In the middle of breakfast, Harry's mobile went off. Mrs. Weasley tsked at him when he apologetically rose from the table and took the call in another room.
"Those things are so intrusive, does he always take a call at the table?" She asked Ginny.
"It's probably important. It might be Dudley, Mum." Ginny replied. James and Albus exchanged a look.
"Do we have to go see them, too Mum? I don't want to…" James said.
Ginny smiled slightly and shook her head. "No, Jamie we don't have to go, but Daddy wants to."
James and Albus both distinctly sighed, relieved.
Rose perked up, twirling her fork in her fingers effortlessly. "What's so bad about them, Al?"
Albus shrugged.
"They're Muggles. I don't like Muggles." James said finally.
Rose slammed her fork down on the table, "Hey! My Mum is Muggleborn. My Gran and Grand-dad Granger are Muggles! You take that back!" As easily as if she'd used her hands, Rose knocked Albus' glass of milk over with her eyes and it tipped into James' lap. He yelped when the ice cold drink soaked him.
"Rose!" Ron scolded and grabbed a stack of napkins to help clean up.
"Rose Minerva, you've been warned to keep hold of that temper, young lady!" Hermione chimed in.
Hermione was torn over Roses' abilities. On the one hand, what Rose was already able to do was very impressive. Hermione vividly remembered being a young witch with no control and making inexplicable things happen. Rose's powers had manifested at an even younger age than Hermione's. The family all knew Rose didn't quite have control over the things she did but that didn't excuse her from using magic in anger. Along with his bright red hair, it appeared Rose had inherited Ron's temper.
"It's fine, Hermione." Ginny said, mopping up the milk with her napkin. "James, that was very rude."
"Sorry." James said.
"Good to know my kid isn't the only one who gets in trouble." Bill joked. Fleur shot him a withering look. She didn't know what mischief Louis had gotten into the night before, but she was sure going to punish him for it.
"It's not always like this, Jessica I don't want you to get the wrong impression." Percy said looking grimly at Jessica. She sipped her tea with an amused smirk on her face and took Charlie's hand under the table.
"Don't apologize, Percy. This is nothing compared to how I grew up. Trust me." She smiled warmly.
The eldest Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had remained silent during the whole exchange but far be it from Molly Weasley to completely stay out of her children's' business.
"James, come here, let me dry you off." She said holding her arms out to him. James rose from the table and tried not to drip all over the floor.
"Thanks, Gran." He said.
"Now about this dislike of Muggles. I'll not tolerate anti-Muggle sentiments in this house. There are plenty of Muggles like your fathers' family, but I believe there are a good deal more like your Aunt Hermione's." She said. "I want to you apologize more prettily this time. March, young man."
Hermione felt an overwhelming need to hug her mother-in-law.
James hunched his shoulders and carefully walked over to Hermione. Mrs. Weasley caught her eye and winked when James wasn't looking.
"I'm really sorry," James began, sounding quite penitent. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Your Mum and Dad are always nice to us. Even if they give us crap candy."
That last sentence made everyone chuckle. As dentists, the Grangers were not keen to give sweets to children. The most one could hope to find in Hermione's childhood home were sugar-free hard candies.
"All right, now it's Rose's turn." Mrs. Weasley said. Rose's eyes bulged out. She hasn't expected to be told to apologize – James was the one who said something nasty.
"But Gran-" Rose began to protest.
"Rose, it's important that you learn to keep your temper. You're young yet but once you turn 11, if you use magic outside of school, you will get into trouble." Mrs. Weasley explained patiently.
"But Dad said he stole a flying car once – he didn't get in trouble!"
Ron choked on his toast, Hermione shoved him with her elbow. They exchanged amused, knowing looks with each other. George was grinning, too.
Rose sighed. She stood up and James held his hand out. "Sorry I knocked the milk into your lap."
"OK, no harm done." James said simply. They shook hands and returned to their seats.
Dudley's voice sounded sadder and more distressed than it had the previous night.
"It could be any day now, Harry. They're starting her on morphine tomorrow, she might not even be conscious after that."
"I'll come today. My brother-in-law Charlie is visiting from Romania, I don't know when I'll be able to get there. But I'll come today."
"Thanks, Harry."
"Sure."
There was an extended silence between the two cousins.
"Harry?"
"Yes?"
"If she doesn't apologize for how they treated you…well, I apologize for her."
"Thanks."
Harry was snapping his mobile shut when he returned to the kitchen. Ginny was refilling Albus' glass of milk.
"Everything ok, Harry?" Angelina asked him. From the expression on his face, it was pretty clear.
"Not really, no. I have to go see her today. She might not last much longer." He said quietly as he sat. Ginny rubbed his back and rested her head on his shoulder.
When breakfast was cleared away, the giant family settled into the sitting room. They broke off into small private groups of conversation again. George and Bill stood near Ron and waited.
"What?" Ron asked, feeling them stare at him.
"What happened last night?" George asked.
"It must have been something awful, Freddy hasn't looked you in the eye all morning." George said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Ron's cheeks burned red. Well, for a start the boys saw me fucking Hermione. He thought.
"Erm…well…you see…" Ron searched for the words. Bill narrowed his eyes on him but George covered his mouth to stifle himself.
"Oh no…they didn't, did they?" George said, barely able to contain the laugh.
"Did what?" Bill asked looking questioningly at George.
"They didn't catch you and Hermione…being you and Hermione – did they?" George asked gleefully.
Ron's red face was all the answer he needed. Bill had been staring blankly at his younger brothers until George's last sentence.
"Oh, Merlin – you're joking!" Bill said in a loud whisper.
Ron shook his head in reply.
"What were you doing?" George said, getting his ear closer to Ron.
"What the fuck do you think we were doing, you daft git?" Ron said, looking around the room to see if anyone was listening.
"Oh come on, little brother," George teased. "We've all overheard you and Hermione at one point or another. I just want to know if you had her…hanging upside down from the ceiling or something!" He and Bill laughed like that was the funniest thing ever said. They got a glare from Ginny, who assumed what the topic of conversation was, but neither of them cared.
"She's not a bloody vampire bat, Georgie!" Ron replied. George wiggled his eyebrows at him furiously and as embarrassed as Ron was, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Just tell your sons not to walk into people's bedrooms without knocking, all right?" Ron said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"I'd have paid 100 galleons to see that." George said elbowing Bill in the ribs.
"Excuse me?" Ron said, irritated.
"Come on Ron. I mean, a girl who sounds that wild…she's got to really be something to see." George said pointing in Hermione's general direction.
"I'm sure Angelina would love to hear you talk like that!" Ron said gritting his teeth.
"Aw, shut up. I'm saying it to you as a compliment. Besides, I'm not the one you should be watching out for…" George said waving his hands.
"What the hell does that mean when it's at home?" Ron asked with a snap in his voice.
George rolled his eyes and looked to Bill.
"Oh come on, Ron. Don't tell us you didn't notice." Bill said.
"Notice what?" Ron asked, annoyed.
Bill motioned with his thumb over his shoulder. "You mean you didn't notice Hermione's doppelganger sitting over there?"
Across the room, Harry was watching uncomfortably as Ron told Bill and George about the previous night. He wasn't looking forward to talking to James about respecting his Uncle and Aunt's privacy. Maybe Ginny would do it instead. The conversation must have changed topics because he saw Bill gesture his way and Ron flushed. He was only partially paying attention to Percy, who was boring Jessica to tears with tales from the Ministry.
The third time Harry checked his watch, Jessica put a friendly hand on his.
"Harry, I hope you don't take offense to this, but maybe you should go see your Aunt. You're very distracted." She said with a gentle smile.
Percy cleared his throat and nodded in agreement. "Right, Harry. If you're going to go for a visit might as well go now." Audrey linked her arm with Percy's in a rare moment of public affection.
Harry looked down at his feet and sighed. "I guess so. I'll be back later on. Please forgive me for running out like this, Charlie." He said.
Charlie gave him a reassuring smile. "Not a bit of it, Harry. We'll be here when you get back. Go do what you've got to do."
Harry nodded and approached Ginny, deep in conversation with Angelina about Holyhead's chances of winning the match later that afternoon.
"The Tornadoes are having a rotten year, I'd say Holyhead wins by at least 200 points. At the very least." Angelina said.
"They've had quite a bit of bad luck, that's true." Ginny agreed. "But don't forget, Mary Ellen Clarke is injured; she took a Bludger to the shoulder last week and the Healers say she still can't play. That might mean they put Griselda Cooper in…"
"Ugh, no." Angelina groaned. "Anyone but her! Lead Balloon Cooper is absolute rubbish, they can't let her play!"
Ginny nodded in agreement. Griselda was a force to be reckoned with at one time, but her skills and agility had far diminished past their prime. Even the most ardent Holyhead supporters groaned when her name was announced as part of the match line-up.
Harry tapped Ginny's shoulder, interrupting the conversation. "Excuse me, sorry." He said. "I'm going to go now. The longer I put it off, the more it's going to weigh on my mind."
Ginny gave him a reassuring smile. "You sure you'll be alright?" She asked. He interlocked his fingers with hers and she squeezed his hand.
"I'll be fine. Ron and Hermione said they'd come. Stay here, enjoy visiting with Charlie. I'll be back later." He kissed her cheek and turned around in search of Hermione.
He found her in the kitchen with the smaller children. She had set out large pieces of butcher paper and finger paints for them all. They sat around the oversized kitchen table; laughing and painting. Hermione leaned up against the wall with a cup of fresh coffee in her hand watching them. She smiled softly at Harry when she noticed him in the room.
"Dad! Look! I'm painting the Gryffindor flag!" Albus announced proudly. Harry smiled.
"Excellent job, Al! Looks just like it." Harry smiled ruffling Albus' hair.
"He really is pretty good at this." Hermione said after taking a long sip of coffee. She gave Harry a half-smile. The sad expression on his face could only mean a couple of things. "Is it time to go?" She guessed.
Harry nodded and cracked his knuckles. "Now or never." He replied.
Hermione took another sip of coffee before pouring the contents down the drain at the sink. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed before going into the sitting room and tapping Fleur on the shoulder.
"Ron and I are going with Harry. Do you mind keeping an eye on Rosie and Hugo for us?" She asked.
"No, of course not! Don't worry about it. Tell Arry if zere eez anyzink Beel and I can do…" Fleur replied. Hermione nodded and they kissed both of each other's cheeks.
"Merci, I will tell him." Hermione said with a smile. Hermione approached Ron and kissed him.
"Harry ready to go?" Ron asked.
"Well, I don't know if he's ready, per se, but it's time to go." Hermione replied.
"Alright, lads. I'm off." Ron said to George and Bill.
The three of them waved goodbye, promising to return as soon as they could. They piled into Harry's car and made way for Number 17 Townshend Drive, Guildford, Surrey.