Author's Note: I'm not sure if this would actually happen, but I decided to write it anyway. Anything can happen in fanfiction, right?
Disclaimer: I must not tell lies! I'm not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own any part of Harry Potter.
Is it really possible for one person to sweat so much? Ron Weasley thought to himself, ruefully inspecting his damp shirt. If you can't even ask this question, how are you supposed to ask THE question? Where's your Gryffindor courage?
Sighing, Ron pulled out his wand and hastily attempted to dry his shirt before raising his fist to knock on the door. He summoned every last ounce of his bravery and rapped three times on the wood. A moment later, a woman answered.
"Hello, Mrs. Granger," Ron said in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. He cleared his throat and tried again. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine, thank you. How are you?" Mrs. Granger answered.
"Not too bad," Ron said.
"What brings you here?" Mrs. Granger asked. "Is something wrong with Hermione?"
"Oh, no, she's all right. I was actually wondering if I could speak with your husband. Is he home?" Ron said.
"Yes, I believe he's in his study. Please, come inside." Ron followed Mrs. Granger into the house and down a hallway to Mr. Granger's study.
"Go ahead in," Mrs. Granger said, smiling encouragingly. Ron grinned back weakly and opened the door to the study.
Mr. Granger was seated at his desk, reading the newspaper. He looked up when Ron entered.
"Good afternoon, sir," Ron said formally, extending his hand. Mr. Granger stood up and shook it.
"Have a seat, Mr. Weasley," Mr. Granger said. Ron sat down in a chair across from him. "Now," Mr. Granger went on, "I think I have an idea of why you're here, but I'll let you explain."
Ron took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I want to request your permission to propose to Hermione."
"I figured that was it, and I appreciate you coming to me, but I'm afraid my answer is a no," Mr. Granger said.
"Thank you so much, sir, I – wait." Ron frowned. "Did you say no?"
"I did," Mr. Granger said.
"May I ask why?" Ron said, fighting to keep his voice polite.
"I have heard many stories about you from Hermione over the years, and they aren't all good. You've hurt her badly more than once. I can't risk giving her away to someone who might hurt her again."
"But I won't!" Ron said, leaping to his feet. "I was younger and more immature then. I know how to act now. I'd take good care of Hermione. She has a good job, and I'll be getting a better one soon once I finish training, so I would be able to provide for her. We'd have children together, and I'd make sure they got a Mug – non-magical education before going to Hogwarts. And I would do absolutely everything in my power to ensure they and Hermione were always safe and happy. Hermione is the kindest, smartest, most talented, most beautiful girl I've ever met, and I'll never love another woman even half as much as her, except maybe my mother and Ginny. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't be with her forever."
Ron concluded his speech and waited for Mr. Granger's response. "You're a nice man, Mr. Weasley, and your future wife will be a very lucky woman. But she won't be Hermione. This is my only daughter we're talking about here, my only child, and I can't take this chance. History repeats itself, you know," Mr. Granger said.
Ron swallowed, stunned into silence. He'd been nervous about asking Mr. Granger for Hermione's hand in marriage, but he didn't think her father would actually say no. As far as he knew, Hermione wasn't planning on dating anyone other than him. How would she react when he told her they couldn't be wed? How would he tell her in the first place?
"I understand," Ron said at last, even though he didn't understand at all. "I'm very sorry you feel that way." He turned to leave. "Thank you for your time."
"Goodbye, Mr. Weasley," Mr. Granger said. And with that, Ron walked away.
That evening, Ron sent an owl to Hermione asking her to go to Hogsmeade with him the following morning. Hermione wrote back and agreed to meet him at the Three Broomsticks at ten thirty.
Ron arrived at the pub the next day at nine forty-five. He paced back and forth in front of the door for a good half an hour before he saw Hermione.
"I thought I was going to be early!" she said as she ran up and hugged him. "How long have you been here?"
"Not very long," Ron said.
"That's good," Hermione said. She gazed up at him expectantly. "Well?" she said after a few seconds of silence. "Don't I get a kiss or anything?"
Ron leaned down, gave her a quick peck on the lips, and drew away.
"What's wrong, Ron?" Hermione said, looking worried. "Are you angry with me?" She mentally began to make a list of everything she had done recently that would have upset Ron.
"No, it's not your fault," Ron said. "It's just that… I was going to ask you to marry me."
Hermione's initial reaction of joy was instantly replaced by confusion. "You were going to ask me?" she repeated. "As in… You're not going to ask me anymore?"
"I wish I could," Ron said. "But your father said I can't."
Hermione looked crestfallen. "Why?" she said sadly.
"He doesn't want me to hurt you again like I have in the past," Ron explained.
"That's ridiculous!" Hermione exclaimed. "You would never do that."
"That's what I tried to tell him, but he still refused," Ron said.
"So what are you trying to say?" Hermione said. "You think we should break up with each other?"
Ron nodded dejectedly. "I respect you and your family too much to marry you without your father's permission, and if we stayed together, it would probably make him mad. Besides, it would only be a constant reminder of what we could have had."
Hermione couldn't believe Ron was going to give up. "I still want to marry you," she said. "I'm not letting you go that easily. Let me talk to my dad. I'll see if I can change his mind. And if I can't –"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Ron interrupted.
"If we come to it," Hermione corrected him firmly.
Ron smiled at her optimism and kissed her again, better this time. "If we come to it," he agreed.
Later that day, Hermione approached her parents' house and knocked on the door. Her father opened it.
"Hermione! We weren't expecting to see you today," he said, stepping back to let her into the house.
"I wanted to speak with you about Ron," Hermione said as Mr. Granger shut the door behind her.
"He told you about our conversation, didn't he?" Mr. Granger said.
"Why did you say no to him?" Hermione burst out.
"Ron has hurt you far too many times in the past. I lost count of the number of times you wrote home while you were at Hogwarts telling us that the two of you had been in a fight. I want you to spend your life with someone who will make you smile, not someone who will make you cry."
"I've hurt Ron at times, too, Dad," Hermione said. "We just didn't know how to handle our feelings for each other, so we did the only thing we knew how to do, and that was argue. I guess it was – it was our way of expressing ourselves."
"What about those times he got you in trouble?" Mr. Granger shot back. "You had far more adventures, for lack of a better word, at Hogwarts than you did in your regular school."
"Ron didn't get me in trouble. All of those 'adventures' I went on were by choice. My choice."
"But he influenced you, right?"
"It's kind of hard to stay out of those situations when your other best friend is the Boy Who Lived. Ron and I had to stick with Harry. What kind of people would we be if we didn't?" Hermione looked at her father. "I think there's something you're not telling me," she said quietly.
Mr. Granger gave her a half-smile. "You're perceptive, aren't you?" he said. He sat down on a sofa and motioned for Hermione to join him. "Ron is wonderful," he continued once she had settled herself. "He obviously loves you very much."
"Then why can't I marry him?" Hermione said.
"I'm not ready to let you go yet," Mr. Granger confessed.
"But I've already moved out of the house," Hermione said. "What's the difference if I'm living by myself or with Ron?"
"Well, that's the problem. I've had to make so many adjustments in my life. I mean, first we find out you're a witch, which is probably one of the most if not the most shocking thing you can tell a parent about their child. The next thing I know, you're running off to a school of magic and coming home every summer with stories about those aforementioned adventures. Then you get your own flat. Now you want to get married, and it feels like I'm losing you completely."
"Dad," Hermione said gently. "You're not losing me. Yes, I want to start a family, but that doesn't mean I won't be a part of this family. I'll still visit you often. It's not that hard; magical transportation is fast. And I have plenty of room in my heart for both Ron and you. And Mum, of course."
"Oh, you're right," Mr. Granger said. "I was feeling a bit selfish. You're my little girl. You always have been and you always will be. I need to accept that you're growing up."
"Does that mean I can marry Ron?" Hermione said hopefully.
"Yes, I suppose it does," Mr. Granger said.
Hermione squealed and embraced her dad. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
Mr. Granger laughed. "Go call Ron, or send him a fowl, or whatever wizards do."
"Owl, Dad," Hermione said with a giggle. "This is too important to write, though. I'm going to go see him."
And she did exactly that. She bid her father farewell and rushed to Apparate to Ron's flat. When she arrived, she practically pounded on his door and tapped her foot impatiently until he opened it.
"Where's the fire?" he started, but he was cut off by Hermione throwing her arms around him.
"He said yes!" she shouted. "We can get married!"
Ron lifted Hermione off her feet and spun her around. "Brilliant!" he yelled. He set her down again and ran to his bedroom.
"Where are you going?" Hermione called.
"If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it properly," Ron said as he returned. He dropped down on one knee and held out a small box containing a silver ring. Despite the fact that she knew the proposal was coming, Hermione gasped. This was really happening.
"Hermione Granger," Ron said. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Hermione cried. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Ron beamed and slid the ring onto Hermione finger. He got to his feet, and shared his first kiss with her as his fiancée.