Full Summary: Hugo and Rose had come to clean out the attic of their parents' house. They expected to find old toys and discarded inventions. What they found instead was their parents' love story

Chapter 3: Friends

Pairing: Hugo, Rose, Ron x Pansy, Hermione x Theo

Rating: To to M to E and back again (for the whole story)

Chapter Summary: Another day, another stack of letter. What will Hugo and Rose find out about their parents this time? Can Ron and Hermione learn to be friends again or is everything broken?

Papers melt into the background

Steps taken and paths chosen

Finding balance her greatest adventure

Finding a life without him

Hugo was up early the next morning. He was surprised at what they had learned from the letters he and Rose had found in their parents' trunks. He was curious to see what they would find today. But, he was also a little scared. The people he grew up with were different from the people they were finding in memories in those trunks. Life is full of surprises.

Rose hurried to get back to her parents' house. She and Hugo had made some interesting discovers yesterday and there were still more bundles to unpack. Rose had trouble imagining a time when her parents were not together. Seeing them date other people was an otherworldly experience. But, like Mum had always said, you learn something new every day. Wonder what she and Hugo would learn today.

Hugo stepped into the sitting room and stared at the trunks in the middle of the room. His parents had created an interesting time capsule for their family to discover. He went into the kitchen and turned on the kettle. No sense in tackling the next bundle without a cup of tea.

Rose walked into the kitchen and set a tin of biscuits on the table." I figured we could use these later. Reading about Mum and Dad's life before us has been very interesting."

"That is one way of putting it," Hugo handed his sister a few cup of tea. "Let's relax for a few minutes before we go back to the trunks. I am still trying to figure out how Dad had the courage to walk away from Mum and the Aurors."

"I think it was more a case of his sanity versus his heart when he walked away," Rose said, sipping on her tea. "It sounds like they loved each other but they got so wrapped up in their jobs and risks for each of them that they lost themselves."

"Isn't that a lesson they let us learn?" Hugo asked as he put his teacup in the sink. "I remember Dad telling me that there were more important things than work and that listening to the people around was more important than talking to them."

"Mom said something like that to me as I got on the Hogwarts Express for the first time," Rose sighed and walked towards the sitting room. "Time to look at the next bundle."

"Mum and Dad had way too much fun putting this together," Hugo chuckled as he joined Rose in the sitting room. "I can imagine them sitting side by side and picking out pieces that went together to tell this story."

"They may have picked them out together," Rose smiled as she picked up the bundle with a bold "3" and gold ribbon from Hermione's trunk. "But, the way they are organized has Mum's fingerprints all over it."

"I think your right, Rosie," Hugo reached in Ron's trunk and grabbed the matching bundle. "Dad was never known for organizing anything in a way that anybody but him could understand."

Rose settled on to the floor and opened her bundle. "Look at this, Huggie. Mum and Theo with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry. It looks like a party at the Burrow."

"Look at the back," Hugo said as he turned over the photograph in his hand. "My bundle has a picture of Dad and Aunt Pansy with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry at the Burrow. It says 'Mum's birthday … What was Ginny thinking?'."

"Mine says, 'Mum's birthday … I'm going to kill Harry.'," Rose giggled as she set down the picture and pick up the first letter. "Ginny Weasley, What were you thinking …"

Hermione looked across the room at Ron and his date. It had been months since they split, but it still felt strange to be at the Burrow with someone besides Ron. "Sickle for your thoughts, Mione," Theo whispered in her ear as he tucked her into his shoulder.

"It feels strange to be here and not be part of 'Ron and Hermione'," Hermione answered with a sigh. "I am so glad you came with me. I am glad I have gotten to know you better and I know this is where I want to be. But, it still feels strange."

"I can understand that,' Theo looked at Hermione as he touched her chin with his finger. "But, we are here together and he is here with … PANSY?! That's a new twist."

"I know. I was expecting Lavender Brown, to be honest," Hermione smirked as she tried not to laugh.

"I glad it is Pansy and not Lavender," Theo cringed at the thought. "I can live the rest of my life never hearing Weasley called "Won won", I promise."

Theo and Hermione spent a few minutes laughing over the memories of Ron and Lavender when they were students. "I guess we should make Molly happy and go talk to them'" Hermione grabbed Theo's hand and started across the room.

"No need to disappoint the guest of honor," Theo chuckled as he followed in Hermione's wake. "I can be nice to a Weasley for a little while."

Hermione kissed Molly on the check and then dragged Theo over to the cake table. She had thought they would run into Ron and Pansy there, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"Leave it up to Gran to make a reason for them to be in the same space," Hugo laughed as he listened to Rose read then end of his mother's letter to Aunt Ginny. "Sneaky thing, that she was. And Mum and Dad blamed Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry."

"They sure did," Rose answered with a laugh of her own. "Gran always seemed to know when to push and when to sit back. And how to get other people to do her dirty work."

"Dad always warned up not to say 'Yes" to her until we knew the whole task," Hugo picked up the first letter in his bundle and began to read. "Mate, What did you let Mum talk you into …"

Ron looked across the room as the door opened. He was surprised to see Hermione walk in with Theo Nott. He had heard she was dating, but he hadn't heard who she was dating. It felt strange to be at his parents' house and not have her by his side. But, they had both made choices and they were both moving on.

"Earth to Ron," Pansy waved her hand in front of his face. "What's got you looking lost? It is almost time for cake."

"I wasn't expecting her to be here," Ron gulped as he pointed across the room. "With a date. Harry said she had been invited, but I didn't think she would come."

"So what if Hermione is here," Pansy said as she scanned the room. "Oh, there she is and she is with … THEO NOTT?! I never would have figured him to leave the office."

"Nott? He's not so bad," Ron mused as he lead Pansy to the cake. "I was expecting Draco, to be honest. They had that 'Love to hate you' thing going on for years at school."

"Draco is too wrapped up in making a good name for himself right now," Pansy said as she picked up a slice of cake from the table. "I think he works more hours than Hermione ever thought about working. Rumor is, he is courting Astoria, but I don't see how. He spends twelve hours a day locked up in his office."

"He needs to be careful," Ron said thoughtfully. "Working that much will send you down a path that is dark and empty. It is part of the reason I left the Aurors to join George. It is also why I could not keep watching Hermione self-destruct."

"No more talk of self-destruction or work, "Pansy whispered in Ron's ear. "I hear your mum has kept your room just the way you left it. Care to show me if that rumor is true?"

Ron and Pansy slipped up the stairs. Ron gave Pansy a tour of his old room including a snog or two on his bed.

"Gran was a sneaky woman," Hugo sighed as he put down the letter he had been reading. "I can remember Dad telling stories of getting howlers and letters from her. You never wanted to be on her bad side or be in a situation that she thought needed to be fixed."

"Mum always said that Gran was the person to get things done," Rose reached for the next letter in her bundle. "I guess Gran decided that Mum and Dad were in a situation that need to be fixed.

Scars disappear into his memory

Steps taken and paths chosen

Finding peace his greatest adventure

Finding a life without her

Hugo set down his stack of letters and stood up. "Care for a snack? Reading about Mum and Dad's love lives is making me hungry."

"It is not making you hungry," Rose sighed as she walked Hugo walk out of the room. "You are always hungry. Mum used to swear that you were going to eat them out of house and home."

"Not my fault I have a fast metabolism," Hugo muttered from the kitchen. "Any requests while I am in here? I'm bringing back the tin of biscuits."

"Just some water to go with the biscuits," Rose's voice floated up from inside Hermione's trunk. "I'm beginning to wonder if Mum spelled these trunks like she did her bag."

"Dad always said Mum's beaded bag was a modern marvel," Hugo returned to the living room floating a tray of drinks and biscuits. "I don't think I can ever remember a trip that we took without that bag. I think Mum could have pulled another house out of the bag if we had needed it."

"If she had," Rose giggled, "Dad would not have been surprised. He always said felt better if her bag was ready for anything."

Rose and Hugo settled back into the floor in front of the trunks. Pictures and letters from the current bundle were scattered around them. It was strange to see their parents with other people but, it was nice to see both of them smiling.

"Mum looks so pretty when she smiles," Hugo said as he watched a true smile spread across Hermione's face in the picture he was holding. "This picture was in my bundle from Dad's trunk. That seems odd"

"Check the back," Rose said as she picked up a picture of Ron from her bundle. "This one says, 'Forever your friend, Ron.' I guess they went through a time when they weren't talking."

"Which would explain Gran's trickery," Hugo flipped over his picture. "Well, that explains a lot. 'I promise not to let work swallow me up again. Thank you for reminding me that life is more than work'."

"It is strange to think of Mum letting work take over everything," Rose mumbled as she opened the next letter in her bundle. "Hello Ron, It has been a while since we talked …"

Hermione looked at the letter she had just sealed. It was her apology to Ron for her part in the fall of their relationship. She had done a lot of thinking in the time since they fell apart and Hermione had discovered some hard truths about herself. She liked to work but, she need to leave work at work and spend some time with people who cared for her. Deciding to be a good friend, instead of an absent one, had mended bridges she did not even realize were crumbling. That was the true blessing of her failed relationship.

Hermione handed the letter to Pigwidgen and whispered in his feathers. "Go find Ron and stay with him. He needs you more than me right now. Thank you for your loyalty."

Hermione watched the small owl fly out the window and took a deep breath. Seeing Ron with Pansy at Molly's birthday party had shaken her. She was happy in her relationship with Theo, but she still felt like she was missing something. She was finally spending time with Ginny and Luna and she making an effort to get to know Pansy. Molly had looked at her during the party and said, "You will always be family, dear. Just because my knuckle head of a son says otherwise, does not mean it is true. You will always be welcome at the Burrow."

Hermione took a few minutes by herself after that conversation with Molly. Theo would have asked her why she was crying and she wasn't sure if she had an answer for that. Hermione had worried that the end of her relationship with Ron had ended her relationship with the rest of the Weasley clan. The letter to Ron was her way of dealing with the hurt that they had caused each other with their last fight. It was also her way of starting to find her way back the friends that they had always been. Just because they were not a couple did not mean they could not be friends. She felt less hollow as she watched Pig fly away. Less hollow, but still hollow.

Hermione was beginning to question her relationship with Theo. He was a good friend and a steady companion, but the spark that had run through her relationship with Ron was missing. Maybe, it was time to have a different kind of conversation with Theo. She was still figuring out who she was and who she wanted to be.

Rose laid down the letter and picked up another picture of Hermione and Theo. "Look at Mum," she said as she held the picture up for Hugo to see. "She has that questioning look on her face."

"You mean the one that scared us as children?" Hugo asked. "The one that said Mum had started to figure out what we had done and she was just trying to put the last few pieces into place."

"That would be the one," Rose answered. "She is looking between Dad and Theo. I wonder what was going through her head?"

"That's a good question," Hugo studied the picture in his hands closely. "She sent an apology to Dad. I wonder why."

"Probably for the same reason Dad brought her flowers the first week of May every year," Rose looked at the letters piled around her. "They each had things they needed to do to clear the air between them. Mum always wrote down everything to work it out, so writing an apology would make sense."

"Looks like Dad wrote one, too," Hugo said as he held up his next letter. "My dear Hermione, I have started this letter more times than I can count …"

Ron stared out the open window as he thought over what Hermione had sent him. He never expected her to apologize because they had both played a role in the fall of their relationship. Frustrated, he crumpled up the paper in his hand. Ron had been trying to write this letter to Hermione since he received hers last week. But, the words were not flowing. Well, there were words on the page but they didn't make sense. Hermione had always been the one who was good with words. He was good at a chess board or in the back room of the shop, inventing new things. He need to get this done.

Pigwidgen gilded over and landed on Ron's shoulder. "I know, mate," He said as he scratched the small owl under his chin. "I need to get this letter written so you can go see her again. She told you to stay with me, didn't she?"

Ron moved back to his desk and grabbed a fresh piece of parchment. "Okay, Pig. I have to get this done. Just get the words on the page and then let you take it to her."

Ron spent the next hour pouring his heart out on to the page. It was not eloquent but it was him. It was an apology for the way he left and an olive branch to try to be friends again. The weight on his chest seemed to lift the more her wrote. He told her about Pansy and working with George. By the time he finished, he had filled two pages and was worried about the letter being bigger than the owl.

Over the next few weeks, Ron made an effort to get to know Theo and spend more time with their old group of friends. Seeing everyone at his mum's birthday party had shown him just how isolated he had become and he needed to change that. He might even start playing chess with Harry again. Time with Pansy was comfortable and there was a sense of peace when he was with her. But, he still felt like something was missing. Pansy challenged him to be better and they were a great team when one of them had a problem at work that was challenging to solve. But, was that enough? The letter from Hermione had got him thinking. He needed to talk to Pansy because he wasn't so sure any more about anything.

Hugo set down the letter on the table. "Where is all of this going? Mum and Dad are dating other people but they are talking again. We know that they ended up back together, because we would not be here if they hadn't. But, I am so confused."

"Did half the stuff Mum and Dad ever make sense to us?" Rose asked as she leaned against the couch. "You can see in the letters that they care about each other but, they were both so stubborn. They are trying to make it work with their new choices and it doesn't look like it is working."

"That sounds like Dad," Hugo stood up and headed for the kitchen. "He was like that when he was working on an idea for the shop. I guess he didn't limit his stubbornness to work."

"Neither did Mum," Rose reached for him from her comfortable spot on the floor. "Looks like I am done with this packet. Time for lunch?"

"I've got sandwich stuff and chips in here," Hugo called from the kitchen. "Weasley Specials all around? I'm hungry."

"Sure thing, little brother," Rose hollered from the couch. "I'll just be trying to dig out from the avalanche that is our parents' love lives."

"She was brave and strong and broken all at once."

-Anna Fuler, Stasiland

"It has made me better, loving you."

- Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady