'Does that mean--' Ron began.

'Yeah,' said Ginny, sounding annoyed. 'He'll almost certainly be coming back to school next year.'

Ron said nothing. He wasn't entirely comfortable broaching the subject of Draco Malfoy, because his feelings for Malfoy had become so complicated. On the one hand Draco had joined up with Voldemort, had betrayed them all to Voldemort, had almost poisoned Hermione. On the other hand, he didn't have the will to do it, and he fought the Death Eaters who only moments before he'd pledged allegiance to. There was a small part of Ron that was grateful to Draco for, in the end, helping him get Hermione out and for using the spell that had resulted in Wormtail's capture. Because of that, Sirius's name had been cleared. And that was something.

And Ron would never forget the look on Draco's face when his own father turned him over to be murdered with the rest of them. Ron tried to imagine his own father doing that to him, and the idea was purely hateful. Ron hated Draco Malfoy, but a small part of him was not only grateful to him, but pitied him. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. He shook his head and tried to think of other things.

He looked up at Harry, who was talking quietly with Ginny again. All of a sudden Ron realized just how much things had changed between him and Harry. How would Harry be around him and Hermione later this summer, when Harry and Hermione invariably came to visit him at the Burrow?

Hermione was right, thought Ron. It WAS simpler when we were little kids. Ron smiled when he thought of all that he, Harry and Hermione had been through. Burping up slugs, escaping a three-headed dog or a giant spider, taking exams, going to Yule Balls and Halloween balls, winning Quidditch matches, none of it seemed like a very big deal to Ron anymore. Important, but not that much so.

And then there was the whole 'I could be a Seer' thing, that Ron had not yet shared with anyone but Hermione. He had been keeping his journal quite faithfully, and so far, it hadn't really yielded TOO much information, but Ron had begun to wonder if maybe there was something to what Dumbledore had said. And the more Ron wrote in the journal, the less scary, actually, the whole idea seemed. He decided that he would be philosophical about it. If he was a Seer, he'd deal with it, and if not, he'd deal with that, too. Only in the fullness of time could he figure it out, so there was no point in getting stressed about it.

The events of the past year had irrevocably changed them all, and Ron realized with a jolt that perhaps all this was what it meant to be a man. To face one's fears, to make choices out of love for others instead of simple anger, to follow one's friends even to death, to become a better, stronger person, to be a part of something bigger than himself. He looked at Hermione, whose nose was buried in Witch Weekly. Then at Harry, who pushed his glasses up his and was comparing Chocolate Frog cards with Ginny. Something inside Ron flooded his heart and he felt a lump rising in his throat. He swallowed very hard and moved closer to Hermione, putting his arm around her, wishing just then that he could preserve that moment for the rest of his life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ron pulled his trunk off the train with a jolt.

'Hello, Ronniekins,' said Fred jauntily. 'Lemme help you with that trunk. Twin! Help me out here!'

George rolled his eyes and joined Fred in carrying Ron's trunk to the trolley. Ron greeted his mother, who was crying ('Mum, get a grip, I'm fine, you just saw me a week ago,'), and his father, who was beaming with pride. Charlie was there, to Ron's pleasant surprise ('Stupid git, don't you ever do anything that barmy again. And I've already given Bill the what-for.').

And Percy. Percy looked a bit fuller in the face than the last time Ron had seen him. He was dressed in plain, dark blue robes and was leaning heavily on a simple wooden cane. He started toward Ron, limping noticeably, but moving quite well all the same. He stopped in front of Ron.

'Ron,' he said, nodding. 'Good lord, you're tall.'

Ron smiled. 'You feeling okay, Percy?'

'Yeah,' said Percy. 'My new accessory.' He indicated his cane. 'Penelope says it makes me look very distinguished.'

Ron smiled again, and then without a word he put his arms around Percy.

'What's this?' Percy asked, hugging Ron back.

'Nothing,' said Ron, coughing, stepping back. 'Just...just glad you're okay. You...you staying on this summer?'

'Yeah,' said Percy. 'Fred and George forgave me. They even gave me their room.'

'Their room?'

'They moved out a week ago,' said Percy, smiling fondly at the twins as they greeted Bill and Fleur. 'Found their own place in Diagon Alley, with Lee Jordan. The three of them in one flat, that ought to be...interesting. Mum's sad about it, of course, but if you ask me it'll be nice not to have to listen to explosions coming out of their room every two minutes. I'll have plenty of peace and quiet to work on my cauldron thickness reports.'

Ron gave Percy a look, and Percy chuckled. 'Just kidding,' he said.

The rest of the luggage came off the train and was loaded onto carts. Two by two they walked through the barrier from Platform 9¾ and onto the platform in King's Cross station.

Meeting them were Tonks, Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody. Moody had on his usual heavy purple cloak and bowler hat. Tonks's hair was bright blue and spiky. She wore jeans, motorcycle boots, and another Weird Sisters t-shirt. Lupin looked as shabby as always, thinner and paler than usual, but he clutched Tonks's hand. Something was definitely going on between them, Ron thought, smiling to himself.

'Harry,' said Lupin, his voice a bit scratchy. 'Good to see you.'

'Hi,' said Harry. 'You-you okay?'

'Fine,' said Lupin. 'Well, I feel better than I look, anyway.'

Hermione greeted her parents, who hugged her tightly for quite a long time. Past Lupin, Tonks and Moody Ron could see the pinched faces of the Dursleys.

'All right then, Harry,' said Moody. 'You know the drill. Write to us early and often.'

'Thanks, Mad-Eye,' said Harry. He turned to Ron.

'See you soon, mate,' he said, clapping Ron on the shoulder. Ron, however, grabbed Harry and pulled into a tight hug. Harry paused for a moment, then hugged Ron back. They broke apart quickly.

'So, uh, don't go scaring the Muggles,' said Ron, looking at the floor. He then shook Harry's hand. 'See you soon, yeah?'

'You bet,' said Harry.

''Bye, Harry,' said Hermione, hugging him tightly. 'Take care of yourself.'

'I will,' said Harry, smiling.

'See you soon, Harry,' said Ginny, and she hugged him tightly.

'Thanks for everything, Ginny,' said Harry, hugging her back.

Ron noticed for a moment that the Dursleys were to a one tapping their feet impatiently, and that Harry's Uncle Vernon was turning an impressive shade of purple.

Harry waved to them all and walked slowly over to join his relatives, who all rolled their eyes and him. The massive son, Dudley, walked far away from Harry, clearly not wanting to get too close to him for some reason.

'Do you think he'll be okay?' Hermione asked.

'Yeah,' said Ron. 'He's got us, he's got Lupin, Tonks, all those folks.'

'Time to go, Hermione,' said the kind voice of Hermione's mother. She and Dr. Granger were heading toward the escalator.

'In a minute, Mum, please?' said Hermione. She turned to Ron and took his hands in hers.

'I'll miss you,' she said softly, her eyes filling with tears.

'We'll see each other soon,' said Ron, but he, too, was feeling more bereft than usual at having to say goodbye to her.

'Write me,' she said. 'A lot.'

'I will.'

'You promise?' said Hermione.

'I swear,' said Ron. 'C'mere.' He pulled her into a hug and buried his face into her hair. 'I love you.'

'I love you, too.'

He held onto her, not wanting to let go. 'I dunno how I'm supposed to manage a whole month without a shag,' he murmured.

Hermione pulled back and rolled her eyes. 'Ron!'

'What?' he said, feigning innocence.

'You're impossible.'

'You like me this way,' he said.

'I love you this way,' she said. 'Which means I am definitely mental.'

'I've known that about you all along,' said Ron, shrugging. 'I love you anyway.'

'Which means you're mental, too,' she said.

'Well, there you have it,' said Ron. 'We're perfect for each other.'

She giggled, and pressed something small and rectangular in his hand.

'You forgot this, by the way,' she said.

'What--' Ron began, and then he realized what it was. 'Oops.'

'You left it under your pillow,' she said. 'Thought you might want some light summer reading material.'

'Normally I'd say no,' said Ron, 'but as this is a subject that interests me greatly...'

Hermione rolled her eyes again, and hugged him.

'Just don't let Fred and George catch you with it, or they'll never let you hear the end of it. Oh! And don't forget, you have Apparition tests this summer, remember?'

Ron laughed and hugged her tightly.

'Hermione!'

'Coming, Mum!' Hermione pulled back and was starting to back away when Ron pulled her close again and kissed her, not long enough--he hoped--to make her father angry but long enough all the same to--he hoped--convey everything he was feeling at that moment.

She blushed and back away and walked, very slowly, to rejoin her parents. To Ron's relief they didn't look upset that he'd just kissed their daughter in front of them. They waved to him and the other Weasleys and headed off, up the escalator. Ron watched Hermione all the way out of the station, until he could no longer see the bobbing of her curly hair.

'Let's go and get the car, dear,' said Mr. Weasley, giving Ron's arm a playful sort of punch as he walked by. Mrs. Weasley, still crying, hugged Ron tightly.

'That's so wonderful, you and Hermione!' she sobbed, and hurried after her husband.

'Well, well, well,' said Fred, clapping Ron on the shoulder. Ron quickly stuffed the book Hermione had given him in his jacket pocket. 'Looks like ickle Ronniekins has finally gotten the girl.'

Ron smiled to himself, and then at Fred.

'I got a lot more than that,' he said, clapping Fred on the shoulder and picking up his trunk.

'What's that supposed to--ohhh, no. Ickle Ronnie achieved Number Four!'

'No way!' said George. 'Our ickle sibling is a man!'

'He's even shaving and everything!' said Fred.

Ron ignored them, dragging his trunk and Pigwidgeon's cage toward the escalator. For the first time, the twins' teasing didn't bother him in the least. Let them think what they wanted; he knew what he meant when he'd said he'd gotten more than the girl. He felt a grin play across his lips as he boarded the escalator. Pidgwidgeon hooted happily and fluttered back and forth, as though doing a wild, ecstatic dance. Ron grinned at the tiny owl.

'I know exactly how you feel, mate,' said Ron, grinning widely all the way to the car.

THE END

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Author's Note: And it's over. Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed--and a special thanks to my dedicated readers who read the whole damn thing AGAIN. I hope you liked the rewrite--I am so much happier with it, in so many respects. It was very hard to have Susan break poor Harry's heart. I hope I haven't turned people against her too much--I like the character in canon (even if we don't know much about her) and I didn't write her to be a bad person. But as I am planning a sequel that will eventually feature Harry/Ginny, well, I had to find a way to somehow end things with Harry/Susan in a way that I thought would fit the story, and in a way that doesn't make Susan out to be a complete villain. One thing I liked about Harry/Susan in this story is that Harry finally realizes what it's like to have a healthy relationship with a girl. So even though it doesn't work out in the end, in the long run he'll be much better for the whole experience.

As for this planned sequel, I couldn't begin to guess when that will start up; I'm going out of the country for a while so I won't have access to a computer until literally next year, and I am quite sure my writing won't go as fast, either, because next year promises to be a busy one. But I will definitely be writing. So thanks again to everyone who's read and enjoyed my stuff, and Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!