Author's note: All rights belong to the 'holier than thou' J.K Rowling. Follows from the end of The Deathly Hallows (not the nineteen years later epilogue though), reasonably canon but will drift. All responses are welcome, please review I beg of you.

Chapter two: this is still quite nice

Never in her life had Augusta been as embarrassed as she was arriving on the door step of her dear friend, whom she had completely cast out for the past five months. Sure she'd received owls from Dromeda in the first few weeks but she'd been so wrapped upped with the Order and fussing over her grandson she merely scanned the letters and wrote blunt replies, she was ashamed to admit that after a month of sending the same empty responses she had requested her house elf dispose of letters from Dromeda. It wasn't that she care about her, she just hadn't had the time. In hindsight she could have made time but she was blinded by the affects the war had on her precious Neville, who, although she didn't show it often, meant more to her than life itself. With this in mind she had declared herself for the task of contacting the poor woman; she was the closest to the witch and in all honesty she was the only person with the guts to apologise without being a complete hufflepuff. In typical matron style she had sent an immediate owl which simply read;

My dearest Andromeda,

I cannot begin to apologise, so I won't. Please don't be angry because I'm coming round and I fancy a spot of tea, put that kettle contraption on. How's Teddy?

All my love,
Augusta Longbottom. X

She thought the little kiss at the end was a bit too much but one has to be soft in this sort of situation. The way she saw it her and Dromeda were to become a lot closer once the initial bitterness of being ignored went away, after all, she would need advice on being a grandma raising a grandchild. Although she found it hard to view Dromeda as a proper grandmother, not in harsh way, just she's forty two which isn't even middle age for a witch, not to mention she still looks bloody twenty, and she's attractive which did not spell 'granny' to Augusta. But she knew Dromeda would raise her grandson like her own child and she snidely supposed having a beautiful 'mum' would score the little boy some peer points when he attended Hogwarts. However, her main concern was not the upbringing of Teddy but the loss of the family the boy should have had. Dealing with grief is hard and doing it alone is very painful, especially, with the amount of grief Dromeda would have. So as she sat awaiting a reply she went over every possible question, accusation, and insult that could be thrown at her. After all being able to remain in control of a conversation no matter how emotional was something the elderly witch prided herself on.

As soon as her owl returned with a note round it's ankle she went to fetch her cloak, after all she knew what the letter would read;
Dear boggart brained bitch, I am not your dearest – blah blah blah – You ignored me – cuss word this, cuss word that – some friend you are – muggle phrase – lost my daughter – artistic profanity – yada yada – go do something improper to yourself – Andromeda.
Without as much as a second thought Augusta apparated to the cottage in the country that the Tonks had called home for over twenty years now. The garden was very well kept and from what she could see the house was pristine, which meant that even with the baby Dromeda had plenty of time on her hands. She approached the house and knocked firmly three times, she then stood back and focused on draining the guilt and mortification from her face. In the words of Neville's colourfully mouthed friend Seamus, she "felt like a right tit.", whatever a 'tit' was, she presumed it was some kind of constantly embarrassed Irish creature.

She wasn't surprised when her knock was answered with silence, she knew the witch she was dealing with. Andromeda always needed a good sulk before a confrontation. The witch could cuss and swear to the hills and beyond but in a directly argumentative situation Dromeda struggled to articulate herself. Meaning that if she were to let Augusta in she would have to avoid an argument to express her feelings, and right now a long chat wasn't what Dromeda would want.

After three minutes Augusta knocked again ten times, she knew the house wasn't empty. She also knew the door probably wasn't locked and if it were a simple spell could open it, but barging into another's house was not something a woman such as Augusta would do. Five minutes past this time and the Longbottom knew what to do, it was childish but it would work. She raised her hand and knocked continuously, making it clear she wasn't going anywhere. The door in front of her swung open after forty bangs revealing an empty corridor.

Augusta walked into the room she knew to be the living room to find Andromeda sat in arm chair facing the lit fireplace. She walked to where her friend was turned away from her and sat in the opposite sofa so to see her face. When she looked into her friend's face it became clear how serious the situation was. Her usually deep hazel eyes were a dull grey, her mouth was turned up in a half smirk, and the only emotion coming off her was a slight arrogance. She had reverted back to the traditional Black façade, no emotion just superiority.
Dromeda avoided Augusta's gaze as she spoke,
"You shouldn't have come here, I don't wish to speak to you." Her voice too lacked emotion.
"Then why did you let me in dear?" Augusta didn't believe this ice act.
"You were banging my front door down don't you recall?" Her gaze remained on the fireplace.
"Then why didn't you put a silencing spell on so said door?" A slight annoyance worked its way into Andromeda's features; clearly she wasn't as good at the Black façade as her darling sister Narcissa.
"I suppose I want to hear your excuses for abandoning me. You do have excuses I presume?" Dromeda looked at her for the first time, her face blank but her hands grasping the arms of the chair tightly so to prevent her emotions spreading to her face.
"Actually you're wrong, I don't. None of us do, only our most heartfelt apologies. We were so wrapped in our own grief and recovery we completely forgot about you. It was dreadful of us and I myself have never felt guiltier. We left you alone when you lost everything, it was despicable of us and I'm ashamed to admit had Mr Potter not wished to see his godson we would have gone on unaware for far longer. And for that we are all so, so sorry Dromeda, truly. We only ask you let us make it up to you, and to Teddy." Augusta spoke from her heart knowing it was the only way to get through to her friend.
"You j-just forgot about me, y-you left me alone. All of you forgot, none of you cared. None of you! I-I've been so alone." Andromeda spoke through sobs, her head hug down and tears fell freely onto her lap, her knuckles were white from the effort of her grip on the chair's arm. Augusta reached across to take her friend's hand but as soon as she made contact Dromeda pulled it away as if it were scolded. "Y-you all just forgot, cos you all had e-each other but I've got no one. They're all gone Augusta! Ted and Dora they're gone! Remus too! I-I've got no one. A-and teddy he looks so much like his parents it k-kills me, e-every time he changes h-his hair all I see is D-Dora. And when I n-need to talk to someone I keep expecting T-Ted to be there b-but he's not, he's dead! I hadn't seen him for so long before he d-died; I really thought he would come back. A-and the last thing he said was to b-be happy but how can I be happy w-without him, without all of them? How?" Dromeda had pulled her legs up to her chest and was crying into her knees. Augusta kneeled before her distraught friend and pulled her into a hug, whispering reassurances into her hair. Dromeda curled into the embrace and this was how they stayed for the next few hours, occasionally Dromeda would hurl insults but she was crying too much for any of them to be comprehendible. Eventually they spoke and Dromeda agreed to Augusta's requests but promised no immediate hospitality, and after talking of her family for a few minutes the witch was sobbing again.

It was midnight by the time Augusta left, Dromeda had fell to sleep in her arms and the Longbottom had levitated her to bed and tucked her in. She fed Teddy his late night bottle and kissed her younger friend on the head before she left, leaving a note to contact her in the morning. As she lay to bed to go to sleep at home one thing was very clear, Andromeda was far too young to be a grandmother.

Harry sat at the breakfast table twirling his fingers nervously around on and another, though it wasn't August's meeting with Andromeda that had him worried. It was the loud fight between his best friends during the night. Hermione and Ron had been screaming at each other in the early hours of the morning, and as to now no one knew why. He looked up to Ginny sat opposite him who looked equally nervous; the surrounding Weasley family also looked meek.

The couple in question had been a cause for concern ever since the family's recovery; nobody doubted their love for each other only whether they were ready for a serious relationship. Ron had matured throughout the war but he needs time to be young, and as much Hermione thinks herself an adult she's been through so much tying herself down wouldn't do her any good. Even if they did love each other they weren't in the same place as Harry and Ginny, they needed time and space. Harry didn't mean he didn't want his best friends to be together because he did, a lot. He was just scared they weren't ready, he wasn't saying they weren't mature it was just; if they ever broke up everything would be- ruined. He didn't care that it was childish he wanted them to be 'the golden trio' forever, if they went serious too soon it could go horribly wrong and they'd regret it, then their friendship would be verdantly ruined. Harry just didn't want his friends to risk something so important, nor did any of the others.

Speak of the devils. Ron and Mione entered heads down and stood awkwardly at the end of the table. Everyone looked up expectant of an explanation not just to last night's fight, but to all the unanswered questions of the last few months.
"Well I, we urm," Ron started off weakly but Hermione cut in,
"We're sure you all heard our passionate discussion last night and wish for an explanation." Harry sniggered under his breath, it takes a certain type of person to keep an entire house up with an argument then refer to it as a 'passionate discussion'. He could see the others nodding to the young witch to continue.
"First off we'd like to say we're sorry if we woke anyone up." Ron spoke clearer now.
"After calming ourselves down Ron and I spoke more civilly about the issue and have come to a conclusion."
"And what exactly would the issue be?" A confused George asked.
"Our relationship, really." Ron answered; Fleur and Gabrielle looked up from their breakfast beginning to take an interest in the conversation.
"Ron and I care for each other a lot."
"Yeah, we do." Ron smiled sheepishly at the woman stood next to him who returned the gesture and continued speaking.
"But we both agreed we need a little time to ourselves, we are sure that a serious relationship is what we both want, yet now just isn't the time. We need to adapt to our new lives, gather our bearing and bury old problems before settling down."
"We're gonna have a year off to get our stuff together, go on a few dates, get used to our jobs. Then when the time comes when we know we're ready, we'll be together." Ron gave Mione's hand a quick reassuring squeeze then turned to look at his friends plus family.
Luna was the first to speak,
"I think it's a great idea, giving yourself a year to get use to the nargles you'll have picked up during the war."
A still slightly confused George spoke up next,
"So you're going to have a year break, where you'll like see other people?"
"Well yes and no, we might go on a couple of dates, meet some people. But no boyfriend/girlfriend stuff, it's just an adjustment year really." Most of the room seemed to accept the answer, except Molly who looked unsatisfied.
"A year seems a little long don't you think?" Ron began to shift as his mother questioned him, sensing this Hermione answered.
"I know it may, it's just this war has been so taxing on all of us and it's not a definite time space just a vague idea." Molly looked happier at this.
"Well I agree with Luna, I think it's a great idea." Harry smiled in approval at his best friends. He loved the idea it was exactly what he'd wanted for them, maybe they were psychic. Wait, do you get wizard psychics? He'd have to ask Arthur later.

Augusta made her way slowly down the stairs of the burrow; she'd slept here overnight at Molly's request and was glad of it. It would be easier to get everything out in the open first thing. She stepped into the dining room to find everyone already seated, seemingly waiting for her. Minerva had also come round for the informal meeting.
"Good morning Augusta." Molly greeted her as she sat down, placing a plate of toast and a glass of pumpkin juice in front of her. She nodded appreciatively. She took a drink of her juice and started on her breakfast. She was interested to see who would ask her first, she hoped Harry would ask out of care for his godson or Minerva for her guilt over the Order's ignorance though she didn't rule out the irritatingly inquisitive muggle-born girl.
"How did it go last night?" the Potter boy sounded eager.
"Well it was, as to be expected. Dromeda is very upset, she's clearly been nearly entirely alone for the past few months while caring for a baby and grieving her whole family. The poor woman is distraught but, she's not beyond hope. Despite her self-doubts she is a strong woman and I can see she is slowly beginning to heal but she's, very temperamental at the moment." Augusta chose her words carefully.
"Is she willing to let us into her life?" Minerva asked her concern obvious.
"Yes, just don't expect a warm welcome. There will be grovelling required."
"Of course." The two women shared a knowing glance; both understood it would be up to them to bring Dromeda back into the land of the living.
"What about Teddy? How is he? Does she know Remus and Tonks made me godfather?" The Potter boy still sounded eager.
"Yes she is aware you wish to be involved in your godson's life, Teddy is a fine young boy by the way. However, it's like I said before you will need to grovel, sincerely." Augusta doubted that was the answer the trainee auror was looking for.
"WHAT?" The golden trio asked together which would have been endearing had they still been eleven.
"You have had five months to be a godfather my boy, where were you? Teddy is ten months old, he'll be walking soon yet you've never laid eyes on the boy, it's hardly a good start is it?" She didn't mean to make Neville's friend feel guilty, nor was she one to ever beat around the bush.
"Oh, I, urm…" She could see the guilt seeping from the boy; at least he cared that was always a start, "I'll make it up to him, to both of them." He spoke with a confidence she didn't believe to be true but with intentions that were so she let him be.
"Well I hope you all understand how Dromeda feels and will write so in your individual letters, I'm sure Mr Potter will pass them onto her when he visits this afternoon." With that she stood up to prepare to set home, she didn't want to give anyone a chance to argue against her.