A/N: I don't own any of this.

A Ring and the Meaning of Life

It was a beautiful sunny day on June 24 1998. Today was the day the Hogwarts seventh years would graduate but their numbers were down. Voldemort had met his end two weeks ago in Hogsmeade when Harry Potter finally stabbed him with a sword then used a reductor curse to kill Voldemort. Even though Voldemort was dead, everyone who had been active in the final battle did not feel victorious. Sure Voldemort and his Death Eaters no longer posed a threat to the wizarding world but there were many casualties on their side. Over a hundred Aurors had died as well as several Hogwarts professors, students and members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Reluctantly, the seventh years sat with members of their house, noticing all the empty seats around them. Only two Slytherins- Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini would be graduating. The rest of the Slytherins had joined Voldemort and were killed during the battle. In fact, Gryffindor house would have the most number of graduates. Five Gryffindors- Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnigan would be graduating. The total number of seventh years graduating was 14, a ridiculously low number considering over 30 students started their seventh year in September. Today however, was their day. Most of the students graduating had tears in their eyes as they realized they would be graduating.

With a heavy heart, Harry Potter sat down with his girlfriend Hermione Granger. They smiled at each other and held hands. After graduating, Harry was going to propose to Hermione. They had been together ever since the beginning of their sixth year when Hermione comforted Harry and revealed her feelings for him after Sirius' death at the Ministry. Harry was now the richest and most famous wizard worldwide but he preferred to stay in the shadows. He was going to go with Hermione back to the house she lived in with her parents after the end of the school year. Then Harry was going to pursue a job as an Auror and hopefully move in to his own house.

After the graduation ceremony ended, Harry grabbed Hermione by the hand and took her by the lake. He nervously took out the ring and got down on his left knee. He looked up at Hermione, who seemed to realize what was happening and the look on her face said it all. Harry took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Hermione, you mean so much to me. No matter what I've been through, you have always been at my side. You don't even know how much I love you. Words cannot describe my love for you. So will you marry this silly bloke?" he asked her, slipping the ring around her left ring finger.

Hermione felt tears of joy run down her face as she realized Harry was asking her to marry him. "Yes, Harry I will marry you," she said, smiling as tears continued to fall down her face.

With a smile, Harry got up and kissed her. He then started to wipe some tears off her face as they heard shouts from the rest of their fellow seventh years behind them. Soon, Harry and Hermione found themselves being hugged by the other seventh years. Tears started to flow until Parvati noticed the beautiful new ring on Hermione's left hand.

"Hermione, what is that ring on your left hand?" Parvati asked.

"Oh, um Harry proposed to me and we are going to get married," Hermione responded.

"Wow Hermione, that's great!" Parvati squealed as all the girls spent time looking at her new ring. Hermione blushed at the attention but Harry felt the money he had spent, 1560 galleons on a fancy ring with diamonds and emeralds was worth it. As the girls continued to congratulate Hermione, Harry found all the guys congratulating him on marrying Hermione, whom they all found somewhat attractive with her now wavy light brown hair and nicely developed body.

The next day was the trip on the Hogwarts Express. Harry sat with Hermione, Parvati, Lavender and Ginny in a compartment. Hermione sat on Harry's lap and they kept kissing each other. Harry was trying to focus on his meeting with the Grangers later that day and how they would react to his relationship with Hermione. Harry was also thinking about selling Grimmauld Place but he wanted to marry Hermione first then see what she wanted to do. He placed his hands on her back and started to slowly move them all over her back. He heard her moan in pleasure and he increased the pressure. The train then stopped, Harry and Hermione got their trunks and went through the barrier.

"MUM! DAD!" Hermione screamed as they got through the barrier. She ran over and gave both of them a hug before turning to Harry. "Mom, dad, I would like you to meet my boyfriend Harry," she said.

"Erm, hi Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said nervously.

"Hello Harry, how are you? I'm Hermione's father. I'm Simon," Mr. Granger said, shaking hands with Harry.

"Harry, dear. Hermione has said so much about you. I'm Ann," Mrs. Granger said, giving Harry a hug.

Harry and Hermione then followed Hermione's parents to the parking lot and got into their car. At first Harry and Hermione sat somewhat far apart from each other but Hermione moved closer to Harry and eventually sat with her head on his shoulder. Harry responded by wrapping his arms around her shoulders and kissing her. Harry couldn't tell if Hermione's parents were watching all this but he could care less. All that mattered was that he was with the witch he loved. They stayed in each other's arms until they reached the Granger residence, three hours away from London.

"Hermione, show Harry the room he will be staying in," Ann Granger told Hermione once they entered the house.

With a big smile on her face, Hermione grabbed Harry's hand then took him up to the second floor. "You're going to the special bedroom, the one my parents give to people whom they like. That must mean they like you," she said, grinning and pointing him to a room.

"Uh, Hermione, can you stay here for a minute while I get my trunk from downstairs?" Harry asked.

"Sure Harry but don't take too long. Mom said dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes," Hermione replied.

Harry nodded and went down to get his trunk. He had placed a spell on his trunk to make it feel extremely light before he had left Hogwarts and was glad he did. Harry was certain that he could not use magic in front of the Grangers so he lifted his trunk up the stairs. When he got up there, he saw Hermione sitting down on the bed waiting for him.

"Harry, I have good news for you," she said, getting up from the bed. "Mom and dad decided to let me stay in the same room as you so we can either stay in your room or my room," Hermione said.

Harry felt his body tremble ever so lightly when he heard that. "Um, that's great news Hermione," Harry said nervously.

"Harry, please I want you now," Hermione said going over to Harry.

Harry felt his mind go blank once Hermione came toward him then started kissing him. She was a good 6 or 7 inches shorter than him so she stood on tippy toes to kiss him. Harry responded to her actions by taking her to the bed then falling onto the bed with Hermione in his arms. She leaned forward to kiss him and she put her arms around his neck as their kiss deepened. She felt Harry place his arms around her back and slowly caress her back with his hands. Soon they heard Mrs. Granger calling them down for dinner. Harry and Hermione reluctantly got up and went downstairs.

Harry and Hermione sat down next to each other as Mrs. Granger pulled out a dish of baked lasagna. She cut off a piece and gave it to Harry then cut off another piece and gave it to Hermione. Finally all the Grangers and Harry were eating lasagna and drinking water. For a few minutes, the room was silent as everybody ate. Mrs. Granger then noticed the fancy ring on Hermione's left hand then nudged Mr. Granger. They spoke silently to each other for a few minutes then Mr. Granger spoke.

"Hermione, why is that ring on your finger?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Oh mom, dad I forgot to tell you this earlier but Harry proposed to me after we graduated from Hogwarts. Of course I accepted immediately," Hermione said, reaching for Harry's hand.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at each other then began to speak in hushed voices. Harry gave Hermione's hand a little squeeze and smiled at her. Hermione did the same but she felt nervous at the same time. Both of them looked reassuringly at each other than looked up at Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were both using the same hushed voice. Harry and Hermione tried to listen to what they were saying but could not hear anything so they reluctantly gave up. They sat back in their chairs and kept looking at each other. Hermione had moved her chair closer to Harry when Mr. Granger spoke.

"Hermione, we want what's best for you even if its not necessarily what's best for us. We can tell that you love Harry very much and there is nothing nobody including ourselves can do about it. Even though we feel you are a little too young to marry, we can also tell you are mature enough emotionally to do it. We know you have been dreaming about this for a while now Hermione and it makes me feel proud to see how grown up you are now. So all we have to say is we know you will take care of our little girl Harry so you have our blessings," Mr. Granger said.

Harry was stunned for a minute then he grinned. Mrs. Granger had tears falling down her face as she realized Hermione was going to get married. Mr. Granger was trying to fight off tears as he also realized Hermione was going to get married. Meanwhile, Hermione shrieked then jumped up to hug her parents and then Harry. Hermione then released Harry and they passionately kissed in front of her parents, who merely smiled at the sight and reflected on when they were young.

Several months later, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were married in a muggle church that had over 200 people in attendance. They were going to begin their new jobs shortly - Harry was going to be an Auror and Hermione was going to be a writer. As you may know by now, they lived happily with each other and ended up having five children.

'A star up in the sky goes slowly passing by
The lights below...they spell out your name
You're comfort on my mind and you're with me all the time
And lots of feelings that I can't explain
I won't spend another night alone
Out of every girl I meet, no other can compete
I'd ditch 'em all for a night with you
I know you don't believe you mean this much to me
But I promise you that you do
If I had one wish this is what it would be...
I'd ask you to spend all your time here with me
And we'd be together forever'
- Ataris "I Won't Spend Another Night Alone"

A/N: So what do you think? Please read and review.