Home Again

Summary: Someone from Hermione's past returns. R/Hr.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, fun right? To my cousin Ily, who helped me out with this chapter. A lot.

Chapter 10:

She was so wrong. Wronger than wrong.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Were her eyes deceiving her or was there an actual engagement ring inside the box? She couldn't tell whether this was real or not, so she reached out to touch the ring. She wanted to make sure it wasn't one of Fred and George's fake rings that they had been making recently. They had gotten the idea as they were talking about people marriages and how they were going. Sure enough when she touched it, it was real. She jumped slightly as she realized what it was. Nothing could have prepared her for this.

Everyone was silent. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Is it real?" Ginny asked.

"Of course it is!" Ron said indignantly, offended by the thought that she would suggest that it wasn't.

Hermione gulped. "I...How could you do this?!" She exclaimed, shocking everyone.

"How could you think that this could make up for what you said yesterday?!"

Harry could tell that his friend's so-called "plan" was falling apart right in front of his eyes.

"Hermione…you've got it all wrong."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but thought against it and shut it.

Ron stood up and walked over to her, bending down to meet Hermione eye-to-eye. "Hermione…I was going to ask you to marry me, no matter what. It's just…life had other plans. But that wasn't going to change mine. You're welcomed to say no, but I'd prefer that you said yes." Ron explained, a small grin on his face.

Hermione just stared at him. "You really were going to ask?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah. I was."

Hermione reached up and slapped Ron across the face. "If you knew that, then why were you such a jerk?!" She asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Ron rubbed his cheek. "I'm sorry Hermione. You've got to realize that."

Hermione tried to suppress a smile. "Oh…alright I forgive you." She said, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. "You're lucky I love you." She whispered.

Ron chuckled. "I know."

"Well don't keep us guessing!" Ginny exclaimed. "Are you gonna marry the jackass or not?!"

Hermione laughed and nodded. "Why not? I've waited this long for him to ask, didn't I?"

Ron blushed a few shades of red while everyone else shared a laugh. Hermione looked over at him and then it hit her. She was going to marry Ron. Was she sure she wanted to do this?

Sure she loved him, how could she not? He was charming, comical, and he loved her. But was she ready for this big of a step? So soon in the relationship? Although, if she was going to get technical, she supposed there had always been a sort of relationship. Neither of them would admit their feelings for the other, but it was left unspoken. Especially the night before Ron left.

Flashback

Ron was packing some clothes into a bag. He heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" He called. He didn't look up when he heard the door open, nor when it shut.

"Ron?"

Ron looked up then, hearing Hermione's voice. "Mione?" He saw her red, puffy eyes and immediately got worried. "What's wrong?"

Hermione sniffled. "Do you have to go?"

Ron smirked and walked over to his best friend. "Yes, I have to." He pulled Hermione into a hug. "Everything is going to be fine."

"But Ron…yo…I…you can't leave!"

Ron held Hermione at arm's length. "Why?"

Hermione opened her mouth. Because I love you and I need you here with me, she almost said. "Because…what will I do with out you?"

Ron laughed and shook his head. "You'll do everything you always do." He hugged Hermione again and sighed. He had the chance to spill his feelings for her right then and there. But he didn't. He had a feeling he never would.

Ginny sat on the front steps, bundled up to keep the chill away. In her gloved hands was a mug filled with hot chocolate that was quickly turning cold.

There were so many thoughts bombarding her mind. So many thing were going on. Her father wasn't well, even though he acts like he is. He's just trying to be the brave one, for her mum's sake. She knew her father well enough to know that he wasn't well at all. Sometimes at night she would creep out of her room, and sneek a peek into her parents room just to make sure everything was fine. She didn't want her father to be sneaking out of bed, doing things he wasn't suppose to. The doctor told him to take it easy. She was just there to make sure he was following through with this.

Her mind drifted from her father to Harry. She loved him. In this case, love couldn't even describe how she was feeling. But she wasn't sure if he really wanted to marry her or not. She felt like the only reason he propped was to shut her up. A sigh escaped Ginny's chapped lips. Here was Hermione, getting possibly the most romantic proposal ever and all Ginny got was a "marry me" because her father was ill and in the hospital.

Hermione and Ron. She couldn't be happier for them. But she had this gut feeling that something wasn't right. That something was going to go wrong. She cursed the feeling away. It was Christmas! No bad feelings on Christmas!

Ginny took a sip from her hot chocolate and made a disgusted face. It was now officially cold. Yuck. Ginny poured it out onto the white snow.

The door opened behind her. "Ginny? What the hell are you doing out here?" Fred asked, stepping outside.

Ginny looked at her older brother. "Just thinking."

"On Christmas? What are you, stupid?"

Ginny smacked Fred's leg. "No. Things need to be thought out." She looked back out at the snow and sighed. "And I have a lot to sort out." She muttered.

"Wanna talk about it?" Fred asked, sitting down next to her.

Ginny shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'm…I'm okay."

"Ginny, I'm your big brother. I taught you how to lie. And I'll be damned if you never could learn how to do it right."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "It's just…" She sighed and looked at Fred. "Tell anyone and die, but Harry proposed yesterday."

"Yeah. So?" Fred asked, giving his sister a weird look.

"You aren't surprised?"

Fred rolled his eyes. "Harry's been tripping over himself over you. So no, I'm not surprised."

"Anyway," Ginny shot her brother a glare before continuing. "I think that the only reason he proposed was because I was sort of freaking out about Dad."

"So you don't think that the proposal is true?"

"I don't know." Ginny replied. "How did you propose to Angelina?"

Fred shrugged. "I just asked her. We were sitting around one night and I just popped the question then. Nothing special about it. Nothing romantic."

"What did she say?"

"No, at first. You know how they say the third time is the charm? Well, it's true in my case."

"Do you think Harry loves me?"

Fred smacked his hand to his forehead. "Damn it woman! Of course he does. Now get your ass inside before you get sick." He said, standing up.

Ginny stood up and gave Fred a hug. "Thanks, Fred. Don't tell Bill, Charlie, Ron, Percy or George this but you're the best big brother ever."

"No problem little sis. Just remember, guys are nasty pigs that only want one thing."

Ginny laughed. "How did I know that was coming?"