Chapter 8: Meet Matthew

After having lunch with Ashley, Ron felt like talking to Harry. So he left for the park where Hermione had taken him to meet his first ‘date’, sat on a cozy park bench and called Harry.

“Harry here.”

“Hey, Harry. This is Ron!”

“Hey, Ron! What’s up, mate?”

“I am fine. How about you? How’s Hilary? Is she there? Say hi to her.”

“I am fine. Hilary is fine. Hey, I will be coming soon for Ginny’s wedding. I invited Hilary too and she has agreed to come. How is everybody there? Mrs. Weasley must be very busy.”

“Yeah, yeah. She’s busy with the wedding and Ginny’s busy daydreaming about it.”

Harry laughed.

“Oh, by the way, just guess who I met the first day I came home?”

“Sorry, mate. Guessing is not my job, it’s Hermione’s.”

“Exactly.”

“Sorry? What do you mean by ‘exactly’?"

“I mean, I met Hermione.”

“Hermione?”

“Yeah… She’s immediate assistant to Dad in the Muggle relations department. Dad put her in charge of a project along with me.”

“Project? With you? Well, this is new. What’s the project about?”

“It’s…er……kind of personal and too long to talk about on the phone. I’ll tell you when you come home. OK?”

“Oh man, I must come soon. I can’t handle this suspense. Anyway, how come you called?”

“Excuse me, since when did I need a reason to talk to my best friend?”

“Of course not. I am glad you called. Ron, mate, I gotta go. Hilary’s calling me. Say hi to your family from me. Say a special hello to Hermione…and I want to know everything about this project you’re in, the moment I come.”

“Yeah, sure! Well the project’s sort of over. But I can’t wait to tell you. See ya, Harry.”

“Yeah…bye, Ron.”

Ron disconnected his cell and started watching people around him. There were some old people sitting on the bench and probably discussing politics, joggers running along the track, kids playing with their parents. As his eyes passed the group of kids, they stopped to take a second look. There was something too familiar about the people sitting in the group. The woman had brown hair and had an open book lying next to her, as she played with two red-headed children.

Red-headed children? He stepped closer to have a better look and realized that the woman was none other than Hermione and the kids were his niece and nephew, Prissy and Phil.

“Hi, Hermione!”

Hermione looked up and gave a surprised “Ron!”

“How come you are here? I thought you hated parks.”

“No actually, I don’t. Just came in here for a stroll, to clear up my mind,” Ron said, absently playing with the letter (to Hermione) in his pocket.

“Oh! Is something wrong?”

“Wrong? Oh, no, nothing’s wrong. It’s just that I was alone, and I got thinking something and just got carried away. You know, living with Harry for fifteen years does have that effect on you.”

Hermione laughed and that made Ron happy and nervous at the same time. How was he going to talk to her about his feelings?

“Um…Hermione. What brings you here? How come you didn’t come this morning?”

“Actually, I had offered to baby-sit Phil and Prissy since Ginny had to attend a luncheon with Mark. So I got held up in finishing my morning chores. For your second question, you see actually, my -“

Before Hermione could continue, they heard an excited shout, “Muuuuuuum! Look at me!”

Both Ron and Hermione’s heads turned in the direction of the voice and they saw a kid balancing himself on the railing of a bridge in the park. Hermione gave a frightened gasp and shouted angrily, “MATTHEW CHRISTOPHER GRANGER! GET DOWN FROM THAT BRIDGE RAILING RIGHT NOW!”

Hermione thrusted Phil from her arms to his and ran towards Matthew, scolding him, “Matthew! What is wrong with you? Don’t you dare do that again!”

Ron didn’t hear much. He was beginning to turn numb with shock, as the meaning of the conversation between Hermione and Matthew began to sink in.
“Ron? Are you all right?”

Ron stumbled back to reality and said, “Huh? Yeah, yeah, I am fine.”

“Okay, let me introduce you to Matthew Granger…my son. And Matthew, this is Ron, my friend from school. He is Aunt Ginny’s brother. Ron, I need to ask you a favor.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you take me to the Burrow? I have to drop the kids.”

“Okay, sure. Let’s go.”

Although he was responding to everything that Hermione was talking, it was all mechanical. Hermione? She has a son? And nobody told him? Not even Hermione? Why? All the way home he listened absently to what Hermione was saying, the kids were babbling, but absorbed nothing. They reached the Borrow and Hermione handed over the kids. Percy and Penny had come over. Actually, almost the whole family was there. Ron wondered why.

Mrs. Weasley’s voice broke his train of thoughts.

“Oh good, Ron, Hermione, you are here. I have an announcement to make.”

“What’s going on, Mum?” Ron asked.

“I have a surprise for two very special members of the family.” Molly paused for the effect. “Ginny and I have arranged a baby shower for Angelina and Alicia.”

The women broke out in squeals of excitement so loud that the men, even Mr. Weasley, had to cover their ears.

Finally, Mr. Weasley had to shout above everybody’s din, “Okay, okay. Settle down. You haven’t heard the whole thing yet. The whole function is tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Merlin, Molly, how are you going to do it?”

“Do you need some help?”

“We could lend you a hand.”

Angelina and Alicia started offering help to Mrs. Weasley, almost completing each other’s sentences. They were looking so funny that Ron could not help but snicker and say, “Gee, girls. Looks like the twins are finally rubbing off on you. Completing each other’s sentences, eh?”

Everybody laughed out aloud while agreeing. Finally, Mrs. Weasley told them, “Don’t worry, dears. You just relax and enjoy the whole thing. It is your day. I have everything under control. Besides, Penny, Hermione and Ginny are always there. So just relax. Fred, George, you better care for them.”

“Of course, Mum!”

After all the excitement had settled down over dinner, Hermione and Matt left and everybody retired to bed. But, for once, Ron didn’t feel sleepy at all. He was heartbroken, hurt, confused all at the same time. The letter was still with him. He didn’t know what to do with it. Maybe, I’ll just let it be.

Agreeing with his own thought, sleep finally crept in his eyes.

~*~

The attic was one of Ron’s most favorite places in the house. It was the only place that provided him solace, even more than his own room, because he never got privacy there with Fred and George always there to tease him or do something else to irritate him. Of course, the twins could have always come to disturb him there, but Ron was clever enough to come there when the twins were busy being rebuked by their mother for the umpteenth time. Soon, the scolding session would finish, but the twins would find something else to occupy their mind (and hands), forgetting everything about pulling a prank on Ron. But that was not for long. That was a reason why Ron valued his solitude so much till he went to Hogwarts and met Harry. After that, everything changed. All the peace he found in the solitude of the attic, he found the same in the company of Harry and Hermione.

But now, he needed this solace again because Harry wasn’t there with him and the reason he needed the solitude was Hermione. That was the reason why he found himself in the attic, reading the letter to Hermione again and again, and thinking over what to do next, while the rest of the household was busy helping in the ‘twin’ baby shower celebration.

Suddenly, the door of the attic opened and who else had to enter, but Matthew. But somehow he didn’t seem in a mood to exchange pleasantries, because, as soon as he saw Ron, he placed his finger on his lips, and ran away to hide behind some trunks. Ron sat confused, till Ginny came in.

“Hey, Ron, have you seen Matthew? He just disappeared from the living room. The little midget.”

Ron immediately understood the reason behind Matt’s hurry and said smilingly, “No, Ginny. Nobody has come here. I have been sitting here for a pretty long time.”

“Oh, okay. But please come down soon. We might need a hand down there.”

“Okay, Ginny. You go ahead. I’ll be right there in a few.”

With that, Ginny went back to searching for the kid who was right now hiding in the attic.

“All clear, Matt! You can come out now.”

“Oh! Thank Merlin!”

“Why are you hiding here?”

“To escape from Aunt Ginny’s friends. You know, I love Aunt Ginny, but when her friends come, they always pull my cheeks and all that mushy stuff. I hate that. So, what are you doing here?”

“Excuse me? This is my house. I always come here when I want to,” Ron replied curtly, giving Matt a stern glance.

Matthew cowered under the glance and said timidly, “I come here too. It’s my secret hiding place.”

Ron softened and felt ashamed for being angry at that sweet little boy for no fault of his. So he decided to make up for that by offering a handshake and saying, “Tell you what. What would you say if we made this our secret place and did not tell anybody about it?”

“Wow! Cool! It’s a deal!” Matt exclaimed.
“Good! And friends?” Ron asked to Matt, who was still shaking his hand.

Now Matt was so excited that he tightly hugged Ron while saying, “Yes! Friends!”

“Ok, Let’s go, or else Aunt Ginny will come back again,” Ron said lifting Matt who, somewhere during the conversation, was sitting on his lap and placing him on the ground. Matt skipped away happily, while Ron watched him with adoration in his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he stood. He’s some kid. Hermione’s kid. It felt strange for Ron to think of Hermione as a mother. Somehow he had always pictured ‘Mother’ Hermione to be like his own Mum. Placing his hand on his forehead and nodding to himself, while amusing himself with that image, he entered the garden.

He did not notice the piece of parchment that had fallen out of his pocket and now lay on the stairs. He did not notice Matt pick it up and fold it up to make a paper airplane. He only saw Hermione busy chatting away with Ginny and all his sisters-in-law.

“Admirable, isn’t she?” he heard his father’s voice from behind him.

“Pardon?”

“Hermione. She is admirable, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, yeah, she is.”

“You know, Ron, after Harry and you left for training, Hermione left to stay with her parents. Her parents were pretty shaken from the whole war thing. Quite understandable, isn’t it? But, from what Hermione told us, her parents wanted her to settle down and that too, away from our world. So she was married off. I have a feeling she was not happy with it, but she did not have the strength to oppose them.”

Ron remembered how weak (physically and emotionally) Hermione had become after the War. It had taken a long time for her to recuperate. She was not fully recovered, even Harry and he had left. He felt himself slowly consumed with guilt for having left her, broken up with her, when she seemed to need him and Harry the most. He came back to reality to listen to what his father was telling him.

“The next thing we knew was she had come to us with little Matt in her arms. Apparently, her marriage was not a very happy one. Her husband had left her, to earn, more like chase after money. Just vanished. She was distraught, but in that state too, she took no sympathy. She stayed with us, but helped me with the overload of Ministry work. So, when she was capable of leaving home, she began working under me. In short, she has rebuilt her life from scratch and on her own merit. The most vulnerable I see her is when she has to drop Matt back to school.”

An overwhelming feeling of respect for Hermione grew within Ron. He had always loved her for her smartness, intelligence. He always admired her for her courage to face whatever challenge was thrown to her. He loved her as a girl. Now, he respected her as a woman. Given all the hardships she had faced, she had done a very good job with raising Matthew. He felt that now she deserved a break from all her struggles and right to lead an easy life. With him.

“Ron! Ron!!” Ron heard Matthew call him and run to him from the garden. “Ron! I have something to tell you. Come with me. Please!” Matthew began to tug at the sleeve of the jacket that Ron was wearing.

Ron gave in to the pull and followed Matt wherever he took him. “Ron, I am going to school tomorrow. It is Parents’ Day. My dad never comes. Only Mum comes. I was thinking that erm…will… erm…you…”
“WHAT?” Ron had pulled his hand away with a jerk as he realized what Matt was trying to say. He at once saw Matt’s eyes well up with tears and rush away crying. It took him a moment to realize that in his shock, he had unknowingly smacked Matt.

Ron immediately realized his folly and made to follow Matt.

“Hey, Matt! Please stop! Wait up! Please! Come on, brave children don’t cry for silly reasons. Aren’t you a brave boy of your brave Mum?”

“Yes, I am,” Matt replied, still sniffing.

“I am sorry. I was just surprised. I am sorry, Matt!”

“It’s okay!” Matt said, giving a small smile.

~*~

The baby shower was a grand success. All the guests had left and all the children had gone to sleep. But, Matthew was nowhere to be seen in the house. Hermione had checked the whole place, even the garage where she found Mr. Weasley fiddling with Muggle merchandise.

“Mr. Weasley, have you seen Matt, by any chance?”

“Oh, yes. He took Ron in the garden. He has been with Ron all day.”

Thanking Mr Weasley, she left the garage and stopped as she heard some voices. They were, unmistakably, Ron’s and Matt’s voices. Ron was comforting Matt about something, as they played mock boxing. She stepped forward, literally on tiptoe, careful as to not disturb them. What she saw surprised her, and gave her a happy feeling.

Ron was telling Matt, “You know you are really getting good at this.”

“Really? So what about my idea? Will you be my Dad?”

Ron was stunned, although he was not sure what exactly stunned him. Was it the question or the casual manner in which it was asked? So he did not even react when Matt boxed him right on the nose and exclaimed, “You were right! I am getting good at this!”

Hermione too was stunned by the question asked by Matt, but she recovered before Ron and hurried to Matt saying, “Oh, Matt! Don’t be silly! Ron is busy. He doesn’t have time for all this.”

It was then that Ron came out of his stupor and said softly to Hermione, “You know, if Matt really wants me to, I could really come. That is, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, no, Ron. Please. It’s not that. Matt must have just gone into those ‘I want a Dad’ moods. Really, it’s okay,” Hermione said quickly.

“No, no. I really don’t mind. In fact, I would love it. And more, if it makes Matt happy.”

“No, Ron. I wouldn’t think so.”

Saying this, Hermione left for her home, with Matthew repeatedly looking back at Ron with pleading looks.

~*~

That night, after tucking in Matthew, Hermione rolled her eyes amusedly at the mess in his room. She was just lifting the clothes which he had worn over the day, when she felt the rustling of a paper in one of the pockets. She removed it and saw that it was a paper airplane. She was about to ignore it, when she saw her own name in one of its folds. Curiously, she opened it and read the matter in it.

Dear Hermione,

I had thought of so many mushy things to write in this letter, but now everything is just slipping away. So, let me just cut to the chase, as I know you like things straightforward.

The thing is that I have had feelings for you ever since sixth year, but now they have grown a lot. I guess I would have to account the amount of time I spend with you for that. I think……no I know, I have fallen in love with you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, I want to ask you only one question and that is…Will You Marry Me?

Love, Ron

Hermione was burning with fury. Is this a joke? If it is, I am going to kill Ronald Weasley.

Hermione noticed that Matthew was completely taken by Ron and all this, within a day. He wanted to meet him every time and missed him a lot. She was unable to understand this pull Matt felt towards Ron. Gradually, an idea began to take shape in Hermione’s mind, was Matt looking for a father figure in Ron? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Although, she knew it was immature of her to think like this, Hermione could not help but feel a little jealous towards Ron.

Still consumed in these thoughts, Hermione left Matt’s room quietly to resume his packing outside his room.

~*~

“Matt, darling, have you packed for your school?”

“Yes, Mum. Is Ron coming too?” Matt asked eagerly.

Hermione felt a surge of anger through her, and without intending to, she replied sharply, “No, he’s not.”

“Why not?”

“Because he is busy.”

“Well, let’s ask him. He said he will come, if I wanted him to.”

“No, we will do no such thing.”

“Why not?”

“BECAUSE RON IS NOT YOUR DADDY. DO YOU GET THAT? NOW GO PACK UP RIGHT NOW!”

Tears welled up in Matt’s eyes, as he was totally unprepared for such a reaction from his mother. He ran out of the room crying and muttering something like, “But I want Ron to be my Daddy!”

Hermione felt ashamed for scolding her own child for no valid reason. She could not control herself anymore, and she dropped on her knees near the corner of Matt’s bed and cried her heart out.

~*~