"Hermione, is there something wrong?" Rob asked beside her in the bed. Hermione didn't move, she just kept her eyes on her book. "Hermione?"

"Huh?" Hermione jerked her head towards his.

"Are you alright?" Rob asked again.

"I'm fine." Hermione mumbled. "Why do you ask?"

"You've only stayed on that page for the past, I don't know, ten minutes. Normally you can read a whole book in ten minutes." Rob laughed half-heartedly.

Hermione managed to smile. "I'm sorry, I've just been thinking a lot about...the friends that I've finally caught up with. I told you that I bumped into an old friend the other day in London, right?"

"Yeah. You never told me who, though."

"Harry Potter."

Rob gaped. "Harry Potter?"

"Yes, Harry Potter. Why is that such a big deal?"

"You were friends with Harry Potter."

"Correction, I still am friends with Harry Potter." Hermione said, now flipping a page of her book.

"Bloody hell." Rob muttered. "Why are you friends with him?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione put down her book and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't mean it like that. I didn't mean it like that." Rob quickly said.

"Sure sounded like you did. What's so wrong with him?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing." Rob sighed. "Nothing at all."

"I'm going to sleep."

"Alright." It was quiet as Rob sat there in bed, doing absolutely nothing, while Hermione rolled over, the covers up to her chin. "Hermione?"

"What?"

"Can you shut out the light? I'm too lazy to get up."

"Fine." Hermione grabbed her wand off of the nightstand. "Intercludo Light." She mumbled, pointing her wand at the light over the bed.

"Thank you."

Pound. Pound. Pound. Ginny tried to ignore the heavy knocking at the front door but it was really starting to get on her nerves. Who would be that insistent, in coming into her house, at...1:30 in the morning? Harry was still fast asleep it seemed, or so Ginny thought, until he said, "I'll go get it." He grabbed his wand off of the nightstand and stuck it inside his boxer pockets. Ginny grabbed her wand just incase.

Harry looked through the peep hole first to see who it was. He opened the door slowly, to see Ron standing there, nervously stepping from foot to foot. He looked quite sober again; He wasn't pouting and his eyes were blank looking, and to put it simply, he looked quite exhausted. Harry motioned for him to come inside.

"Better now?" He asked Ron, once they were in the kitchen. He pushed a mug of coffee towards him, but Ron didn't take it.

"Yes." He said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't do it again." Harry said sternly. "You scared the crap out of us. It hasn't gotten that bad before."

"That's because she's never been here when it's happened." Ron said.

Harry turned to look at him. "You're blaming it on Hermione."

"I know. It's her fault, technically, but it's mostly mine. If she hadn't left, I wouldn't have become a…you know. But then again, it was my choice to pick up that bottle of intense alcohol and shove it down my throat, and never stop until finally I didn't think she would come back. But she did come back. And for some unknown reason, I drank a few glasses of beer.

It cleared my mind. The bartender kicked me out cause I was 'drinking too much' according to him. He was right. Then I remembered that I had to go to your house for dinner. So as you know, I came over here. And I made a mess. I screwed up. I yelled at her. I told her, didn't I…I told her…" Ron put his face in his hands and ran his hands through his hair.

"You told her the exact opposite of something she's wanted to hear for the past fifteen years." Harry said.

"I know! I screwed up so bad. I left, just like you told me to, without even apologizing-,"

"You were drunk, Ron, you didn't know how to apologize."

"Still doesn't make things right. I went home. Lavender was awake, she asked where'd I been, and I told her. We argued for a long time. It was the last time, because she wants a divorce, Harry. She wants out." Ron barely could say the last few words. Harry brought Ginny down so Ron could tell her. She hugged her brother tight, and soon, dawn approached.

Just as Ginny was making Ron a bed in the guest room, an owl pecked on the window until it opened. She flew inside and onto the bedpost, where she held up her leg with a letter attached to it. "You're too smart." Ginny sighed. She opened the envelope and began to read the letter.

Dear Ginny,

AS you probably know, my future ex husband and I are getting a divorce. This is such terrible timing, I know, as you and Harry have a wedding planned soon, and Ron and I are supposed to be walking down the aisle together as a bridesmaid and grooms men, or whatever they're called. The point is that I want nothing to do with Ron after, well, starting now, which will mean I won't be going to the wedding with him. Sorry for the trouble.

Sincerely,

Lavender Brown

P.s. Marriage sucks, and I think you're making a mistake.

Ginny, horrified, read the letter over and over. The wedding was only in a few months, what was she supposed to do? She had run out of friends to pick for bridesmaids! She ran downstairs to where Harry and Ron were.

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY, YOU GIT!" Ginny shouted, pushing her brother, making him fall off of his chair.

"What did I do now?" Ron asked.

"Lavender owled me, said she will not be attending the wedding, because YOU'RE going to be there."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. "So?" Ron asked.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?"

"You should be happy she's not going. She would've tried to steal the spotlight from you. She's always been such a drama queen, she probably would want all the attention her, even if it was your wedding day." Ron said reasonably.

"I WOULD RATHER HAVE THAT INSTEAD OF MORE GROOMSMEN THAN BRIDESMAIDS!" Ginny shouted.

"Well it's not my bloody fault she backed out. She's the one who wanted the divorce."

Ginny let out a wail and dramatically fell onto the couch. "Why can't I just get married and live to tell about it? WHY?"

"Sweetie, this will all get worked out. I'm sure you have a replacement bridesmaid. You have a ton of friends. What about that one from the office? That Lucy girl?" Harry said soothingly, but Ginny didn't cool down.

"That's a man, actually."

"Oh. Uh, what about Siren?"

"She screams and pouts too much."

"Kate?"

"Ha! As if I'd ever let her be one of my bridesmaids, let alone invite her to my wedding."

"Well there has to be more people, I'm sure." Ron said.

"Like who?" All three sat in silence, thinking to themselves. Ginny squeaked. "I'VE GOT IT!" She cast a suspicious glance at Harry and Ron, then suddenly darted up the stairs.

"I'm scared, Ron." Harry said.

"Trust me, mate. If you think that was scary, just wait until she's pregnant." Ron patted Harry on the shoulder.

"I don't know, Ginny. He sounded like he meant what he said last night." Hermione said, opposite Ginny in a restaurant Ginny had floo'd them to for lunch. When Ginny had told Hermione that Lavender was divorcing Ron, she thought she had seen a bit of a smile from Hermione, but Hermione quickly composed herself to say, "Oh, really? Well that's interesting."

"He didn't, I swear." Ginny now said. "And even if he did mean it, you two wouldn't have to do much. Just walk next to each other, pose next to each other in the pictures, and dance together. That's all, that's it, then you can go back to hating each other."

"I don't hate him. I could never hate him. If there's anybody who hates anybody, he hates me."

"Stop saying that! I've told you a million times, he doesn't hate you! He was drunk, people say things they don't mean when they're drunk."

"I don't believe you."

"Well if you don't believe me, then maybe you should just see it for yourself." Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her back to the fireplace. The two were back in Ginny's living room in an instant. "He's here, and you two are going to talk, because you need to do this for me, and get this cleared up."

Hermione groaned, while Ginny pulled her to the kitchen. "Ginny, I don't want-,"

The boys stopped their talking and looked to the girls in the kitchen doorway.

"Well you're sure home early." Harry said half-heartedly, trying to ease the tension that was building up in the room. Ron wouldn't stop staring at his coffee, and Hermione awkwardly stared at Harry.

"They need to talk." Ginny said bluntly. "Come on." She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him out of the room, leaving Hermione and Ron alone.

"Hermione, I'm sorry."

"Are you sure you actually mean it?" Hermione asked.

Ron sighed exasperatedly. "Yes. I really do. I didn't mean anything I said last night. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I've never hated you, I could never hate you. And...I'm sorry that you had to find out that I became a...a drunk, after you left. It was such a shock, though, that I had to have something to help me get through it."

Hermione stared at him, not smiling, not frowning, just staring. "I forgive you."

They both said nothing. Harry and Ginny came back into the room.

"Well it's good to know you guys haven't bitten each others heads off." Ginny said brightly.

"Yet." Hermione said and clamped her hand over her mouth after saying it.

Ron gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean 'yet'?"

"Well..." Hermione started in her usual Hermione-Knows-All voice. "You know how we're going to be at this wedding, together, don't you?" Ron nodded. "Well...we're going to have to dance. And I remember the last time I saw you dance, Ronald, and it wasn't very pretty. If you step on my foot, just one time, I'll bite your head off." She smirked.

Ron rolled his eyes, smiling, while Harry and Ginny laughed, relieved.

"Well actually, you won't have to worry about him stepping on your feet, Hermione, because DANCE LESSONS start on Wednesday!" Ginny said cheerily. Harry half-groaned, while Ron completely groaned.

"Oh come on, stop being such babies. It's just dancing. It's easy." Hermione said, shrugging.

But a week later, Hermione found that doing the right steps, keeping the rhythm, and "feeling the music" was quite hard to do at the same time. Even Ron was better than her, which was terribly disappointing to her. She had never been beaten by Ronald Weasley in something before.

"You must dance with emotion- you must feel!" The dance instructor, Lane, said on a Saturday afternoon, when Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron, were all dancing to the choreography set for the Brides and Groom's court. "You must feel the music like you feel fruits in the grocery store! You do not want the bruised ones! You want the ripe, fresh ones! Yes, that is what I want! I want more of THAT!" Lane pointed to Ron, who was easily leading Hermione around while doing the waltz. "Box turn, my dear, box turn! NO, NO, NO!" Lane stopped the music and rounded on Hermione. "You are a bruised banana!"

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, appalled.

"BA-NA-NA. You dance like one! Here he is, this gentleman," Lane said, referring to Ron in a way that made him seem like a god, "And here you are, a banana. BANANA'S DO NOT DANCE WITH GENTLEMEN! Ladies dance with gentlemen. YOU must be a LADY!" She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. "We must take five, I am getting headache." She said in her pure spanish accent. Hermione, frustrated, crossed her arms over her chest and walked out of the room. What she didn't expect to find (or who, rather), was Rob, sitting there in a chair in the waiting area.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. She pushed away the annoyed tone in her voice. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I got the day off, so I thought I would come see you dance. Is that alright?"

"Oh, god, Rob." Hermione put a hand over her eyes. She sat down next to him and chugged some water. "I'm terrible at this, I don't want you to see me stumbling all over the place."

"I'm sure you're better than your partner. You're better than most people at mostly everything."

"I'm actually a pretty good dancer, thank you." Ron said from the doorway.

Hermione looked between Ron and Rob. Well this is awkward, she thought. The two men were staring at each other, one with slightly narrowed eyes, and the other with suspicious eyes.

"You're Ron Weasley." Rob said.

"Yeah, and you are?" Ron asked, even though he knew who this was. The way he was positioned next to Hermione told him who this was. Ron had the sudden urge to go over and punch Rob, then snog Hermione.

"Rob Artemis, I'm Hermione's fiancé." Rob said. Neither of the men extended out a hand for a warm handshake, but instead decided to stare at each other intensely.

"Hermione, break is over." Harry came out of the room this time, along with Ginny. He looked curiously at Rob. "Hi."

"Hey." Rob said. "You're Harry Potter, I assume." Hermione wondered how Rob knew that- after Harry had defeated Voldemort, his famous trademark scar had faded dramatically. Unless you were up close to Harry, the scar was barely visible. The memory of what happened the other night- talking about who Hermione had run into, in London- came back to her, and she looked at Rob to see how he was surveying Harry. He looked the same, except his blue eyes were scanning Harry over. He stopped and Hermione didn't want to see it, but almost saw a bit of disgust go over his face.

"Yes, and you're..." Harry saw how close this man was sitting next to Hermione and looked him up and down. "You must be Rob."

"Oh, yeah, so Hermione told you about me." Rob said confidently.

Harry nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. You're her plumber, right?" He laughed at his own joke, and Hermione laughed a little nervously. Rob laughed a few seconds after the joke was made.

"Most plumbers don't marry their customer." Rob tried to joke back, but didn't get such a warm laugh from Harry. Hermione giggled a fake-giggle. The laughter died down in sighs.

"Okay, well, we have to get back to dancing." Ginny, who hadn't said anything at all, finally spoke up. Her voice wasn't directed towards Rob- in fact, she had ignored him the whole time they were standing there, talking.

"Nice meeting you, Rob." Harry said. "See you later." Ron nodded to Rob before disappearing back into the room. Harry and Ginny followed.

"I have to get back in there. I need a lot of work for the wedding." Hermione said, getting up. "I'll see you at the house?"

"Yeah, I'll pick you up at eight?" Rob asked, also getting up.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Hermione nodded. She looked sideways into the room and saw Ron looking at her and Rob.

"Alright, so I'll see you then." Rob said. He hugged Hermione, and kissed her longer than he normally would in public. Hermione wondered why this was, but didn't worry about it.

"See you." Hermione said, and she walked back into the dance room to begin stumbling over her feet again.