Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on
I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
But my silent fears have gripped me
Long before I reach the phone
Long before my tongue has tripped me
Must I always be alone?
Everything She Does Is Magic, Sting and Police.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the other characters. I am just playing `House' with them, so please do not sue.
Hermoine was taken aback by the sight before her. There was a large ballroom, filled with people she knew and loved. Her father was there, leaning on a cane. The Weasly's were there, Ginny with her boyfriend RJ, Ron and a very pregnant Luna, Fred and George in stunning yellow and blue suits, Mr. and Mrs. Weasly waving happily from a round table, Bill and Fleur sat with Charlie and his new girlfriend Katie. One of her best friends, Brie, was there with her boyfriend Casey. Both were on the National Quidditch Team with Ron. Hagrid and Professor McGonagall were there too, both in Muggle attire. Hermoine was greatly relieved to see that Hagrid had ditched the hairy brown suit and found a better, normal looking suit. He resembled an overgrown travel salesman. Many of the order members, such as Moody, Lupin, and Tonks were there, standing by a table with food on it. Hermoine took in the room. It was a large room, decorated with long red curtains that hung from ceiling to floor. There was a main dancing floor in the center, a DJ table on one side. There were stairs on either side of the floor, wrapping around the dance floor to where Hermoine was standing. Off to the left and right of Hermoine there were smaller rooms where there were many tables set up. Hermoine saw colleagues, friends (both Muggle and magical), and family sitting in these tables.
And, for the first time in history, Hermoine Jane Granger was speechless. She turned to Harry who was watching her, his features emotionless, studying her. She looked at him, back to the group watching her intently, then back at him and shook her head, moth agape.
"What...what's all this?" she asked when she found her voice.
"This, my dear, is a party. And you are the guest of honor." He said smiling. Hermoine looked at him and slowly a thousand-watt smile broke out. She gave him a big hug and a peck on the cheek.
"You did all this? How? When?" She stuttered, still slightly astonished that this had happened without her knowledge.
"I didn't do it by myself. I had help. I'll explain later, but let's go sit. Dinners about to be served, it's your favorite." Harry said, leading her by the small of her back to a table surrounded by their friends. They had a small table, just enough room for the two of them, with two candles in the middle. Harry pulled her chair out for her and pushed it in for her as she sat. He sat down and looked at her over the candles. She was looking at him adoringly.
"I can't believe you did all this! Its amazing, Harry. Where are we?" she asked, looking around. It was surprisingly quiet, considering the amount of people who were there.
"This," Harry gestured around, "is my new restaurant….or, part of it. This is the ballroom suite of the restaurant. It's the only part that's finished. And this," he said, gesturing to the waiter bearing food, "is one of the specialties. I knew it was your favorite and I whipped it up earlier. My assistant chef just put the final touches on it."
Hermoine stared at him again, looking at him then her plate then back at him. She found it hard to absorb that this was Harry's restaurant, which he had planned without her knowing, and that so many people came. She came back to earth by Harry nudging her hand.
"How do you like it?" he asked. Hermoine, who hadn't touched the lasagna, picked up her fork and took a bite. She closed her eyes and chewed slowly, savoring the flavor.
"It's…amazing Harry! I never knew you got so good at cooking!" she said enthusiastically. He beamed at her and nodded.
"I took a few classes but I didn't really like how structured they were. I like to experiment and stuff. So I started cooking with Mrs. Weasly and some of her friends in her cooking club that she joined. They helped me learn and Ron was my taste tester. I made up a lot of stuff and some was better than others. Ron seemed particularly partial to my chocolate and peanut butter mousse cake. He ate almost a whole one. The women in that club were great and so friendly. That's where I went whenever I disappeared…I asked Mrs. Weasly to keep it quiet because it was a surprise." He said, taking a bite.
"I was wondering where you were going… I was getting nervous when you wouldn't come back for a while." She confessed, sipping her wine.
"Well, now you know….so what do you think?" he asked. She set down her wine and took her time thinking about her words.
"Harry…I absolutely love it." She said, beaming. He smiled back and picked up his wine glass to her. She smiled and raised her glass to his.
"Cheers." He said, smiling at her as he took a sip. "So, how do you like your dress? Was it the right size?"
"I love it!" she gazed at it fondly, "How did you know I wanted it so bad?"
"I had help on that. Ginny told me that you would stare at it when you went out for lunch. She said that you tried it on once but you didn't buy it. She told me your size and that it looked stunning on you…she was right. You look beautiful tonight."
Hermoine blushed and smiled. "Thanks, I really love this dress. I didn't get it because I knew it was expensive…why'd you get it?"
"I knew you liked it and it was a special occasion tonight?"
"What's the occasion? Your restaurant?"
"That too." He said, smiling deviously. Hermoine looked at him curiously but he just smiled and winked at her.
The dinner was very pleasant and Hermoine enjoyed herself immensely. As the clock hit nine, music began to play. Hermoine saw a DJ had appeared behind the table and she felt like dancing. Harry had apparently thought the same thing because he got up and asked her to dance. Soon, there were people of all ages on the floor. The majority of the floor where the couple's friends- Brie, Casey, Ron, Luna, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Lavender, Parvati- and a lot of their colleagues. The music was loud and they were caught up in the beat of the songs as they reverberated around the room, grinding and bumping and moving to the music. The temperature of the room rose dramatically after endless songs. Finally, a slow song came on. Harry immediately turned to Hermoine. She was waiting for him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He put his hands on her waist as the slow melody caressed their ears. There were several couples dancing on the floor. Ron and Luna looked comical, Ron trying to wrap his arms around her vast stomach and her trying to get her arms around her waist. They just settled on Ron resting his hands on her sides and her leaving her hands on his shoulders. McGonagall was dancing with Hagrid and her head hardly came up to his elbow. Lupin and Tonks were dancing together, Brie and Casey were dancing as close as they could get, her head rested on his shoulder and his cheek rested against the side of her head. Brie's eyes were closed and Casey's were drooping as they rocked back and forth.
Harry was thankful that he was sweaty so Hermoine couldn't tell that he was nervous. The little box in his pant pocket felt as if it weight 100 pounds and Harry decided to do it now before he lost his nerve. In the middle of the chorus he stepped back. Hermoine looked at him, her eyes wondering why he left her embrace. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.
"Hermoine…at dinner you asked me why I threw this party." He said. As he spoke several of the couples had slowed dancing and looked at them. "I told you it was because of my opening this restaurant, but I actually had a bigger motivation. I asked everyone to be here tonight because I felt this should be shared with everyone we love.
"We met nearly 12 years ago. You helped me through so many problems that I know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I was stupid, I didn't realize what I had until it was almost gone. That's when I decided that I couldn't lose you. In the past month we've had a new threat to our lives emerge, but I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I love you Hermoine." Harry said. Hermoine's eyes were watering and her heart was pounding a mile a minute. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and she felt distinctly light as Harry knelt down in front of her. He held her hand as he gazed up at her, his hand going to his pocket. He pulled out a small black box and opened it.
"Hermoine Jane Granger…will you marry me?" He asked, offering the ring to her. She gazed at it; it was the most breathtaking piece of jewelry she had seen. (http://www.americusdiamond.com/images/ad5777.jpg)
"Oh Harry!" she said, her hand over her heart. "I don't know what to say…" she whispered. Harry smiled weakly up at her.
"Well, yes would be appreciated."
"Of course! Yes, yes I'll marry you!" she said ecstatically. He slipped the ring on her finger with slightly shaking fingers and she hugged him as he stood. He spun her around and placed her gently down, sharing a sweet kiss. By this time, the whole room who had been watching broke into an enthusiastic applause, mingled with some wolf cries-compliments of Fred and George. Hermoine was flocked by women who wanted to see her ring and Harry got pats on the back, firm handshakes, kissed cheeks, ruffled hair and bear hugs. Mr. Granger congratulated him on his `catch' and told him that he was glad Harry would be joining his family.
After most of the excitement died down, the music could be heard once again and more people joined in with the dancing. Hermoine kept looking at her hand and gazing at her ring, as if she stopped looking at it that it would somehow walk off her finger.
"Harry…you are amazing you know that?" she said as they danced slowly to another song the DJ dedicated to them.
"I did know that but a man likes to hear it now and again." He said cheekily. Hermoine laughed and gave him a peck on his lips.
"You really caught me off guard…I had no idea you were going to propose. Let me say, I'm glad you did." She smiled, "and it was perfect. This has been the best night of my life."
"Same here."
"I love you Harry."
"I love you more."
"You wish."
As the song switched from a slow, romantic tune to a fast paced techno song, the couple still danced together closely entwined as they enjoyed their new found peace with each other. Hermoine gazed at her ring again, dwelling on how lucky she was to have a guy like Harry.
A/N: Well, there you have it =o). Harry popped the question. Sorry it was so short, but I felt that this was an appropriate place to end it. I was going to end it right after he asked, but I didn't think your nerves could stand it. This is the link to Hermoine's ring: http://www.americusdiamond.com/images/ad5777.jpg
In case you wanted to see it. Please, read and review. A review a day keeps the doctor away!
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