REQUEST: Evil-Bunny-Girl requested a chapter where Remus' attempts to propose are constantly interrupted

Episode 21

Proposal Interruptions

Summary: In which Remus' attempts to propose are continuously interrupted

Remus took a deep breath and reached into his pants pocket. Now was the time, the perfect time to do what he'd been planning for the past month. Propose to Hermione Granger.

She sat across from him, describing her most recent book in as much detail as possible. Being bookworms, they enjoyed listening to descriptions about the books almost as much as they enjoyed reading them.

He planned to just lower himself to one knee suddenly, distract her mid-sentence, and spout off the most romantic yet logical words he could think of before popping the question. This had been in his plan for some time now, and Sirius and James had been nothing but encouraging, even going so far as to purchase the best ring so Hermione could have the best.

Though they said he didn't need to repay them, Remus had every intention of doing so. He just wasn't sure how he would yet, but he wasn't about to let them go unrewarded for their kindness. Besides, if Hermione ever discovered who'd really purchased the ring, she might get mad and call him a moocher.

Just as he began to move, a loud bang caught his attention. He turned quickly, along with several other occupants of the restaurant, to see Sirius moving towards them quickly. His eyes were wild with fear, and he appeared to be shaking. Hermione bit her lip concerned, and Remus also felt a tad worried for his friend. It wasn't usual to see Sirius looking so nervous.

"Padfoot, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked immediately. "Never mind that, what's wrong?"

Sirius looked between the two, his grey-blue eyes begging Remus and Hermione for help. The werewolf started to stand now, curious as to what was so bad Sirius looked like death was on his heels.

"You remember that bint I had a date with?" Sirius asked.

Hermione gave him a disapproving look at the derogatory term, but she didn't comment. Something was obviously wrong with the girl if Sirius looked so freaked. Maybe she was an insane mass murderer, or she could have some disease that finally decided to take her out. Any number of possibilities ran through the bookworm's mind.

"What about her?" Remus asked slowly, encouraging Sirius to continue. The doggish man heaved a deep breath before answering.

"She's already talking marriage! I thought she understood we weren't permanent. Can I stay with you guys until I'm sure she's gone?" Sirius didn't wait for an answer, simply sat in Remus' chair and began devouring his half-eaten steak.

"Uh...yeah..." Remus and Hermione shared an annoyed look, but they knew they couldn't do anything to send Sirius away. He would only pull the puppy dog eyes and worm his way into the rest of their night. It was pointless to argue.

"Thanks, mates, you're the best!"

232323

Tonight was the night. It had taken three days and numerous pranks from all five Marauders before Sirius' girl-of-the-week finally left, but now he was out of their hair. Remus floo'd Hermione yesterday, and the date was set. He planned to walk her through the park, get down on one knee in front of the fountain at her favorite spot, and propose there. It was a much better plan, he decided, than the traditional restaurant proposal.

He arrived at Hermione's door at exactly six-o'-clock, and they were in the park by six-o'-one. Thank Merlin for apparition, which made traveling much easier and faster. He wanted to hurry this moment up, lest they be interrupted again. Remus doubted that would happen, but one could never be too careful.

"It's a beautiful night," Hermione murmured, looking at the quarter moon. The full moon would be arriving soon, but tonight Remus was still safe from his painful transformations.

"Yeah, it is..." Remus agreed. His gaze, however, was firmly on Hermione. She blushed when she realized this but smiled at the sweetness, if not clichéness, of his statement.

"So, what brought on this sudden romantic attitude?" Hermione wondered aloud, more to herself than Remus. The werewolf, however, found this to be the perfect time to answer, as they'd just reached the fountain.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you..." Remus trailed off, feeling his nerves start to act up. This was it, the moment of truth. Would Hermione say yes and make him the happiest man alive, or would she reject him and break his heart? He highly doubted she would reject him, but the worry was still present.

"Yes?" Hermione asked, completely oblivious to Remus' true intentions. He took a deep breath and moved in front of her, clasping her hand in his. He started to bend to one knee when a loud whoop startled the couple, and they pulled apart quickly.

"Hey guys!" James called, waving at them as he ran towards them. Lily followed close behind, a pleasant smile on her face, despite the reprimanding glare she was shooting James.

"James, I think they were busy," Lily scolded. James pouted and turned to his two friends.

"But Lily, I haven't seen them in forever! Being an Auror keeps me away a lot, ya know!"

"I know," Lily muttered. "I'm your wife, remember?"

"It's alright, Prongs," Hermione smiled at the dark-haired man. It had indeed been a while since they'd seen him, and he'd been missed. "Remus was just about to ask me something. Oh, what was it you wanted to know, Remy?"

"Nothing important," Remus sighed. He ignored the curious looks from Hermione and Lily and engaged James in a conversation on Quidditch and various other topics while Lily and Hermione began their own discussion.

Well, Remus thought, there's always next time.

232323

Nothing and no one would interrupt them this time! Remus knew this for a fact because he'd specifically told James and Sirius not to come over, and he planned to bring Hermione to his house for a homemade dinner. Remus thanked Merlin for his mother's insistence that he learn to cook when he was younger.

A knock startled him out of his reverie. Remus smiled and fixed his hair to the best of his abilities, not that it was any messier than usual, and heaved a deep breath. In just a matter of minutes, he would be engaged. He could hardly wait!

"Hermione, you look beautiful," he complimented, kissing his girlfriend. Hermione blushed and smiled, straightening her skirt unconsciously.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself."

Remus flushed as well and led her inside, closing the door behind. He sat her at the table, taking her coat to hang on the coat rack in the other room.

"Dinner's ready," he informed. "I'll just put your jacket up."

"Thank you," Hermione said with a bright smile. She loved Remus' cooking, and his invitation to dinner with just the two of them had been a moment of excitement for the brunette. "It smells wonderful."

"Of course it does!" Remus said mock-arrogantly, looking indignant she would think his food wouldn't smell delicious. Hermione raised a brow, and he lowered his head as though he'd just been scolded. "I mean thank you, Hermione."

"That's better," she said firmly, nodding once to emphasize her point. Remus laughed lightly and Hermione also chuckled. Any tension in the air had been effectively destroyed, and Remus sat the food in front of Hermione with a new sense of determination and courage.

"Hermione, do you remember that night at the park?" Remus asked before she could start for the food. Hermione startled and looked at Remus, nodding.

"Yes, it was the night we found out James was back for three months. Lily was quite thrilled, even if she tried to act like she wasn't."

"Yeah..." Remus sat beside her, taking her hand in his. "About what I wanted to ask you. Well, it was actually very important."

"What?" Hermione looked confused. "If it was so important, why didn't you just ask me then?"

"Because it wasn't something I felt should be asked at a moment when James had just returned," Remus replied honestly. Hermione, if possible, looked more confused, but she nodded all the same. She supposed that reasoning would make more sense once Remus' question had come out in the open.

"Well, let's hear it then. What is it?"

"Hermione, I..." Remus stood and brought Hermione with him, looking directly into her brown eyes. Her gaze had softened considerably, and Remus swore she looked as nervous and excited as he felt. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Well, of course, Remus!" Hermione laughed at the silly question. "You make it obvious every day."

"Good. Good." Remus nodded and took another deep breath. Here goes nothin'. "Hermione, I love you. You mean the world to me, and I was hoping...Hoping that you'd--"

"Remus, I need your help!"

Remus jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion. Hermione also looked surprised by the interruption, and the two turned slowly to face a red-faced Peter.

The werewolf cursed himself for not thinking of the ratlike man sooner. Ever since graduation, Peter had grown more self-confidence and no longer tagged along all the time. They hadn't seen him in a while, so Remus hadn't thought to tell him that tonight was off-limits. Now, it appeared he was paying the price for his lack of notice to minor details.

"Peter?" Hermione spoke up. The smaller man jumped but smiled when he saw it was only the female Marauder.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" he asked. He blushed when he saw the dinner for two and looked back to the couple. "Oh...Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Hermione reassured at the same time Remus hissed a low "yes". "Remus!"

"Well, he is!" Remus protested. Hermione gave him The Look, and Remus sighed as he slumped in his seat. "What do you need, Peter?"

"Well, actually, I was just hoping you would be able to help me figure out this puzzle. It's not really important...I just thought Remus could help..."

"That's it?" Remus muttered, glaring at the seemingly shrinking rat. Peter gulped and nodded, though his gut was telling him to make something up, something far more trivial than a little puzzle he couldn't complete. Either that or run for his life.

"Well, yeah."

"I think you should help," Hermione said, patting Remus' shoulder. "He'd be glad to help. Wouldn't you dear?"

"..."

"Dear?"

"..."

"Remus!"

"Oh, bugger it all!" Remus burst out. He pulled the ring from his pocket, ignoring Peter's startled escape to the outside world, and thrust the case into Hermione's hand. "Hermione, will you marry me?"

"Wha? Remus!" Hermione gasped, shocked by the unexpected question. She opened the case and nearly fell over at the sheer beauty of the ring. It was white gold with small diamonds encrusted into it, nothing too casual but certainly not overly fancy. Simply beautiful.

"Well?" Remus looked nervous now, but still rather agitated that he couldn't ask her as he'd wanted too. Oh well, at least the question was asked finally.

"Yes!" Hermione gushed, throwing her arms around Remus. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Remus laughed jovially, all agitation leaving him. He kissed Hermione deeply, wrapping his arms around her waist. Thank Merlin that was over!

END