Chapter 28

"How would you feel going to a party?" Ron asked. I looked up.

"What kind of 'Party' are we talking about?" I asked. "Remember I can't drink alcohol."

"I know," Ron said quickly, going red. "It's not really a party, it's more of a celebratory Auror's dinner." I nodded.

"Why is there a dinner?" I asked. I couldn't help but notice that Ron went even redder.

"Well, the Head of the Auror Department's retiring, and Harry's been promoted to the Head."

"Really?" I asked. I could sense something else coming.

"And, because he's becoming Head, that means that I'm being moved up." My scream couldn't of been louder.

"You got PROMOTED?" I screamed. "Ron, that's bloody brilliant!" Ron grinned.

"Language." He tutted. I slapped his arm.

"I'm really happy for you, Ron! This is brilliant!" I hugged him.

"Thanks! So, you fancy having dinner with all my work mates?"

"Of course! When is it?"

"Next Friday."

"Oh, Ron, I'm so happy for you!" I started kissing him all over, quick little pecks.

"It's nothing." Ron mumbled- although he was grinning.


As it turned out, this was going to be quite a big thing. Ginny was, by the following Saturday after I'd been told, already eager to go out shopping to look for an appropriate dress.

"Well, Harry is becoming Head of the Auror's Department." Ginny said when I looked at her questionably. "So I want to look good. Plus, being pregnant, my stomach's not going to stay flat for too long, is it?"

"Well, I might just wear an old dress of mine." I said. "There's no point in buying a whole new wardrobe just for one dinner."

"But don't you want to look nice?" Ginny pestered. "Well, of course I do, but I don't want to waste too much money." I said.

"Well, Hermione, this is no ordinary dinner." Ginny pointed out. I sighed.

"I'll see." I said.

"So, do you know what's up with George and Angelina yet?"

"Haven't they told you?"

"No, but it must be something serious. I've tried asking them, though, but Angelina just changes the subject, and George tells me to get lost."

"I can't tell you, Ginny, I'm sorry."

"I see."

"It's up to them. I only know because I heard it…accidentally." I added quickly, as Ginny half-smirked, half-scowled at me. "Well, why don't you ask your mum?"

"Fine then, I will." Ginny said, swinging her long red hair around her shoulder. "I better get back to work." I took this as a "Hermione, get lost now". I nodded.

"Yes, well, Ron will be wondering where me and Rose are." And I disapparated away.

The George and Angelina situation was obviously no better. Some weeks, they wouldn't come to the Burrow. Other weeks, only one of them would turn up with the children, usually George. He still hadn't felt the need to tell us, and I could understand that. Especially since my just so wonderful husband had felt the need to punch him once. That had earned George a black eye and broken nose, and Ron, for punishment, had to go several nights without me talking to him, or…oh, well, you get the point.

As soon as I'd arrived home, I met the oddest sight. George was crying on Ron's shoulder. I had to blink my eyes for a minute to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Ron just looked up at me, and mouthed, "He wants to tell the family". I understood immediately.

"Well, why doesn't he?" I mouthed back.

"He's scared". Ron went back to comforting George. "It's OK, they'll all understand, we all do bad things." Ron grimaced at this, and I knew what he was referring to. "I've done pretty rubbish things."

"Yeah, but you've never cheated on your bloody wife!" George sobbed. I'd never really see George sob before, except for around the time of Fred's death.

"Yeah, well, I'd never cheat on my wife, and I know that you wouldn't really either."

"But I did!"

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't of. But if you tell the family what happened, maybe they'll understand."

"George," I spoke up. "I've learnt, over the last fifteen years or so, that the Weasley's are a family that stick together, no matter what."

"Well said, Hermione." Ron said, smiling, before turning back to George. "George, the family is worried about you and Angelina. After you've told them, if they bother you, or hit a sensitive spot or something, just tell them to bugger off."


The next afternoon, when Ron and I flooed over to the Burrow, it had been obvious that George had told the rest of the Weasley's, excluding the children. As soon as we stepped foot inside, all was quiet, apart from the shouts of the children outside. From the sitting room, I could hear a few voices, a lot of sniffles, but most of all; a shocked silence.

Then we heard Bill say in a rather confused voice, "You-you what?"

Ron and I entered the sitting Room. No one said anything. They merely nodded at us to acknowledge that they knew we were here.

"Do they know?" Arthur asked, meaning us. George nodded. I saw Angelina sitting next to Audrey and Fleur. The expression on her face was unreadable. If I had to place it, I would of said she looked shocked, and close to tears, maybe even a little angry.

Ginny looked close to tears herself, as she stood up, ignoring Harry's half hearted attempts to pull her back down.

"H-how could you?" She said, in an almost whisper. A tear leaked from her eye. "How could you, George?"

"I-I don't know. It was an accident, not completely my fault." George mumbled. At the glares he received from various members of the family, he continued, "I was at work, and this girl, Lexis, one of my employees, just… she said how handsome I was and stuff, and then it just…went from there. She kissed me, and went all over me." I didn't think this made it easier for Angelina.

"Isn't Lexis the girl you fired George?" Ron asked. I almost smiled at how Ron was trying to make the situation better for George.

"Yeah, I fired her. But, before I did, she advanced on me again. Then I fired her." The room was still deathly quiet. "I…She kept on sending me mail, like love mail and presents by owl, but I've gotten rid of them as best I can. I guess that Angelina must of found one." George looked at Angelina. "I don't l-love Lexis, Ange, I've even owled her, telling her that if she doesn't bog off then I'll set the ghoul from upstairs on her." Angelina just stared at George, her face different, but still unreadable.

Harry stood up now. His face was completely serious, and his eyes were frozen on George. Then, surprisingly, he smiled lightly at him.

"Although what you've done is disgusting, and heart-breaking for us all to hear," His smile drooped a little as he spoke. "You haven't denied it or lied. You actually sound truly sorry. I think that you really must hate yourself for this, for hurting your family." Harry's eyes went watery. I knew how strongly he felt about families.

"I do hate myself." George said, not grinning for once.

"Well, I don't hate you." Ron and Harry said in almost-unison. They caught each other's eye and smiled.

"I theenk that George ees brave for telling us." Fleur said loudly, looking around at us all, daring us to question, or even argue with her. "George should not of done the thing 'e 'ad done, I know, but at least 'e knows that 'e 'as done wrong, and is apologising for eet." No one said anything. Then, a quick sudden movement that we could hardly catch, Angelina had stood up and stopped in front of George.

"Ange," George said, in an almost desperate voice. "Can we please try and sort this out…at home." He added. Angelina just stared at him, before nodding slowly. Molly stood up, trying to act normally.

"Well, I better go check on dinner." And she bustled out. Bill and Percy stood up at the same time.

"Er, I think we should go check on the kids…" Bill said, before he and Percy left the room. The rest of us sat there for another few minutes.

"I-I think I'll start setting the table." Ginny said, standing up again.

"I'll come join you." Audrey and I said at the same time, both of us standing up. We all left the room quickly, not wanting to stay in the room, as it was deathly quiet again.

"God, I never thought…" Ginny whispered. She was pale white. Not a nice sign. "How could he…?"

"It was an accident of sorts, Ginny." I said, trying to comfort her.

"It's just…I never thought that George, of all people…Malfoy maybe…but George?" Ginny shook her head disbelievingly. She looked like she wanted to sob, but she didn't want to show us of course. I mean, she was quite tough, growing up with three brothers, and one tear could ruin that reputation. I just patted her arm clumsily. I was close to tears as well, even though I knew this was coming.

Harry came out of the Sitting Room. He'd obviously come out to see if Ginny was alright. I would have smiled at how sweet it was if I wasn't so upset. Seeing how close to tears Ginny looked, he rushed over to her side. I suddenly had a thought; had Ginny told Harry that she was pregnant again? By the looks of it, she hadn't. Well, if she had, they certainly were keeping a secret from the rest of the family.

"H-Harry, can I j-just talk to Ginny for a minute?" I asked. Harry nodded reluctantly.

"Oh, and Hermione?" I looked at Harry. He grinned. "Congratulations to you and Ron."

"Thanks." I smiled. Ginny looked at me questionably, wondering what I wanted, but followed me out to the Burrow's garden. I decided that if we went over to the Orchard, we'd have a very small chance of being followed and overhead.

"Ginny, have you told Harry yet?" I asked as soon as we'd gotten far away enough from the Burrow. She looked puzzled.

"Told him what?"

"That he's now got three children." Her face registered shock and embarrassment at the same time. "I take it that's a no then." She went red. Well, red's better then pale white.

"I…I've been busy." She lied feebly. She sighed. "It's just…how's he going to react?""Same as he did when you told him about James and Albus, I suppose."

"I'm not kidding, Hermione! He's just been promoted!"

"All the more reason to tell him. You know, once you tell him, he'll be excited and all that."

"But-"

"No buts! Every time I've told Ron I'm pregnant he's been ecstatic."

"That's because so far you only have Rose." Ginny snapped. She looked like she regretted it immediately. Tears swam in my eyes. "H-Hermione, I didn't mean it like that, I swear!"

"Just forget it!" I shot at her, trying my best not to cry. "Why don't you just tell Harry and then boast at how excellent your pregnancy skills are?" I stormed off back to the Burrow, leaving Ginny to look after me.


That night at home, in bed, I couldn't help but think back to what Ginny had said. Why was she doing this to me? I thought she was my best female friend! I knew that she was just hormonal, but that didn't stop it hurting.

"You OK?" Ron asked. I looked next to me. Ron was lying awake too. I nodded, before looking up at the ceiling again. "Well, you're obviously not. You've been quiet since Dinner. Did you have a fall out with Ginny or something?" I nodded, then sighed.

"It's nothing."

"Well, you're obviously upset, so it must be something. Please, tell me what happened." Why did I have to marry such a caring husband?

"It's nothing!" I snapped half-heartedly.

"Hermione, I don't like to see you upset, no matter if it's me or someone else that's made you fell like that." I finally saw a disadvantage to marrying a caring Husband, even if it was sweet.

"Ron, just leave it." I snapped half-heartedly. "It. Is. Nothing." But I sighed and looked at Ron again. "Ginny and I had a fight and she said something about the amount of times I've been pregnant, that's all."

"Well, why was she saying about pregnancy?" His eyes widened. "She's not-?" I nodded. "Bloody Hell!" I glared at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop your swearing?" I asked, trying my best not to smile.

"How come she and Harry haven't told the family?"

"Ron…She hasn't told Harry yet."

"WHAT?"

"Be quiet! You'll wake Rose up!" And I so didn't need that at the moment. It had taken me hours to get her down the first time, and I didn't want her to wake up. "And anyway, with everything that's going on, I can understand how Ginny's side-tracked!"

"Blimey." He allowed himself to think for a minute. "But what did Ginny say?"

"I've already told you-""No, you said she said something about the amount of times you've been pregnant."

"Well, all she said, when I told her that you've been quite…ecstatic when I've told you, that the only reason you really get excited is because we only have Rose." I didn't realise until after I'd said it, that it felt good to tell Ron. Even if he looked like he was about to boil over.

"She what?" I decided that, for Ron's sake purely, I needed to stop him from storming over to Harry's and Ginny's. After all, Harry wouldn't be very happy if Ron stormed over there and had a go at Ginny.

"Ron, Ron, it's OK!" I told him when he tried to sit up. "We're both a bit hormonal, so we're overreacting!"

"So?"

"So, Ginny's not herself. After she said it she apologised!"

"That's not the point, the point is that she's upset you!"

"I'm. Not. Upset." I said through gritted teeth. "Just forget about it, Ron."

"I can't!"

"She APOLOGISED!" I practically yelled. A wail from the next room told me that I'd yelled maybe a bit too loud. I let out an annoyed sound and got up to go get her.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked as I left the room.

"To go and get our daughter, Ronald!" I left the room, fuming.

Rose was lying there, crying her lungs out. Why did she have to cry so much? I was exhausted! I picked her up, and tried to shush her. She just wailed louder. I felt like crying myself.

"Rose, please go to sleep." I whispered, shutting my eyes tightly, trying to block out the sound of Rose wailing. Why on Earth was she wailing? She'd never wailed like that before. "Please." She didn't feel like doing as I asked, and wailed even more loudly. "SHUT UP, ROSE!" I yelled. She seemed to hear me that time. For a moment, she stopped wailing, she looked at me, her eyes wide in fear, her mouth open in shock. "No, Rose, sweetheart, I didn't mean that…" The rest of my words were drowned out by her screaming again.

"Here, I'll take her." I heard Ron say from behind me, coming into the room. He pulled Rose out of my arms, where she immediately made her wailing a lower volume. I felt awful. I shut my eyes. The image of Rose's face when I'd yelled at her was too much to bear, and I let a few tears out. "Are you OK Hermione?" I shook my head and opened my eyes.

"I-I need to…" I couldn't finish my sentence. I ran out of Rose's room, and down the stairs, while Ron yelled, "HERMIONE! COME BACK, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" I heard Rose stop wailing, and Ron come down the stairs after me, where he followed me to the Living Room.

"Where are you going Hermione?" I forced myself to look at him. That didn't help, since he looked just like Rose.

"Ron, I'm sorry, I just…need some time to sort this out."

"What are you talking about?"

"I yelled at her, Ron! My own daughter!"

"Hermione, it was once, OK?" Ron cupped my face to look at me.

"Ron, please let me go." I whispered. Ron looked too hurt for words. "I'm coming back, Ron, I promise. I'll be back before you wake up." And I meant that.

"Where are you going?" I thought for a moment.

"To Harry and Ginny's." I moved away from him and into the fireplace. "Ron, I just need sometime to think. I'm not leaving you, or Rose. I love you both, but I just need to see someone." And with that, I grabbed some floo powder, and flooed away.

Phew! Another Chapter done! Sorry for all the delays, but I've been busy lately. Last Wednesday I had an HPV Injection, my very last of three, and my arm ached for days!

I might not be able to upload for a while, cus I'm heading to my grandparents this afternoon, and I'm not coming back till Sunday.

Tuesday, I got my HP and the DH: Part 1 DVD! I've watched it at least twenty five times already!

As always, leave reviews! I know this chapter probably sucks, but I haven't got a lot of inspiration yet.

Chapter 29 up as soon as I can!