Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Chapter Twenty-Two

A Talk with Molly

Hermione was pleased when she came home and was really able to use her wand. She retried all the spells that she had already learned and felt how much easier it was now … she was inching to try out more complicated spells.

"Here," Ron said, handing her a book, "I thought you would like this one. It's not a textbook but there are a lot of simple spells that you can learn at any time."

"The Book of Charms and Spells," Hermione read, beaming at him. "When did you get this!" she added and then glared at him, "why didn't you give me this book before?!"

"I got it yesterday during lunch," Ron answered chuckling at her response to this. "And I thought I would wait until you had your wand to give you the book so you would have something to do."

"Oh," Hermione blushed realizing she was being rude, and Ron just laughed more.

"The spells in that book are organized by difficulty level, and like I said most of them aren't too challenging, but some can be tricky," Ron explained about the book.

Hermione knew he wasn't challenging her, but she still felt like proving that she could master even the trickiest spell in this book. After all, Ron had said that these spells could be learned at any time.

"Harry owes me a Galleon," Ron smirked and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Do all the Weasleys bet on stuff like this?" Hermione asked as she started reading the spell she wanted to try, bluebell flames, where she could create a blue fire and store it in a jar. "Ginny said she bet George on how many spells I would cast."

"Yeah … I guess we do," Ron said smiling.

Hermione looked up at him since the tone he was using was a little off.

"It's been a while since I've bet on anything, much less something as trivial as this, but it was something that I've done in the past," Ron explained. "It's nice to hear that Gin and George have also made a bet like that."

Hermione smiled at him before she went back to reading about the charm, this was the second time she was reading the information, now committing the important details to memory. After she had done that, she picked up her wand, going through the motions she would have to do. Then finally she was ready. She took a deep breath and then muttered the incantation.

"I did it!" Hermione beamed at the little blue fire she had created and quickly picked up the glass that was sitting nearby and put the flame in it.

"Congratulations," Ron said feeling a swell of pride that she was able to do the spell, knowing that it was indeed one of the more complicated spells in that book. He then sat down next to her and wrapped a arm around her so he could pull her in a sideways hug.

"What, you didn't bet on this one?" Hermione asked him, thinking that he was going to mention winning more money.

"Nah, no one was stupid enough to bet against you," Ron chuckled. "Harry just thought you would want to start from the beginning of the book, he didn't think you would have trouble with the actual spells."

"Well, I'm glad that you all have such faith in me," Hermione said, trying to sound put off but she was too happy.

"Aren't you though," Ron said kissing her on top of her head before letting her pick up the book so she could try more spells.

The rest of the week went by quickly, as she had gone to Harry's, and they had spent a good portion of time learning. Though Harry would have preferred it if they only went over Defense Against the Dark Arts, as that was the only subject that he felt truly comfortable helping her with, he agreed to go over all the subjects. Hermione was pleased that she was able to get pretty far in all of the subjects, especially Charms (closely followed by Transfiguration). Harry was pleased that Hermione's hardest subject was Defense, since he was actually able to help her with that class. Ron had found it quite amusing that she was good at Potions and when asked he said, 'well you said it was just like following a recipe, but you never been good at cooking.' Hermione didn't take that too well, and Ron had found himself tap dancing in the hall for a while afterwards.

On that Sunday, Ron and Hermione had gone to the Burrow again and after the warm greeting by Arthur, Hermione settled down and had a very good time. However, it was sometime near the end of lunch that she realized that Mrs. Weasleys wasn't really talking to her, and that was when she started to panic. She knew that Ron's mum was very important and meant a lot to him, so she tried to make things better, but no matter what she did the older woman didn't seem to like her. When they got home, Ron had asked her what was wrong, but she didn't tell him. She didn't want him to have a row with his mum over her, and she knew that he would have done that. At least right now he would have, he was being really protective of her this last week.

O

Molly was sitting in her living room, she had just finished the last step of her stew and now all she had to do was wait until it was done, hopefully just in time for Arthur to get home, but that depended on when he could tear himself away from his Muggle toys. She smiled fondly at that, yes, she gave him a hard time about it, but it made him the man he was. She glanced at the clock out of habit, she usually checked it at least five times a day to see that all of her family was okay, and she saw that Ron was traveling. This didn't surprise her because it was five o'clock and he had just got off work. What did surprise her was when she heard the popping sound and knew that he was here (his hand pointing at home like every time he visited, which always made her happy).

"Ron?" Molly called to him and then hugged him when he came into the room, though she couldn't help but notice that he looked annoyed about something. "What's the matter, Ron?"

"Why … er … why don't you like Hermione?" Ron asked, even though Hermione had refused to tell him why she was so upset after yesterday's brunch, he knew the reason. Still, he couldn't believe that he had just asked his mum that so directly. He had been working himself up all day, and he acted before he could even think. He hated to see that his mum was giving Hermione the same cold shoulder that she had given Fleur when she first started dating Bill. What was more, he hated how Hermione was handling this; he knew that she really didn't need to deal with his mum after everything else that she went through with her own parents.

"I …" Molly said looking shocked by the question. Though I really shouldn't be, she thought to herself, Ron has always been more sensitive about these things than the others, even if he doesn't usually confront me like he just had. Then again, Ron could be very aggressive with his defense if he was standing up for someone he cares about.

Still, this was a loaded question, and she didn't know how to answer it. She knew that lying and saying that he was being ridiculous was out. Ron would never believe her if he was already so worked up that he had come here to confront her. So, she thought back to what it was that was truly bothering her about the girl.

She knew that this last week she didn't particularly like how Hermione seemed to want to make everything perfect. She could see her chatting about Muggle Airplanes with Arthur again … going over everything she had found out about the subject. After that she talked to Percy about everything that she had been learning the last week, seeming to impress him greatly (since Molly knew that Percy was suspicious of Hermione before they had started but wasn't by the end of that conversation). Then Hermione listened to Percy explain his job, seeing to be very interested in what he had to say. Later in the day, the girl was speaking in French with Fleur and the two seemed to be having a good time.

It was like she was going from one person to another and trying to impress them or get them to like her and Molly didn't like that. What did the girl think, that the Weasleys wouldn't like her if she couldn't answer all the questions about Muggle, or if she couldn't improve herself? Didn't she know that they didn't really care what she did, who she was? Yes, Molly could be critical about who her children dated, but other than that, everyone was accepting.

However, Molly knew that this wasn't the root of her apprehension with the girl, because she only noticed this since she had actually met the girl. So, she thought back to the beginning. When Ron had first told everyone about his new 'Muggle' girlfriend (Molly was still wary about the fact that Hermione was suddenly a witch), she was a little nervous that it would be hard on him being with someone that was almost literally from a different world. She could only imagine how hard it was to come from such different cultures and try to meld them together. However, she could see how happy her son was, happy in a way that she had never seen him before and she knew that he was going to make it work. At that time the thought didn't entirely make her relax, because she knew that she was going to likely lose her baby to this girl, she was still happy that he was happy.

Molly was pretty sure that she hadn't felt any direct misgivings about Ron's girlfriend up to that point, but once Harry had started coming to the Burrow looking happier than he had in years … since what happened to Ginny. It was a month later and Molly knew that Harry had just met Ron's girlfriend and at first she feared that Harry might have fallen for the girl too, but after a while she knew that wasn't the case. Harry had never lost that look in his eyes when he was with her daughter, and though he was happier, she knew it would have been completely differing if he was falling for someone. Still, she felt wary at this point, at the effect this girl had on the boys.

Then there were the weeks that Ron had come to the Burrow and walked around like a shell of a man. She hadn't seen him that bad since the first week after the war, though this time it was different. He was so lost. So of course, she was furious at this girl! She had hurt her baby! The truth was, she still didn't know what had caused the two to break up, Ron hadn't said a thing about it, and left Harry to tell the family (after Ron had left that first Sunday) that they were no longer together. The next Sunday, Molly had tried to cheer her son up, hoping that he would open up to her so she could figure out how to really make him feel better, but Ron refused to talk, and she had decided to give him more time before she really tried to pry. Ron would have just pushed her away if she had tried then, seeing as he never liked to talk about his feelings (usually she just read them on his face and tried to react to that).

She had worried about him after the war, that he wasn't going to heal, but somehow, he seemed to pull through and then he helped everyone else he could. Her baby was truly a strong boy, and she was proud of all that he did for them. However, getting back to her point, the girl had broken his heart at that moment and Molly was never one to forgive someone that had hurt her child like that. She couldn't stand seeing Ron like that, somehow even worse than he was after the war.

The next time she saw her son, however, he was back with this girl and again looking happy, as if nothing had happened. What was that about? It was like he didn't care that this girl was so careless with his heart, but Molly sure did! Molly wasn't going to be so forgiving of the girl, even if Ron seemed to have forgiven her. She had tried to let it go, but without having any idea of why they had broken up or how they had gotten back together again, she didn't know if she could trust that things wouldn't fall apart again.

Then there was Ron's birthday, and how this girl had once again disappointed her baby by not being there. She had seen in in his face, how upset he was that she wasn't there, though he had tried to say it was his fault. And maybe it was his fault, but that didn't change the fact that she hadn't been their for Ron.

"Well?" Ron said impatiently, his ears were red, and she knew that he was uncomfortable talking about this.

"I don't know," Molly answered truthfully, she just couldn't put her figure on what it was about the girl that made her feel so wary of her. She knew exactly why she didn't like Fleur at first, she thought the French girl was superficial and didn't really love Bill for who he really was. However, that wasn't the case with Hermione, though she only had to go on Ron's description of her, Molly was sure that she wasn't like that which was confirmed when they actually got to meet. Ron was still looking at her pointedly, as if expecting more of an answer so she gave him the best one she found so far. "I just don't like that she's already hurt you badly once … I don't ever want to see you like that again."

"Mum!" Ron groaned exasperated. Though he could understand why his mum would be hard on Hermione because of that, his mum was fiercely protective of her family after all, this reasoning was still annoying. "She's not going to hurt me like that again …" and then he stopped, he didn't know what else to say to that but maybe if he gave her more information, she would understand better. "It was just a misunderstanding … she didn't know how to tell her parents about us … and then things got out of hand … but I understand what happened now. And after yesterday, I understand better than ever …" he said rambling,

"She broke up with you because of her parents?!" Molly gasped and shook her head, well that might explain why she was so hesitant of liking the girl. If she wasn't willing to at least fight for Ron against her parents, she wasn't good enough for her Ronnie.

"After what we found out last week, I would think that would be a good enough excuse for you!" Ron said heatedly.

Molly just looked at her son in confusion as he glared at her. Finally, she had to ask, "what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about what Mione's parents did to her!" Ron hissed, though she wasn't sure if his anger was directed towards her or them. When he noticed that his mum was still confused, he groaned. "Harry didn't tell you want happened, did he?"

"No, we didn't see Harry again until yesterday," Molly said.

Ron sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't really want to talk about this, but he hoped this might make his mum understand Hermione more and that was what was important.

"Hermione's parents had her memories erased," Ron said not looking at his mum. "McGonagall had gone to her house to explain about magic and her parents didn't want her to go to Hogwarts because it would be too dangerous. Then they had her memory erased …."

"Oh dear," Molly gasped incredulously, she couldn't imagine erasing one of her children's memory.

"Yeah," Ron said, he could see the concern in his mum's eyes and felt a little better. "But that's not the worse bit. She felt like she couldn't be herself with her parents after that. She felt like she had to follow whatever they said, or … I don't know, they wouldn't accept her or something."

"Oh," Molly made the mistake of saying, thinking that this would explain why the girl was trying so hard to impress them. If she had been trying to please her parents for half her life it would make since that she would do the same for her boyfriend's family.

"Oh!" Ron spat back, looking rather upset. "That's all you've got to say about this?!"

"Ron!" Molly started to explain what she had meant, but he wasn't listening.

"Look, Mione's going through a lot right now, and I really don't think she needs the extra stress you're putting on her," Ron huffed, still glaring. "So, try to be bloody nicer to her," and with that he turned around and stormed out of the house.

Molly just shook her head at her son, he had such a temper and never listened, but she didn't worry about that long. He had just given her a lot to think about. There was nothing else for it; she was going to have to have a chat with the girl.

O

It was nearly four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon and she had flooed home from visiting Ginny an hour ago and she was making dinner. Though she had never been completely successful making any meal (and she had made over a dozen), but she had found one recipe that she was able to make taste good. The first time she made this dish, she had made a mistake with how she cooked the vegetables, but after eating the meal she decided to cook it the same way in the future. Though she had not been pleased that it wasn't done correctly, she was still proud that she was able to make a dinner and decided that not everything had to be perfect.

Hermione barely had time to put the roast in the oven when she heard a small pop coming from the living room. "Ron, you're home early," she called.

"I'm not Ron," Hermione heard a female voice say and she turned around to see Mrs. Weasley standing in her kitchen door. "I don't mean to intrude … normally I don't Apparate into someone's home, but I've never been here before and I wasn't sure where another safe place to go."

"Oh … er … it's okay Mrs. Weasley," Hermione wasn't really sure what to say and was very nervous. In fact, she was nearly petrified by having the older woman in her flat unannounced like this, especially since she knew that Ron had left all sorts of things lying around. "I'm sorry for the mess …."

"Dear, I believe you've been to my house," Molly said smiling, there was hardly a thing out of place as far as she could tell.

"I suppose I have," Hermione smiled in return and was able to relax a little. She didn't know how to put her finger on it, but she could tell that the other woman wasn't looking at her the way she had the last two times they had met. She was hopeful that she could actually make a better impression on Ron's mum this time. "So, what brings you to our home, Mrs. Weasley? You know Ron's not due home for another hour at least."

"Yes, I am well aware of that," Molly said, "since I wanted to talk to you without Ron here. I think that will help us to have a more honest conversation."

"Right," Hermione sighed, nervous again as she just confirmed the theory she had. She took off the oven mitts she was wearing and set the timer before she sat in the chair next to Molly at the kitchen table and waited for the older woman to start.

Molly smiled at the girl, she could see the fear in her eyes (she could see the manic need to please her there too), but the girl was going to face that fear. "So, Ron came to see me yesterday."

"Did he?" Hermione said raising her eyebrow and then frowned. "He said he went to the pub yesterday."

"Well, don't be too angry with him," Molly said, easily reading the annoyance on the girl's expression. "He was only doing what comes naturally to him."

"I'll need to see what he said to you before I decide whether or not to be angry with him," Hermione muttered, and Molly's mouth thinned. She was sure she would have been rather upset with Arthur if he had done something like this so she could relate.

"He just asked me point blank, why I didn't like you," Molly said, trying to gauge the girl's reaction, plus being blunt was the fastest way to get to the point. She had less than an hour, after all.

"Oh no," Hermione gasped, her eyes going wide until she looked away from the other woman. How could he do that? Merlin he would be smart not to show his face in here for a while because I'm going to curse him something fierce the next time I see him, she thought angerly. But first she had to get through her talk with Molly.

"The answer I gave him was that you had already hurt him once, and I didn't want to see that again," Molly continued, not letting the girl focus too much on that, though had brought up a difficult subject.

"I am sorry about that, I never meant that to happen," Hermione sighed, it made sense that Mrs. Weasley would be upset about that and be hard on her.

"What did happen?" Molly found herself asking, "Ron had never said anything at the time and yesterday … well, he just said that you had problems telling your parents."

Hermione shuddered at the mention of her parents, not to mention the break-up, but she had to give an answer to this. "It was much worse than that, and to be honest you have every right to hate me for what I did to Ron. My mum had set me up with someone and I wasn't able to refuse the date …"

Molly gasped loudly at that, her eyes going wide as she was surprised by this and found it no wonder why her son would have been so upset. She also found herself becoming rather angry at the girl all over again.

"I know, it was awful … I was awful," Hermione groaned. "When we tried to make up after that, I wasn't able to explain to him my issues with my parents before he realized part of it. Honestly my fear of going against my parents and his fear of losing someone he loves just fed off each other and neither one of us could listen to the other properly."

"So, you never told him your problem before you two broke up," Molly guessed with narrowed eyes.

Hermione shook her head. "I was going to, but he said that he couldn't handle caring more about me and have me still leave him because of my parents," she sighed and shook her head again. "And I couldn't guarantee that wouldn't happen at that moment, and I thought that if I tried to argue with him or make him understand it would just hurt him more, and I didn't want that."

"I'm not sure if he could have been hurt more," Molly said looking at the girl, who flinched at her words. Molly could tell the girl was trying to make her understand what happened and she was rather impressed that the girl wasn't trying to sugarcoat what she had done to her son. Because she was not pleased at all what the girl had done, but she tried to remind herself that this girl had a traumatizing experience with her parents that was erased from her memory and obviously the issue that caused the breakup was very real.

"I know," Hermione sighed.

"I don't think you do," Molly said feeling that she had to make this point clear so the girl knew that this could never happen again. "You never got to see Ron before the war … or just after it either. After the final battle, he was … he was inconsolable," she paused there trying to overcome her emotions. "We all were, but I knew he took it harder than anyone besides George and Harry (and probably myself, Molly added in her thoughts). It only lasted a week, after that he was so busy taking care of everyone else to worry about himself. Ron was worse the first week I saw him after you broke up with him."

Hermione shivered uncontrollably, hating herself for what she had done those three weeks.

"I'm just telling you this because you need to understand that it's not in my nature to forgive easily," Molly said and noticed the girl's face darkened more. "However, Ron had told me what happened with you and your parents when you were a child, so I'm trying to be more understanding. I feel like I can trust that you will never let that happen again."

"I'm never going to let anything come between us again!" Hermione said firmly looking into Mrs. Weasley's eyes, making sure the older woman knew that included her. Hermione wasn't sure how she would handle it if Ron's mum never liked her, but she was determined to get through that if she had to.

"Good," Molly actually smiled at the firm look that Hermione was giving her.

It was a few tense minutes later before either one of them said anything. Hermione decided to move the conversation on. "You said that was the answer you gave Ron … did you have another reason?" and then muttered to herself, "as if that wasn't a good enough reason."

"Hm, I suppose I do," Molly said sadly. "I couldn't put my figure on the reason for a long time. Why I felt wary of you from the moment that I saw how happy Ron was. And time after time, it just seemed to get worse. Mind you, I had the normal apprehension with you as I do with any girls that my sons bring home. I would imagine I would have been the same with Ginny, too, but I could never be that way with Harry dear … he was already my son in my eyes. I honestly don't think anyone is good enough for my sons so you always had an uphill battle with that, but I can accept the girl as long as I see they really love my son. When we met a few weeks ago, I could see that you did love my son, but …"

"You still didn't like me," Hermione supplied after a long pause.

"No, and I didn't understand why that was," Molly frowned. "I was planning on being critical, once again because of the breakup, but seeing you and Ron together … well I knew I didn't have to worry about that. It wasn't until yesterday after Ron had left that I had really tried to figure out what was bothering me. And I must admit that I feel a little bit foolish about it now.

"You see, it started with Ron. I could see him slowly going back to the boy he was before the end of the war. Merlin, that boy tried his hardest to show everyone that he was okay, and he was, but he still was affected by everything that happened. As soon as you came into his life, he got so much better.

"Next, it was Harry. Harry was just a shell after everything that happened to him. The only time I ever really saw him smile was when Bess did something, but his eyes were always so sad … I couldn't look at them anymore." Molly almost sobbed at that as she remembered how bad he was right after the war. "And then you showed up and he just looked so much happier. Do you see where I'm going with this yet?"

Molly then turned to Hermione, who shook her head, though Molly thought she was just being polite. "Then I'll go to the next example, and probably the most wonderful and horrible one. You see, when you got Ginny to come out of her …."

"I didn't do anything," Hermione protested, "Harry's the one who really helped her."

"That may be the case, but he has never tried before he met you," Molly said knowingly, though she didn't know the details about what happened, she knew this was true.

"Er …" was all Hermione had to say to that.

Molly just smiled for a second, already starting to like this girl more now that she was really trying to give her a chance. After all she had owned up to her mistakes and now, she was being humble about what she has done. "You helped my three youngest the most noticeably, but it didn't stop there. Merlin, I think Arthur lightened up the moment Ron told us he was dating a Muggle," she added with a fond smile at the thought of her husband, "and when he actually met you. I don't think you could have played it anymore perfectly even if you had planned things for years. And George … I don't know what you did, but he seemed so different this last week. It's odd to say that I'm happy that he's not smiling all the time. That he's more moody than usual, but at least now I know that he's dealing with things."

"What makes you think I did anything?" Hermione said, though she had that one conversation with George, she didn't think that would have done anything.

"Ron said you two talked at … with Fred and Charlie," Molly said, her voice cracking a little, she would never be able to mention them without feeling a little empty. "That in itself was a shock, George … well anyways, I can see you helped him, too."

"Mrs. Weasley …" Hermione tried to interrupt biting her lip.

"Please let me finish, dear," Molly sighed. "When I first heard that you went to see Ginny when Ron told me about that last week when you two first got there, I realized that you had first visited her around the time that Ginny started getting better, and that hurt me. I didn't put much thought into it at the time or at any time until yesterday, but I was angry at you for being the one that had helped her. To help them all. I was the one who was supposed to help my family. And I've been failing at that. Since the end of the war, I haven't been doing my job at all!"

"That's not true Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione said, seeing that the older woman seemed close to tears now. There was no way Hermione was going to let her feel this way when it wasn't true in the least. "You have no idea how much you've done for Ron and Harry in the last few years. Well, forever really, but that includes since after the war. Harry told me he was dead afraid that none of you would want to speak to him after everything he had cost you, and he told me that it was you who made him see that everyone still loved him. Okay, he didn't put it that way, but I know that's what he meant. Honestly, as bad as he was, I think he would have been a lot worse if you weren't there for him. And Ron … well he doesn't talk about it directly, but I see how much he cares about you. I see how much your pride in him affects him. That's why I've been trying …"

"Trying so hard to impress me … and the rest of my family," Molly finished for her because Hermione had stopped speaking abruptly. There were tears falling down Molly's face after hearing what the girl had to say about Harry. She had no idea that he had felt that way, though she had known that he felt guilty after the war, she didn't realize that she had helped him so much when she had embraced him like the son he was to her. What Hermione said about Ron, she had realized herself, but it was nice to hear Hermione state that so sincerely. "I'm so sorry for the way I've been acting …."

"There is nothing to be sorry about, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said, a little teary herself.

"You can call me Molly," Molly said, and this time she really meant it. "And it was atrocious that I was angry and jealous of you for helping my family. I should have been happy and thankful for all that you have done."

"Everyone keeps saying that to me, that I did something, but I really didn't do anything," Hermione said rolling her eyes, though she was pleased that Molly had asked her to use her name. She could tell the other woman was really starting to thaw towards her.

"I know it doesn't feel like much to you, dear, since all you have done is just talk to my family members," Molly said kindly. "But you have brought in a breath of fresh air and that seemed to have lightened everyone's mood just a bit."

"Then I'm glad I could help," Hermione gave in, knowing there was no point to arguing this anymore. "You really do have a lovely family."

Molly rolled her eyes and reached over to give the other woman a hug, one of Molly's real hugs, and she whispered, "I already accept you, you don't have to compliment me anymore."

Hermione sighed and hugged the other woman back. It was so weird being hugged by someone that an hour ago she thought disliked her and yet finding it comforting all the same. And that comfort had more to do than just being accepted by Ron's mum, it also felt nice to be hugged like this again.

"Oh," Hermione said when the timer started ringing. "That would be the roast," she added getting up to get dinner, she didn't want it to burn. After all, now that she was pleased that Ron had seen his mum yesterday, she thought burning dinner wasn't the best way to show her appreciation.

"Oh dear, is it almost five," Molly said, as she looked at the digital clock above the oven. "I haven't started dinner yet and Arthur is sure to be home any moment."

"As I recall, Arthur eats like a regular person, right?" Hermione said.

"Well, he definitely eats less than all of the boys," Molly said fondly.

"Well, I made enough dinner for four," Hermione shrugged. "I'm sure Ron wouldn't mind eating like a normal person for one day."

"I don't know …" Molly said hesitating, she knew her son wouldn't really like having a smaller meal. "Are you sure Ron won't mind ..."

"He'll be fine," Hermione said, waving her off. "If worse comes to worse we could always get take-away later. Besides, I would think after yesterday, he would like to see us together."

"Okay, I think if I owl now, I could still reach Arthur at work," Molly smiled.

Hermione was smiling, too. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest as she watched the other woman write a message to her husband.