Lucy is still in her grandmothers arms when Percy and a very sullen looking Molly come walking out of the Burrow. Molly visibly relaxed when she sees them, and now it is clear that everybody is accounted for she beams and sets the now squirming Lucy on the floor.
'Now that everyone is here,' she says, smiling broadly, 'we can eat.'
Everyone in the garden turns to her expectantly. The yearly picnic in the burrow's garden is a treat for everyone. For the kids it is a chance for them to all be together in the same place, something that rarely happens what with their being so many of them, and for the adults it's a chance to catch up.
Ginny and Hermione step beside Mrs Weasley and they bring out they wands. After several quick flicks of their wands the ground is covered with four picnic blankets, a long table for the adults and an even longer table covered in a blue table cloth for the food. With another series of flicks there is food soaring out of the open door from the kitchen and setting themselves neatly and carefully on the table until it is groaning under the weight of so much of Mrs Weasleys excellently prepared food.
As soon as everything is settled there is a flurry of movement, as all the kids split into groups an all the adults head to the table. I seat myself in between Ginny and Ron, then look up to see Victoire in a heated argument with Bill, over the fact that she is going to be sitting with Teddy. I smile a little at the thought that these kids suffer with their dads in exactly the same way that Ginny did.
I scan the mass of kids, looking for my own and find that James and Al are in a group with Roxanne, Fred Jr, Dominique and of course Lucy, James' biggest fan. Lily has joined a group with Hugo, Victoire Teddy and Molly. Of course this is likely to change throughout the picnic but I tend to take it as an opportunity to find out how they are all responding to each other. Last year Albus and James weren't talking, and James was made to eat on his own, to stop him from jinxing his brother from another blanket.
When Molly declares that we can now start we swarm the food table. She really has outdone herself this year. Not only are there the usual sausage rolls and scotch eggs of the usual picnic but there are also soups, shepherds pit and the biggest selection of deserts that I have only ever seen the likes of at Hogwarts.
'Macaroni cheese!' I hear Lily exclaim, obviously delighted.
'Who cares?' James responds, 'There's a custard tart up here.'
'James!' Savoury first, sweet later.' Ginny scolds firmly and my son walks past us to the other end of the table, shooting a mutinous look at his mother as he does so.
Once out plates are all heaving with the mouth-watering feast that has been prepared for us the day really begins. I listen more than I talk. I hear Dominique talking to Roxanne about how Victoire (otherwise known as her perfect sister) is on her way to getting ten outstanding NEWTs and is still always surrounded by friends. I hear Percy telling Mr Weasley that they and Mr and Mrs Weasley have been invited to Audrey's parents the next week for dinner. This is something that makes Arthur almost ecstatic with joy, seeing that Audrey and her parents are all muggles.
'And of course Rose is now good friends with Scorpious Malfoy.' Hermione says offhandedly to Ginny, causing both Harry and Ron to choke on their food.
'What?' Ron bellowed, and Hermione shot him a quelling look before explaining further.
'Yes, I hear they hit it off straight away, seeing as they are in the same house.'
'Draco Malfoy's son is in Gryffindor?' Harry asked, feeling a mixture of horror and amusement at the prospect. Hermione nodded and then Harry thought of something else. 'But that would mean that Al shares a dorm with him. He never mentioned that?'
'Of course he didn't.' Ginny chimed in, 'They know how much you two dislike the Malfoys. Don't be thick.'
Harry exchanged a bemused look with Ron, and then asked another question.
'Are Al and Scorpious friends too?' he asked, genuinely curious and Hermione nodded.
'Blimey,' Ron breathed, 'Dad is going to be furious.'
Harry
I woke two days after Fred's funeral with a sick feeling firmly taking root in my stomach. It was the day of Remus and Tonks burial. A day I had been dreading ever since the moment I had seen their bodies in the great hall.
It would also be the first time I would meet my godson, the child I had resigned to the life of being an orphan. I closed my eyes and shuddered. This was going to be a hard day and I knew it.
'Harry mate?' Ron said from across the room. I could hear the concern in his voice and looked over at him. He was propped up in bed, head resting on his hand and looking at me with a worried expression on his face.
I blinked at him, but apart from that I didn't react. I didn't know what to say or do. I didn't need to tell him what I was feeling, he knew me well enough to have guessed, and besides guys don't like talking about their feelings with each other. It just isn't done.
We got dressed in double time, me because I was too bust wallowing in my own troubled thoughts, and Ron because I think he genuinely did now know what to say to me when was in that kind of mood.
We all aparated to the garden of Andromeda Tonks, except Ginny who went using side along apparition. Like she said they would be Andromeda was standing by the back door of her house looking lost and confused and clutching a grinning baby, whose hair was a honey blonde colour.
I froze at the sight of him, and in th next instant Ginny and Hermione are on either side of me, and pushed me towards them. I moved as though I was in a daze until I was standing directly in front of them.
'I am so sorry,' I rasped, and she looks into my face and gives me a small smile.
'It's not your fault Harry,' she told me, and I don't know whether it was because I hardly knew this woman, or because she had lost everything, but the fact that she didn't blame me helped to erase some of the guilt that had been consuming me since that awful night.
I nod at her, and without another word she holds the infant in her arms out to me. He is just two weeks old, and I can see both his parents in his face. I took him from her and held this tiny little piece of his parents in my arms. I think he was curious, and he cooed up at me, looking at me with large dark eyes, that are so much like his mother's that it gave me a shock. His nose and eyes were his mothers, but the rest of his face so greatly resembled Remus that I felt the overwhelming urge to scream begin to build up in me, but I contained it. I couldn't stop staring at him.
I don't know how long I stood there just staring at the miracle in my arms but the next thing I knew Ginny was standing next to me, and also looking down into the babies face.
'Can I …' she trails off, not taking her eyes of Teddy. I nod and carefully and awkwardly I place him in her waiting arms.
Hermione
It took a long time for everyone to hold and meet baby Teddy, and when he was finally passed to Hermione she was dismayed to find that she was the only one who he cried for. She looked up at Ron in confusion to find that he was regarding her with amusement.
'Not a baby person then.' He said sardonically, and she passed the baby quickly onto George and nudged Ron hard in the ribs.
The levity is quickly brought to a halt when we hear a clock inside Andromeda's house chime twelve. As one the party turned towards the gate, and together they started walking.
The funeral was one of the saddest occasions Hermione could ever remember attending. Although she hadn't been as close with Remus and Tonks as she had been with Fred, the reactions of the other mourners were much more effective. Fred's funeral had been carried out in a silent respectful manner, and though there was the same atmosphere of sadness here, Teddy's constant cooing only served as a reminder to what these two had so recently gained and had lost so quickly.
Hermione couldn't help but shoot looks at Harry, who was standing stiffly and slightly apart from everyone else. She knew that Harry being Harry blamed himself for not giving him up sooner and it was no use telling him that this wasn't his fault. They had all already told him that until they were blue in the face but nothing ever seemed to get through with him. His feeling of responsibility was so great that it would brook no argument.
Ron
The day had been grim, but then again every day for the past year had been. Harry had shut himself in the room he shared with Ron as soon as they'd got back, and when Ron had tried to follow Hermione had held him back.
For the past three hours they had sat in Andromeda Tonk's house exchanging stories of Remus and Tonks and during the whole thing Ron had noticed the colour and energe slowly draining out of Harry.
'Ron,' Hermione called him out of his reverie and he turned to face her where she was lying next to him on the grass. 'I need to go and find my parents.'
He blinked at her. He felt as though he had missed an entire conversation.
'What?' he asked and she rolled her eyes at him.
'My parents Ronald. They're still in Australia. I want to go and find them.'
'Oh. Okay. I suppose that's reasonable. Do you know where they are?'
She shook her head, and then looked away from him. 'I know they went to Sydney. I don't know where about they are there though.'
'When will you go?' Ron asked, and she looked at him incredulously.
'When will I go?'
'Yes. What's strange about me asking that?'
She laughed a little and leaned forward to stroke his face.
'Oh Ronald. That depends on you.'
'Me?' He was truly confused now. What on earth was she talking about.
'Yes,' she said, and smiled at him, 'I want you to come with me. Don't you want to?'
'Of course I do,' he said quickly, 'I'd love to. I just thought you'd want to do this on your own.'
'Oh Ronald.' She said exasperated, giving him a 'you really are an idiot' look and then giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. 'Of course I want you to go with me. I just need to know when you think … when it would be ok to leave your family. It could take months. I need a few weeks here first to sort out things here and then arrange things there to make them easier to find, but I don't know how long it is going to take to find them, and then remove the enchantment.'
Ron just stared at her as though she was a previously unknown plant that had suddenly sprung up beside him. She had asked him to live with her alone for a month. This is something that no eighteen year old boy could ever refuse.
OK so I've updated my other four stories, now time for this one. I'm not sure about the interlude but I think I did the characters justice. I think I may have to start doing separate POVs for the interludes as I'm finding it difficult to cover all the characters in the depth I want to. If you don't like that idea let me know and if people hate it that much I'll try to sort out a different way to do it.
Thanks for the reviews and favourites once more. It's greatly appreciated :D
