Concrit is love.
Consciousness returned to Harry in spurts and sudden drops, he felt like he was floating in a sense of safety he had never experienced before. When his eyes finally flickered opened to a hazy white room he could a fuzzy beige blob topped with red to his side.
"Harry," Mrs Weasley said, "Your glasses are here." She slipped then into one of his hands and waited for him to put them on before gathering him into a bone crushing hug. "Idiot child. You lot are going to kill me with worry." She released him letting him slide back down into the pillows before building up a proper head of steam. "What possessed you do that? You're ELEVEN! Not even finished your FIRST year! What made you think you and Ginny could take on a FULLY grown wizard? One who could break into GRINGOTTS!"
"Gringotts?" Harry asked himself under his breath.
Mrs Weasley paled from the red she had worked herself up to during her rant and he could see her lips moving before she gathered him in another smothering hug. "Never do that again!" She said her voice tight with tears.
Harry didn't know how long the hug would have continued it the door hadn't slammed open and excited Weasley voices clamoured over one another. Ginny, Hermione, Luna and Ron pushing close to grasp his shoulder or hug him tight. When they released him he could see the twins and Percy standing awkwardly slightly behind Mrs Weasley.
The twins looked him over before grinning broadly, "Awesome!" They said, "We missed the Express!"
"And explored the castle." Hermione smiled, "We found the Slytherin Common Room and worked out which barrel has been ensorcelled to get into Hufflepuff's"
"Left a welcome back present for the snakes." The twins added their own mayhem to the others quiet exploration causing Percy to moan.
"Did we-" Harry wasn't sure what to ask or what he was asking.
"You-Know-Who was possessing Quivering Qurriel and trying to steal something-' Ron began sounding disgusted and that odd form of pleased horror.
"They won't tell us what. Or why it was in the school." Hermione interjected.
"But we won." Ginny said grinning, "Professor Dumbledore tried to give us points at the feast but McGonagall took them away for foolhardiness."
"Enough of that." Mrs Weasley said sternly. "Out the lot of you and let Madame Pomfrey examine him so we can all return to the Burrow."
After a brusque examination Madam Pomfrey declared Harry "weak as a kitten but perfectly fit enough to return home and stop cluttering up my infirmary."
Mrs Weasley marched them out through the empty grounds to the gates. There she held her arm out, wand extended until the was tremendous bang and bright purple triple decker bus was parked in front of them.
"On you get," Mrs Weasley said ushering them on board. "Second deck only, Fred." She said as the twins and Ginny disappeared up the carpeted stairs, "Percy sit with Harry."
Hermione look rather pale and Ron was in one of his over protective moods so Harry was hustled to the back of the bus and settled on floral sofa between Percy and Mrs Weasley with Hermione and Luna squeezed in to an armchair next to them and Ron perching in another the other side. No sooner had Mrs Weasley sat down than they town backwards by the bus' jerking start. Hermione looked decidedly green but Luna and Harry were leaning into the bus's motion giggling at the sensation.
It was too long for Mrs Weasley, Percy and Hermione before the bus halted and the conductor called out, "Ottery St Catchpole."
They disembarked with two older girls who greeted Hermione, "Hey Hogwarts. Thought you weren't coming back to us."
She ducked her head but Mrs Weasley was already striding off towards the Burrow, pausing. Harry and Hermione hadn't really believed they would be allowed to stay with the Weasleys until they were safely back at the Burrow their trunks in the rooms they shared with Ron and Ginny (and Luna when she stayed). It quickly became clear that while the Weasley's made sure Luna was fed, decently clothed and schooled that didn't mean she never saw her father.
The Rookery was a 15 minute walk from the burrow, along the slow moving otter through dappled sunlight, or a 5 minute scramble through the Weasley's and their muggle neighbours land. For the three fragmented weeks her father was home Luna stayed most nights in their tower coming over at least once a day. With her father around she seemed sadder and dreamy without her normal mischievously crooked mouth.
Luna's father was on trip to find the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack the morning the companionable silence of their breakfast was broken by the clattering emission of a violet haired witch from the fire place met their first morning back at the Burrow. Mrs Weasley acted like this was a normal experience merely placing another plate on the table with the same movement that dispelled the soot and tidied the witch's appearance. "Morning Nymphadora, here to meet Charlie?"
"And eat your delicious breakfast." The witch replied with a smile. Sitting at the table she turned towards Harry and Hermione, "I'm Tonks, you must be Charlie's new little sister and Harry." She turned her nose into a snout, winked and turned her attention to her breakfast.
"Tonks' is Charlie's girlfriend." Ginny explained in a sotto voice. "He's mad for her."
"Totally barmy." Ron agreed, "but she's alright for a girl." He grinned as Hermione and Ginny threw their toast at him grabbing it out of the air to add to his own plate. "You've got to admit Tonks fits. And she's nice. Not like the girls Bill dates."
That seemed to be the verdict on Tonks. She was nice; funny, clumsy, besotted with Charlie but she fitted in the loud happiness of the Weasley home. She'd fallen over her feet rushing to Charlie when Charlie portkeyed in but that just end with them tickling each other on the grass, giggling and dragging Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Luna and Ron down with them until Mrs Weasley humphed. She seemed to find having one of Charlie's younger siblings around no impediment to kissing or something to object to, cheerfully engaging them in conversation or helping with homework.
The evening Charlie arrived they had a formal dinner, with everyone dressed in clean tidy clothes, a bottle of elf made wine sitting in the centre of the table and two courses that Harry had joined Mrs Weasley, Ginny, Hermione and Charlie in slaving over while Ron, Tonks and the twins were sent far away from the kitchen.
When everyone was full of dessert and Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Luna and Ron were dropping over their settings Charlie stood. "I would like to make an announcement. Tonks has finally agreed to marry me. To make sure she doesn't change her mind I've arranged to transfer to the Welsh reserve as of September 1st and will be on leave until then."
Charlie's announcement set the tone of the summer. Blissful sunshine, minimal responsibility and good news. As a group they herded chickens through the yard to their new coop, swam in the Otter and pond, helped clean and decorate the house Tonks and Charlie would be living in on the reserve, met the bandy legged stray cat who had made himself at home in the Orchard and played pick up games of Quidditch with the twins, Charlie, Tonks and Percy when they could rouse him from his studies.
There was one dark spot that they tried to keep far from their minds. While it was certain that Harry was safely within the guardianship of the Weasleys and he had given blood early in the summer for his own hand on the Weasley clock since the article in the Prophet they had heard no more about Hermione's adoption.
Percy, his fingers twining through the ginger fur of their stray, held the belief that the adoption magic would require completion if Hermione was allowed to remain with them and complete itself. If they did nothing then neither the Ministry nor the Wizengamot had to make a decision. Tonks, read up on law magic and ritual magic during her Auror training, had paled at his suggestion which made the all uncomfortable. It was therefore a relief when Mr and Mrs Weasley sat them all down in the sitting room in mid August.
"The Ministry have finally reached a decision." Mr Weasley informed them unrolling a yellowed scroll. "We have permission to complete the adoption. We will be completing the ritual per Weasley rules."
"All adoption rituals involve blood." Mrs Weasley said. "We will use our family's athame to collect blood from Arthur, Hermione and myself." She indicated a ancient blade lying on a leather cloth on their coffee table next to a potion vial and a goblet. "The blood will be mixed with Verum sanguinem adoptio potion which Hermione will drink."
"The Weasley rules have one difference from the standard ritual," Arthur said, "every member of the direct family must state their acceptance of the adoption. The phrase for acceptance is 'Sicut parvulus iste, hic est sanguis meus suscipiam eius. Soror mea est.' The phrase for rejection is 'Sicut parvulus iste, hic est sanguis meus super me ipsum.' Do you all under stand?"
Everyone stated there assent and Mrs Wealey indicated Hermione was to come forward and stand between her and Mr Weasley. With a deep breath Mr Weasley began speaking, "Suppliciter hanc puer. Eius familia volo intrare. Et certe in utero veram sanguinis eius. Filia mea est. Uxor mea te accipere puero?" Mr Weasley turned to Mrs Weasley with the question at the end of his speech he flicked the ritual knife over his palm squeezing blood into the goblet.
"Sicut parvulus iste, hic est sanguis meus suscipiam eius. Et certe in utero veram sanguinis eius. Filia mea est." Mrs Weasley answered smiling also slicing her palm and dripping blood into the goblet.
"Bill Fili, tu accipere puero?" Mr Weasley turned to the Communication Mirror.
"Sicut parvulus iste, hic est sanguis meus suscipiam eius. Soror mea est." Bill answered his tongue easily twisting over the foreign syllables. He smiled cheerfully.
"Charlie Fili, tu accipere puero?" Mr Weasley turned to the Charlie sitting on an ottoman with Tonks.
"Sicut parvulus iste, hic est sanguis meus suscipiam eius. Soror mea est." Charlie said stumbling twice. And so it continued with Mr Weasley turning to each of his sons in turn and finally his daughter and being granted acceptance.
After each had accepted he turned to Hermione and asked, "Puerum accipias tibi nostra familia?" Holding the knife out to her.
Her face pale Hermione took the knife from him. "Suppliciter accipio. Quæ ingreditur domum tuam, volo. Accipio te in mea omnia vera et sanguinem familiae fomer deserto. Ego sum a filia tua. Ego servus tuus: Soror mea est." He voice quivered as she stumbled through the memorised latin phrase and she sliced deeper than required into her palm spilling her blood over the leather and the goblet. Mrs Weasley poured the virulent blue Verum sanguinem adoptio potion into the goblet and stirred it with knife before handing the goblet to a shaking Hermione. She shook as she took the goblet and swallowed it in three long gulps.
She was drowsy and quiet for the rest of the day basking in the sunshine by the pool their cat trailing himself around her legs and through the others but no one could see any major changes in her.