A/N: Finally up to speed again :) I think I'm a bit all over the place with this chapter, but I like it a lot. Some artistic license in this one, again.
Thanks for the reviews, and follows and favorites. (Thanks to Suzy, who I couldn't thank in person, for her review)
Chapter 14
He had waited twenty years to return it, but it was time. It was a memento of his youth, of fleeting moments and discovering feelings, and while he cherished the memories it brought him, he was ready to start a new phase in his life. With the piece of jewelry in his hand, he sent a handful of Floopowder into the fireplace, saying 'Godric's Hollow' to set his destination.
Arriving in the parlor of his best friends' home, he marvelled, as always, at what they had done with the house. Harry and Hermione had rebuilt it from almost nothing on their own, turning the place that had once been shadowed by tragedy into a place of love and life. Hermione came into the room shortly after he arrived, welcoming him.
"Hey Ron! How are you? Don't take this as me not wanting you here, but a visit out of the blue?"
"Yeah," he said, blushing a little, "I had to come and do something. Is Harry here?"
"No, but I can call him and tell him to come, he took James to the park to feed the ducks-"
"No! No, I actually wanted to talk with you, erm, without him."
She started to look a little suspicious, "You're freaking me out a bit, Ron."
"I'm sorry, Herms," she cringed at the nickname, "I just have something for you." He reached into his pocket and grabbed the earring, putting it on her hand.
"This is my - from the Yule Ball - I looked everywhere for it... Ron, I don't understand, what is - why do you have this?"
"Let me explain it to you, before you start trying to figure me out. I've never been the most... articulate person," she snorted at this," so when I felt things, I acted out. I couldn't do anything right. I couldn't explain to myself what you meant to me, let alone tell you. So when the Yule Ball came, and I was already confused, it threw me for a loop. You were a girl," "Hey!" "a beautiful one, so close yet so unobtainable. I found your earring in the common room the next morning and kept it with me. Over the years I realized the type of love I felt for you was nothing like what you and Harry have, but I kept this because... I don't know. I felt something during that time. After the war, after Fred's death, I was numb for so long, I kept the earring with me to remind me that I knew how to feel, and it made sense then. Over time, life got back on track for me, and I almost forgot it was there. But now, now I'm on another level, so it makes sense to close this chapter, so I can start a new one..."
"Oh, Ron!" She hugged him around his neck. "You have definitely improved from a teaspoon," she said teasingly, with emotional tears in her eyes. "I'm glad you came to talk to me, I love you like family and I'm glad that so many years later, we are still good with each other. I'm just curious, what do you mean with 'a new chapter'?..."
He blushed again, "I'm... She's stuck by me for so long, I'm, I'm gonna ask Lav to marry me."