Review offering insight to the story:

"Just finished reading and extremely eager for another chapter. Your story is beautifully written and completely honest from things of loss and moving on to love and truly giving your heart to another person. I love reading your writing just because its so refreshing. There's parts where I want to just cry my eyes out, but then I'm warmly welcomed with a good joke that eases the sadness and brings the joy back to the story. Overall, this is probably one of the best tales that I have ever read and I'm thankful to have been given the oppurtunity to do so." - DeterminedGryffindor of FanFiction net.

Thank you to the following reviewers: KandyFloss, Canadian Harry Potter Fan, FmaFan10, Sampdoria, Mrs. Malfoy-Zabini, Hotkat144, Beneeta, Shdwcat27, ghzowy, mackgirl, nanima, demonic-shinigamikitsune, SexiAnglo, PrincessAsbach, misssweetsweet, Galleon-to-Galleon, Jester08, equinox08, sakuralilystars, FredWeasleyLover1126, mrs.draco.malfoy.2010, CrazyPirateFanatic, xoxoBlackOwl, bethygirl94, Binx23, adalasek2, aniweasleyblack, Emily234, wasu, untamedspiral, Rob-girl, kazfeist,RoxasIsReal13, Dizi 85, ProperT, LavenderLily, WeezeyTwin, jessirose85, LemoN-X-DroP, So this is love, HermioneGrangerFanatic, silverlovedragoness, lizz, TiReD-Of-BeInG-SoRrY, UntoldLies, mahlee, Katia Dashwood, MrsRankercliffe, med, shorty962, girlspike, ARtemIs07, Kaotic Silence, avchocaholic, jacqui, Mac, Aria DeLoncray, believer-of-harmony, xxBuffyFreakxx, Aswen, puella, citrine, jamy21, margentbutter, DeterminedGryffindor, Lara Zed, sweetgirl23, F75, lvswtht, Morkhan, EyeOfDlareme, and SeanEmma4Evr and Kneazle, .

-o-o-o-o-o-

While You Were Gone
Chapter Two

"Have you told them yet?" Molly wondered as she flipped through her albums of past weddings, looking for the picture she had of the flowers from George's wedding. They'd be using flowers from Neville's greenhouse, but she wanted to be sure they were the right kind. George and Alicia had the most beautiful white flowers, she just couldn't remember what the name was, so she was looking for a picture to show Neville.

Ginny sighed, frowning as she sipped from her warm tea. Giving a small shrug, she averted her eyes. "They'll figure it out soon enough."

"Ginevra," her mother said, chastisement clear in her voice. "You know they won't be happy. George didn't even consider inviting Harry or Ron to his wedding. He completely nixed the idea before I could even get a word in," she reminded, looking irritated. Her hands leafed through the album some more, passing those of Bill's wedding, of which the album was mostly filled with. She couldn't help it, what with it being her first son's wedding, she'd gone a little camera crazy. There were pictures of absolutely everything. She would have taken a photo of the grass if Charlie hadn't wrestled the camera out of her hands, citing near blindness for the reason. The flash was driving everyone mental, so it was a huge relief when she'd stopped.

"Yes, well, I don't care what they think. It's my wedding and I'll invite who I want," she told her, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. "Besides, they don't have to talk to Harry and Ron if they don't want to." She shrugged her shoulders, feigning indifference.

"And they won't," her mum said, sighing sadly. "Those three won't even cast a friendly glance their way. And they'll be upset with you for not telling them. They'll think you planned the whole thing just to get everybody together."

"Rubbish! I've been putting off asking them for the sake of those three and I won't do it any longer. Whether or not Ron and Harry did something royally wrong, they're my family and I want them at my wedding." She sighed, her arms falling. "I understand that they're upset. They have right to be. But... I'm over it. I understand why they left and while I'm upset that they haven't come back, I hope they will. I really think that they just need a little push. And I hope this is it. I hope that they'll come and I don't care how angry Fred, George, or Hermione will be. They keep saying they've moved on but they haven't." Shaking her head, she pushed her tea away. "D'you really think they'll come?"

Her mum stopped, her eyes widening and her mouth lifting in a grin. "There it is!" she exclaimed, pulling a moving photo of George and Alicia's wedding from the album. Alicia was walking down the aisle, an arch of the beautiful white flowers behind her. They'd be perfect. She lifted her eyes back up to her daughter, noting the worried expression on Ginny's face. "Sure they will, dear. They wouldn't miss your wedding." Shaking her head, she smiled sadly. "I'm sure that if the others had invited them out, they would've returned then too. We should have kept writing, you were right. It was just getting to be so hard, Ginny dear. Getting no reply when I so very much wanted one." Molly frowned to herself, letting out a soft sigh. "They'll come. They wouldn't miss your wedding for the world. I know my boys! Ron and Harry would never say no to a Weasley wedding."

Ginny's face slowly lit up, nodding agreeably. "Well, they have all of today to show before I start worrying about seating plans."

"I'm sure they'll send a reply. We probably should have sent it out earlier. What with how long it seems to take the owls to come back, I believe they live quite far away," she deduced, shaking her head. "Nothing to fret over, I'm sure we'll get their reply soon!"

"Hopefully," Ginny said, standing from her seat and bringing her tea cup over to the sink.

The Burrow was quiet ever since all of the children had moved out. It would be full soon, brimming with family and friends for the big wedding. Charlie would be returning with his fiancee, Mariella, and Bill would bring Fleur and their two girls. Ginny hadn't seen them for a few months unfortunately, work and circumstances keeping either of them from the weekly Weasley dinners. Percy and his wife Penelope had assured her long ago that they would be attending. Numerous friends from her school years were coming, and Ginny couldn't wait for the whole thing to happen. They'd been planning for months and she'd been practically on edge with anticipation. After dating Neville for four years, they'd finally agreed marriage was right for them. They hadn't wanted to rush into it, though they both knew that they loved each other beyond measure.

Ginny hadn't ever thought she'd one day be Mrs. Longbottom, but the idea now seemed to be the most treasured. Her and Neville had a strong connection that consisted both of a thorough love and a deep seeded friendship. They'd gotten together in the end of a year long stint of her being single after a bad break up with Seamus Finnegan. Neville had broken up with good friend Luna Lovegood a few months prior and when the pretty Charms teacher that was Ginny Weasley came to talk to him about his plants, they'd ended up spending hours talking. From then on, they could always be found together, and were soon a couple that the students found both amusing and adorable. Both were now good friends with their exes and Ginny couldn't be happier that she'd found her happily ever after with Neville. With the wedding only four days away, she found her stomach was always fluttering and her mouth always smiling. The twins kidded it was cold feet and that she'd bolt but she knew she would never do it. She knew that whether she was a little scared didn't matter. Forever was a long time, but there was no one she'd rather spend it with.

Ron and Harry were sure to be in for a surprise if or when they arrived. Things were not like how they used to be. The people they had known had changed, matured, married and grew to have families. There were seven nieces and nephews to be met and both Harry and Ron had a lot of explaining to do. While she had been upset with them for the first couple years, she had slowly grown to understand why they had left. They were in the thick of it, more than anyone, besides Hermione, and the interest in everything they did was high. It didn't explain why they'd been gone for so long, but she assumed that the comfort they found wherever the went was hard to leave. Coming back to face the people they'd left behind probably scared them. So she reached out, an olive branch of sorts. She wanted them to come back; if not permanently then at least for a moment. She loved them, she always would, they were her brothers. Despite her infatuation with Harry at one time, she'd grown up and found that he was family. He was like Ron or Charlie or Bill. He was brought in to become an honorary Weasley and she wanted him and Ron to share in her marital bliss. She only hoped that they accepted and came back; came home.

-o-o-o-o-o-

George walked in through the back door of The Burrow without knocking. He immediately found himself searching through the fridge for the leftover casserole his mum had made the night before. He'd been craving it all morning and as soon as his lunch break came about, he'd rushed out to apparate back to his childhood home. Verity was watching the store for him since Fred was busy at the one in Hogsmeade that day. Usually, he'd pop home and have lunch with Alicia, but the casserole had been hounding his thoughts and he just couldn't stay away any longer. Grinning as he found it beneath a bowl of mash, he carefully extracted the dish and set into it with a fork, instead of wasting his time searching out a plate. He could hear his mum and Ginny's voices in the living room and decided he'd join them after he finished his lunch. After pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice, he slipped over to the table to finish devouring the heavenly dish.

When he was nearly completely done, he heard his mum's voice become louder until she walked into the kitchen room and stopped mid-sentence at finding her son eating the last of the casserole. Grinning, he tried to speak around the mouthful he had. "Afternoon, mum," he said, his words muffled.

Sighing, Molly Weasley shook her head. "My word, George," she muttered, giving Ginny a withering glare as she laughed at her older brothers antics.

Ginny took a seat across from him, half-smiling as their mum got to work at making lunch for herself and Ginny. He could see out of the corner of his eye that his mum was motioning to him and staring at Ginny with wide, serious eyes. Ginny shook her head slightly and George's eyes thinned. Swallowing the mouthful he had, he licked his lips and looked back and forth from his mum to his sister. "What's goin' on?"

"What?" Ginny asked, her face the picture of innocence. "Nothing. Why do you ask?"

George cocked his brow. "Let's not dance around this, we all know I know you know something that I don't know." He nodded to her expectantly, his hands lifting to arch and clasp together. "Well? Out with it then. It's not like you'll be able to hide it from me long anyway."

Sighing, Ginny turned to frown at her mother and then looked back at George. "Well... Neville and I were talking about the wedding recently..."

"You haven't called it off have you?" he asked, his brows raising and his eyes widening. "We were just kidding, you know! Fred and I think it's great you and plant boy are getting hitched. Having a Herbologist in the family could come in handy with future inventions," he said, grinning.

Rolling her eyes, Ginny shook her head. "Of course we haven't canceled the wedding. We--"

"Well in that case, Fred and I have bets going on when you'll ditch. He says the wedding march will start and you'll apparate. I said you'll at least make it halfway up the aisle," George teased, winking at her.

"Oh for bloody sakes, George, I'm trying to be serious," she exclaimed, her expression tightening and her face reddening.

Instead of looking angry though, there was a distinct expression of worry in her eyes. His brow furrowed in confusion, "What's wrong, Gin?"

"I have to tell you something and I want you to listen carefully instead of lashing out," she said, staring at him sternly. Instead of replying, he nodded slowly. "I mean it. I need you to listen to all that I have to say and not interrupt or leave or anything!" she told him, pointing her finger almost angrily. He nodded again, rolling his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, she seemed to pull herself together. "As I was saying," she said, thinning her eyes at him as if to chastise him for his earlier interruption. "Neville and I have been discussing the wedding and, well, who was invited." She cleared her throat, becoming more flustered. "I told him how upset I was that Ron and Harry weren't there and well, we decided it wouldn't hurt to write and see if they could... come to the wedding." She shrugged slightly, her eyes turning off.

George's expression became hard, his shoulders tightening and his jaw clenching, but he kept his promise by not jumping up in indignation or leaving in a huff. Were he not the audience but his brother or Hermione there, he knew they would not give Ginny the same consideration. The three of them had been scorned by Ron and Harry and they weren't as forgiving as the rest of the Weasley family. Fred and George had been close to Hermione during the time she had gone through trying to adjust to being left behind. While she had leaned on them, become an integral part in their lives early on in the aftermath of Harry and Ron's disappearance, she had still suffered immeasurably. George and Fred had helped her through an uncountable amount of tears, had been there to cheer her up during moments of accomplishment that her two gits of best friends hadn't been there for. It had taken a long while for Hermione to buck up and honestly say that she was okay without them. Still, Fred and George held a deep resentment towards their brother and adopted-brother after what they did to the family and their 'Mione. Fred, perhaps, a little more than George.

"It's my wedding, George. I couldn't just not invite them," Ginny exclaimed, obviously having read his expression and finding fault with it.

"I didn't," he muttered quietly, though he knew they'd heard him.

"Yes, but that's you. You and Hermione and Fred, you're a trio. When one hurts, the other hurts. When one's mad, the other two are mad. Because Hermione was hurt, you two took up that anger and resentment towards them too," she said in an accusatory tone.

"They were our brothers and they left us just like they left her! We had a right to be mad at them. We still do!" he shouted at her, his face quickly reddening with anger. "Ten bloody years and you think, what? That we'll all just get over it?"

Ginny's expression hardened with indignation. "Yes, George, it's been ten years, don't you think it's time to stop holding a silly grudge--"

"SILLY?" he reiterated, his voice raising. "You call their leaving us, with no writing, no proof that they're alive or well or that they even care is silly for us to be angry over?" he asked, jumping up from his seat. He took a deep breath, noticing the pained looks on both his mother and sister's face. "Look, I get it. They're family. You want them here for this wedding. That's fine. It's your wedding; your decision. Just don't expect us to show up with our arms open and ready to accept whatever hogwash explanation they'll have," he told them, shaking his head. "I won't have them hurting Hermione again. She went through too much the first bloody time and I'm not going to put the pieces back together just because they think they can come and go as they please." Pushing his dish of unfinished casserole aside, no longer hungry, he frowned at them. "And if you think my reaction was bad, wait until you tell Fred. You know how protective he is of Hermione." Sighing, he felt his shoulders fall. "Wouldn't be surprised if they didn't come to the wedding," he admitted, almost sadly.

"But--" Ginny sputtered, her eyes wide and her mouth falling open. "They have to come. Hermione is my maid of honor!" she shrieked, her face reddening with anger. "They're my family too! They should respect me enough to come!"

"Respect?" he asked, lifting a brow. "You mean like the respect Harry and Ron gave you by disappearing for ten years of your life? Where were they when you and Neville fell in love? Were they the ones soothing you when you and Neville had a row? Were they the ones who threw you a bachelorette party or helped you convince mum not to get those awful bridesmaid dresses?" he asked, his voice raising. "No! That was the family that cared enough to stick around! That was me and Fred and 'Mione. We never disrespected you and still you act as if it's okay for you to just throw it in our faces that you invited the two men who broke this entire families heart." He ran a hand through his hair, feeling on edge and angry. He was upset with himself for getting so up in arms with them. He knew why they wanted Ron and Harry there; he understood their reasons. There was just a lot of history over the past ten years and Hermione... She was his best mate. She was his sister now and he wasn't about to see her go through what she had all over again. She didn't deserve that hurt to be repeated.

"George, please..." Molly said, her tone sad but stern.

"Fine," he said, waving his hand. "I'm done anyway." He turned, walking toward the door, his shoulders stiff and his jaw clenched tight so he wouldn't start another rant. He hadn't been this tense in some time. Things had all been going so well.

"Will you still come?" he heard his sister ask. Her voice was small, worried and upset.

All of his anger deflated and he turned back to see his usually vibrant and confident sister looking like a little girl whose krup had just died. Taking a deep breath, he sighed. "'Course I'll be there. Can't miss my baby sister's wedding." He watched her face light up slightly, though he could see she was still reeling from all that was said. "Besides, have to keep that husband of yours close. We'll need him for future potions ingredients after all." She laughed, smiling at him thankfully. He nodded, turning and opening the door to leave. "I'll talk to them if they try and get out of it. Don't worry," he assured.

"Thank you," she said, visibly sighing with relief.

Nodding, he moved to walk out the door only to come to a very tense stop. His expression darkened and all the anger that had disappeared quickly replenished.

"Fred? George? I can never tell you apart! Bloody hell, brother, it's been too long," the familiar but long since heard voice of Ron Weasley entered his ears at an alarming rate. Before George could even reply, his brother had his arms around him and was practically shaking him with the force of his hug. George was caught between being relieved his brother was alive and well and being angry enough to punch him square in the nose. How could he greet him so warmly? Pretend as if everything was just fine and dandy; as if they hadn't left for ten long years?!

"Ron? Ronald?" Molly called out, her voice taking on a teary and shrill tone. She rushed forward and Ron broke away from George to embrace his sobbing mother.

George stood still, staring at the uncomfortable form of Harry Potter. The boy-who-conquered was shifting on his feet, not making direct eye contact and rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Oh Harry, dear, is that you?" Molly cried out and George was shoved to the side as his mother yanked the boy (man, now) that George hadn't seen in ten years into her tight grip. She was sobbing loudly, holding them so tightly she was surprised they could breathe. Ginny had stepped forward, her eyes wide with astonishment, moving to see how George was taking it only to stare at him apologetically.

George wasn't sure what to do. He felt an overwhelming need to just leave; go to Fred and Hermione and warn them, or home to his wife, to be comforted. The wound still felt fresh over his brother and Harry's sudden disappearance. He'd been angry at them before; an anger that had surprised him with it's intensity. He'd become fiercely protective of Hermione though; she was his family. And he'd held her through her tears and soothed her when she thought she was a bad friend. He'd reassured her and made sure she knew how much he valued her friendship. The idea that they could come back, thinking it was all okay and forgivable, rubbed him the wrong way.

Sniffling, Molly broke away from the hug, her hands moving to cup the older and much more matured faces of the two boys she hadn't seen in so many years. She smiled up at them, tears brimming in her eyes. "Too long. It's been far too long," she said softly. Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a sigh. Then, seeing through the space between Harry and Ron's heads, she saw the expression on her son's face. "George?" she asked hesitantly, suddenly remembering the earlier conversation. "We can fix this, dear. We can--"

"I can't do this," he cut her off, shaking his head. "I thought I could but I can't."

"What's going on, mum?" Ron asked, his brow furrowed in confusion and his mouth frowning.

"What a great question? D'you mean now or would you like a timeline of the last ten years?" George asked scathingly.

Both Ron and Harry winced, their eyes falling.

"George!" Molly exclaimed.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Don't defend them and don't try and tell me I should just let it go. That was why they left, wasn't it? Because we were all so fake," he spat, glaring at them. "Wouldn't wanna run 'em off again. Who knows how long it'll be before they come back then, yeah?"

"Maybe we should go," Harry said uncomfortably.

"No, you stay," George told him, lifting a hand. "Wouldn't want you to get lost somewhere and not find your way back for Ginny's wedding." Backing up, he stared at Ginny, ignoring the other three. "I'll keep my promise, but I'm not dealing with this now."

"George," Ginny said, stepping forward, her expression stricken.

Shaking his head, George turned around and apparated away, leaving a loud popping sound echoing around the four people.

A/N Hey guys! Finally, my sister was able to send me the chapters I needed. So sorry it took so long! "Mistaken Judgment," will be update asap as well! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll have another up soon!

Thanks for reading! Please review, it's greatly appreciated!

Much Love,
-Amanda