A/N: Sorry about the wait again, college sometimes gets overwhelming.
Chapter 4
Mrs. Weasley stood there a moment longer, before turning away, trying to hide her sniffles from the children. Harry caught sight of her dabbing the corner of eye with a handkerchief, and tossed a glance towards Ron, who still had an arm around Ginny. He looked down at Ginny's tearstained face, and they nodded solemnly at each other. She pulled away, wiped her eyes, and squared her shoulders. She looked no longer like a tearful sister, but a survivor of the war. Hermione stood now also, and attempted to look as serious as Ginny did. She failed at this attempt, because her eyes still shone with the emotion she was attempting to conceal. Harry and Ron now stood shoulder to shoulder, unmoving. No words were exchanged between them, but they were able to read each other's emotions. Harry did not want to face the families of those who had died so he could continue on. The guilt was already eating him up inside without looking into the faces of the survivors; he didn't know how he would make it through the "party." Ron was barely holding onto his composure. It was one thing to cry in front of his friends and family, and an entirely different situation to cry in front of almost strangers. He wasn't supposed to cry, he was supposed to be a statue that the family could lean on. He had always been that way; the others needed him, and he didn't want to force his needs on the others. They need him first and foremost. Just as he was placing his hand on Harry's shoulder, he felt Harry's hand on his own shoulder. He looked up slowly up, and met Harry's green already looking at him. It was almost like they were searching for understanding, and were attempting to read him. They both nodded their heads almost imperceptibly, as though saying, "I've got your back, and I'm with you all the way." The moment was gone quickly, as they didn't want to draw attention from their girlfriends. Taking a deep breath, Harry's quaky voice said, "Alright, I guess we should make an appearance." Ginny approached slowly and laced her fingers with his. He smiled gratefully at her, and they began to leave the room. Just as they were almost gone, Harry looked back at Hermione and Ron, both of whom hadn't moved since Harry said they should leave. "Are you guys coming?" There was almost a tinge of mirth in his voice, but it was overcast with worry. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, a shy smile growing on their faces.
"Yeah mate," Ron answered, "just give us a minute. We'll be right behind you." Harry nodded in acknowledgement. After he left, Hermione made her way across the room to Ron.
"Are you okay?" She asked meekly. He was going to answer that of course he was okay, but he couldn't lie to her, not now. Not after everything the pair of them had been through. He shook his head, fighting the tears that were threatening to overwhelm him. Before he knew it, Hermione had thrown herself into his arms, and was hugging him tightly. He couldn't hold back his emotions any longer, and his body shook with sobs. In the past he would have been ashamed to been seen like this, but he could not be ashamed in front of Hermione. She understood to a point exactly what he was feeling. Hermione held onto him tightly as his body shook and quaked, until he had finally calmed down. She soothingly ran a hand up and down his back as he wiped away the last of his tears. His smile was uneasy as he smiled at her, but it was clear that it was true smile. Hermione stood on her tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips. Then she grabbed his hand as Ginny had grabbed Harry's. "We'll help each other through this party, and we will survive this aftermath of the war." They descended their way down into the party, and the unknown.
The downstairs was very much what they had expected. Mrs. Weasley was attempting to be a good hostess, without exposing her own grief. The surviving members of families that suffered loss were congregated in the Burrow. They stood around holding drinks, and conversing. Their eyes looked hollow, and their conversations were more about the weather than about anything of substance. It was surprising that they were even standing, because they looked utterly exhausted. As Ron and Hermione entered, all of those standing around turned towards them. Their eyes were now alight with curiosity. They looked hungry for information, and began approaching them, as though dogs on the hunt. Ron looked hurriedly around for Harry, and spotted him trapped in the corner by more visitors. Hermione was looking just as panicked, as she was attempting to back up farther and farther, almost trapping herself in the corner. Luckily, Mr. Weasley came to their rescue.
"What's going on here?" Ron heard his father's voice saying. He grabbed some of the people gathered in front of Ron and Hermione, and made a pathway to them.
"Well they know exactly what happened. Our loved ones died for the cause they were a large part of. We have a right to ask them anything we want! We sacrificed!" Mr. Weasely's face turned red at this, and a voice that Ron didn't hear often came out of him.
"DON"T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT! MY SON DIED TOO! OR DOES THAT NOT MATTER BECAUSE ANOTHER SON IS HARRY POTTER"S BEST FRIEND?!" He bellowed. Everyone backed up at his words, holding up their hands.
"We didn't mean it like that." They murmured as they backed away. We just want to ask them about what happened."
"I know." Mr. Weasley now responded in his usual gentle voice. "And they will tell you. But they are also grieving, and it's triggering to be cornered after surviving a war where they were always cornered. I'm sure by the end of the night they will be ready to talk to you. Until then, please give them space." They grumbled, but accepted this. Mr. Weasley looked back at Ron and Hermione, a look on his face suggested that he thought he had done a good thing. They were grateful to be not cornered, but he had unwittingly put them in a position that they hadn't anticipated. They now had to tell everyone what happened, without rehearsing, and within a night. Ron and Hermione exchanged a tense look. Harry suddenly appeared next to them out of breath.
"You wouldn't believe what they were saying when they cornered me,"
"- Harry."
"They wanted to know if I was actually the Chosen One, did I hear Voldemort's thought about killing their relatives,"
"- Harry."
"And when I said no, they pressed harder and harder, and…"
"-HARRY!"
"What?" He looked shocked at the interruption. Now he noticed that the two of them looked extremely tense. "Okay, seriously, now what had happened?" They told him in hushed tones. He looked horrified.
"Oh, damn." They nodded their heads.
"Yeah."
A/N: The next chapter, they might not tell the whole story, but they might tell a lot of it. Let me know how you feel about this story!