The next morning, the Weasley Twins Apparated to the Burrow. They had come to help their mother with the wedding preparations before they set off to their shop.
Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes was doing excellent business these days. They featured a new line of dark magic gags and even some cleaver weapons. The Twins had even sold some of their products to the Ministry of Magic and the Order. The Weasley Twins were just full of brilliance these days, and supplied their own comic relief to the community.
Fred and George fixed themselves a cup of coffee and settled down at the table that was mounded with papers dealing with the wedding. They talked quietly between themselves as they waited for their mother to get out of the shower.
“Forge, did we remember to put out the new stock yesterday?” Fred asked his twin as they looked through the papers on the table.
“Yes, Gred, the new stock boy put it out,” George chuckled. “And he spilled the vanishing powder on his feet and the boy honestly cried because he thought his feet had disappeared.” Fred laughed. “I think we should be more selective of our employees.”
“You know, we really should bring Harry down to see how big the store has gotten.”
“Brilliant idea, Fred!” George said, remembering a very important fact. “We could use that as the distraction for Harry’s surprise party!”
“Mum’ll be thrilled!”
“Yeah, now all we have to do is tell her that before we tell her about ‘forgetting’ to pick up the dress robes,” said George, supporting a sheepish grin.
“It wasn’t our fault that two lovely dames walked into our shop right as we were about to close,” smirked Fred.
“They were very interested in our---” George paused. “Did you hear some thing Gred?” They both stopped talking and listened intently. Suddenly they heard it again. “Is that snoring?” They both looked at each other and then said in unison, “Ron!”
“Blimey, you can hear him all the way down here!” Fred said while looking a little shocked.
“No, he’s closer,” said George as he walked toward the living room. “He’s in here!” Fred set down his cup of coffee and quickly joined his twin. The sight in front of them shocked the both of them.
Ron was entangled with Hermione on the couch. Ron was asleep on his back while Hermione lay on top of him with her arms wrapped around him. One of Ron’s arms dangled to the floor while the other was up across Hermione’s waist. They were both sleeping peacefully with the exception of Ron’s rather loud snoring.
“I’m sure finding out that his two best mates are dating will be a lovely birthday present for Harry,” smirked Fred.
“I don’t understand,” said George while shaking his head. “Ron’s too thick-headed to get a girl. I mean; we’re more attractive than he is!”
“No, it’s not that he’s loony. It’s Hermione! All those books have gone to her head!”
“What would mother dearest say?” they asked in unison. Just then, they heard her coming down the stairs. The two looked at each other and shared a demonic grin.
“Good morning, boys,” said Mrs. Weasley as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
“ ‘Morning, Mum,” they said in unison. “We think there is something you should see,” they smirked.
“What on earth would there be for me to see at seven in the morning?” she asked as she made her way over to the Twins. Mrs. Weasley dropped her cup of coffee which shattered and spilled all over the floor. “RONALD BILLUS WEASLEY, WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?”
Ron and Hermione awoke with a start and jumped off the couch.
“Erm… Morning, Mum,” said Ron, looking very tired, shocked, and scared all at the same time.
“What do you have to say for yourself? I would have never expected this behaviour out of you Ron and Hermione! Why I never thought you’d…” Mrs. Weasley trailed off as Fred and George snickered in the background.
“We didn’t do anything, Mum, honest,” said Ron with red ears and face.
“It’s true, Mrs. Weasley,” Hermione said, who was also scarlet. “We were talking and we just… must have fell asleep.”
Hermione bit her lip and Ron looked nervous as they waited for Mrs. Weasley to say something. Her stern face suddenly softened and she smiled. “Well, don’t let me catch anything much more than that or your father will be hearing about it.” Mrs. Weasley smiled and then headed back out into the kitchen. The twins looked at each other in shock because they had never see their mother let anyone off the hook that easy, let alone smile about it. Ron and Hermione took advantage of the silence and headed toward the stairs. However, Mrs. Weasley caught them before their feet ever touched the first step.
“Remember that today is Harry’s Birthday and that we have to get him out of the house by noon.”
“Oh, Mum, we got that under control,” said Fred.
“Yeah, were going to take him to the shop with us today,” finished George.
“Oh and by the way, we ‘forgot’ to pick up the dress robes,” added Fred quickly.
“YOU WHAT?” Mrs. Weasley shirked. “HOW COULD YOU FORGET? NOW THEY HAVE TO BE RE-ORDERED!”
“Sorry, Mum, something came up.” the Twins said in unison.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘SOMETHING CAME UP’?” Mrs. Weasley howled as Ron and Hermione snuck out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs. They didn’t stop until they reached the first landing.
“Well, that was interesting,” said Ron, rubbing the back of his head.
“Yeah,” said Hermione and they both laughed. “Thanks for last night, Ron. It meant a lot to me.”
“Yeah, same to you,” said Ron. They started to move closer. They’re faces were inches away”
“Morning, Ron,” said Harry as he came down the stairs. Ron stopped were he was and huffed with a disgruntled look on his face. Dammit, Harry! Ron thought . I was so close.
“Where were you?”
Ron turned around to face Harry with an odd expression on his face. Hermione stepped behind Ron and looked down at the floor. She was both disappointed and embarrassed to be caught in this position.
“Erm…bad dream,’ said Ron. “So I went downstairs and fell asleep on the couch.” It was right then when Harry noticed that Hermione was hiding behind Ron. A smirk spread over Harry’s face.
“I see you two are on speaking terms again,” said Harry as Ginny came out of the bathroom across the hall.
“What are we having, a snogging party in front of my room?” Ginny asked with a grin.
“I was…err…just talking to Hermione,” stammered Ron.
“Right,” Ginny said with a sarcastic look spreading across her face. “Well, excuse me, but I need to get dressed. We have a long day ahead of us. Come on, Hermione.” Ginny pushed though Ron and Hermione. In doing so, she pulled Hermione into the room and shut the door. This left Harry and Ron in the corridor in an awkward silence. The pair looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment until Ron went up the stairs and Harry into the bathroom.
***************
“Hermione, if you only knew what you were missing,” Ginny sighed fifteen minutes later.
“What are you talking about?” Hermione asked as she went through her trunk.
“Um…well, I was just referring …darn!” Ginny said, running her fingers through her dark red hair, her face matching it completely.
“Is there something your not telling me, Ginny?” Hermione questioned, looking up from her trunk. “Something to do with Harry, maybe?”
“You caught me. Harry and I are snogging again.” Ginny smiled sheepishly. “You know how I hate being wrong. I thought that you and Ron would be at it before Harry and I so…”
“So? I can’t believe you haven’t told me before now, although, I figured as much.” Hermione smirked.
“I’m sorry, Hermione. I just didn’t think. I was so focused on you and my git of a brother that Harry caught me by surprise and I didn’t really want you to find out before you and Ron were snogging,” Ginny said, slightly flustered, but then she smiled knowingly. “But it doesn’t’ matter right now because I heard an interesting story from Mum this morning.”
“Oh, well…” Hermione blushed. “Nothing happened. We were talking and we just…fell asleep.”
“In each others arms right? Why wont you just tell me that you and by brother had a snogging session last night?”
“No, we didn’t! Ginny, a person can tell and express love without snogging.” Hermione looked at Ginny with anger on her face. However, her eyes showed sorrow and fear for they were swimming with tears. Quietly, Ginny sat down on her bed and said, “I know, Hermione, I know.”
“I’m sorry, Ginny, it’s just that…” Hermione looked up at Ginny and realized she felt the same way about Harry as she did for Ron, despite all her comments on snogging. “I love him,” she finished.
“I know, I love him too,” Ginny said looking at her hands. “I’m just so afraid. What if I lose my brother? What if I lose Harry or anyone else? I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Ron, or Harry for that matter. I only pretend to be brave and happy with my stupid jokes.” Ginny sighed; tears filled her eyes and ran down her face. Hermione looked at Ginny, realizing she felt the same fears she did and the compassion she felt for her and her own doubts welled up inside her once more.
“I know, Ginny, I know,” she said as she sat down next to her friend, hugging her as tears ran down her face as well.
“Ginny, Hermione--- Mum said that Harry left and she wants us downstairs,” Ron said as he bore into the girls room. He then suddenly realized that something was wrong with Hermione and Ginny. “What happened? Did someone die?”
“RON YOU GIT! GET THE BLOODY HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!” Ginny screamed at her wall so that Ron wouldn’t’ see her crying.
“Don’t you ever knock, Ron?” Hermione said, exasperated. She was slightly less embarrassed than Ginny, considering that he had seen her cry before.
“Erm…sorry,” he mumbled, looking at the floor. “I didn’t think…”
“OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T THINK! YOU NEVER DO, DO YOU?” Ginny shouted at Ron, who was looking more uncomfortable by the second. He looked at Hermione for a second, his face turning red. He mumbled something that could have been an apology and stumbled out of the room. “Sometimes it amazes me that you like him,” Ginny laughed as she wiped her tears from her eyes. “How could someone so smart fall for someone with no common sense?”
“Opposites attract?” Hermione said with a smile on her face and a shrug of her shoulders.
Ginny laughed and said, “Come on, let’s go down stairs. Harry’s party wont decorate itself!”
***********
“Mum, he’s going to be here any minute, everything’s fine!” Ginny said as her mother tried to straighten party decorations.
“Oh, dear, I just want everything to be perfect.” Mrs. Weasley then started to look frantically around the sitting room.
“What is it, Mum?”
“Where are Ron and Hermione? Go find them! He’ll be here in the next fifteen minutes!”
“Hermione and Ron . . . No, it couldn’t be,” Ginny said with a smile on her face that could have rivaled the twin’s own mischievous grins.
“What was that, dear?”
“Nothing Mum, I’ll go find those two,” Ginny replied with an evil smirk. Ginny ran off, looking for Ron and Hermione. After about ten minutes of searching, she found them in the closet off the kitchen. She watched for a second as Ron took a piece of something out of Hermione’s hair, as he blushed and mumbled, “That doesn’t belong there.”
I had no idea my git of a brother could be so sweet,” Ginny thought. She watched as Hermione and Ron looked shyly at each other and then started to lean closer and closer together. Ginny tried to shut the door before they noticed it was open but Ron, getting shy, looked away from Hermione just in time to see Ginny.
“I’m s-sorry, Mum wanted you, Harry’s going to be here any minute, um, sorry,” she said, trying to hide a grin.
“Tonks sent me to get something. Remus sent Hermione,” Ron gushed out, his ears turning extremely red, blending right in with his hair. Hermione just shook her head and sighed as she started to walk out. Ginny and Hermione shared a sly smile as they passed. Ron saw this and muttered, “Girls,” as he followed them out.
Moments later, Harry and the Twins appeared through the fire with an armful of dress robes. The room suddenly exploded with a loud chorus of ‘Happy Birthday!’
“Happy Birthday, mate!” Ron said while patting Harry on the back. “Now we’re both of age. We can both Apparate now.” Harry looked at Ron with a shocked expression on his face. He had forgotten that it was his birthday with everything that had been going through his mind.
“Well, that’s not until after you two take your test.” Hermione beamed as she hugged Harry. “Happy Birthday!”
“Hey, where’d Ginny go? She was right behind us!” Ron asked with a quizzical look on his face. All of a sudden, Ron let out a grunt of surprise as he saw a red blur hurtle towards him and Harry. In a matter of seconds Ginny was shouting, “Happy Birthday, Harry!” Her arms wrapped around Harry’s waist, her head on his shoulder.
“Bloody hell, Ginny. You scared the heck out of me,” Ron said as he looked at his sister. He was about to say something else, but the words never come out as he looked at Harry and Ginny again. He looked confused, then turned to look at Hermione to see if she had noticed what was happening. She was holding in laughter at the look on Ron’s face. “Harry, you git! Why didn’t you tell me that you and Ginny were together again?” he asked, a huge grin on his face.
“Well…erm…Ginny said,” Harry muttered before Ginny cut him off.
“That doesn’t matter right now because Harry was just going to ask me to dance.” Ginny smirked. “I think you two have some unfinished business to attend to.” Ginny put a hand on both of their shoulders and gave them a push in the opposite direction. “They’ve been practically snogging all day,” she whispered to Harry as she watched Ron’s ears redden as he walked away with Hermione.
Harry didn’t even look at Ron and Hermione as he got lost in Ginny’s warm brown eyes. He leaned down and whispered in Ginny’s ear, “How about a dance in the privacy of the garden?” Ginny smiled and took Harry’s hand as she led him to their favorite spot.
***Meanwhile***
Ron and Hermione actually took Ginny’s advice as they started walking together. Somehow they ended up walking outside. They both had their hands behind their backs, staring at their feet.
They occasionally would take sly looks at each other from the corner of their eyes. Whenever they met each other’s eyes, they would quickly look away. Ron blushing and looking uncomfortable while Hermione smiled shyly became apparent quickly. In this manner, they found themselves in the orchard. The stars were shimmering brightly and the moon was a sparkling silver. For some reaso0,n they both stopped there instinctively, facing each other without actually looking at the other.
“So…Harry’s surprise was a success,” Hermione said, attempting to break the awkward silence.
“Yeah, he…erm…seemed to enjoy it,” Ron said looking up at the stars and shuffling his feet.
“Yeah…how about Ginny and Harry?” Hermione said awkwardly.
“I swear if he breaks her heart again I’ll…I’ll. . .” Ron started but stopped when his eyes met Hermione’s. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me.”
For a second, Hermione didn’t say anything as she got hopelessly lost in Ron’s deep blue need you eyes. “We’ll tell them though, right?” she asked, staring up into Ron’s eyes.
“What…?” Ron asked not able to continue because he was entranced in Hermione’ brown eyes that were shimmering due to the reflection of the moon.
“We’ll tell them about us,” she said. Hermione then stood on her tiptoes and kissed the flabbergasted Ron. Hermione could feel him shudder and melt in her touch. He grabbed her and started kissing her back. The intense power of their bottled up passion made them sink to the ground in each other’s arms. When they finally broke apart, Ron saw that Hermione’s eyes were swimming with tears. She smiled and rubbed her face in Ron’s hands as he reached up to clear the tears from her eyes. Ron heard a shuddering sigh as he wrapped his arms around Hermione like he would never let her go. She hid her face in his chest and silently cried with joy as Ron stroked her curly brown hair.
“I’ll always be here for you, Hermione. I’ll never let anything happen to you.” Ron kissed the top of her head and placed his head against hers.
“I love you, Ron,” Hermione whispered as she looked at his strong arms wrapped around her.
“I love you too, Hermione.” Ron slowly pulled Hermione’s lips back to his and they shared another long, passionate kiss.
“Aw, look Forge, Ickle Ronnie Kins has discovered what everyone else has known for years,” Fred said rather loudly to his twin as they came up to the kissing couple. The pair split as they heard the Twin’s snickering.
“Oy, couldn’t you two give us some privacy?” asked a frustrated Ron with red ears.
“Well, Ronnie, this really isn’t an private place,” sneered George.
“Ron, don’t worry about them. They were bound to find out sometime,” Hermione said, although she was blushing as well.
“Mum wants you two to come in so Harry can open his gifts.”
“That is, if we could find him, and Ginny for that matter.” Fred said with a raised brow.
After that, he and his twin turned and went back to the crowded house.
“Those guys,” Hermione said and shook her head. She got up to follow them back to the Burrow. Row just stood there for a second, scowling at their backs. “Ron, are you coming?” Hermione called over her shoulder. Ron nodded with a disappointed look on his face. He caught up with Hermione and intertwined their fingers. He stopped her when they reached the garden.
Hermione smiled as he bent down and kissed her again. Just then the twins congregated a group in front of the kitchen window.
“Bless my soul,” said Mrs. Weasley as she grabbed her husband’s hand.
“All right, all right, give them some privacy!” Tonks said, clearing people away from the window. “You know something, Remus? It amazes me that despite all that is going on, young love can still blossom,” Tonks said this just as she spotted the intertwined Harry and Ginny over in the stairway.
Those Deep Blue Need You Eyes by Weasleyboyfreak
Chapter Notes: I just wanted to give a big thanks to my awesome beta, Lindsey, aka Ron x Hermione. Thank you sooo much, you are an awesome beta and writer. I would also like to thank everyone for reviewing! I hope you enjoy my favorite chapter! Please read and Review!