The Ring

Chapter One

Weasley Magic

Hermione apparated into her London flat and went straight to the bathroom. She was exhausted from working in a laboratory all day. That new experimental potion against Malaclaw stings that her team was working on wasn't going very well. Testing the latest batches of trial samples had left her filthy, frustrated and bone tired by quitting time. She looked forward to a long soak before she set her mind on other things she had to attend to: working on the last minute details for her wedding in two days.

She never thought planning a muggle wedding could be so draining. All those important little things had kept her on her toes for nearly three weeks. There were still a million things to do. She needed to contact the caterer about the change in the main course from halibut to salmon as her future husband specified. The florist should be informed to bring pink roses for the tables, not white ones as earlier planned and she had to discuss last minute trimmings on her gown with her dressmaker. On top of all that, she still needed to pick out the music for the reception and prepare her speeches for the toast.

She wished that her fiance Nathaniel was around, but at the moment he was abroad promoting his new book so couldn't help her with the preparation.

Like he was any help at all before he left. A sly little voice in her head told her. It sounded awfully like her best friend Ronald Weasley.

She shook her head to get rid of the thought and busied herself with filling the empty tub with warm water.

Why are you doing this to yourself? Do you really need to tire yourself out just to have all these perfect little details? The voice persisted. This time, she knew this wasn't her original thought. Ron said those exact same words to her last night when he and Harry found out she forgot to eat dinner because she was too busy planning table settings for her guests as soon as she got home from work. He had finally gotten tired of criticizing her fiance and had switched to berating her instead. That was just like Ron. Of course, Harry was no better. He had sided with Ron on the matter and hinted—no not hinted, he had stated directly that her prat of a fiance had left everything to her while he went on his book tour. Hermione almost had a row with him for that, but she was too tired and hungry at the time. In the end their peace offering of pizza won her over. Besides, they did make up to her by helping her pack her stuff to be moved tomorrow into the new flat she would be sharing with her husband.

Husband? It sounded so alien to her. She still wasn't used to the idea of having one. It would be a really big change, especially when she had to move out of the flat she shared with Harry and Ron since they graduated five years ago. She knew she would miss having her two best friends around—even the arguing part and the mess they make.

Nathaniel was nothing like Harry or Ron. He was intelligent, well-mannered and impeccably neat all the time. She first met him five months ago when he came into her office inquiring about information on beast related infections—her current major project in St. Mungo's Research Division. He was muggle-born like her and was already gaining quite a reputation for his new discoveries in various fields of study. His latest book dealt on genetically acquired diseases. But in the past, some of his works focused on magical maladies. She had never known anyone who was as well-learned with both wizarding diseases and muggle sciences. They struck up an easy romance and were soon engaged.

Hermione was astonished herself for being engaged so quickly. She never thought to be in a relationship so fast. For years, she thought maybe she and Ron would end up together. But he never made a move and he seemed to like his non-committed single life, especially now that he was star keeper for Puddlemere United. It was so frustrating to wait forever. So when Nathaniel came, it was easy for her to accept him. After all, he was forward about his feelings and perfectly brilliant. She would never ran out of intelligent conversation with him—something she doubted Ron could ever give her.

The tub was finally filled and Hermione quickly disrobed and got in. She allowed herself to relax a bit and let the warm water wash her tension away. She closed her eyes and tried to think about Nathaniel. She would be married in two days. True, it wasn't the same as her girlhood dreams, but she reasoned this was reality—a grounded marriage with a man she could share things with. She let her arms hang limp at the sides of the tub as she arched her back. Her hands slid across the tiles slowly, when her left hand felt something. She reached for it and saw that it was a plain gold ring.

It must be Ron's, she thought. He must have left it accidentally after taking a bath. She had seen Ron wearing a plain gold ring for years. It was some kind of Weasley heirloom. She never really paid much attention to it before. But now as she held it into the light, she just realized how beautiful it was. It seemed to give off an extra-ordinary glow. She peered closely at it and saw there seemed to be some runes inscribed on the inside of the ring that she couldn't decipher.

A fanciful thought passed her. She imagined Ron placing a ring on her finger. Slowly, she slipped the ring on her fourth finger and was surprised when it fit her perfectly.

But Ron wears this all the time on the same finger. Our fingers couldn't possibly be the same size!

She pulled at the ring to slip it off, but it seemed to be stuck. She tried harder but it still wouldn't come off.

"Soap," she mumbled to herself. She dipped her hand on the soapy water and tugged again at the ring. But it still wouldn't budge. She grabbed the bar of soap and began rubbing it against her finger to create lather. But not even the foamy concoction could dislodge the ring.

Hermione began to panic. What if the ring was magical and had something like a thief's curse on it? She imagined that she had to cut off her finger to get the ring out... or worse! She had read before about hexed jewelry that slowly burned the body of those who wore them.

There was a rap at the bathroom door. "Hermione," Ron's muffled voice cried out. "Are you in there?"

Another surge of panic rose on Hermione. What would Ron think if he found out she was wearing his ring?

"I lost something. I might have left it in the bathroom. Don't drain the tub, it might go down the drain."

Hermione thought that was unlikely. She tugged helplessly at the ring but it only hurt her. She finally gave up, rinsed herself off and hurriedly got dressed. She just had to come clean with Ron.

When she opened the door, Ron was looking worried. "Hey, did you by any chance, see my ring. It must have slipped off my finger after I took a bath this morning."

"I... I found your ring."

"Oh good," he brightened. "Where?"

She hesitated. "I saw it by the tub and I was a bit curious, so I...I sort of tried it on. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I don't mind," he said.

"Uhmm... good. I'll give it back now, but it's... you're not going to believe this," she gave a fake laugh. "But I think it's a little stuck?"

His eyes narrowed at her. "What do you mean it's stuck?"

"I mean I can't get it out," she held up her hand and looked at him helplessly. "This doesn't have a curse, does it? I mean to anybody else who wears it aside from the owner?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't think so. It's just a Weasley traditional ring. All male Weasleys got one. We get it on our seventeenth birthday. Can I see?"

Hermione held hand closer to him. Ron took it gently and pulled at the ring but it wouldn't come loose either. "Wait a minute? It fit your finger?"

"Obviously it did!" Hermione said sarcastically. Now that she was assured she wouldn't be losing a finger, she was beginning to get annoyed at the situation. "Would we be having a problem if it didn't?"

Ron bit his lower lip. "But that's not possible... I mean I thought that was just some romantic mush that Mum told me."

"What romantic mush?"

Ron reddened. "Look, it's probably not true—probably not all of it. Mum told me when I was little that the Weasley male ring was enchanted. Every male Weasley has one made partly out of the wedding rings of his own parents. I don't know how they do it. They cast some kind of spell to take a piece of the wedding rings to form a new ring. Well, anyway, as I said before, all male Weasleys get one on their seventeenth birthday. It's sort of a welcome to manhood present—at least that's what Dad told me."

"Alright, so how did it end up fitting my finger?"

"I'm getting there," Ron said. "Well, Mum said the Weasley men give it to the women they want to marry. And once the girls put them on, the rings shrink to fit them perfectly. But it only fits the woman they're destined to be with for the rest of their lives."

Hermione colored. If it fit her, then that meant...

"But of course, that may not be true," Ron quickly added. "I mean, maybe it just shrinks to fit whoever wears it. Mum and Dad didn't know exactly how big my fingers will be when I grow up and they made my ring when I was a baby. And we're obviously not going to be together, you're getting married to someone else."

"Yes, right. I suppose so," said Hermione. "But what did your Mum say about it getting stuck on your finger?"

"She didn't. It's never happened before. I can always take it off whenever I want to. Dad still has his ring, so do all my brothers and they never had a problem with it. Have you tried soap?"

"Yes, it doesn't work. Maybe we could summon it out."

"Good idea." He got out his wand. "Accio Ring!"

Hermione's hand moved towards Ron but the ring didn't even slide across her finger. She tried to fight it back but she only ended up feeling as if her hand was being pulled apart.

"Oww! Oww! Ron stop, you're hurting me!"

Ron released the spell and took her hand to examine it. "Sorry." He stroked her finger which was now getting red with so much pulling. Hermione felt a tingle down her spine at his gentle touch but she quickly dismissed it.

"Look," he said. "Maybe we could just ask Dad. He'll know more about this. I'm sure there's some kind of spell to take it off. He'll be at home in a few minutes so we could just pop in."

"I suppose we should, but let's make it a short visit. I still have a lot to do."

Ron looked like he was going to make another comment about her wedding preparations, but decided not to.

"Give me a minute to get a shower," he said instead.

"Alright. How was practice by the way?" she asked just as he summoned a towel.

"Terrific. I'm going to make Harry's team eat dust this season."

"My, we are confident."

"Hermione, he's playing with the Canons. They're hopeless!" he shut the bathroom door.

Hermione was astonished. "Did I just hear you call the Chudley Canons—your all-time favorite team—hopeless?" she shouted at him through the closed door.

The door cracked open and Ron peered through. "Yes, I finally admit they're lousy. Even if Harry's on the team."

Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. The Chudley Canons had improved significantly since they got Harry as captain and seeker last season. They may even have a shot at the finals this year.

"Okay so maybe they're not so lousy as they used to be since Harry got on the team," Ron admitted. He grinned at her. "But if we ever end up competing against each other at the finals, do I have your support over him?"

She shook her head. "Against Harry? That wouldn't be fair. I'm not taking either side. I'll be cheering for both of you."

"Oh come on. He already has Ginny on his side."

"She's his girlfriend."

"I'm her brother!"

"There's a difference. The boyfriend gets priority. Go get your own girlfriend to cheer for you."

"Don't have one... well not yet."

"Emphasis on the 'yet,' which won't last by next week," she mocked.

"I can't help it. Women are crazy about me," he grinned.

"But not crazy enough to stay with you for long."

Ron scowled but he quickly replied. "You should talk. You're crazy enough to stay with me for the past 11 years."

"Why do you think I'm getting married on Saturday?"

He gave her a hurt expression. "Alright," he pretended to sniff. "I'm horrible and you can't stand me anymore. But I'll give you a week away from this place and I bet you'll miss me," he added in teasing tone before he closed the door.

Hermione snickered to herself. He was absolutely right. She would miss him, especially this easy bantering that they seemed to have constantly. Ron had the humor that always made her feel better—not even Harry had that. It was something he developed over the years of hanging around with Fred and George too much.

She sat down on the couch and waited for him to finish his bath. When he came out, he was dressed casually in a shirt and jeans and smelled pleasantly of soap.

They apparated to the Burrow together where they found Mrs. Weasley laboring over a stove in the kitchen. Mr. Weasley was sitting on a chair, resting his feet. He had obviously just come in.

"Ron, Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley greeted them. "How nice of you to drop by. Will you be staying for dinner?"

"I'd love to Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said. "But I have to get back home and finish some of the details for the wedding. Ron and I just need to talk to Mr. Weasley. But Ron can stay."

"Oh no," Ron said. "If you're going back, I'm going with you. You might forget to eat again." He turned to his mother but gave a sly grin at Hermione. "Mum, you've got to do something about her. She's so busy, she forgets to eat sometimes. Why just the other day, she almost went to bed without dinner, if Harry and I didn't found out. Look she's getting thin."

Hermione gaped at Ron, then suddenly realized what he was trying to do. Mrs. Weasley was on her in a second. She made a fuzz about Hermione not getting enough nourishment and insisted she stayed for supper with them. Hermione was helpless to argue. She flashed Ron a dirty look. Her plans to work on wedding details tonight were ruined.

"I hate you sometimes," she hissed at him.

"Just taking care of your best interests," replied Ron triumphantly. He turned to his mother again. "Mind if we leave you for a while Mum. Dad, can we have a word?"

"Sure son." He got up.

"Could you not mention that I'm wearing your ring to your dad?" Hermione whispered to Ron while they walked to the living room. "I mean, it's a little embarrassing and he doesn't need to find that out."

"How am I suppose to ask him about it?" he whispered back.

"Just say you're curious about it. Make something up."

"Okay."

"Now what is this about?" Mr. Weasley asked from his chair. Ron and Hermione sat down near him. She carefully placed her hands behind her back so Mr. Weasley wouldn't notice what she was wearing.

"I just wanted to ask," said Ron. "You know that ring you gave me. I'm just wondering about it. I've had it for years and all of us have one. Does it have some sort of magic in it?"

Mr. Weasley looked between them. "Yes, it does. Didn't I ever tell you?"

"Well, not exactly, you just sent it with a congratulatory note on my birthday. But Mum sort of mentioned something about it."

"Really? So she told you of the tradition that we have about the ring?"

"A bit. She said something about Weasley males giving the rings to the girls they want to marry and it shrinks to fit the girl they're destined to be with."

"Well, that's it then," said Mr. Weasley. He stared at Ron's hand and noticed his ring was missing. The older wizard's face lit up. "Oh I know what this is all about!"

"You do?" asked Hermione nervously.

"Of course I do," he said to her. "We're having another wedding after yours, isn't it? Who's the lucky girl, Ron?"

"Er... Dad, that's not exactly what we came here for." He looked at Hermione and she knew he was about to tell his father. Hermione sighed and held out her left hand. Mr. Weasley's eyes went wide at the sight of the golden object on her finger.

"It's not what you think Dad! Hermione found my ring this afternoon and she slipped on. A stupid thing to do of course..."

Hermione scowled at him.

"Well we all do stupid things out of curiosity sometimes," he said apologetically. "The thing is, we can't get it off her finger and we're wondering if there's a spell to get it out."

Mr. Weasley looked distraught. "There's no spell to get it out. Once you put that ring on, it stays on until your wedding day."

"That's not going to be a problem then," said Hermione. She was enormously relieved. "Ron you don't mind waiting two days to get your ring back, do you?"

But Mr. Weasley was shaking his head. "No, you don't understand. The Weasley ring is an engagement ring. You can't just marry anyone to break the spell that binds you to it. The only way that ring gets off your finger is if you marry Ron."