I own nothing! I tried to make this seem …. Well I didn't want Ron to be accepting charity, because I don't think he'd do that.
"You're going to ask Hermione to marry you with that!" Harry Potter looked on in disappointed bewilderment as his best friend Ron showed him the pitifully small and tacky ring that he had planned on proposing to his sister with. "Are you mad?" Ron immediately snatched it back.
"Well some of us can't be famously rich Harry." This caused Harry to grimace uncomfortably.
"Sorry mate, it's just….. Don't you think it's a bit…?" Ron sighed.
"I know Harry, but money's a bit tight at the moment, and I'm pretty sure she's expecting me to propose any day now. It's only temporary, until things start picking up. Besides if the war has taught me nothing else, it's that you should live life while you can. What with you and Ginny's engagement Hermione's been talking about weddings all the time and I don't want to disappoint her." He added under his breath "Again." Harry frowned as he heard the latter part, but chose to address that particular problem later.
"Look, Ron, you of all people know how much 'Mione deserves the best. And I have no doubt that you are the best person for her, but if she's ever unhappy with something like this she won't say. You know that. And you saw the way she looked at Ginny's wedding ring; we both just want what's best for her." He eyed he ring wearily. "And that just looks like something you picked up at Knockturn Alley." Ron's ears turned red and he muttered something unintelligible. Groaning Harry looked away. His hands ran through his jet black hair and he took a deep breath. He mentally prepared himself for the conversation he was about to have.
"Look Ron, I consider you my brother and Hermione my sister- you know that right?" Ron blinked and nodded. "But I also consider you guys to be so much more. For the longest time, you were my WHOLE family, the only reason I kept fighting. I love you both so much, as much as I love Ginny in fact, and you know I'd do anything if you needed it." Harry sighed. "And…I've wanted to do this for a long time but it just kept getting put to one side…" Ron looked up confused.
"I'm not following you mate. What do you mean?" Harry gestured for Ron to take his arm, and the two of them disappeared with a loud crack. Opening his eyes, Ron saw that they were in Diagon Alley, just outside Gringotts. Harry led them in without saying a word.
The Goblin's eyes were guarded as they looked at the two, and Ron was sure that he had never had to take as many precautionary measures as before with them. Seven guards accompanied them to Harry's vault, and both were pleased to note that the area was dragon-free. Ron casually mentioned to Harry that Hermione loved her work at the ministry when an angry guard turned on them.
"That witch has brought about changes that aren't needed, because of her Gringotts has been forced to abandon centuries old methods of safe-guarding!" Both boys were immediately on guard.
"Well I noticed you weren't complaining when she was defending your rights in court last week! Besides, it's not as if the dragons were very effective." The goblins present bristled and Harry laid a calming hand on Ron's shoulder.
"Hermione is working for the rights of all creatures. That includes those that can't stand up for themselves. She hasn't banned the use of dragons, just their mistreatment. If it wasn't for her, you'd still be classed as a lower race by the ministry of magic."
The Goblin stiffened and moved on briskly. They stopped at Harry's vault, and Harry led Ron in.
"Wow mate. You're bloody stinking rich!" Ron gaped. Harry grimaced before turning and striding purposefully through the mountain of gold, to get to the material possessions. Finally, Harry stopped before a regal looking cabinet. He took a deep breath, turning around and looking Ron fully in the eye.
"Firstly, don't take this as an act of charity, because it isn't. When we finished auror training I finally worked up the courage to visit Gringotts and take a look through my vault, because I've never had a chance to do that before." He trailed off and looked around with a bemused expression on his face. "This still shocks me…"
Ron started to fidget uncomfortably, unsure of why he was there. "Harry?"
"Oh. Right, well I was looking through the family jewellery, incidentally that was also where I found Ginny's ring, but I also found this…" He opened on of the many drawers and took out a matching set of rings. They were beautiful, and looked amazing. The outside was decorated with rubies and diamonds, and the rings were made entirely of polished gold. "I guess your ring wasn't that bad…but this is a pair of the Potter family Marriage rings. I think there are about ten sets, and I want you to have one." Ron instantly opened his mouth to refuse, but Harry held a hand up.
"No mate, listen. Hermione is my sister, and you're like my brother. I want you both to be happy and these rings…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I talked to Ginny about it, she agreed. Thought it was sweet, but I want to make it clear that as soon as I'd found these I knew that I wanted you two to have one either way but I had a feeling you'd be married." He laughed, and Ron once again felt that warm feeling that he got whenever Hermione was mentioned. But Harry soon sobered, and put the rings into Ron's hand closing them as he went.
"What's mine is yours mate, and I want you to have this because I want to make it clear that you are both my family, and I'm sure that my mum and Dad would've said so too. This is just, making it official, well for Hermione anyway. They are the best quality you can have, the rings are goblin made, and then fairies added the stones…I'm sure there's a lot more to it- Hermione probably knows- but the thing I understand is that they'll protect you and keep you both connected." Seeing an unfamiliar look on Ron's face he added. "It works differently for everyone but-" His sentence was cut off by Ron's uncharacteristic hug.
"Thanks mate. This means a lot." It was short, but that was all that needed to be said. "But I'm buying my own house." Harry chuckled and reiterated the fact that this wasn't out of charity or pity, but love.
"Seriously, I've considered you my brother for years now, and what with Hermione and her parents…I just was looking for the right time I suppose." They stepped back, smiling awkwardly. Suddenly, Harry grinned. "You should've seen Ginny's face when she saw all of the jewellery…She was gobsmacked!" Ron roared, and mentioned he'd have to show Hermione it too, because she wasn't often speechless. "Oh I think Ginny was going to drag her down here sooner or later, what with her being maid of honour."
Ron proposed that year on Hermione's birthday, a few weeks after Harry and Ginny's wedding. The prophet went wild, especially when they noticed the Potter family rings. Eventually they were stopped by a furious Harry yelling that he'd given the rings to them as a wedding present to show that they were family. In a rare interview he stated: "Hermione and Ron aren't just my best friends, they're my family, and that was their right as my family. I only wish I could've given Ron a proper set of dress robes in our fourth year of school too."
It was rarely that the two couples were seen without each other, and when the news came that they were godparents to each other's children no one was shocked. The wizarding world had just realised that they'd only ever get a small glimpse into the deep and soulful bond that those four lucky people shared.