Living Memory

Epilogue: Hermione

            I look forward towards the horizon.  It is a beautiful day.  My husband and son are walking along the beach together.  Tyler is showing Ron the world through the eyes of a child.  The treatments with the Pensieve have been going as well as anyone could expect.  Ron is still quiet at times, and the humor he once had is slowly coming back.  I doubt that his sense of humor will come back to the way it was.

            "Look, Daddy!" said Tyler as he guides Ron to look at a cluster of starfish.

            "There's a lot of them.  They like shallow water," said Ron.

            Ron still feels a lot of pain and loss.  Ron made the request of seeing Mr. and Mrs. Adams, the parents of Samantha Adams, to tell them about her.  The meeting was fret with pain and heartache for all three of them.

            Mr. and Mrs. Adams' home in Salem, Massachusetts was small and cozy.  They were expecting us.  I remember how old they seemed.  Ron's parents had the same wore look.  Mrs. Adams greeted Ron as if he were a son. 

            "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," said Mr. Adams in a weak voice.

            "I am sorry about what happened to your daughter," I said to Mr. Adams in a helpless voice.  I was glad that Ron was alive, but I also felt guilty about all the other families.  Their loved ones were never coming home again.

            "I've read the news, Mrs. Weasley.  I know what happened to my daughter," said Mr. Adams in a sad tone. 

            "I made a promise to her, Mr. Adams.  I promised her I would bring her home.  I brought this back to you.  She's buried in Boston," whispered Ron.  "It's my fault she died."

            "It is not your fault.  It is not the Continuum's fault.  It is just how things happened, my dear," said Mrs. Adams as she took the precious necklace from Ron.  Her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

            I watched as my husband's expressionless eyes turn to sadness.  He's in more pain than I could imagine.  I can't help, but blame everything on the Continuum.  It amazed me that the Adams could blame no one. 

            "She's in a place where no one can harm her," said Mr. Adams.

            "My dear.  You were the one who stayed with her.  You should keep this.  It will protect you. It protected her.  She did not die alone.  Keep this with you," whispered Mrs. Adams as she unclasped the necklace and placed it around Ron's neck.  She planted a tender, maternal kiss on his cheek. 

            He embraced her.  Mrs. Adams held him like a mother.  "You will come to her memorial service won't you?" asked Mrs. Adams.

            "You don't even have to ask," I answered for both of us.

            We stayed in Salem for two days before the memorial service.  Samantha Adams' body was reburied in Salem.  It was a very difficult day for my husband and me.

            Ron hasn't really cut his hair since he came home.  His mother made no attempt to force him.  I thought it made him look younger than before.  His heart is heavy most of the time.  He is more thoughtful and observant.  He was a student in human nature.

            The nights are still the most difficult times for Ron.  He sometimes wakes up in a cold sweat with his heart racing and his breathing shallow.  I do the only thing I can do.  I hold him until his fears subside again.  Once after making love, he broke out into sobs.  I held him until the morning that night. 

            Ron always tries to keep his fears and nightmares between us.  He never really expresses them to his family or to Tyler.  Harry knows about Ron's fears.  He talks to Ron on long stretches.  At first, Ron stayed closer to me and Tyler.  He kept his distance from everyone else.

            Harry and Ron talk often.  Harry retells the tales from our school days at Hogwarts.  Ron listens more these days than he used to.  He is more patient.  Harry and I contributed the most into the Pensieve because the three of us share so many secrets.

            Tyler loves his father.  He is now four-years-old.  He takes after his father and through him Ron can see himself as a boy.  The center of Tyler's world is Ron.  He likes to follow his father around.  He even likes to copy the way he walks and sits.  Ron is puzzled by Tyler's attitude towards him.  He wonders why a small boy worships the ground he walks on.  Tyler is talking more than ever, but unlike most people, Ron always hears him out. 

            My relationship with my husband has changed on many levels.  I realized that center of Ron's world as Dante was me.  It was me that he was looking for, not his old life.  I have remained by his side always.  Does he love me?

            At first glance, I am not sure.  However, sometimes, when Ron doesn't think I'm watching, I can tell he watches me.  The look on his face tells me that he loves me.  He doesn't let me know it through words.  Ron's new patience allows him to take his time.  He smiles at me and I still feel like I'm going to melt in the inside.  We go out together on dates to get reacquainted with each other.  Tyler stays at home with Harry during those evenings.  Tyler likes to giggle at me and his father. 

            Ron's magic progresses slowly.  The whole concept is foreign to him.  Just recently, we were at Mr. Ollivander's shop again in Diagon Alley.  He was rather surprise to find that Ron's wand was now different from his old one.  His wand now is made out of mahogany with a dragon's heartstring in it.  Mr. Ollivander said that it had to be something stronger to reflect his powers.  Mr. Ollivander didn't expect that wand to change so drastically for Ron.

            At times, it is frustrating for Ron.  It must be.  For the most part, I am the one who is re-teaching that magic to him.  He remains patient, but there are times where both of us just stop for day.  The Pensieve helped him relive some of the lessons, but things were still different.  Ron's powers were suppressed for so long.  They are coming back full force and with extra power.  It is slow going because Ron has to start at the beginning.  I wouldn't be surprised if it took another seven years before he is fully ready. 

            "Daddy, look at the crab," said Tyler as he pointed at the little shells with little feet making its way to the shallow water.

            "How do you know there is a crab in there?" asked Ron.

            "Mummy said so," replied Tyler. 

            "Then, there must be a crab in there," agreed Ron. 

            I smile at the conversation.  Tyler was growing up so fast, and Ron felt bad about missing so much.  Tyler doesn't know how much he helps his father.  He assumes that his father knows everything.  Tyler is getting taller already.  He is going to be as big as his father. 

            I think of the world.  We're at the beach.  It seems so perfectly calm here.  I know better.  All around us there is a conflict brewing.  The wizarding world is more paranoid of the Muggles than ever.  Draco Malfoy scoffs at the very idea.  They have no magic what could they possible do to us?  The only reason why the Continuum succeed was because of the wizards and witches that were with them.  Either way, people are more and more mistrusting.  The new students arriving to Hogwarts can feel it.  All over the world, the news of the Continuum spread.  The Muggles knew about the labs, but they thought it was due to the madness of Alexander Curtis.  The press of the wizarding world wanted to know what the Continuum's findings were, but the findings were sealed by the Ministry of Magic by the Department of Mysteries' Bode and Croaker. 

            I know what the findings were, and they were miraculous.  The Continuum had unlock the genetic code for magic.  The findings were enough to make any pure blood uneasy; they weren't as special as they thought they were.  The Ministry is very careful now.  They don't want another group of Death Eaters or another Continuum to arise out of the ashes.  For all the bad things the Continuum did, they still had valuable information.  However, most of the wizards couldn't understand the science behind all of it.  They were completely unaware of the Muggle magic known as science.  They had no idea that Muggles learned how to manipulate nature and space.  They had no idea that some had come up with equations that could predict the speed of an object or how to make potent potions. 

            I am still an Auror, and now there is more work than ever.  I am allowed to be away, while Percy, Harry, and Draco continue to work tirelessly.  Harry and Draco are now permanent partners, which is something they both begrudgingly accept.  Percy makes sure that the Aurors don't use excessive force against the Muggles. 

            It was still unbelievable to many that wizards would even think of helping Muggles in the pursuit of unlocking the secrets of magic.  Charles Jones was very popular among the British and Irish wizards.  Many felt betrayed by his deception, none more than his wife.  The names of the wizard Continuum members were published.  Their families were thrown into utter disgraced. 

            Amos Diggory will not allow paranoia to overtake all of us.  With my father-in-law's help, Minister Diggory has kept the hysteria low, but not the underlying fear.  I am afraid of the future for my son and husband.  When people see Ron, they are afraid of him.  The only people who aren't afraid of him other than myself, Tyler, and his family are Harry, Draco, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin.  The Ministry admires Ron for his ability to survive, but they know of the things he has done. 

            The dark days of Dante will never leave Ron.  As I have said, he still has nightmares at night.  Ron has more to be afraid of than anyone else.  He had his own demons within him.  Before, he was the strength that I drew on, now I am his.  Our family will never be the same again.  The other families of the other victims of the Continuum now have the closure that they needed.  I know why they are called the Continuum because the damage they have done has really no beginning or end.  It will always remain in the world. 

            A new dawn approaches all of us, but we cannot let ourselves be afraid of what the future holds.  Ron and I will face this brave new world together.  We are each other's past, present, and future. 

            "Mummy!" called Tyler to me. 

            "I'm coming, my love," I said as I walk towards my husband and son. 

            Everything is all right for now.  The future is uncertain, but together we can do anything.

AN: This has got to be the riskiest fic I've ever written.  It wasn't a typical Ron and Hermione fic.  I'm still trying to decide what I really want to do for the next fic.  After reading some Lily and Marauders fics and JK's articles about Sirius and Remus, I feel like doing something different.  I was thinking of doing a superhero thing or a fic about Sirius Black and his family.  I'm still writing the Angel of the Apocalypse if anyone cares.  People tend to ask for it to be updated as part of a review for other fics, so it's hard to gauge the interest in it.  This month is my birthday.  It's a date that's mentioned in the fourth book.  ^_^  Can anyone figure it out?  That's the only clue I'll give. 

What would I like for my birthday?  I don't know.  I'm still waiting for my Harry Potter DVD to come in the mail.  ;_; 

Not a really happy ending, not a really sad ending.  Just an ending with a glimmer of hope. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and most of the characters.  They belong to JK Rowling.