Ron paced the kitchen.

This was going to be a lot more difficult than he expected.

He did have a few ideas, to be fair to him, but nothing seemed to feel... right. He wanted the proposal to be perfect—something Hermione would deserve.

First, he thought, he could propose at a quidditch match.

He presumed that was something she was interested in, every time they went together, she seemed interested.

But after one chat with Ginny, that idea shut down immediately.

"Ron you can't propose to some one with one of your interests," she rolled her eyes, and Ron did see her point.

Then, maybe, he would propose outside of work. He would meet her outside the Ministry and get on one knee and look into her eyes and... she would hate it. She would hate the attention.

Or could they go back to Hogwarts? Sneak around the entrance, reminisce their childhood.

He had brought this up with Hermione, but by the look on her face, he presumed it was a no.

"Ron, I'm not going anywhere near that place again, and besides, it's probably illegal to go back."

He supposed that was a no as well.

Then, Ron got very close to purchasing a cake. Lemon drizzle, raspberry buttercream icing, the words 'Marry me, Hermione?' glazed on the top. He had brought out his wallet, ready to hand over a selection of muggle coins and cash, until he realised that this wasn't nearly as grand enough for the love of his life, was it?

So now he was starting to get desperate. For a moment, he even wondered if they should go to Forest of Dean again.

He could propose by the fire, the atmosphere would be perfect, but of course, of course, that wouldn't do.

—

It was an evening during the next week that Ron gave in.

In the dim light of the kitchen, her greasy, unwashed hair pulled back, curled in a chair with her head in a book... she looked too perfect. As hard as he tried, Ron couldn't hold it in.

"I want to marry you," he blurted out, and Hermione's head shot up in an instant.

"I—I do have a ring, but it's upstairs, and this wasn't planned and—" Ron stumbled over his words, but his rambling was drawn to an end when he saw Hermione's face.

She smiled, and Ron couldn't decipher whether he'd made a mistake or not.

"You—you don't have to say yes, I'm not too worried," he paused, "well, I am quite worried, actually. I do definitely want to marry you, but if you don't want to then—"

"Ron," Hermione's voice was soft and slow, like she was talking to a child, "of course I want to marry you, are you daft?"

Ron couldn't help but break out in a grin.

"You're not disappointed that there wasn't some kind of big proposal?"

"No?"

"Because—because I did have some things planned, but none of them seemed like you would actually like them..." Ron was getting a bit flustered, and was desperate to come up with some kind of excuse as to why she didn't have the proposal she so desperately deserved.

"Hold on, why—why don't I get the ring."

He rushed into their bedroom, where the ring was stashed in his underwear drawer.

He slowly opened the case. The silver shined in the dim light, and the purple velvet casing felt soft against his fingers.

As he came back into the kitchen, Hermione was smiling at him still. It made his heart beat ten times faster.

He continued towards her until he could feel her breath on his face and as he got down on one knee, she sat down on her chair in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

She bumped his shoulder with hers, "I think we should be on the same level."

This made him grin even more, could she be even more perfect?

"Hermione Granger," he took a deep breath, "will you marry me?"

She blushed, even though it was just the two of them in the room, which felt more comfortable than either of them had ever felt before.

"Am I not getting a big speech then?" she giggled.

"I don't think there are words that could be worthy of you."

That was enough for her, and she drew him into a close hug.

"Is that a yes?"

She kissed his cheek and muttered in his ear, "Of course it is."