Whatever Comes Our Way

"Oi! Where are you going with that?" George asked his brother loudly. Ron had been helping George get things back in order with the shop, which seemed to be helping both of them cope with Fred's death, but more often than not, Ron did something the wrong way. George was used to someone reading his mind who knew exactly what to do and when and Ron was not that kind of person.

"Taking it to the back shelves…I thought that's what you said you wanted," the younger man answered.

"Well I changed my mind. The fireworks display should be up front. It just doesn't make sense to put them in the back," George pointed out.

"Ok. I'll put them up front then." Ron swore under his breath, but was secretly grateful that George had been able to hold up as well as he had.

For the first month, he hadn't come out of his room, save for showers and Fred's memorial service. It had taken Molly a while to get through to him and to point out that Fred would be disappointed in how he was carrying on. She'd said that his late twin would have wanted celebrations instead of mourning and had determinedly set out to bring laughter back into her home. She declared May 2 the Fred Weasley Memorial holiday and had a party, though it had been a month since his death. George had been thoroughly uplifted by her promises to have a party every second of May to celebrate the fallen Weasley twin.

After a few more weeks of getting reacquainted with his family, George had decided to reopen the shop. Ron had jumped on the opportunity to help him as he desperately wanted to get away from his mother's coddling. Together they had pulled out all of the old products and George had even brought out new ones that he and Fred had created together and they started setting up to reopen.

It was the day before the grand reopening that Ron was experiencing now, though it was much more stressful than he would have liked. He and George finished up at five thirty and after a bit of a debate on George's part, retired back to the Burrow for dinner. They turned up to find a house full of people preparing to sit down to the meal.

Harry, who had been accepted to the Auror program early, had just made it in from his first day of training and was being questioned by both Ginny, his girlfriend of nearly a month, and Hermione. The girls had been helping Molly clean up all day and were happy for male company once again. Harry was only too happy to divulge the details of his first experience in law enforcement, so Ron and George joined the girls in asking him questions.

Bill and Fleur were sitting a little farther down the table next to Arthur and Bill was quietly chatting with his father while Fleur listened in intently. Charlie, who had decided to apply for the new dragon reserve being started up in Wales, sat across from his older brother and talked with Percy, newly appointed undersecretary to the minister (again).

Andromeda Tonks was on the other side of Fleur, holding Teddy and waiting patiently for the food to be served. The Lupin heir bounced happily on his grandmum's lap, his hair a blaze of ginger curls as he blended in with those around him. The two had become frequent visitors of the Burrow since the final battle.

When Molly appeared with several dishes floating in front of her, the chatter died down so that those gathered could help her unveil the dinner. Once the table was covered with dishes, she sat down next to Andromeda and everyone dug in, satisfied with the presence of their family.

"I just can't wait to start having grandbabies!" Molly said as she was passed Teddy. Andromeda smiled brightly at her and was free to eat properly. "It'll be nice to hear little feet in the house again."

"It'll be a while before you get that, Mum," Ginny said. "None of us are even married yet…well except for Bill."

Bill cleared his throat and his mother turned her attention toward him. "Actually we have some good news," he admitted, bringing Fleur's hand up to his lips to kiss it before continuing. "You'll have a grandchild in about seven months." All around there were congratulations and clapping, but over it all, Mrs. Weasley could be heard crying happily.

"It'll still be a while before she gets any more," Ron pointed out to Harry and George as the girls went 'round the table to hug Fleur and Mrs. Weasley.

"Probably," George agreed. "How are you and the bookworm doing, anyway?"

It was well known that Hermione and Ron had been negotiating their relationship for the past few months, but no one save for George and Harry dared to ask about things. Ron blushed deeply and shrugged in response to his brother's inquiry. "Not sure. We're giving it a try to see how it goes, but it's a bit awkward," he admitted.

Harry patted his mate on the back as George grinned. "You're not interested in some other bird, are you?"

"No…"

"Ah. Well keep me posted on your trails…I'd like to see how this turns out…it's been a scandalous love story for nearly a decade!" he said waggling his eyebrows at Harry.

Ron blushed even deeper, but rolled his eyes. "No love life for you, so you're taking an interest in mine?"

"That's right. I can't very well take interest in Harry's…I don't want to have to kill the poor bloke when he tells me about snogging my baby sister." It was Harry's turn to blush, but not for long. The conversation moved along and Ron found himself caught up in the elated feeling going around. He nervously took Hermione's hand and led her away from the crowd for a quick walk in the garden.

"Isn't it wonderful?" she asked, her eyes shining. He knew she was thinking about her parents and squeezed her hand supportively. They had been none too happy about Hermione wiping their minds and sending them off to Australia, and she had decided to give them space for a while.

"Yeah it is. I'm glad you've decided to stay here and share it with us…with me."

"I'm glad too, Ron," she replied gently.

She was looking up at him with so much feeling that he wanted to kiss her, but his nerves and an angry garden gnome got the best of the situation. The little blighter latched on to his shin, biting his kneecap and he fought to shake it off as Hermione wrung her hands worriedly. Torn between hurting a creature and saving her boyfriend, she pulled out her wand and tentatively pointed it at the grimy creature. "A bit of help?" he asked, furiously thumping the gnome in attempts to loosen him.

She dislodged him with a full body bind, then escorted Ron inside to get a better look at his knee. "What happened to you two?" Charlie asked, passing around a bottle of firewhiskey in celebration of the first Weasley grandchild.

"So much for romantic walks," Ron grumbled. "I was attacked by a gnome!" Harry, Ginny, George and Charlie fell over laughing as Hermione helped him roll up his pants leg and assess the damage.

"Prats!" he yelled at them, which only had them laughing harder. Hermione healed the bite and got them both a glass of the liquor so they could toast Bill and Fleur.

"Don't worry about them," she said with a grin. "They're jealous."

Ron snorted, but accepted the whiskey with a grin anyway. "What did I do to deserve you?" She blushed and sipped the burning fluid with the rest.

As the night wore on, the men broke out a few more bottles of firewhiskey and the celebrations became louder and more raucous. Ron sloppily led a tipsy Hermione into the living room to dance to Celestina Warbuck and they toppled over onto the couch. Even Mrs. Weasley had had a few drinks. "I think we should all retire for the evening," Mr. Weasley told the crowd as his wife dragged him impatiently toward their private quarters.

"I should be going," Andromeda agreed, bundling Teddy up. Though the younger Weasleys and Harry were a bit disappointed, they traipsed off to their respective rooms for the night, Fleur and Bill taking Charlie to Shell Cottage with them after drunken goodbyes.

Ron and Hermione were left giggling on the couch as the rest headed upstairs. Ron kissed her wetly on the cheek, which caused her to giggle more and curl into his chest. "I love you, Hermoine…" he slurred, wrapping his arms around her.

"Mmmm…love you too…" she replied before falling asleep. Ron sank into the cozy oblivion of sleep wrapped around the girl he had thought of as a friend for so long with new feelings stirring within him.

Upon waking, Hermione realized that she was being cuddled from behind and realized that she was sleeping with Ron. She opened her eyes blearily and caught sight of George staring at them with a goofy grin plastered over his freckled face. "Morning, sunshine!" he greeted.

"George? What are you doing here?" she asked, not fully comprehending that she was in the living room.

"I live here," he replied with a laugh. "If you're wondering why I'm staring, it's because it's not every day that you find your little brother and his girlfriend on the couch in a passionate embrace.

Hermoine rolled her eyes. "We're not locked in a passionate embrace…wait…the couch?" She shifted carefully so as not to wake Ron, but he was dead to the world. She groaned upon realizing that George was right. "Who else ogled us here?" she demanded, standing up, the blush covering her face worthy of a Weasley.

"Oh…just all your closest friends…" He smiled slyly. "And don't worry…we got photographic evidence of the remnants of your snogging session." She would have thrown a pillow at him had there been one available. With another eye roll, she conjured a blanket for Ron and ran a hand through her messy hair. "You look lovely darling!" he told her, earning a swat to the back of his head.

She joined George in going to breakfast where she met the smiling faces of Harry, Ginny, Molly, Charlie, and Fleur…Arthur, Bill and Percy already gone for work. "Have a good night?" Ginny asked wickedly.

"Yes thank you," Hermione replied primly, ignoring the snickers.

She ate her breakfast while enduring a few friendly jabs from the Weasleys and Harry and was midway through a bit of toast before she realized something. "OH MY GOD!" she fairly yelled, shooting up from the table, eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, standing as well.

"What is it, dear?" Mrs. Weasley repeated when she didn't immediately answer.

"Ginny, I need you! NOW!" she said, dragging the ginger girl out to the garden.

"What's going on?" Ginny demanded once they were out of earshot of the rest of the family. Here hazel eyes were wide with concern.

"I told Ron I loved him last night…"

"WHAT? Really? Are you two together officially, then?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"I don't know…we were both a bit drunk…he said it first…"

Ginny grinned widely. "This is brilliant!"

"What if he didn't mean it…what if…god, what if it was just something that he mumbled because of the whiskey?"

"That's not true and you know it!" Ginny protested. "You're going to talk to him, right?"

"I don't even know if I can look at him…" Hermione admitted weakly.

"You're the bravest girl I know," Ginny told her bracingly.

"But…"

"No buts…you're going to be my sister. Ron loves you. He said it last night because he does…"

"I don't want to lose our friendship," Hermione protested.

"You won't…you'll be gaining a love."

"How can you be sure?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You two were made for each other. Everyone can see it except you two, apparently. Well, Ron anyway."

"What if he thinks it's too soon to say 'I love you?'" Hermione asked.

"He said it first! Besides, it's been seven years!"

"He hasn't loved me seven years," the older girl protested.

"He has…just didn't know it cuz he's a bloke!" Ginny started back toward the house, grinning madly, but Hermione stopped her.

"I'm nervous."

"It's not harder than taking your OWLs," Ginny told her. "Just tell him how you feel…without the assistance of alcohol. You two will be official in no time."

"I just don't want to mess it up."

"Oh for heaven's sake," Ginny sighed. "Do you want me to do it for you?"

"NO! I'll do it," Hermione quickly replied.

"You have until bedtime," Ginny told her. "Or I'll give you a bit of help."

With a sigh, Hermione let Ginny lead her back into the kitchen to finish up breakfast. The lot of them were staring at her and she found that she had lost her appetite, however. Sharing a glance with Ginny, she felt her heart leap into her chest as she realized what she would have to do…in a matter of hours she would be baring her soul to the one person who could destroy her completely.