Thank you as always for your wonderful reviews - they make me smile.

Here's a slightly longer chapter for you...sorry, I don't intend to make this easy for them!

Usual disclaimers apply. Just borrowing your world Ms Rowling.

Chapter Six

Harry had followed me back to the B&B a short while later and tried to get me to talk to him about what had happened and what wreckage I had left in my wake. But, I ignored him and continued to sob. Truth be told, I was annoyed with him too – he could have backed me up a bit there, reminded Ron that he had a family who still cared and loved him whether he remembered them or not. But no, all he'd done was nudge me and act like a prat trying to get me to shut up. In the end, he gave up, heading home to sleep with his wife and left me to my tears.

I woke early the next morning, after a night of fitful, restless sleep and lay in bed ruminating over the night before. I felt slightly embarrassed of my outburst, but then, what did he expect? How could he be so callous and…uncaring. Whether or not he remembered his parents and family, didn't they deserve to know he was okay? That he wasn't, in fact, dead. Didn't he once consider that they might like to hear the truth about what had happened to him? I didn't regret calling him selfish for a second, because last night, he had been.

I lay in bed thinking for awhile, just gazing at the sun patterns dancing across the ceiling through a gap in the curtains. At least until I smelt the stench of breakfast being cooked downstairs and my stomach recoiled. I think the old woman used about a pound of fat to fry in and whatever she was frying didn't smell much like bacon or eggs to me.

I quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs, out of the B&B before I had a run in with old Mrs Wilson. I wasn't going to be interrogated as to why I didn't want her breakfast.

Heading away from the village, I wandered aimlessly down a country road, wrapped up in my own thoughts and not taking any notice of where I was heading, until I arrived at the small cove. It wasn't really big enough to be called a beach – just a small stretch of sand and a lot of jagged rocks jutting out. The weather was nice, the sun already shining for this early in the morning, so I took a seat on one of the rocks and heaved a huge sigh.

Was I just kidding myself being here? I mean, that I could win my husband back? That somehow after two years of him knowing nothing, I would be able to restore his memory to full order? What was I thinking? He'd made a new life for himself here, he had new friends I supposed as well. Why would he want to leave all that for something he didn't know nor remember? I knew it was daunting for him…but, couldn't he at least consider how it was for those he left behind?

Of course, he didn't know I was his wife, he didn't know he had two small children who missed their daddy. I was just an old school friend, looking up a long lost friend as far as he was concerned. Maybe this was a mistake in coming here, I was just going to finish up hurt and broken hearted all over again? Wasn't I? I almost wished Kevin had never told Harry he'd seen Ron, that we never knew any of this. I had just started to grasp some semblance of a life back. Now it was all going to be cruelly yanked away from me as I lost my husband all over again.

So lost in my own thoughts and busy watching a seagull attacking a piece of seaweed, I never heard him walk up behind me. He silently sat down on another rock close by and I pretended I hadn't seen him.

"Harry said you might be out here," he eventually spoke after some minutes.

I snorted with derision. So, Harry was back in the village then. Alright for him, going home to his wife and family every night and not having his life turned upside down for the second time in two years. The minute the thought entered my head I felt like such a horrid person – none of this was Harry's fault. He'd lived a life of uncertainty for 17 years of his life, he deserved the happiness he had now. And yet he was still here, supporting me.

"I apparated out here," Ron continued to mutter. "Weird, not done that since before the accident I suppose. Well, we barely use magic anymore, so…"

"That was rather stupid!" I commented.

"Huh? What?" he asked.

"It was rather stupid of you to use apparition when you're out of practice. Could have finished up splinching yourself…again," I sighed.

Ron just looked at me for a moment before giving a snort. "Make a habit of that, do I?" he wondered aloud.

I nodded. "First time it was just half an eyebrow. Second time you almost lost your arm. I hate to think of the damage you inflicted on yourself when you apparated into that old barn."

He just shrugged and looked over himself. "Well, I seem to be all together this time." He chuckled once. I didn't find it amusing. "Erm…anyway. I was looking for you in the village. I just…I wanted to apologise for whatever it was I said or did last night that upset you."

"You honestly don't know?" I looked at him, gob smacked.

"Well, okay…I have an idea, I suppose," he admitted sheepishly, toying with his hands. "Though, I don't really understand why you got all upset about that. I mean…we can keep in touch, we can still be friends now. I just…there's nothing for me in that life anymore."

"How the hell can you say that?" I jumped off my rock and turned on him. "You don't remember what you left behind…you…"

"Look!"he held up his hands in defence, as though he expected me to hit him. "This is all just a bit confusing for me…you talk about these people and places, yet I don't remember anything about any of them. You have to understand what that's like for me."

"And you have to understand what it's been like for m…all of us, spending the last two years thinking you were dead. Your mother thinking her son had been killed."

"I know it must've been tough, but…it's not my fault. I never asked for any of this."

"And you think we did? Just because it's hard for you and confusing and might be a little awkward you think it's alright for your loved ones not to know you're okay? To continue thinking they lost you?

He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know." he mumbled quietly. "I just…I don't know how to be that person anymore. How to be their son, or brother. I'll just be a disappointment to them, I'm not the person they remember. So maybe," he sighed deeply. "Maybe it would be better for them, if…they just continued to think I was dead."

"Huh," I scoffed and sat back down on my rock, folding my arms tightly.

"Now what?" he asked, sounding a touch exasperated. He had no idea!

"Well, if I ever needed proof that you really don't remember anything, that was it!"

"What are you talking about?" he frowned at me.

"If you remembered anything, you'd know that anything is better than thinking someone you love is dead. You'd know how much you just wish on everything you have for just one more second with that person, just to hold them one more time. You'd know what it was like to lose your entire world, to feel like a part of you has been ripped away."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." He was quiet for a few seconds. "You must have lost someone pretty important to you."

I nodded, a lone tear rolling down my cheek. "I did. I lost the very most important person in my life. The one I thought would always be there by my side through everything. My entire world and the meaning for my happiness. I lost my everything, my person." I looked up at him and dashed my tears away as more joined. "I lost him almost two years ago. He disappeared you see. You disappeared…my husband."

He didn't speak or move for the longest time, the silence only broken by the waves crashing upon the shore and the seagull giving a loud caw as it gave up on the seaweed and flew away. I looked up at his face, he'd gone pale, his mouth hung open and he stared out blindly into the horizon. Just as I was beginning to wonder if he'd even heard me, he spoke.

"Hang on…did you say, hus...husband?" he swallowed thickly.

"Yes," I nodded, keeping an eye on him. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything…I hadn't meant to, but he'd just got me so riled, I needed him to understand why this was so upsetting for me, that this wasn't all about him. But, he looked as though he'd been stupefied and I searched my brain for the counter-charm for shock.

"You…you mean," he looked up at me, his eyes full of bewildered emotion. "That you…me. That we're…married?" Both of his eyebrows raised sharply into his fringe as though he'd only just understood what I meant.

"Yes," I answered him quietly, carefully. "You're my husband Ron."

"Merlin's bollocks!" he gasped and pushed off from his rock, storming across the beach, kicking at pebbles.

I let him vent for a few minutes, knowing I had shocked him. I think I was beginning to grasp just how daunting this all was for him. He went from having no one, knowing nothing, to discovering he had two best mates, and now a wife in a matter of days. "Are you okay?" I called after a little while. He had stopped and was just staring out over the sea, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"No I'm bloody not!" he snapped. "How…why…I can't believe this," he shook his head and slowly made his way back to me. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, now standing about a couple of feet away from me.

"I didn't want to overwhelm you," I shrugged and gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry."

He ran his hands into his hair, grasping a handful of the fiery locks. "How long?" He then looked at me.

I inhaled deeply. "Last weekend was our seventh anniversary."

His eyes widened and he turned away. I thought he was going to rampage across the beach again, but he just sat down heavily in the sand. "Seven years," he muttered to himself a few times. Slowly, I made my way over to him, sitting in a spot on the sand across from him. "So, all that about us being best friends in school, was that a ruse?"

"No," I shook my head. "We were best friends, I mean, we still are…were, before," I shook my head, confusing myself. No wonder he was having such a hard time with this. "We've always been friends Ron, at least after the troll incident, and give or take a few stubborn weeks when we'd barely speak after a silly falling out. But, we also spent those seven years of school falling in love. Or maybe it just took us seven years to admit our feelings for each other and do anything about it," I confessed.

Ron picked up a discarded twig and began to dig in the sand with it. "I sorta, well, I thought that you and Harry…might, you know," he looked up at me briefly, before jabbing the twig into the sand again.

"Me and Harry?" I asked in alarm. "Oh no…never. I mean…he's my best friend too, but my feelings for him have always been the way you feel about a sibling. Harry is like a brother to me and he says he's always considered me his adopted sister. Besides, he's married to your little sister."

"My sister?" He turned his head sharply and snapped the stick in two. "He's with my sister?"

"Yes, and they're very happy together. We got married the same year actually. But, no.. I've never felt anything…romantic for Harry. It was always you," I whispered, hugging my knees to my chest, casting furtive sideways glances at him.

Looking down at the broken twig in his hands, he tossed it away and began kicking the sand with the heal of his boot, creating a hole. I briefly wondered if he was making some lame attempt to escape. "Seven years," he shook his head again. "How can I not remember that?"

I shrugged sadly, not knowing what to say – I wanted the answer to that myself. "I wish you did," I merely muttered. And then an idea came to me, I grabbed my bag and began rummaging in it's vast depths for something. "Here," I finally pulled out what I had been searching for. "This was taken on our wedding day. It's one of my favourite photos," I handed him the portrait. In the picture we only had eyes for one another, laughing together as he took my hands in his and kissed my knuckles lightly, before leaning in for a sweet kiss.

His eyes widened as he looked at it, the photo shaking in his nervous hands, unable to deny I was telling him the truth now. "We look happy," he commented, before handing it back to me. The photo seemed to unnerve him. It was the first physical proof he had seen of a life before all this, that he did have a past.

"We were," I sighed, looking at the photo myself and brushing a piece of sand off of it. "It was a beautiful day, one of the best days of my life. Only, the night before I hadn't been so sure it would be. It had been pouring with rain and I was so upset that our day would be ruined. But, you calmed me down…told me it didn't matter what the weather threw at us, we'd been through worse. The only thing that mattered was that I would be there to become your wife and you promised to be waiting for me at the alter, even if we had thunder, snow, rain and hurricanes all at the same time!" I laughed at the memory. "You also told me I could wear a house elfs' tea towel and carry a bunch of nettles for all you cared, you just wanted to become my husband."

Ron was sat listening to me in silence, but smiled weakly as I reminisced about our wedding day. It wasn't something I had allowed myself to think about too much recently, the memories were too bitter-sweet.

"Seven years," he mumbled to himself again. "So…we only actually enjoyed five years of marriage then?" He realised. "Before I, well, you know," he shrugged.

"Five years and a few months," I smiled. "And we had five years together before that. I mean, after the war, when we finally gave in to our feelings and became a couple."

"Huh, I took my time about proposing then," he grinned wryly.

I shook my head and returned his grin. "You proposed at exactly the right time. We were engaged about 18 months before we actually got married. Which was my fault, I made us wait because I had my heart set on a May wedding."

He merely nodded. "Was I good husband then?" he wondered.

I smiled widely. "The best. I mean, we were very happy together, although we had our silly fights and that, but that's just the way we are. But, we had a good life. Totally in love and happy and…"

"Do we have any kids?" he suddenly asked me, quietly, digging in the sand again with another twig he'd found. He seemed nervous of the answer.

"Yes," I nodded gently. "We do. We have a son and a daughter."

He looked up at me wide eyed. "Bloody hell," he whispered.

"Rosie, Rose, is five in a few months. Hugo just turned two in January. He was only eight months old when you went missing. Rose was almost three, she understood more what was happening, why Mummy was so sad and that you weren't coming back. But, she remembers you and talks about you a lot. I know they both miss their daddy…we have photos all over the house, but…"

Ron stood abruptly, cutting me off. He dropped the stick and clawed at his hair, beginning to pace again. "Merlin's bollocks," he muttered again, kicking a rock angrily – it flew in an arc and landed in the sea with a loud splash. "This…this is all too much Hermione. I…I'm sorry, I just…I can't," he rambled. "I can't do this," he whispered again with a shake of his head. And before I could even stand up to stop him, he'd taken out his wand, spun around and disapparated away.

It was a few minutes later that Harry came sauntering up the lane towards me. "Hey!" he shouted. "I knew you'd be down here. Good place to think, huh?" He continued as he wandered closer and climbed over the rocks towards me. "Oh, did Ron find you? He came to…Hermione, what's wrong? What happened?" He began to panic and scrambled over the rest of the rocks towards me.

I lifted my head from my knees, tears pouring down my face and sniffed loudly. "Oh Harry…I think I ruined everything!" I wailed, and buried my face again.

"Whatever happened?" He looked worried as he sat down crossed legged in the sand beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I…might have let slip that he was my husband and that we have kids together," I grimaced and then buried my head again. I knew it had been a mistake to tell him yet. I hadn't really meant to. Or had I? Maybe I had been expecting a completely different reaction. I was such a fool!

"Well, how did he take it?" Harry asked, dumbly.

I looked up at him as though he was stupid. "How do you think?" I snapped. "He freaked out and buggered off on me," I groaned and wiped my eyes furiously. "I thought he was okay at first, he was asking me questions about it, he seemed to want to know. Then…he just changed, began to freak out and disapparated away."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Harry began, handing me a tissue from his pocket.

"You didn't see his face!" I blew my nose loudly.

"Yeah, but, this is Ron, this is what he does. Something overwhelms him or he gets scared and he runs away. He has to stew for a while, think it over by himself. But, he comes back, he always comes back, you know that."

"Maybe our Ron did. I'm not so sure this bloke is anything like him."

"Hermione…you know he is. It's all there inside him, we just have to find a way to unlock that. He'll get over this, he'll think about it and he'll come back. I mean, he had to find out eventually, right?"

I inhaled deeply. "I suppose," I mumbled, in a huff.

"See, it's not that bad." he gave me a one armed hug.

I shrugged, unconvinced as I began tidying myself up. "Harry, where are my children? I need to be with them right now," I whispered, tucking escaped tendrils of hair back into my plait and finding another tissue from my bag to clean up my face.

"Oh, erm…they're with Molly. They stayed there last night. I'm afraid James fell out with Rose or something…I'm not entirely sure what happened between them, but she refused to go home with Ginny last night. James has become rather a bossy little sod since he turned six, he thinks he's so grown up and I've had to punish him for pushing his brother around. I'm sorry." He looked totally mortified that his son had upset my daughter.

"Don't worry. My little girl is as tough and as stubborn as her Mother. She probably gave as good as she got." I stood up and draped my bag over my arm. "Anyway, I am going to go and spend the day with my kids and escape this madness for awhile. So…I'll see you later?" I checked.

He nodded. "I'll catch up with you later. Probably go spend the day with my kids," he decided. "Send me an owl or a patronus if you need me, yeah?"

"Thanks Harry," I muttered, unable to tell him how grateful I was for everything he was doing for me. But, I suspected he had a good idea. Taking my wand from my bag, I gave a furtive glance around, before turning on the spot and disapparating to my mother-in-laws.

I could hear the laughter and the innocent, incessant childish chatter the second I arrived in the garden at The Burrow. I smiled, heading for the kitchen door. Being with my children was what I needed right now, a few hours to just be Mummy again and not think about everything else going on – they were my solace and the greatest distraction you ever needed.

"Mummy!" Rosie squealed as I stepped into the kitchen. She hopped down from the table and rushed over to me, clinging to my legs tightly. "I miss you!" she told me, gazing up at me adoringly.

"I missed you too honey," I picked her up, balancing her on my hip before I kissed her cheek and breathed her in. Yes, this was exactly what I needed. Children might be a lot of work and cause stress sometimes, but they were also rather cathartic.

"I miss too Mummy!" Hugo grinned at me, waving his paint brush in the air and causing a few splatters of paint to land in his hair and all over the kitchen.

"Careful honey," I kissed his mop of ginger hair and hugged him to me.

He pushed me away after a moment and continued his painting. "Look, I paint dwagon!" he told me, flourishing his brush on the paper. Painting was one of Hugo's favourite activities, particularly with this brand of paint. Since he'd become a dad himself, George had created a more child friendly line of toys in his shop. This paint was charmed so that anything the children painted actually moved on the paper, a little like an animation in the Muggle world.

"That's beautiful sweetheart," I kissed him again, before sitting beside him with Rose on my lap. "Where's your Grandma?" I asked.

"Hermione!" she suddenly appeared from the stairs. "I wondered what the children were squealing about. I just nipped upstairs to find Rosie's bunny, she was getting upset," she added to me in a stage whisper. "There you are poppet, she was still tucked up in bed." She handed my daughter the same bedraggled stuffed pink rabbit she'd had since a baby. It had seen better days, the ear had been sewn back on more times than I could remember and the fur was bare in places, but she wouldn't let it go for anything.

"Thank you Gwandma," she whispered, hugging her bunny and laying her head on my chest, her painting activity forgotten about.

"Tea?" Molly asked, already filling the kettle.

"Perfect," I sighed.

"And then you can tell me about it," she smiled, knowingly. "When I first saw you here, I half expected him to be with you."

I shook my head sadly. "It's going to take some time." I sighed.

"How is he? I mean…really? Harry and Ginny tried to tell me, but, besides myself, I expect you know him better than anyone." She set the pot of tea down on the table along with two mugs, then busied herself getting the children some pumpkin juice.

"He's…" I sighed again, whilst pouring the tea. "Well, physically he's fine. I mean…apart from a shorter haircut and a lot more freckles from working outside so much, he looks exactly the same. Oh, but he's got a bit of beard thing going on," I laughed. Molly smiled endearingly. "It's just…it's hard," I admitted. "But, when you really look at him, in his eyes I mean, he seems very lost."

"He needs his family," she stated, patting my shoulder. "And how are you feeling?" She was the first person to ask me that and I almost burst into tears. "Oh, lovey." She rushed around the table to hug me. Concerned for her Mum, Rose scrambled off my lap and sat staring at me from the chair beside me.

"It's okay sweetheart," I assured her, "Mummy's just tired." I kissed her head as Molly summoned the biscuit tin to the table and gave them both a freshly baked biscuit to distract them. "I guess I'm confused." I began as Molly sat down opposite me. "It's so hard seeing him and he not remembering me or knowing who I am. This morning I stupidly let on about who I was…and about these two," I nodded towards the children, happily munching on biscuits and leaving crumbs all over the table. I was glad they were so easily distracted and barely interested in our conversation. "It totally freaked him out."

"I suppose it would. Finding that out when you remembered nothing of your past." She took a biscuit herself and offered me the tin. I dug in hungrily, having avoided breakfast.

"I think part of me expected it all to come flooding back to him when I told him. I even showed him our photo, and nothing. I was so disappointed. I mean, I have all these emotions for him, none of it's changed, I feel exactly the same way about him and my heart leaps every time he looks at me. It's almost like being back at school when I was hopelessly in love with him and he hadn't a clue," I smiled wryly at my mother-in-law. "Though at least then we were good friends, now I'm a virtual stranger to him and that's hard to deal with, to realise he doesn't remember our love. I just….I want him back, all of him. Complete and whole and happy again." I sniffed back a tear and gave her a watery smile.

Molly offered me a supportive smile across the table and squeezed my hand. "We'll get him back, love. We won't give up on him," she promised.

Without mentioning his name, we talked a little more about him and what my plans were. To be honest, I hadn't a clue – I was winging this whole thing in the hope he'd suddenly remember. The children were absorbed in their painting again and ignored the adults talking, thankfully. I didn't want to have to lie to them if they asked me who this person was we were talking about. As it was, Rose gave me a few curious glances.

Whilst Hugo took his mid-morning nap, I took Rose for a walk into the village. There, without the interference of magic, I could ring my Mum on my mobile phone and let her know we wouldn't need her this afternoon. I'd forgotten all about that until Molly reminded me. I just told her I had a few days off work, but I would come over in a couple of days for a chat. Instantly she started to think something was wrong, and it was awhile before I managed to have her convinced everything was fine. In the village shop, I bought Rose an ice lolly and also took a packet of Muggle sweets back for Hugo.

Anxious of what I might run into when I got back, I kept putting off returning to Woldsea without fully comprehending that I was doing so. Lunch came and went before I knew it. I spent the sunny afternoon in the garden with the children, reading with Rosie, studying bugs with Hugo and laughing at the antics of Molly's cat chasing the gnomes around the garden. Soon enough it was dinnertime and I had still made no motion to leave. Arthur was surprised to find me in the kitchen when he got home from work and I had to endure another difficult conversation as he was naturally curious about his youngest son, asking me similar questions to his wife and when they'd get to see him. It pained me to tell them I didn't know, that it was just going to take time.

"Mummy, you be here tomorrow?" Rose asked me that night as I tucked her up in bed in her Aunt Ginny's old room. She looked up at me imploringly, clutching onto her scruffy little bunny under the sheets.

"I might not be here in the morning, but I promise I will come and spend some time with you again. We can play, and maybe take another walk," I promised her with a kiss to her forehead.

Her bottom lip wobbled slightly and she began rubbing her nose with the bunny's soft ears – a comforting habit of her. "I promise sweetheart, I'll be here some time tomorrow," I hugged her as I perched on the side of the bed. I was only now beginning to understand, not only how much she missed me, but that she was unnerved by all this. She had become such an inquisitive little girl and she just seemed to know when something was wrong. I had such a strong bond with my children and, whilst the reason behind that broke my heart, it was also something I cherished – I loved them more than anything.

"You pwomise?" she asked, her eyes full of tears,

"Cross my heart," I kissed her again. "Now, let's ready a story, but we'll have to be quiet as your brother is already asleep," I glanced across at the other bed in the room. He had fallen asleep within seconds of me putting him to bed – it seemed an afternoon of looking for bugs and chasing gnomes wore him out. I smiled as I gazed at him, buried under his sheets with his bottom in the air – the way he'd always slept as a baby – and just the top of his mop of ginger hair peeking out along with the red nose of the stuffed dragon he always slept with.

With both children now settled, the pull to return to Ron was hard to deny. I wasn't even sure if there was anything for me there anymore or whether I had totally ruined everything. But, something told me I had to go back – even now I didn't have the strength to stay away from the boy who'd held my heart captive since I was about 12 years old. Once Rose had fallen asleep, I kissed both of my children and crept downstairs to say goodnight to Molly and Arthur. Molly tried to convince me to stay the night, but I felt I needed to get back and after assuring them I'd be by the following day, I headed back to the village of Woldsea.

"Oh, there you are love," Mrs Bridges made me jump as I stepped out from behind the hedge after apparating back into the garden at the B&B. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. I've just been waiting ages and was about to give up," she smiled.

"Waiting for me?" I asked, nervously. Had something happened? My heart sped up as I eyed the old lady sat on the small metal bench in the front garden.

"Come, sit with me a few moments." She moved up to make room for me.

I sat down with some trepidation, wondering what she was going to tell me. Maybe she was angry I'd upset her Roland. No doubt he'd gone back to the house in rather a state. Silence fell between us for a moment whilst we sat in the cool summer evening air. "So," she began. "You've been gone most of the day?" she made it sound like a question.

"Erm, yes. I spent the day with….well, I assume that Ron, Roland," I corrected myself to the name she knew him as. "I assume he told you the revelation I dropped on him this morning?"

She nodded with a quiet smile. "Yes…I knew something had happened when he returned from the village, forgetting the shopping I'd asked him to fetch and looking as though he'd seen a ghost."

I hung my head, feeling bad for causing him further distress. "I've been with my children," I whispered for way of an explanation.

"He told me about them…Rose and Hugo, isn't it?"

I nodded and smiled at her, thinking of my babies. As well as feeling a slight thrill that he'd remembered their names, that maybe they meant something. "Yes. They miss me, they're not used to me being away overnight and, especially my eldest, she gets a little anxious."

"Then it's good that you could be with them," she patted my hand that rested on my thigh. "To be honest, I was much less surprised than he was, when he told me."

"You were?" I looked up at her in surprise.

She nodded. "I suspected there was much more than simply a couple of old friends tracking him down, even as close friends as you there were. It was just in the way you looked at him, as well as how grateful you were to me for healing him and keeping him safe. Your eyes gave it all away my dear." Her hand still on mine squeezed gently. "So, Harry is…?"

"Harry is our best friend. He's always been like a brother to me…and he's been such a support to me and the children through all this, even though he missed Ron terribly as well. Those two have been thick as thieves since the very second they met," I smiled, remembering that time I'd barged into their compartment on the Hogwarts Express searching for an escapee toad.

"He's lucky to have you both. He's going to need his friends and loved ones."

"Is…is Ron, I mean Roland, okay? I know he was rather upset and shocked when he left me. And I hadn't meant to tell him yet, but…I got cross with him and it all slipped out."

She smiled kindly. "You can call him Ron, you've known him as that far longer than I've been calling him Roland. But, try not to worry too much about him, he'll be okay. He is confused and overwhelmed with everything, not just about what you told him today, but everything that's happened the last few days. The first few months after the accident, he was very frustrated at not knowing anything and he'd have a lot of nightmares. Then, he seemed to just accept it and get on with the way things were. Now, you've showed up and, I'm not going to claim to understand what he's going through or what goes on in his head. He's mostly a quiet person and doesn't talk about himself much. But I've noticed him brooding about it a lot, especially after this last revelation. That one seems to have really made it real to him that he does have a past. You need to talk to him."

"I don't think I know how anymore." I admitted. "He's my husband…the only man I have ever loved. Yet, he doesn't really know who I am. I can tell him anything, but it's not going to change that or the last two years we lost."

"I know this must be very hard for you, the deep love you have for him is obvious. And I can't begin to imagine what you've been through these last couple of years, the thought of losing Max leaves me with such dread. But…just be patient with him, it's only been a few days, you have to give him time. Besides, I truly believe that although his mind might not remember you, I'm pretty sure his heart and soul does. And he'll figure that out in time." She smiled and squeezed my hand again.

And there it was, that glimmering spark of hope was ignited again. I so wanted to believe what she was telling me…so wanted it to be true, that in time his heart would remind his head about me. But, I was almost afraid to let myself believe it.

"Now, the main reason I was looking for you. Max and I would like to invite you to stay at the farm with us all."

"Oh, no. I couldn't, really…" I began to protest.

"Don't be silly. There's no need for you to stay in this old place," she nodded her head to the house behind us. "Believe me, I know what a battleaxe old Mrs Wilson is, and her cooking leaves much to be desired. So, we insist. We have plenty of room and it would be lovely to have you. Be nice to have a girl to chat with whilst the boys are busy. And…well, it might help Ron to have you under the same roof, have you close by?" She suggested, knowing that would be the winning factor.

My heart leapt at the thought of sleeping under he same roof as Ron again, of being so close to him. So close and yet so far. "Well, okay then, if you insist. Would be nice to get out of this place." I looked at the B&B behind me. "I have to visit my children again tomorrow though. Rosie is a little upset and I promised her, I can't break my promise."

"Of course you can't my dear. Well, now that that's settled, you just come over whenever you're ready. We'll be there."

The following morning, I cheerfully checked out of the B&B for good and bid Mrs Wilson goodbye before heading to The Burrow to spend the morning with my children. Whilst there, I flooed with Harry to let him know I was going to be staying at the farm for now.

"So, if you want…you can leave me to it now and return to your family," I offered.

"Are you sure?" he checked. "I mean, I don't mind hanging around."

"Harry, you've done more than enough. I just, I think I need to spend some time alone with him, we need to talk. I think staying at the farm, being close and spending some real time together will be good for him."

"Well, if that's what you want. But, if you need me for anything, just owl me or whatever and I can be right there. Anything."

"Thanks Harry." I smiled at him through the fireplace. "I think I'll be okay though. It's only Ron…he's a moody swine sometimes, but he's not that scary!" I laughed. "But really, thank you so much for everything these last few days, last couple of years..."

Harry held his hand up to stop me. "You know I'd do anything for you. Well, let me know how things go, and…good luck. I suppose I'd best head back to work then," he grimaced at the idea. "Kinda liked having this week off," he laughed.

I smiled at that, but it also made me wonder how much longer I could stay off work myself. "Thanks again. I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Take care…and remember to keep me posted."

With that decided, I could concentrate on enjoying a happy morning with Rosie and Hugo. Feeling bad for neglecting them I gave in to any whim they wanted or any treat they asked for, so that I found myself eating ice cream with them well before lunchtime and hunting dragons with my son whilst telling Rosie a story about a Princess kept prisoner by a mean old dragon – Hugo thought that was brilliant.

In the end, after having so much fun, I arrived at Apple Tree farm sometime after lunch and found Mildred in the kitchen, busy at the stove stirring something in a pan with a big wooden spoon. It was similar to the scene I'd just left at The Burrow with Molly.

"There you are pet." She turned and smiled as I knocked once on the half open stable style door before entering. "Beginning to think you had changed your mind."

"Sorry," I set my bag down. "I was with the kids…it's getting harder to leave them. Rose was almost in tears and I hate to make them cry." I confessed.

"Poor little mites," she shook her head. "Losing their daddy like that."

"Is…is he here?" I wondered, looking around the kitchen as though he might walk in through a door at any moment.

"Oh no, he's gone to the cattle market with Max today. He's getting too old for this farm really…so he's gone to sell off some of the younger cows. We'll just keep the older ones on for dairy farming for now. So, the pair of us can have a nice girly afternoon," she smiled and returned to her pan. "Sorry, got to keep a close eye on this," she apologised for continuing with her cooking. "We get so much milk, I make a lot of home-made things. Making yoghurt right now, Max loves it, I personally can't stand the stuff." She screwed her nose up.

"No, Ron doesn't like it either."

"I've noticed!" she laughed.

"There's not much he doesn't like though," I added,

"I've noticed that as well," she smiled. "At least he remembers his appetite!"

I spent a good afternoon with Mildred, chatting as I helped her prepare the yoghurt. It was a long and tedious process of waiting for the milk to heat up to the correct temperature and then waiting for it to go down to the right temperature to add the active cultures. I'd never attempted to make it before, now I knew why. I suspected even with the aid of magic it wouldn't be simple.

With three pints of natural yoghurt made, we took a tea break before beginning to make a start on dinner – the boys would no doubt be hungry when they got in from a long day at the market. Well, I knew my husband would be – he was always hungry!

"Would you like to see a photo of the children?" I suddenly asked Mildred as I set my teacup down on the table.

"I would love to!" She set her own cup down and waited anxiously as I rummaged in my bag for the family portrait.

"This was taken shortly before he went missing. Hugo was seven months old there and Rose a few months shy of turning three," I explained. Hugo sat on my lap, screaming at the camera and clambering up me away from it. Rose sat on her Dad's lap, both of them laughing whilst I struggled with the baby and tried to smile for the camera.

"My goodness," she gasped, watching the animation in the photo. "Even if I didn't know, it's obvious they're his children, they both look so much like him," she smiled.

"They both have his beautiful hair. Rose has my eyes, but Hugo has his dad's eye. They take after their dad a lot, they're fun and kind and very loving. Though, both can be very stubborn and Rose is becoming rather bossy, a bit like me," I grimaced. "But, they're good kids really."

"They're certainly beautiful children," she commented. "This must be hard for you all. Do they know?" she wondered. And I knew what she meant, did they know I had found their daddy, that he was still alive.

I shook my head. "I don't want to confuse them yet, I mean…if this doesn't work out. And with the way Rose is being, I'm thinking that unless I can convince Ron to come home with me very soon, I'm going to have to go back to them and just hope he'll eventually follow or something," I sighed, feeling defeated.

"There, there pet," she patted my shoulder. "He'll come around, just give him time. I'll be sad to see him gone though," she admitted with a little sigh and studied the photo again. "I'd almost forgot about the magical photos." she gave another sigh. "Sometimes, I do miss using magic and that whole world. I wonder, with Max getting older, whether it's time to move back." she added.

"Well…I'd do anything I could to help," I offered.

Quite suddenly we were interrupted by a loud crash in the yard and then the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door. Before I had chance to move or do anything, Ron was ambling in the door and kicking off his boots. He looked up at me, sat at the kitchen table, startled to find me there and then glanced down at the photo still lying on the table. I quickly shoved it away in my bag. I didn't want to upset him all over again.

He merely muttered something unintelligible and hurried upstairs, barely glancing at me again. He returned about half an hour later, freshly showered, his hair still damp, and his clothes changed after a day at the market.

"Tea Ron?" Mildred asked, holding up the teapot after pouring one for her husband.

"Please," he mumbled and took the seat furthest away from me and then did a double take at Mildred. "How come you're calling me that?" he suddenly noticed.

"Well, it is your name, pet," she smiled patiently, pouring him a cup.

Ron grunted and drank his tea in silence.

"Anyway, Hermione is going to be staying here with us now. No point in her being at that miserable B&B," she continued. Ron looked up and glared at me, as though this was all my idea just to aggravate him. I was utterly mortified she hadn't at least warned him I was moving in for a little while. "So, I hope that will be okay?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him. As though daring him to have a problem with it.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," he mumbled and slurped some more tea.

Dinner was an uncomfortable affair that night. Ron barely spoke to anyone and I only answered questions when I was asked. Mainly I listened as Max filled us in on their successful day at the cattle market.

"Where's Harry?" Max noticed he was missing. Ron looked up at that, only just noticing for himself I presumed.

"Oh, he had to get back to work. And, you know, his own family. But, he'll probably be visiting," I finished.

Max nodded and finished his dinner, before starting to recite a rather long and amusing farming anecdote he'd heard from another farmer that day – something about a cow that kept kicking over the bucket of milk, so the farmer tied the cows legs up and it all went to pot when he used his belt to keep the cows tail out of the way, the farmers trousers fell down just as his wife walked in. We all laughed, even Ron cracked a smile at that little tale.

Ron excused himself early that night and headed up to his room, claiming he was tired. After helping to wash up and tidy away after our meal, Mildred led me upstairs and into the room I would be staying in. It was small with a low ceiling and exposed wooden beams. A comfortable looking single bed sat beside the window that looked out over a beautiful landscape of green pastures and gentle rolling hills. She explained we were in the Lincolnshire Wolds out here, that most of the county was flat, but we were lucky here.

"It's lovely," I smiled, setting my bag down on the bed and glancing around the room. A small wardrobe and chest of drawers, a bedside table and a rocking chair in the corner finished the room.

"Well, I hope you'll be comfortable. I put fresh sheets on the bed. And the bathroom is just across the hall. And…don't worry about Ron, pet. He'll get over it, I'm sure."

"I can't believe you didn't tell him I was staying," I whispered.

"Well, no point in giving him something else to stew about, was there? You're here now and he'll have to get used to it. Anyway, I'll leave you to get settled. Goodnight pet," she patted my shoulder and quietly left the room.

I sat on the bed with a huge sigh, glancing around the little room again. Before I got up, closed the curtains on the view and began getting myself ready for bed.

Sometime during the night, I woke disorientated as I squinted in the darkness. It was some moments before I remembered where I was and then realised I needed to get up to use the bathroom. The hallway was dark and I fumbled along, looking for the loo. Not having my bearings at all, I suddenly bumped into something large and solid. Reaching my hand out, I realised it was another person.

"Erm...sorry," I whispered as I looked up at who I had bumped into and realised it was Ron. He had been heading back to his room from the bathroom. He was naked, except for a pair of green boxer shorts. A flush stole my cheeks as I took in his chest, scattered with tiny little freckles. I forced my eyes back to his.

His eyes widened and as he hadn't shut off the bathroom light yet, there was enough light now coming from the open door to betray the fact that his entire ears had gone red.

"I erm…I…" he stammered, and realising he was semi-naked, he tried to hide himself, folding his arms across his chest and tried to scoot past me into his room.

"Sorry," I whispered again.

He grunted, totally humiliated to be stood before me, a woman, in nothing but his underwear. He was turning redder by the minute. I felt grateful I'd pulled my pyjamas on tonight and not my short nightgown. "Bathrooms free," he muttered, waving his hand toward it and darting into his room. "Erm, night," he added, before closing his door firmly.

"Night," I smiled and laughed lightly to myself. Poor Ron, I shook my head as I continued to the bathroom. Mind you, as awkward as the situation might have been, I wasn't going to deny it had been nice to see his almost naked body again.