A/N: This is a one-shot about Hestia and her relationship with Ron Weasley.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, not me.

If you'd asked Ron Weasley how many siblings he had when he was four years old, he would have said seven, not six: Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ginny, and Hestia Jones.

Hestia was in the same year as Charlie and had become his best friend during their first year at Hogwarts. The following summer, after discovering that Hestia lived at a Muggle orphanage when she wasn't at Hogwarts, Molly Weasley took her in like one of her own children. Hestia lived with them that summer, and little Ron immediately adored her.

By the end of the summer, when Hestia was twelve and Ron was five, Hestia and his brothers had to leave for Hogwarts, and Ron bawled his eyes out.

"Don't worry," she told him. "I'll send you a letter every week." She'd give him a big kiss on his forehead and ruffle his hair. "Just remember, you're my favorite, little lion man."

That was her nickname for him: little lion man. He'd always been a scared kid, paralyzed by spiders and the dark, so Hestia gave him a sparkly stone she had enchanted to glow whenever he needed a light, and he kept it by his bed to keep him safe. Whenever she called him that, he felt like he could conquer the world.

She was always willing to play with him and Ginny, and she baked the best peanut butter cookies. Hestia treated him like a real person, not a little kid. She answered all of his annoying questions about how magic worked and taught him how to tie his shoes. She killed spiders for him when he found them in his room, bought him books to encourage his fascination with transfiguration, and always stopped Fred and George from playing pranks on him.

The summer after second year, when he found Hestia in the room she shared with Ginny, sobbing her eyes out, he ran to her, flinging his six-year-old arms around her. "Why are you crying?" he asked. "Did you get hurt?"

Hestia sniffled. "No…" She wiped her eyes. "I just… I wish I had parents like yours, Ron." Her face was dry now, but still red where she'd rubbed her tears away.

Ron was confused. "Like Mummy and Daddy?"

She sniffed, nodded, and then sniffed again. "They're good people, Ron."

"Yeah, Mummy's good at making pie," declared Ron, plopping himself in her lap. "And Daddy's good at… Um, Daddy's funny!"

Hestia giggled through her tears and wrapped her arms around him. "You're good, too, you know that?"

"I know!" Ron grinned. "I can read big kid books!"

Ron loved Hestia more than anyone in the world. She was more than just a sister to him; she was a mentor, a teacher, a parent, and a friend, too. As he got closer and closer to Hogwarts age, she taught him about the value of kindness over courage, of humility over ambition, and discernment over loyalty. "You have to remember," she told him. They were lying on their backs in the yard, their feet bare, and watching the stars. "You have to remember to be brave, little lion man. There's some people in this world who aren't brave enough to stand up when they're afraid. You're not gonna be one of those people, okay?"

"Okay, Hestia," he promised.

"You've gotta be brave enough to be nice to people, even the people who don't like you."

Ron was confused by her demand, but still he said, "Okay, Hestia."

"Some people think being brave means being mean, but that's not true. Being brave means being kind, even when it's hard." She took his little hand. "It means forgiving people instead of hating them when they've done something bad. Don't forget, okay?"

"Okay, Hestia."

"Put kindness first. I don't want you sitting around holding grudges when you could be happy. You don't want that sitting on you like that. Don't forget to always forgive; I know you can do it, little lion man."

Ron was seven then, and Hestia was fourteen, but she still stayed incredibly close to him.

As Hestia grew older, however, and they eventually grew more distant. Her letters only came every few weeks, and she spent most of her time in the summer with Charlie. It was clear that she still cared for him, but Ron knew something was off.

And when Ron barged into Charlie's room in July to tell him off for breaking his toy broom, he was startled to find Hestia and Charlie snogging against the wall. The sudden wave of betrayal hit him like a Bludger to the heart. Hestia was his favorite person! How could she do something like this?

He stood there, openmouthed, as Charlie rubbed Hestia's lipstick off of his mouth, and Hestia jumped towards Ron. "Ron, wait!" she exclaimed, but Ron had already bolted from the room.

She found him in the yard, practicing throwing the Quaffle against the brick wall of the house. "Hey, little lion man," she said, reaching over him and catching the Quaffle before he could throw it again. "Can we talk?"

Ron shrugged; he tossed his broomstick (a bundle of sticks he pretended was a Cleansweep) onto the ground, trying not look her in the eyes. "How long?"

Hestia blushed, her pale cheeks turning pink. "Since last summer."

He scowled, kicking at his broomstick. "I knew it." He should have seen the signs between the two: shared smiles, lengthy disappearances, "accidental" touching, inside jokes...

"How did you know?" she asked, her voice hesitant yet gentle.

He shrugged again, as though he didn't care. "You stopped caring about me."

Bewildered, Hestia claimed, "No, I didn't—"

"Yes, you did!" Ron snatched the Quaffle from her hands. "You stopped playing with me, and all you cared about was Charlie, Charlie, Charlie!"

"That's not true, Ron!" Placing a hand on his shoulder, she reminded him, "Of course I still care about you!" As she thought about what he was saying, she realized how she had been ignoring him. "I'm sorry you feel left out, really. I… I didn't know how you'd react to me and Charlie." Honestly, Hestia had thought Ron had a crush on her. After all this time, it turned out he only missed having her as a friend. "I was being selfish, and I'm sorry."

Ron's expression softened, and he stopped tossing the Quaffle against the wall. "It's okay." He tossed her the Quaffle. "I forgive you."

She reeled in surprise. "What? Aren't you mad?"

He gave her a funny half-smile. "'Don't forget to always forgive,'" he said, finally looking at her. "You told me that."

"I…" She stared at him. "I did tell you that."

He smiled. "I don't care about you and Charlie. I just don't want to lose you. You're my favorite person."

Hestia's hands shook, and she jumped forward, wrapping Ron in a suffocating hug. "You're my favorite person, too, little lion man."

Ron mumbled into her shoulder. "Just because you're gonna be with Charlie doesn't mean you get to ditch me, okay? Don't forget me. Or my letters."

"I won't," declared Hestia, and she hugged him tighter. "I promise."

After Hestia and Charlie left Hogwarts and Ron arrived, he missed Hestia more than ever. She was still with him in his thoughts and actions, reminding him to be kind and to forgive people even when he didn't want to. He didn't always follow her advice, especially when it involves Malfoy, but he did his best.

One day over the summer after second year, when Hestia has come to visit for a few weeks, Ron heard the couple arguing loudly in Charlie's room. "Romania?" exclaimed Hestia, incredulous. "You can't be serious!"

The walls of the Burrow were thin, so it wasn't hard to hear every inch of their conversation. "Love, you don't understa—"

"Don't tell me what I don't bloody understand, Charlie Weasley! Tell me why you want to leave the life we've built together for Romania!" Ron knew they'd been living together for the past year, Hestia doing her training as an Auror while Charlie worked with dragons.

"It's the opportunity of a lifetime, Hestia! I can't just throw this away!"

Hestia snorted. "I stayed in London for you! And this is what you give me?"

"You could come with me! I'm sure you could find work there—"

"And give up my training? You know I have to stay here. Being an Auror is my dream, love."

Charlie's voice was strained, as though it was being pulled from both ends. "And working in Romania is mine. You know I love dragons, and Romania has the largest dragon protection program in the world."

Hestia's voice was cold. "I thought you loved me."

The whole week went on like this; Hestia and Charlie fought to the point they were screaming at the top of their lungs. Or one was crying and one was apologizing and begging the other to stay. Mum eventually put a silencing charm on their room, just so the rest of the house could get some peace and quiet. The house felt uncomfortable and tense with the two of them at odds with each other. They almost never sat at meals together, and when they did, they ignored one another completely.

"They love each other more than anything," said Dad on a particularly bad day, "but they're both such stubborn arses that they can't seem to remember that."

On the seventh day, the house was void of fighting and full of silence instead, so Ron went up to Charlie's room to see if they had resolved the situation. Instead, as he approached the door, he heard quiet, muffled sobs. Instead of finding Hestia, however, he found his strong brother, his knees against his chest, crying uncontrollably into his arms.

Ron had never seen Charlie like this. His face was shiny and wet, swollen with anguish, and his body was tense, shaking, as though if he moved he would shatter. Staring at his broken brother, Ron somehow knew.

Hestia was already gone.

After Charlie left for Romania, they didn't hear from Hestia for a while. She sent the occasional owl letting the Weasleys know how she was doing, but her sentences were clipped and formal. Ron missed her terribly, but she never came to visit. It was as if seeing any of the Weasley clan would open up the wound of Charlie's departure all over again.

After a while, they stopped receiving her letters altogether.

Through his years at Hogwarts, Hestia's absence was in the back of his mind. He had Harry and Hermione, after all, and most of his time was spent trying to keep his best friends from dying or getting someone else killed.

Ron would later learn that Hestia had become an international coordinator for the Aurors, manning teams to lead missions all around the world. She came back when the Order of Phoenix started up again, wanting to stop You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters more than ever. It was You-Know-Who, after all, who had murdered her biological family and caused her to be raised in a poor Muggle orphanage.

When she returned, she started crying, apologizing for the way she had treated them. "I had no right," she told them. "Molly, you took me in and raised me like one of your own, and I had no right to turn my back on you like that."

Mum, of course, welcomed her back with open arms. The prodigal daughter had come home, and that could only be a cause to celebrate.

Ron never again had quite the relationship he'd had with Hestia as a child, but they were quite close. She continued to call him "little lion man," and their playful banter always cheered him up.

But there was something (or someone) missing. Hestia was not particularly sad or lonely; she had a boyfriend, some Auror named Yuuto, but she never had quite the glow she'd possessed when she was with Charlie.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, however, Charlie came back home permanently, as did Hestia. After Fred's death, they all need something to cling to, and Charlie and Hestia clung to each other.

However, even a few years after the Second Wizarding War, they were unmarried, still separated by that occupation barrier after all this time. Even as Ginny and Ron both got married, Charlie and Hestia remained at a careful distance.

The day they found out Ginny was pregnant, Ron Apparated to Hestia and Charlie's flat, knocking furiously on the door. Hestia answered in her pajamas, her black hair a mess. There were dark circles beneath her eyes. "Hey, little lion man," she said. "How's the wife?" Although her tone was playful, her voice was tired and pained.

"Hermione's good…" Ron knew she was trying not to talk about the fact that she was still in her pajamas at four in the afternoon on a Wednesday. "How are you?"

She shrugged.

"You stayed home from work again?" Ron asked, concerned. He knew Charlie was working in new version of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, now called the Care for Magical Creatures Department, to assist in war recovery, specifically for the dragons.

"Tyson's taking over for me," she explained, leaning against the doorframe. "I'll go back tomorrow."

Ron sighed. "Are you?"

Truth be told, Hestia had been battered by the War, sustaining particularly severe wounds and trauma that had left her bed-ridden and hyper-paranoid for three months following the battle. After she recovered, she'd moved in with Charlie to retain her sense of safety and thrown herself into her work as an Auror. However, violent, jarring work after the trauma of the War only worsened Hestia's symptoms, and she'd started taking days off at a time just to "settle down."

After she let him in, Hestia and Ron talked forever about Hestia's future. "I'm not gonna let you waste your life like this, Hestia," Ron said. "You deserve better."

"I'm happy here, Ron. You don't have to worry about me."

Ron frowned. "You're not happy, Hestia." He took her hand. "You're scared. There's a difference."

"I'm not—"

"Yes," he interrupted, "you are. Do you think we can't see the way you jump at loud noises and grab your wand? How you put protection charms around your house at night? How you wake up screaming?"

Hestia was pale now, shaking a little.

"It's okay to be scared, Hestia. After what happened to you, you have good reason to be scared." He held fast to her hand, even as she tried to pull away. "But you have to get some help. I know Charlie loves you and will always support you when you're scared, but this is deeper than that. You've been through something traumatic, and you can't continue on with a normal life until you move on from it." He smiled sadly at her. "And you can't move on until you quit your job."

She visibly startled. "Wh-what?"

"It's not healthy for you, Hestia. It only makes things worse. Every time you come back from a mission, you can barely function. You can't eat. You can't sleep. You won't let Charlie come near you until it's been at least a day. I've seen it. If it were up to me, you'd never go on any missions at all. They hurt you, Hestia, and your ability to recover."

"I'm doing good work," Hestia whispered, her voice shaky. "I have to work. I have to."

Ron shook his head. "No, you don't." He placed his hand on her shoulder and suddenly realized that their roles had been unceremoniously flipped due to the brutal battle. Now, he was the support system while Hestia was the one in need of supporting. He rubbed her back in slow, comforting circles. "I know you love what you do, Hestia, but this is gonna break you. You need some rest and some help. Throwing yourself into your work isn't going to help you. Charlie can help you. I can help you. But throwing trauma on top of trauma is not going to get you anywhere."

Hestia was crying now, her body convulsing with her sobs.

Ron pulled her into a soft hug; it felt odd to him that for so many years, Hestia had been the larger one in the hug, but now his body dwarfed hers, and she burrowed into him, crying into his shirt. It was odd; it felt like he was the grown-up, and she was the child. "It'll be okay," he promised her. "Everything will be okay."

After Hestia turned in her notice and applied for a psychiatrist at St. Mungo's, the Weasley clan saw immediate change in her mental state and health. She and Charlie were closer than ever, brought together by the acknowledgement of her trauma and, honestly, the fact that she'd quit her job. It had liberated her. She'd gotten another one working with kids orphaned by the War, and it gave her something to do that didn't involve violence or panic.

Hestia was happier than ever, and Ron hadn't seen her this relaxed in a long time. At last, when she had recovered as much as she could and invested fully in her new job, the Weasleys watched Hestia and Charlie fall in love all over again, without the stress of school or the backdrop of battle.

After Ron had his second child, Hugo, Hestia came over to watch the kids with him. "Why haven't you married Charlie yet?" he asked. "You've been dating for...what, nine years now?"

She shrugged, shaking the rattle at baby Hugo, who squealed with delight. "It's not that simple, Ron."

"No," he disagreed, scooping up two-year-old Rose and handing the toddler a board book. "It's quite simple. You're just scared of the commitment, I think."

It was just like Ron to make a statement like that: so blunt, personal, and true that it cut right to her core. "I…"

"You're not wrong, Hestia. Getting married is scary. And it's a leap I know you want to take. But first, you have to be brave. You told me that. And that means you have to forgive."

Hestia nodded slowly. Marrying Charlie was all she wanted in the world, but she was terrified that if she did it, something could potentially go wrong. In the past, with their relationship, whenever they tried to take another major step, something horrible had happened. First, with Charlie moving to Romania after they moved in together, and second, with the post-traumatic stress disorder after she moved in with him after the War.

She realized, after she'd left Ron's house and gone back home, that she'd never quite forgiven Charlie for choosing Romania over her.

But Ron had reminded her to have that special Gryffindor courage that they shared: one that revered kindness and compassion above all else. Being brave means being kind, even when it's hard, she had told him. It means forgiving people instead of hating them when they've done something bad. She had to follow her own advice for once. She had to forgive Charlie for going to Romania. Put kindness first. I don't want you sitting around holding grudges when you could be happy. Don't forget to always forgive; I know you can do it, little lion man.

Hestia sucked in a breath. When Ron had reminded her to forgive, he wasn't just talking about Charlie. He was talking about her. She'd never forgiven herself for not being able to handle Charlie's presence due to her PTSD. She had to forgive Charlie and herself, and then she would be happy again.

Hestia and Charlie got married in early June, with Bill as Charlie's Best Man and Ron as Hestia's 'Maid' of Honor. Ron even wore a crown of flowers on his head as a joke. Hestia and Charlie were both thirty-seven then, and everyone celebrated that the long-term couple had finally united. Even the little ones (Lily at one, Hugo at two, Rose and Albus at three, and James at four) knew that this wedding was somehow happier than the rest. The other young Weasleys (Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Molly, Lucy, Freddie, and Roxy) had already attended to many Weasley weddings at their age to find this one any more important than the rest.

Hestia and Charlie had their first child only eight months later, a premature, dark-haired baby they named Melina Iris Weasley after Hestia's mother. Little Mellie got a brother only a year later, a red-haired boy they named Gideon Fabian Weasley after the brothers Molly had lost during the First Wizarding War.

After all this time, even once both of their children were attending Hogwarts, if you'd asked Ron Weasley how many nieces and nephews he had, he would have said twelve, not ten: James, Albus, Lily, Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Freddie, Roxy, Molly, Lucy, Gideon, and Mellie.

Because after all, Ron knew he was still Hestia's little lion man.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review!

Challenges used:

Character Diversity Boot Camp - #10 (bake), Hestia Jones

Minor Character Boot Camp - #25 (arrive), Hestia Jones

Your Favorite House Boot Camp - #38 (deserve), Gryffindor

If You Dare Challenge - #248 (Grown-up)

Are You Crazy Enough To Do It Challenge - #519 (Little Lion Man)

The Golden Snitch - Through the Universe - #93 (liberate) - Libration

The Golden Snitch - Ollivander's Wand Shop - Celestina Warbeck - Larch - Write about a Gryffindor who needs courage.

Writing Club - Character Appreciation - #3 (plot point) having a sibling leave home

Writing Club - Showtime - #6 - A Penny For A Tale - (word) beg

Writing Club - Lo's Lowdown - #1 (theme - family)

365 Prompts Challenge - #165 (job - Auror)

Gris-Gris Bag Station - word (kindness)

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Assignment #7 - History of Magic: Newton Artemis Fido Scamanader - Task 2 - Write about someone who loves dragons.

Autumn - National Roof Over Your Head Day - Write about someone moving into a new home.

Make Your Own Pizza - Step One - Whole Wheat - (word) dry

Autumn Funfair - Costume Party - #71 Red Gnome Hat With Beard - (setting) The Burrow, #73 - Trucker Cap With Mullet - (genre) family

QFLC - Beater 2 - Write about Ron's relationship with a member of the Order of the Phoenix (Hestia Jones) - (object) book, (word) potential

Fanfiction Writing Month [3496]