*Okay so here is the next chapter, and we get to see Ron interact with Harry. Enjoy*

Ron came downstairs the next morning to find his mother hard at work in the kitchen. She was cooking a rather large breakfast and scrubbing away at some unseen dirt on the table. She was obviously a little distracted since she continued to clean the same spot for nearly five minutes. He finally decided to speak up, "Do you need some help mum?"

She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, "Oh, Ronald, you scared me."

"I'm sorry. So...did you need some help?"

She gave him a dumbfounded look. Ron had never been one to volunteer to do chores before, "Well...if you want, you could de-gnome the garden for me. The little buggers seem to have multiplied over the last few months."

Ron nodded and moved for the door. De-gnoming the garden had never been one of his favorite chores, but it gave him something to do. He had been hold up in his room for weeks now and it felt good to be outside doing something. He quickly got into a rhythm and only took a break when he was called for breakfast. Within a few hours the garden was clear and Ron felt better than he had for a while. The repetiveness in the action helped him clear his head.

When he went back into the house, his mother was readying herself for a trip to see Harry and Ginny. "I'm done. Is there anything else that you need me to do?"

She looked up and smiled, "No dear. Thank you for doing that for me. I haven't had much time lately, and everyone else is gone." She flinched and grew quiet, almost as if she was expecting to get in trouble.

"I'm here now. I'll make sure it doesn't get that bad again."

Her eyes met his and she smiled once more. "I'm going to see Harry and Ginny. Would you like to come along?" She saw his hesitation and continued, "I'm just going straight over there and back."

He gave a heavy sigh, "Do I have time to shower first?"

"Of course dear."

Harry and Ginny were surprised to see Ron standing with Molly when they opened the door. Their surprise quickly turned to excitement as Ron and Molly were ushered into Grimmauld Place. Ron was surprised to see how much Grimmauld Place had changed over the years. It was clean and the painting of Sirius' mother had been removed. The walls were painted a light blue color that really lightened the place up, and there were now pictures of Harry's parents, the Weasley clan, and all of their friends from Hogwarts lining the walls.

"Quite a bit different, isn't it?"

Ron turned to see Harry behind him. The women had left to the kitchen to finish preparing lunch, "Yeah. I guess I was expecting it to be the same."

"Some things are still the same." Ron turned to his friend, "Come with me. I'll show you."

Ron followed Harry up the stairs until they reached Sirius' old room. It had been cleaned, but they had kept it the same as when Sirius had been a boy. The bed was made, and the toys had been picked up and placed inside of his old school trunk. Ron sighed, "Even this has changed. I guess nothing can ever really stay the same, can it?"

"Change can be good," Harry offered with a smile. Ron couldn't return the smile. He knew that not all change is good. "Speaking of change...there was something I wanted to talk to you about." Ron nodded and followed Harry down to the sitting room. "Would you like something to drink? We've got butterbeer, firewiskey, water..."

"I'll take some water." Harry busied himself getting their drinks while Ron watched him. "You wanted to talk to me?" Ron asked.

Harry took the seat across from him, "Uh, yes, I did. I'm sure you know about mine and Ginny's engagement?" Ron nodded, "Well, I asked George to be my best man because you were gone, but now that you're back, I was hoping that you would do it."

Ron's eyes grew wide, "I thought you and Ginny got married while I was in Azkaban?"

"We were supposed to, but we wanted to put it off until you could be there."

Ron was completely thrown by Harry's request. They had been best mates growing up, but they hadn't spent any time together in years. He was also nervous of being forced to be around that many people, "I'm not sure mate. I'm not very good around people anymore. Why me? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm honored, but I haven't exactly been around. Wouldn't George be a better choice?" Ron's face grew dark, "With everything I've done, I'm not sure that I deserve to be your best man."

Harry shook his head and leaned in towards Ron, "You're my best mate. It doesn't matter that you haven't been around. You were my first friend, you helped me through every major thing that has ever happened in my life, and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be marrying Ginny in the first place." Ron lowered his gaze to the floor. He knew that Harry was right, but he still didn't feel like he deserved it, "Look at me Ron." Ron's eyes met his, "You're my brother. I don't care what you did because I know you. I know what it's like to watch someone you love get murdered right in front of you. If it hadn't been for you, Hermione, and Dumbledor, I would have probably done the same thing you did when Sirius was killed." Harry stood and walked over to the fireplace, "You don't have to tell me what happened while you were away, but if you want to talk, I'm here."

Ron sat there for several minutes, thinking about Harry's request. He didn't want to deal with everyone that would inevitably be at Harry's wedding, but if Harry was willing to accept him without explanation, then the least he could do was support his best friend. He took a deep breath and joined Harry by the fireplace, "I'll do it."

Harry gave him a big smile that Ron reluctantly returned. "The wedding is in three weeks at the Burrow. We're going to need to get you a suit." Ron groaned and Harry laughed, "Sorry mate, but there's no getting around that."

"Anything else?" Ron asked.

"George is taking care of the bachelor party, which would be a good opportunity to get you around people before the wedding."

Ron elicited another groan, but thought of a way he might get out of it, "You know that I can't go unless dad is there, right?"

"Don't worry, he's going." Harry saw the defeated look on his friend's face, "You don't have to go if you don't want, but I would really like it if you were there."

Ron nodded, "What kind of best man would I be if I didn't go." Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder who only grunted in response.

"Boys! Lunch is ready!" They two men made their way to the kitchen. Harry was happy to have his friend back. He may not be the same person he was before, but Harry didn't care. Ron was one of the few people that truly understood him. Ron was thinking about how we was going to get through the next few weeks. If anyone else had asked him to do something like this he would have turned them down, but he couldn't do that to Harry, or Ginny for that matter. It was going to be a long three weeks.

*Some might think that Harry is a little too understanding, but I don't care.*