco and I started dating…"
The sentence had exactly the effect that he knew it would have. Everyone gaped at him in astonishment.
"You dated Malfoy?" Harry spurted.
"Yeah," Ron said, "and we knew that none of you would approve of our relationship. Or, more that no one would approve of it actually. We kept our relationship a secret and everything was going quite well until a few weeks before Harry and Ginny's wedding."
"Why?" Ginny asked. "What happened?"
Ron wrung his hands together, knowing that this was going to be the hardest part. He directed his eyes at the small table in the middle of the floor as he spoke his next words. "I got pregnant."
He knew what their expressions looked like without even having to look at them.
Hermione's voice, high and shrill, was the first to cut through the air.
"You got pregnant?"
"Yeah, I did," Ron said.
"But how is that possible?" Harry said. "You're a guy!"
"It's possible for males to carry children in the Wizarding World, Potter," Draco said.
Harry's brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to say something to Draco, but Ginny laid a hand on his shoulder to silence him. Her eyes were locked on her brother.
"So that's why you left?" Ginny asked. "Because you got pregnant?"
Ron nodded, bringing his eyes away from the table. "I thought that Draco would leave me when he found out, but he didn't." He let out a soft burst of laughter. "He actually proposed to me that day."
"So, you two are…" Molly trailed off, her eyes darting between the two men before her.
"Officially married, yes, Mum." Ron held up his hand as proof, waggling his finger so that the gold band there, inlaid with diamonds and rubies, sparkled in the lamplight.
"And when did this wedding take place?" Molly asked.
"A few days after Ginny's, actually," Ron said. "I'm sorry for not inviting any of you, but it was still supposed to be a secret at that time."
"I understand," Molly sniffed. She glanced over at Draco with a hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth. "I suppose your parents failed to attend, as well?"
"Oh, no," Draco said. "Mother insisted on coming and she eventually managed to persuade Father to come along too. She's always had a soft spot for Ron and he's even started to grow on my father too, although I think that might be due to the grandchildren." He couldn't withhold a smirk at the expression this response got from Molly.
Ron rubbed at his temples with a groan. "Anyway," He said, "Draco wanted to runaway right away, but I refused because I wanted to stay for Ginny and Harry's wedding. He finally agreed, though—"
"Thanks to some persuasion," Draco said, winking at his husband.
Ron narrowed his eyes at him and gave him a swift kick to the shin before continuing. "Like I said, we got married a little after Harry and Ginny's wedding moved into Le Lieu Cachant or "The Hiding Place", as it means in French. It wasn't long after that that the twins arrived. The eldest is Severus Lupin Malfoy and the youngest is Scorpius Fred Malfoy. The two of them are fifteen now. Then there are our two girls, Gabrielle Malfoy, who's thirteen, and Annie Narcissa Malfoy, who's our youngest at seven."
Recognition dawned on Harry's face when he heard about the girls. "I met them, didn't I?" He asked.
"Yep," Ron said. "They were ecstatic to have gotten the chance to meet you."
"All of our children want to meet you, actually," Draco said. He rolled his eyes. "I, personally, can't see the appeal."
Hermione turned towards Ron, ignoring Draco's statement. "Would it be alright for us to meet them?" She said. "It would be so nice to introduce them to my boys."
"Your boys?" Ron said.
A small smile spread across Hermione's mouth. "I'm married to Viktor Krum now, Ron," She said, "with twin boys of my own, Hugo and Ronald, although we all call him Ronnie."
"Ronald?" Ron said. "You named your son after…" He trailed off, his throat thick with emotion. "Thanks, Hermione."
Hermione's eyes sparkled as her smile widened. "You're welcome, Ron," She said.
"So, when are we going to be allowed to meet these children of yours?" Molly asked. "I think I have the right to see my grandchildren." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Especially, when it seems that the Malfoys' get to see them whenever they want."
Ron resisted the urge to wince at her tone. He should have known that this would be a sore spot with her. "Actually, we already told them that they could come see you," He said. "They nearly bounced off the walls they were so excited." He felt better when his mother beamed after hearing this.
"Oh, I can hardly wait to meet them!" She gushed. "You should bring them over first thing tomorrow. I can come over to your home later on and check if its suitable."
"Oh, it's definitely suitable, Mum," Ron said. It should be considering Draco insisted on buying us a mini mansion to live in.
"We'll bring our kids over tomorrow then," Ginny said. She clapped her hands together with an enormous grin. "Oh, they're going to be so excited!"
"So, wait, you really don't mind?" Ron asked.
"Mind what?" Ginny asked, giving him a confused look.
"That I'm with Draco," Ron said.
Molly let out a sigh and rose from her chair to envelope her son in her arms. "Ron," She said, "you're my son and I will always love you no matter what choices you make with your life. So, even though your partner might have come as a bit of a shock, he seems to make you happy and that is exactly what I have always wanted for you."
"Thanks, Mum," Ron grinned.
"You're welcome, dear," Molly replied, releasing him with a kiss on the top of his head.
"And the rest of you?" Ron asked.
"I'm with your mother on this one," Arthur smiled.
"Me too," Hermione agreed.
"It's alright by me," Ginny said. She cast a glare over at Draco, that reminded the boy in question far too much of her mother. "But you better not hurt him Malfoy."
"Don't worry," Draco said, "the last I want is for the whole Weasley clan to descend its wrath upon me. There are way too many of you; you would totally outnumber me."
Ron gave him a slap upside the head for the last comment before turning to Harry, who sighed.
"There's a part of me that wishes it wasn't Malfoy," He said, "but as long as your happy with him it's alright by me."
Ron beamed at him. "Thanks, mate," He said. "I am."
I realized as I was writing this that Ron and Draco have a rather abusive relationship, judging by how many times Ron whaps Draco when he's snarky-laughs-.
In regards to the changes with Hermione, I thought that she deserved to have a happy ending and I can't wait to write about some of my plans for her twins.
To describe Ron's relationship with Draco's parents a little better: Narcissa basically thinks that Ron is a little sweetheart so she aboslutely adores him and has basically convinced her husband to feel the same way. Lucius's feelings for Ron were also rather cushioned by the four grandchildren he received later, who have wrapped around their little fingers.