Seven Years Lost

Hermione had sent her acceptance of Ron’s invitation to tea right away. He had asked his brothers to entertain Sergei at their shop while he met with her. They agreed, and knowing Ron would need time, told him that they would take him to dinner that night.



He had to admit that having unlimited time to speak to Hermione made him feel less stressed. They could relax and speak candidly. He set Leela to task preparing tea and flipped through his quidditch magazines until a flash of the floo went off and Hermione emerged.



“Hello,” he said rising giving her cheek a kiss and hugging her, “I’m glad you could make it.”



“There is no way I would refuse this Ron.” She told him sitting down. She gave him a look as Leela approached with tea. “A house elf Ron?”



“Hermione, I never had the same viewpoint about house elves that you did, and besides Dumbledore said she was unhappy at Hogwarts. She told him herself that she wanted one family to serve. Isn’t that right Leela?”



“Yes master Ron.” She continued pouring.



“You at least pay her right Ron.” Ron rolled his eyes. Hermione had still not eased up on that.



“I give her a knut every month.” He said.



“A knut?!” She was shocked.



“She won’t take more then that and she gives it back.” Ron laughed. “She puts them in the jar in Sergei’s room.” Leela was eyeing Ron with terror. “I won’t give you clothes.” The little creature let out a sigh of relief and scurried off to the kitchen.



“Ron, I want to apologize……”



“Hermione don’t.” He stopped her and put the tea down. “Don’t apologize for feeling what you felt.”



“But it was….”



“No, Hermione it wasn’t. What was wrong was not chucking me before hand, but I can forgive that.”



“You can?” She asked with a confused look.



“Yes. Loving someone is nothing to be ashamed of and it’s nothing to apologize for.”



“Well, if that’s how you feel, why were you so angry that night?” She asked in a quiet voice almost afraid of his answer.



“I won’t say I didn’t feel betrayed because I was. The fact that my girlfriend didn’t want me hurt, I won’t lie. The fact that she went to a former teacher that I hated at the time didn’t help matters.” Hermione’s face fell. “What hurt the most was that you lied to me. You didn’t end it with me. You could have come to me and said you didn’t see a future for us and I would have taken it better. I would have been emotional but I would have taken it better. I hate being lied to.”



Hermione let a tear slip down her cheek. “I thought you might fly into a rage if I told you.”



Ron laughed. “At that age I was prone to fly into a rage anyway no matter what. I would have yelled regardless I think, but the things I said and leaving the way I did came from being lied to. I doubt I would have run if I hadn’t been lied to. I might have sulked and not spoken to anyone.” He let out a sigh. “I always thought we could be honest with other if nobody else.”



“Severus wanted me to call it off. He told me several times that it wasn’t right.”



“Did he? Well as a man he’d know how I would have felt.”



“I told him I was afraid of hurting you.”



“What he have to say to that?”



She gave a smile and shrugged. “He said I was hurting you as it was, the he said you would react worse if I hid it from you.”



Ron let out a loud laugh from his gut. “Well he is known for his intelligence. He’s a man and he knows how men think.”



“Yes, I know that now.” She wiped away her tears. “Where has this Ron been?” She said with a laugh.



“I’ve been in Russia and I’ve had a lot of time to think and grow up.”



“Why weren’t out his calm seven years ago?” She asked.



“I was a young man and I had a quick temper. Being in Russia was a life changing experience. Having Sergei has changed me a lot too.”



“So you’ve forgiven me?” She asked letting a tear fall.



“Yes, I forgave you a long time ago, I just never wrote. I know that’s not big of me, but I have no excuses.”



She nodded. “How did you end up in Russia? Why didn’t we ever hear from you?”



“I got a letter from a man in Russia named Anton Chelnokov, he had an estate and needed a landscaper and a creature keeper. He heard about me from someone that bought thestrels from Hagrid. He wrote to me and said he had a position.”



“When? I never heard about a letter.” She said.



“I got it the morning we fought. I went to your flat intending to ask your opinion on it, but instead I found the letter.”



Hermione shut her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t even there for you that night.”



“No it’s in the past. Don’t worry about that. We already had that conversation.”



She nodded and forced her tears back. “So you went.”



“Yes. I took off that night. I know it was cowardly of me but it was a way out and an excuse to be alone.”



“So you’ve been a game keeper in Russia this whole time?” She laughed. “Like Hagrid?”



“Yes, like Hagrid, but it’s a bit more then that. I’m also a creature healer, Hagrid is just a keeper and a tender.”



“Is that how you can afford all this?” She asked looking around at the big house. “Draco said you were a man of means now.”



“No. I came into my money from Anton. He had no family so me, Vladimir, and eventually Sergei were always invited to dinner. It became a regular thing and we became a family. He found out that Vladimir had lost his parents already and all he had was Sergei. He knew about my family and thought it was sad that I ran, but he knew I was hurt.”



She nodded. “Didn’t he want you to be with your family, seeing as how he didn’t have one of his own?”



“I knew he did, but at the same time me and Vladimir filled the void in his elderly years and he was glad we were there. We all three became the family that Anton never had, Vladimir had lost, and I had left. Since he had no family of his own, Anton decided to leave the estate between the two of us. When Vladimir died and I started the adoption process he changed his will and left everything to me.”



Hermione’s eyes shot open. “Ron that’s unbelievable.”



He nodded. “He spoke to me after he changed it asking for certain things to be done. He had fallen ill just after Vladimir died and wanted everything in order.”



“What things?” She leaned forward like she always did when she was interested in something.



“He wanted his ashes taken to a specific place. He wanted his creatures sold to certain people. He wanted his home and property sold as well. Then he wanted me to take the money and Sergei and go home.”



Hermione felt her tears welling up. “Bloody hell Hermione, your eyes are going to be bloodshot when you leave.” He said handing her a handkerchief.



She laughed. “I know, but it’s just such a story Ron.”



“I know, I couldn’t refuse. Being around Sergei made my life so different. I can forgive anything because of him. I am more focused on what’s important now because of him. I wanted to give him the family Anton and Vladimir always wanted themselves. I wanted him to be around the people that were important to me, because he would be important to them too.”



“Ron, what about his mother?”



“There isn’t one.” Ron’s face closed up.



“There has to be. Would she want her son if his father is…..”



“Hermione there isn’t one. The Russian ministry wouldn’t have allowed his adoption if that was an issue.” Ron didn’t add that abandonment of more then two years was cause to strip parental rights in favor of an adoptive petitioner according to Russian law.



Hermione had never heard him speak so firmly. “Alright then.” She would get no more information about it. It wasn’t her business anyway.



“So life with Severus has been good then?” He asked changing the subject. It didn’t go unnoticed by Hermione but she was glad to remove the tension.



“It has. I decided to get my potion’s mastery.”



He raised his eyebrows. “Really? And already living with a certified master made it easier?”



“Well, not exactly easy. The test is very complex. It takes three days to complete, but there are advantages to having the sole attention of a teacher.”



“Yes I can imagine.” He said with a grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows.



“Ronald.” She said in her warning voice, then shared a laugh with him. It felt wonderful to laugh with him again. She had once thought that would never happen but it had and she was glad.



“I still love you Ron.” She told him.



“I know and I love you too. Now I’m able to understand how.” He said as she stepped into the floo.



“I never thought you would understand that.”



“Well I do now.” He told her. “You can’t have the adventures we’ve had in our lives and not love someone who went through it at your side.” She leaned down and gave him a kiss, but where there used to be fire but now just a comforting feeling.



She vanished through the floo. Leela brought him dinner while he returned to his magazine. He was halfway through it when an owl arrived.



“Ronald,

I have found the hospital on the birth certificate. It is a small muggle hospital in the country but they are bound to have records of the birth, most hospitals, even the smallest, keep charts on all their patients.

I will update you as soon as I have more information. I do not know if there is a fee for access to records, if there is I will send the amount.

Luna”



Ron suddenly felt his heart race. If it was a muggle hospital, then was his mother muggle born? Was she muggle? Was that why she abandoned him? Was she ashamed of a magical baby? So many questions left unanswered. He needed to have the answers for Sergei.



“Ron!!” He looked up and quickly pocketed the letter as Sergei came running out of the floo throwing himself into Ron’s lap. Fred and George followed with a bag in each.



“Did you have a good time?” Ron asked.



“Yes, the store is so big, and full of all kinds of things!” He said beaming.



“Yes, I know it is. Most likely it’s gotten better since I’ve been gone. What’s all that?” He asked Fred and George.



“Clothes. He said you were going to take him shopping so we started a bit for you.”



“Alright.” He watched as Sergei pulled out a few shirts and some jeans and another pair of shoes. “What do I owe you then?”



“Come off it Ron, it’s family.” Fred said, stepping into the floo.



Ron let out a laugh. “Alright. Thanks for minding him today.”



“Anytime little brother.” George shouted as the floo carried them off.





*Anton Chelnokov is the name I took from a Cirque Du Soleil show called Varekai, (he plays Icarus) I used it for the Russia name in this fix because the young man who had the name spoke so beautifully and I’m a sucker for a pretty face.