Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Harry Potter. Harry Potter's universe and characters all belong to J. K. Rowling. I obviously don't make any profit from this story.

A/N: For this story's purpose (and for the sake of my heart) Fred is obviously still alive.

Ronald Weasley, despite being often seen as the insensitive, stupid baby brother of his family, asked himself a lot of questions.

When he was one, he asked himself where his mother's swollen belly had gone, and how it could have been replaced by a crying baby sister.

When he was five, he asked himself how his brothers Bill and Charlie could fly so high and fast on their brooms and hoped they would agree to teach him like they agreed to teach the twins.

When he was nine, he asked himself how he was supposed to act now that Fred and George were going to Hogwarts, leaving him behind with his baby sister.

When he was thirteen, he asked himself if his friends and himself would ever experience a normal school year without any death threats or weird adventure.

When he was seventeen, he asked himself if abandoning his friends in the middle of a war was the proof everyone needed to finally declare him a lost cause. He also asked himself if he would survive long enough to beg his friends for forgiveness.

Now twenty-one, he asked himself how he was supposed to find the strength to watch the love of his life getting married to another man.

He had faced a basilik, a werewolf, the return of Voldemort, death eaters, drove a flying car at twelve, flied on thestrals, robbed a bank and left riding a dragon, spent a year hunting horcruxes and went through a war. Surely he could do it, right?

So far, he had managed pretty well. He had made a smile almost convincing when she announced her engagement, showing the ring on her finger while her lover smiled by her side, and had hidden the sound of his heart breaking in his chest with a teasing remark that had her blushing. He had agreed to be groomsman and helped organised the bachelor's party, a muggle tradition the lucky groom wanted to include in his wedding in honor of his bride's parentage. He had bought robes in the colour chose by the bride and was now standing between George and Lee Jordan, waiting for the bride to come.

She was late and for a second, he hoped she wouldn't show up. Maybe she had changed her mind and didn't wanted to get married. Maybe he could go find her, let her cry on his shoulder and maybe, just maybe, he would finally have his chance. The sight of the fidgeting groom in his peripherical vision stopped all thoughts. She would come. She had spent hours telling him how happy she was to get married and how in love she was, there was no way she would change her mind.

Suddenly, the bridesmaids were descending the venue and there she was. Beautiful was not enough to describe her. She looked perfect, there was no other words for it. Her smile was brighter than ever and even the brown curl falling in front of her face couldn't tear her eyes from the man waiting for her at the altar. Only the gasp of the groom and the small laugh from George next to him reminded him to keep his mouth close and to breath. He wasn't the one she was joining at the altar; he would do him no good to imagine otherwise.

The wedding was sweet, full of smiles and cries from his mother. The party afterwards was as wild as expected from the couple and even Ron couldn't help but smile while watching the newlyweds looking lovingly at each other during their first dance. They were in their own little world, murmuring quietly and never unlocking their gazes. The music changed and they didn't seem to realise, only letting go of each other when Arthur came asking her for a dance.

Fred and Hermione. How these two even came to fall for each other, nobody would ever know. No one could have seen it coming and yet, no one could deny how perfect they worked together.

It had started with friendship, which hadn't surprised anyone. After the battle of Hogwarts, Fred had spent a long time in a coma, worrying his family. Hermione, who didn't have any family waiting for her anymore, had took it upon herself to help the Weasley. She helped repair the Burrow. She ensured Molly wasn't exhausting herself, helped Harry coming to term with the idea that he could live for himself now that the war was over, forced fed George who refused to leave his brother's side, convinced Ginny to go back to Hogwarts once the school would be repaired and even managed to bring Percy back home for dinner at least twice a week. So, when Fred woke up, it was only natural for her to look after him.

Being both part of the family and a stranger helped Fred to talk to her more honestly about his pain and worries than he would have with the other members of his family. Her bossiness allowed her to help him not giving up when he went through the painful process of learning to use his leg once again and her caring nature allowed him to cry his frustration on her shoulder. He would have started calling her his best friend at some point, if it wasn't for George already occupying this position. Because at the end of the day, when his friends were going back home to their families, she was still there to make him laugh with embarrassing stories of her school days. When his mother let her worry at the idea that her son would never use his leg and walk again show on her face, she was there to brag in an exaggerated manner about his latest progress, making herself look like the fool she was about Lockhart in her second year for the sake of humour. When he finally walked on his own, she was there to scream praises while his brother was attempting to squeeze the life out of him in a hug. And when he finally left the hospital and came back home, she was here to give him a sense of normality. While everyone was nagging him about his need to rest his leg and walking on eggshells when topics like quidditch or other activities he couldn't do anymore came up, she was reading on her spot on the couch, teasing him and asking him about future pranks for the shop.

All she gave, he returned. When she fell asleep on the couch and woke up screaming because of a nightmare, he held her and let her talk about it while unconsciously drawing patterns on her back with one hand. When she came back from an afternoon with Teddy and cried over the loss of his parents, he was there offering her tissues and his shoulder to cry on. When autumn came and she finally told everyone about what happened on the run, showing her left arm, he was there to contain his family's reactions and later tell her how proud he was of her and how her scar was a proof of her bravery. When she finally received her NEWT's results, having refused to go back to Hogwarts and deciding to take her exams at the ministry, he was the one who opened her letter and read her results, deciding to take her out with some friends to celebrate and making sure she made it home despite the fair amount of alcohol in her system. When, after a particularly depressing Christmas, she decided to go to Australia and see how her parents were doing Fred tagged along under the pretence of needing holidays despite the school break being the best time of the year for the shop.

Nobody knew what happened in Australia or even if something happened but when they came back, Hermione was finally moving on and not two weeks after, Fred asked her on a date.

When Ron and Harry received a letter in Auror training from Hermione telling them of many dates with Fred and officially being in a relationship with him, the red head had been mad. Sure, they had never talked about their kiss during the battle and never even talked about going on a date but still, they shared a kiss. After so many time pinning after her, it should have mean something, right? He didn't send any reply, unable to lie and scared Hermione would come herself to hex him if he sent a letter of insults. If she noticed, she didn't say anything and the next letter she sent was about this new job of her at the Ministry.

He had assumed this wouldn't last. Hermione was brave and caring but still so serious and bossy, while his brother was carefree and a bit insensitive at times. They weren't made for each other; he just knew it. They would break up by the time auror training was over. However, none of the letter he received talked about any breakup. It was alright. He just assumed she was ether too ashamed to talk about it or was so mad about it she didn't even want to talk about it.

Coming home with this assumption, he was chocked to see them not only together but very happy. He observed them for a while, during dinners at the burrow or in town when the youngest members of the Weasley clan decided to grab a drink and catch up. Fred was still Fred, pranking everyone on any occasion and acting exuberant everywhere he went, putting acts with his twin to make sure to be at the centre of the attention. Hermione was still Hermione, nagging everyone about self-care, talking about her career projects with passion and quietly reading on the couch after dinner with Ron and Harry playing chess at her feet. Fred was still Fred and Hermione was still Hermione, but they were also Fred and Hermione. Small things that Ron first disregarded were what made them fit so right together. There was none of the things Ron imagined when he pictured himself with Hermione, but these two genuinely cared about each other and showed it in their own way. It showed in the way Hermione would completely turn to face Fred when he talked, giving him her full attention, or in the way he would play with her hair while she read on the couch, careful to not disturb her when he talked with George or whoever it was that was sited next to him but still staying close to her. It was in the way he hugged her from behind when she was helping his mother in the kitchen and bothered her to have a bite of whatever it was she was cooking and in the way she rolled her eyes playfully at him, faking to refuse but still giving in every time. It was in the way he rushed to open doors for her and carried her bags, and in the way she made sure to cast a reducto at said bag to ensure one of his hands would be free to held her.

They were very much in love and just weirdly right. Still, Ron couldn't let go of his feelings for her. He wanted her to be happy, truly, but how wonderful would it be if it was with him?

"Are you alright?"

It was Harry, who had joined him in the corner from where he was observing the bride. Harry his best friend. Harry who was the only one to know about his feelings for the witch.

"Of course. Not like I didn't have months to prepare myself for this."

"Were you preparing yourself to stare at her all night from a dark corner?" his friends asked, laughter in his eyes. Maybe a bit of pity too.

"How funny," answered Ron with a roll of his eyes. "Don't you have a wife to annoy?"

"My lovely wife is a pregnant witch attending a wedding without being able to drink or dance for too long before getting exhausted. Don't know if you've heard, but she has a nasty temper too. You're safer to annoy."

"Lucky me."

"Honestly Ron, are you alright?"

Ron took a minute to pounder the question. He was obviously not. Tired, heartbroken and jealous, sure. Alright? Not so much.

And yet, he knew it was time to be. The first years he spent pining in his own immature and twisted way after his best friend were hard. The three years he spent pining after his best friend and brother's girlfriend and eventually fiancée were downright awful. He couldn't be pining after his sister-in-law. She was far too loyal to leave Fred or cheat on him and he was incapable of hurting his brother like this. He spent so much time resenting their relationship and her choice to be with his brother, but did he try to do something about it? He never confessed before or during the war and despite kissing her, he never confessed after ether. Wasn't it his own fault, then? How was she supposed to choose him if she wasn't aware that there was a choice to do? It was to late now. She was in love and married.

"I will be."

It was time to move on.