Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! JKR does!
A/N: Well, sorry if I didn't update before, but it's not my fault: my beta-reader was busy! Now she is on holiday and, even if the next chapter is ready I have to wait, she said that she will be away for 6 days! And sorry if it's short, but it's so for my choice. This chapter was difficult to write, coz finally Ron and Hermione…
To Erin:Thank you very much for beta reading! You are very patient and very nice!
A Date at the Leaky Cauldron
Hermione sat alone in the Leaky Cauldron. Her table was very close to the door that opened onto the Muggle world. It was very crowded.
Lilian was at the pet shop, in Diagon Alley. She was watching the big largevariety of cats that there were; some of them were still kittens.
Hermione hadtold her to come in five minutes, because they were going to meet somebody and have a long chat, but she didn't tell her whom they were going to meet in case she really couldn't handle it and wanted to run away.
Her daughter wouldn't have hated her because she hadn't been strong enough.
But she couldn't leave. Not now, because they were entering the Leaky Cauldron at that very moment.
Hermione saw them immediately and stared at them for a long time before they could spother.
They had grown so much. They were men, now. Harry still had his round glasses and untidy hair. And Ron had his red hair and his face was covered with freckles. They were different, of course they were older, but they were still the same.
Hermione felt something, something that she didn't think she could feel with that intensity: joy.
She was staring at Ron and suddenly he turned in her direction.
Their eyes met.
Nobody looked away.
Nobody moved.
Then after what seemed ages, Ron smiled.
Hermione smiled too, and then was Harry's turn to see her and grin.
They walked through the tables and reached her.
She stood up.
Harry hugged her, beating Ron who had just taken a step towards her too.
When he let go her, Ron didn't move.
Harry had to elbow him to make him come back to reality.
Ron met her eyes again.
Now it was her turn to take a step towards him.
They hugged each other.
Ron closed his eyes and smelled her scent.
Hermione's eyes filled with tears and she closed them to not cry.
After several minutes they let go ofeach other.
Hermione blushed a little. She nodded towards the table.
They all sat down. Nobody had spoken yet.
Harry tried to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Hermione-" he started, but she stopped him.
"No, Harry. Please wait. We are waiting for someone else," and with that she took her eyes away from them and started to throw nervous glances at the door that opened onto Diagon Alley.
"Who?" asked Harry.
Hermione simply smiled, not taking her eyes away from the door.
"Professor Weasley! Professor Potter!"
A little girl with red bushy hair was walking quickly in their direction.
Lilian.
"Hi, Lilian," said Harry.
"Hi. What are you doing here?" said Ron eloquently, looking at Harry.
"Well, Mom and I," she saidand indicated Hermione, "are here for some Christmas shopping. She said-"
But she stopped.
Harry and Ron were both looking at Hermione with their mouths wide open.
"What?" she asked, clueless about what was going on in the minds of the three people that sat at that table.
"Y-your daughter?" stammered Harry.
Hermione nodded.
"But you must have had her when you were seventeen-" said Ron speaking to her for the first time.
Hermione nodded again.
"- when you left Hogwarts-" he finished.
"Hogwarts?" Lilian demanded. "When have you been to Hogwarts?" she asked, taken aback.
"I'm going to tell you a story. The story of what happened eleven years ago. I think you all deserve it," she said without meeting Ron's eyes.
She drank some pumpkin juice and cleared her throat, ready to talk.