I'm finally back! Yaaaayyy

First of all, thanks to Cheesyficwriter and RomioneB, I wuv you. You made my day with your comment every time 3

Thanks to everyone that takes the time to leave a review, I really really appreciate it. You'll be glad to know that from now on we get on the fluff train.

As sad as it makes me, the wizarding world, characters included, belongs to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing, nothing at all, not even my heart because it belongs to Ron Weasley.

I know I said I'll be updating every Monday, but life keeps messing with my plans, so I can't compromise to that right now… but I'll do my best to try and keep the updates close to a weekly schedule.

March arrived, and with it, my birthday. It was the last month Hermione would be in England, and she outdid herself by giving me the best present. She got me a smackphone, which is that thing you use to talk on, sort of like a fellytone, but one you carry in your pocket. She said that with the phone we could talk, and even see each other every day, and then she spent the entire month teaching me how to use it. I learned a lot of things, like how to use elektricity from a muggle cafe to charge it, and how to go to the muggle phone company to pay the bill. She even downloaded an upp about sweets that you had to crush to get points and it was pretty addictive.

Hermione left the last Sunday of March, 2009. We had practiced a ton with the smackphone by then, so I was quite confident that we could manage to see each other as often as planned — but then, I also wasn't considering the sodding eight hour time difference. When she went to find her parents all those years ago, we communicated by owl, so we had written letters whenever we could. It had been easy. But with the phones, we had to schedule our talks at appropriate hours for us both — which was a ginormous task itself. You see, by the time I woke up, she was already at work, and when she left her job, I was at work myself. In the end, since magic interfered with elektricity, the phone was nothing more than a very expensive mirror most of the day, meaning we didn't have the chance to talk at any decent hour.

Ultimately, we made an arrangement where Hermione would wake up very early, and I would go to sleep very late. Every other day, when I wasn't on a mission, I would leave Diagon Alley for muggle London to make the call. I knew I looked like an idiot talking to the phone on the street, but what else could I do? The sodding thing didn't work in the Alley with all the magic around, so I would stand there, night after night. One day, a bloody twat came up behind my back whilst I was deep in conversation, and pushed me roughly into a wall, took the phone, and ran away. My head had slammed so hard into the bricks that I was too dizzy to chase after him.

The next day, I went to the muggle phone company to report my lost smackphone and get a new one. I didn't know how to set it up, so the nice lady in the store did it for me. By the time she gave it back to me, it was loaded with all of my upps, and she even put her own number in it, just in case I needed any more help. That's what I call good customer service. So, Hermione and I resumed our calling arrangement, but then after a few months, it happened again. I got mugged, and this time, I got really hurt in the process. Hermione decided that a chat wasn't worth risking my life, and we had to resort back to the old reliable owl mail. What pissed me off the most, was that I didn't even get to see the twins.

As the owls flew back and forth, time went on as well. Hermione and I did our best to keep each other up with our respective lives, but long distance and responsibilities were not kind to our friendship. What once were weekly letters eventually became monthly, and months ended up turning into special dates and holidays. Five years passed before Hermione's owl handed me the letter containing the best news I could possibly receive.

She was coming back.

She was coming back for good.

I read the letter a thousand times, and with every read as I roamed my eyes over her words, the cold heaviness in my chest was replaced with the warm feeling of hope. It wasn't that I had been waiting for her — not at all. I did try to move on with my life, to find a partner, to fall in love and have a family of my own. But it never felt right. Hermione was it for me, if it wasn't with her, then it wasn't meant to be. I had already made amends with being single forever, with being "fun Uncle Ron". I reckoned I was okay with that, but for some reason, despite how hard I tried, I wasn't entirely happy. I just couldn't be, and I suspected that it was all related to the absence of a certain bushy brown-haired bookworm in my life. The prospect of having her back filled me up with hope — hope that I would finally feel content, and hope that having her within arms reach would ultimately complete me. I needed her in my life, even if it was only as a friend. There was a special part of my soul that only she could lighten up, and I'd been in the dark for so long.

A few months after Hermione's letter, I found myself in the muggle airport. I had to thank the Aurors for training us in all kinds of situations, 'cause if I hadn't been prepared to face a public muggle space like that, I would have surely had a heart attack. I wandered around lost for a bit, asking for directions every once in a while, until I finally found a large glass wall with big letters that spelled out "International Arrivals". I spotted a telly with a black background and a ton of letters, and immediately knew that it was the "info screen" Hermione had said that I could use to check on the status of her flight. When I got to the telly, I verified the flight number on the last letter she'd sent me, then looked up at the screen and searched. My heart skipped a beat. It said "Arrived".

Hermione was home.

Bloody hell! Not just Hermione... them.

Holy fucking shit! The twins! How didn't I think about them before? I was going ballistic. I was about to meet the twins! What if they didn't like me? Scratch that, what if they hated me? Merlin, I should've bought them a present! I checked the time they'd arrived, then my watch. They'd been in London for about 40 minutes, fuck! How could I've been lost in the airport for so long? Would they still be on the other side of the wall, or had I missed them coming out? For Merlin's sake! I desperately checked Hermione's letter for any clues to help me figure out what to do. I could almost hear her voice nagging me, "If only you'd done a little bit of research, you wouldn't be so lost, Ro-"

'Ronald!'

Wait, that wasn't in my head. That was real, that was -

'RON! RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!'

I turned my head around so fast that I almost got whiplash. Hermione was standing just outside the shiny tunnel at the other side of a railing, one hand holding a big suitcase with Crookshanks' carrier, and the other... my heart almost stopped. Her other hand was resting on the shoulder of a little girl with bushy brown hair, very much like her mother's. Hermione and I found each other's eyes, and a big wide grin spread across her face. Surely mine was mirroring hers, because I could feel my skin stretching at the effort of putting on a smile like I hadn't in years. Still smiling, Hermione turned back and waved her hand, calling someone's attention on the inside of the shiny tunnel. Rose was standing right beside her, so it could only be… Merlin's saggy balls.

They were rushing towards me, the three of them in a line holding hands, with Hugo at the rear. Hermione was walking so fast that the kids had to run to keep up. I couldn't move. I was too shocked to do anything more than stand there like a big ginger pole. When they were close enough, Hermione let go of the kids and the suitcase, and pounced on me so hard that I had to take a few steps back not to fall. My body instinctively reacted and I wrapped her in my arms, squeezing her so tight that she let out the familiar "oomph" as I winded her. At the feeling of her body against mine, a wave of warmth spread across my entire being, shoving away each and every feeling of emptiness and darkness, and replacing them with contentment and light. I was fucking glowing under my skin! I was bloody sure of that.

Way too soon, she pulled back. As I loosened my grip to give her space, she moved to the side to let me see the two little kids standing beside the luggage. They had their arms crossed, and their lips pursed McGonagall style. Their tiny little eyebrows were furrowed so hard, that it made my balls retract up at the sight.

I felt Hermione's hand grabbing mine, and she pulled me a few steps closer to the kids. I moved my feet cautiously, trying to avoid eye contact. Shit, it was like being back in Care of Magical Creatures trying to get close to Buckbeak, although the latter seemed way more friendly than my current counterparts. The knot I'd felt in my stomach since I landed eyes on Hugo was wreaking havoc on my innards, and I pondered if it was too late to turn around and run away.

Come on, Weasley, get a grip! You can't be scared of two little children! I thought, as I urged myself to be brave and face them.

The twins were both pretty tall to be four years old, even if they were about to be five. Both had fair skin a couple of shades darker than mine — not much of an effort there, mind — but lighter than their mum's, and a bunch of freckles spreading from the bridge of their noses to the rest of their faces, fading at the edges. Judging by the amount and tone of their marks, I could tell they were bound to grow to have at least as many as I had. Rose had eyes that were a beautiful shade of blue that felt very familiar, although I couldn't figure out where I'd seen that colour before. On the other hand, Hugo's eyes were the same chocolate brown as Hermione's. And his hair. My stomach twisted tighter than before. How in the hell had Hermione managed to have a ginger boy? Sodding Viktor the stallion wasn't ginger, was he?

Hermione brought me out of my thoughts by clearing her throat and introducing us. 'Rose, Hugo, this is your Uncle Ron. Ron, these are the twins.'

I made my best effort to put on a smile and remain calm, even though I was panicking inside. I was towering over them, but their gazes were so intense that it made me feel small. What an Auror I was, afraid of two little kids. Suddenly, they burst out in laughter, and began to run towards me. I instinctively squatted to be at the same level, and opened my arms to catch them. Their tiny arms pressed around my chest and back, holding me as tight as they could. I snuggled between their faces, and squeezed them back. I could feel them shaking, giggling into my shoulders, and I started to chuckle myself. I glanced at Hermione, and saw that she had gone to get Crookshanks and the suitcase. As she came back to us, I noticed a big wide grin spreading across her face. I didn't understand what was happening. The only thing I knew was that having the three of them there felt oddly comforting, as if I've just found everything I've been missing for the past five years.

Suddenly, Rose pulled back and turned to Hermione, who was now standing right in front of us. She moved to her side, taking her mother's hand. I felt Hugo loosen his grip too, but he remained beside me, steadying himself with one hand on my shoulder, the other one flat on his chest as he took a few deep over-dramatic breaths.

'You were right, mum,' he panted, a mischievous glint crossing his eyes as he added, 'I thought he was gonna pee himself!'

'Oi! I yelled as I ruffled his hair — his painfully red hair.

'Careful Uncle Ron!' shrieked Rose, as I felt Hugo's hand move from my shoulder to my armpit.

'Ha! You little brat. I'll show you how it's done!' I jested before starting to tickle him. He was howling with laughter again.

'Yess! Take that!' cheered Rose. Still, subduing Hugo, I turned to her, my eyebrows raised questioningly.

'Oh… I just...er...he tickles me all the time and I can never win,' she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand. I faced Hugo again.

'So, you like to mess with your sister, do ya?' I asked, and he nodded. Merlin, the kid had no shame! I stood up, taking him by the hip and throwing him unceremoniously over my shoulder. Then, I put on my sternest voice to declare, 'Hugo Granger, you are under arrest for being a pain in the ars- bum… a pain in the bum,' I corrected.

Hugo clenched my jumper for support and I heard him snort at Rose as he made his body go limp. I shifted my shoulder to accommodate him, and secured him with one arm. As I dropped the other one, I felt a tug on my sleeve, immediately followed by a small hand grabbing mine. I looked down and saw Rose beaming up at me, making my heart swell. Blimey, she was adorable!

'Everything is settled in the "Emergency Transportation Office". The…the You-Know-What has been connected for the day. I tested it earlier on my way here, so it's safe for the kids,' I told Hermione. She nodded in understanding.

Muggle transportation wasn't a very popular choice in the Wizarding World, but since the amount of muggleborns had increased within the last decades, the Department of Magical Transportation had provided a solution for them to be able to get home faster from the airport. In the furthest part of the building, protected with muggle repellent charms and locked by magic, was a door labeled as "Emergency Transportation Office". Said door led to a small room with enough space for an Apparition point — which could also be used for Portkey travel — and a special fireplace that could be connected to the floo network upon request. Because the kids were under the side-along recommended age, Hermione opted for the latter.

As we began to walk, I glanced at Hermione. She was still holding Rose's other hand and looking at me from the corner of her eye.

'Ready to go home?' I asked. She smiled.

'I already am.'