A/N: Hi, guys! I'm running sorta late today, didja notice? Yeah, I fell asleep on the couch. Isn't that a fantabiulous story. Anywho, my g-rrrrrrrrrrrrreat beta cheese riot really liked this chapter so I hope you guys will do. Love it or die!

"I dunno how I'm going to do this," Ron said under his breath, staring at the three-year-old making a mud pie in the backyard.

"Ha, like this is hard for you. You have no idea," I told him seriously. "I have to tell her that her own mother is a liar."

"Well, you know her best, so you first."

"Well, you put her there, so you first."

"Oh, so now it's my fault, is it?"

"Well, why didn't you use protection? Ever heard of it?"

"You're blaming this mess on me? Why didn't you just tell me about her, huh?"

We had at last reached our usual shouting voices. "What, now it's a mess, is it?! And I can blame it on you all I want. Why'd you go away?"

"Why d'you keep changing your story? You're the one who's so big on the truth, I thought."

"Well, truthfully, I think you're a person who does stuff for kicks and tries to avoid the consequences."

"Oh, now you want the truth, is that it? Here's the truth. I think you're more scared of me and being near me than you are of anything else. You're afraid you'll get too close to me. Or fall for me again!"

"Oh, is that right?"

"Oh, that's right. And I sure as hell get a kick out of it!!"

"Well, I--" Someone was tugging on my robe.

"Mummy, why awe you and Mistew Won fighting? Hewe." Baker had walked up and she was now putting our hands together. "Thewe. That's bettew, isn't it? No mowe fighting." She turned to go back to her mud, but I stopped her.

"Baker..."

She turned around, gazing at me intently.

"Ron and I need to tell you something." I took my hand uncomfortably off Ron's. "Come here, honey." I sat down on the ground and opened my arms to show her to sit in my lap. She did so unquestioningly. "C'mon, Won." He pulled up a bit of grass beside me. "Now, what is it?" she asked.

"Remember that time we talked about daddies?" Baker nodded. "Well, I sort of told you a story when I said you didn't have a daddy of your very own." Ron looked at me slightly scandalized; I shook my head at him. He didn't even know my Baker. "Well, Mummy told a little story. Mister Ron here." I took a deep breath and prepared to take the plunge. "Ron, see, he's your very own daddy. All yours."

She looked from me to Ron, studying us both very closely. "Mistew Won is my vewy own daddy? Awe you suwe? I hawdly no Mistew Won. Mistew Hawwy maybe. But I hawdly know Mistew Won." She looked as though that settled the matter and patted Ron consolingly. "Sowwy, Won." She made to get up, but I held onto her tightly.

"Baker, you don't get to choose on this. It's got to be Ron all the way. In fact, if you really want, you can even call him Dad. Isn't that neat?" I looked over at Ron and muttered, "Well, aren't you going to say something?" But apparently, he was slightly dumbstruck.

"It's ok," Baker told me. "He doesn't want to be my daddy eithew."

That seemed to jog Ron back to his senses. "Don't be silly, Bake. Of course I want to be your Dad. Please can I be?" he asked. He seemed to think he'd said a pretty clever thing. I didn't like him calling her Bake though. He was already changing the way I ran our lives.

She looked at him uncertainly. "Maybe we could wowk something out," she finally conceded. He gave her a very small smile.

"Would you maybe call me Dad? Just so I know I stand a chance still? Or you know, if you want, you could still call me Ron," he asked in a far, nervous voice.

"How about just Won fow now?" she responded. "I like the name Won.

"Oh, that's fine," Ron said, his face falling. I felt instantly bad.

Baker ran back over to her mud and Ron sighed dejectedly. "Well, that went just past the side of awful."

I smiled at him. "You just need to give her time. She's only a kid; she'll understand eventually."

We both stared at her in silence for a moment. He sighed. "I hope so."

Ron said he'd watch Baker for the day; I could tell he genuinely wanted to get to know her, and he was upset at himself. He said he thought we could wait a few days to tell his family. I guess I was sort of afraid of them. What would they say? What would they think?

Harry sent me a short letter: I'll be over ASAP. I was wondering what he could still possibly want to annoy me about. I had done everything he wanted. I had gone to the stupid party, gotten re-involved in all my old friends lives, told Ron about Baker, and vice versa. I thought I was doing pretty well. Who knows with Harry though?

Ron took Baker out for some ice cream at Fortescue's. I would've been pretty reluctant had Harry not been coming over, but he assured me he wasn't totally incompetent with children. He also went and had a long talk with Gris, and in the end, she joined them. Ginny elected not to go but assured me she had much to do at the Weasleys' and would be gone for hours.

When I opened the door, Harry was smiling. "You did it!"

"Yeah, it was great," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Oh, c'mon," Harry chided. "I know you feel a little better. Liberated at least?"

"No!" I said, slamming the door behind him. "Now, I have to tell everybody. My friends, my family, Ron's family! God, what are they going to think?"

"Er- Hermione, they already know."

"What?! You told them?!"

"Oh, get real, Hermione. Ron is Mrs. Weasley's son. Of course she knew. So, she told everyone else in the family so they wouldn't be suspicious or ask or anything. Except Ron," he added, sniggering slightly. "But they've all basically known for a while. She, of course, knew the moment she laid eyes on Baker. I'm sure she doesn't blame you or anything. I mean, he is the one that left, right?"

"Right," I agreed, flopping down on the couch. "Thanks for helping me through all this, Harry. I couldn't have made it with out you. I don't deserve all the help. I didn't even deserve to be befriended by you again at all."

"Huh?"

"You know, I didn't actually deserve to be forgiven for being such a whore back at school."

"You can't be serious."

"Of course I am."

"You found a Pensieve, didn't you?"

"So what if I did? It doesn't change the fact that when I was supposedly your girlfriend, I was off snogging Ron. You should've known at that point I'd have a baby before I was twenty."

"Hermione, I think you're missing the real truth that all those things point to. All those things for years and years- in school, after school, even now."

"And, you're saying I, who never missed anything in school, who graduated top of my class, am missing a major point? Harry, I've never missed a major point in my entire life. I'm not trying to bang my own drum or anything, but that's just the way it is."

"That's where you're wrong, Hermione. You've always missed one major point. You've failed to see what's right in front of your eyes."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"I really shouldn't tell you this, you know. I should make you figure it out for yourself. Both of you," he added scathingly. "Anyway, when Ron and I first found out we were sharing a room at Auror training, we were basically both scared to death of each other. He said he thought I might try to kill him or something, and I was afraid he'd go off on me, tell me all the reasons he hated me now. But, the first thing he said when I came in was, 'I'm sorry.' He told me he'd regretted that we hadn't been friends anymore after 'the incident.' He said things would've gone better had we all just forgiven each other. I told him I wasn't even sure what had happened. You know what he said to me then? He said, 'Harry, I think I fell in love.'"

I looked up so fast I cricked my neck. "What?!"

"That was my reaction too. He didn't say anything else then, but later, I sure got a mouthful. In fact, he probably doesn't even remember all the stuff he told me. He was drunk, you see?" I nodded, hanging on his every word. "He went off, talking about that time, when you and him-and I-well, you know. He said he didn't understand why he had this need to be with you- to be with you as more than a friend. He told me every time he was around you, he got this strange urge to kiss you. He told me he met you in Diagon Alley and all he could think about was being with you. Then he told me about how he chased you to France-and met this other girl..." He paused and gave me a sidelong glance.

"Griselda," I said. He nodded.

"She was so pretty. And she really liked him for him. And he didn't lose friends when he tried to be with her. She was easier to understand. When he was with her that night, he could forget about you, even if it was short term. He wasn't worried about her, though. She was gone. He just wanted what was best for you. You had big plans, and he didn't need to get in the way of them. He said that mysterious girl in France made him realize that."

I did a tear check and ran my hands over the worn rug under my feet. Harry continued with his story. "You should've known him while we were at Auror training. It wasn't like back in school. All he ever focused on was his work. He didn't want to spend one minute thinking about you. Or anything else, I suppose. I reckon he thought he could just make work his life. And he did. For nearly three years, he wasn't the same Ron. It was weird, you know? When he came home, everyone noticed how different he was. Then, he came into my office one day, took me by the front of my collar, and told me, 'Oh my God, it's her.'"

"What?"

"It was Gris. I didn't believe him at first, but he swore it was the same girl. A couple weeks later they were dating. He seemed happy again. He was the guy I used to know. My best friend of all time. And I remembered why I was his best friend again. Even the guys we worked with noticed. Everything seemed perfect, until a few weeks ago. When someone new entered the picture. She sort of rocked all of our lives because she had this secret. This secret no one wanted let out of the bag but it had to be."

I ran my fingers through my still tangled hair, feeling slightly aggravated with him. "Harry, why are you telling me this? This isn't making me feel any better."

"Hermione, I'm telling you this, so you'll understand. So you'll finally get the main point. Ron has always risked everything to be with you. He's risking Gris now to see if he can still get one more kiss from you. He wrote to me early this morning. I know about Gris walking in on the two of you lying on the couch this morning. I thought Gris was his happiness, but now I'm not so sure. Gris was just one thing he could link to you; in France, Gris was you to him. That's why he forgot so easily. He changed when he lost you. I even know that when you were my girlfriend, you risked me. You both kissed each other, risking and losing all of our friendships. You're meant to be. No matter how many people either of you try to hide behind or how many times you try to get away and fall out of love. It just isn't going to happen! Fate knows. Ginny and I know! Even Gris knows deep down. We're all just waiting for you two to figure it out!"

He stopped for a moment to breathe, a slightly mad look on his face. "Harry, to say all that..." I paused, thinking for the perfect word. "You must be completely mental."

He stared at me for a moment, still looking as if he was going to go berserk. Then, he laughed. "You're right." We both began to laugh rather hard. All I could think was how ridiculous his sentiments were. After a moment though, I stopped.

"How did you know about the Pensieve?"

"Ron." We both quieted down and fidgeted a bit more.

"D'you know who I saw?"

"Who?" he asked. "Seamus when he was still skinny?"

"No... I saw Luna."

His smile was halted. "Really? H-how'd she look?"

"Perfect. Just like I remembered."

"That's good."

We feel silent. "How long has it been?" I asked quietly.

"Six years?" he said, trying to do the math on his fingers. "About six years, I think."

"You miss her a lot, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Is that why it's been so hard for you to commit to Ginny?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me, it is."

"Almost as obvious as you and Ron are to me?"

"You weren't...serious, were you?"

"Dead. And I don't use that word lightly."

"I guess you really miss her?" I asked, going for a swift subject change.

"Who? Luna? Yeah, I do. Always thinking about what could've been, you know."

"That's why you shouldn't let something get in the way of you and Ginny, Harry. What if something does happen and you never really let her know how you feel? To make that commitment?"

"I dunno. Things don't seem like you need to get them said so quickly anymore. Not with Voldemort gone and everything."

"Is he?" My mouth seemed to be moving ahead of my brain. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to say that," I said, alarmed.

"Don't be. You may be right. But, nonetheless, I should say it. Take the jump. As should you."

"What?"

"Nothing. I'll talk to you later, Hermione. Be good." He Disapparated before I could question him any further.

"...and then we went and looked at the bwooms. Won thinks that I could wide a weal one pwetty soon."

"We'll see," I said glancing at Ron. He shrugged innocently as Baker plunged on with her story.

"And Won showed me how to use his wand!" My head snapped in Ron's direction. He was shaking his head, but when I looked, he started scratching the back of his neck and gave me a smile.

"And what did Ron let you do with his wand?" I asked in an ultra sweet voice, turning my head back to Baker.

"He taught me how to do a spell. Can I show Mummy?!" she asked looking excitedly at Ron.

"Er- not tonight, Bake. Why don't you go lie down? I think it's about your bedtime."

"Well past," I said, checking my watch.

She came over and sat in my lap. "Mummy," she whispered to me, glancing at Ron, "is Won coming ovew again tomowow?"

"I don't know, Baker," I told her honestly. "He probably has to work."

"Oh," she said, her face falling, "Am I going to Mrs. Awdsley's?"

"We'll see. Why don't you go on back and get ready for bed now, Baker? I'll be in to tuck you in in a minute."

"And Won too?"

"Yeah," Ron told her with a grin. "You bet, Bake."

"I like having a daddy!" she said, and scurried from the room.

When I had heard he door slam shut and actually believed she was in bed, I turned toward Ron. "Your wand?" I snapped.

He smiled innocently. "I was just making sure she could do magic. How embarrassing would it be if she couldn't?"

"That's not funny, Ron! She could've hurt herself."

"Nah, she's gonna be a damn good witch...someday. Like Mum, like daughter."

We sat in silence for a moment, me struggling not to blush. How could he make me not be furious with him so quickly?

"Ron, is something weird going on?" I asked abruptly.

"Weird? What are you talking about?" He seemed to be remaining totally calm and cool, but I saw his ears turn a bright red color. Some things he could just never hide from me.

"I'm talking about you two, you and Harry, you know? You two all the sudden showing up back in my life; right after you've gotten out of auror training."

"Hint, hint, Hermione. It was because we were in auror training. We didn't have time to go prancing around, reuniting with old friends." It would've been a totally convincing story had his ears not been glowing throughout the whole thing.

"I don't know," I continued. "I keep getting these weird feelings that something else happened. Like I lived something I don't remember living at all. But I did live it. Is that weird?"

Ron laughed. "A little. What the hell are you talking about?"

"I get the feeling you two have something to do with it...I just don't know."

"We're making you have hallucinations?" Ron asked curiously.

"Shut up."

He shrugged. "That's what it sounds like you're saying."

"Mummy! Won!"

"We're being paged," Ron said, looking relieved.

I followed him, still giving him uneasy glances. Just before he opened the door, I reached my arms across his.

"There's something going on, Weasley. And I know about it. And if I find out you know about it too, you're dead meat." I smiled.

He did too.

A/N: Sorry, guys, no time to write my off-the-heezy shoutouts today. I promise you'll get double next chapter. Please don't hate me! Write me a really long review about how I've let you down, but don't hate me. "Stop copying down these lies!"

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