Disclaimer: I don't own it, just playing around with it.

Chapter 7

I somehow managed to get home. I wasn't exactly sure how, because I know that my feet were not touching the ground at any time.

I had such a wonderful dinner with Harry. We talked and laughed and after we cleaned up, we sat in the living room in front of the fire and sipped wine. Of course that led to more talking, laughing,and quite a few kisses. What sweet heaven.

Mindful of my Mum's earlier words, I Apparated home before it got too late. True to her word, she was waiting for me, and when I arrived, she immediately put the tea kettle on.

We sat in the kitchen for over an hour with our tea while I relived every glorious moment of my dinner with Harry.

Mum just smiled and nodded, happy in the fact that two of the people that she loved more than anything had found each other. I always thought that she had hoped Harry and I would get together, but she never voiced her thoughts on that subject and I was very glad that she hadn't.

Upon reflection, I don't think Harry and I would have worked out if we had dated when we were younger. We both had suffered so much in the war and its aftermath that we needed to focus on healing and just being alive rather than romance. By giving ourselves a chance to heal and to mature, our relationship will be much more realistic and meaningful

Eventually I headed up to bed and fell asleep immediately, having wonderful dreams of a handsome, dark haired man with beautiful green eyes.

The next morning I woke up with a smile on my face. I slowly stretched and enjoyed the comfort of my bed. I felt like being totally lazy and wanted to bask in the glow of my wonderful evening with Harry. I lay there for fifteen more minutes reliving the dinner, the conversation, and of course, the kisses.

I decided I had better get up though before Mum came knocking on the door. I used the loo and washed up a bit and headed downstairs to have my tea and a little to eat. As I entered the kitchen I noticed the most gorgeous bouquet of roses I had ever seen sitting in the center of the table.

Mum, who was standing in the kitchen, must have heard me enter the room. She turned around with a big smile on her face, 'Don't you love them? They're for you, Owl post just delivered them, there's a card.'

I slowly walked over to the table, I was just entranced by the roses, they were my favorite color of pink, with just a hint of peach on the tips. I picked up the card that was nestled in the center of the arrangement and opened the card.

'Thank you so much for taking care of the house and for dinner last night. I can't wait to see you again; you're always in my thoughts. HP'

I couldn't believe it, I got flowers from a man, and that man was Harry. Harry sent me the most beautiful flowers ever. I have never gotten flowers from someone I wasn't related to before. Come to think of it, I've never gotten flowers from someone I AM related to.

I looked at Mum and she had the biggest smile on her face, 'They are lovely and I am so happy for you.'

I sat down at the table and just stared at my flowers and then I started to smile. I couldn't stop really and from what I remember I don't think I stopped smiling for the next few months.

The next few days were a whirlwind; I had to catch up with Colin on our shop. We were planning to open on October 15th and we still had tons of things to finish. Not only did we have to deal with the magical contractors working on the place but I had to order to invitations to our opening and go over the catering with Dennis.

It was fortunate for me that I was so busy that I didn't have time to dwell on the date with Harry. We had arranged to go out the following Saturday and with both of us so busy we only had time to send a couple of owls to each other. I was a bit nervous about the date. I had no doubts about my feelings for him but still our relationship is changing and sometimes change can be very scary. I had never felt this way about anyone, even the couple of boys that I dated at school.

When I dated in school, it was for fun, it wasn't serious and I knew that I wouldn't be marrying Michael or Dean. During the war it was difficult to date because quite honestly, I couldn't really trust anyone. Because of my family connections and my friendship with Harry, I couldn't take a chance that some boy would be using me to get access to the Order or to Harry. The boys that I trusted weren't really boyfriend material in my eyes. After the war, I just wanted to walk again and to be normal. I didn't even consider men or dating as an option. I know that while I was in Rome a few men tried to court me but I just couldn't do it. I think I was still hurting from the war and the horrors that I had seen and endured. I think during that time I really clung to my family as my comfort and I just didn't seek to meet anyone outside of my close friends and family.

So now the 'door to my heart' has been opened and quite frankly I am terrified. I know Harry and I trust him without compare but still I can't deny that I am nervous. I think that if it was anyone but Harry I probably would have called the whole thing off. But I knew that if I did that to him, I would hurt him more than I was scared, and I just couldn't do that to him.

The day of my date was getting closer and I honestly think my Mum, Hermione, Angie, Fleur, and Katie were more excited than I was. Actually, I knew they were. They all came over on Friday and decided to raid my closet to find something to wear. Of course being so busy the past few days, I hadn't really given much thought as to what I was going to wear but as they brought the subject up, I started to panic,….'I don't have a thing to wear!'

Two hours later all of us had managed to find an outfit that was both modest yet dramatic. Fleur said that it would look very sexy on me and since she is French and knows her clothing, we all went with her opinion. However, after having five women go through my closet I decided that I really needed a new wardrobe. I honesty can't believe what I was thinking when I bought half of the items in there.

The next morning I woke early and I knew I wouldn't be going back to sleep. Mum had been working in the garden this past week, gathering the late vegetables before the first frost hit. I decided to work outside with her. It would help keep my mind off tonight.

Mum was already in the kitchen, puttering around and getting the tea ready. I walked over to her and reached for my mug. She looked at me and smiled, 'Too excited to sleep?'

'Something like that' I replied, 'Could you use some help in the garden this morning?'

'Of course dear, I can always use help in the garden,' mum replied.

I helped her work for a couple of hours and between the both of us, we got most of the useable vegetables gathered. We went into the kitchen with our bounty and Mum wanted to quit for morning. She looked over at me and said 'If you don't hurry, you'll be late for your appointment.'

I just stared at her, not quite sure what she meant because my date wasn't until that evening and I hadn't really planned on doing anything else today. 'My appointment?' I asked.

'I made an appointment for you at the Ladies Emporium to have your hair and nails done, you've been so busy the past week, I knew you would forget,' Mum replied.

I could have kissed her. I had totally forgotten about getting an appointment. I ran over to her and said, 'You are the best, you know that don't you?'.

'Of course dear, now get moving, you have 20 minutes,' Mum said

I ran upstairs, washed up a bit, changed, and Apparated to my appointment.

Later on I returned home feeling quite refreshed and well, pretty. Somehow I managed to survive the rest of the day until it was time to get ready. Again, I took my time and felt that I was going to look the best that I could.

Harry was going to Apparate to the Burrow at 6:30 and our dinner reservations were at 7:00. There was a new Muggle restaurant not far from Diagon Alley that he wanted to try.

As I came downstairs my parents were sitting in the living room talking quietly. Mum saw me first and smiled, 'Dear you look lovely.'

Dad stood up and walked over to me, 'My baby is growing up,' he said as he kissed my cheek. Afterwards I looked at him and I could see that he had tears in his eyes. I didn't realize until that moment how much this date meant not only to me but also my family.

Dad returned to his chair and I sat down gently on the edge of the couch. I was still nervous and I didn't want to get too comfortable. I heard a pop from the kitchen and I started to get up.

There he was standing in our kitchen with another beautiful bouquet of flowers. Now I have always thought Harry to be good looking in a messy sort of way. When we were younger his clothes were always baggy and didn't fit right, and then of course the hair. But now, standing in our kitchen, I realized just how good looking he turned out to be. I truly have never seen him look better.

We stood there for a moment just staring at each other when I decided to break the ice. 'Are those for me?' I asked, referring to the flowers.

He started for a moment, almost like he didn't know what I was talking about, and then noticed the flowers in his hand 'Er, yes, I thought you might like them.'

'I love them,' I said not breaking eye contact, 'Let me put them in something.' I summoned a vase and placed the flowers on the table.

All the while Harry was very quiet and I almost wondered if something was wrong and he couldn't keep the date. I looked over at him and asked 'is everything okay?'

'Er, yes, it's just that……I have never seen you look so pretty,' Harry said.

The Weasley blush came out at that comment and I had to fight the smile that threatened to play on my lips, 'Thank you.'

He walked over to me and pulled me into a hug, 'I have been so nervous and excited about tonight all week,' he whispered into my ear.

I pulled away a bit and looked into his eyes, 'I know exactly how you feel, I am nervous but this feels right.'

He leaned down and gave me a chaste kiss on my lips, smiled at me, and said 'Dinner awaits, my lady.'

I said good bye to Mum and Dad and together Harry and I Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.

I knew that after tonight, my life and my path would change, however, no matter how scary change can be, sometimes it is good for you.

The End

For Now

AN: Well this is the end for now, I have a few ideas for a sequel, but for now I am too lazy to start. I really want to thank Lord Dreadnault for his help and feedback. He ignored my complete computer uselessness and got me started. I also want to thank everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it. Drop me a note if anyone wants to babble excitedly until July rolls around. Cheers.