Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine – Ron is. LoL j/k. Once again, J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and his friends. I just wish she could share her dough with me! J

a/n: thanks to everyone for your reviews and feedback! I love reading them and they definitely help motivate me to write more chapters! Thanx bunches! I hope u enjoy this one!

Chapter 4

Ginger Snaps

            It was around noon when Ron finally went back to the Burrow. His dad had already left and was now hard at work at the Ministry. The only one left in the house was his Mum. Molly was in the kitchen, baking ginger snaps, when Ron came back in.

            He planned to go to his room to put away his broomstick, take a shower, and then go over to Fred & George's Joke Shop to work for a couple hours. Much as they were jokesters, Fred and George also knew when to be serious.

            After Ron graduated from Hogwarts, the Chudley Cannons drafted him to be on the team. Of course, Ron was elated. The Cannons were his favorite Quidditch team and it was always one of his dreams to be a part of it. The team picked him because he was a member of Oliver Wood's elite Fly Squad during the war against Voldemort. Oliver, being the born leader and strategist that he was, established the Fly Squad to help out the Ministry. Their job was to do community watches at night and to look out for Death Eaters. Ron had watch only during the weekends, so as to not jeopardize his schoolwork, as a request from Mrs. Weasley. Schoolwork was only part of the reason, but in truth, Molly wasn't really comfortable knowing that her son would possibly be in contact with those horrible Death Eaters. However, Ron was quite the stubborn one and insisted on having a part to do during the war. And besides, Fred and George were members also, so why couldn't he? Ron's stations were Hogwarts and the surrounding area. After the war was over, the Cannons found out about Ron being a member of the Fly Squad, thanks to Oliver who put in a good word for him. They offered him a position on the team after he graduated from Hogwarts and he excitedly accepted it. Fresh out of Hogwarts and he already had a job.

            Unfortunately, Ron only stayed with the Cannons for three years. He wasn't fired. He wasn't replaced or traded. After three years, he realized that playing Quidditch with his favorite team wasn't as glamorous as he dreamt it out to be. His teammates were great people and he got along with them perfectly fine. The practices didn't bother him that much, but he just had this nagging feeling that he was missing something in his life. All his life he thought that being in the Cannons would be the peak of his life and that he wouldn't need anything else beyond that. But he was wrong. He didn't feel whole; he felt like there was an empty space inside him. So he resigned from the Cannons. Nobody really understood why he did it, but they accepted his decision, all the same.

            This is where Fred and George come in the picture. Yes, they were renowned for being great pranksters, but deep down they were also devoted to their family. After they both graduated from Hogwarts, they were able to open their joke shop. It was a very successful business. Everyone needed a laugh after the war and the joke shop fulfilled that need. When Fred and George heard of Ron's decision to resign, they were worried about him, their only younger brother. Slowly but surely, Ron's demeanor started to change. He was becoming depressed. He had no job and still lived with their parents. To make him snap out of the depression, they suggested to Ron that he come and work at the joke shop as a manager. He didn't have other options at the time, so he accepted Fred's and George's proposal. It was a good deal too because Ron could come in to work anytime he wanted. He didn't abuse this privilege too much though because it didn't feel right to him. It has been three years now since he worked at the joke shop and though he still felt like his life wasn't totally whole, he was content with it for the moment.

            However, this morning's news of Hermione's wedding, tapped a nerve in Ron and he didn't know how to deal with it.

            "Oh, by the way dear," Molly said as she noticed Ron come in, "your dad and I sent our family's RSVP for Hermione's wedding. We thought it best we sent it early."

            "Sure, Mum. Whatever," Ron commented bitterly as he proceeded to go to his room.

            His Mum stopped him before he could go any further, however. "Listen, Ron, I don't know what's happened between you and Hermione ever since you both got out of Hogwarts, but we had to accept her invitation. We've known her for years and we've welcomed her into our home many times. She's your sister's best friend and she was once yours also. It's only polite that we attend - no matter who she marries."

            "Sure. Are we done here?," Ron said frostily.

            "Now you listen, Ronald Weasley! I understand that you are a Weasley and therefore, are proned to tempers, but I will not accept this attitude from you right now! Not until you clearly explain to me why you are acting so childish! For goodness sake, you are 24! You know that bottling your feelings and not talking to anyone about them is not healthy, dear. I know there is something bothering you other than this wedding, but I can't help you unless I know what is wrong."

            His mother was right. He shouldn't lash out on her; it's not her fault for the way things turned out.

            "I know, Mum. It's just that I don't know how to deal with it right now."

            "Well, let me start then. What really happened between you and Hermione? I mean, how come the two of you grew apart after you left Hogwarts, yet she's still best friends with Harry?"

            Ron gave his Mum a defeated look; he knew she would never let up unless he told her everything. He sat in one of the rickety kitchen seats as his Mum brought a plate of ginger snaps and did the same.

            "So how 'bout it? Care to tell me what really went on between you and Hermione?"

            "It happened a long time ago, Mum. It doesn't matter." He was still hesitant about telling his Mum everything.

            "Ron, it most certainly does matter. You wouldn't be this upset if it didn't. I'm hear to listen to you, dear." Molly said to him assuringly.

            He sighed and played with the ginger snap in his hand. "Well, it all started during our last month at Hogwarts, six years ago. One night in the common room, she told me that she was in love with me. That she had been since our fourth year. She said that she had to tell me how she felt because it was eating her up inside. She asked me if I felt the same way about her."

            "And what did you say?"

            "I – I told her that I only loved her as a best friend. And that that was the only way I felt about her."

            Molly placed her hand to her chest, shocked. "Oh the poor dear. She must've felt horrible."

            "Mum, I felt horrible too you know."

            "Oh, of course dear. I'm sorry, do go on."

            "Okay, well, after I told her my feelings, we established that we'd still continue on being best friends. The only thing is that ever since that night  , things between us were never the same. Hermione, Harry, and I still sat with each other most of the time, but it was a very awkward situation, for all of us. Hermione and I both forced ourselves to carry on small conversations while we were with Harry because we didn't want him to feel guilty. Harry was the one that convinced Hermione to tell me how she felt and he blamed himself for things not going right, especially her broken heart."

            "I see."

            "Then, graduation came and we all went our separate ways. Harry still kept in touch with both of us. But as for Hermione and I, we gradually lost contact with each other. She was attending Wizardry Medical School in Italy and I was here playing for the Chudley Cannons. We were just too busy, I guess, to owl each other."

            "Too busy?," Molly questioned, "Or too afraid to try?"      

            "Umm..well, I owled her once just to say 'Hi' and ask how she was doing in medical school. She owled me back saying she was doing pretty good and that medical school was keeping her pretty busy. That was the only time I owled her. She was busy and I was busy with the Cannons. I focused my attention on Quidditch for the next three years and I was happy playing Quidditch. My dream finally came true and I cherished every moment of it."

            "But gradually, playing with the Cannons gave me less and less satisfaction. A part of me felt empty and I couldn't continue playing Quidditch without my whole heart into it. That's why I had to resign. After that, as you well know, I became a little depressed because I couldn't fill that void inside my body. I didn't know how to. But ever since I started working for Fred and George at the joke shop, I started to forget about it. The void I mean. It was great to be working with my family. I love all of you and in a way, working at the joke shop made me feel like I was back in my younger days, before things changed."

            "Well, that was quite a handful of information, though I must say I wasn't particularly surprised over what Hermione confessed to you, Ron."

            Ron gave her a curious look, "Mum, what do you mean?"

            "I mean, I'm not surprised at what Hermione said to you because it was quite obvious to me how she felt about you. The surprising thing is that you told her you didn't feel the same way, when we all know that you did. You were just oblivious to that fact."

            "You're wrong, Mum! Like I said I've only fancied Hermione as a FRIEND. Nothing else beyond that!," Ron exclaimed defensively.

            "No, Ron, you're the one that's wrong. Who are you trying to fool? Certainly not your family because we could clearly tell you were slowly falling for Hermione. Remember your fourth year at Hogwarts? The Yule Ball? Fred and George told me you couldn't keep your eyes off her. And remember your little bickers over Viktor Krum? That, my dear boy, is called jealousy. And jealousy can tell a lot of things about that person, things that that person chooses to deny, mostly feelings. I believe that you love Hermione, not only just as a friend. You fell in love with her the same time she fell in love with you."

            He couldn't believe what he was hearing from his own mother. How could she tell him how he felt or how he feels? The stuff that happened in fourth year didn't matter. They were childish fights. He didn't need to take this. Ron quickly shook his head and got out of his seat. He was wasting his time. He knew he shouldn't have said anything to his Mum.

            "Now wait just a minute, Ronald Weasley! I have one more question for you that you need to answer."

            Ron defiantly sat right back down in his seat.

            "What's the real reason why you're upset over Hermione's upcoming wedding?"

            "I cannot believe this! I thought things were obvious to you, Mum! I'm upset because she's marrying that dick, Draco! He treated her like dirt, like she was inferior! He's evil just like his father, it's a shame he didn't die with his parents!"

            "Ron, that's a horrible thing to say! We all weren't fond of the Malfoys, but Hermione has a mind of her own. Maybe she saw something in Draco that we didn't. She's as good as family to us and we should respect her decisions."

            "I don't care! Draco shouldn't be marrying her!!," Ron shouted.

            "And why not?!"

            "Because I SHOULD!!!," Ron howled as he pounded his fist on the table, splattering the ginger snaps on the floor.

            Molly gave a big sigh of relief, "Finally! It's about time you admitted it!"

            Ron couldn't believe what he just said. He just confessed that he wanted to marry Hermione. As much as it was a surprise to him, it was also liberating. Everything that he had suppressed for the past six years finally burst out. And it was quite a feeling.

            He just concentrated on the floor, flabbergasted, for about a couple of minutes, until he remembered he was supposed to take a shower and go to work. His Mum was baking a new batch of ginger snaps, to replace the ones that fell on the floor. "Umm..Mum..thanks for talking and listening to me. I need to go shower right now, but I'm glad we had this talk."

            "I'm glad to help, Ron," Molly replied as he made up for the stairs, "By the way, I've been informed by your sister that Hermione's staying at The Leaky Cauldron for a couple of days to check on some wedding shops - alone." At that last word, Molly gave Ron a wink. Needless to say, Ron got the hint.