Watching her had never been so easy.

There was, quite literally, no holding back necessary any more at this point. If Ron wanted to go over there and put his arms around her waist until she'd turn around and blink up at him, he could. If he wanted to grab her hand and pull her up the stairs, towards his bedroom, he could do so, too.

The thought was making his head spin.

"It's getting a bit pathetic, you know?", George commented, and it took Ron half a second to keep from flinching at the knowledge that his brother was sitting so close by and was probably reading his thoughts here.

Ron coughed. "Er, what?"

"You, staring at Granger all day. I get it, it's cool that you got her now, and everything, but you're kind of creeping me out here."

"I am creeping you out?", Ron snorted, and George shrugged with a nod.

"Yeah, all that lovy-dovy behaviour, you guys sneaking around at night.. You would think perfect Prefect Hermione were one to stay in her own bed at night, unlike other girls in this house...-"

"Wait, what?!", Ron interrupted, but George ignored him.

"-But no, she seems just as smitten as you, so.." - Ron's ears burned in a really good way,- "That leaves us to the question: When and how did you jinx her, Ron? Was it Amortentia? Was it last Tuesday at dinner? You can tell me, Ron, I swear I won't pass the secret."

Ron kicked his older brother against the shin. "Jerk.", he muttered, still red around the ears.

"No, but seriously, Ron.", George continued, looking truly interested now, "How long have you guys been...-?"

"Oh. Er, I don't know, really. I mean, it's been kind of... more, for a while, and then, during the battle..", Ron replayed the memory of that moment for the millionth time in his head, "She kissed me."

"She kissed you? Well, I suppose that makes sense, for Granger to take the action. I mean, at the speed you were going in that mission, you probably would still be dating the squid by now. What was her name again?"

"Lavender.", Ron answered.

"Ugh. Never liked her.", George commented, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

Ron wasn't about to tell George that Lavender Brown had been attacked by Greyback during the battle. George had been in a better mood all day than at any other time since the funeral week, so Ron wasn't about to remind him on all that shit again. It was a miracle that George could speak so calmly and with humour about a we that didn't exist any more.

"Yep, you're better off with Granger. Was obvious all along."

"Yeah?", Ron asked, a bit surprised. Well, it had been obvious to him all along, of course, the way he felt (Now, that wasn't true at all) ... Possibly even a fraction of how she felt (or might feel) about him. But the two of them, together like that? Had other people seen it coming, too?

He knew that Harry must have, in a way. Maybe Ginny, for she spend a lot of time with both of them, as well, and she had cast him a few weird glances here and there, over the years... Had their Mum known, too? Their Dad?

"Ron, seriously.", George sighed, rolling his eyes. "Everyone saw it coming."

That was a good thing, wasn't it? A good sign?

He knew that his parents loved the fact that Hermione and he were a thing now. In fact, they were ecstatic about the whole situation. His father was even more interested in everything Muggle than ever, and Ron knew that his Mum had always adored Hermione, - perfect, polite, clever Hermione Granger. It was good to know that George approved of the new (or not so new) circumstances, too.

Not, that any of those things really mattered. Maybe it was a tiny bit selfish, but Ron was actually certain that no one in the world could have possibly kept him from falling and staying in love with Hermione.

He hadn't told her yet, not in actual words, just how much she meant to him. That he loved her. He wasn't sure if he could tell her any time soon that he also planned to spend the rest of his days with her, but he wanted her to know at least that much. I love you, Hermione, he would say, and then he'd just scoop down and kiss her firmly. Couldn't be too hard, could it? In an optimal scenario, her eyes might fill with tears and she'd pull him into the kiss herself. And in an even better (though sadly unrealistic) scenario, there would be a bed nearby when... and then...

They hadn't gone that far yet, either.

They had done quite a lot, of course! He definitely couldn't complain. And even if they weren't going to go further, any time soon... Or ever... There would never, ever be a way to complain for him, as long as she was there. There was no hurry for anything, no question of timing or of getting more and more and more, when what he had was already what he'd always wanted and often thought he'd never have. She - was - everything.

"What were you two talking about, earlier?", Hermione asked him much, much later that night, as she lay in the circle of his arms, wrapped in orange sheets.

"Hm?", Ron asked, bumping his nose against hers and sucking in mouthfulls of her shower-damp hair's smell.

"You and George. I saw you two talking in the living room, he looked so.. carefree.."

"Carefree?", he chuckled, holding her more tightly, and she melted into his movements.

"M-hm. Yes, he seemed happy."

"I think he was. We were talking about us, you know? You and me, and how much of a sappy couple we are, which creeps him out."

She snickered, and his grinning lips met her ear lobe.

"Well, maybe we should be even more of a sappy couple then. If it makes him that happy to feel creeped out."

Ron nodded, and wrapped his palm gently around her thigh, revelling in her closeness.

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan."