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Shared Flame	By : TheLadyMiya Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 58981 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I do not make any money writing this.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Hello, hello, long chapter coming your way. Hope you’ll enjoy it! Hugs and cookies to everyone who have read and especially reviewed. Much appreciated!

*Smacks head* For crying out loud, I completely forget giving credit to Nerys and Serpent in Red for all the time and energy they have spent helping me with this chapter. Dumb Miya. If it weren't for them, this chapter would have been half as short.

Chapter 5

Hermione was quite embarrassed the day after Marcus had helped her while she was sick. She didn't know what on earth had made her suggest that he could share her bed. It had just felt so ... natural at the moment. He was always so helpful and thoughtful. And when he’d carried her, her body had been singing by the close contact to him. Not in a horny way, just in a very comforting way. He made her feel so safe. However, if you didn’t count the times they were touching, she tried not to watch him as anything other than her teacher-to-be. She wouldn’t want to risk her academic career just because she might find the teacher attractive. Hence, she focused on the things she didn’t like. There was something she found quite … boring with him. He was mostly so controlled and proper, while sometimes he was just acting plain strange, like when he’d explained the book to her which stated Althea was just more powerful than normal wizards and witches. Hermione got the feeling Marcus was hiding something. She had no idea why he would do that, though. Perhaps she was just being paranoid?

Nevertheless, the day after the “sleep-over”, Hermione and Althea would have a meeting with the specialist at St. Mungo’s. Since Hermione now knew that Althea’s only problem was that she was speaking Parseltongue, she was at a loss on what to do. She didn’t want the Healers at St. Mungo’s finding out Althea was a Parselmouth, but she did want to see a Healer to get a second opinion on those green-thingies that had showed up when Marcus had done his scanning.

“Althea?” Hermione asked her daughter when they were sitting at the dinner table, eating breakfast.

Althea looked up, her mouth full of porridge.

“You know what secrets are, right?”

“Shhes,” Althea said (or rather, tried to say) and nodded. She was making progress with speaking English, but it still sounded more like Parseltongue than English.

“Well, the language you are speaking, that only you and Marcus can understand, is a secret language,” Hermione tried to explain. She didn’t think Althea would understand if she started talking about how people might think she were evil and things like that. It was after all only important that Althea knew it was a secret.

“Shheeecheest?” Althea hissed, sounding intrigued.

“Yes. And we don’t want other people to know about our secrets, right?”

Althea shook her head, her eyes shining with interest.

“Today, we will go and see the Healer, and then, it’s important that you don’t speak Parsel with him. You can try to speak English and make other sounds, just not Parsel, okay?” Hermione really hoped Althea understood what she meant.

“Schnoo Pschech,” Althea said seriously, and Hermione was quite sure she meant “no Parsel”.

She smiled at her daughter and stroked her cheek. “Good girl. Are you finished?”

Althea nodded and showed her the empty bowl.

“Good. Why don’t you go and wash your hands, and I’ll come in to help you brush your teeth when I’ve cleaned up?”

Althea nodded again, jumped down from her seat and ran to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, they walked down the stairs to Floo to St. Mungo’s. Hermione didn’t want to Apparate with Althea unless she really had to, and she had discovered yesterday that the fireplace in the foyer of her house was connected to the Floo Network. She hoped that Althea would like that way of transportation better.

It turned out that she didn’t, but when they arrived at St. Mungo’s, one of the Healers was quick to come and help Hermione calm her down. Fifteen minutes later, they were accepted into the Healer’s office.

“Peculiar.” The Healer was a short, middle-aged wizard with more wrinkles on his forehead than Hermione had ever seen on someone that young. He was looking into Althea’s mouth with some sort of tube Hermione had never seen before.

“What is peculiar?” Hermione wondered, a bit worried. She was sitting next to Althea, holding her hand. The small hand squeezed her fingers tightly now and again, and Hermione tried to keep her calm by stroking her back.

The Healer extracted the tube from Althea’s mouth. “There is nothing physically wrong with her throat or mouth. No sign of any hexes or curses either. You say that you think she is trying to speak sometimes?”

“Yes. Ever since we moved back here, she has been starting to make sounds that sound almost like English.”

The Healer regarded Althea closely for a moment. “It could be environmental. You said your parents took care of your daughter?”

Hermione nodded. “When I was in school, yes.”

The Healer sighed. “Sometimes, children who have experienced some sort of abuse can be late in their development to speak. If she is, as you say, starting to speak now that you have moved away from your parents, it seems likely that there was something down there that made her unable to speak.”

Hermione frowned and was about to retort when she realised that this was the perfect explanation to get the Healer off her back. However, she didn’t want to paint her parents out as child abusers.

“My parents were always nice to both me and Althea. They would never abuse her. Can’t you see if there is something else wrong? In her brain?”

The Healer sighed. “Very well.” He took his wand and started to scan Althea’s body. However, it wasn’t the same scanning technique Hermione had seen Marcus use.

“What sort of scanning method is that?” she asked, curious.

“It’s a new invention. Instead of scanning the whole body for ‘something’, it is able to detect all known curses and diseases, and thus, we can diagnose a patient much quicker,” the Healer explained without taking his eyes off Althea.

Hermione was intrigued but also a bit anxious of what the Healer would say. If Marcus had been telling the truth, the fact that Althea had more power would probably not show up on this type of scanning. However, if he’d been lying …

“There,” the Healer said, interrupting her train of thought. “There are no signs of any diseases, Muggle or wizard, and no signs of any curses anywhere. Are you certain there is no way your daughter could have been abused? It doesn’t have to have been by your parents. Perhaps some neighbour or her nanny?”

Hermione frowned. Even if she hated lying, she didn’t want to waste the Healer’s time now that she knew there was nothing wrong with Althea.

“Well, there was this boy in the house next door who she played with sometimes. But every time they had played, Althea would act strangely afterwards. We never found out if he had done something, but…” Hermione hoped she’d been vague enough so he would read more into her words than she was actually saying.

The Healer nodded in understanding. “I do think it was something in her previous environment that caused this slow development. But I don’t have the means to find out if something is emotionally wrong with her. But you are a Muggle-born, yes? Perhaps you can try one of their therapists. I’ve heard they’re pretty good at this kind of thing, much more advanced than Wizarding Healers,” he suggested.

“Yes, perhaps I should,” Hermione pretended to agree. She was just happy that there was nothing wrong with Althea. Marcus was right, and she had just been paranoid. What a relief.

Hermione and Althea said their goodbyes to the Healer and left.

Once she was home again, Hermione thought about going over to Marcus’s flat right away and telling him about the meeting with the Healer, but then she decided against it. She didn't want to come across as some needy school girl. Since she had already made a fool of herself four years ago, she now wanted him to see that she was a strong, independent woman. She especially wanted him to see that she could very well take care of her own child.

Hence, she sat down on the couch with her daughter to practise more English. That was what she did the next day as well. Then, it was Saturday and time for her to meet Harry and Ginny again for the first time in three years. She was nervous as hell. Would they be disappointed in her for not trying to keep in contact? Angry? Uncomfortable? She had no idea what to expect or what they expected from her. She wasn't really the same old Hermione. Sure, she was still a bookworm and a know-it-all and all that, but ... she felt so much older. More tired. She knew her life wasn’t considered the most exciting. Would they look down on her for that? Feel pity that she hadn't been able to make any new friends and didn’t have as many adventures as she had had with them?

They would be there around tea-time, and Hermione was busy making sandwiches and putting some biscuits, plates and teacups on the table when there was a knock on the door. She dried her suddenly sweaty palms on the kitchen towel, straightened the blue, knee-length skirt she was wearing and opened the door.

Harry seemed to have grown several inches and had new glasses. They were more edgy which actually made him look handsome. Ginny still wore her red hair long and loose. Her freckled face was just as full of energy as Hermione remembered, but she seemed even more fit than before. That was probably because of her professional career at Quidditch.

As usual, Ginny broke the ice. “Hermione! I'm so happy to see you!”

She hugged her friend tightly, and Hermione could feel relief flooding through her body. At least they didn’t hate her.

“Yeah, really nice to hear from you again.” Harry beamed at her and hugged her once Ginny let go.

“I'm glad you wanted to come,” Hermione admitted and welcomed them into her flat. “Althea, want to come and say hi?”

Althea looked up from the pictures book she had at the coffee table. She hissed something, apparently having forgot that Parseltongue was supposed to be a secret. Hermione swallowed and glanced towards Harry who frowned.

“She doesn't speak English yet,” Hermione began carefully.

To her surprise, it was Ginny who recognised it. “That was Parseltongue, wasn't it?”

Hermione nodded and looked at Harry who blinked in surprise.

“Her father must be one. I only just realised that she speaks in Parseltongue. You didn't understand it, Harry?”

Harry shook his head slowly, looking confounded at Althea. “No, but I guess it was the Horcrux inside me that made me understand it and Voldemort killed that during the final battle. I haven't felt anything from him since then anyway. My scar hasn't hurt at all.”

Hermione frowned. It was nice to hear that Harry hadn’t been bothered by Voldemort since the final battle, but that also meant he had no way of knowing if Voldemort was near. Although, if Voldemort hadn’t made any noise for four years, perhaps he had lost interest in Harry?

“I’m glad to hear he isn’t bothering you anymore,” Hermione just said.

Harry nodded and then looked away from Althea and towards Hermione again. “Me too. Even though I know he is still out there, he hasn’t caused us any trouble for four years, well, that we know of. However, you should be careful not to mention Althea’s a Parselmouth to anyone here in Britain. Ever since Voldemort disappeared, people have started to loosen up, but they are still watchful about anything that could be related to him. A girl speaking Parseltongue could really create a panic—the Ministry would no doubt investigate, and I am sure you remember the kind of witch-hunt that can turn into.”

Hermione nodded and quickly made a list of everyone who could have heard Althea speaking Parseltongue in Britain. When she couldn’t come up with any names besides Harry, Ginny and Marcus, she relaxed. Still, she scolded at herself for not thinking about it earlier.

“I wasn't planning to tell anyone. I don’t meet that many people anyway. But you are okay with it, right?”

“Of course!” Ginny exclaimed. Then she frowned. “But it's not a very common thing to be able to do, right? I mean, wasn't Voldemort the only one in, like, the whole of Europe who could speak it?”

Harry frowned again. “Yeah, what if ... the dad is ... you know ...”

Hermione crossed her arms and scowled at him. The thought of Marcus being Voldemort was completely ridiculous. As if Lord Voldemort would knock up a girl and let her live to tell the tale. Not to mention spending time with her afterwards? It was laughable to think the darkest wizard in over a century would take the time to help a puking girl. Marcus was way too nice and chivalrous to even have been a Death Eater.

“Harry, really! Do you think that if Lord Voldemort had found me the night after you’d beaten him, he wouldn’t have killed me? It doesn't really fit his M.O. to leave a girl knocked up, does it?”

Harry smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, working as an Auror is starting to get me paranoid. You are right. If he had found you, he would definitely have killed you and sent you as a message to me.”

Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry. “No Auror-talk now, Harry. We are here to have a good time with Hermione. And I see cookies, so don’t ruin my appetite with talks about You-Know-Who.”

“Sorry, Gin,” Harry said, but he was still glancing at Althea.

Hermione cleared her throat. “Right. You are welcome to sit down. Do you want coffee or tea?”

“Coffee. Milk and one sugar, please,” Ginny said and sat down at the kitchen table

“Just tea for me,” Harry said and sat down next to Ginny.

Hermione poured up the coffee to Ginny, and when the other woman accepted the cup, Hermione noticed the diamond ring on her finger.

“Oh, right, I read about your engagement. Congratulations,” she said, trying not to let the sadness of reading it in the papers instead of hearing it from them in person shine through.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a quick, troubled look as Ginny fingered her engagement ring.

“Thank you,” Ginny said with a smile. “We hadn't planned on telling anyone at first. We actually decided to get engaged a month ago, but we wanted to take it slow, you know. We are both so busy all the time that we hardly have time to think about life outside work. But last week, we went to look at rings together, and a reporter spotted us...” She sighed and made a grimace.

“We actually planned to visit you in Australia this summer and invite you to the wedding,” Harry said, looking down at the plate with biscuits standing in the middle of the table. “Although, now that you are here, it would really mean a lot to us if you are more involved in the wedding.”

Hermione gaped at them. This was not what she had expected at all. Was it guilt that made them ask her or was it a genuine wish?

“How involved?” was all she could think about asking.

“Bridesmaid,” Ginny said with a smile. “Luna is already the maid of honour, and Ron is the best man. Charlie, George and Bill will all be ushers. I was hoping that you and Charlie could go together.”

Hermione blinked several times. “I'd be honoured to.”

Both Harry and Ginny beamed happily at her.

“Great! Oh, but you'll probably have to come over to the Burrow now and again for rehearsal parties. We didn't want a big wedding, but Mum has already started planning it and we don’t have the heart to tell her to stop, even if she seems to invite everyone who wants to come. And since he is still The Boy Who Lived, it will probably be bigger than we fear.”

Hermione smiled at Harry’s grimace. It would appear publicity still wasn’t his thing. However, it seemed like he still tried to make other people happy, even if it meant doing something he didn’t necessarily want. Mrs Weasley was probably thrilled having such a compliant son-in-law.

“I think I can come over now and again. I already have to hire a nanny for Althea when I'm in class, but—”

“Oh, no, bring her. Mum will just love having another child in the house,” Ginny said with a grin, “and maybe it will take the pressure off me and Harry. You'd think Bill's daughter would make her content for a while, but noooo.”

“Right, I forgot Bill had a daughter, too,” Hermione realised. “How old is she now?”

“Victoire just became three, which makes her just a few months younger than Althea. So Althea will have someone to play with if you bring her. Also Fleur is pregnant again, so in a few months, there will be yet another baby to play with. And then there is Teddy as well.” Ginny's smile faded a little.

“They usually have him and Andromeda over for Sunday dinner at the Burrow,” Harry filled in. “But lately, Teddy hasn't really been—er—nice to have around. Molly says it's just a phase, but it has been going on for months now, and well, we don't really know how to deal with it.”

Hermione always suspected that Harry felt very connected to Teddy since he, too, had been orphaned at a young age. Judging by his worn, sad face, he invested quite some time with Remus and Tonks’s son. It seemed Harry would never stop trying to save others.

“What is wrong with him?” she asked, concerned. She hoped she wasn’t out of line asking.

Harry shrugged, looking defeated. “He is just so mean and rude. I baby-sit a lot, and it is tiresome to be around him. But like Molly said, it’s probably just a phase. He will get over it.”

Harry tried to sound hopeful, and Hermione gave him an encouraging look. She knew how hard it was when you didn't know what was wrong with your child. With concern in her heart, she looked over at Althea who was still going through her book—unaware of her mother’s worries.

Ginny followed her look. “She is very much like you, you know.”

Hermione looked back at her friend and shrugged. “I guess.”

“She really is,” Harry concurred, “especially with her nose stuck in a book like that. Can she read already?”

“No, I don't think so. I reckon she likes the pictures and makes up her own story with it. But it's hard to know when I can't speak with her.” Hermione sighed. She didn't really want to speak about her problems. “But what else is up with you? Are you working full-time as an Auror now, Harry?”

“Yeah,” he said with a grimace. “But it's mostly boring paperwork and lot of following up on former Death Eaters’ statements. Can you believe some of them still claim to have been placed under the Imperius? And every time someone says that, we have to investigate.”

Hermione giggled at his dramatic groan.

“But no sign of Voldemort?”

“None whatsoever. We think he has left the country. There has been some trouble in the U.S.A.. Dark forces there have been on the move lately, but you know the American Aurors. They are so secretive, and they barely share any information unless they have to. Last year, one of them came and interviewed me, wanting to know if something fitted Voldemort M.O.”

Hermione could see that something was troubling him. “You still want to hunt after him.”

Harry shrugged. “Doesn't matter what I want. If he is in the U.S., I can't. I don't have the jurisdiction. And he had already destroyed my childhood. I won't let him destroy my career and that will happen if I go.”

It surprised her that Harry had managed to make such a mature decision, but when she saw Ginny squeeze his hand and smile at him reassuringly, she guessed they had discussed this many times. Hermione was touched by how close they seemed, but also a little sad for not having someone to be so close to.

“And what about you, Ginny?” Hermione asked. “How is the Quidditch going?”

As she expected, Ginny was more than happy to tell her every last detail about the Quidditch series and her part as a Chaser. It then turned into a discussion about the other people in the Weasley family, which led to Hermione talking about her parents. Althea interrupted them a couple of times because she was bored and then hungry. When Hermione saw how late it was, she suggested that they should make dinner together. Harry surprised her when he showed her that he had become quite a good cook, even if the pasta and tuna dish he made was nothing fancy.

When Althea's bedtime came, Harry and Ginny finally decided it was time to leave as well. Hermione couldn't remember the last time she had had such a good time and hugged them both extra long when they were at the door.

“I've missed you,” she said sheepishly when she finally let go of them.

Ginny's smile was sad. “We have missed you, too. Really. Why don't you come by tomorrow for Sunday dinner at the Burrow? Mum will love meeting Althea.”

Hermione hesitated. A part of her felt like it was too soon. Another part of her wanted to stay in this moment with her friends. It was just like old times. She hadn't realised how lonely she was until just now.

“That would be fun,” she accepted. “What time should I be there?”

“We eat at two, but you can come earlier if you'd like?” Ginny asked and pushed open the door behind her.

Hermione followed them both out and stood at the threshold. “Excellent. Althea could use some good food for a change.”

Harry snorted. “I'm sure you aren't that bad a cook, Hermione.”

“Oh, but I am,” she exclaimed with a sigh and caught sight of Marcus coming up the stairs. She felt her heart make a small loop. Fine, he was a very handsome man, even if he was boring at times. And he was Althea’s father and always very polite. Perhaps she did feel a tiny bit attracted to him.

Both Harry and Ginny heard the steps and looked around right when Marcus came up to them. He gave them a curious smile.

“Hi, Marcus,” Hermione greeted him, not feeling as embarrassed to see him when she was having her friends around to chaperon. “These are my friends, Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter!”

Marcus eyed them both and shook hands. “Good evening.”

“Marcus will be my professor this fall,” Hermione explained.

Ginny gave her a “where do I sign up for class?” look, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Marcus Foster?” Harry asked in surprise.

“Heard about me, Mr Potter?” Marcus asked, mildly surprised.

“Of course! Your spell on how to uncover human transfigurations made by potions is one of the best things that has ever happened to us Aurors,” Harry replied enthusiastically, “especially to our budget since we don't have to have expensive antidotes lying around anymore.”

“Glad to be of service,” Marcus said with a chuckle. “I've always felt that we blessed with a higher intellect should use that to contribute to the society. Wouldn't you agree, Hermione?”

Hermione blushed at the compliment. “Of course.”

He smiled at her before turning his attention back to Hermione’s guests. “Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Mr Potter, Ms Weasley.”

“Likewise,” Harry said, while Ginny smiled.

Marcus nodded at them, walked to his own flat and disappeared inside.

“Oh Merlin's beard, Hermione,” Ginny whispered, excited. “That's your teacher? Yummy!”

Hermione smiled and nodded. “He is very nice—friendly.”

Ginny sighed dreamily, and Harry elbowed her lightly.

“Ey! Do I have to fight for you now as well?”

Ginny giggled. “Perhaps.” She gave him a quick kiss and then turned to hug Hermione again. “We'll see you tomorrow then.”

Hermione agreed. After getting one last hug from Harry, her guests left. She went back inside, cleaned up after the dinner, and then spent a few hours reading before it was time to sleep. But she couldn't really concentrate. She was too happy and relieved that everything had gone so well. It was even better than she had expected, seeing her friends again. It was like no time had passed at all between them.

The relief she had felt diminished by the next morning and was replaced by nervousness again. How would the Weasleys, especially Ron, greet her? She hadn't seen Ron in four years’ time, and their last meeting hadn't been very pleasant. At first, he had tried to deny being with Lavender. When that hadn't worked, he had given her a bunch of made-up excuses. After a while, she had just left, not wanting to continue the argument. When she had later written and told them all she was pregnant, he hadn't answered, and she hadn't bothered trying to write to him again.

Knowing Ron, she was sure their encounter would be forced and uncomfortable. All she could do was hope he wouldn’t make a scene at least.

At half past one, she took her excited daughter in her arms and Apparated them to the Burrow. Just like last time they had travelled far, Althea began to scream. Hermione looked down at the girl. Perhaps she didn't like to travel like this? Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember Apparating or using a Portkey with Althea before moving back to England. She had never taken Althea with her to school and had used her parents’ car if she had to take Althea somewhere.

She tried to shush and comfort her daughter. This was not the way she wanted to see the Weasleys again. She knocked on the back door, dreading the worst.

Ginny opened the door and stared in surprise at the crying Althea.

“What's wrong?” she asked, concerned, as she gestured them inside the kitchen.

“I don't think Althea is very fond of Apparition,” Hermione remarked and looked around nervously.

Molly Weasley, who was setting the table, sighed. “Oh, Bill and Percy were just like that, too. Have you tried a small calming spell? If it is the dizziness and the nausea from Apparating that makes her sad, it will make her feel better almost immediately.”

Hermione shook her head, scowling mentally at herself for not thinking about that before. She withdrew her wand and cast the spell over her daughter, and the screaming turned into soft sobs against her green t-shirt.

“Thank you, Mrs Weasley,” she said gratefully. “I’ve never really travelled with her by magic before. We’ve always used the car in Australia.”

Mrs Weasley nodded in understanding and walked over to them. “Well, it's nice to see you, dear. And finally meeting the little one.”

“It's good to see you, too,” Hermione replied but noted that Mrs Weasley looked a little uncomfortable. “I'm sorry I haven't been by earlier.”

“Not at all, dear, not at all. Ginny told us that you have been busy with school and all. But it's nice to have you back in England again. And Oxford at that! Your parents must be proud.” It didn't sound as genuine as Hermione might have wished for, but she played along.

“Yes, they are. It was lucky I got the scholarship though. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to afford it.”

Mrs Weasley nodded in understanding. “Yes, Percy wanted to go there, but, oh, well. It's nice that you are here. Please, go to the living room and meet the others. Ginny and I just have some last preparations to make.”

“Anything I can help with?” Hermione asked, noticing that Mrs Weasley did appear a bit stressed.

“Aren’t you a dear. But no, we have everything under control. Go ahead. The others are so much looking forward to seeing you again.”

Right then, a pot on the stove began to whistle, and Mrs Weasley hurried to it. Hermione decided it would be for the best to leave them at it.

As she and Althea walked farther into the house, Hermione felt her stomach’s flutter of nervousness. She took a deep breath before walking into the room.

The cosy living room was filled to the brink with various objects. The two brown couches and the two armchairs were occupied by family members. Harry was the first to see her. He rose quickly and went over to hug her. That made the others look up as well.

“Hermione, welcome,” Mr Weasley said as he stood and gave her a somewhat hesitant hug before crouching down next to Althea. “And this must be Althea. Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”

He ruffled her hair in a way Althea didn’t seem to enjoy. The girl moved closer to Hermione’s leg and took a hold of the fabric of Hermione’s jeans as she looked around the room suspiciously.

“It’s nice to be here again,” Hermione said as Mr Weasley rose again. “Hello, everybody!” She waved at everyone else in the room.

George, who she still wasn't used seeing without his now dead twin-brother Fred, was sitting with Angelina Johnson, holding hands. They both smiled at her.

“You are just full of surprises, aren’t you?” George asked, looking from her to Althea

Hermione arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, not only are you being this super-clever witch, you are also this super-Mum, raising a child on her own and all that.”

Hermione forced a smile. She knew he was just trying to be nice and make her feel welcome. However, since she didn’t feel like a super-Mum at all, she felt like the expectations were just higher than she could ever manage.

Thankfully, she was saved by Percy who invited her to come and sit next to him. Taking Althea’s hand, she led the girl to the other side of the room. She was glad to see that Percy seemed to have been assimilated into the family again. Last time she saw him, he had asked for forgiveness from the rest of the Weasleys for shutting them out for three years.

“Hello, Hermione,” Percy said in the same serious tone he usually had. “How is Oxford treating you?”

“Oh, it’s wonderful,” she said while looking at the last person in the room, Ron.

He just stared at her, and when she gave him a tentative smile, he looked away. She sighed. Still uncomfortable. She didn't want to deal with that right now. Instead, she turned her attention back to Percy and continued talking about her studies and asking him about the Ministry. Fifteen minutes after her arrival, Bill and Fleur showed up with their daughter who was just thrilled to see another girl there.

Victoire came over to them and stopped in front of the chair where Althea was sitting.

“Hi,” the other girl said. She had the same white-blond hair as her mother and her father’s deep blue eyes.

Althea, however, seemed to have become shy. Probably because there were so many new faces around. She moved backwards in the chair and grabbed a hold of Hermione’s shirt.

Victoire looked a little confused, but thankfully, the last guest appeared right then: Mrs Tonks and Teddy. Victoire ran over to greet them instead.

Knowing that the boy was a Metamorphmagus, Hermione didn't arch her eyebrows at the boy's blue hair. Althea, however, looked interested.The five-year-old looked around sourly, and when he spotted Althea and Hermione, he stuck out his tongue at them before running into the kitchen again. Hermione was quite baffled, but since Harry had told her about him yesterday, she didn’t comment on it. Not when Althea didn’t seem bothered by it, anyway.

“Now that everyone is here, we can eat,” Mrs Weasley declared happily.

Hermione followed the rest to the dinner table and sat down with Althea between Harry and Percy. Ron was thankfully at the other end of the table; she couldn't have spoken to him even if she knew what to say.

Even though she had always found Percy a bit of a patronising, overly ambitious know-it-all, he was nice to talk to. He was up-to-date with most of the latest research in Transfiguration, and they had quite a bit to talk about. To her great surprise, he had even read her thesis and agreed with her in her conclusions.

After dinner, almost everyone went back to the living room again. Hermione helped Mrs Weasley and Mrs Tonks wash up while keeping an eye on Althea, who was sitting at the dinner table with Victoire and Teddy. Victoire was quite the talker, and Hermione was quite thankful not to be questioned about her daughter's unusual silence. She guessed Harry and Ginny had already told them she didn’t want to talk about it.

However, the moment she turned her back and took her eyes off them, there was a loud thump and Teddy let out a cry.

The three women turned at once and found Teddy lying on the floor.

“What happened?” Mrs Tonks asked, rushing over to see if Teddy was alright.

“She knocked me off the chair!” Teddy wailed and pointed at Althea. “My arm hurts! She hurt my arm!”

“She did magic!” Victoire said, amazed.

“Althea,” Hermione reprimanded. “You shouldn't use magic to hurt people.”

Althea hissed something long which Hermione couldn't understand, but her body language told Hermione she was angry. Hermione lifted her daughter up.

“I'm so sorry,” she said, turning towards Mrs Weasley and Mrs Tonks. “Althea doesn't quite know how to control her magic.”

The older women just stared at her, and she blushed.

“Of course she doesn’t know how to control it, she’s only three,” Mrs Weasley said.

“It isn't very normal for such a young child to know magic at all,” Mrs Tonks commented after a moment. “Does she use it often?”

“Not really, but she can.” Hermione looked down at the floor, embarrassed that Althea had fought with Teddy. The young boy was still yelling at the top of his lungs, vying for attention. “Perhaps it would be best if we left.”

“Nonsense,” came Mrs Weasley's reply, which surprised Hermione greatly, as Mrs Tonks tried to calm Teddy down. “Children do that sort of things if they are stressed. Why don't you just take her outside for a little while to let her calm down? We still have coffee to serve in a little while.”

Grateful that they didn't want to kick her out, Hermione went outside. It was quite nice outside. Warm, but a bit windy. The sun was still high in the sky, and Hermione went to sit with Althea in the shadow at the side of the house.

“I wish you could tell me what happened,” Hermione mumbled to her daughter and placed her on the bench next to her.

Althea hissed something and then looked away from her, pouting. Hermione had the nagging feeling she had said something about wishing Hermione could understand her instead.

“Fine, the only thing I want to know is if you wanted to hurt Teddy?” Hermione asked.

Althea shook her head.

“Did he start it?” After what Harry had told her about the boy, she wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

Althea nodded, and her face turned sour again.

Hermione stroked her daughter’s hair. “Well, the next time, you can just come to me if he is being mean, okay?”

Althea nodded. After a small hesitation, the girl leaned closer and hugged Hermione’s waist. Hermione smiled and hugged Althea back, feeling like they were finally getting somewhere in their mother-daughter relationship.

They had been outside for maybe five minutes when she heard footsteps. Next, Ron came around the corner.

“Er, hi,” he said, looking everywhere but at her.

“Hi, Ron,” she replied cautiously.

“So, long time no see.”

“I guess.”

Silence.

Hermione wasn’t sure how she was supposed to act around him. If he wanted to apologise for his behaviour, then she would be happy to accept it. However, if he was about to start arguing with her, she would just stand up and leave. It was up to him.

“How have you been?” he asked, still not really looking at her.

“Good. Had Althea, finished a bachelor. You?” What did you answer to such a question when you hadn’t seen the person for four years?

“Good, good. Started working with George.”

“I see. Do you enjoy it?”

“Yeah.”

More silence.

Hermione felt a bit aggravated. Was that all he had to say? Although, maybe it was too much to expect him to come with some sort of apology. He had always been too stubborn to admit he was wrong when they were still at Hogwarts, and she got the feeling that hadn’t changed. Perhaps she should just let it be and try to renew their relationship? After all, he could be a very good friend when he wanted to. And it would really help if they were talking to each other since she was going to be involved in Harry and Ginny’s wedding.

“Ron, this is ridiculous,” she finally said. “We were friends for seven years. Surely all that can't all be thrown away over some silly, little fight?”

He finally looked at her and smiled uneasily. “Yeah, seems a bit silly now, doesn't it?”

She smiled back and nodded. “So, friends?”

“Yeah.” He reached out to shake her hand, and she accepted it.

“So, this is Althea?” he asked after they let go, and he sat down on his knees next to the bench.

“Yes, it is,” Hermione said and stroked her daughter's hair.

“She got your eyes,” Ron noted.

“People say that.”

Even after they made peace, it was still uncomfortable between them.

“What's she like?”

“Oh, you know, like a typical three-and-a-half-year-old,” Hermione replied with a shrug.

“Still no idea who the father is?”

Hermione tensed, and to be safe, she just shook her head.

“Well, I'm sure that if anyone can be a good single Mum, it's you.”

She was sure that he complimented her to make up for his behaviour, but she didn't feel any better due to it. In fact, she felt rather uneasy. She didn't feel like a good mother at all.

“Thanks,” she said barely audible because of her discomfort.

After another awkward moment of silence, Ron said, “Uhm, I'm sure Mum has the coffee ready by now. Shall we go in?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She stood and helped Ron up. Then, she took Althea's hand and led her into the house again, relieved that the visit was going much better than she had anticipated.

And all was well.

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