You worry that he'll leave you. Sure, he was the one to ask you out and you do seem to be the exception to the rules by which he normally dates. Also, he says he isn't attracted to guys in general, just you. You're not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But it doesn't really make a difference what he says. You know him. You've been friends since you were eleven. He exaggerates, he always has. Every story he tells is embellished, every excuse a collection of half-truths.
You agonize that this moment of happiness will be a short-lived one. Something must go wrong. Something always goes wrong. Everyone says he is going to dump you like last weeks trash. Even your other best friends whisper it to each other behind your back. You don't know if he knows. If he does he doesn't talk of it to you. But he must know. Your friends aren't being exactly quiet after all. They say it's only a matter of time. You think they must be right.
You stare, melancholy, into the fire. He's gone. He didn't tell anyone where he was going. He isn't visible anywhere on the Marauders Map. He's been gone for hours. He knows you can see him on it; find him wherever he goes. That must be why he left Hogwarts grounds to do… whatever he's doing. You wonder what it feels like when a matter of time ends. Perhaps this is it.
You smile. This moment feels like triumph. He's back. At first you're in agony when he strides up to you in the Great Hall, scowling furiously. However, his anger isn't for you. It's for them. He hands you a ring. It's simple. Gold. Engraved with your initials entwined with his.
"I'm sick and tired of hearing them say I don't really care about you," he says to you. "This was the only thing I could think of to prove to you and everyone else that I'm not going to do that. It's utterly cliché and overrated but it's the only thing they can understand. This ring is permanent. It's a physical representation of how much I love you," (you have never heard him say this before, to anyone, ever) "and no matter what happens, you'll know that it existed."
You kiss.
You love.