Disclaimer:This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Note: The idea for this story came when I saw an action figure of Harry Potter called Extreme Quidditch…Many thanks to Veer for beta-work, inspiration, help with some of the dialogue (and the fun following attempts) and down right silly conversations!
Thank you to Anarane Anwamane, Allison Lupin, cheer4life-2005, Lucky Dragon Smile, alecatq, Sheree and Puppy Kicker for your reviews! Thanks also to those of you who reviewed on earlier chapters! Your words meant a lot!! Nat
Chapter 17
When the room had quieted down, Oliver cleared his throat.
"Thank you to the NQL. When I decided to enter I never thought to end up here on this podium. First off I'd like to thank Harry Potter and George and Fred Weasley for their help with inventing these new rules."
People clapped and Fred and George looked proud to be named.
"Secondly, I absolutely need to thank my long time friend Harry Potter. For being a first class Seeker ever since he first stepped on a broom, but most of all, for being a great great friend. You and Draco both. You have been since our days at Hogwarts, and Draco has been a great friend to me too ever since the two of you got together."
Under Oliver's praise, Harry blushed. The blush went deeper as people turned around to look at him and Draco while they clapped.
"And a big thank you to the rest of the Weasley family. Especially to Arthur and Molly Weasley who opened up their home to me and to my teammates when we needed to have practice games. A warm extra thank you to Molly for marvelous cooking and her mastery with extremely helpful healing spells." This got a laugh out of people and resulted in Molly blushing too.
Now Oliver took a deep breath as he was about to dive into the scary part. His eyes scanned the room to find Ginny. When he found her he gave her a big smile.
Draco nudged Harry when he saw Oliver looking around the room. "Shall we move a bit closer to the podium? I want to see their faces." Harry nodded and signalled to Arthur and Molly as well. The four of them moved towards the podium. Oliver had now motioned to Ginny to come closer to the podium. When she was near, he started talking again.
"Today is a wonderful day for me too, for an entirely different reason. My dream came true today Quidditch wise". And again, Harry and the Weasley's bellowed out their phrase. Oliver decided to ignore it. "Now I'd like to ask the opportunity to make my day perfect on a different level. You see, I've been in love with this woman since before the last war. And the night we started making plans for today's game, I also got nudged into the right direction to finally do something about my feelings for her. You see, there were six very persistant obstacles standing in my way. That night, I got help from someone who once again proved to be a true friend. Because of his help, I was able to talk to this woman and confess my feelings to her. Luckily for me, she felt the same way. With help from this friend and other people we were able to avoid the earlier mentioned obstacles and were able to build a real relationship. She is here tonight and I would like to ask her a very important question."
Oliver had been clever enough to tell Katie, Alicia, Hermione, Fleur and Remus about his plans. They had wholeheartedly embraced his idea and had promised to help him out. His last phrase had been their cue and he looked quickly around the room to verify that they were having a strong hold on their men. When he saw that they did, he took a deep breath and continued.
"Ginny Weasley, would you be so kind as to join me here?"
A whisper went through the room as heads turned to see where Ginny was. Other heads turned as the Weasley brothers muttered things better left unmentioned and were held back by their other halves. The Weasley parents were holding each other, happy smiles on their faces.
When Ginny had stepped up on the podium, Oliver turned to look at her.
"Ginevra Weasley, you've held my heart for longer than I can remember. My dreams came true that night when we had that diner and started really talking. The days since then have been like a dream and quite frankly I don't want that dream to end. I know we had decided to tell your family about us tonight, but that isn't good enough for me anymore. So…."
Oliver reached inside the pocket in his robes and took out a small box. He then took Ginny's hand and slid down on one knee. "Ginny, my own personal Miss Temper who I love to bits. Will you marry me?"
Ginny kept on looking at him, her eyes growing very bright of unshed tears. She tried to speak but found out that that wasn't possible because of all these emotions running through her. So, she simply nodded and pulled Oliver into a standing position so she could kiss him soundly. By then the tears were running down her cheeks and Oliver's voice was unsteady too.
"Is that a yes?", he dared ask her.
She punched him on his arm and gave him one of her rare bright smiles. "Yes, Oliver, silly! I love you so much. Of course it's yes!" she said.
Draco now turned Harry around in his arms and gave him a tight hug. Clearly the moment had gotten a bit too much for the proud Slytherin. Harry was glad too, because he'd been feeling a bit unsteady himself. So, they hugged each other to share their happiness. When Harry looked over to Arthur and Molly, he saw Arthur holding a sobbing Molly in his arms. When he caught Harry's gaze, he raised his two thumbs to Harry, who smiled at him in return.
When he and Draco scanned the room for the reactions of theWeasley brothers, all they saw was utter astonishment on their faces. Clearly they hadn't expected this. Harry and Draco were feeling a bit smug…….. That soon ended, because Molly had walked over to them and was already hugging Harry fiercely. Meanwhile Draco looked at the Weasley brothers to see what happened after they had gotten over the surprise. Bill and Charlie were still surprised he noticed and he couldn't help but smile. Ron's face was red and he was fuming against Hermione who was smiling serenely at him while holding on to his arm. The twins were gesturing wildly to Alicia and Katie, who in turn just nodded and talked calmly to them.
"Oh Harry, dear, that was wonderful! I'm so glad that you talked them into dating in the first place!" She only let go when Harry started to moan because she was hugging him so tightly. She quickly let him go. Draco had been grinning at Harry being crushed in a Molly Weasley hug, but soon the smile left his face. He watched her letting Harry go and immediately her attention switched to him.
"And Draco, dear, thank you too!", and she hugged Draco just as tight. "Oliver told me it was your idea that he propose tonight and it means so much to us to have Ginny with a man who clearly adores her!"
Now Harry was smiling broadly at Draco. Draco glared at him and said "You are so going to regret that tonight, Potter!" Harry, clearly not intimidated, only said with a wink "Promises, promises." That got an evil grin out of Draco. Harry shuddered in anticipation.
By now, Oliver and Ginny had joined them. Ginny was hugging Draco, because Oliver had told her it had been Draco's idea to ask her this moment. Molly was now hugging Oliver, who was soon gasping for air and grabbing his ribs when she let him go. Suddenly Draco was feeling much better.
When they saw that Oliver and Ginny were grouped with their parents and Draco and Harry, the Weasley brothers and their other halves came that way too. They were still looking like they couldn't believe they hadn't noticed it before. Ginny was looking extremely smug.
"Hello boys.", Molly smiled, wiping happy tears from her cheeks.
"Mum, Dad, how come you aren't looking surprised?", Bill asked them.
"Well….", Arthur said, not sure how to say it.
Charlie caught on though. "You knew about it, didn't you?"
Arthur looked at Molly and then they both nodded. Draco, Harry, Oliver, Ginny, Katie, Alicia, Hermione, Fleur and Remus all burst out laughing. They hadn't known until Oliver had asked for their help that night, but since they had all been annoyed with the way the Weasley brothers handled their sister's dates, they had found it the ultimate revenge.
When they started laughing, Charlie looked at them too. "Were you all in on it too?" He managed to even sound a bit hurt.
"Alicia, Katie, Remus and I only knew about Oliver's proposal when 'e asked for our 'elp last week, Charlie.", Fleur said. "I am not so sure about 'Ermione."
"Oh, I knew since the night of Ginny's going away diner.", Hermione readily admitted, sounding proud of it.
"'Mione!", Ron exclaimed, sounding put out. "And you didn't tell me?"
"Why would I tell you?", Hermione wanted to know. "So that you could ruin it for her? So that all of you could ruin it for her?" Her eyes were now shooting daggers at the other Weasley brothers. "You clearly didn't realise how much it hurt her everytime you managed to scare away her boyfriends. How she at first didn't know why she was being dumped!" Clearly Hermione had been working on this little speech. "So, when I heard about the way she was handling things this time, I at once told her I'd help her whenever I could."
Fred and George had been whispering softly together, shooting glances at Oliver once in a while. Hermione saw it and, annoyed with them as she still was, said "And what are you two whispering about?"
They had the good grace to colour at her words. "We were just wondering who the good friend was who Oliver mentioned and who helped him in the first place."
"Oh, that was me.", Harry now said.
"Harry!", all the Weasley brothers shouted at him.
"Yes?", he asked them innocently. Seeing the looks on their faces, Draco quickly wrapped his arms around Harry and glared at them.
"You've been our brother! Our friend!", the twins decided that drama might do the trick.
"Why didn't you tell us? Where is your Weasley pride?"
"Because I never understood. Ginny is your only sister and…." He had to stop because all the Weasley sons shouted "I will never interfere in my sister's lovelife again!" at the mention of the word "sister". Harry continued. "And I thought you all wanted her happy."
"But we were looking out for her Harry, you know that!", Ron put in.
"And you didn't see that you were making her unhappy?", Harry asked them, looking at each of them. By the looks on their faces it was clear they hadn't thought of it that way. "So, being the brother all of you claimed me to be, I decided to help her out."
"And I helped him when he explained it to me.", Draco said, cutting off any attempts of the Weasleys to pull him into the discussion.
"So did we.", Molly now chimed in.
"Mum!!!!!", her sons exclaimed.
"Now, I don't want to hear another word about it.", she said the tone Harry knew of her. It was the listen-to-me-or-else tone he had come to associate with her. "And if you do think about doing something about it, Harry, Draco, Hermione, your father and I will make sure, your other halves will know about it.!!!" To help her, Harry, Draco, Hermione, Fleur, Katie, Alicia and Remus all nodded, looking triumphant.
The Weasley brothers sighed. They knew they were defeated. And then, in the way Harry had grown to know and love of them, they all turned to Ginny and started to kiss and congratulate her. Molly decided to forget the muttered threats they threw at Oliver when they welcomed him into the family…
"Since we are admitting things to each other anyway, would someone care to explain to me why we keep on shouting certain sentences when certain words are mentioned?", Bill now asked, sounding suspicious.
Draco, Hermione, Katie, Alicia, Fleur, Remus and Molly shared a look. The twins groaned. "Mum! You were in on that too?"
Molly nodded. "It was time for some revenge."
Hermione decided to explain it to the rest of them. "What we did was put a spell on you that makes you shout out those sentences when a certain trigger word is mentioned. Muggles use hypnosis for the same effect. We thought it would be a harmless way to teach you something." She looked extremely smug.
"But why, 'Mione?", Ron asked, sounding put out.
"Because we won't stand for being left in the dark!", Hermione answered him in a tone that reminded Harry of the way she sounded when she had explained the principles of SPEW to them.
"And we disapprove of the way you've treated your sis…..", Fleur said before halting when 5 Weasley males hissed at her. "The way you've treated Ginny.", she ended her sentence.
"So, we decided to do something about it.", Remus concluded. "So think twice before attempting anything like that again!" To emphasize his point he put in a low growl. It earned him a heated glance from Bill. Remus winked.
The twins groaned but managed to say "And are you going to break that spell now?" Luckily for all the Weasley brothers and Harry the 'wives' decided to take pity on them and removed the spells. But not before they reminded them that it was very easy to cast them again so they better not tempt them to do it again.
As amusing as Draco found these revelations, he was now starting to get impatient. After all, Harry HAD promised him a party of their own. So, he took Harry's hand and started tugging. Harry looked at him and asked "What's the matter Dray?"
Draco looked pointedly at Harry's hand and tugged again. "Sorry Dray, I'm afraid I don't understand. Why are you tugging so hard?" By now the rest of the Weasleys were interested too.
"Yeah, Malfoy, what's the hurry?", Fred asked.
"Well, Harry promised me something before we left and even indicated when he would fulfil his promise.", Draco said. Harry looked at him and received a heated glance. He blushed. Draco suddenly enjoyed it and decided that five more minutes wouldn't hurt.
"Well, what did you promise him, Harry?", Ron wanted to know.
Harry blushed some more when Draco whispered "Private Potter Party" in his ear.
"Uhm…", he gasped.
"Let's say, I had a surprise of my own for Harry tonight. And as a thank you he made his promise. Now is the time he indicated and I want it.", Draco answered for him.
"What did you get him, Draco?", Hermione now asked, getting curious herself.
As an answer, Draco grabbed Harry's hand and showed them the claddagh-ring.
Every female in their group was now admiring Harry's ring and cooing over it. Draco was looking very proud of himself.
"So, that letter you sent did help then Harry?", Molly asked with a smile.
"Uhm… what letter?", Draco asked, not remembering Harry mentioning any letter.
Molly blushed. "Oh dear, Harry, I am sorry… I assumed….." She didn't dare look at the couple out of sheer embarrassment.
"Harry, what letter?", Draco asked again, determined to find out why Molly was blushing so.
Harry merely shook his head.
Molly, feeling bad enough, decided that more blame couldn't possibly make her feel worse and looked at Harry, asking him a silent question. When he nodded, she said "While Harry was staying at The Burrow we were talking about how he could make it up to you."
Draco was watching her and Harry intently. "Yes, so…………..?" It was clear that he still wasn't catching on.
"So, I suggested that Harry write a letter for a surprise on your birthday." Molly was now sincerely hoping Draco would understand what she was trying to tell him because Harry was blushing even more now.
Slowly Draco's expression changed, and everyone could see when he understood. He turned so that he was looking Harry directly in the eye. "YOU wrote that letter?", he asked him softly. Harry nodded. "Thank you!", Draco managed before he enveloped Harry in a very tight embrace. Harry hid his face in the crook between Draco's neck and shoulder and tried to get even closer….. "Glad you liked it…..", he managed before Draco kissed him. When they came up for air, Harry was positively glowing.
Hermione took one look at Harry and was glad to see the happiness radiating from Harry. Since that was the case, she reasoned, she could tease him as well. "Now that that is clearly taken care of, there's only one more thing we want to know. What did you promise Draco, Harry?", she asked, eyes dancing in mirth.
Now Harry turned crimson. Looking at Hermione he decided to stun them all. "I promised him a private party of our own at the flat, before I bought him a ring of his own", he said, taking Draco's hand to show them that he was also now wearing a claddagh-ring. With a stern look he dared them to contradict him.
"Yes, and we are already late!", Draco said, now sounding eager to get going. "So, good night to you all, congrats to Wood and Ginny, we hope to see you soon, but we must be really going now." And he grabbed a firm hold of Harry's hand and dragged him to the door.
Harry could just shout "Bye!" before he was out of range.
Back at the flat, Draco swung one arm around Harry's back, the other he tucked under Harry's knees and thus carried him towards their bedroom.
"My, Dray, where are you taking me?", Harry said, trying to sound innocent and overwhelmed.
"To my cave and you're not leaving for a couple of days.", Draco growled.
"Good."
It was the last thing either of them said for quite some time…………
The End.
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Thanks for reading! – Nat –
