Birthday

Just before noon, Ron stopped by the Auror's office at the Ministry of Magic. Harry was sitting at his desk writing a report on a long piece of parchment. Taylor sat across from him at what used to be Ron's desk. He looked up.

"Hey," Taylor said. "What brings you out?"

"I wanted to talk to this bloke," Ron said, pointing his thumb at Harry.

"And you have to do that at work?" Taylor said. He knew Harry often stayed with Ron and Hermione.

"Nope. I was going to see if he wanted to go to lunch." Ron looked at Harry. "Well?"

Harry looked down at the parchment and set down his quill. "I'll finish this when we get back. I'm craving a curry."

"Go on then," Ron said and followed him out.

When they were on the elevators by themselves, Harry said, "What's wrong?"

Ron smiled at him. "Nothing. I just didn't want to talk at home, because I didn't want Hermione to hear."

"Hear what?" Harry's brow wrinkled with concern.

"That I want to have a big party for her birthday this year."

Harry raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised. "We've never made a big deal of her birthday before."

The elevator came to an abrupt stop, and they walked out into the cavernous main hall of the Ministry and toward the rows of fireplaces.

"Well, that's kind of the point, isn't it? Her birthday always fell so close to the beginning of the school year that it just kind of got swept under the rug. Then when we were on the run, well, things were mad around her birthday and then last year…I really should have done something last year, but we were in Auror training, and she was doing independent study and taking exams, so…I was kind of a shit boyfriend about it."

"She didn't seem to mind. I've never even heard her mention it. I don't think her parents made a big deal of her birthday either. As I recall, she got a card, and they put a great wad of galleons in her account at Gringotts and told her to do as she pleased."

"I just want more for her this year. I mean, don't you remember what she did for my birthday when we were on the run."

Harry grinned. "She bought steaks and beer."

"And we danced and she did that trick with the fire."

"That was a good night. But it's not like she did much last year."

"Oh, she did." Ron blushed.

Harry held up a palm. "Say no more."

"Right." Ron rubbed his neck. They stepped into the first available fireplace and went to the Leaky Cauldron. "I thought we could have a big party with our friends and the family and her family, all of them." They stepped out of the fire into the pub.

"That's going to be a very big party."

"Too big?" Ron asked.

"Why not see if her family could all come for dinner, maybe the day before and then do a big party for friends on her actual birthday?"

"You think?" Ron said.

"I think she might feel a bit strained to have to look after her folks and her grandparents at a big party."

Ron sighed. "You're probably right. But hosting two days of events seems like too much."

"You know Purdy will do most of the work. If you're worried about it, I can ask Kreacher to help."

"I'm sure Purdy can handle it. I'm more concerned that it's too much for Hermione to deal with."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly. She's just got a lot on her plate and this family stuff isn't easy for her."

"Then why not skip them and just have a big party with our friends?" Harry held the door open and they went out into Muggle London.

Ron shook his head. Harry, having never really dealt with his own family, often missed the point when it came to other peoples' families. "No. Maybe I should ask Mum to host."

"That'd work. Two families coming together and all that."

"Yeah, Mum would probably love that actually. I'll send her a note when I get back to the shop." They walked toward an Indian restaurant that Harry liked.

"Excellent," Harry said. "And look, chicken curry is on special today."

"A sign," Ron said, grinning.

"Couldn't be plainer than the Grim." They both laughed as they took a table.

xXx

That night, Hermione had another nightmare. She reached for Ron and he was there, warm and solid next to her. She slid over closer to him and tried to slow her breathing and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, every time she closed her eyes, Bellatrix was back. After half an hour, she gave up and went downstairs.

Harry was sitting at the kitchen table when she went in to make herself some warm milk. "Hey."

"Hey," he said. "Can't sleep?"

"No. Are you having nightmares too?"

"Not exactly," Harry said. "I miss Gin."

"I'm sorry." Hermione sat across from him.

"I know. I just wish I knew how to deal with it better." He looked at her and gave her a wry smile. "Why couldn't you have dated Viktor when you were older? I could use some advice."

She huffed at him. "Sorry, I can't help you with that."

"Surely, you must have some insight," he teased. "He spent all that time working on your flying."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, well, that stopped after the third session."

Harry smirked at her. "Who knew Viktor Krum was a quitter?"

"He wasn't a quitter, but he wasn't a fool either. It was a waste of time trying to get me comfortable on a broom."

"But as I recall, you kept going to that Tuesday evening…" He made air quotes. "Study group."

"We did study, sometimes." Hermione blushed. "He was very smart and a serious student."

"And a good snog?" Harry waggled his eyebrows at her.

"That too. But mostly we talked and a lot of that was about Quidditch. He spoke of it…I don't know…almost like a vocation."

Harry looked at her. "Really?"

"Yes. I think he saw it as his destiny."

"Yeah, well, he's a top player. I can see how he might think about it like that."

"Yes. But my point is that Ginny has never talked, at least not to me, about Quidditch the way Viktor did. To her, I think it's a game. One that she's excellent at, but still, just a game."

"What do you think that means?"

"I don't know. It might not mean anything. Knowing two professional Quidditch players doesn't give me a large enough data set to extrapolate any real conclusions."

Harry chuckled. "Of course. Well, it makes me feel better anyway."

Hermione smiled and patted his hand. "Good."

xXx

The next morning, before work, Ron popped out to the Burrow to talk to his mum about hosting Hermione's family for dinner the day before her birthday. They talked about who to invite and the menu.

Before he left, Ron leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Thanks Mum."

"I'll send out invitations. Don't worry about a thing. You plan your party, I'll handle this one."

"You're the best Mum."

"Of course, I am dear. Off you go then. Don't want to be late for work."

He took a fresh scone off the table and smiled at her before tossing Floo powder into the fireplace and stepping into the green flame to be whisked away to Diagon Alley.

xXx

Later that day, Hermione left work to meet Ron for lunch. She'd spent the morning doing research and location spells for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They were still short-handed and she was happy to fill in. The work was interesting and offered more immediate gratification than a lot of the work with the house elves.

Ron was with a customer when she walked in. "If you want to grab my cloak out of my locker, I'll be ready in a minute."

"All right." Hermione headed to the back room. There was a small bank of lockers in the back of the shop. None of them had name tags but it was easy enough to tell which one was Ron's by the large Chudley Cannons sticker on the front. It wasn't locked so she opened the door and pulled out his cloak, but something caught her eye. On the inside door, was the photo the Daily Prophet had taken of her holding baby Teddy at his parents' funeral. Below that was the parchment note she'd sent Ron asking him to come out to Heathgate when she'd returned from Australia, and below that, was a photo of the three of them taken at the beginning of sixth year. Ron and Harry were in Quidditch gear and she was in her school robes. They looked grubby as if they were just coming back from practice. She was having an unusually good hair moment, and she looked up at Ron with undisguised love and affection. She wondered who took the photo and how long he'd had it. The last picture wasn't a photo but a drawing of her reading on the beach. It was signed by Dean, but she'd never seen it before.

"Hey," Ron said, coming up behind her. "What's taking so long?"

"I've never seen some of these."

He looked over her shoulder.

"Who took this?" She pointed to the photo of the three of them.

"Colin. He gave it to me ages ago."

"You never showed it to me."

"Did I not?" Ron pulled on his cloak.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know you didn't."

He shrugged. "I just…you know…"

"What?"

"Really like the way you're looking at me in that."

She smiled at him. "I look at you like that all the time."

"Maybe now. Not so much back then."

"More often than you ever noticed. And what about this drawing Dean did. I've never seen that either."

"He gave it to me when we all met back at the cottage."

"Why didn't you tell me? It's really good."

"No reason. Come on, let's go. I'm hungry."

Hermione closed the locker and followed Ron out into the street.

"You want to leave the alley?" he asked. "I'm kind in the mood for some of those noodles."

"Pad Thai?"

"Yeah, that."

Her parents had taken them out for Thai food a couple of months ago and Ron had been obsessed with it ever since. They walked to a Thai restaurant on Old Compton Street and were seated right away. The waitress brought them water and took their order.

"So, why didn't you show me the drawing?" Hermione asked.

Ron shrugged. "Well, you know, I didn't know how you'd feel about it."

She smiled. "It's not like he drew me naked."

"Right, because then Dean would be dead now."

She chuckled. "So why not show me?"

"I guess I was worried it would remind you of that day."

"Which day? I read on the beach a lot when we were at the cottage."

"That's true. I should've shown you then."

She cocked her head at him. "Did I have an aftershock the day he drew that?"

"Yeah."

She reached over and squeezed his hand. "You're really thoughtful sometimes, you know that?"

He smiled at her. "I like to think I have my moments."

The waitress brought their lunch and Ron's eyes lit up. "I love this stuff."

Hermione chuckled. As they ate, she thought about the photo he'd saved from the Daily Prophet of her holding Teddy. At the time, the reporter had assumed the baby was hers and Ron's and she'd been furious that they hadn't bothered asking, but clearly Ron liked the idea of her holding a little red-haired baby. Ron smiled at her around a mouthful of noodles. She smiled back and didn't mention the other photo.

xXx

A few days later they were at the Burrow, getting ready for dinner. Purdy had brought Hermione's parents out, and had left to get her grandmother. Her grandfather and Madam Rosmerta hadn't arrived yet.

"Could you light the candles for me, Hermione?" Molly said. Normally, she would have asked Ron, but he was out in the shed with his father and Hermione's, so that Wendall could identify some Muggle artifacts for Arthur.

"Sure." Hermione drew her wand.

Her mother, who was leaning against the counter drinking a glass of wine, cocked her head. "Is that different?"

"What?" Hermione asked as she lit the candles that were placed in the center of the table.

"Your wand. It looks different."

"Yes. I had to get a new one."

"Really? I didn't know they wore out."

"They don't," Landen Wright said as he came into the kitchen, followed by Madam Rosmerta. "What happened to your wand?"

"It was confiscated when were captured," Hermione said.

"I thought the Ministry returned the wands the Death Eaters took," Madam Rosmerta said.

"Oh, well," Hermione said awkwardly. "It's just…"

"Hers was destroyed," Ron said, as he stepped into the kitchen followed by his father and Hermione's.

"What wand was destroyed?" Wendall asked from behind him.

"Hermione's," his mother answered.

"Why?" her father asked.

"Most of the Muggleborns who had their wands taken never got them back," Arthur explained. "The Death Eaters burned them."

"Bastards," Ron said.

"Ronald! Language," his mother said from the other side of the kitchen, but it was more out of habit than anything else.

"Sorry, Mum."

"Arthur, perhaps you could take our guest through to the parlor, so I can finish in here," Molly suggested.

"Of course," Arthur said. "Right this way everyone." They all paraded into the parlor.

"What kind of wand do you have now?" Landen asked Hermione.

"Acacia wood with a dragon heartstring core," Hermione said.

Landen's face lit up. "Did you hear that, Rosmerta? Just like mine!"

Rosmerta shook her head good-naturedly. "I can't believe there are two like that." She looked at Ron. "Can you do a thing with her wand?"

Ron shook his head. "No. It just feels like a lump of wood in my hand. Even Harry can't get much out of it."

Everyone but the Grangers chuckled.

"Well, I like it," Hermione said.

"Me too," Landen said, drawing out his wand. "Let me see yours." He handed her his, which was heavier and longer than hers. She gave him hers and he swished it a bit. "This is very nice. Springy."

"Yours is nice too," Hermione said. "It's got real heft to it." For fun she pointed it at the fireplace and cast a spell to light the fire. It lit without difficulty. "Works great too."

Landen smiled broadly and flicked her wand and the candles on the mantel all lit. "Yours too. I don't know what their complaining about."

They both laughed and traded their wands back.

Purdy appeared then with Hermione's grandmother.

The room went silent.

The Scrivenshafts came into the parlor from the kitchen.

Mr. Weasley clapped his hands. "What can I get everyone to drink?"

The next few minutes were spent handing around glasses of wine and ale.

After a few minutes of awkward conversation, Molly called everyone in for dinner. After the usual taking of seats and passing of food an awkward silence descended. Correctly assuming that the only thing that everyone at the table could agree on was that they all loved Hermione, Arthur asked her about work.

She spent the rest of the meal answering questions that increasingly revolved around the minutia of her various projects. Ron was grateful that Hermione was involved in so much or she would have run out of conversation a lot faster. As it was, she seemed incredibly relieved when Molly served dessert.

As they were enjoying Molly's fabulous sticky toffee pudding, Landen, who was seated across from Monica, smiled at her and said, "I can't get over how much you look like your mother."

What little conversation had been happening ceased. Landen, smiled then at Hermione, "And you look so much like your mother, that of course, you look like your grandmother too."

Honoria huffed at the other end of the table.

"Your biological grandmother, that is to say," Landen corrected. "She was a lovely woman, smart, funny, and very kind. I'm so sorry you don't remember her."

Hermione, who was sitting across from her mother, next to Landen, saw her mother's eyes fill with tears. Her grandmother's face was red and her lips were in a tight angry line that Hermione recognized all too well.

"I'm, of course, so grateful that Honoria was able to take you," Landen continued. "In retrospect, I wish I had tried to raise you myself, but you were a Muggle and I was afraid that I wouldn't do it right. I regret not trying. I regret not at least staying in your life and giving you your father at least."

"She had a father," Honoria said hotly from the other end of the table.

Her mother paled. She stood suddenly. "Excuse me." She went out the back door into the garden.

"Monica," Wen said. He hurried after her.

Landen dropped his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

Rosmerta put her hand on his arm and squeezed gently. "This is difficult for everyone."

"You should have just stayed gone," Honoria said angrily from the other end of the table.

"Honoria!" her sister said.

"I'm serious," Honoria said tightly. "He's done nothing but open old wounds." She stood. "I want to go home." She looked at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Thank you so much for dinner. It was delicious. Hermione?"

"Right," Hermione said, standing. "Purdy?"

The little elf appeared in a spotless tea towel. "Yes, Miss?"

"Could you take Gran home?"

"Yes, Miss," Purdy said. A moment later, they were gone.

"Excuse me," Hermione said. She went out into the garden to check on her parents. Her father had his arm around her mother, and they were talking in low tones.

"I'm sorry, Mum," Hermione said. "I know Ron's heart was in the right place, but it wasn't a good idea to have everyone together like this."

Her mother held her arm out and Hermione stepped into a familiar three-way hug with her parents. She hated that her mother was so upset, but at the same time, she was incredibly grateful to be able to do this again. A moment later, her father stepped back. "I think I'm going to say our goodbyes to everyone."

Her mother wiped her eyes and nodded. Her father went into the house.

"I'm so sorry, Mum," Hermione said again.

"Don't be," her mother said. "None of this is your fault or Ron's."

Landen came out of the house. "Monica," he said, his head bowed. "I'm so sorry. I'm a foolish old man, who hasn't learned to keep his mouth shut."

Monica shook her head. "You're not foolish, but this is hard on Mum, and it puts me in an awkward position. I would like to know more about my birth mother. I'd like to know more about you, but I can't be curious in front of Mum. It hurts her."

Landen stood looking at her. "Does that…I mean…would you…can I see you then?"

Monica nodded. "I think I'd like that."

"We could meet at the Leaky Cauldron. You know where that is, yes?"

Monica nodded. "Yes."

Wen came back out of the house. "You ready?"

Monica nodded and Hermione called for Purdy to take them home.

xXx

Ron and Hermione got back to London just before midnight. They'd stayed until everyone else left the Burrow, since they were there for Hermione's birthday, but she'd fervently wished they'd all gone home when her parents left, but once the Muggles were gone, the remaining older magical couples opened up and chatted for hours. When they popped back into the foyer, Hermione headed straight upstairs for their bedroom. Ron sighed and gave her a minute while he sorted through the post. He asked Purdy for two cups of cocoa and took them upstairs. Hermione was pulling on a flannel nightshirt when he came into the bedroom. The nights were starting to get chilly, so he knew it would be several months before she went back to sleeping naked. More's the pity, he thought. "Hey." He held out a cup of cocoa to her. "I'm really sorry about tonight. I thought it would be nice for you to have your whole family there."

She sighed. "It was a good thought. Unfortunately, the reality left something to be desired."

"I guess we should do Muggle things and Magical things separately from now on and not try to mix them."

Hermione sipped her cocoa and considered. "I don't think that's necessarily how we always need to do it. Mum and Dad are fine coming into the magical world. But for Gran, I think it's just too painful."

Ron nodded. "That makes sense. I mean, she's got a lot of baggage when it comes to our world."

Hermione nodded. "Indeed, but Mum seems to want to know Landen, which is understandable."

"Sure. I'd be curious if I were in her shoes."

"Me too." She took another sip of cocoa. "Thanks for this."

"I thought it might help."

She smiled at him. "It does."

The clock struck midnight and chimed. Ron smiled back at her. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

"You want your presents?"

She smiled. "Can I finish my cocoa first? I might need the energy."

He shook his head. "You know, I didn't just tie a bow around my cock, right? I got you proper gifts."

"Really? Because I don't mind the improper sort." She winked at him.

He laughed. "Oh, I know, but still." He went into his side of the wardrobe and shuffled some things around until he emerged with three boxes.

"Three? You'll spoil me."

He grinned and handed her the gifts. She sat cross-legged on the bed and began opening them. Ron sat across from her and watched her reaction. First, she opened the largest box which held a set of new magpie quills, two bottles of walnut gall ink, and a roll of fine parchment. She smiled at him. "Thank you."

He nodded. "So much for the practical gifts."

She raised her eyebrows. "So, the other two are impractical?"

He shrugged.

She opened the first box to find a beautiful bottle of a French perfume that'd she'd tried on one time when she was shopping with Fleur. She'd loved the scent, but couldn't justify the cost.

"Fleur said you really liked that."

"I do, but it's so expensive." She removed the stopper and touched it to her neck.

"You're worth it," he said, smiling.

She leaned forward and kissed him. "Thank you. I love it."

"Mmm, me too. Now open the last one."

The last box was thin. She opened it and gasped. Inside was a gold watch, which not only told the time, but had an inner ring on the face with two hands: one for Ron and one for Harry. There were two locations: safe and mortal peril. "We can add hands," Ron said casually. "You know, if we need to. It'll get hot on your wrist if one of us is in trouble."

"I love it." She went up on her knees and threw herself into his arms.

He chuckled as she slid her hands under his shirt. "Should I fetch a bow?"

"If you want to."

xXx

Later that day, Hermione was finishing up her location work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement when Harry came into her office. "I'm done," she said. "I sent Purdy with the scroll over to Savage."

"Great. We should have a drink to celebrate your birthday."

"I can ask Purdy to fetch Ron." Hermione got up from her desk.

"Nah, leave him, he's probably at home planning a romantic dinner. We'll be quick, just one drink."

"All right then." Hermione followed him out into the hall. As they made their way through the Ministry, Harry surreptitiously checked his watch. He'd promised to keep an eye on Hermione until six o'clock. It was five-thirty now. He slowed his pace as they reached the cavernous main hall of the Ministry. "Shall we visit ourselves?"

She looked at him, surprised that he would suggest such a thing. "Why?"

"I don't know. I haven't looked at it in a while."

"Right, because it's weird having life-sized paintings of us in the Main Hall. I never look that way."

He shrugged and walked toward the paintings. She followed. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm just…I don't know, feeling nostalgic, I guess. Maybe because it's your birthday."

"Feel nostalgic on your own birthday." They came to a stop in front of the giant painting of the three of them. Her painting-self looked down at her defiantly. "What?" the painting-Hermione asked. "It kills you to come over here?" Behind her painting-Ron and painting-Harry laughed.

The real Harry chuckled. Next to the painting of the three of them, the larger-than-life painting of him by himself shook his head. "They're always like that."

Harry looked at the real Hermione. "Yeah, alright. Let's go get that drink."

"Please." She glared at him. "Now, I feel like I need one."

The Leaky Cauldron was crowded, so it took them a while to get a table. Hermione suggested they just get a drink in the bar, but Harry insisted he wanted to sit down. Being Harry Potter had its perks though and a few minutes later they were seated. Harry ordered a Dragon Scale Ale, and Hermione ordered a glass of white wine. He perused the menu. "Do you feel like a snack?"

"I probably shouldn't, since Ron might be planning dinner."

"I'm just going to ask for some bar mix then." A moment later, their drinks came sailing toward them, and they plucked them from the air. Harry held up his hand knowing it would take a few minutes for the barmaid to get around to helping them. She waved at him in acknowledgment and he picked up his beer. "To twenty."

Hermione clinked her glass against his. "Twenty. May this year be even better than the last."

"Hear, hear. So, tell me, how do you like working for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"

"I enjoy it. But I don't want to be an Auror, Harry."

"Perish the thought. Ron would kill me."

She took a sip of wine. "He'd kill us both."

The barmaid appeared. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Potter. What can I get you?"

"It's not a problem. I can see you're busy. Just some bar mix when you get a chance."

"Right away, sir." She hurried off.

Hermione didn't even try to suppress her amusement.

"Stop. I can't help how people act."

Hermione shook her head. "I'm so glad I don't get that."

"Right, well, back to the matter at hand. I wasn't going to suggest you join the Aurors, but Savage has been really pleased with your work, and he was wondering if you'd be interested in working with us more often. He thinks it would be useful to have someone dedicated to the research as well as to the legal side of things."

A bowl of bar mix came sailing toward the table and Harry plucked it out of the air and set it down.

"Really? In what capacity?"

"He's looking for someone to liaise with the Wizengamot."

"I think I might really enjoy that. Could I continue working with elf rights though? I don't want to leave them in the lurch."

"I knew you'd ask that. He said he doesn't see a conflict, but he could check with the Minister if you're concerned." He ate a handful of the snacks.

"I can't abandon the elves, but if I could do both, I'd definitely be interested." She checked her watch.

"Good." Harry smiled. "New watch?"

"A gift from Ron." She held it out for him to see.

He smiled when he saw the hand with his name on it. "You're still keeping an eye on me?"

"Old habits die hard. But I'm only keeping tabs on mortal peril. Ron said, if he'd asked for danger instead, I'd end up with third degree burns on my wrist."

"Smart man, your husband." Harry winked at her.

Hermione turned her wine glass between her hands. "You don't think it will bother Ginny, do you?"

"Nah. She knows you two can't help yourselves. Besides, she's of the opinion that the more people keeping tabs on me the better."

"She's not wrong. You can be reckless."

"Oh, please, look who's talking."

"Pish," she said dismissively.

He shook his head, chuckling.

xXx

Harry slowly finished his beer and the snack mix, taking his time until it was six o'clock. Hermione had finished her wine and was clearly ready to go. "I guess we should pop home."

"Yes." She stood. They headed outside and Apparated back to Heathgate. When they landed in the back garden the house was dark. "Oh," Hermione said with clear disappointment. "He's not home yet."

"I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Hermione opened the kitchen door and the shielding that had hidden the party inside collapsed. Suddenly, the night air was filled with people shouting surprise and all the candles and lamps inside were lit. The garden was filled with fairy lights. "Happy birthday," Ron said and kissed her.

"Thank you," Hermione said, grinning.

People began to spill out of the house and into the garden. Hermione went inside to find many of their classmates chatting and drinking and eating from an elaborate buffet that was set out on the kitchen table that had been expanded and covered in a festive illusion. Seamus and Dean passed by them carrying a couple of magical Victrolas. "Happy birthday, Hermione," they both said as they went by.

"Thanks," Hermione said. She looked at Ron, confused as to what was happening.

"It's a nice night," Ron explained. "I thought we'd expand out into the garden."

"I should do a sound shield," Hermione said. "I don't want to disturb the neighbors."

"Already done," Ron said. "I did learn a few things in the woods, you know."

"I know," she said, worried she'd hurt his feelings. Her concern must have crossed her face because he smiled at her.

"Relax, I'm just teasing. Come on, let me get you a drink."

She followed him to the makeshift bar set up on the kitchen counter. Since she'd already had a glass of wine, she stuck with that rather than mix in ale or spirits. Ron grabbed a Dragon Scale for himself.

xXx

The night continued with dinner and dancing. Ron was pleased to see Hermione having such a good time. He was also rather pleased with himself that it didn't bother him for her to dance with the group without him. Any time a slow song came on, he waded through the crowd and took her in his arms and her face lit up. That smile made him feel like a million galleons, like he was the luckiest guy in the world. As the night wound down into the wee hours of the morning, Dean, announced the last song. It was a ballad by the Weird Sisters. Ron smiled at Hermione and she stepped into his arms to just sway gently with him. She looked up at him expectantly and he leaned down so he could hear what she wanted to say. "I'm so lucky," she whispered in his ear. He grinned.

The crowd had dissipated by two o'clock. Luna and Rolf had come late and were sitting on one of the sofas chatting with Harry and Ginny, who were sitting across from them. Ron and Hermione joined them and sat on the remaining couch.

"Oh, goodness. I think we're the last ones here." Luna patted Rolf's leg. "We should go."

"I'm sorry we were so late getting here," Rolf explained. "It was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault," Luna said. "Broken ribs have to be mended."

"You broke your ribs?" Harry said.

"Yeah," Rolf said, blushing. "Foolish really. I forgot Hildegard was in heat. When I went to feed her, Alaine took offense to me being in the field. He only nudged me, but an Erumpent nudge is still rather a significant blow."

"I should say so," Ron said. "Those things are huge."

"Yes," Rolf said. "Bloody ribs will be sore for days now. Rotten timing and not just because of tonight's party."

"Don't worry," Luna said. "I'll help you at feeding time. But I'll be floating the Erumpent feed over the fence."

"Because you're smarter than me," Rolf said, squeezing her hand.

Luna stood. "Come on, before we overstay our welcome."

"Thank you so much for coming," Hermione said. "I had a great night."

"Good," Luna said. "I don't recall ever celebrating your birthday before."

"Yeah," Ron said. "We haven't been good about that."

"The timing was bad when we were in school," Hermione said. "We were only just back and so much other stuff was going on."

"Nah," Harry said. "Your best mates were just lame."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "What was wrong with those blokes?"

Hermione shook her head. "So many things," she teased.

Luna chuckled and Rolf looked a bit confused. "Goodnight," Luna said. She led Rolf out to the back garden so they could Disapparate.

"Night," the others said.

Ginny yawned. "I've got to go to bed."

"Me too," Harry said. "Goodnight."

Hermione looked around at the house. Purdy had managed to unobtrusively clean up so that it didn't appear that there had ever been fifty people dancing and drinking and eating in the house and garden. "How does she do it? This place looks great."

Ron chuckled. "Elf magic."

"She's the best."

Ron nodded. "Absolutely. Come on, let's head up."

Hermione followed him upstairs yawning the whole way. When they were getting ready for bed, she pulled her shirt over her head and Ron looked at her exposed torso. Remembering what Rolf had said, he asked, "Did they really hurt for days?"

"What?" Hermione asked as she unhooked her bra and scrounged around for a night shirt.

"Your ribs."

She pulled on a white cotton gown and turned to face him. "I guess. I don't remember them specifically hurting. Everything hurt."

"Oh, yeah, right. Course."

"Why?" Hermione said. "You've broken bones. When you broke your leg, did it hurt for days?"

"Yeah, a few," Ron said, but I was bitten by an Animagus, so it was a magical bite that broke my leg. That's why I was in the hospital wing for more than a few hours."

"Right."

"Rolf was hit by an Erumpent, also magical, but—"

"I see, I was crushed by a chandelier, which could happen to a Muggle."

Ron winced at her description. "Yeah, I just wondered if it was the same."

Hermione shrugged. "I have no idea. Like I said, everything hurt for…well…more than a few days." She pulled back the covers and got into bed.

"Right. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"It's okay. You were there. I don't mind talking about it with you. It's having to explain it to other people that's so hard." Ron got in on his side of the bed and she slid over to snuggle against him. He kissed the top of her head and she hugged him tight. He toyed with a curl, but didn't settle down to sleep. She came up on one elbow and looked at him, her forehead wrinkled in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ron said. "I've just been thinking about healing and how it works."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just have. I guess it started when we took your grandfather to St. Mungo's, and they said he got sick because he'd been away from the magical world for too long. I didn't know that could happen."

"Well, it takes a really long time. He was gone for decades."

"Right, I just…"

"What?" Hermione sat up fully.

"We really are very different from them."

"In some ways, yes, but in other ways we're very much the same."

"Yeah."

"Seriously. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ron insisted. "I've just never really thought about Muggles as being all that different before."

"How is that possible?" Hermione scoffed.

He shrugged. "I guess I just thought they were exactly like us only without wands. I never really considered that they suffered from completely different diseases, and that they took weeks or months to recover from stuff we got over in a few hours or days. There's stuff that could kill them that we don't even get."

"Yes," Hermione said. "But there are also diseases like Dragon Pox or Spattergroit that don't affect them at all. I'm not sure what the big deal is."

"The big deal is that there are Muggles in the family now," Ron said.

Hermione's eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

Ron held up his palms. "Not that I'm unhappy about it. It's just now I have to think of all the things that could happen to your mum and dad or your gran. I have to worry about stuff I never considered before, that's all."

Her eyes softened. "You don't have to worry about the Muggles in the family. It's not as though they suddenly became Muggles. They're fine and completely capable of taking care of themselves." She cocked her head at him. "Why are you worried about this all of a sudden?"

He looked at the clock on the bedside table. "Well, I was going tell you this at dinner tonight but I guess since we're up…"

"What?" Hermione's forehead wrinkled with concern.

"George wants me to go on a sales trip through Europe."

"For how long?"

"Two weeks."

Hermione's mouth dropped open.

"I know, it's a long time, but he's talking about making me a full partner, and I think this is kind of a test to see if I'll pull my weight."

"A full partner? You haven't said."

"I know. I wasn't sure he was serious until this trip came up, and he's been looking at stores in Hogsmeade."

"Oh, Ron, commuting to Hogsmeade every day. That will be exhausting."

"Not me. Well, not George either really."

"I don't understand."

"City life just isn't for him. He said it was fun enough when Fred was alive, but I guess he's over it now. Angelina isn't a city girl either, and I think he's going to ask her to marry him and move to Hogsmeade."

Hermione smiled. "Really? That's great."

"Yeah, but it means I'll be in charge of the London store. And we'll still need to get together to make products on a pretty regular basis. It's loads of work."

"Hence making you a full partner."

"Right. But he lost a lot of income during the war. Selling our products to other shops will help recoup those losses and expand the business."

Hermione nodded. "A sound decision."

"I think so too, but it means I'll have to travel some."

"How often?"

"A few times a year."

"I think we can manage that."

"Good," he said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"When do you leave?"

"George wants me to go on Monday, but I told him I had to run it by you first, because that's not much notice."

"Wow, so soon?"

"I know, but I told you, I think this is a bit of test."

Hermione frowned. "He shouldn't have to test you. You've bent over backwards to help him, even when you were working as an Auror."

"But I'm not Fred."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged. "This just isn't easy for him. George was never the leader. It's hard for him to be in that role. All of this is hard. I think a lot of the reason he wants to open the new shop is to get away from the old one. He almost never stays in the apartment they used to share. Usually, he's at Angelina's but if not, he's at the Burrow."

"At least he has Angelina."

"Yeah, but that's not exactly cut and dried either, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"He wasn't exactly her first choice, was he?"

"What makes you say that?"

Ron looked at her incredulously. "I know you know she dated Fred first."

"For a few months, ages ago, because he asked her."

"Yeah, but—" Ron looked at her. "Because he asked her? You know something."

"Well…"

"Did she say something to you?"

"Not to me per se."

Ron frowned at her. "Spill."

"After Fred asked her to the ball, I was in the girls' lavatory and overheard her say to Katie Bell, that she wished George had asked instead."

Ron's mouth dropped open. "Are you serious? Why didn't you say?"

"You think I should have gone to tell you about Angelina's woes concerning the Yule Ball? Really?"

Ron grimaced. "I guess not."

"Besides, that was ages ago and it's not like we had a conversation. Like I said, I overheard it. I wasn't going to go blabbing it about."

"Of course not." Ron yawned. "I've got to go to sleep."

"Me too. I can barely keep my eyes open."

Ron shifted down in the bed and she slid next to him. In spite of what she'd said, she didn't fall asleep. Two weeks apart seemed like a very long time.