Sundays at The Burrow were an open house affair, and Molly Weasley encouraged all her children and grandchildren to visit whenever they wanted. Lunch was always served promptly at one o'clock, and anyone wanting to enjoy the meal only needed to ensure they arrived at The Burrow fifteen minutes before lunch was served. Although anyone visiting later in the afternoon could still expect food as there was always plenty of leftovers as Molly always made sure she'd cooked plenty.
By half past twelve one particular Sunday, Molly was beginning to think it may just be her and Arthur for lunch. None of her children had sent prior warning that they were expected, and she knew Ginny and her family certainly wouldn't be turning up as they were away on holiday. The other child she knew wouldn't be turning up for lunch was Charlie as he still lived and worked in Romania, and as far as she knew, he wasn't in the country. Although given he tended to stay with Bill and Fleur when he was visiting, Molly knew that her second son could well be in the country without her knowledge.
As the minutes ticked by, Molly prepared herself for a quiet Sunday with her husband, but then just before quarter to one the back door sprung open and two of her grandchildren, Dominique and Louis burst into the kitchen. The pair were followed by their parents, Molly and Arthur's eldest son, Bill and his French wife, Fleur. However, most surprisingly of all was the fact their eldest daughter, Victoire was with them. Victoire was twenty one with a life of her own, and it had been several years since she'd joined them family for a normal Sunday lunch at The Burrow.
"How wonderful to see you all," Molly gushed, hugging all of her grandchildren in turn. "I was just thinking that no-one was coming today."
"Sorry we're cutting it fine," Bill apologised to his mother. "We were planning on leaving earlier, but you know how it is with kids."
"Indeed I do," Molly laughed. She'd had seven to heard around and at times it had been sheer bedlam.
"Don't blame us, we were ready ages ago," Louis piped up with a pout.
"Yeah, Vic was the one running late," Dominique said, agreeing with her brother that they hadn't been the reason they were later arriving than planned.
"Sorry, I got caught up in work and lost track of time," Victoire offered with a shrug.
"How are things going with your training?" Arthur asked his granddaughter as Molly set the younger two on with setting the kitchen table. Victoire was in healer training, and after a couple of years of theoretical learning, she was now into the practical part of her training.
"Great," Victoire answered with a wide smile. "I move onto my rotation in paediatrics next month, and I can't wait."
Molly smiled to herself as she watched Victoire chatter onto Arthur about her training, and her hope to one day specialise in paediatric healing. Molly wasn't at all surprised by her granddaughters choice of speciality as she'd always been good was children. When she was younger she'd loved nothing better than helping look after her siblings, and even now she was the favourite babysitter of almost all of her cousins. Molly just knew Victoire would excel working with children.
By the time lunch was ready, no-one else had arrived so it was just Molly and Arthur with their eldest son's family. As they ate, Louis and Dominique did most of the talking, and most of that was about Hogwarts. The two youngsters were now both in attendance at Hogwarts, and as with most of the young Weasleys, they loved nothing better than sharing the stories of the adventures they got up to in the castle.
Throughout lunch, Molly noticed that while Victoire happily laughed and chatted with her siblings, she shared nothing about her life. In fact, aside from her earlier mention of healer training, she gave nothing away about what else she was getting up to. She certainly never mentioned her relationship with Daniel, much to Molly's sadness. In fact, over the years Victoire had mentioned Daniel very rarely, despite the fact they'd been best friends since childhood and were now a couple. Although, it wasn't just Victoire who didn't mention Daniel as it was rare for Bill and Fleur to mention him either, and even George, who was his godfather, didn't say a lot about him.
"I have a fresh strawberry gateau in the fridge, or we have ice-cream," Molly announced once people's plates were empty.
"I think we should wait a bit before dessert," Bill said, jumping in before either Louis or Dominique got a chance to pick their favourite dessert. "In fact, why don't you kids go outside for a bit and work off that delicious lunch."
"You need to work on your subtlety, Dad," Dominique scoffed. "You might as well have told Louis and I to get lost."
"Yeah, you clearly want to talk without us around, so just say so," Louis added.
"Fine, us adults wish to be alone, so scoot," Fleur said, shooing her youngest children in the direction of the back door.
"Is there something wrong?" Molly asked in concern, sharing a worried look with her husband.
"Nothing is wrong," Bill assured his mother. "We just thought it might be best if Louis and Dominique were elsewhere for the moment."
"Why? What are you expecting to happen?" Arthur questioned, clearly not at all reassured by Bill's insistence that nothing was wrong.
"Hopefully nothing," Fleur said. "But Victoire has some news to share, and quite honestly we don't know how you're going to react."
"News?" Molly questioned, turning her attention to her granddaughter. "What kind of news?"
"I'm getting married," Victoire announced. "To Daniel," she added slightly unnecessarily.
"Oh how wonderful," Molly cried, her face breaking into a wide grin.
"Congratulations Victoire," Arthur offered, also beaming happily at the news.
"It's just so perfect," Molly gushed. "Daniel was already family, but now it will be official. Oh, there's so much to think about. He'll have to come and meet the family of course. You can bring him for dinner one evening, Victoire."
"I don't think that will be happening," Victoire said in a sombre voice as she shook her head. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble Gran, but this won't change anything for you."
"What do you mean, it won't change anything? Of course it will. Everything will change. Daniel will be an official part of the family. He can come here anytime," Molly insisted.
"He can, but he won't," Victoire said softly. "We talked about this when we got engaged and he made it clear that us getting married won't change how things stand with the rest of the family. He doesn't want a relationship with you, Gran."
"He doesn't want to meet me?" Molly whispered, her heart cracking at the revelation. To be honest she'd survived the last twenty one years by telling herself it was Hermione keeping Daniel away from the family, but deep down she'd known that Daniel himself must have wanted things that way as he'd had plenty of chances to come and visit and get to know the family.
"I'm sorry," Victoire whispered.
"Will this affect the wedding?" Arthur asked, reaching out to take hold of Molly's hand. "Will we be invited?"
"Of course we will be invited," Molly gasped, horrified at the very idea of missing her granddaughter's wedding. "We will be, won't we?" she checked with Victoire.
"Yes, you'll be invited to the wedding," Victoire confirmed. "And I'm sure you'll meet Daniel, and I can promise you that he will be polite."
"I suppose that's all we can expect given the past," Arthur conceded.
"And what about Ron?" Molly asked, glaring daggers at her husband for meekly accepting that nothing would change with Daniel. "The restraining order will need to be revoked so he can attend the wedding."
"He won't be attending the wedding," Victoire announced, glancing towards her parents, who smiled reassuringly at her, letting her know that she had their full support.
"Excuse me?" Molly spat. "Why do you mean, he won't be attending the wedding. He's family. He's your Uncle."
"And Daniel will soon be my husband, and he doesn't want him there," Victoire argued. "Daniel has no intention of revoking the restraining order."
"No, no, no, you can't do that," Molly cried. "This is what should unite out family. Your marriage should end all this bad feeling. Daniel should be welcomed into the family, where he always should have been. This is a chance for things to be how they always should have been. You can't leave Ron out of that. He deserves a second chance."
"Quite frankly, I think Uncle Ron deserves nothing at all from Daniel, which is exactly what he is going to get," Victoire said in a firm voice. "I'm sorry Gran, but you need to accept that my marriage isn't going to change anything for you and Uncle Ron. Daniel is already close with the members of our family he wishes to know. Our marriage isn't going to change that, and you need to accept it, and you need to accept it quickly."
"Or what?" Molly asked, picking up the threat in her granddaughter's words.
"Or you could end up losing a granddaughter," Victoire said as she got to her feet. "Don't cause trouble Gran, or I will never forgive you. If you'll excuse me, I said I would meet Daniel this afternoon. Please, just be happy for me, Gran."
"We are happy for you, sweetheart," Arthur assured his granddaughter, giving her a hug before she departed.
"Bill, you have to do something," Molly hissed the second Victoire had left The Burrow. "You have to intervene and get the restraining order against Ron revoked. You have to help Daniel see that he's a true part of the family."
"I have to do no such thing," Bill said with a shake of his head. "Ron is in the position he's in because of his own actions, and personally I can't see Daniel or Hermione ever agreeing to revoke the restraining orders. And as for trying to push Daniel into being part of the family, I would be careful if I were you, mother. Victoire wasn't joking when she said you could lose her. And if you lose her, then you lose the rest of us. You should think yourself lucky that Daniel is willing to meet you at all, in his shoes I doubt I would be so forgiving."
"So you're saying I should be grateful for scraps?" Molly scoffed. "I should be grateful simply to be allowed to attend to my granddaughter's wedding. You think I should be grateful to get a brief meeting with the boy who is effectively my grandson?"
"I do," Bill confirmed. "Be very careful mother. If you create waves, Vic and Daniel could well change their plans and have a quiet wedding. And then where would you be? Take what's been offered and think yourself lucky that Daniel has a big heart and is willing to forgive you for Victoire's sake."
Molly bristled at her son's warning, but as Arthur put a calming hand on her arm, she didn't argue. However, that wasn't to say she was giving up, and if she had to, she would find a different way to ensure that all the family was at Victoire and Daniel's wedding. And then once Daniel was married to her granddaughter, she would then work on bringing him fully into the family, which is where he always should have been.
Hermione was just about to head out for the afternoon to check on a couple of new businesses when she received a message from reception saying that a Mrs Weasley had arrived to see her regarding Daniel's engagement. Suspecting it was Fleur, wanting to talk wedding plans, or at the very least arrange a time for them to meet up, Hermione put her plans to go out on the back burner and gave permission for Fleur to come on up to her office. Informing her assistant she was expecting a visitor and to send them straight through, Hermione headed over the corner of the room, where she kept the refreshments. She was just grabbing a couple of bottles of water, as she knew Fleur detested tea and only drank coffee from fancy coffee shops, when she heard someone enter the room.
"Hi, Fle…" turning around, the words and smile drained from Hermione as she saw the witch who had entered her office was not Fleur, but Molly. "What are you doing here?" she demanded sharply, putting down the bottles of water.
"We need to talk," Molly announced.
"We have nothing to say to one another," Hermione insisted. "The time for talking is long gone, Molly."
"I rather think given what is happening between Victoire and Daniel, it's the perfect time for talking," Molly countered stubbornly. "At least hear me out, you owe me that."
"I owe you nothing at all," Hermione spat, half tempted to throw the older witch out onto the street. However, she was curious as to why she wanted to talk after twenty one years of silence. "But I will hear you out for old times sake. What do you want, Molly?"
"I want you to revoke Ron's restraining order so he can attend the wedding," Molly announced, sounding as if she'd simply asked Hermione what time it was, rather than asking her to remove a legal court order on the man who had tried to steal her son when he was a newborn baby.
"You cannot be serious," Hermione snorted, totally stunned by Molly's nerve. "After everything Ron did, you want me to remove the only thing keeping him away from me and my son. I don't think so, Molly."
"It's the right thing to do," Molly argued. "It's been twenty one years. Hasn't he suffered enough?"
"No, he has not suffered anywhere near enough," Hermione hissed angrily. "Even if he was burning in the pits of hell, it wouldn't be enough suffering for what he put me through. He was supposed to be my friend, Molly. He was supposed to be Harry's friend."
"Harry was why he did what he did," Molly argued. "He only did what he thought was right. He was only doing what Harry himself would have done."
"Bullshit," Hermione swore. "Harry would never have kicked me out and left me to fend for myself. He would never have stood by and watched as I thought about leaving the wizarding world. You tell yourself whatever lies makes you feel better, but we both know Harry would not have condoned any of what Ron did. He most certainly wouldn't have condoned your family petitioning for his estate."
"We just didn't want some stranger coming along and taking what belonged to Harry," Molly argued. "We thought we were doing the right thing."
"And that might have been believable, if you hadn't known I was pregnant with Harry's child," Hermione retorted. "But you made that application knowing about the baby, meaning that you were happy for Harry's son to be denied his inheritance. Harry would not have condoned that, we both know that. And let's not even start on the main reason for the restraining order, which was the kidnap of my baby son. My son wasn't even a day old when your son tried to take him. Why would I give him anything after all of that?"
"Because it's what Harry would want," Molly said. "He would want his best friend at his son's wedding. He would want Ron to be there for Daniel. He's been denied that for twenty one years. Now is the time to put things right. It's time to make things how they should have always been."
"You're deluded," Hermione scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm sure Harry would have wanted a lot of things. A lot of things, you and your son made sure never happened. You can say what you want Molly, but I will not be revoking the restraining order, not unless Daniel tells me it's what he wants. Besides, even if I was foolish enough to give you want you want, it wouldn't make a difference as Daniel is an adult now and he also has to agree to his side of the restraining order being removed. And until he tells me otherwise, it remains in place."
"Then talk to him and get him to change his mind," Molly begged. "Please Hermione, do the right thing."
"The right thing?" Hermione snarled. "You wouldn't know the right thing if it hit you in the face. I am doing the right thing. The right thing for my son. If I were you, I would leave and don't even think of coming back and bothering me again. If you do, you might just live to regret it."
"Is that a threat?" Molly sneered. "What are you going to do, set your Death Eater husband on me?"
"I don't need Draco to fight my battles," Hermione chuckled. "Last time we clashed you and your family got off lightly. You caught me at my weakest. I was still traumatised from the war, still grieving for Harry and coming to terms with being a mother at such a young age. I didn't have the energy to truly fight as I possibly should have done. But I have that energy now, and trust me when I say that if you cause any trouble for my family, I will cause trouble for yours. You know the press are still interested in talking to me and hearing my side of the story in my own words. I could always relent and give them what they want. I could tell them about the times when Ron abandoned Harry and I, and all the other times he let Harry down. I could tell them every little thing that happened when I was pregnant, every insult that was thrown my way, every attempt your family made to try and dictate my son's life. People know the general story, but they don't know the details, and if you push me, Molly, I can share those details. I can turn your family into the most hated in wizarding Britain."
"You wouldn't do that," Molly gasped, horrified by the threat. "Not when Daniel is marrying Victoire. She would never forgive you, nor would Bill or George."
"I wouldn't be so sure on that if I were you," Hermione said with a shrug. "I've had George and Bill on my side for years. And while Victoire knows the story, I doubt she knows just how bad things were for me. Are you really sure they would be on your side if I shared my story? If I were you, I wouldn't want to find out. So go away Molly, and don't ever dare speak to me again. And never even think about asking for the restraining order against Ron to be revoked again. That will be in place until his dying day, and feel free to tell him that from me."
"You cold hearted bitch," Molly snapped. "No wonder Daniel won't revoke the restraining order. You've poisoned his mind."
"Goodbye Molly," Hermione said frostily, not bothering to argue with the older witch as it was clear she was deluded and had long since ceased to listen to reason where her precious Ron was concerned.
Striding over to the door, Hermione flung it open and gestured for Molly to leave. When she hesitated, Hermione threatened to call security, and that had the older witch scurrying from her office. However, Hermione still wasn't taking any chances of her hanging around and after checking Molly had gotten into the lift, she sent a message down to reception to ensure that the older witch immediately left the premises. Only once she knew Molly had left the building did she return to her office, where she flopped down onto the sofa in the corner of the room, hardly able to believe what had just happened.
After everything that had happened, Molly's actions shouldn't have surprised Hermione, but they had. She had never for one moment expected her to turn up and ask for Ron's restraining order to be revoked. But the very fact she had done just that showed that she was determined to right what she obviously considered a wrong. And with such determination she might well try again, and since Hermione was positive she wouldn't bother her again, that meant that Daniel was likely to be the next target. Hermione knew she had to warn her son what could be coming his way, she just hoped it didn't lead to problems between him and Victoire. She just had to hope her son and his fiancée were strong enough to survive any trouble Molly caused, but she was betting that they were and that if anyone was going to find themselves out in the cold with Victoire, it would be Molly and not Daniel.