Chapter 1
Ron looked around the room. Empty. He looked at the hands on the clock. One lonely hand was pointing at home. Then he saw a hand move swiftly to join his. It was Ginny. She and Harry had apparated into the Weasley's living room. They walked into the kitchen to see Ron sitting there with a plate of untouched toast in front of him.
"Hey, Ron. Not hungry I see." Harry quickly snatched up a piece of toast.
"Harry, we just ate!" Ginny said. "I must say, you are acting as though you are the one who is pregnant." Harry gave her an innocent look while inhaling the piece of toast. Ginny rolled her eyes at him. She took a seat next to Ron at the table. Harry sat on the other side of him. "How are you doing?" she asked with concern.
He looked up at her oblivious to why she was using that tone of voice. "I'm fine. Are *you* all right?"
"You just seem to be distancing yourself a lot."
"Ginny, you're not a psychiatrist. I think the pregnancy is getting to you." Ginny rubbed her stomach, offended. "Have you thought about any names yet?"
"It's a girl," said Harry, "so we decided on Margaret Lilian Potter."
"Maggie Potter?" Ron said, with a hint of disgust. He quickly changed his mood when he saw Ginny was about to say something. "It's pretty! I like it." Ginny leaned back in her chair. "Wow. A girl....You two must be thrilled. What would you have named her if she had been a boy?"
Ginny smiled. "Benjamin James Potter."
"Good thing it's a girl." Ginny punched him on the arm. "I'm just kiddding!" said Ron, rubbing his arm. "So how come this kid doesn't get a Weasley name?"
"We will for our second child."
Ron shook his head. "Five months since conception and you're already planning for the next child."
"There's no harm in thinking about the future. Right, Harry?" Ginny looked over at her husband, who was staring off into space.
"Huh? What? Did you say something?"
Ginny frowned. "I was just telling Ron that people should think about their futures."
"Oh. Oh, yeah. In fact that's what I was doing just now," said Harry, quickly. "I have a Quidditch match this weekend. Are you gonna come watch, Ron?"
"Of course. Nothing better to do."
"Oh, geez. Thanks. How supportive."
"I didn't mean it that way," said Ron. "Is Hermione going?"
"I haven't asked. I figured she wouldn't be able to. Did you ever see a professor leave Hogwarts to attend a professional Quidditch match?"
"Well, you should ask her anyway."
"Why don't you ask her?" suggested Ginny, smiling. The look on Ginny's face made Ron feel uncomfortable and confused.
Harry had to get to Quidditch practice, so he and Ginny disapparated from the Burrow. Ron ran upstairs to the bathroom. He washed his face and combed his hair. 'I need a haircut,' he thought, looking at himself in the mirror. He put on some clean robes and went down to the living room. He grabbed some floo powder and stood in front of the fire. "Hogsmeade!" he declared, then stepped into the fire.
Ron stepped out of the Three Broomsticks to the empty sidewalks. He made his way up to Hogwarts. He stopped when he got to the castle. 'I should just wait until this evening,' he thought. 'Maybe I should have just sent an owl. Oh, stop being such a git, Ron! You want to see her, so go inside.' Ron opened the large doors and entered into the entrance hall. Everything looked the same as it had when he had left. He slowly walked up the staircases and made his way to the Transfiguration classroom. Hermione was inside at her desk. She must have had a free period. He walked in, knocking on the door while entering.
Hermione looked up. "Hi, Ron! What a nice surprise!"
"All right there, Hermione?" he asked, standing in front of her desk.
"I'm all right. You look a bit nervous. Why don't you take a seat?" She motioned to a desk in front of her. Ron grabbed a chair and sat down. "So, what brings you back to Hogwarts?"
"I just wanted to ask you if you were going to Harry's Quidditch match this weekend."
"I wasn't aware of the match. Of course I'll go." She paused and looked at him questioningly. "Couldn't you have just sent me an owl?"
Ron shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I just thought I'd come here and see how you were doing. I haven't seen you since last summer."
"Well, being a professor at Hogwarts takes up quite a lot of time. I wish I could spend more time with you and Harry. I'd especially like to see Ginny. How is she?"
"Oh, she's fine. She and Harry are fine. They plan on naming their baby Margaret Lilian Potter."
"Oh! That's so sweet! They are going to have a little girl. I'm so jealous."
Ron was surprised by this. "I didn't know you wanted to have children."
"Oh, I don't know. I have been thinking, and I would like to have one child at least." She smiled. "But I suppose I need to get married first."
"Who are you going to meet if you live and work at Hogwarts?"
"Actually..." Ron raised an eyebrow at her. "I am sort of seeing somebody."
Hermione might as well have reached into Ron's torso and pulled out his insides. "Oh, really? Who?"
"Um...I'd rather not say."
"Oh, come on. You know I won't leave you alone until you tell me."
Hermione examined Ron's face. "Alright. I've started dating Viktor again."
Ron looked confused for a bit then it hit him. "Krum?! You're dating Krum?!"
"Well, he recently contacted me, wanting to see how I was doing and what I was up to. We just started talking again. It's not like how it was after our fourth year. Times have changed. Everything is peaceful now. Other things have changed as well, and I thought I would give him another chance."
"Why *did* you decide not to date him before?"
Hermione hesitated and looked down at her desk. She looked back at Ron sincerely. "Because I wasn't interested in Viktor. I know that you liked me. And at the time, I liked Harry." She looked away. "Really, I didn't know what I wanted, and besides, it didn't matter. We were all concerned with other matters." She paused, looked at Ron, and waited for a reply. He just sat there waiting for her to continue. She continued, "But now those matters are over with. I am no longer confused. Everyone has moved on. Viktor is still interested in me, so I figured why not?"
Ron got up, and Hermione rose as well. "I think I better be going now," he said. She watched him walk to the door. He stopped and turned enough to look over at her. "I hope things work out for you this time around." She gave him a hopeful smile. Ron worked up the courage to say what he was about to say. He smiled back. "If they don't, well, I'll always be here for you."