Dear Mum,
At the beginning of all of this, I swore not to interfere whatsoever in Harry's and Hermione's relationship. But now, desperate times call for desperate measures. This upcoming Easter holiday, Hermione is planning to go across the pond to sit for that ruddy interview. She hasn't said a word about it to Harry and she's most likely not going to. You and I both know they love each other and that's why I need you to tell Harry to pick her up at the train station when she gets there or else she'll leave for the airport with her parents immediately.
Your favorite child, Ginevra.
Molly read the letter over and over again as she considered her daughter's actions. It was certainly meddlesome, nosey, and a bunch of other unflattering adjectives, but her heart was in the right place. She wasn't asking a lot, Molly knew, but it still felt wrong to interfere. Hermione was due home tomorrow and the matron had to make a choice quickly.
Deciding to sleep on it, the woman headed up to her bedroom and tucked herself next to her husband and sighed as he rolled in his sleep to cuddle her. Harry seemed much better than the last time he met with Hermione before she talked with him but she could tell he wasn't at all accepting of the fact that the girl was still going to New York.
She remembered her advice to him to let her go and knew that interfering now would see her completely disregard her own advice but, then again, Harry hadn't told Hermione how he felt about her and the girl hadn't done the same. Molly was a firm proponent of honesty and clearing the air whenever trouble arose and she knew that a lot of the air needed to be cleared between her boy and the love of his life. With that in mind, Molly fell asleep peacefully for the night.
When the next morning came, she was seated at the kitchen table just after eleven o'clock when Harry came bounding down the stairs, looking as excited as ever. She smiled warmly at him and decided to go through with Ginny's plan.
"Harry, dear, don't you want to pick Hermione up at King's Cross?" The matron asked conversationally, sipping her tea lightly afterwards.
"Oh, no, her parents always pick her up. I think she should spend time with them before I go there and take up too much of it."
Blast, the boy was too considerate for his own good. Molly had to figure out how to get him out of the house quickly. Time was ticking away. He came to sit in front of her and happily dug into his breakfast.
"Still, I think you should surprise her," Molly stared at him gently when he looked up in surprise, "you're her best friend and I think she'd be ecstatic to see you."
"I don't want to impose on her, it's not like she's going anywhere this week," he bashfully told her.
If only he knew. Molly didn't want to tell him because the news would only drive him further away from Hermione when it eventually got out that she purposely withheld that bit of information from him. No, she had to get him to go see the girl without further causing a rift.
"I know you miss her, Harry, and I know she misses you too. Would it hurt to just pop in and say hello?" She continued to pressure him lightly.
He seemed contemplative for a second and the woman became worried that he was onto her plans or was suspicious of her. When he shook his head with a smile, her relief was palpable but she recovered gracefully.
"You think so, Aunt Molly?" Harry grinned at her but looked shy nonetheless. Her heart lightened at his countenance and she reached across to take his hands.
"I know so, sweetheart. You clearly miss her. It would be nice for you to get out of the house as well."
He seemed content with her answer and began hurriedly devouring his breakfast to the point that she had to chastise him. When he finished his food, he was up the stairs in a hurry to change into something more 'fashionable', as he put it. Once that was done, he was back downstairs before she stopped him from leaving.
"Now, you be safe, and tell her I said hello as well." He nodded and kissed her cheek quickly before racing out of the door to apparate straight to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
Surprised at how easily she managed to convince him, the Weasley matron returned to her task of preparing lunch for her family. She settled easily into it before a knock on the door alerted her.
"Hermione?" Molly exclaimed, caught unawares.
"Hi, Mistress Weasley, can I come in?" The teenager asked with a shy smile, completely unaware of Molly's reaction to her.
"Erm...sure, dear," Molly beckoned her in, "may I ask why you're here already?" She shot a kind look at the girl but her mind was running a million miles a minute at the thought that Harry would miss his chance to see her.
"I needed to speak to Harry, I have to tell him something," the bushy-haired teen admitted bashfully.
"Oh."
Hermione became aware of the tone in Molly's voice and began showing concern instantly.
"Harry's just gone and left to meet you at the train station," a concerned Molly told Hermione.
"Oh, I see." From Hermione's voice, she could tell the girl was disheartened. "Well it's probably for the best, then, that I came here when I did," the girl quietly added.
"Dear?" Molly fearfully questioned.
"I just...needed to tell him something but, yet again, I seemed to have missed my chance."
Too shocked to even say anything, Molly simply stared at the girl. She asked herself if Hermione came here to simply tell Harry where she was going to be or if she came to tell her she loved him. If it was the latter, Molly needed to act with haste. Scratch that, she needed to act with haste regardless.
"Well, dear, we can go meet him at the train station," the matron offered hopefully.
Hermione didn't seem keen on it and the lady knew the girl's heart was broken again. This was the third time straight that they got their wires crossed and Molly understood how the girl was feeling. If it were love, then why should it be so difficult for them to find it with each other? But, Molly knew, the true beauty of love lies in its rarity and the difficulty in finding it in its purest form.
"What would be the point? I've tried to do this three times now and I've failed each time."
When put like that, the Weasley matron knew that it seemed like the fates had everything going against Hermione's and Harry's love story. She truthfully couldn't blame the girl for being disappointed and, now, reluctant to try again. Still, Molly wouldn't go down with a fight.
"Dear..." Molly began but was silenced when Hermione interrupted her.
"I'm sorry, Mistress Weasley, but I really need to go. Just deliver this message to Harry for me," Hermione looked deeply into the woman's eyes with tears yet unshed in her own, "tell him that I'm going to New York and that I'll miss him very much."
Before Molly could even form a response, the teenaged girl apparated out of sight. Now left in solitude, the woman began weeping for her boy and her own mistake of sending him away before he could get his chance to see the girl. Before she could fall further into her misery, however, an epiphany hit her.
Harry most likely would still be looking for Hermione at the platform and would remain there until it was clear she wasn't there with him. Molly knew she had to get to the platform as quickly as possible lest Harry lose his chance for good with Hermione.
She didn't spare herself a second thought as she disapparated out of her house, still wearing her cooking apron, and found herself standing on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Luckily, as if the fates suddenly decided not to make things difficult for once, she found Harry eagerly awaiting Hermione at the edge of the platform while the students and their parents milled around.
"HARRY," Molly called in a shout, waving her arms wildly as she jogged over to him.
"Aunt Molly, what..." Harry didn't get to finish as his aunt started talking.
"Hermione...she came to see you at The Burrow right after you left," she told him quickly, taking a moment to catch her breath.
"Oh, well then let's go," Harry impatiently responded, taking a hold of Molly's arm.
"No, dear, she left before I could tell her to stay," Harry cocked his head at that and Molly hurried on, "she told me to tell you she's leaving for her New York and that she'd be gone."
"WHAT?"
Molly winced at his yell but knew her work was cut out for. Her boy was going to be shocked but she needed to shut that down quickly.
"She's leaving, Harry, right away with her parents," the woman once again spoke, hoping to spur him into action.
"She never told me, she didn't say anything about it," Harry bitterly spat. He kicked his feet into the floor and looked around disgustedly, his face displaying fury she had never seen on his fscr before. "Well, good bloody riddance, I guess this is what's best for her. She couldn't even tell me she was not going to see me this week."
At that, Molly's fury grew quickly and matched Harry's own in scope and strength. She grabbed her boy by the shoulders and shook some sense into him. "HARRY POTTER, what is the matter with you?" The woman bellowed but quieted down once he winced at her scream.
"What do you mean? She's the one who kept this from me," Harry angrily bit back at her.
Containing her anger at the boy, Molly cupped his cheek softly and gazed into his eyes with a tenderness befitting that of a mother. When he took her hand in his own and leant into her touch, she smiled at him.
"You love Hermione, with everything that you are in your bones, does she know that?" He nodded no at her question. "Well then tell her, you owe her at least that."
"I...can't."
Molly sighed in frustration with the boy but nevertheless resolved to keep going. She wasn't going to waste any time trying to figure out his reasoning as she knew it was most likely bogus.
"Harry, you don't have forever, none of us do. If you let Hermione leave without telling her how you feel, you may never get another chance with her."
Harry looked properly cowed at her words but he wasn't making any move to do anything. Clearly, he still thought that Hermione wanted to be in New York but she knew better than he did.
"You can't let her walk away from you this time because she might not come back. I know I told you that we let our loved ones go to see if they'll come back," he nodded in recognition of her previous advice, "but I was wrong. If you let Hermione go this time, she won't come back to you in the way you want her to."
At that, she could see the fire of determination light up in her boy's jade eyes and opted to spur him into action once more. She took him in a hug and buried her head into his chest before continuing her speech.
"You love Hermione in a way that no one else ever could, dear. You owe it to yourself, and to her, to say that. You owe it to her to let her know just how much she means to you. Whatever she chooses to do with that is on her," Molly passionately declared and then left the embrace to look up at him fondly.
Harry shook his head frantically in acceptance but still hadn't made any effort to move yet. The redheaded woman pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration but was surprised when he started to hug her and laugh wildly. She smiled at the gesture but the clock was ticking.
"Well, what are you waiting for? GO, Harry," the boy was still holding her tightly in his arms and laughing, "come on, Harry. Go get her."
The green eyed teen finally stopped his laughing fit and landed a wet kiss on his aunt's cheeks before hurriedly telling her, "Thank you," and then disappearing shortly after in a swirl of colors.