Seven Years Lost

Ron glanced around at the country he had not set foot in for a little over seven years. “You used to live here?” He smiled down at the six year old boy. He had know Sergei his whole life and had been Ron’s adopted son for a complete week now. Ron made the decision to take him home to be among a big huge family and a large circle of friends, something Sergei had been denied.

“Yes I did, and I can’t wait to show it to you.” Ron took the young mans hand and together apparated to the Ministry of Magic. Sergei was very patient for a boy his age. Even though he had a high level of energy he made no commotion as Ron settled the parchments necessary for bringing his adopted son into England. It proved no problem as Ron had made sure all the requirements were set before leaving Russia.

The promise of lunch kept the boy equally patient at Gringotts where Ron made sure that his accounts were transferred from Russia to England and the currency exchanged settled without issues. He was now a man of substantial fortune and he planned to use to give Sergei a new life.

With his life and his new son’s now officially in England, Ron and Sergei walked down Diagon Alley, glancing about at the familiar shops. The shopping strip was just as he remembered, full of life and very welcoming. He guided Sergei to a familiar café and soon the two were seated and lunch ordered.

“Where are we going to live?” Sergei asked, biting into his sandwich.

“I’ll arrange for a room at the Three Broomsticks while we look for a house of our own.” He said taking into his own meal. “After we finish eating I want to take you to my parents house.”

“Yo pawands?” He asked.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, but yes my parents. Your grandparents now.” Sergei’s smile faded slightly. “What is it Sergei?”

“I’m not really your son.” He said in a quiet voice. Ron looked him straight in the eye.

“Let me tell you something about my family,” Ron said looking him in the eye, “if I say you are my son and you are, then they will say it too. My family accepts everyone without question.” Sergei’s mood lifted but Ron knew he was still apprehensive about the meeting.

“So you came back to England did you?” Ron looked up and smiled brightly at Draco Malfoy.

“Draco, good to see you again mate.” He stood and shook hands with the aristocratic blonde. “Have a seat will you?”

“Good to see you too,” he said taking a seat and focusing on Sergei, “and how are you sir?” Smiling as the boys eyes lifted at being addressed as ‘sir’.

“I’m well thank you sir.” He said summoning all his politeness.

“Draco this is my son, Sergei. Sergei this is Draco Malfoy. We went to school together.”

“Your son?” Draco asked looking closer at Sergei.

The look didn’t go unnoticed by Sergei though and he was quick to speak. “The courts said so.” He said with a look to Ron.

“Good for them.” Draco said with firmness. It made Sergei’s smile even broader. He hoped everyone they met would be as friendly as this man.

While Sergei focused on his meal Draco spoke to Ron. “Are you staying for good then?”

“Yes, it’s about time I came home, and now that I have Sergei I want to give him a proper home.” Draco nodded.

“What about his parents?” Draco asked.

“His father is dead, about six months now. It took until about a week ago to finalize his adoption. I used to work with his father in Russia, I’ve known him since he was four days old.”

“What about his mother?” Draco asked.

“There isn’t one.” Draco’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s what took so long with his adoption. We had to prove abandonment.” Ron took a drink.

Draco nodded. It was obvious Ron would say nothing else. “Does your family know you’re here?”

“No, nobody knows.” He said with a guilty grin.

“Not even Harry? I would have though you would have at least kept in touch with Potter.” Ron had to chuckle, even though old adversarial relationships were all but gone, Draco still unknowingly slipped out a ’Potter’ on occasion.

“I have kept in touch with Harry, but only him and I asked him to keep quiet about me writing to him. I told him that I was thinking about returning, but I didn’t tell him why or that I had made a decision. Has he told you anything about me?” Ron asked.

“No. The last I heard of you was the letter Harry got just after you left.” Ron nodded. “Are you going to see her?”

Ron knew instantly who he was talking about. “Yes I’m going to talk to her. It’s past time I did, there’s no reason to put it off.”

“So are you going to forgive her?” Draco asked with a hopeful smile.

“I forgave her years ago but I just never said anything about it. It’s about time I did.” He glanced at Sergei briefly, who was busy watching other patrons. “How is she, are they still together?”

“Yes, they live together. They have for several years.”

“I’m glad.” Ron said. “They’re happy?”

“Yes, very. Harry didn’t say anything in his letters?”

Ron shook his head. “I asked Harry in the first letter I sent him not to mention her to me and vise versa. I didn’t want anyone to know anything, I just wanted to vanish for awhile.” Draco nodded, understanding perfectly. He might have don’t the same thing.

Ron and Hermione Granger dated during the tail end of seventh year at Hogwarts, after the fall of the Dark Lord. Everyone had seen it coming but not a soul saw what eventually would happen. They seemed to be the perfect couple, having been friends for so long, Ron assumed the same himself, until the fateful day when he found a letter from a man asking her to let him know when they would meet again. Ron flew into a rage demanding to know everything so Hermione told him.

She had met him at a book signing by an author they both admired. They had tea and kept talking eventually they had sex. Hermione regretted it but when she met him again to tell him it was a mistake but it happened again.

Ron took off that day. Just packing a rucksack and apparating away. Three weeks later Harry received a letter from Ron telling him that he was fine and to only tell his family that he was taking some time to himself and he was settled. He asked Harry not to let anyone know that he was writing. Harry true to his word said nothing and Ron kept in touch sporadically over the years.

Ron brought himself back to the present. “The past is the past Draco, it’s time to deal with now and I’m glad they are happy.” He glanced at Sergei. “I’m happy too.”

Draco nodded. It was hard not to be happy around this kid. “That’s a good way to think. She was really tearing herself apart when you took off.”

Ron shut his eyes briefly and opened them. He hadn’t thought about Hermione’s reaction to his departure for years. He didn’t care when it happened and afterwards it didn’t seem too important. Draco mentioning it made him face reality. If he was going to make peace with Hermione he needed to know what she went through when he left. “How so?”

“After you left she cried all the time to everyone, Harry, Ginny, the twins, Luna. She didn’t answer owls, or that phone thing that Harry used. She got over it in time, and she still feels guilty about it now, but for the first few months it took her over.”

“You see her often?” Ron asked.

“Yes, they are frequent dinner guests at the manor since he’s friends with my father. They are coming over tonight actually.”

“Really?” Ron said in response to the sarcastic smile Draco was giving him.

“Yes, really. If you and Sergei here don’t have any plans for dinner, it would be great to have two more men for dinner.” Sergei’s smile accompanied a blush at being called a man.

Ron smiled. “Alright, but don’t tell her I’m coming.”

“We’ll see you at six o’clock then.” With a handshake to Ron and one for Sergei, the blonde left. Ron thought about meeting Hermione after seven years of being away. He used to think about her and get angry, but not anymore. He looked over to Sergei waiting patiently and smiled. He found it hard to get angry nowadays. How could he be angry when this boy was now his son? Sergei in his short six years had taught him how to forgive anything from the smallest white lie to the biggest betrayal.

Hermione had betrayed him in the worst way, but time to reflect had made him understand. If she had felt as strongly about him as she thought then it would have been easy to resist. He just wasn’t the man for her, but when he found out he had reacted as a temperamental young man normally did. He told himself over and over that Hermione should have told him, but in the end nothing really mattered. Sergei had taught him that. Forgiveness can always be given. It was time to deal with unresolved issues.

For now however, he wanted Sergei to meet his new family. He shouldered his bag and together they left for the burrow.


A/N: This is less smutty then some of my others but as it came together, the story seemed to just write itself and the smut took a second place to the story. If you dont like it i'm sorry but this one would not let me rest and I found myself wasking uo at night until it was written. I will post the rest last tongiht or tommorow.