This is the penultimate chapter of this story. The final chapter will be posted tomorrow followed by an epilogue on Friday. I have a tiny platform here so I'm just going to say it: in these scary times, as a citizen of the world but also as the daughter of a doctor and a nurse, and the sister of another nurse, unless absolutely necessary STAY HOME. Seriously guys, please, please, PLEASE. stay home, stay safe, read fanfiction ;)
Chapter 28
Harry and Hermione's visit to the Burrow proved to be very eye opening for Harry. He knew in his heart that things were different before they had even arrived, but he didn't truly understand until they'd arrived at the Burrow how much his world had truly shifted.
He would always consider the Weasleys to be family, and their home a refuge- one of his firsts. But it wasn't the center of his universe, as he once might have thought of it to be. No. His world now revolved around Hermione and the family they were planning to build together. However, that fact hadn't fully registered until he'd walked into the Weasley home for the first time in months.
When he'd met the Weasleys he'd been a sad, scarred little boy desperately in search of affection, and he'd found it at the Burrow. And he would always be grateful for the refuge the redheaded family had provided him. But before that, he'd found it with a bushy haired little girl who had followed him into danger against her better judgement, and had continued to do so over and over again.
Hermione would later tell him that she wondered, in that moment standing inside the Burrow, if the universe was punishing her for her past cowardice. Because the moment he opened his mouth to explain to the Weasleys that he and Hermione were more or less permanently relocating to the United States, Ron and Lavender made their reappearance. They should have been a reassuring presence; except that they had Ginny in tow.
Ron looked sheepish. Lavender looked angry. Ginny looked determined.
There had been a few exclamations of surprise at her arrival and the current topic of conversation was forgotten for the time being. Ginny had looked viciously pleased with herself as she entered the house and glared at Harry, almost daring him to object to her presence. It was mean and petty and even if Hermione hadn't been gripping his fingers in a vicious hold, telling him not to, he liked to have thought he would have kept from sniping at her.
It was an ugly part of her character. As the baby of the family and the only girl she had been doted on and spoiled even despite the Weasleys limited means. And so when she didn't get her way, she lashed out. Harry didn't want to give her the satisfaction of lowering himself to that kind of behavior.
To avoid some of the tension in the air everybody scrambled to settle in for lunch.
Things were silent for many long minutes. Harry was surprised Molly didn't go back to interrogating them about their future plans immediately, but the reprieve was welcomed as he tried to figure Ginny's game in showing up here. He was an investigator, that was his job, his instinct. Because there was no way that her appearance was a coincidence.
Suddenly, he noticed Hermione nervously spinning her engagement ring and wedding band around and around her left ring finger with the thumb of the same hand. It was a nervous habit she'd started to pick up in lieu of tugging on her hair. He reached out and snagged a hand to stop her, which had the unfortunate side-effect of drawing attention to the activity.
"That's a lovely ring, Hermione," noted Ginny, it was the first thing she'd said to either one of them.
Harry felt Hermione take a deep breath, but she didn't allow her voice to falter as she answered. "Thank you, I like it."
Ginny smirked, it was an ugly thing. "Then again, that stands to reason. Harry's had some practice picking them out."
"I suppose," Hermione answered, straightening her spine, and Harry was rapidly losing his resolve not to lower himself to Ginny's level.
"How are you finding Potter House, wonderful isn't it?" Ginny continued, sopping up her leftovers with her toast, and speaking like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
Harry resisted the urge to snort. However she was trying to make it sound, Harry knew that Ginny hadn't been overly fond of Potter House. It was a quintessential English country home and Ginny's tastes ran to the more modern or grandiose, and she'd never spent any significant time there.
Hermione didn't miss a beat. "Yes, it's rather perfect. The library is very picturesque, but the collection is at least a century out of date, Lily was planning to update it. It's a project which I plan to complete in her honor."
Harry suppressed an audible sigh. Oh, his clever witch. She'd taken the high road as well as the rug out from under Ginny's feet. The other witch couldn't very well make a snide remark about Harry's late mother.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Hermione," said Fleur, obviously anxious to move the conversation along.
"Yes," her husband cleared his throat. "Let me know if you need any assistance. The goblins have contacts."
Hermione bit her lip and Harry could tell she was considering something, seeming to have come to a decision when she smiled wryly at him. "Don't be so modest, Bill."
"Excuse me?"
"You think I haven't kept up with your career? You're one of the top humans in the European branch of the bank. Your contacts are your own, though I very much appreciate the offer."
He shrugged sheepishly but there was pride in his posture and he winked at her. Fleur, on the other hand, was positively beaming. "And you Miss Granger, have done great things over there in America. I'd love to talk to you about your research later."
"Only if I can pick your brain too."
"Of course."
"Great things, what kind of great things?" Percy inquired. "And it's Lady Potter now, Bill." He corrected, he had perked right up upon hearing that Hermione was making a name for herself professionally, and Harry just knew he was already angling for a way to use her to further his own career.
"Hermione is one of the foremost authorities in the research and development of protective magic primarily designed for the use of law enforcement in the field. I have no idea what inspired that," he smirked and his eyes drifted to Harry.
Hermione flushed from her collar to her hairline. "After all those years it was practically a reflex, I just fell into it."
Bill laughed.
"Have you not applied for a job at the Ministry? I'd think in my position I certainly would have heard about that by now?" Percy inquired in his usual self-important manner.
Arthur chuckled. "You're right, Kingsley would absolutely be crowing over the opportunity to get you on the payroll. He was quite put out to have lost you."
"Well," Hermione glanced at Harry and he reached over to take her hand.
"Actually," Harry interrupted, "that was something we wanted to tell you tonight. Hermione won't be applying for a position at the Ministry and I'll be resigning mine."
"What? Why?" Several voices resounded throughout the kitchen.
"I've accepted a permanent position at MACUSA. We'll still have a home here, of course in Potter House, but we've bought a house in New York which we're renovating and we plan to live there indefinitely."
"What?!" Molly screeched again.
Ginny threw her fork onto her plate in apparent disgust and she narrowed her eyes in Hermione's direction. Harry shifted towards his wife automatically, because he knew the look on Ginny's face, and she was about to get mean.
"Good Godric, Hermione, how bloody selfish can you get?"
"I'm sorry?"
"First you run away to America like a coward, leaving the rest of us to clean up after the war. Then you can't be bothered to keep in touch. Then when you and Harry get together, we have to hear about it through Ron. You have a quickie wedding that you don't invite any of us to. And now you're stealing him away from our family, are you trying to break my mother's heart? I knew you were logical to a fault, I've seen that you're willing to do anything to get what you want, but I didn't think you'd go this far."
And that was when Harry lost the last of his patience. Things which had been bubbling up to the surface suddenly erupted. "If anybody here is selfish, it's me. It was all my idea, the small quiet wedding, staying in America, and if I'm being really honest, if I had been braver I would have left Britain years ago too. So again, if anybody is a coward, it's me."
Molly sobbed and Harry felt a stab of guilt, but he braced himself against the feeling. He wasn't doing this to hurt her. This was the best decision for himself and his future family.
"I think we're all just wondering why, Harry?" Arthur said softly.
Harry turned to look at the man and suddenly blurted his thoughts: "because I hate living in Britain, Arthur. My life here has been one disaster after another and I don't see that changing any time soon. I've finally gotten the courage to admit that I'm tired of it, and it's certainly not something I intend to put my family through."
"We're your family," Molly objected.
"Yes," he said as calmly as he could muster, "but other than you and Potter House, which as much as I love it, is just a building, I have nothing here."
"I think you're being a little dramatic," said Ginny, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Really?" He could feel his magic building and Hermione clamped a hand down on his thigh to try and calm him, and because she was Hermione, it worked. "I spent the first eleven years of my life in the home of people who couldn't stand me and certainly couldn't be bothered to hide the fact; denied any knowledge of my magical or familial heritage. Then I went to Hogwarts, do you need a summation of those years? Then this entire country decided that, at fifteen, it was my job to defeat the most terrible dark lord in history- the same man who had murdered my parents."
The silence in the air was thick. And then Hermione took up his monologue. He knew that she must have been shocked by his outburst given that these were not issues he ever willingly discussed, but she hardly missed a beat.
"He can't walk down Diagon Alley without basically being mobbed. Why do you think he took a job that required so much travel?"
Harry nodded in agreement. "Hermione and I have a good life in New York. I'm not doing this to hurt you Molly, and I'm sorry that it means moving so far away, but I just want some peace."
"But what about when you have children?"
"What about it?" Harry frowned.
"Who will look after them?"
Hermione glanced at Harry and fielded the question. "We haven't discussed it, in depth, but there are plenty of options: one or both of us could cut back our hours, or even take a sabbatical. There are day-care centers or we could hire an au pair."
"They should be with family," Molly insisted firmly.
Harry sighed. This wasn't fun for him, but he was growing increasingly frustrated.
Hermione took his hand, but he shook his head. "We have family in New York too, a family that we've made just like we've built a family here, but neither Hermione nor I are blood related to anybody in this room. Please don't insult us by discounting the relationships we've built with others," he answered as gently as possible. "And you will always be welcome in our home. But I think it's best that we left now, but thank you for having us." He rose and held out a hand for Hermione who looked at him through teary eyes and hesitated only briefly before accepting it.
