Quietness surrounded the couple as the days passed. Heliopolis Scavo had agreed to let Fred Weasley marry his daughter instead of going through with the betrothal to Blaise Zabini, and in the days that followed, the couple had time to themselves, to develop their relationship even further. The only issue at hand involved how the two might get married, and all the preparation leading up to the event. At least Helio had given the couple a bit of time to bond instead of delving right into the planning process, or worse, having the wedding two days after the fact. Yes, things needed to be done, and money spent, but one crucial role had to be played out yet: the engagement.
Although Helio insisted Fred marry his daughter, no actual conversation about an engagement occurred. During this time, couples planned the actual wedding, reception, and every little tidbit involved with the process. Nothing had come of it since Fred went to Danika that day, the day he crawled into her bed and mentioned how they would be miserable together, and until the end. However, Helio wanted his daughter married, and soon. With the wizarding world still containing several purebloods who believed in nothing but pureblood marriages, he thought it best to press this marriage as soon as possible. Not only were the Weasleys purebloods, but his own daughter too, and the sooner they married, the better his role as the Minitser of Magic might look to the pureblood community. The only problem is that many of the pureblood families were not impressed with the Weasley family due to their involvement in the past with the wars and their believe in all blood types being treated equal.
Still, something needed to be done, and to give Fred a little nudge, Heliopolis decided to do one thing he might soon regret. While his wife had died in childbirth and given him a beautiful daughter, he still held her close to his heart, even keeping her wedding ring from their own marriage. Perhaps handing it off to Fred might give him the little push he needed to set this marriage into motion, not to mention, with it belonging to Danika's mother, he would remember not to lose it due to its symbolic value.
After Danika and Fred had come to terms with everything that transpired between them, Fred stayed at the special home designed for whoever reigned as Minister of Magic. It allowed the couple to bond, and with the place as big as a mansion, who could blame him? The only condition Heliopolis set in place was that Fred had a room of his own. While he was no fool about the hormones and chemicals that attracted two people, the passion between them, he had no interest in allowing his own daughter the leniency of doing whatever she pleased with Fred. She had a name to uphold while at this mansion, and so did Fred, at least for now. Once they were married, Heliopolis could care less what the couple did, at least within reason.
Assuming Fred was in his own room, Heliopolis ventured to that wing of the mansion, his feet clicking against the marble floor due to the weight of his leather boots. He wore them to intimidate people, the way bikers often wore steel toed boots, or cowboys wore boots with spurs on them. Otherwise, he donned a royal appearance to his wardrobe. A dark green velvet jacket over top of a silver fest and black dress shirt. He wore no tie, always hating the way it clung to his neck and restricted his breathing in some form or another. His pants were dark brown and of a suede material. Some people claimed he dressed a bit like a Hobbit, not that he ever knew what a Hobbit was, but he detested the thought of looking like anything else and chucked it all up to people being rude.
As he ventured to Fred's room, his coat wafted behind him due to the quickness of his walk. Within two minutes flat, he stood in front of Fred's oak wood door, his fist reaching up to pound on the hard material. He had no interest in walking in, because despite his own hang ups about his daughter and Fred sharing separate rooms, he was no idiot. If people wanted to do something bad enough, they would, and besides, it was rude to just walk right in on someone. Fred could be indisposed, and the last thing Heliopolis wanted was to see his future son-in-law completely in the buff.
In another few seconds, Fred opened the door, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. At least he did not over dress for the time being. His red hair rested on top of his head, a bit of a mess due to it growing out during his stay at the mansion. He had yet to get it cut, and surely Heliopolis might throw a fit. He enjoyed the thought of running his hands through his hair when a few strands fell into his face though.
With a look of surprise, Fred stepped aside, opening the doorway for Heliopolis to step inside. Technically, Fred was only a guest in this mansion, which meant the man had every right to enter, or worse, throw him out for stepping one toe out of line. He appreciated the accommodations though. While he had a flat with George above Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, it proved rather difficult to actually spend alone time with Danika then. His brother had a habit of interfering with Terror Tarts, thongs, and so much more. Then again, if it hadn't been for his brother, perhaps he might never have ended up with Danika in the first place.
Entering the room, Heliopolis' cold gray eyes briefly cast around the room, absorbing his surroundings. Even in this mansion, he sometimes felt unsafe, all due to the fact that any position of power meant the possibility of downfall, and in the worst form: assassination. At least the room appeared the same, a king size bed with royal bedding in shades of green and blue, fit for the male species, and a white canopy draped around the upper top of the oak bed posts. A matching dresser rested directly across from the bed, the woodwork and patterns matching the bed frame and nightstand directly on the left side of the bed where a small antique lamp rested. The lamp shade was also a blue hue to match the bedding. At least house colors had no meaning here, not any more. While witches and wizards always remained loyal to their house from their time at Hogwarts, they had no necessity to continue flaunting their house colors unless they were absolutely obsessed.
Ignoring the rest of the room, Heliopolis turned quickly on his feet, standing before Fred with perfectly straight posture. His hands cusped behind his back as if a proper gentleman, while Fred stood with slouched posture, even in the presence of the Minister of Magic. Heliopolis had a lot to teach him, but that would all come in due time. Right now, he had more important things to worry about.
"I'm sure you are wondering why I am here," the Minister of Magic mentioned briefly in a deep gravely voice, which intimidated many people. "There is one simple answer to this. While I mentioned before how I wished for you to marry my daughter, nothing has been set into motion yet. I have decided to take the first step by offering you her mother's engagement ring in hopes you will take advantage of it and purpose to her."
With that explanation out of the way, Heliopolis slid his rather pale hand into the pocket of his velvet green jacket, pulling out a tiny silver band. Two hearts interconnected, a tiny diamond in the center of one, a ruby in the center of the other. At the time, it was all he could afford, and to his beloved wife, she had adored it no matter what. To them, an engagement ring was about the symbol of their love, not the cost.
Fred stared at the man blankly for a few seconds. Although he knew marrying Danika had to come soon, he had no idea the man intended on doing this now. Instead of appearing like an idiot, Fred reached out with his equally pale hand and clasped the ring between his pointer finger and thumb, holding onto it as if it were the most delicate thing in the world. He stared down at the ring, observing it, and a small smile spread across his lips. It would suit Danika well, not because it belonged to her mother, but because it was simple, yet elegant at the same time.
Returning his hands behind his back, Heliopolis, observed the boy, his demeanor a bit cold, but this is how he carried himself most of the time. The Minister of Magic did not have room for much compassion, nor feelings towards other. Fred was not his son-in-law yet, and so he owed the boy nothing.
"I have taken it upon myself to make reservations at a nice restaurant for Danika and yourself tonight. You will need to dress formally for the occasion. As to how you present the ring to her, that is entirely up to you." He explained, allowing Fred a bit of creative leeway. It didn't allow him much leeway, but from what Heliopolis had heard, the Weasley twins did not lack in creativity one bit.
At the thought of proposing tonight, Fred's heart fluttered rapidly in his chest. Although he knew the time would come soon, he did not expect it so suddenly. A look of fear and panic spread across Fred's pale face, and in that very moment, the Weasley appeared paler then anyone thought possible for such a fare complexion. Swallowing hard and causing his Adam's apple to bob in his throat, Fred nodded and looked up at the man. "Alright. Could you tell Danika that we are going out to dinner tonight so she can get ready? I would tell her myself, but I want time to prepare." He requested and then walked over to his dresser, carefully placing the small silver band on top of it so he didn't lose it.
"Very well," Heliopolis nodded. "The reservation will be under your name." Turning quickly on his heel, the Minister of Magic exited the room, leaving Fred alone to his thoughts in order to prepare for one of the biggest moments of his life.
As soon as Heliopolis left, Fred debated on what to wear, what to say, do, and a dozen other things coursed through his mind in a matter of seconds. While he was typically the most unpredictable between George and himself, when it came to plans and the important things in life, he often felt completely clueless. Tonight Fred would have to go completely off of his nerves. That's how he often did things - at completely random - so that's how he was going to proceed with this night too.
Deciding what to wear had to be the hardest part about the evening. If Fred had the opportunity to plan all of this himself, then perhaps he might come up with something a bit more unique then proposing at an expensive restaurant. Instead, Fred only did as Danika's father pleased. No sense in angering the Minister of Magic. That's why he chose to be traditional with his apparel. He managed to gather up a nice suit, a charcoal gray color with light gray pin stripes. Not completely traditional, but a suit seemed appropriate for a night like this. The dress shirt underneath was a traditional white, a silver tie to match the color of the suit, but with an added bit of shine. Traditional black shoes glistened on his feet.
Walking over to the mirror, Fred stood in front of it, his hands gripping the edges of the suit jacket. He turned one way, then the other, examining his appearance. Pleased with what he saw, he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the thick coat of gel he placed in it. Inhaling deeply, Fred reached out to the ring still resting on top of the dresser and placed the ring gingerly in his jacket pocket.
Exiting the room, Fred wiped his hands on his suit pants to ensure any sweat would not be on them by the time he reached Danika. Oddly enough, even though Heliopolis insisted their rooms be separate, Fred's room was across the hall from Danika's. Walking the few short steps to bridge the gap, he tapped his fist against the oak door, which looked exactly like his. Inhaling deeply once more, he tugged at his suit jacket once more, wanting to look his best for Danika, especially tonight. Besides, other then the one initial date they had at the movies and McDonald's, they hadn't really gone out. They mostly stayed in and spent time together.
Within seconds, Danika flung the door open, a bright smile spread across her gorgeous face. Fred took in her appearance, admiring the way the lavender colored dress formed around her every curve and billowed every so slightly at the bottom, stopping at her knees. Despite the fact this dress did not dip down in the front, Danika looked absolutely gorgeous. Her matching heels added a couple of inches to her height, which she needed when standing next to Fred. Her long blonde hair flowed around her face in straight perfection, her lips painted a pinkish purple color, her eyes a light purple color. Everything about this outfit was perfect for the night, and Fred admired that thought even more since she had no clue what was coming.
"You look absolutely stunning." Fred beamed at her with a huge pearly white grin. He held out his hand like a perfect gentleman.
Danika smiled back at him, placing her tiny hand into his own. The only difference between them was her skin had tanned slightly during the summer and contrasted nicely against his pale white complexion.
"And you look handsome, Mister Weasley." She giggled momentarily before her heart skipped a beat. He did look rather handsome, and a part of her was rather nervous about where they were going due to how dressed up they had both gotten.
Without another word, Fred pulled out his wand with his free hand and apparated them both to the restaurant. Being Heliopolis was the Minister of Magic, and a pureblood, he had made the reservation at a wizarding restaurant, so popping directly to the location wouldn't surprise anyone.
As the popping sound echoed in the air, the two lovebird arrived at the Carpe Noctem restaurant in front of the host. The delicious smell of food wafted through the air, the hushed conversations of patrons in the background making the environment rather atmospheric. The host wore a traditional all black suit, his hair well groomed, and the man was rather good looking, probably to add to the atmosphere. People did not want to eat at expensive restaurants with disgusting workers.
"Good evening and welcome to Carpe Noctem. I'm assuming you have a reservation, Mr…?" The man questioned in a rather chipper voice, waiting for Fred to respond.
"Weasley. Fred Weasley." He inhaled shakily, the nervousness flowing from him in waves. Hopefully Danika would not notice.
"Oh right! We have a special table just for you. Please follow me." The man beamed as if he loved his job. He grabbed two menus and led the couple to a table near the back of the restaurant near an outdoor patio, not that the place needed it. The whole Carpe Noctem theme came from the ceiling of the restaurant being charmed to appear like the night sky. It was pitch black with faint hues of navy blue, and twinkling white stars filling it entirely, the way people could only see the night sky out in the country.
The rest of the restaurant matched accordingly. The square tables were donned in bleach white tablecloths, a round navy blue tinted glass bowl in the center of the table with three white star candles that floated in a bit of water. When Fred and Danika reached their table, the candles were already lit, plates with a navy blue line around the edge rested on the table and silverware on either side to match the various courses if one chose to eat so much. The dinnerware rested on the tables due to the food arriving as soon as the cook finished preparing it. In some ways, the restaurant resembled Hogwarts with the enchanted ceiling and the food magically appearing on the table.
Being a complete gentleman, Fred pulled out Danika's chair for her and waited for her to sit down before taking his own seat. He watched as she slid her hands underneath her dress, forcing it against her skin as she sat down appropriately. He noticed the way she sat up straight, and proceeded to do the same as he sat across from her, his heart beating a mile a second in anticipation.
"Your waiter will be by rather shortly. Enjoy your meal." The man beamed once more before he left them alone in peace since their table in the restaurant was in a spot with very few customers, and those around were seated a couple of tables away.
Picking up his menu, Fred opened it and began scanning the items the restaurant offered. Growing up, Fred ate his mother's food, which most people considered rather simple and easy to make with a low budget income. He admired the way his mother improvised with what they had, but with that said, he had no idea what to order. The only thing halfway normal on the menu appeared to be steak. That's what he decided to go with. At least he wouldn't order something he considered to not be edible then.
Closing the menu, he placed it down on top of the plate. His eyes gazed over at Danika, watching her read over the menu. To her, this was probably nothing new. She grew up with Heliopolis and a bit in the line light due to being the daughter of the Minister of Magic. A few doubts started to slip through his mind about how he might not be able to provide for her the way Danika or Heliopolis wanted. Still, if a person truly loved someone, then money didn't matter, or so Fred thought. His parents never had much and they still had seven children, all of which turned out just fine, although Percy was a bit questionable.
Right now, Fred had to propose, to get this out of the way. Doing it after they ate seemed cheesy, and putting the ring in food for her to find turned out horrible, or so he had heard. That's how girls ended up with chipped teeth or choking to death. To propose simply and before they ate, that was best. Breathing in deeply, he tried to gather his Gryffindor courage and reached into his suit jacket. That's when his heart sped up even faster, fear coursing through him. He did not feel the ring in his pocket, but instead, a hole at the bottom. How on earth had this happened? Tonight of all nights!
Panicking but appearing collected and calm, Fred smiled as he stood up from the table. "Excuse me for a minute." He uttered quietly, a faint smile appearing across his face to reassure her he was fine and would only be gone a second. Danika smiled back, but as soon as he was out of her sight, his face turned to panic once more. He dashed directly to the bathroom and pulled out his wand, which luckily for him, was in the other pocket.
The ring had to be lost somewhere in the restaurant. In the amount of time it had taken him to leave the mansion and apparate to the restaurant, it surely could not have fallen out. Thinking quickly, Fred decided to try the summoning charm. "Accio ring!" He exclaimed in a hushed whisper, hoping no one else was in the bathroom or he might sound like a complete idiot.
However, just as soon as he uttered the spell, he felt like a complete idiot, and that had more to do with the napkin ring that smacked him right in the head. How on earth it found its way underneath the door to smack him in the head was beyond him. Just saying ring was not accurate enough, so Fred began to panic, pacing back and forth in the bathroom that matched the restaurant, except the tile on the walls were black with hints of silver glitter in it to represent the night sky. If it wasn't for the panic and fear running through him right now, he might laugh at how awful the bathroom décor looked.
"Shit! Not specific enough!" He exclaimed to himself. He had to try again. This had to be perfect or Heliopolis would throw a fit. "Accio engagement ring!"
Now Fred was really screwed. Instead of a napkin ring or the ring he truly needed sliding underneath the door and whacking him in the head, this time a rather large gold banded ring with three square cut diamonds whopped him right in the cheek. "Oh Merlin!" Fred exclaimed, letting the ring clatter to the ground instead of picking it up. He rubbed at his cheek, the fear nearly bubbling to the point of no return. If that ring had popped off of someone's finger, or belonged to someone else about ready to propose, he was going to be in some serious trouble. He began to think about how it might sound if he was arrested for stealing someone's engagement ring.
Hopping back and forth on his feet to briefly to try and calm his nerves, Fred shook his hands and head. Trying this one more time would be best, and this time he had it thought out well enough. "Accio Danika's mother's engagement ring!" He exclaimed and this time the tiny silver band flew underneath the door to the bathroom and poked him in the eye.
"Son of a bitch!" Fred shouted in the bathroom, which echoed against the hard tile. Someone in one of the stalls coughed, probably to let Fred know he was being inappropriate.
Fred's hand instinctively clutched at his eye, rubbing it to hopefully take away the burning pain at the moment. It helped a little, but not nearly enough. Still, he needed to not fool around, so instead of wasting time, he picked up the ring that clattered against the floor - the right ring - and held it gently in his hand. He returned his wand to the pocket without the hole, not bothering to fix the holey pocket just because he had nothing to place in it at the moment.
As Fred left the bathroom and reentered the dining area, he continuously kept closing his eye, wincing in pain and irritation. He knew his eye had to be red, and it watered slightly, but he was unable to help it. It was like the way a person kept itching their eye and only irritated it further. However, he had an engagement ring poke him in the eye, so he deserved to rub it, but he didn't want Danika to question him either.
Inhaling deeply, Fred walked over to the table and smiled at Danika. He knew right away she noticed him squinting his eye. He opened his eye and tried not to squint, not to rub it at all.
Concern washed over Danika's face. "Are you alright? What happened to your eye?" She asked, noticing the way he squinted, even if he tried not to.
Instead of telling the truth, Fred decided to crack a joke and see if she dropped the subject due to it. "Well, you look so beautiful that I'm trying not to cry. I know, I'm a big sap, but you just look that good."
Instantly, Danika quirked a brow at him and shook her head. While his joke did elicit a small grin, she knew he was completely full of crap. "Don't lie to me, Fred." Her voice was stern, and slightly intimidating. Fred had to admit he kind of liked seeing that side to her.
Although Fred panicked momentarily, that's when he realized the perfect way to propose. Of all the nights and ways this proposal could go wrong, he had to be the one to mess it up, even if by accident. The least he could do was try to turn it into a joke, a good memory they would both remember in the future. With a playful grin pulling up at the side of his mouth, and his one eye closed due to the burning, Fred got down on one knee and held out the ring.
"Well, this really beautiful ring came out of nowhere and hit me right in the eye!" He exclaimed, causing a few patrons to stare at the couple. "Although I can only look at it properly with one eye at the moment, I thought it might look good on your hand, but not without asking you a rather important question." He hesitated with a grin, leading to the build up.
"Danika, will you marry me?"
A high pitched squeal echoed in the restaurant as soon as Fred popped the question to Danika. Without even thinking, the blonde girl threw her arms out in front of her and leapt onto Fred, knocking him down in the process. Little did she know, she had caught the tablecloth in the process, taking the tablecloth, the dinnerware, even the candles down with her. It was like one big layered mess. Fred on the floor with his body at a weird angle from the fall, Danika on top of him, and the contents of their table on top of both of them.
Danika smiled as she plastered her lips against Fred's for quite some time before pulling away. She tried to prop herself up with her hands and held one hand out for the ring. Fred groaned but managed to laugh at the same time, no matter how much his eye stung. Pulling his hand free, he carefully slid the ring onto her finger and laughed rather loudly. For a traditional engagement, the night had turned into anything but traditional.
Once the ring was securely on Danika's finger, she managed to stand up and held out her hand, helping Fred to his feet. After both of them stood up straight, Danika wrapped her arms around Fred and smiled broadly. Fred beamed and clasped his arms around her tightly. While the table and probably their dinner would be ruined due to their behavior, Fred did not care. He did not care about the other customers in the restaurant staring at them for their awkward behavior. This moment was about Danika, so he held her tightly, and the first time tonight, his heart fluttered, but in love and excitement for what was to come. At least now step one - getting engaged - was completely out of the way.