A Summons

Ron and Hermione were having breakfast Saturday morning when her owl, Xerxes, arrived with the post. Ron stood to let him in the window and pulled the letter off his leg before giving him a treat. Xerxes took it happily and flew through the house to the study where his perch was.

Hermione set down her tea cup. "Who's it from?"

Ron looked at the envelope. "It's from the Ministry, but it's addressed to both of us."

"That's weird."

They heard the Floo activate in the parlor followed by, "Oi!" Harry stepped into the kitchen with a letter in his hand. "Did you two get this invitation?" He was still in his pajamas and his hair was sticking out in all directions as though he'd just gotten out of bed.

"Yeah, but only just. I haven't had a chance to open it." Ron tore open the envelope and looked at the letter. "What?" He handed it to Hermione.

She skimmed it quickly and said for the second time that morning, "That's weird."

"Right?" Harry said.

Ron scratched at the morning stubble on his cheek and stood to put his empty plate in the sink. "Why would Shacklebolt be inviting us to Shell Cottage this evening?"

Hermione looked at the envelope again. "Why is this so cryptic?"

"And why didn't they give us more notice. Ginny's coming home this afternoon. I spent most of last night getting the house ready."

Ron looked at him. "Don't you mean Kreacher spent most of last night getting it ready."

Harry shrugged. "I did some stuff."

Hermione reached for the tea pot. "Do you want a cup of tea?"

"Sure," Harry sat down at the table next to her. They heard the Floo activate again.

"Ron?" Bill called from the parlor.

"In the kitchen," Ron said.

Bill walked in a moment later. "Oh, good, Harry's here. Did you lot get invited to ours tonight?"

"Yeah," Ron said. "What's that about?"

"Right," Bill said. "I understand why he didn't want to say in the post, but I figured you three might be wondering. Could I get a cup of tea?"

Hermione poured him one, and he and Ron both sat across from Harry and Hermione.

"So, what's this about then?" Harry said.

"It's about that business at Gringotts."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione all exchanged glances. They'd been waiting for this. Ever since the break-in and Voldemort's demise the Ministry had been negotiating with the goblins at Gringotts over what to do about Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Initially, Harry and Hermione had had their assets frozen. Ron didn't have an account, so they couldn't do much about him but deny him the right to open one. As soon as Shacklebolt became Minister of Magic, he convinced the goblins to release the assets, but aside from that initial victory, the goblins had been going back and forth with the Ministry about proper restitution. Their original stance was that the trio should serve time for theft and destruction of property. The Ministry was adamantly opposed to that idea. Negotiations had been on-going for the last year. Bill had to submit to questioning under Veritaserum to prove to the goblins that he knew nothing of the plan to rob Gringotts. Once the goblins were satisfied that Bill had been in the dark the whole time, they agreed to let him work on the negotiations.

Hermione nervously twisted the napkin in her lap. "What was decided?"

Bill smiled. "That's for the Minister to tell you, but I will say this, it's the best possible outcome for the three of you. It's not perfect, but I think you'll be pleased." He took a long drink of his tea.

The three of them exchanged glances again.

"Okay then," Harry said. "Ginny is coming in this afternoon. Is it all right if I bring her?"

Bill set down his tea cup. "Sure. Actually, Dean and Luna will be there too, as will Mr. Ollivander."

"Really?" Ron said. "Why? They didn't break into Gringotts."

"True. They're actually invited to come out a bit later than what your invitation says. The Minister wants to deal with the Gringotts business first, and then he's got something else that applies to all of us."

"Okay," Hermione said. "May we ask what?"

Bill smiled. "No. And before you ask, I really don't know. I need to get back. As it turns out, Fleur goes a bit mental when the Minister of Magic announces he'll be having a meeting at our house."

Hermione nodded. "Too right."

"Yes, well, I'm off," Bill headed for the fireplace.

When they heard the Floo activate, Ron turned to the other two. "Bloody hell. I need to go to the market."

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. "Aren't you always the one reminding me that we have a house elf to do that?"

"No. I need to do this myself."

"Why?

"I just do. I'm going to get dressed." Ron went upstairs and Harry and Hermione exchanged confused glances.

xXx

At six o'clock that evening, Ron and Hermione Apparated on to the beach in front of Shell Cottage. A crisp September breeze blew in off the ocean. Ron checked to make sure the contents of the bag he brought with him had arrived intact, then looked around. Except for their brief visit the night they came to tell Bill and Fleur that Greyback had been killed, they hadn't been back there since they'd stayed after escaping from Malfoy Manor.

Ron looked at Hermione who stood staring out to sea. "Are you alright?"

She continued watching the waves. "Of course."

"Lots of memories in this place."

"Yes."

He reached for her hand. "We should go in."

She laced her fingers with his. "Right."

Fleur opened the door as they approached the cottage. "Come in, come in. The others are already here."

Ron wasn't sure what she was making for dinner, but it smelled amazing. Fleur took that whole French cooking thing very seriously. He'd never eaten anything she'd made that wasn't delicious. "Dinner smells great."

She chuckled. "I am glad you think so, but you will have to wait. The Minister is eager to get started."

Ron sighed. They followed her into the parlor where Shacklebolt was waiting along with Bill, Harry, and Ginny. After greetings were exchanged all around, everyone took a seat.

Shacklebolt cleared his throat. "I know you're all anxious to hear the resolution to the goblins' complaints against you, so without further ado, here is the agreement." He handed Harry, Ron, and Hermione each a long piece of parchment. "As you can see, they've twisted history a bit to fit a narrative they're more comfortable with, but in agreeing to allow them to do so, you three are now free and clear of any wrong doing."

Hermione frowned. She read faster than Ron or Harry. "They've made Griphook into a hero?"

Ron skimmed the document. "They what?"

"Seriously?" Harry scanned his own document.

"They want a statue?" Hermione exclaimed.

"What?" Ron and Harry both said.

"Stop reading so fast," Ron grumbled. "Oh, bloody hell, I see it now."

"With Griphook leading us?" Harry shook his head. "That little bastard."

Shacklebolt held up his palms. "I know. I understand, but did I mention it clears the three of you of all wrongdoing?"

"Look," Bill chimed in. "I know the statue is probably misleading, but if it looks like Griphook let you into the bank, because he knew Voldemort was evil and needed to be dealt with, then the goblins don't lose face with their clients. Otherwise, three teenagers and a rogue goblin broke into their supposedly impenetrable bank and stole valuable artifacts."

Hermione sighed. "It's not as if we could have done it without him."

Ron tossed his document on the coffee table. "But to suggest he led us, when he was so bloody awful, and then left us there to die after he snatched the sword."

Harry scratched his head. "Right. But if it gets us off the hook, does it really matter?"

"Not to me, it doesn't," Hermione said. "I just want it over with. I feel like this has been hanging over our heads for ages."

Ron scowled. "I don't like it, but I do see your point."

Hermione continued reading. "Oh, so we can actually go into the bank again without using an intermediary. That'll be nice."

"Yes," Shacklebolt said. "I can imagine that will be much more convenient."

"Definitely," Harry said. "I'm sure your dad was getting tired of doing all our banking."

"No doubt," Shacklebolt said.

Ron picked up his copy of the document and read to the bottom. "Huh, so I can finally open my own account."

Shacklebolt nodded. "So, the terms are acceptable then?"

They all three nodded.

"Fantastic. You'll just need to sign your parchments." Bill gave them each a quill and set a bottle of ink on the coffee table.

A moment later Shacklebolt put the signed copies into a large red box. "Perfect."

There was a knock on the door.

Fleur went to answer it and a moment later Dean stepped into the parlor followed by Mr. Ollivander and Luna who were arm-in-arm.

After another round of greetings, everyone took their seats. Shacklebolt cleared his throat. "Now that we've resolved some of the thornier issues of the war, we at the Ministry felt it was time to start doing some more public recognition.

"You already did the paintings, sir," Hermione said.

"Right you are, but those are inside the Ministry. We did that because goblins don't generally go there, and we wanted some immediate recognition, but now that your names have been completely cleared, we thought it was time to do a bit more."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all glanced at each other.

"Such as?" Harry asked.

"Well, as you've already seen, the goblins want a statue of you three with Griphook inside Gringotts, but in addition to that, there will be one at Hogwarts without Griphook. Also, the magical community in Godric's Hollow has asked that there be one of just Harry there. Like the current memorials in Godric's Hollow, it will be Muggle shielded.

"But Hermione was with me in Godric's Hollow. She saved my life after the events there. She should be—"

"No," Hermione said. "It should only be you."

Harry shook his head. "That's not right."

Hermione gave him a tight smile. "Can I see you outside for a tic, Harry?"

"Fine." Harry followed her outside and closed the door behind them.

All eyes shifted to Ron. "What's that about?" Shacklebolt asked.

Ron smiled awkwardly. "Well, who can tell, really?" But he knew it was about him, and it made him sick to think about it.

Fleur got up to check on dinner. Ron picked up the bag he'd brought with him and followed her. "Hey, I brought replacements for the stuff I stole."

Fleur looked confused.

"You know, when I left to go back to Harry and Hermione."

"Oh, you didn't need to do that. It's not as if we didn't recognize it was for a good cause." She opened the oven and cast another charm.

Ron's mouth watered at the aroma wafting from the oven. "Still, I took it without asking." He pulled a fresh boule of bread out of the bag and handed it to her. Then in quick succession he pulled out a bottle of olive oil, a bottle of garlic powder, a box of salt, and a box of pepper and set them all on the counter."

Fleur smiled and shook her head. "You really needn't have worried. I was happy you took them."

"Well, they certainly improved meal time, I can tell you that."

"Good. It seems eating was a challenge out there."

Ron nodded. "That it was."

xXx

Outside, Hermione stormed down to the water's edge. When they were finally out of earshot of the cottage, she turned on Harry. "Are you mad?"

He frowned at her. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

"You want a statue of just you and me in Godric's Hollow?" She shook her head in utter disbelief.

"You were there!"

She rolled her eyes, her mind boggling at how thick he was being. "Yes, but how would that look to posterity?"

"Posterity?"

"Yes. I testified under Veritaserum to put the whole issue of you and I as a couple to rest, and now you want to have a statue of just the two of us erected in your birthplace. No!"

"It wouldn't be like that." He sighed. "It's not like it's going to be done from life. No one saw us, and even if they did, we were under glamour spells. They won't have us holding hands."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "And when people want to know why Ron isn't part of it?"

Harry frowned. "He wasn't there."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm well aware of that, but with the exception of Ginny, Bill, and Fleur, no one else is. A statue of just you and me would raise too many questions and could be misinterpreted over time. We can't do that to Ron. So absolutely not."

He shook his head. "It's not fair though. You were there. You were always there. That should be honored."

"I have been honored," Hermione insisted. "I'm in the paintings. I'll be in the other statues. That's plenty. Too much in a lot of ways."

"It's not too much. It's not even enough, but I see your point."

She put her hand on his forearm. "Thank you."

"All right, fine. Let's go back in." He started back to the cottage.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and followed him.

xXx

When Harry and Hermione came back into the parlor and sat down, Harry said to Shacklebolt, "A statue of just me in Godric's Hollow will be fine if that's what they want."

He ignored the looks being cast between the other people in the room.

"They do." Shacklebolt pulled a plaque out of the red box and handed it to Bill. "Which brings us to our last bit of business. I'd like to place this plaque on that big stone next to your gate."

"Our gate?" Bill said.

"Yes."

Bill read out loud:

In this house, during the Second Wizarding War, William and Fleur Weasley provided sanctuary to the following:

Harry Potter

Hermione Granger

Ronald Weasley

Garrick Ollivander

Luna Lovegood

Dean Thomas

Griphook

The Ministry of Magic honors their bravery and compassion.

Bill looked at Fleur. "I don't know what to say."

"Of course, you can place it on the stone," Fleur said, blinking back tears, and squeezing Bill's hand.

Shacklebolt nodded. "Thank you. I'm sure others will be commissioned over time, but this is a good start." He stood. "I need to be getting back. I'll place this on my way out."

"Can't you stay for dinner, Minister?" Fleur asked.

"I wish I could. It smells delicious, but alas, duty calls." He shook hands with everyone before heading out into the night.

"Well," Fleur said, as she closed the door behind Shacklebolt. "Will the rest of you join us?"