A/N: This chapter is brought to you by my left hand, as I have tendentious in my right wrist. It's taken me a while to write this all out, but here it is!

Luka-black- There's a bit more plot stuff going on before we figure out exactly what happens. I would do an outtake, but it wouldn't here on Hopefully, you like the rest of the story anyway.

Isnani- Hahaha I love that you're throwing the characters a party!

Mouskadiddle- The 'parts' thing was my favorite thing to write. I'm a fan of banter! Ron wasn't necessarily bad at describing the Peregrinus.. because that's what it is. A big silvery blob.

Ingenious- I'm hoping I haven't caused you any mental seizures in the time I took in between chapters. Poking at the keys with one finger on my left hand only has made the process rather slow LOL!

Lucidity- Ron is a silly boy, isn't he? He's learned his lesson now, so don't worry! The wooing part is soon to come!

BuckNC – I'm sorry for driving you crazy with my slowness. I'm just a procrastinator who's always like "I'll start it tomorrow. Nobody will care." I'll try and speed it up a bit.

Cursed Wedlock by MyKonstantine.

Chapter 8: Homebound Hearts

A rush of panic ran through Ron and Hermione as the last reddened crystal fell on top of the pile.

"But these are the only magical crystals in Egypt!" Hermione dropped to her knees and began the dig through the pile. "The Lucidare has to be there! It has to!"

The cause was hopeless. Every crystal was red, which indicated that Ron had already touched them and gotten no reaction from them. Two months of searching came down to nothing,

It seemed as if Hermione would break down into tears until two strong, freckly arms rested upon her shoulders. Ron rubbed her shoulders while he spoke. "S'alright 'Mione. We can find it. There still five months left to find it."

Hermione went to correct him, to tell him that it was actually closer to four months, but she didn't care enough to at the moment.

She slowly rose to her feet, turned around, and held Ron in a tight embrace.

It was the most affection they'd shown in a while. Since their spontaneous day of passion, they had significantly calmed their hormones. They still spent many hours snogging in their hotel room, but they had much more important things to do.

They were still rather private. The family knew that something had become of them, since Bill had reported to the family after seeing Ron and Hermione holding hands and hugging around the wizards' bank.

Today was no different. Their hands were woven together from the moment they left the vault at Gringotts until they entered their little hotel room.

Hermione let a long sigh as she fell back on to the bed. Ron went directly to the bar and poured himself a shot. Their thoughts twisted at a rapid pace, but they both remained completely silent.

"Ron," Hermione said, breaking the silence. "You know we have to go back."

"Yeah, I know."

Ron contacted his family by means of a hotel owl to inform them of their lack of results. It was perhaps the hardest letter he'd ever had to write.

Ron finally had his chance to be the hero, and he believed that he had failed.

It was a reluctant goodbye two days later as Ron shared a brotherly embrace with Bill, but it needed to be done. There was no reason for Ron and Hermione to stay in Egypt anymore. They had very little time to waste.

"When you get time off work, you should come visit the family. Mum would be thrilled." Ron told his brother, though rather solemnly. He still wasn't in the best of spirits.

"We'd be thrilled to have you there, as well." Added the bushy haired girl who was now moving forward to give Bill a friendly hug.

Bill nodded in agreement. "I'm going to try to get home before Ginny and Harry have their baby. Perhaps Charlie will come as well."

He didn't elaborate on the statement, but Ron and Hermione knew what Bill meant. He wanted to gather his entire family together as soon as possible, because it might be his last chance to do so.

A tear gathered in Hermione's eye as she pulled back and moved toward the fireplace connected to the floo network, but she quickly blinked at away. Hope wasn't lost just yet.

It took them only a few minutes to get through the customs at the International Floo Headquarters and stumble out of the fireplace at the Burrow.

Speckled in soot and feeling rather nauseous, the pair was glad that they received a warm reception despite the fact that their mission had been unsuccessful.

"Ron! 'Mione!" Harry had been the first to approach them and helped them both up off the floor. The rest of the family was close behind, giving them their greetings.

Ginny was the last to reach Ron and Hermione. Her protruding stomach made it difficult to push through the crowd.

"Your stomach's grown a bit." Ron said, tilting his head to the side.

A slightly emotional look flashed over Ginny's look, but all she replied with was "Might that be because I'm six months pregnant?"

"Come now! I've cooked a lovely dinner, and it's waiting us all in the kitchen!" Mrs. Weasley called out, as if sensing Ginny's hormonal fluctuations.

"That sounds great!" Hermione said quickly. "Let me just change into something a little warmer." After spending two months in Egypt, Hermione had almost forgotten about the bitter cold winters in England. She was rudely reminded of the harsh weather by the still draft in the Burrow.

It took her only a minute or two to change before she joined everyone else for diner.

Ron and Hermione sat down next to each other at the family table with Harry and Ginny at the opposite side. Fred took a seat next to Ron, and George took a seat next to Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat respectively at the two ends of the table.

They shoveled food on to their plates and into their mouths are if they'd never eaten anything quite so delicious before. For Ron and Hermione, it was partially true, as no hotel room service could compare to Mrs. Weasley's cooking.

Mrs. Weasley kept glancing at Ron and Hermione with a coy smile. It wasn't until everything got quiet about halfway through the meal that she finally said what she seemed to be holding back for a while.

"So, Ron, Hermione, Bill tells me that you two have perhaps started dating?"

Ron and Hermione looked from Mrs. Weasley to each other to the table. A blush ran over them both, though Ron's was much more noticeable.

"That's lovely then." Ginny's swift voice chimed in. "Maybe someday Ron will go get Hermione pregnant, then rub it in her face that her stomach looks fat."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Ron growled, but he refrained from speaking any further after Hermione jabbed him in the ribs.

Harry put one hand over Ginny's. "We've been over this! You're not fat, Gin. It's just the baby."

Ginny lifted her hand up, flicking Harry's hand away as if it were a bug. "Don't you give me that, Harry James Potter! I look fat and I know it! Everyone knows it!"

"No, really, you don't." It was Hermione's turn to attempt putting some sense into Ginny. "Since the body growth is only in that one area and the rest of you is pretty slender, people will know that you're expecting a baby. To most people, seeing a woman that's carrying a child only makes the woman far more lovely."

Hermione wasn't too sure how this speech would go over, but Ginny's laughter cleared the tension. "Thank you, 'Mione, love. You're right. It's just a little room for the baby."

"Hey!" Harry grunted in protest. "That's exactly what I said before her!"

"But Hermione said it better than you did."

"URGH!"

George let out a little chuckle. "Apparently, Ginny isn't the only one with hormonal issues."

Harry shot George a heated look of hatred that could have melted ice.

"Anyhow, we have an appointment at St. Mungo's tomorrow." Ginny said to Hermione, patting her belly. "You and Ron should come along, since you've been gone the last few times we went."

Hermione practically jumped up and down in the seat. "That'd be lovely! Wouldn't it Ron?"

Ron, who certainly had his mouth filled to the brim with mashed potatoes, managed to let out a mumbled "Of course!"

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Hermione asked. She been gone so long, that she hadn't been able to ask these questions.

"We don't want to know. It's going to be a surprise." Harry smiled as he said this, but Hermione's face dropped.

It was just like Harry to be spontaneous and keep things surprising, but it conflicted with Hermione's eagerness to always plan ahead of time. How could she buy baby gifts if she didn't even know the gender of the little Potter?

Speaking of gifts, a train of thought ran over Hermione like a pile of bricks.

"Christmas is in three days."

"And you're just realizing this now?" Fred inquired, raising an eyebrow at her.

Hermione tried her best not to feel completely dim, but it didn't work. Way to make a fool out of herself!

"I knew, but it just didn't seem like Christmas in Egypt." She replied, though unconvincingly.

She didn't know why this revelation made her so tense, as she'd already bought everyone's presents months ago. Perhaps it was more of a nervous tension about what she would receive from the others.

"Well, I'm off to bed." Ginny sighed, levitating her plate into the sink. "I've got to be well rested for our appointment tomorrow."

As Hermione sank down into her bed that night, something was missing.

Was it the dry Egyptian air? Or perhaps the perfectly white hotel sheets? No, that wasn't it.

It was the way the bed sunk down next to her. It was the feeling of comfort. It was Ron.

Tossing aside layers of blankets, Hermione lifted herself up out of bed. Her warm feet felt the shock of the cold floor as she began walking across the darkened room.

To a point, Hermione was thankful that Ginny and Harry know shared a room. She could visit Ron without anyone noticing or questioning her intentions.

She tiptoed down the hall until she found herself in front of a door with a sign hanging outside it that said 'Ronald's Room.'

Opening the door just a crack, Hermione peeked in to find a red haired boy lying in bed fully awake. He looked at her with a mixed express of shock and happiness. "Hermione?"

"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep." Hermione said, letting herself into the room and shutting the door, before walking over to stand next to his bed.

Her watched her shadow in the dark room. "It's okay. I couldn't sleep either."

Hermione sat herself down on the edge of the bed. Ron, getting the hint, moved over and allowed her to lie down beside him.

"Is it alright if I stay here?" Hermione asked. "I won't sleep here if you don't want me to. I'll just stay here until I get tired enough."

Ron quietly agreed, but he didn't wish her to leave. They talked aimlessly for a bit which made him content, but he was even happier when he recognized her steady breathing as she slumbered in his bed.

A very nonchalant Harry awakened them the next morning. He only told them to hurry their arses up if they wanted to go to St. Mungo's with himself and Ginny before leaving the room.

Ron and Hermione were a bit shocked that Harry wasn't at all phased by finding the in the same bed. They all had truly grown up.

After an hour of getting ready, they finally got to St. Mungo's and Ginny's name was called. They hurried into the hospital room where a healer was already waiting.

Hermione was enthralled to see a magical ultrasound, but it wasn't as complex as she'd imagined. The healer simply muttered an incantation and Ginny's stomach glowed. Hermione watched as the glowing figure of a small baby projected itself on a larger scale in the air above Ginny's stomach.

The healer moved to the side. He studied the miniature body carefully for a few moments while everyone else seemed to wait to hear his observations.

"Well," the healer finally said, "everything looks fine here. However, I stress the importance of contacting me if you're ever in any severe pain. Are you sure you don't want to know the sex of the baby?"

Ginny kindly told him that they didn't wish to know, and Hermione added, "I think I already know, anyway."

"Tell me!" Ron said like an eager child.

Harry put a hand over Hermione's mouth. "Even if you've figured it out, don't tell anyone! Ginny and I really don't know, so neither should Ron or anyone else!"

Hermione agreed with Harry's request, which only caused Ron to whine and grumble to himself.

He continued to do so all the way back to The Burrow.

"Why is it so important to you?" Hermione asked him as she sat on the parlor of the Burrow. She couldn't understand why he didn't just give up already.

"That's my niece or nephew! I'm going to be an uncle! I want to know!"

Hermione smiled. He was awfully cute when he was frustrated. Her little bit of knowledge was driving him crazy. Still, she'd made a promise to Harry and she would keep it.

"You'll find out in three months when the baby is born."

Ron growled. "You are going to be the death of me, Hermione."

"These next three months are going to be glorious."

Next chapter.. Christmas and some more progression on Lucidare!

Reviews are greatly appreciated!