Author's Note: Yep, I'm back. If you really think I own these characters, please check previous chapters and read their disclaimers :-). This chapter is betaless so any and all mistakes are mine. Thanks. Oh yeah feedback- it's lovely.
"Uhm Herm, do you think that now is a good time?" Ron asked, clearly on edge. His one hand was in his pocket, fingering a small band of silver. It had been two hours since the wake ended and Harry was currently relaxing in his room.
"As good as ever Ron. Good luck and remember, be gentle with him, alright?" Hermione tiredly answered. "I'm going to read in mine and Gin's room, so when you've finished, that's where I'll be." Hermione calmly walked out of her friend's room and down the hall.
Ron mumbled to himself what he planned on saying a few times and briskly walked out of his room. Before he knocked on the door, he took a step back. 'Gentle Weasley, Gentle.' he though to himself. Finally gathering the courage, he knocked.
"It open." came Harry's monotonous voice.
Ron opened the door and stepped inside his friend's room. Turning slightly, he closed the door behind him. 'Oh gods, please don't let me back down now.'
"Uh, hi Harry" he squeaked.
"Hello Ron." was Harry's emotionless response.
"Um, Harry...I have something I need to tell you. I know I should have told you this earlier...but....I didn't. I...hope that you won't be too angry with me." He stuttered out.
"Ron, relax. I'm sure you had good reason that you didn't tell me, I'm not mad at you at all. Continue". Harry urged him on, there was emotion in his voice, he was interested in what his nervous friend had to say.
"Well...I...there's...no easy or right way to say this. So, I'm just going to...just going to...just tell you. Um.... Draco was going to propose to you right before he died. And Hermione was going to propose to Ginny and me to Pansy. We were...uh...going to have a triple wedding. And....I uh, have the...uh...the...the ring that he was going to give you...and I should give that to you now." Ron spoke quickly. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the silver ring. Harry opened his palm and allowed his friend to place the ring in it.
The ring itself was beautiful, gorgeous. It was silver, Draco and Harry's favorite color. It was a thin band. Harry spun it around with his fingers, eagerly inspecting it. Engraved on the inside were the words: Ich liebe Sie bis meinen sterbenden Tag. A small smile crossed his face as he ran his finger over the engraving.
"Um, Harry I was wondering….what does that mean?" Ron questioned.
"It means, 'I love you until my dying day'. Which is actually quite ironic. Those are almost the exact words I said to him at the wake. Great minds think alike. Oh yeah, it's in German, by the way. He always thought that language was beautiful." Harry was obviously happy reminiscing about Draco, so Ron made a signal to continue. "I happen to agree with him, the way it rolls off your tongue is like no other language. Just listen to this Ron, 'Sie sind mein bester Freund, und ich liebe dich.' Of course it doesn't translate exactly but it's close enough." Harry spoke contently.
"Har, what does that mean?" Ron questioned gently, sitting down on his friend's bed.
"It means, roughly of course, that 'You are my best friend and I love you.'. Beautiful language. It's a sad thing that Draco's father never really approved of his son using that language." Harry said sadly.
"Well, why not?" Ron curiously asked his friend, patting the bed for Harry to sit down next to him.
"Well, he always thought that German was the language of the Nazis and, believe it or not, he absolutely loathed the Nazis. He believed that German could only be the language of the Nazis and nothing else. He completely forgot that a nation used the language before and after that time period. Sad, really." Harry said as he sat down next to his friend.
Ron was absolutely shocked. Harry took this the exact opposite of the way he expected. He had foreseen that Harry would either flip out and scream at him or start to hysterically cry. He never imagined this outcome. It was odd, really. No one expected Harry to be able to calmly remember his love without crying or shutting down. Harry really was much stronger than he was credited for.
"Ron, I want to thank you for telling me about the ring. And I want to thank you for asking me about Draco; no one else has done that. I mean sure, they say they're sorry for my loss, but they never think to ask me about him. Him before his dying. And it really surprised me when you did, I kinda just figured that you were like everyone else and I'm sorry for that. I really am. I meant what I said before, you are my best friend and I love you." Harry embraced Ron.
"You're welcome Har, I love you too." He whispered back.