The Proposal

A/N: Short piece, just posting for the heck of it )

The Proposal

"Hermione?" Harry said.

"Yes?" the girl replied, looking up to see what Harry wanted to tell her.

"Hermione..." a pause ensued, Harry felt his heart beat a bit faster, blood rising to his face, he had to do this. He loved her dearly; he would do anything to make her happy, he would sacrifice himself instead of letting the love of his life feel any pain at all.

"Hermione, I just like to say... I love you." Harry looked deeply in her eyes as he said those words of love.

"I've never been truly loved ever since I grew up, my...parents weren't with me for most of my life and the Dursleys were..."

"Harry..." she replied, pearls of tears assembling at the corner of her eyes.

"Well, in fact, the hug you gave me in 1st year was the first real hug I ever felt and remembered in my life. You have no idea how much it meant to me, after." Harry smiled thinking of his embarrassment at the time, however the memory meant so much to him.

She smiled at him and nodded, signaling him to go on.

Harry continued, "Through all the years, you've always been with me, helping me, teaching me, stood by me," Harry looked up, “loving me, as I’ve loved you.” Harry paused to let the words sink in.

“Hermione, I’m madly in love with you. You’re the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. You also occupy my mind between those two moments, when I’m awake and in my dreams. I can’t imagine a life without you, I would rather die than go on…”

“Harry”

“No, I’m not lying, I love you so much that it would drive me crazy. Hermione, I love you, I love you, and, I love you.”

Harry smiled; he slowly bent down on his knee and took out what looked like an elegant Gryffindor Red jewelry case out of his pockets and opened it slowly to reveal a beautiful shiny ring with a brilliant diamond-like stone.

The diamond was hollowed out but it was filled with Phoenix Tears causing it to glow magically and one could feel the power of such a rare object.

The ring looked like plain gold, but at the bottom of the circle there was an inscription engraved in red:

“HP+HG forever”

Harry looked at the girl’s face to see her reaction, he was overjoyed to see her face glowing, and those pearly tears were coming down like waterfalls, overwhelming with happiness.

“Hermione, will you marry me?” Harry asked, looking deeply into the girl’s eyes.

A tiny pause followed. The girl suddenly calmed down and her former joy disappeared.

“No.” was her answer.

“NO?” Harry asked, bewildered. “I thought you loved me? As I love you…”

“I love you…as a friend.” she replied with sadness written all over.

Harry thought of it for a while, then understanding came over him and he stood up. He hugged her tightly, as if it were the last time that they would ever be so close.

And Harry turned and started walking away, leaving her standing under the tree overlooking the beautiful lake at Hogwarts on this beautiful warm spring day.

But before he got any significant amount of distance away from her, Harry turned around, making sure she had his full attention.

“Thanks a lot for helping me Ginny! I’m ready to ask her now…” Harry smiled and left, leaving a saddened Ginny wondering if she’ll every find love like Hermione and her Harry.

A/N: I know Hermione has no lines. But this is mainly from Harry’s POV. You can imagine what would happen when Harry proposes…