Author's Note: Forgot to put a disclaimer in the last chapter. Just plum didn't cross my mind. I'll do it here though. I am not J.K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did just like pretty much everyone else reading this, etc…, etc…, and so forth.
"I love you too Harry."
"Get off of my boyfriend you harlot!" Ginny screamed, her face going a shade of puce vivid enough that would have made Vernon Dursley jealous of a teenage girl if he'd been there to see it, as she lunged at the pair whose lips were dangerously close together. As she saw their lips meet she suddenly stiffened and fell over, only able to move her eyes which riveted onto her blonde friend who had her wand out and pointed at her. 'Luna? Luna jinxed me! LUNA! LUNA! Damnit' Her silent pleas did her no good as gave her a small smile then turned back to watching Harry and Hermione's first kiss.
Harry and Hermione broke apart with matching slightly stupid, contented grins plastered onto their face. "Wow." They chorused uncaring of how clichéd they sounded. All of a sudden they became aware of what was going on around them; the celebratory whoops of Minerva and Poppy, the huge grins on the faces of Hermione's parents very much mirroring their own, Ginny laid out on the ground next to them petrified, Teddy cheerfully laughing as he repeatedly attempted copying the cartwheel he'd seen Nurse Palm tree do, Hagrid snuffling, Fleur beaming brightly enough to drive Charlie and Percy to utter distraction, Bill elbowing his brothers in the ribs, the dangerously sparking fuse of Molly Weasley, and what they noticed most of all, the look abject misery and disappointment on Ron's face. Seeing that, more than anything, brought them firmly back into the present.
"Ron… I'm so sorry Ron. I can't imag-"
"Shut up! Don't you think you've hurt my son enough today? Just leave him alone you, you brazen little hussy!"
"Mum! She doesn't deserve that. Didn't you here what they were saying? Didn't you see what happened when he put the necklace on her?" All present were rather surprised with the way Ron was jumping into the breach for his friends in spite of what he was obviously feeling right now. "I for one want to know the answer to the question Hermione was asking." He looked over and locked his eyes unwaveringly on Harry who was meeting his gaze but looking a bit sheepish and more than a bit apologetic in doing so. "So who was it Harry? Who gave her the potion it's obvious you know. Who did this to her?"
Harry was looking increasingly uncomfortable with every word Ron spoke; after what he'd seen where he'd come from he truly wasn't expecting this reaction or anything even remotely similar to it. He really didn't want to tell Ron this right now. He knew how much Ron would be terribly upset by what he'd just done and didn't want to add to his pain. Hermione was looking at him in a very interested manner as well, making it plain that she was still expecting an answer to this question. Harry was waffling back and forth in his mind, he knew they needed to know but he really didn't want to have to be the one to tell them. He wished more desperately than ever that Hermione had been there to help him plan how to do this before he'd come here but that hadn't been an option. "You see Hermione; this is why I need you. I can't come up with a plan to save my life; it's always just rush in with a singular objective and then proceed to flounder around winging it and hoping to get lucky."
A few tense laughs sprung out at that announcement but swiveling his head between his two best friends Harry knew he hadn't bought himself any leeway and was still thoroughly on the spot for this. "Umm well you see… I don't know how to say this but umm… Well I guess I'll just be blunt. Ron it was your mum."
With that pronouncement all heads swiveled over to see Arthur Weasley still fixing with wife with a penetrating glare. He hadn't even flinched. She however did. "Well Molly, are you going to answer the boy's accusation? It is as you know already quite a deep hole I wouldn't suggest making things worse for yourself."
It had been years since Molly had heard her husband use that tone of voice, and a good few more since she'd found it directed her way. She found that today it was sending a whole different sort of shiver down her spine and down into her knees. "Well Arthur you know I only want what's best for my children."
A cacophony of "Mum!" "How could you?" and "Are you serious?" broke out from her assembled sons, her daughter still being petrified was in no fit state to add her own indignant rejoinder and her husband sporting a mask of stoicism. What cut her the deepest though was the look of utter loathing and betrayal on her youngest son's face. He hadn't yelled out against her, he hadn't railed about the injustice of it all, he just stood there silently fuming and looking at her as though she were something particularly nasty he'd Scourgify from the bottom of his shoe. His best friend had just swept in here, broken up his wedding and kissed his bride in front of him and yet her son hadn't looked upon Harry with anger such as this.
"Is it true Mum?"
Molly's heart was breaking; she'd only tried to give her son what he so obviously wanted. She knew the girl would be great for him, gods only knew he needed someone to keep him on track and she'd certainly proven herself up to the job.
All she could bring herself to do was hang her head and nod ever so slightly.
She didn't notice Harry's hands restraining Hermione's arms nor did she see her youngest son's own wand coming up level with her. Ron however had no one there to hold him back though and a mind full of rage, disgust, shame, and a desire for some modicum of satisfaction. He took it where he could get it.
In the end Molly hadn't thought past what she the best outcome would be for her son and then moving towards that outcome; in trying to make her plans come to fruition in this way though her plans had turned to shit. Under the trembling wand of her baby boy Molly Weasley joined them.
"Whew damn little bro!" George whistled. "You've got to teach me how to do that transfiguration. We'll make a fortune."
Ron didn't hear his brother, he didn't even take time to stop and admire his work; he was already storming off back to the house, Bill hot on his heels.
"How long?" Hermione whispered.
"Huh?" Harry dropped his hands from Hermione's arms and brought his face back round to hers.
"How long Harry? How long has she been giving me that despicable concoction?"
"Err, well, I'm not entirely sure." Harry really didn't want to have to be discussing this anymore just now. He'd accomplished his primary objective of getting the necklace on Hermione and telling her how he felt and now, as usual if he made his own plans, when he'd got past that point he felt sure that he was bollixing everything else up as thoroughly as humanly possible. Ron had stormed off in a rage, Molly had quite literally been reduced to a quivering mass, and Hermione looked ready to do the same to him if he didn't produce some answers post-haste. 'Crap' he thought, 'I forgot about Ginny.' He looked down to see Ginny still laid out at his feet petrified. 'This is going to suck.'
"Umm Luna?"
"Yes Harry? Did you need something?"
"Err; don't you think you should let Ginny up now?"
"I'm not entirely sure that's wise. I'm sure she's quite angry at the moment; might be best to just let her be for a while."
Ginny's eyebrows overcame the petrification jinx and knitted together in the beginnings of a scowl.
"Don't you think that's a bit, umm, cruel though?"
"Probably" Luna replied seeming oddly unconcerned about this.
"Well I think she'd appreciate it if you let her up now."
"Are you sure? She might become violent again you know. I'm afraid she is quite heavily infested with Wrackspurts at the moment. I think you should give me some time to help her clear them out. She'll be much more coherent afterwards."
"Thank you Luna but that won't be necessary." Hermione interjected.
"Well alright if you're both sure… Finite incantatem."
Ginny was up in a flash and drawing her wand at Luna when a red light hit her square in the forehead and she was crumpling to the ground again. "I've found the judicious application of the stupefaction curse to be one of the most efficient methods to halt the tunneling of Wrackspurts." Luna added in a helpful manner.
Everybody was stunned by that statement almost to the same degree Ginny had just been.
Everybody save one that is. Harry watched as his godson, who had since given up on performing his first full cartwheel, walked over to Ginny, grew his hair out, turned it red, picked up a whole flower head and put it in his hair, 'Victoire didn't do a very thorough job of petal removal' then tumbled over dramatically falling right on top of Ginny with the back of his hand firmly stuck to his forehead. 'Damn that kid has an eye for detail and a bit of a flair for the dramatic too. His mum must be so proud.'
The assembly once more broke out in good humour, a little more unrepentant than the last time. It was exactly what everyone needed. 'You can always count on a metamorph to bring about some much needed levity to the situation.' Hermione thought while smiling. She picked up the little boy and starting towards the house she said, "Come on Trouble if you're tired enough to go fainting on top of poor aunt Ginny then I think it's time for a nap."
The mention of the dreaded N word snapped Teddy right up to attention as thoroughly and certainly as another certain N word would rile his mother. He knew that this could not be stood for, he needed a witty rejoinder if he wanted to avoid that accursed crib and he needed it fast unfortunately at the tender age of three and a quarter he hadn't yet developed his father's eloquence "No! I don't need naptime! I'm awake! I'm awake!" Teddy countered; his hair shifting colour throughout the entirety of his forceful, albeit brief, speech to aid him in proving his point.
"Don't worry my little cub I'll go in with you too." Harry added, hoping to appease the boy he adored like his own son. "Arthur? Will you be able to take care of umm-" He trailed off looking at the gently steaming pile by his feet, "Molly?"
"Yes Harry you two just leave her to me to deal with. I think some time as she is should to do her quite a bit of good."
"Okay then. I think after we get Teddy off to sleep we need to find Ron and talk to him. If you can find out from Molly how long she'd been doing this we'd appreciate it. I don't think she'd talk to me, and Ron would probably just turn her into something worse if he saw her again just yet."
"Don't worry my boy; I'm definitely interested in getting to the bottom of this. Luna would you mind terribly levitating Ginny up to her bed, I think you're right about giving her time to cool down. Probably best just to let her sleep it off but she shouldn't have to do so on the ground."
Hermione who'd paused in trek up to the house when Harry started talking now resumed her trek, stroking Teddy's lime green hair. "Can you change that color dear? It reminds me of a hat a terribly unpleasant man used to wear."
Harry was still stood out in the gathering looking a bit sheepish again and was back to rubbing the back of head. "Err sorry for popping in and spoiling your day everyone."
"Pizz posh deary thiz waz the mosts fun I've had in agez." Muriel replied.
"It's good you showed up when you did Harry, but we will have to talk more later you understand." Minerva added.
"Good show son!" Robert heartily proclaimed while Jean looked quite conflicted and unsure about whether she should scold her husband or not for saying something so uncouth when she so very much agreed with his sentiment.
"I've got another brother getting married soon if you wanna drop in and snog the bride at that one too Harry." George said with a wide grin that wasn't broken up by a scowling Percy's attempt to swat him on the back of the head. "Haha too slow as usual Perce."
"Err right. I really should get in and help Hermione with Teddy now." Harry finished rather lamely as he turned and began his own trek out of the orchard and up to the Burrow.
Additional author's note: I blatantly stole nicknaming Teddy Lupin 'Trouble' from the epilogue (I think it was the epilogue anyway) of "Behind Blue Eyes" by Paffy. A story which is definitely worth a read. There are only a few stories I've found on here that aren't Harmonious in nature that I actually enjoy as thoroughly as I did that one and I fully recommend it, she develops and OFC for Harry that is just a seamless fit.
That line about the dreaded N word though was (as far as I know, I haven't read any new generation stories though so I might have just found an alternate route to a known destination) all me and I'm quite pleased with it. I don't have any certain plans for this story yet. I've only got it planned out about as far as Harry would, which is to say I know what's happened and I know what I would like to have happen but haven't made any plans about just how to accomplish this task yet. I think it pretty much past the expository bits though so the next update or the one after we should get into the dialogue driven bits and let the characters kick the plot (which comprises about 2 lines in my head) out of the driver's seat and see where we end up. Thanks to everyone who has already reviewed and added alerts to this story. I'm rather surprised how responses I've gotten in so short a time, especially for only having been up a few hours, and a first posting by me too. I'm quite pleased though. I'll try and get another chapter out tomorrow which should clear up any questions I've left dangling.