The street was as black as the ice covering the pavements, as the two couples made their way to the abandoned telephone box in the middle of the street. Hermione and Luna were walking ahead, arm in arm, laughing and joking as if they were schoolgirls once more. Harry and Ron dwindled behind, feeling rather awkward in their freshly pressed dress robes. As all of them except Luna worked for the Ministry, they had been invited to the annual Christmas party.
Hermione turned around, smiling at the two men. She looked ravishing. Her hair was swept up, held together with oodles of gel. But her eyes were sparkling, and her dark green dress robes only accentuated her figure, and brought out her eyes. Luna on the other hand, had her hair down falling in curls around her face. The pale blue dress robes she had chosen, only make her eyes stand out more than they usually did.
Luna and Harry had been seeing each other for a couple of months. It had been 2 months of complete, and utter bliss. Harry didn't think that he had smiled so much, and when he wasn't with her, he didn't know what to do with himself.
"They look good, don't they?" Ron asked, smiling at his old friend, as he watched the two women talking animatedly ahead.
Harry nodded. "I don't know how we ended up so lucky, mate." He said, with a smile.
They squeezed into the phone box, while Harry dialed the number to enter. Without warning, they started to move, and airy Christmas music filled the small space, causing Hermione to beam, and Ron to grimace. He was so sick of hearing the happy music everywhere he went. As far as he was concerned, Christmas was for presents.
A few moments later, there was a ping, and the woman's voice filled the elevator. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Happy Christmas." She said, in a cool tone.
The four of them stepped out, and the only thing that showed on their faces was awe. It was almost like stepping into the North Pole. The place was decorated with numerous ice sculptures, and real snowflakes. Hundreds of little house-elves dressed in Santa's Helpers costumes were running around the room, serving drinks and snacks. This caused Hermione to turn her nose up, but she still couldn't help but be amazed by the place.
There were hundreds of people packed into the Atrium. Adults and children alike. Luna slipped her hand into Harry's and gave him a small smile. A few people were staring at the foursome, but he was used to that by now. He had lived with it most of his life.
A house-elf came by to take their jackets, with a smile and a bow. Ron and Hermione disappeared into the crowd to find Ron's parents, and brothers.
Harry and Luna were making their way through the crowd, when Luna felt a tug on her dress. She looked down at the floor, expecting an eager house-elf, but instead found a little girl with raven hair, and a black dress on, smiling a toothy grin at her.
"You're the pretty woman from the robe shop." She said, proud that she had remembered.
Luna nodded, looking up to see Pansy and Draco talking a few feet away. "That's right." She said, bending down to get on the same level as the child.
"Daddy was making fun of him." She said, pointing a pale finger to Harry. "Mummy and I were laughing, because Daddy's face turned red like a fire engine." She said, excited to tell Luna her story.
Luna smile her ethereal smile at the girl. "What's your name?" She asked, looking at Harry, who was looking partly nervous, and a little impatient.
"Lucia Anne Malfoy." She said, with a smile.
"Lucia…My name's Luna." Murmured Luna, wondering why the child had been named after her Grandfather. "That's a pretty…" She trailed off, looking up as Pansy approached, her black dress robes trailing the ground. Luna couldn't help but notice that they were a little faded. And now that she saw it, a button was missing from Lucia's dress.
"What are you doing over here?" Pansy asked the child, ignoring Luna, who stood up straight, as Harry placed a hand around her waist.
"Mummy!" Lucia protested. "I was just talking to Luna." She said, with a small smile, slipping her small hand into her mothers larger one.
Pansy glared at Harry and Luna. "You shouldn't talk to strangers Lucia." She said.
Lucia shook her head, as if to contradict her mother. "But you and Daddy know them." She said. "He's Harry." She said, pointing to the owner of the name. "I heard Daddy talking about him."
Pansy reached down, picking up the girl. She turned to Harry and Luna, tilting her head. Although she and Draco's names no longer brought fear to her former students, Pansy still had her aristocratic look. "Potter…Lovegood." She said, by way of greeting.
Luna smiled. "You look lovely." She said, the genuine note that was always in her voice shining through.
Pansy sneered. Trust her to say something like that, when Luna very well knew that she was wearing second hand robes that she had worn to almost every party that year. She reached up to her neck, grasping the diamonds that hung there. The only remembrance of who she once was. "Thanks." She said coldly, looking at Luna's pristine blue robes. How times had changed.
Harry cleared his throat as Draco approached, slipping his hand into his wife's protectively. "Are they bothering you Darling?" He whispered into her ear.
Pansy shook her head, as Lucia rested her head on her shoulders, a sleepy look on her face. The magic of the party was starting to wear off on the young girl. "Luna and Harry were just leaving." She said, a note of finality in her voice.
Harry glared at the woman. "Luna was only being nice to you and your daughter." He said, tugging at Luna's waist. He couldn't stand being around Malfoy and his little wife.
Luna pulled away from Harry, turning back to Pansy, a frown on her usually happy face. "I was only extending a courtesy." She said with a small shrug. "And I did mean it about you looking lovely." She slipped Harry's hand into her own. "And you know, we're probably going to be running into each other a lot, so if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask." She said, turning around into Harry's arms.
Draco sneered. "You're a lunatic. Why don't you go enjoy Potter and his wealth." He said, taking Lucia who was holding her arms out to him.
Potter was about to retort, when a silence fell over the room. They all looked around them. The place had slowly filled with millions of white rose petals. A light shone from the fountain, and Harry glanced up, a grin spreading across his face.
Standing on top of the fountain was Ron, his eyes frantically searching the crowd. When he found what he was looking for, his eyes seemed to sparkle in the light, and he took his wand out of his robes and shone it on the person in the crowd.
Hermione shielded her face from the wand light, a look of confusion on her face. "Ronald! What are you doing?" She asked, looking away from her conversation with Fleur and Mrs. Weasley, who both had knowing smiles on their faces.
Ron cleared his throat, dimming the wand light slightly as he looked at her. "Hermione. Over the past years, I have considered you a best friend. You've been there for me when no-one else was. Apart from Harry, you were the person that I trusted most in the world." He said, as though he had practiced this speech a million times. "And then something changed. And when I looked at you, you were…beautiful. We've had our share of ups and downs." He said, a sad smile on his face. "But I realized something back at school, and again every time you smile at me. I love you Hermione Granger." He said, as the crowd let out a chorus noise. Some of the women had tears in their eyes.
Ron reached into his pocket, and withdrew a small scarlet box, opening it. In the light, the ring was illuminated. It was big, with a huge diamond on the end. He must have been saving. "Hermione." He said, looking at her. "Marry me…"
A/N: Sorry it took so long! This chapter will be in two parts, so expect more from the party! I thought Ron was quite sweet! Feedback would be appreciated.