7:15 am rolled around like clockwork, with Hermione leaning over the trash can while Ron held her hair out of her face and gently rubbed her back. Finishing her morning misery as Hermione called it, she leaned back with her head against Ron's shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, love." Ron said with a grin before he kissed Hermione on the top of her head.

"Why?" She questioned sleepily as she curled into his lap.

"Watching you grow a person is just bloody incredible, and you're handing it all like the little know-it-all you are." Ron teased, tracing little designs up and down her spine.

Ron would have laid there forever, looking down at Hermione in her white oversized v-neck t-shirt and black lace underwear with her wavy hair in a disheveled bun and tendrils falling in her face. He did his best to take a mental picture of that moment… he never wanted to forget this feeling.

As the sunlight started peaking in through the windows, Hermione squirmed, sitting up and stretching in a way that reminded Ron of a cat.

Remembering his eventful plans for the day, he leaned in to kiss Hermione, but she quickly turned away from.

"I need to brush my teeth! Did you forget what I was doing half an hour ago?" She got up giggling, pulled her bathrobe on and headed to the bathroom. "You stay right there!" She demanded.

Walking back with minty fresh breath, Hermione dropped her robe and crawled back into Ron's bed, showing Ron a side of her that he hadn't seen since they found out she was pregnant. Straddling his lap, she leaned in for a kiss and was met with more than a semi innocent kiss. Ron seemed to dive in, missing the feeling of their mouths moving in rhythm together, with his tongue exploring her's.

Their breathing quickened as Ron rolled over and was now on top of Hermione. She smirked at him as he just looked down at her for a second. Biting her lip, she knew he was done for as he dove back down to kiss her.

With a creak of a floorboard, the couple froze, their faces just inches apart. Hermione stifled a giggle, waiting to hear a signal of where the person who wandered by ended up.

Hearing voices downstairs, the couple resumed their activities. Ron abandoned her lips and trailed kisses down her neck as little uncontrolled noises escaped her lips, egging him on. No longer holding his own weight up, she felt him grinding into her pelvis as he felt her tiny bump against him. Before he could even comment on her sexy little bump, Hermione hissed in pain.

Ron immediately pulled himself off with a terrified look written across his face. With her brows furrowed and eyes closed shut, Hermione slowly breathed in and out as she gripped the sheets looking for some release from the sharp pain in her abdomen.

The longest minute of their lives went by before she gently let the sheets go and fluttered her eyes open to see a gut wrenching look on Ron's face.

"I'm okay… you didn't cause it." Hermione whispered.

"Of course I did! I was laying on top of you and I must've hurt the baby!" Ron whisper shouted, clearly distraught.

"Shhhhhh… Ronald no. It's been happening every few days. Just gimme a few minutes and we can keep going?"

"Oh god no, we'll stop. Why didn't you tell me they were this bad?" Ron asked.

"I'm so sorry, I know we haven't been like this in a while," Hermione said as she started to cry.

"Love, why are you apologizing right now? This is all part of the deal here…" Ron trailed off. As the couple calmed down, Hermione rolled onto her side, clearly leaning in to resume making out.

.

"No, no, no… 'Mione there's no pressure! When it happens, it'll happen. We both know it's happened before or else we wouldn't be in this mess." Ron smirked, hoping to cheer her up. "But seriously, why didn't you tell me it was like this?"

Hermione rolled on her side, trying to get comfortable.

"I just figured I wouldn't scare you until I had to… and honestly I get pretty scared myself whenever it happens."

Ron grabbed her hand, holding it tight, "You tell me from here on out, yeah?"

Hermione nodded her head as she released his hands only to wrap his arms around her. The couple just laid there for a bit, tangled together in the double bed in Ron's childhood bedroom,trying to mentally prepare for whatever life was going to throw at them next.

Finally getting up, the pair got dressed for the day and made their way downstairs to find an impatient Harry and Ginny looking up at them.

"Oh bugger, um sorry we got a bit distracted …" Ron started, realizing how dirty it sounded and how dirty it almost was. "Let's grab a quick breakfast and then we'll all be on our ways?"

"On our way?" Hermione questioned, clearly out of the loop here.

Ginny groaned, "Of course Ronald forgot to fill you in… You and Harry are going by Luna's to help plan a little New Years Eve party and go over the whole money mess with them. And we," she said moving her gase to Ron, "are heading over to Gringotts since for some reason our accounts are together instead of separate."

Caught up, Hermione plopped down in a chair and started looking over what was available for breakfast. Deciding on a cherry pastry, she set it on her plate before asking Ron to go grab her the bottle of mustard.

"Accio mustard." He said with a smirk, knowing he was being a bit of a smart arse with that one.

"You know, I could have done that myself." Hermione rolled her eyes.

As the group finished up their breakfasts, the girls went up stairs to collect their bags before they left on their separate outings.

"Quick, Harry!" Ron whispered, "She had one of those sharp pain things this morning. Just watch her okay? Don't let her over do it. And thanks for this mate."

"Got it, I'll take care of her." Harry smiled, just excited to be part of his best friend's next steps together.

As Harry and Hermione left first, Ron and Ginny apparated to Diagon Alley.

"Our Gringotts accounts are okay right?" Ron questioned as Ginny looked at him stupidly.

"Of course!" she laughed, "We just needed an excuse to get past Hermione."

The pair made their way to Madame Opal's Enchanted Jewelry Shoppe as Ron was ready to spend the first piece of his newfound fortune.

"So we've already rented out the Leaky Cauldron and I have some candles to keep the nargles away. But we need to decide on food,guests and decorations…" Luna trailed off, losing interest in planning beyond protection from the nargles.

"I got a Leaky Cauldron menu? Let's just pick some things out from there since we'll already be there!" Neville passed a copy to Hermione, knowing she would be the person making the decisions.

Scanning the parchment, Hermione selected several of the appetizers and desserts, confirming there would also be an open bar.

"Neville, you take this over to the Leaky Cauldron and let them know what we're thinking for tomorrow night. Luna and I will plan for the decorations! And Harry, can you start on the guest list?"

As the group got to work, Harry scanned the guest list making sure the group was only close friends. Since the war, the Daily Prophet was all over the teenagers - questioning how they destroyed horcruxes and started a revolution from inside the castle. Anyone from Dumbledore's Army wouldn't dare give an interview… but Harry was unsure what an outsider would do to get their hands on fifteen minutes of fame.

Almost ready to approve the list, one name caught his eye. "Hermione, erm… Are we inviting Lavender Brown? I heard she was released from the hospital at the beginning of the month." Harry said, remembering the state she was in after Greybeck almost killed her.

Hermione took a breath. Ron was hers after all. But would they be telling the group about the pregnancy? Would it be too mean to invite her? Or would it be worse to simply ignore her?

"Sure. She fought with the rest of us. She deserves to be there." Hermione finished,all eyes on her.

Harry was clearly questioning the decision, knowing the surprise that would occur at the party. But never-the-less, Harry finished writing out the invitations and sent them off with Luna's owl.

"Hello Darling! Looking for anything in particular?" the older but stylish witch asked when she noticed an uncomfortable looking Ron and Ginny.

"Yeah, um… I'm proposing to my girlfriend… And well I need a ring." Ron finished, feeling suddenly shy.

"And I'm this git's sister and his girlfriend's best friend." Ginny added. "She's a muggle born, so maybe we start with something that isn't too enchanted?"

Looking down at a ring with floating stones, Ron knew exactly what Ginny was talking about

"Of course, of course! Follow me." The witch seemed to float across the glamorous room leading the siblings to a case of rings.

"Now these rings are not enchanted, yet," she looked at them with a smirk. "They are made with dragon crystal, diamonds, leprechaun gold… only the best! And we can enchant them to whatever you would like. They can sparkle, glitter, shimmer, never get lost, and even tell the person wearing it a message."

Ron looked amazed by all of the capabilities, and for the first time in his life, he wasn't worrying about how much something would cost. He was just trying to find the perfect ring for Hermione. After scanning the selection for a few minutes, Ginny broke the silence.

"There!" Ginny pointed, looking at an antique looking ring.

"Good choice there. This was a vintage ring that I redesigned with more luxurious stones," the witch described as she flicked her wand to bring the ring out from behind the protective case. "It was in the Bagshot family for years before being sold in an estate sale years ago... "

"You mean Bathilda Bagshot's family?!" Ron questioned.

"Yes of course dear!"

"Bloody brilliant," Ron said , completely awestruck. "She wrote Hermione's favorite book… it's absolutely perfect."

"Well take a better look at it!" the witch said, handing the redhead the ring. "The center is a muggle diamond surrounded by perfectly cut pieces of dragon crystal, and the band is forged platinum so it will never scratch."

Ron was amazed by the flower-like design looking so dainty in his hand. Not too big where Hermione would think it was tawdry, but not too small either.

"Well, I guess my work here is done!" Ginny proclaimed, clearly proud of herself for finding the perfect ring.

"Now what enchantments are we thinking about?" the witch asked. "I think the light would catch it perfectly with a little extra sparkle… Or maybe a shimmer so it catches your eye but doesn't blind you."

"Yeah… that'd be perfect. What about the message enchantment you mentioned?" Ron questioned.

"Oh yes! There's a variety of different charms… If she taps it with her wand she can hear your voice, see where you are, or it can even vibrate a bit to let her know if you're in trouble. If you get your wedding band here, I can do the same for you."

Ron thought for a minute, realizing how useful this could be considering the couple's history. "How about with a tap of the wand she can see me? And the vibrate thing… I think she'd like that."

"Perfect! I'll also put the sizer charm on it. When she accepts the proposal and you go to put the ring on her, it will adjust to fit her finger. It eliminates the guesswork as to her ring size." The witch said with a smile.

As she packaged up the ring, Ron prepared to write a massive check.

"What do I owe you?"

"I know who you are… consider it a gift." The witch said with a grateful smile.

"No, I can't let you do that. I have money, I don't need charity." Ron proclaimed firmly, seeming embarrassed that the witch thought he couldn't afford to propose to his girlfriend properly.

"Dear, I'm sure you can. But I know what you both did for us all… and that ring has been here for ages! It's good to see it finally going to the perfect home. Please take it. I lost my husband in the first war… I know how important love is, especially after times like that."

"Well… thank you. Really."

What a fluffy chapter! I haven't exactly decided how much smut will be in this story, so if you have an opinion on the matter, please let me know! I think it will come in time? In general, I loved writing about the ring! I hope you loved the ring's origin as much as I did... I felt like it represented the couple really well.

I hope you're enjoying the story and thank you for the reviews! I saw two more this morning and they both made my heart melt just a little bit.

xo,

J