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Ron sighed tiredly, looking around the sea of people that surrounded him on the 9 ¾ Platform, in situations like this he was glad for his stature, which allowed him to see above the heads of most, but today even with that additional advantage he wasn’t able to spot his friend and sister in the sea of other parents. He hoped to find them, so his son, Panju, could board the train with his cousins Albus and James, which maybe would calm his boy a little.
While all the other kids gathered at the platform seemed either ecstatic to go to Hogwarts or disappointed that they were too young for it, his son looked mostly apprehensive, even if he never asked to not go. Ron had hoped that when the day would come, his son would be more happy at the prospect of starting his magical education, but at the same time he wasn’t at all surprised when it wasn’t the case. Panju always was a rather shy child, who only felt truly comfortable and showed his real rambunctious face with his family. Strangers, even new, unknown kids, always made him uncomfortable, he also didn’t like making new friends and hated changes. So it truly didn’t come as a surprise to both of his parents that Hogwarts filled him with a sense of dread and not anticipation. Especially Padme was worried about their son and how he would deal with going to Hogwarts. It was why Ron wished for him to be accompanied by Harry and Ginny’s sons, especially Albus, who also was starting Hogwarts. He hoped that both boys would end up in Gryffindor and his son wouldn’t be left on his own with all those new kids, but he also wasn’t holding his breath for that.
“I think that I see Ginny. Oh…Is that Hermione?” His wife asked suddenly, bringing him back to reality.
Ron immediately turned towards the direction his wife was facing, somehow more moved by the chance to see Hermione than his sister, after all it has been years since he saw his former friend in person. He still remembered that memorable dinner, back when he was still with Lavender and thinking about it now, he somehow hadn’t even realised how many years had already passed… Over a decade… nearly decade and half if he was counting correctly.
He never thought that their friendship would end like that, but the idea that she could be with Sirius, who was like another uncle to them, was too much for him to bear and somehow they never reconciled. Despite the fact that he missed his friend he just couldn’t bring himself to reach out to her and apologise, especially when he learned that she actually married Sirius. Now, after so many years, he wasn’t so disgusted anymore - even if he still found their relationship weird - but simply too much time passed for him to feel like he had any right to her forgiveness, not to mention that life happened and Hermione just wasn’t on his mind very often.
Still, he was eager to see her in real life and not just in some newspaper or magazine, where she sometimes appeared as Lady Black.
“She looks good,” Padme said right before he managed to find her in the crowd.
And she was right, Hermione indeed looked good, she had a big smile on her face and her arm threw around a young boy, maybe thirteen or fourteen, who looked very much like Sirius, but with a light brown mop of curls on top of his head. With a gasp Ron realised that this boy had to be her and Sirius’ son and he really didn’t know how he felt about it, on one hand he knew that they had children as both Ginny and Harry mentioned something in passing, usually when they couldn’t come over because of something like Hermione’s kid’s birthday. On the other hand seeing them with his own eyes felt differently making him realise how much of his friend’s life he missed.
At Hermione’s other side, with his arm around her waist, stood Sirius, his other arm holding up a young girl, not more than four years old. She had her father’s - Ron assumed that she had to be his daughter - dark wavy hair, but otherwise she faced the opposite direction so he didn’t see anything else. Yet another girl, maybe six or seven, stood a step or two to the side and was poking her fingers into a cage with a big white owl trying to pet it. She was turned to the side and Ron could see that she looked like Sirius’ female clone, with only one clear difference being her black curls, tied back with a fairly sizable light blue ribbon.
Trying to comprehend the fact that it seemed that Hermione was a mother of three, Ron looked further and finally saw the ones he attempted to find earlier. NEar Hermione’s son stood both Harry and Ginny, who both looked like they were doing everything they could to cheer up sulking Lily, their two older boys nowhere in sight. They were also accompanied by Remus and Tonks and their daughter Lisa, who seemed to be the owner of the white owl.
“Yeah, she looks good,” Ron finally replied after a long moment. “Somehow I never expected her to be a mother and here she is with three kids.”
“Five.”
“Huh?” He looked at his wife not understanding what she meant.
“Five. Hermione has five children.”
“Really?” He wouldn't be able to hide his shock at this revelation even if he tried.
“Yes, three boys and two girls.” She glanced at him with an expression that betrayed that she clearly thought it obvious.
“How do you know that?” It wasn't like his wife and Hermione were ever friends, he wasn’t even sure if they talked to each other even once.
“From Ginny. Do you ever listen to what your sister says?” Padme shook her head, clearly not expecting an answer from him.
“I do, just not about Hermione.” And it was true. Of course part of him was curious, a simple human trait, but mostly he didn’t want to hear about her life with Sirius, he couldn’t understand how she could be with such an old man.
He once again looked into their direction, contemplating if it was worth it to go through all the awkwardness of meeting after so many years and that memorable dinner, just so Panju could board the Hogwarts Express with Albus. Instead the answer to his musing he found confirmation of his wife’s words, additional two boys that joined the group alongside James and Albus. They looked close in age and similar enough that they could pass as twins, both with short black hair and their father’s smile, but only one was dressed in Hogwarts robes.
“I really don’t understand why you stopped being friends with her,” Padme asked and to Ron’s horror started slowly walking towards the group.
“Her relationship with Sirius is… is unnatural.” Sirius was old and he was Harry’s uncle, Ron still had no idea how his friend got over that fact and forgave them that they went behind his back and got together.
“It’s about the age difference? Come one Ronald, twenty years or so between wizards isn’t that much.” Ron didn’t need to see her face to know that she rolled her eyes at him.
He didn’t say anything to that, not changing his mind about the topic, not even a little bit, he strongly believed that one shouldn’t look for a relationship in the generation of their parents nor amongst people young enough to be their children.
As soon as they came close enough to be in ear shot despite the crowd, Ron heard Hermione’s youngest son complain loudly. “When will I go to Hogwarts?”
“In two years,” Sirius replied calmly.
“But whyyyy? I’m only a year younger than Leo, I will be nearly twelve!” The boy pouted, looking more adorable than any child sharing blood with Sirius Black had any right to.
“Because you were born in December. It’s just a sad fate of autumn babies that they need to wait longer to go to Hogwarts. Me and your mum had to wait longer too,” Sirius explained.
“It just sucks to be you,” his older brother chuckled.
“Leo! First, language. Second, don’t be mean to your brother, you were acting the same when Reggie was going,” Hermione scolded her children.
Ron felt a pang of something piercing his heart, when for the first time in years he heard his friend’s voice, but before he could analyse it and decide what he was truly feeling, another voice joined the conversation, one Ron would prefer to not hear ever again.
“Thanks Merlin, we aren’t late.”
Ron’s eyes snapped to the left where Draco Malfoy appeared with his family. He never wanted to know how life turned for that Death Eater scum, preferring to distance himself from it, but he still heard about the great shock in the wizard community when Malfoy married Theo Nott and now it seemed that they also had children. They were accompanied by an older, maybe thirteen or so, blonde girl that immediately went to hug Lisa and Hermione’s older son, probably named Reggie. Nott was pushing a cart with school trunks and at his side walked a younger, also blond haired, boy, who seemed to be yet another first year student. However the biggest shock to Ron was the sight of Malfoy who was holding a hand of a small dark haired boy, who looked to not be older than five and had a baby strapped to his chest in a way Ron saw only on Muggles.
If seeing Malfoy as a father wasn’t a shock enough for him for one day, he then saw the newcomers being warmly welcomed by the group, even by Harry, who might not hug Malfoy like the rest but he and Ginny still smiled at him.
Ron froze in place not believing that he was replaced in Hermione’s life by that ferret. Somehow it shook him more than anything that he learned that day. Maybe because seeing her having a family wasn’t actually a shock but more like a logical progress of life and only the number of kids surprised him a little. But the obvious friendship with Malfoy… no, his own friendship with her was lost to him.
Padme seemed to notice his reluctance to come closer and only let out a heavy sigh, but didn’t try to make him go and thankfully the hour saved him from her attempt to convince him to change his mind, because they had to concentrate on getting stressed Panju on the train.
Somehow the worry for his son and how he would deal with the start of the school kept Ron from thinking again about Hermione and things he witnessed… at least until the first letter from Panju came. He proudly announced being sorted into Gryffindor… and becoming friends with fellow Gryffindor, Leo Black and through his cousin Albus with his fellow Slytherin, Scorpius Malfoy-Nott.
It seemed that Ron just couldn’t stay away from them… and his wife found his horror way too funny for his liking.