Harry Potter's Proposal

To most outsiders, Harry Potter's life was a tragedy.

Even before he could remember, he lost his parents. As a teen, he lost his godfather. At the start of his adult life, he lost a mentor, along with many friends.

There was a time in his youth when he bore the same sentiments. The second wizarding war made him realize how wrong he was.

He had two of the most loyal best friends a wizard could have, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He had a home, 12 Grimmauld Place, where he stays with his godson, Teddy Lupin, and Teddy's maternal grandmother, Andromeda Tonks. He had the most beautiful and brilliant girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, and was adopted by the entire Weasley family as another son. He was top of his Auror training program and was well on his way into graduating as a full Auror and fulfilling his lifelong ambition.

As far as he was concerned, he had a perfect life, more than one could ever ask for.

Hence it was with a heavy heart as he returned to 12 Grimmauld Place from the funeral; the events of the last few weeks were still fresh in his mind. He had finally completed the three-year Auror training programme, but there was little cause for celebration, for the price it came with.

He dug deep into the pocket of his coat, his fingers closed in around a cool silver charm. A dull ache drummed at his chest as he looked down at the Knut-sized photo frame and his heart felt heavier as he watched the three figures in the magical photograph.

"Harry?" the voice of Andromeda Tonks called and Harry shook himself out of his depressing thoughts. "Harry, is that you?"

"Hi Aunt Andi, I'm home!" He quickly kept his charm as the familiar sounds of running steps reached his ears. A toddler sporting bright turquoise hair ran unsteadily from the kitchen and took a giant flying leap into Harry's arms.

"Uncle Harry!"

Harry, having had extensive experience with the cannonball of a toddler, caught his godson securely with both his arms. "Teddy! You've grown!"

Teddy grinned and his hair turned a familiar bubblegum pink. "I am four years and six months old now!"

"That's my big Teddy," Harry cooed with a smile as he carried the toddler towards the kitchen, following the delicious scent of food. "Hello Aunt Andi."

Andromeda looked up from the pot of stew and gave Harry and her grandson a warm motherly hug. "Welcome back Harry. How was your training?"

One could never have believed this was the sister of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"It went well," Harry lied with a smooth face as he leaned into the pot Andromeda was stirring. Before Andromeda could ask any questions, Harry changed the subject, reporting the only silver lining of his day. "I completed my Auror training."

"Congratulations!" Andromeda gave Harry another hug and a loving pat on his cheek. Teddy parroted his grandmother's actions, even though he wasn't aware of what was going on, causing the two adults to chuckle heartily at his adorable actions. "Have you told Ginny yet?"

The mention of Ginny carved a smile on Harry's face. "Not yet. She's away for the British and Irish Quidditch Leagues."

"Oh, that's right." Andromeda nodded while serving dinner. "Now, both you and Teddy go wash your hands before having dinner."

A comfortable conversation took place over dinner as Andromeda and Teddy caught Harry up on everything he had missed over the past six months. Dinner with his small family was always a heart-warming affair, Harry thought.

Harry's smile stayed for rest of the evening. It was only after he tucked Teddy in bed after a story telling session and retreated to his room when he sat down and pulled out the silver charm again. The photo showed a tall raven-hair wizard glaring at an equally tall blond wizard while a brunette witch stood in the middle, looking at the camera with an exasperated smile. Behind it, was the engraving: "Semper Fidelis."

That was a scene that could never happen again.

"Goodbye," Harry whispered sadly to the silver charm in his hand.

"Don't wait for the perfect moment. Any moment with the person you loved is the perfect moment."

When Harry woke up the next morning, the only thing he could remember from his dream was the last words his partner said to him before he left the funeral. He sat up and the silver charm rolled down his torso before coming to a stop with the photograph facing him.

"Perfect moment," Harry muttered as he picked up the charm.

With a rueful smile, he could almost hear their voices in his head; "he" was the usual arsehole he was, taunting him about his lack of courage while "she" smacked him lightly on his forehead and told him what an idiot he was, harbouring the fear that Ginny would reject his marriage proposal.

To think, barely a month ago, the prospect of proposing to Ginny was even more terrifying than facing Voldemort alone in the forest. Yet now, it seemed such a silly fear.

He had had countless chances for four years and he gave himself excuses year after year to hide from his fear, reasoning to himself that he was simply waiting for the "perfect moment".

Harry reached into his shirt and pulled out a thin silver chain. He watched the sparkling ring dangle like a pendulum for a few moments before removing the ring from the chain.

"What on earth have you been waiting for, Harry Potter! For the Malfoy family to grow black hair?"

"I don't know, waiting the perfect moment I suppose."

"Oh for goodness sake, Harry, there is no such thing as 'waiting for the perfect moment'. Any moment with her should be THE perfect moment!"

The memory of her voice echoed in his mind as he glanced at the ring resting in his palm.

His partners were right.

He was done with waiting.

Harry did an Undetectable Extension Charm on his trusty mokeskin bag, in which he kept his Firebolt, a small jewellery box and a map. After doing a quick disguise, he slung the Invisibility Cloak over his shoulder and he sneaked up to Andromeda's room where he left a note indicating where he was headed to.

Out of habit, Harry did multiple Apparations under his cloak, checking the map in each interval for notable forested area before Apparating to the next area. Even so, it didn't take Harry long before he reached Holyhead, North Wales.

Being an Auror meant more than learning the abilities to battle and capture dark wizards. Most Auror trainees were able to detect magical places that were hidden in the Muggle world without the aid of any devices. Hence, locating the game pitch was an easy feat for Harry.

The familiar sounds of Quidditch brought back fond memories for Harry and he could not resist a smile for himself. He kept his cloak and walked towards the entrance, his trademark lightning bolt scar surprising the two guards at the gates.

"Harry Potter!"

"Blimey, it really is him!"

"Good day sirs," Harry greeted politely. "May I know the time and the score for the game now?"

"It is into its twelfth hour, Mr Potter," one of the wizards replied with a star-struck look on his face. "The Harpies are in the lead by fifty points."

"I see. May I ask a favour of both of you?"

"Anything, Mr Potter!" The two wizards nodded fervently. "Anything."

Harry grinned. It was in times like this he appreciated his title of The Boy Who Lived.

"Excellent. I am planning a surprise for my girlfriend, Miss Ginny Weasley who is playing Chaser for Holyhead Harpies, and I would like your assistance…"

After a few hushed whispers, the two wizards were more than happy to open the gates for Harry without a ticket. They directed him to the guards' resting area, where he enjoyed a perfect view of the game proceedings while staying hidden behind the tentage. He watched the game reached its peak as the Snitch appeared an hour after he snuck in. As the Seekers of both teams flew expertly across the pitch chasing the elusive Snitch, his eyes were fixed on the single red-head of the team, currently in possession of the Quaffle with two Wasp Chasers at her tail. He watched in awe as Ginny flew upwards abruptly before circling down in the blink of an eye, throwing the two Chasers off her tail. In the next second, she raised her right arm, throwing the Quaffle into the Wasps' hoop, winning the deafening cheers of the supporters.

"Harpies takes lead with a hundred and sixty points - "

A second wave of cheers interrupted the game announcer, as Wasp's Seeker caught the Snitch at the next moment. Ginny's last goal turned out to be the winning goal for the Harpies as her team won by ten points.

The supporters of Harpies burst into ecstatic cheers and chants just as the name of the winning team was announced. The Harpies met in mid-air, each one struggling to hug Ginny.

There's his cue, Harry smiled to himself.

"Congratulations to the Holyhead Harpies, for making it into the finals of the British – wait, what is this. Someone is walking out to the pitch!"

"It's Harry Potter!"

"Harry Potter?"

"It's really Harry Potter!"

"What's he doing here?"

The audience was abuzz with excitement and curiosity as every single pair of eyes in the game pitch focused on Harry at that instance. He was very much aware of the attention he brought to himself, but he was only looking at the red-head who was still midflight, her beautiful features frozen in an expression of complete shock.

Harry took a deep breath and pointed his wand to himself, muttering the Sonorus charm under his breath.

"Con- Congratulations to the Harpies for their victory," Harry almost fumbled at the sudden amplified volume of his voice but manage to continue without missing a beat. "In light of this happy moment, I would like to ask Miss Ginny Weasley of the Holyhead Harpies a question."

At that, he dropped to his knee and held out the jewellery box above his head. He knew Ginny could see the box in his hand.

"Miss Ginny Weasley," Harry started, his heart pounding deafeningly in his ears, looking straight at her. "Will you marry me?"

One could hear a pin drop as silence fell over the pitch. Every single witch and wizard, including the announcer, in the game pitch held their breath in anticipation of what was to come.

Harry, on the other hand, was growing deaf from the excruciatingly loud heartbeats.

Da-dum.

His initial fears of rejection crashed into his senses like a tidal wave as the silence lasted for a second...

Da-dum.

Or two seconds…

Da-dum

Or two hundred lifetimes.

Then, the colour fiery red flashed across his eyes. The next thing he knew, he tackled to the grass floor by one Ginny Weasley, who couldn't seem to decide whether to hug, or cry, or laugh, or kiss him and thus did all four simultaneously. The ring box was knocked to the ground, but that was the least of their concerns.

"Yes!" Ginny yelled, her voice choked with tears.

"She said yes!" The voice of the announcer echoed.

The game pitch once again exploded into a thundering applause and cheers that shook the very grounds of the pitch. Everyone was hysterical and ecstatic at the event, but Harry could not hear any of them. Ginny's acceptance of his proposal resonated in his ears and every nerve in his body. His heart tightening with love, his lips met with Ginny's soft, warm lips in a fiery and passionate kiss.

A few moments later, Harry and Ginny collected themselves and amidst the still deafening cheers from the game pitch, Harry slipped the ring into Ginny's ring finger as with the traditional of a marriage proposal. The moment Harry stood up, Ginny leapt onto him, words failing her as she could only hug her boyfriend with all her might to describe her elation.

They were right, Harry thought of his partners' words as he smiled at Ginny, her lovely brown eyes sparkling and bright with tears of happiness.

Any moment with the person you love, is the perfect moment.

Author's note:

To the readers who read my previous story The Last Will and Testament of Fred Weasley, this story is set in the same universe, 3 years after Fred's death and will be centered around Harry and Ginny's wedding.

What was meant to be a comedic one-piece, went out of hand as I went on a writing frenzy that lasted almost five hours and included the threads of a new Harry Potter story in this opening chapter.

As much as I would like to explain the details of this story now, Harry's adventures in Auror training will not be the focus of this story.

However, I do think it is necessary to include in a little bit of context. In short, Harry had two partners in Auror training, the wizard and witch in the photograph, and both of them gave them the same advice at two different points in time. If you couldn't guessed it yet, the funeral mentioned was for one of his partners.

Back to the main story event, I hope everyone liked how Harry chose to surprise his girlfriend with his proposal. What can be more exciting than proposing in a Quidditch game? ;)

Do leave your comments and reviews. :)

Signing off
Rainremember