"Harry…" Ron muttered out of the corner of his mouth as the three of them stood in an overcrowded shop Ginny had forced them into, now looking at weird hats. Ginny was in front of a mirror, trying on a few of them. Ron watched his and Harry's reflections in another narrow, funny-looking mirror and grimaced to the too-tall, red-haired, sad-looking figure staring back at him. "You took me to some sodding couple's thingy, you know that right?"

"What?" Harry said absently, busy eyeing an emerald-coloured top hat high on a shelf above the mirror. "No, I don't think so."

"There are couples everywhere if you haven't noticed," Ron pointed out sullenly, folding his arms across his chest and looking around to confirm just that. The whole shop was full of them. They were kissing, holding hands, groping each other in the corners when they thought nobody was watching. "Do you know how I know that, Harry? Well, I have eyes. And I am the only single bloke in here who isn't a midget! And ten years old!"

"Ron, don't be daft." Ginny appeared behind him, wearing a green hat with built-in orange lights. She pushed him away from the mirror, checking herself out from side to side. Harry laughed at her.

"Ha, you're adorable," he said, kissing her cheek. She turned to kiss her boyfriend properly on the mouth. Ron rolled his eyes behind them.

"Oh, don't mind me standing here third-wheeling…"

"Sorry." Harry wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and gave him a sheepish smile.

"Can we go now?"

Ron sounded like a petulant child, and he hated it. But they had been in this bloody shop ages and the air was so warm in here, he was sure he would go mental if they didn't get the fuck out of there soon. He could barely breathe in the cramped space that seemed to shrink by the second. More people came in than walked out. Ginny and Harry barely perceived he was there at all, busy with themselves and each other as they were. Eventually, after thirty minutes, Ron announced he was getting hungry (even though he wasn't) only so they could leave. Harry bought the emerald top hat after contemplating it for about five hundred years before he decided. Ginny said it brought out his eyes- Ron nearly gagged hearing this. He had never heard Ginny being so cheesy except for when she was with Harry.

They ate lunch by one of the food booths, then Ginny and Harry wanted to try the rides. Ron went with them on the Ferris wheel and the whirligig because he had always loved to swing as a kid when they had a homemade one attached to one of the large trees back at the Burrow. Ron then offered to stay put and hold their cloaks when the sun brought warmer weather towards the afternoon, while they went into the haunted house and went on some more of the rides. Ron watched them, the happy, carefree looks on their faces, how his best mate lit up when he looked at Ginny, heard their laughter and felt the sheer bliss radiate out from their bodies. Ron realised he was jealous. He hadn't felt that kind of carefree for a long, long time.

Why can't I feel like that? Why can't I have that?

It wasn't a partner to fix everything he wanted. Ron wanted to feel that for himself, to feel true happiness within himself. He knew his sister and Harry tried, they really did, but their efforts were futile. Ron couldn't just 'cheer up' like they all expected.

He leant back against a tree, waiting as Ginny bought them candy floss from a nearby booth. His mind tried to come up with excuses to leave. He had been here four hours, and he longed to go back to his flat and hide. Lie under the covers in his bed and pretend he didn't exist until Monday morning.

"I was thinking…" his sister said once she made her way back to him, with Harry in tow, "that we should go try that machine Luna talked about when we got here this morning." She handed Ron a cone of the sweet sugary candy floss she had bought, a bright blue coloured one. "Look, Ron, I bought you a blue one so you could match your bracelet…" She smirked.

"Thanks, Gin." Ron pulled a face at her. "You're so thoughtful."

"I know," she continued, raising her coppery eyebrows playfully, "which is why we'll try out that machine right now. Come on, Ron, Luna said you could get fun, happy quotes from it and you really need one to cheer you up!" She took his arm and dragged him along with her.

It was near the entrance and the exit but almost hidden from view. It would be easy to miss, there was no neon sign above it. The vending machine was turquoise, lamps around the small screen blinked invitingly, and upon approaching it, Ron nearly jumped as the machine unexpectedly started to sing:

Half a quote

Put together

Will make our world so much better

Two souls

Combined to one

Will make the heart sing a song

This is magic from high above

Push the button and find true love

Then the machine went on the second verse how it was nothing but a simple box of metal, giving Ron heavy flashbacks to every year at Hogwarts when they had to listen to the sorting hat sing.

"Oh, that's adorable!" Ginny exclaimed, putting her hands together. "What a cute gimmick! Luna said nothing about this being a find-true-love-machine. That's perfect for you, Ron!" She smirked, patting his arm.

"That's not what it is, Gin," said Harry, scratching his head. He had walked up to a small, shiny placard with a golden frame next to the machine, and was now reading aloud what it said:

I will give you half a quote, the person who has the other half is your destined to be soulmate. Try this fun activity with your friends, family, or partner. Only 1 knut!

(The machine sings different songs. Your soulmate can be anyone and it doesn't have to be in a romantic way.)

"I don't care," Ron frowned, giving the turquoise automat a childish glare, "bloody rubbish is what that is. I just want to go home."

"No!" Ginny tugged on his arm. "Come on, Ron, stop being such a buzzkill! It could be fun! I reckon we should all try. Only one knut each…" She gave her brother that look, the look Ron recognised anywhere. That look that belonged to a horribly annoying little sister. And just like always, Ron sighed in resignation, not without huffing loudly though.

"Fine."

"Great! I'll go first," Ginny decided, throwing a coin into the machine slot. It made a horrible shrieking noise before printing out a thin strip of parchment. Ginny took it and held it up to read.

"Let's commit the perfect crime," she said. "Okay… weird. But fun, I suppose." She shrugged, smiling.

"Ron, do you want to go now or…" Harry gestured towards the automat. Ron shook his head, shifting on his feet. He felt exasperated and impatient, all he wanted was to get home.

"Nah, you go ahead, mate."

Harry nodded, stepping forward. Once he put a coin in the machine, it made another shrill sound, almost vibrating in front of them. Another parchment was printed out, which Harry took and held up in the same way as Ginny had done earlier.

"I'll steal your heart, and you steal mine," he said.

Ginny gaped. "The machine really works!" She shrieked, brandishing her half of the quote. "I thought it was just some fun gimmick! Look!" She put her and Harry's quotes together.

Let's commit the perfect crime

I'll steal your heart, and you steal mine.

Ginny laughed, something dancing in her brown eyes. "So soulmates then. That's so lovely!" Ron watched as she hugged Harry and couldn't help a small smile. He wasn't sure he believed that sort of thing, it probably was pure coincidence Harry and Ginny got the matching one after each other. To make couples feel it was real.

Ginny tore herself away from her boyfriend and glanced expectantly at Ron. "Now's your turn."

He sighed and put a knut into the machine. For the third time, it made a sound, sounding as it was in pain. He wondered bitterly if it was because of him.

Ron bent down to take out the piece of parchment the machine spat out.

'When you can't look on the bright side…'

"Oh, this is just so typical!" Ron scowled.

Of course, I fucking get the miserable one.

Ginny snatched the strip of paper from his hand. "When you can't look on the bright side," she read aloud. "Well, Ron, you have been down lately, truth be told…" Then she fluttered her eyelashes. "Oh, I wonder who has the rest of that quote and what that would say to complete it…"

"Nothing." Ron made a face to her. "I bet this machine is just set up to fool people into believing they have a soulmate. If I stick another coin in, I'll probably get the rest of that fucking thing. Here, watch." Ron put in another knut into the slot, and the three of them saw the machine work for the fourth time. Triumphantly, Ron took the parchment printed out, fully expecting to get the other half of the shitty quote he had received.

"Look here… Whenever I'm with you…" He creased his eyebrows in confusion. What the hell?

"When you can't look on the bright side whenever I'm with you," Ginny repeated with a smirk. "Nah, Ron, those don't fit together. You're wrong."

He tried again. Another half came out, and it didn't match either. Ron huffed in annoyance. The machine was fucking with him; he was sure. Just like everything else was.

'Oh, you're not very happy, are you, sweetheart?'

The witch's voice still rang in his ears from this morning when they put on their bracelets by the entrance. Why did everyone and everything in his life have to confirm precisely how miserable he felt? He glared at the blue colour around his wrist. First thing when he got out of here was to chuck the bracelet in the nearest bin, he decided. Where it belonged. He dryly thought about throwing himself in it too, while he was at it.