Ron was hiding in the kitchen, trying to stay calm. He had got dressed in record time and now was pacing up and down running through what he was going to say in his head.

He didn't know why he was so nervous, he was pretty sure she was going to say yes. Or was he? He knew she wanted to get married. The wistful look in her eyes at Harry and Ginny's wedding had told him that, though she'd been very good and not said anything. She knew him well enough to know that nagging and pressure would only make him less likely to propose, and subtle hints were wasted on him. But the longing in her eyes as Ginny walked up the aisle was obvious and the comments she'd made since Ginny and Harry had announced they were expecting a baby also made it pretty clear she wanted a family too.

Ron shuddered at this thought. A baby! Arrgghh! He was definitely not ready for that. Still they didn't have to rush into anything. Harry and Ginny had been married four years before starting a family.

That thought calmed him slightly, though it made him chuckle as he realized that he'd been living with Hermione for longer than that, they'd been going out for even longer, fancied each other longer still and been friends now for well over a decade. They certainly couldn't be accused of rushing into anything, ever.

Ron acknowledged that this was mostly his fault, and related to his inability to take subtle hints. Still, she'd put up with him this long, which made it more likely that she'd say yes, right?

His old insecurities began to surface now, and just as he'd almost convinced himself that she'd secretly been in love with someone cleverer, richer and better looking all this time and was only using him for (he struggled at this point. Sex? Jokes? Chudley Cannons Statistics?) when he heard her come down the stairs of their tiny little terraced home.

He stopped pacing and tried to look calm. 'It's just dinner' he told himself 'you eat all the time, this is no different'. It didn't help.

'Ready?' came a voice from the doorway.

He had to catch his breath. Hermione looked stunning in a simple black dress, her hair piled up on top of her head in a mass of curls (probably the reason it had taken her so long to get ready Ron thought, her knew the ongoing battle she had with her hair). But there was something else, something Ron couldn't quite explain. She looked radiant, kind of happy and excited rolled into one.

'You look gorgeous, love' he said, kissing her cheek tenderly.

Hermione smiled. 'You don't scrub up to badly yourself' she replied, not returning the kiss for fear of smudging her make-up. 'If the reservations are at 8 we'd get a move on'.

'Right you are' said Ron extending his left arm to her in a random act of uncharacteristic chivalry, whilst patting his pocket with his other hand, checking for the bump of the box in his pocket.

He stopped with a jolt and felt his pocket again.

'Shit' he said, as he couldn't find the familiar lump.

'What is it?' asked Hermione

'Nothing' said Ron 'Bollocks!' and he broke away from her and started madly patting down all his pockets.

'Damn' he said as he emptied their contents on the table, and found only his wallet, wand, keys and a couple of chocolate frog wrappers.

'Bloody hell, where is it?' he mumbled as he started looking under tables, chairs and in cupboards, desperately trying to think what he'd done since he came downstairs.

'Tell me what you're looking for and maybe I can help?' offered Hermione sweetly, and unusually with no trace of reproach at his language.

'No, it's alright. It's nothing' He said in an unnaturally high pitched voice. He couldn't tell her or all his plans for the evening would be ruined. And there was no way he could afford another ring. Fleur had helped him pick it out and she had exceptionally expensive taste. She had strictly forbidden him to buy the cheaper ring (which had looked exactly the same in his opinion) calling him 'an 'orrible leetle man, 'ow can you put a price on your love and ze happiness of your 'Ermione? '.

So he had splashed out, and now the most expensive thing he had ever bought was not in his pocket where he'd put it earlier.

Retracing his steps he went back up to their bedroom, choking on the hairspray still lingering in the air. He whispered 'accio ringbox', and waved his wand around the room

Nothing.

Panicking more and more he ran back down stairs and repeated the spell in every room of the house, to no avail, until only the kitchen was left.

Hermione was sitting calmly at the table, a strange smirk on her face. Now not caring if he spoilt the surprise, as there wasn't going to be much of a surprise without the ring, Ron repeated 'accio ringbox' brandishing in wand like a man possessed.

No box flew out at him, but Hermione jumped. He looked closer and saw that she was desperately clutching her handbag, but that the little black velvet receptacle seemed to have a life of its own, bouncing around on her lap.

'Hermione' he said enquiringly, 'what have you got in your bag?'

'Nothing' she said, trying to sound innocent and failing miserably.

With a quick flick of Ron's wand, the clasp of the bag popped open and the little black box that Ron had been searching for flew across the room.

Ron caught it, and narrowed his eyes at Hermione.

'You little…. You had it all along!'

'Yes' she replied defiantly. 'I said that if you told me what you're looking for maybe I could help '

'Did you open it?' he asked, his voice unnaturally calm to hide the panic rising inside him.

'I had a little peak' Hermione confessed, looking guilty. 'Just, you know, so I didn't get my hopes up unnecessarily. A box that size could equally well have been earings, and then I would have looked a bit dumb if I'd said 'yes' ecstatically when you weren't, well, you know.'

Ron tried to keep his face impassive, but was beginning to feel rather euphoric and light headed.

'So you're saying yes?' he asked hopefully.

Hermione was trying very hard not to grin massively. 'You haven't asked me anything yet' she replied cheekily.

'True, true' said Ron 'I was going to ask at dinner. I had it all planned out. I'd bribed a waiter to send in one of those men that sell Roses, 'coz I know they really annoy you. And I was going to buy you one and then go down on one knee, and I had this speech all planned out and there would have been a string quartet playing and everything' He stopped for a moment to appreciate the soppy expression on Hermione's face as she breathed 'that sounds so romantic'.

'Yeah, well it would have been' he replied proudly, dropping to one knee right there in the kitchen. 'But now thanks to your ring stealing I'll have to wing it, and you know that that never goes well'

'I didn't steal it, you dropped it on the floor' argued Hermione, not able to let his comment pass even mid proposal.

'Stop arguing, this one knee thing is not comfortable'

'Sorry, please continue' said Hermione, grinning from ear to ear.

'Ok. Well like I said, I had this big speech planned, but I can't remember it now so here goes.

Hermione, you've been my best friend since I was eleven when we fought that troll, I've fancied you since before I knew what it was to fancy someone, I've loved you since I was a teenager and I've known we were meant to be together since you first kissed me during the battle. Living with you has been great and I'm sorry I've pissed around so long but I want to put that right. Hermione will you marry me?'

Hermione bit back her automatic 'language, Ron' and smiled widely.

'Nothing would make me happier!'

Ron's eyes sparkled more brightly than the diamond he slipped onto her finger. His blue eyes met her brown, and they each saw their happiness mirrored.

Ron stood up, enveloped his fiancé in a bear hug and whispered into her firmly lacquered hair 'mmm, I love you'

Hermione squeezed him back whispering her own sweet nothings into his chest. They stayed like that until a bong from the clock indicated it was eight o'clock.

'Oops' said Ron, 'we'll have missed our reservation'

'Nevermind' said Hermione 'I'm sure we can think of something else to do' and with a seductive smile she lead him back up the stairs.

Ron wondered why he hadn't done this years ago…..