The Lake. Pt. 1

Harry and Ginny followed the path as it wound towards Dumbledore's tomb. They paused there and Harry was surprised at how peaceful he felt. He guessed it was because, in his mind, he had talked with him since his death and worked everything out. Hundreds of wreaths and flowers piled against the tomb by the crowd had spilled onto the path like a multi-colored landslide. They exchanged a brief glance and moved silently on.

As they approached the Monument Harry slowed, then stopped, several paces from it. Ginny said nothing as she waited with him; her only response was to squeeze his hand once and let go. After a deep breath, Harry moved to the front of the massive white wall and Ginny walked beside him. Here, also, heaps of flowers and wreaths had been laid along its entire length.

From the meadow where he and the Weasleys had been sitting he had seen the title and date chiseled along the top, but that hadn't prepared him for the site up close. The letters were enormous. Below them he could now read the smaller inscription:

On this date, on the grounds of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, beings from all aspects of our society came together and fought for freedom and tolerance. This monument signifies our recognition of all who risked their lives that day, and for those listed below who made the ultimate sacrifice, our eternal gratitude.

Below the inscription were five columns of names listed in alphabetical order. Harry started at the top and slowly read through them all. As he read he moved closer to the wall and slowly walked down its length, stopping now and again to reach out and touch one of the names. Eventually he came to Remus and Tonks, listed together in the "L" group which, for Tonks, caught him by surprise. He traced their names with his fingers before moving on. It was getting harder to see; he had to keep wiping his eyes on his sleeve. Almost at the end, he came to Fred's name. He stopped, rested his hand on it and closed his eyes.

Harry's mind drifted back to Kings Cross station. Not the real one, but the pristine, glowing white one he had visited when he thought he had died. Now, however, rather than just he and Dumbledore, there was quite a crowd there. He started to recognize faces, many from the list on the Monument. In addition to them he could make out his parents standing with Remus and Tonks, laughing at something Sirius had said. Off on the edge of the crowd he spotted Dumbledore, his hand on Snape's shoulder, the two talking quietly together and Dumbledore nodding solemnly. Harry knew this was all his imagination. Nothing magical was going on. If he opened his eyes he was sure it would be just he and Ginny, standing in the dark by the monument, but he let his mind linger there, beyond the present. He remembered how good it had felt there; no pain, no fear. They all looked happy and content and it comforted him. Then a loud 'whooping' caused everyone to turn, look behind them, and duck. A laughing Fred came flying overhead on his broom and, with a flick of his wand, sent a bright streak shooting up into the vague upper reaches of the domed ceiling. Harry watched as it divided and blossomed into several huge, dazzling ..........

Ron and Hermione had finally broken free of the crowds and were walking along the edge of the lake. They paused and looked back. They had gone far enough around that they could see the white glowing monuments, and the beautifully lit Castle, reflected in the lake's glassy surface; undisturbed by the Giant Squid's lazy ripple, or even the Merpeople who had long since returned to its dark depths after having watched the ceremony from the lake's edge. It was almost totally dark now and the stars twinkled in the night sky and again in the surface of the lake. The stars, along with the Castle, provided the only light to see the path.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hermione asked, looking across the lake. "Beautiful." Ron agreed, but he wasn't looking at the view. Hermione sensed the difference and turned around to face him.

"So," she said, stepping closer and putting her arms around his neck. "Where were we?" This time there was no interruption and the kiss endured. Eventually, they both needed to breathe and Ron gently set her down.

"That!" she said emphatically. "Is how you tell a girl you missed her."

"Hindsight's twenty-twenty," he replied, panting. "I told you I was sorry... next time I'll know what to do."

"I'm going to hold you to that." she said with a laugh, and playfully jabbed him in the ribs. She grabbed one of his hands in each of hers and spun in place, crossing her arms in front of her and wrapping his arms around her. She leaned her head back against his chest and sighed.

"It truly is beautiful, you know." she said dreamily. "I feared we'd never see the grounds like this again. Now, I've never seen anything like it. It's.....perfect."

"Perfect," Ron agreed.

"The whole night is perfect," she went on, trance like. "The Memorial... Harry and Ginny... you and I... that kiss..."

The realization hit Ron like the Hogwarts Express. It WAS perfect. The Perfect Night, the Perfect Moment! All his doubt and uncertainty vanished.

"Uh… Hermione, I need to ask you something."

"What's that, Ron?' she asked vaguely, still basking in the glow and mentally tracing the mirrored outline of the Castle in the lake.

"Well, I was wondering… if you might..."

"Yes?"

"….do me the honor of… well… marrying me?" he said quietly, not wanting to break the spell.

"Marry you?" she whispered. "Sure Ron. I'll… wait!" She jerked like she'd been hit with a bucket of cold water.

"What did you just say?" she yelled, as she spun out of his arms.

"I asked you if you would marry me, and you said 'Sure Ron.'" He grinned. "Can't back out now… we have a deal."

"Ronald!" she shouted and hit him in the shoulder. "This is serious."

"Serious as Spattergroit," he said, his grin spreading.

"Oh... Ron," she said sadly. She gave him a pitying look and a quick kiss. "It's very sweet. But I can't hold you to this."

"What d'ya mean?" he asked, sounding offended.

"I mean," she said, taking a deep breath. "You need to give this a lot of thought. It's a life changing thing. I know it's a lovely night, but you can't just let yourself get carried away and.... blurt something like this out."

Ron had stopped grinning. He stepped up to her, placed a hand on each of her shoulders, and stared into her eyes. "Hermione Granger," he said sternly. "You listen. I've done nothing but think about it for weeks. I've been trying to find the right time, and here it is, a 'perfect moment'. Harry said I should pick a moment worthy of the woman."

Hermione didn't like to be confused. In fact, she spent a great deal of time studying and preparing so she would never be confused. Now? She was confused. Part of her stared back at Ron and noticed how strong he sounded, reminding her of when he had taken charge during the Horcrux hunt. Another part thought, "Could this really be happening?" and, also, "I'm losing feeling in my extremities..." A final part, the one that had control of her voice asked, "Worthy of a... 'perfect moment'?"

"Yeah," Ron said, as he started pacing back and forth. "It's not quite good enough, nothing ever will be. But, it WAS perfect wasn't it? The moment? That kiss?"

"It was a wonderful kiss..." the vocal portion of her mind said breathlessly. She could focus on that kiss; it wasn't that long ago, only an age or so.

"Right," he said, as he continued pacing, like a lawyer arguing his case. "I've been racking my brain to find a moment like that. And there it was. So I went for it! Of course, I asked your Dad for your hand first, a few weeks ago when you were away. Harry told me how important it was with muggle families."

She thought she heard him say he had asked her Dad for her hand. She must be hallucinating now. That was the only plausible explanation. The vocal part of her mind managed to say, "no... Ron, you didn't… really?"

"Oh yeah", he said matter-of-factly. "We went 'round there, Harry and I. He was moral support."

"And... how did that go then?" the vocal part asked, just making polite conversation now, stalling for time. She started going over the events of the past few weeks. Things had been strange since she returned from Paris.

"A bit touch and go to start," he confided. "First, we had to convince your Mum you weren't dead."

"Understandable," she said vaguely. "Not actually starting off on the right foot...."

"No" he conceded. "But she recovered quite well, your Mum. And while she and Harry had tea I had a very nice chat with your Dad out in the garden. He was planting Begonias. He thinks it's a great idea! 'Us' I mean. Of course, he said the final say was up to you, obviously."

"Obviously," she repeated mechanically. "Begonias? Harry...? And my Mother...? Had tea?" Somehow, of all the impossible things, that was the hardest to imagine. "In our kitchen?"

"I guess," Ron answered slowly, as he realized then how strangely she was acting.

Hermione methodically reviewed the facts. Ron had acted strangely since she returned, and he had told her he had a lot on his mind. Her father had avoided being alone with her. She had been too busy to press it, but he never could keep a secret from his daughter. And her mother! Several times since Paris she had happened on her mother and caught her humming. Humming! Her mother was not a humming person; far too frivolous an activity. She had thought it odd but passed it off. Thinking back now, she tried to remember the tune. As the memory came to her, the fog finally lifted. It had been "Here Comes the Bride". The last piece fell into place. It was all true. Harry had had tea with her mother. And Ron really was, seriously, asking her to marry him.

Her hand went to her mouth and tears began to flow.

Ron, misreading it completely, started to panic.

"Blimey! " he exclaimed, causing her to jump. "I nearly forgot." He dug around in his pockets and pulled out the little black velvet box and held it out to her, tentatively.

"Oh Ron," she whispered. "You bought a ring?" She took the box with shaking hands.

"Not exactly," he said sheepishly, afraid she might think him cheap.

She opened the box very slowly and saw the three small diamonds twinkling inside. She recognized her Great Grandmother Rose's ring immediately. Before her knees could give way completely she flung herself into Ron's arms, sobbing.

Ron, certain things had gone horribly wrong, tried to console her. "I'm sorry Hermione. I thought you'd like the ring. But, if you would rather pick something else..."

She grabbed the sides of his head with both hands and, punctuating each word by kissing him fiercely, said; "Shut up... Ronald... you sweet... stupid....wonderful... infuriating...."

It went on for some time, but finally ended with:

"yes... yes... of course... you git! I'll marry you!"

The words stopped. Then there was just kissing and tears, which went on a long while. Long enough that Ron's mind wandered back to when Harry told them how it had been kissing Cho..."Very wet," he had said. Ron struggled not to laugh; he was sure Hermione wouldn't understand.

Finally, they stood facing each other, her face streaked with tears

"I'm a mess..." she said with a laugh, wiping her eyes and looking away shyly.

Wiping a tear from her chin with his thumb and gently bringing her chin up so he could look into her eye he said, "You're beautiful...".

"Stop it, or I'll start crying again," she said, slapping him playfully on the arm. "I'm so sorry. I didn't get it at first." She took a deep breath and went on, "You were trying to propose. And there I was, Miss Know-It-All, lecturing you that you weren't doing it right! I'm such a shrew! I ruined your moment... my… our… 'perfect' moment."

"Nothing's going to be simple with us is it?" he said, smiling. "But you said 'Yes'! How could anything possibly ruin...," but he didn't get to finish. He was interrupted by several large booms that echoed over the water, streaks of silver light racing into the night sky above the castle.

"Oh no…," Ron said, watching in disbelief as the rockets rose, "not…"

"Fireworks," Harry thought.

Not imaginary ones in the ceiling of Kings Cross, real ones, exploding over the Castle. He realized he had no idea how long he had been standing there, his hand on Fred's name. His other hand, however, was tightly clenched in both of Ginny's. He had no idea when that happened either. He looked at her as she gazed up at the display and saw the flashes from the rockets reflected in tears on her cheeks too. But she'd never let go. That's when he realized he needed to stop living in the past. He had more important things to do with his life. Here and now.

"... Fireworks." Ron finished, appalled. "I didn't know...really." But Hermione didn't hear, she had squealed with delight and spun around clapping at the explosions.

After the first volley of normal looking explosions the magical ones began. The unmistakable image of Hogwarts castle appeared in the sky. Above it, the insignia of the four houses bloomed, with attendant cheers from the crowd in the field below. When the Slytherin banner flew there were a few good natured boos, followed by laughter. The Gryffindor colors drew the loudest cheers of all.

Then, there were more ominous low booms and the colors grew darker and a great green snake symbol appeared on the edge of the scene. It was much less sinister than the Dark Mark, which was still outlawed, but its meaning was clear. This drew boos and hisses from the crowd. Streaks of greenish sparks flew towards the image of the Castle accompanied by great crashing sounds. Flames began to rise. Briefly, all that could be seen was the snake and the flames. The crowd fell silent. Then, bright shining figures swooped in: stylized Witches and Wizards, Centaurs, and House Elves. Gold streaks flew from them towards the snake. The crowd roared. Several smaller snake figures broke away from the larger one and green streaks flew against the gold. The battle raged on in firework form. Then, from the midst of the defenders, a bright silver streak, larger than the gold ones and shaped like a lightning bolt, shot across the gap and shattered the large snake figure. The smaller snakes faded and fizzled away. The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers. The scene faded and was replaced by a huge red and gold phoenix that filled the sky. It titled it's head and a silvery tear fell towards the burning Castle. It transformed into the "WWW" logo of "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" before exploding in a silver cascade, which in turn was replaced by the image of the Castle, whole again, and shining brightly. A finale of normal star bursts and streamers ended the show.

It was pandemonium in the meadow below. People were laughing and hugging, hats were thrown, and the band blared the school fight songs. It was like a World Cup victory celebration.

By the lake, Hermione was cheering and jumping around. Ron, however, was fuming. He thought his brother should have told him what was going to happen. It could have ruined everything!

By the Monument, Ginny, too, was cheering and laughing. But Harry was thinking about the lightning bolt image. He thought it was a little too obvious that it represented him, and someone should have asked his permission. He didn't want any more attention.

Simultaneously, Harry and Ron muttered, "George."