. . . Chapter 28

. . . Passage of Time and a Birthday . . .


The rest of June and most of July slithered by in a blur. Per Harding's recommendations, Ron and Harry had started and kept up a fairly routine schedule of running and going to hit the Bludger back and forth at the Burrow. Every once in a while Hermione would join them for a run only to get upset when her shorter legs were aching before theirs. He and Hermione had given up the pretense of ever starting out in separate beds entirely and both stayed in Hermione's room every night without fail. Their relationship had progressed into something even deeper and more serious since that night she'd helped him clean up after the raid that they had bagged Travers on. He and Hermione had reached a plateau physically before taking that final plunge and Ron for one was aching to finally take that step but was reluctant to force the issue when everything else had been going so well. Well, everything with their relationship had been going to well. . .

Everything else was a mess. Greyback had two confirmed victims at the most recent full moon, a young girl who would suffer with lycanthropy and another that didn't make it. One other victim, a nine year old boy had died as well where Greyback was suspected but unproven. That was last week. Maxwell had gotten a new confirmed Death Eater to pursue, Bertie Gordan. Evidence had been gathered about that scumbag about the torture of the family of a few hold outs at the Ministry who had refused to aid in the Muggle-born Registration Committee last year.

Harding had told them that Keyling and Elwood had reported back that the situation in Portugal was righting but Hermione had insisted on staying the master of the Elder Wand. Ron and Hermione had had their first big fight as a couple about the matter of the wand. Their first freeze out immediately followed, she didn't speak to him for almost a full day. The kicker was they still shared her bed so Ron had known she was silent on principal alone.

Hermione had broken her silent spell when Harry and Ron had wisely, and sneakily, asked her for her help with one of their newest spells they had to learn for the field. Hermione's curiosity beat out her anger and she'd forgotten to be mad at them as the three practiced blood identifying spells. Ron had pricked his finger and let a drop fall on the ground and they'd practiced the incantation, "Sanqui Quis," and then said "Ron Weasley," to try to identify the person the blood had come from. As was standard, Hermione had mastered it first and then watched them perform it successfully as well and was sitting on the grass when she realized she'd been tricked into speaking with Ron. "You're both more Slytherin than I bloody well thought! You can BOTH kiss my arse!" Ron and Harry had laughed at her indignation as she had stomped back into the house with her curls bouncing in righteous anger. That had been about a month ago.

And now, Harry's birthday fell on a Saturday and Harry had asked that they invite the Weasleys and their friends for dinner that night. Harry was grabbing water for Ron and Hermione who were attempting to install a Caterwauling Charm in addition to their wards. Dad had suggested adding a layer of protection to the house if they were inviting a crowd in. Ron and Harry had found the basics of it in the guidebook section about Defensive Location Spells but the theory proved easier to understand than it was in execution.

"Ron! You're going to put someone's eye out!" Ron shot her a look. The phrase struck a chord he couldn't place. "Quit waving your wand so much. Look at the diagram, it's like this," Hermione admonished and made what looked like exactly the same movement as Ron's previous try. Her hair moved and shimmered as it caught the light.

"That looks exactly the same, Hermione!" he said and she frowned up at him and looked at the back door when Harry reemerged.

"Harry! We need two wands to get this right according to the book and Ronald seems to think it's impossible," Hermione huffed and crossed her arms around her chest. Even though he rankled at her words, she practically glowed in the late July sun with the golden light glistening off of a thin sheen of moisture on her face and that t-shirt showed a hint of cleavage when she crossed her arms . . .

Harry grinned and handed Hermione a glass of water instead of pulling out his wand. "You'll get it." Hermione looked crossly up at Ron and then back at Harry whose smile grew. "Please, Hermione? It'll be the first present I get today." Harry sat down on the grass and leaned back to watch them looking for all the world like the relaxed eighteen year old he should be on his birthday.

Hermione turned to look up at him and said primly, "Alright, Ron. Watch." She did the spell and Ron paid extra attention to the way she moved her wand.

"Ok, got it. Ready?" Ron said.

"On my count?" she asked. The spell had to be performed by two wands in sync and they'd been at it for at least seven tries by now. He nodded. "Alright, one . . . two . . . three."

"Sonitus Concutio," they both said in unison and a jade light burst out from both of their wands and they watched it flow up, meet the invisible dome of the wards, and spread out to cover their house and yard before dissipating. Ron laughed in surprise and looked at a disappointed Harry.

"Sorry, mate. Amuse you with our banter later," Ron promised, throwing an arm around Hermione's slim shoulders.

"That's alright. I'll catch it next time." Harry pushed himself up off the grass with one arm. Ron heard him sigh lightly.

"Going to apologize, sweetheart?" Ron joked at Hermione who hung an arm around his waist.

"Not quite. You wouldn't have done if I hadn't pushed you in the first place," she said cheekily. Ron tightened his arm and brought it up to her neck, pulling her into loose head lock. "Hey!" she exclaimed, slapping a hand to his chest.

Harry opened the door and they went inside, he had to let go of Hermione at the doorstep and she walked in before him. Ron smacked a hand on her bum as she walked in and she shot him a dirty look over her shoulder which he responded to with a snort of laughter.

Ginny arrived shortly after Ron, Hermione, and Harry had all gotten cleaned up and presentable and mum and dad had been along not long after that. Their Floo was bound to see more action today than it had or ever would again. The first of their party guests was two hours ahead of the party.

Luna stepped out of the Floo looking utterly faraway and perfectly normal - normal for Luna. "Oh, hello everyone! Harry, happy birthday. I brought you a Jibly Pod. It is good luck to eat one on your birthday you know. . . And a gift. Where - "

"Oh, thanks Luna!" Harry cut her off. Ron noticed Harry didn't sound particularly glad to have to accept whatever in Merlin's name was a Jibly Pod. Luna handed Harry a quivering potted plant.

"Luna? What is it?" Harry asked, turning the pot around in his hands.

"Dirigible Plum. They produce fruit their second year and that one is probably a year old so for your birthday next year, I imagine it will look nice. You should plant it before it gets too large though so -"

"Thanks Luna, really," Harry shifted the plant to one arm and side-hugged Luna. Ron heard Ginny and then Hermione laugh from the next room over and grinned in reflex at the sound.

A couple hours later, Hagrid, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Pavarti and Padma, George, Bill and Fleur, and Percy and his new girlfriend had all showed up to their house and voices mingled loudly over Blishen's Firewhisky, wine, and beer. Percy had been careful to check in fairly frequently with the family since they'd finished the Reviewing. His new girlfriend was some kind of mousy looking girl with thin brown hair, Audrey Something.

"Hiya Harry, think you might want to open this sooner rather than later," Seamus thrust a package into Harry's hands. Harry grinned at him and unwrapped it and pulled out what looked like a dead old red stocking.

"It's - it's a sock, Seamus," said Harry looking bewildered.

Seamus laughed. "s'what's in the sock, Harry."

Harry reached his hand in and pulled out a full bottle of Ogden's . "Thanks Seamus, but why - "

"The sock? Yeah, had it wrapped in that alone but Dean said that was bad form so . . . " he shrugged and grinned at them.

"Yeah, couldn't show up with Seamus looking like he'd robbed a bum," Dean laughed. Ron noticed a few other people had gone to pick up their gifts from miscellaneous spots throughout the house and he made eye contact with Hermione who nodded at him and slipped wordlessly out of the room.

Harry opened a gift from Neville that was a picture in a silver frame of Harry, Neville, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and - to Ginny's visible great annoyance - Cho from one of the DA lessons around Christmas in fifth year. Hermione and Ron were standing as far away from each other in the picture as possible with Hermione on the far right and Ron on the far left. Everyone in the picture looked content as they turned to smile at each other and jostled around before turning back to the person that had taken the picture. Neville didn't have to explain that Colin had taken the picture for Ron to know he had.

Harry then opened a gift from Hagrid: rock cakes and a 'dreamcatcher' he said he'd made himself. Several of Buckbeak's feathers hung from the leather pieces. Bill and Fleur had brought Harry a enchanted jar of sand from Shell Cottage, you could open it and hear and smell the ocean as many times as you wanted, any time you wanted. Mum and dad had brought an enormous cake so there was that as well. Ron watched Hermione slide back into the room, levitating their gift in front of herself. Dean had gotten Harry a yearlong subscription to Quidditch Weekly and as luck would have it a flying Victor Krum zoomed around on the front cover. Ron frowned at it momentarily before remembering Hermione's shaky declaration from a couple months before, "I've never done this - any of this - before," he smirked down at the cover smugly.

George had brought a basket of the newest Weasleys' Wizarding Weezes products which Ron noticed Harry set down very gently on the floor before embracing George. Padma and Parvarti had given him a box of candies from Honeydukes which they said had just reopened in June. Ron eyed one of the many Chocolate Frogs longingly and Harry caught him staring.

"Have at it Ron, never asked permission before," Harry said, tossing him one of the angular blue containers. A few people in the room chuckled, Hermione's light laugh was included. Ron felt his face heat up before he shrugged, deciding a sweet was a sweet and carefully opened the package so the frog didn't jump away. After he'd made quick work of the chocolate, Ron turned over the card and almost gasped.

There in the middle of the blue pentagon card, Ronald Weasley and his face looking back at him, looking valiant and self assured -

"Ron? Our gift now?" Hermione asked, breaking him out of his consideration of his own image where so many great witches and wizards had been featured before. Ron found himself grinning as he nodded and dropped his hand to his side, still holding his own card.

He and Hermione had talked at length about what they should get for Harry. Somehow this birthday seemed more important than his 17th, Hermione had decided and Ron agreed. They both knew - and they were sure Harry knew as well - how grateful they should all be that Harry, any of them really, got to celebrate any more birthdays at all. Hermione had brainstormed at length about what they could memorialize from the last year that Harry would want and she had landed on the idea of an enchanted book: a book she would spell into transcribing the notes on the gate of Harry's parents' house at Godric's Hollow. Hermione had told him how much Harry had liked the notes and graffiti on the gate so she'd researched ways to have the book record the notes. Ron had pointed out that not all the graffiti was sure to be kind and it would be a book of reminders that your parents were dead and you had to fight the darkest wizard of all time to the death. Then Ron had remembered how Harry always looked at the clock in the kitchen at the Burrow when he came to visit. Hermione loved the idea of giving Harry his own clock to keep up with everyone so they'd asked dad for help a few weeks ago. They'd found a bummy old clock dad had and altered the face to read: Home, Work, Peril, Out, Lost, Quidditch, Travelling, The Burrow, Hogwarts. They'd decided to cut out a few of the 'times' from the Weasley clock. Prison and Dentist didn't seem like frequently used options. Ron had to force Hermione to put 'Quidditch' on the clock. The only reason she'd ultimately agreed was that he and Harry called their exercise with the Bludger 'Quidditch' so she'd be able to use that to keep up with them as well.

Hermione moved over to Harry and put the gift on the table beside him with a loud thud. They'd gone with a table clock instead of a wall clock for Harry's gift.

Harry looked at both of them for a split second before tearing into the wrapping paper and finding the large face of the clock staring back at him. Skinny metal tines on the clock were engraved with names in Hermione's neat handwriting: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Teddy were already on it. They'd programmed Teddy's tine to refer to both their house and the Tonks' as 'home' for now. They didn't want to be presumptuous and name all the tines though so they had left ten tines of the clock unengraved so that Harry could decide which names he wanted on it.

Harry looked at Ron and grinned, "This is brilliant!" Ginny moved behind Harry to look at it and smiled at the clock.

"That's cool, you two," Ginny said, glancing up at the two of them.

"Dad helped," Ron said gesturing over at his dad who shrugged good naturedly, "a lot."

Harry grabbed Hermione in a hug and Ron saw him whisper something to her that he couldn't hear. Harry released Hermione who looked teary eyed and Ron hugged Harry in turn.

"Happy birthday, mate. Figured you could add names to the clock as you see fit, yeah?" he said, stepping back.

"Yeah, s'brilliant, truly. Thank you both so much," said Harry turning between the two of them. A awkward silence threatened to start up in the wake of the gifts ending.

"Cake, dears?" mum broke the short silence and a round of nods followed.

"Oo Harry, your Jibly first. For the luck, you know," Luna said producing a bright purple . . . thing from her pocket that was about the size of a snitch.

"Oh, um," Harry looked at Ron for help. "Um, thanks Luna." He took it from her hand, "what does it taste like, exactly?"

"Sort of like a onion, you'll like it. Whole thing at once," she encouraged. Ron decided Luna wouldn't invited to his birthday if she insisted on a Jibly. Harry bit into it like a man who knew his food had been poisoned. Luna had already turned away to help mum with cutting the cake.

"Whassit taste like?" Neville whispered.

"Like a raw onion," Harry coughed around the thing as his eyes started to water. "Gah! What did she mean 'you'll like it'. Who likes this?" Ron laughed with Neville and Hermione who had summoned a glass and filled it with water for Harry. Harry snatched the water from Hermione's hand and chugged it quickly.

"Why didn't you spit it, Harry?" Ginny asked, still struggling not to snicker at Harry's expense.

Harry refilled the water in the glass with his wand and looked at Ginny over his glass as if she'd just asked the stupidest question. "What if she had another one, Gin? Or something else? Something worse." Harry turned the glass up again and wiped a bit of moisture from the corner of his eye. "This is Luna we're talking about, she might've handed me a . . . anything!" Harry whispered quickly back, downing a third glass of water.

After the group had disbanded and cake had started being passed around, Ron remembered the card which he'd hastily shoved into this pocket when Harry had thanked him for the clock. Hermione was sitting on the arm rest of the chair Ron sat in. Everyone was gathered in the living room and spread over literally every surface in the space. The noise was deafening - like their house on Christmas deafening - so Ron had to lean over closer to Hermione.

"'Mione?"

"Hmm?" she responded with a mouth full of cake. Her tongue flicked out to dart at a fleck of icing and he felt his eyes linger there for a long second.

"Look at this," Ron regained his senses and pulled the card out of his pants pocket and was glad it wasn't rumpled and that his picture had stayed in the frame to show her. He handed it to Hermione who took it carefully, swallowing her cake.

"Ron, it's you!" She grinned at him. God, her smile was pretty. Those lips and the way her eyes lit up. . .

"Yeah," he said looking at the card, "Something isn't it?" He tried to sound humble but it was hard when he was this excited. He'd collected - hell he still collected - these cards, staring in awe at witches and wizards famous enough to be featured on them and now, now here he was: plain as day, Ronald Weasley.

"It's brilliant! Best one of your collection," she said, referencing the box of cards she knew he kept in his side table, and leaned to kiss him on the cheek. Ron rubbed the spot after she'd leaned back, a bit sticky with icing.

"Oi! Refrain from that, will you? We're eating," George joked from his spot sitting on the coffee table. Ron just grinned and saw Hermione blush. Then George noticed what Hermione was holding. "Who've you got?"

"Ron," she said sassily.

"Ugh! No, you tart, the card?" George asked, reaching for it and then turning it to see who it was. George's face fell slack. "Bloody hell."

"Who is it?" Bill asked from the couch.

"It's bleeding Ronald Weasley," George announced to the room, turning to stare at Ron.

"Don't curse, George!" mum scolded.

"Whoa! Lemme see!" Seamus said, scrambling up off of the rug. Ron felt like this was quickly becoming one of the proudest moments of his short existence. He suddenly remembered it was Harry's birthday as Dean and Neville started fussing over the card. He glanced at Harry but Harry was grinning and trying to get a good look at the card as well and didn't even notice Ron's concern for his feelings.

"Oh, mum," Ron said, noticing his mum crying and dabbing at her eyes with her napkin. He almost laughed at her for being so emotional but was secretly highly pleased so instead he said, "Don't cry mum, s'only a Chocolate Frog."

She just nodded and then mouthed 'so proud' at him. He felt Hermione lean her shoulder against his. She was grinning when he looked up at her perched on the arm of the chair.

After the excitement of the Chocolate Frog died down and Bill and Fleur excused themselves early, mum and dad had hugged the three of them in turn and left.

"Ja open that Ogden's Harry? I'd be willing to sample, make sure it isn't poisoned," Seamus joked and Ron saw Harry summon it from the other room into the living room. Hermione counted heads and then summoned eleven glasses for those of them that were left and Harry poured a small shot of whiskey into each of the glasses.

"Well?" Dean picked up his glass first and raised it to Harry. "To Harry."

"Harry!" everyone chorused. Padma coughed violently and Hermione had her face screwed up at the burning, bitter taste.

"Yuck!" Hermione whispered and looked down at her glass as if it had offended her in some way.

"Not poisoned then, Seamus?" Harry joked.

"Seems not," deadpanned Seamus. Hermione chuckled beside him. She'd worn a dress for Harry's party and Ron had tried not to notice how short it was, especially when she was sitting down on the arm of the chair like that. Smooth leg stretched on out from under the knit material.

Soon, but not soon enough for Ron's liking, the party had died down and Ron and Hermione had stayed in the living room to start cleaning up. Ron tried to ignore when Ginny went up the staircase to Harry's room and failed. Hermione was physically shoving wrapping paper into trash bags while Ron had started to bring all the dishes into the kitchen and pile them sloppily into the sink. Ron walked back into the living room where Hermione was on her hands and knees, evidently searching for something under the couch. The white and navy striped dress had ridden up and Hermione's white knickers were visible.

"Sure this isn't my birthday, then?" Ron cheeked. She didn't change position but cut her eyes to look up at him.

"I'm trying to get a scrap of paper, if you don't mind - "

"Oh, I don't," he crossed his arms and stood there admiring the view. She dropped her bum so the panties were out of view and sat up on her knees facing away from him and pretended to huff angrily. Ron took two big steps over to her and threw both arms around her shoulders, having to bend way over to reach down to her. She shrieked as he picked her up against himself, turning and falling so that he lay on the couch with her back on top of him.

"Ronald!" she laughed.

"Hermione," he teased, loosening his arms as he felt her twist around to face him.

"That's not fair! You're stronger than me," she laughed.

"'Not fair'? Waving your bum around in the air and expecting me to help you out, that's what's not fair," he brought both hands to the curve of the part of her body in question.

She grinned at him and used her toes against his shins as leverage to scoot up and kiss him softly with the lightest touch of her lips against his. The friction between them at her movement had Ron already itching to get her back into her room. She leaned up and stopped kissing him to look at something and her dress gapped down, affording him a mouthwatering view of her smooth cleavage peaking out above her white bra. He shifted his hips under her and watched her eyes widen in recognition. A bump and then a laugh came from outside the room.

"Oh my god," Hermione whispered and started shaking with laughter.

"What? What is - "

Another bump and a muffled female cry came distinctly from upstairs this time. Hermione fumbled with her arm to grab her wand from the floor beside the couch and Ron stared up at the white ceiling in disgust. "Muffliato!" Hermione whispered and all noises disappeared. Hermione leaned back to kiss him and he almost recoiled. All randy feelings Disapparated when your sister was shagging your best mate upstairs.

"Ron?" Hermione asked him when he didn't respond. She leaned up and he was treated to the view down her dress again. Nothing. "Ron? Don't let it bug you. It's just - they're just . . . They love each other so what does it - "

"I know," he cut her off quickly and moved to sit up, "I know. Let's just - just talk about something else." He stood up off the couch and accioed the scrap of paper out from under the couch. Why hadn't Hermione done that in the first place? Ron missed the disappointed look on Hermione's face as he left the room.

Many, many long minutes later after he'd hand washed the dishes in the sink like a muggle so that he could think clearer, he walked back into the living room. Hermione was asleep on the couch stretched out with arms and legs akimbo. Ron smirked down at her and then glanced up at the clock. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Teddy were all Home. Ginny's tine was pointed at Out. Ron sighed and scooped up the girl he loved into his arms.

"Ron?" she whimpered sleepily.

"Yeah?" he maneuvered around a lamp carefully to keep from hitting her legs on it.

"Still mad?"

"Nah," he said and turned sideways to shuffle into her room with her in his arms.

"Good. I love you," she whispered. He lay her down gently in her bed and went back to close her door. He danced out of his jeans and shirt and crawled in bed from the other side in his boxers. He pulled her against himself in that perfect dress and whispered against the back of her head.

"I love you, too."