A.N. None of J.K.'s awesome H.P. characters are mine, only the plot is mine.

All Grown Up

The snow was falling softly around a sleepy apartment building on Kindermancknak Drive in London. Inside room 117, a man of 21 with fiery red hair rolled out of bed. The sun hadn't yet peeked through the misty, purple clouds. He shuffled over to the kitchen/living room and plopped down onto a barstool, putting his head in his hands. He knocked his head against the wooden countertop of the island, but stopped abruptly at the thought of waking his girlfriend. Girlfriend. That word echoed inside his head as he tried to shake it out, as though it were water in his ear. He picked his head up and stared at the coffee table, and its tiny drawer in which held the key to his future. He lumbered over to the drawer, picked a miniature key from his pocket and fitted it into the keyhole. He slid the drawer out just enough to reach a tiny box, covered in black velvet. He clicked the box open and spun it so the diamond caught the sunlight. Simple he thought, just what she would love. Love another mysterious word. A word that he, Ronald Weasley, never would have thought about for a minute, until he met her. The girl of his dreams, the girl who would hopefully, spend the rest of her life with him. That girl was Hermione Granger.

Two hours later, a young woman with long, wavy brown hair walked into the room.

"Good… morning…Ronald." Hermione said through a long yawn, stretching her arms. She fetched herself a glass of orange juice and strolled over to the couch where Ron had occupied himself with Muggle soccer.

"You know," he said "Dean was on to something with this 'soccer' thing. Of course, no comparison to Quidditch, but its good."

"Why were you up so early?" Hermione inquired "I don't usually see you till around 11:00."

"Oh, I dunno, no reason. Couldn't sleep, I guess."

"Poor baby," Hermione leaned over the couch and started to rub Ron's back

"Ahhhhhhmmm." He instantly relaxed into her arms.

At the age of 21, Hermione took over Rita Skeeter's position as writer for the Daily Prophet. She had banished the use of Quick Quote Quills and wrote a lot more truthful articles. Ron's Quidditch ability had skyrocketed, as he got older. Instead of being keeper, he followed inn Fred and Georges footsteps and became a beater. He was now being drafted for England's top level, before the professional leagues. Ronald had a lot of free time on his hands and Hermione was off today. He figured that today would be a most opportune moment.

"'Mione" Ron said dreamily

'Yeeees?" Hermione replied

"I had a really good felling when I woke up today, you know." Ron broke free of the backrub to face her.

"Mmmm."

"I wanted to take you somewhere; somewhere we have been before and that holds a lot of memories."

"Okay…"

"But I can't tell you where."

"That's the price I have to pay I suppose," she laughed

"And dress a bit warmly." He added

Around noon they both were ready.

"You ready?" Ron asked

"Yes," Hermione replied

"Lets go."

And with that Ron grasped Hermione's hand spun sharply. The familiar sensation of being sucked through a small rubber tube returned as Hermione giggled, remembering how long it had taken Ron to learn.

They landed on their feet (surprisingly) on a snow-laden road, in a quiet town.

"Come, my lady." Ron gestured towards a carriage that could rival the beauty of the freshly fallen snow. The twohorses werea gleaming chestnut colour.

"Oh, Ronald, it's magnificent!" Hermione breathed, "But, where are we going?"

"You'll see"

"Ronald, come on," Hermione said as she clambered into the carriage.

"Hold on, just need to have a word with the driver," then his voice dropped to a whisper and he turned to the driver"Neville, I seriously owe you one."

"Just have fun today mate." Replied the driver, lifting his hat and giving Ron a wink.

Ron felt the lump in his robe pocket and took a deep breath, before joining Hermione in the warmth of the carriage.

The ride was a short one, and a sort of awkward one, neither knowing what to say. They caught a glimpse of a sleepy village that looked strangely familiar, yet distant.

"Ronald, are we where I think we are?" Abruptly after Hermione said this the carriage stopped, Ron took her hand and led her out. They stood on the grounds of a magnificent castle. To their left a monstrous lake stood, preserved under the ice.

"Oh, Ronald, this can't be. This is Hogwarts! Oh so many years! It's beautiful! Just as I remember."

"Yeah, exactly like I remember."

"I thought it was destroyed during the war."

"Na, No one, no matter how powerful could demolish ol' Hogwarts. But they did close her."

"Come on, let's look around."

Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and started to run towards the giant stone steps. She sat down and leaned her head on the side.

"Remember, when these froze over with ice, and Fred and George slid down and plummeted Snape into the snow?" Hermione asked with a reflective look in her eyes

"Yeah, they were kings of their time, Fred and George. You know what they got for it?"

"Three weeks detention." They said in unison.

"Oh, look at Hagrid's hut. He was wonderful."

"Yeah, a nutter, but a real nice guy."

"I love Hogwarts so much. I wish we never had to leave. It's the first place where I felt like I was important, you know. It made me a witch."

"God, I love this place to. There is one thing I love more though, you."

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione now had tears streaming down his face

"Hermione Granger, the love of my life," He knelt down in front of her "you are the greatest thing that ever happened to me." He pulled the small black box from his pocket

"Will you marry me?"

Hermione pounced on Ron knocking him into the snow. She pressed her lips on his and refused to let go. She was melting on the inside, into him. Ron never felt happier in his life. She tried to pull away but he put his hand behind her head and forced them together. They felt nothing but passion and warmth radiating through their bodies. At last, when they needed to come up for air, they broke apart. They lay there in the snow together, never wanting to leave.

Then Hermione turned to face Ron and uttered one word.

"Yes."