CW: alcoholism/mention of overdose
Ron suggested inviting George and Angelina over for dinner, which Hermione enthusiastically agreed to, needing any distraction possible. And distract them they did. George and Angelina were probably the best dinner guests one could ask for when one needed to be distracted. Of course, they were hilarious, their tales seeming to take on a life of their own, only plausible when told by the pair. Not only that; they radiated love. It was clear that they were meant for each other.
Angelina talked of how excited she was to get out of the house and have a grown-up dinner, having obtained a sitter for Fred. They brought their best wine, which Hermione pretended to sip, not wanting to be rude. As the evening progressed, the stories moved from Angelina and George's adventures to George and Ron's.
Ron and George had grown exceptionally close over the years. They cheerfully retold tales of the shop, almost in sync. Hermione could have sworn FredandGeorge were back together if she wasn't paying close attention.
After they left, Hermione and Ron tiredly cleaned up, worn out from the evening's festivities. They finally finished, and crashed, exhausted, in their bed.
"It's great that you and George are so close," Hermione said. As was becoming routine, they spent their last few moments of each day talking and holding one another until they fell asleep. It wasn't as intimate as Hermione desired, but still, she looked forward to these moments all day.
"Yeah," Ron said contently.
"It seems like you enjoy working together at the shop."
"I do. I mean George is great, but there are a lot of things that I enjoy about working there; getting to create new products, figure out how to advertise them. I even like balancing the books," he added with a chuckle.
"That's great," Hermione said with a smile. Maybe some good things had come from her disappearance. "I guess it's good that you decided to work there."
"I didn't exactly choose."
"What do you mean?"
"He made me," Ron said, no longer chuckling. "He saved me," he added quietly.
Hermione felt her breath hitch; anticipating what Ron might say next.
"You know things had gotten worse after I was kicked out of the aurors."
She nodded her head, curling up to his chest. She wanted to feel closer to him, but she also wanted to give him the ability not to have to look in her eyes. She knew that recalling this time was hard for him, even if it was in the past.
"Well, I didn't say exactly how bad it got."
Hermione knew this to be true. She knew that it had been worse than how Ron had described. Their friends only alluding to his depression and alcoholism.
"They had begun taking turns checking on me; Harry, George, Neville. Harry had even tried to get me to move in with him. He was technically already living with Ginny, but she was always gone for games. I knew I should have, but I didn't. Mum always said I had a destructive side to me," he said the last sentence with a twisted smile as if not caring for himself was the same as breaking a vase or missing curfew.
"One of the days that George was supposed to check on me, I guess he got caught up with something at work and was later than normal. Well, when he got to my place…", Ron's demeanour had grown more and more deflated, seeming to sink further into the bed as he talked.
"I mean at that point I was always drinking. It wasn't on purpose," he paused, staring at the ceiling. "but I had…", his voice cracked before he could finish his sentence. However, Hermione knew what he was implying. He had overdosed.
"Ron," Hermione whispered, moving her hand to his chest. She hadn't meant to interrupt him, but this was too much. She could picture him, on that dusty old armchair, a bottle in his limp hand, his pulse barely beating. She didn't know when the tears began, but they did not stop. She sobbed quietly into his chest, trying to soothe him and herself at the same time. Eventually, Ron found his voice again and continued his story.
"After that, he wouldn't let me leave his sight. He found me a place next to his and made me come to the shop every day. Even if I stayed in the back the whole time, he made sure I was eating and made sure I wasn't drinking as much."
"I didn't stop completely, but it never got that bad again. In fact," he said in realisation, "since you've been back, I haven't had anything to drink. Not even at Harry's wedding."
Hermione thought his claim through. She didn't recall him drinking at the wedding; she didn't remember him drinking at all. Even during dinner, he hadn't had any of George and Angelina's wine. She wasn't even sure he was offered any. She was so caught up in her own worry of not wanting to seem rude, but also not wanting to actually drink, that she hadn't paid attention.
She knew that him not drinking this past month didn't mean that he was healed. He still had things to work through. And people relapse all the time. But, she was proud of him for getting out of the dark place he was in. She thought of George, who had helped him so much. He likely went through a similar experience, after losing Fred. Their shared trauma of losing their other half was probably one of the reasons they had bonded so strongly.
Harry and Ginny were finally back from their honeymoon, and Molly was holding a welcome back dinner. Hermione was excited to see the pair and actually catch up. Though they had been reminiscing for a month, Hermione didn't feel like she was really there. As Jane, she couldn't recall what they were talking about. Now, she could remember, and she could be a part of the conversations.
Dinner felt more like a small party, with George, Angelina, Neville, Hannah, Luna, and their children joining them. Hermione was glad she was able to catch up with Neville and Hannah over dinner, feeling a bit bad about not staying in touch since she became Hermione again. She had been meaning to write them a letter or email or something, letting them know she was back and thanking them for her help, but she never got around to it.
She was entranced in their love story; how they got together during their last year at Hogwarts and had been together since. They bonded over a love of Herbology and flirted demurely during DA meetings, eventually getting together at the end of the year. She couldn't ignore the similarities between theirs and hers and Ron's love story, maybe that's why she loved it so much. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Hannah wasn't quite as enthusiastic as she had been when they first met. Hannah had explained that she was so excited at having found Hermione at the time that she was overtaken by joy. She even apologised for frightening Hermione, which Hermione waved off. Now, she was still happy and joyful, showing her sleeping infant zealously to everyone, but she wasn't quite as overwhelming.
Hermione was also able to catch up with Harry and Ginny. She found herself close to tears many times throughout the evening; both from happiness that they had turned out so well, and from sadness from having missed all of that time with them.
For the first time since the end of the war, she was starting to feel normal. She was surrounded by her best friends; her family. She found her stress and apprehensions melting away.
After dinner, Ron had pulled Harry aside to ask him about the death eaters wand. Hermione watched the pair out of the corner of her eye, hoping to read their expressions to get an idea of what Harry would do. Harry seemed to become suddenly tired when talking to Ron, a stark contrast to the energetic man who entertained the group at dinner. But, he did not give away his thoughts to Hermione, at least not through her extensive analysis of his facial expressions.
Ron gave Hermione a wink as they came inside, indicating to her that all had gone well during the discussion. They continued their after-dinner conversations around the fireplace, the evenings now overcome with a cold chill.
It was well past midnight when Ron and Hermione got up to leave; only Harry, Ginny, and Molly still in the sitting room.
"Oh, Hermione, dear," Molly said, heading to the kitchen. "I completely forgot this arrived for you yesterday."
Molly handed Hermione a letter.
From Healer Stoica.
"Is everything okay?" Harry asked, having gotten up to leave as well, apparently noticing Hermione's apprehension.
Hermione nodded her head, trying to give her best impression of a reassuring smile.
This letter was going to tell her what to do. It was her first step in her plan of healing. She wasn't going to have to wait anymore.
As soon as she landed in her sitting-room, she tore open her letter. She scanned it, with Ron waiting for her to relay what it said as soon as she finished.
His letter confirmed what Hermione had suspected; there was no real magical mental healthcare in England. He talked about calming drought and removing offending memories magically, but besides that, there was nothing else that healers provided. Some wizards, who were so inclined, would see muggle therapists to talk about their problems. But, he knew that that would not be a possibility for Hermione. He wrote of a colleague who was a muggle-born therapist working in London. She mainly worked with muggles, but occasionally saw wizards, using her knowledge of magic and medicine to help them. He gave her the therapist's name and address, suggesting that she be Hermiones next step.
It wasn't what Hermione had been hoping for. But, at least she could move forward. She would contact the new therapist tomorrow and set up an appointment for both of them. After Hermione related the information from Stoica's letter, Ron confirmed that Harry would be looking into the past spells done by the death eater who had "killed" her.
They had things to do now, things to plan. They were no longer waiting. Well, except for one thing.