Ron lay on his bed, feeling frustrated and annoyed. Ginny peeked her head in and saw his face, gloomier than he'd been in a while. "Hey, brother. You okay?" Ginny came and sat on the corner of his bed.

"She won't admit she loves me," Ron huffed. "I need more of that potion, Gin!" He looked at her pleadingly.

"Sorry, Ron. I'm out. I don't have the ingredients to make anymore." She frowned and soon came up with a plan to keep Ron from sulking, "Why don't I get Luna to come with us for a beer tonight? She's a nice girl, she'll cheer you up."

"Ginny, I don't want Luna. We can grab a beer, if you want, though." He rolled his eyes and Ginny stole away to Floo to Luna's home.

**********

"Luna," Ginny hurriedly asked, "I need you to do me a favor."

"Of course, Ginny. Anything." Luna giggled innocently.

"You see, Ron is a little depressed. Will you help cheer him up?"

"Ron is? Well, I suppose I can be a friend..." Luna wasn't particularly excited about seeing Ron, they were never really close in school and she wasn't attracted to him at all.

"Yeah, Ron's lonely. He's made quite a bit of money working at the shop, but he's so busy he hasn't had time to meet any girls." Ginny knew she was lying about the money, but if it would give Ron an ego boost, she'd do anything.

"Well. Alright, let's go." Luna found a new admiration for Ron. If Weasley's Wizard Wheezes could do well, he must have stronger work ethic than she'd believed.

"Thank you, Luna." They Flooed back to the flat to find Ron had already left.

**********

"Yes, sir." Ron signed his name on a contract. "South America sounds great."

"Well, Ronald, I'm glad you're turning into a man." The Head of Law Enforcement, his brother Percy patted him on the back. "You know there's significant financial awards for taking this position. We can advance you right away if you'd like." Percy winked at his younger brother.

"Yeah, that would be great." Ron sighed as he left his older brother's office. If she's not going to love me, I may as well leave.

**********

Ron walked into his flat to find Harry and Ginny chatting amicably with Luna. "Ron! Are you ready to go out for drinks?" Ginny exclaimed, hoping her brother would forget about his mishap with Hermione for the evening. She felt so guilty about setting him up for failure, she was sure Hermione loved him, didn't she?

"Yeah, let's go. I have great news for all of you." Ron grunted as they turned out the door to leave.
Arriving at the pub and sitting in a booth, Harry was eager to know exactly what Ron might have done. "What news?" Harry inquired.

"I'm going to go to South America's Ministry Foreign Relations." Ron chugged down his glass of ale.

"South America!?" All three protested.

To Ron's dismay, Hermione walked into the very same pub and spotted them. There was no way she could avoid their piercing eyes, so she wandered up to their booth.

"Join us for a beer, 'Mione?" Harry patted the empty spot next to him and Ginny.

"Thanks, I'm supposed to meet a friend soon." Hermione was sheepish about her meeting. She wanted to apologize to Henry for her reaction in the café.

"I'm going to South America." Ron blurted, "It will be quite the adventure." He solemnly took another sip of his ale. Hermione's face went pale and she ran out of the room.

**********

"Percy, please." Hermione pleaded with the older Weasley brother. "Don't let him go. This is my fault, I should never have kept my feelings in." Tears now streamed down her cheeks. "I promise, I can make it up to you. I'll pay whatever you advanced back and then some. Just, don't let him go!" Hermione reached for the box of tissues on Percy's desk.

"Hermione, normally I couldn't do something like this, but because I know how close you and my brother are, and I know you've learned your lesson, it's safe to say that he will not be going to South America. Bring him this letter. It's a full pardon from duty."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Hermione cried as she went running back to Ron's little flat.

**********

"Ron, I'm sorry. I should have never tried to meddle in your relationship." Ginny's tears were streaming down her face. She had made this happen. Her brother would be leaving, risking his life, because of her.

"Ginny, I know you didn't mean it, but really, it's good for me. I need to get out, get past Hermione, and live my own life." Ron patted his sister on the shoulder. "Thank you."

"Ron, mate. I really don't think you should go, this is all a huge mistake." Harry was distraught by his friend's sudden decision.

Suddenly, Hermione burst through the door. "Don't go, Ron." She was breathless from running up the stairs. She held out the pardon.

"What's this?" Ron asked.

"Please, Ron. Just take it." Hermione began to feel the lump rise in her throat as she held out the folded parchment. "You can't go. You're free with this. We all need you here! We love you here. I promise you won't always be so unhappy!"

Ron looked at Hermione's face in awe. He knew that she needed him. She placed the parchment down on the table and walked away.

"No, Hermione. Wait... You're leaving now?" Ron watched her turn around to face him once more, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"Yes, Ron. I'm leaving."

"Well, then. Since you don't have anymore to tell me, I guess you can have this back. I don't want it." He tried to hand the parchment back. "Since no one here loves me, I prefer to die fighting for something important." He took a shaky breath, "Ginny lied to me, you were never interested, and Harry never told me the truth about any of that."

"Ginny never lied to you!" Hermione yelled back, "Listen to your heart, Ronald! You have to know that I love you! I'm sorry I hurt you. You didn't deserve that. But now, all I want to do is make you happy. I promise! I won't leave you again." She sniffed the tear up, "I promise to love you eternally, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione turned and walked away.

She cried for me. One tear for me. She really does love me! Ron smiled as he considered her offer. She got a pardon excusing him from leaving. He read through the paper. He was pardoned, he could stay. He felt his heart fill with love for her. He knew she really did love him back.

**********

"Hermione, I love you." He greeted her on her parents doorstep with a bouquet of fresh lilies.

"I love you, too, Ronald." She took his arm and they strolled into the sunset. Happily Ever After.

________________________________________________________________

Author's note:

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed this short story. It was the result of not being able to sleep and not wanting to study... However, it did give me some insight into the opera that I'm learning. If you haven't seen any on Youtube, watch clips from The Elixir of Love that this story is (loosely) based on. One of the funniest operas and seemed so befitting of the characters created by JKR.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters here.