Chapter Twenty One - Ever After

The next two months flew by and Hermione's hard work paid off. She graduated from Hogwarts with honors and Fred threw a party at the Burrow, inviting close friends and family to celebrate her achievement.

Near the end of the evening, Fred grabbed her by the hand and pulled her outside.

"Fred! Where are we going?"

He dragged her some distance away from the house before stopping. "It's a surprise. It's not far now and if you PROMISE to close your eyes and not peek then we can walk rather than apparate."

Hermione gave him a suspicious look but raised one hand and place the other on her heart. "I promise."

Fred leaned in. "Do you promise promise?"

Hermione laughed and closed her eyes. "I promise promise!"

"Cover them!" She continued to laugh but did as she was told, placing her hands over her closed eyes.

With one hand on her waist and the other on her arm, Fred guided gently along one of the fields behind the house.

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost."

"Fred, where are we going?"

"Nearly there!" They stopped. "No peeking!"

He took great pains to situate her just so. After a few moments he seemed satisfied. "Just one more thing." She heard him whisper "Lumos" and then he said, "Okay. Now."

She uncovered her eyes and standing before her was a beautiful little white gazebo, constructed in a Victorian style and illuminated by hundreds of tiny fairy lights and a small, floating glow lantern. Her eyes grew wide in amazement. "Fred! What is this?"

"It's your present." Fred answered. "I remembered you showing me a picture of the one that was your back garden when you were a little girl. You said it was your "happy place" and that you wanted to have one when you grew up."

Hermione was speechless. She walked towards the gazebo and tentatively reached out to run her hand along the railing. She entered and turned around slowly, trying to take it all in. She stopped suddenly and leaned in to closely inspect part of the construction.

"Fred!" She exclaimed. "You built this!"

"Yep."

She spun around to face him. "I mean, you properly built this. Without magic."

Fred leaned against one of the uprights and nodded. "Dad helped. Luna even stopped by a couple of times with some paint samples." He chuckled. "One had polka dots. Told her I thought it would be best to stick with the traditional white for the first go."

Hermione continued to stare in wonder. "But….when…."

"While you were at school mostly. The rest of the family helped by taking turns working at the shop so I could get it finished in time." He watched her closely. "So….do you like it?"

She looked away from him briefly and lightly caressed a piece of the delicate woodwork. She felt as if her heart were going to burst. She finally composed herself enough to speak. "I think this is the single most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

"My thoughts exactly."

Hermione turned and let out a gasp. Fred was on one knee, an open ring box in his hand. He swallowed nervously. "Hermione Jean Granger. Would you…."

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms with such force that it almost knocked the wind out of him.

"Oi, woman!" Fred laughed. "Steady on! I put a lot of thought into this. You might let me get through it."

Hermione sat back on her heels, wiping her eyes and smiling through her tears. "Sorry. Proceed."

Fred readjusted his collar. "Right! Where was I? Oh, yes." He looked her directly in the eye. "Hermione Jean Granger. Would you do me the singular honor of agreeing to be my wife?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "It would be my privilege."

She noticed that his hands were shaking as he took the ring from the box and held it closer for her inspection. It consisted of a delicate silver band with a brilliant diamond solitaire.

"I hope it's suitable. We can change it if you like."

Hermione tentatively extended her hand and whispered, "It's absolutely perfect."

Fred tilted the ring slightly and she noticed a slight glimmer coming from the inside of the band. "I had it inscribed." There were more tears of joy as Hermione read the words, in delicate script, that Fred had chosen - "I solemnly swear to love you for all time."

He slipped the ring on her finger and then pulled her close, kissing her deeply. They stayed like that for a long time before Fred stood, helped Hermione to her feet and drew her to the railing. Standing so they both faced the same direction, he wrapped one arm tightly around her waist. Gazing down at her, he said, "Just one more thing needed then."

He raised his wand upwards. "Denuniatio!" A burst of bright light sailed high into the air before exploding into thousands of smaller pieces. They flew around wildly for a moment before reassembling to form a message that illuminated the night sky, reading "She said yes!"

Instantly a roar of whoops and hollers could be heard coming from the Burrow. Moments later Fred and Hermione were surrounded by the rest of the party, all excitedly hugging and congratulating the happy couple.