Half-Truths

When they landed inside the foyer of her parents' condo, her mother turned to her and frowned. "I want to read that article Hestia mentioned."

Hermione sighed. "No, you don't."

Her mother's frown deepened. "Don't tell me what I want." She marched into the parlor and through to the kitchen.

Hermione followed. "Mum—"

"Hullo," her father said. "You two are home early." He was standing in the kitchen holding a glass of orange juice and judging from how he was dressed and how sweaty he was, he'd just gotten back from playing squash.

"We decided not to go shopping after we met my aunt."

"Hermione's father's brow furrowed with concern. "Did it not go well?"

"It went fine," her mother said. "But it was a lot to take in. She's very proud of Hermione though. She kept going on about some article in Magical Times or something."

"Magic Today," Hermione said.

"Yes, well, whatever, we haven't seen it."

Her father raised his eyebrows at Hermione and she sighed again. "Please, please, believe me, you don't want to read it."

"Why not?" her father asked. They were both frowning at her.

She groaned. "Because it's…it's not…look, I've done things that…" She shook her head. "It's not the whole truth, but it's a partial truth that will upset you, which is why I didn't show it to you."

"I don't understand," her mother said. "If it's so bad, why was Hestia so proud."

"Because, she doesn't know all the…" She sighed. "She never saw the aftermath of some of those events. You two had to suffer through consequences no one else knows about. There's no reason to drag all that back up."

Her mother shook her head. "You've lied to us, and you're still lying."

"Monica," her father said, clearly shocked.

"Why can't you just tell us the truth? Hasn't there been enough lying and covering things up in this family. Haven't you seen enough of how that ends?"

"Monica, that's not fair."

His wife turned on him. "Oh, please! Since when are you okay about all this?"

Hermione felt sick. Now that her mother had heard about the article, she was fixated on it. She'd never let it go. With a heavy heart, Hermione opened her beaded bag and began rummaging around. She had the magazine somewhere in there. Sylvia had handed her a copy at work. She'd stuck it in her bag after reading it and never pulled it out again. Of course, she could cast Accio, but she wanted the extra time looking for it to try and think of what to say to them. She knew they were going to hate it. When she finally found it, she laid it on the counter. "There."

Her mother reached for the magazine, but Hermione kept her hand on top of it. "Before you read it, understand that you won't be able to unread it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" her father asked.

"There are things mentioned in this article that I never told you, because I was trying to protect you, and I didn't want you to pull me out of school. There are other things the article leaves out, because we don't talk about them to anyone, so it's an abbreviated version, but some of the interviews with other people make it seem…I don't know…worse somehow. So, you can read this, but if there are things that don't make sense to you, I can't promise to explain them, but understand that's nothing to do with you or how I feel about you. We don't tell anyone all of what happened."

"We, meaning you and Ron?" her mother asked.

"We, meaning me, Ron and Harry. You'll see us referred to as the 'Golden Trio' because the three of us did this." She took her hand off the magazine. "I'm going to go home now."

Her parents looked at her.

"And I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry." She lifted her wand and Disapparated.

xXx

When Ron got home from playing Quidditch with Harry and his brothers and a couple of other players from Gryffindor, Hermione was sitting in the study drinking a glass of wine and reading. Crookshanks was curled up at her feet. Ron sat next to her in the other chair. "You're home early."

"Yes. We decided not to go shopping after we talked to Madam Scrivenshaft, although I guess I'm to call her Auntie Hestia now."

He raised his eyebrows. "It went well then?"

"I suppose. Better than I expected anyway."

"Great," Ron said, glancing at the wine bottle. "What's wrong then?"

Hermione shook her head. "She said how proud she was of me after reading that article in Magic Today."

"Okay." Ron was confused about what the problem was. None of them cared for the article, it was too sensational, but it had been out for a while.

"Mum, of course, hadn't read the article. I was hoping she'd forgotten about it, but the second we landed in the condo, she was on me. She's very upset about the whole situation with Gran and her sister. I know that's why she went at me about it. She accused me of keeping things from them. She called me a liar." A tear slipped down her cheek.

"Hey," Ron said, sliding out of the chair and on to his knees in front of her. "That's not on."

Her lip trembled and she looked away from him. "I am a liar though. I lied to them all through school."

"We all did that." Ron brush her cheek with his fingers. "We had to."

"I know, but that doesn't change what we did."

"Right." Ron nodded. "We bloody saved the world, didn't we?"

She looked at him with tear-filled eyes and nodded. "Yes. Yes, we did."

"Are you going to let them read it?"

"I left it for them. I'm not sure what they'll think of it."

"Come here," he said and leaned forward to hug her.

There was a knock on the front door. Ron looked at her as he drew his wand. "Were you expecting anyone?"

"No," she drew her own wand. No one ever came to their front door. They left the study and carefully approached the door.

Ron looked through the peephole. "It's your mum and dad."

It was pouring rain outside, so when Ron opened the door, her parents hurried inside.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked.

Her mother held up the magazine. "This happened."

"Seriously?" Hermione frowned. "I gave you the potion that allows you to see through anti-Muggle shielding for emergencies."

"This feels like an emergency," her mother said.

Behind her, Hermione's father grimaced and shook his head.

"Let me take your coats." Ron hung up their wet coats on the rack by the door, cast a drying charm on them, and then followed Hermione and her parents into the parlor. Her mother was clearly agitated, and he could see Hermione brace herself for the expected onslaught as he walked into the parlor. Her mother perched anxiously on the edge of one of the sofas. Hermione's father sat next to his wife and looked resigned and worried. Hermione sat calmly on the sofa across from her and crossed her legs and had her hands folded in her lap. Ron knew that posture. It was a practiced position to appear unbothered. He also knew she likely wouldn't be able to hold it very long with her parents. They got under her skin like no one else with the exception of maybe him.

"Could I get anyone a cup of tea?" Ron asked, as though this were a regular visit. "Or perhaps something stronger."

"Not right now, thanks Ron," Hermione's mother said. She looked drawn and pained.

Ron looked at Hermione trying to ascertain whether he should stay or give them some privacy. She very subtly moved her pinkie, and he knew what she wanted. He sat next to her, took her hand, and looked at her parents. They all sat in silence.

Her mother spoke first. "I'm sorry to come unannounced like this. And I'm sorry about the potion, but after we read the article, well, I just couldn't stay home. I needed…" She looked at her husband for support and he patted her hand. "I just had to see you."

Ron could feel Hermione begin to uncoil. "Mum?" she said hesitantly.

"That woman we met, the beautiful one who's married to Ron's brother—" Her mother said.

"Fleur," Hermione said.

"Yes. She's interviewed in the article. She said…" Her voice broke and she looked at her husband again. "She said when you came to them…after what happened to you…she said the three of you were emaciated. That you'd been starving in the woods, that—" She shook her head.

"It wasn't as bad as all that," Hermione said, leaning toward them. "Actually, once Ron got back, we had some very good meals, we just didn't have enough time to put any weight back on before we were captured."

"I don't understand," her mother said. "Where was Ron?"

"He had to leave us for a while," Hermione answered before Ron could. "But he came back at absolutely the right time, saved Harry's life, recovered a magical sword that we really needed, and hunted and fished and fed us well after that."

Ron held back the derisive snort he wanted to let out. He had to hand it to Hermione, she was very good at wrapping a lie in the truth so it sounded true. "Well is probably stretching it a bit, don't you think?" Ron said.

"No," Hermione said, looking at him. "I don't."

"And when you came home after fifth year with that horrible scar, that was from fighting with those evil people."

"Death Eaters," Ron said. "Yeah. That turned out to be a terrible idea. Lucky we weren't all killed."

"Why?" her mother said. "Why would you do such a reckless, irresponsible thing?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged an uncomfortable look.

"Just young and stupid, I guess." Hermione glanced at Ron. "I'm sorry I lied to you two about that. I was afraid if you knew what really happened, you would never let me go back to school."

"Quite right," her father said.

Her mother stood and started pacing. She was crying.

Hermione stood too. "Tell me what I can do to make this right?"

But her mother didn't seem to have words anymore. She threw her arms around Hermione and hugged her tight. Hermione's father stood and hugged her from behind, so that she was sandwiched between both parents, who murmured things in her ear as they held her tight. Ron marveled, not for the first time, at how small her family was and on the burden that must be for Hermione. She was the basket in which her parents had all their eggs. That must feel like the weight of the world, he thought. They held Hermione like that for a what seemed like a long time before they let go.

"I'm sorry," her mother said, wiping her face on her sleeve. "It's been such a trying week."

"It's all right, Mum."

"I'm sorry I wasted the potion on my hysteria," her mother said.

Hermione waved her off. "Don't be. I'll make some more. It's not a problem."

Ron knew for a fact that the potion was actually quite complicated and took days and multiple steps to get right, but he held his tongue.

"Let's get you home," Hermione's father said, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders.

Hermione's mother nodded weakly. She touched Hermione's cheek.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too. Go home. Try and get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow."

Her mother nodded and let her husband lead her out. Hermione walked them to the door.

When she returned to the parlor, Ron raised his eyebrows at her. "You all right?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I knew the article would upset them. Normally, it would be Dad I'd expect to be dealing with. I think if Mum hadn't been so upset, he likely would have had a lot more to say, but she's a wreck, and he's clearly worried about her. It's not like her to fall apart like that."

"I don't understand. I thought things went well with Madam Scrivenshaft."

"She's not the problem. As usual, Gran is. Mum just doesn't know what to do about her. I'll go over there tomorrow and we can talk about it." She sighed.

"You're exhausted. Let's go to bed."

"It's only nine," she protested.

"Doesn't matter. You need sleep. You've been tossing and turning a lot the last few days. Maybe you should take a draught."

"No. I'll be okay. I'm so tired, I think I'll sleep fine tonight."

"All right. Off you pop then. I'll lock up and be there in a tick."

She nodded, and he watched her walk upstairs. He hated that she had to deal with the whole complicated situation essentially alone. There just wasn't much he could do to help. Family was complicated and hers seemed more complicated than most.

xXx

Sunday night, Ron was sitting on the sofa reading a Quidditch magazine. Hermione was stretched out, with her head in his lap, sound asleep. He looked down at her and smiled, tucking an errant curl behind her ear. There was a tiny spot of drool on his thigh. She'd hate that. He chuckled. He heard a small pop in the foyer and knew Harry was back. He'd Apparated to Wales yesterday evening to spend time with Ginny before she left on a week-long set of matches in Europe with the Holyhead Harpies. Harry stepped into the living room and immediately threw his hand over his eyes and turned around. "Oh, for goodness sake!"

"She's just sleeping mate. Pull yourself together."

Harry turned back around. "Sorry, I thought you two might've forgotten I was coming back here tonight."

"No one forgot. Besides, we follow the rules. No one wants to upset Purdy."

Harry cocked his head and looked at Hermione. "It's not like her to sleep through a conversation."

"I gave her a draught." Ron lifted her head and slid a sofa pillow under as he got up. He stretched and yawned. "She didn't sleep much last night or the night before, or for most of the week really, so she was getting quite cross and bitchy. I finally convinced her to take a draught about an hour ago."

"Why didn't she take it upstairs and go to bed?"

"In addition to being cross and bitchy, she was also pretty unreasonable."

"Ah."

Ron walked into the kitchen and pulled a couple of bottles of ale out of the icebox. He handed one to Harry. "This situation with her mum and her gran is a bloody nightmare, literally. She's been having nightmares since this whole thing started."

"Really?" Harry snapped his fingers and the tops came off both bottles and sailed over to the trash bin. "Why?"

Ron looked down at his bottle and smiled. "Nice." He sighed. "The subject of the war keeps coming up. Her gran asking to see a list of the dead was what started all this. Then her parents read that article in Magic Today." Harry made a face. "And it upset them. They came over here unannounced last night." He shook his head. "I just wish they could get the whole thing sorted. It's taking quite a toll on her, as if she doesn't have enough on her mind. And now she and her mum are going back over to her gran's house tomorrow night after work."

"Why didn't they just go today?" Harry asked. "Don't they all have Sunday off."

"Apparently, today is her gran's bridge club, whatever the hell that is, and loads of people are coming to her house."

"My aunt used to belong to a bridge club, although when she wasn't around, my uncle would say it was a dessert club that served wine."

"I don't get it." Ron took a long drink of ale.

"People get together and play cards, and I guess also have wine and dessert."

"Then why is it called bridge?"

"That's the name of the card game. I don't know why it's called that."

"Huh. Muggles are weird. Anyway, her gran couldn't see them today, so instead she and her mum both get to work all day tomorrow and then deal with that mess."

"Fun."

"Anything but. I just wish it wasn't so hard on her or that I could do something, but…" He shrugged. "Family." He went back into the parlor and sat on the sofa next to Hermione who was still sound asleep.

Harry sat on the sofa across from them. "You'll never guess who I heard from today."

Ron took another drink of ale. "Please don't say Draco. I just don't have the energy to deal with his—"

"Not Draco, Dudley."

"Who?"

"My cousin, Dudley, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Ron nodded. "Big guy."

"Right, he sent me a letter." Harry pulled the envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Ron.

Ron turned it over to see 'Harry Potter' and beneath that, 'Hogwarts' scrawled across the envelope. "That's it?" He just addressed it to Harry Potter, Hogwarts?"

"I guess that's all he knew. He stuck it in the regular Muggle post, so it went to the Dead Letter Office, where a Squib found it and sent it to McGonagall, because it was addressed to Hogwarts. She attached a note to it, gave it to her owl, and told him to take it to me at the Ministry."

"How long did all that take?" Ron asked.

"Ages, the card inside is from Christmas before last. McGonagall thinks the Squib held it, because he knew there were problems at Hogwarts last year."

Ron handed the envelope back to Harry. "What did he want?"

"That's the thing. He wanted to know if I was okay. He said we should get together."

Ron was surprised. "I thought you two didn't get along."

"We didn't when we were kids, but the last time I saw him, well, ever since I saved him from those Dementors, really, he was pretty nice. He didn't understand why I wasn't going into hiding with him and his parents."

"Will wonders never cease?"

Harry shrugged. "Thing is, all that stuff with Hermione's family and then getting this card, well, it has me thinking about my own family. I mean, I doubt seriously my aunt and uncle ever want to see me again, but if Dudley does, I don't know. It might be nice to see him every once in a while, maybe have dinner or something. At the very least, I'm going to let him know I'm okay, and that I'm engaged to be married. What do you reckon?"

Ron scratched at his late day stubble. "My family can be bloody annoying, but I wouldn't trade any of 'em. I reckon, if I were in your shoes, and I had a chance at making a connection with my cousin, I'd go for it. What have you got to lose?"

"That's just it. Nothing. I've got nothing to lose." Ron nodded and Harry smiled. "I guess that's that then. I'm going to head up." He looked at Hermione. "What are you going to do about her? Cast Mobilicorpus?"

"Nah, I'll just enlarge the sofa and sleep down here."

"You know," Harry said, smirking. "You could spend the night upstairs. It won't kill you two to sleep apart. Ginny and I manage."

Ron nodded. "But you hate it."

Harry sighed. "Yeah. All right then. Goodnight."

"Night," Ron drew his wand to enlarge the sofa. A few minutes later, he rolled Hermione over and settled in next to her.

xXx

The following night, Hermione Apparated with her mother into her gran's foyer. She was a little nervous, but at least, she was well rested. Ron was right to suggest the draught. She felt more clear-headed and calmer than she had all week. She looked at her mother. "You ready?"

Her mother nodded grimly. "Mum?"

"In the parlor, Monica," came her gran's reply. Hermione and her mother went into the parlor where her grandmother had set out biscuits and a pot of tea. "You two are right on time. Tea?"

"Yes, please," Hermione said.

"It's a bit late, so it's decaf. I hope that's okay," her gran said as she poured a cup and handed it to her.

"That's fine," Hermione said.

"Monica?" her gran asked.

"Sure."

Hermione could tell she was anxious to tell her mother about visiting her sister.

"Listen, I asked to see you tonight because Saturday, Hermione took me to Hogsmeade."

Her grandmother stopped fidgeting with the tea things and stared at Hermione and her mother. "Hogsmeade? You couldn't have. Muggles can't go there."

"Muggles can go there if they're taken by someone magical. They couldn't find it on their own, because it has anti-Muggle charms. No roads lead to it and it doesn't appear on any map, but I led her into town."

Her grandmother shook her head. "I didn't…I thought that wasn't allowed."

"It wouldn't be okay to take some random Muggle off the street, no," Hermione said. "But Mum already knows about the magical world, so she's allowed. So is Dad. He visited me at work not long ago. It's a bit of an ordeal, but it's doable."

"Really?" her grandmother said sadly. "I used to live to there. I had no idea."

"You grew up in Hogsmeade?" Hermione said.

"Yes. We lived above my mum's shop there until she got sick. Dad tried to run it after that, but he wasn't as powerful as mum, and he wasn't so good with the customers either."

"What sort of shop?" Hermione asked.

"An apothecary," her grandmother said.

"Your sister runs a shop in Hogsmeade," Hermione's mother said. "Only they sell pens and stationery."

"What?" her grandmother said.

"She married Ernest Scrivenshaft of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop," Hermione said.

"I know that!" her grandmother snapped. "You saw her?"

"Yes," Hermione's mother said. "What a lovely person. She was very nice."

"You spoke to her?" Her grandmother's face had gone quite red.

"Gran—"

"You had no right to do that!" her grandmother shouted.

"I had every right to do it!" her mother shouted back. "She's my aunt. I'm allowed to speak to my own aunt."

Her grandmother sat back with her mouth open, clearly aghast.

"Gran," Hermione said gently. "It went really well. She's not angry at you at all. She'd love to see you."

"No. I can't go back there."

"You can though. I can take you. Or I could have Purdy do it if you prefer. It's perfectly safe."

Her grandmother shook her head. "No. It's too much. Absolutely not."

Hermione started to say something, but her mother held up her hand to stop her. "What if we were all to meet at the house in Heathgate? Hermione and her husband live there now, so it's a magical house, but I could drive you there."

Her grandmother looked from one to the other. "Maybe. Do you think Hestia would be willing to do that? She's never been willing to come into the Muggle world before."

"It wouldn't really be the Muggle world," Hermione said. "Our house is a bit of both worlds."

Her grandmother stared at her hands for a long moment. "Well, I suppose that might work."

Hermione smiled. "Great. I'll set it up then."

Her mother glanced at her nervously before saying. "So, Mum, how did bridge go yesterday?"

xXx

It was late when Hermione arrived home. Crookshanks greeted her in the foyer. She leaned over and rubbed the cat's head as he wrapped himself around her ankles. There was no light on in the parlor as she walked through, but Purdy appeared at the kitchen door. "Does Miss need anything?"

"No, thank you, Purdy. I think I'm just going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning. As she walked upstairs, she was surprised to see light under the bedroom door. She opened it to find Ron sitting up in bed reading. "Hi."

He looked up and smiled. "Finally, I expected you back hours ago."

"I know." She sat on the edge of the bed and removed her shoes. "I thought I'd be back earlier too, but Mum and Gran started reminiscing. I couldn't exactly cut them off because I wanted to go home. Not that I wasn't interested in listening to their stories. I've never heard most of them, because we didn't see Gran much when I was little and then after second year, not at all." She yawned.

"It went well then?" Ron said.

She looked at him and bit her bottom lip. "Yes. I hope you won't be mad but Mum made a suggestion, and I didn't say no."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "What kind of suggestion?"

"That Gran and her sister meet here as a kind of neutral setting."

He shrugged. "Please, we've had my whole bloody family here loads of times. A few of yours shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Yes, well, your family gets along though, don't they?"

"Sure, for the most part, but come on, how much trouble can a couple of old ladies be?"

Hermione sighed. "I guess we'll find out on Saturday."

xXx

Saturday afternoon, Harry took the Knight Bus to Surrey to meet Dudley at the Dog and Pheasant. When he came into the pub, he immediately saw Dudley sitting at a corner table with a large lager in front of him. When he saw Harry, he got to his feet and smiled somewhat awkwardly. "Harry," he said, sticking out his meaty paw.

Harry shook it. "Hey Dudley. How's it going?"

"Good, good," Dudley looked around. "I thought you were bringing your fiancé."

"Yeah, she'll be here in a little while. She's coming from work."

"Oh, okay," Dudley took his seat. "What does she do?"

Harry sat opposite him. "She's a professional Quidditch player."

"A what?"

"It's a sport, kind of like," he thought for a moment. "Well, it's not really like anything. I mean, one way you score is by putting a type of ball through a hoop, so in that way, I guess it's like basketball."

"Oh. A professional athlete though. That's cool. She must be pretty fit."

Harry smiled. "Yeah, very."

Dudley smiled back and waggled his eyebrows. "Look at you."

Harry laughed. "She's more than that though, you know? She's smart and funny, powerful, and so brave. I can't even tell you. Wait until you meet her. She's amazing."

"Bloody hell, Harry. You've got it bad."

Harry chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. I really do, but enough about me. How are things going for you?"

"Well, I'm not dating a professional athlete, but I'm good. I'm sharing a semi-detached down the road with a mate and his girlfriend right now, but in the fall, I'm going to the University of Warwick to study mechanical engineering."

"That's great."

"I think so. Mum is upset because she wanted me to go to the University of Surrey. Like I want to live in the same bloody county my whole life. It's only two hours north but she acts like I'm moving to Australia."

Harry chuckled, because he wasn't surprised at all. "At least you know she loves you."

Dudley shook his head. "I know, but I'm a grown man. You should've seen the fuss she raised over my gap year backpacking in Europe. Thank goodness Dad intervened for me. Otherwise, I think she might've hung on to my leg."

Harry laughed outright at that. "I can see her doing that."

"I know, right?" Dudley smiled and shook his head. "So, what are you doing these days?"

"I'm an Auror, which is kind of like a cross between a cop and MI5."

Dudley raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised. "That sounds pretty cool."

"It can be. At least I feel like I'm making a difference, you know?"

The bell over the pub's door jingled and Harry looked back to see Ginny come through. She looked around and he waved.

"Are you kidding me?" Dudley whispered to him. "How on earth did you pull her?"

Harry grinned at him and they both stood as Ginny approached the table. "Hiya, Harry."

"Hiya, Gin, this is my cousin Dudley."

Dudley stuck out his hand, and Ginny shook it before they all sat down. Dudley smiled and shook his head. "You're marrying this bloke?" He pointed his thumb at Harry.

Ginny nodded. "Absolutely."

"Wow." Dudley said good-naturedly. "Go figure."

Ginny looked confused. She turned to Harry.

"He doesn't know," Harry explained.

"Seriously?" Ginny said.

Harry shrugged. "How would he?"

"Somebody want to clue me in?" Dudley asked.

Ginny leveled her gaze at him. "He's Harry Potter."

Harry chuckled at Dudley's confused expression. "That doesn't mean anything to him."

Dudley looked from one to the other. "What's it supposed to mean?"

Ginny looked at Harry. "You haven't told him? What have you two been talking about?"

"Just catching up," Harry said.

"How can you catch up without mentioning the war?" Ginny asked.

Harry shrugged again, but he could feel himself blushing. "Dudley doesn't want to hear all that."

Ginny frowned at him.

"Yeah, I do," Dudley said.

Ginny gave Harry a pointed look. He sighed. "We shouldn't talk about it in public."

Ginny and Dudley both looked around at the empty pub. Harry sighed again and stood. "I'll go get drinks." He walked up to the bar while Ginny began the story.