A/N: WHO REMEMBERS THIS FIC? Because I very nearly don't. There are valid reasons and pitiful excuses as to why this chapter took three centuries to write. Many of them. If I could, I would melt them all down and create a teeny tiny little thank you medal to everyone who has been waiting for me to update. But I can't because regrets are not physical things and I don't have any kind of metalwork equipment to hand, so have a chapter instead.

Disclaimer: At least if I was J.K Rowling I would have a proper excuse for not writing this.

When Dawn had popped home on her lunch break to check Hermione was okay the last thing she had expected to walk into was a warzone. Now, as she followed her husband downstairs, she found that she wasn't all that shocked. The house had been a pressure cooker for weeks now and she had been waiting for it to blow. She was just grateful she had been there when it had.

With Ben constantly worried about Hermione and her relationship with Ron while Hermione, who was always grouchy when tired, barely sleeping through the night, it was a miracle that it had taken so long. Dawn had done her best to avert it - reassuring Ron when he was around, calming Ben down, letting Harry stay in Hermione's room (not that Hermione knew that she knew about that but the pair of them had been through so much and must have had their reasons) – but she knew it couldn't last. Everyone was too highly strung to see sense and act rationally.

Of course, it wasn't as if Dawn had had an easy couple of weeks but if she didn't keep her head then who knew what would happen? It helped that she was able to focus on one issue at a time – namely Ben's current state. Then she would allow herself to think about whatever her daughter and her boyfriend had been getting up to. Not that she really wanted to, but it was a bridge she would eventually have to cross.

"So what's the plan?" Ben rounded on her as soon as they were downstairs. It was fairly adorable watching him trying to act like he had a hold on the situation while his eyes were panicked and he was pacing.

"The plan?" Dawn began undoing the buttons of her coat.

"Yes," Ben stated, nodding a bit more than normal. "We need that boy out of her life and-"

"No, we don't. You're over-reacting and when you have calmed down you will realise."

Dawn glanced at Ben and saw his mouth opening and closing rapidly. Barely able to hold back a roll of her eyes, she hanged her coat on the rack, strode past him and into the living room. She sat on the sofa and patiently waited for him to join her.

"You do know what this means, don't you?" he asked, still stood in the doorway.

"Yes, I do," Dawn sighed, "and frankly I'm astounded that you are this surprised."

His jaw dropped again. Dawn wondered if she had actually married a goldfish and somehow never noticed.

"Well, I'm a little worried that you seem perfectly okay with all of this!"

"While the idea of our little girl," she replied, pointedly patting the sofa cushion next to her, "doing those sorts of things is equally frightening and nauseating, it was always going to happen."

Finally Ben sat down, though it looked less like it was on a comfortable chair and more on the wrong end of a broom. "When she was married!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," she scoffed. "I missed the part of the parenting where we encouraged no sex before marriage." She lowered her voice. "Or the part of that philosophy that you paid attention to."

A muscle in Ben's jaw twitched. "Fine. In a long term relationship."

"What do you think Ron is?" Dawn laughed incredulously.

"How long have you got?" Ben grumbled. He sat back on the sofa looking as though he had made a well-structured argument. Dawn took a moment to remember that she was the cool, rational one and fought down the urge to throw a cushion at him.

"Of course. Why else would you come home and find him dressed incorrectly and jump to the – in your opinion – worst possible conclusion?" The sarcasm in her voice wasn't missed if the look Ben gave her was anything to go by. "Are you even sure that they have had sex," she continued in a calmer tone, "or did you straight away snap into alpha male mode?"

Ben folded his arms in the universal symbol of I-Am-Not-At-All- Comfortable. "She has pretty much told me that they have."

"And, instead of giving her any kind of guidance, you started shouting."

"So what would you have done?"

"Honestly?" Dawn faltered. It was hardly the worst thing she could have walked in on. It wasn't even a bad thing, just a bit… shocking. While she and Hermione hadn't been as close to one another as perhaps they once were, Dawn still liked to believe they had good enough relationship that her daughter might have told her about taking this step. "I don't know," she eventually sighed.

Dawn's admission appeared to relax Ben, which could only be a good thing. If he had been wound much tighter he might have snapped.

"So you didn't know about this?" he asked hesitantly.

Dawn shook her head. "No."

"How long do you think it's been happening?"

"Well," started Dawn, running a hand through her hair, "they've been together about six weeks-"

"Or so they say," Ben muttered.

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Imply that Hermione has lied to us."

Slumping back so that her head was resting on the back of the sofa, Dawn exhaled loudly. While it was apparently one of Ben's biggest fears, Dawn had been shutting down the possibility that Hermione hadn't been completely honest ever since Ben first suggested it in Australia. It didn't matter what supposed evidence or suspicions she had to the contrary; Hermione was her daughter and she knew her. She wouldn't do this.

As she went to run a tired hand through her hair, Ben took it in one of his own. Dawn looked at their entwined fingers, remembering a simpler time, decades ago now, when just holding hands with him made everything seem better.

"She's been lying to us for years," Ben whispered, breaking through her memories.

Her gaze snapped to his and found he was more sad than angry now. Unfortunately she felt her own mood slide in the opposite direction and pulled her hand away from him. "No, she has been withholding certain bits of information that she believes would've upset us," she delicately corrected. "She has never actually lied."

"How do you know?"

Dawn had to admit, it was a very good question, one that had only one answer. "Because I trust Hermione."

Ben furrowed his brow. "You think I don't?"

"It's obvious that you don't – to me and her," she told him softly. "It's hurting her."

For a moment Ben seemed to teeter on speech before deciding against it. They sat in silence, facing the fireplace opposite, both lost in their own thoughts. Dawn had just been considering going upstairs to Hermione when she felt Ben turn his head to face her. When he spoke his voice was that of a lost child.

"How can you not even doubt her word a little bit after what she did?"

Dawn turned and saw that this wasn't him lashing out against the unknown or failing to find his footing in a situation he wasn't in control of. He was genuinely asking how she could be so sure because he was still hurt from what he felt was Hermione's betrayal. She took his hand again and gave it a squeeze.

"Because she is possibly the most decent and trustworthy person I know. She did what she did in extraordinary circumstances and it has probably saved our lives," she answered quietly, trying to give him a smile that felt stilted even to her. It was the same line she had been repeating to herself for months now and most days it worked.

Ben looked down at his knees, his grip on Dawn's hand tightening slightly. Guilt was radiating off him. Dawn felt her insides freeze.

"Tell me you didn't throw that in her face." When Ben kept his gaze downcast, Dawn felt something tick over in her head and she propelled herself off the sofa, having no desire to be near him. "You-"

For once, words failed her. Instead, Dawn covered her eyes with one hand and leant against the mantel with the other. Though she couldn't see it, she knew there was a picture of Hermione on her first day of primary school, beaming at the camera in her new uniform, in front of her.

"I'm just convinced there was another way," insisted Ben, his voice stronger now. "Sending us to the other side of the planet was unnecessary."

"Really?" Dawn spat, spinning around to face him.

"Yes! What did it achieve?"

"You can't think of one positive thing that came from living in Australia?"

The effect of her words on Ben was instantaneous; his eyes widened as his clenched fists relaxed and his face paled quicker than was surely healthy. Dawn knew it was an over-reaction and almost completely off subject but after weeks of holding back and playing moderator she was allowed one outburst.

"Dawn-"

"Don't."

She was storming into the kitchen before he could think how to finish his sentence.

Blindly, Dawn began filling up the kettle, just to give her hands something to do. All around her she could hear the echoes of arguments, two best friends slowly dissolving into strangers as the years passed, neither willing to let go nor make it better. She had always thought it could never happen to her, not her and Ben, not after everything, but then it had. The daily routine, the silent dinners, going through the motions because neither could bring themselves to admit anything was broken… it had happened and by the time she realised she couldn't go back.

She got a job at another surgery, hoping the distance, the time apart, could help but it had only led to suspicion and her spending more time there to spite and escape him even though she hated the place.

The previous spring, during a waspish fight that began over nothing, she had blurted out that she wished one of them would just have an affair so they would at least have an excuse to put the sorry mess to bed. She'd never forget the look in Ben's eyes afterwards.

Two bottles of red at the kitchen table later and they had calmly as anyone could in these situations agreed she would keep the house but he would get the record player and to wait until Hermione was back and settled over summer to tell her. Ben, for all his accusations of dishonesty recently, suggested they kept it from her until she had finished school, but Dawn had disagreed. She had a right to know and besides – it was Hermione. She'd work it out straight away.

"I didn't mean that," came Ben's voice from behind her, barely audible over the rushing water.

Twisting the tap off, Dawn slammed the kettle down on the counter harder than she had expected.

"Because I'm glad she did it," she choked out, not realising until now that she was on the verge of tears. "Otherwise we would've made a huge mistake."

Ben didn't hesitate to cross the room and embrace her. "I know," he sighed. "Don't think I'm not happy about that. Not for a second."

Face pressed into Ben's shirt, Dawn inhaled the smell of disinfectant that always followed him home from work and smiled. Spending a year with everything but their personalities and each other stripped from them, they had unknowingly rediscovered that they were still the same people they had been on their wedding day.

Dawn often wondered if Hermione had known about the problems in their marriage and had tricked them into loving each other again but it seemed so unlikely. Looking back she could clearly remember falling in love with the man she doubted she had ever really stopped loving in the first place and doubted magic could have played a part in it. It was too real.

When their memories had been returned to them, they had known that they could be as happy as the Wilkins had been and knew what it would take to get there. Both of them had been incredibly grateful for what Hermione had done and what she had saved (other than the entire country) though they could never thank her for it.

Eventually Dawn pulled back enough to kiss her husband, knowing they could get through anything now.

"She still broke our trust," Ben mumbled after what felt like hours.

"I know."

"I- I think I'm just scared." Ben's admission was enough for Dawn to take a step back, though she kept her arms around him.

"What of?" she asked bemusedly.

Ben shuffled on the spot. "Hermione."

Dawn chuckled and gave him a squeeze. He was sort of adorable when he was laying his vulnerability out in front of her. She got sick of him hiding it from her and pretending to be okay.

"She's so head strong…" He shook his head. "What if she doesn't see what she's getting into until it's too late?"

"What do you think she's getting into?" Dawn asked.

Ben winced as though trying to put his thoughts into understandable sentences was proving difficult for a change. "This boyfriend thing," he eventually said, almost without recoiling. "It's like she thinks they're going to be together forever, dance into the sunset and have children."

"Well, where do you think grandchildren come from?" laughed Dawn. "Waitrose?"

However, it appeared it was still too early in the conversation for Ben to find anything funny as he was now scowling at her.

"She's too young to be thinking about that."

"She's an adult," sighed Dawn as she returned to the kettle and turned it on.

"But maybe she needs to be a child for a while longer."

Something about how Ben had spoken, for the first time since Australia, made Dawn take pause. Even without seeing him, she could tell this wasn't him stating something he thought was right or a cleverly prepared argument; this was a plea. Unfortunate circumstances and a cruel war had taken his child from him and changed her into something he couldn't understand, and not from lack of trying. His pain and desperation mirrored her own. What she wouldn't give to see Hermione truly smile again...

"We can't stop her from making these kinds of choices," Dawn said, the rumble of the kettle almost drowning out her words. Now she was facing him again, she could see the muscle in his jaw twitching.

"But is she making them or is he making them for her?"

Dawn hesitated before answering. "Now what are you implying?

"Ron," Ben replied with a sharp nod. This new line of attack had rekindled his anger and he became more animated with every word. "What if he's pushing her? He isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He'll never do as good as Hermione again. Maybe he wants trap her or something?"

He looked at her with such hope in his eyes, hope that he had finally discovered the secret as to why his life was changing all around him, that Dawn would've pitied him if he was making an ounce of sense.

"Just out of interest," she said thoughtfully, "do you ever listen to yourself?"

Ben's shoulders sagged, but he quickly recovered, crossing his arms to cover momentary lapse in his defense. "I'm just saying I don't like or trust him."

The temptation to say "Really?" almost crushed Dawn. In the end she decided against it. He never responded well to sarcasm while stressed, something she had tested many times over their relationship, just to make sure. "Would you like or trust any boy that Hermione brought home?"

His upper body jerked in what might have been a shrug. "Maybe."

Dawn arched an eyebrow and waited. It took an entire two seconds for Ben to crack, throwing his arms and affecting a whinging tone.

"Why not Harry? I like Harry." He ran a hand through his hair and Dawn watched as the curls jumped back into place while her husband continued to unravel. "I used to think she liked Harry. She always spoke about him in letters." The reminder that he had been wrong about something was too much for Ben and he sank into the nearest chair, looking defeated.

"Yes," Dawn said, leaning over to rub his shoulders. "So we wouldn't suspect that she liked Ron."

Ben furrowed his brow as though this had never occurred to him. It made Dawn wonder what hope there was for women if even the smartest of men struggled with the most basic things about romance. "So you don't think anything ever happened there?"

"No," she answered kindly. "She would have told us."

"So you really think Ron and that foreign boy are the only boys?"

Memories of a tearful Hermione telling her all about some pig named Cormac passed came to the forefront of Dawn's mind. Ben's helpless face convinced her that now was not the time for that story. "Yep."

Somewhere in the background, the kettle clicked, but Dawn was watching her husband pass through too many stages of acceptance to pay it any notice. Eventually, Ben nodded and stared at the table. Just when Dawn thought they could continue the discussion like adults, he sat up straight again as though he'd just remembered something important. "What about that Neville she's mentioned? He sounds nice."

"I've met Neville actually. The last Christmas we were here. Hermione and I went to Diagon Alley."

"Any hope there?"

"Definitely not. She'd destroy him."

"Right." Ben slumped back into his chair, his plans of playing cupid, thankfully behind him.

Dawn sat opposite him and took his hand. "We're stuck with Ron, whether you like it or not," she told him, trying hard not to sound confrontational or patronizing.

"Fine." Ben was silent for a moment. "I don't want him in the house," he huffed.

"Be reasonable."

"I'm too young to be a grandparent."

The thought of a small child calling for her Gran sent shivers through Dawn. Though she tried to suppress them, she was sure Ben would have noticed if didn't look like he was busy repressing the urge to faint. Grandchildren had always been something Dawn had hoped for, but in a more far distant future kind of way. There was no rush. She still had all of her own teeth, after all. Although, she supposed, if she didn't then she would have been a poor dentist.

"So we lay down some rules?" she suggested.

"Yes," Ben replied, seriously. "Like him not being in the house."

Dawn kicked him underneath the table. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough for him to stop acting like a child. "I was thinking more like keeping the bedroom door open when he is here?"

Ben looked sceptical. "And when we aren't in?"

"What we don't know doesn't hurt us," Dawn answered delicately.

Eyes-widening, Ben almost choked as he spluttered, "You're going to allow this to continue?"

"Well," Dawn sighed, biting her lip, "I didn't see any chastity belts when I last went shopping, so what other options do we have?"

Yep, thought Dawn as she watched Ben's expression turn thunderous once more, sarcasm and stress aren't a good mix.

"You want to encourage our teenage daughter to have sex?"

"No," she responded, fighting the urge to hide her head in her hands. "I want to encourage our daughter to make the correct decisions that she feels comfortable with and to let her know that we are here to support her."

"And change nappies," Ben added under his breath.

"She is an adult!"

"Fine," Ben snapped. "I want her on the pill."

"This is Hermione," exhaled Dawn. "She's probably on the pill already."

As though the thought of his highly logical and sensible daughter doing something as highly logical and sensible as taking care of her own contraception had never crossed his mind, Ben gawped at her for several seconds before he regained control over his speech. "I'm having words with Doctor Morris-"

"About what?" Dawn exclaimed as Ben frowned. "Doing her job?" Sensing Ben was about to launch into another rant about everything from Hermione to the state of the NHS, Dawn cut him off and rose from the table. There was only so much of this she could take. This was the situation, and while the discovery could have happened at a better time, it was hardly unprecedented and nothing was going to be solved by running in increasingly wider circles. "Right. I'm going to speak to Hermione and actually ask her what is happening instead of over-reacting."

"I'm not-" scoffed Ben as Dawn headed for the door.

"I want you to calm down before you speak to her!" she interrupted, pointing a threatening finger at him. "I know you want the best for her but this isn't the way to go about it. Driving her away isn't going to help anything!"

With the very real outcome they both feared the most hanging in the air, Dawn marched from the kitchen, hoping everything she had learnt about parenting over the past eighteen years would help her through the conversation waiting for her upstairs.

A/N: Thanks for reading! And waiting! And not being too upset that this chapter of a Romione fic contained no actual Ro or mione. Also, I have no idea when the next chapter will be ready so I thank you all again for your patience, you wonderfully forgiving people.