He smiled, he had found what he was looking for in this small and precious cut stone. The man standing behind the counter grinned at him, "found what you've been looking for?"
"This, is an engagement ring?" the man behind the counter nodded, "well I guess it will have to do."
"Is there anything else I can do for you, anything else you might be interested in?" but the young man shook his head and with in a few minutes the transaction was completed. The young man walked away carrying a small 1 carrot stone set in a white gold ring; he couldn't help but grin as he turned the corner into and alley way and disappeared.
A few hours later the same young man found himself at the door to a funny looking house, with several floors built on top of each other. The grin from earlier still hadn't faded as he knocked on the door, and a man with bright red hair, though balding, open it. The older man looked weather worn but he too was grinning, they stepped inside the kitchen of the house where an older woman was preparing a small meal.
"Darling, Harry is here. Why don't you go and check on Ginny while I talk to him for a moment." The older woman smiled and nodded as she set down what she was doing and headed for the stairs. The man turned to Harry and smiled, "Harry. This is an interesting request you have asked of us. We've never had a boy ask to take our only daughter out on the night of her birthday, so you must forgive me for prying."
Harry grinned, "I understand your concern. All of them I suppose, but I want you to know that it would mean the world to me if you gave me your blessing. It's not an official…"
"You're worried you might not make it then?" the older man had stopped grinning and so had the younger. He slowly looked into the eyes of the younger man, "you need not worry, my boy. You have my blessing now, and always. I already consider you like a son to me, and I want you to know that I have faith in you. We all have faith in you. She has faith in you."
Harry nodded slowly, "I am going to finish it. Not for me, not for my parents, not even really for all of you; I'll do it just so I can return to her."
"Good." He looked as if he was about to say something else but the sound of two pairs of feet coming down the stairs made both men turn to look. Slowly a young woman came into view, her slender legs uncovered to her knees shined in the near darkness. She was wearing a simple but elegant green dress that fell off her shoulders as her curly red hair cascaded down her neck.
Her face was stunning, she seemed nervous but steadfast. She smiled as the young man came into her view and waved. Harry was looking on awed by her beauty; it had taken him a moment to realize that she had actually reached his side. "Harry? Is there something wrong?"
Harry shook his head slowly, "I've never seen someone look so beautiful." She grinned broadly, and with a final glance at the clock where all the hands pointed to 'Mortal Peril' they were off.
Half an hour later found the two young friends at a restaurant in downtown London, having been seated almost immediately after arriving. They had just finished ordering their meals when a violinist past by their table making the young woman giggle. Harry looked up at her and grinned, "I know its not like your mums cooking."
"It will be excellent. I've just never been somewhere like this, I don't know why you are spoiling me like this. It's only my birthday." She was looking around excitedly at all the candles and couples and dancing around the room.
"I just want this to be," he looked at the ceiling, "a night to remember." When his eyes had finally trailed back down to the seat opposite him, he found two eyes looking steadily at him. The gleam told him everything that he needed to know, his confidence was shattering and swelling at the same time.
"Every day I spend with you Harry, every day, is a day I shall remember for the rest of my life." She grinned and Harry looked sheepishly at his plate.
"Wine?" the server asked breaking the silence, and Harry was glad for a moment. He nodded and smiled as she too took a sip of the wine the man had poured into her glass.
The night progressed slowly; Harry had even taken her to the dance floor which brought the stares of quite a few of the guests in the restaurant. The people's stares were both for Harry's misfortune at dancing, and the stunning beauty of his date. As they finished desert Harry looked at Ginny and smiled. "I know that this isn't everything that you want in life, but it's a start."
Ginny looked up at him with an odd expression, trying to puzzle together what he had meant, "this was an amazing evening Harry. I've got all I want in …" she paused looked at her fingers as they rubbed together, "well I don't have…" but she stopped talking when her fingers were covered by his.
"I'm going away for a while. I'll be in touch, don't worry about that. I just want you to know, and I suppose I want to know…" he withdrew his hand from hers and placed it in his pocket.
"What Harry? What do you want to know?"
"Well, I want to know that you'll still…" he looked back into her eyes as he placed the small box on the middle of the table. The black velvet box shimmered in the candle light, and the room had become slowly silent. He began again as his other hand pulled the front of the small box open towards her, "I was hoping that you would wait for me. I'm not asking you to, well marry me, but I want to know that you'll still be here. Safe. Waiting for me to return."
"Oh, Harry." She was almost crying as she picked the small ring from its cushion; the small diamond reflected all the light in the room onto her face as she looked at it with trembling hands. She looked again at his eyes, his nervous and yearning eyes, "of course I'll wait for you. I… I promise Harry, I will always wait for you."
They kissed as he slowly pushed the small promise ring onto her left hand. They had shared several more, intimate kisses before returning to Ginny's family home. Harry couldn't stay long but smiled brightly as he kissed her a final time and whispered into her ear, "I love you Ginny."
Several months had passed, and Harry had kept his promise of contacting her every once in a while; though he had his hands full, with only his two best friends able to aid him in his quest. The only nights that Harry actually slept well were the nights after he had spoken to Ginny, through the floo network or on rare occasions actually getting to see her. These occasions were celebrated around the Weasley house by not just the only daughter but by the whole family.
One particular night Harry had stumbled through the door of the kitchen being held up by his two best mates. He had deep cuts and fresh scars all over his naked upper body; when Ginny saw this it was like a tidal wave. She took charge of the situation, not even asking what had happened, but immediately setting him up in one of the bed rooms and caring for his wounds. Only after he had been induced into a dreamless sleep did she turn to the other two, who had only looked on in awe.
"What happened? Is it… over?"
"We are home Ginny. We are home." At that her older brother slumped onto the nearby bed, a lasting remnant of her brother's stay at the house. The older girl touched Ginny lightly on the shoulder before sitting down in the bed where the other boy lay.
"Everything will be different tomorrow, Ginny. He will never have to leave your side." She too lied down and fell asleep, leaving Ginny to watch over Harry long into the night.
Not more than a week later Harry was feeling much better, and was able to travel around visiting people he had once said goodbye to. The world seemed a lot happier, and much safer; Ginny never left his side though. Once Harry was giving a speech to the ministry when he suddenly fell silent, he was only brought back to reality when Ginny touched his shoulder gently.
Harry had become accustomed to her sleeping next to him, as most nights found him sleeping on top of the sheets in her room at the Weasley home. Harry knew that her parents knew, but they didn't mention anything about it; until at breakfast one morning Harry said something unusual.
"Mum." The only two other people in the room turned to look at Harry as he looked up from his plate of pancakes. He knew that he had the undivided attention of both Ginny's parents as he spoke again, "I was hoping that you would go with me to Diagon Alley today and maybe a bit into muggle London."
"Of course Harry, should we gather a guard?" the older woman asked, but Ginny's father shook his head lightly as if he knew where Harry was going with this.
"No, I was just hoping that you would help me pick out something." He looked back down at his plate, "I think it would make it more meaningful."
The woman exchanged a glance with the older man, who nodded his head, "of course Harry. I'll go wherever you want to go; I'll just go get ready now." Harry knew that this was two fold, as Mrs. Weasley had not been out of the house in months because of the worry distraught over her absent children.
Mr. Weasley took his time in drinking his coffee before he took a stern look at Harry, who was watching him the whole time debating on when to start the conversation. The man finally stated, "an interesting and wise decision. You needed not ask, Harry. You have my blessing."
"Thank you, sir. You know it means a lot to me."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, my boy." He finished his coffee as Mrs. Weasley came down the stairs and wrote a quick note for the rest of her children. Within minutes the two of them were headed out the door for London.
They had been to several shops before both Harry and Mrs. Weasley finally acknowledged that this was the one. She had not been at all surprised when Harry walked her immediately out into muggle London and they had started browsing jewelry shops. The ring they were currently looking at was a shining white gold band with a single very sharp diamond set in between two smaller ones. It was simple, but they knew that it fit into Ginny's style more than any of the more expensive rings would have.
"Do you know what you are going to say?" she asked tenderly as they walked back into the tavern that read 'the leaky cauldron.'
"Not really, but I suppose that's also why I asked you to come with me today. I need someone's perspective that's already gone through this. Someone I know who loves their soul mate as much as I love Ginny." Mrs. Weasley looked almost about to cry as they sat down to an early lunch.
"Oh Harry, how it touches me to hear you say that." She smiled wiping away the single tear that had escaped her puffy eyes, "just talk from the heart Harry. It won't lead you wrong."
"It never has before. It led me to you, and to your family. It led me to Ginny." Harry sighed, still not sure how to propose to the woman that he loved more than life itself. He looked up into his future mother-in-laws eyes which were now openly flowing and was shocked.
"That was one of the most beautiful things that I've ever heard Harry. We all love you dearly, and I can't wait until the day when I can officially call you my son." Harry too was starting to shed tears as they grasped for each other.
"I love you, mum." Harry cried into her shoulder as she smoothed out his reckless hair.
Harry smiled; he was once again standing in the kitchen of the Weasley house waiting for Ginny to descend. Mr. Weasley was with him, but neither spoke but just smiled as they waited patiently for the woman of Harry's dreams. They had not waited long when the foot steps from the stairs alerted them, "good luck Harry."
Moments later Harry was once again swinging Ginny around the floor of the same restaurant they had been to only a year ago that day. Ginny looked as beautiful and radiant as ever as Harry twirled her around the dance floor, turning the heads of every guest in the building. After nearly an hour of dancing the two returned to their seats and quietly ate a simple desert, every once in a while stealing a glance at each other and giggling lightly when they caught the other.
"Harry, this has been a wonderful evening." She smiled reaching across the table and grasping his hand in hers.
"Oh, but it is not over yet my dear." He didn't let go of her hand has he walked around the table and pulled her up to standing. Then with one swift motion he was on his knee in front of her, much like her mother had told him, and whispered softly so only she could hear, "I've not seen a lot of love in my life. I was once just a simple boy, hounded by his past. Then I met your wonderful family, and I began to understand what it was that I had been missing. It took you though, it took someone with so much love for everyone around them to show me just what it was to love someone in return."
He was looking up at her smiling; she was on the verge of tears. He continued, "Your mother told me to follow my heart once, and I told her that I would. It had led me to you after all, and it is now home with you. I can't imagine a day rising without you next to me, or an evening next to the fire spent without you. I want to pledge my life to you, I want to ask you." His free hand fumbled around in his pocket as he withdrew the new velvet case, he opened it slowly showing her the beautiful ring inside. "Will you make me the man I could have never been without you; will you make me the happiest man in the world? Will you marry me?"
Ginny was absolutely crying now, her tears of joy streamed down her face as she smiled and said, "Yes." She pulled him up to his feet and pressed her lips firmly against his as they both stupidly grinned in their ecstasy.
"I love you."
"So that's where this ring comes from daddy?" she looks up at him as she fiddles with the small ring.
"Yes my dear, that's where that ring comes from. We had decided that we would give it to our first daughter." Harry smiled as he brushes out the tangles in his daughter's hair and thinks about his wonderful wife.