"What time is it?" Ginny mumbled as she staggered down to the kitchen in the early hours of the morning. Her usually straight and neat hair was now wavy and slightly frizzy, with the occasional hair was sticking straight up from her head. She slumped onto a chair and put her head into her hands. "I hate my job," she murmured. "My stupid boss made me work overtime. On a Friday night!"
"I thought you were supposed to go somewhere with Harry last night," Hermione said absently as she sat down at the shiny kitchen table, cup of coffee and Daily Prophet in hand. "It's almost ten, by the way."
"Yeah, I…OH MY GOSH I FORGOT!" Ginny shouted, jumping from her chair. "Oh he's going to be so mad at me!" she wailed. "He said he had something special planned, and now I went and ruined it!"
"Just Floo him and explain the whole situation," Hermione said sensibly. "I'm sure he'll understand."
"You're right, but…"
"Ginny, are you going to stand there making excuses or are you going to go stick your head in the fireplace and talk to the guy you've been crushing on since you were eleven?" Hermione said.
"Who would that be?"
Ginny jumped again as her brother walked through the doorway and moved to sit next to Hermione, kissing her forehead as he sat down. "Could it be our dear friend Harry?" he teased.
"Shut up Ron!" Ginny shrieked, turning bright red. "At least I don't fall head over heels for every Veela girl that walks by!"
"That wasn't my fault!" Ron said, his ears matching his hair. "Just because…"
"Hey guys!" Harry interrupted. "I came by Floo, and followed the voices. Hope you don't mind."
"Not at all, Harry. You practically live here anyways," Hermione said. "Ron and I were just leaving,"
"Why'd you kick me?" Ron shouted. "And what do you mean we were just leaving? I haven't even finished my breakfast yet!"
"Ron, you have no subtlety, do you know that?" Hermione said under her breath. She dragged Ron to the door, uttering a cheerful goodbye to Ginny and Harry. "See you later! And don't worry about dinner, Ginny, your mom owled and wants us to go to the Burrow tonight!"
Ginny heard the front door slam, and sat back down in her chair, her face still bright red. "I look awful," she said quietly.
"No, not awful," Harry said. "Interesting is more like it."
"Interesting? Interesting is something you say when you can't think of anything nice to say." Ginny said, unconsciously running a hand through her hair.
"Not always. That painting is interesting," he said, pointing to a silver frame which housed a bright green frog who was busily snoring on an equally green grassy bank.
"That painting really is interesting. My appearance however is not."
"Really?" Harry said dubiously. "Then how would you describe it?"
"Unfortunate."
Harry laughed, bringing a smile to Ginny's face. "Harry, I wanted to talk to you." Ginny said, turning to face him.
"You do realize that nothing good ever comes from that statement, right?" Harry said. He was still smiling, but Ginny could tell that it wasn't the happy smile that had been on his face only moments before. It was more of a nervous smile, one that was in place as part of a mask that hid Harry's true emotions.
"It's nothing bad," Ginny said reassuringly. "I wanted to apologize for standing you up last night, I was so mad at my boss for making me stay late that I completely spaced off everything else. I'm really sorry."
Harry looked slightly relieved, as if a great worry had just fled from his mind. "Fletcher made you stay late?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Yes, he complained that the inventory wasn't done right the last time. Honestly I don't know why he ever decided to open a shop anyways. Don't you laugh at me, Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, hitting his shoulder playfully. He caught her hand, and laughed even more at the look of surprise on her face.
"But laughter is healthy in a relationship!" he protested.
"Only when it's not being directed at me!" Ginny said, pouting slightly.
"But you have no qualms about laughing at me," Harry said.
"Of course!" Ginny replied happily, using her free hand to mess up Harry's hair.
"That's not going to do much," Fred said, coming into the kitchen.
"It's nearly impossible to mess up that mop more than it already is," said George, entering just behind him. "Now your hair, on the other hand,"
"Resembles a mop more than his does!" Fred said, completing George's sentence.
"Doesn't anyone consider knocking before entering these days?" Ginny and Hermione had been sharing an apartment just outside of Hogsmeade ever since Ginny had graduated from Hogwarts.
"Nope!" Fred, George, and Harry said brightly.
"That's evident," Ginny muttered, dragging a comb through her hair.
"Heard the good news," Fred said.
"And we just thought we'd come by and congratulate you!" George said. Out of Ginny's eyesight, Harry started shaking his head frantically.
"What are you guys talking about? The only good news I've heard so far today is that I don't have to worry about dinner tonight." Ginny said, trying to work out a particularly vindictive snarl.
"Well surely this means a lot more to you than trying to avoid a potentially serious culinary disaster," Fred said, looking thoroughly scandalized.
George was wearing an expression similar to Fred's, but that might have been only because they were identical. "We thought he meant a lot more to you than a charred meal."
"What are you talking about? Who means more to me than a charred meal?" Harry had now resorted to drastic measures, and drew a line across his neck with a single finger.
"Fred, a surprising thought has just popped into my brain."
"I agree George, and if I say so myself, I'd bet a Galleon that your thought matches mine exactly."
"Fred, we have made complete fools out of ourselves, which gives me an idea for an exciting new product that is destined to hit the shelves of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in no less than three months!"
"Two months, if we put in a few hours overtime at the store!"
"We'd really like to chat, but duty calls!" Fred exclaimed before apparating.
"Oh, and Harry, you might want to talk to Mum before you go over there for dinner. I daresay she jumped to the same conclusion that we did." With a loud pop George vanished, leaving a very confused Ginny and a very nervous Harry still sitting at the kitchen table.
"Ron, I am going to kill your brothers," Harry said as he stepped out of the fireplace and into the front room of the Burrow. Ash clung to his hair and clothes and nothing less than a severe cleaning charm would make it come off.
"Out of curiosity, who and why?" Ron replied, reading over a report that he had just received from his superior at the Ministry. He had followed in his Father's footsteps, and was now working in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, under the constantly unreliable direction of none other than Ludo Bagman.
"Fred and George. I don't see how they found out! I didn't tell anybody about it!" Harry said, his frustration evident on his face.
"You mean about your proposal last night?"
Harry let out a strangled noise and exclaimed, "How in the world do you know about it?"
"Well, Fred and George have a friend who works at the jewelry store where you bought Ginny's ring, and as you know word travels extremely fast in this family." Ron said.
"Harry!" Molly Weasley exclaimed as she entered the room. "I'm so happy for you and Ginny!"
"He hasn't asked her yet," Ron said.
Molly looked shocked. "I thought you were going to ask her last night?"
"Me too," Harry said. "But that didn't exactly work out." He silently wished that she would leave the whole matter alone, and not ask any more questions than was absolutely necessary.
"She stood him up," Ron said while writing a nasty comment in the margin of the report. "Bagman doesn't even know what he's talking about half the time, honestly. Why is he still at the Ministry anyways?"
"I still can't believe you're working for the Ministry. I would have expected that more from Hermione instead of you," Harry said, trying desperately to change the subject.
However, Molly seemed to sense what he was trying to do, and quickly brought the conversation back to him and Ginny. "She stood you up? That doesn't seem like something she would do,"
"She simply forgot, because she had to work late unexpectedly," Harry tried to explain.
"Of course, dear," Molly said before leaving the room.
"That's not good." Ron said. "Now she's probably going to go get Ginny's side of the story, and she'll most likely tell her that you were going to propose to her last night."
Harry sighed. "The way things are going, I'll never get a chance to ask her,"
"You might want to rethink that," Ron said, looking out the window.
"Why?"
"Because she just apparated into the kitchen."
Ginny stumbled as the kitchen of the Burrow swirled around her. She dropped her emerald cloak onto a nearby chair, and jumped slightly when she felt strong hands covering her eyes.
"Guess who!" Harry said, laughing from where he stood behind her. She always looked beautiful, no matter what.
"Gee, this is a tough one," Ginny said. "Hmm, Bill, Charlie, and Percy are all at work, and Fred or George would have turned my hair green or something equally bad, so it must be that one kid with the black hair."
"You forgot Ron," Harry said.
"Yeah, but he's busy arguing with Hermione." Ginny softly covered Harry's hands with her own. "Hi Harry."
"Skipping work today?" Harry asked as he moved his arms to rest on her shoulders.
"That depends on your definition of the phrase 'skipping work'" Ginny replied, turning to face him. "I thought we could go somewhere for lunch, since I ruined the plans you had for last night. Did I mention how sorry I am for forgetting?"
"Yeah, you mentioned it a few times," he said with a smile. "Lunch sounds great. Is there any particular place you want to go?"
"It doesn't matter where we go as long as you're there," Ginny replied.
Hidden in the shadows of the hallway and armed with three pairs of Extendable Ears, Fred, George, and Ron were silently shaking with laughter.
"What are you three up to?" Mrs. Weasley demanded as she saw the overly happy trio.
"We think Harry's about to propose to Ginny," Ron answered hurriedly before turning his attention back to the couple in the kitchen.
Mrs. Weasley's face lit up with excitement, and she snatched the Extendable Ears away from Fred, who promptly stole Ron's Ears away from him.
"Hey!" he shrieked shrilly.
"SSSHHHH!"
Ron sulked as he resigned himself to listening through the keyhole. His knees ached from the hard floor, and straining to hear the quiet voices from the kitchen was becoming tedious.
Back in the kitchen, Harry was an emotional wreck. He had planned in his mind just how the proposal to the love of his life was supposed to be, and so far nothing was going according to plan. He was more nervous than he had ever been in his entire life, and he fervently hoped Ginny wouldn't notice.
She did, however, and nonchalantly placed her head on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," Harry said after a moment's pause. His voice sounded shaky, and he tried not to think about the shiny diamond ring in his pocket. "I love you Ginny, more than anything."
"I love you too," she whispered, a small smile alighting on her face. Harry took a small step backwards and gently pushed her away from him, smiling inwardly at the confused yet cute expression on her face. He took her hands into his own and slowly kneeled down in front of her.
"Will you marry me?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the slender gold ring adorned with the finest diamond. Time froze, and his heart skipped a beat. What if Ginny didn't want to marry him?
Thankfully, his fears weren't realized. Ginny smiled at him and felt a tear coursing down her pale cheek. "Yes," she answered, helping him to his feet and throwing her arms around him. A loud cheer erupted from the hallway, causing the happy couple to laugh whole heartedly before sharing a soft kiss. Ginny felt the ring slip onto her finger, and admired the way it refracted the light and formed a small rainbow on the wall.
"I'm the happiest man in the world right now," Harry said.
"Yeah? Well I'm engaged to the happiest man in the world!"