Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny all sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Life felt more normal than ever, despite the oddities one couple was experiencing.
"Oi! Geroff Gin!" Ron shouted as he and Ginny battled it out for the last piece of bacon. The group laughed as the two quidditch players grappled for the piece of meat. Ginny lunged forward and grabbed it, immediately putting it in her mouth. Ron pouted in his seat as Ginny laughed at her victory.
"So boys, are you ready for quidditch try-outs when we get back?" Ginny challenged with a smirk on her face.
"Try-outs?!" Both Harry and Ron shouted.
"Of course! I was named captain last year! Although we didn't get to play before Snape banned it, we did have try-outs and built a whole new team. You both may have a bit of competition!" Ginny laughed, with the boys unclear if this was a joke or not. "It's a big season for us ya know, some scouts'll be at the games!"
"Wait really Gin? Well they must be there to see you. this is incredible!" exclaimed Hermione, who was just excited to be back in the conversation.
Ginny smiled proudly, "Yup! Hopefully the Harpies will still be interested even though I didn't play last year."
"Oh Gin, you know they will be. And I would be lucky to be on your team." Harry said before leaning in for a kiss.
"Hey, that is SO not fair! You can't just give spots away to your boyfriend!" Ron yelled, clearly worried about his spot on the team.
"Oh bugger off big brother, you both know you'll be on the team. There isn't any better Seeker or Beater I could replace you with! Believe me, I already tried." She said with a laugh.
As the group finished breakfast, the boys got to tidying the dishes when Arthur came in the front door.
"Home already dad?" Ron questioned, slightly alarmed at why his dad would've left the Ministry so early in the day. Clearly Harry was concerned too, as he clutched his wand in his pocket.
"Relax boys! All's well! I do have some exciting news for you two. Where's Hermione?" Arthur calmed the anxious boy's nerves as he glanced around the first floor of the Burrow.
"Oh they went upstairs or something." Harry answered.
"Would one of you go get her? I'll tell you all together."
"I've got it." Harry replied as he jogged up the stairs.
Soon enough the trio and Arthur were sitting in the living room, which took them back to the reading of Dumbledore's will..
"So you all know there has been some restructuring going on in the Ministry and there has been a lot of voting going on.. Kingsley made a suggestion; we build a fund for families who lost loved ones in the war. We all agreed and then he had another suggestion." Arthur paused, looking into each of the teenager's eyes.
"That we repay you three, and those part of Dumbledore's Army, for what you gave up. I know you all hate hearing this, but the wizarding and muggle world's would have been destroyed if you three hadn't fought for us."
The trio all stared at Arthur, confused and bashful as ever.
"What do you mean exactly, repay us?" Harry finally asked, clearly concerned about being paid for doing what was right.
"Well, we set up individual funds for the three of you - which was added to your Gringotts accounts today. Repaying you for the years you lost. The Ministry… well the people who were formerly in charge of the Ministry didn't take you seriously, and lives were lost because of that. You lost your childhoods to a battle you should have never had to fight." Arthur continued, "So with all of the unfortunate deaths of wizards on both sides of the battle, quite a bit of money was left in the hands of the Ministry of those people who had no relatives. Additionally, many Death Eaters have been rounded up and sentenced to life in Azkaban, so their money is also being used in this way. It sounds a bit morbid… but I'm thinking of it as repurposing money that was once funding the Death Eaters. So the three of you have each been given a large sum of about one million galleons-"
"No! This isn't right!" Hermione shouted.
"Well Hermione…" Harry started cautiously, "Maybe it does make some sense. I'm not saying that it isn't too much, because it absolutely is. But what Arthur said does make sense."
Ron just sat silent, pondering the new information. "What do the others get?" He questioned softly.
"Everyone who was in Dumbledore's Army is getting about a quarter million pounds, thanking them for their efforts for what they did within the castle. For those who had died like that boy Colin… and Fred, er their money will be left to their closest relative. They will receive notification of the money being in their Gringotts accounts, but other than that there will not be another word about it. Kingsley has already said he will not take the money back in any form." Arthur stated. "Well, let me know if any of you have any questions, I'll leave you three to it."
Arthur left the room, leaving the trio all blankly staring into the fire.
"Do you think he's told Ginny?" Harry asked.
"He probably is right now… I'm sure she'll be down soon." Ron answered quietly.
The three waited a few more minutes, until Ginny charged downstairs and plopped down in the chair closest to Harry.
"What the bloody hell…" Ginny sighed, all four feeling like this was wrong.
"What do we even do with it all? It's more than we could ever need." Hermione asked.
Ron's wheels were spinning, with the pieces of a plan starting to form. "Harry, can we go take a walk?"
"Um, yeah mate."
The two boys headed for the door hastily, Harry clearly confused about what Ron needed right then.
"So you own Grimmauld Place, yeah?" Ron started.
"Um, yeah Sirius left it to me when he died."
"What if Mione and I got a place near there? We're clearly going to need a home soon, and I'm sure you and Ginny will be moving in there once we're done with our NEWTs. What'd ya think?"
A smile grew across Harry's face, "You're the only family I've ever known, of course I want to live near you two!"
The two joined in a quick hug, before Harry pulled away and asked, "Wait mate, why'd we need to come out here for this?"
Ron chuckled, "Well for one, I didn't know if you and Gin had talked about after Hogwarts yet… Also I don't know what the rest of the family would have to say about you two moving in together. I'm sure they expect it, but you should also expect to get some shit from us. You may be the Boy Who Lived, but she's our little sister."
Harry laughed, a bit scared for what was coming for him from the Weasley brothers.
"But also, I was thinking, what if I surprised Hermione with it? A house? I've also gotta get a ring here soon but that's a different story…" Ron trailed off.
"A ring?! I get it considering you're having a kid-"
Ron cut Harry off, "No mate, it's not just that. I mean yeah, we're having a kid and that kid will need a house and mum and dad that are stable and all of that… But come on, it's Mione. I can't not marry her. She's just it."
"Well it sounds like Hermione has two surprises coming her way then," Harry said with a chuckle, "So which one are you planning on doing first?"
Ron smiled, "I'm thinking of getting the house then working on it maybe? Making sure it's perfect for her. But the ring, I'm thinking about proposing pretty soon."
"What's pretty soon?"
"... I was thinking on New Years Eve…"
"Mate that's in 3 days! How'll you have time for that? And why so fast?!"
"Um, it was on New Years Eve when she forgave me for leaving… I was planning on enlisting you and Gin to help me with that one-"
"Perfect! Oh she'll bloody love this!" Harry exclaimed, somehow with an even bigger smile than before, "Since we're out here, maybe we could make a deal, once we find you a place near mine, maybe we work together to renovate them? I don't like the idea of hiring anyone else to handle it."
"Sounds like a plan!" Ron exclaimed
"I just can't believe it," Hermione sighed, sitting with Ginny still in shock thinking about their conversation with Arthur. "Like, we didn't do it for money…"
"Of course we didn't, but I think it's their way of apologizing for it all y'know?" Ginny tried to reason, "We all fought for them to take us seriously, and only the Order took us seriously… So we had to go it alone."
"I guess you're right… but that's more money than I'll ever use!"
Ginny laughed, "And with you and Ron together… You'll make the 'Richest Witch and Wizards of 1998' list!"
Hermione buried her head in her hands, embarrassed at the numbers she was crunching in her head.
Later that night, Harry and Ron filled Ginny in on their plan while Hermione took her extra long shower.
"So I'll take Hermione by Luna's to help make plans for the New Years Party tomorrow, and then you two will go jewelry shopping." Harry went over, excited to be conspiring against one of his best friends with his other best friend and his girlfriend.
"Oh she's going to freak!" Ginny said with a squeal.
"Most importantly, she'll have no idea it's coming since she literally helped plan the party!" Ron exclaimed, looking over his shoulder to make sure Hermione was nowhere in sight. "Wait! I think I just heard the water turn off, I guess we'll finish this off in the morning!"
The three mischievous teenagers disbanded, getting ready for the most fun mission they've ever embarked on.
This was one of my favorite chapters to write! Darker stuff is coming... but I am loving giving the couple things to look forward to. A house! An engagement! A baby!
Thank you for the reviews/ favorites/ follows, I really appreciate the love. Chapter 8 is coming soon!
xo,
J