A/N: Hey, I'm back!! Yay! Here is the fourth installment of my Sleeping Beauty story. I had some really great ideas for this but I realized that if I wanted to do them I would have to go away from the original story. I took a chance, hoping you guys out there wouldn't get mad at me for butchering the Disney movie, and wrote it the way I thought it should be told. I hope you don't mind the changes that I put in. I guess this really isn't much like the Disney movie at all…sorry about that. Well, happy reading anyway! I hope….

Disclaimer: Please don't sue me…I own nothing at all…sadly, not even the plot!! The characters belong to J. K. Rowling, all except for Elizabeth, and the plot belongs to Disney.

Characters: I've added two more characters that will be very familiar to you when they appear…I won't tell you any more about it…and I'm hoping you'll enjoy their presence.

Setting: Um, a lot of places…just, you'll see.

Rating: G

Summary: Herm and Ron talk to their fathers and go on their second 'date'…anything could happen. (And this is the longest chapter, I think…)

Sleeping Beauty-Harry Potter Style

Chapter 4

Hermione rushed out of the library door. Her father interrupted at the most annoying times! At least Ron had planned when they would see each other again. She didn't have to worry about missing him. 'But you wouldn't have missed him anyway, remember?' A small, very annoying voice reminded her. Still, she couldn't help but notice the great feeling of warmth that rose up in her chest, and for no apparent reason, she began to smile. Elizabeth had gone back to her work and Hermione walked down the path alone, all the while trying to force her smile back.

"Hermione dear, there you are!" Her father's voice bounced off the rock walls of the dining hall as she entered. Her smile disappeared immediately and she tried very hard not to roll her eyes.

"Father," She said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she continued, "you can't believe how happy I am to see you."

He frowned, noticing that she wasn't the least bit happy to see him. "Oh, you can't still be mad at me for not telling you about the arranged marriage! That was an hour ago. I thought you would have forgiven me by now." He looked a little disappointed.

Hermione closed her eyes, hoping that she would be able to keep her anger in check. "Father, you planned out one of the most important things in my life. I'm going to have to live with this person until I die. I really would like it to be someone that I could get along with." She spoke to her father as if he was a very slow kindergartener.

"I'm sure you will get along with him. He's a nice fellow."

"Have you met him father?" This left the king speechless for a few seconds.

"I have met him." He said, speaking slowly, obviously leaving something out.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Hermione asked again, knowing that she was being a little rude but she had to stay stern if she wanted her father to answer. Whenever they talked, he would always try to avoid answering the questions that he felt most uncomfortable with.

Hermione sighed, "When was the last time you saw him father?"

"Well, truthfully, honey-bear," Hermione closed her eyes, hoping that she would not shout at him in anger. She really despised all his pet names. "Truthfully, the last time I saw him was three months after he was born. So, in years, almost exactly eighteen years ago." This was what Hermione had been expecting. She was always right when it came right down to it. "But, his father, the king of-"

"Sire." One of the guards had called from the doorway. The king looked toward the guard to see why his conversation with his daughter had been interrupted at such a crucial point. "The king of Luiza is here to speak with you." Hermione sighed with happiness. The conversation was postponed again. The king turned back toward her.

"I'm sorry dear, but this will have to wait. Remind me to talk with you about it when I get back." Hermione smiled. She knew that her father had a bad memory. It was true, the prospect of lying to him by not reminding him about it felt wrong, but at least she wouldn't have to hear about how 'wonderful' her future husband would be.

"Of course father. I shall speak with you later." She gave him a hug and rushed up the stairs to her room as her father left the dinning hall.

****

Now out of Rose's presence, Ron began to feel disappointed that he would have to wait a whole day to see her again. He slumped back through the barn, unnoticed by everyone, and over the drawbridge. Harry, who had seen him coming, had a smile glowing on his face until he noticed that Ron wasn't as happy as expected.

"What happened?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"We had to stop talking earlier than I hoped. Her father was looking for her."

"But you talked to her right?" Harry asked as they began walking back to the castle.

"Oh, yes, I talked to her. We are going to meet again tomorrow and hope that we aren't interrupted." Ron replied though he was still very upset by the whole situation.

Harry began to laugh. "You know, for someone who only wishes to be a friend, you certainly are eager to speak with her. Don't tell me you've changed your mind about love after eighteen years of shunning it."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I know what you're implying you prat. Don't even try it. You're an annoying one, you are. And don't you think you're fooling me with that grin, because you aren't." Ron stopped talking and they were quiet for some time before he replied, "I am not in any way in love with her but if I was ever forced to spend time with her, well, all I'm saying is I wouldn't object."

"Ah, now there's the Ronald I know and love." Harry laughed, elbowing his friend in the stomach. "I can't imagine why you think you can hide this stuff from me. I'm coming with you tomorrow so that I can make sure you don't chicken out again." Both laughed as they hurried down the path toward Ellia. Ron would have to talk to his father about his own 'marriage status' soon. Tonight would be as good a time as any.

The rest the day went by very uneventfully for both Hermione and Ron. Virginia forced Hermione to recount everything that had gone on with her 'secret meeting' while Ron waited impatiently for his father to get back from his latest adventure. The king of Ellia finally returned many hours after the sun had come down. Ron knew that interrupting him right after he came home was a very bad thing. He had done this only once when he was little and had learned very quickly not to disturb his father until at least an hour had passed. The long hour went by and Ron finally got a chance to speak with his father about arranged marriages.

The huge study that the king liked to spend time in was glamorous to say the least. Mostly everything in the room was maroon (his wife's favorite color before she had died) including the couches, chairs, and curtains. Ron was always overwhelmed by how dark it made the chamber look. He opened the door to the room slowly, trying not to disturb the king.

"Um, excuse me, father." Ron said quietly, stepping into the room finally. The king looked up, a bit startled at being called 'father', a term that Ron had used very rarely, even as a child.

"Ah, Ronald, you know how busy I am. Is this important?" He asked, trying not to look frustrated though he really was.

"Oh, well, if you're busy…I could always come back later." Though they hardly ever talked to one another, Ron still loved his father very much and it hurt a lot to know that the king would value work more than a talk with his son. The king seemed to sense this awkwardness and he smiled for the first time in many years.

"Actually," his father said sympathetically, "this can wait. What kind of father am I if I can't take time away from work to talk to my only son? So, there is something wrong. Don't ask how I know. Come and sit down. I want you to be comfortable." Ron followed his father's orders walking hesitantly to a chair across from him.

"I wouldn't say that there is something wrong, I just, I've been thinking about a lot of things and I was hoping that you could help me, sort of, work through them." The king stayed silent, knowing Ron wasn't finished. "It has, er, come to my attention that you may have set up an arranged marriage for me. I just wanted to see if that was true." The king shifted uneasily behind the desk.

Wishing to prevent himself from jumping directly into that subject, the king said, "Why do you ask Ronald?"

Ron hadn't been expecting this abrupt turn around. "Why? Oh, I," he stumbled for an answer. "I just thought I should know who I'm marrying before I actually do marry them."

"That isn't the only reason though is it?" The king asked.

Ron looked carefully at his father. He didn't know how much to tell him. He had a feeling that the king might know something about Rose but he didn't want to risk it. What if he got angry and refused to let Ron see her? There had been plenty of girls who had 'admired' Ron since he started 'growing up'. Of course, he had never allowed himself to get close to any of them before because he himself didn't want to get hurt. Now that he had allowed Rose into his life (even if he "didn't love her") if he was banned from seeing her, not only would she be hurt but Ron would also have a tough time getting over it. Taking all this into account, Ron decided it was best not to answer the question at all.

"Ronald, I know what you feel like. It was the same situation I was in when I was younger. You can tell me who she is after I am finished talking, if you would like to, that is. You wanted to know about your arranged marriage…well, King Andrew, the king of Hogsmeade, and I have been friends for some time, though we haven't spoken since you were very little. We had both always wanted a joint kingdom but the only way to do this was through marriage. The problem was, the queen had not had a child. I was still learning how to take care of you. You know you weren't exactly a bundle of joy when you were only a few months old." At this, Ron felt a little better and even attempted a smile. This seemed to make the king happier and he continued his story.

"I was young then and when the little princess was born, I felt it was my only chance to fulfill my dream for you. I must admit, it never started out for you. I truly wanted to help rule such a large country for myself. My first thought was for myself, not for my son, and I'm sorry that it was that way. I did realize later that it would be a good thing for you too. I did not allow myself to think ahead, to he consequences it might bring. It never occurred to me that you might actually fall in l-"

"No need to say that. I understand." Ron interrupted quickly. His face flushed involuntarily and the king looked at his son, an amused expression on his face. His father really wanted to ask Ron about his reaction but decided that now obviously wasn't the time or place to do it.

"Ok, I won't say what I was going to. I will say, however, that I truly didn't think of what you might feel about an arranged marriage. I just thought you would go along with it. I clearly had not been thinking carefully enough. I'm not sure what we can do about this, if we can do anything. I will try to organize some plan with King Andrew to see if there might be a way to postpone the wedding until you have met the princess and gotten a chance to talk to her. I hope I've answered your question. Is there anything else that you would like to know?" Ron sighed. Right now, he didn't want to know anything about the horrid retch his father was going to make him marry. He just wanted to be able to choose for himself. Hopefully he could get out of this somehow.

"No father. I think you have told me enough for right now. Thank you for speaking with me." The king watched as his son stood up to leave the room, easily noticing how sad he was.

"Ronald, come here." His tone was very kind. Ron turned back toward his father and did what he was told. As Ron stood in front of him, the king realized just how much he had grown up. "I've been a terrible father to you. I hope you can forgive me."

Ron looked surprised. Whatever he had been expecting his father to say was totally blown from his mind now. The king smiled warmly and wrapped Ron in a hug. Normally he would have been confused but right now Ron just felt happy that he had his father again.

"Now go and enjoy yourself. I'm sure Sir Harry is looking for you." The king said after he had let Ron out of his grip. "Oh, and say hello to your cousins. They just came from Palomar this afternoon and I'm sure they will want to see you." Ron nodded and left the room. His cousins, they were an odd set of people. He only had two cousins so it was obvious which ones they would be. They were a handful those two. Ron, though eager to see them, was worried about falling for one of their tricks, again.

As Ron made his way down the quiet hallway, looking for Harry, he was nearly scared out of his skin when two red headed figures popped out at him. He glared at his two cousins as they laughed and helped him up from the floor. "I'm so happy to see you." He remarked sarcastically. "It's not every day that I get to be scared out of my wits and attacked by my cousins."

"It's a pleasure to see you too my dear cousin Ronald!" Fred, the first redhead said enthusiastically.

"It's been such a while since the last time we spoke to one another!" The other, George, sighed dramatically.

"And I've missed the time so much." Ron said, his sarcasm still present.

"You are in a foul mood today aren't you?"

"What has Uncle Thomas said to you now that has gotten you angry?"

Ron smiled slightly. His twin cousins had always known him too well. "He didn't do anything. I'm just in an interesting situation right now that I have to work out."

"Ah, an interesting situation George. I've heard of this before." Fred said knowingly.

"He's in love…" George commented, making Ron's eyes shoot open wider.

"What! Why does everyone seem to think I'm in love?! She's only someone I enjoy talking to!" Ron said but hung his head in shame, regretting his slip up dearly.

"Oh, so there is a girl?" They had tricked him, again. They always had a way of making Ron tell them whatever they wanted to know.

"So who is this special girl that you say you don't love but you really secretly do?" George asked Ron, patting him on the back. Ron glared and didn't say anything.

"You know that if you don't tell us. We'll find out. I'm sure Harry will inform us about this." Fred reminded him.

"Harry wouldn't tell you about it. He wouldn't tell a soul. He knows you two too well to do something as stupid as that."

"That's an interesting theory you have there. He's you're best mate, and of course he wouldn't tell anyone about your secret love life." Fred teased. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes I'm positively sure and if you two are going to be so annoying I'm just going to leave." Ron said, getting angry.

"Oh, how sad." George shook his head in disappointment. "It's such a great thing to trust your friends, but often, we still find out what happens. You know, we saw Harry about an hour ago…"

"And he was ever so pleased to tell us about that special girl." Fred continued. Ron paled but didn't say anything. "We said hello and he mentioned that you had been a little 'off' for a few days. We asked him why, and he looked a little worried don't you think George?"

"Oh yes, he was being the good best friend but he thought it wouldn't hurt to tell us…"

"All about Rose." They said together, sniggering afterwards at Ron's face, which clearly showed the twins were not wrong. He looked as if he were about to be sick. Harry sure had some explaining to do. He couldn't believe his best friend in the whole world was such a dolt.

"So now that you know that we know about Rose, who is she?" George asked.

"Is she your friend, or is she your friend?" Fred asked suggestively.

"I will not tell you a single thing." Ron began, walking faster down the hall, hoping to get to his room and lock himself in before he could be embarrassed any more. He, however, did not manage this because before he had even gone two steps away, George had firmly clasped his arm over his shoulders.

"We won't stop until you begin telling the truth."

"The truth is I don't love her. I can't. I've only know her for two days."

Fred caught on quickly. "So you don't love her. We understand. The question should be, do you like her? And of course we know what the answer to that is."

"So, you know the answer. Why bother asking me? You don't need me to answer anything, and besides, I'm beginning to feel, very um, very tired! So I'll just be talking to you two tomorrow morning."

"Poor Ronald. You're eighteen, if you hadn't been attracted to a girl by now, frankly, we would be a little worried about you. There isn't anything wrong with caring about someone. Why don't you make it easy on yourself and just admit it." George asked. The twins pulled him toward a table and sat him down. Though he was much taller, they had spent their time hunting when they were younger, instead of wandering around on adventures like Ron had, and they were much stronger. Ron was easily kept in his seat.

"Oh this is just becoming stupid. Why don't you give up?" Fred asked.

"I'm stubborn." Ron replied, glaring more than ever, and very angry at himself for getting into this predicament.

"We can tell but Fred is right. I'm getting very annoyed and it would be better if you just said it. We could help you. We've both courted girls before."

"Leave me alone."

"Ok, we'll bring Harry in instead so he can try to talk to you. If we have to spend all night, we will get you to admit it. And if the situation gets really bad, we'll just politely inform our dearest uncle that you have a problem. You know you will have to tell him if he asks you. Wouldn't you much rather just tell us?"

Ron thought for a moment. They were right. He would much rather talk to them than his father. He finally gave in. "Fine. I might like her just a tiny little bit. There, are you happy now?" George and Fred smiled, patting their cousin on the back.

"We are very proud of you Ronald."

"Yes, never thought you'd admit it. But now that you did, you wouldn't mind telling us a little about her would you?"

"Fine. I don't care anymore. I just want to go to sleep."

"Good. So, tell us about her. Who is she? What kingdom is she from?" George asked.

"Does she have a sister?" Fred asked.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Don't let Angelina hear you say that. She isn't your wife for nothing."

"Don't change the subject."

"Ok, like Harry told you, her name is Rose. She lives in Hogsmeade and she hasn't told me if she has a sister, which, considering the cousins I have, is probably a good thing. She said that she is a milkmaid. That's pretty much all I know about her so far. She also seems smart. She told me she reads a lot. Can I leave now?"

"You haven't told us what she looks like yet. Is she pretty?" George asked. "You like to avoid telling us things like that don't you?"

"It isn't hard to do. Just tell us why you think she's gorgeous and we'll be happy."

"Oh don't you two start! I refuse to do this. I'm leaving." And yet again, Ron tried to escape from his cousins' presence but Fred quickly pushed Ron's chair in closer to the table, almost crushing him.

"No need to run away. We aren't finished with you yet."

"Oh please just leave me alone!" Ron whined in a defeated voice, not sounding like an eighteen year old at all. "I'm never letting you two back in this castle ever again. I don't even care if you are my cousins!"

Fred sighed and looked at George, "Trying to change the subject again. It's just too bad that we aren't as dumb as coconuts Ron! It's not going to work. Just answer the question."

Ron closed his eyes and let his head fall to the table. "Fine." And that was all he said for a while until George got fed up and slightly pushed Ron's chair even closer to the table, crushing him more. "All right! All this torture for something so stupid! I'll tell you what she looks like." George pulled the chair out just enough so that Ron could breath. "Rose has brown hair. It's kind of fluffy."

"Fluffy hair," Fred said, "nice trait on a girl."

Ron groaned and continued. "She's almost a whole foot shorter than me which makes her look really tiny."

"Ron, everyone is shorter than you. You're six feet tall."

"Just shut up and let me finish so I can go. And stop interrupting me!" Ron shouted. He still hadn't taken his head off the table but the tips of his ears were visibly redder.

"Like I was saying before, she looks really tiny, small hands and feet. It makes her look kind of," he cleared his throat nervously and said, "kind of cute." He ignored Fred and George's laughs and continued. "Her eyes are really amazing. Deep brown." He seemed to have forgotten that the twins were there and he was beginning to ramble. "They're beautiful. I could really get lost in her eyes you know? I don't know if you know what I'm talking about because I've never seen Angelina or Katherine's eyes but Rose's are amazing. She just seems so delicate that all I want to do is wrap her up in my arms and protect her from everything. And I don't even care if she isn't a princess or a duchess or any of those stupid things rankings. If I had to choose who I wanted to live with right at this second, it would be her. She's really very-"

The sound of Fred clearing his throat brought Ron back to reality and he shut his eyes tight, hoping that he seriously hadn't said all the things he had just mentioned. His face grew hot, knowing he would have to face the twins.

"That was, beautiful don't you think George?" Fred asked, pretending to cry.

"Yes, it was wonderful. I just wish I could be as sappy as that." He also began to wipe his pretend tears away.

"Oh sod off." Ron replied, finally getting away to the comfort of his room where he could think about tomorrow and mull over the fact that he had just admitted to actually caring about Rose.

****

It was twelve o'clock and Virginia was trying to calm Hermione down. Hermione had been anxious about her meeting with Ron today. She wanted to make sure that everything would be right. She had been so worried that she had even spent time to decide what she would wear. (Fifteen minutes but still a lot for Hermione.) For the last thirty minutes, she had been pacing around the room and Virginia was beginning to worry about her.

"Hermione, you shouldn't be nervous. Everything will go great today. I bet," Virginia giggled but recovered soon enough to continue, "Hermione, I bet he even hold your hand!"

Hermione looked astonished at Virginia. "How can you say that? You can't hold someone's hand before marriage!" She had stopped pacing to stare at Virginia for a few seconds before beginning to walk again.

"Oh Hermione, you know that people don't care if you hold someone's hand anymore. Besides, you'd be lying if you said you didn't want him to."

Hermione stopped again, this time in front of Virginia. She sighed and sat down on the bed across from her, a blush obviously present on her face. After being silent for a few seconds, Hermione whispered, "You're right. I would be lying. But he wouldn't do it anyway," blushing more after the words escaped her mouth.

"He seems like a smart fellow from what you've told me about him, and if he has a single thought in his head, he will do the respectable thing and hold your hand. Besides, I'm sure that he cares about you a lot, and any sensible person would die to hold the hand of the beautiful Princess Hermione!" This brightened Hermione's spirits a little and she laughed along with Virginia. "You know what Hermione? I'll come with you. Then I could finally meet him and I could slip him a hint for you that would tell him to do it."

"Oh no Virginia," Hermione said quickly, "you don't have to do that for me. I'm sure I will be all right by myself. I'm sure you wouldn't want to meet him anyway he's really-"

"Sorry Hermione, you aren't getting out of this one. I'm your best friend and as your best friend I need to meet the love of your life before you go off and marry him and move away to some distant land, forgetting me and the rest of the little people who got you to all these little meetings." Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed at how dramatic her friend acted, and for the first time in the last three days, Hermione didn't object about Virginia using the word 'love'. She just sat across from her, wondering why in the world she had been so lucky to find such a great person. The thirty minutes that were left until the meeting passed very quickly and soon both Virginia and Hermione were making their way down to the secluded library.

Meanwhile Ron and Harry were doing the same. Fred and George had woken up especially early so that they could continue their interrogation of Ron at the breakfast table when he woke up (at nine o'clock but still pretty early for Ron). It had taken a long time to convince the twins that accompanying their little cousin to his 'date' was not the best thing to do. This delay caused them to start walking later than they had wanted too. 

* * * *

Hermione was beginning to feel anxious again. It was almost twelve thirty and Ron was still not there. Maybe he hadn't been able to come, or he just decided that he didn't want to come at all. Or worse, in Hermione's mind, her father could have found out about it and…well, she didn't want to think about the possibilities.

"Virginia," Hermione said quietly, fifteen minutes after Ron was supposed to be there.

"I know Hermione. Don't worry about it. I'm sure that he is coming. Trust me on this. I don't think he would have done this and not told you anything." So Hermione waited. The minutes passed by until it was one o'clock, thirty minutes late. Just as Hermione was about to say that she had given up, there was a knock at the door.

Virginia squealed happily and, after quickly hugging Hermione, ran to the library door. Taking a deep breath, smoothing out her tattered dress, and putting a smile on her face, Virginia opened the door as Hermione laughed behind her at how silly she was being. Virginia smiled up (a long way) and looked at the tall redhead standing before her. He seemed to be a little confused, obviously because Virginia was not the bushy haired girl that he had been expecting.

"Um, good afternoon." Ron said as politely as he could, considering the fact that he was still puzzled about the situation.

"My name is Virginia. It's nice to meet you." She said, offering him her hand. As he did with Hermione, he took Virginia's hand and kissed it.

"It's er, very nice to meet you too. My name is Ron and I'm looking for someone named Rose." He said, trying not to sound like he didn't want to talk to Virginia.

"Wait, wait, we're looking for someone named Rose." Harry corrected from behind Ron. "Don't you forget that I'm back here too!"

Ron turned his head to look at Harry and rolled his eyes. "Yes, er, we're looking for Rose." Ron couldn't help but be worried. Did Rose send Virginia to tell him she never wanted to speak to him again? Maybe he'd offended her in some way. He had a knack for doing that to people. However, that theory was just unreasonable. That couldn't be it. Even though he told himself this, he couldn't help but be a little nervous, and it showed on his face.

Virginia smiled. "Don't look so anxious. I didn't kidnap her! Come in. She's here." She opened the door wider and welcomed them in before turning to Hermione and mouthing, "Rose?"

"My name." Hermione mouthed back before standing up and greeting Harry and Ron. "I have never met you before." She smiled at Harry, trying to keep the conversation as light as possible. She gave him her hand.

Trying not to get Ron angry with him, Harry decided it was wiser if he only shook Hermione's hand instead of kissing it. "I'm Harry." He said, "It's nice to finally meet you Rose. Ron's told me loads about you." Beside him, Ron turned a color close to magenta. He really did have a dolt for a best friend.

Hermione flushed in embarrassment and her heart pounded a thousand beats per second but she refused to act like a fool just because she was nervous. "I hope you have only been told good things. I'll have to make sure he didn't tell you something horrible about me." She smiled at the visitors and motioned for Virginia to stand next to her. "You've both already met her but you didn't really have a formal introduction. This is my best friend in the world, Virginia."

She stepped forward, performing an elaborate bow, taking Harry's hand (having already met Ron), and kissing it like he would have done to her. "I'm sure you have done plenty enough of that to people. I figured it was my turn. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Sir Harry."

"I'm glad to meet you." He said, his eyes twinkling and a bright smile on his face.

Hermione began to tap her foot nervously and Virginia looked toward her. It took less than a second, but Virginia saw it clearly. Hermione had looked at her, then to Harry, then to the door. She understood what Hermione wanted and she gladly carried out her simple diversion.

"Harry," she said, taking his hand in hers once more, "have you seen much of the castle yet?"

"No. I have been here a few time but I haven't seen much of anything."

A glint of happiness shimmered brightly in Virginia's eyes. "Oh that's terrible! I simply must take you on a tour of our lovely castle! You two just wait here, talk, read, do whatever. We'll be back later." With that said, Virginia pulled Harry along behind her. This left Ron and Hermione alone in the now very silent library.

"Come and sit down. I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable." Hermione broke the still mood, pulling out two chairs.

"Thank you." After an awkward moment of silence, Ron brought up something he had wanted to ask her since the talk with his father. "Did you speak with your father, about the arranged marriage?" He tried not to sound too eager to know the answer.

"Oh, well, he tried talking to me but the conversation had to be cut short so I don't know who I will be marrying yet." She stopped for a second before going on.

"I am actually sort of relieved that he didn't get a chance to discuss it with me. This isn't what I want, to be forced into marriage. Father doesn't seem to be backing down though. Supposedly, it's the best thing for me and for this," Hermione stopped quickly, and took a deep breath. She was about to say 'and for this kingdom' which clearly wouldn't make sense when talking about a peasant girl. She quickly replaced that with "and for this family."

Ron nodded his head sadly. He had really wanted her to say that the whole thing had been called off. Of course, the chances of that happening were slim to nothing.

"Never mind about that. I'd much rather talk to you about happier things. Have you talked to your father yet?" Hermione asked after they had been silent for a few seconds. Ron seemed to brighten up and he eagerly told her about small parts of the chat with his father, careful to mention anything of his own arranged marriage.

They continued to talk about many things. Having only known each other for two days, they didn't know much about the other and now was a good time to learn. Hermione invented a question and answer 'game' that would help them with this. It wasn't very complicated and it proved effective for their purpose. It was only two o'clock and Hermione had already learned everything from his greatest wish (seeing his mother again) to his favorite food (anything edible). She found him to be a very humorous person, especially when telling tales of his misadventures with Harry as a small boy. However, the time that she had allowed herself to spend there was quickly running out.

"Oh dear," Hermione was finally able to say after recovering from her latest fit of laughter. "It's getting late. The sun will be down in less than an hour. I'm afraid we'll have to save the rest of your stories for another day. I'll walk you to the castle gate. I'm sure Virginia has been keeping Harry busy but they must be done touring the castle by now."

"You're probably right." Ron gave in, even though he felt disappointed, to say the least, about having to go already.

After pushing in the chairs that they had been sitting on, Hermione opened the door for them and began to walk Ron back to the castle entrance. She was thinking vaguely that Virginia had been wrong, he hadn't held her hand, when she felt him come beside her and gently lace his fingers through hers. A smile and a blush spread over her face and she felt at peace for the first time in weeks. They walked like that until they saw that Virginia and Harry were waiting for them at the front of the castle.

"Good bye for now Rose. I'll try to return again." Ron said before letting her hand slip from his. She smiled and waved to Harry who also said his goodbye. Once they had left, Virginia eagerly rushed to Hermione's side.

"Didn't I tell you! I knew he would do it! When you two get married, you'd better thank me. Remember to thank little Virginia, who knew that he'd hold your hand!" Hermione laughed, wrapping her arm around her friend, and made her way back to the tower room where she could forever imprint this day into her mind.

A/N: I'm done! I'm so happy and so so so very sorry that it took such a long time. Gosh, it's been months at least! You are all very great for waiting this long! I admire your patience. I hope that was good, I don't think it was but hopefully I did a good job. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. There shouldn't be too many more coming. I think this story's almost done, finally! Anyway, thanks to all the really great people who reviewed this so far! I love you all! Please review! See yal next chapter! ~Adnap Nottap (A.K.A. Addy)