Promises

It wasn't but two weeks later when Ron showed up at their house, positively beaming with delight. His smile had spread across the complete width of his face, and his gleaming white teeth were all visible.

"What are you so happy about?" Harry asked him.

"She said yes! She said yes! She said yes!" Ron continued dancing around the room chanting those three words. Harry had no clue what he was talking about.

"She said 'yes' to what? And who is 'she'?" Harry asked. He was puzzled by this sudden outburst of song from Ron, who he had never heard sing before.

"Hermione! I asked her last night, and she said yes!" Ron told him, as if it was the simplest thing in the world to understand, though Harry still could not understand what he was trying to say.

"What did you ask her?" Harry inquired, getting fed up with having to ask so many questions.

"I proposed to her last night! And she said yes!" Ron answered, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. That was when Ginny walked in on their conversation. "Ginny, did you hear?"

"Yes, I did!" she replied, pulling her brother into an enormous hug. "I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed. She let go of him and took a few steps back. "So, give me details!"

"We're getting married in June at Hogwarts. And, ummm, Harry, I was wondering if you wanted to be the best man at the wedding..."

"You bet I would!" Harry told him, a grin forming on his face as well.

"Thanks Harry!" Ron replied, shaking his hand. "And Ginny, Hermione said she wanted to talk to you about something."

Ginny left the room quietly, and wandered into the kitchen to make some breakfast for the couple. It wasn't but moments later that there was a loud crack, and Hermione had appeared in the kitchen. She looked quite tired; she was still in her pajamas, her hair was very untidy, and her eyes were very droopy.

“Hey Ginny,” Hermione greeted her as she took a seat at the kitchen table, clutching her head and running her other hand through her bushy hair. Her elbow was leaning on the table, supporting all her weight, and her face was pointed downwards, staring at the floor.

“Hey, Hermione. I heard the great news! Oh, I’m so excited for you guys!” Ginny replied as she walked over to Hermione and gave her a friendly hug of excitement and gleefulness.

“Well, the truth is, I’m not really all that excited about it. I don’t really think this is such a great idea at all. You see, I’ve never really been too fond of the whole idea of marriage, the idea of staying with one person the rest of your life. And I especially am not very fond of being with someone like Ron for my whole life. I mean, he’s a great guy, and he certainly does make life interesting, but he’s just not the kind of guy I think I would want to settle down with, and have kids. I don’t want to have to rely on him to support me,” Hermione told Ginny, the one girl she had trusted all her life, and the one person she had told all of her deepest desires and regrets.

“What do you mean you don’t think it’s a good idea? It’s a great idea! Trust me, Hermione. I’m married to Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived-over-ten-times-and-defeated-the-Dark-Lord. I didn’t think I would want to be with him for my whole life, but the married life is so much better! I know he’ll be there for me, he promised he would be there forever to help me whenever I was in need!” Ginny tried to persuade Hermione into seeing it her way.

Meanwhile, in the living room of the house, there was an entirely different conversation going on.

“Ron, you must be nuts! Do you know what it’s like to be married? It’s not what it’s all cracked up to be! Trust me, Ron. You’re my best friend! I wouldn’t lie to you! But Ron, I’m telling you, marriage is not really something that’s all that great. I can’t believe I got married to your sister. Every time I see a girl I think is pretty, and I look at her, I can’t help but be reminded of Ginny. It’s just not the same. And those promises you make during the wedding ceremony, they’re horrible to try to fulfill! Horrible!” Harry tried to persuade Ron to back out of the wedding. He didn’t want Ron to go through what he had been doing the first few weeks of his marriage.

“Harry, Hermione is the one girl I’ve ever felt true love for. I know she’s the right girl! She’s got to be! This will be the best thing that’s ever happened to me!” exclaimed Ron. And with that, a furious Ron apparated away for his home. He was aggravated with Harry for trying to make him back out. He knew marriage was a great idea, and he couldn’t believe Harry would try to stop him.

Back in the kitchen, Ginny was still talking to Hermione about the wonders of marriage, and how great she thought it was, much to the dismay of Harry, who was too busy wallowing in shame of Ron.

"Hermione, I don't know what you think is so wrong about marriage. It is absolutely the most marvelous thing in the world. But whatever you want to think, go ahead. I can't stop you from getting married. I just thought I'd tell you how I felt about the issue. Whatever you do, I'll support you," Ginny told Hermione, patting her on the back.

"Well, thank you, Ginny. I admire you for being the great friend you are. Well, I guess I can see the pros of getting married. And, I guess they outweigh the cons. So, what I'm trying to say is, well, you've convinced me that maybe marrying Ron is an excellent idea. Thanks, Ginny," Hermione replied, grinning broadly at the thought. She stood up from the table and pushed her chair in. "Now, I think it's time to get home. I'll talk to you later, Ginny!" And in an instant, Hermione disappeared with nothing but a crackle. It was at this time that Harry walked into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table.

"What's for breakfast?" Harry asked her. Ginny smiled as she sat a plate of pancakes in the middle of the table. Harry grabbed a few of them and sat them on his plate. He began eating them quickly, in an attempt to eat as many as he could without throwing up. His wife laughed at the childish way he was cramming food into his large mouth as she sat down across from him and began eating as well. Before long, the enormous stack of pancakes was gone, and there was not even a speck of food left on the plate in the middle of the table.

Later that day, Harry and Ginny went out to Diagon Alley, just to relax, something they hadn't done in a long time. Life had just been so hectic with work, and those people who were trying to kill them. All they wanted to do was to get away from all that was bothering them, and just have some time to themselves to relax and enjoy themselves. First, they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron just in time for the lunch crowd.

"Hey, Mr. Greenbaum!" Harry greeted the older man behind the counter. The man had just begun working there, only about a year prior, but Harry had met him several times.

"Oh, hey Harry," Mr. Greenbaum replied. "What can I get for ye?"

"Well, we'll just get a few drinks," Harry told him. "One for myself, and one for Ginny." The man grabbed two bottles of Peach Fizz from behind the counter, and handed them to Harry.

"Enjoy!" Mr. Greenbaum retreated back into the room behind the counter, whilst Harry and Ginny grabbed a seat at a table near the door.

"I'd like to propose a toast to us. We've made it this far without killing each other!" Harry said, in a joking manner. They toasted with the drinks, and before they knew it, they were done their drinks and were walking down Diagon Alley.