Chapter IX:

Ron turned at the sound of the door closing and his eyes widened a bit.

Harry smiled down at Rose. "Rose, I would like for you to meet your father, Ron Weasley."

Rose's eyes turned to Harry's. "My father?"

Harry nodded. "I promised you I'd tell you who he was. Here he is." He knelt down in front of her then, his hand still holding hers. "I'm going to go back in there and sit with Lily. You get to know my best mate here. He's a great guy, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

Harry squeezed her hand gently before he stood up, nodded at Ron and headed back into his classroom closing the door behind him.

Ron shoved his hands into his pockets as he stared at his daughter. "Er, hi."

Rose stared up at him, a little dazed. Her uncle had just brought her father to her rather than simply give her his name. She was kind of overwhelmed. "Hi."

Ron took a step towards her and knelt down in front of her the way Harry had. "I don't know what to say."

She shrugged at that. "That's a stupid thing to say. Everyone has something to say or you just don't say anything at all."

Ron laughed then. A big deep laugh that made goosebumps appear on her arms in a way that she didn't mind. It was a nice laugh. "Merlin you sound just like your mother. You look like her too, beautiful."

Rose blushed at that, her ears reddening. "Are you really my father?"

He nodded and held his hand out to her. "I really am. I'm sorry that I wasn't around. I um … well, Hermione, your mother, she just told me about an hour ago that I had a daughter. She never told me."

"Why not?" Rose asked.

Ron shrugged. "Different reasons I suppose. I wish she wouldn't have kept it from me though. I always wanted a daughter."

"You did?"

He nodded. "Definitely. I hope that maybe we can be friends."

Rose grinned at that. "Okay."

Merlin, Ron thought. She was the spitting image of Hermione. He could see what Harry meant though by looking like him as well. She had a cute sprinkling of freckles over her nose and her hair was definitely Weasley red.

"Do you think … why don't you tell me something about yourself?" He asked, a little nervous. She was already so grown up. How was he supposed to catch up?

Rose smiled at that and moved to take a seat in one of Harry's office chairs. "I'm eleven and Lily Potter is my best-est friend in the whole world!"

Ron grinned. "She's also your cousin."

"How?" Rose asked. "Professor Potter said that earlier and he said that he was my uncle."

Ron nodded at that. "My baby sister, well, she's not a baby any more, only one year younger than me, is married to Harry. That means that Harry is your uncle and Lily, James and Brig are your cousins."

Rose grinned. "That's brilliant! So Mum and I lived in Sidney and she worked a lot! But Grandma and Grandpa always came to visit and take care of me when Mum was working. Then we moved to London and I found out I was a witch! I used to be able to make things float and Mum always told me it meant I was special but she never told me I could do magic!"

Ron smiled at her, reaching out to brush her bushy waves out of her eyes. "Yeah."

She smiled up at him, moving to stand in front of where he was still kneeling. "Will I get to see you sometimes?"

"As many times and whenever you want. I hope that you will write to me too, tell me what's happening at school."

Rose grinned and carefully leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Can I call you Daddy?"

Ron's eyes softened and he tugged her close, cradling her head against his heart and sighed when he realized she smelt like honey and vanilla with just that hint of child that he couldn't explain but thought it was a mix of candy and baby powder. "I would love that, Rose. I'm already in love with you. You're the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen. I hope we become great friends."

She grinned up at him. "Me too, Daddy. Me too."

Lily looked up expectantly at Harry when he came back into the classroom. She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a very Ginny-like manner and smiled at him. "Daddy, what's going on?"

Harry smiled at her and took a seat in one of the desks. "Rose needs to talk someone." He said easily before promptly attempting to change the subject. "So, what have you been doing with your day other than plotting revenge on your brothers?"

Lily simply nodded at her father intuitively. "Rose is talking to Uncle Ron?"

"Uncle Ron?" Harry asked, somewhat taken aback by Lily's connection. "Why would you think he was in there?"

She shrugged, brushing her curls out of her eyes. "Well, Rose told me that you told her that we were cousins and I figured that the only way we could be cousins was by one of Mum's brothers since you don't have any brothers or sisters and she looks nothing like Uncle Dudley. And I remember thinking that Rose's mum looked like your friend from school and she was in love with Uncle Ron so Uncle Ron must be Rose's dad, right?"

Harry chuckled softly at her logic. "You're too damn smart for your own good."

She grinned at those words. "I just like to know stuff. Does Mum know about Rose?"

He nodded. "Yes, she does. I suppose you can tell your brothers now. We might as well let the whole family now. Grandma's going to be angry."

Lily giggled at that and crossed her legs under her. "Very angry. Grandpa will just smile and offer her chocolates."

Harry grinned at that. His daughter sure knew how to read people and to read them well. It sometimes unnerved him at how well she was able to interpret a situation. "Well, I think you're right. Now's let's just hope that Uncle Ron can explain to Rose what happened and that she'll understand. He really wants to get to know her."

"He will. Uncle Ron is a great listener and he's really good at making sure everyone is happy."

He smiled at her. "Come here, baby girl." Lily moved into his arms and sat on his lap so that he could hug her tightly and kiss the top of her head. "How did I end up with such an intelligent daughter?"

Lily simply grinned and kissed his cheek. "Because I got Mum's brains."

Harry busted into laughter at those words. "Smart ass." She was a constant surprise and he loved that about her. She was very much like Ginny. "I suppose I'll let that one slide for now." He kissed her cheek and grinned. "So, what do we want to do to pass the time?"

Lily grinned at him. "Exploding Snap!"

Harry sighed. "I should have known. The cards are in my desk drawer."

Lily just grinned and jumped off his lap to get the cards. He could only smile. How on earth had he gotten so lucky as to have a daughter like that?

Forty minutes later, Harry had walked the girls back to Gryffindor Tower since it was past curfew and then he had returned to his office. Ron was sitting in a chair, his face in his hands.

"Well, how did it go?" Harry asked, leaning up against the doorjamb of his office and eyeing his friend carefully.

Ron looked up at him. "She's beautiful. And she's smart and she wants to call me Daddy."

Harry grinned at that. "It's a great sound, isn't it? You definitely don't realize how great it is until your baby says it to you."

Ron nodded. "She's amazing. I still can't believe I have a daughter. I can't believe I had a daughter with Hermione."

Harry smiled at that. "Mate, maybe it just was meant to be this way. I mean, you and Hermione were stepping over each other left and right our whole lives. Maybe you jumped into that relationship too quickly. I'm not making excuses for her. She should never have taken off like that without telling you she was pregnant, but I'm saying maybe it worked out better in the end."

"What do you mean?"

"You're still in love with her, Ron." He stated calmly.

Ron shrugged and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So what if I am?"

"So what nothing. Do something about it. She's single. She's back in London. She's the mother of your child. She obviously is still in love with you."

"What makes you think she's still in love with me?" Ron demanded.

Harry sighed. "You said you two had sex. Ron … Hermione would never have just let you have your way with her like that if she wasn't still in love with you."

"She could have changed. It's been twelve years." He muttered.

Harry grinned at his friend. "Not that much. Not Hermione."

Ron was quiet for a few minutes before he nodded. "I need to see her again tonight. I need to tell her I met Rose."

"I think that's a great idea." He rattled off Hermione's address and smiled at his friend. "Just remember one thing, Ron. Any decision the two of you make now reflects upon Rose."

Ron nodded and scratched his nose. "I know. I think that's what scares me the most."

Harry watched him leave the room and he sighed. He just hoped that his friends could make the right decision.

He closed and locked his office door before heading out to leave the castle when he heard familiar chuckling. He turned at the sound and simply picked up each of his son's by the scruff of their shirts and lifted them from behind the suit of armour.

"It is WAY past curfew, you two."

James grinned up at him. "Hi Dad. What are you doing here?"

Harry shook his head at his oldest son. "What are YOU TWO doing out of bed?"

He placed them both back on their feet just as Brigham gave him a bright smile, his eyes twinkling in a mischievous manner similar to that of Ginny when she was plotting something.

"Dad, we were just trying to get the lay of the castle. We don't want to keep getting lost anymore." He explained.

"Oh really?" Harry asked, keeping his voice light. "So, why should you be getting the lay of the castle at eleven thirty at night when you've never once gotten lost yet?"

"Uh," James stuttered. "Because we -"

"Lily put superglue in our beds!" Brigham exclaimed.

Harry grinned now. His boys knew when the jig was up. "Well, she told me that you poured maple syrup and flour in her hair first."

James rolled his eyes. "That was because she put a charm on me so that whenever I was asked a question I would respond with 'what's up doc?'"

Brig nodded. "So we thought the best way to get her back was to dirty her hair. We figured if we went for the shoes she would kill us."

"Or bat bogey us." James replied honestly.

Harry laughed now. "Alright, well you three have got to start behaving. It's barely a month into the school year! I already spoke to Lily and Rose about the syrup and the flour and the superglue. All four of you will be in detention with me Wednesday night. As for you two, twenty points each from Gryffindor for being out past curfew and sneaking around the castle."

James sighed. "But Dad! We just want to be marauders!"

Brig nodded. "Yeah! Like Grandpa and Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius were!"

Harry sighed and draped on arm over each of their shoulders. "Don't tell your mother I said this but if you want to be real marauders, you can't get caught." He winked at them and then squeezed their shoulders in reassurance. "Also, I would subtly ask Uncle Sirius for tips. But if anyone asks, you didn't hear any of this from me."

Brigham grinned. "Excellent! Does that mean we can borrow your invisibility cloak?"

Harry laughed now. "I don't think so. I can only imagine what kind of trouble you two could achieve if no one could see you!"

James grinned wickedly. "Don't worry, Dad. We always let Lily be the mastermind."

He sighed. "That's what worries me. Now off to bed you two! I don't want to hear you got detention from someone else tonight."

Brig laughed and gave his father a quick hug. "Thanks Dad, 'night!"

James nodded and hugged his father as well. "Yeah, thanks Dad. Don't tell Mum! She said if she found out we were misbehaving again she would send us a howler! We don't want a howler!"

Brig nodded. "Definitely not."

Harry laughed at that. "I won't tell your mother. Now go to bed, both of you!"

He watched his sons hurry off back to Gryffindor Tower he hoped and he sighed. He wouldn't trade moments like this for anything.

By the time he got home it was after midnight. He checked in on his three remaining children. Lorelai was cuddled close with her favourite black bear, her red curls standing out against the blackness of the bear and she was curled around her pillow. He wrapped her up and kissed her cheek before heading into the boys room. Aidan was on top of his blankets, one leg dangling off the side of the bed and his head of bright red hair hanging off the other side. Harry grinned and walked over to straighten him out, kissing his cheek and wrapping him up. Flynn was the complete opposite of his brother. His bed looked like it hadn't been disturbed nor like he had moved at all. Harry kissed him goodnight and brushed his reddish brown hair out of his eyes. He looked back once at the door before heading into his own room.

Ginny was curled up in their bed, one arm wrapped around the pillow and was sleeping soundly. He quickly changed into his pajamas and slid into bed next to her. He tugged the pillow out from under her arms and instead wrapped her around him so that her head was resting over his heart.

She stirred at the movement. "Harry?"

"Shh, go back to sleep, babe." He whispered, closing his eyes.

Ginny tilted her head up and kissed his chin. "No. I want to know what happened. How did it go? Did Ron meet Rose?"

Harry nodded, gently running two fingers up and down her arm. "Yeah. They had a good talk. She wants to call him Daddy. I think it will be fine. Ron was going to talk to Hermione. He's still in love with her."

"Do you think that's a good idea? Getting back together?"

Harry shrugged. "I honestly don't know. But he's in love with her and she's in love with him and they had sex earlier this afternoon before Hermione dropped the bombshell of Rose. They're perfect for each other, Gin. I just want to see them both happy."

Ginny smiled at that. "I do too. I hope they make the right decision."

He nodded, closing his eyes. "Me too."

Ron knocked on Hermione's front door at quarter to twelve that night. It had taken him longer than he had planned on to work up the courage to knock. He knocked again when no one answered.

He saw a light turn on in the entranceway and the door opened, Hermione was belting up her robe as she stared at him.

"Can I come in?" He asked her through the screen.

She nodded and pulled the door open.

He stepped inside, closing it behind him. "I know it's late, I'm sorry."

Hermione shrugged and took a seat on the chesterfield in the common room. "It's alright. I know I dropped a lot of information on you earlier. I figured you would want to talk some more."

Ron sat down next to her and took her hand in his. "I went to see Harry again. After I was finished yelling at him because he didn't tell me about Rose, he brought me to Hogwarts and I met her." He squeezed her hand gently in his. "She's beautiful and amazing. I can't believe she's my daughter."

Hermione smiled at that. "She is your daughter, Ron."

He grinned. "Well, she definitely has the Weasley hair."

She laughed at that. "Yeah, she does but she got my bushiness unfortunately." A more serious look came across her face then. "How was she?"

Ron shrugged. "She was fine. She was more calm than I was. She said she would write to me and she wants to call me Daddy. I was good with that. We talked for about an hour but then she had to go to bed you know. She's wonderful."

"I know. She's the light of my life."

He smiled and pulled out the album she had given him. "I haven't looked at it yet. I was hoping you could tell me what every picture represents. I missed out on so much of her life. I want to learn as much as I can."

Hermione nodded. "Of course. I'm so glad Harry introduced you to her. She really is a wonderful little girl and I want you to be a part of her life."

Ron nodded. "I want to be part of her life. But I also want to be part of yours again."

"What?" She asked, somewhat flustered.

He grinned at her. "Earlier today, yes that was partly hormones and a mix of being happy to see you again and just pure lust but … that meant something to me, Mione. You still mean something to me. I'm in love with you. I never stopped."

Tears welled up in Hermione eyes. How could he still love her after everything she had done? How could he still want to be with her when she had gotten pregnant and taken his baby away from him?

"I love you, too, Ron. There hasn't been anyone else since you." She whispered.

He smiled at those words. "I know it's probably selfish but I'm glad."

She laughed. "You think you're being selfish? I left you and yet you still want me? I think that makes you the least selfish person I have ever met!"

He grinned and leaned in, kissing her deeply. "Let me make love to you tonight."

She melted into the kiss, her entire body tingling at those words. "Ron."

Ron smiled and kissed her, deepening the kiss until she surrendered and then they lost themselves in each other as if the years had never happened and they melted away.

For once, all seemed to be right again.

Ron woke up the next morning with Hermione wrapped around him and he couldn't help but grin. He kissed her cheek and buried his face in her hair. "I'm so glad its Sunday and I don't have to work."

She smiled and snuggled into him. "I don't have a job at the moment."

He laughed and kissed her softly. "So, what are we going to do about us? Are we back together?"

Hermione sat up, pulling the sheet up along with her. "Do you want to be back together? I mean, I love you and I know you still love me but … can you ever forgive me for taking Rose away like I did?"

Ron shrugged. He wanted to say yes, he would forgive her anything as long as she stayed with him. But she had a point. Taking Rose away was something he still hadn't quite grasped. He had a daughter that he barely knew.

"I don't know, Mione."

She nodded, her head down a bit. "I understand that but I don't know if we should be jumping back into a relationship when you haven't forgiven me."

Ron shook his head and took her hand in his. "I don't care about that, Mione. I'm not letting you go again. Not this time. I've been miserable these last twelve years without you. Rose was a surprise, a good one and a sad one. I understand why you left with her. You were scared and confused and recently traumatized and you thought I was cheating on you. Yes, you jumped to conclusions before figuring out the answer but I get it. Now it's your turn to get it."

"Get what, Ron?" She asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"That I love you. That I live and breathe you. I can forgive you for hiding Rose from me. I need a little time to stop being angry that I missed out on her whole life but I'm angry at myself."

Hermione sniffed at that. "Why on earth would you be angry at yourself?"

"Because I didn't go after you." He said honestly. "Harry told me that you had said not to look for you and I didn't. By the time I realized my mistake you were long gone. If I had gone after you, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Ron, what happened wasn't your fault."

He shook his head. "No, it wasn't. But, it wasn't your fault either. We both made mistakes, Mione and now it's time to correct them."

"How?" She asked.

Ron tugged her close up against him and placed his hand on her cheek. "By starting with the obvious. By starting with the one thing I didn't do to keep you with me."

"What's that?"

"Marry me."