Just Under the Wire
Great work there, Arthur. You were completely taken in by the kind of practical joke played on girls Eliana's age. I huffed at myself. Stupid, stupid. I was relatively sure the closet wasn't within the castle. I was pretty sure I'd actually been at Grimmauld Place. But after that, all bets were off. I cursed under my breath in the silence of the closet. Nothing to do but wait for something to happen, Arthur. You're screwed.
After an undetermined length of time spent fuming, I fell asleep on the floor, too annoyed to stay awake any longer. I woke to a blast of light across my eyelids and a scuffle. The door slammed shut, and I heard the locking charms set. The glare had ruined my sight in the dark for the moment, but I could hear another person breathing.
"Hello?" I called quietly.
"Anna?" A male voice answered me. It sounded like Harry, but who could really tell?
"It's me." I felt a hand connect somewhat forcefully with my temple. "And that's my face."
"Sorry." He muttered. I began to feel more confident this was actually Harry.
"The twins brought you here, too?" I pried.
"Bloody Fred." Harry grunted, settling to my left. "How long have you been here?"
"Don't know." I shrugged. "Fred came to Hogwarts in the afternoon and got me from there."
"You followed him?" Harry said incredulously.
"No," I snapped. "I followed you, actually."
"You didn't." Harry shot back.
"I did. Fred used polyjuice." I heaved a sigh.
"Polyjuice?" Harry echoed me, a disbelieving lilt to his voice.
"Yeah." I shifted, then started to stretch, but hit Harry with my forearm. "Sorry." I muttered. He grabbed my arm and lowered it so it wouldn't hit him, but left his hand resting on my skin.
"It's all right." He sighed. His breath rushed against the outer edge of my arm. He must've turned toward me. I turned my face to where I thought he'd be, and I could just make out a darker area in the shadowy closet. I reached my hand toward it tentatively, and contacted the collar of his shirt.
"There you are…" I muttered. His hand closed over mine briefly. I withdrew my hand. "How do you think we get out of here?" Harry heaved a longsuffering sigh. "I don't like the sound of that." I grumbled. Harry chuckled.
"It's probably the same charm they used on Ron." He declared.
"Which was?"
"They shut him in a closet with Luna once and wouldn't let them out until they snogged." Harry paused. "It took Ron ages to figure it out." I snickered.
"Well?" I prodded. Harry's hand crept up my arm to my neck I felt him lean over me, his breath brushing my face. His lips barely touched mine before he drew away. The locking charms stayed in place.
"That's not it." He concluded. Then I felt him lean toward me again, reaching around my back to pull me closer. "Do you mind?" He asked. I shook my head, then remembered he probably couldn't see me. I shifted my weight and threw a leg over him, straddling his lap. I ran my palms up the side of his face, feeling him grin.
"No." I whispered. I pressed my lips to his, darting my tongue out to trace his lower lip. He groaned, grasping at my hips. I arched against him, pushing him against the wall. We tangled around one another in the dark, pressed together almost painfully.
I woke the next morning to a gentle light and Harry's hand in my hair. He was methodically running his fingers through the strands, scalp to tip. I melted against his side, where I'd been sleeping. He pressed his lips to my forehead when he saw I was awake.
"Morning," I said quietly.
"I meant to be at the Ministry today to hear Wade's judgment." Harry mused. I ran my hand over the planes of his chest and stomach.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize." His voice rumbled up beneath my head.
"I'm going to miss you." I muttered. He was quiet; I listened to his even breathing. I suppose I wanted him to say something—that he'd miss me too—but when it came down to it we'd only snogged twice. That was all. It just didn't feel that way—not to me. The longer he was quiet, the more I suspected he didn't feel the same.
"You don't have to." His voice broke into my self-pity. I had come so far into my thought pattern I couldn't remember what he was referring to.
"Harry?" I asked.
"You don't have to miss me. You don't have to go." His voice was stronger now, as though he'd marshaled some bravery.
"The law…" I began.
"I know." He cut me off. "Marry me."
For a moment I stopped breathing. I think my heart stopped beating. Finally I gasped, and picked my head up to look at him. "Are you…?" I began, my voice creaking.
"Marry me, Anna." Harry said again, his voice certain and his gaze steady. He ran his fingers down the side of my face, gently tracing my hairline. He gave me a half-smile. "And don't ask me if I'm sure."
I didn't. I put my face into the center of his chest and cried. After a long stretch of sobbing with Harry's arms curled around my back, I realized I'd never answered. I started to laugh, choking slightly as I continued sobbing as well. Harry reached a hand under my chin to lift my face.
"What?" He asked, a puzzled and nervous look on his face.
"I didn't give you an answer," I laughed. He looked utterly confused. "I meant to say yes, Harry. Yes." His face smoothed over immediately, and he crushed me against him, hard. I felt a relieved sigh leave his chest—I hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath. I turned my head to the side, finally stilling my laughter and sobs. "Harry?"
"Yes?"
"We can't get married until we get out of here." I pointed out. He chuckled.
"Bloody twins," he said, still laughing gently.
"All counts?" I confirmed, still processing what Harry'd told me. We stood in the lobby of Ministry Headquarters in our rumpled clothes, having spent a day and a half stuck in the supply closet of the 3W Hogsmeade branch. Harry had grown a truly disreputable looking beard in that time, and my hair was in a state.
"Yes," Harry nodded, putting an arm around my waist and leading me toward the door. "They convicted him on all counts and have cleared prosecution of his associates."
"Congratulations." I wrapped an arm around him and gave him a quick squeeze.
"Thanks," he replied, leading me toward the elevator to muggle London.
"Where are we headed?" I pressed, trying to keep up with his strides.
"Away from that photographer." He said tersely, jerking his head slightly towards the left. I started to turn, but he squeezed my side. "Don't look. They might try to follow us."
"They do that?" I asked, a little incredulous.
"They do." He sighed. I quickened my steps toward the elevator. When we made the street level Harry turned sharply down an alley before apparating us to another alley outside his flat. We sped into the building like we were being watched.
Once we were safely inside Harry's flat the hilarity of the situation started to hit me. I started out trying to keep a straight face, but quickly progressed to full laughter. Harry just peered at me, then around the room, and back at me.
"What?" He asked, finally.
"It's—I mean we…" I coughed trying to contain myself enough to speak. "Harry, you're engaged to a woman you met because she posed in a girly magazine." I cracked up. Harry started grinning. I pulled myself together a little and continued: "And now you're running from the press."
"You forgot the bit about getting engaged after snogging in a closet." He added, chuckling.
"Which you only figured out you could blast your way out of, Auror Potter, after we'd slept there." I teased.
"You think that wasn't intentional, Anna?" He smirked. I nudged him in the ribs. He locked his arms around me, squeezing me against his chest. I felt him release one arm and reach behind him. I looked at him curiously. Wandlessly and wordlessly, he called something to his hand. He looked at me seriously for a moment. "Anna," he began.
"What?" His focused look worried me. He reached up to grip my shoulder gently.
"It wasn't the closet, you know." He said seriously, handing me a jewelry box. I turned it over in my hands, incredulous.
"You—you already had this." I stuttered.
"I was going to ask." He confirmed. I stretched up to my toes and pressed a kiss to his jaw. He smiled. I pried the box open and slid the simple band on my finger, then twined my left hand in his right. He lifted our hands up and watched the light from the window gleam on the ring. I smiled against his chest.
