Empty Rooms
Chapter 19 – Truce
That evening, Harry, Hermione, and Teddy arrived at the Burrow. Harry and Hermione exchanged apprehensive looks with each other before they opened the door and walked in.
Teddy immediately ran up to Victory and hugged her. The two started chasing each other around without hesitation.
Harry saw Ron next and felt a sense of satisfaction at the bruise that was still fading from under his eye. He reached for Hermione's hand and held it tightly. Ron glared at the couple but didn't cause a scene. Molly blocked him from view a moment later as she hugged both Harry and Hermione, her smile widening when she saw they were wearing the sweaters she made them. "Come in, come in," she said, ushering them away from the door. "Care for a drink?"
"Yes, please," Hermione said before she followed Molly into the kitchen.
Bill, Charley, and George walked up to Harry and hugged him, welcoming him like a brother. Even Percy and Ginny smiled as Harry sat down in the living room with the others. Ron and Lavender sat rigidly in their seats, Lavender cradling their swaddled daughter and patting her to keep her from fussing. Harry looked at the baby and saw Weasley-red curls sticking up from the blanket.
"So how are things now that you have Teddy and Hermione living with you?" Bill asked.
Harry grinned. "Honestly, it's fantastic," he said. "I mean, Teddy's only been with us full-time for about a week and he's going to Andromeda's for the weekend, but it honestly couldn't be better."
"Has he thrown a tantrum yet?" Bill asked.
Harry laughed. "A few," he said with a nod. "We're learning how to handle those. Of course, Hermione's read every parenting book she can get her hands on, so she's absolutely terrified of mucking it all up."
Bill laughed. "She's going to be a great mum, I'm sure," he said.
"Audrey was terrified too," Percy said. "I think she second-guessed our ability to raise a child every other hour during her pregnancy with Molly. Even after we brought her home."
Harry chuckled. "Audrey is a great mother," he said. He turned to Bill. "Did you get it set up?" he asked.
Bill nodded. "It's ready when you are," he said.
"What is?" Hermione asked as she sat down next to Harry. She handed him a cup of warm apple cider. Harry took a sip before he set it aside and then looked around to see if everyone was in the room. He nodded to Bill, who stood up and walked over to Teddy and whispered something in his ear. Teddy listened carefully before he walked over to the Christmas tree in the living room and found a small box wrapped in gold paper in the branches He handed it to Hermione.
"What's this?" she asked.
Teddy shrugged and walked away. Hermione chuckled before she opened the present.
Inside of the box was a note. While she had been focused on unwrapping the box, Harry had knelt in front of her. She pulled out the note and read:
To the Love of My Life,
I never want another day to pass without you in it. Please do me the honor of being my wife?
-The Luckiest Man in the World
Hermione looked up at Harry with tears blurring her vision. He knelt in front of her, a ring in his hands. The tears spilled from Hermione's eyes as she nodded. Harry managed to slip the ring on her finger just before she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
The family cheered around them. Molly, Ginny, Fleur, and Audrey clamored around Hermione to see the ring. The brothers all clapped Harry on the back, congratulating for him taking the leap. Instinctively, Harry looked for Ron, wanting to celebrate this moment with his best friend. As he saw Ron's back going through the door, he remembered that they weren't friends anymore. They weren't even friendly.
Harry separated himself from the crowd and followed Ron outside. "Wait!" he called out.
Ron stopped walking and said something to Lavender before he turned around. "What now?" he asked. "You have Hermione. You have my family. What more could you possibly want from me, Potter?" he demanded.
Harry walked toward the man who he thought would always be by his side. "I'm not trying to steal your family away from you, Ron," he said. Ron rolled his eyes. "Look, like it or not, Hermione and I aren't going away. Your mum's made certain of that. But don't ruin Christmas for her, okay?" Harry pleaded. "Your mum doesn't deserve that. For the sake of the family, so they don't have to choose sides, can we just agree to be civil here?"
Ron looked at the house, then back at Lavender. She nodded at him. Ron looked back at Harry. "I'm only agreeing to this because if I don't, I'm going to be the arse that tore my family apart," he said. "I'm not going to let you and Hermione keep turning me into the bad guy."
Harry shook his head. "You did that to yourself," he said before he turned around and went back into the house. Hermione caught Harry's eye as he walked in. Harry looked back and saw Ron and Lavender walk back into the house as well.
Molly smiled at Harry before hugging him. "Thank you for getting him back in here," she said.
Harry nodded. "We agreed to be civil here for you," he whispered to her.
Molly kissed Harry's cheek before she let him go and pulled Ron into her arms. Harry left her side and stepped up to Hermione. He kissed her cheek as he wrapped his arm around her. "Ron and I agreed to be civil while we're here," he said softly to her. "For Molly's sake."
Hermione nodded. "Good," Hermione said with a smile. "No reason to ruin things for Molly. You rushed out of here so fast I was almost afraid that you were changing your mind."
Harry heard the note of fear in Hermione's voice. She was engaged to Ron. Ron ran out on her. She was terrified that Harry would do the same thing.
He hugged her tightly and kissed her. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised her. "I'll marry you right now if it'll help you believe that."
Hermione blinked back tears and held Harry a little tighter. "I love you," she whispered.