Chapter Two: Family News

Before Ron realized what had happened he found himself standing at the wash bin, cleaning and slicing carrots before sending them into the large, slightly dented, silver pot warming on the stove. Without stopping to ask any questions Molly had taken the baby from his arms, procured a bottle, fed her, changed her, rocked her to sleep and settled her comfortably into a large bassinet she had magiced out of the air.

The baby soundly sleeping a safe distance across the room from Ron allowed him to work alongside his mother, silently preparing the stew his she had decided to make for family dinner that night. Ron could tell his mother was just itching to ask him questions about the baby and what she was doing there, but had shown an astounding amount of restraint. Every so often she would stop what she was doing, look at him for a moment and when he didn't respond, return to her proportions, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

"You've gotten very good at that." Molly said as she resumed work on the potatoes.

Ron chopped a few more of the orange sticks, shrugging his left shoulder dismissively. "I don't have you cooking for me anymore and I couldn't stand another bite of those dreadful Muggle premade meals Harry goes on about. And I figured I can't eat sandwiches for the rest of my life. So I picked up a few cooking how-to books and I'm teaching myself."

"You could have come to me. I would have been more than happy to give you lessons."

"I know," Ron agreed, "but it was something I wanted to do myself."

Molly's lips twitched into a proud smile as she stifled the urge to reach out and brush her youngest son's fringe of bright red hair back off his face. He had come so far in the past five years; grown up a great deal. She couldn't help but feel pride at his accomplishments. But a part of her still missed the way he had come to her with his problems when he was a child. How she missed that look her children used to get in their eyes when she was able to fix their problems for them.

From the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of the little bassinet. Maybe her Ron hadn't completely grown up yet. It almost made her laugh out loud to recall the terrified expression on his face as he sprinted across the room with that baby held out in front of him like a rabid beast that was likely to bite him if he let it get to close.

"Well," she patted his hand affectionately, "you keep at it and you'll be a better cook than me."

Ron snorted with laughter as he sliced through the last of the carrots "Never. Not even the Hogwarts House Elves cook as good as you."

Molly blushed crimson. "Go on with you." She waved away his compliment with her hand but he could tell she was quite pleased.

Potatoes finished Molly started on the beef which she chopped into bite sized morsels. "Now that you've had your go at buttering me up, why don't you ask me what you want to ask me?"

Ron startled slightly but hid it well. "I never said I wanted to ask you anything?"

"I wasn't born yesterday Ronald. I did raise six other children besides you. Better than the Hogwarts House Elves? Please. If that's not a sure sign you want something…"

"But that bit is true. You cook better than anyone I know and I know all the House Elves."

Molly made a strange sound halfway between pleasure and disbelief. Done with the carrots Ron turned to the bowl of peapods. A flick of his wrists had the small green shells hovering in the air, splitting open at their seams and dropping the small orbs into the pot with the rest of the stew. Periodically Ron would glance at his mother, waiting anxiously for the moment she would lose her patience with him and demand answers.

Making a point not to look at either Ron or the bassinet where the small baby slept, Molly continued with her work adding the last of the beef before moving to her spice cupboard. The air was suddenly filled with the savory fragrance of different spices as the bottles and containers flew off the shelves, tipped sideways and shook their fine powder over the stew.

Growing more uncomfortable and leery the longer his mother remained silent Ron finally set down his wand, perhaps a little harder than necessary, and turned to face his mother. "Why haven't you asked me about her?" Ron nodded toward the sleeping child. "I can tell you want to?"

The spices halted in their midair dance. Molly turned tentatively, looking Ron in his bright blue eyes, "I wasn't certain you could. I assumed she had to do with your job at the Ministry."

"Really?" Ron's brows furrowed in surprise. "Why?"

"Because she doesn't belong to any of your friends, I know all those children. And I also know I would be asked to watch any one of them before you would."

"Excuse me?"

"Come now Ronnie," Molly chortled. "It's no secret you're terrified of babies. The first time Fleur tried to hand you Barron you ran from the room like You-Know-Who was at your heels. I don't think you even held him until he was almost two. It's only recently that you've started holding Sirius James and he's your godson. Like I said, I think it's safe to say you're terrified of children."

"I'm not scared of 'em." He said shortly, glancing over at the baby, than quickly away trying to hide the pained look in his eyes. "I just don't have much use of them."

"That may be. But the point remains you would never willingly take care of baby. Knowing that about you, I suspect the only way that you would was if you were forced to. And the only way you would be forced to would be if it was work related. Couple that with the knowledge that you can't always tell me the details of your assignments, I reckoned you would tell me what you could. Since you haven't said anything to me I assumed this was one of those times and one of those cases."

Ron stood there a moment unmoving, astounded that his mother understood that much about him. Of course she couldn't know the real reason that he avoided babies, but she was very astute. He would give her that. He had thought he had hidden his aversion to babies particularly well. Apparently he was wrong. And chances were that if his mother noticed that meant Ginny and the twins undoubtedly had as well and with those three aware it couldn't have been long until everyone in the family had been made aware as well.

Ron lowered his head, his face flushing with shame. He hated that his entire family thought him terrified of babies. It was bad enough they were all aware of his spider phobia, he didn't need to give them, or anyone else for that matter, something else to chock up against him. But the truth was he would rather they continue to think him scared of babies than to know the truth.

For the briefest moment he closed his eyes and imagined himself holding a small baby in his own overlarge hands. He could see everything from the spray of freckles across the baby's cheeks and pert little nose. The tuft of soft red hair at the top of its heads, and the little lips; the bottom one slightly larger than the top. And when the baby opened its eyes it would have… No. Ron shook his head to clear it. That ship had sailed a long time ago.

"Do you remember that case I was working on?" He asked. The last of the peas shucked he turned and leaned his hip against the counter top. "You know, with that couple who's been aiding Death Eaters by giving them money and helping them escape when we've gotten too close to taking them in?"

"Yes." Molly nodded. "As I recall you've been having trouble infiltrating."

"We have been." Ron nodded with agreement. "But we got our break about eighteen months ago. One of our agents was able to infiltrate the house by posing, convincingly, as a Pure-blood who was down on his luck because of the muggle-borns and there 'new lease on life' after the war. He was able to get a job from them, which basically means they were paying him to hang around their house and do nothing all day. And because he had access to almost the entire house he was able to pass us invaluable information. Through him we were able to gather enough hard evidence to build a case on them but we kept him in there watching them in case anything new cropped up or they found out we were onto them and tried to make a run for it. Today, however, his position was compromised. Felix Blume has never yet failed to meet me for our weekly check-ins and debriefings. After four hours of not hearing word from him I knew it was time to go in there after him."

"He's all right, isn't he? He's such a sweet boy. I…"

"Don't worry Mum." He patted her arm. "Felix is fine. I think Timothy Blythe was waiting for us to arrive so he could try and take us all down with him."

"And let me guess," Molly nodded toward the bassinet, "That little girl belonged to him."

"Felix assumed we knew they had a kid and we never bothered to find out if they did. Greene is blaming me for the lack of communication and because of that he decided that she's my responsibility until the Ministry decides what to do with her."

"Poor dear." Molly wiped her hands clean on her apron as she moved toward the bassinet. Tenderly she reached in and tucked the blanket more securely around her.

"That is exactly the sentiment we are trying to avoid which is why we hope to keep her situation quiet until a decision has been made. Her case will be taken care of much quicker if we don't have to worry about public opinion on top of everything else. Not to mention Greene's concern of how her parents death will make the Ministry look. I don't think he wants the Ministry to gain a reputation of making orphans. We've worked too hard since the fall of You-Know-Who, he doesn't want there to be a step backwards."

"How long do you think she's going to be with you?"

Ron shrugged. "Right now your guess is about as good as mine. If she weren't involved this case would be over in a week. There would be a hearing to decide if the Blythe's death could have been avoided, and then there would have been a hearing to decide what to do with their estate. We still have to do both of those but now we also have to take her into account when deciding the estate and there will be another hearing to decide who will be her guardian. To be perfectly honest she's proving to be far more trouble than what she's worth."

"Ronald Weasley!" Molly whirled on her son, hands planted firmly on her hips. "How could you say that? She's a poor innocent babe."

"She's the child of a Death Eater."

"And I suppose that's her fault as well? Everything else seems to be."

"Mum-"

"Ronald, need I remind you that you've know plenty of people who wound up with different views than the families there were born into? Your best friend is a prime example. How Harry turned out as sweet as he did with relatives like he has I'll never know. But the point is being born into a certain family doesn't carve your destiny out in stone."

"But Harry's different. His parents were killed by You-Know-Who."

"And her parents were killed by the Ministry. Hopefully she doesn't bear that against it in the future. All I'm trying to say is that you can't write her off for lost now when you have no idea what she will grow up to be."

"Fine. She might not be a Death Eater in training, yet. But…"

"Ronald-"

"But," he said again, "The truth of the matter is that I am in no position to take care of anyone else. I can barely take care of myself. My house is a mess. My cooking…well it's getting better but it's still not good. And as you so aptly pointed out I know nothing about babies and only a fool would trust me to look after one."

Molly sighed. "I'm sorry that you trust yourself so little and question my faith in your abilities. That was never my intention. But my answer is still no."

"No?"

"No."Molly repeated. "I won't watch her for you. That child is your responsibility, not mine."

"But I didn't…"

"I'm not trying to put the blame for what happened to that babe on you. I understand, I really do. But I've raised my children. I don't mind watching my grandchildren every once in a while. But when I do I get to hug them and spoil them and then send them home to mummy and daddy who get to raise them. And you just said that you don't know how long it's going to take to get her settled in her new home and believe it or not, I'm enjoying this empty house. I get to spend more time with your father and I'm starting to remember what it was like when we first met." She turned away from Ron and took up the dough she had been letting rise all day and placed it carefully inside the stove to bake. "Besides, I think it will do you good to have to take care of someone else for a change. Now, why don't you go outside and start setting the table. You know where the dishes are."

Knowing there was nothing left to say and grumbling quite a bit, Ron took up the stack of mismatched plates and cutlery from the kitchen dresser and shuffled outside to where the long line of tables was set up in the garden. He dropped the stack in the middle of the first table before moving past it and out to the short wall on the edge of the property. He swung his legs over the stone barrier and sat with his back facing the Burrow.

He watched the sun slowly sink over the tree lined horizon, bathing the sky with ribbons of orange and red. As the sun sank lower the air around him took on a slight chill that was refreshing after the heat of the warm July weather.

Ron knew what her game was. Molly had watched her grandchildren over night or on long weekends many times. She practically begged his siblings with children to let her watch them for them. She welcomed the diversion. Ron suspected that the real reason she said no to watching the baby was her hope that if Ron had the baby around for a while it would inspire him to have a few of his own. For a moment he was tempted to go and tell her the real reason why he avoided babies, maybe than she would leave him alone about it. But he thought better of it. The real reason was something he didn't want her, or anyone else knowing.

Ignoring the sound of the garden door opening behind him Ron stretched his legs out in front of him, placing his hands on the rough stone wall and leaning back.

"I thought your mother sent you out here to set the table."

Ron looked back over his shoulder and spotted his best friend leaning against the door post his arms crossed over his chest and his right foot crossed over his left. "Hi ya, Harry."

"Ron." The raven haired man nodded his head. "Rough day at work?"

"You heard about it?"

"Ginny spotted the cradle the moment we arrived. Wouldn't leave your mum alone until she had the whole story."

Ron glanced at the watch strapped around his wrist. "You're here early aren't you?"

"Yeah well," Harry rubbed the back of his neck, "Ginny doesn't get around so well right now and she was paranoid about being late for dinner. So here we are."

Ron shook his head as he swung his legs back over the wall so that he was facing Harry. "She's got you wrapped so tight around her little finger I don't know how you breath. Honestly, I don't know if I should be happy for Ginny or sad for you. Tough place to be," Ron chuckled. "On one hand I have a sister whose husband I know will do anything for her, and on the other hand I'm wondering what happened to my best friend who was clueless when it came to girls and had a knack for making them cry when left alone with them."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Harry pointed his finger at him. "You wait until you're dealing with a pregnant wife and see how smug you are."

"Yes, but you see the difference between you and me is I would never be foolish enough to get my wife pregnant again while the last one was still on the teat."

Harry's face darkened behind his spectacles. "It's not like we were trying to make that happen, it just did."

"Yeah," Ron agreed, nodding his head. "It happened just like magic, right?"

Harry scowled at his tall best friend. "Come on Ron. Even you can do better than that."

"Yeah well," Ron used his hands to push his lanky body up from the wall. He crossed the garden to the table where he picked up the stack of plates and set them before every chair.

Harry joined Ron, taking up the cutlery and setting them beside the plates Ron put down. With the two of them working the task was quickly done and with the last place set they both pulled out a chair and sat facing the house. As they watched the windows flared with sudden flashes of green light, silently announcing the arrival of more family members. With each new arrival the din coming from inside the house grew louder, filling the evening air with the gay sound until the two men sitting outside felt that they were in the middle of it all.

"I hope you don't mind your mum telling me about the baby."

"Na," Ron rubbed his fingers roughly through his hair disheveling it thoroughly. "I'm going to have to tell everyone eventually."

Harry leaned forward in his seat, resting his chin on his twined fingers. He starred at the ground with an intense look in his eyes. Ron watched him, a sense of unease coming over him.

"Harry," he pulled his chair closer to his friend, "Is something wrong? You only get that look on your face when you have bad news."

"What?" He looked up. "No. Well…I guess it depends on how you look at it."

"How you look at what? What are you talking about?"

"Ron," Harry turned toward the redhead. "Ron…" he tried again.

"Come on then. Spit it out."

"Ron, there's something I need…"

"Harry? Ron?" Ginny appeared in the doorway, her hand resting on her very swollen stomach. "Mum wants to know if you're finished."

"Yeah," Ron rose to his feet, pausing to glance a moment at Harry who had sunk back in his chair. He narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Why don't you go tell her that we're ready out here?"

"Mum," Ginny called over her shoulder, "We're ready."

Ron rolled his eyes with annoyance. "I could have done that." He muttered.

Ginny flipped her dark curtain of hair over her shoulder. "Then why didn't you? Harry, could you come get Sirius? It's difficult to carry him with my stomach so big."

"'Course dear." Harry rose to his feet. "We'll finish talking later." He muttered to Ron out of the corner of his mouth before moving briskly toward the house.

Harry stopped to help Ginny down the two steps into the garden, giving her a quick kiss before moving into the house.

"Hello Daddy," Ginny waddled across the garden to the table, Ron scowling at her with every step. "How is the new father doing?"

"Fine." Ron pulled a chair out for her despite his annoyance. "You're getting huge. Get any bigger and you're likely to burst."

Instead of upsetting her like Ron thought it would Ginny beamed with pride. Her hand came to settle once again over her distended stomach. "He's going to be a Weasley." Her hand moved in a gentle circle. "Big and strong."

"It's a boy then?"

Ginny shrugged. "No idea. It's just a feeling." She lowered herself into the seat Ron had prepared, her hand set firmly over her abdomen like she could already touch the child resting there.

The back door opened again and his brothers began spilling into the yard, their wives and children in tow. "Uncle Ron!" A small child tugged his hand free of his mother's and pelted himself at Ron who bent down and scooped him up, tossing him high over head.

"Master Barron." Ron settled the three year old on his hip. "I hardly recognized you you're getting so big." He tousled the young boys unusually straight red hair until it stuck up at odds with itself. "How's about you sit next to me tonight little man?"

The little boy's grey eyes lit up with delight. He nodded his little head vigorously causing his hair to fall back where it normally lay. Laughing heartily Ron strode toward the table, lifting his nephew off his hip to set him in the chair next to where he would be sitting.

"Ronald," Molly paused in the doorway, big silver pot hovering before her. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She nodded her head toward the house.

The smile melted off of Ron's face. "What?" he said jovially. "You think she'd enjoy stew?"

Molly rolled her eyes. "Don't you be smart with me. Just bring her out here so you can tend to her if she needs you."

"Right." He sighed. "Master Barron," The little boy looked up at him with adoration. "I'll be right back. You leave some food for me, all right?" The little boy nodded his head vigouriously and watched his uncle march into the house.

Ron stopped short just inside the door however when he spotted Harry standing over the bassinet, staring down at the orphan with his son sitting on his hip. There was a slight frown to his normally smiling lips and a look of sorrow in his eyes.

"Harry?"

"I was just thinking," he began to sway slightly, rocking Sirius James gently back and forth, "It's really a shame. The war is over and Voldemort is still leaving children parentless. It's just a shame you know."

Not knowing what else to say Ron clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, hopping that Harry would understand. "Hey Si," Ron forced his lips into a smile of greeting. "How's my favorite nephew?" He asked in a low voice as if trying to keep his other siblings children from hearing that they weren't his favorite. Instead of answering Sirius James stuck his thumb through his lips and latched on, resting his head on his father's shoulder. "He looks tired." Ron observed.

"He is tired." Harry confirmed. "Si's been helping me all day, haven't you mate?" The little boy nodded his head, never taking it off of Harry's shoulders. "We're moving him out of the nursery and into his own big boy room, aren't we? And guess who helped me with the painting and his mother with the moving of his toys?"

"It couldn't be Si, could it?" Ron asked with exaggerated disbelief. The little boy's lips parted into a bright smile around his thumb.

"Yep," Harry rubbed Si's back with a gentle hand. "Sirius James has been a big help to me and his mother. I think he's going to be a great big brother."

"He better be." Ron said with embroidered severity. "Or he might just get a visit from the tickle monster." Ron crooked his fingers, wiggling them menacingly as they crept closer to Sirius James's chest. The little boy squealed and snuggled into his father's arms for protection. Ron's fingers grazed Si's chest a few times, causing him to squirm and laugh with delight, but stopped with the sudden flair of the fire inside the kitchen fireplace.

Out of the hearth stepped Percy, wand already out and magicing away the dust that had accumulated on his robes during his journey through the floo network. "Perce?" Ron's mouth gapped with surprise at the sight of his older brother. "I didn't think you were going to be able to make it tonight." He said pointedly.

Percy stuffed his wand back in his pocket before straightening the collar of his robes. "I really shouldn't. But as you said I haven't made it to family dinner in some time and…"

"You were too scarred to tell mum you weren't coming yourself." Ron said, a slight smirk to his lips.

Percy's eyes narrowed slightly. "I take it everyone's in the garden so I'll just join them, shall I? Harry." He nodded his head in greeting. "I trust everything is all right with you and Ginny?"

"Fine. Everyone is fine."

"Good." Percy nodded again than swept from the room and into the garden. "Git." Ron muttered when the door closed behind him. "I don't know why mum bothers inviting him. No one wants him here anyway."

"Yeah," Harry forced a laugh. Ron watched, eyes narrowing as he shifted his weight nervously, moving Si from his right hip to his left.

"Harry, is something wrong? Did something happen that I should know about?"

"No. Not yet." Harry turned to face his friend. "Ron,"

"Ronald! Harry! Will you two hurry please?" Molly stuck her head through the door. "We have hungry children out here."

"Coming Mum."

Molly pulled the door the rest of the way open, stepping to the side and holding it wide waiting there to make certain that the two men didn't doddle. Ron fumbled with the baby in one arm and the bassinet in the other, but somehow managed to make it outside without dropping either.

The moment he stepped into the yard he wished he had called his mother and begged off tonight. It was apparent by the sudden stop in conversation that his family had been talking about him. His suspicions were further confirmed when their eyes planted on him and the baby he awkwardly carried. Percy, who had apparently been filed in on the latest, straightened in his seat and gave Ron a smug look that clearly stated 'I didn't mess up at work and find myself guardian of a Death Eater's baby.'

Trying best to ignore the stares of curiosity and superiority, Ron settled the bassinet behind the seat he would be taking and clumsily set the baby inside.

"Ze is very cute, Ronald." Fleur offered tentatively, as Ron lowered himself into his seat. "What is ze called?"

"Her name?" Ron blinked with surprise. He racked his brain trying to remember what Greene had said her name was, but for the life of him he couldn't remember ever being told. "I..." His eyes screwed up in concentration. "As far as I know she doesn't have one." He admitted thickly.

"That's odd." Arthur rubbed his chin. "Didn't you ask what her name was when they put her in your care?"

"Er-no. I…well that is to say…I didn't have…well you see…"

"You forgot to ask!" Fred snickered into his stew. "They hand you a baby and you forget to ask what her name is."

"Well, I'm not even sure she has one." Ron said shortly. "When we searched her room there were no books or papers, blankets with her name monogrammed onto them, nothing. So maybe I didn't forget to ask. Maybe she just doesn't have one."

"So what are you going to do?" Bill asked seriously, ladling some stew onto Fleur's platter. "Call her baby for the next couple of days?"

"With any luck she'll be off my hands tomorrow. Harry," Ron said, a stern tone to his voice that clearly said he was done discussing it, "will you pass the stew."

Taking pity on his friend, Harry quickly grabbed the pot and set it in front of Ron's platter. The tall redhead scooped three large ladles full onto his plate before scooping half a ladle onto Barron's. He cut the beef into smaller bites for his nephew before handing him back his plate. He was just lifting a spoon full of vegetables to his own lips when Percy interrupted the silence and with a superior tone asked. "What did you do anyway? Why is she with you when she could have been put with someone more- responsible?"

Ron's fingers tightened around the handles of his fork and knife. "That," he said in a cold voice, "is none of your business. Nor is anything else that has to do with that baby. And I'll ask you kindly to keep your mouth shut at work. Greene doesn't want news of her leaking to the Prophet."

"If that's true, you shouldn't have let yourself be seen running through the halls of the Ministry with a screaming baby. There are many rumors going around at work, I don't mind telling you. And most of them don't cast you in a very good light. In fact, there are many people saying she's yours."

"Mine?" Even those who had still been pretending to eat stopped in light of this titillating information. "What?" Ron laughed, the sound hitting somewhere between guilt ad disbelief.

"Yes. Most reckon she's the result of an affair you had with a Muggle woman. That's why she's with you, they say. The mother doesn't want to be bothered brining up a magical child. Of course I assured everyone that this couldn't possibly be true. I, being your brother, would surely have been one of the first to know."

Harry snorted into his plate resulting in a sharp kick to the shin from Ginny.

Ron sank low in his seat, his apatite quickly vanishing the further the conversation carried. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Percy. "It's not that unbelievable."

"Come on Ron," George leaned forward in his seat. "We all know you haven't so much as looked at another bird since…ouch." George grunted with pain when his wife's elbow made sharp contact with his rib. "What I'd say?" Ashken, a pretty girl with honey colored curls and amber colored eyes George had met and married shortly after the final battle, much to Molly's delight, glared at her husband telling him with her eyes to keep his mouth shut or there would be trouble when they got home that night.

A heavy silence settled on the table as the family returned to their meals. "Uncle Ron," Barron tugged on his sleeve. "More?"

Ron glanced at Fleur who nodded that it was all right.

"For Merlin's sake," Molly said with exasperation when the table remained quiet for another five minutes. "Doesn't anyone else have any news they want to share? Anything at all?"

"I heard from Hermione yesterday." Ginny offered. Harry could feel Ron stiffen at his side.

"That's nice dear." Molly practically sighed with relief. "And what did she have to say?"

"Well," Ginny gently pried the knife Sirius James had grabbed from her plate out of his hands and set it on the other side of her place where he couldn't reach it. "She's coming home." From the corner of his eye Harry could see Ron's face draining of its color. "She found a job here at the Ministry and she's coming home in two weeks."

"That's wonderful news." Molly beamed happily. "We've seen far too little of that girl since she left. I'm sure her parents will be thrilled she's coming back to England. They must have missed her something terrible."

After trying to force down a few bits of his mother's usually delicious food in an attempt to appear unfazed by Ginny's words, Ron pushed his plate away. It had lost its flavor, tasting and feeling more like ash than vegetables and meat. "Excuse me." He pushed himself away from the table as calmly as he could. "I don't think I'm very hungry tonight."

Ron was just stepping over the garden wall into the darkened pasture when Harry caught up to him, silently falling into step at his side.

It wasn't until they arrived at the pond that Ron realized that he was headed there. Harry stuck his hands into his pockets and rocked forward onto the balls of his feet than back onto his heels. "I tried to tell you. Twice. Before Ginny came out into the garden and before Percy arrived. I didn't want you to find out like this."

"It's fine." Ron stared fixatedly at the first glimpse of the moons reflection on the pond's surface.

"It's not fine. It's never fine when anyone mentions Hermione. You change the subject or you walk away. You act like she never existed. Like she was never one of your best friends. You haven't spoken to her in five years. Clearly, it's not fine."

"Are you done now?"

"No." Harry said irritably, his temper slowly rising. "What happened between you two? One day you're closer than I've ever seen you, the next…this all started. What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Bullocks. You can't lie to me Ron Weasley. I know you to well."

"Fine." He said curtly. "Its bullocks. Now will you leave me alone?" Ron turned and began to march away through the dry brambles only to stop mid-step with Harry's next question.

"Did you ask her to stay? Did you give her any reasons why she should?"

From behind it looked like Ron's shoulders were collapsing in on him until he was a shrunken copy of himself. "No." there was a catch to his voice. "I thought…" He swallowed. "I was go-… No." He slowly shook his head. "I guess I didn't."

"Then how can you still be mad at her for leaving?"

Ron turned to look at Harry, his blue eyes pinning Harry's green in the gloom. He forced his body back into his normal, squared shouldered pose. "I'm not mad she left. I'm glad she did. I've had more than enough of that pushy, domineering, little know-it-all. I only regret that she's coming back."