A/N : I am EXTREMELY sorry for the long long long wait. :/
I've just had so much that I need to take care of since school is just around the corner.
I studied myself in the mirror.
When was the last time I've been this sober? Hell, when was the last time I cleaned myself up? The last time I had a job. I grimaced, that was 27 days ago.
I looked away from the greasy haired woman's face and looked down at what she was wearing. Pajamas. Black cotton pajamas with multiple alcohol stains. I turned away from the mirror.
I really need to pull myself together. Ron wouldn't approve of this. Ron... Fresh tears stung my eyes as I imagined what he would say to me. He would tell me that life goes on, and there's no need to throw my life away. He'd ask me where the brave and courageous Hermione was. I fell to my knees as a strong wave of emptiness overcame me, and my taped together heart fell apart again.
It took several minutes, but I finally mustered enough strength to stand again and walk to my bed. Maybe a few hours of rest will help. I lay back and close my eyes, giving in to unconsciousness the millisecond that my top eyelids met my bottom eyelids...
I opened my eyes and rolled onto my back. I sat up, yawned, and stretched.
I smiled, this is the first time in over two weeks that I've managed to sleep more than a few hours, I felt alive again. I threw the covers off of me and caught a very unpleasant smell. I crinkled my nose and got out of bed. I made my way to the kitchen. I had to go on a scavenger hunt for a clean bowl. When I finally found it, I placed it on the counter and went to look for come cereal. I poured the last of the cereal into my bowl. I was opening the refrigerator door to get the milk when I felt something change in the air around me.
Ah, my wards. Somebody was here. Sure enough, as soon as I had decided to go to the door, somebody knocked.
I looked through the peephole and found Harry standing in the hallway with a bouquet of yellow roses.
I cracked open the door, just enough so he could see part of my face.
"Harry?"
"Hermione." He smiled tentatively. "How are you?"
"I feel a lot better." I glanced at the flowers. "Uhm... Is there something you need err...?"
"Huh? Oh, no. I just didn't like the way our last conversation ended. I wanted to try and make it up to you."
I opened the door the rest of the way, he stepped forward, and gave me a hesitant hug. He pulled back a little and sniffed the air.
"How long has it been since you... erm... cleaned up?"
I blushed, "Too long."
He started walking to the kitchen. I followed. "Well, I think you should go get ready. I'll wait for you in your living room." He said as he was rummaging through my cabinets.
"Oh, ok." I said as I tried to figure out what the hell he was doing. "Exactly what are we doing today?"
He reached in and pulled out an old glass vase. "We're going shopping." He walked to the sink, rinsed the vase, and filled it with water.
Was he joking? "I haven't any money to spare. You know that."
He placed the roses in the vase and placed the vase in the middle of my table. He turned to face me. "It's my treat." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And by the way, these flowers are for you."
"Thank you." I smiled. I figured I should wash up before I do anything else. "Make yourself comfortable, when I get out of the shower, we'll discuss today's plans."
He sat down on my sofa and immediately sprawled himself all over it. "I don't care. We can do whatever you want, after we're finished shopping. But I'm paying for everything." He grabbed the remote and flicked on the telly.
"Well, that's up for discussion as well."
I turned and walked to the bathroom.
Maybe today would be fun, I thought as I closed the door behind me...
As I showered, my mind kept wandering.
As Ron held the door open to the five star restaurant, I wondered how long it had taken him to save up the money for this place. I took in my surroundings. Everything about the place was elegant, from the metallic silver tiles to the black tablecloths with lace trimming to the sparkling chandelier in the middle of the ceiling. Every woman I saw was obviously part of the upper class, with their countless diamonds shimmering in the light.
A tall blond in a strapless, knee length, deep red dress, approached us. "Good evening, you had a reservation for Weasley, correct?"
"Yes." He smiled.
"Alright, follow me." She flashed him a startling perfect smile. "And everything is in order." She winked at him, looked him up and down slowly, and turned to start leading us to our table. I grimaced. She was already getting on my nerves. We took our seats at the table. "Your server will be with you shortly."
I watched her leave. I looked at Ron, "Can you believe her?"
He looked up from the menu with a confused look on his face. "What?"
"She was practically undressing you with her eyes."
"No she wasn't."
"She was actually."
"Really?"
"Oh don't tell me you didn't notice."
He just stared at me.
I didn't like the look he was giving me. "What?"
"Don't you know that you're the only woman I notice." It was more of a statement than a question.
I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my lips or the blush creeping up my neck.
He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. "Anyway, I haven't told you what we're celebrating."
I just looked at him expectantly.
His eyes were sparkling. "Well, the Chudley Cannons held a tryout for their open keeper spot, and uhm, I made it."
"...You're joking."
"No, I'm not. They said I was unquestionably the best who tried out, and they said I have the potential to be great."
"Well... Congratulations! I'm so excited for you!"
He shot me his toothy grin as the server delivered our water. "Hello, I am Jeremy. I will be your server for this evening. Can I tempt you with any appetizers today?"
"No, thank you. But I believe we're ready to order." said Ron.
Throughout the dinner, Ron and I talked about anything and everything. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed.
The server returned after we were finished eating and vanished our plates with a flick of his wand.
"Will you be having any dessert tonight sir?" asked Jeremy with a knowing smile.
"Of course we will." Said Ron with a sparkle in his eyes. "We'll share an order of Mele con Miele."
"Alright, I'll have it right out." and Jeremy left to the kitchens.
I looked around the room, and to my surprise, it was completely empty. "I barely noticed that we're all alone." I said.
"Yeah, I knew it would be more comfortable for us." He smiled. Oh Merlin I love his smile.
"I requested he play one of your favorite songs."
"Huh?" Oh. For the first time, I noticed the quiet music from the corner. The man was playing Pathetique on his grand piano. "Oh, I do love this song." I smiled. "That was very thoughtful."
The lights dimmed. He reached over the table and grabbed both of my hands, I noticed he was shaking a bit, and searched my eyes. He smiled hesitantly. "Hermione, I love you with all my heart."
"I love you too Ron. You know that."
"I do. And I just want you to know how much I love you." He took a deep breath. "Hermione, you mean the world to me. We've somehow made it through all of our adventures in one piece. But there's one more adventure I'd like to try." He paused, looked down at our hands and let go.
My mind was in overdrive. He isn't breaking up with me...is he? Does he need a break from me, is that the new adventure he wants?
He got up from his chair and walked around the table until he was right in front of me.
This can't be the end. I willed myself to be strong and not to cry.
He reached into his coat, pulled out a small black box, and got down on one knee.
Oh... My... God!
"Hermione, you have helped me fulfil all my dreams, the fondest of my hopes. Having you in my life has changed me so much. You've helped me mature and realize that the little things matter. You are the main component in my life Hermione and I want to make that permanent." He took a deep breath and opened the little black box. "Hermione Jean Granger, will you marry me?"
I shut off the water and reached up to retrieve the towel hanging over the shower door. I wrapped the towel around me and stepped out. I walked over to the sink and grabbed my face towel, I dried my face, then found a towel to wrap my hair with. I looked at myself in the mirror over the sink. What did Ron see in me. I felt tears spring to my eyes so I decided to stop thinking and start dressing. I looked around the bathroom for my clothes.
Oh, you have got to be kidding me. I forgot to grab some clothes from my room, which was all the way across the house.
I opened the door and peeked into the hallway. The coast was clear. I took off running down the hall, but when I turned the corner, I guess I turned too early because I ran into the wall full blast, making me fall back on my bum. I looked up, oops, not a wall, Harry.
His eyes grew wide and he looked away quickly. I was about to ask what was wrong, but then I remembered I was wearing nothing but a towel. I looked down and drew a sharp intake of breath, I was looking at my naked body. Now, my eyes grew wide. I gathered the towel around me, shot up from the floor, sprinted the rest of the way to my room, and slammed the door behind me. I leaned back on the closed door and slid down it until I was sitting on the floor with my knees to my chest.
Ok, so that was probably the most awkward situation I've ever been in.
When I stepped out of my bedroom and went to the living room, I found Harry pacing in front of the fireplace.
He looked up and smiled. "You look beautiful Mione."
I was wearing a simple, baby blue sundress and white sandals.
I smiled back, "You know I hate it when you call me that."
"I know."
"So, what are we doing today?"
"Shopping."
"For?"
"What you're wearing to my wedding."
"Isn't Ginny supposed to pick that out?"
"Well, I had to fight for you, but you're going to be my best... woman. Ginny wanted you to be her maid of honor."
I laughed. "Ok. So no best man, huh?"
"Nope."
"So... who's the maid of honor?"
"I think Angelina. Molly wanted it to be Fleur, but... I'm sure you know how that went."
I laughed again. Wow, it felt really good to laugh. Maybe this day out isn't such a bad idea.
Disclaimer : I only own the plot and characters that I introduce. I do not own the characters of Harry Potter. They belong to J.K. Rowling. I am receiving no profit for my story, it is for entertainment purposes only.
A/N : I know. I know. This chapter isn't very long and it wasn't worth the wait. I'm truly sorry. P.S. And I rated this fic Mature because of the language, death, and darkness.
I feel like such a horrid author.
Well, some good news. I made a trailer for this fic. (The link is on my profile.)
Don't worry, I haven't included every single surprise about the fic.
I don't intend on including smut and I plan on gradually building the relationships.
Thank you.
-AngelicPassion
