6 o'clock the next morning, Harry Potter was awake and doing his normal morning workout routine. Over the past few days, Harry hadn't had a chance to workout. Because of this, Harry was rather stiff and sore by the end of the workout when Ron stepped into the weight room to finish up his own workout.
Ron had begun to workout with Harry during the second half of their 6th year after he got out of the hospital wing thanks to poisoned Meade. It began as a way to get away from Lavender, but Ron soon learned that not only did he feel better, but Hermione had mentioned to Ginny that she liked what she had seen under his robes when she had the chance.
"Good morning Harry. Where is your better half?" Ron smirked as he jumped onto the overhead bar to do his routine pull-ups.
"Well Ron, if you must know, my wife is lying in bed exhausted from an entire night of wild hot sex. You know, Ginny has been doing yoga for a few years with Hermione and she has really become flexible."
The look on Ron's face was priceless. Harry held his straight face for as long as he could before he dropped to the floor and started to laugh his head off. Ron fell to the floor stunned before he too started to laugh.
"No we didn't shag Ron. We've been so busy over the last few days that we were exhausted and literally fell asleep the moment our heads the pillow."
Ron just smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I know that feeling. It seems that the world has not stopped spinning since we left Hogwarts. I held Hermione last night as she fell asleep. It was the first time that we actually were able to spend time together."
"I know. Hey that reminds me, I have something I want to talk to you about. After we deal with the ministry; I'm planning on moving the entire family to Potter Manor. I am going to give you and Hermione the second master suite on the top floor. You, Hermione, and of course Ginny are my family and I want us to live together. I've spoken to Ginny about it, and she completely agrees with me. The only catch is you have to propose to her before you both try to sleep in the same bed. The Manor's magic will not allow any hanky panky going on."
Ron's face fell when heard this. He thought the idea of living with Harry and Ginny in a large house was great. The problem was that Hermione would never say yes to his proposal. Ron vented his frustration towards his best friend.
"Damn Harry. How in the hell am I supposed to propose to her? I'm broke, have no job, and I'm nowhere smart enough for—"
That was the last straw for Harry, in an instant, summoned Ron to him and flamed them both to the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts. Harry quickly conjured a couple of chairs for them and pushed Ron into one. The moment Ron was in the chair, the sticking charm that Harry placed on it activated, guaranteeing that Ron was not going to go anywhere.
After sitting down in a couple of chairs, Harry spoke up. "Ok Ron, here is what we are going to do. First off, you need to get your low self esteem ass out of the pit of depression that you are currently in. Hermione loves you, and I know for a fact that you love Hermione more than anything else in the world; that includes the Chuddly Canons and Quidditch in general.
"Now, you are worried about being broke. I get that, believe it or not, I do understand. Until Hagrid brought me to Diagon Alley, I never had any money for myself.
"When I discovered how rich I am, I made plans for the future. Ginny knows only a small part of what I am about to tell you, so you had better keep it to yourself. Ron, you know the past the people who are members of the Order of the Phoenix were not paid very well, even at all.
"Before Albus…took his short vacation…he started the process of legitimizing the Order as an official organization with the ICW. Well, Ginny and I learned about this in some of the paperwork Mackrack had given us when we were at Gringotts. As we were leaving, Mackrack gave us a Goblin Time Turner and we went back twenty four hours and did a number of things.
"The two biggest things, in regards to the Order, that we did was that we arranged for Vault 713 to be used for all Order of the Phoenix business expenses and also to finish the paperwork to make the Order of the Phoenix an official organization with the ICW.
"Our charter states that our job is to identify, locate, and detain any witch or wizard who is a threat against the wizarding world by any means necessary under the terms of the ICW policy of the general use of force.
"Ron, we can now legally operate outside of Ministry control to deal with Voldemort, Death Eaters, and any other dark threat that the Ministry cannot, or will not, take care of.
"Because of this status, any order member who completes certain trainings and certification exams will be given ICW Law Enforcement Badges. Ron that means that we will be Aurors for the ICW and fight evil not just in England, but around the world as needed.
"Imagine no more red tape. If a Death Eater flees to Romania, we can go there, deal with him and return home without worrying about being threatened by various ministries. It makes things so much easier.
"Also, every member of the Order is now being paid for their work. Each member is paid a flat rate, providing they are active, for their services. You and the rest of the committee are paid a higher wage since I consider all of you to be leaders of the Order.
"So you see Ron, you are gainfully employed and will continue to be employed for as long as there is evil in the world. Even after Tom is gone, the Order will continue to work to better the world and I want you working with me to achieve it.
"Think about Ron; a world where mad men do not wipe out entire families just because their blood isn't 'pure' or because they believe that everyone is equal. That is the world I want for our children, Ron. Do you want it too?"
"Of course I do Harry. I want all of that and more. I want to be able to hold Hermione tightly and watch our children play in the world and on broomsticks. But the fact of the matter is that even with a job, I can't propose to Hermione because I don't have a ring and I haven't spoken to her parents about us yet. I don't even know where they are."
Harry smiled at his brother and best friend. 'He is losing his reasons not to do, slowly but surely.'
"Well Ron, I do believe I can help you in regards to both of these problems." Harry waved his hand in an intricate pattern in front of him and a small portal opened. Harry reached into the portal and removed a small velvet box, which he handed to Ron.
"As I already told you, Ginny and I used a time turner a couple of days ago and took care of a lot of different things. One of the things I did was to meet with Dan and Emily Granger. As you may not remember, I placed the Granger and Tonks families under my care and protection as well as the Houses of Weasley, Lupin, Longbottom and Lovegood after the Death Eaters attacked the Burrow. Now, because the Grangers are now under my protection, I convinced them to move to my flat in Muggle London for the time being. Their dental office, home, and my flat have new wards placed around them. Mackrack was also nice enough to deploy a squadron of Goblins and six of his human security people to provide close perimeter protection for them.
"After convincing them of the need to move, and enjoy to my flat, we discussed a number of things. Their place in the world, our places in the world really, sports, politics, magic, and finally we discussed you and Hermione. Dan asked me when in the hell you were going to propose to his little girl.
"Evidently Miss Granger has been known to doodle certain phrases for years. I believe some of them were I love Ron Weasley, Mrs. Hermione Jane Weasley, Mrs. Ronald Weasley, Ron & Hermione forever are just a few of her doodles. According to Emily, Hermione started drawing them after our 1st year of Hogwarts. When Emily asked her daughter about this Ronald Weasley, she said, and I quote, 'He is the bravest man I have ever met. He is so self-sacrificing, and caring. He let a huge chess piece almost kill him so that our friend Harry could be a hero and the day. Our mum, I love him so much! I just wish he knew I was a girl.'
"Now you know how long Hermione has loved you and if I were to guess, it was then that you fell in love with Hermione too. Only if you hadn't been so thick headed…"
Ron was blushing scarlet now, but he mumbled, "When I woke in the hospital wing, the first thing I saw was an Angel. She had bushy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes and I knew that if I could, I would live in those pools of chocolate forever. When I realized it was Hermione…I was scared. If I only knew that what I felt was love, so many things would have changed."
Harry looked at his watch and realized he needed to finish up this chat, he pushed on. "Now, as Lord Gryffindor, Hermione is under my direct protection, as per the ancient laws, because of this, I have a vested interest in Hermione's life. This includes her school life, and personal life which includes whom she dates, who she will marry, etc.
"Now, as Hermione's brother, since the Grangers have told me point blank that Hermione considers me the brother she never had, my duties and responsibilities are to make sure that she is happy, safe, and well cared for."
At this point Ron was very nervous. He knew he wasn't good enough for Hermione and Harry was using his right as Lord Gryffindor to make sure it didn't happen. Ron just sat there and stared at his friend.
"Thank god that you and Hermione are perfect for each other." Ron looked up at his friend in shock. "In fact, Dan and Emily agreed. They thought that I might have liked Hermione, and wanted me to step aside for the better man.
"When I told them that I loved Hermione like a sister, they charged me to do something for them." Harry took back the velvet box from Ron and opened it so that Ron could see the contents. "These rings belonged to Dan's grandparents, Hermione Great-Grandparents. In their will, they said that these rings should be given to the first Magical Granger in the family in generations.
"You see, the Grangers are not true muggles. The Grangers are descended from a long line of squibs descending from Rowena Ravenclaw. George and Georgina, Hermione Great-Grandparents, were wizards. They weren't very powerful, in fact they were barely above squibs in regards to power, but they had some powerful friends.
"Their friends made these rings and enchanted them so that when a witch and wizard wore them, they would be able to find their mate regardless of distance, magical concealments, or anything. They also would provide some level of protection to wearer."
Ron looked at the rings and shook his head. These 4 rings were absolutely gorgeous. The engagement rings were simple gold bands; the woman's had a small diamond set in a setting of rubies. Both rings held the same inscription, 'Two Rings to Bind Our Love.'
The wedding bands were of a similar design. The man's rings was gold and held a single sapphire stone while the woman's ring was also gold with a larger diamond set against small rubies and sapphires.
Harry gave Ron a few minutes before he called Ron back to reality.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley. What are your intentions towards Hermione Jane Granger, who is under my protection?"
Ron knew what Harry was doing. Harry was making sure that no one could interfere with this union. Not the Ministry, not his mum or dad, not anyone. Ron dropped to one knee and spoke in a formal tone, "Lord Gryffindor, I intend to ask Hermione Jane Granger to make me the happiest man in the world by becoming my wife."
Harry smiled at his friend, this was very good, but it was going to get even better. Harry rose from his chair and summoned his sword from nowhere. When he touched it, his clothing changed into his formal robes. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, I, Harry James Potter, Lord Gryffindor and Head of the Noble Houses of Potter, Gryffindor, Black, Flamel, Azkaban, and Slytherin, do hereby grant your request and give it my blessing. May you find true happiness."
As Harry finished, Ron's aura flared for a moment. When it was over, Ron was wearing a new pair of dress robes. They were black with red and gold trim, over his heart was the Weasley Family Crest, underneath that crest the Gryffindor Family Crest in a solid color. Ron, as a Weasley, was under the protection of Lord Gryffindor and it was represented in his clothing. On his opposite breast was the Crest of the Order of the Phoenix and beneath that was the Hogwarts Crest.
"Now, as Lord Gryffindor, and as Hermione's brother, I need to explain a few things. If you ever, EVER make Hermione cry because you have hurt her physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, I will be rather upset.
"If you ever hit Hermione out of anger, well…I would be extremely upset. If you do anything besides treat Hermione with the dignity and respect she deserves as your future wife, Brother or not, I will show exactly why Tom Riddle is afraid of me. Do you understand me Ron?"
For the first time in his life, Ron was actually terrified of Harry. With his dress robes and sword in his hand and his magical aura very visible, Ron understood that if anything ever happened to Hermione, Harry would kill him; slowly, painfully, and in a way that Voldemort himself would be queasy about. Ron of course has no desire to ever hurt his heart, his Hermione, but it was good to see that Harry cared enough about Hermione.
"Don't worry Harry. I do not plan on every breaking the trust you have placed in me. I'll take care of Hermione, from thru eternity."
Harry had to smile. "Excellent. How, here is what we are going to do. We need to head back to Grimmauld Place and get ready for the Ministry. Afterwards, you are going to take Hermione out for a while. I have it all arranged for you. You'll have lunch with Dan and Emily in London, and then Dinner in Paris, just the two of you. You are to propose sometime today, and will do it. Winky is going to b serving you and Hermione for the day, so if you need something, ask her ok."
Ron nodded. "Ok Harry and thanks. Thanks for everything. Dobby is right; you are the greatest wizard in the world today. I am honored to have you as my friend and brother." Ron then stepped up to his friend and wrapped his arms around him in a very tight hug. Both men stood there for a minute before breaking apart. With another look at his watch, Harry and Ron flamed back to Grimmauld Place.
Flying high above Hogwarts, a red phoenix sang a joyous song. It filled everyone that could hear it with hope and peace. As Fawkes finished his song, he flamed to his human familiar to tell him and his mate the happy news. For Fawkes knew that Albus was right about love being the most powerful magic there was.