Brothers

-----

CHAPTER ONE

"True friendship is never serene."

- Mariede Svign

-----

Looking back, I'd say I've had a few really special moments in my life. The first time I came to Hogwarts, when I met Sirius for who he truly was, the first time I kissed Ginny, and finally finding happiness after defeating Voldemort.

Of course, those were the most important ones... until now. I'm hoping that this very moment will be the highlight of them all. But if we keep going at the rate we are now, I'm going to go mad.

"Ginny?" I say softly, looking up at her hidden face. I can't see her eyes. I want to see her eyes.

"Gin? Did you hear me?" I hear my own voice trembling in my ears. I've never been so frightened. I wasn't even this scared when I had to face Voldemort.

So what makes this moment any more terrifying? My heart is at stake. If she says no, I don't know what I'll do. I mean...everything will change. What if she's so revolted by me asking that she never wants to see me again? Oh God, please say yes.

A few more moments pass in silence and now I'm so worried I feel like I'm going to be ill. Maybe she really doesn't want to marry me.

"Well...I'll understand if your answer is no-" I swallow a large lump that's been sitting in my throat since before I asked her. Suddenly, I see her lift her head and I'm finally able to look up into her eyes that are now swimming with tears.

Merlin alive, tears? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Oh, I'm complete bollocks at this. Let her say yes, let her say yes, let her say yes...

For a moment I wonder if I accidentally started chanting aloud because I could swear I just heard her whisper yes.

"I'm sorry?" I try to shake the hundreds of thoughts spinning in my mind. "What did you say?"

She sniffles, her eyes still glistening, and then before I know it, she's smiling back at me. "I said yes."

"You-" I utter breathlessly, not realizing that tears of my own are forming. "Really?"

"Yes, really." I hear her giggle, causing her nose to crinkle the way it always does when she laughs. "Of course, Harry. There was never anyone else I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

I let out a deep sigh of relief and jump up quickly, pressing my lips hard against hers, needing to feel her life melding with mine.

"Do you know how much I love you?" A wide grin stretches across my face.

"Yeah, I think so," she chuckles. "But I won't stop you if you decide to elaborate."

I laugh heartily as my smile brightens. "Ah, my dear...there are so many reasons why I love you. But perhaps," I lean in to whisper into her ear, "I'll go into more detail on that a little later."

She hisses as my nose nuzzles in her hair, my lips gently touching her neck with soft kisses. "You sure you want to wait until later? We could just Apparate to your flat now."

Images of the two of us tangled together flash through my mind and suddenly my heart quickens with excitement.

"As much as I'd love to, I know how much you're dying to run in there and tell your parents the good news."

With a sigh, she nods in agreement. "You're right." My lips move to kiss hers again, briefly and I hear a giggle escape her. "Come on, let's go."

Without so much as a warning, Ginny grabs my hand and pulls me towards the backdoor of the Burrow.

"Gin, wait!" I let out a hoarse whisper and stop her just before her hand reaches the doorknob.

"What is it, Harry?" she asks me with a slightly concerned look about her.

"There's something you've forgotten," I smirk and she frowns. "You may want to actually put this on now." I stretch my hand forward, revealing the still open, small, emerald green box where her ring was safely nestled.

Her eyes flicker with tears again but the smile on her face reassures me that it's only happiness. With gentle touches, I reach out for her hand and slowly slip the sparkling ring onto her finger.

I look into her eyes once more before letting my lips brush lightly against hers.

"I think we're ready now," I say, causing her face to light up with excitement again.

She couldn't help but giggle gleefully as we burst into the kitchen of the Burrow. She was about to call out for her parents but to our surprise, we found them, along with Ron and Hermione, sitting at the wooden table.

Oh bugger. I forgot Ron told me that they were having dinner with his parents tonight. I cringe and squeeze Ginny's hand lightly, leaning over to her with a low voice. "Maybe we should wait until later to tell them."

"No," she whispers back to me. "It's fine. We won't be but a moment."

"What's going on, you two?" Ginny and I hear Mr. Weasley's voice suddenly and both of our heads jerk up to see him smirking at us.

That's when I realize how foolish the two of us must look. Her smile was as bright as ever, and although I feel terrible for interrupting things, I can't help but grin, too. Her happiness just seems far too contagious for anyone's good.

"Mum, Dad...Harry and I have an announcement to make."

I can't help but let my smile grow until I hear Ron's voice harp in causing me to flinch at his tone. He's going to kill me when we get back to the flat.

"Could you hurry it up, Ginny? Dad and I were trying to have a conversation."

Glancing over, I see a frown on Ron's face as he gives me a fleeting look and then his eyes dart back to Ginny as her temper starts to flare.

"Oh shut it, Ronald. It'll only take a minute."

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley gave a reprimanding hiss.

"So, what's the news?" Hermione chimed in, trying to prevent any further rows.

I can feel Ginny bouncing on her heels next to me as her excitement is ready to overflow. "Harry and I are getting married!!"

A collective gasp rings throughout the room and I feel my heart sink momentarily until Hermione speaks again.

"Oh that's just wonderful!" she exclaims, jumping up to hug Ginny and then throw her arms around me with a tight squeeze.

"My little girl's just growing up so fast," Mr. Weasley smiles warmly at Ginny as he crosses the room towards us.

"Dad," I hear her say as he envelopes her with open arms. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her blushing innocently, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, you are. You've finished Hogwarts, you're moving on with your life and now you're getting married." I smile again, watching him give her a kiss on her forehead before he turns to look at me. "Harry, m'boy, you've got a terrific young woman here. I know you'll take care of her."

"Oh yes, sir." My words tumble feebly from my lips as I reach out to shake his outstretched hand. "I'll always take care of her."

I feel Ginny squeeze my hand and know that if I could see her face, she'd be wearing that silly, I-told-you-they'd-be-okay-with-it smirk. Damn girl thinks she knows everything.

Chuckling to myself, I meet Ron's gaze again and grin merrily, hoping to share my happiness with him. The corners of his mouth pull into a slow smile, but as I look into his eyes, what I read there is something quite different than what I expected to find.

-------

"I get by with a little help from my friends."

- John Lennon

--------

When Harry and Ginny burst into the kitchen, I knew something was up. I've known Harry for almost eight years, and the only other time he wore that goofy grin was the day he kissed Ginny for the first time. That look today could only mean one thing: my best friend was getting on with life without me.

I hang back, watching my mother dote on her only daughter, tears running down her face.

"Ginny, Harry! Oh come here, you dears!" She engulfs them in one of her massive hugs and plants big, wet kisses on their cheeks. "Look at me, blabbering on. I'm just thrilled!"

"Hey, congratulations, mate," I tell Harry, holding out my hand for him to shake. "Sure you can handle her?"

Harry snorts and grabs my hand, pulling me in for a man-hug and we slap each other on the back before pulling away.

"I think I'll do just fine, Ron," Harry answers, still wearing that goofy grin.

"Just remember," I begin to warn him, "she's got six brothers."

"Ron!" shout Mum, Ginny and Hermione while Dad and Harry merely chuckle to themselves.

As we recover from our laughter, I meet Harry's eyes again and while he's still smiling, I can tell that he knows something is up with me. His eyes squish together as he looks at me the way he does when he tries to puzzle out something. I swear sometimes the git knows Legilimency and uses it on me.

"Well, it looks like some nettle wine is in order, isn't it?" Mum's cheery voice breaks my thoughts and she heads over to the cabinet. "You lot go on into the sitting room. I'll be there soon."

Something in my mother's voice belies her jovial attitude.

"You want some help, Mum?"

She looks up at me and smiles. "Of course. Thank you, Ronald."

I reach the glasses at the top of the cabinet, still not used to being able to use magic for mundane things like this. I carefully hand them to her and decide to broach a subject that I think is bothering us both.

"You alright there, Mum? I mean with Harry and Ginny?" I take the bottle from her hands, making her look up at me and stop playing the hostess.

"Oh pish posh, I'm fine. I'm just...happy."

If she wouldn't have paused, I would have been convinced.

"I don't think so. I thought you'd be ecstatic about all this."

A lot of people don't know this, but Mum and I are a lot alike. We feel things deeply, but don't go for much beyond your typical emotional displays. But I know my mother well enough to know that if she was truly happy about this, she'd have the wedding planned already.

"I am, Ron. My daughter is marrying the man that she loves...and...she's..." Sobs wrack her body and I awkwardly put my arm around her shoulder. "She's so young, Ronnie! Why now? What's the rush? The war's over and they have all the time in the world..."

It's one thing to see your girlfriend crying, but your mother...it just breaks your heart.

"Well, you and Dad got married early. What's the big deal?"

She dries her eyes with a tea towel and looks at me in her all-knowing, motherly way. "I should ask you the same thing, dear. I saw the way you were less than enthusiastic about the news. I thought that you would be more than thrilled to have Harry become your brother-in-law."

Before I can answer her, the door to the kitchen opens to reveal my father standing there with a funny look on his face.

"Are you two fermenting the wine? Get out here! We have something to celebrate!" His cheerful smile is contagious and I can't help but return his grin.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep yer knickers on, Dad!"

I take the glasses and the bottle of wine from the worktop and lead my parents out into the sitting room where Harry is deep in conversation with Hermione and Ginny. Taking a deep breath, I attempt to look as cheerful as everyone expects me to, burying my thoughts deep inside for another time.