It was Ginny's last day of vacation. Harry had decided to join the Auror office and begin training as soon as she started school. He'd been adamant that he should wait until she was too busy with school to deal with that situation. She had really appreciated that.

They lay on the bank of the river, with her head in his lap. He was playing with her hair and she loved the feeling of his fingers stroking through the strands. He was so loving and gentle and she pondered over how she had gotten so lucky. They'd spent their time just being together, even it meant not saying anything at all.

Ginny whispered lazily, "Don't you ever wish it could stay like this forever?" Harry was quiet for a moment and then she glanced up to find him smiling, "Yes I do. I always wish that." Ginny watched as he sat up quickly. The sun was warm that day and the sky was a sparkling blue. There was barely a cloud and the occasional breeze came as a welcome to cool her skin down from the heat.

Harry watched her intently with his green eyes and his hand went into his pocket. She frowned and he said slowly, "Well, it could be forever, you know." A secret smile played on his face and it was like he was joking with himself. Ginny frowned in confusion and asked, "What are you saying…"

But as she was asking the question, a little golden box was drawn out of his jeans pocket. She stared at him in shock and Harry whispered, "Ginny Molly Weasley, will you do me the honor of being my wife? I promise to love you forever and…" Ginny didn't wait to hear anymore. She smashed her lips against his and she felt tears in her eyes as they made their way onto his cheeks. She clung to him and he fell backward with all the force she exerted on him. This made him laugh and then she laughed too. He chuckled, "Is that a yes?" Ginny nodded and kissed him through her tears, "Of course it's a yes Harry James Potter, you dweeb!" He laughed and it was such a beautiful sound and Ginny kissed him again for all he was worth.

He sat up a minute later and asked, "Can I show you the ring that I bought you?" Ginny squealed! She had entirely forgotten about the ring in the little golden box. She waited anxiously for it to open and as he opened it, she felt her eyes bug wide. In the middle sat a yellow, ciruclar diamond, not much bigger than the size of her pinky finger, and beside it were two smaller plain diamonds. Beside them were the golden wings of a snitch. Ginny shook her head in astonishment, "I've never seen something so beautiful Harry!"

It was perfectly true. Ginny barely owned any jewelry but she had never seen anything like this either! So different and so unique. She turned to him and asked in astonishment, "Where did you get it? Surely they don't sell these in the shops…" She recalled the few times she'd ever been into a proper jewelry shop with her mother and recalled that none of the shops had anything quite like this. They had all been normal rings, like what the muggles wore.

She couldn't fathom it. She asked him curiously, "How did you get it? I don't understand…" Harry chuckled, "I went to Kinglsey and asked him if there was any goblin out there who was willing to make me a ring. Apparently, Waldorf is the best of the best. He used to make a business out of it." Ginny shook her head in awe, "I'm sure you had to pay a hefty price if it's goblin made." Harry shrugged his shoulders, "It's an important occasion."

Ginny shook her head, still entirely gob-smacked. She had not seen this coming! He asked casually, "Can I put it on your finger please?" She nodded in a dumbstruck fashion as he slipped it onto her left hand. She whispered, "I love you so much." He positively beamed at her and whispered, "I love you more." Ginny shook her head and whispered, "How did I ever get so lucky?"

Harry replied in his next sentence, "Well…I love you and you know that. And this next year apart is going to be hard on both of us. I feel like we can use it as a test to see how things will work in the future if this is my job and you are busy working. If by the end of the year it has all worked out and gone according to plan, we can start thinking about getting married."
Only as he was saying it did Ginny realize they'd never actually had that talk before. The future talk. But maybe they didn't need to. Everything he was saying now made perfect sense. If they survived the time apart again…

She interrupted her own thought by voicing out loud, "But wait!" Harry looked at her in surprise, "Wait what?" Ginny frowned and asked uncertainly, "Does that mean we're going to be…married one day?!" She sounded stupid even asking it. Obviously, the proof of the pudding was sitting on her left hand! Harry chuckled and stroked her hair, "If that's alright with you? I asked your dad and he was more than happy."
Ginny stared at him perplexedly, "You asked my dad for permission?!" He blinked in surprise and asked worriedly, "Was that wrong? I know that's what the muggles do…" Harry watched her confusedly and then she burst out laughing, "No Harry. It's not wrong. It's just super adorable and super old fashioned."
He was still confused and so she leant forwards and kissed the frown away from his brows. She whispered hoarsely, "You are so old fashioned and it's what makes you so incredibly endearing." She kissed his cheeks and tried to ease his concern, "And I love that about you. Not a lot of men these days ask the daughters father for permission. People don't care as much what others think. And I oh so love that you do." Harry chuckled, "As long as it's the right thing to do." Ginny smiled, "You always do the right thing. It's in your very being. Your nature."
She kissed him gently once more and then sighed, "You will come and visit me when you can won't you?" Harry rolled his eyes, "Of course Gin! What a silly question. I'll come and visit you every weekend if McGonagall allows me to!" This made her giggle and she murmured, "I'm sure she will. You saved all of us. You're the Chosen One." Harry was about to protest at her use of the word and then she kissed him to quiet him, "My Chosen One."

XXX

When they finally made it back inside, Hermione and Ron were sitting at the dining room table. Her mother was there too and so was her father. Now Ginny knew why he had taken the day off work. Harry came in and they had decided they needed to tell the family. Ginny was grinning, and Ron asked, "What are you so happy about?"
When she held out her left hand for inspection, Hermione squealed in delight, her mother gasped in surprise and her father smiled at them happily. Ron didn't seem as surprised as she expected him to be and he just shrugged, "Knew it would happen eventually. Congrats you guys!" He got up and clapped Harry on the back. He seemed surprisingly happy for them.

Her mother rushed over to her and hugged first Ginny deliriously hard, and then she turned to Harry, "I couldn't be happier to have you as a son-in-law! You have always been a part of this family, since the day Ron met you and now it can be official!" She was almost crying with happiness and Hermione was beaming at Ginny, "I'm so happy for you, my friend! Can I see the ring?"

Ginny allowed Hermione to fuss over the ring with her. Her mother came to join them too once they had squeezed Harry to death. Her father was having some words with Harry so she thought it was best to just let them be. She did overhear her father saying though, "…you know her brothers will give you a hard time…" This made Ginny smile. Leave it up to them to make life difficult for Harry. Hopefully Ron would buffer them a little and stand up for his friend for a change. Harry would need it against the likes of Bill, Charlie, and the twins. Especially the twins.

XXX

Her mother had organized a massive family get-together for dinner that evening. Bill and Fleur were the first to arrive by flu powder. Ginny hugged her sister in law and Bill too. He looked tired as he had not only been working on the rebuilding of the castle, but he had also been dealing with the ministry, educating some others on curse-breaking. It seemed like it was a much-needed skill post-war. He was earning a lot for teaching his skill too.

Charlie came next. He had been staying with Bill and Fleur for the last little while. He did not bother them much because he was in and out during the week and still tending to his dragons. Andromeda was invited too, and had bought Teddy because they wanted Teddy to be there. The twins arrived last because the joke shop was still doing a roaring business and they were still the most popular shop in Diagon Alley.

They were busy eating dinner together when halfway through, their father announced, "So, we called this sudden meeting because we have some big news we'd rather tell everyone together." He glanced over at Harry and Ginny who looked at each other and nodded. Harry stood up first, taking Ginny's hand in his.

He looked at the table and then looked at each of her brothers in turn. He said slowly, "I just wanted to say, I can't thank all of you enough for supporting Ginny and I together. There is nothing in the world that means more to me than her. She is my everything. Ginny knows more than anyone that if it weren't for her, I would not be here today."
Harry turned to smile sweetly at her and Ginny stared into his big green orbs. She could not believe this was happening. He was confronting them head on, looking them in the eyes and telling them he wanted to marry her! She squeezed his hand hard for support and he turned to watch her lovingly. Harry continued, "So this afternoon I asked Ginny to marry me. And I am so full-filled and happy that she said yes!"

There was a silence that ensued from the announcement around the table. Bill didn't seem surprised, Charlie was frowning and Fred and George were glancing sideways at each other. Finally, Bill stood up and said, "Well Harry, I want to thank you for talking to me too. You didn't have to ask my opinion on the matter and yet you felt like you could come to me. I'm more than happy to have you as my brother-in-law Harry! I couldn't think of anyone else who would make our Ginbug as happy as you do! Cheers!" He raised a glass of wine he had been drinking and swallowed a gulp.

The other brothers didn't look so impressed. Fred stood up from the table and he said stiffly, "A word Harry? Outside." He nodded and casually got up from his seat. Clearly, he had been expecting this. Maybe that's why he had gone to Bill, seeking help in numbers. It was very smart of him. George, Charlie, Bill and Ron all got up from the table and headed outside. Ginny turned to Hermione, "I hope they don't beat him to a pulp!"

Hermione smiled unconcernedly, "I'm sure they're won't. He's got Bill and Ron's support. They'll defend him." Ginny didn't like it though. Whatever her brothers were saying to Harry they could say to her too! She got up and marched outside, not intending to sit around and wait for some stupid verdict!

Unsurprisingly she found George saying rather dramatically, "Harry, we like you mate. We do. But you've broken Ginny's heart once…" Fred finished for him, "And who's to say you won't do it again?" Charlie added his two cents, "Don't take this the wrong way Harry, but you've only dated each other for a month. That's a horribly short time. How do you know that she's the one? And why are you standing for this, Bill?"

Ginny interrupted harshly, "Hey! I didn't ask for any of your opinions! We're engaged whether you like it or not." On the word engaged, Charlie visibly quivered in obvious disapproval. Harry turned to Charlie, "We dated back in my sixth year and end of her fifth year. I knew then I loved her already, but I knew what lay ahead. I chose to break up with her to keep her safe from Voldemort. He would have used her to get to me. He already did that once in the Chamber of Secrets. He was going to do it again if she were my girlfriend during all that time I was away. I couldn't risk it."
This seemed to appease Fred and George a little bit. They knew that Harry and Ginny had dated, and that he was speaking the truth. Fred nodded in understanding, but Charlie still seemed unimpressed, "So what happens when you're working and she's at school? How are you going to manage keeping your relationship together? Is it entirely logical to propose when you haven't even tested it…" Ginny snapped irritably, "Charlie! That's our business and no-one else's." Sometimes Charlie didn't know how to hold his tongue.

George spoke then, "Why do you seem ok with it Ron? I recall you didn't like them dating in school…" Ron shrugged and rolled his eyes, "Because I know how Harry moped for Ginny when we were travelling, OK? He would look at that bloody Marauders Map every bleeding moment he got the chance! I'm not blind. I know that he loves her. And she loved him from day one. So give them a break!"
Ginny had never seen Ron so passionate about their happiness together. She ran up to him and , voluntarily gave him a crushing hug. He patted her on the back and she whispered, "Thank you, Ron." She didn't see Ron and Harry smiling at each other, but they exchanged a smile which all of the others saw.

But Ginny had never felt so happy and so entirely complete in her whole life. Ron finally approved of her being with someone- not just anyone but Harry, his best mate. It was all she could have ever asked for and more. If there was nothing stopping Ron from letting them be happy together, then the rest of her brothers should feel the same. She had known all along that she had never needed Ron's approval about who she dated, but it was only now that she had it did she know that it was something she had wanted.

A/N: Hi all! I'm sorry for being M.I.A but I had issues with MS word because it wouldn't let me access it. Anyway it's all been sorted out now so here's another happy chapter for you guys! I hope you all had a fantastic New Years and that it will be a good one.