What Else Could Possibly Go Wrong?

"And it's not all sweetness and light, Ron." Hermione continued. Ginny kept rubbing her hand over Ron's back. She knew her brother better than anyone. He still wasn't completely okay with Sirius' freedom. "What's going on, Hermione?" "The witness who testified for Sirius. it was Harry's mum." Ron's eyes widened. "That's not funny!" He jumped up from his knees and began yelling as he paced the small room. "How could you say that? Do you know how much that would hurt Harry? Are you not even thinking?" Ginny watched Hermione out of the corner of her eye. The brunette was slouching and balling her hands into fists. "Ron!" "What?" "Sit down!" Ginny pointed to the floor in front of them. "Now!" Ron bit his lip and dropped to the floor. He wrapped his arms around his long legs and stared at Hermione. "I'm not playing a trick, Ron." Hermione held out the crumpled cover of the Daily Prophet. This morning's edition had identified the witness that had freed Sirius Black from the possibility of returning to Askaban. "It's really her, Ron." Ron took the paper and stared at the waving figure on the page. He, like most wizarding children, knew what the Potters had looked like. They had been heroes as much as Harry. He let his hand brush across the picture. "Where is Harry? Does he know?" "Harry's with her at Hogwarts. Sirius and Professor Lupin are there, too." Ginny's eyes brightened at the mention of Remus Lupin. "Do they know?" Ron laughed shakily, "Of course they do." His laugh carried on in a high pitch. "Harry doesn't have to go back." He choked back more laughter. "Ever." Hermione smiled, "I know." Ginny got off the couch and sat down next to Ron. He was coughing and trying to keep from laughing again. "Breathe, Ron." She rubbed his back again. "It's okay. Harry's okay." "I know." Hermione waited for a moment. "Harry wants us to meet her, Ron. He told her about us. The three of us." "Really?" "Yeah. Do you want to go?" Ron let a bright smile erupt. "Yes!" "Ginny?" The girl nodded silently. Hermione looked down at her friends. "There's one last thing. Harry has a cousin." Ron frowned, "Dudley?" "No. Another one." Ginny looked confused, "But everyone knows that Harry's dad was an only child." "His mum had another sister. She was the one who really died with Harry's dad. He never knew it wasn't his wife." Ron rubbed his eyes quickly. "What does it matter?" "It matters because of who it is, Ron." Hermione took a breath and said, "Narcissa Malfoy was Lily's sister." Ron seemed to be waiting for something while Ginny's face got pale. "Draco?" Hermione watched Ron closely as she nodded at Ginny. "Draco." Ron simply sat there. He looked down at his hands and then balled them into fists. His face paled before turning a raging red. "Malfoy?" He growled. Ginny backed away from Ron and tried to calm him down. "I'm sure it's not that bad, Ron. I mean." Ron glared at Hermione. "This is the boy who called you a Mudblood. His father tried to kill Ginny. He tormented Harry on a daily basis. I hate him." He paused and continued calmly. "And you're okay with this?" Hermione noticed that Ron's hands were shaking. "Ron, Harry is okay with this." "And Harry knows what family is? Are you kidding me?" Ron calmly asked. He was so angry. "He has no one. He had no one. And all of a sudden he thinks Malfoy is wonderful? He wouldn't know what to do if a family dropped on his doorstep." "Ron! You don't mean that." Ginny said. Ron spun to face his sister. His legs got tangled with the coffee table. "He's just caught up in this." He stood up and looked down at Hermione. "If you approve, go. I won't ever set foot near Malfoy. And you can tell them both that." Ron stalked out of the room and up the stairs. Ginny got up to go after him but stopped when Hermione caught her arm. "Leave him for a while. We should go see Harry. He's worried about what Ron might do." Hermione led Ginny to the fireplace. She tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the flames. "Maybe Harry knows what to say to Ron." Ginny nodded and called out, "Hogwarts!" She stepped into the flames and felt the familiar spin that came with Floo travel.