A/N: Okay, so, first things first, thank you for the reviews and the follows and all that!=) So, as promised, one last chapter before I go. Now, on with the story!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly.
"So, Rosie, you like the surprise?", she asked her daughter with a big, if slightly fake, smile on her face.
Rose jumped up and hugged her mother like she was trying to squeeze her dry. "Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you, Mummy!" she yelled, and that alone, the cheerfulness in her voice, made up for all the stress Hermione had endured throughout the day, making her genuinely smile for the first time.
After everyone had said hi and given the birthday girl various hugs and kisses, they all retired to the kitchen, where they sat down at the table and awaited the delicious meal Hermione had slaved over all day. She had ended up making home-made lasagna, which Rose loved, for the kids and coque au vin for the adults. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the food and the idle chatter started enveloping the tables.
If she was being honest, this was what Hermione enjoyed most about the big, crazy family she had married into. She was an only child and, as such, even though she loved her parents very much, opportunities for chaotic meals, funny anecdotes and interlacing conversations had been scarce, but the Weasley clan was so prone to this kind of behaviour that she was glad her children were getting a taste of it since birth.
The food was soon totally cleared off the plates -because everyone always seemed to be ravenous in this family and several of the men had second and third helpings-, so time to go to the living room and start opening presents was nearing. Hermione was dreading this very minute, for Ron had still not arrived and she knew all too well that her daughter's memory was too detailed for her own good, so she decided she would try and stall for time.
"Rosie, how about you show everyone what your classmates gave you at school today?", she asked, expecting her daughter to immediately get hyper.
"Yes! I'll go get everything and I will be right back!", she yelled back, already from halfway up the stairs. Both grandmothers chuckled at that and some of the other adults joined in.
When Rose came back, she showed everyone everything and told them about how they sang her happy birthday and how it had been her day and everything she had already told Hermione in great detail. Once the anecdote was over, Hermione knew she had no choice but to bring the cake in already and that, once she had and Rose had blown out the candles, someone would undoubtedly bring up the presents Rose was supposed to get.
Thus, she took the cake out of the fridge. It was a two-story, dark-chocolate-covered cake. It was basically pound cake with a whipped-cream filling in the inside, but it looked like chocolate on the outside so that every kid was sure to at least try some. Hermione was actually very proud of it. It had little flowers made out of wafer on its edges and, on the second story, it had five lit candles that sparkled over the "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSIE" lettering, which was written there in dry white chocolate. The sides of it were also covered in multi-coloured sprinkles and it had a very cheery feel about it. Rose's ear-splitting grin when she saw it made Hermione's day worth it all over again.
Next, everyone sang out of tune and out of rhythm and Rose finally got to blow the candles out, at which point, Harry had no better idea than to magically make them unable to be put out. In the beginning Rose didn't even notice, but, when she realised what was happening, she laughed a little with the rest of them and then gave her godfather a pleading look so that he'd let her blow her candles out in peace.
And that's when it happened, what Hermione had been dreading all along. It was Albus who ended up pointing out that Rose had still to open all of her presents. Now, Hermione loved Albus very much, but she couldn't help but look at Harry in a panic, because he too knew about the deal she had made with Rose.
"Mummy? Where's Daddy?"
Rose's question rang out in the silence that followed. They had all noticed Ron wasn't there, but they all knew he was on a mission so they hadn't wanted to point out the obvious for Rose's sake. But, of course, they had all been stupid to think she wouldn't notice anyway.
"Daddy's still working, Rosie"
It had been Harry who had knelt down face to face with Rose and answered, because Hermione frankly wasn't capable of uttering a single sound. She had just frozen up.
"But Mummy said Daddy would be here! She said I would open my presents up with him!", she whispered. It would have been better if she had obnoxiously shouted, because the way she screwed up her face in sadness and the tears started to form in her eyes just broke Hermione's heart. And her heart breaking was what made her react, ironically.
She knelt down next to Harry and took her daughter's hand in her own.
"Honey, I know I said that, but Daddy got tied up at work and he wants to be here so bad, but he can't. I'm sure when he comes back he will want you to tell him about every one of your presents and how happy you were opening them. You don't want to tell him you were sad because he wasn't here, now, do you?", Hermione tried cajoling. It was the only option she saw viable at that point.
Rose scrunched her face up again, this time as though she was mulling something tough over in her little brain.
"You think if I tell him I was sad he will get sad too?", she asked her mum.
"Yes, I do. I think he always wants to hear how happy you are. Daddy always tries to make you happy, doesn't he?"
Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, even the little ones sensing how important this whispered conversation seemed to be.
"How about, for today, I help you open your presents, Rosie?" Harry asked, at the same time sending an "is that okay?" look at Hermione. But she almost didn't notice his look, given that she was too busy shooting him a grateful one, herself.
Because Rose seemed to be happy again. "Yes! And you can help me tell Daddy everything and tell him how happy I was so he will be happy too!", Rose answered, using her five-year-old logic and finally smiling.
After that, everything seemed to go smoothly. Rose was happy and hyper again and she enjoyed opening all of her presents with Hermione and Harry while everyone else snacked on the food Hermione had set out earlier -and some of the leftover cake, of course. Once Rose was done, it was already quite late and everyone started to clear out because kids do need their schedules and there really seemed to be a lot of them in their family.
Ginny and Harry were the last ones left and Harry whispered something in Ginny's ear that Hermione didn't catch -she was compulsively wiping a table clean the muggle way- and she left with the kids, leaving Harry behind.
"You okay, 'Mione?" he asked, with a look that said he knew it was a stupid question but he needed confirmation that she wasn't going to do anything too rash.
"I'm fine, Harry, really. I just hoped he'd be here, you know? I mean, I rationally know it's not-", she was just starting to vent when Ron apparated next to her with a loud crack. Her face turned murderous -unbeknownst to Ron, who was obliviously starting to greet Harry with that obnoxious guy-hug thing they always did. Harry, however, did notice, and sensing the storm that was about to come, made his apologies and left.
Ron then turned to Hermione and started to apologize, but she wasn't even furious anymore, she was just exhausted.
"Just save it. When she tells you everything tomorrow, for the love of God just tell her the fact that she was happy makes you the happiest and proudest dad alive and that you're sorry you missed it and you love her. I'm tired and I'm going to bed." She accompanied her whole speech with hand gestures and left for their bedroom. She was already in bed when Ron enetered and got ready in his pyjamas. He slipped into bed next to her, spooned her from behind and kissed her on the back of her ear once.
"I am sorry", he whispered, and she let him hold her while she let out one single tear and went to sleep.
A/N: I'll try and upload something while I'm away, but I don't know if I'll be able to, so I apologize in advanced if it takes a while to upload the next one. Click on the button below and leave your thoughts recorded for posterity, you know you want to!LOL;)