Ron's eyes switched anxiously between Hermione and Harry as they both stared at the child who was now sitting awkwardly on the table, both of their faces furrowed in confusion and giving him skeptical glances every few seconds. He was quite frankly stunned and had no idea what to make of this situation and hoped for one of them to tell him what they should do next because his brain was at a stand still after the girl's revelations.
He watched Rose as she looked around the tent with a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face, not saying a word even though she hadn't shut up when he had been carrying her there. He noticed that she had her hands wrapped around her bare feet, both of them bright red from having been walking in the snow. He had two jumpers on and he reached down and pulled off the top one, removing it and tossing it to her before quickly sitting back, not wanting to get too close. She gave him a small smile before she wrapped it around her feet and looked back up at him expectantly. A chill ran down his spine at her gaze because he had to admit that she did look eerily similar to him.
While at first he hadn't believed her, something in him was telling him that she was telling the truth and that she really was his daughter. Although all of the things that she had said had been the final tipping point in him coming to this conclusion, he knew that it was more than just that. He had felt uneasy right at the beginning at the way that she had looked at him, as if she really knew him. There was a familiarity with the way that she spoke to him, as if talking to him was an everyday occurance. He also thought about the way that she had clung onto him, as if she were safe. It was definitely not the way an eight year old girl would react to a stranger that they had just met in the middle of the woods.
He drummed his fingers nervously on his knee. He was a dad. Well obviously not yet, but he would be. With the war and everything he honestly had been in the mindset that he wouldn't live long enough to even have children, that he wouldn't live long enough to do much of anything really, but apparently he had been wrong. He couldn't stop staring at her, studying her as if she had all of the answers of his future, which of course, she actually did. What kinds of things would she be able to tell him? Should he even ask those questions? He wasn't sure.
"What do you mean, your daughter?" Hermione asked him, her eyes still fixed on the girl, her eyes narrowed as if she was deeply concentrated on trying to figure out this mystery.
"I found her in the middle of the woods." he replied, his gaze moving from Rose to Hermione. "I know that it sounds mental, but she knows things, things about me that she could only know if she were close to me. She says that I'm her dad and that she's from the year 2013, and well, just look at her." he gestured towards the small ginger girl. "She looks just like me, yeah?"
"And you believe her?" Harry asked incredulously, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the girl as he narrowed his eyes. "This is obviously some sort of trick Ron and I can't believe that you would bring her back in here and put us all in danger like this." he muttered. "Who are you?" he asked Rose in a manner that revealed that he didn't believe that she was a little girl at all, but rather, a threat to their safety.
Instead of looking scared however, Ron saw Rose slightly smirk at his best mate. "You wouldn't hurt me Uncle Harry."
At her words, Harry's eyes widened and his composure wavered. "Un...Uncle?" he sputtered.
Hermione leaned forward and laid her hand on the girl's knee that was still covered in Ron's thick jacket. "What's your name sweetie?" she asked softly.
Ron frowned as he noticed the way that Rose's body instantly tensed up at Hermione's touch and she didn't look at her when she replied. "My name is Rose. And please don't call me sweetie like I'm a baby."
Hermione quickly pulled her hand away, taken aback. "I'm sorry. Rose. That's a beautiful name."
"Thank you." Rose replied curtly, managing a small smile in Hermione's direction before turning back to Ron. "I'm not lying and I'm not here to hurt you. This really was just a mistake and I need to get back or I don't know what will happen." her lip slightly quivered. "I'm not supposed to be here."
Ron heard the vulnerability and fear in her voice. Not that he felt really fatherly towards the child, but he did sense a strong urge to protect her and help her get back to where she was supposed to be. "Right." he said, leaning forward in his chair. "How do we help you get back then?" he asked.
"I-I'm not really sure." Rose replied, looking down at the table dejectedly. "I was hoping that you would know."
Finally recovered, Harry spoke up. "We can try to do whatever we can to help you Rose, but we need to be sure that you are who you say you are. Do you mind answering some questions for us?" he asked in a business-like tone.
"Yes, I can do that!" she answered happily while looking eager. Ron watched the way that she had visibly perked up at this idea and he was greatly reminded of the way Hermione used to look at Hogwarts when a teacher would spring a surprise pop quiz on the class.
Ron's breath froze in his chest. Could it possibly be? With all of the shock and questions that had run through his mind since finding her, he hadn't even thought about who her mum could possibly be. Somewhere in the future, Ron was out there with a woman, a woman that he had chosen to have a family with, a woman that had chosen to have a family with him. His eyes went back and forth between Hermione and Rose, frantically looking for similarities between the two of them. Honestly he couldn't see himself marrying anyone except Hermione, even though at this point in time he had no idea if his feelings for her were even reciprocated. What if Rose was his and Hermione's daughter? He stared even harder at the girl, disappointed that all he really saw was himself. Damn Weasley genes, he internally grumbled.
"She already told me our names and that we are hunting horcruxes, just so you know." he told Harry as Hermione just intently watched, unusually quiet.
"Ok then." said Harry, his face set in concentration. "What was the name of the three-headed dog Hagrid owned in our first year?"
"Easy. Fluffy!" she grinned.
Harry went on. "Who did I go to the yule ball with?"
"Pavati Patil. Daddy went with Padma but he was a horrible date." she giggled and Ron felt his face go red.
"I was only fourteen." he mumbled, crossing his arms and noticing Hermione rolling her eyes at him.
"Nevermind that, let's move on." Harry snapped. "How did we rescue Sirius in third year?"
"A time turner. She-" Rose gestured towards Hermione "was taking a lot of classes that were happening at the same time so Headmistress Mcgonagall got special permission from the ministry for her to use one for the year. After Sirius was captured by the dementors, Dumbledore gave you the idea to go back in time and save Buckbeak's life and fly to the top of the tower to break Sirius free. I never got to meet Sirius, but always wished that I had." she added wistfully.
"Headmistress Mcgonagall?" Ron asked slowly.
Rose shook her head enthusiastically. Yes, she's the headmistress now. Although she is quite old, she doesn't act like it. We see her often, as she is a good friend of the family and is known to come to The Burrow for dinner every once in a while.
Harry looked impressed and he and Ron glanced at each other, their eyebrows raised.
"What creatures did we encounter in our second year?" Ron asked. It was amazing to him that she seemed to know everything about them.
"You both were almost eaten by a whole bunch of Acromantulas, and then Uncle Harry was almost killed by a basilisk, but Fawkes saved him."
"Who was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in our fourth year?" Hermione asked, finally joining in on the conversation.
Rose looked slightly uncomfortable for only half a second before answering. "That's a trick question. Mad-eye Moody was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that year, but he really was Barty Crouch Jr. taking polyjuice potion." she smiled like the cat that had swallowed the canary. "Have I proven myself yet?" she asked. "I've answered every question correctly. Honestly though, those questions weren't hard at all, Daddy's been telling me all the stories about everything that happened to him while he was growing up for as long as I can remember."
Ron watched as Hermione smiled softly at this before turning to look at first him, and then Harry. "I believe her." she told them. "I think she is who she says she is."
Ron nodded at her as he watched Harry slowly do the same.
Suddenly, a brilliant thought popped into his head. "Hey! You can help us! Do you know what the other horcruxes are?"
Harry straightened up in excitement while Hermione looked back and forth between them seemingly hesitant "Ron, I don't think it's wise to know too much about the future. What if it changes things and creates a bunch of problems?"
Ron saw that Rose too had looked reluctant until Hermione had spoken and then her face had turned defiant as she immediately started naming things. "The ring, the diary, the locket, the cup, the diadem, the snake and-" she glanced at Harry before cutting herself off.
Harry didn't seem to notice that she hadn't finished her sentence, his face amazed. "Absolutely brilliant!" he exclaimed. "Do you know where they all are?" he pressed, his face a mask of excited anticipation.
Rose nodded as Ron spoke. "The ring, the diary and the locket are already destroyed, the locket only a few weeks ago." he added. He could have sworn that he saw a look of pity from Rose when he had mentioned the locket. Bloody hell did she know all about that too?
"The cup is in the Lestrange vault at Gringotts. The diadem is in the room of requirement at Hogwarts, and the snake is with Vo- erm, you-know-who." Rose clarified quickly, as if she knew all of these facts by heart.
"So what you're saying is that we eventually find and destroy them all and win?" Harry asked incredulously. "You-know-who is gone? Really gone?"
"Yep!" Rose replied. "He was gone long before I was even born."
"Do you happen to know the exact date?" Harry asked, almost giddy with what looked like relief.
"May 2nd, 1998." Rose answered as the three teenagers looked around at each other in disbelief. Even Hermione, who had been sitting there stoically before seemed to become livelier by the implication that they were so close to the end of this thing.
Ron glanced at Hermione real quick before building up the courage to ask Rose what he had been wondering throughout the whole conversation.
"Rose. Uhm, who's your...mum?"
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hermione's head jerk up and look at the girl expectantly, her body still, almost as if she were holding her breath.
The girl's eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't have a mum." she said icily.
Ron's stomach fell and he suddenly went cold all over. "But you have to have one, I mean everyone has a mum." he said, confused. "You wouldn't even be alive without someone to, you know, give birth to you."
"Well, I don't have one." Rose stated, looking at him as if daring him to argue but he decided not to pursue it anymore for the time being. He knew that he would have to try and find a way to get the truth out of her eventually.
Sensing the awkwardness that the conversation had taken, Harry spoke up. "Earlier you called me uncle. Are you saying that I marry-"
"Aunt Ginny, yes."
Harry and Ron's eyes widened as Hermione smiled and let out a little laugh. "Don't worry Daddy. They're very happy together." Rose added.
It took a minute for Ron to realize that she was talking to him again. He was certainly not used to being called 'Daddy' and to be honest, it was extremely odd as he certainly hadn't earned that title quite yet.
"How about Hermione here?" Ron asked. "How's she doing in the future?" Ron asked nervously, hoping that her answer would clue him in more about what he only slightly suspected.
Rose looked perplexed by the question, her face furrowed in concentration, obviously figuring out what to say. "I don't know." she answered slowly. "I've never met her."
Again Ron's heart dropped. For some reason, he didn't feel like the girl was lying, but he sensed that she wasn't being fully truthful either as her eyes were now avoiding his, her hands nervously twisting in her lap.
He leaned further towards her. "But you knew her name. You knew who she was." he pressed on.
Rose swallowed. "The only things that I know about her are the stories that you have told me. You used to know her a long time ago...but not anymore."
He sat back then, feeling sick. He couldn't even imagine a life without Hermione in it. Why wasn't she in his life? What was Rose hiding? In his gut he felt like he already knew the answer, but it was too horrible to even fathom and he tried not to break down in front of them.
In such a short amount of time his dreams for the future assuming if he survived the war, had absolutely crumbled. What the hell had happened? Had Hermione even survived the war? He tried not to look at Hermione, afraid that he wouldn't be able to hide the turmoil that he was currently feeling from her. He was totally and utterly in love with her, but she didn't know that. If she really was gone, then he had to figure out a way to stop whatever was going to happen to her from happening.
He knew that it was another thing that he was going to have to pry out of Rose when he had a chance to talk to her privately. Maybe she was just uncomfortable talking about this stuff in front of Hermione, but would easily tell him the truth? He was her dad after all, and he would demand answers.
The tent was silent and when Ron finally pulled himself from his thoughts, it looked as if Hermione and Harry seemed to have come to the same conclusion as the mood around them became somber, with no one looking at or speaking to each other.