Author's Note: This is my entry as Beater 2 with Pride of Portree for Round Four of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Challenge.
Forbidden word: Happy/Happiness.
Prompts Used: 3) Burst and 12) Dawn
The Best Day EVER
The morning sun filtered in through the window as Hermione stretched and nearly leapt out of bed, her feet sliding into her favorite pink bunny slippers by feel alone.
As she reached the bathroom, she absentmindedly looked over at the calendar, her eyes widening when she saw the circled words on Friday's date.
"It's today!" she said excitedly, "My exam results should arrive this morning!"
Just as she finished dressing, she heard a tapping on the window. She opened the window to admit a tawny owl with a serious expression, which handed her letter with more than a little formality in his demeanor. Hermione gave the solemn creature a dried newt and rubbed him under the beak with a gentle finger until his eyes closed with contentment. The owl hooted softly in appreciation and hopped onto the open window sill momentarily before launching off into the sky.
She couldn't wait to open the letter. Standing in her undergarments, she slid open the linen envelope, pulled out the folded parchment inside, and read hurriedly through it.
"I passed!" she shouted excitedly to the empty room, "with flying colors!"
Everything was great. No, better than great! Everything was perfect!
Hermione's smile stretched from ear to ear, even though it ached a bit as it lingered on her face. Even the aching was great in its own way, however, and she savored it as she dressed hurriedly for the day.
She was just so...wait...what was that word again? Euphoric? Exuberant? Gleeful?
"Joyful!" She exclaimed, giggling a little as she realized how silly she sounded, "No, that's not quite it, but I'm sure that I'll think of it later!"
She just knew, somehow, that it was going to be a positively perfect day. She was filled with the heat and the glow of that knowledge as sure as the sunshine pouring through the tower window. Her smile felt permanently plastered across her face as she vivaciously skipped down the hallway with a celebratory bounce in her step.
She passed Professor Trelawney and nearly hugged the tall, bug-eyed Divination teacher, but settled instead for a bright, "Good morning!"
"Oh dear, child," Trelawney said, taken aback, "You must be under a dark curse indeed! I see clouds on your horizon! Death! Darkness! Calamity!"
"That's fine with me!" Hermione replied, grinning even wider, "If it's a curse to feel this way then I never want to be cured!"
Then, humming a joyful little tune, Hermione continued onward to her first class of the day as Trelawney muttered darkly behind her, her hand on a bottle of sherry poking out of the sleeve of her robes.
By the time Advanced Charms was over, it seemed like Hermione's good mood had spread to the entire class. Even Professor Flitwick, who merrily dismissed them with a flashing Rainbow Jubilance Charm that filled the classroom with color and light, seemed to have caught her infectious positivity.
"Now that the school year and final exams are over, be sure to get outside and enjoy the day to its fullest!" he squeaked from behind his podium. "At least, I know that I will! I plan to stop by the kitchens myself to order a picnic lunch, so if anyone else would rather take their afternoon meal in the fresh air, please feel free to write down a list of desired food items, and I shall submit them all."
The classroom erupted with excited whispers as everyone began to make plans for picnic lunches by the Black Lake.
"So, what do you say, Hermione?" Neville said with a grin, "I don't need to be asked twice when a picnic lunch is at stake."
"Oh, no, I couldn't impose on you and Luna," Hermione replied sweetly. "Besides, I have plans for lunch already. With you know who."
Neville blanched, and Hermione realized what she had just said and snorted mirthfully at the misunderstanding, which seemed to shock him even more.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Neville, that's not what I meant by...well...that. You must excuse me for acting a bit out of sorts. After all, I'm the first witch in a decade who has received full marks on all of my final exams! I sent a Patronus to Harry and Ron this morning with the good news and Ron has invited me to have a celebratory lunch. He's hinted that it's going to be special, if you know what I mean!"
"Hello, Hermione," Luna said dreamily, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. "Are those Sanguine Sprites floating around your head? They usually only appear when one is about to receive really good news."
"I aced every test, Luna!" Hermione gushed, squeezing the slight blonde tightly in an excited hug, "And if I'm really lucky, the best news is yet to come. After all, it's coming up on my one year anniversary with Ron."
"But, Hermione...I don't-" Neville started, going quiet as Luna laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Neville, you know that Hermione has been waiting for this day for quite some time," Luna replied gently.
Neville smiled uncertainly, still obviously a little confused.
"Well, in any case," Neville said, finally, "I hope you have a good lunch."
"I'll see you in Advanced Potions!" Hermione called back, waving merrily from the door.
"Don't remind me!" Neville groaned.
"You know," Luna replied, "We are going to have to work on remedying that Wrackspurt infestation you're suffering from."
"Wha-?" Neville managed before he was silenced by Luna's lips pressing against his own, his cheeks burning a bright scarlet.
Hermione grinned from the door at their adorable display of affection and pressed a finger against her lips. She wondered if Ron would approve of a liberal application of Luna's Wrackspurt treatment.
"There you are, 'Mione! Sorry, I'm late!" Ron gasped. He bent over to catch his breath as he sprinted up to the front steps of the castle, where Hermione had been waiting, her knees folded up to her chin.
He looked very smart in his Auror-in-training robes, and Hermione blushed despite herself. She was also mystified at how Ron could call her by that blasted nickname in such a way that she didn't really mind it at all. Harry had tried a couple of of times and she'd nearly bitten his head off. Her heart fluttered as she wondered if this meant something about the progression of their relationship.
"It's fine," she said, her mouth turned upward in a gentle smile, though the butterflies in her stomach were at odds with her outer calm.
She was glad that Ron had only been five and a half minutes late. She'd nearly begun to have a panic attack at the sudden thought that he might not come at all. Even though she still ha the unshakable feeling that nothing could ruin this perfect day of days, a tiny part of her still felt a bit doubtful. Luckily, she'd learned not to blurt out every minor irritation to her boyfriend, and so she kept such thoughts to herself.
"It's a good thing I asked for a time delay. The Portkey should activate in about thirty seconds," Ron said, his face a little pink as he looked at her bushy hair and the way her figure filled her dark school robes with undisguised desire.
"Then I'd better stay close," Hermione replied, sliding her arm around Ron's narrow waist and snuggling into his side.
She felt her cheeks grow warm, and her heart filled with jubilation until she was certain it would burst as he tucked his arm around her waist as well and rested his chin on the top of her head. Even though Ron had never really filled out and was still very tall and thin, there was a maturity about him that had settled into the way he carried himself and how he spoke and Hermione found it very, very attractive.
"Hermione, will you do a favor for me?" Ron asked, his voice just slightly nervous. "Will you close your eyes?"
"As long as you hold onto me," Hermione replied, her smile going dreamy as she closed her eyes tightly.
"Of course! I'll never let you go!" Ron declared fiercely, and she could feel the thrumming joy filling her all the way down to her toes.
And then, an entirely different tugging pulled on her, and they spun into the darkness towards their destination.
"You can open your eyes now," Ron's voice said, as he led her over what felt like somewhat rough terrain, a familiar scent filling the air.
Hermione opened her eyes and gasped.
They were standing in a wide forest clearing, in the exact place where Ron had finally returned to them after storming out under the influence of Salazar Slytherin's locket Horcrux nearly a year before.
"I know that this place isn't exactly a reminder of my best moment," Ron replied, "but it was the moment that, when I saw you, I realized that I never wanted to be apart from you ever again, even though I knew you would be mad enough to knock some sense into me...literally."
The clearing had been set with a simple table covered with a white linen tablecloth. Pulling a bundle from his robes, Ron enlarged it and spread out their lunch. The food looked amazing, and Hermione felt her mouth water with anticipation.
"I've placed a stasis spell on it," Ron said, his eyes filled with emotion as he returned and held Hermione's hands, "but first, there's something I really...I...have to do."
Hermione watched in silence as his face went even more pale than usual, causing his freckles to stand out across the bridge of his nose and cheeks. His blue eyes sparkled in the dappled forest light and he took a deep breath before going down on one knee before her.
"Hermione Granger," he started, his voice a little unsteady, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. You are also scarily brilliant, stronger than anyone I've ever known, and just a bit terrifying, but in a good way, honest!"
Hermione stood there silently, feeling almost as though she was watching him talking to her from outside of herself as her heart began to flutter so quickly that it felt almost as though it was humming.
"In short," Ron said, mustering up his courage, "You are my best friend. Well, except for Harry, but he'd probably look pretty terrible wearing a dress. Wait! No! That came out wrong. Let me start again."
Hermione giggled nervously, despite herself.
"You've been there ever since the beginning and sometimes I think that you know me better than I know myself," Ron continued. "I love you more than I've loved anyone in my entire life. And before you even ask, no, I promise that I'm not under the influence of a love potion. I learned my lesson about taking dubious sweets from random locations back in sixth year. But...when I'm with you...I feel like the world just slows down, and we're the only two in it. I want to watch every sunset with you and begin every morning with you lying next to me. Even when we argue or disagree, I find myself enjoying myself. And so, I find myself realizing that I can't imagine living my life without you by my side and…"
He shifted with one hand and dug through his robes, swearing loudly when he grabbed something that was obviously sharp before finally pulling out a little box. He sucked on his thumb for a second before gazing up at her again, his expression sheepish.
"Sorry about that. Aurors are expected to keep at least one of those damnable Quick Quotes quills on our person at all times on the off-chance that we have to interview a suspect. Oh, bloody hell, I'm really pants at this whole proposal thing, aren't I?"
"Oh, Ron," Hermione replied, wiping a tear out of the corner of her eye. "It's perfect."
"Hermione, will you marry me?" he said, opening the box at last.
Heat flashed through Hermione's face and for a moment, she didn't see anything but those blue eyes looking imploringly up at her, loving her, needing her.
"Of course," she said quietly, her mind catching up with the enormity of the situation as she rushed forward and threw her arms around him ecstatically. "Oh yes! Yes! I will!"
She held out her hand, and he slid the small band, which had tiny rubies set into it and one somewhat larger diamond in the center, onto her finger where it magically resized itself to fit her perfectly.
"This is…" Hermione said, "Oh, Ron, it's lovely. It must have cost a fortune, though. I don't know how I can accept it in good conscience."
"Hermione, please," Ron replied, his eyes soft with affection. "I've been working in the stockroom at the joke shop in addition to my Auror training duties for nearly a year. I saved and scrimped because I knew that you'd love it and it would suit you well if you accepted. Please accept it, Hermione. You are my heart. I want to give you everything that I am and this ring is just the beginning. I want to prove to you that I'm worthy. I may never fully be able to make up for leaving you in your time of need back then, but I want you to know that no matter where you are, if you need me, I will always be able to find my way back to you."
"What do you mean?" Hermione said, looking down at the ring with a puzzled expression.
"It's not just a ring," Ron replied, grinning as he pulled out another simpler-looking band that was attached to a chain around his neck from under his robes. "If you twist your ring around twice clockwise, no matter where I am, I will know you need me, and I'll be able to Apparate to your side. I still have the Deluminator, of course, but this is just for you."
"Oh, this...this is too much," Hermione blubbered as tears of joy stained her cheeks.
"I thought you might need one of these," Ron said gently, pulling a handkerchief from his robes."Well, to be fair, I'd probably have needed it if you'd rejected me."
"Never!" Hermione said fiercely after she'd wiped the tears away, embracing him so tightly that she nearly crushed the breath out of him.
When she pulled away from him, she beamed from ear to ear and drew his lips to hers, eager to show him just how effective Luna's treatment for Wrackspurts could be.
When they both finally came up for air, he agreed that it was indeed quite effective, and that hopefully, with regular applications, neither of them would ever suffer an infestation. As they shared their meal, Hermione could see their lives together stretching out before her, and she wasn't the least bit afraid.
"Are you ok?" Ron began, noticing her gaze upon him.
"I'm so much more than ok," Hermione said, trying not to tear up again as she beamed at him. "So much more, it's not even funny."
"Well, if it's funny you want," Ron replied, grinning wickedly, "George was telling me this really funny joke the other day about-"
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, if you're going to tell me another of George's dirty jokes…!" Hermione interrupted, her eyebrows furrowing deeply as she put her hands on her hips. Their eyes met, and they both began to laugh.
"Is it strange of me to enjoy it even when you get mad at me?" Ron said, looking a bit as though he was wincing over his sandwich.
"Is it strange of me to enjoy the fact that you put up with my anger and tendency to explain random facts at length without prompting? Which, speaking of random facts, did you know that I'm the first witch to get full marks on her exit exams in over a decade?" Hermione replied with an amused grin.
"That's the Hermione I know and love," Ron said excitedly, placing his hand over hers. "I can't wait to tell everyone."
Hermione's heart filled with euphoria as she thought of the future, and she smiled joyfully back at him.
"Neither can I," she replied, squeezing his hand tightly
She looked down at her gorgeous engagement ring and smiled at the meaning it held, feeling as though the nightmare of war was but a shadow receding into the past as she began looking forward to a bright future filled with hope and love.
And they lived magically ever after.
The End