Hermione woke the next morning uncomfortable and hot. Ron had turned in the night and was wrapped around her. His arm was over her waist and one of his legs was draped over hers, putting a lot of pressure on her lower back. She started to shift out of from under him but he gripped her tighter and mumbled something.
She looked over to see Ginny asleep in her bed. The clock on her nightstand said five forty-five. She nudged Ron with her elbow. "Get up," she whispered.
He opened his eyes and then opened them wider and scrambled out of bed. He glanced at Ginny. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, holding his head, which clearly hurt.
Hermione held a finger to her lips and got out of bed. She opened the door and took a quick peek outside. The stairway was empty. She gestured for Ron to go. He started to say something at the door, but then didn't, he was out of the room and into the bathroom without anyone seeing.
xXx
Making sure the coast was clear, Ron left the bathroom and went upstairs to change clothes. Harry was asleep on the camp cot, since Bill and Fleur had stayed over last night, as had Percy.
Harry opened one eye when Ron came in. "Where have you been?"
"I slept with Hermione," Ron said, as he pulled off his trousers. His head was pounding and his mouth felt as though it were coated in sand.
Harry sat up. "You what?"
"We just slept," Ron said.
"Where?" Harry said. "I thought she went to bed hours before you."
"Gin's room," Ron said, as he changed his shirt.
"No, you didn't," Harry said.
"Yeah, it was stupid. I'm lucky I didn't get caught. As if Mum's not upset enough."
"I can't believe she let you stay," Harry said.
"I'm not sure I gave her much choice. I kind of passed out on her bed."
Harry shook his head. "Please tell me you're joking."
"I wish I was," Run said glumly and sat down on the edge of his bed.
"How was she this morning?" Harry asked.
"Quiet," Ron said.
Harry shook his head.
"I know," Ron said. "I know. Please don't say it."
"Right," Harry said, and lay back down.
Ron went downstairs. Hermione was at the kitchen table having a cup of tea with his mother, who looked up at him in surprise. "I don't usually see you up this early," she said.
"Couldn't sleep," Ron said.
His mother arched an eyebrow at him. "Drinking too much can do that." She handed him a small vial from a collection of them on the kitchen table. "Thanks, Mum," Ron said. He drank down the contents and felt instantly better.
"Has Dad already left for work?" Ron asked.
"No, it's Sunday, but it's still the first full day he's had off since the battle, so he's having a bit of a lie-in,"
"Good," Ron said. "He deserves it."
"He doesn't like all this drinking you lot have been doing," his mother said. "He finds it very upsetting."
"I'm sorry, Mum," Ron said, glancing at Hermione, who was staring out the window. Ron noticed that his mother always said that anything upsetting was bothering his father, whereas his father always said those same things were upsetting his mother. Neither of them ever said they were upset too, only that the other one was. Hermione stood and opened the window to let in the owl with the Daily Prophet.
"Oh, goodness," she said, looking at the paper. "Harry's not going to like this."
"What?" Ron asked.
Hermione set the paper down on the table so he and his mother could both see the front page. There was a large photo of a somber Harry carrying a blue-haired Teddy with the headline Chosen One Now Devastated Godfather.
"Bloody hell," Ron cursed. "We made it through fifty-five funerals without them managing to get a photo but they just had to do it."
"I wish it could have been at one of the others. He's really not going to like this," Hermione said, before picking up the paper and starting to read through it.
His mother got up from the table. "I might as well start breakfast."
Ron helped her and the rest of the family began to slowly trickle in and take their potions and then their seats. He was setting a platter of bacon on the table when Hermione made a strangled cry, slammed down the paper, and stormed out of the kitchen.
Ginny was just coming in. "What was that about?"
Ron picked up the paper and looked at where she'd left it open to the gossip column. There was a picture of Hermione holding baby Teddy, whose hair was red. Ron was walking away in the background. The caption read: I guess we know where Miss Granger has been for the last nine months. So much heartache for the Chosen One. "Oh, bloody hell!" He followed Hermione out into the garden.
She was pacing, tapping her wand against her leg as she walked.
"Hermione," he ventured. "I know you're upset—"
"Upset? Upset! Upset doesn't even begin to describe what I am."
He held up his hands. "I know."
"I don't think you do," she said. "This is exactly the kind of prejudice we just fought a war over and supposedly won. Nothing's changed. They printed that without even asking me or you or Harry what might actually be going on. They just…they just…" her voice cracked and he stepped toward her. She held out a palm to stop him. "Don't," she said. "Do not touch me."
He stood still. "Hermione—"
"You came into my room last night and got into bed with me without even asking."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I really am."
"For weeks, I've had people making assumptions about who I've been sleeping with or whether or not I'd been raped. McGonagall at the funeral thought Teddy was mine. McGonagall! Do you have any idea how…that she would think that I would be so…and then you just pass out in my bed whenever you bloody well feel like it!"
"I'm so sorry," Ron repeated.
She swung around with her wand up and pointed at him. "You should be," she shouted. "All of you should be. You shouldn't make assumptions. None of you should make assumptions. No one should. It's just sloppy. I decide! I do."
"I'm so sorry," he said again, trying to follow her and failing, but she was clearly very upset and very angry.
She made a strangled frustrated growl and Disapparated.
Ron stood for a moment staring at the spot where she was. "Bloody hell." He walked back into the kitchen to see Harry frowning at the Daily Prophet. "Can you believe this?" he said. "Is Hermione alright?"
"No," Ron said. "Definitely not. Can I have a word, Harry?"
Harry got up and followed him outside. "What happened?"
"She shouted a great deal and then she Disapparated," Ron said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Harry sighed.
"I'm going to need you to go get her."
"Ron—"
"I know you must have her address by now. You would've gotten it after the last time she did this. I know you've got it. Just go collect her or sit with her, something. She's too upset to be on her own."
Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe she just needs a minute."
Ron shook his head. "No. This isn't that. She's…a lot has happened. She's really upset. Could you please just go check on her. She's likely in the garden. Maybe take her a sandwich. She hasn't had anything to eat."
Harry sighed. He was still in his pajamas. "Go make us both a sandwich. I'll go get changed."
xXx
Harry Apparated to Tottenham Court Road and then held out his wand for the Knight Bus. A couple of minutes later the purple, triple decker bus appeared and Harry clambered aboard and gave the bus driver Hermione's parents' address. Ten harrowing minutes later, he got off the bus in front of a lovely brick home on a quiet, tree-lined street. He knocked on the door but there was no answer. Remembering Ron's comment about where to find her, he went to the side of the house and through a gate into the back garden. He found her all the way at the end of the garden sitting on a bench in front of a shed. She was drinking from a stoneware mug from the 1995 Glastonbury Festival. He expected to find her curled up and crying, but instead she just sat on the bench staring at nothing. "Hermione?"
She looked up at him. "Ron sent you?"
"Nah," Harry said, sitting next to her. "I just fancied a trip to London and thought I'd stop by since I was in the city." He handed her one of the sandwiches.
"Thanks." She unwrapped it and took a bite before opening it and examining the contents. "Ron made this. No one else puts this much bacon on one sandwich."
"Yeah," Harry said, unwrapping his own. "I've always thought his bacon sandwiches were brilliant."
They ate in silence for a few minutes. When Harry had finished eating, he said, can we go in and get a drink to wash that down.
Hermione shook her head. "The house hasn't been cleared yet. I'm sure there's another cup. If not, I'll transfigure something."
Harry followed her into the shed.
She picked up a plastic cup of nails and emptied it into a rusty coffee tin. A pack of Benson and Hedges fell out too. She cast a cleaning charm on the cup and then took it outside to rinse it with her wand.
Harry stood in the shed looking at the makeshift bed she'd made on the workbench the night she'd slept there. He went back outside and she handed him the cup of water. The cup had Reading 93 down the side. "There's a box of tea in the shed. It tastes a bit of dust, but I'll make you some if you like."
"This is fine," Harry said. They sat back down on the bench and Harry drank his water.
"I think Ron might've had it right," Hermione said.
"What did he have right?" Harry asked.
"That we need a break. We spent nine months crammed in that tent. Now that we're back, you have Ginny and you two are reconnecting and that's great, but she's not someone you've spent every minute of the last nine months with so…anyway, Ron and I don't have that. He's right. We need a break from each other."
"Hermione, Ron didn't mean he needed a break from you. He meant from the stress."
She looked at him. "But I was part of the stress. He may not have realized he meant it, but actually, I think he did. And more importantly, I think he was right."
"So, what does that mean?" Harry said.
She shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's tricky with this whole Gringott's mess. I have Muggle money and I guess I could live off that and just use the Muggle economy until the situation with the Goblins gets settled."
"What are you talking about? You're not leaving the Burrow. Not yet. They're still rounding up Death Eaters. It's not safe to be on your own."
"I've spent the night here before. Nothing happened," she said. "I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Well, I'm not, so no," Harry said firmly. "I'll not have you sleeping in a garden shed because you and Ron had a misunderstanding."
She looked away from him. "It's more than a misunderstanding and it's more than just Ron."
"I don't care what it is," Harry said. "You're not staying here until the Aurors have cleared the house. It's not safe. You'll just have to figure out whatever it is you need to figure out at the Burrow."
"Harry—," she started to protest.
"Look, I know you can be stubborn, but you're not stupid and sleeping in a garden shed and living on the Muggle economy without backup would be incredibly stupid. You're a high-status target. Surely, you must know that."
She frowned at him.
"This stops," he said firmly. "Until the Aurors say it's safe, I don't want you coming back here alone."
"What am I supposed to do about Ron?" she said, her eyes filling with tears.
"I don't know, but I do know you love each other, so I'm assuming being clever and resourceful, the two of you will figure it out."
"You really think so?"
"I think I've seen you both do amazing things and you've managed to keep me alive despite all odds against that for seven years now, so yeah, I have every confidence you can work this out. Just be patient, you've both been through a lot."
She nodded and hugged him. "You're a good friend, Harry."
He hugged her back. "No more than you deserve."
xXx
Ron was pacing in the back garden when they Apparated. Harry raised his eyebrows at him and went inside. Hermione stood watching two gnomes try to figure out how to get an old garden trowel over the wall. Ron approached her slowly, knowing that he needed to get this right. "I'm rubbish when I'm drunk," he said. "So, I'm not going to do that anymore."
She arched an eyebrow at him.
"I'm not saying I'll never have another drink, but I won't get so drunk that I…that's not how I want to be with you. You deserve better than that."
"That's true. Thanks," she said, without looking at him. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry about what?" Ron said, confused as to what she was talking about.
"For popping out to London without considering…I shouldn't go alone. It's stupid. Reckless. I should be more considerate of your feelings, of everyone's feelings."
"Okay," Ron said.
"What do you want to do?" she asked.
"About what?" Ron asked.
"About the summer, a job, life?"
Ron sighed. "Well, as Harry pointed out, we can't really apply for jobs until the Gringott's situation is settled, so I guess, until it's resolved, I'll just stay here."
She sighed.
He swallowed hard. "And I think you should do the same."
She looked at him.
"I know it's not ideal," he said. "But it's safe, and once everything settles down, we'll decide next steps. Alright?" He stepped toward her, intending to take her hand or maybe pull her into a hug, possibly kiss her, but everyone in the house chose that moment to come into the back garden.
"Are you ready?" his father said. Ron wanted to scream NO! but he sighed instead.
"Ready for what?" Hermione asked.
"We're going to the Lovegood house to see if we can help," Ron said, sadly. He didn't want to go right now.
"Oh," Hermione said. "I'd forgotten all about that. I'll go too."
"Come on then," his father said.
Harry Disapparated with Ginny, everyone else went on their own.
xXx
Hermione couldn't believe the state of Luna's house. "It looks awful," she gasped.
"No," Ron said. "It's not so bad."
A small white tent was set up in the garden next to the Dirigible Plum bush. The rook-shaped house had a gaping hole in one side which someone had shored up with planks of wood which shimmered as though there were a shield charm in affect as well.
Luna stepped out of the tent. "Weasleys and Harry and Hermione," she said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"We've come to help with the house," Ginny said stepping forward to hug Luna.
"Thank you," Luna said. "Are you sure you can fix it? It's rather a wreck inside as well. There's a big hole in the floor."
Mr. Weasley pushed his hat back a bit and scratched his head. "Not to worry, my girl, we can do it. Boys, let's take some measurements." Harry, Ron and George followed him to the gaping hole in the wall, leaving Ginny, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley standing with Luna.
"I should put the kettle on," Mrs. Weasley said.
"There's a kitchen in the tent, but my father—"
"Oh, don't you worry about Xenophilius," Mrs. Weasley said. "We go way back. I used to babysit him." Without another word she went into the tent.
Hermione stood staring at the gaping hole in the structure. "I'm so sorry."
"What?" Ginny said.
"This was my fault," Hermione said.
"No, it wasn't," Luna said. "You did it, but it was Daddy's fault. He knows that. It's why he's so upset."
"Wait," Ginny said. "You did that?" she asked Hermione.
"Yes, we came here to ask Mr. Lovegood about a symbol. Luna had been taken by Death Eaters to force him to stop writing pro-Harry articles in the Quibbler. He was desperate to get her back. That's why he contacted the Death Eaters. I cast blasting spells to get us out of there."
"And," Ron said, walking up. "She had the foresight to make sure I wasn't seen, so Mum and Dad wouldn't get in trouble for lying about where I was, but she made sure Harry and her were seen, so Luna's dad wouldn't be accused of lying about them being there. It was bloody brilliant. I'm sorry about the great gaping hole, Luna, but Hermione saved a lot of people by making it."
Luna threw her arms around Hermione. "You saved Daddy. You never said."
"But," Hermione said, tears filling her eyes.
"Dad says we can fix the house. It'll take a few days. But we can fix it," Ron said. "The underpinning magic needs to be fixed first though, so he needs mum."
"She's in the tent," Ginny said.
Ron lifted the flap and went inside.
xXx
A few minutes later, Ron's parents had their wands out and were casting complex spells at the base of the rook-like structure that was Luna's home. Just as when Ginny, Luna, and Hermione were unable to take down Bellatrix together, and yet, Molly dispatched her in one stroke, the spells to stabilize an entire magical structure required the power and wisdom of age. Hermione watched closely as the Weasleys worked, marveling at how much magic they could funnel. She wondered if they weren't even more powerful because they were married and casting together.
"What else needs doing?" Ginny asked Luna.
Luna looked around. "Honestly, I need to get out the latest issue of the Quibbler. We haven't had any money coming in these last few months. I'm worried if we don't get an issue out soon, we'll lose all our subscribers."
"We can help with that," Ginny said, which is how Hermione found herself arranging the layout for an article on Yeti marriages. Like the tent she and Ron and Harry had stayed in, Luna's tent was magical and much larger on the inside than on the outside. There was a large table at one end of the main room with a small parlor with a sofa and two wing chairs at the other end. Off of the central room were a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. The layout was so similar to their tent that Hermione found it both comforting and disorienting.
While Harry, Hermione and Ginny helped Luna with the Quibbler. Ron and George did chores around the yard. Ron chopped wood, although he couldn't do it as fast as he could at home because he only found two axes in the shed, and he had to sharpen both of them before he could get started. George started clearing out the garden, weeding and degnoming.
"I'm worried we don't have enough content," Luna said, looking at the pages they'd already done.
"It will be fine," Xenophilius said in a hollow voice from the corner where he sat sipping tea. He looked awful. Normally so flamboyant, Xenophilius now looked shrunken and grey, worse than he had when he'd told them about the Deathly Hallows.
Hermione nudged Harry, "You should talk to him," she whispered.
He raised his eyebrows. "And say what?"
"Go be magnanimous," Hermione said. "Do your Chosen One thing, like you do at the funerals. Forgive him."
"Because you're so forgiving," Harry said, frowning at her.
She knew she wasn't, and were it not for Luna, she wouldn't even consider that Harry should forgive her father. "Not for him," she said. "I don't care about him, but don't you think it would help Luna?"
Harry looked across the tent where Luna and Ginny were debating where to put an article on baking with Dirigible Plums. He sighed. Luna, never a particularly robust person, looked more fragile and ethereal than ever. "Fine. I can't promise anything though. He looks pretty out of it."
"I think she'd appreciate the effort," Hermione said. She watched as he walked over to Xenophilius and then spoke to the older man in low tones. She wondered what he was saying. Whatever it was, it must have made a difference, because Xenophilius grasped Harry's hand and thanked him in a gasping cry.
Luna looked up from the page she was working on. "Daddy?"
Xenophilius rose from his chair. Hermione had forgotten how tall he was. He stepped over to the table where Ginny and Luna were working and kissed his daughter on the top of her head. "Harry Potter has forgiven my transgressions against him," he said in hoarse whisper.
"That's good, Daddy," Luna said, cocking her head at Harry.
"We must do something for him. Say something on his behalf. Find something he needs, Luna. I'm going to take a walk." He kissed the top of her head again and shuffled out of the tent.
Luna looked at Harry. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that, but thank you."
"You're a good friend, Luna," Harry said. "Besides, he did what he did because he was so distraught about losing you. I can understand that. I really can."
Luna nodded. "Still," she said. "It was a terrible thing to do."
"But he's suffered for it," Harry said. "It's time to forgive and move on."
Luna smiled. "So, what do you want?"
"What do you mean?" Harry said.
"Daddy said we had to say something in the Quibbler. What would you like that to be?"
Harry looked at Hermione. "Can you correct something the Daily Prophet bungled?"
"Of course," Luna said.
"They ran a photo in the gossip column of Hermione holding Teddy and the Prophet decided that meant he was Hermione's baby. Could you correct that?"
"Absolutely," Luna said. She turned to Hermione. "What would you like me to say?"
"Um," Hermione said. "I'm not sure."
"We can't just post a picture of you not holding a baby and expect that to mean anything. We need a caption, preferably a clever or funny one."
"How about 'Sure I helped defeat Voldemort, but I'm not ready to be a mum yet,'" Harry said.
"Or 'Isn't it amazing that you can hold babies without having to give birth to one,'" Ginny said.
Hermione chuckled.
"Or," Luna said. "'Ron and I would like to have a family someday, but we'd like to be married first.'"
Hermione sobered and shook her head. "It can't say that."
"'Single witch, no kids," Harry suggested, which got him a swat from Ginny.
"It's not a personal ad," Ginny said.
"Maybe we should do an interview instead," Luna said, "And then I can ask about the photo and you can explain."
"I guess we could do that," Hermione said. "Only I can't talk about the war much because we're under a gag order about a lot of the goings on."
"Besides," Harry said. "I'd rather not announce that Teddy's a metamorphmagus, and people will suspect that if you say he's the same baby seen with me."
"Alright, then I'll just pose the question in the caption and answer it there," Luna said. "So, concerning that photo of you circulating that shows you holding a baby, is he yours?"
"No," Hermione said. "He's the son of a friend. Adorable, isn't he?"
"Perfect," Luna said.
They continued working on putting the Quibbler together until Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came in looking exhausted.
"I need a cup of tea," Mr. Weasley said and sat down on the sofa in the makeshift parlor.
"Me too," his wife said, dropping down next to him.
Luna filled the kettle and cast the spell to boil the water while Ginny got mugs out of the cabinet. She had to transfigure some glasses into mugs to have enough to go around.
"We should tell Ron and George, we're having tea," Luna said, and started cutting bread to make sandwiches.
"I'll do it," Hermione said and stepped out of the tent and stopped. Ron was chopping wood. He was sweaty and his shirt clung to him in the most enticing way. The edges of his hair were damp and curled around his ears and neck. All of the feelings she'd been trying to suppress for the last few days came flooding back and on the top of the list was lust.
Ginny ran into her as she came out of the tent. "Hey," she said. "What are you doing?"
"Um," Hermione said, straightening her shirt. "Uh."
Ginny chuckled. She could see what had stopped Hermione in her tracks. "You have really got it bad."
"Oh, do shut up," Hermione huffed.
Ginny laughed. "Oi!" she shouted. "Ron and George, come in for tea!"
Hermione was vaguely disappointed to see Ron cast a cleaning charm. She shook her head. She was definitely losing her mind, but this morning he'd seemed so…she wasn't sure…but when they were talking it felt like them talking and it had lifted her spirits considerably. She just had to be patient. There was a lot happening. She had to stop taking everything he did or didn't do personally. She knew better than to do that, but somehow, all the confidence she felt in other aspects of her life fell apart when dealing with Ron. Not that the other aspects of her life were going that great lately either. She sighed and went back into the tent.
Ginny and Harry moved the unfinished Quibbler over to a sideboard and everyone crowded around the table for tea and sandwiches. Xenophilius returned and took a seat next to Luna. Ron sat next to Hermione like he did at home, but the table was crowded, so the whole right side of his body touched the whole left side of hers, which was extremely distracting. Her mind kept wandering back to the night of the Battle of Hogwarts. An involuntary shiver passed through her.
Ron looked at her. "Are you alright?"
Of course, he'd felt it too. "Fine," she said awkwardly.
He gave her an odd look and went back to his sandwich.
Across the table, Ginny was smirking at her. Hermione glared at her. Ginny chuckled.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Nothing, just remembering something that happened at school," Ginny said.
Most of the talk at the table concerned the plans for rebuilding the Rook, which is what Luna called her home. Hermione tuned back in to the larger conversation.
"I think we can finish the underpinning today," Mr. Weasley was saying.
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley agreed. "Another couple of hours and I think we'll have it stable."
"Right," Mr. Weasley concurred. "After that, it's just a matter of rebuilding the walls and then doing the interior. I have to work tomorrow, but if you lot clear the debris tomorrow, I can come after work and show you the spells to reconstruct the essentials and then the rest comes down to decorating."
"I can oversee those spells," Mrs. Weasley said.
Luna had tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much."
"Yes, yes," her father agreed in his hollow voice. "Too kind. Much too kind."
"We're neighbors," Mr. Weasley said. "Neighbors help each other. All in all, another few days or so and I can think you can move back in."
xXx
Everyone took juice and cookies and found places to sit around the garden. Ron sat on a log he hadn't chopped yet and scooted over to make room for Hermione, but was surprised that she sat on the ground next to him instead. She leaned slightly against his leg as she chatted with Luna about how the Quibbler was distributed. She'd pulled her hair up into a sloppy bun and he found himself fascinated with her neck. Seemingly of its own volition, his thumb slid along the curve between her neck and shoulder. She leaned into his touch without a hitch in the conversation with Luna. Her olive skin was warm beneath his hand and he ached to feel more of it, but he was sitting in broad daylight with half his family and the Lovegoods. He let his hand rest for a moment longer before removing it and resting it on his thigh. He blew out a slow breath. He needed to calm down. For a moment, it seemed like Hermione didn't notice that he'd moved his hand, but then she leaned ever so slightly more against his leg.
His father stood. "We should be getting home. It's been a long day."
Xenophilius rose and shook Arthur's hand and then Molly's. "Thank you so much."
"I'll be back with the kids tomorrow and we'll start clearing the debris," Molly said.
"I'll come after work," Arthur said.
Luna nodded. "Thank you so much. We'll provide breakfast."
"How lovely," Molly said.