Upon awakening the next morning, Ron stared straight up and consciously tried to control the outrageous grin on his face. He didn't need all the guys in the dormitory questioning him why his normal, surly early morning demeanor had changed. He did have to tell Harry, but that was really it. It was no one else's business.

He yawned and stretched. Last night after some dangerously indiscreet kissing in the common room, he had made it up the stairs and found every one else asleep. He had half expected to be up all night because of his excitement but he had fallen off quickly and slept soundly. Now, he had only to decide how to spend his Sunday. His first inclination was to grab Hermione, dash off to the room of requirement, put a locking spell on the door and see what the room thought they required.

Something else intruded on his mind, however. Hermione had been so upset about Harry being excluded; perhaps it would be better to see to it that today was a threesome day. That thought gave him an image that made him shudder a bit. He thought for a few minutes and came to what he was sure was the best solution. He would plainly tell her his concerns and let her decide.

Hermione, on the other hand, had not slept well. She had made it into her room, similarly finding everyone asleep, and had found it impossible to drift off. She had lain awake and gone over and over the things they had said and done. At first it had been with a kind of floaty happiness. Then, one detail had jumped out at her and annoyed her so much that she couldn't let it go and was eager to deal with it with Ron.

He had said she was his pretty girl and, to be exact, she had said that she was his. That simply would not do. She was as annoyed at herself for letting her emotions get the better of her as she was with him for wording it that way. It wasn't that she was angry, really. Ron had been completely sweet and wonderful, except for that one little detail. She had no intentions of making a big deal of it, she just intended to make it clear that she was in no way "his". The sheer sexism of it made her cringe.

They also had to figure out how to tell Harry. A selfish part of her wanted to meet them for breakfast and see that Ron had already taken care of it. She thought carefully, actually pinching her lower lip. First thing, tell Harry that she and Ron are now a couple, if Ron hadn't already taken care of it. Second, spend the morning with Harry so as to be sure he doesn't feel too excluded. Have lunch. Then they could have the afternoon for homework and all evening after dinner to spend time with Ron.

Of course, the very first thing was to make sure Ron was set straight over this possession nonsense.

Harry woke up with an odd feeling, as if something important was going to happen. Later, he would wonder if perhaps he didn't have a little seer in him. Much to his surprise, Ron was already up and moving when he opened the curtains of his bed. "'Morning," he grunted.

"Good morning, mate," Ron said, sounding entirely too wide awake and cheerful.

Harry eyed him curiously, but with a shake of his head ignored the odd behavior.

Ron looked around the dorm carefully and leaned close to Harry. "I've something private to tell you," he said. He had thought about waiting and talking to Hermione about how best to approach Harry, but his happiness had overcome any trepidation he might have felt. Part of the fun of having a girlfriend, he suddenly decided, was telling your best friend.

"What's happened?" Harry said quickly, completely misunderstanding Ron's intent.

"Nothing bad," Ron assured him. "Just, well, private."

Harry eyed him speculatively, his mind shifting into high gear. "Go ahead," he said.

Ron hesitated and Harry could see his ears go red. "It's about Hermione. Actually, it's about me and Hermione."

Harry's eyebrows went up. Given the way they were acting lately, it really wasn't a tough conclusion to get to. "Oh! Did you two…" he trailed off with a vague gesture.

Ron wasn't completely sure what Harry meant by the gesture, but it was probably close enough. "Yes."

"Oh." Harry was stunned, to say the least. He tried for a moment to envision kissing Hermione. He failed. He tried again; still no good. Then he tried to envision Ron kissing Hermione. He almost made a face. Harry had, being as he was male and Hermione wasn't, had some dreams about her that no one would ever be hearing about. This was different, as it was the real thing and not a dream Hermione. It was much like what he had teased Ron about happening in the infirmary. Hermione was female and there were certain inevitable consequences to that, but this was different.

"Are you going to say anything?" Ron asked.

"This is different," he blurted out.

"Different then what?"

"Never mind," Harry said, shaking his head to clear it. "I'm just having trouble getting my mind around it." He sort of sighed. "I guess this all happened in the infirmary?"

"Then, and last night after you went to bed. It was mostly last night." There was a pause in the conversation. "Are you… mad or anything?"

"No, not at all." He sort of sighed again. "I guess this means there will be less time for the three of us to do stuff."

Ron leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, glancing over Harry's shoulder. Neville and Dean were up and dressing, trying very hard to look as if they were ignoring the quiet conversation. It wasn't to be wondered at, Ron supposed. Secret meetings with he and Harry often led to dramatic developments. "She and I actually talked about that. We don't want that to happen. As a mater of fact, Hermione was really serious about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She said that she knew what it was like to feel excluded, being the girl and all, and that she didn't want you to feel that way."

Harry nodded slowly, actually flattered that they had considered him at all, given the situation. "I will be excluded sometimes," he said, "but I'll live. It's good that you two are… whatever you are, if it makes you both happy. I'll just hang out with Neville and Ginny when you two are having your torrid rendezvous."

Ron smiled widely, thrilled that Harry seemed to be all right with everything. "Watch it, Potter. Keep that up and I'll tell Hermione what you said."

"Normally that would frighten me," Harry said, "but now I know that she'll be too giddy from your manly attentions to be angry." Ron shoved him. "Hey! Speaking of rendezvous, did you think of the room of requirement? I wonder what it would have in it?"

"Harry! Stop it," Ron's ears were suddenly flaming.

"Come on, lover boy. Let's go down and get the little woman and have some breakfast."

"I'd give a galleon to see you call her that to her face."

"Not a bloody chance."

Hermione sat in the common room waiting for them to come down. Her normally composed demeanor was ruined today. She was pacing and on the verge of wringing her hands. The thought of seeing Harry was making her nervous. What if she had to tell him? What if he were upset? The thought of seeing Ron filled her with a giddy nervousness of an entirely different sort. This was an important moment. It might have long-term effects on how the future of her only two real friendships would be.

The door to the boy's dorm opened and they stepped out. She watched them carefully for some clue as to how things were. Ron was grinning and there was a hint of a fading blush just at the tips of his ears. Harry was also smiling and his eyes immediately locked onto her. The devilishness she saw in them told her that he knew, things were okay for the moment, and she was about to get it.

Harry quickened his pace and reached her first, surprising her by taking her hand in both of his. "Tell me it's all lies!" he declaimed in a loud voice. "What of me, Hermione? What of us?"

Hermione jerked her hand away, blushing furiously. "Harry," she hissed, "stop it!" People around the room were looking over curiously.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all, "I couldn't resist." He grinned at the curious faces around them that quickly looked away. "Let's go eat." He said.

"I suppose you told him," Hermione said, looking at Ron and fighting the urge to break into a large grin.

"Yeah, I took care of it," Ron replied.

They were walking down the corridor in a row, as always, with Hermione in the middle. "Are you going to hold hands?" Harry asked, still amused.

"Well, why wouldn't we?" Ron asked. "It's not as if there's some big secret." He almost defiantly reached down and took her hand. It felt a little odd to him, but not uncomfortable, just unfamiliar. It was a new thing to get used to.

Hermione had felt a tiny thrill go through her when he did it. She squeezed his hand gratefully. "So what are the plans for the day?" she asked. Harry and Ron shared an amused glance. They were both well aware that this particular tone and question meant that she had already planned out the day for all three of them.

"You know," Harry said thoughtfully, "this shouldn't be that big a change. It's almost as if we've both been dating her for years." Hermione looked curiously at him but Ron chuckled, knowing exactly what Harry meant.

"True, Harry," Ron said. "Very true."

"What with seeing her every day," Harry went on, "and spending breaks together."

"And knowing each other's families," Ron added.

"Yes," Harry added, "and the nagging."

"I do not nag," she said but was ignored.

"There is the nagging," Ron said. "We definitely deserve something for tolerating the nagging."

Hermione snorted in feigned irritation.

"We do," Harry said, "but you're the one getting kisses from the girl. It's not fair. What do I get?"

"You're right," Ron said. "It isn't fair. Hermione, give him a kiss."

Hermione smacked Ron on the arm and almost as an afterthought gave Harry one too, but she took Ron's hand again immediately. "Stop it, both of you. I do not nag."

"Hate to break it to you," Harry said, "but you do."

"Don't forget the bossiness," Ron said.

"Can't forget that," Harry said.

"I am not bossy, either!" she said.

"Really?" Ron asked. "So, exactly what are our plans for the day?"

Hermione had the good grace to look embarrassed. Then a strange thing happened. She stopped walking and tilted her head in thought. Harry and Ron stopped and looked quizzically back at her. "Everything is going to be all right, isn't it?" she said in a chocked voice, her eyes suddenly bright.

"Yes, Hermione," Harry said, his voice becoming serious. "Everything is fine."