And now, it's Ron's turn :)

I'm sorry if things are a bit repetitive, but I think, in the case of this story at least, there are several moments that require both POV's. That's how I originally wrote it, so I can't change it now (well, I could, but ain't nobody got time for that, so…)

Also, Cheesy. I appreciate the hell out of her!

oOo

It only took a moment after entering the crowded club for Ron to spot Hermione. She was standing right at the edge of the dance floor, her arms crossed over her chest as she peered into the throng of moving people. Even though he couldn't see her face, Ron could tell by her rigid posture that she felt uncomfortable and out of place, which didn't really surprise him. If he was being honest with himself, Ron would have loved nothing more than to remedy her discomfort by taking her into his arms and whisking her away somewhere where they could be alone. However, he knew how important tonight was for both Harry and Ginny, so he pushed those thoughts aside and strolled towards Hermione, determined to make the best out of tonight from where they already were.

"Fancy finding you here," he called once he'd gotten close enough for her to hear him over the loud music.

Hermione spun around, a look of happiness and relief on her face as her eyes met his. Her high heels caused her to stumble, but Ron was quick to reach out with both of his hands and steady her. Even through the fabric of the dress, her body was warm and felt perfect against his fingers. Gripping her waist, Ron momentarily forgot that they were surrounded by hundreds of other people, and he couldn't stop his eyes from traveling down the length of her body, his imagination in hyper-drive as he envisioned all sorts of scenarios that could play out with his hands on her like this.

"Careful," he murmured, catching himself and moving his eyes back up to her face, hoping she hadn't noticed his slip up. "Don't want you to fall."

Hermione gulped. She blinked as if coming out of some sort of trance. "When did you get here?" she asked him, her voice a bit shaky.

"Only a minute or two ago," he answered. Ron didn't want to let go, but now that he had righted her, he had no reason to hold on, so reluctantly, he removed his hands from around her waist. "You are the first of our group I've seen."

"Did you finish whatever you needed to?" she asked.

The question reminded Ron of Haddon and the stunt the prick had pulled. He felt his eyes narrow, but he didn't want to worry Hermione, so he changed his expression and gave her a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I did."

"Oh," Hermione said, though she looked a bit confused. "That's good."

"Yeah, that's good." Thinking she would probably try to quiz him about it, Ron hurried to change the subject, and his grin grew wider. "Should we get a drink?" he suggested.

Hermione enthusiastically nodded her head. "Sure."

They made their way together, Ron leading Hermione with his hand on the small of her back. When they reached the bar, he took her hand and helped her up on top of a barstool before taking the seat to her left.

"I'm not too educated in muggle drinks," Ron told her as his eyes swept over the menu he held in his hand. "They sure are bloody colorful, though."

"They are colorful," Hermione agreed. Ron bit back a smile as she scooted even closer so that her thigh was pressed against his. "And there are a lot of options, too," she went on. I usually get this one." She pointed to a red-colored drink with thin orange slices in it.

"Sangria," Ron read slowly, not sure if he was pronouncing it right. "It does look good. But to be fair, they all do." His eyes moved to another drink, surprised as he read the words. "Sex on the beach?" he exclaimed before chuckling. "That's an interesting name for a drink."

"Don't tell me you've never had sex on the beach?" Hermione teased.

Grinning, Ron lifted his head and looked at her. "Actually, I have," he admitted. "I don't recommend it, though." He laughed as he shook his head. "Sand can get anywhere. Just remember that."

"Thanks for the tip," she said with a short laugh as she started to study the menu again.

"How about you?" Ron asked. Part of him was curious while the other part of him wanted to remain oblivious forever, but as it usually did, the curiosity won out.

Hermione shrugged. "I've had it before," she replied nonchalantly. Not knowing exactly what she was admitting to, Ron frowned. When he remained silent, She looked up at him, and he raised an eyebrow in question. "The drink," she clarified with a laugh, gesturing to the picture of said drink on the menu.

Ron couldn't help but smile at how carefree and beautiful Hermione looked. During their last mission, Maureen had been the one who'd suggested they try to shag on the beach. Ron had cast disillusionment charms, and afterwards, both of them had agreed that it wasn't at all worth the fuss. Although Ron hadn't enjoyed the experience at all, he knew he would try it again with Hermione if she ever wanted to. "Not actual sex on the beach," she went on. "I know it's supposed to be romantic, but it doesn't sound romantic at all. At least not to me."

Or not.

"Romantic, huh?" Ron said slowly, hoping he could use this opportunity to get her to tell him what she liked. Not that he thought he was currently doing a poor job, but for the first time, wooing a woman actually meant something to him, and Ron was determined to get it right.

He sat forward and folded his large hands on top of the bar. "Then what does sound romantic, Hermione?" he asked.

Hermione smiled, her face lit up with mischief. "Why do you want to know, Ronald?"

Pretending to be offended, he huffed. "What? Am I not allowed to store the information away for later use?"

"I suppose you can," she drawled as she wrapped a loose tendril of her hair around her finger, Ron almost groaning at the action. "But why would you need to?" Hermione was obviously pressing him, but this only spurred him on. She wouldn't be pressing him if she wasn't interested- which he was certain she was.

Ron opened his mouth to reply with something cheeky when a loud commotion at the other end of the bar interrupted him. Instinct kicking in, he jumped up, Hermione doing the same as his eyes sought for the source of the noise. It took only half a second or so for Ron to realize that it was his brother Charlie having an argument with another man. Their words were drowned out by the other noises at the bar, and as Ron watched, Charlie took a hard swing, hitting the man square in the nose.

"Fuck," he muttered to Hermione. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

He felt guilty for leaving Hermione alone, but knew that he had to help stop this fight before it got too out of hand. By the time he reached Charlie, Bill and George were already at his sides, and Ron and Percy both stepped in front of him.

"What were you thinking?" Percy asked Charlie in his most authoritative voice. "This is not the way to behave in a muggle club!"

"I would behave, if that PIECE OF SHIT," Charlie yelled over Percy's shoulder to the man he'd just hit, "kept his fuckin' hands to himself!"

"Come on," Bill, who was always the calmest in these types of situations, urged as he pulled his enraged brother away. "Let's go outside for a minute to cool down."

Together, the five brothers moved towards the exit, Charlie still yelling over his shoulder at the man, who now looked smug as he watched Charlie be led away.

Fred joined them right after they made it outside. "What the bloody hell was that about?" he asked.

"A little late to the party, Fred," George said as he grinned at his twin.

Charlie then explained what had happened. "And when the bird tried to get us to stop arguing, the fucker shoved her away. So, yeah, I bloody hit him," he finished.

"Wicked," the twins said at the same time.

"I think that man deserves a little…jinx after that despicable behaviour," Fred said in a devious voice.

After Fred explained the particular curse he wanted to put on the man, George and Charlie looked proud, Percy looked scandalized, and Bill looked to be somewhere in the middle. Ron shrugged. "I think it's brilliant."

After a strong argument from Percy and a mild one from Bill, Fred headed back inside to cast the curse, George following eagerly.

"I don't even know why I bother," Percy huffed before heading back inside to go find Audrey.

At first, the bouncer wasn't going to let Charlie back in after his punching incident, but Bill, Ron, and Charlie managed to assure him that Charlie, along with the rest of their party, would be on their best behavior.

When Ron separated from his brothers and made his way through the crowd back towards the bar where he'd left Hermione, there was a man walking away from her.

"Who was that?" he asked as he slid back into his seat, his Auror senses going off.

Hermione sighed before turning to him. "No one," she answered. "He tried to buy me a drink, but I refused."

Ron smiled. "Can I buy you a drink?" he asked, falling right back to being flirtatious again after knowing everything was okay.

At that moment, the bartender walked over and slid a drink in front of Hermione. Ron frowned as she picked up the glass and brought it to her lips.

"Not this one, no," she said, giving him an apologetic look. "But maybe the next one."

Ron pouted. "Maybe?"

"Yes. Maybe," she grinned. "That is, if you continue being a gentleman."

"Asking me to be a gentleman is a bit much, don't you think?" he asked with a laugh. "But maybe you shouldn't drink a lot. I remember the last time you consumed too much alcohol."

Hermione's cheeks flushed, making her look absolutely adorable. "I can handle myself!"

Feeling smug, Ron went on. "Speaking of that night, you told me I smelled good. Do you remember? You also mentioned that I was both handsome and adorable."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you remember those details. And yes, I remember everything. I wasn't that pissed, Ron."

"Everything?" he asked. He wondered if she remembered him calling her 'love' that night. She had yet to mention it, and Ron was curious if she would bring it up, even if she did remember.

"Well, I-" Hermione stopped, pausing to think. "I mean, some bits are fuzzy, but I remember everything that happened."

Ron nodded, but he didn't say anything more. Hermione was now studying him as if waiting for him to explain his question, and he felt mildly guilty for asking in the first place.

"What?" she prodded. "You're not telling me everything. Did I say something stupid?"

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Nah."

Hermione sighed as her brows furrowed. "So, what was up with Charlie?" she asked.

"Some asshole was being rude to this girl, hitting on her, I think. She kept telling him no, but he didn't get the hint, and Charlie, of course, saw what was going on and jumped in to play the hero. The guy started talking shit, telling Charlie to mind his own business. When the girl tried to interject, the guy shoved her. Threw Charlie into a rage."

"Oh my god!" she gasped. "Is everything okay now?"

Ron nodded. "This is between you and me, but after Charlie told us what happened, Fred put a jinx on the bloke. From now on, every time he lays his hands on a woman in anger or without consent, a certain part of his anatomy is going to grow half an inch smaller." Hermione gasped again, and Ron chuckled. "Funniest part is, it has a real easy fix, but since he's a muggle, he'll have no idea."

"That's awful, Ron!" she admonished.

Ron held his hands up, claiming innocence. "I did nothing! It was all Fred," he said. He purposely left out the fact that he'd told Fred the idea was brilliant. "Besides, it won't affect him if he keeps his ruddy hands to himself. Anyway, Charlie's calmed down, and all is back to normal. The bouncer wasn't going to let him back in at first, but we managed to get him in."

Hermione finished her drink. She pulled the orange slices out of the empty glass and started to eat them. "Want one?" she asked, offering a slice to him.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, taking the fruit out of her hand and popping it into his mouth. The drink had made the orange taste even sweeter, and it was delicious.

When the bartender came around to check on them, Ron ordered another sangria for Hermione and a beer for himself. Tasting the beer, he made a face. "Muggle beer isn't the best," he told her. "Wished they had butterbeer laced with firewhiskey. Now that's some good stuff."

They chatted easily, from exchanging funny stories to reminiscing about the happier memories of the past. By her third sangria, Hermione was looking flushed, her eyes glazed over, and Ron insisted on ordering her a glass of water. As she sipped from the cup, she and Ron ate her remaining orange slices together. With the alcohol letting Hermione's guard down, it was obvious what she was thinking as she stared at his lips, and Ron had to hold back the groan at the sight of the desire that was plain as day on her face.

"Want to dance?" he asked abruptly. Even if he wasn't much of a dancer, Ron figured it was a good enough excuse to get Hermione in his arms, something he was now desperate to do.

"Yeah!" Hermione said, jumping down off the stool.

Ron chuckled at her enthusiasm before taking her hand, and they made it a few steps towards the dance floor together before she came to a sudden halt. "Wait. I've got to use the loo first."

"Alright," he replied. "I could do with a piss myself."

Hermione burst into laughter. "Charming, Ronald," she said between giggles.

He grinned at her. "I do my best."

Spying the lit up signs, Ron pointed them out, and they made their way over, smiling giddily at each other before separating hands to walk into the respective loos. He finished quickly, and when he made it back out of the loo, Hermione wasn't there. Figuring she was still in the bathroom, Ron leaned against a back wall to wait for her.

"Hey!" Dean greeted as he walked towards Ron. "Tonight has been a blast!"

Ron nodded his agreement. "It has."

"Waiting for Hermione?" Dean asked, gesturing in the direction of the bathroom doors.

"Yup."

"It's about bloody time for you two," he smiled. "I'm happy for you, mate."

Ron felt his cheeks flush and cleared his throat. "Yeah, thanks."

"HIYA, WEASLEY!" Maureen screeched, startling him and Dean from their conversation. She and Lavender rushed past hand in hand towards the dance floor, both of them giggling and out of breath. Several men were chasing after them, and Ron raised his eyebrows in surprise.

After they disappeared, Dean burst into laughter. "Wow! Her veela power is strong," he blurted. "That was only half a second, and I'm over here practically drooling."

Ron shook his head. "When veela's drink, they are less in control over their powers," he explained. "Pretty soon, this entire club is going to be in an uproar if she doesn't slow down."

The two then started talking about Quidditch, and as it always did whenever it came to the game, the topic captured Ron's full attention. When more time went by without a sign of Hermione, he turned back to the loo to see if she had emerged, but the door was still. It had been a long while since she'd gone in, and Ron began to feel anxious. "Did you see Hermione come out of the loo?" he asked Dean.

"Nah. But to be honest, I wasn't paying much attention," Dean said with a shrug.

As Ron stared at the bathroom door, a muggle woman stepped out, and he rushed towards her. "Excuse me, but was there a brunette wearing a purple dress in there?" he asked.

The woman shook her head. "No, it's empty."

At her words, Ron turned back to Dean. "I'm going to find Hermione. Catch up with you later!"

He headed back towards the bar, sighing in relief when he saw that Hermione was sitting on the same barstool she'd been at earlier.

"Hey. I waited for you outside the loo," he said as he took the seat next to her. "but I was talking to Dean and didn't see you come out. Are you ready to dance?"

Hermione turned to him, and Ron's eyes widened as he got a good look at her. She was obviously drunk, or at least more drunk than she had been the last time he'd seen her. "I changed my mind about that," she said in a short voice. "I don't feel like it."

"Oh," Ron said, taken aback by her hostile demeanor. When his gaze went down to the bar in front of her, he was bewildered when he saw three shots, two of them empty. "Did you take those shots, Hermione?"

She glared at him, her eyes full of daggers. "So what if I did? What's it to you?"

Ron's head tilted to the side as he studied her. Even if he didn't know how to read people, anyone with a brain would be able to see that she was furious. "Okay, what's wrong?" he demanded, trying to think of what he could have possibly done to make her so mad.

"Nothing," Hermione snapped.

Ron was about to ask her again when she took the last shot and downed it. "No, really," he asked, now starting to feel panicked. "What's going on?"

Hermione only gave Ron an obviously fake smile before giving him a few pats on the shoulder and standing up, her legs wobbly underneath her. "Nothing is going on," she slurred. "Now, if you don't mind, I have something important to do."

"I- okay," Ron replied.

Part of him wanted to demand more information from her, but the other part wanted to see what she'd do next. To his astonishment, she walked up to the man who had tried to buy her a drink earlier and said something to him that Ron was too far away to hear. The man grinned before saying something back and taking Hermione's outstretched hand. Forcing himself not to do anything, Ron only watched as Hermione led the man to the dance floor. After a moment, he stood and followed, only to be met by the sight of Hermione swinging her hips as the man moved with her movements, his hands greedily running up and down her sides. The sight caused him to see red, and consequences be damned. He marched onto the dance floor and stood in front of Hermione, whose eyes were closed as she continued to sway.

"What are you doing?" he shouted.

Hermione opened her eyes, and she looked surprised to see him standing there.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she yelled back after a moment. She turned around and grabbed onto the man's shoulders before moving sensually down his body, causing an enormous grin to appear on the man's face.

"Did I say or do something to upset you?" Ron asked, still trying to keep his rising jealousy and anger from taking over.

Hermione turned to meet Ron's eyes, her arms wrapping around the back of the man's neck as he pulled her closer and dropped his face to nestle in the space between her neck and shoulder, his hands now kneading her body. Ron's blood was boiling, and his hands fisted at his sides.

"Of course not," Hermione responded. "Do I look upset?" She accentuated the question by backing her bum into the man's crotch.

"Would you stop doing that?" Ron growled, losing whatever thin thread of patience he'd been hanging onto.

"What?" Hermione asked in an innocent voice, not letting up on her dancing. "Dancing?"

"You were supposed to dance with me. Or have you forgotten?"

"Hey, buddy," the man cut in, smirking at Ron. "Can you bugger off? She's clearly chosen."

Enraged, Ron took a step forward, his eyes on his target. Before anything could happen, though, Hermione reached both her hands out, gripped his shoulders and stopped his movement. Eyes narrowed, Ron tore his gaze from the man to Hermione.

"Don't you dare," she said in a low voice, just loud enough for him to hear her over the music. "You're not my keeper, Ron."

Ron's jaw clenched. Hermione's rejection, along with her lack of honesty and obvious attempt to make him jealous, was enough to trigger him to do something rash, and it took all of his self-control to step back. "Fine," he growled, glaring down at her. "Do whatever you want, Hermione."

With that, he turned around and walked away from her. He had no destination, he was just trying to blow off steam. It was less than a minute later that he ran into Charlie, who now looked as if he were having a grand ol' time.

"Roooonnn," his brother garbled as he flung an arm around Ron's shoulders. "Wuzzup?"

"You're drunk," Ron replied dryly.

Charlie raised his eyebrows. "And?" he hiccupped. "Isn't that the point of tonight?" Ron only shrugged, and his brother gave a soppy grin. "Where's your lady?" he asked.

"I don't have a lady," Ron hissed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You do," Charlie replied as if he were dim. "Where is she?"

"If you must know, she's on the dance floor with another man," he huffed.

"So you're just going to stand here and pout?" Charlie asked incredulously. "Come on, Ronnie. You're a Weasley! You have to go and fight for her!" He let out a loud laugh. "But not an actual fight. It might just get you kicked out of here, y'know."

Ron took a deep breath. "You're right," he relented. "I've come too damn far with Hermione to back down now."

"That's the spirit!" Charlie screamed as he jostled Ron's shoulders.

Without responding, Ron turned and hurried towards where Hermione had been dancing just a few minutes prior. When he got there, however, he found that she, nor the man she'd been with, was no longer there. Not giving up that easily, he hurriedly walked around, his height giving him an advantage as he stared over the tops of people's heads, searching for one head in particular. During his search, he ran into several people in their party, all who claimed that they hadn't seen Hermione in a while.

"Neville!" Ron shouted as he spotted his old friend sitting at the bar chatting with Katie Bell. "Have you seen Hermione?" he asked as he ambled towards the pair.

Neville and Katie shared a look that caused Ron's heart to plummet. "We did, yeah," Neville said in a sympathetic voice. "She left with some man just a few minutes ago. They walked outside together."

"Fuck," Ron cursed. Without saying another word, he spun around and headed towards the exit.

When he reached the door, he threw it open and stepped outside, his eyes scanning the sidewalk and street only to find them mostly empty, with no Hermione in sight.

"Fuck," he muttered again as he ran his hands through his hair, not knowing what else to do.

This was his fault. He had willingly walked away from her, and now she was gone. She had been drunk, and instead of keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't do anything stupid, Ron had let his anger get the best of him. The protective side of him feared that Hermione would end up doing Merlin knows what with that muggle man, something she and Ron would both regret. But at the same time, Ron wasn't her boss. They'd been flirting a little bit, so what? That didn't give him any kind of claim on her, even though he wished it did.

"Who're you looking for?" a voice came from behind, and Ron turned to see Harry, who had followed him outside.

He sighed. "Hermione. She left with a muggle man."

Harry frowned. "I thought she was with you?"

"She was," Ron groaned. "But apparently I did something wrong, because she was mad enough to leave with some other bloke."

"That doesn't sound like Hermione."

"What do we know?" Ron asked in a bitter voice. "She's not the same Hermione we knew in school. Maybe she does this sort of thing all the time?"

Harry frowned. "Maybe. But I don't think so."

Ron sighed, concern taking over his irritation. "You think she's okay?"

"Yeah," Harry laughed. "Hermione can take care of herself. Even better than we can, I reckon."

"Yeah. You're right," Ron agreed, defeated. "I'm gonna apparate to her flat real quick, though," he added. "To see if she's there and make sure she's alright."

Harry smirked. "Right. To check on her. Not because you're in a jealous rage."

Ron glared at his best mate. "Shut the fuck up, Harry."

Harry chuckled. "Want me to come with?" he offered.

"Nah. It's your night. Go dance with my sister."

Harry didn't need any further encouragement, and with a jovial good luck, he made his way back into the club. Ron went to stand behind a nearby dumpster before apparating to his flat, and from there, he floo'd to Hermione's.

"Hello?" he called as he stepped out of her fireplace and started walking around the small space. All the lights were off, and there was no sign of anyone except for Crookshanks, who hissed at him before darting under the sofa. Hermione's bedroom door was shut, so Ron gave it a few knocks, getting no answer. Hesitantly, he opened the door to see her bed made and pristine, and knew that wherever she was, she wasn't there. He realized she was most likely at that man's place. Ron had no earthly idea where that was, how he would go about finding it, or if he even had a right to try.

Dejected, he apparated back to the club, deciding to see if Hermione had come back, though he seriously doubted it. When Ron walked inside, however, it was chaos. Maureen, along with at least half of the men and even a large percentage of the women, were on the dance floor. Most everyone was fighting to get closer, watching in awe as Maureen drunkenly danced with Lavender, seemingly oblivious as to what she was causing. A few fights had already broken out around her, and several men were on their knees, spellbound.

"Ron!" his ex-partner shouted as she spotted him coming towards her. "Come dance with us!"

Ron made his way to her, receiving a few glares and shoves as he did so. "Maybe you should go home, Page," he said once he'd reached her. "Look around."

Maureen did as he'd told, and her eyes widened as she realized how many people were staring. "Shit," she muttered.

"No kidding," Ron agreed. "I'm going to help get you home," he said in her ear.

Maureen nodded before turning to Lavender and giving her a tight hug, resulting in numerous people watching to let out a sigh. "We are going to hang out soon," Maureen promised the other woman before turning back to Ron. "Okay, let's go."

Wrapping an arm around Maureen's shoulders, Ron led her off the dance floor, the crowd following.

"Create a distraction," he yelled to George as he passed him. "I need to get her out of here."

"On it, little brother," George replied, and only a moment later, the air was filled with a thick, purple smoke.

The distraction got them outside without being noticed, and Maureen was holding onto Ron tightly as he led her behind the dumpster and apparated them to his flat. Once there, he sat her down on his sofa before heading into his kitchen to grab the sobering potion. He wanted her to get home safely, and she was still pretty drunk. Whenever he walked back into his living area, however, Maureen was nowhere to be found.

"Page?" he called out, but received no answer.

Ron was certain she hadn't floo'd home yet. He hadn't heard a sound, and besides, he knew Maureen wouldn't have left without telling him goodbye. When he turned, he spotted her shoes in the hallway leading to the bedroom, and knew she had gone in there. Sobering potion in hand, Ron walked towards the open door.

"Page, where are you?" When Ron stepped inside his room, he looked around, but he still didn't see her.

All of a sudden the door slammed shut with a wham, and Maureen was tackling him as she laughed hysterically. "You found me!"

Ron was dizzy as he fell back onto his bed, Maureen's body falling on top of his. "Bloody hell," he muttered, finding her hard to resist in her current state. Attaining his control, he pulled her off of him and stood up before thrusting the bottle of potion into her hands. "Drink this," he panted.

Still giggling, Maureen obeyed, and only a moment later she was back to her normal self. "Merlin," she smiled. "This was one hell of a night. Why did you ever break up with Lavender, Weasley? The girl is simply amazing."

"No comment."

Maureen sat up and studied him. "Something happened," she stated.

Knowing it was no use lying to her, Ron nodded. "Yeah."

Scooting over so that she was on the left side of the bed, Maureen patted the spot next to her. "Come on, let's talk."

Letting out a sigh, Ron sat down with his back against the headboard, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "It's Hermione," he admitted.

Maureen nodded, a look of understanding gracing her face. "Oh. I suspected that."

"Suspected what?"

"That you have feelings for her. I wasn't sure at first, but after what Lavender said…"

"What did Lavender say?" Ron asked, his interest piqued.

"Just that everyone at your school suspected that you two would get together." She gasped. "Was she the one who broke your heart?"

Ron grimaced. "Uh…yeah. That would be her."

"So she was in love with Harry?" Maureen frowned. "I didn't get that vibe from her at all."

"Pretty sure she's over him," Ron said. "Thank Merlin."

"So, you're in love with her?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Yep. I don't think I ever stopped loving her, actually."

"Ron Weasley, badass Auror, struck down by something as flimsy as cupid's bow." Ron opened his eyes to see Maureen scooting away from him, a smirk on her face. "Don't get too close to me, Weasley. I don't want to catch the love bug," she teased.

"Not how it works," Ron muttered as he stared down at his hands in his lap, not in a laughing mood.

He felt a hand caress his cheek and turned to see Maureen gazing at him. "You are lovely, Ron. You know that?" she said in a soft voice.

"I don't feel bloody lovely."

"Well, you are," she insisted. "And if Hermione doesn't see that, she's blind." Maureen wrapped her arms around him. "You look so sad right now, kid."

"I am pretty sad," Ron admitted. "I just don't get her. Things were going great, or at least I thought they were, but then it was like she was a totally different person and she left the club with some asshole." He sighed. "She wouldn't even tell me what I fucking did wrong."

"That's really shitty." Maureen shook her head. "That thing you've been trying to tell me…you wanted to put an end to our arrangement, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to be with her." He sighed. "Doubtful it'll happen now, though."

Things were silent for a few minutes before Maureen spoke again. "Maybe it will all work out?" she suggested. "I hope things work out, Weasley, I really do. And don't worry, I won't be getting in your way, that's not my style. Am I disappointed? Yeah, but it was good while it lasted. As much as I love you, and as much of a great shag you are, kid, no man is worth the drama."

"Oi!"

She giggled. "Like I said, I'll stay out of the way. If Hermione's an idiot and turns you down, I'll be there for you in any way you need me to be. Just don't cry in front of me, though. I'll have to make fun of you at that point."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Page," he said sarcastically.

"No problem!" she chirped. "Oh, before I forget, why were you called into work earlier?"

Ron recounted what had happened in the Auror department with Haddon, causing both of them to laugh.

"I would have loved to see his face when you said that," Maureen said as she wiped at her eyes. "He's such an ass."

"He is," Ron agreed. As he laughed, he thought he heard a noise coming from outside his bedroom door and sat up. "Did you hear that?" he asked Maureen.

"No, what did you-"

Ron jumped up and ran to the living area, finding it empty. Figuring it must have been a trick of his mind, he walked back into the bedroom. "Thought I heard the floo, but I'm probably just so bloody exhausted that my ears are playing tricks on me." He yawned. "Tomorrow is going to be crazy busy, too."

"Alright." Maureen stood up and gave a dramatic stretch. "I guess that's my cue to leave."

"Will you be at the wedding tomorrow?" Ron asked as he slipped off his shoes and socks.

She shook her head. "Nah. I wasn't invited to the wedding." Ron opened his mouth to tell her that nobody would mind if she came, but Maureen shut him up with a wave of her hand. "Can't go anyway. I'm going to go visit my parents this weekend. Merlin knows it's been too long since I've seen my family." She frowned. "I'm not looking forward to my mum telling me I need to find a husband and settle down, though."

"Mums," Ron repeated dryly, and Maureen smiled.

"Will Hermione be at the wedding?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. But what I'm going to say to her when I see her remains a mystery." He groaned. "How do I fix this mess, Page?"

"Just tell her the truth," she replied, as if it were that simple. "Tell her how you feel, answer all her questions honestly…I mean, what else could she possibly want?"

"Someone else," Ron said in a glum voice.

Maureen rolled her eyes. "I seriously doubt that, Weasley." She walked forward and gave him a quick hug. "Good luck tomorrow, and be sure to fill me in on all the details later."

Ron promised he would, and after Maureen was gone, he slipped off his clothes and lay down in bed. Knowing he was probably in for a long night, he hoped he would be able to get at least a little bit of rest before the busy day tomorrow.