Ginny started having second thoughts about asking Hermione to stay behind almost as soon as Ron and Harry walked out the door. Perhaps Hermione had indeed wanted to go with them, but had just been too polite to tell Ginny so. Or perhaps she had wanted to get settled in Harry's house first and get some rest after the long trip from London, or else...

She was being silly, and she knew it. There was no reason to be nervous; this was Hermione, after all. True, they weren't exactly best friends growing up--too often, Ginny had felt like a tag-along in their close-knit group--but Hermione was practically a member of the family now, and she and Ginny had grown considerably closer over the years, especially after she and Ron had fallen in love and began dating.

Apart from her mother and Ron, there was no other person Ginny respected and trusted more than Hermione, and at the moment, there was also absolutely no one else she would rather talk to about this than her. The only problem was, she didn't really know how in the world to broach this particular subject.

"I'm glad we could spend some time together while I'm here, Ginny," Hermione said. "I've really missed you!"

Ginny smiled. "I've missed you too. It's been awfully lonely here ever since you three finished school..."

"Mmm, but not too lonely, I see," Hermione said not so-subtly, her mischievous grin causing Ginny's cheeks to be infused with a furious rush of warmth. Hermione had definitely picked up a few of Ron's bad habits over the years. "Seems you've had someone to keep you company, eh?"

Taking the cue, she said, "Colin's been wonderful, yes."

Hermione hummed nonchalantly. "I bet he has... Looks like things are getting quite serious between you two, Ginny. You looked ever so cozy over there not too long ago..."

"Well, yes, I guess you could say that," Ginny said. Her face grew even hotter, and she felt Hermione's eyes on her, but she couldn't bring herself to meet her gaze. Absently, she began running her finger around the rim of Harry's half-empty glass. "He... asked me to marry him today..."

"What?"

Ginny hadn't said it out loud until that moment; it sounded just as foreign to her ears as she had imagined it would. She looked up at Hermione, who clearly had not been expecting to hear those words. There was silence for a few moments, until Hermione finally closed her mouth and formed a smile.

"That's... that's fantastic!! Congratulations!! This is really wonderful... isn't it?"

Ginny hesitated. "It's... well, it's a bit unexpected..."

"Oh," Hermione said. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, I misunderstood, then... When you said things were getting serious-"

"They were... they are..." Ginny paused to take a breath. This was not how she had wanted things to come out at all.

"This is what you wanted to talk to me about, isn't it? Colin asking you to marry him..."

Wordlessly, Ginny nodded.

"Well," Hermione said. "This is pretty big news..."

"I... I told him I'd need some time to think about it," Ginny said. "Oh, Hermione--do you think I'm absolutely awful for wanting to wait to give him his answer?"

"No!! Heavens, no, of course, not!" Hermione reached over and took Ginny's hands in hers. "This is a big step, Ginny--you can't just rush into it. If you're not sure, then of course you shouldn't say yes straight away..."

"But he deserves an answer," Ginny said softly.

"And you deserve as much time as you need."

Ginny sighed. "I dunno, this shouldn't have thrown me for such a loop... I mean, it's not the first time we're talked about marriage. We've brought it up before--or at least he has..."

Hermione was quiet. Ginny could tell something was weighing heavily on her mind, even if she seemed reluctant to volunteer the information.

"What is it?"

"Hmm? What's what, Ginny?"

"That look," she said. "I know that look."

Hermione gave her a puzzled smile. "What look?"

"That Ron-must-have-done-something look. Heaven knows I saw it on your face often enough during fourth year, and countless times after that."

Now it was Hermione's turn to blush deeply; Ginny knew then that she had indeed hit the bull's eye.

"Ginny, we're talking about you here, not me and Ron-"

"Nice try, but I'm not letting you get off so easily," Ginny said. "I just bared my soul to you, and now it's your turn. What's inconsiderate git done this time?"

"Ginny!" At least Hermione was laughing; this was a good sign. "Come on, you know he's not like that..."

"But he has done something, hasn't he?"

"No, no, you don't understand... It's not something he's done... I mean, that's just it--he hasn't done anything..."

"What d'you mean?" Ginny said. "What do you want him to do?"

Hermione sighed. It seemed she had been giving this a lot of thought lately. "Anything," she said quietly. "And... and everything..."

Ginny gave her a knowing smile. "Ah," she said, "I think I'm beginning to understand..."

"Oh good," Hermione said. "Would you mind explaining it to me, then?"

"He's an impossible one to love, isn't he?" Ginny said, half-wondering if she had meant it more about someone else than about Ron.

"No, Ginny, it's not that. It's not that I don't love him--I do. In fact, I think I love him more now than I did before, if that's even possible..."

Quietly, Ginny said, "I know."

"But... sometimes, I can't help but wonder... I wonder, where is this going? We've been friends for almost half our lives..." She smiled. "And in love for probably just as long... He's been my best friend, my boyfriend... I just don't think it's possible for any two people to get any closer than we already are..."

"And so, you were wondering," Ginny said, "when you'll take that next step."

"I can't just be his 'girlfriend' forever," Hermione said softly. "And I don't want to be. I want to be his wife. I want to be the mother of his children... That shouldn't be too much to ask... should it?"

"Of course not..."

"But I guess the real question is... does he want that too..."

"Well that's one answer I am sure of," Ginny said. "Hermione, if there's one thing I know, it's that Ron loves you with all his heart. And the future he's always planned has you in it. Always."

"Then... why can't he just tell me that?" Hermione said. "Why does he have to make this so much more complicated than it needs to be?"

"Because it's Ron."

Even Hermione had to laugh.

"You know him--heaven forbid he would ever just come out and say what he's really feeling. I mean, look how long it took him just to admit how he felt about you!"

"I guess I did have to take a bit of an aggressive stance there, didn't I?" Hermione said.

Ginny rolled her eyes, but grew serious once more. "Trust me, Hermione," she said. "Trust him. I'm as sure of it as I've ever been of anything. Someday soon, my brother is finally going to get over whatever these insecurities are--and then you'll be stuck with us for life!" She leaned over and grinned. "Last chance to back out now..."

"Not a chance," Hermione said. "I can't think of anything better."

She's so lucky, Ginny thought. At least she knows what she wants...

"Now about you..."

"Oh no, no, no," Ginny laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "Enough about that. I'm all talked out, Hermione. And besides, I've got a class to teach--and I know you must be dying to see the school again and visit with everyone..."

But Hermione was far too perceptive; she wasn't about to buy Ginny's attempt to cut this conversation short. "Are you sure you're all right?" she said.

"Yeah," Ginny said. "I will be."

And for that split second, she almost believed it.

"So how does it feel to be on the other side of that desk now, Harry?"

Harry smiled and sat on the edge of his table. "Honestly?" he said. "It's... strange..."

"Well, I reckon it must be," Ron laughed. He pulled a chair from one of the desks--one that was entirely too small for him in particular to be sitting in, but he tried to make do with it anyway. "Especially remembering all those things we used to say about our teachers when they weren't listening..." As if realizing how that must have sounded, he quickly added, "Bet they don't say that about you, though."

"I would hope not," Harry said with a shudder. "It is different very different from Quidditch, I'll tell you that--and a lot bloody harder, if you want the truth, too." He looked up at Ron. "I dunno... maybe I was meant to do this all along, and the whole Quidditch career was a fluke."

Ron cringed. "Come on, mate, don't say things like that... You were the best. You really were."

"But not quite good enough to duck out of the way of a crazed Seeker, eh?"

Ron didn't say anything, only offering up a sympathetic smile, which he probably felt wasn't enough. To Harry, though, it meant the world. Harry knew that if he only could, Ron would gladly tear that Seeker apart limb from limb with his bare hands, and really, that was all Harry needed to know.

And he realized that after all this time, he had finally made his peace with it; he had finally begun to heal.

"Shame isn't it," Ron said softly, "that life doesn't always come with a map... especially when we need it most..."

Harry smiled, and watched Ron as he mindlessly began to run his hands down the grooves of the desktop. "Why do I get the feeling," he said, "that we're not talking about my situation anymore?"

Ron looked up and gave Harry an exasperated look, to which Harry feigned innocence.

"What?" he said. "I was merely making an observation..."

"Don't start, please," Ron said, groaning. "I don't need anyone to analyze me, thanks."

"Well, I didn't say I was talking about you... did I?"

Harry knew he had gotten him now. Even Ron must have realized it, for he finally shook his head and laughed, though he still didn't look Harry in the eyes.

"All right, out with it," Harry said.

"Out with what?"

"With whatever it is that's been making you brood."

Ron shot him a wounded look. "I do not brood."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

He tried not to laugh at that statement; Ron obviously needed his support for whatever this was, and he decided it would probably be too insensitive to contradict him on this particular fact.

"Is this about you and Hermione, Ron?"

Harry knew immediately he had guessed correctly, because Ron didn't answer.

"Looks like I've hit a nerve," he said. "Perhaps even the same one Hagrid hit earlier."

"Oh, what're you talking about, mate?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you seem to lose the power of speech every time the subject of weddings and marriage has come up lately." He got up from the desk and walked over to where Ron was sitting. "What is going on with you?"

"It's..." Ron sighed and shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "It's nothing."

"Like hell it's not."

"Harry, I really don't want to talk about this-"

"Too bad, I'm not going anywhere."

Ron rolled his eyes, to which Harry just grinned.

"Trust me, you don't want me boring you with this..."

"Try me," Harry said. "Come on, just talk to me, will you? It's obviously eating you up inside... And besides, I can't take any more of this swinging back and forth much longer. One minute you and Hermione are happy as can be, and then... blimey, it's like it's fourth year all over again!"

Ron's lips curved into a lop-sided grin. "Come on, we haven't been that bad."

"No," Harry said. "Sometimes you've been worse."

They both laughed, and for Ron, it seemed to do a world of good. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, his eyes resting at nothing in particular up ahead, and then, he began to talk.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"When did you know?" he said. "When did you know that... Hermione and I fancied each other?"

Harry smiled. "If you want to know the truth, I reckon I already had a feeling about it in our first year."

"First year??"

"Sure," he said. "God, Ron, you were so awful to her-"

"Hey, so were you-"

"But not as bad as you, mate."

Ron arched an eyebrow. "And how exactly did that show I liked her?"

"Well, there were other moments, too," Harry said. "There were those nights in the common room, d'you remember? We would stay up late, working on Potions, or some other abominable thing, and she would be helping you with your homework... I never told you this, Ron, but I would watch you two, sometimes. I'd watch how you two would speak to each other, how you'd look at each other. How you'd laugh over the same things or give each other a hard time over something or other... I think... I think I knew it then already--I reckon it never really surprised me when you told me."

"When did this all become so damn complicated?" Ron said softly.

"Perhaps you made it so."

Ron looked at him questioningly. "What d'you mean?"

"Ron, what do you want? Be honest--if not with yourself, then at least with me..." Harry paused. "Do you love her?"

"What kind of a bloody question is that?" Ron said. "Of course, I do!"

"Then why bring in all this other rubbish into it? What does it all matter?"

"It matters."

Ron stood up, and for a moment, it seemed as if he didn't know what to do, or where to go, but he just needed any excuse to not look in Harry's eyes. Finally, he settled by the window and looked outside, where Harry could hear the sounds of first years in Madam Hooch's flight class.

"What if she wakes up one day, Harry," Ron said, "and realizes she wasted all this time with me? What if she realizes I'm not the one who can give her what she wants, what she deserves? What if she begins to wonder who she would have been if she had loved other people, or done other things?"

"And what if you wake up one day and realize you waited too long for her? What then?"

With his back still turned to Harry, Ron simply shook his head. "I dunno," he said. "I just... don't."

"Ron, I've watched you two become friends. I've watched you fall in love. I've seen you do things for each other that no one else would ever think to do unless they couldn't imagine their lives without that other person. Do you really believe for one second that she'd ever question that?"

"I want to marry her, Harry, I do." There was so much pain in his voice, that Harry was taken aback. "I just... I don't want fifty years to go by and have her wonder whether she did the right thing by choosing me..."

Harry was quiet; the words struck a chord deep within him as well, unexpectedly. Regret was indeed a terrible thing, and he knew that more than anyone. Quietly, he got up and came to Ron's side, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't do this, Ron. Don't push her away and hurt her like this when you both want the same thing..." He swallowed hard, feeling a strange lump in his throat that he hadn't even known was there until now. And each word started to become more difficult than the last. "Love is so rare, mate," he said softly. "If you're lucky enough to find it--and you have--don't be a bloody fool and let your fears get in the way of it all... Just... take a chance..."

Ron stood still for such a long time that Harry wondered if he would ever stir.

"You're right," he said at last. Then he turned around. "Bloody hell, you're right!" He started to run towards the door.

"Wait a minute--where are you going??"

"There's something I've got to do right now... Don't worry, Harry, I'll be back in time for your class--I just have to do this right now..."

"Wait, Ron-"

But he had already flown out the door, even before Harry could finish getting the words out of his mouth. He laughed out loud and shook his head. Perhaps, he thought, things would be okay with them after all.

If only he could say the same thing about himself.