One Night Stand

One night of pleasure can lead to a lifetime of pain.

One night of lust can lead to a lifetime of love.

Disclaimer Even with this story's end, I still don't own any rights to the HP universe.

Author's Note Can we say 'finally'? Please R&R!

Epilogue

The night of my nineteenth birthday was slowly coming to a close. The guests Mrs. Weasley had invited for my party had long since left. It was nice seeing my former classmates, but if I was being truly honest with myself, I was glad they were gone. Seeing some of them just brought back painful memories, memories one should not remember on a day of celebration. I was currently standing by the window in the nursery, looking out over the dark garden. Ron had disappeared hours ago; no one had seen him since the cutting of the cake. I figured all of the commotion had overwhelmed him, so I didn't blame him, but I at least wanted to see him again before I went to bed. I quietly made my way to the crib and peered over the railing.

Aiden was sleeping soundly. The slight raise and fall of his chest brought a smile to my face and I adjusted the blanket that covered him. Tonight had not only been my birthday, but the night Aiden made his first public appearance. With the Weasley family so large, it had taken almost a month for everyone to see and get to know him. Tonight my friends from Hogwarts had a chance to coo over him. He didn't mind it either. I could already tell Aiden loved being in the spotlight, and that, of course, meant so many things. Nonetheless, I knew I would always be proud of him.

After deciding that Aiden would be asleep for at least another hour, I made my way down the stairs. I could hear laughter coming from the living room, and I debated whether or not I should check and see if Ron was in there. But, something told me he wasn't, and I passed by the door, heading into the kitchen. I briefly glanced behind me once more before opening the back door. It was dark, the only light coming from the dim bulb hanging over the doorstep. I looked out in the garden, but saw no one. I sighed, prepared to go on a wild goose chase. I turned back to the house and almost entered before I heard Ron.

"Mione?" he whispered.

"Where are you?" I called.

"In the garden."

"Where?" I asked, clearing wondering what he was talking about. Iwas the only person in the garden.

"Down here." I still had no idea what he was taking about, until I looked passed the bench and rose bushes. He was laying on his back, hands behind his head. I rolled my eyes and walked towards him. I sat down beside him, crossing my legs.

"Where have you been?"

"Out here," he stated bluntly.

"All this time?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I was thinking." I didn't say anything, and Ron made no effort to elaborate.

"About?" I finally inquired.

"Us."

"Oh?" I brought my legs up, my arms wrapped tightly around them. I rested my chin upon my knees and awaited Ron's reply.

"Yeah," he said simply. We sat there for several minutes, Ron looking into the sky, me at the ground. "Hermione?"

"Uh-huh?" I mumbled. He didn't answer, rather he sat up and reached a hand into his jacket pocket. I watched him curiously, wondering what he was doing. He brought his hand back out, and then handed me a small, velvet box. "What's this?" Again, he did not answer. Carefully, I opened the box and gasped at what was inside. "Ron..." I trailed off.

"I was going to ask you," he explained. "I've had it planned out for months. I was supposed to do it tonight, but I sort of chickened out. I'm sorry."

"So-- So, then, you want to? I mean, you want to get married?" My head was spinning. This certainly was not what I expected. I swallowed, one thought going through my brain. The love of my life, the father of my child, wants to marry me

"I think so." My heart stopped.

"Wait a minute." My earlier thought quickly left my brain, replaced with one word. What? "You think so?"

"I mean, yeah."

"No, Ron, that's not what you said."

I was having an internal battle between my heart and my brain. Like always, my heart was telling me to follow it. I loved Ron, and that was all that mattered. It told me this is what I had been waiting for, and I could have my family. But, then, my brain, the bearer of bad news, told me that Ron was not sure of what he was doing. Yes, he loved me, too, but he wasn't ready for a family. The baby was enough for him right now. He didn't have a job, a house of his own. How could he support us all?

"I know," he replied sheepishly.

"Ron, I love you. You know I do. And I want to marry you. But, I don't want to get married if you're not ready."

"But, I am!" he protested.

"No, Ron, you're not." He started to speak again, but I placed my index finger over his lips. "Our love is strong Ron, it will last. The baby was just born, and I don't know about you, but that is enough emotional turmoil for right now. Let's give it a couple of months, okay? Then we'll think about marriage."

"Ok," Ron agreed, smiling. He made for the engagement ring, but I stopped him.

"In the meantime, though," I replied coyly, "I'd like to wear the ring."

Author's Note So, it's July… and I'm just now posting the epilogue for ONS. I know you all hate me for it, 'cause, frankly, I hate myself. I do not like when authors take forever to update, but I can't say I hate them, because I know how it feels. Life gets hectic, and there are more important things to tend to, yes? That's what happened to me, and then when things did settle down, I didn't have any inspiration whatsoever and my muse went on a very long vacation.

Anyways, I'm sorry this took forever and a day to post. I am not 100 percent pleased with this chapter, but there really wasn't any other way I could do it. It's short, to the point, and doesn't provide much information at all. Hopefully, you will not flame me and I will get some positive reviews.

As for the sequel... Well, I've started it, but I haven't finished the first chapter yet. I can't get it just the way I want it. I have to tell you it does start out slow, but most stories do. I'm not going to rush into posting, so I can't tell you when it will be posted. Especially since tomorrow is July 15, and at midnight, I'm going to own HBP. That, indefinitely, for all HP fans should slow down the fanfiction progress. But, I can tell you, if my muse sticks around, I should have one or two chapters of ONS's sequel posted before I start school (8th August). I wouldn't hold my breath, though. And, of course, I can't post the sequel until I come up with a proper title. Until then, happy reading.