Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to JK Rowling, but are currently being borrowed.

"Excuse me, any idea where I might find the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects ?" Ron asked a passing stranger eagerly.

"Its on the second level, in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Daily Prophet?" The man asked.

"No thank you. Thank you for the directions, though," Ron replied.

Ron, George, and Hermione made their way to the second level of the ministry. When they reached it, however, they were still a bit lost. "Excuse me, sir," Hermione began, "Any idea where I might find Arthur Weasley's office?"

"Just down this hall and to the left," the man pointed down the hall on his right, "He's been a bit down and out lately, just so you know."

"Well, thank you very much, sir," Hermione thanked him, and she, Ron, and George began walking down the hall.

"Did you hear that?" Ron asked.

"Hear what?" George replied.

"He said dad's been a bit down and out. Poor dad. He's probably devastated," Ron said as they reached the end of the hall.

"Oh, I'm sure he's alright," George said cheerfully, trying to make Ron feel a little better.

"Here, Arthur Weasley's office. Are you ready?" she turned and asked Ron and George.

"Yea," Ron said.

"Yep," George agreed.

"Alright, then," Hermione said as she knocked on the door. There was a long silence that came from the room.

"Maybe he's not there," George said. Suddenly, a noise came from within the room.

"Come in," a voice announced.

Ron took Hermione's hand in his and gripped it nervously as he opened the door with the other.

"Dad," Ron said as he made his way into the office with Hermione, followed by George.

Arthur turned around in his chair, and looked forward at his children.

"Ron. George. What are you doing here? And Hermione, how are you?" Arthur asked as he jumped up from his chair and walked over to them. He captured each one of them in an individual embrace. "How've you been?" he asked them.

"Well, dad, we've got some big news," Ron began.

"Oh, really? What's that now?" Arthur asked.

"Well, umm," Ron began.

"Ron and I are engaged!" Hermione interrupted.

"What? That's magnificent! Congratulations, you two!" Arthur exclaimed, giving Hermione a hug and shaking Ron's hand. "That's a big step to take, son. Congratulations. You've landed yourself a great girl," Arthur gleamed with pride as he looked at his son. "And George, anything new with you?"

"Not really, Dad," George answered, "How about you?"

"Oh, the work is keeping my busy here. What brought you down here today?" Arthur asked.

"Well, we thought we'd share the news with you," Hermione replied.

"Well, there's more than just that, Dad. We need to talk," George said.

"What about?" Arthur asked nervously.

"You and Mum. And Mum and Harry. Dad, what's going on?" Ron asked, looking to his father for the best answer.

"So, um, so you children know about that, then?" Arthur asked.

"Yea. Mum and Harry told us yesterday. Dad, what is this all about? You and Mum, what happened?" George answered.

"Oh, George, I just can't explain it. I loved your mother more than anything in the world. After," Arthur paused, "war, however, things became very difficult for us. I didn't know how to handle things," Arthur said, making his way to his chair, sitting down. The children followed Arthur's suit, and sat down in the seats in front of his desk. "Your mother did everything she could for me, she was there for me in every way possible. I, I fear, didn't do the same for her. I wasn't there for her the way she needed me to be. Not because I didn't want to be, but because I didn't know how. The only thing I found myself able to do was to come to work. With so much to do, I found that there wasn't really any time for me to think about what had happened. So, I stayed as busy as I could. I didn't leave the office, afraid of what memories would return if I went home. And then," Arthur sighed heavily.

"And then what, Dad?" Ron asked.

"I can't Ron," Arthur replied.

"Come on, Dad. You can tell us, its all right," George said.

"And then, I met Eloise," Arthur said sadly.

"Who, exactly, is Eloise?" Ron asked, confused.

"Eloise, well, Eloise works here in the office. You see, when I wasn't leaving the office, Eloise seemed to be the only one who noticed. One day, she came in here, asking me why I hadn't left the office in weeks. I explained everything to her, and she was there for me, and she didn't expect anything in return. I could talk to her about what had happened without an entirely different set of emotions coming along with it. When I had tried to talk to your mother about it, the only thing I could think of was the life we had formed together, and how much it had changed. With Eloise, there were no feelings. She was just there for me when I needed to talk to her. She never really asked a lot of questions, she just listened. Then, we started talking about other things, and we really got to know each other. Then, one day, we kissed. We were in the middle of some stupid conversation, and we kissed. Now, well, I guess you could say we are together," Arthur explained.

"What? Dad, how could you?" Ron asked, furious by what his father had just said.

"Ron, I know you're not happy, but.."

"Not happy! Dad, I thought you loved Mum more that anything. You always said that nobody could ever compare to your 'Mollywobbles," and now you're telling me that you've got someone else. How can she possibly compare, Dad? How can she?" Ron yelled across the desk. Hermione held tight to his arm as he inched forward with every word he said.

"Ron, please, let me,"

"No, Dad, I won't let you. I thought you would be here in your office, heartbroken and depressed. But you're not. Look at you,"

"Its not worth it, Ron," George interrupted. He stood up, looking at Arthur, who was sitting pitifully at his desk. "Come on, lets go."

Ron sat and looked at Arthur for a moment, and then he got up, joined by Hermione, and followed George to the door. George walked out, followed by Ron. Hermione paused before walking out the door. "It was nice to see you, Mr. Weasley," she said as she walked out of his office, and shut the door behind her.

- ***** - ***** Meanwhile, back at the Burrow ****** - ****** -

"You are brilliant, you know?" Molly said as Harry took her hand in his and kissed a trail from the tip of her finger to her wrist.

"You're not too bad, yourself," Harry replied.

"You know something, dear?" Molly asked, looking lovingly into Harry's eyes.

"What's that, love?" he asked.

"I owe you big time," she anwered.

"For what?" Harry asked.

"For everything. You've made me feel alive, again. You've shown me that there is something worth living for," Molly said, her hand placed lightly on Harry's cheek.

"Molly," Harry said, pulling her close to him, "How could you ever think for a single moment that there wasn't anything worth living for? You have six wonderful children. That alone is something, something very great indeed, worth living for."

"I know, dear. Its just, well, after Fred died, I guess I had forgotten how to live. I was so busy trying to make it easier for those around me, that I forgot about myself. You, however," Molly smiled softly at Harry, "You were here for me, you consoled me, and you made me feel alive once more. You helped me get adjusted to a new normal."

"Oh, Molly, dear, you don't understand, do you?" Harry laughed.

"Understand what?" Molly asked, surprised by Harry's question.

"If not for your admiration and care, I wouldn't have been here at all. You taught yourself how to live, Molly Weasley. You simply chose not to for a period of time. Then, you chose to once more. But, didn't teach you how to live, I didn't make you feel alive. You always knew how to live, and you always were alive. You just chose to live life dfferently, I suppose," Harry said.

"Well, dear, I still say thank you," Molly said. A small tear formed in the corner of her eye.

"Don't get sad, love," Harry said, wiping the tear with his thumb, and then kissing her forehead.

"I'm not sad. I'm happy," Molly laughed.

"Oh," Harry blushed, "Well, I'm happy, too." He leaned forward and captured Molly's mouth in a kiss.

"Love you, dear," Molly said, gazing into Harry's eyes.

"Love you, love," Harry said, kissing Molly once more.

"Well, I suppose we'd better get dressed," Molly said, getting up and wrapping the sheet around her, "The children should be home in around an hour, and I should get started on supper."

"I'll help," Harry said, getting out of bed and findng his clothes that were spread across the floor.

"Thanks, dear," Molly said simply. She got dressed and fixed her hair. Once she was finished, she and Harry made their way down to the kitchen. They were surprised to fnd that the kitchen was not unoccupied, but filled with an akward silence from Ron, George, and Hermione.