a/n: As always, thank you all for your patience, all the love and your amazing reviews. They cheer me up during those hard days! Thank you all so much. some extra a/n at the end.

Just one more thing- if anyone is still unclear where Ron was in those six and a half years, the backstory is in chapter 7: The Lost Years

Chapter 35: Praesidium Vinculum

"You're coming?" Ron asked Harry as he grabbed his Auror robes from the back of his chair.

Harry, who was talking to Matt, glanced at him and paused for a moment as if pondering before he replied. "You go ahead, I will follow in a moment."

"D'you want me to wait?" he asked again and Harry was quick with his response.

"No, no!" he replied hurriedly.

Ron found his behaviour a little odd but pretended not to have noticed as he walked out of the Auror department. He usually avoided the lift, and especially the Floo in the Atrium; the frequent stares and murmuring that accompanied his presence wasn't something he preferred at all. His feet carried him towards the Law Enforcement office and it was a little strange how he felt pleasant jitters at the thought of meeting Hermione. Feeling happy was still something he was trying to get used to. The past few days had really brought a lot of change to his life and as much as he loved it, there was also a nagging fear at the back of his mind warning him to keep his guard up.

As he walked, he noticed people walking past him, the stares were common and many looked at him as if intimidated by his presence. And yet, there was a general aura of ease. People were happy and busy in their lives with their jobs, friends and families, so unlike how he remembered from the time when the three of them had Polyjuiced their way in during their seventh year.

They knew their world was safe.

The thought hit him so suddenly that he paused mid-step. His parents were content and safe, his Mum no longer needed to carry the family clock wherever she went. His siblings busy with their families, Harry and Ginny were happily married, Hermione was pursuing what she always wanted to and could go back home at the end of the day, meet her parents and live a safe life. A weight lifted from his shoulders and at that moment, the six long years that he had lost seemed worth it.

He took a deep breath, and hurried ahead, smiling to himself as he remembered the previous evening. Against all odds, he had found his way back to her. He was still queasy about her decision to marry him just driven by guilt but Jane was getting better and perhaps, he would be able to make Hermione see reason? He wanted them to work their way through everything that had messed up, do it right this time. Most importantly, he did not want to rush into a wedding, he wanted Hermione to take an informed decision after he had confessed about his past.

He didn't find Hermione in her office, she was down in the courtroom. He wanted to wait for her but Annett kept blushing under his gaze and he remembered Hermione mentioning that the young girl apparently fancied him?! Feeling rather conscious, he left Hermione a message and hurried down to the Atrium.

….

Ron hated travelling by Floo. No matter how huge the fireplaces; his long limbs made getting in and out of them a nuisance. But it was raining for hours now and apparating outside the Grimmauld Place and waiting for Ginny to unlock its ungodly number of bolts and locks didn't seem like a good idea either.

"Gin?" he called aloud as he clambered his way out, cursing under his breath as he dusted the soot off himself and massaged his elbow that had knocked against the wall.

"Ron?" she replied from the far corner of the kitchen and ran down carrying a bowl, an apron draped around her waist. She placed the bowl hurriedly on the table, dusted her hands on her apron and ran fast enough to crash against him, wrapping him in a fierce hug.

He gasped a little, the cloak falling off his arms. "Who are you and what have you done to my sister?" he chuckled, amused but pleasantly surprised as he patted the top of her head.

"Shut up, you idiot," she mumbled against his chest before extricating herself out of his arms. "You guys can't catch a break, can you?" she grumbled as her brows scrunched while she took a good look at him. Soon a small smile was tugging the corner of her lips. "You look better than I expected. Someone special patched you up?" she teased.

"Maybe?" he replied.

"Good," she said and suddenly she was punching him in the ribs.

"Oye! Ouch! What-!" he yelled, as their height difference made his midriff and arms more prone to her assault but soon he had grabbed her at the shoulders and held her at his arm's length. Ginny, never the one to give up, continued to flail her arms and legs trying to reach him.

"What's gotten into you?!" he laughed.

"You utter moron! You-you pumpkin head, you fucking baboon's backside!" she continued her tirade, looking absolutely furious but hilarious all the same.

"What are you talking about?" he inquired again and she stopped and heaved before looking up at him, her face red with fury, and if he was not wrong, hurt?

"You knew you were leaving and you didn't tell us," she spat at last, huffed and looked away and his heart dropped down to his stomach.

"Harry… that git…" he muttered angrily. That wanker had planned this all along.

"That git said nothing," she snapped back.

"Then how-"

"Do you think I'm an idiot? Nope. That title goes to you, you moron, for thinking lying to Hermione made any sense at all! How could you not tell us?! Do you know what you made everyone go through? And Hermione? Did she deserve all the shite you've put her through? She could've gotten married to Malfoy, you prat!"

Ron exhaled and let her go. "Go on, hit me all you want. I deserve it."

She ignored him for a few minutes but her voice was soft albeit hurt when she spoke. "Harry said you'd been through hell during your mission. You could have told us, Ron."

He covered the small space between them to pull her into a hug and pressed a kiss on top of her head.

"I really couldn't, Gin, I swear." He sighed and turned her around to face him. "I regret what I put her through, what I've put all of you through in fact, but at the same time- I don't regret taking up the mission."

She glared hard before looking away and nodding. "I know you are a self-sacrificing idiot but this-" she stopped, as if out of words. "We could have lost you too…" she muttered slowly.

"I- I'm back now," he replied.

"The clock wasn't lying when it showed your spoon on mortal peril, did it?" she asked, anguished.

"No," he replied quietly and she let out a small cry and wrapped her arms around him.

"You are an arse!" she choked and sniffed before going quiet for a few minutes. Ron reckoned Harry had intentionally stayed back to give Ginny and him this time. "How bad was it?" she asked after a while.

"Quite," he replied, honestly. "But all you guys are safe and that makes it worth it."

She looked up, arms still around him. "You put us through hell," she grumbled, "but I'm not surprised either."

"Thanks for taking care of Harry," he added, patting her back fondly before she pulled away. Ginny chuckled bitterly. "I don't think I did a very good job," she exhaled, tugging him by the arm towards the table where they grabbed a couple of chairs. "Kreacher, can you please put the kettle on the boil?" she asked over her shoulder before returning her attention back to him. "He was a mess, Ron. Both of them were. He got better only after you returned," she paused, chewing on her lower lip as if pondering how much to tell him. There seemed to be a lot on her mind which she decided against voicing aloud. "Hermione?" she sighed after a while. "Was it really so important to leave her?"

"Yes," he replied quietly. "I had to ensure she'd move on and not keep waiting."

"Why?" she asked and he knew she found the answer in his silence. She gasped, her voice thick when she replied. "Wait till she finds out. She'll hex you into the next century."

"Don't tell her, Gin."

"Don't tell me you're planning to hide it from her forever?!"

"No, not at all. I've got to tell her, haven't I? But she said she isn't ready yet and -"

Ginny exhaled exasperatedly. "You both just enjoy torturing each other! And us!"

The chime of the Floo made both of them turn around to find Harry stepping out of the Floo. He patted furiously on his arm to rid himself of the soot as he hurried towards them.

The bloke didn't bother with a greeting as he removed his cloak, threw it over a chair and pulled out a small parchment before handing it over to him.

…

Ron looked over the words over and over. It had a weird scribbly look to it which indicated the use of handwriting modifying quill.

Auror Ron Weasley,

You are spoiling our game much too frequently now. So let's play a game with each other?
How long do you think it will be before my men meet your fiancée for congratulating her in person?

X

He would have rushed back to the Ministry but for Harry who had assured him that Matt was watching over Hermione in the courthouse and she'd be arriving as soon as she was done with the hearing. Ron couldn't think straight.

He forced himself to listen when Harry began speaking. "Delivered by a non-descriptive post owl from outside Lancashire. We are looking into any leads from the Post Office, but I doubt we'll get any."

Ron glanced at Harry, breathing deeply. He nodded grimly running a hand over his mouth before rubbing his forehead. "Right," he said finally, "Any, any curse or jinx or something?" he asked.

"None."

Ron glanced at the fireplace again. It was Ginny who replied. "She'll be here soon, Ron. She is at the Ministry- she's safe."

"Yeah the same place which three seventeen-year-olds could break into during Voldemort's reign, very safe," he scoffed bitterly as he read the parchment over again and turned it around for any other clues, dropped it back on the table frustratedly before he began pacing in the kitchen.

"You know it's more protected than that now," Harry assured him but it helped little. He had to see Hermione and he decided waiting for her to arrive was extremely stressful.

"Fuck it, I'll-" he announced and had taken barely a couple of steps towards the Floo when it chimed again and Hermione appeared. Before he could overthink it he was right next to her, helping her out.

"Hey," she wished everyone before taking in their worried faces and looked at Ron, concerned.

"What's wrong?" she asked as Ron took her cloak from her and they found their way back to the table.

"You found Matt, right?" inquired Harry and she nodded her head, quietly thanking Ginny who handed her a steaming cup of tea.

"Yes, I just assumed you were ensuring I didn't miss the message of meeting you all here," she halted and looked around, "but then, this is a little odd. Why send an Auror all over to the courthouse for a message? He quite insisted on accompanying me to the Floo as well."

Harry pushed the parchment towards her, it was already getting crumpled now, having travelled through so many hands.

She read it, let out the tiniest of gasps and looked up at Ron.

…..

Ron was looking stoic and Hermione but back a cry of frustration. Despite all the stress their jobs entailed and the general madness life threw at them all the time, it was finally looking hopeful.

"Do we know, who sent it?" she asked them.

"No, no leads as of now- unmarked mail. It was a post owl."

"Can you guys, I mean have you been able to narrow down suspects yet?"

Ron let out a bitter chuckle. "I have a terrible track record of enemies, could be anyone."

She turned at Harry who met her eyes, glanced at Ron and back at her and shrugged a little.

"What now?" asked Ginny while Ron continued to glare at the parchment.

"This could be a hoax, right?" Hermione pondered aloud.

"Could be," Ron agreed, grim. He turned at her, held her gaze as his eyes softened slightly. "But I am not willing to take down our guard."

"We've got to enhance protection at your flat," Harry offered, "And we'll have some men with you for security all the time. It's no fun, Hermione, but we've got to keep our guards up till we find the people who sent this."

"Understood," she sighed softly. "But Ron already cast some more protections at my place last night, she glanced at Ron from the corner of her eye before looking back at Harry. "Won't that suffice?"

"No, it won't." Ron sniffed and turned his attention to the parchment again, held it up, looking for Merlin knew what.

"There are limitations on how much he can do in a Muggle locality," Harry explained as he glanced at Ginny, and chewed on his lower lip.

"I don't want to undermine your concern," Hermione exhaled, "I am sure you both know best in this case, but I can take care of myself. I'm not bad at magic myself," she replied smiling, looking at both her boys and hoping to assure them she was going to be fine. She had seen enough in her line of work to know that many people found some relief in threatening their enemies although few had the inclination or the courage to actually carry out the threat. She also knew both Ron and Harry were way too concerned for her to take her word for it.

"It's no fun being an Auror's fiancee," chuckled Ron; he sounded bitter.

"Come on, Ron-" Ginny countered but was interrupted by no other than Harry himself.

"He isn't wrong, Gin," he muttered quietly. "Why else would we stay in this house?" he continued, letting out a hollow laugh. "It is because this place has fuckingly insane protection and I know you are safe even if I am not around at all times." He exhaled soundly through his mouth. "It's got nothing to do with how amazingly fierce you both are with magic but because we have a crazy arse history of making enemies." He paused and looked away leaving Hermione to wonder how detached she had been from all that had been happening around her. She barely had a clue of everything that made up an Auror's life despite knowing two of the fiercest Aurors personally. The public saw the accolades and Order of Merlins but the harsh reality of their day-to-day life was something else.

"But there is a way right? To ensure her maximum protection?"

Hermione looked up to glance at Ginny and found her looking between Harry and Ron, both of whom seem to have caught on to whatever she was talking about. If anything Ron looked even worse.

"What-?" she asked but Harry addressed Ron.

"Ginny is right," he told Ron. "This could be a hoax for all we know but this risk remains, init?"

"I- I don't know…" Ron mumbled.

"But, mate better sooner than later!" Harry countered.

"Will someone bother to tell me what you all are talking about?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"Praesidium Vinculum!" he announced.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked again.

"After the war, it was decided that a special protection would be extended to the families of the Aurors considering they were always at the risk of facing the brunt of our jobs," explained Harry. "It mainly encompasses spouses and children while parents and other family members are automatically covered as they are related by blood. We couldn't have anyone kidnap one of our own and use that to leverage and threaten the Auror, could we?"

"So this covers the family?" she asked.

"Yes, anyone related by blood is covered automatically and a marriage extends the bond to the partner."

"I'm surprised you didn't marry Ginny sooner," Hermione chuckled, shocked at the new discovery although equally amazed.

Harry smiled sadly and grabbed his wife's hand in his. Ginny replied on their behalf. "Well, we had to wait, you know that. Moreover, being a Chaser for an international team has its perks. There is a lot of money that rides on us, in return, it ensures I have a lot of protection cast on me."

Harry intervened. "But now that she is married to me, I can't risk staying anywhere other than this old house," he looked up and around and shrugged a little.

"So you are suggesting…"

"Get married- you guys were going to anyway," Ginny finished for her.

Hermione glanced at Ron who was looking stoic. Her heart sank a little.

"There is one more way," he replied, not meeting her eyes.

"And what is that?"

Hermione was sure her heart had stopped beating, she knew that look in his eyes- it was never a good sign.

Ron looked down at the parchment and crumpled it in his fist. "Let's call this off. They are threatening to harm my fiancee." He exhaled and looked into her eyes. "You won't be in any danger if I am no longer in the picture."

Ginny yelled something and she could roughly hear Harry counter Ron's argument but Hermione could hear little due to the buzzing in her ears. She looked away. "Why is that always your answer?" she asked quietly.

"It's never going to be easy, Hermione."

"I don't expect it to be," she retorted.

He let out a derisive chuckle and looked away, running his fingers through his hair, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he grumbled under his breath, got out of the chair and huffed off. But she wasn't going to let him walk away again.

Hermione ignored Harry and Ginny as she followed him.

"Ron! Ron!" she called and managed to catch him only when they had both reached the living room.

"Hermione, why can't you see the reality?!" he screeched as he paced in the room, sounding so anguished that it immediately extinguished her annoyance and anger. "You are mad at me, aren't you?" he asked of her as he paused and rested against the wall.

She vaguely recalled how the living room looked back during their fifth year, how they had spent an entire summer vacation decontaminating it of its many mysterious and dark objects, The room was so different now, the wallpaper was light and the long glass windows which had been cleaned thoroughly by Kreacher allowed enough light into the room during the daytime despite the dreary weather outside.

"I'm not mad at you," she replied as she walked her way towards him. The fireplace was just to his left. The mantel showed multiple pictures of Harry, Ginny and their families. The two of them had turned this place into a warm home. The thought sent a bittersweet pang through her heart.

"I'm not mad at you," she replied as she stood beside him, but you promised you won't leave unless I asked you to," she reminded sadly.

He let out a helpless groan. "Can't you see the danger of being with me? We shouldn't-"

"We shouldn't be together because of a letter?" she interrupted, looking up sideways to watch him. His gaze lingered for a long while on her face before he replied.

"Because I can't risk putting you in danger! Not because of me- not after.." he trailed off.

"Not after-?" she probed.

"Never mind, that's not important right now. We've got to call it off."

She exhaled soundly. "Ron, if either of us were worried about danger, we wouldn't have befriended that guy down in the kitchen."

"That was years ago," he countered. "We were too young to understand the risks it involved."

"So you mean to say if you knew how straight-up crazy it would be - you would have abandoned Harry?" she challenged.

"That's not what I said," he grumbled.

"That's what it sounded like."

"You know that's not what I meant. Risking my life for either of you or Ginny or anyone in the family is absolutely different from putting you guys at risk because of me."

Okay, so it's cool if you do it but we can't? That's -"

He let out a sound of exasperation. "You don't get it!" he complained.

"I do, " she replied, softly. "I understand rather well. Tell me why it's fine when you risk your entire life for a victim you find during your rounds- but it's not when I take a well-thought-over decision and choose to stay with you? There's a very small chance of me being in any danger at all!"

"A very small chance?!" he yelled, "Are you fucking crazy? I'm not willing to take this risk no matter how 'very small a chance' it has !" he air-quoted as he thundered. He was heaving and Hermione instinctively turned towards him and placed her palm over his chest. Ron hung his head and ever so slowly his heavy breathing eased. He looked into her eyes, anguished, fighting some sort of an internal battle and her heart broke at the sight. He was just the same Ron she had known forever- her Ron...

"Hermione, please... I- I can't afford putting you at risk."

She scooted closer. "What makes you think I'll be safe away from you? In all these years, do you think I haven't had my share of hate?"

"This is different," he replied.

She paused, licked her lower lip. "Can you guarantee that they won't come after me if we call the engagement off?"

He paused, seemingly caught off-guard at her question. "No," he said in a small voice.

"And this-this spell Harry was talking about… will that keep me safe?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah," he replied, voice heavy. "It was crazy after the war. There were still so many we were fighting against. And while Aurors pledge to risk their lives for the cause- it's different when work risks their loved ones. The protection ensured that we could do our job well without worrying that the families would have to bear the consequences. "

"Makes sense," she replied. "This explains why you could go about being the ruthless Auror who cared little about his own life because everyone at home was safe. The only person at risk was you," she deduced slowly.

"Yes."

"And now things are different, I am the weak link here."

"You are not the weak link...but…"

"But what?"

"We decided we'd take it slow. And now I can't push you into a marriage because of some fucked up arse!"

"Ron…" she called, biting a quiet sob. She had approached him and asked him to marry her only to spare herself of the guilt. She had even entertained the idea of never confessing her true feeling only to hurt him as much as she could…

Ron had gone rather quiet and as she stood there, she took the last step separating them and placed her head against his chest. He released the softest of sighs and his arm wrapped around the small of her back.

"I wanted you to make this choice out of a free will," he stated quietly. "I really did."

She didn't know what to answer him and responded by grabbing the front of his shirt firmly as she continued to hear his heartbeats, the steady rhythm never failed to make her feel secure.

"Hermione?" he called after a very long time.

"Hmm?"

"Will you marry me?" His voice was soft and so full of longing that she wondered if he actually expected her to refuse.

She chuckled nervously… "I guess we decided that already?"

He reached and found her left hand, tenderly running his fingers over hers. He found her and ran his fingertip over her ring.

"I am not talking about marrying me out of guilt, or because it's what our parents want us to do. I-" he paused and sucked in a breath. "I don't want to rush you into this but I want... I have to keep you safe and - I don't know what else to do."

His vulnerability, that softness in his tone, took her back seven years in time to that day where he had said something similar sitting under a tree in the Burrow's orchard. And nothing had gone as per plan. She hesitated but then was again remembered the time she had asked him the question too, but it was only selfishness.

Her silence might have given her the wrong idea and he shifted slightly, "I understand that I -"

"Yes,"

He sucked in a breath. "S-sorry?"

"Yes, Ron, I'll marry you…" she replied and felt him shudder and exhale as his arms wrapped around her.

"Thank you…" he replied, she could almost hear the smile in his voice. "And will you… y'know shift to my place?" he asked haltingly, "I mean… if you wish… I know you love yours…"

"I always assumed we were going to do that? Your place is bigger than mine anyway…"

a/n: another 'new' chapter. I always felt that the old draft didn't explore how much Ron wanted Hermione to have a choice to decide for herself that she wanted to be with him. The old draft just made him agree and they fixed up a date and nope, I wasn't happy about it. It also did not explore his interaction with Ginny once she figured it out and I wanted to have that sibling scene, I don't write Ginny a lot and am a little stressed about that part. This story continues to write itself, I also tried updating FAH but I guess I am not in the right headspace to write something new. This one is easier as it is all sketched out anyway. But I will finish FAH, I promise!