Chapter 45: In Which We Attend A Ball

Hermione and Snape were late for the ball, but, as Ginny noted when they entered, they both had a glow about them, a very satisfied glow. One that she was sure she remembered from the days before she and Harry had three little kids bouncing about their home. Apparently Harry remembered it too because he leaned over and whispered to her, "Remember when we used to be able to get a shag in during the day?"

"My mum has the kids tomorrow afternoon." They grinned lovingly at each other, while the other couple joined them at the table.

"You missed the…" Ginny's voice trailed off as she saw Hermione's hand. "Finally, let me see it."

Hermione gave her hand over and smiled very widely at her friends. "Wait. What do you mean finally?"

Now Harry, Ginny, and Severus were smiling, while Luna and Daphne drifted over to see.

"It's a very pretty ring, Hermione," said Luna.

"Congratulations!" added Daphne.

Neville came over and put his arms around his wives. "What's up?"

"Severus and Hermione finally got engaged," Harry said.

"What's with the finally? We've only been dating seven weeks." Hermione sounded a bit exasperated.

"Yes, well, Sev here had me design this ring for you three weeks ago, and he got it last week, and he's been 'waiting for the perfect moment' ever since. Which means Harry and I had to play dumb and wait for him to give it to you."

"You've known about this for three weeks and said nothing?" Her eyes flashed from Ginny to Harry and back to Severus.

"We didn't want to ruin the surprise." Harry smiled fondly at her. "Although," he said taking her hand to look at the ring, "Your man over there wouldn't let us see how it looked finished until he gave it to you." Harry looked at it critically. "That really is lovely, Ginny. When the kids are older maybe you'd want to start doing this as a business."

Daphne added, "I'd hire you design jewellery for me. Granted, not much reason to wear it when you work in a greenhouse, though…"

The conversation about the ring continued through dinner, with some half-joking planning of Ginny's post-baby future as a jewellery designer being batted about. Harry noticed that Severus didn't say much, but he looked confident and relaxed, and happy.

At one point during the dinner, when the ladies went to the restroom, Harry said to Snape, "You look immensely pleased with yourself."

Snape's lips slowly curved into a wide smile. "I am quite pleased with myself. I don't think this could have gone better if I had planned for a year."

"Rumour has it you can dance."

"Rumours are nasty little things. But that particular one happens to be true."

"Good, although I warn you, I intend to get at least one turn on the dance floor with Hermione."

"Only if I can dance with Ginny."

"That you'd have to ask her about. But if I had to guess, I'd say she'll agree to dancing with the newest member of our family."

"I'd have to say, never, ever, in my wildest dreams, or nightmares for that matter, did I ever foresee a future where you'd be my brother-in-law."

"Yes, well, it wasn't exactly on my list of childhood fantasies either." Harry smiled to soften the words. A second later the ladies reappeared.

"What wasn't one of your childhood fantasies?" Ginny asked.

"Ending up with Mr Smiley here as a member of the family." He jerked his head toward Snape.

"Mr Smiley?" Snape's eyebrow arched.

"You've been grinning all night."

"With good reason."

At that point the music began. Couples drifted out to the dance floor. In previous years the general mood would have been described as joyful, yet somewhat melancholy. The feeling of a job done well, but also of a life about to be left usually permeated the ball. This year found Hogwarts reeling with romance as well as the ups and downs of graduation. By the end of the first hour two more couples had gotten engaged, both of whom had only one member still at school.

When the third young man dropped to his knees, Snape was dancing with Ginny, who was fairly enthusiastic about dancing with the newest member of the extended Weasley Clan.

"It seems I wasn't the only one who thought this would be a good idea."

She smiled at him. "At least you had the good sense to do it before the dance."

"I had been planning on doing it here, but then she was standing in front of the mirror, and I knew it was the best time I was ever going to get."

"She told me about it while we were in the bathroom. Sounds like you did a good job."

"Thanks. Also, thank you for making this easier for me. I know that fitting with Harry and the rest of you would have been much harder without your help. Thank you for welcoming me."

"You're welcome, but it wasn't for your sake. I would have bent over backwards to help any man Hermione had taken an interest in into our family. She's been living in the past too much. I missed her joy. When she's happy, Harry's happier, and that makes my life so much better. So I suppose you could say I was helping myself by helping you. Or you could say that I am a firm believer in the idea that joy is contagious and we should do all we can to help spread it about. Now let me thank you. Thank you for helping to bring my friend back." They continued to move about the dance floor.

"Will you design a wedding tattoo for us?"

Ginny smiled. "Yes, I'll design one for you. Does Hermione know you're contemplating one?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure we'll discuss it at some point."

"Do you want me to do the rings as well?"

"Maybe, although I'm thinking a plain band would go best with my potions work. I wouldn't want something you had carefully designed turning black and bubbling because my hand got too close to the steam from a simmering cauldron. Plus I don't want to feel too bad if I need to vanish it off my hand in a hurry."

"Don't you wear gloves?"

"Yes, latex or dragonhide depending on how much dexterity I'll need. But you never know how things will react. I especially don't know because I'm no longer working with tried and true potions that any second year can brew."

They continued to chat about potions brewing. (Ginny had been rather good at it herself once upon a time, and used to help Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes keep up with the pre-school year rush.) As the song wound down they broke apart, found their own mates, happily dancing with each other, and switched.

Severus held Hermione a bit closer than was strictly necessary for a waltz. He gazed at her while they moved, then bent his head to hers, and kissed her.

"Are you happy?"

"Yes, I think I am. And you?"

He smiled widely. "Yes."