CHAPTER FOUR

That last week, we hardly saw Ron. We were too busy packing, saying goodbye to her muggle friends. Ron was still being a prat about the entire thing and in more than one occasion have told me to "piss off" for letting her go easily. Not like he has tried to stop her. But a couple of days before Hermione left, they had quite a breakthrough while we were upending her room sorting what to pack and what to keep in England at the place her parents left her.

I was helping Hermione move some of her stuff in moving boxes when Ron knocked at her door. Now, Hermione her hair caught up in a messy bun and looking quite annoyed at the distraction strode off to the door and opened it with her hands on her waist. "Come to tell me I'm grounded Ronald?"

Ron was looking at his feet and immediately thrust an ethnic oriented blanket at Hermione, "Here. Take it! Before I change my mind and use it to tie you so that you'd miss your flight."

"Wouldn't work anyhow because I could apparate there." Hermione takes the blanket and then just when I thought she'd be slamming the door on Ron, she launches herself onto him. "Oh Ron! It's so good to be talking to you again. You don't know how much the conversations have turned too serious. See?! You know how much you've been missed when I find things too serious even for me."

I stopped in the middle of folding some of Hermione's clothing, "Hey! I heard that. I'm actually in the room, you know."

Hermione detaches herself from Ron who has just stood there not saying a word and turns around to me, laughter in her voice "Harry, you know I love you right? But not being right with any of you feels like going on vacation and knowing that you've forgotten to pack a toothbrush or knickers."

Sometimes, I don't just understand what Hermione wants to say and I guess it showed on my face because the next thing I know she was there beside me and giving me a bone-crushing hug as well. I give her a one-handed hug and it struck me that this may very well be the last time in a long time that I'd be able to do that. Yeah, she will come back but then 5 years would have passed and that length of time can do so much. It would hurt too much to know that she'll be different. I'll be different and before you know it, we'd be two strangers wondering why we stuck together for so long. Then she moves away and I felt suddenly cold. I watch Ron enter the room and I was surprised to be envious of what they had. Sure they may have broken up and both have moved on but he is after all Hermione's first love and such ties can never be broken. Or fade away. I was just the other guy who nearly got herself killed. Not exactly happy memories are associated with me.

"Hey Ron, why don't you help us pack here." More of a statement than an invitation, Hermione drags him in and then she sits cross-legged on the floor, leafing through Krum's old letters. What on earth possessed her to keep them, I'm not entirely sure. Though I haven't read any of them, I'm sure the spelling and grammar would be atrocious, judging from how he speaks or rather how he grunts through entire conversations. Nevertheless, I see Hermione pore over them with an expression on her face that's almost wistful, happy and something else unnamed and it was at that point I wished with all my heart that she read through my letters the same way. I shake my head and try to bring myself back to what was currently going on.

Up until the last time he spoke, Ron was strangely quiet. He sidled up to where I was and started wrapping some of Hermione's figurine collection in old newspapers.

I nod my head in greeting, "Nice to see you come around mate. Took you long enough."

Ron mutters a hasty "Well, yeah" under his breath and then blurts out, "Hermione Granger, marry me."

My breath catches in my throat and there was a strange clenching in my chest I was unfamiliar with. For awhile I thought that Ron was off his rockers. Apparently, so did Hermione. It was a good thing she was already sitting on the floor or else we'd probably be picking her up off of it. "WHAT?! Ronald Weasely! Please tell me that you've just asked me to carry you and not some other verb that rhymes with that."

Ron then starts wringing his arms about like a madman and for a minute there I was absolutely certain that he must have fallen from his broom on his head one too many times because this was just too pathetically idiotic even for a Weasely. Then he crosses the room to where Hermione was sitting and drops on his knees which is where Hermione jumps up as if an electric shock ran through her body. Ron was trying to catch Hermione's arm which she was waving about while her mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"Hermione, I would be honored if you..."

"No, no, no, no. This can't be happening." She cuts him off and starts walking towards me. "Ron, are you out of your mind?! There are so many reasons why this is so ...so...awful!!! For starters, there's Luna. Remember her? You love her. You can't live without her. For goodness' sake, you proposed to marry her not nearly 2 weeks ago."

"She'll understand, 'Mione." But for the fact that Ron's eyes are still clear did I believe that he was doing this out of his own free will and not under some strong albeit very stupid spell. Not exactly a very comforting thought because then I don't understand why he is doing it and I couldn't smack him on the head with a convenient reason that I was trying to knock some sense into him because in Ron's world this probably made a lot of sense.

Suddenly realizing that I was in the room as well. She rounded on me and said quite menacingly, "Harry James Potter, I hope for your sake that you've had had no hand in planning this little shenanigan."

Unable to say a word, I stood there and shrugged like a badly-performing mime. She turns her attention back to Ron and started to pace nervously around the room.

"Ron, I'm quite flattered really but I think that is a vile and horrid idea. Marrying you would be like marrying my brother and that would be a disgusting practice. I believe people in my world have a word for it and that would be INCEST. Get it? Wait, Ron is this some scheme so you could get me to stay?" At this she narrows her eyes at Ron.

I've always known that Hermione was the brightest witch of our age and I knew that she could see through every hare-brained idea we've had. So as she said that, something clicked and I knew that the jig was up. Ron, in humiliation, then got up and sheepishly nodded yes.

She broke into a grin and then started to pummel him with her pillow. "Ron you nitwit! Next time leave such devious schemes to me or Harry."

Grudgingly, Ron explains, "It was worth a try. Seeing that Harry," glaring at me as he continues, "the bloke doesn't have any plans to stop you at all." Catching Hermione's arm and pulling her closer for a hug.

I shake my head at this utterly inane and loopy confession, I couldn't help but say, "And you call THAT a plan?!"

Hermione was greatly relieved at this and took it with quite a good sense of humor. I don't think she would've accepted it that well if it were not a joke. "Only you would think that that would work. What would you have done if I said yes."

"I'd thank my lucky stars and make Luna my on-the-sly shag partner." Wriggling his eyebrows at the same time, giving him such a devilish look.

Hermione pushes him away as he ruffles her hair. "Ew, you sick perverted boy! Stop that. You know how long it took for me to brush them into submission. Now for your transgressions, you must help me pack."

And so we spent the better part of the afternoon packing and having a jolly good time. Although, I couldn't shake that strange nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. The entire afternoon, I kept a careful watch on Ron and Hermione. Not trusting them to not just up and elope for the heck of it. I'm their friend after all and I bet if he could get her knackered enough, she'd go along for the ride. Well not really but it helps me breathe easier.