*Disclaimer* I do not own Harry Potter.
I looked at Ron, down on one knee, saying the words I had been dreaming about for years. I stared down into his face speechless, and saw that the longer I was silent, the more worried he became. Did he actually think I would refuse him? I lowered myself to the ground next to him and kissed him thoroughly. After a minute we broke apart, and I answered with the only word I would ever consider saying.
"Yes, Ron." He broke out into a relieved grin, and pulled me in for another kiss. "You're a prat, you know." I said when he released me.
"What?" Ron stared at me as if I had grown another head. "Why?"
"You tell me God awful news, then get all sentimental, make me wonderful promises, and propose to me. How am I suppose to be angry at you with after that?" Ron smiles that Weasley grin and jokes.
"You can't." He takes the ring out of the box and puts it on my finger, where I look at it again. It is extremely breathtaking. "I had it made special." Ron told me, looking at it's place on my left hand.
"Not by Goblins?" I ask, worried. We have dealt with enough Goblins that I know that I couldn't in good conscience keep it in our future family after I passed, although I had no intention of ever letting anyone outside our family have it. Ron chuckled knowingly.
"No, by wizards." I sigh in relief. "There's something else about the ring." I look at him, and he smiles, holding the ring up to my face. "The ring? It's enchanted. The diamond in the middle is the place holder for the spell. It keeps it going for as long as the diamond is there." I nod my head in understanding. "The blue sapphires, your month, and the aquamarine stones, my month, have magical properties. See how they're intertwined? It's to signify us together, no matter what. The stones are impossible to get off." I am so touched by the obvious time and effort he put into the ring, that I feel like crying again, this time from joy. I reach up, to kiss him, but he delays me. "One more thing, love. I know you worry about me on my missions, so the enchantment that's being held by the diamond is a safety charm. It lets you know, by heat, how I'm doing. When I'm perfectly healthy, or only minimally injured, like a paper cut or a bruise, you shouldn't feel any change in the ring. When it starts to get to serious injuries, the ring will get hotter."
"How will I know when you are most hurt? Or dead?" I look at him. "Will it hurt me?"
"I would never give you something that would hurt you." He looks a bit affronted that I would suggest it, but moves on. "The hottest it will get is just this side of pain, and the wizard said it would only get like that if I had a life threatening injury." I felt reassured, but had one more question that needed answered.
"What happens if you die?" I whisper to him, worried.
"The ring turns to ice." Ron answered.
"So, as long as I feel heat, no matter how warm, you're still with me?" I checked. He nodded his head. "Okay." I say. I lean up again, and this time, he lets me kiss him. The kiss changes quickly to something more, and my fiancée leaned me back, removing both of our clothes. He kissed his way down my body, and got me ready for him. Soon, he was joined with me, and together we made love. Near the end, when I was shouting out his name, and Ron was growling out mine, I caught sight of his ring on my finger, and it was enough to push me over. Soon after he came, shouting my name. After, we lay together, joined and snuggled.
"I'll always love you Hermione." I smiled. I was so happy.
"And I will always love you Ronald." I kissed him again. All too soon, we got up, showered again, and put on clean clothes. I sat on the bed while Ron packed some essentials into a bag to take. He had revealed that he would be gone for almost a week, and I knew that the small amount of clothes wouldn't cut it. I went into a drawer and pulled out something that had been our lifesaver last year. I gave the small beaded clutch to Ron, and told him to send an owl to the rest of his team, so that all of them would be able to pack the necessities, without it being too much of a burden for everyone. That night we made a simple dinner together, and over dinner decided on a day for the wedding.
"I want to marry you the day I fell in love with you." Ron said to me, heaping more potatoes onto his plate.
"Ron, I don't want to wait until May, again." He gives me a small smile.
"Love, I didn't fall in love with you on the day we first kissed." His grin broadened, apparently remembering. "I fell in love with the bushy haired girl who told me I had dirt on my nose." I blushed, remembering that day well. The day we met, on the train to Hogwarts. It was the day I had fallen for him as well.
"I don't believe you." I teased.
"Hey!" He pulled me into his lap, and I giggled. "I may not have known on that day that it was love that I was feeling, but when I would look back on that day, I knew that you were special." I blushed and went under the spell of his kiss.
"So, September 1?" I ask. He nods in assent. We leave the dishes for now, and head to our room. We make love two more times that night, then fall asleep together, as we had done every night since the first time we had made love, and many nights before that, only we wore clothes then. When morning rolled around, we were reluctant to go. We dressed, Ron's bag packed and wearing street clothes to blend in, me in my robes to attend my classes for the day. Ron and Harry teased me about finishing Hogwarts quickly, just so I could have more school, but I had decided that being a lawyer would be a worthwhile profession. We side-along apparated to the ministry. At the door to the Auror's department, we parted, Ron giving me a kiss.
"I'll see you on Saturday, okay love?" I nodded my head. He lifted my hand and kissed my ring.
"I'll miss you." I felt like crying as I told him this.
"I'll miss you too. By the way, if you don't wanna be alone, you can have Ginny stay over, or stay at Grimmauld place with her." Ron smiled at me. "Harry and I will be thinking about our loves while we're gone, and I might feel better if I knew you had someone who was going through the same stuff as you." He winked at me.
"I was thinking about seeing Ginny a bunch too." I admitted. With one final kiss, Ron entered the department and I headed off to my class, knowing that he was safe and mine forever. I glanced at my ring one more time, then listened to the professor talking about magical law.
Hey readers! I know it's not the best ending, but I'm (eventually) going to write a story about their week apart on this super dangerous mission. I also know that I rather skimmed over the smut in this chapter. Sorry about that. I just felt kind of like I was intruding on their private moment. Yes, I know that they are fictional characters, but I have odd compulsions. Let me know what you guys think. Did I explain the ring thing well enough? I hope so! Thanks to those of you who read!