A/N: The 400 Galleons mentioned in this chapter equates to about $2000 US, for reference.

Chapter 31

When Ron woke the following morning, the feeling of giddiness that had consumed him for the remainder of the party returned immediately. He had a plan now, and as he'd drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning, the plan had taken hold in his mind.

He could almost see every detail clearly. He could see the type of place he'd like to take her so that he could ask her. It would be romantic, and just the two of them. They'd be alone. He could see the type of ring he was going to get her. He had always had a vague idea, but it had taken a clearer shape right before he fell asleep.

Diamonds. Lots of diamonds. And he was going to get it engraved with something. What, he didn't know yet, but he hoped it would come to him soon.

But the most important part was that he didn't even feel nervous. Just excited, happy… he'd promised her months ago that he would ask her, and she'd promised him that when he did, she would say yes.

He knew what her answer was going to be, so all he needed to do was make sure he asked her in a way that she wouldn't forget.

Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the ceiling and chuckled. Had someone told him even five years ago that he would one day be lying in a bed that he shared with Hermione, in a flat that he also shared with her, happy, relaxed, more than halfway through Auror training and planning the moment he'd ask her to marry him, he would have laughed at them. Not only was Voldemort causing destruction everywhere, he'd been utterly convinced that he and Hermione were never going to happen. Hadn't they had many chances to get there, and something always went wrong? Lavender Brown, his own lack of confidence, wars, timing…

He laughed again, just as Hermione came into the room, still in her pyjamas, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Something funny?" she asked.

Ron propped himself up against a pillow, watching her as she got herself ready for a shower. "You're up early considering we had a late night last night."

"You're up late considering you insisted you have a lot of work to catch up on today."

Was it just him, or was there something in her tone that suggested she didn't believe his story about having work to finish? Harry — the idiot — hadn't helped much when he had stated he thought Ron had completed everything.

"I need to be refreshed so I can concentrate," Ron told her. He thought for a moment. "Let's have dinner next Saturday."

"What?" Hermione stopped rummaging through the wardrobe in search of something to wear and turned to face him.

"You and me, next Saturday," Ron said cheerfully. "I'll organise it."

For a moment, Hermione didn't answer. Then, she said, "Why are you trying to organise dinner for next week now?"

"Just agree, would you?" Ron said.

Hermione sighed. "Okay. Next Saturday." She turned back to face her wardrobe, but Ron didn't miss the smile that fell across her lips as she did so.

This was exactly why he needed to surprise her with a very nice ring.

When Hermione took herself to the bathroom, Ron pulled himself out of bed, groaning as he did so. He'd rather enjoyed the Muggle wine offered last night in the end, and it had all been free.

But he couldn't let that stop him from his plans today. He had three hours at best, based on previous lunches with Hermione's parents. Maybe four if his dad decided to ask ridiculous questions about kettles or refrigerators.

He had never shopped for a ring before, and he didn't know of any places that might sell one. Engagement rings weren't common in wizarding society, though he did know they existed. But where, he would have to find out.

He didn't recall any in Diagon Alley, but perhaps Hogsmeade had a shop. He hadn't really paid attention to what else was there when he'd been at school. Jewellery hadn't exactly been at the top of his list when he'd visited with the school, nor had he contemplated one day proposing when he was thirteen years old.

But he'd check Diagon Alley first, and if that failed, then he'd Disapparate to Hogsmeade and see what they had to offer.

A short while later, Hermione emerged from the shower and returned to the kitchen where Ron was dressed and making himself breakfast.

"Is there anything you want to do before you have to do your work stuff?" Hermione asked.

"What?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, looking amused rather than annoyed. "It's lunch, Ron, so I'm not seeing my parents until midday." She paused, suddenly frowning. "Should I have given your parents more detailed instructions about arriving at Mum and Dad's?"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, Summoning toast to his plate.

"Well… I mean, I told them to Apparate to the garden, but I forgot to mention it had to be precisely behind the hedge so as not to be seen…"

"They're not idiots, Hermione," Ron said. "They've been Apparating for longer than you or I have."

"I know that, but they aren't familiar with my parent's place. They won't know there's a hedge."

Ron looked at her for a moment and then shrugged. "I'm sure they'll figure it out. If not… well, what are the chances of someone watching the front garden at that precise moment?"

"There's always a chance!" Hermione said.

Ron shrugged again, biting into his toast. "Maybe you could go and get them right before?"

Hermione was thoughtful for another moment and then nodded. "I think I will."

"So that means you'll be leaving a little earlier?" Ron asked.

Hermione's eyes snapped to him, then narrowed. "It sounds like you want to get rid of me. Are you planning on inviting your secret girlfriend over?"

"What? No, I don't have —" He paused, now noticing the smile that had crossed her face. "Ha, ha."

"Well, you seem very keen to get me out of the house. I've never seen you more excited to kick me out. Normally, you beg me to stay."

Ron stared at her for a moment, wondering if he'd been a bit over the top. Then, he said, "I just have a lot of work to do and want to get a head start on it. That way I'm all yours in the afternoon."

"Well, I'll leave by eleven-thirty and try to be home no earlier than two o'clock. Is that enough time?"

"Yes!" Ron said. I hope.

Hermione smiled. "Good. Now, back to my question: is there anything you want to do before I go?"

Ron returned her smile. "Just be here," he said. "I love you."

…

Ron had never been keener for Hermione to leave the house. Considering she'd already questioned him about practically being kicked from the flat, he didn't say anything for the remainder of the morning. But he couldn't help clock watching as the seconds ticked by much slower than usual. He tried to steal quick glances at the time when he thought she wasn't watching, but she caught him on more than one occasion.

But finally, eleven-thirty came, and Hermione was ready to leave.

"Enjoy your… work," she said, kissing him goodbye. "I can't wait to hear all about it when I get back."

"Won't be anything exciting," Ron assured her. "Have fun! Say hi to Mum and Dad for me. Love you." He returned her kiss and all but pushed her out the door.

He hurried to the window to make sure she was on the street and he could see her Disapparate. When she was gone, Ron also left the flat.

He hurried down the stairs and into Diagon Alley himself. He had absolutely no idea where to start looking, but decided to turn left. He could at least come back and go the other way if he came up short.

Diagon Alley was very crowded, which was to be expected for Sunday at midday. People from all over Britain chose the weekend to do their shopping, and they all seemed to like to come here. Ron and Hermione found other things to do — most of the time visiting her parents, doing something with Harry and Ginny or visiting the Burrow, which then led to staying for dinner. It was a downside to living so close to the main shopping place for witches and wizards in London — they got sick of seeing too many people.

Ron ignored them today, however. In fact, he didn't even feel irritated by them. What was there to feel irritated by? Nothing. He was deliriously happy that even bumping into George, who emerged from the joke shop, didn't bother him too much.

George waved Ron over, who pushed through the eager children lining up to get through.

"Good business today?" Ron said.

"Always," George replied, smiling. "May I ask where you're off to?" he then asked. "If I remember correctly, last night you told Hermione you had work to catch up on." He raised an eyebrow. It was as if he knew. Did they all know?

"Just having a break," Ron said, as casual as he could.

"Before you've started?"

Ron looked away.

"You're not sneaking off behind Hermione's back, are you?" George's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"What? Why do people keep… no, I'm not." He turned his eyes back to his brother. George's eyebrows were raised in a way that suggested he'd been joking, but there was still an element of genuine curiosity in his expression.

Ron sighed. "You don't know anywhere around here that sells…"

"Sells what?" George asked.

Ron hesitated. He'd really had no intention to tell anyone about this — not even Harry.

"Engagement rings," Ron said, lowering his voice as if the passersby actually cared what he was doing. Well, he reasoned, it actually was a possibility these days.

George's eyes widened in surprise as Ron felt his face go red. Then, George grinned. "Well, that's exciting!" he said.

"Is there a place around here?" Ron pressed.

George thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Right near the entrance to Knockturn Alley. I don't know what they sell exactly, but I've seen some things in the windows at times. The old wizard who runs it has been there for years. I sometimes hear my customers talking about it. He offers reasonable prices."

"Alright," Ron said. "Thanks." He made to continue on his way towards Knockturn Alley, then paused, turning back to George. "And don't mention this to anyone, alright?"

"My lips are sealed," George said, grinning. "Good luck!"

"Thanks," Ron muttered, suddenly not feeling anywhere near as confident as he was a few moments ago. What if this place didn't have what he was after? What if the owner tried to sell him something dodgy, yet charge him a fortune? Ron wouldn't have a clue whether or not he was being robbed of his money. But he was sure Hermione would be able to tell.

He reached the entrance of Knockturn Alley and looked at the shops surrounding it. There was a small apothecary reeking of unusual smells, a secondhand spellbook shop, and to the right, he found what he was after.

It was a dingy little place, right on the divide of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, and as he entered, he knew immediately that he'd not find what he was after in here.

Nonetheless, a smiling old wizard greeted him.

"What can I do for you today, Sir?" he said. He barely reached Ron's shoulders and craned his neck to peer up at Ron.

"Er…" Ron looked around the tiny shop, his eyes scanning for any sign of rings. The only thing he saw was a gold one with a giant red ruby in the centre. He didn't want ruby. "Just looking, thanks," he said, and hurried away to a corner to peer at some bracelets.

They were nice enough, but he definitely didn't want them.

He stayed as long as he thought possible so as not to appear rude, and then left. Once back out on the street, Ron wasted no time in Disapparating to Hogsmeade. It had been in his plans, and he had such little time.

Hogsmeade was also bustling with witches and wizards, many emerging from The Three Broomsticks a little drunk.

As it was a relatively warm day, many were stripped of their wizarding cloaks and lounging on seats or steps.

Ron wandered past them quickly, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of rings in shop windows. There had to be something somewhere. Whilst not a necessity, many wizarding folk still had engagement rings. Someone had to sell some somewhere.

After a little while of searching, he finally located a spot up a side alley behind Honeydukes. It was so discreet that he almost walked past it entirely had it not been for the diamond necklace that sat in the window.

His nerves were bubbling as he entered the shop, knowing that this was the exact place he was looking for. The Sparkly Stone had so much jewellery he simply stood there, entirely lost.

"May I help you?"

Ron jumped at the voice, turning to find a middle-aged witch with greying blonde hair standing behind him. She wore deep purple robes and a kind smile that told Ron she really did want to help him.

"Er, yes," he said, now feeling extremely nervous. "I'm looking for an… engagement ring." He flushed red, and he didn't know why. There was something very real about saying it out loud in the shop that would give him the ring.

"Oh, I have many to choose from!" the witch said cheerfully, and she beckoned Ron to follow her over to a cabinet.

Ron immediately saw a large selection of rings, all different colours, shapes and sizes. Some sparkled, some even changed colour. Some were clearly enchanted, while others looked like plain old rings he'd seen Hermione's parents wear.

He tried not to gape.

"Are you after anything in particular, Mr Weasley?" the witch asked. It really didn't come as a shock to him that she knew his name; Ron had long gotten used to random people knowing it over the years.

"Um," Ron said, staring at the cabinet. "Diamonds."

The witch nodded and withdrew her wand from within her robes. She tapped the cabinet with it and all the rings that contained diamonds appeared on top of it.

"This is what I currently have. Does anything catch your eye?"

Now that Ron had far less to choose from, there were two that drew his attention. One contained three small diamonds, while the other was one large diamond.

"Those two," he said, pointing them out.

The witch used her wand again and the others went back into the cabinet.

Ron studied them, but he already knew which one Hermione would prefer. The one with the single diamond was too big and too clunky and he knew she would hate wearing it (even if she never said so to him). But the other one with the three smaller diamonds was absolutely perfect.

He was about to tell the shopkeeper this when a thought occurred to him. This felt too easy. He'd been in the shop for all of five minutes. He'd only really looked at two rings.

"Can I see the other ones, too?" he asked.

The witch happily obliged, taking out each ring containing diamonds for him to look closely at. The others were nice, but he kept coming back to the three diamonds. That was the perfect one for Hermione; he knew it.

He swallowed. "That one," he said pointing to it. "How much is it?" He'd have to go back to Diagon Alley to get money from the account. Hermione would notice, he knew, but again, his plan wasn't to surprise her with a proposal. He'd surprise her with the ring. "And can you engrave it with words?"

"That one is four hundred Galleons. To engrave, it's an additional fifty."

Ron's mouth fell open. That was an awful amount of money, and it was something he didn't think he'd be able to afford. Not right now and probably not with Hermione coming at him with her wand for taking out so much money at once.

His heart sank. That one had been perfect for Hermione. Well, everything except for the price.

"This one is one hundred Galleons," the witch said, taking out a much uglier ring, with much smaller diamonds. He'd passed on that one immediately. "Perhaps much more in your price range?"

Ron flushed. "What about that one?" He pointed to the one with the large diamond.

"Six hundred Galleons."

Ron stared at her.

"We do offer the opportunity to pay off our items," the witch continued, and Ron could tell she was taking pity on his dilemma. "Gradual, smaller payments over the course of an agreed amount of time."

As quickly as they'd sunk, Ron's spirits lifted again. "I can do that!" he said.

The witch nodded. "I can offer a repayment of eight Galleons a week for a year."

Ron nodded. Eight Galleons a week was doable. "I'll take it," he said, beaming.

"I do have just one condition," the witch continued. "Whilst I allow gradual repayments, I'll not part with the item until it is fully paid off. I simply put it aside for no one else to buy."

"What?" Ron said. "But I need it for next week!"

"You may pay for it upfront," the witch said. "But I've had far too many people take off with items in the past having not paid for them, so unless you want to sign a magically binding contract — which does not make me look good as a business owner, forcing my customers into magical agreements — I will keep the item until it is paid off."

No, he couldn't pay for it upfront. He simply did not have four hundred (four hundred and fifty if he wanted it engraved) to part with. But he couldn't wait for a year to get it. He was going to ask Hermione next Saturday. He'd already told her he had plans.

He looked back at the other rings. They were all hideous now. Uglier than they had been when he'd first laid eyes on them. Nothing compared to the one he'd chosen. It was the perfect one. He'd simply be disappointed with giving her any other one.

"Mr Weasley?" the witch asked.

Ron looked up at her. He so wanted to marry Hermione, he wanted to ask her. He wanted to call her his fiance. But the ring was important to him. He wanted her to like it.

He sighed.

"I'll do the eight Galleons a week."

The witch smiled. "Wonderful. I'll require a ten Galleon deposit initially, and then eight from next week. You may send the money via owl post or directly from Gringotts."

Ron nodded, all his excitement diminished. He'd have to cancel his plans for next week. He'd have to delay it for a whole year. He'd thought he'd be married to Hermione in a year, not just getting engaged to her.

As the witch hurried to the back of the shop with the ring in her hand, Ron couldn't help but think bitterly about how Harry wouldn't have had to worry about this. He would have just handed over four hundred Galleons like it was nothing.

Why couldn't that be Ron? He was better off than he ever had been growing up, now with a great job, but not four hundred Galleons better off.

While he waited, he stared at the other rings again. He couldn't bring himself to change his mind. They just weren't right. This one was — even if it was costing him more than just money to get it.

…

When Hermione returned later that afternoon, Ron was sitting on the small bench Hermione had placed by the window, looking down at Diagon Alley below. He felt completely miserable. He had the ring, but he didn't have it. And it was all because he couldn't afford to pay four hundred Galleons straight up.

Why were the rings so expensive anyway? At least the good ones?

"Did you get all your work done?" Hermione asked, coming over to kiss him. She paused, seeming to notice his expression. "Everything alright?"

Ron looked at her, unable to even pretend to be happy. They were supposed to be less than a week away from becoming engaged. She probably knew that was where he went today and was expecting it. Instead, they'd have to wait another whole year. Because Ron was an idiot. And he couldn't afford to get her a ring that she would like. Maybe he should have just gone with the cheaper one. It would have looked awful, and Hermione probably would have hated it, but at least they could get married.

"Ron?" Hermione said after Ron didn't respond. "What happened?"

"Nothing," he said, and he sighed. "It's just… I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do," Hermione said, kneeling in front of him. "Ron, what's happened?" She sounded worried.

"Nothing," Ron said again, and he looked away from her. "I just… things didn't really go according to plan today. We can't do dinner next Saturday anymore."

Hermione watched him for a moment. Even though Ron couldn't see her, he could tell she was trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

"That's alright," she said after a while. "We can change it to the weekend after. I don't mind." She rested her hand on his back. Her touch was gentle, soft… loving. It warmed him, and when he looked back at her, he couldn't help but smile just a little bit.

He'd marry her one day, at least. And in the meantime, did it really make much difference? A ring wasn't going to change anything except perhaps stressing them out with trying to plan a wedding. It wasn't going to change the fact that he loved her more than life itself, and that he would continue to love her, ring or no ring, married or not married. And she didn't know for sure what he had done today, so when he didn't ask her to marry him, she'd just assume she was wrong.

No harm done, except he felt like a complete buffoon over the whole thing.

"I love you," he said. "And one day soon… we can have that dinner, alright?"

Hermione smiled back and nodded. "Whenever you're ready," she replied softly.

Hi! So I am travelling for the next week and will not be able to guarantee posting on my usual schedule, so this week will be early. The next chapter will then be posted on July 4!

Hope you all aren't too disappointed in me lol, but I really wanted to write about Ron's financial insecurities.