Hermione and Ron were sitting on her couch, cuddling. Ron was twirling a piece of Hermione's hair around his finger, and they were sharing a bowl of ice cream.

A loud crack interrupted their moment, and they jumped. George appeared, then made a gagging sound and pretended to be disgusted while covering his eyes. Despite themselves, Ron and Hermione scooted a bit away from each other, and Ron put down the ice cream.

"Care to knock?" Ron asked his brother.

George ignored him. "I shouldn't have to see that!"

"Maybe if you didn't apparate right into people's living rooms, you wouldn't," Hermione told him. George just shrugged.

"Harry and Ginny don't act like that!" he accused with an air of a three-year-old. "I went to your house, first, Ron, but you weren't there, so I came here, and by then I was already too curious and couldn't bear to apparate onto the stoop. But... more importantly: isn't there something you should be telling me?" George looked them both straight in the eyes, as though trying to read them.

Hermione didn't miss a beat. "No. Nothing we should be telling you."

"So, you are saying that you are not, in fact, engaged?" George took a step back, satisfied at the look of surprise that crossed Hermione's face.

"How do you know?" she demanded. It didn't take long before she figured it out: Ron's ears were slowly turning pink. "Did you tell him?"

Ron looked down, ashamed of himself. "Um... no. I might've let it slip to Harry last week..."

Hermione rose one eyebrow. "Harry told you?" she asked George.

"Sure. You could say that," his eyes shifted.

"Ginny told you," Hermione finished.

"Yes."

She shrugged. "Everyone was going to find out sometime. Did Ginny seem upset?"

George looked thoughtful, and Ron looked happy that he was not going to be told off for spilling the beans.

"I couldn't say," George answered. "I must admit that I may have led her to telling me... and then I left before she could do anything about it. You know Ginny- I had to get out of there fast. Don't want to be on the wrong side of one of her hexes."

Hermione took a deep breath, looking at Ron. "Well, now we've got to tell your mum."

"Alright," he shrugged. "But George, if you value our lives, remember that you did not hear about this before mum. Pass on the message to Harry and Ginny- she'll just die if she's the last to know."

Finally placated, George nodded. "Ok. I've gotten my information- that's all I want. Except maybe a price for silence?"

Hermione threw a pillow at him, which he neatly dodged before apparating. She grunted. "He is so annoying!"

"Yes, but you love him," Ron said.

"I don't know about that..." she rolled her eyes.

Ginny went home, feeling guilty. She knew that by now, George had probably already bothered Ron and Hermione. She just hoped they weren't angry with her. She scribbled a quick apology to them and tied it to her owl's foot before throwing it out the window and sitting down on the couch, taking her head in her hands. Hopefully the owl would get to them before George, but she knew that was unlikely. The most she could hope for was that George wouldn't tell mum that she and Harry knew before everyone and didn't tell... her mum wouldn't be able to stand being the last to know.

But a few hours passed without disruption, and she enjoyed her alone time. It was one of the few and far between days without quidditch practice, and she passed it by taking a nap and reading a book with her feet propped up on the foot rest.

At around five, Harry came home and saw her curled up on the couch.

"You look comfy," he smiled at her. She stretched out and flexed her toes before looking up and smiling at him. She got up out of the chair and waited for Harry to sit down in it, before climbing onto his lap and nestling into his shoulder.

"I did something bad today..." she began.

"What did you do?" Harry smirked.

"I accidentally led George to the conclusion that Ron and Hermione are engaged. So now he knows and I bet he's already told them about it."

"That's not so bad. Everyone was going to find out already."

"Yes, but he's telling everyone you told him. I tried to stop him, but he disappeared!"

Harry hugged her close to him. "It's ok. That's what I'm here for."

Ginny laughed. "But you just wait. If George decided to be nice, he'll let Ron and Hermione tell mum themselves. If he wanted to be mean, he'll tell her, spoiling the excitement for them, and making her mad at us and Ron and Hermione. He'd better be nice. If he is, she'll be so excited."

No sooner had she said this than her owl sailed through the open window, followed by the family owl (Errol had unfortunately passed away, and a new owl had replaced him. The new owl was much steadier).

She opened Ron and Hermione's reply first. It was written in Ron's handwriting.

Hey, Ginny, Harry. It's no problem- he was bound to find out anyway. My fault for not telling mum first. But Hermione and I just told mum ourselves- she was really excited. I'm sure she'll want to talk to you- but we'll see you and Harry soon, ok? Love you. Hermione sends her love, too. -Ron

She smiled and passed the letter over to Harry, before breaking the seal on the letter coming from the Burrow. This one was written in her mum's handwriting.

Dear Harry and Ginny- There's some exciting news in the family. I'll let Hermione and Ron tell you first- Here, Ginny could see the handwriting shaking with excitement. She laughed to herself and rolled her eyes. But I hope you two can come for lunch on Sunday. Let me know- but you had better be there! Lots of love, mum.

After giving the note to Harry, she wrote a reply to her mother, letting her know that Hermione and Ron had 'just' told her the news, and that she was so excited for them (the latter part was true) and that, of course, she and Harry would be attending on Sunday.

She and Harry were laying in bed that night, and her mind was happily and drowsily reliving her day. Harry's arm was wrapped around her waist, and he was already asleep, his breathing low and even. Sometimes her family bothered her, but it was days like this that, despite all the drama, made everything worthwhile. It was just fun to see how everyone cared for each other and liked to push each other's buttons.

She fell asleep excited about lunch on Sunday.