The Little Matchmakers

Five Good Years & A Funeral

The house was dark as I walked in, that was my first clue something was wrong.

Ronald Weasley my husband of the past five years was always there at the front door to greet me with a kiss, and supper was always cooking on the stove, and our two kids Rosie and Ben bathed and playing in the living room waiting for dinner whenever I came home. 

Years ago when we had first married Ron had been helping George run the joke shop in Diagon Ally..While I had been working as a mediwitch at St. Mongos but after I got pregnant with Rosie, he had insisted on being the stay at home parent while I worked, not even dreaming of me giving up an important job like taking care of sick St. Mongo kids, never in all these years had he ever missed a day of greeting me with the same enthusiasm that Crookshanks often did.

The fact that today of all days, on our five year anniversary that he hadn't met me likehe always did, sent alarm bells through my mind, with questions.

Where was he? Where were the children? I quietly make my way to the master bedroom to see if Ron was there taking a nap.

The sight that greeted me, had me in shock. Lying on the bedroom floor, was my husband and best friend covered in large red pimples, in his hands was a tube of magic concealer paste.

I kneel beside him to attempt to shake him awake, only to find that his skin was stone cold, my husband was gone.

Still in shock I grab some floo powder, and with a heavy heart I walked to the fire place, and tossed th powder on the fire.

“Good evening dear, I hope you and Ronald are enjoying your Anniversary, the children have just gotten settled into Ron and Ginny's old room.” Molly responded her face appearing in the fire.

“Wait..you mean you have the children?” I asked confused

“Why of course dear, Ron sent Rosie and Ben by floo powder asking if I could babysit.. so he could take you out for your anniversary..”

I felt a wave of emotions wash over me as Mrs. Weasley's words sank in. Ron had sent the kids to her so he could take me out for our Anniversary.

The fact he was holding the magic concealer, was enough to tell me he had been sick and battling the dragon pox virus for awhile, and had been hiding it, but why? With me being a Mediwitch why would he hide something so serious from me instead of letting me help him? And Now... The virus had claimed his life.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to find the strength to speak. Mrs. Weasley's face looked worried as she saw the pain in my eyes, and she looks at me confused.

“Is everything okay dear, you don't look so good?”

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Weasley," I managed to choke out.

 "I just got home from work..and he's gone...Ron is gone, he's dead..” I stammered as tears roll down my eyes as I sink down to my knees.

Instead of celebrating my anniversary with my husband I had to sit around a cold table planning his funeral arrangements with his mother, while Ginny looked after the children.

I wanted nothing more than to lock myself in my room, alone and just fall apart. But as his wife, It was my job to over see all the necessary arrangements, and make sure he got the burial he deserved.

The day of the funeral quickly arrived, the Weasley Family burial ground located just a little ways from the burrow was filled to the brim with all the family, friends, and classmates that had come to pay their respects to my husband.

We all gather around the freshly covered grave where my husband's casket had just been buried, and one by one everyone spoke a few words.

Our Children didn't fully understand what was happening, but still walked forward and placed their flowers among all the rest.

It was only after the funeral was over, the children were put to bed and I lay all alone in the king size bed that suddenly felt cold, quiet and much to big without the presence of my husband.  I lay there missing the sound of the snores I had complained about for so many years. If I'd known then, that I would so soon never hear that sound again, I would have charished them so much harder than I ever had before.

As I lay there I broke down and started crying, the shock finally wearing off , the pain of his absence hitting me hard.

“Mommy? We can't sleep, can we sleep in here with you tonight?” The tiny voice of my daughter Rosie spoke appearing beside my bed.

This was the first time either of them had ever asked to sleep with me in years.

Before I would have sent them back to their own bed, as Ron always preferred that our bed remained child free so that our romance would never grow stale with us not having enough alone time.

But now Ron was gone, and at that moment, I really didn't want to be alone in this bed tonight.

So I wiped the tears from my face and opened my arms to my babies.

“Come on, just this once you two can sleep with Mommy.”

The children hop up onto the bed beside me and curl up into my arms, where I hold them tight to my chest, kiss the top of their heads and together the three of us finally manage to drift off to sleep, the feel of having both of my little ones in my arms, felt almost like having their father laying beside me, and then camr the most beautiful sound of all, my son Ben started to snore..the sound eerily similiar to his father's and together those things finally helped me to slowly relax enough to drift off to sleep.