Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own any of her characters.
Harry paced agitatedly over his sitting room floor. Ron and Hermione sat comfortably in front of him. After about five minutes of solidifying silence, Hermione spoke up.
"Just say whatever has your pants in a knot," she said, exasperated, "Going by your expression, one would think that the sky was falling!"
"Yeah mate, you look a bit green," Ron added.
Harry glanced at his best mate. They had been through so much together. From finding the Philosopher's Stone, to fighting for their lives, Ron had always been there. Well, maybe not always, but he quickly pushed those thoughts away, to focus on the task at hand. What he was about to ask Ron may just be the end of their friendship. Harry knew how Ron was about his sister's boyfriends. Taking a deep breath, he blurted out, "Ron-Iwannamarryginny."
Ron cocked his head, "Sorry?"
"He said he wants to marry Ginny." His wife explained.
Harry watched with trepidation as Ron's ears and neck turned red, a sure sign that he was ticked. He cringed, waiting for the outburst that was sure to come. He saw a multitude of emotions cross his best friend's face. Instinctively, Harry's hand twitched towards his pocket, where his wand was stowed next to a small box…
But to his surprise, the tirade that he expected did not come. Instead, Ron burst into a frenzy of wild laughter. Between gasps of mirth he said, "You should've seen the look on your face!" Harry turned helplessly to Hermione, to find that she was shaking with suppressed mirth, herself. He threw up her hands. "Well, I'm glad you two are finding this so funny!"
Ron wiped tears from his eyes. "Seriously mate, shouldn't you be asking her if she wants to marry you?"
"Yeah, well, I thought that you would give me hell for asking her without asking you first. You should have seen your face when I first kissed her! It was enough to make anyone wary!"
"Well, at that time, she was going through bo-"
"When are you going to ask her?" broke in Hermione.
For a moment Harry gaped at her like a fish. Then he stuttered, "Erm…well…I hadn't thought about that."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Do you even have a ring?"
"I've had it for months now. I just had to get the courage to ask him about asking her."
It was Ron's turn to roll his eyes. "He can face You-know-who in the blink of an eye, but he needs a few months to gather courage to face your best friend."
"That's different. I actually care what you think."
Ron was speechless, for once. Fortunately for him, Hermione intervened. Unfortunately for Harry, she turned the conversation to his proposal. "I think he should do it tonight. Mrs. Weasley did invite us for supper."
Harry gulped audibly. "I-mrble!" Ron clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Do it," he advised, "Or we'll do it for you. Publicly. In front of everyone."
Harry sighed. He had a very long evening coming.
At the Burrow
The trio had arrived at the Burrow when the party was in full swing. Mrs. Weasley seemed to have invited half of the Wizarding World to the party, which was a baby shower of sorts for Bill and Fleur, who were surrounded by people offering their most heartfelt congratulations. Harry searched for Ginny among the throng of people. Finally locating her in the corner by the Weasleys' unique clock. (A/N We all know which clock). He pushed his way through the crowd, dodging a very drunk Dedalus Diggle, and a very hyperactive Teddy Lupin. Ginny was talking to a warlock with what looked like a severe case of spattergroit. He tapped her on the shoulder, aware that the eyes of both Hermione and Ron were fixed on him.
"Can we talk? Outside?" he asked quietly.
He caught a spark of emotion in her eyes as she turned and made her way to the garden gate. He quickly transfigured a straw into a single, red rose. He then hurried to where she waited patiently for him. He clenched a suddenly sweaty hand around the box in his pocket. His throat dry, he knelt upon one knee. However, the words that he had so carefully rehearsed evaded him. Instead, he croaked, "Ginny, do you want to marry this rose?"
Ginny looked at him, "What?"
He tried again, offering the rose to her, "Would you marry my rose?" (A/N: I got this from the third Cheetah Girls movie)
She suddenly broke into laughter. Harry rose, confused. What was she laughing at? Then he thought back to the words he had spoken, and hit his head in frustration. He waited until she was calm again, and kneeled in the soft grass, determined to propose properly, unaware that the sounds of the party had dwindled somewhat, and that they had an audience. Harry took yet another deep breath, and said, quite calmly, "Ginny, will you marry me?"
She gave a small giggle as he slid a simple gold band adorned with a single diamond. The inscription on the ring said "One Heart, One Love" She said, "Got there in the end, did you?" before jumping on him. His lips met hers in a passionate kiss. Both were oblivious to the whoops and catcalls coming from the direction of the Burrow. When they both came up for air, Harry said, "Shall I take that as a yes?"
"Shall we tell that lot that we are engaged?" she replied. They both laughed giddy, breathless laughs. Ginny got off of Harry, and helped him up. Hand in hand, they turned back to the house to be greeted by a rousing cheer from all of the partygoers congregated in the garden. Harry could see Mrs. Weasley wiping tears from the corner of her eyes, and Mr. Weasley putting his arms around her. Fleur, resting comfortingly in the circle of Bill's arms, reached up and gave her husband a quick peck on the cheek. Harry grinned at the sight of George counting money into Percy's hand. Ginny tugged at his hand, and pointed to the back of the crowd. Harry followed her finger to Ron and Hermione. The said couple was intertwined around one another, lips locked, and like Harry and Ginny, were completely oblivious to the eyes trained on them. Suddenly, there was a big crack, and bright red fireworks erupted into the night sky. Golden sparks formed the words, "Harry, will you marry me?" He turned to Ginny, "Was that yours?" he asked.
"Nah, it was probably George playing a joke." With that, she leaned in for another kiss. Harry vaguely heard George yelp, "Oi! It wasn't me!" in an offended tone before his lips met his fiancé's.
FIN
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