-Father-Son Pep-Talk-

"I'm Celestina Warbeck and you're listening to the Witching Hour on this lovely Christmas Eve! I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year, and here to get you in the mood is the song "White Christmas Trees" by the Weird Sisters…"

It was Christmas Eve and the Burrow was filled with great music, cheerful people and loads of presents. The entire Weasley family was home and they welcomed Harry, Hermione and Fleur in open arms as all twelve people sat around an extended kitchen table to enjoy a wonderful Christmas dinner.

The table was full of food and everyone was laughing and joking as they sat and ate. Fred and George wowed everyone as they talked about their joke shop and the new items they were creating and Charlie retold a thrilling story of how he nearly lost his arm to a Hungarian Horntail.

Bill and Fleur told everyone about their wonderful honeymoon in Rome and Percy bored them all with Ministry of Magic talk. Harry and Ginny, who were sitting beside each other, were having a lengthy conversation about quidditch and Hermione and Ron sat happily beside each other and listened to everyone else talk.

The past three days spent at the Burrow had gone smoothly for Hermione and she was pleased to see that she was as loved as ever by Mrs. Weasley and her family.

But she had noticed that certain members of the Weasley family were, from time to time, giving Ron a strange look that they thought Hermione hadn't noticed, one of them coming from Arthur Weasley at this very moment from across the dinner table.

"Um Ron, do you think I could have a word with you?" said Mr. Weasley after the "look". Hermione turned to Ron who had the most particular expression.

He nodded stiffly and stood up so quickly that he knocked over his wine glass.

Hermione saved the glass from spilling all over the table and noticed that all conversation at the table had quickly ceased. But when she turned to face the others who were still seated, they all quickly turned away and continued their conversations.

Ron quickly smiled a nervous smile at Hermione and then left the kitchen with his father.

"So? Have you got the ring?" asked Arthur.

"Yeah..." said Ron nervously as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

"Well, lets have a look," said his father in a shaky voice; he was very nervous for his son.

Ron nodded and with quivering fingers opened the black box to reveal its contents.

Arthur smiled in approval and Ron snapped the box shut and quickly placed it back into his pocket. The very sight of it was making him nervous, never mind the thought of what he was about to do.

"Right." said Arthur, "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous," admitted Ron, "I don't know what to say… I mean, are you sure that saying whatever I feel in the moment will be good enough, Dad? Shouldn't I rehearse something? I mean, what if the moment comes and I don't say anything, and I just stand there like a complete prat?"

Arthur smiled at his son, "Then that's obviously not the right moment, is it? You need do it when it feels right, when you feel like you're going to explode if you don't do it. That'll be the right moment. And if it doesn't come tonight, you wait till the time is right."

Ron looked frightened, "If I wait till when I "feel it" and I'm not nervous, I'll be fifty years old!"

Arthur laughed and wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder, "You just wait, you wait till you see her; you'll change your mind."

And with that, Arthur steered his son into the family room where the rest of the family was seated.