"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Hermione asked, holding on to Fred's hand tightly, "We don't have to go yet if you don't want to."
"No, they're not going to hold the whole funeral for us, Hermione. We've got to go now." he sighed, looking at the mirror in front of him, trying to tie his tie and struggling in near-defeat.
Hermione sighed, smiling slightly as she pulled him in her direction, "Let me do it." she murmured, fixing his tie quickly, "Did your dad never teach you how to tie a tie?" she asked, pressing a light kiss to his chin as she did.
"You look stunning." he murmured, a tiny smile playing at the corners of his lips as he Hermione as she spun in her sheer black blouse and skirt, "I'm glad you're here. I don't know what I would do if I had to do this alone."
"Me too." she smiled, taking his hand and leading him out the door to the car, "We've got to get going. Just remember that when we get to your parents' house, lots of people are going to want to give you their condolences. Just smile. Nod. A short anecdote if you feel like it, but you don't have to engage. No one is expecting it of you."
"I know, Hermione. You told me yesterday." he chuckled half-heartedly, "Listen...can we just...not talk about it? Not now, anyway."
"Yeah." Hermione nodded, only slightly taken aback as she took her spot in the passenger seat, "Of course. We...won't talk about it."
"Thank you." he nodded, keeping his eyes directly on the road in front of him as he drove.
In silence, they drove the distance between their suburban home to the Burrow. Only when they reached the front door of the Burrow, did they even acknowledge the other or the occasion that they were there for.
"Hello, you two." Ginny smiled, opening the door quietly for the two of them to the somber party, "There are drinks and hors d'oeuvres in the kitchen and the ceremony starts at one. You can help yourselves."
"George is over there by the fireplace with Audrey. See?" Hermione asked, pointing in his direction. As she did, he nodded, taking off in his brother's direction, "I think I'm going to go see if they need help in the kitchen. Do you want anything?"
"No. Thanks." he shook his head, making his way through the masses of quasi-whispered condolences and handshakes from old friends of the Weasley family that had been gone for years.
As Hermione weaseled her way into the kitchen, she half-expected Mrs. Weasley to be bustling around, putting the finishing touches on a family lunch. Instead, Fleur and Ginny bustled around the kitchen, full-well knowing that they were doing the work half the speed Mrs. Weasley would've been able to, "Grab a mitt, Hermione, and can you pull those pastries from the oven?" Ginny asked through gritted teeth as she worked furiously to output more and more food.
"Is this really necessary, Gin?" Hermione asked, yanking the pan from the oven and places it down on top of the stove, "I mean, nobody's really eating. Do you really need to be making this much food?"
"To be honest, I don't. You're right...But it keeps my mind off what we're actually here to do and Ron could stand to have a good meal. Percy too. It doesn't look like either of them have eaten for days."
"Where is Ron?" Hermione asked, realizing that while walking through the house she hadn't actually seen him anywhere.
"He's been out on the back porch all morning. Says he doesn't want to come inside. I think he's afraid to see Mum's body." she sighed.
For a split second she could feel anger bubbling up inside of her. There she was, standing in the kitchen with the woman who was making the food for her own mother's funeral, with brother's who were doing what they could to help prepare around the house...and Ron couldn't even be brought to come inside, much less pitch in and help. But the anger was gone as soon as it came. She reminded herself that people grieve in different ways, and as she could remember from their time during the War, Ron processed things far differently than other people did.
"Can I go talk to him?" Hermione asked.
"You can try." Ginny shrugged, "He hasn't said anything to anyone since the morning Mum...you know."
"Then I'll just go sit with him. I'm sure he could use the company. Do me a favor, Fleur, and when Gwen gets here make sure she does her part. She can help in the kitchen."
"I can do that." Fleur nodded as Hermione made her way out of the house and onto the back stoop, where her eye almost automatically landed on Ron, who was sprawled out across the grass in the back yard with a cigarette in hand.
"I didn't know you smoked." she murmured, stretching out to lay beside him.
Ron let out a chuckle, "I don't. Found them at the Ministry in Muggle Affairs. Someone told me they were supposed to help you relax. I gotta tell you," he grumbled, putting the cigarette to his lips and then letting out a hacking splutter, "It doesn't do much for me."
"Well, it doesn't do much for anyone other than cause cancer." she chuckled, pulling it from between his fingers, "Give me that." she murmured, placing it between her own lips and taking a long tug.
"I didn't think you smoked, Hermione." he teased her back.
"I don't smoke either." she shrugged, letting her head rest on his shoulder, "How come you won't talk to them, Ron? Everyone's inside. Why are you out here?"
He shook his head, sitting up and pulling his knees to his chest, "I don't want to go in because...if I do then it will all become real. I'm going to have to come to terms with the fact that in two hours...my mother's body is going to be in the ground and there's nothing I can do about that."
"Have you ever considered, Ron, that you haven't been able to process what's happened...because you haven't been willing to speak to anyone? Hell, judging from what Ginny made it sound like, I can't believe you're talking to me now."
"I haven't been able to speak because they haven't asked me anything worth answering. Would you believe that Mum's been dead for four days and not one single person has asked me about her? They just keep telling me that everything's going to be okay? Isn't that the worst thing to say to someone at a time like this?" he questioned, an ironic smile plastered across his face, "Because everything's not okay, Hermione. My mother is dead. I shouldn't just have to keep on with the promise that everything's going to be okay. It should be okay for me to need to...not...for a few days."
"Of course you deserve your time to mourn, Ron, but I'm going to tell you right now; that's the tactic that Fred took for the first night. He was a mess after only a few hours. Not to be overly crass, but I can't imagine the shit you're going to go through once you're ready to deal with this. It's been days."
"Maybe I'm just better at compartmentalizing than my brother." he scoffed.
"Be that as it may, we've got to get inside, Ron. The service is going to start any minute and I know you're going to regret it if you're not in there for it."
"You know, I never quite fell out of love with you, I don't think." Ron practically shouted as Hermione was making her way to the door.
Taking her off guard, his work caused her to turn on a heel, "Are you drunk, Ron?"
"Only a little."
"Clearly more than a little." she snapped, "Your mother practically begged me to take care of you on her deathbed and I said yes, but this, I will not put up with. And let's get one thing straight. We are here to celebrate the life of your mother. If you don't want to, that's your prerogative, but you do not get to bring this up. Not while my husband, your brother, is in that house accepting condolences and coming to terms with everything that's happened. You don't get to be an ass. Not today, Ronald Weasley." she barked, marching back into the house.
Ginny met up with Hermione as soon as she made her way back inside, "I saw you got him to speak. I was watching through the window in the kitchen." she admitted, "Do you think he'll be coming in?"
"I've got no idea." Hermione shrugged, "Is it starting?"
"Any minute now."
"Alright; I'm going to go find Fred, then." Hermione smiled, giving Ginny a quick hug before they parted ways.
Hermione stood on her toes, peering through the crowd of people crammed into the Burrow, trying to find her familiar tuft of ginger hair floating in the crowd. Her eyes finally landed on Fred and she pushed her way closer and closer through the crowd. Finally she was able to take her seat beside him, looping her arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Ladies, gentlemen...we're here today to remember and celebrate the life of Mrs. Molly Weasley." Kingsley stated, flattening out his tie as he stood in front of the hundreds of family and friends that had congregated for the event. It had been a surprise to all when they'd learn that the Minister himself would be giving the speech himself, "Mrs. Weasley was a loving mother, an accomplished witch, a beloved spouse, and so much more to so many people..."
Hermione and Fred listened quietly, holding onto each other for support as they did. After all was said and done, the gathering made its way out into the yard where they dedicated Molly Weasley's body back to the earth. After the body was put to rest and the hole was filled in, there was nothing left for the party to do but eat. And boy did they ever. It had become evident that over the past days, the entire family had struggled to keep down and food. And though horrible devastation still racked the lot of them, with the body in the ground, there seemed to be a further level of finality to the thing. In this, the family found their peace and broke bread together.
As the family ate and laughed, reminiscing on all of the good times they'd had together, Hermione was reminded of what was not one of her finest moments by none other than Ginny, "Don't you remember, Hermione," she chuckled, "at the big reveal, where you were going to reveal to everyone that you were expecting..."
Hermione chuckled in response, waving her hand to quiet the other girl, "I don't even think I made it through the door before your mother was crushing me in a hug. I don't think I ever really realized how bloody strong she was before then. You shouldn't forget, though, Ginny...the time that you broke that vase of your grandmother's and then blamed it on Teddy. Your mother wouldn't let Harry bring Teddy by for weeks after that,"
"You know Mum never would've forgiven me if she'd known it was me who broke the bloody thing. I swear-" she shook her head, "Or...what about the time that Mum tried to get Tonks and Bill together?"
"That time?" Bill scoffed, "You mean from my seventh year onward?" he chuckled, "Lest you forget the time at my wedding when Fred insisted he was going to run off into the sunset, leaving Mum in a full Body-Bind. Then, of course, he's the one to have the largest wedding yet."
"Hey," Ron slurred, clearly having had a few drinks too many, "Hey, I've got one!" he shouted, "Remember that one time when...when my brother married the love of my life." the room went silent then, all eyes bouncing between Hermione, Fred, and Ron, as if they were watching a tennis match, "Those were the good ole days, eh, Fred?"
"Ron, I told you...not today." Hermione whispered barely intelligibly, clearly hurt, "Not today."
"Come on, Ron." Ginny sighed, looping an arm through his, "Let's get you upstairs. Sleep it off."
"Yeah, sleep it off. Keep me quiet." Ron continued to argue as Ginny and Harry practically dragged him up the stairs. The next shout to come left the entire party off guard.
"Fuck's sake, Ron." Percy bellowed, smashing his fist against the table and jumping to his feet, "Our mother is dead. Can you quit wallowing in your own self-pitying bullshit long enough to let the rest of us mourn?"
"Okay, I think that might be enough for you, too." Audrey sighed, taking Lucy off of her lap, grabbing Percy's cup from the table and washing its contents down the sink, "Go upstairs. I'll meet you up there." she murmured.
"I'll take Lucy." Victoire offered, stretching her arms out for the young girl. Audrey muttered her thanks before running up the stairs to follow Percy.
Hermione looked around the room as it slowly began to thin out, "Didn't that send things to a rather abrupt end?" she sighed in utter discontent, "I'm sorry, Fred."
"It's not your fault he had too much to drink." he shook his head, "Are you going home tonight? I think I'm going to stay in my old room tonight, too."
"I'll stay with you." she smiled half-heartedly, "We should probably turn in soon. Wouldn't you think?"
"Can you help me with the clean up, Hermione?" Fleur asked, grabbing Percy's and Audrey's plates from the table.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Why don't you go on upstairs?" Hermione offered, giving Fred a peck on the temple as she passed by, "I'll be up when we've got everything cleaned up."
Quietly, Hermione went about clearing the table, bringing old dishes to Ginny for cleaning. The house fell eerily silent as she put away the last bit of china and headed up the stairs to Fred's old room.
Pausing on the stairs, Hermione took a deep breath. She couldn't help but feel her blood boiling with rage as she thought through the night's events. Diverting her course, she headed to the attic, slamming clear through the door into Ron's room. There she caught sight of Harry and Ron chatting quietly in the corner, their conversation torn to shreds by her first punch.
"You son of a bitch." Hermione screamed, letting another blow land across Ron's jaw, causing Harry to jump to his feet in utter shock.
"Oi!" Ron guffawed, shielding his face with his hands as she went after him again, this time digging her foot clear into his side. He toppled over onto the floor, his balance thrown off by his obvious inebriation.
Though Harry tried to restrain her, Hermione pulled free of his grip and continued her attack through a haze of tears, "How could you? After your mother– and you couldn't just leave well enough alone! My husband-"
"Christ, Hermione," Harry shouted, trying to fit himself between the two in order to shield Ron from her blows.
Ginny came running into the room then, having heard the row from the hallway. With strength in numbers on their side, Harry and Ginny were able to overtake Hermione for only a moment. Managing to free most of her arm, Hermione flailed, her elbow accidentally making contact with Ginny's temple.
Ginny stumbled against the wall clutching the side of her face in utter disbelief. Reinvigorated with new fury of his own, Harry dragged Hermione to the ground, pinning her there in a hysterical sobbing heap.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Harry?" Fred questioned from where he stood in the doorway, peering down at the scene, "Get off of her." he snapped, coming to Hermione's aid.
"I'm so sorry." Hermione sobbed, her face contorting as she wailed, "I didn't mean to–I just–I can't–"
"I know." Fred murmured, pulling her up to a sitting position and wrapping his arms around her tightly, "I know."
"Let go of me." Hermione snapped pointedly, pushing against his chest then, "Fred! Fred, get off-"
"Hermione, you need to-"
She shook her head, pushing against him again, "No, no. I'm going to be sick." she snapped, grabbing a bin out of the corner of the room and throwing herself over it just in time. Only moments later a wave of nausea hit that racked her entire body as she heaved out the contents of her stomach.
Fred held Hermione's hair out of her face as Ginny knelt beside her, rubbing comforting circles on her back. Hermione gasped as she tried to catch her breath, wiping her mouth on the hem of her shirt. It was undeniable; she was a complete mess.
"Oh, Hermione." Ginny sighed, resting a hand against her friend's flushed cheek, "Are you alright?"
Harry let out a deep sigh, going to check on Ron who had scampered to the other side of the room, "Gin, Ron's bleeding pretty badly–"
"Then get him a washcloth," Ginny grumbled, "I'm busy."
"Hermione, can you talk to me, please?" Fred asked softly, rubbing her back to try to calm her down.
"She was like a mother to me." Hermione whispered, her lip quivering of its own accord, "I'm so sorry."
"I know, Hermione." he nodded, pressing his forehead to hers, "I know. It hurts."
"Why don't you two head back to your room, Fred?" Ginny sighed, looking around at the mess that had been left after the fight, "I'll clean up."
With the help of Fred, Hermione was able to right herself on shaky knees and make her way out of the room. As soon as she reached the safety of their old room, Hermione let out a sigh and collapsed onto the bed.
Fred sighed, letting a few tears of his own fall as he kicked off his shoes and did away with his tie, "I wish there were some way we could...prevent Gwen from ever having to go through anything like this. Because this is the worst pain-"
"Please don't, Fred. I can't think about that. Not tonight." she sighed, staring straight ahead at the ceiling, "Please, just stay here. Stay with me."
"That, I can do." he nodded, helping her to sit up and pulling her soiled shirt over her head, "We'll stay here as long as we need."