SKELETONS

O N E - F A M I L Y

Hermione smiled at her parents as they sat on the sofa, watching the clock. Her mother, a beautiful woman with soft brown hair and the same kind eyes as Hermione, bit on her lip warily.

"Are you sure everything is safe now? That... that the evil wizard wont find a way back?" She spoke in hushed tones as her eyes darted around the room, as though she thought someone may be listening in. Hermione smiled reassuringly. She knew her parents were nervous, especially after she had wiped their memories last year.

She had struggled initially to reverse the effects of her obliviate and had feared that she would not be able to. Although they had finally remembered her after a lot of hard magic, it had taken her much longer to get back every little memory, from wiping food from her mouth as a baby to taking her shopping for her ball gowns; she still wasnt sure she hadn't missed some.

But there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. Hermione had seen herself the moment Voldemort fell, the moment he had fallen apart. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the safest she had ever been.

"Yes, please don't worry, either of you. I know its hard to understand but trust me, we did it this time." She knew they were still hurt and scared, even though there was no longer any need, so tried her best to be reassuring. Hermione looked down at the letter in her hand to double check the time. Ron had said he'd be there at 5pm- it was now 5:45. She felt her stomach start to twist.

Things had been weird with Ron for quite a while now. Hermione had tried to be understanding. Whenever she thought about confronting him, she remembered him lying over Fred's body and sobbing like a small child. She knew his grief was consuming him but it was becoming hard to accept this as an excuse. How much loss had Harry experienced without ever acting like this?

Just as she was getting lost in her thoughts, a loud CRACK echoed through the room, and she saw Mr. Weasley stood in front of her. Her parents had jumped at the sound and were staring open mouthed at him- they could never get used to this.

"Oh I am so sorry! I did not mean to frighten you! I should've knocked, I just didn't want to be any later!" Mr. Weasley rambled, feeling rather bad. Her father shook his head.

"Not at all, Arthur! So lovely to see you again!" The two men shook hands, laughing heartily.

"Hermione," Mr. Weasley said, much more gently now. "How are you?"

"I'm very well thank you, but where's Ron? I thought he was coming to have dinner with my parents before we went to the burrow? I wanted to show him a muggle park..." Mr. Weasley wrung his hand at the mention of Ron, even though he knew it would have to come up.

"Ah, Ronald, yes, he isn't feeling too good so he has had to stay home." He turned to Hermione's parents. "He sends his apologies, I hope you understand, we do not want to infect you with any magical ailments!" Her mother smiled sympathetically.

"Oh, bless him, of course, of course! Oh I do hope he feels better soon, let me dish out some of the soup I was going to serve tonight, its my mother's recipe, perfect for colds and flus!" She gushed, and proceeded to hurry into the kitchen. Her father (having been asked about his job as a dentist) soon started talking about the importance of flossing, though judging by Mr. Weasley's reaction you would be forgiven for thinking he had been explaining the meaning of life.

This gave Hermione time to stew on Ron's absence. She didn't believe for a minute he was ill; how disrespectful could he be! He could have written to explain why he wasn't coming, or at least not left it until he was already late to send his father. By the time her mum had so lovingly packed up some soup, and she had gathered all her belongings, Hermione was almost shaking with anger. She pushed it down while she hugged her parents goodbye and, much to her father's delight, Mr. Weasley made sure she had packed a sufficient amount of dental floss.