Word Count: 490


A tip from Hermione leads Ron to the garden. Rose has been out there all morning, it seems, and she hasn't come in for lunch. Hugo says Rose is going through a breakup. Ron never liked Jacob Wood much anyway.

Rose sits among a rainbow of flowers, her attention focused on the tall grass. There's a white rabbit there, watching Rose, its little pink nose twitching. Ron stands back, watching with a soft smile on his lips. The moment is so tender and sweet that he feels guilty for interrupting.

"Rosie?" He steps closer. The sound of a twig snapping under his foot sends the rabbit scurrying away. "Sorry."

Rose looks up. Her eyes are swollen and rimmed with pink. Ron can see the salty trails of dried tears that mark her cheeks.

He wants to tell her that she's fourteen and doesn't need to worry about dating at all. Still, he knows he can't stop her. Though he wishes he could hold her to a higher standard, he remembers what it's like to be young.

"I really liked Jacob," she says with a sniffle.

"I know," he says, sitting next to her and wrapping an arm around her, "but sometimes things just aren't meant to be."

"It isn't fair."

Ron frowns. He knows that all too well. He hadn't been particularly fair to Lavender when he had been barely older than Rose is now. Lavender had moved on, and he knows that Rose will too. It hurts though; he knows it does.

"If a boy breaks your heart, it's okay to cry," he tells her. "It's also okay to put a hex on him."

"Mum says that I'm responsible for my own behavior," Rose sighs. "Someone breaking my heart isn't enough to justify revenge."

Ron snorts and shakes his head. "Your mother attacked me with birds because I hurt her, and we weren't even dating at the time."

Rose's jaw drops. She stares at Ron, as though she's trying to decide if he's joking or not. Seeming to believe him, she shakes her head. "I have so many hexes to choose from when school starts back."

Ron affectionately ruffles his daughter's hair. "I know it gets bad," he says, "but it always gets better, okay?" He climbs to his feet and holds out his hand. "Come on. I've got a carton of ice cream waiting for you."

"Butter pecan?" she asks, accepting his hand and pulling herself up.

Ron laughs. "Of course, butter pecan," he says, wrapping an arm around her and leading her inside.

As they sit together, enjoying ice cream for lunch, Rose talks about the hexes she might use on Jacob in September. Ron is proud that she's trying to move forward, but he is definitely grateful that Hermione isn't around to hear her plotting.

Somehow, he has the feeling that she won't be too thrilled to see that the apple didn't fall from the tree.