Sorry for such a long wait. I won't make you wait any longer! Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
The snow melted from the expansive grounds of Hogwarts. Ella had been helping her O.W.L and N.E.W.T students prepare for their exams. They all moaned and groaned as she attempted to fill their heads with the accumulated knowledge they had learned over the past year.
After a grueling Friday class with her seventh year group they were all sitting at their desks, including Ella, dazed and drained from an information overload. No one was speaking, not even Ethan, as their brains had turned to mush.
Ella knew it was unprofessional, but she was just as exhausted as her students from force feeding them important dates. It was easily the quietest her classroom had ever been and she laid her head down on her desk.
"Will you marry me?" Someone seemed to be reading slowly.
Ella's head snapped up and she looked at the reader, who happened to be Ethan. "What?"
All of the other students were looking at him as well.
"You've got to be kidding me," Ella said wearily.
Ethan shook his head and repeated himself, pointing at the blackboard. Ella turned around. Someone had erased the notes she had written and rewritten their own.
"Who's the clown?" Ella asked before she turned around.
When she did finally turn around her students were watching George walk down the aisle of desks. He didn't say anything until he had come around to her side of the desk. Realization washed over Ella as George took one knee next to her.
"Oh my God," one of the female students murmured.
"This is so romantic," another said dreamily.
George was grinning up at her, somewhat nervously. He pulled a black velvet box from his pocket.
"Are you allowed to be here?" Ella asked quietly.
George chuckled. "Yeah. McGonagall's in on my plan." He nodded toward the door where the Headmistress was standing. The older woman gave Ella an encouraging smile, for a moment it seemed as if she might actually know what love was. As she slowly shifted her gaze back to George she noticed all of her students looking at her anxiously.
"So will you marry me?" George asked, nervousness inflecting his words. He flipped the box open and Ella covered her mouth with her hand. The ring was gorgeous; a large square diamond set in a band covered with smaller diamonds.
"Look at that ring," one of the girls sighed enviously.
Ella could only stare down at the ring and George. She was stunned and couldn't speak.
"Say something, Professor!" One of the boys shouted.
Ella seemed to come alive gain. "Yes," she said quietly, nodding her head.
George beamed and slipped the ring on the correct finger. He stood and bent over his fiancée and kissed her deeply on the lips. The class broke into cheers and wolf whistles just as the bell rang. Most of the class left, but some of the more romantically-minded girls stayed behind to watch the intimate moment.
"Come now. Give the happy couple some privacy," Professor McGonagall admonished, herding the students out and closing the door.
George finally pulled away and leaned against her desk, grinning like a fool "I thought you might say no for a minute there," he laughed.
Ella smiled. "I couldn't say no. The ring is too beautiful to pass up." She held up her hand and admired the sparkling diamond.
George pouted. "That's why you said yes?"
Ella stood and placed herself between his legs. "The ring helped. I mostly said yes because I love you." Ella leaned into him and kissed him once more, wrapping her arms around his neck.
When they broke apart, both breathing a little heavily, George took Ella's hand. "Mum wants to celebrate at the Burrow," he said.
"Celebrate? What if I had said no?" Ella asked.
"Then they all probably would have let me get extremely drunk." George kissed her forehead. "However, you said yes so let's celebrate."
"Let me change and I'll meet you there." She detached herself from George and began straightening her desk for the next week.
He stepped up behind her, putting his hands on either side of her. George kissed her neck and murmured close to her ear, "I can help you change."
The pair arrived much later than they were supposed to the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley was not happy with her son.
"Did it take some convincing?" She demanded her hands on her plump hips.
"Something like that!" George laughed and his brothers clapped him on the back.
"George! That is entirely inappropriate!" Mrs. Weasley was too flustered to remain in the young people's company and retreated to the kitchen.
"We helped George pick ze ring," Fleur smiled as all of the women looked over the ring.
"Fantastic job. I absolutely love it!" Ella grinned.
"Ella, dear, why don't you floo your parents? I'm sure they'd love to hear the good news," Mrs. Weasley said, bringing food out to the picnic table.
"Great idea!" George exclaimed. "I'll floo them right now!" He strode into the house and Ella quickly followed him without a word.
"George," she hissed as they entered the living room. "Don't do this!"
He turned around. "Oh come on, Ella. You have to tell them sometime."
"You do not want my mother here." Ella childishly grabbed his hand and tugged him away from the fireplace.
"No, Ella, you don't want her here. And besides your dad would have a great time." George kissed her forehead and freed her hand.
An hour later, Thomas and Diana had arrived. The Weasleys were very welcoming to Ella's parents and Thomas fit right in. Diana, however, seemed very uncomfortable at the Burrow.
Mrs. Weasley had prepared a huge meal and everyone sat at the picnic table. George and Ella somehow got trapped between their mothers. Even though the couple had only been engaged for a few hours, the older women could only talk about the wedding.
"Of course it will be here at the Burrow," Mrs. Weasley said confidently.
Diana looked around distastefully. "I was thinking it would be lovely at our country manor in the fall."
Ella and George glanced at each other. Mrs. Weasley and Diana continued to list the virtues of both venues.
Thomas, who had spent his whole marriage diffusing tense situations created by his wife, looked over at Ella and George, who both looked uncomfortable.
"Where this thing takes place there'll be one great party!" He laughed and the Weasleys joined him. Diana and Mrs. Weasley were sufficiently distracted.
Later, when the moon and stars were out and everyone had returned home, George took Ella on a walk through the nearby orchard.
"I don't think we'll be able to make everyone happy with our wedding decisions," George said quietly.
Ella looked up at him, looping her arm through his. "It's our wedding. Shouldn't we be the happy ones?"
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Avonmora