We spent the whole weekend together, and it was just as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be. Our confessions had brought us so much closer, and we spent the days making love, eating the meals he cooked, talking and laughing and just generally enjoying each other. We were in our own blissful little bubble, and I didn't want it to end.

But then it's Monday, and after our usual lunch at Rita's he has to leave immediately for a late shift at the hospital. It's almost painful, not being able to kiss him goodbye, and the subtle nudge of my fingers against his as we part ways does nothing to relieve the longing I feel to wrap him in my arms and hold him close to me.

But I restrain myself, and have to make do with the soft, swift squeeze that he gives my hand before he turns from me and I watch him walk away. It's going to be three days before I could see him again, and the fact that I'm already missing him this much was quite depressing. So much so that when I get home I go straight to my room without so much as a word to Harry or Ginny, and crawl fully clothed into bed.

I don't know how long I've been lying in the dark before I hear someone open the door to my room without knocking, and grumble, 'Why is there no privacy in this damn house?'

'And here I was, thinking you'd be excited to see me.' I freeze at the sound of that voice. Surely not ...

''Mione?!' I throw the covers back and scramble from the bed, barrelling into the small figure standing in my doorway. I carry her out into the hall and swing her round, and she's laughing wildly, a sound I didn't realise how much I've been missing until I hear it again now.

'It's good to see you too, Ronald,' she giggles as I set her down again and straighten up to take her in. Her unruly, curling hair is lighter and her skin is a couple of shades darker than usual, a sure sign that she's been somewhere hot and sunny for the past few months. But her smile and the way her chocolate brown eyes dance with her delight are still the same, still completely Hermione.

'Gods, I've missed you,' I say, and stoop to kiss her cheek. She giggles again and bats me away, then it's her turn to take me in. Her eyes linger on my face, and her smile widens.

'I wouldn't know from looking at you. You look ... different. Happy.'

'Oh, I am,' I say, a grin of my own spreading across my face. 'We've got so much to catch up on. Fancy a cuppa?'

'Please,' she groans. 'I haven't had a decent brew in weeks.' I grab her hand and lead her down the stairs and into the kitchen. I look around as we enter, surprised to find that the room is empty.

'They've gone out for the afternoon,' she says from behind me. 'They were on their way out to dinner when I arrived. They were going to stay but I made them go. From the last letter Ginny sent me, it sounds like they could do with as much time together as possible at the moment.'

'Tell me about it,' I grumble, and roll my eyes. Although they'd been getting on better, there still didn't seem to be enough time in the day for them to both be working, planning the wedding, and to spend as much time together as they wanted. On the rare occasions that I'm at home these days, it;s all either of them seem to be able to talk about. 'It'll get easier for them after the wedding.'

'I hope so,' she sighs, and sinks into a chair. As I whisk around the kitchen making tea, I ask her about her recent travels, and she tells me all about Asia, and the wizarding communities out there, and the work that she's been doing to help their Ministries in setting up educational exchange programmes. She had reasoned that if Beauxbatons and Durmstrang could have connections with Hogwarts, then why not extend it further?

'Hermione Granger, one witch on a mission to unite the world,' I tease, and she sticks her tongue out at me.

'It's important to build international allies, Ron,' she says carefully, and she doesn't need to add, just in case.

'I know,' I reply softly, and I place her tea in front of her as I sit next to her. 'It sounds like you had some amazing experiences, though. Did you find what you were looking for?'

'You know, I think I did,' she smiles as she wraps her hands around her mug. 'I've seen a lot of the world now, things I would never have dreamt of seeing before these last two years. I saw how the war had reached places and people that we didn't even consider, and it helped me to heal my own wounds by helping others. And now, I'm ready to come home. I'm ready to stay in London, and use my knowledge to make the world a better place for both the magical and Muggle communities. Hopefully by starting to break down the barriers between the two.'

'I can't wait to watch you change the world.' She nudges my knee with hers in thanks, and we sit together in companionable silence, sipping our tea. Then she focuses on me again. 'And you, Ron, are you happy?'

'Very much so,' I say, but pause, the words I want to say frozen on my tongue. A crease appears between her brows, but she waits for me to go on. I quickly weigh up telling her now, or waiting until we're with everyone else. I want my family to be the first people to know, but Hermione has always known me better than anyone else, better than myself at times. It feels right for her to be the first person I tell this to. 'So ... I'm, um ... ' I run a hand through my hair, confused by how hard I'm finding this, but then I remember the look in his eyes when I'd told him that I loved him, and feel a smile spread across my face as confidence swells in my chest. I'm doing this for him, for us, so that we can have a future together. So I meet Hermione's worried gaze, and suddenly the words come easily to me. 'I'm gay.'

To my surprise, she just chuckles. 'Well, yes, Ronald, I knew that. But I'm glad you've finally realised it too.'

'Know-it-all,' I grumble mockingly, shaking my head. But I lift my eyes again quickly, now needing her to also hear the second part. 'And ... well ... I've found someone.' Hermione squeals, and grips my arm as she bounces in her seat.

'Oh my Gods, Ron, congratulations! Who is it? Where did you meet? Are you going to introduce him to your family? When - '

'OK, 'Mi, easy,' I laugh, raising a hand to stem her endless flow. She consciously makes herself sit still, and I play with my mug as I build up to my confession. 'I ... It's ... It's Draco. Draco Malfoy.'

She's quiet for a moment, and I find that I can't look at her, not wanting to see anger or disgust on her face. I can feel myself preparing to defend us, defend him. But she's suddenly out of her chair, her arms around my neck, and she's holding onto me tight. It wasn't the reaction I was expecting, but I wind my arms around her and hug her back. When she pulls away, her eyes are wet and she has a watery smile on her face.

'Oh, Ron, I'm so happy for you! And I'm so, so glad that Draco has found someone like you.' She sinks back into her chair and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. 'We grew quite close in that last year at Hogwarts, you know. He's been through so much, and I'm so pleased that you've been able to see how much he's changed.'

'He's so different than how he was at school.' My shoulders lower at her easy acceptance of this, her evident joy for me, for us. And before I know it, I hear myself saying, 'I think I love him.' Her smile widens, and she grabs my hand and holds it close to her chest. We sit in silence again for a while, and I can practically hear her thinking, so I wait, knowing she'll talk when she's ready.

'Thank you for telling me, Ron. Have you told your mum and dad?'

'No. I was planning on telling everyone tomorrow night, when we're there for dinner. Actually, you're the first person apart from Draco that I've admitted all of this to.' She holds my hand tighter, and I see that pride, that loyalty flash across her face as she sits up a little straigher.

'Then I'll be right by your side when you tell everyone.'

The next night, I'm bloody grateful that she is. We're all sat in the front room of the Burrow, and the place feels a lot more crowded that usual. We'd all been meeting anyway, as it was a night when most of us were actually free from work and other commitments to able to get together.

At first, there's a flurry of activity around Hermione, as no-one had expected her to be back from her travels so soon, and it takes a while for her to be passed around everyone for hugs and kisses. George gets to her first, and it takes a long time for him to be ready to pass her on, but nobody says anything. She was instrumental in his recovery in the first few weeks after the battle, and they've been incredibly close ever since.

When everyone has finally finished fussing over her, and Dad has handed out drinks, she makes her way back to my side and sits down, her arm carefully resting against mine. I'm grateful for the physical comfort, leaning into it as I clear my throat loudly and repeatedly until the room is quiet enough for me to speak.

'I, um ... I have something I need to tell you all.' Complete silence falls, and Hermione leans into me harder as numerous red heads, interspersed with a few different colours, turn to focus on me. I look around the room slowly. Bill, Fleur and Victoire are crammed onto one sofa, and George, Angelina, Percy and Audrey are on the one next to it. Dad sits in his arm chair, with Mum perched on one of its large, rolled arms. Harry is leaning on the wooden doorframe that leads to the kitchen, with Ginny in front of him and resting back against him. With all of their eyes on me, I find it hard to swallow, my mouth suddenly dry. And the speech I had planned out is completely erased from my mind, leaving me to blurt out, 'I'm gay.'

There's a thick silence that hangs in the air for a while, but before I can really start to feel sick I hear Bill snort, and George sits back in his seat and drawls, 'OK, Ronnie, so what else is new?'

I look around the room again, and take in the slightly amused and completely un-surprised faces of my family. Even Harry just gives me a little shrug. 'So ... you all knew?'

'Well, we had our suspsicions, dear,' Mum says, waving her hand dismissively. 'And really, it's not all that much of a shock. Not after Charlie, anyway.'

'Charlie's gay?!' I squawk.

'I think bisexual is how he described it to us,' Dad says mildly, taking a sip of his elderflower wine.

Beside me, Hermione seems to relax, but I can't yet. Before the noise in the room can rise to ear-splitting levels once more, I call out, 'That's not all.'

'Well, now we probably should be worried,' murmurs George, but he cuts himself off with a sharp yelp when Angelina's toes land on his. I give her a grateful nod, then take a deep breath as once again the room focuses on me. 'I'm in a relationship. With ... with Draco Malfoy.'

The mouthful of wine that Harry has just taken sprays across the room, and Ginny cries out in disgust as she whips away from him, trying to avoid being caught in the cross-fire. George just gapes at me, open-mouthed, but I can see that Bill, Mum and Dad have gone slightly rigid. Whether it's from what I've said or in preparation to intervene in what might be coming next, I really don't know.

'Malfoy.' George's voice is distant, a little cold. 'Draco Ferret-Faced-Fucker Malfoy. Have you lost your fucking mind?'

'Language, George,' Dad barks, but he hasn't taken his eyes off me. Neither have Mum or Bill. And now I know why.

Because the moment George insults Draco, I begin to bristle. The world closes in around me, and I can feel my ears flooding with heat, my jaw clenching, my hands curling into fists on my knees. I open my mouth to hurl something at him, but soft fingers wrap around my wrist on one side, and a firm hand lands on my shoulder on the other. I look to my left, and Hermione is staring at me, silent but pleading, her eyes telling me to calm down. I look up to my right, and my heart stutters. Harry is standing behind me, his hand clasping my shoulder. His jaw is tight, but he's staring at George, his expression neutral. I don't know what he's made of my admissions, but the way he's holding himself, the steadiness of his grasp, makes my stomach tighten and my eyes burn. He's standing by me.

I look back at George, and watch as he takes us in. The Golden Trio, once again whole and facing down anything, anyone, who dares challenge us. Never mind that it's my own family that I'm up against; the two people by my side are as immovably loyal and willing to go into battle for me as they've ever been. Something about the sight of us, together again, makes the room seem to collectively release a held breath. Even George deflates a little. And I realise that they're all now looking at Harry.

'I'm just as surprised as the rest of you,' he begins softly, his hand still gripping me tightly as he tries to find the words. 'I've been wanting Ron to find someone for a long time, and I must admit that it's come as a bit of a shock to hear that not only has someone come along, but that it's the one person in the whole world that I would have probably least expected.' He takes a steadying breath, then looks down at me. 'We all went through an awful lot in those years, and the way he told it to the courts it sounds like Malfoy didn't have it particularly easy, either. But if you've found him to be someone you can trust, someone who you like enough that it's made you want to share something like this with your family, then I'm willing to be open-minded and get to know him, for who he is now.' I blink back tears as I nod gratefully at him, and both he and Hermione tighten their holds on me as we turn back to my family.

'Bloody hell, Harry,' George groans, passing a hand over his face and grimacing. 'Now we all have to like him, if you're willing to.'

I chuckle weakly at his words and feel the last of the tension leave the room as Mum stands and starts ushering everyone outside into the summer evening to eat the buffet she'd laid out earlier. Everyone troops past, and I'm embraced by Fleur, then Angelina, then George, who plants a loud, wet kiss against my cheek. I shove him away from me and he swaggers off, laughing loudly, and I can't help but enjoy the sound, still so grateful to hear it from him. It took a long time after the war for him to laugh like that again, and I still worry that he'll slip back into that awful monotony at any time.

I'm distracted from my concern as Bill claps me hard on the shoulder on his way past, and Dad just winks at me as he leaves. Ginny almost tackles me as she flies into my arms, and she squeezes me so tight that I'm breathless in seconds. She hisses as she lets go, 'We'll talk about keeping secrets later,' and I chuckle as she links arms with Hermione and they follow everyone outside. Then it's just me and Harry.

'So.' His hands are in his pockets, and his green eyes are hard to read as he surveys me. I worry that he's more angry than he let on, but before I can speak he says, 'You didn't fancy telling me any of this first?'

He's hurt. Hurt that I didn't come to him. Hurt that I've been living with him, and didn't share this. Hurt that he had to find out this way.

'I'm sorry, mate,' I sigh, running a hand over the back of my neck and avoiding his eyes. 'I just ... you and Ginny have been so busy lately, what with the wedding and everything, and I just didn't want to add anything to that. I should have told you.'

'Yes, you should have.' The softness in his tone makes me look up again, and the slight smile he gives me is a little sad. 'But I'm also sorry that I've not asked. We've noticed that you've been out a lot recently, but I didn't take the time out to ask you about it. So I'm sorry, too. But please, if anything like this comes up again, tell me first? If only so I can be more prepared to jump in when the shit hits the fan.'

'You held your ground pretty well,' I chuckle, and he shakes his head, his smile now more genuine. 'Honestly, though, I think I've used up my quota of big reveals for the next few years, at least.'

'Thank Merlin for that,' he grumbles, and I elbow him gently in the ribs as we head out to the garden, following the sounds of laughter and jeering that always accompany a Weasley family meal. But suddenly he looks up at me again, and there's mischief in his eyes as he says, 'So you'll be adding a plus one for the wedding, then?'