I twisted my left hand back and forth, letting the diamond sparkle under the bright lights of the jewelry shop. "It's a beautiful ring."

"But...?"

I slid the ring off and set it back down on the counter before turning to face Harry. "But I don't think it's Ginny."

"Well, that's why you're here. To help me work through this."

I ran my finger along the velvet display that the shopkeeper had pulled out. We were almost a month into the new year, and as I suspected, Harry had enlisted my help in ring shopping now that he was moving back to London and he and Ginny were finally going to make things official. We had started in a Muggle shop, though I frankly thought Harry would have a better time of things at a wizarding jeweler; if he couldn't find something he liked, it would be much easier and quicker to have something custom-made. He claimed to have the details of the proposal worked out for himself, though he was keeping mum on that subject.

We were the only customers in the little shop, so I wandered over to a different display case. "Okay, here's a question: does it have to be a diamond?"

Harry looked befuddled. "I dunno. Doesn't it?"

"Not necessarily, though most are."

"Well, Ginny's not most girls."

"Exactly my point. Come look at these." Harry joined me in front of a counter full of emerald jewelry.

"Okay. Green for the Harpies, I get it. What if she changes teams though?"

I stared at Harry in disbelief. "God, you can be daft. Could we see that one in the back there, please?" The shopkeeper pulled out the ring I had pointed to. I slid it on and held my hand up next to Harry's face, eyebrows raised as I waited for him to make the connection.

"Oh, my eyes."

"There we go." I lowered my hand so he could examine the ring. He bent to study it carefully.

"It's a thought. Something different. I think Gin would appreciate that." He glanced up at me, grinning cheekily. "So, sapphires on yours then?"

I blushed and took the ring off hastily. "Stop it, Harry."

"Well, we haven't had much chance to talk lately. How are things with you and Ron?"

Things with Ron were absolutely wonderful, as a matter of fact. It hadn't even quite been two months, but it felt like we had been together forever, in the best way, and I told Harry this. "However, it's much too soon for any of this." I gestured to the rings in front of us. Harry gave a noncommittal hmm. "We're here to pick out something for Ginny, remember?"

"Yes, but seeing what you like may be useful later. I'm taking mental notes."

I rolled my eyes. "Ron doesn't need your mental notes on a ring for me."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at me. "You sure?" I was, but he was making me question it. They were best mates; they talked.

"Yes, of course."

Harry asked the shopkeeper to see one of the other emerald rings and then grinned at me. "You're right, I'm just taking the mickey." I was starting to see a downside to my boyfriend and I having the same best friend. "But...suppose that's the direction things are going, yeah?"

I couldn't entirely hold back a smile. "Suppose it probably is, yes." At the moment, I couldn't fathom things going the opposite way, but I was trying not to put the carriage before the thestral. As good as our relationship was, it had only been a couple of months, and we hadn't even sorted our living situation yet.

I was starting to put more serious thought into what I would do in London, if I were to move back. It was harder to imagine Ron in New York, and I wouldn't ask him to come. To leave his family—his new niece, and the nephew that would arrive this summer—and his job that he was so brilliant at. He could join the American Aurors, but it would take time to get back to the leadership role he had now. It would be easier for me. I could hit the ground running on the pre-education initiative for Hogwarts, though the idea of starting over from scratch on it was admittedly daunting, and I wasn't entirely sure that was the path I wanted to continue on, but for the immediate, it would be the path of least resistance.

"I think I prefer the ones set in gold, don't you?" Harry asked, pulling me from my thoughts. "The silver ones look too Slytherin-y. Or is that mental?" He was holding out two identical emerald rings for my inspection, one set in silver, one gold. Of course, now that he'd said that, I couldn't un-see it.

"I think we've all had quite enough experience with ol' Salazar's jewelry for a lifetime," I agreed with a shiver. "Stick with the gold. Is that the one, then?" The stone in the middle was quite large, and it was set with diamonds on either side. It was a bit gaudy for my personal taste, but Ginny would love it.

Harry was smiling as he looked at it. "Reckon so." He handed it to the shopkeeper, who took it to the back to be cleaned and wrapped, leaving us alone in the showroom. "I'm excited, Hermione."

I walked slowly along the cases, admiring everything inside. "Well, don't get ahead of yourself. She might say no." I looked over my shoulder at Harry, who was glaring back. "Had to get back at you somehow," I teased with a wink.

I took off the following Friday to spend a long weekend in Britain with Ron, and when he met me at the Ministry Thursday night, he seemed frazzled. "Are you alright?" I asked him after he kissed me quickly in greeting. He handed me the copy of the Evening Prophet he had tucked under his arm in reply. It was open to the sports pages, and the headline that glared up at me was "Star Chaser Ginny Weasley out for season after rainy match at Ballycastle". I looked at him in alarm. "Ginny's hurt? What happened?"

He took my hand and started quickly in the direction of the Atrium. I was practically running to keep up with his long stride. "Not sure. I just got off my shift and had this and a note from Mum waiting for me." He stopped abruptly and kissed me again. "Sorry for the fire drill. I really am glad to see you."

"Ron, don't be silly. Where is she, Mungo's?"

He started walking again, at a more accommodating speed this time, as he said, "That's the odd thing about it. Team healers were looking her over and sounded like they were going to let her Floo to the Burrow. But then the team released that statement, so Merlin knows." We stepped together into the Floo, spinning out a moment later in the kitchen of the Burrow to the sounds of an argument coming from the living room.

"I just don't understand why you won't tell us what's wrong," Molly was saying as Ron and I entered. Ginny was sitting on the couch with her face hidden in a throw pillow while Molly stood across from her, hands on her hips. George was leaning against the back of the armchair watching the scene in front of him unfold.

Ginny lowered the pillow. "I told you, I don't want to talk about it," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Well, then you ought to have told those healers of yours to Floo you back to Wales, because now that you're here, your mother would like to know what's going on!"

"You don't look hurt," Ron blurted out, causing the three of them to notice us for the first time.

"Bugger off, Ron," Ginny snapped.

"Ginny!" Molly scolded, then turned to us. "Lovely to see you, Hermione."

"What are you doing here, anyhow? Harry's not with you, is he?" Ginny asked me anxiously.

"Just spending the weekend with Ron. Should we call Harry? He'll be worried about you when he hears."

"No!" Ginny shot to her feet. "Nobody needs to tell Harry anything. I'm fine."

"The healers say you're out for the season, Gin, that doesn't sound fine," George put in skeptically.

"I'm not going to talk about it," Ginny said firmly. "And I'm going to bed." She did actually look alright as she began stomping up the stairs. Molly huffed in frustration and headed for the kitchen, while George made for the front door, hugging me quickly in greeting as he went.

Ron turned to me. "Well, it can't be too bad if they let her go, whatever it is. Ready to go?"

Before I could answer, Ginny poked her head around the first floor landing and hissed my name. When I looked up at her, she motioned me up. I glanced at Ron, who rolled his eyes but shrugged. "Maybe she'll tell you."

I headed up the stairs and followed Ginny into her room. She was pacing like a caged animal. "Gin, what's going on?" I asked immediately. "Your family are worried sick about you."

"I'm pregnant," she replied in an anguished whisper.

"Holy shit." It was out before I could stop it, and I clapped a hand over my mouth. Ginny shot a silencing charm at her door.

"I hope you're rubbing off on my brother as much as he is on you," she said wryly.

I took a deep breath. "Pregnant? You're sure? Wait, what happened in the match? Are you actually hurt at all?"

Ginny shook her head, still wearing a path across her bedroom floor. "I got a bit banged up tonight, but nothing a little bruise paste couldn't fix. Pregnancy spell is standard procedure when you see the healers, and, well..." She motioned vaguely to her midsection, and then threw her hands up in the air before letting out a string of curses that would have made her brothers proud.

"How did this happen? Obviously you weren't planning it, weren't you taking the potion?"

Ginny glared at me. "Of course I was. But I ran out over the holidays and brewed it myself instead of getting it from the apothecary, and I must have cocked it up. Bloody buggering..."

I put my hands on Ginny's shoulders to stop her pacing. She was white as a sheet under her freckles, and her expression hovered somewhere between terrified and devastated. "It's going to be okay, you know," I said soothingly. "Harry is going to be thrilled."

She scoffed. "Harry."

"It is Harry's, isn't it?" That wasn't a serious question, but her response seemed out of place.

"Jesus Christ, Hermione, yes it's Harry's." Ginny rolled her eyes, then groaned. "I can't tell him."

"Why on earth not? It's Harry, all he's ever wanted is family."

"Yes, and he's coming back to take care of Teddy. That's the family he wants. Now I'm meant to throw a baby into the mix, as well?" She pulled away from me to resume her pacing. When she turned towards me again, she had tears in her eyes. "I know he's moving back, and I'm assuming that at some point that's going to involve a betrothal." She had no idea how right she was, or how soon it was coming. "But there wasn't any rush on it. Harry was coming back on his own time, properly sorting everything. You know how he gets all bloody noble about things. If I tell him, he'll be on the first portkey back, charging in to save the day and...this is going to sound absolutely mental, but I just want it to feel like he's proposing to me, not to little It here." She made to touch her stomach but pulled her hand away before she quite got there.

"Oh, Ginny..." I went to her and wrapped her into a hug. I wanted to assuage her concerns, but I couldn't ruin Harry's surprise by telling her he was coming over in two weeks to propose to her. "Take your time. It will sort itself out." That was close enough to the truth. "But you'll have to tell him sooner than later. He's going to notice eventually."

Ginny finally cracked a smile. "Might not until we're in the delivery room. It is Harry, after all." We shared a laugh, but then she sighed. "I know. I will. And please don't say anything to Ron, yet. I don't want Harry in a full body cast when I tell him."

I sighed. I was not at all keen on lying to Ron, but it wasn't my news to tell. "Okay. I won't," I promised reluctantly.

When I returned to the living room, Ron was sitting in the armchair reading the Prophet, his feet propped on the table in front of him. He looked up at me over the paper. "Well?"

"She's okay. But she is going to be out of Quidditch for a while."

Ron stood and set the paper aside. "What's with the cloak and dagger? What the bloody hell is wrong with her?"

"I think she's just upset about missing the rest of the season." And probably the beginning of the next; if my math checked out, she would be due sometime in August, so a September Quidditch start would be highly unlikely. "It's...something internal." That wasn't a lie, exactly. "It's getting late, we should go." Ron looked like he wanted to probe further, but he held his tongue as he followed me to the Floo.