Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, though I wish I did. They are all property of J.K. Rowling and her business associates.

The Days After

6 - The Burrow

A few days later they got an owl from Ron.

"Hi, it's Ron,

I intended to write to you a few time already, but I only managed to do it now. I think I'm going to propose to Lavender. She is staying here most of the time and she has already hinted that she would really like to become 'one of the family'. We are also shagging when nobody can see and I really like it.

Can you tell Hermione about this? I tried to send her an owl, but it wouldn't go. I hope she is well and it's only an owl problem. She is still my friend and I care about her.

I don't think Ginny is still so hot about you, but you already know that. She seems to be getting along with Dean quite well and Dad likes him, yet Mom is still dreaming of you marrying Ginny. Fat chance, really!

Ron.

P.S. I think you should tell Hermione I'm no longer her Boyfriend, though I think she knows.

Ron

P.P.S.

Mom would like you to come for dinner on Saturday and invite Hermione as well. You don't have to answer – just come. There's always enough food.

Ron"

"Why do you think he failed to send you a letter?" asked Harry.

"He probably addressed it to Miss Hermione Granger and not to Mrs. Hermione Potter, don't you agree?"

"Oh, I do, Mrs. Potter. And I love you."

"I love you too, Mr. Potter" she said, kissing his lips.

They decided to go to the Burrow, as invited. Hermione's pregnancy was already showing a bit in muggle clothes, but wizarding robes hid it quite well. They apparated to the Burrow and stepped in hand-in hand. Mrs. Weasley hugged them both in her normal fashion and Mr. Weasley shook their hands saying "I'm so happy to see you!"

Ron was the next to see them. "She agreed!" he shouted to Harry, motioning Lavender to join them. "I proposed to Lavender yesterday evening and she agreed! Isn't it wonderful?" He then noticed Hermione. "Oh, I hope you are alright with this. I wouldn't like you to get upset at me and all that…"

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine with it. You see – I'm Mrs. Potter now."

Ron's jaw fell. "When did you get married? And you didn't invite me!"

"We are not yet married" said Harry, "but we are magically bound and we are engaged."

"What do you mean 'magically bound? Are you two married or not?"

"It's not as simple as that, but we will certainly invite you to our wedding" said Harry.

"This is the ring he gave me. It used to be his mother's" said Hermione, holding up her hand.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" exclaimed Lavender.

"What ar' you lukin' at?" piped Fleur, who just came in with Bill.

"Hermione got an engagement ring" told her Ron.

"Oooh. C'est magnifique!" exclaimed Fleur. "Who iz it from?"

"Harry gave it to me."

"Oh, congratulations! You look very nice togezer."

They noticed George. He was sitting at the table, holding his head, almost oblivious to what was happening around him. "Good evening, George. How are you?" tried Harry.

George lifted his head with a faint smile. "Hi, Harry. I'm just fine. It only hurts when I laugh."

There was no life in his voice.

Hermione came close as well. "George, I'm going to marry Harry and give him a son. This is my engagement ring"

It was almost brutal, but George couldn't stand it. His lips curled up in a grin. "Will you first marry him or first give him a child?"

"You'll have to guess! Do you like this ring?"

George looked at the ring. "It is very special. Where did he get it from?"

"It was his mother's. We found it in his vault, along with other artifacts that used to be his parents'."

"No wonder it is so special. He needed something very special for his special lady." George winked at her, reminding her of himself before the battle.

Ginny came down last, dragging Dean behind her.

"Hi, Ginny" said Hermione. "I haven't seen you for a long time."

"You could have visited" retorted Ginny.

"Not really. I was too busy with my parents, you know, and then with Harry."

"What were you doing with Harry?" shot Ginny.

"I helped him renovate Grimmauld Place and put his business in order and then plan a wedding..."

"Whose wedding? Is any of you getting married?"

"Actually – both of us, and to each other!"

"Oh, how nice…" Ginny didn't sound happy at all.

Bill was trying to get everyone's attention. "We have an announcement to make" he called out several times, until everybody was quiet. He then smiled at Fleur.

"We ar' going to 'av a bebe!" said Fleur, hardly holding her excitement.

The whole family piled around Fleur, congratulating her and Bill. Dean sneaked to sit besides Harry.

"Hi, Harry. You look happy," he commented.

"Yes, I am. I have Hermione with me," answered Harry.

"So, are you no longer interested in Ginny?"

"Not at all. I consider her a friend, just as I consider you, but she is not my girlfriend and I have no claim on her."

"Fine," said Dean. "I was considering proposing, but I didn't want to get in your way in case you still want her, you being the hero and all that."

"You fought just as well, didn't you?" asked Harry.

"Oh, I did, but I didn't kill you-know-who."

"I didn't kill Voldemort either. It was his own doing, eventually. He said the killing curse, not I."

"But still you faced him…"

"As did Neville, and he was unarmed. They give me the glory, but each and every one of those who fought with me is a hero just the same. You are a hero. Go and marry Ginny and I wish you both happiness."

Dean looked relieved. He got up to look for Ginny.

"It was very nice, the way you talked to him" said Hermione, plopping on the vacated chair.

"I have only said what I believe to be true. You are all heroes just like me, even though they give me all the glory which I do not deserve."

"Well, you do deserve at least some of it," she smiled at him.

"OK, just a little bit" he smiled back at her.

"Have you talked with Ginny?" she asked.

"No. Have you?"

"Just a few words. She seems to be upset, or maybe jealous, I couldn't tell", said Hermione.

"Probably both. Dean loves her, and I think she likes him, at least, but she must put aside her dream of marrying 'the-boy-who-lived', and that may prove difficult."

"I'm sure she will overcome it. She is a smart girl after all" concluded Hermione.

The crowd around Fleur was starting to disperse. "Sit down, everybody. Dinner is served!" called Mrs. Weasley.

Ginny took a seat besides Hermione. "How come you are marrying Harry?" she asked.

"It just happened. We realized that we were in love ever since we met, and we only denied our love out of consideration for Ron and for you. Now that Ron chose Lavender and you got Dean there was no longer any need to deny it."

"Do you think Dean is right for me?"

"Does it really matter what I think? It's just what you both think that matters. If you feel for him the same as he feels for you then go for it. He's a fine man. I'm sure you can be happy with him."

"Are you happy with Harry?"

"As happy as can be. He is all that I ever dreamed of and much more."

"What was it that you said you were bound? I've never heard of it."

"It is rather complicated. I'm not sure I can give you a good explanation about this 'spontaneous binding'. Maybe your father can."

Harry was also trying to avoid explaining the same concept to Ron, on his other side. "I only know what they told us at the ministry, and I'm not sure I really understand it. You should rather ask your father. He works there, so he may just find a good explanation."

"But what did they tell you?" insisted Ron.

"It happens only about once or twice in a generation and the previous time happened some twenty-five years ago. As to why – I haven't a clue."

"Do you know at least when it happened?"

"Yes. It probably happened the morning after the battle," said Harry.

"With all the mourning going around?! I'll be damned!"

"Ron! Mind your language" said Lavender, sitting on his other side.

"Yes dear," replied Ron meekly and then whispered towards Harry "And I thought it was only Hermione who cared about how I talk!"

They got an owl from Ron two days later.

"Hi,

Mom is going mental. Dean proposed to Ginny and she accepted, so mom is now busy planning two weddings, and she failed to notice that you are planning to wed soon as well.

Dad found out something about spontaneous magical binding but it says there that it only happens when the two mages are of extraordinary powers. I know you are both above average, but I don't think you are so extraordinarily powerful. I never noticed such powers in any of you, so I'm quite bewildered. Yet dad told me he saw the registry and you really are bound. Go figure…

I've never seen Ginny so happy. She is bouncing around like a ball, more than she did when she was just a little girl. Dean gave her a diamond ring and she swears it is bigger than the one on Hermione's ring. I couldn't care less, yet I bought Lavender a similar one, just to make sure she doesn't bug me to death. Talking about Lavender – she missed her period and she thinks she may be pregnant, making me a father. Can you even imagine me as a father? It almost freaked me out, but now she wants to hasten our preparations and to have a wedding as soon as possible, before it shows.

I wonder how Grimmauld Place looks now. May I come to visit?

I send you both love, Ron.

P.S.

You may floo-call me at the Burrow. Ron"

"It would be nice to have him visit here" mused Harry.

"It would be nice to let others visit as well: Neville, Luna and even Ginny. A little company once in a while would make this place more cheerful" said Hermione.

"You know we can move to any other place. You have visited them all with me", he said.

"I know… But here it is more like home for now. We have redesigned this place together and we have been here before. We may need to go somewhere else soon, though. I feel I'm getting heavier each day. Soon I will only be able to roll from place to place instead of walking."

"You may feel heavy, but you are just as beautiful as ever, if not more. I love you dearly and I'll make sure to go with you wherever you feel most comfortable", he said.

"Right now it is here, and we can tell Ron to come. We don't have to tell him about the other places yet. You know how envious he may be."

"No, you tell me" he laughed.

Ron came to visit a few days later using the floo. Lavender came as well.

"What's the matter with you, Hermione? You look like you have swallowed a ball" said Ron.

"It's called pregnancy, Ron, and thank you for the compliment" answered Hermione.

"But… last week you didn't show at all! You couldn't have blown up so much in just a week!"

"Oh, I was pregnant last week as well; it just didn't show so much."

"I didn't know you were expecting, Hermione. You didn't even mention it" said Lavender.

"I only told George. I hoped it would cheer him up a little, but I didn't want to steal the focus from Fleur. She is family at the Burrow, while I'm not."

"Well, it looks like we're not too far from each other. I'm also expecting. I only found out yesterday. Isn't that exciting?"

"I'm so glad for you. You will surely have a beautiful child."

"When do you expect the birth?"

"I'm not sure. I'm only two months into this, but they say that whatever caused our bonding is also causing this pregnancy to advance at double speed, or maybe even faster, so it may be in less than two months. I just feel heavier from day to day and I don't really like it."

"But then, it will be over before you even know it. That must be better than trudging along for many more months."

"I suppose…"

Lavender looked at the stairs worriedly. "Will you be able to climb the stairs when you get heavier?"

"I don't know, but Harry promised to take me somewhere else if I find this uncomfortable. He really is very considerate."

"I wish I could say this about Ron… Yet I chose him despite all his shortcomings. They make him so lovable, I suppose."

"I think I can see your point…"

Lavender turned serious.

"Hermione, I'm sorry I caused you so much heart-ache during our sixth year. I already loved him then and I knew he was no good for you. I could feel that you really wanted Harry but you still couldn't admit it."

"It really doesn't matter anymore and you were right about me and Harry, as our bonding proves. Do you know where you are going to live after your wedding?"

"Well, we shall go somewhere for our honeymoon – probably some tropical island – and then we shall live in one of my family's estates. I like the one in southern England, near the sea, so I will probably chose to live there. It is not too far from the Burrow either. Are you going to stay here?"

"I don't think so. This place is inaccessible to muggles, and we need a place where my parents can visit, especially after the child is born. We may go to a house in southern England as well. I like it there."

"It would be nice to be able to visit each other even without using the floo" commented Lavender.

Ron was coming down from visiting the upper floors. "You've done a damn good job indeed. I could almost swear it was a different place now, with all the dark stuff removed and the new decorations, the high-intensity lamps and all that. You now need a few children to fill all those empty rooms."

"We are working on that" said Harry, laughing.

"Yes, one could see it" grinned Ron.

Kreacher came in, standing proud in a new black uniform with golden trimmings. "Does mistress like me to serve tea now?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you" answered Hermione.

"Was that really Kreacher?" asked Ron in a tone of disbelief. "Was he really wearing cloths?"

"Yes, it is Kreacher" affirmed Harry. "I gave him a room of his own in the attic, where he can keep all his treasures. I also had him fitted with a uniform. He didn't want it at first. He was afraid I was dismissing him."

"So, how did you convince him?"

"It was more Hermione's work than mine. She told him that as our servant he must look proper and clean, to honor the house of Black, and the uniform is a part of it. She even let him decide on the colors. She only failed to convince him to wear shoes. He still feels better with bare feet."

Two weeks later they moved to the London town house, quite close to the center, yet far away from the noise of the city. It had one bedroom at ground floor, along with a large library, a ballroom and a dining room. The two house-elves were just too eager to serve them. Hermione loved the house and enjoyed being able to entertain her parents there, and Harry was happy for her. It was also just a short walk to St. Mungo's, which was also an important consideration. The house was set in the middle of a garden and the smell of the flowers drifted in through the open windows.