Chapter Twenty-Five.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the 'Harry Potter' universe and everything and everyone in it, I am just a fan with an imagination running on caffeine and chocolate. I own nothing…believe me!

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reading and to all who reviewed the last chapter. Thanks to Magnolia Lane, Harry Lvr and E-san for their encouragement and to Buck NC for his wonderful push in the right direction. Here's chapter 25.

"So how's business going then Fred?" Ron asked as took another bite of his slice of triple chocolate cake. The cake had been brought to the Burrow by Remus and Tonks and was disappearing fast.

"Business is booming little brother…booming!" Fred exclaimed, gesturing wildly and causing some of his drink to fall from his goblet to the floor.

The welcome home party had turned out to be a family dinner and get-together. Molly and Arthur had been delighted at the sight of all their family gathered around the table at the Burrow, honorary Weasleys included of course. Ron had been somewhat relieved to realise that his homecoming was going to be quieter than he had envisioned, just family and friends. When dinner had been finished and Molly was happy that Ron had eaten enough, the occupants of the Burrow had drifted away from the table, the music had been turned on and laughter and smiles replaced sadness and tears. All eyes kept drifting back to Ron, but everyone was relieved to see that he seemed to be relaxed and more peaceful than he had been for a long time.

"We are looking into opening our new branches in Dublin and Glasgow" Fred stated with a proud smile on his face.

"Really?" Ron sat his now empty plate aside and took a sip of his whiskey, grateful that he had chosen to sit down. Balancing on a walking cane whilst trying to eat cake and drink whiskey really hadn't worked well. His cane had been thrown aside earlier in the evening and now lay on the floor beside the comfy chair.

"How many shops will that be then?"

"Four" Fred said as he raised his goblet, toasting the business success.

"We're also looking into expanding our range of muggle magic tricks, they were slow to take off, but we're noticing a marked increase in interest in that area, especially in the mail order service. According to out market research…"

Fred's voice trailed off as Ron finally lost his internal battle and started laughing.

"What?" Fred was genuinely puzzled at Ron's reaction, looking at the other people in the room for some help. They were all watching Ron…worried about any unusual behaviour, and in Fred's opinion this definitely applied.

"It's…it's just that…."

"Ron, what the hell is so funny?"

Ron calmed down enough to take a deep breath and turn to his brother,

"Nothing…it's nothing…" he said before the chuckles overcame him again.

"Ron" Harry spoke from the doorway where he had been hovering, "There really doesn't seem to be anything that's that funny"

Ron tried to put on a straight face, but couldn't hide his smile,

"Oh but there is something funny here Harry" he nodded his head towards Fred "I didn't realise that my brothers were such serious businessmen"

Fred staggered backwards as is stunned, the hand that was not holding his drink grabbed the nearest wall as he exclaimed,

"Ron, how could you say such a thing?"

He turned around to look for his twin,

"Hey George!" he waited for a moment until an identical face appeared beside his own, "You would not believe what our little brother just said about us"

"And what would that be Fred?" George asked with a smile on his face.

"George" Fred placed a hand on his twins shoulder, "Prepare yourself for some shocking news. Our brother, Ronald Bilius Weasley himself, referred to us, pranksters extraordinaire, as serious businessmen"

Ron smiled as he watched the familiar exchange and he joined in the act when the twin gazes moved to him,

"Hey, if you two can't take a compliment"

"Now Ron" Fred said, "You know better than that, do you not?"

George sagely nodded his head, "If you had said successful businessmen…"

"Visionary businessmen…"

A small smile crept across Ron's face as the verbal tennis game gained momentum,

"Inventive…"

"Adventurous…"

"Or even imaginative businessmen…then there would have been no problem"

An amused voice was heard shouting from the kitchen direction,

"Boys, behave yourselves! I honestly thought that when my children grew up they might have a bit of common sense"

"Sorry mum" the twins shouted simultaneously before they turned their attention back to their little brother.

"It was the word…" Fred's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper "…serious that we are objecting to. When you hear the word serious you think of…."

"Grave and solemn"

"Sober and glum"

"Gloomy and morose"

Charlie smiled and interrupted from his vantage point at the other side of the room where he and Percy were vocally debating the merits of the current dragon training legislation.

"Honestly Ron, how could the word 'serious' ever be used to describe these two idiots?"

Ron had to laugh at the familiar antics of his brothers.

"It doesn't bear thinking about does it?" Fred asked his twin.

"Indeed my good man…" George replied with a sage and wise nod of his head "Indeed"

The mock serious moment was broken when both young men were caught unaware by a sudden slap on their arms. Their respective girlfriends had appeared beside them, taken their drinks and headed back out of the room.

Ron had to smile at his brothers bemused expressions as they watched their girlfriends walk out of the room. Angelina broke their trance however when she shouted back into the room,

"They're bad enough when they're sober, but with a drink in their hands, they have the potential to get out of hand"

Identical cheeky grins replaced the bemused expressions as both twins ran for the door,

"Hey that was our first drink!"

Harry had to jump out of the way to allow Fred and George out of the room, and smiled when he saw Molly greet them at the kitchen door. She pulled each of them into a hug, thanking them for making Ron laugh.

Harry fell into a chair beside Ron, watching him, as he seemed preoccupied with the flickering flames of the warm fire, lit earlier in the evening.

"You okay mate?"

Ron turned to his friend,

"Yeah, mate course I am"

"Yeah right" Harry said, not willing to take that answer.

"Okay…I'm just getting used to some things…that's all"

Harry could definitely believe that.

The friends sat in a comfortable silence for a while, watching the fire and listening to the warbling of the radio and the laughter of their family and friends.

"So what do you think of your new rooms then?" Harry was the first to break the silence, as he was genuinely curious.

There was a small smile on Ron's face as he responded,

"That's one of the things that's going to take a while to get used to"

"You do like it though, right?"

"Of course I like it Harry, I'm not a complete idiot" Ron sent a smile in his friends direction. "It's just strange that's all"

On the advice of Ron's healers and therapists, the Weasley family had created a series of rooms for Ron on the first floor of the house. There was no way that he could have managed to climb the stairs to his old room at the top of the house, and magical methods of travel within the house were both energy depleting and defeating the purpose of his recovery. Apparently the small number of stairs between the ground floor and the first floor were perfect for his rehabilitation. And they wanted to give him some measure of privacy whilst still giving him the option of their company. They were very proud of the rooms they had transfigured and created for him within the Weasley family home.

"Well this is going to take some getting used to"

Ron jumped slightly at the introduction of a different voice as his attention was drawn once again away from the fireplace.

" 'Mione! Are you trying to scare the life out of me?"

Hermione smiled at his reaction before settling herself into the chair beside him with a steaming mug of coffee in her hands,

"I've been here a while you know, Harry just left to see where Ginny was"

Ron smiled at her for a moment before remembering her previous statement,

"What do you mean? What'll take some getting used to?"

"Ron, you keep going quiet for a while and look like you are a million miles away" Hermione said.

"Okay"

"It's nothing wrong or anything Ron" Hermione said, suddenly concerned that her comment could be taken the wrong way. "It's just different"

"Things change 'Mione…people change"

"That's for sure" a voice sounded from across the room, and both Charlie and Percy laughed softly when Ron and Hermione jumped slightly.

"You know what Perce? I think they may have forgotten we were actually in the room"

"Yeah…yeah Charlie" Ron said with a good-natured glare as his ears turned red. Trying to change the subject he focused on Charlie's earlier statement.

"What do you mean?"

Charlie leaned back in his chair and sighed,

"This whole war has messed everyone up a bit Ron," he said trying to make Ron understand that he was not alone. "I mean even old Ollivander's a bit stranger than he used to be. I'm nearly sure that some of the things that he says are almost…" his voice trailed off as he searched for a suitable description, "…almost 'Dumbledorish'"

"What do you mean?"

"You remember before the…." Charlie winced slightly before he said the words they'd all been trying to avoid "…the final battle, when Ollivander disappeared and no one could figure out what happened to him?"

When Ron nodded his head Charlie continued,

"Well…we still don't have a bloody clue where he disappeared to. All we know is that he turned up a few weeks before the final battle and helped the Order prepare and fight. Some people think he had to go into hiding…the Fidelmus charm and everything, but no one knows for sure," he said as he stood and stretched his arms, "Everyone's changed, nothing ever stays the same mate"

Charlie starting to make his way towards the door, grabbing Percy's arm as he went past,

"And on that cheerful note, we are going to brave the kitchen in the deluded hope that there is more chocolate cake left"

With a nod towards Ron and Hermione, Charlie pulled Percy from the room and softly closed the door behind them.

It was several minutes before Ron heard Hermione softly saying his name,

"Ron?"

He shook his head and offered her a sheepish smile,

"I was doing it again wasn't I?"

"Yes, but it's alright. I was just saying that maybe you shouldn't be drinking, you're still on your pain medication"

"Hermione, come on it's just one drink and it's a celebration"

"Now Ron really…I don't think that…"

"Hermione, I don't want to argue with you tonight"

The pain in Ron's eyes and his actual presence in the Burrow for the first time in a long time, made Hermione nod her head and smile,

"Okay Ron"

"Okay then" he nodded his head gratefully. It was another minute before he winced slightly and had to sit his drink down on the nearby table.

"Are you alright Ron?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, my legs just a bit stiff that's all" Ron said as he gently stretched his leg "I've just been sitting for a bit too long"

"Right then" Hermione said as she jumped up and stood in front of Ron, holding out her hand.

"Hermione?" Ron was genuinely puzzled.

"Come on stand up" she gently took his hands and pulled him to his feet, steadying him when he threatened to lose his balance.

"Now, we're going to dance"

"What?"

"There is music still playing, you need to exercise that leg and so we are going to dance" Hermione said as if she were stating the most obvious thing in the world.

"Em…Hermione, maybe you don't remember, but even before this…" he gestured towards the fallen walking stick "I wasn't the best dancer in the world"

"Ron" Hermione finally lost a bit of her patience "I'm not talking about a world class waltz or anything. Standing in one spot and swaying to the music will do just fine"

Ron couldn't really find the words to agree with Hermione, but realised that words weren't necessary when she moved towards him and wrapped her arms around him.

It was when she laid her head on his shoulder and began to sway gently to the music that the smile crept across his face. He was happy for the first time in a long time, simply holding Hermione in his arms, swaying in time to a song that he didn't know.

"You're pathetic Weasley…and it's about time you learned that the good guys don't always win…crucio"

The darkness returned as the pain engulfed him. Tears streamed down his face as he tried valiantly to fight against the pain…to remain standing…to not let him win…

"…It'll stop you getting to your damn feet every time you fall"

It was the vivid memory of pain that brought Ron back to the real world and pulled him from his nightmare. His confused eyes scanned the room for a moment trying to understand why he was on the sofa in the Burrow with the early morning light peaking through the curtains.

He felt someone move beside him, and heard a familiar voice mumble,

"…It's not morning yet"

And suddenly he could make sense of where he was. He glanced at his side to see Hermione curled up beside him, already having fallen back into a deep sleep. As he watched her sleep, he could remember dancing with her…talking with her…falling asleep with her by his side. He noticed with a smile that someone had placed a warm blanket over the two of them at some point.

The fire of the night before has long since gone out, and despite the warm blanket, Ron shivered on this wintry morning. Making a quick decision to relight the fire, he carefully got up from the sofa, being careful not to wake Hermione up in the process.

He winced slightly as he put his weight on his knee, but decided against looking for the cane. He wasn't going to be standing for that long anyway.

After a quick search of his pockets, he had his wand pointed at the fireplace, trying to think of the appropriate spell. He whispered the words, very aware of Hermione sleeping only a few feet away, but couldn't stop himself when the now very familiar burst of light sped towards the fireplace, relighting the fire and bathing the room in bright light.

" Bloody Hell"

He spun around quickly to check Hermione was still asleep, holding his breath for a moment as she turned slightly, mumbled something incomprehensible, before falling back to sleep. By this time, the light had faded and all that remained of Ron's incantation was the brightly flickering fire in the fireplace.

But Ron had had enough…it was time for some answers.

Realising that he still wore his clothes from the previous day, he pulled his shoes on, found the wayward cane, pulled on his cloak and quietly made his way out of the Burrow. He was going to see Ollivander today…and he was going to finally get some answers, because enough was enough.

Tbc…

Chapter 26 will be posted in a few days. It'll focus on Ron confronting Ollivander, getting some answers and finally realising just how much things have changed. Questions will be answered and Ron has to face up to the future.

Thanks for reading and please review.