If Ron had ever contemplated a career in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, this week cured him of it. Any faint delirious urge to be a diplomat, politician, hell even a courier, evaporated under the strain of trying to talk to everyone. He was doing his best to be a peacemaker and all he had achieved was being shouted at for days.
But he persisted because his little sister was crying herself to sleep every night and his best friend wasn't sleeping at all. He was a bloody war hero. He could do this, Ron told himself as he dragged his weary feet into the Leaky Cauldron with the rest of the trainees. Harry had not wanted to go to their usual Friday night swill but his friend had insisted.
Ron had asked Hannah and Neville to help him get Ginny to the pub. He had tried asking, begging, pleading, blackmailing and bribing his sister but nothing had worked. Ginny wandered around the Burrow like a sleepwalker. She had set fire to the wedding invitations and had thrown her dress out the window.
The blonde witch behind the bar gave him a covert nod. Ron managed a smile for her. Such a nice girl. She would never leave him to sort out a flipping great mess she'd started by telling Harry he should live a little. A flipping great mess Harry had made worse by trying to tell Ginny they should wait to get married. That had gone down like a lead balloon.
Ron steered a bleary Harry to a small table at the back of the pub then tried to act surprised when he noticed Neville and Ginny sitting there. His heart clenched at sight of his sister. Ginny's eyes were bloodshot and her knuckles white on her pint glass.
"Please just talk." Ron beseeched, again. He was not going to give up. It might take months but damn it he would get them to speak to each other. "He loves you. He just thought you both needed time to sort stuff out. Job stuff, not love stuff. Just stuff."
"Why doesn't he say that to me himself?" Ginny asked tartly, half rising from her seat. "He had a lot to bloody say when he was defending that bitch who ruined everything."
"Hermione didn't mean it." Harry roused, looking faintly surprised to find himself at the Leaky. Hadn't they been training? It was getting hard to remember what he was supposed to be doing. "I didn't mean it. I was trying to say that if you didn't want my best friend at the wedding that we could take time to change things."
"Like take time to change my mind so you get your own way!" The witch slammed her glass down. "I won't have her there, Harry! I won't! She betrayed Ron! I don't care that she's your friend. I thought she was my friend! But friends don't fuck snakes then try to spoil your happiness!"
"Ginny." Neville attempted to calm things by intruding while Ron frantically shook his head at Harry to keep him from saying something that would make it worse. "Why don't you just elope? That's romantic. Just you and Harry hand-fasting. Just you two together."
"I want my family there! I want everyone happy!" Ginny shrieked, remembering that Fred would not be there. She had wanted the perfect event so everyone could share her joy and believe the world was a wonderful place again.
"Hermione is my family!" Harry surged to his feet. "She was always there, even when no one else was!" He shook off Ron's hand and stormed out of the pub. The wizards stared at his back then at each other. Neville went after him. Ron hugged his sister as she sobbed.
"It'll be alright. I'll make it all right." Ron consoled. He had sat awake at night wracking his brain to find some way of making this all better. He had seriously considered spiking Harry's and Ginny's drinks with a Calming Draught to get them to speak to each other with shouting. He winced again at that idea. It had worked so well for him with Hermione.
"I love him, Ron. I do. I love him so much." Ginny gulped, trying to breathe through her tears. "Why can't he just love me best? But there's always someone else. Or he's pushing me away. I thought that finally we'd be together." She choked, anger warring with sorrow. "He's mine. I won't share him with her."
"I'll talk to him. I promise." He hugged her tightly. This he could fix. His own love life might be in the privy but he could help Ginny. All he had to do was convince Harry. Maybe a Full-Body Bind to get him to stay and listen. "I promise. But you have to help. I want you to go home to mum, have a big dinner and get an early night. Just trust me. You'll get to wear your pretty dress."
"Not that one." Ginny said with some bitter satisfaction as she wiped her face with a sleeve. "It's dusters now."
Ron hugged his sister again then sent her to the Burrow. He had a quick chat with Hannah to thank her for her help, and to ask her very quietly to let him know if Harry or Ginny confided anything in her. He didn't like to ask her to break a confidence but he was at the end of his tether.
Unfortunately neither of the lovers had mentioned anything to Hannah. If they did, she promised to let him know as she was worried about them too. She did have a hug for him, which put a little steel in his spine. He could do this.
Neville had stopped Harry from Apparating away in a huff but when Ron joined them, the conversation had not progressed any further than 'I don't want to talk about it'.
"She didn't tell you about the funeral." Ron leapt in with both boots. He didn't like it but if he had to choose between fighting dirty and having Harry walk out of his sister's life, then it was no choice at all.
"I'm not going to not invite her to get back at her for that." Harry hissed, his hands balling into fists. He had not forgiven Hermione for keeping her parents' deaths from him but he would not be so cruel to her in return.
"I'm not saying you should." It made him feel sick inside but he had to get Harry to compromise because Ron was cast-iron certain Ginny would not. "But 'Mione wouldn't be surprised if you did. She hasn't written back, has she?" Truthfully, he had not checked his mail in days. He had been so flat out he had not had time for anything but training, sleeping and mediating. "Please, mate. You'll feel much better if you make it up with Ginny."
"I'll think about it." Harry said unwillingly then Disapparated.
"Well, shite." Ron let his breath out in a long, frustrated sigh. He could see now why the Imperius Curse had been invented. It was so tempting and so easy to just make someone do what they were told. He felt even worse after thinking that. Maybe he should take his own advice and have an early night. He was starting to think like a Slytherin.
"Did you mean that about Hermione?" Neville asked. Ron was so distracted by self recrimination he did not notice the careful way his friend spoke.
"Yeah. Her parents died in an accident at New Year's. She didn't tell anyone. Except Flint. That fucker was there, worming his way in." Ron gritted his teeth. He'd happily use an Unforgivable on Flint, and it wouldn't be the Imperius.
"Oh." He stared at the ginger wizard, waiting for further explanation but none came. Ron thanked him sincerely enough and Disapparated home. Neville stood there thinking about Imbolc and the last time he had spoken to his cousin Marcus Flint. Then he went to Montrose.