Hermione looked by the window of the Hogwarts Express to see the snowy London getting closer and closer. She turned back to Ginny, who was sleeping on the seat in front of her.
"Ginny. Ginny" she said as she softly shacked her shoulder. "We're nearly at King's Cross". Once she ensured that her friend was awake, she turned to face the luggage rack, took her suitcase and back, fixed her scarf and hat and went to the door.
She was impatient to see again Harry and especially Ron. The last three month had been pretty rough because, for the first time since she was 11, she went to Hogwarts without them. She understood why they did not want to go back there, nevertheless she truly missed them. Though she wrote to Harry twice a week and nearly every day to Ron.
She observed the platform, desperate to see a redhead and a brunette side by side. The train stopped right when she spotted her boyfriend and her best friend. Once her feet touched the ground, she run, leaving her suitcase behind, into Ron's open arms. She hugged him tight and refused to let him go for a few minutes. She vanished her face into the hollow of his shoulder. He smelled like mint and freshly mowed grass, and his skin was so soft. She finally loosened her embrace and hugged – more briefly- Harry. Ginny had joined them and the little group left the station, the boys carrying the girls' suitcases.
They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, rented two rooms, left in there their luggage, and went down to the bar where they stayed until late that night, drinking butterbeers, laughing and sharing their stories. The next morning, Harry and Ginny left the Leaky Cauldron for the Burrow where they would spend Christmas Eve and Christmas, and where Hermione and Ron would join them to celebrate Christmas. The young couple spent the day walking hands in hands in Diagon Alley and doing some Christmas shopping. When the clock struck six o'clock, they left the inn.
At Mr and Mrs Granger's door, Ron took a deep breath to calm down.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine.
- I know. I'm just a little stress." And he stared at her, like he was studying every one of her figures.
- What? Have I something on my face?
- No. I was just...amazed by how beautiful you are. I love you" and he tenderly kissed her cheek.
Mrs Granger hoped the door with a huge smile on her face. She hugged her daughter she had not seen since she had retrieved her memory, then hugged Ron. He immediately felt more confident and relax. They walked in the cosy house where a delicious smell of roasted turkey and cinnamon biscuit floated in the air. Mr Granger was in the living room, next to the Christmas tree and was already serving the champagne. When he saw the guests, he smiled. He hugged Hermione and shook Ron's hand. Then, he handed glasses to everyone.
"To our family, united again.
- To family, they answered together before dipping their lips into the yellow sparkling liquid.
- Ron, we never had the occasion to thank you for protecting and saving my daughter all those years.
- My pleasure, sir. Besides, I have to admit that she saved me more than I saved her. We wouldn't have made it through the first year without her.
- It's nonsense. You found out who Nicolas Flammel was and Harry confronted Quirell.
- Really? And who resolved most of the tasks? We wouldn't have pass the first trap without you. And it's the same for every year.
- You both went to the Chamber of Secrets and killed the Basilik.
- Harry did. And we wouldn't have known what was there without you. And the next year, you saved Sirius. You trained Harry for the Triwizarding Cup. You created the Army of Dumbledore. You helped to find and destroy the horcruxes.
- You made it look like I was a heroin.
- And you are. We are so lucky to have you."
During the conversation between the couple, Mr and Mrs Granger looked at each other, not knowing if Hermione ever told them that. However, they were impressed and proud of their daughter.
They sat down at the table, ate the delicious meal Mrs Granger prepared and Hermione told her parents all the adventures they had at Hogwarts.
Once all the plates were emptied, Hermione stood up to help her mother clear the table, taking advantage of the occasion to talk with her mother about Ron. The boy, who stayed at the table with Hermione's father, thought he already had run out of subject of conversation and felt embarrassed.
"Ron, fancy a game of chess?" said Mr Granger as he was standing up, ready to bring the game. Ron nodded and Hermione's father sat down in front of him and gave his the white pawns. "Hermione was right: you're a bloody good player." He said when the young man won. They immediately started a new game. When he was sure that his girlfriend would not come back at the moment, Ron decided that he was time to ask Mr Granger what he had been dying to ask.
When the ladies came back to the living room, Ron was feeling relieved now that he had talked to Mr Granger. As midnight was getting closer, they decided that it was time to give the presents. Mr and Mrs Granger gave Hermione the blue wrapped box which was underneath the Christmas tree. She unwrapped it to discover a sumptuous edition of The Complete Jane Austen Work. She thanked them before giving each of them a little box that contained an enchanted picture of them. "They're connected together, with a picture I keep in my bag so we can talk every day, even when I'm at Hogwarts".
When it came to the couple to exchange gifts, Hermione said Ron that she left hers in her suitcase, in her room. She asked him to wait there but he decided to follow her. Her room was exactly how he imagined it would be: full with books, making wondering whether it was a bedroom or a library. On her desk, there were pictures of her with her family, pictures of her friends and pictures of the Weasley family. She opened her trunk, which was in front of her bed, and brought out a little violet pack she handed to him. The lovely pack contained a marvellous amount of Ron's favourite candies and a little card.
"Blimey! It's…
- The last card you needed. I had trouble to find it, not to mention all the chocolate frogs Ginny and I had to eat so I could exchange cards with others."
Ron kissed her before giving her a box, full with other boxes, with numbers from one to seven on them.
"Where did you hide this?
- In my pocket. I use the same spell you used on your bag."
Hermione took the box with a "one" on it and opened it. She brought the feather out it and looked at Ron, intrigued.
"It's the feather who used on the first year to practice the levitation charm. It was the first time we worked together and it's really important."
Hermione then opened the second box and found a mirror. She could not say why but this mirror looked familiar.
"You may find strange that I give you as a present a mirror that you own." He said with an embarrassed smile while his right hand was resting on the back of his neck. "It's the mirror you were holding when you got stupefied by the Basilik. It shows your cleverness, the fact that you always have the answer and that without you, we wouldn't have come back from the Chamber of Secrets".
Hermione tried to argue that she could not have helped them, that she was paralyzed while they bravely fought the giant snake but Ron did not want to hear that. She opened the third box. "Your turn turner for your thirst of knowledge and your hard work".
In the fourth box, she found a Yule Ball invitation. "Even if I didn't tell you, when I saw you there, you took my breath away. For the first time, I started to understand that I find you beautiful and that I had a crush on you, though I wouldn't admit it, even to myself."
And that time, tears were shedding on Hermione's face as she kept on opening the boxes. In the fifth, she found a wooden sock. "A wink to the SPEW and your devotion, your thirst of justice".
The sixth box contained a little bottle of love potion. "I recall when I accidentally took it. I took the antidote then got poisoned when celebrated. When I was in the nurse's office, I whispered your name. Without this potion, maybe I wouldn't have made a move for years. Maybe we'd still be just friends."
The last box contained the Deluminator. "It brought me back to you. It guided me to you with your voice."
Puzzled, Hermione looked at all the objects that were then on her bed. "All those things represent what I love about you or what brought us closer. All that to tell you I love you" Ron kneeled and brought of his pocket one last box.
"I really thought that last year was the worst year of my life until the last few month. We were closer than ever but we were miles away. Hermione, I don't want to be without you ever again. Well, I'd have to since you'll have to go back to Hogwarts, but what I mean is that I want to spend my whole life with you. Hermione Jean Granger" he said as he opened the last box, "will you marry me?"
She covered her mouth with a hand while tears were gleaming her eyes. For the first time, she was speechless. She only could nod before rushing into his arms.
And he put the ring on her finger.