Ron wandered over to a stack of books. He didn't really know what they were about; he just wanted to get away from Hermione. It's not that he didn't want to be near her, or that he was sick of her. On the contrary, he loved spending time with her. Especially lately. No, it was the concentration Hermione had while looking at books. It was suffocating! Once Hermione had a book in hand, it seemed to Ron as if she had a life-or-death decision to make. To buy the book or to not buy the book: that is the question. Ron glanced back at Hermione and watched her furrowed eyebrows with admiration. How does she do it? he wondered. He had always wondered at Hermione's ability to concentrate so hard on school. It was the last thing that he could ever concentrate on. He looked to see what books were in front of him. So You're Having a Magic Baby. Whoa! He was in the maternity section. He glanced at Hermione again to make sure that she hadn't seen him over there and went by another stack of books.

Ah, this is better, Ron thought as he saw a stack of Quidditch books. He flipped through a few, but they didn't have anything in them that he hadn't seen before, so he moved on. He came upon a stack of books that caught his eye. They were wire-bound, and they were all flashing with this and that. He picked one up and saw that it was an organizer. That's perfect for Hermione! Ron thought. He didn't want to just let Hermione buy him those gloves, whatever deal they made, so he started to look through them. Of course, Hermione didn't actually need one of these. She was organized enough on her own. But Ron's experience told him that Hermione wouldn't turn down a new organizer.

The first one he picked up was pink and sparkly. Definitely not, Ron thought as he put it back on the shelf. It was too girly for Hermione. The next one he picked up was dark green. He opened it up and was nearly blinded! Bright lights flashed everywhere, showing you where birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates would flash alongside to do lists and scheduled events. Ron put it back quickly. Too confusing. Ron picked up a third planner. Nice colors, he thought to himself as he ran his hand over the maroon cover with bits of gold swirls in the corners. Ron closed his eyes as he opened it up. When no extra light came through his closed eyelids, Ron felt that it was safe to open his eyes. What he saw greatly pleased him. It was a day-to-day calendar, and each day was separated into hours. A sticker on the first calendar page told him that by using a special quill that came with the planner, the planner would automatically fill in week by week. That way, Hermione could put her class schedule in, and she wouldn't have to write it in every week.

Ron flipped through the pages. Within the calendar pages there were pages for to-do lists with plenty of room for writing detailed homework assignment. He looked in the back and found a place for names and addresses. If a person used the special quill on these pages, the address would show up, and if you wrote overran address, the old one would be wiped away and the new one would show. Also, it automatically put each entry in alphabetical order, so there wouldn't have to be re-writing when adding a new person. Wow, thought Ron, if I were an organized person, this would be heaven for me!

Ron looked at the price and his eyes bugged out. It was so much cheaper than he thought it would be! Ron hurried to the counter and bought the planner. He checked his watch and saw that it was almost time to meet Harry and Ginny at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, so he went in search of Hermione.

Ron found Hermione walking toward him with a couple of books in her hand. "I think I'm going to get these two," she said without looking at him. When she did look up she stopped in her tracks. "Did you…buy something?" she asked, not believing what she saw.

"Uh, yeah," said Ron, who suddenly was uncomfortable at the thought of giving Hermione the planner. It wasn't that he wanted it, but the longer he held the book, the more he thought of how others could take it. No one else knew that Hermione had bought him the gloves, and he certainly wasn't going to let anyone else know that, but what about the organizer? Hermione wouldn't be shy about telling anyone that Ron had bought it for her when the asked about it. And what would Hermione think when he gave it to her? This wasn't part of the bargain. It was something Ron just decided to do.

Oh, get off it Ron. You and Mione are friends, and friends can get each other gifts, right? Ron assured himself. Of course, you don't get Harry things, that would just be weird. And none of you have really ever given anyone a gift "just because" before. But this gift isn't "just because." It's because Mione bought you those gloves, and you want to repay her somehow, since you couldn't afford them. Yah, that's it. This is just a thank you for the gloves. Ron struggled with himself. He sighed. Of course he'd have to give Hermione the organizer. He wouldn't use it, and he wasn't about to let it go to waste!

Ron watched Hermione walk past him toward the checkout. "Uh, Mione?"

Hermione turned around. "Yes?"

Ron stuck out the hand that was holding the bag. "This, uh, this is for you. A kind of thank you for the gloves, ya know."

"Oh, thanks, Ron!" Hermione walked back toward Ron and opened the bag. Ron's stomach did a flip when he saw her eyes light up as she saw what it was.

"An organizer! This is wonderful, Ron!" Ron's face burned and he was sure he was red as a tomato. He tried to get the blush to go away, but it wouldn't.

Hermione opened the organizer and turned the pages. She 'ooh-ed' and 'ah-ed' at every little quirk the organizer held. She finally put it back in the bag and took the bag from Ron's hand, and much to his surprise, Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck in a big hug.

"Oh, thanks, Ron! This is just what I needed!" said Hermione. Ron felt warm; too warm. He didn't know what was going on. He nervously hugged Hermione back, and then let go quickly. He felt like he was going to faint. What was going on with him?

Hermione looked a little disappointed when the hug ended, but she took the bag and went to the counter to check out her other two books. Ron checked his watch again. Thank Merlin it's almost time to meet Ginny and Harry. Ron grimaced for a moment at the thought of those two together, and then shook it off. Hermione was coming back, and he didn't want to upset her happy mood, especially when for once he was the reason for it.

As Hermione approached the door of the Leaky Cauldron, Ron gently grabbed her arm to keep her from going in. Hermione looked up at him questioningly.

"Hey, Mione, do you think we could, you know, not talk about where you got the planner from?" Hermione looked a little disappointed, but Ron went on. "You know, so the others don't find out about our little deal with the gloves?"

Hermione inwardly sighed at Ron's pride. Of course she didn't want to hurt his pride, but she couldn't believe that Ron had given her such a gift. It required thought on his part to think about what she liked and everything! It somewhat confused her, and since Ginny's thoughts were still running through her head, it almost worried her. She wasn't going to let that ruin her good mood, though.

"Of course, Ron," Hermione said with a smile. Ron looked relieved and let go of her arm. He held the door open for her with an exaggerated bow as she walked through. Hermione curtsied in response as he closed the door behind them. Hermione stood on her tiptoes to see above the lunch crowd at the Leaky Cauldron, and Ron just looked over everyone's head.

"Oh, there they are," Ron said to Hermione, pointing to where Harry and Ginny were sitting. Hermione strained to see so Ron gently pushed on her back to point her in the right direction.

"How was the bookstore you two?" Ginny asked as Hermione and Ron sat down. Ginny gave Hermione a small wink as she sat down next to Ginny. Hermione gave her a harsh eye back, but nothing more. She didn't want to make a scene.

"It was good, apparently," Ron said. "Hermione found two books."

"Hermione can always find a book," laughed Harry.

"Why don't I get us some butterbeers?" Ron asked, getting up. They all nodded, and Ron walked away to give the bartender their order.

"So Harry, when are you going to tell Ron?" Hermione asked.

"All in good time," said Harry nonchalantly.

"Harry! You need to do it soon!" Hermione insisted.

"What is Harry telling Ron?" Ginny asked, interested.

"About you two," Hermione said, not taking her eyes off of Harry.

"But I thought he already knew," said Ginny, confused.

"He does, but he doesn't know everything, and how would you like it if your best friend dated your brother and just figured that you knew?" Hermione asked.

"I'd be relieved," Ginny said, looking directly in Hermione's eyes. Hermione opened her mouth to retort, but at that moment Ron came back with the butterbeers.

"Hey, Ron?" Hermione asked sweetly. "Could you possibly go and get me a glass of water? I'm parched, and I don't think that the butterbeer will do what I need it to."

Ron rolled his eyes and walked away. Hermione used the opportunity to get back on Harry's case.

"Harry, I want a plan of when you're going to tell him," Hermione pressed.

"Fine, fine. How about after lunch you girls go shopping for girly stuff, and I'll take him down to the ice cream parlor and wait until his mouth's stuffed and then tell him. That good enough for you?" Harry replied.

"Sounds perfect," Hermione said.

"Wait, maybe I should go with Harry. I mean, I am half of this whole thing," Ginny said.

"I don't think so, Ginny. I don't think you want to see Harry get pummeled," replied Hermione.

"Hey, I can handle Ron," replied Harry indignantly.

"Yes, but can you survive an over-protective Weasley brother?" replied Hermione.

"Good point," Harry said, defeated.

Just then Ron came back with Hermione's water. He started to sit down and then stopped. "Anything else?" he asked somewhat testily as he looked around the table.

"Nope, nothing else," replied Hermione, smiling.

A/N: I know, a lot of background to start off with, but I felt it necessary. And we will get to Dean's house, although they still have half a day yet at Diagon Alley, so it may be a chapter or two until then. Thanks for reading!