Memories of a Mother
Disclaimer: No I don't own Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish.
Chapter 2 – The Proposal
Molly was brought back to the present day by the creak of the kitchen door. She looked up to see a bleary eyed Hermione standing in the doorway.
"Hermione!" Molly exclaimed, jumping up from the dining table, "What are you doing up so early? You need your sleep dear,"
"I couldn't sleep," Hermione mumbled, shuffling over to the table.
"Excited about later today?" Molly asked enquirely.
"Yes and Nervous," Hermione laughed shakily.
Molly lightly patted Hermione's back. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about dear. Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"Oh if you wouldn't mind Mrs Weasley. I could certainly do with waking up!' the young woman laughed.
Hermione dear, please, call me Molly, your family now," Molly said, as she rose from the table, and started bustling around the worktop making the coffee.
"Sorry, force of habit," Hermione smiled. "It's odd to think that in a few hours I'll be a Mrs Weasley too. I mean there were times when I thought we may never make it, especially during …….,"
Hermione cut off suddenly and Molly stiffened at the worktop. She didn't need to hear the rest of Hermione's sentence to know what she was talking about, it was the very thing she had avoided thinking about half an hour ago.
She turned around and saw tears falling down Hermione's face. Abandoning the coffee, she rushed over to her and enveloped her in a warm hug, whilst Hermione sobbed shakily onto her shoulder.
"I was s-s-s-so close to l-l-losing him! I d-d-d-don't know what I w-w-w-would of done if, if, if….,"
"Shhhhh, it's all over now dear. Just let it all out, you'll feel better," Molly said soothingly, softly stroking the back of Hermione's head.
Molly's heart ached for Hermione. It wasn't fair that Ron and Hermione's courtship was continually disrupted by fights, kidnaps and deaths. Molly remembered how devastated she was herself when she heard the news that her son had been taken captive by Death Eaters, a plan to lure Harry from Hogwarts to Voldemort. The thought that she may never see her youngest son again ate away at her, but the look of grief in Hermione's eyes when she came to stay at the Burrow only added to the pain. The young 18 year old girl was wasting away by the eternal sadness that she may never see her only love again.
As she remembered Molly felt tears welling up in her own eyes and she hugged Hermione tighter, determined to be a source of support. "He destroyed everything," she thought angrily. "Two years on after we finally defeated him, he still manages to wreak every happy moment, but I won't let him this time. I won't let him spoil their beautiful day," Molly swore to herself.
Molly felt a weight lift off her shoulder and pulled herself out of her reverie to see Hermione pulling away from her hug and wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her dressing gown.
"I'm sorry Molly," Hermione begun, but Molly put a hand up to silence her.
"Don't be," she said. "You needed to do that,"
Hermione smiled, the first true smile Molly hadn't seen for a while. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for being there for me,"
"Oh it's nothing dear, just a mothers duty," Molly said before getting up and walking back over to the work-top. "I'll finish making your coffee,"
Molly tapped the kettle with her wand and a jet of steam burst out from the top, signalling that it had boiled. She poured the boiling water into the cup and it magically stirred itself. Feeling satisfied, Molly took it over to where Hermione was sitting.
"I have to thank you for something or rather someone else too," Hermione said as Molly placed the coffee in front of her.
"Oh yes?"
"Thank you for producing such a wonderful son," she said. "I know that at times he can be very stubborn and hot-tempered, but I never knew until we started dating that he had such a tender and romantic side to him," she said sighing.
"I know dear, Ron has many hidden depths to him," Molly said. "He gets that from his father," Molly added drolly. She remembered how despite completely forgetting her birthday one year and disappearing for most of the day (Molly had assumed he was avoiding her), Arthur had returned back in the evening to take her for a romantic candlelit dinner at an expensive restaurant called 'Fabio's' in Hogsmeade. She later found out that in order to be able to afford the food, Arthur had sold a few of his prized processions. Molly was rather touched that he would sell a few of his many prized 'Muggle inventions and how they work' books just for her.
"Yes that is rather true," Hermione stated. "I will never forget how he proposed,"
"Neither will I," thought Molly. Although she wasn't present when it happened, when Ginny had come home for the summer, she had borrowed Harry's pensieve and placed her own memory of the proposal in it, so that Molly and Arthur could witness the event too.
The Proposal had taken place on the seventh years last day. Molly and Arthur were standing in their daughter's dormitory, this was obviously were Ginny's memory started. A knock on the door startled them.
"Ginny? Are you ready? We have to leave in half an hour," called Hermione's voice.
Molly turned around to see a vivid red head pop up from beside a bed, her daughter, Ginny.
"I'll be a couple of more minutes! Just checking I haven't left anything under my bed," Ginny shouted back.
"Alright then, we'll wait for you in the common room,"
Molly watched Ginny as she collected a few dusty items and threw them on top of the jumble of clothes and school robes. "Really," Molly thought, "I'll have to teach her that folding spell,"
Ginny closed her trunk and began to walk over to the door with it, Molly and Arthur followed her out the door and down the Girls staircase to the common room, where Ron, Hermione and Harry were gathered in front of the fireplace.
"Finally," said an exasperated Ron, "Anyone would think you were leaving too, the amount of time it took you to pack,"
"Shut it Ronnie or you might find yourself covered in bat bogies if you're not careful," Ginny answered back.
Molly couldn't help but laugh, the two had always bantered when they were growing up and it didn't look like they would stop now.
A long silence passed between the four, before Ginny broke the silence.
"Where are all the other seventh years?" She asked.
"Waiting down in the entrance hall," Harry replied.
"So why are we all still standing here like idiots then?"
Harry shrugged. The reason soon became clear when Hermione spoke.
"I'm going to miss this place," she said sadly. Ron and Harry murmured in agreement.
"We've shared so many memories in front of this fireplace, both good and bad. I've been looking so forward to leaving, but now that it's here I don't want too," she sighed.
Molly could sympathise with Hermione. She remembered how she felt when leaving.
"I would like something to remember the Common Room by, but we can't take anything," Hermione said.
"I think I could help you there love," Ron said.
Harry and Ginny looked at each other curiously, small smiles tugging at their lips. Molly took a sharp intake of breath and grabbed Arthur's arm, "This must be it," she thought excitedly. She watched carefully as Ron took Hermione's hands, whilst Hermione looked at him quizzically.
"Hermione Jane Granger, you are or are you not my girlfriend?" Ron asked smirking.
"Yes, I believe I am Mr Ronald Weasley," Hermione said giggling slightly.
"And have, or have we not shared many memories in front of this fireplace?"
"I was just saying that Ron, you were obviously not listening,"
"But I would like to add one more memory to that Miss Granger,"
"Oh, really now?"
Ron kneeled down on the worn heath rug on one knee, and dug his hand deep in the right pocket of his robes. He appeared to be holding something, but hid it behind his back. The look of excitement on Ginny's face told Molly all she needed to know, he was holding the ring.
"Hermione, ever since I met you, you intrigued me. Hell, I thought you were a bossy, stuck up cow when we met on the train, but there was something about you that intrigued me. I only realised what it was until you were petrified in our second year, it was, you. Since then, my feelings towards you were complicated, I was a 13 year old boy who didn't have a clue what those feelings meant, not until the Yule Ball in fourth year," Ron paused and Hermione looked on the verge of tears. "I loved you Hermione and I still do. In fact, I love you more everyday than the last and now I think it's about time I showed you how much I loved you,"
Molly stopped breathing, Ron was going to propose.
Ron brought his hands out from behind his back and held them in front of him. Slowly he opened them up to reveal a plain silver ring and brought it up to Hermione's level.
"Hermione, will you marry me?"
Hermione looked at the ring and then at Ron's face. Her own face broke into a bright smile as she answered, "Yes Ron, I will marry you!" and broke down into tears. Ron took the ring from the box and placed it onto Hermione's wedding finger. Suddenly the silver band glowed red and three words shone from it, 'I Love You'. Molly burst into tears.
A/N: Hope you liked it! God that was a very emotional chapter to write. Please tell me what you think!