Ron could see his reflection in the shop window. He'd never thought much of his appearance, but for now it was covering up the shining gold ring. He hadn't even bothered to ask for a price, knowing that it would be well out of his price range. Nevertheless, he'd been coming to the shop most days for months now. He knew that he could - should - go further down Diagon Alley to the second hand shop and pick out a nice, cheap ring. In a way, he knew that Hermione would appreciate it all the same, but Ron could never quite make himself, even though he knew that he probably just should. Hermione would start to think he wasn't ever going to ask.
Ron sighed, shoved his hands into his pockets and started, again, to amble down the Alley to his brother's joke shop. The rain was just enough that the Alley was nearly empty. A woman hurried past to buy something or other she had run out of, a small child dragged his father behind him because he'd promised they could go to the Quidditch shop today. When he reached the shop he knocked the door open with his shoulder.
"Hey, George," he called out.
It took a moment or two for his brother to answer. "Hey," came the short answer. George smiled, but it wasn't right any more. It didn't quite reach his eyes and it always seemed as though he had half forgotten how. "You got that ring yet?" George asked.
Ron gave a jerking shrug. "You wanted me to sort out those fake wands, right?"
"Yeah. They need to be out on the shelves. So - you get it?"
Ron gave George a half-hearted glare, knowing perfectly well that he already knew the answer. "No," he grumbled.
George just raised his eyebrows at him. "You ever going to? You should, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. Middle shelf?"
"You know where they go, Ronnie. How you going to ask her anyway? Romantic, candle-lit dinner? Top of the Eiffel Tower?"
Ron shoved a fake wand onto the shelf with more force than necessary. "I can't afford a bloody trip to France."
"You could afford a ring," George countered. He paused a moment. "Or she could afford you a ring."
Ron's shoulders sagged. "I know. I want to be the one to ask Hermione, though."
George leaned up against the shelf, right in Ron's way. "She's probably got something nice planned for you. Studied well up on the hows and the whats…" Ron threw one of the wands at him. George grinned a plowed on. "You're moping more than Mum. Buy the bloody ring already."
Your moping more than me, Ron wanted to snap. But he knew that it would do no good. They didn't talk about...well, they should and maybe one day they would, but for now, no one knew what to say.
"Do you even know how much it's worth yet?"
Ron could clearly hear the note of exasperation in his brother's voice.
"No," he admitted.
"Might be cheaper than you think," said George. "You are making enough to buy it, you know. You really should. Percy is going to get married before you at this rate."
Ron kept his eyes down, unable to glare at George any more. He knew that he really should just get on and ask Hermione. Some days, he half-feared that she would introduce him to her proper boyfriend. One with a job that payed well, who wasn't grumpy and could give her all the beautiful things she deserved. Ron knew that he wasn't that guy. He wasn't even brave enough to look at a silly price tag. He didn't know if she'd wait long enough for him to haphazardly save for something she might not even like. Maybe he would look later, and maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be as bad as he feared.
Home Economics and Domestic Magic: Task 3
Words: 651