Author's Note: I'm not completely following canon. Just enjoy!

Chapter 1

"Hermione!"

My eyes snapped open and I bolted up with a start. It was still the middle of the night; I could only have been asleep for a few hours. I looked around me, clasping my chest in surprise, to try to find the source of the disruption. I couldn't clearly make out the voice – so I began grasping for my wand.

"Hermione," the voice was gentler this time, gentler and also much nearer. I felt a hand clasp mine. I gasped.

He laughed, as if he hadn't suddenly woken me from a dead sleep, but that I had simply said something amusing. With a flick of his wand his face was suddenly illuminated and I could see that he was still in his pajamas. His red hair and pale face, covered in freckles, were clearly visible even in the dim lighting.

"Ron? Pardon me, but I believe I was sleeping. What exactly are you doing in my room at this hour?" I looked around me, slightly bewildered, adjusting my eyes to the light. I had only just settled at my childhood residence in Westminster Abbey in these past weeks, ever since I had retrieved my parents from Australia and restored their memories. After the defeat of Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts, there had been no reason for me not to bring them back to England, as there safety was no longer in danger. I had promised Harry and Ron that I return to The Burrow after I had spent some much needed time with my family, and although the day I would leave my parents again was rapidly approaching, I was extremely happy to see Ron, regardless of the circumstance.

My face softened upon noticing that he looked a bit hurt at my outburst. Our relationship had only changed a few short months ago. After almost ten years our platonic childhood friendship had evolved into something more. It was still difficult and overwhelming to accept this change among the so many others that had taken place recently. The defeat of Voldemort was one of those things, and nightmares of him and death still invaded my dreams from time to time. But mostly, all was well. Things were better. The future looked bright.

But what was he doing here, barging into my room at this hour? Still, I couldn't help from jumping out of my bed and hugging him as tightly as my arms would allow, nightgown and all. "I'm sorry, Ron," I said, coming out of the hug. He looked surprised at the sudden shift in mood. "I was only startled. I've missed you." I looked up at him sheepishly, not knowing what sort of reaction to expect – perhaps he had been caught up in the moment, perhaps he didn't feel the same way anymore. His sudden embrace during the battle had been a dream come true in a hellish nightmare, but nothing more had been said about that – too much had happened all at once, it had all been business and celebration after the victory. Here we were, though, alone in my room only inches apart. It was, to say the least, unexpected.

What was more unexpected was his reaction. He took my chin and kissed me lightly. "I've missed you too," he chuckled, turning a bright red that I could still see even in the lack of lighting. There was a moment, and I finally came to my senses. I pulled away from him and smoothed my hair, trying to pull myself together. "What are you doing here at this hour, though? Is something wrong?"

"No," he said quickly, "nothing's wrong. I just need to you to come back home with me."

"Back home?" I asked. "You mean to The Burrow? Now?"

"Well…yes."

"May I ask why?"

"It's Harry and Ginny."

"What about them?"

"Well…Harry's proposing. Tonight." He glanced at his watch. "Two and a quarter of an hour, to be exact."

"Oh my goodness!" I replied. "Oh my goodness, this is wonderful!" I began doing a little dance, grabbing Ron and jumping around my room with only the dim light guiding us. He laughed again, grabbing me and straightening me out. "Have you been wondering at all why he's doing it now?"

I stopped jumping and looked at him pointedly for interrupting my excitement. Also, I didn't enjoy being asked why I hadn't asked a question. That wasn't usually something that happened. Ever. "Well, obviously that was my next question," I huffed, crossing my arms in distaste.

He ignored my quip and began: "We have to ride out there on broomstick, just so we can round up some owls."

"Owls?" I asked, a little startled. "Why?"

"Harry's idea," he said. "And you know they like it best at night. They're more agreeable, and that's just what we need. Now come on, it'll explain itself. I'm sure you love it, you women are quite fond of romantics."

"I resent that statement!" I replied, grabbing my wand and throwing together a suitcase to strap to the back of his broom. I also transfigured my outfit into something more fit for public. "Men enjoy them too, you know. I believe you're probably the only male without sentiment."

"I've heard that a fair few times. Hard as a rock, I am. You would know," he nudged me suggestively, and I shook my head at him. "If that innuendo is aimed at me, I won't hear it and I won't respond to it!" I hoisted my bag up to the windowsill and opened my window curtain as well as the window itself. "Shall we?" I motioned to the still night outside of my room, and before I knew it I was being swung by my waist onto his broomstick, clinging for dear life. We had to have had been going a million miles an hour, as we reached the owlery near his house in what seemed like mere moments.

"Why in the world couldn't we just apparate here?" I said, my knees buckling as we hit the ground. He made another sudden movement, grabbing me as I went to hit the ground and pulling me closer to him. "I just love it when you're on a broomstick with me. It feels like for once in your life you don't know what's going on. That, and the fact that you cling to me like a pigmeypuff on a tree branch."

I couldn't help but laugh. I was giddy and energetic from the unexpected visit, the announcement of Harry and Ginny's pending engagement, and the fact that I happened to be so close to Ron that I could smell his shampoo.

He pulled me towards the owlery and immediately started summoning a few tawny owls toward us. I began doing the same, until we had about a dozen owls altogether. "This should be enough," he said, bringing his wand arm up to summon myself and the owls outside and towards The Burrow. I followed until I finally inquired: "What exactly is it that we're doing? I think now might be the right time to fill me in."

"Well, our neighbor Mrs. Pendamore let us borrow a few of her owls. I mean…if you can call someone who lives a mile off a neighbor…"

"Yes, Ronald, I've gathered that. Now what are the owls supposed to be doing after we get them to The Burrow?"

"Well, you've helped me all you need to at the moment. But when we get back, I need you to wake up Ginny. Give her an excuse to come outside. Tell her there's some sort of emergency; just get her outside. Then George and I'll do the rest."

"You haven't answered my question."

"Oh, haven't I?" he replied jovially. "Well, just wait it out. Like I said, it'll be quite a bit of a spectacle."

I huffed impatiently as we approached our destination. He began walking away from me. "Now go get Ginny!" he said. Soon he was out of sight.

I ran towards his home and upon entering found myself in a quiet, empty kitchen. I went up the steps, hustling until I finally reached Ginny's room. I could see Harry's things lying around the room, and an empty spot in a large bed that was half occupied. I approached her and began to jostle her lightly.

"Hmm…?" She began waking up, rubbing her eyes and finally focusing them on me. "Hermione!" she exclaimed, waking up completely and almost immediately. She grabbed me and started squeezing me tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ginny!" I said, happy to finally see her once again. I regained composure, realizing there was a task at hand, and finally said: "You need to get outside right now!"

"What?" she asked, startled. "What's wrong?

"It's Harry," I stated, maintaining a very serious face. "Come on, right now!"

She was too surprised to say anything else; she simply followed me as I took her by the hand and led her to the front garden.

We stopped abruptly. Ginny looked around, confused by the silence and stillness of the night. "What's going – "

"Ginny," Harry said, appearing out of nowhere and next to the both of us. I was delighted to see him, but just then I felt a hand on the back of my shoulder pull me behind the house. "You can watch our handiwork from here," I heard George say behind me. I looked back at him, confused by the comment. His brother, partner in crime as well as business, had died only a few short months ago in the battle. They had been known for coming up with ingenious spectacles and inventions. What could he mean by "our" handiwork?

"Ron's becoming quite the little inventor. Never expected out of him, but we must give credit where it's due, am I right, Hermione?" he smirked, and I nodded at him as he disappeared, thankful that he had answered the question without my having to ask.

All of the sudden I heard the bustle of wings flapping. The owls began congregating in the center of the yard, flying in unison with what seemed like a huge roll of parchment in their talons.

The parchment flew open, and on it were the words: "Will You Marry Me?"

A POP! And there were fireworks. Believe me, though; these weren't your everyday Muggle fireworks. They swam and danced on the yard, startling the garden gnomes and forcing them out of their hiding places. I saw a broomstick flying from the top most windows, obviously summoned by its owner. Harry and Ginny came into view on the Firebolt V5, a little gift Harry had purchased for himself after his victory over Voldemort. Little hearts conjured themselves atop of their figures, making Ginny laugh and point. She saw me, gave an exaggerated wave, and then they disappeared from view, soaring off into the clouds.

I felt myself crying and clapping joyously by myself, alone in the garden and feeling slightly ridiculous. I ran up to the house, where I met Ron at the doorstep. "Oh, Ron!" I said. "That was so wonderful! You and George did that?"

"Yes," he said, looking a little perturbed and not at all as excited as I would expect for the occasion. "Listen, I need to talk to you about a few things."

He led me into the kitchen, taking my hand and sitting me down. "I didn't just bring you here because I wanted you to see Harry and Ginny's engagement. There are some things I need to tell you. Important things."

"Okay," I said, sitting myself down at the kitchen table. He stayed standing.

"Ginny's pregnant."

"What?" I exclaimed, almost jumping up from my seat. How could it be? She still had another year left at Hogwarts, for goodness sakes! What would she do?

I started to begin saying something else, but he stopped me. "George and I are leaving for Romania in a month, as well."

I was dumbfounded. Ron waited for a response, but when one didn't come, he continued.

"It's only for a few weeks. George wants me to continue Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as his partner, to take the place of…well, you know…"

His voice trailed off. Finally he turned to me and kneeled.

"I don't thing now is the right time for us to be together."

I tried to contain myself, surprised at the sudden recognition of the situation we had awkwardly avoided for quite some time. "Why?" I asked softly. "What did I do?"

"Nothing! Nothing…Hermione, I – I just want to make sure I have something before we're together, before anything happens. Look at Harry and Ginny, now they're stuck together –"

"Stuck together?" I exclaimed, perturbed at his perspective. "Harry loves Ginny, and she loves him. You know that – "

"Yes, I do. But still, I mean – what if that happened to us? I don't want us to be together just because we feel like we have to."

"I'm sure it's not like that – "

"Maybe not, but maybe it is! We need to live our lives before we grow up, Hermione. Look at them, 17 and 18 and about to get married. They're too young. So are we. We had so much that could've been taken from us, don't you see that? The battle put things into perspective. Fred didn't even get to live, and now look at him. Six feet under." He practically spat on the ground. It was hard for me to see him like this, so bitter and cynical. I began crying.

"Hermione, please – " He was close to me now, and he looked upset at my reaction, Well, he should be.

"Ron, I thought – I thought – " I began hiccupping. Taking a deep breath and steadying my voice, I said, "I love you."

He looked at me, complete and utter surprise written across his face. I heard him gulp loudly. I waited for him to say something, feeling more ignorant than I ever had in my life. When I finally felt like I was going to get up and leave, he said, "I love you too, Hermione."

I gasped, and then suddenly his lips were on mine, and we were kissing with so much passion I could barely feel the floor. He grabbed me towards him and then propped me on the table, his arms around my waist and his mouth moving down to my neck. I made an involuntary moan, which sent his lips back to mine and his arms beneath my shirt, which was soon on the floor along with his own.

He continued, caressing my body and neck until we heard a noise come from upstairs. "My room?" he managed to gasp. Without waiting for a response he picked me up from underneath the knee and ran me to his bed, on the topmost floor. He laid me there.

"Now, we're above everyone else, so be quiet," he murmured as his lips started roam across my body.

"Ron!" I whispered urgently. He looked up at me and began kissing me again, as if my objection had been an insistence for him to continue. I couldn't get myself to speak up again; I was in a hazy cloud of lust that I couldn't maneuver out of.

He began removing everything imaginable when I finally said: "Wait!"

"What?" he said, looking up at me, his face red with anticipation.

"I'm…I've never…"

"Oh," he said, understanding my meaning. "Oh. I…do you still…"

"Yes," I nodded, bracing myself, wondering if this would be something I would regret. "But don't leave me," I added, as he began to move himself above me, putting his hand against my flushed cheek the other around my waist. "I don't want you to go to Romania."

"All right," he paused, kissing me gently. "I won't."

I hoped and prayed that he wasn't lying.