This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

The proposal Harry uses belongs to the movie Definitely, maybe. (Because it's beautiful)

[Name] Crissie

[House] Ravenclaw

Subject: Student Exchange Programme

Prompt 3: Write about someone unknowingly receiving and using a cursed object.

Beta: Aya

Warnings: Possession, murder, canon character death, blood, gore

Word Count: 1683

"You want to see our male engagement ring section, Mr Potter?" the gentlemen said behind the counter.

"Yes, but discretion is needed, my boyfriend doesn't know I'm going to propose to him," Harry said with a wide dazzling smile. Harry looked at probably twenty different ones, but he didn't find the one that appealed to him or one he believed would suit his partner.

He left the shop disappointed; he needed the perfect ring for the man in his life. His boyfriend was currently consulting in Romania where he used to work with dragons. Harry had struggled to adapt after the war, and his relationship with Charlie kept him grounded. He knew he did the same for Charlie. That's what made them work so well together.

He came across an old man he didn't recognize wearing a long jet black cloak over his robes. "Want to have a look at my selection, sir?" the man asked. Curious as to what the man was selling, Harry agreed. What could be the harm?

The man opened his cloak to reveal a bunch of assorted items of jewellery. Harry saw a titanium ring with a white gold dragon. He loved it; he knew right away that was the perfect ring for Charlie.

"That one," Harry said, pointing to a pocket on the top left side.

"Excellent choice, sir," the man said, removing it from his coat pocket and handing it over in a wooden box. The man then tipped his top hat and bowed to Harry.

Harry thanked the man and turned to walk off. When he looked back he saw the mysterious man had gone. Harry shrugged and went about the rest of his business.

Harry planned the ideal proposal for the two of them. He decorated the room to perfection. He had daffodils in a lavender coloured vase. Charlie insisted daffodils were his favourite flower. He always explained to everyone that they were the happiest of all the flowers.

The date was the tenth of June; they had officially been dating for four years, and living together for most of the time. Harry was planning this special proposal on their four year anniversary.

Charlie opened the door with a dramatic sigh.

"Anyone else want to forget about today? Anyone?" Charlie said before he looked up to see the entire living room decorated with hints of lavender. Harry knew purple was Charlie's favorite colour. "Oh shit, I forgot," Charlie said when he saw the disappointment on Harry's face.

"Happy anniversary," Harry said, walking up to kiss Charlie anyway and welcome him home.

"Baby, I'm so sorry, it's just been so tough being away from you. I sometimes get jealous of everyone here who gets to see you when I'm not around." Charlie explained, but Harry already knew about this negative point in his partner's character.

Harry let Charlie rant about how rude and inconsiderate his former colleagues were, with nobody even giving him a place to stay the night he needed to book an hotel room on short notice and got stuck somewhere where the service was horrible. He calmed Charlie down, he wanted this night to end better than it started after all.

He kissed Charlie, and then led him by the hand outside beneath a clear sky and beautiful full moon.

Harry felt nervous, his whole speech forgotten. So he just blurted out, "will you marry me?" Charlie was offended by the abrupt delivery of the question and looked at him and said,

"No, I'm a mess Harry, why would you even want to marry me? Is it about tradition? Is it about being part of a family? I love you Harry, but you deserve so much better than me," he ranted on.

The mood seemed hopeless, but Harry knelt down on his knees, proposal back in mind, he decided to change the words to match the situation they were currently in. Charlie needed the security, and this time it was Harry offering it.

"I wanna marry you because you're the first person that I want to look at when I wake up in the morning and the only one I want to kiss goodnight. Because the first time that I saw these hands, I couldn't imagine not being able to hold them. But mainly, when you love someone as much as I love you getting married is the only thing left to do, so will you. . . Uhm. . . marry me?"

Charlie was speechless, his eyes filled with tears of emotion as he nodded, allowing Harry to slip the titanium ring onto his ring finger. Charlie loved the ring, and overflowing with love, he held onto the brunet, kissing him and whispering, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Harry responded instantly. Harry was holding onto Charlie so tight like he was scared it was a dream so Charlie felt the need to reassure him back.

"You don't have to do this alone anymore. I'm here now," Charlie said to his fiance.

Charlie loved Harry dearly, yet he sometimes believed that Harry was too good for him, and soon he felt like Harry could do so much better than him. His insecurity had always been a problem for the couple but he was doing his best to get it under control and learn to cope with it. The ring was a constant reminder that he was important to Harry, but there was still a voice in the back of his mind saying that Harry would leave him. If someone else came along, Harry could drop him at any moment.

The weeks following found Charlie becoming more and more uneasy. Initially Harry just believed it was natural wedding jitters. It reached a next level one day when Charlie came home to find Harry and Ron on the couch playing video games.

"What is going on here?" Charlie said furiously.

"We're playing video games, what do you mean love?"

"You two are sitting so close together," he shot at them.

"Calm down Char," Ron said, setting down his controller. "Harry won't cheat on you." He shook his head at his older brother. "I think you two need to talk, I'm out," Ron said, leaving Harry and his furious fiance alone. Charlie's hazel eyes were glowing blood red for a moment, and Harry believed he must have imagined it.

Charlie's temper seemed to simmer down fast as soon as they were alone again. "I thought you said you're working on your jealousy," Harry said sternly.

"I wouldn't need to if you weren't such a flirt!" Charlie shouted, then realised what he said and clapped his hands over his mouth.

"I. . . I didn't mean that," he pleaded. Harry couldn't say he wasn't hurt by those words but he knew it couldn't be true because he was probably the least likely to ever cheat. Eventually they made up, Harry had calmed down and realised that their relationship needed work, but it was worth making it work.

Things went from bad to worse, and soon Harry wasn't sure if he could cope with the jealous behavior after all. It was toxic to be around, and he hated how he felt like it was his own fault, that Charlie made him feel like he was the one that was wrong. Lately they had been fighting every day, and in a desperate attempt to save their relationship, he went to the rest of the family for advice on what to do.

Charlie came in through the kitchen, he heard voices in the living room, one was his Harry, and one he believed must belong to Harry's secret lover, there was no way they were fighting all the time and he wasn't seeking comfort somewhere else. He was overcome with a jealous rage, his eyes went blood red and he grabbed a sharp knife from the block.

He entered the living room to see his own sister and his fiance, talking so seriously they almost didn't notice he had walked into the room.

"Hello, brother," Ginny said, standing up suddenly.

"Ginny," Charlie said in response "I knew it."

Before Harry could explain he was asking her advice or even say a word, Charlie moved across the living room in a puff of black smoke, reminding Harry eerily of the Death Eaters from their past. Charlie had the knife in his hands, and he stabbed Ginny right in the heart, pulling it out as she fell and leaning over to stab her multiple times, plunging the knife in and making the blood splash over his shirt.

Harry saw the red glow in his eyes clearly now, but he had not been fast enough to save Ginny. She was dead before he could disarm Charlie. Harry informed the authorities, and as Charlie had the glow disappear from his eyes, he broke down sobbing over his sisters body, insisting that he would never kill his own sister in cold blood. It was clear there was something wrong with him, but they didn't know what it was.

Hermione became a Curse Breaker for the Ministry, and he was sedated heavily and placed in quarantine until they found out what was wrong with him since he could be a danger to himself or others around him. Hermione removed all his jewellery, including his engagement ring and a chain he wore around his neck. When Harry asked her why she was taking it she told him that jewellery was the easiest item to curse.

As soon as the ring was tested and glowed the same blood red as Harry described Charlie's eyes, Hermione did some more research and she found the answer: an insecurity amplifying hex. The ring was destroyed, and while the effects still lingered, Charlie was kept under observation.

It was a long time before Charlie finally recovered from the effects fully, but he still blamed himself for what happened. His parents didn't blame him, and although they were heartbroken by the loss of Ginny, they understood that he wasn't to blame. There was only one thing at fault—the ring.