Before you read, a couple of apologies - first, sorry it's a bit late again - been visiting my niece tonight for her birthday! Also, this is my shortest chapter and it kind of sucks (even though I re-wrote a lot of it last night), as did the last one. I had this story all planned from the start how it was going to end, but these last 2 chapters were where I got a case of writers block - knew how I wanted to end, couldn't find a way to get there. Anyway, if you can forgive these last 2, I promise the finale is pretty good - I like it anyway :)

Thank you as always for your lovely, kind reviews...they mean a lot and I appreciate it - plan to do some longer thank yous after next weeks chapter and some hints to my next pieces of writing.

Disclaimer: If I was JK Rowling I'd reply to the many questions I ask via twitter! Am I the only one who keeps a constantly being updated word document full of questions to ask her?

Chapter Twenty-two

I woke one morning, startled to realise that summer had already given way to Autumn. That leaves were falling thick and fast from the trees leaving behind a skeleton of their former glory. Ron and I had settled into some kind normality - being husband and wife once more, parenting our children and just enjoying being a happy family again so much that we hadn't noticed the days turning into weeks and then months.

As I had promised him, the scandal soon died down over his reappearance into the Wizarding world. Especially after a popular member of the band, The Weird Sisters, began an affair with a married Muggle. The media soon became obsessed with that story and had fans of the band all riled up so much that people lost interest in us. Oh, we still had the odd fan experience and got recognised when we were out. And he still got letters from girls all swooning after him. I had even received some letters of my own. Mostly from older men, much to the amusement of Ron and our families. These men all claimed they could be even more romantic than Ron, and I often teased him I might just go and see if they were telling the truth whenever he was being difficult. Not that I was ever serious, because in all honesty bickering and arguing with him gave me a sense of familiarity I longed for.

Of course, Ron's new popularity worked wonders for George. He had eventually taken him up on the offer and began working in the shop three afternoons a week, plus alternate Saturdays. The shop was strictly closed every Sunday for family dinner – Molly had laid down the law on that one! But, George benefited considerably from Ron's fans – girls, and women alike took to hanging around the shop whenever he was working and often finished up buying something just as an excuse to talk to him.

Ron had fully embraced being back in our world now. He felt much more comfortable with everything – working, his family and friends, he even took encountering strangers on the street in his stride. He'd been back to the Auror department with Harry one afternoon and had greeted old friends and work colleagues with ease. He wasn't sure if it was something he'd ever want to get back into, at least not any time soon. Right now he was happy enough feeling useful by helping out George at the shop, earning a bit of money and being able to spend quality time with his family.

His memories still weren't fully returned, there had been no major revelations for months now and I was honestly giving up hope there ever would be. Of course there had been silly, obscure details recalled; a random fight with Draco Malfoy at school. The time he had fallen out with Harry over the Tri-wizard Tournament in our fourth year. And embarrassingly enough, the time I had accidentally turned myself into a cat in our second year. There were still times I wished he could remember more about our relationship before – all those milestones in our life together. But the fact that he was alive, that I had him back in my life and we were happy and in love once more seemed to make them less significant. We had a new normal now and new memories to create and I had to focus on our future together, rather than our past.

Right now there was something else consuming my thoughts rather than his lost memories. Ron was most definitely up to something and it was driving me crazy that I couldn't put my finger on what it was. He was most definitely being rather secretive about something that the whole family seemed privy to but me. There were a lot of secretive, whispered conversations going on with random people. The kind of conversations that would end abruptly whenever I was within ear shot. And I was dismayed to discover that even Max and Mildred seemed to be in on it when we took the children to visit.

"Remember though, not a word to her about it," I heard Ron warn them one afternoon as I reached his side. We were outside in the farm yard, enjoying the late October sun.

"Not a word about what to who?" I asked him accusingly, folding my arms and giving him my perfected stare.

"Oh, erm…" he stammered and shuffled, looking guilty about something.

"Rosie," Mildred answered for him. "Ron doesn't think we should tell her about us selling the farm yet, he thinks she'll be too upset about Daisy."

"Wait, you're selling the farm?" I asked, surprised. Distracting me from my annoyance with my husband over his secretiveness.

"Yes, didn't we tell you?" she asked. I shook my head and glared at Ron, blaming that on him as well. He merely shrugged and gave me a sheepish grin. "Well, we've thought long and hard about it, and since Max isn't getting any younger, the farm is a lot of work for him these days. So, we're selling up the farm, giving up the Muggle life and looking at buying a cottage in Hogsmeade." She smiled. She seemed happy with their plans and I was pleased for her, though suspected Max was really going to miss his cows. Glancing across the paddock, I realised he wouldn't be the only one.

"You're right, Rose will be upset about Daisy." They followed my gaze to watch our daughter where she stood on the second rung of the gate, feeding the youngest calf fresh grass and chattering away to her. She'd become quite fond of the young cow in the last few weeks that we'd been visiting. Daisy had been rather a late arrival and Rose had seen her born.

"We'll be making sure all the animals go to a good home. Dairy farms only, none of our girls will be ending up on anyone's plate," Max affirmed.

"Maybe…" I wondered, but then shook my head, thinking it a daft idea.

"Maybe what?" Ron asked, intrigued.

"Well, your mum might like her own cow? Might be good for her to have fresh milk to make her own cheese and butter for all the cooking she does." I suggested.

"Yeah, but Mum's not getting any younger either," he pointed out and I was ashamed to admit I hadn't noticed as much as he had. I suppose with him not having seen her in almost two years and getting to know her all over again, it was more noticeable to him. "It would be a lot of work for her and Dad to milk a cow every day, not to mention the daily care they need." When had he become so sensible?

"Ah, but you're forgetting one thing lad," Max patted him on the shoulder.

"What's that?" Ron frowned.

"Magic," Max laughed. "She'd never have to milk the cow by hand or anything. And they're pretty easy to take care of really, when you have magic to help obviously. If you wanted her, I'd do you a good price."

"Would be an interesting Christmas present?" I raised an eyebrow questionably.

"I don't know," he shrugged, unsure.

"And Rose would be thrilled." I pointed out. The children were still a soft spot when it came to their Dad, he'd do anything for them.

"Well, think about it lad and let me know. We've not had any offers yet, there's still time."

"Okay, we'll talk about it," Ron looked at me and I nodded in agreement.

"Mummy! Mummy!" Rose came tearing across the yard. "Daisy licked my hand," she told me breathlessly. "Her tongues so long and icky," she giggled. "And she knows what I say to her." She was grinning excitedly, wiping her hand on the back of her dress.

"She did?" I smiled at her innocence as I brushed her hair back from her face. She nodded, her beaming face looking up at me. "That's lovely sweetheart. Now where's your brother got to?" I asked, shading my eyes with my hand as I peered around the yard.

"Oh, erm..." she followed my gaze, having lost sight of him also. "He was with me, but now, I don't know," she shrugged.

"Hugo!" Ron bellowed.

"Hugo?" I called as well, starting to worry. There were just too many things for him to get into mischief with around here. Whilst it was delightful they loved something as mundane as a Muggle farm so much, especially with all the magical items they had and spells we did to entertain them at home, I never quite trusted our son. He just had this uncanny knack of getting himself into trouble when he didn't mean to.

"I here Mummy!" He suddenly appeared from nowhere, completely covered in mud and his hair sopping wet. Yet he had the biggest, most satisfied grin on his face.

"Where did you get to?" I demanded, taking in his appearance and screwing my nose up at the smell that was emitting from him.

He shrugged. "Cow shed," he added, as though that should have been obvious.

I groaned, realising that probably wasn't all just mud he was covered in. I think perhaps it was time we got them home and in the bathtub for a jolly good scrub.

We made our goodbyes shortly after, promising to visit again before the farm was gone and give them an answer about Daisy. And just before we left, I caught Ron having another conspirational conversation with Mildred.

I meant to ask him about all the whispering once we got home – I knew something was going on and I didn't quite trust that it had anything to do with Daisy. But, once we got stuck into bathing farm smelly kids, getting tea ready and finally putting them to bed before we could rest for the night, I forgot all about it.

That was until the next day when we were at his parent's house for Sunday dinner. I caught the tale end of a conversation he was having in hushed words with his Mum in the kitchen.

"...really okay to do all the food?"

"Of course love. I'm glad to do it. I'm proud of you." She ruffled his hair as I listened in, unnoticed in the doorway, my arms crossed.

Ron pulled a face, shooing his mother's hands off his head as he smoothed his hair back down. "Well, Mildred told me to tell you she'd be happy to do some baking as well."

"That's very kind of her."

"What's she baking for?" I asked, moving out of the shadows.

"Oh!" Ron jumped and then began rubbing the back of his neck – a habit he had when he was guilty or unsure about something. "Erm..." he stammered, obviously trying to think of something.

Molly simply smiled and picked up the tea towel. "Food for their party," she replied.

"What party?" I asked, as Ron whipped his head around to look at his Mother. Was that news to him as well?

"Why their 'welcome back to the magical world' party, of course," she shook her head slowly and smiled, before bending to take something out of the oven. Ron avoided looking at me as he bent to help her, probably so I couldn't see his eyes because if he wasn't telling me the truth, they would have given him away.

"Oh," I nodded, deciding to play along for now. "Well, that sounds nice," I realised they probably did deserve a party, not just to welcome them back and meet other magical folk, but because of everything they'd done for Ron. I suppose it was feasible that honestly was the case.

Molly nodded whilst watching Ron busy himself with setting the casserole dish on the counter and stirring the contents, his back still to me. "Well, after everything they did for my son," she smiled, reaching for his hair again, though he ducked away from her before she could get her hands on it.

I smiled at her and then remembered what I had come in here for – Hugo had asked me for a drink and I went to fill his cup with more pumpkin juice.

"Could you go and round everyone up dear?" she asked. "Dinner is about ready."

"Sure," I replied and went to let the family know. I missed the sigh of relief Ron exhaled as I left the kitchen.

After generous helpings of chicken casserole with huge fluffy dumplings, followed by bowls of trifle, Angelina and I offered to wash up for Molly whilst everyone else took the kids outside for a run around. I was stood at the sink, arms deep in soapsuds as Angelina stood beside me with the tea towel when I happened to glance out of the window only to catch Ron chatting with Harry and Ginny. Not that that was suspicious in itself – he was close to them once more after all. But, they were all giggling about something and casting cautious glances back towards the house. They didn't seem to notice me watching from the window.

George came ambling over to them, said something to Ron and thumped him on the back jokingly as my husband blushed bright red and tried to shove him off. They all laughed then. I frowned, what the hell was going on? Because I was doubting this story of a party for Mr and Mrs Bridges more and more.

Ron put his finger to his lips when Rose ran over to him and they all hushed up again. I huffed, dropping the mug I had been rinsing and sloshing us both in soapy water. "I'm sorry!" I told Angelina, quickly syphoning us both off with my wand.

"Are you all right? You seem a bit...distracted?" she asked, taking the mug from me to dry it. I knew there was a much faster magical way to get this done and usually I did, but sometimes doing things the slower Muggle way helped me de-stress and think through things.

"He's up to something!" I nodded my head towards the window. Rose was leading her daddy by the hand down the garden now chatting away animatedly, but I just knew they had been whispering about me before that.

"Ron?" she asked. "No, I don't think so," she mumbled and stared intently at the mug she was drying.

"You know something!" I accused her. "What is he up to? Why does everyone keep whispering and laughing about me?"

"Laughing about you? Hermione, no one is laughing about you." She seemed confused.

"Yes they are. Your husband obviously thinks whatever it is is a huge joke. And that's the third time I've seen Ron having hushed conversations with people before they all clam up or change the subject when I approach."

"You may not have noticed, but my husband has the knack of turning most things into a joke?" She asked, raising one eyebrow. "I'm sure it's nothing. Probably work stuff."

"Yeah, because he'd really need to discuss the shop with Mildred," I muttered angrily to myself.

I was quiet for the rest of the afternoon at my in-laws. I didn't witness any further secret conversations, but people did keep looking over at me and giving me big smiles. I felt confused and inside I was actually fuming – convinced I was the butt of some stupid joke. I didn't appreciate being the reason for amusement for any one.

"Okay, what is going on!" I demanded of Ron once we were alone in our room later that night.

"Huh?" he asked, looking at me puzzled as he emerged from the bathroom, clutching the towel at his waist.

"I know something is going on Ron! You're all laughing at me behind my back and I am not amused!" I folded my arms and shifted position so one hip jutted out.

He smiled and shook his head, taking a seat on the bed as he dried himself off. "No one is laughing at you, love. And there is nothing going on."

"Do you think I'm stupid!" I raged. "I've seen your secret conversations and all the giggling. I've heard the conversations that quickly go silent or change whenever I approach. I demand to know what you are up to!" I stuck my chin out defiantly.

"Hermione," he said my name softly and reached for my hand, attempting to tug me closer towards him. I snatched it away. He frowned. "I'm not up to anything. I'm just having fun with my family. I thought that was what you wanted, me getting on with my family like we used to?"

"Not at my expense!" I snapped.

He sighed and loosened his towel to pull his pyjama bottoms on. "Look, there is nothing going on and I don't know why you think anyone is laughing at you!" He rolled his eyes.

"Huh!" I muttered and stormed into our bathroom, slamming the door behind myself. I heard Ron groan back in the bedroom.

We went to bed in silence that night, our backs to one another. Was I wrong not to to trust him about this? Was he telling me the truth? I suppose they could have been planning a party for his old friends. And he was getting along with his siblings again, getting things back to normal – which included the teasing and pranks that involved.

Perhaps I was simply taking things too personally or being paranoid. It was also entirely possible I was being a little selfish and possessive – losing the love of your life for two years could do that to a person. Not to mention the fact I'd had him all to myself for those long months as he regained some memory and confidence, yet now he was off working and hanging out with friends and family more often. Was I accusing him of something just because I was feeling a little neglected? I sighed deeply, pulled the blankets up higher around my neck and made a promise to myself to stop getting snappy with him.

Truth be told, as happy and settled as he seemed to be at home these days, in the back of my mind I always feared he might want to leave. That one day he would wake up and realise he had been much happier when he'd been living a bachelor life on the farm and didn't have to deal with the stress of a family that he was having to get to know all over again.

I knew I had to trust him or I would end up driving him away.

Nothing was said regarding our conversation the following mornings, but things seemed pretty normal – just Ron getting the kids breakfast, reading the paper and taking far too long in the bathroom. Nothing inconspicuous seemed to be going on and I realised I had just become a paranoid fool.

However, I did notice he was getting more mail than was normal again, and he was hastily sending Beau off with letters when he thought I wasn't looking. I asked him what they were all about, he just shrugged it off and muttered something about fan mail and orders for the shop, which made no sense to me. But I tried to let it go. I was determined it wasn't going to be me who chased him away.

There was a strange incident at his parent's house on the Wednesday though. Ron now worked Tuesday – Thursday afternoons at the shop, so we met up on Wednesday evening at his parents after work for dinner before taking the children home. I apparated into the back yard and smiled when I saw our children through the kitchen window – it was weird how I missed them when I was at work even for just a day. Suddenly, they all darted out of the way whilst excitable squealing and giggling could be heard from the house as people hurried about.

"Quick! Put it in here!" I heard Molly shouting.

"Rose, hide that!" Ron was saying in a hurried loud whisper as I opened the back door.

"Daddy!" Rose squealed and some more scurrying was done before they all stood with their backs to the kitchen table and grinned widely at me as I entered the kitchen.

"What are you up to?" I asked, warily.

"Nothing," Hugo giggled, waving a large wooden spoon at me. Molly noticed it and took it from the little boy, hiding it behind her back.

"Everything's fine," she smiled at me. "Tea love?" She then asked, sliding Ron along a little to hide something that was still behind them as she went to fill the kettle.

"What are you hiding?" I asked, trying to peer around them.

Rose looked at her brother and they both giggled.

"Nothing." Ron winked and took my hand, pulling me through into the lounge before I could see what they had been trying to hide on the kitchen table.

"Ron...what's?"

Before I could finish my sentence, he leant over and kissed me, quite out of the blue and had me struggling for breath when he pulled back. He grinned and ran his finger down my cheek. "Everything's fine. The kids were just...making you something," he lied, tugging me to sit beside him on the couch moments before his Mother came in with a pot of tea. I frowned, not convinced, but chose not to argue with him on it. I knew they were all up to something – but I guess Christmas was only a couple of months away after all – I suppose I had to accept they might have surprises they didn't want spoiling.

That same night I entered our bedroom to find Ron sprawled across our bed, studying our wedding album, smiling wistfully at each photo. My heart began to pound, wondering if maybe he had remembered something significant for us – our wedding day – one of the happiest days of my life.

"What you doing?" I tried to sound nonchalant as I put some cleans clothes away in the drawers. I'd thought he'd been busy up here putting the kids to bed.

"Just looking," he shrugged, closing the album and looking up at me with a smile. "I was just thinking though, do you still have your wedding dress?"

"Erm, yeah. Its in the loft, in a chest. Why?" I wondered, sitting on the end of the bed and turning the album towards me. There was one of my favourites photos of us on the front – right after we'd been declared husband and wife and we were sharing our first married kiss.

He shrugged again. "Just wondering. You looked so beautiful." He then gazed at me.

I laughed and reached out to run my fingers through his hair. "Flattery will get you nowhere mister," I giggled and kissed his cheek before standing from the bed and going to put some clean towels away in the bathroom. "I've been wondering too," I began, leaning against the door frame.

"Oh?" he looked up at me and for just a second I thought I saw panic on his face. But when I blinked it was gone.

"Yes," I moved back beside him on the bed. "How do you feel about us all taking a holiday together somewhere? You, me and the kids? Somewhere fun?" I suggested.

"Oh," he blinked at me. "Erm...well," he began rubbing the back of his neck. "It's a bit close to Christmas isn't it?"

"So?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "We might be able to get a good deal this time of year. We could even take the kids to a Muggle resort in the sun?" I smiled. It sounded like a good idea to me – the kids would love playing on a warm beach somewhere and splashing in a pool whilst Ron and I relaxed in the sun.

He grimaced and looked down, avoiding my eyes. "I don't know Hermione," he mumbled.

"If you don't want to, just say!" I snapped, a little affronted by his reaction. I honestly thought he might fancy the idea of us getting away as a family. Did he not want to spend time with us? Were my fears not quite so unjustified?

"It's not that love. It's just..." He faded off, seemingly unable to think of a reasonable excuse.

"Fine, never mind. We won't bother then!" I stood from the bed quickly and was about to leave the room.

"Wait," he caught my wrist. "A holiday together sounds brilliant. But, maybe leave it until after Christmas, yeah? This is my first Christmas home again, you know Mum's going to make a big deal of it, and..."

"Christmas is still seven weeks away Ronald!" I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," he shrugged. "But...I'd like to get prepared early this year."

"Huh," I scoffed. Ron had never prepared early for anything in his life. But then, I suppose suffering with amnesia changed you – you were never quite the same person again even if all your memories came back. Some little characteristic would be forever changed.

"Hermione, love," he climbed off the bed. "A family holiday sounds wonderful and I would love to go away with you. We had fun on our last little trip, right?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me. I rolled mine, fighting back a smile. "And I know the kids would love it. Just, leave it for a few months? Okay?" he asked, his eyes searching mine.

"Fine," I sighed, folding my arms, still a little put out. "I'm going to go make hot chocolate, you want one?" I asked, opening the bedroom door.

"That would be great, thanks love." He kissed my cheek and we left our room together.

Reviews are always loved :) Last chapter next week :(