So the story will be accelerated a bit.
I'll be jumping ahead six years. Why? Because for one, I want to (lol) and for two, I wanted to get to the really really good stuff. Dont worry, I won't leave you in the dark about what had happened during those six years, but I do want to get this party going, as I do not intend on this being a very long fic.
You understand lol.
Chapter 11: The Safe Place
December 12, 2005
The alarm went off loudly, making a very irritated Ron want to throw the bloody thing out the nearest window. He lifted up his head from under his pillow to peek at the time.
7:05. Time to get up.
He slammed his hand onto the clock, killing its wailing. He then forced himself to climb out of his comfortable/uncomfortable bed. It was comfortable because Ginny had gotten it for his 21st birthday and it was the softest mattress he had ever laid on. It was uncomfortable because of who he was sharing the bed with.
He got up and headed for the shower. He let the cold water rain down onto his body. He closed his eyes as he did what he would do every morning while he took a shower.
Escape.
He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift back to Hogwarts. Back to the days that weren't always filled with danger. Those regular days where he and Harry would slack off while Hermione would nag them about staying on task. He thought back to late night prefect duties with Hermione, how they would talk about how mental Umbridge was and made plans to have a fun and productive summer.
He thought back to the few good days of the Horcrux hunt. That one day where Hermione had killed an actual deer. She was both excited as well as mortified, but she was the first to bite into it when they had finished cooking it. He had taken the mickey for days on her, telling her how she had killed some deer mum and how she needed to find the fawn and raise it as her own.
Then his mind flashed to that last night together in the Burrow. How they kept telling each other how much they loved one another.
He got out the shower and dried off, dressing himself in the loo. He didn't feel like getting ravaged this morning. Especially by a girl who was all over him like the giant squid.
He tiptoed into his room. Good. She was still sleeping. Maybe he could get out without being assaulted.
He made it out the bedroom, careful about closing the door without making a sound. He smiled. He had made it out. He wouldn't even bother to fix breakfast, he would ask Andromeda for a biscuit or something.
He was just about to tie up his shoes when it woke up.
"Won-Won? Where are you? WON-WON!" harped the voice of the woman in his bedroom.
"Fuck." Ron whispered.
Lavender Brown came out of his room, dressed in nothing but her bra and knickers. Any other man would have been turned on immediately.
Ron just found himself even more annoyed.
"Where are you going Won-Won? I thought you didn't have anything to do." whined Lavender as she placed her hands on her hips like a brat.
"I told you last night, I was taking Teddy to school and meeting with my sister. I told you that at least five times." said Ron, already bored with the conversation.
"But why? Isn't he like twelve or something? And you're always with your sister." said Lavender, sounding less mature than Teddy and Victoire combined.
"He's seven. Meaning he isn't old enough to go to school on his own." snapped Ron.
Lavender poked out her lip. "You're right, I'm sorry Won-Won. It's just I love you so much! I enjoy the time we spend together." she said as she latched onto his arm.
'Someone Avada Kadavra me now.' said Ron to himself.
"Look, we can spend time later tonight. I have a lot that I have to do today, and the quicker you allow me to do it, the quicker we can spend time, okay?"
"Okay Won-Won! Go on then. I LOVE YOU!" said Lavender as Ron walked out the door.
Ron closed the door and apparated as quickly as he could to Andromeda's. As soon as he saw her lawn, he let out a sigh of relief.
He went and knocked on the door and was greeted by a little boy with purple and blue stripes in his hair.
"Uncle Ron! GRANDMUM, UNCLE RON IS HERE!" yelled Teddy as he gave Ron a big hug.
"Hey there mate, ready to go? Cool hair." said Ron as he messed up Teddy's hair.
"You think so? Grandmum says it isn't dignified. Auntie Ginny and Cousin Draco seem to like it." said Teddy.
"Oh no, Ron please tell me you didn't add to the encouragement of his hair." said Andromeda as she came into the entryway and gave Ron a hug.
"What can I say? The kid's got style." said Ron.
"The kid is mental, just like these other children these days." said Andromeda as she helped Teddy put on his coat.
"We do live in a crazy world, Mrs. Tonks. These young witches and wizards need color in their life, don't you think?" said Ron.
Andromeda smiled. "You're right, as usual Ron. Thanks once again for taking Teddy to school."
"No problem at all, Mrs. Tonks. I didn't have much to do today, just meeting my sister at the Burrow to check on Mum."
"How's she doing by the way dear? She hardly ever speaks to me anymore." said Andromeda, sadly.
Ron sighed. "She's still trying to get her life back on track. She just feels so alone I guess. Everyone is off married and having families and she's there by herself. I go visit her from time to time, but I can't replace Dad, you know?"
Andromeda put her hand on Ron's shoulder. "I know. It's been seven years since I lost Dora and Ted. And I'm still broken up about it. I can only imagine how Molly feels at only three months of her husband being gone, on top of Percy. Oh...I'm so sorry dear...I'm just running at the mouth am I?"
Ron shook his head. "It's okay Mrs. Tonks. No harm done.. I'll head out now." said Ron as he took Teddy's hand and apparated away.
They appeared around the corner from Teddy's school. Thankfully Voldemort didn't know a thing about the little boy, as he really didn't pay Andromeda any mind. She didn't want Teddy to go to the horrid wizarding school they had for children in England, so she had him enrolled in a primary wizarding school in France, the same one Victoire attended. Voldemort's reign of terror had never reached France.
When he dropped Teddy off, he popped over to the Burrow where he was meeting Ginny to visit their Mum.
"Right on time." said Ginny as she struggled to get up from the bench outside of their house.
"Damn Ginny, you're like those muggle things they call blimps." joked Ron as he rushed over to help her up. "Why don't you just go into labor now and get it over with?"
Ginny rolled her eyes and allowed her brother to pull her up from the bench. "Oh fuck off. I wish I could just have this baby now. Unfortunately, I still have a month and a half to go. I swear to Merlin, I did not go through this when I was carrying Orion."
"Speaking of which, where is my monkey of a nephew?"
"He's with his other grandmum while Draco is working. I told them I didn't know how long it would be this time. Last time she all but made us move in, remember?"
"I was thinking of moving back here for awhile. Until Mum feels she can be alone, you know?" said Ron.
Ginny smirked at him. "Is this just a way to be able to move out from your precious Lav-Lav?"
"Did you have to bring that harpy up?"
"You're the one that's shagging her Ron."
"Shagged. Past tense. I snagged her once and that was it."
"Whatever, don't snap at me for your mistakes. She went from a shag to being a live in girlfriend. You should be ashamed of yourself." said Ginny, crossing her arms.
Ron laughed. "Thank you Gin. You have made me see the light and now I'm really moving back home." he said as the two of them walked into the Burrow.
They looked around to see if their mother was downstairs. No such luck. Ginny groaned.
"Look, you stay down here, I'll bring Mum from out of her room." said Ron as he started up the steps.
Ron walked up the two flights of stairs to his parents room. He didn't bother knocking on the door.
He walked in and seen his mother reading a book in her pajamas with hair rollers in her hair. Any other time he would have found the sight to be funny.
"Hey Mum." said Ron. Molly looked over the top of her book and smiled.
"There's my baby boy." she said, getting out of the bed and walking over to Ron, hugging him tightly.
Molly stepped back and looked him up and down. "You look a bit peaky, Ronnie dear. Is that Lavender girl feeding you?"
Ron laughed. Lavender couldn't even boil water.
"I'm fine Mum. Just been working out." he lied.
"You work out any more and there will be nothing left." said Molly. "Let's get you filled up, yes?"
"Ginny's downstairs too, Mum." said Ron, causing Molly to almost squeal in excitement.
"Oh is she? Now she knows she should be in bed! She is getting close to dropping that baby!"
"Don't I know it. You should see her." said Ron.
Molly glared at him. "Never insult a pregnant woman, Ronald. You should have figured this out by now."
Molly hurried down the stairs where she embraced her daughter, scolded her for being on her feet, and made her sit down. Then she started to do what she always did in abundance these days. Cook.
By the time she was finished, she had made enough breakfast for the whole Weasley clan, had all of them been there.
"Mum, this is too much food." said Ginny.
"Oh come now. You have a baby to feed, your brother eats like he is forever empty, and you never know, your other brothers may pop in for a spell." said Molly smiling as she sipped her tea.
As if on cue, a flash of green appeared in the fire. However, no one came through.
"Something wrong with the network, Mum?" asked Ron, washing his meal down with a healthy gulp of pumpkin juice.
"Must be." said Molly. "It's been doing that since sometime last night actually. Like someone is trying to get through, but they can't. May be those bloody Death Eaters. You know Bill just put up some extra wards the other day."
"Yeah, he told me when Draco and I went to the bank a couple days ago. The Death Eaters have apparently been on the move heavily as of late." said Ginny, between bites.
"Wonder what that's all about." said Ron. "I haven't read anything in the Prophet. Then again, all they publish is rubbish, lies, and Voldy ass kissing."
"Ronald Weasley, language!" scolded Molly.
"Mum, Ron is 25. I think he is old enough to use big boy words now" joked Ginny.
"Bugger off, Gin."
Suddenly there was another tiny flash of green. Ron stood up and walked over to the fireplace.
"I wonder what could be wrong with it." he said, sticking his head inside.
All of a sudden, there was a huge flash of green, a cloud of dust, and a hard thump. Molly and Ginny jumped up and rushed over to the fireplace. What they saw made them gasp.
There on the floor was Ron. On top of Ron was a child.m, a little girl, who looked to be at least five or six. She looked positively terrified, holding the arm of what looked to be a bunny rabbit.
"Mummy? Mummy? Where's my mum? Who are you?" asked the little girl in a panic.
"Bloody hell." said Ron as he struggled to get up. The girl had finally realized she was sitting on a man and darted over to a dark corner of the sitting room, sitting down, holding her legs and trying to make herself as small as she possibly could.
Ginny looked at the girl and then back at Ron. "What in the-"
"Mum, who is that?" asked Ron as he got up and dusted himself off. Molly looked at her son, baffled. She was just as clueless as he was.
The girl started to cry into her knees. "Mummy? Did she get here? Where is she? I want my Mummy!"
Molly approached the girl extremely slowly. "There, there, it's okay. You musn't be afraid. No one is going to hurt you here." she said, holding her hand out to the girl.
"You're...you're not?" asked the girl nervously, eyes big as saucers.
"Oh you poor dear." said Molly as she inched her way closer to the girl. "Why are you so afraid?"
The little girl whimpered. "The bad men in black are chasing us. Mummy wanted us to go to the safe place. Is this the safe place?"
Ron and Ginny looked at each other and then slowly approached the little girl. "Yes, this place is safe. The safest place you can ever be." cooed Ginny. "Can you come out? We can go and find your Mummy, yeah?"
The girl hesitated for a few more seconds. Then she crawled slowly from the corner and stood up, holding her bunny close, her body trembling with fear.
As she came into the light, the trio started to get a good look at her. Ron found himself studying her as if she were an O.W.L's exam. She seemed much smaller than Victoire, despite them looking not too far apart in age. Her skin was like warm honey, her hair was a curly mass of a deep reddish brown. And her eyes...
She looked up and straight at Ron, who felt as if he had seen those pair of brown eyes at least once in his life.
"My Mummy gave me a letter, in case I made it to the safe place and she didn't. Is she here?" asked the girl, still looking directly at Ron.
"No..." Ron whispered slowly, feeling himself drawn to the girl. "She isn't. You came here by yourself, little love."
The girl looked down and started to cry. "The bad men got my Mummy. I don't know what to do!" she cried into her hands.
Molly and Ginny had moved to comfort the girl, but Ron stuck up his hand, stopping them.
"Let me." he said. The two women nodded.
Ron walked over to the girl, kneeled down in front of her and gently put his arms around her. The little girl seemed to instantly melt into his arms, her sobs getting louder and louder.
Ron rubbed her back and spoke calmly to her. "Shhh little love. It's going to be okay. We will find your Mummy and get her here with you okay? You have to be a big girl for her now. Do you trust me?"
The little girl nodded. She backed up a bit and wiped her tears from her face. She then reached in her pocket and handed Ron the letter. Ron handed it to Molly as he continued to comfort the girl, conjuring up a warm wash cloth and wiping her face with it.
"Let's get all that ruddy soot off, yeah? Ahh, now there's a pretty girl." smiled Ron. The little girl managed a small smile back, despite her fear. Molly couldn't help but smile at the sight of her son being so gentle to the child. She unfolded the letter and began to read.
"Shall I clean your bunny's face?" Ron found himself asking her. The girl shook her head but smiled even more, grateful that he had acknowledged her stuffed companion.
"Now little love, can you tell me what your name is?" asked Ron.
"I'm-"
"Tatiana." whispered Molly.
Both the girl and Ron looked at Molly. Her face was awestruck, as if she has just received the shock of a lifetime.
"Yes, my name is Tatiana. How do you know my name?"
"Ron, I think you should read this." said Molly, handing Rob back the letter, her hand shaking.
"What is it?" asked Ginny. "What's going on?"
Ron took the letter and read it to himself.
Roonil Wazlib (I hope you remember this, just in case this message gets intercepted),
In case this letter and its messenger gets to you without me, please please please take care of her. I told her that with you is a safe place.
She is all I had left of you. And she is all you'll have left of me more than likely.
Her name is Tatiana Rose. And she's your daughter. Please take care of our baby, and tell her that Mummy loves her and keep telling her that she is so loved.
Also, try to get in contact with ARJ. Tell Tatiana those letters and she will instantly know who you are talking about.
I love you both,
The Insufferable Know It All
Ron looked positively mortified. "Bloody hell..." he whispered as he stared even harder at the child. So that's where he knew those eyes from.
"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?!" yelled Ginny.
"What's your last name, little love? asked Ron, on the verge of tears.
Tatiana looked at Ron with a serious face. A face, that seemed as if it was a miniature blast from the past.
"Mummy makes me say Krum when we are around people. But she told me that my real last name is Weasley." said Tatiana.
Ginny plopped down on the nearest chair. "Weasley? You mean her mother is-"
"Mummy's name is Hermione, of course." said Tatiana as she hugged her bunny close to her, looking at Ginny as if she should have known.
