Chapter 37

There was a sense of giddiness in Ron as he stared at the tiny box in the palm of his hand. He had it. He finally had the ring. And it was just as stunning as the first and only other time he'd laid eyes on it. It was the perfect choice for Hermione, and he had the special engraving on it that he really hoped would mean something to her.

A phrase he'd lived by every day since he'd been with Hermione — one that had helped him get over all of his doubts, all his insecurities, and wondering if he was enough for her.

He was enough for her. She would tell him if he wasn't.

And now that he had the ring he could finally ask her to marry him. He had it all sorted. The lake, the fireworks (George had teased him relentlessly when Ron had asked, but that was okay, because it just meant even more of George's sense of humour was returning), the evening picnic with the wine, and the stars (he hoped) and the ring. He wasn't even going to tell Hermione about it until the day of. Two Saturdays from now. That way she would think it was just a spur of the moment decision to go there — something that wasn't unusual for them. Occasionally, if they had nothing better to do on a Saturday night they'd clutch hands and Disapparate to that lake just to look at the stars, or to talk, or to just enjoy one another's company.

He hoped to catch her completely by surprise.

But for the time being he had to keep it safe in a place where she wouldn't find it.

He took one last longing look and then closed the box with a light snap. On the bed was another, larger box. A plain old shoe box that wouldn't catch Hermione's eye even if she was to see it. But still, he had protective enchantments around it just in case.

With a smile on his lips, he placed the tiny red box into the shoe box and closed the lid. He then tapped it with his wand, and when he opened it again, it gave an illusion of a stack of Chocolate Frog cards. Hermione knew he had collected them as a kid. It was the most obvious thing to disguise it with if she ever discovered it. All she would see was a box of old Chocolate Frog cards, and that wouldn't interest her in the slightest.

Two weeks seemed so far off, but it was the right thing to do. Harry would be at Ginny's Holyhead accommodation right now, preparing his dinner and his surprise. Two weeks seemed a respectable enough amount of time to wait before he intruded on their happiness. It would give everyone a chance to be excited and then forget about it.

It was just so hard to wait. Now that he had it all planned, he wanted to do it right away. He wanted to Disapparate her to the lake tonight and take her in his arms and just declare his love for her and his desire to spend the rest of his life with her.

He hadn't even realised he was staring stupidly at the shoe box until the sound of footsteps at the bedroom door brought him out of his reverie.

He spun, turning to find Hermione still in her work robes. Her hair was a little askew, which meant she'd had a busy and rather stressful day. Not unusual, even if by Ron's standards it might have been a rather relaxed one.

She just didn't know how to relax when it came to work.

He held out an arm, grinning at her, and she came over, falling into his embrace. "Rough day?" he asked.

"Just busy." She stifled a yawn, and her eyes drifted to the shoe box on the bed. "You bought yourself some new shoes?" And before he could stop her, she leaned forward and opened the lid.

Ron winced, momentarily worried that the spell had worn off, or he'd performed it wrong. But as the lid opened, all that he could see (and therefore all that Hermione could see) was Chocolate Frog Cards.

She smiled. "You've been sneaking them in without my knowledge, have you?"

"No," Ron said, a little defensive despite himself. "Mum found them and gave them to me. They're from when I used to collect them. She didn't want them."

"So that means we have to keep them?" Hermione asked.

"It's not like they're taking up space," Ron said, taking his arm away from her. He opened the wardrobe and kneeled down on the floor, shoving the box right in the back. "You won't even know it's there."

Hermione smiled. "Fair enough. I won't ask. How was Harry today?"

"A mess," Ron said, standing back up. "Panicking, sweating, fidgety. For the first time ever, I outperformed him in today's tasks. Merlin help us on the day of his actual wedding if this is how he acts when he's not even engaged."

"Give him a break, Ron," Hermione said. "Anyone would be nervous in this situation. I would be."

Ron opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it. He watched her for a moment, resisting the urge to go and get the box out of the wardrobe and tell her exactly what was in it. "I'd be excited," he said after a moment.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. "That, too. But also nervous. It's a big thing. Oh, I can't wait until they announce it to everyone else. Your mum will be so thrilled."

"Yeah," Ron said, putting his own arms around her. "She will be."

"You want to get dinner tonight?"

"Hm?"

"I'm far too tired from work and far too nervous for Harry to think about cooking. And you seem distracted. We can just get something. Eat it here."

"That sounds good," Ron said. "And afterwards, I'd really like to just cuddle you."

Her face still pressed against his chest, Ron felt the vibrations of laughter.

"Why must you always laugh?" he said. "But when you ask, it's all adorable."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, lifting her head to look at him. "I wasn't laughing at you. I was just laughing at how sweet you are." She moved her arms around his neck. "Dinner and cuddling sounds wonderful. My favourite part of the day."

Ron pulled her back against him, tightening his hold on her. "Mine too," he mumbled into her hair, knowing full well that she would be able to hear his thumping heart that was threatening to jump out.

Two weeks couldn't come fast enough.

…

Ron didn't sleep much that night. He just couldn't get his plan out of his mind. Every time he started to drift off, another thought popped into his mind — something he'd forgotten, something he could maybe go without. Something that the more he thought about seemed utterly ridiculous, that she'd be more likely to laugh at him than agree to marry him.

He rolled one way, which was facing away from Hermione, then he thought maybe if he looked at her, the right idea would pop into his head. But then he had to roll back over again because his mind would start going into overdrive.

He stumbled into the kitchen at around seven, which — in his opinion — was far too early for a weekend morning. But Hermione was already up, and she had brewed a pot of coffee.

"Morning," she said as Ron sat down, yawning. "You couldn't sleep either?"

"What do you mean 'either'?" Ron asked. "You hardly moved all night."

"I just couldn't get to sleep," Hermione said, sitting opposite him with an excited grin. She slid a mug of coffee across to him, which he accepted gratefully. "I couldn't help thinking about what was happening with Harry and Ginny. I mean, they're probably engaged by now, and I just want to know how it went. I hope Harry didn't mess it up."

"Have some faith in the bloke, would you," Ron said, smirking. "I'm sure he did just fine."

"He was so nervous about it all."

"He'll be fine." Ron took a sip of the coffee, almost gagging on it. He hadn't expected it to be so strong.

Hermione winced. "I thought a double hit might be good this morning. Sorry, I forgot to tell you."

Ron pushed the coffee to the side, smiling at her. "Breakfast?" he asked.

"What's on the menu?"

"What do you want? I'll make it." Ron stood up and started to rummage through the fridge. It was still a weird contraption to him, but he was getting used to it. He was starting to think his dad was right about Muggles. They had an answer for everything wizards used magic for.

"We have eggs?" he said with his head inside the fridge. "Er… some, sausages?" He looked over his shoulder. "Bread? We really need to do some shopping. Mum's cooking and your parents' groceries are running out."

"Well, why don't we head into the city today and get some stuff?" Hermione asked. "We haven't really ventured into Nottingham city yet. Maybe even lunch together?"

Ron set the eggs and sausages onto the bench. "I'd love that," he said. "This is our last Saturday together for a few weeks. How many weeks do you have to work Saturday?"

"Until the law is — hopefully — passed."

Ron grinned. "You're working wonders in that department, you know? People are talking about it all throughout the Ministry. Dad said the whole department has never been more organised." He cracked the eggs into a bowl and whisked them together.

"Every department wants you," he added.

"That's not true," Hermione said.

"It is," Ron said. "I'm going to lose my girlfriend to her work entirely. They'll be asking you to be Head of the whole Magical Creatures department soon. The only times I'll see you is when you come home, and you'll be gone so early the next morning I probably won't even be awake when you leave."

Hermione didn't speak. Ron set about separating the sausages, and he pointed his wand at the stove to turn it on.

"That doesn't seem to bother you," she said, her tone thoughtful.

Ron shrugged, looking at what he was doing with the food.

"A while ago, you were almost ready to break up with me over it. But now, you sound —"

"I've grown up a little bit since then," Ron said. "Done some thinking. Besides, before, it was you not knowing how to relax and prioritising that over all your relationships. Now, you manage to separate it all, and we still get quality time together. And this is because you're doing such a great job, and they love you there and they have every right to love you. You're amazing at what you do. How can I be mad at that?"

He hadn't seen her approach him, but as he dropped the sausages into the frying pan, she spun him around and kissed him with a lot of force.

"Careful," Ron said, stepping away from the lit stove top. He pulled her back towards him, returning her kiss once away from the danger of an open flame.

"Maybe we should do lunch and see a movie?" Hermione suggested.

"I don't mind," Ron said, shrugging. He kissed her again.

There was a knock at the door, and then the sound of the front door being opened and closed.

"Hello?" It was Ginny. "We knocked this time. Are you decent?"

Hermione looked up at Ron and they both smiled at each other.

"In the kitchen!" Hermione called.

"Still didn't answer my question." Ginny's and Harry's footsteps echoed down the hall, the pair appearing in the kitchen a moment later.

Hermione dropped her arms from around Ron's neck and turned to face their friends. "It's just after seven in the morning. What brings the two of you here so early?"

Subtlety, Ron realised, was not Hermione's strong point. Come to think of it, it probably wasn't his either.

Their future children were doomed.

"Yes," he said, turning back to check on the sausages. "Last time I checked, you needed an invitation to come over to someone's house. Especially at this hour."

"Oh, lighten up, would you?" Ginny said cheerfully. "There's a reason we're here so early."

"I wonder what it could be," Ron muttered, suddenly feeling irritated and he didn't know why. It probably had something to do with the lack of sleep and what he had come to recognise as envy that everyone else's plans were working out and his weren't.

He felt a kick to his leg from Hermione.

"What's up with him?" Ginny asked.

"He didn't sleep well last night," Hermione explained. "We were… thinking about you guys."

Ron placed the eggs into the pan beside the sausages and finally turned around to look at his beaming sister and best mate, who both looked as equally happy as the other.

"I take it everything went well?" Hermione asked, sounding excited.

Ron glanced up and caught Harry's eye, who gave a small nod.

"Oh, that's so exciting!" Hermione cried, and she hurried forward to hug both Ginny and Harry. "I'm so happy for both of you!"

"Thanks!" Ginny said. "I had a feeling you two would have known already. Harry said he told Ron about it, and of course he would have told you, Hermione."

Charming the spoon to continue scrambling the eggs, Ron turned back to look at his sister, and smiled. "Congratulations, Gin," he said. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," Ginny said, beaming at him.

"Did Harry get you an engagement ring?" Hermione then asked. "I know it's not as common in the wizarding world, but I think they're so beautiful and really special."

"Yep," Ginny said, and she held out her left hand to show Hermione the ring. Ron peered over Hermione's shoulder and was pleased to know that Harry hadn't gone as extravagant as he had. That was something, at least.

"It's stunning," Hermione said. "Ohh, I'm just so excited for you. For both of you. My two best friends, getting married."

"Want breakfast?" Ron asked, suddenly getting the feeling that his plans with Hermione were not going to happen today. Everyone — including Hermione, it seemed — was much too preoccupied to worry about lunch and a movie now.

"If you two don't mind?" Harry said.

"Not at all!" Hermione exclaimed. She Summoned two chairs from the dining room into the kitchen and then got out four plates. "Ron's cooking. He's a good cook. Come and sit and tell me all about it."

While Ron finished the breakfast, throwing in extra eggs and sausages to cater for their two unexpected guests, he listened to Ginny and Harry detail the events of the night before.

It turned out Harry had really pulled through on his attempt at romance, and as Ron (and Hermione) had thought, the quiet affair had appealed to Ginny greatly. She had said yes in a heartbeat, and then they had enjoyed a nice dinner together, glad to see each other over a Quidditch weekend.

It had been a nice surprise for Ginny to have him there.

"Which got me thinking," Harry said as Ron brought the food to the table. "Well, us. The whole distance thing is really tricky, and we miss each other a lot when Ginny's away, which is like seven months of the whole year. You know I've never seen Grimmauld Place as a permanent spot, so with getting married and all, I think now is the perfect time to sell it."

"Sell Grimmauld Place?" Hermione asked, shocked. "But, Harry… that's all you have left of… Sirius."

"I know," Harry said. "But he hated the place, too. It's not like it meant anything to him. And I should be able to get enough from it for us to get our own place… in Holyhead."

"You want to move there permanently?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. "Why not? Ginny's locked to the place during the Quidditch season, and I have no such restrictions, so it's easier for me to do it."

"That's so far away from everything, though," Hermione said.

"Well, not for anyone who wants to come and visit us, is it?" Harry said.

Hermione smiled. "I guess Grimmauld Place kind of grew on me after a few years. The two of you added a warmth to it since you've been living there."

"Hey," Ron said, reaching a hand out to touch Hermione, "not your decision, is it?"

Hermione blushed. "Right. Yes. Sorry."

Harry laughed. "I'll think about selling it then, alright? But for as long as Ginny is playing with the Harpies, I'll be moving there."

"Should we toast?" Ron asked.

"With coffee?" Ginny said.

"Do you want some Butterbeer?" Ron replied. "I can get the Butterbeer."

"Coffee is fine," Hermione said, and she refilled everyone's cups. "This is to all of us moving on with our lives, finding our way, and… for being happy."

Ron beamed at her as she cast a glance his way.

"Here's to being very happy," he said.

And soon, he added privately, we'll be just as happy as Harry and Ginny are now.

NEXT CHAPTER. I promise! It's next chapter. Swear on it. Cross my heart.