SECOND CHANCES 18

Author's Note: I don't own any of the characters.

The Burrow

Both she and Ron had dreaded the day that they would have to tell his parents and family about their relationship ever since it started. At first it was only to tell them the truth about the fact that they were dating after so long. However then Henry had come along and he had changed everything. Telling her parents had gone easier than either had thought, although Hermione knew that there would be years of questions and comments to come as little secrets popped up from time to time. The plane rides home had been nerve wracking to say the least, not the least of which because of Hermione and Ron learning how difficult to fly with a small child. Her parents had been there to help the entire time however they had preferred to let Henry's parents handle it, a good learning experience. Her mother had caught Hermione playing with the ring that Ron had given her that signified their marriage many times during the flights whenever she had a free moment. As per her request it was not an overly gaudy ring however it was everything that she'd always hoped it to be even then. It was a simple band topped with a small stone set in the middle of an equally small open book.

"They're going to hate me," Hermione stated plainly as she stood by the same tree that about a year earlier she and Ron had sobbed their hearts out after she had wiped her parent's memories.

"No they won't, you already know that they love you Hermione, and they're going to love Henry," Ron quickly replied with a certain and honest tone of voice as he set their bags down long enough to pull Hermione and Henry into a lingering hug.

"Trust me Ron, they'll hate me," Hermione said softly to him as she admitted her deepest and darkest fear to just him as Henry didn't seem to be bothered by the situation at all but rather seemed to love finally being out of the car.

"No, they'll hate me if anyone, hate me for not telling them about us in the first place and then not telling them that they have a grandson, and especially that we're married…you don't regret it…do you," Ron pointedly told her, though without the slightest trace of any anger towards her, as he pulled back and then picked their bags back up. He had no sooner started to take a step when Hermione's arm shot out; she grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt, and pulled him back into as strong of a kiss as she could must on the spot.

"Does that answer your question Mr. Weasley," Hermione huskily asked in a low whisper with their foreheads pressed together before she smiled that smile that she reserved only for him, glad that Harry and Ginny were looking the other way at the time.

"I don't know Mrs. Weasley, I might need a second opinion," Ron remarked with a randy grin as he dropped their bags and slipped his arms around Hermione before he pulled her back into a kiss that only ended when both needed to come up for air.

"You know, that could get very confusing if me, your mum, and Fleur are together in the same room," Hermione pointed out with a frown as the idea had just dawned on her and she didn't know whether to find it troubling or funny.

"Well then let's not let that happen, besides I'm not sure what mum will do once she knows that you two got married, do you think that she'll let you both stay in Ron's room," Ginny interjected with a tired and impatient smile as she walked up to the pair and laid a hand on each of their shoulders.

"She'll have to won't she," Harry jumped in with a very unsure frown as he had voiced how he felt on the subject and thought it the only logical solution to the potential problem.

"Maybe, then again she could be so mad that she keeps us separated as long as we're at the Burrow," Ron shrugged nervously as he let go of Hermione and then collected their bags again before he started towards the Burrow with Hermione right behind him.

"And once she finds out about us she'll watch the two of you like a hawk," Hermione added with an impish little grin as she glanced back over her shoulder at Harry and Ginny, who both visibly showed that they didn't like that idea at all.

"Don't remind me, but speaking of parents how are yours doing back in your old house," Harry groaned at first with a long drawn out sigh before he put out there a question that had been weighing on his mind for the last couple of hours.

"It's difficult for them, trying to put everything back in its place after being gone for so long…there's just so much to do, I think that after we tell Mr. And Mrs. Weasley about Henry and everything I'll send them an owl," Hermione answered with a solemn expression as it was clear that the whole situation with her parents was still something that she hadn't worked through yet, if she ever truly would.

"If I'm still breathing I'll help you with that," Ron remarked softly as he truly seemed to think that his availability to help her was truly in doubt as he cleared the line of trees and stepped out into the bright sunshine.

"Don't worry Ron, we'll be fine…they may never let us back in the house ever again though…," Hermione chimed in as she hurried to follow him as best that she could given how much taller he was than her as again Henry seemed to be having a good time.

"Bullocks, just let mum look at this cute face for like five seconds and she'll be so happy that she'll forget everything else," Ginny let out with an amused and happy grin as she caught up to Hermione and playfully pinched one of Henry's cheeks, causing him to smile widely and giggle at his aunt.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough, she's coming," Harry stated sharply, the fear clearly evident in his voice, as he suddenly stopped walking and tried to put the friendliest and happiest smile that he could on his face and hoped that she wouldn't see right through him.

"What," Ron and Hermione called out in total unison before their combined gazes fell on Mrs. Weasley striding across the yard towards them looking a bit annoyed that they were late.

"About time you lot got here, I told your father that you'd show up the moment that I started making supper and here you are…all perfectly pregnant and…wait…Hermione dear…pregnant," Mrs. Weasley started to scold them with an irritated scowl darkening her features and her hands on her hips before she cocked her head to the side a bit and noticed that Hermione was pregnant but that fact didn't really sink in for a few seconds.

"Surprise," Hermione joked with a pained smile as she held onto Henry with one arm and lightly patted her stomach with the other, as she wasn't sure whether Mrs. Weasley was going to be excited or angry about the news and she wanted a bit of distance between them just in case.

"What…surprise…Ronald Bilius Weasley, you tell me right now what is going on here," Mrs. Weasley stumbled through back as she looked totally confused before she corrected herself long enough to yell at Ron and demand the truth rather than any lie.

"Well mum, first yes Hermione is pregnant…with triplets, no less…and this…this is our son Henry, Henry Arthur Weasley," Ron started to answer slowly, as he bent over to put their bags down, more because he was so nervous more than thinking that he had to speak slowly to be understood by his mother.

"Triplets…son…Henry," Mrs. Weasley almost mouthed back as her mind whirled at the sudden and very meaningful amount of information that was she was being told as she began to fidget with her hands just so that she could do something besides just stand there dumbfounded.

"Yes, see…he's named after his grandfathers, my dad…and Arthur," Hermione continued with a warm and eager smile as she tried to keep herself from speaking as fast as she possibly could but in the end only managed to stumble over her words and she looked to Henry at the end just so that she wouldn't have to look in Mrs. Weasley's general direction, lest she lose it. Seconds later everyone around Mrs. Weasley could have sworn that the saw her eyes spin like the dials on a slot machine and smoke come out of her ears.

"Way to go Ron, I think you broke mum," Ginny announced a little too loudly for Ron's liking as she walked up and patted him on the shoulder with a scared silly grin that stretched from ear to ear.

"But I…I didn't mean to," Ron stammered out while being obviously very flustered as his face was red and his ears were positively glowing as he looked from his mother to Ginny and then back again.

"Who broke mum, no fair…I wanted to be the one," George pouted with an impatient frown and a large yawn as he slumped out of the house, his hair wild, as he finished pulling a shirt on over his head, his feet bare.

"Ah this is nothing George, you should have seen her the day that I told her that I was leaving for Egypt, that was truly a sight to behold," Bill laughed it all off as he followed his younger brother out of the door, looking totally relaxed and at ease if not that he found the whole situation to be more than a bit comical, especially the looks on Ron and Hermione's faces.

"And don't forget when I told her that I was leaving to work with dragons in Romania, that was scary," Charlie added all to happily as he stood in the doorway for a few moments and then hurried out to where everyone else was standing so that he'd be right there for everything.

"Bill, Charlie…you're here too," Ginny squeaked out as she had to work to find her voice given the shock of almost all of her family being at home when she had expected and hoped that they would only run into her mother.

"Of course little sister, I wouldn't miss this for the world, and I couldn't not tell Charlie, congratulations Ron…Hermione, on everything," Bill replied with a relaxed yawn before he walked over and pulled her into a strong and warm hug that she eagerly returned. After letting go of Ginny he turned to Ron and Hermione and gave them each an equally strong hug, though making exceptions for Henry.

"Er thanks…I think," Ron awkwardly responded as he reached a hand up and scratched the back of his neck while looking over at Hermione and hoping that she knew what was going on.

"Ron…if you get a minute there's something that I'd really like to talk to you about," Bill spoke up as he finally broke the tension in the yard before he walked back over to Ron and laid his hand on his younger brothers shoulder and gave it a strong squeeze.

"What is it," Hermione asked with a concerned look as she started to take a step over towards them but Bill held up a hand to stop her.

"It's a secret, brother stuff," Bill explained with a warm smile and slight nod of his head as he tried to appear as benign as possible before Ron could get a word in edgewise.

"Okay," Ron weakly mumbled while looking very embarrassed and scared as he smiled first to Bill and then over to Hermione, who he could tell had no better idea about what Bill wanted to talk to him about than he did.

"But how can you, how can he, can she…," Mrs. Weasley continued to false start as her mind continued to struggle to work through the logistics of how and when Ron and Hermione would have had time to have a baby and get pregnant again without her noticing something.

"We should get inside and maybe get your mum a cup of tea," Harry declared from the back of the pack with a hopeful smile before he hurried forward to try to herd all of the Weasley's back into the Burrow.

"That sounds good, besides I need to sit down," Hermione admitted with a tired and weary look, as the hours of traveling that day were beginning to take their toll on her, as her shoulders slumped a bit and even Henry noticed as he gave her an odd look.

"Something wrong," Ron asked pointedly but not angrily with a very concerned look as he left their bags where he had set them down and rushed to her side, putting a hand on the small of her back when he got there.

"No, but with lugging Henry around and being halfway through my pregnancy I tend to need to sit down and rest a fair amount, I'm fine Ron…really," Hermione replied with a small sigh and weary smile as she lightly brushed his hand away and then started off towards the door to the house, hoping that she could get inside and find a seat in the living room sooner rather than later.

"Come on mum, here let's get you inside," Bill said softly with a noted tenderness in his voice as he and Charlie put their arms around their mother and guided her back into the house before sitting her in the first open chair that they came to as Hermione followed them inside and quickly sat down on the couch.

"But the boy, he's…how could they not…how could you not say something," Mrs. Weasley offered up with a warm smile towards Henry, who happily returned it with zeal, as she leaned back in the seat and seemed to still be trying to figure out how everything could have worked out without her knowledge.

"Henry was born shortly after Dumbledore's funeral, Ron and Hermione hid his existence to protect him and everyone else in case the Death Eaters found out," Ginny added as quickly as she could in a partial attempt to break the tension as Harry was the final one inside the house and he shut the door behind him but stayed near it as he didn't feel that it was really his place to join in the conversation.

"But couldn't he have come with us to Muriel's, surely that would have been easier…and he would have been with family," Mrs. Weasley guessed softly as her mind started to work through it all and she gave voice to the first possible idea that she came to as to her the facts started to fall into place.

"He was with family, my parents," Hermione grouched with an irritated scowl before she forced herself to calm down as she felt that though she was right in what she had said she shouldn't have sounded so angry about it as she knew that wasn't what Mrs. Weasley meant.

"Of course dear, of course…I didn't mean, it was just…," Mrs. Weasley sheepishly smiled back with a very guilty blush to her cheeks as she realized that she had unintentionally said something that had offended Hermione and she instantly apologized for her mistake.

"Hold on, Ron's got a ring on his finger," Charlie declared with an odd tone to his words as he cocked his head to one side and stared at Ron's hand, as if he truly had just noticed that Ron was wearing a ring on a particular finger.

"And look, Hermione's got one too, wonder what's up with that eh," George chimed in with a dark look of amusement on his face and his eyes twinkling like mad as he knew that he was pushing the envelope and making things harder for Ron and Hermione and for the time being he loved that fact.

"Rings, what," Mrs. Weasley spat out loudly as the full effect of her sons' words hit her and had she not been sitting down her knees would have gone weak and she would have fallen as she then reached a hand up to cover her eyes as she tried to catch her breath as the shocks just kept coming.

"Thanks you two, really," Ginny growled angrily with her hands balled up into fists and her jaw set, looking very much like their mother when she was really angry, before she started to reach into her pocket for her wand, fully intended to hex both of her brothers, and good.

"Sorry mum, I love her and it just seemed…no, it was the right thing to do and I don't regret any of it," Ron announced as quickly as he could get his mouth to move after sending Charlie and George a death glare with a pleading hand out on his mother's knee before he caught himself and corrected his answer and said what he really meant to say about his decision to marry Hermione while they were in Australia.

"I love you," Hermione mouthed to Ron with an intense look of love in her eyes as she held Henry close and then gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head.

"You should have told me, I'm your mother," Mrs. Weasley angrily exclaimed more out of frustration and fear than actual anger as she balled her hands up into fists and then had to bite her lip to keep from saying anything more as she struggled to restrain herself.

"We didn't enjoy not telling any of you, we had to let Henry go with her parents…for a year, we didn't see our son for over a bloody year," Ron pleaded softly with her and tears threatening to fill his eyes as even he could tell that everything was going south and he was ready to try almost anything that might fix things, no matter how crazy the idea was.

"It must have been terrible for you, to follow this one around never knowing if you'd ever see your son again," Charlie admitted sadly as he looked a bit regretful of how he had pushed things earlier as he sat down in the other chair in the room and tried to smile at Hermione, though she instead focused her attention on either Ron or Henry.

"It…it…," Hermione tried to answer while smiling at Henry before she couldn't keep it up and she closed her mouth and swallowed hard as she felt her eyes grow wet.

"So then, what are your plans now, are we to assume that you're going to both be sleeping in Ron's room," Bill wondered aloud with a more curious than could have been expected look to him as he cast his gaze back and forth between Ron and Hermione on the coach and his mother, wondering which one would answer first and what that answer would be.

"I guess, we are married, and we're pretty used to sleeping together so…it'd be weird not to," Ron explained with an oddly relaxed shrug of his shoulders and maybe too happy smile on his face before Ginny set her hand on his shoulder and dug her fingernails in, as if to tell him to shut up for his own good.

"What," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed loudly with a look of total shock and disbelief as she had to clutch her chest due to the shock of it all before Hermione cut in.

"Smooth Ron," Hermione grumbled impatiently as she tightly closed her eyes and then slowly shook her head back and forth a few times with a confused Ron looking on.

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Ron's Surprise For Hermione

She wasn't sure where they were going as Ron had forbidden her from taking off the blindfold until he told her that it was time. She could tell by the tone of his voice that his surprise was something that he was extremely nervous and excited about all at the same time. They had borrowed the car from the Ministry and for once Hermione was glad that she couldn't see where they were going as she didn't much fancy flying in a car, no matter how much fun Harry and Ron had tried to tell her it would be. Henry seemed to find the whole thing an exciting adventure as he couldn't keep from making one noise of delight and glee after another. They had traveled for what she felt like had to be hours before Ron had told her that they were there and after a not so smooth landing she heard Ron hurry around to the other side of her car and open her door. She knew from the moment that he opened the door where they were. It was true that she didn't know exactly where but she had been by the sea enough to know what one smelled and sounded like, especially since with each and every step that she took with Ron leading her forward with Henry in her arms she kicked up some sand. It wasn't until Ron finally called their little sojourn to a halt and removed the blindfold that she found out exactly where she was, though that only brought up more questions than answers.

"Ron…what," Hermione gasped aloud while looking completely overwhelmed as she took a staggered step back and brought her free hand up to cover her mouth as she stared straight ahead at Shell Cottage.

"Surprise," Ron exclaimed nervously with arms thrown wide to present the house to her as being the surprise that he had told her about before he waited very hopefully for her reaction.

"Yes…but what are we doing at Bill and Fleur's house," Hermione replied as she held her emotions back as best that she could even though her insides were doing somersaults from both excitement and confusion as she wasn't sure just what was going on.

"Our house Hermione…not Bill and Fleur's house…our house," Ron corrected her with his ears a bright red and his breathing heavy as he took a step back from her and towards the door before she could speak up again.

"Oh that's nice…wait, what, our house," Hermione started to smile back in her answer before she noticed and spat out her question with her mind visibly reeling in shock.

"Yeah, Fleur had to stay locked up in here for so long that she grew to hate the place, so much so that she couldn't live here anymore," Ron explained with a badly restrained look of excitement before he suddenly looked close to tears as he turned towards the house before he was interrupted just as his hand got to the doorknob.

"So what does that have to do with us," Hermione demanded as her stomach tied itself into a very strong knot even though there was a slowly growing part of her that wanted nothing more than to bounce off of the walls in joy.

"It's simple Hermione, since my lovely bride no longer wants to live here…and I got a great new promotion at work since I was not in league with You Know Who our choices of home ownership have greatly increased, and since I know how much you and Ron loved this place I just thought…what better wedding present than Shell Cottage, the perfect place for the two of you to start your lives together, get a little privacy, and be a great place to raise a family, at least for the next few years or so," Bill answered as calmly as he could given Hermione's exasperated state as he opened the door instead of Ron and stepped out into the outdoors before he smiled at Hermione and slid his hands into his pockets and hoped that his words had the desired weight to them that he had intended them to have.

"I…I don't believe it," Hermione exclaimed with wide eyes before she began to blink rapidly and turn on the spot as she looked around, clearly having a hard time accepting it all.

"Well believe it Hermione, you're a Weasley now…as scary as that can be, so welcome to the family we're happy to have you, and happy that my baby brother here finally got serious about you two," Bill remarked with an amused grin as he shut the door behind him and walked over to Hermione before he pulled her into a happy hug, being careful to avoid squeezing Henry to hard.

"Hey, I was always serious," Ron grouched angrily as he took a step forward and looked fully ready to argue with his oldest brother before the elder Weasley cut in and stopped him with a hug of his own.

"Seriously in denial maybe," Bill laughed off with a wide grin as he kept one arm around Ron's shoulders before he and Hermione shared a short lived laugh at Ron's expense.

"But Bill, how did you know that we had gotten married before we got back to the Burrow," Hermione asked softly the question that had been bugging her given how welcoming he had been about their marriage and the surprise of the cottage.

"Easy, you don't become a great curse breaker like me without making friends and such all over the place, one of them was on an assignment in Australia and was visiting their ministry when you two got married, pretty hard to miss you two, he sent me an owl as soon as he could and…here we are," Bill explained with a shaky smile as he pulled the arm from around Ron's shoulders and reached up and scratched the back of his neck, just like Ron often would when he was a bit nervous about something.

"Thank you Bill…really, you don't know what this means," Ron commented with a very honest tone to his words as he gave his older brother a big hug before then walking over to stand beside Hermione.

"Yeah Ron…I do, after all the crap that you two have had to deal with you should get something for it, you should get something without having to almost die for it, so…here it is, there really isn't much left since Fleur and I moved out but…that just makes it easier for the two of you to make this house your home, so feel free to redecorate to your hearts content, see you both tomorrow for lunch at the Burrow, hopefully by then mum will have calmed down a little," Bill replied with a nod of his head and very serious expression as he stood in front of the three of them and told them the honest reason that he was giving them the house as a wedding present before he gave them both one last smile and turned on the spot and vanished.

"Thank you," Hermione whispered softly with a couple of tears sliding down her cheeks and a very clearly delighted smile as she raised her gaze momentarily skyward.

"So Mrs. Weasley…shall we," Ron stated after a few silent moments as he laid a hand on her shoulder and then pulled her into a short kiss before she could answer him.

"We shall," Hermione agreed, as Ron leaned over and opened the door, before Ron picked both she and Henry up into his arms bridal style and carried her across the threshold, holding back from making any jokes about how heavy she was before shutting the door of their new home behind them.

END OF CHAPTER 18

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing this and the other chapters. As always reviews, comments, and questions are greatly appreciated. There will probably be another chapter or two before the epilogues start, after all I wouldn't leave off on the story until after the triplets are born and get named and all. I tried to keep the first part from simply being Mrs. Weasley furious with Ron and Hermione for not telling her everything and that she would just be overwhelmed with all of the information that she finds out. I included the other Weasley brothers as a way to bring the marriage to light without Ron or Hermione having to tell Mrs. Weasley about it. At the end I thought that Fleur could very well have loved Shell Cottage at first but after not being able to leave for so many months she would want to be anywhere but at the cottage. So then I just decided that it would make sense for Ron and Hermione to move into Shell Cottage since there has to be like four or five bedrooms upstairs in the place, more than enough for Henry and the triplets to have their rooms so all good. Thank You.