Commit
January, 2003
Harry dropped the pages he was leafing through and threw off his glasses exhaustedly, rubbing his hands over his face. "I don't understand Mundungus."
Ron grunted in response.
"He keeps breaking laws."
Grunt.
"And we keep arresting him, and then he goes about breaking more laws."
Another grunt.
"And he's getting more serious about it too. The other day Morannis caught him making slurs against Muggle-borns in Knockturn Alley to attract pureblood business. One more offence and we'll have to put him into Azkaban."
Double grunt.
"Also I saw Viktor Krum sneaking out of your house yesterday. He wasn't wearing much, you might want to check with Hermione on that one."
"Don't even joke about that."
Harry smiled. "Been listening long, have you?"
Ron didn't respond.
"What's on your mind?"
"Nothing."
"Haven't been fighting with Hermione again, have you?"
Silence.
Harry sighed emphatically and leaned back in his chair. "Well, at least she's talking to me."
Ron's head snapped up with incredible speed, his red hair flying backwards. "She is? What's she been saying?"
"Why don't you ask her?"
"Because..." Ron hesitated. "Because we'll only end up fighting."
"That's because you keep ruddy asking, 'what's with you, then?'"
Ron scowled. "At least I'm showing concern!"
"That's not concern, Ron. That's flippant annoyance."
"So what do you suggest, oh-happily-married-one?" he spat.
"Sit down with her while she's reading or making dinner and sincerely ask her what's on her mind."
"I do!"
"Really? What do you say?"
Ron didn't respond.
"She loves you, you know."
"Does she?" he mumbled miserably. "I can't even tell anymore."
"That's what she said, too."
Ron remained silent. Harry hesitated. "You... you do love her, right?"
"Of course I do!" Ron growled immediately, anger etched upon his face at the mere question. "Merlin, more than..." he trailed off and cleared his throat. "I don't understand why this is happening."
This time it was Harry's turn to be silent. "Is it me and Ginny that's making your relationship tense?" he asked eventually.
Ron closed his eyes and exhaled. "Don't take this the wrong way, mate, but why the ruddy hell did you have to get married?"
Harry stared. "Is there a right way to take that?"
"No, I mean... now the pressure's on. Since you got engaged, things have been slipping with Hermione and me. Sometimes she looks at me out of the corner of her eye when she's researching or cooking or something, and I feel like she's mentally asking me why I haven't gotten my act together and asked her to marry me, too."
"So why haven't you?"
Ron turned red and mumbled something about 'right moment'.
Harry snorted. "Daunting concept though it may be, women like to know you're committed, right moment or not."
"And how would it look if you proposed to Ginny, and I proposed to Hermione the next week? Wouldn't she wonder if I'd only done it because you had?" Ron shook his head. "If you'd bloody consulted me before you proposed to my sister..."
"I did!"
"Yeah, in passing. 'Oh, hey, mate, I think I might ask Ginny to marry me. That sound all right?' No specification as to 'I bought the ring months ago' or 'I have it all planned out for Saturday'."
Harry blushed. "I was wondering why you looked so shocked when we told you."
"And it's not like I haven't thought about it, either," Ron continued, staring blankly at his desk. "I've thought about it a lot. We're both on our feet in terms of careers now, it'd be a good time... except that we haven't gotten along for a year and a half. I keep wondering if we would even make it now. We go to your place for dinner and I'm in absolute awe. I haven't seen you argue once for years. You must have a system worked out. I don't understand it. Hermione and I fight about everything. And I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with, but you'd think she'd be used to it by now."
"Ron," Harry interrupted incredulously. "Why haven't you told her any of this? She said almost the exact same thing to me last week. I'm sure that if you talked it out..."
"I... don't know how to do that."
"You never have, you two," Harry mumbled, reminiscent of the five plus years they spent fancying each other and neither one saying a word to the other about it. "Listen. You've argued with each other since the beginning of your friendship. There have been months where you wouldn't even say a word to each other. You love her, and I know for a fact that she loves you. Stop focusing on my marriage and make one of your own to focus on."
Ron looked pleadingly at Harry. "Is there a... a process or something?"
"Well, a ring is a good starter point."
Ron half-smiled at Harry before ducking down and pulling out a tiny box covered in velvet from a desk drawer. He placed it carefully down in front of him and looked vaguely content at the prospect it held inside it. Harry gaped.
"You really have thought about it!"
Ron's smile turned to an expression of annoyance. "Cheers for the confidence."
"How long have you had that stashed away?"
"Since about two weeks before you proposed to Ginny."
Harry's jaw dropped. "Are you bloody kidding me?"
Ron shook his head. "I have the slip to prove it, but it's buried under a bunch of other paper so I don't fancy fishing it out."
Harry laughed. "Are you a complete simpleton? Ask her to marry you already!"
"I... should we..."
"Forget anything else. Go home. Right now."
"Right now?" Ron asked weakly.
"Right now."
"Should..."
"No."
"But..."
"No."
"Harry..." Harry stopped, recognizing the pleading tone again. "What if she says no?" he asked meekly.
Harry nearly laughed, but managed to keep a straight face. "She won't say no," he said with complete candor.
A slow grin spread over Ron's face. Harry grinned back at him as he got abruptly to his feet, grabbed the small box off his desk and nearly sprinted toward the exit.