Chapter Seven – Anniversary Trouble

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"What? What do you mean you lost it?" Ron's eyes were wide. Harry was pacing in the room, shaking his head over and over again.

"I don't know it how it happened!" Harry was panicking. "What am I going to do Ron? What am I going to do?"

"Relax, calm down. Let's just see if we can remember and pinpoint the exact moment you lost it."

So the two boys sat in the living room, replaying the previous days events only to fail. They'd been both too busy thinking of different things to notice just where and when they'd lost it.

"I'm such a fool!" Harry blamed himself. "I shouldn't have said I had the perfect gift. Now I'm going to look like a complete blockhead."

"Maybe you could just get her another gift," Ron suggested. He pitied his friend.

"But I haven't got nearly enough—"

"You don't have to buy it, you can just make it."

Harry scoffed. "So I'm going to make her a card? Come on Ron, I'm not five."

Ron looked insulted. "The best presents are the ones that come from the heart. Write a letter!"

"What? No!"

Ron was starting to feel annoyed. "Harry, you have to come up with something!"

Before Harry could reply, Nicola came in whistling. She noticed as the two boys tried to look as inconspicuous as possible. She sat on the sofa, staring at them.

"What," Harry frowned. Her staring made him uneasy.

"What're you boys up to," she was smiling.

Harry nearly hit the floor when Ron told her that he'd lost the anniversary gift.

"You do know what this means," she said, "don't you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I am not going to make her a present."

"But Harry—"

"I'm very bad at making things! Very bad."

Nicola shook her head. "Why do you think we're here? We're here to help you."

Harry thought for a moment. What could he possibly make that'll make a good anniversary gift? He didn't have a clue on how to make arts and crafts things. Still, he needed a gift. He sighed, nodding his head slowly.

"But what could I possibly do?" he asked still in doubt.

Nicola grinned. "Tell her how much she means to you in a letter."

"Like a love letter," Harry asked.

"Yup. You know, an appreciation letter for your past years. Or year since you've been together just a year."

"But… I suck at writing," Harry was starting to feel annoyed. Why was she suggesting things he couldn't do?

"You don't have to be good at writing for this. You just write what you feel. What's inside your heart."

Harry looked at Ron who seemed to be agreeing with her. "Fine," he shrugged. "Fine."

"Good, let's get started."

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After being kicked out of the living room for their suggestions, Nicola and Ron went outside to celebrate their anniversary. They sat on the steps of the back porch.

"I'll get your present," Nicola said and took off, only to come back with a bowl of ice cream and something that was wrapped up. "Happy anniversary Ron." She said as she handed the present to him.

Ron went for the one wrapped up and tore off the wrapping paper. He gasped, and then pulled Nicola into a bear hug. She laughed as he kissed her several times.

"Nic, this is amazing!" he said. "I love it! Thank you so much." With a trembling hand, Ron dug into his pocket and took out a small blue box. "It was mum's." he handed it to her. "Dad gave it to her on their one year anniversary."

Nicola gasped as she saw the earrings that lay inside. They were sapphire blue stones.

"Oh Ronnie, this is the best," she smiled. "Oh, right. Here. Another present."

Nicola presented the bowl of ice cream to Ron and watched as he devoured it. Suddenly, he began to choke. Nicola jumped to her feet. What had she been thinking putting the ring in the ice cream? Of course he wouldn't notice it.

"I'm such an ass," she murmured before giving Ron the Heimlich. The ring flew out of his mouth and onto the grass. Nicola ran to it quickly. She picked it up and walked back to Ron.

"What was that," he asked still slightly breathless.

Nicola gave the ring to him, her head hung low. She could have killed him. She was such a fool.

"It's a ring with the two C's from your favorite team," she said sullenly. "Sorry you almost died because of it."

Ron remained silent and pulled her into a hug.

"As great as these presents are, you know what's the greatest?" his voice was soft.

"What?"

"The fact that I'm with you."

She turned to him. "Really?"

He nodded. "You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me." He smiled. Still gazing into her blue eyes, Ron leaned down and gave her a kiss.

"Aww," Hermione giggled as she spotted them through the kitchen window. She'd never seen such a handsome couple. She wondered if she and Harry had that kind of love. Hopefully.

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"Argh!" Harry yelled in frustration as she threw the piece of balled up paper away. "This is stupid."

He'd spent nearly an hour writing and thinking of things to say. He never knew expressing his feelings was so hard! If only he were a poet, then things would just flow into his head and down onto the paper. As much as he wanted to give up, Harry tried again. For Hermione.

Dear Hermione,

That sounded good. Harry broke into a small smile. Now what could he write after that?

I'm writing because Ron and Nicola suggested I write you a love letter. Why? Well because being the fool that I am, I lost your anniversary gift. See, when we went to the mall, we got you a present but lost it on the way back… I think.

Harry looked it over. That seemed all right. Shrugging, he continued to write.

Now that you know what my purpose is, I should move on to better things, like… How much you mean to me.

Where could he begin? He had so many reasons but he couldn't say all of them. Could he?

Well, where do I begin? I could write a million things, but I won't. Instead, I'm going to say this; Hermione, you are everything to me. The air that I breathe, my sun in my rain, my shelter from the storm. You are the water that I thirst for, my peace of mind, the food that makes me full, the strength that makes me strong and the one I live for.

Harry stared at what he'd just written. All that had just come so easily to him. He grinned. She was all those things to him.

I can't even imagine my life without you, not that I'd want to. I think we're very lucky to have found such a deep love at this age. Most people say that kids don't know what love is; I didn't until I met you.

That couldn't be truer, Harry thought.

You have opened my eyes to a new world. A world full of love and fun. I couldn't be more thankful that you came into my life. In all simplicity, what I'm trying to say is thank you for a wonderful year and for always being there for me. I love you more than my own life.

Yours forever and always,

Harry

Harry re-read the letter and found himself pleased. He grinned as he folded it up and put it in his pocket. Now he had nothing to worry about for the next couple of weeks. Except of course their camping trip.

Author's Notes: Another update! Hahah that took me a while to finish typing. YAY MY COMPUTER FIXED ITSELF MIRACIOUSLY. Is that a word? Lol I'm not sure. Anyway, yeah, thanks for reading and don't forget to review! Oh and one more thing, YOU PEOPLE ROCK )