Harry sat on the rocking chair, burping his eldest son.
As James burped, Harry silently wished his daughter were here. Currently, she was being fed by Hermione, who was in her room. He had come out of the shower when James was finished being fed, and he silently took him, knowing what was to be done next.
He took his son to the changing table and laid him there, taking off his clothes. He made sure James wasn't going to fall off, then went to his dresser and picked out his clothes for the day. Since he planned on going out for the day with his son, he took out some warm, comfortable clothes—a pair of soft jeans, a small blue thermal, and the hooded sweatshirt with the letter 'J' on the back. He changed his diaper and changed him into his clothes.
He walked outside and sat on the couch, holding James securely, placing him on his lap so he was lying, playing with his father's watch. He thought about Ron's apology, and wondered how Hermione couldn't even listen to Ron.
Ron and Ginny walked into Gryffindor Tower. While Ginny's mind was whirling about, wondering what impending doom was awaiting her at home, Ron wondered if he could be forgiven by Harry and Hermione.
Once they got in, they saw that nearly all of Gryffindor Tower was there. Fred, George, and almost every other were there—all, except a certain bushy headed girl and raven haired boy. Ron cursed mentally and punched the couch nearest him. Everyone looked at him oddly, even a few jumped, but Ron paid no attention. His main focus was to talk to Harry and Hermione, and hope that they'd forgive him.
"You don't want people to think things, do you, brother?" Fred asked smirking.
"Yeah, brother, you don't want people think you're going nutters, right?" George asked joining his brother.
"Sod off," Ron muttered. "And get everyone out, and see if you can get Hermione and Harry out of there." At the look he saw the twins were giving him, he explained, "I need to ask for forgiveness, nothing else."
Fred and George exchanged glances, considering it. They nodded after a moment, and turned to the students. "Alright kiddies, nothing here to see," George shouted, ushering the students back to their dorms.
"Yes, time to get some sleep," Fred grinned, ushering the girls to their dorms, but stopping at the steps. "Sorry, ladies, but I'm a man, and men aren't allowed." He winked and the first year girls giggled. "See you ladies tomorrow."
"Oi, brother, don't flirt with the minors!" George shouted.
"Forge, we're minors too. And besides, I'm just kidding," Fred said smirking.
"Oh yeah…"
"Can you get Harry and Hermione, or do I have to wait?" interrupted Ron.
Fred walked over to Ginny, who was silently sitting on the couch, and sat in front of her. "How did you do it?"
Ginny shrugged. "Just walked in—portrait was open."
Fred nodded thoughtfully, and then got up. He walked over to George and looked at the spot where the portrait was. It wasn't an extravagant portrait, but rather simple, yet elegant. A simple forest was in the back round, animals running across, sitting, lying, and standing, watching, observing. There was a man, he wasn't an old man, but he wasn't young, either. He wore simple khaki shorts, and a clean white cotton shirt, with muggle binoculars hanging around his neck, observing the animals.
"Err… excuse me, sir," Fred said, looking at the man in the portrait.
The man in the portrait looked up from where he was watching the animals and said, "Yes?"
Ron answered this time, "Do you think you could get Harry and Hermione out here? I need to talk to them."
The man's eyes narrowed considerably. "This isn't the first time I've heard that line." He shook his head. "Why can't people just give those two a bit of peace?" he muttered, turning around.
"No, come back!" Ron said.
"And why is that?" the man asked, not bothering to turn around.
"Because I need to ask Harry and Hermione for forgiveness," replied Ron. "I need to do this. Please."
He sighed and turned around. "Fine, but you're going to have to wait until they come out themselves. I can't open for you, since you don't know the password, but I can give them the message. You better hope they're feeling merciful, because those two have been rather nasty towards each other lately."
Ron nodded. "I'll wait as long as I have to," he said sincerely.
The man nodded and walked away from the painting.
A few minutes later, the man arrived, a small smile on his face. "They said they'll be there in a few minutes. You just caught them while the babies were being fed, so you'll have to wait a bit," he said.
Ron blushed scarlet and replied, "Alright."
He went to the couch and made himself comfortable there, wondering how long it'd be until they came out—or if they'd even come out at all.
Meanwhile, inside…
Harry put James on his hip, and waited for Hermione to finish feeding Lily so they could go out and talk to Ron. James giggled as he played with Harry's long, messy hair, fisting and pulling at it. Harry winced and gently pried his son's fists from his hair, wishing that he would go for something other than the hair on his head.
Hermione walked out from the nursery, a sleeping Lily cradled in her arms. Harry smiled, but then remembered that he and Hermione weren't talking.
Harry readjusted James and held on to him a bit tighter, and muttered, "C'mon, Ron's waiting."
Hermione nodded and they headed out. "I wonder what he wants," Hermione wondered thoughtfully.
Harry merely shrugged, not paying attention, and opened the portrait, showing a mass of red hair on a couch. Harry smiled slightly, but then remembered that he wasn't talking to him, either. Actually, he, too, wondered why Ron wanted to talk to them. Was it for forgiveness? Did he want to kill James and Lily in front of them? Did he have a love potion, and planned on using it against Hermione? Or did he simply wish to state that he didn't get expelled and was going to make his Hogwarts years living hell? He wasn't too sure which one it was, but if anything bad happened, something horrible was going to happen to Ron today.
Ron turned around, noticing the two new occupants, and stood, smiling grimly. "Hello," he said softly. "You came."
Hermione nodded. Her grip tightened on Lily, Harry noticed, and he subconsciously held on to James tighter. "Yeah," muttered Harry.
Harry went to a nearby arm chair and sat, a safe, yet polite, distance away from him; Hermione did the same. Ron, noticing this, face faltered a bit, but didn't loose the small smile that grazed his lips.
"What do you want to talk to us about, Ron?" Hermione asked after a moment of silence. She was fed up with everything, and she didn't want to deal with it anymore than she necessarily had to.
"Your forgiveness," he said simply, his voice firm, yet soft. His eyes went to Hermione's, and he saw shock, anger, sadness, and a flicker of mercy in her eyes. He knew that they were most likely to say no, but he wanted to make sure that they were going to say that. He didn't want to know that they could've forgiven him, and he never plucked up the courage to ask them, and he'd wallow in wonder, question, anger, and sadness for the rest of his life, wondering what their reactions and answers would be.
Ron then looked over at Harry. His eyes merely showed shock, and that was expected. Ron was his best, and first, mate, so he should've known that the anger would gradually fade away, knowing that, since he was his friend, that there wouldn't too many differences between them. There was sadness, oh he knew that, but he couldn't blame the bloke. His child could've died; and being a child of seven, a family of nine, he knew that he would nearly die at the thought of losing a loved one.
"That's all?" Hermione asked, laughing bitterly. "You just want to show up, asking for forgiveness, expecting us to give it to you?" She got up, placing Lily on her waist. "Well, Ron, I'm sorry, but I can't go through with your request. However simple, yet complicated the matter may be, I will not forgive you. What you and Ginny had done, or what could have done, was wrong, completely and utterly wrong. And, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to forgive you." She laughed at the oxymoron, but quickly shut up and walked back into the portrait, leaving a stunned Harry and Ron.
He quickly looked at Harry. "I'm not asking for it as bluntly as that; I'm not that daft. I was going to explain why I did everything, and then I was going to ask for forgiveness." He said this all quickly, so it took Harry a moment to comprehend what he said.
He nodded. "Explain, then."
Ron's face brightened considerably. "You're not leaving like Hermione?" he asked.
He shook his head and readjusted James so he was now lying on his lap, playing with the watch on his wrist. "No, I'm not like Hermione, I guess. I know, I'm usually the one that gets all hot tempered and storms off, but I wanted to hear what you were going to say. And, I guess, Hermione didn't, so she just fled." He shrugged.
"Oh… alright," he said. His eyes darted to James, and he thought why he did this. Why would he do such a horrible thing to that innocent boy's parents? James' head turned and stared at Ron, giggling at his red hair as if it were the funniest thing in the world. The pair of green eyes that mirrored his fathers, laid there, staring at him, and the father was, too, so he felt a bit nervous now.
"Are you going to explain, or do you want me to rant and storm off, too?" Harry asked, smoothening out his son's unruly hair. That's another this he inherited from me, Harry though, mind drifting from the current issue at hand.
"What?" he asked, suddenly looking at Harry. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry." Harry raised an eyebrow. "About the staring, I haven't started the real apology yet."
He nodded.
Ron's expression changed into one of sincerity, and then he spoke. "I don't really know why I started this whole love potion fiasco, but I sure as hell regret it. At first, I thought it was because I loved Hermione and Ginny you. I thought I could picture her and me, in the future with little red headed boys and girls running around, all happy and loved. It was the perfect vision, I guess, but it was also the easiest, wasn't it? I mean, we always fought, and I guess people took that as an immature way of saying that we liked each other. And I sort of believed it, too, and that's when I started fancying her. I had a plan, too: I was going to ask her to the Burrow, confess my feelings, go out until we were about twenty, get married, have children, and live happily ever after."
Harry snorted. "Life isn't as perfect as it seems, Ron. Sometimes life—or people—get in the way of your fairy tale, turning it upside down. I've always wanted to live a happy life, too, trust me, I've always wanted that, but the Dursleys got in the way of that. They would always tease be because I was scrawny, or they'd punish me if I did any accidental magic, or something else that I did." He sighed, running a free hand through his hair. "But enough about me, I want to hear your apology.
Ron chuckled. "Right, sorry." He cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, as I was saying, I used to think that Hermione loved me. I'm not too sure why I thought it, but I did. And I thought she liked me too. I guess it was just how I was. We could've been a big happy family; me and Hermione, you and Ginny. It'd be perfect, don't you think? But, today, as I heard McGonagall talk to Ginny about how she was only after you because of your fame, I thought, hard, about Hermione. I wondered if, the only reason I liked her, was because she was our friend. I don't really know why it was her I picked, but, I guess, it was almost the same reason as Ginny's. She was intelligent, pretty, and funny. But that wasn't the whole Hermione, was it? I liked Hermione for the girl I saw her as, not the girl she really was. I hardly know her, Harry." He sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted.
"I… I'm just… really ashamed, I guess. No, I know. I'm very ashamed, and I've already accepted my expulsion, so you'll never see me again. I'm sorry, Harry, and I hope, or rather wished, that Hermione were here to hear me out." A small tear glided down his freckled cheek, and he wiped it away furiously, hoping that Harry hadn't seen it.
Harry got up and placed James on the couch, putting a pillow on the edge so he wouldn't fall. He walked over to Ron and sat next to him, keeping an eye on James at the same time.
"Ron, at first, I was absolutely disgusted with your behaviour. Really, I was. And I wondered how my best mate could do this to be, how he could deceive his two best friends just because he wanted something he knew he couldn't have." He held up his hands before Ron could speak: "I know, Hermione is no ones to own, but she's my girlfriend, the mother of my children, my future wife, and I wouldn't like it that you and Hermione went out. I… It's just… well," he sighed, "I don't know, Ron." He chuckled. "Hermione was always better at explaining things. It's times like this I wish she were here to explain my feelings."
"She is an amazing girl, Harry," Ron observed sincerely.
He smiled slightly. "Yeah, she is."
Ron twiddled his thumbs nervously. "So… um, do you forgive me?" He looked up to the emerald eyes that he'd grown with for the past few years. The eyes of his best friend.
Harry nodded and turned to Ron. "Yeah, Ron, I do." He smiled and gave Ron a hug, surprising both Ron and himself.
Once they pulled apart, Harry picked up James. "D'you want to hold him?"
"Err… I've never really held a baby, Harry," Ron said, watching the dozing baby hold on to Harry's sleeve.
"Well, it's really easy. Do you want me to show you?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm alright, Harry. Your son is already half asleep, and I better let the Common Room come back down."
Harry sniggered. "Alright." After a few moments of silence, Harry spoke. "So, um, I guess this is goodbye?"
Ron had forgotten that he was expelled, but now it all came back to him. He nodded with a jerk. "Yeah… bye, Harry," he said, getting up. "Tell Hermione bye for me, yeah?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
Once he had found Hermione, she was already sleeping, her cheeks stained with tears and the pillow soaked. He didn't do anything, mainly because he couldn't—or wasn't allowed.
0—0—0—0
Harry walked into McGonagall's office three days after Ron and Ginny were expelled. He half expected her to be teaching, or in a meeting, but to his surprise, she was there, a small smile gracing her thin lips.
"Good morning, Mister Potter," McGonagall said, pointing to a chair so he could sit.
He sat in the chair and nodded politely. "Good morning, Professor."
"Biscuit?" she offered. He shook his head. She nodded, "Very well. Why are you here, Harry?"
"I was just wondering what happened in the office the day that Ron and Ginny got expelled?" he asked apprehensively.
"Why do you wish to know?" she asked eyeing him.
"I… I'm not too sure, really. Ron said something about how you told Ginny some things, and how he apologised then, too. And, I don't know, I guess I was just curious," he said shrugging a bit, avoiding eye contact.
She eyed him warily. "If you wish to see it, then you may." She saw him light up a bit, but she didn't say anything. "But, Mister Potter, you will tell no one of this. Understood?"
He nodded hurriedly. "Yes, Professor McGonagall."
She got up and walked in front of Harry. "Give me your hands."
He lightly touched his hands with her nervously, wondering what was going to happen next. "Look into my eyes," was her next command. He nodded and looked into her eyes.
Suddenly, he saw Ron, Ginny, and McGonagall herself in the office. Ron and Ginny were still bound, and Ron was sporting magenta hair while Ginny's head hung in shame.
McGonagall sat in front of the two Weasley's, who were still very much bound. She gave them her best stern look, hoping that she'd installed some fear in them.
"What you have done is completely irresponsible, foolish, selfish, and dangerous," she said, glancing at the two.
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but McGonagall, sensing she knew what he was going to say, spoke before. "Yes Mister Weasley, I am very aware of the fact that you had nothing to do with the attempted kidnapping of the two youngest Potters, although, that does not dismiss you for attempting to use a love potion—on Miss Granger, if my assumption is correct." Her lips fell into a light, thin line. "You very well know that what your mother had said to you, but you completely disregarded her warning, and did what you pleased without thinking of the consequences.
"Have you any idea, Miss Weasley, of the consequences you could have faced if you had kidnapped and perhaps even killed Lillian Potter?" she asked, eyes transfixed on the bound girl, her head hung in shame.
"No. Not really," she whispered. "I… I just wanted Harry… I-I thought he loved me, and he was only with Granger because he got her pregnant. And-and, I thought that I'd be doing him a favour if I… I just… just killed them." She now had tears falling freely from her brown orbs. "I… I was blinded by love, Professor! I was, and still am, in love! What would you do to get the one man you love?!" she asked, nearly shouting by now.
"Miss Weasley, how do you know you're in love at this age?" she questioned.
"Because Harry saved me when I was eleven… and…" she trailed off.
"Miss Weasley, I believe you were merely blinded by his name, not his being." Before she could retort, she explained. "You were in love with Harry 'The Boy Who Lived' Potter, not Harry Potter the boy. You were blinded by his acts at such a young age: surviving the killing curse when no one has done that; the youngest Hogwarts qudditch player in over a century; defeating a troll at the tender age of eleven; and saving you, endangering his life- just a few of the things Mister Potter has done. But, that does not mean you love him."
"Then what does it mean?" she asked, clearly irked.
She inwardly sighed. "You are in love with Harry Potter, not the boy behind the mask," she said.
"Oh," she said lamely. "But then how do you know that Hermione hasn't done the same thing?"
"Miss Weasley, I highly doubt that Miss Granger and Mister Potter aren't in love," she said sternly.
"I'm sorry," Ron said for the first time. He had been thinking over everything McGonagall had said to Ginny, and what she meant by what she said. And, the more the thought about it, he grew irritated at the thought of even thinking of doing what he was going to do.
McGonagall looked at him. "What did you say, Mister Weasley?"
"I… I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I… I didn't know what I was doing. I – I guess I just wanted something that Harry didn't have, and I thought that Hermione could be that one thing." He laughed bitterly. "Shame I didn't get her, though; she's a wonderful girl. But Harry deserves her; I shouldn't even be able to see them after what I was thinking of doing." He looked at his hands while saying this, and he was just beginning. "They – I – I was always an immature prat, wasn't I? I was always the insolent jerk that disregarded her feelings." He felt tears coming to him, but he fought them off. "I should've known that they felt something for each other the day I found out she was pregnant, but I didn't. I always lingered on the hope that she'd leave him and come to me. But she never did, did she? No, she didn't. And so I thought that Harry was doing something to her.
"About two days after the twins were born, Ginny and I were already half way through brewing our first love potions. After I left, Malfoy told Ginny that he would tell someone if she attempted to do it again. But she, nor I, listened. Ginny, along with someone else she didn't tell me about, made a potion, but Malfoy found out… I'm still not too sure how, but he did. He – apparently thought it was Ginny and I who did it, not Ginny and someone else.
"I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't realize how much I would've—could've hurt the two if I had put them under the potion. I really am…" A lone tear made it's way down his cheek, and McGonagall felt that he had said enough.
"Yes, Mister Weasley, I believe that you've said enough," McGonagall said. She handed him a tissue and he took it, wiping the tear—unshed, too—from his eyes.
"Thanks," he muttered. McGonagall nodded.
"That was a wonderful apology, but I'm still forced to expel the two of you. Your actions cannot go unnoticed by me, and you must be punished," McGonagall said.
Ron nodded his head solemnly, and Ginny held her head up high, showing that she was not going to be let down by this.
She sighed. "Please pack your belongings in your trunks, and report today after dinner."
"Alright," the two muttered in unison.
Suddenly, Harry found himself looking into the chocolate eyes of McGonagall. She quickly took her hands away from him, and went back to her desk, folding her arms in front of him. Harry's eyes were wide, now fully understanding Ron's apology. Eyes darting downward, Harry muttered, "Thanks for letting me know, Professor. I'll go now." Before McGonagall had a chance to retort, Harry left the office.
Once he walked out into the clean, crisp air of November, he realized that he still had classes to go to. He sighed inwardly, and headed for his second class of the day: Charms.
0—0—0—0
Once classes were over, Harry and Hermione found themselves in the same room sitting across from each other, each holding their offspring.
Looking at each other-Hermione's intense gaze piercing Harry—Harry fought the urge to look away from her. But he wasn't going to give up easily; no, he wouldn't give up anything without a fair fight. Hermione sat there, unblinking, staring at Harry, waiting for him to ask for forgiveness. She waited long enough, and she wanted to make up with him, but she wasn't going to do it first. Waiting until he finally broke the silence was her plan.
After a few more minutes of silence, Harry sighed and adjusted a sleeping James onto his shoulder. He stood up and turned to leave. "Hermione, I can't do this anymore. It's been nearly two and a half weeks since we've fought, and I don't want to do this anymore. Just say you don't forgive me and we can move on. Because, quiet frankly, I'm getting sick of sleeping on the couch and in the twins room."
Hermione sat there, stunned beyond words. Was he asking for what she thought he was? She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She simply sat there, Lily lying in her arms playing with her sleeve.
He sighed and started walking. "I… I won't—can't. I…" he sighed again, "I just can't. You're just so frustrating sometimes." He turned around, facing her. "You know, I don't even remember what we fought about anymore. I just wanted it to be over, but apparently, you like not having a boyfriend. Or even children, for that matter, since you only feed them." He saw the look of surprise, confusion and the beginnings of anger forming on her face. "Don't deny it, Hermione. I've seen you. I know you. But apparently, you don't know us; at least it doesn't seem like it." The last words were a mere whisper, "What happened to the girl I knew?" He turned again, putting James in the crib.
Going into Hermione's room, he started gathering his things, ready to go to the Boys' dormitory. He wouldn't put up with this anymore; he couldn't stand it. Having Hermione ignore him, and his children, was started to irk him off and he didn't like that. Having Dumbledore against him was one thing, but then his best friend, and then his girlfriend? He couldn't do that. He needed to do something. He didn't know if they were going to break up, but he could do it anymore.
Once he came out, he saw Hermione with tears running town her cheeks. "Please don't go," was all she whispered before enveloping Harry in a hug. She started sobbing, not caring that Harry wasn't returning the gesture. All that mattered to her was that Harry would stay, and that he'd forgive her. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Harry. Please forgive me. I've been so infuriated at myself these past few days that I forgot about the three most important people to me: you, James, and Lily." She gave an anguished sob and held on to Harry tighter.
"Hermione, please, don't do this to me," he whispered, trying to pry her arms off him.
"No!" she cried, holding on to him tighter. "Please, Harry, forgive me. Please," she whispered. "I'm sorry, so very sorry."
He awkwardly put his arms around her. Although he and Hermione had shared many hugs, he never thought that it'd be as awkward as this. Cautiously, he brought his right hand to her cheek, forcing her to look at him. When he saw her face, he regretted everything horrible he did to her. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her cheeks had tears trailing down, her nose was leaking, and her hair was bushier than usual. Her eyes showed nothing but regret, anguish, love, and sadness.
"I'm sorry, Harry. Please," she whispered once again, setting her eyes downcast.
He unexpectedly chuckled, earning another sob from Hermione. She let him go and sat on the couch. "If you think my misery is amusing, then you should leave."
"That was my initial plan," he drawled, still chuckling.
She glared at him through tears. "Then leave," she said struggling. She didn't want him to leave, but if he wanted to so badly that he'd actually go through with it, then she'd let him. She could take care of James and Lily on her own while Harry made a life for himself.
"Actually," he said, walking towards Hermione, "I have other plans. Plans that include Miss Granger and two young Potters."
"Stop joking around, Harry. I know that my misery is amusing to you, and that you obviously don't want to be with me, so I'm going to let you go." She stood up and started walking towards her bedroom.
He grabbed her arm before she could get far, and their eyes locked. "Hermione, do you know what I've been going through for the past three weeks?" She opened her mouth, but Harry held his hand to stop her. "Before you say, 'the same as I have,' nonsense, listen to what I have to say.
"I've been waiting for weeks for you to finally forgive me. I've done numerous things to ask for your forgiveness, but you did nothing but ignore me for days on end. And I got sick of it, Hermione. I understand that my actions were wrong, but that doesn't mean you should completely ignore me. Even divorced couples talk more than we did the past few weeks. I… I just couldn't take it anymore." He sighed, running a hand through his unruly hair. "I bet, if you were with any other bloke, he would've walked out on you already."
"But you're not just any other bloke, Harry. You're different, special," Hermione interrupted.
"I might be different, but I'm still a guy, Hermione. It doesn't matter if I'm 'different' or 'special.' I'm still a guy with a girlfriend and two kids, and I want to have my…" he hesitated, "family (Hermione inwardly gasped), but you, as I see, don't want it."
Tears started forming in her eyes again. "I'm sorry, Harry. I really am. Please… please forgive me. I… I didn't do it intentionally. Really, I didn't." She sniffed, cursing herself for being such a baby.
"I… I don't know, Hermione."
She took the bag of clothes away from Harry and held his hand. "Please, Harry," she whispered holding his hand firmly.
His eyes shifted downward and he sighed loudly. "Fine… I forgive you."
She smiled broadly and hugged Harry. Bringing his arms around her back, Harry held her tightly.
"You know, I thought that I should've been the one apologizing," he whispered in her hair.
"At first, I thought you should've, too, but then I realized that it was I who should've been apologizing." Hermione held on tighter, breathing in his scent. "Is that why you were laughing?" she asked suddenly, though still holding on to him.
"Yes," was all he said.
They might've forgiven each other, but hardships were not over. They would face many challenges in the course of their life, but as long as they had each other, they'd get through it. Together.