Passing the weeping girl into his arms, where she fiercely clung to Severus and continued crying, though buried her face in his neck and grasped a hand full of his hair, Hermione smiled warmly at him when he closed his eyes and began to humm quietly and comfortingly into the girls soft hair, as she continued to hiccough out sobs.
"Welcome to Fatherhood Severus"
A couple of weeks after the trial saw the arrival of am unexpected guest at their door. The wards had not signalled, so they knew it was not a dangerous presence yet Severus still went alone to answer, leaving Hermione with Rose and Scorpius. As Astoria became increasingly unwell, it was becoming a more and more frequent habit for an increasingly exhausted looking Draco to drop Scorpius off for hours at a time, not that anyone minded. Though Hermione and Severus would continue to look upon Draco with concern, he would shrug off their concerns with his signature smirk and assure them that everything was fine. Neither believed him, but short of slipping him veritaserum, neither of them could force him to talk and it was no hardship to spend hours with the unfaltering happy small boy.
Hermione remained watching the two children, until moments later Severus called for Hermione to come to the door and the sight that met her stopped her in her tracks.
Arthur Weasley stood at their door. Quite literally with his cap in his hand. He was holding an old fashioned wizards hat, that looked quite similar in style to a muggle farmers flat cap, and he was wringing it in his grasp. Though it was not the hat that shook Hermione, but the shortly cropped silver-grey hair the wizard was sporting. Not a red hair in sight. And suddenly she was reminded that Ronald was the second youngest of 7, with 5 older siblings. Severus had 18 years on her, and Arthur had another 15 years on him. They already had a child in Hogwarts before she was even born. She had suddenly realised with startling clarity just how old Arthur was. And he looked...tired.
She'd tried not to stare at his hair, but it was hard. Especially when staring at the patriarch of a large family that was famous for their notoriously red hair. Seeing it absent on the man in front of her was, for want of a better term, a total mindfuck.
"I used to dye it. With a potion" He said with the small smile that was so familiar and a finger pointed in the direction of his head "It's been on its way for a good few years, but after I read...I read the case file and I just...stopped...dying it that is and just... let it go" She wasn't sure what to say to that and Severus seemed likewise stumped, and Arthur being Arthur could not stand the silence and had to fill it.
"I brought a hat though, if the hair isn't...isn't enough" And as if to demonstrate he plonked the hat on his head, rather lopsidedly. And offered her a smile that was so familiar it made her chest hurt.
But what hurt even more was the sudden realisation of what he'd done. He said he'd read the case file. Their court case file. It included what Severus found in legillimency, and he'd read about Rose being afraid of the Weasleys because they looked so much like Ronald, because of their red hair. He'd let himself go grey, and brought a hat as well to cover his hair up in case that wasn't enough, all so that he didn't upset Rose.
A glance at the softening features on Severus's face so that he had just as quickly come to the same conclusion. Though either of them had yet to say anything out loud, so Arthur looked between them nervously.
"I'd very much like to... if you would allow it...I...I wouldn't dream of taking her away from you, either of you, and I'd swear an oath to that affect, but I had hoped you might find it in your hearts to allow me to...to have some small part in her life, which is why I came to you"
"Arthur..." She began and he actually swallowed nervously before speaking again quickly.
"If this isn't enough I can change it, or glamour it, heck I'd shave it off If I thought it would help...just...just tell me what I need to do, to be a part of her life. Please"
Then Hermione, who's emotions were still not yet under control after all the upheval, sniffed loudly and threw her arms around the trembling man.
"Just be you Arthur. Just be You"
Hermione pulled back and looked to Severus, as did Arthur. For a moment Arthur looked unsure whether he thought Severus would allow him through the door, until the man reached out his hand and Arthur met it with his.
"Wouldn't dream of keeping you away old man"
The relief in his eyes was palpable as he quickly wiped his eyes with the ratty old hat and Hermione held back a smile.
"I can't promise you how this will go" She said softly as they led the nervous man into the house. "We will have to take it a day at a time, and go from there, if she gets too upset you'll have to come back another time"
"I brought biscuits" He said, gesturing to the rather battered tin he had with him. "If that's alright? I made them myself"
"Of course it is" Hermione smiled, while Severus nodded in acceptance.
"I Shall put the kettle on" he said diplomatically, leaving the two of them to speak and departing with a kiss on her cheek. It had become such an unconscious gesture of affection between the two of them, that for a moment she didn't even consider how it may look to others, though that was the first thought that shot through her on seeing the strange look on Arthur's face. But before she could even form an explanation, the look had disappeared and been replaced with a soft, sad smile.
"I hope you're happy Hermione. Truly. You and Rose, and I'm not just saying that because..." He flicked his eyes to the living room, where Scorpius could be heard playing with Rose.
A weary sigh broke from him, before he met his gaze with that sad smile once more. "You always deserved better than him. I love Ronald, Merlin help me but even now I can't help but love him, because he's my boy and a part of me will always love him... But I'm not blind to who or what he is. I'm not like M-Molly. I see his flaws for what they are." Another weary sigh, that made Hermione's heart ache for the man and all his worries. "He was stubborn, angry and at times downright cruel. I wish I could blame it on the war, but even as a boy he was hot-headed, possessive and jealous...he was just so jealous of you Hermione, I love him but he could never have been your equal"
Another look though this time towards the kitchen where the whistling kettle signified tea was almost ready. "You and him, you're well matched. I can see it working, the two of you just fit. Whenever I pictured you and Ronald, it was always so chalk and cheese. But you and Severus, you're like two sides of the same coin, and you're both so damn brilliant its frightening"
"Arthur..." Hermione began, a heated blush on her face, but he stopped her.
"I just wanted you to know, no matter what he said, no matter what M-molly said or did... I never stopped believing in you Hermione. And I'm sorry it took me so long to stand up and say that out loud."
It was at that moment Severus returned with the tea service and the three adults made their way into the living room.
"Rose, your Grandad Arthur has come to see you, are you going to say hello?"
Rose's eyes had snapped up at that, wide and fearful, but they watched as the fear was slowly replaced with confusion and a small amount of intrigue.
Especially when a smiling Scorpius had ran over to introduce himself.
Especially a moment later when a beaming Scorpius shouted back to her "Wose! Gwandad Arfur fetched biskits!"
An hour later, Arthur was sat on the floor doodling with muggle crayons on paper. A very happy Scorpius sat on his knee, munching on a biscuit and also doodling. And a quiet Rose sat by his side, drawing right along with him, occasionally stopping to show him her work. She hadn't spoken to him, but she had offered him a few signs which Hermione and Severus had dutifully translated for him, and he had beamed back at the girl as he answered her.
When he looked up to meet Hermione's eyes, he gave her such a warm smile that it made Hermione's heart ache so much that she had to leave the room.
She'd always said that Rose had Ron's smile, and a part of her that was filled with self-loathing, had wished it wasn't so, not wanting to spend the rest of her life being reminded of him.
But now she was filled with an undeniable sense of relief, because Rose didn't have Ron's smile at all.
She had Arthur's.
And locked away in the downstairs bathroom, Hermione wept at the relief that brought her.