A/N: I hope you like the story. Feel free to comment below. This will probably be a long one and the beginning may suck, but I will work on it. Please don't flame unnecessarily and I will try to keep this in character.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It is merely my sand box.

Hermione ran down from Ron's bedroom at the Burrow. Everything was almost back to normal. George was still brokenhearted from his brothers death and he often had a far off look in his eyes, especially if he had just told a particularly funny joke or played a prank, but in the five months after the battle, he had healed and with him, the entire family.

The bushy-haired woman sat herself at the table with a muffin from the counter and some tea Mrs. Weasley had given her. Hermione's parents had died a month before the battle. They had remembered her when the memory charm wore off, something Hermione would likely never forgive herself for. If only I had been stronger, thought of a better plan she thought. Silent tears ran down her cheeks and spilt into her tea. Mrs. Weasley came around the corner of the kitchen, babbling about what they were going to do that day and saw the young woman crying.

Mrs. Weasley put her hand on the now shaking girl's shoulder. Hermione took a few calming breaths before looking up at her surrogate mother and smiling watery.

"See here, Hermione. It wasn't your fault," The older woman said in a gentle voice, "You didn't point the wand at them and you did your best to protect them."

"But if I had only—"

"There was nothing you could have done. If you want, we can talk about them later tonight, we can, but for now, I hear the boys coming down."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." Hermione whispered.

"No dear, call me Molly, you have more than earned that right."

"How about mum?" The young girl smiled at the older woman with a look of pure hope and desperation.

Mrs. Weasley's blue eyes watered up and she put her hand to her mouth to keep her lip from wobbling. She engulfed Hermione in a hug and Hermione swore she heard the woman sob into her shoulder. Both of them sat back and wiped the tears from their eyes and smiled at each other. Hermione knew that even if she and Ron were to break up, Mrs. Weasley would always be there for her.

Ron, George, Harry, Charley, who was back from Romania for the time being, Bill, Fleur and Ginny came stumbling down the stairs and sat themselves down at the table. Ron leaned over to Hermione and wiped a stray tear off her cheek and cupped her face in his hand. He planted a kiss right on her cheek and held her hand. He is just so, so, perfect. Hermione thought as Ron talked to one of his brothers and Harry while rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb to comfort her. They still fought, quite often, but they always made up. We probably aren't compatible, but I believe I would die without him, Hermione thought irrationally.

She looked on over to Ginny and smiled. Her and Harry were so close and Hermione was so happy for them. Harry, especially, he deserved a little love and a good family after all he had been through. Ginny, who was leaning on Harry, smiled back and winked at her. Over the months, they had become quite close and Hermione was proud to call Ginny her friend.

The boys, of course, were talking about Quidditch; they all had tickets to the world cup, which was being held for the first time since after their fifth year later today. The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione herself had quite a bit of compensation money for being war heroes, enough for all of them to live comfortably, especially Ron, Harry and Hermione. When the Ministry had heard what they had gone through to destroy Horcruxes, they were falling over themselves to offer them anything for saving the entirety of the wizarding world.

Hermione was smiling at the boy in their debate of who would win the world cup when a tawny owl flew right in the kitchen window carrying the Daily Prophet. It had become a lot more credible after Kingsly Shacklebolt had become minister and made sure the Prophet was reporting actual news. Hermione opened the paper to the front page and read the headline news, which almost made her faint.

SHOCKING POPULATION REPORT FROM THE MINISTRY!

The Ministry of Magic came out with official population statistics from the losses during the war. Some 25,540 witches and wizards were killed, nearly all between the ages of 17 to 40, shrinking the likely hood of recovery of population. This dramatic drop in the population is very concerning and a lack of magical population might decrease the amount of muggle-born witches and wizards born, a study found by Hannah Abbot in the Department of Muggle and Wizard Relation Research.

In light of these extreme circumstances, the Parliament of Wizards and the Minister of Magic have agreed on a new Marriage Law. The Marriage Law, or Law , states that any witch or wizard between the ages of 17 and 55 are required to get married. The Ministry will provide matches based on a survey that will be sent to every eligible witches or wizards home on October 18 and will be required to be sent back to the Ministry by October 25 and matches will be sent to the recipient by November 1. Further information will be provided by a letter that will be sent with the survey.

Failure to complete the survey or comply with the law will result in a minimum sentence on 25 years in Azkaban or having your memory of the wizarding world erased, your wand snapped and banishment to the muggle world. More on the Marriage law on p. 6.

By Luna Lovegood

Hermione looked up worriedly and shoved the paper to Ron, who scanned the article quickly. He gasped and turned as white as a sheet. The paper was spread one by one across the table and everybody grew as white as a sheet. Hermione looked to Ron who sighed.

"I'm so sorry Hermione. I should have proposed sooner." He hugged Hermione tightly to him.

There was not enough time to file for an engagement. The rest of the article said that if an engagement was filed before the date that the survey was sent out, then the couple was exempt from the Marriage Law. Engagements took at least a week to file and process, so all was lost.

"I'm sure I'll get you." She told Ron, but he only smiled unsurely.

Just as most of the commotion had died down and everyone had grief-stricken face, another, more expensive-looking owl flew and dropped a letter in front of Hermione. She recognized the familiar scrawl and an ironic smile appeared on her lips. Ron grunted in a jealous fashion and read the letter over Hermione's shoulder.

Dear Hermione,

I heard you had tickets to the world cup, so I am extending an invitation to you and your party to come to the Bulgarian team's party after the game. I have not seen you in so long and I dearly miss you, even though you are dating that Ron character. I know it's over between us, I just want to catch up with my friend and I was joking about Ron. I hope you're happy and I hope you'll come.

Your friend always,

Viktor Krum

Hermione laughed at his awkward but friendly note. Even Ron smiled and was glad that Viktor wasn't trying to woo his girlfriend.

"Victor has invited up to an after party, does anyone want to go?"

Everyone responded positively and for a while, the Marriage Law and all other worries were forgotten. The war was over, and all the children who were deprived of a childhood beforehand deserved one. Only Mrs. Weasley was worried for the future, but she let her children be children and watched them all eagerly run up the stairs to get ready for the day ahead of them. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon and it lit the field in the front of the Burrow on fire, turning the dying brown grass a bright gold color. Mrs. Weasley looked at the beautiful scene and sighed. It reminded her of a poem that Mr. Weasley once recited to her when he was on his muggle poetry kick right before they were married, before the first wizarding world war.

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

She recited the haunting words in her head, thinking of her children and fearing the future.

Hermione had just got done getting dressed for the day and was packing her small beaded bag for the trip to the world cup camp site. She had kept the small beaded bag, it was possibly the strongest magic she had ever preformed and it was a souvenir from the war.

There was a knock at the door and Ron stepped in her room. He was blushing furiously and he was holding something behind his back. Hermione was about to ask him why he was in here, and tell him that we had to leave soon or we would never make it, but he spoke first.

"Hermione, please just let me speak. I know we have to leave soon, but this won't take but five minutes. I have liked you for nearly six years and loved you for the past three. I was going to propose after seventh year, but the war happened, then I was going to propose after the war, then Fred died and your parents were found dead. I was just so broken and I didn't feel like I could take care of you." He knelt down on one knee, "And now with this Marriage Law, we might not be together, but I would like you to know that I will love you forever. Hermione, will you marry me?" He asked.

Hermione was in tears. Ron had opened a jewelry box and inside it was a ring. It wasn't flashy, it didn't even have a diamond but it did have an inscription. On the top of the polished silver ring, it said true love. This made her cry even more, Ron started to look worried.

"I know it's not much, I got it before the money, I actually got it before Bill and Fluer's wedding, I can get a better one if you want."

Hermione threw herself on Ron, sobbing.

"No Ron, It's perfect. Of course I'll marry you."

Ron slipped it on her finger and it magically resized to fit her perfectly.

"I also charmed it to burn lightly when you are in any danger and it's a portkey to wherever I am at the moment. All you have to say is 'teaspoon'."

Hermione giggled, remembering their conversation in their fifth year of school. "You did this all for me?"

"Of course, anything for you."

"Ron, Hermione, you better not be in a compromising situation. We have to leave now, or else we'll be late." Yelled Harry from the bottom of the stairs.

Ron smiled at Hermione, kissed her quickly on the mouth and grabbed her beaded bag before running down the stairs. After a while, Hermione ran after him.

A/N: A little Ron and Hermione fluff. It would make sense that they love each other. I think that Ron, although thick, is really sweet. Please read, and comment. Nothing Gold can Stay is by robbert frost.