Chapter 4- Surprise
"Purple or Lavender?" Hermione asked the man that was sitting across the table from her.
Harry shook his head trying to dismiss the daydream about his mom and dad. He looked up at Hermione, confusion written all over his face. "Huh?" was all he could muster to say.
"Honestly this is your wedding too, whether you like it or not," Hermione spoke snappishly to Harry, giving him a good glare before she continued. "I was asking what you think the color scheme should be for the reception, Lavender or Purple?"
"Aren't they the same?" Harry questioned, even more confused than before.
"You are impossible. No they are not. They are two totally different colors. Lavender is a softer purple and Purple is much more bold."
"Well, I don't know really. I trust your decision honey," Harry teased.
Hermione made a face when she was ever called that name. "Fine then, I guess you couldn't care less how this wedding turned out, as long as it happens, even then you really couldn't care if the wedding took place. We haven`t even started to plan the proposal"
Harry felt a little bad for being a tad bit rude and uncaring, although he did know that Hermione was trying to make him feel sorry, and she was succeeding. "You know that is not true. I care for your safety and if marrying you is what it takes to keep you safe then I will go through with it. You and I have been far too tensed up. Why don't you get all dolled up and you and I go to a nice restaurant for a well needed relaxing night?"
Hermione smiled at the prospect and thanked him graciously, "That would be lovely. I have not been out for god knows how long. Being an Auror doesn't exactly give you a lot of time off."
"Then it is decided. You go do whatever it is that you girls do to look all pretty and I will go take a shower and get dressed. Sound good?"
"Sure, sounds like a plan to me. How about we meet back here in 30 minutes?" Hermione spoke while pointing around to her own room.
Harry thought this was reasonable and jogged back to his room to start getting ready. He was extremely glad that she had agreed to go out tonight and take a break from the world of planning that was her life now. He thought that it would be good for her to have a little break from all of the stress in her life and it wouldn't kill her to have a healthy surprise. Harry couldn't help but smile at his plans for the evening. This will blow Hermione out of the water.
Trying to hurry, Harry jumped into the shower and then found what he was planning wearing. Quickly, he tried to comb down his hair and he succeeded, but he knew that once his hair dried that it would sticking up at all ends. To this day he still couldn't find anything to control his hair, and it had not become more manageable like people had told him.
Practically running he hurried to Hermione's room, trying to make sure he was there on time. Glancing at his watch he saw that he was actually five minutes early, but when he knocked on the door Hermione immediately opened it, all ready to go out.
Harry could feel the tiny fluttering of something deep inside of him. Hermione stood in front of him wearing a plain royal purple dress that came just past her knees. It had thin shoulder straps and a modest v-neck. Her hair was pulled back from her face and tied elegantly at the nape of her neck. A very small hint of make-up could be detected on her face, but it just accentuated her pretty features.
Hermione had a hand on her hip as if expecting him to say or do something. Finally giving up on Harry, she asked the question she hoped he would answer with out needing to asked, "Well, how do I look?"
Harry was too stunned at how pretty she was, and it took him a minute to come up with an answer. Finally, when able to speak, he did not give her the answer she was looking for. "You look like a woman."
When the words escaped his lips Harry instantly knew he had said something wrong and look at Hermione expectantly with an apologetic gaze, waiting for the wrath that would come down upon him. He was very surprised indeed, because he did not receive the response he had expected.
Hermione opened her mouth, but instead of harsh words coming out, a strong and bold laugh came out. She knew that Harry had been instantly sorry for what he had done and couldn't help to giggle at how cute his expression was.
Chuckling subsiding, Hermione was able to really get a good look at Harry and she hated to say it with every fiber of her being, but he was really handsome. Harry was in black slacks, a midnight blue button up shirt, and a black dress jacket. Surprisingly his hair was pressed down against his head in an orderly fashion, but Hermione knew better than to think that it would stay that way.
Quickly regaining his composure, Harry tried to rectify the situation. "What I had meant by that statement is that you are no longer the girl I used to know so well. Over the years you have blossomed into a full grown, drop dead gorgeous woman. I meant what I said in the best of ways. I always knew you were pretty, but tonight I truly see the how simply stunning you can be."
The smile was wiped from Hermione's face and replaced with a blush, as she stared and contemplated what Harry had said. It had been so genuine and seemed to come from the heart. Nobody had ever spoken such words to her before. Of course Ron always told her how beautiful she was, but Ron was her best friend and as such, is required to complement her every now and then.
Finally realizing she had been staring, Hermione found her voice that she didn't even know she had lost. "Thank you, that is very sweet of you. You look very dashing yourself, all grown up."
It was Harry's turn to blush, but quickly held out his arm for Hermione to take, and he led her down the corridors and outside. The couple walked to the edge of Hogwarts' grounds, where they could apparate to the restaurant.
Harry led the way to a simple building. Its exterior gave no hint whatsoever as to what its purpose was. Nothing but normal. Before opening the door for Hermione, Harry spoke to Hermione in a whisper, "Just follow my lead, Ok?" Hermione just nodded, not knowing where they were or what they were doing.
The couple walked into the building, arm in arm, and was greeted by a pompous man dressed in a flashy tuxedo. He was standing behind a podium, motionless and expressionless. Seeing the guests, he immediately put on a pleasant face and politely addressed them. "Good evening sir, name please."
"Dursley, Dudley," Harry stated simply not wanting to reveal his identity yet. That was the whole fun of trips to restaurants like this one.
The man quickly checked the list. "I am sorry you do not have reservations and we are all full tonight."
Hermione felt deflated at the thought, but looked at Harry and had to hold in a giggle. He nonchalantly moved his hair from his forward as if to look distressed, but while doing this, his scar came in perfectly visible sight.
Instantly the man almost shrieked out of excitement and fear, but quickly recovered. "Mr. Potter I am completely sorry for I forgot that somebody had cancelled, so we do have an opening tonight."
Harry put a look of distress on his face as if them knowing his true identity was the worse thing in the world. "Please do not tell anybody I am dining here. I would like a private evening with my girlfriend."
"Of course sir, not a word," The man stated simply while glancing back and forth between Harry and Hermione.
Harry knew of course that the man would alert all major media outlets and everybody working at the restaurant. This was after all great publicity to be known as the restaurant that The Boy That Lived personally chose to dine at with his girlfriend, but that was his plan.
The two were led by the greeter to there table. Harry turned and grinned to Hermione and gave her a sly wink. She looked as if she might burst from trying not to giggle and he himself was trying to contain the laughter rising in him.
The restaurant was in itself a quaint establishment with a simple but dazzling décor. Being that the evening turned out to be a very pleasant September night, they were able to sit outside on the deck behind the main building, where a small band was playing soft music for the few couples who were dancing on the platform. About two dozen small tables were placed in a littered fashion. Each table had a small candle on it, with glasses and silverware that glittered from the candlelight.
Once sitting at their table, a waiter approached the table and introduced himself, "Good evening, I am Anthony and I will be your server tonight." He gave each a menu and walked off to attend to another of pair of guests.
Hermione glanced through the menu and instantly took notice that everything on the menu was pretty pricey. She wondered if Harry could afford this and was about to ask, when the logical voice in her head told her that if he couldn't afford it, he wouldn't have taken her here. So she tried to relax and find something to eat that wasn't that expensive. Her mouth drooled over the description of the lemon marinated steak, but caught sight of the price and was shocked. Instead she decided it would be nicer just to order a salad.
Finally the waiter appeared ready to take the couples orders. Harry ordered first. "I would like the chicken specialty please."
The waiter nodded and then focused on Hermione. "Umm, well, I would like a salad please."
Harry immediately interjected, "Oh come on Hermione. You were never a shy eater. Go ahead. Order anything you want. I promise you, cost is not a problem." He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Fine then, I would like the lemon marinated steak please." She gave Harry a `are you happy' look and he nodded as if reading her mind.
Dinner was very pleasant as they ate their meals while chatting up about nothing real. Neither really wanted to plunge into past issues. It was not the time, nor the place. Both really just wanted to have a relaxing night together and enjoy the moment of each other company.
Finally after finishing up their dinners, the couple relaxed into a companiable silence. The only sound was the chink of picking up their glasses and taking a sip of the wine, or the clinking of their plates being cleared and taken away. Then Anthony came back with desserts, but Harry didn't touch his. Harry also noted the movement of the bushes out on the edges of the restaurant property, a sure sign that the reporters had already scoped out their spot for the evening.
As subtly as possible, Harry raised his voice tad bit to make what he was doing a tad bit evident., "Hermione, I have known you for many years. During those seven years of school we stuck together like glue. You were always my sacred place where I found strength. You believed me when no one else would, and you always looked out for my best interest. You were always pestering me to do my homework and made sure I did it correctly. I never would have survived without you and I don't know if I can live without you.
"When I think of my future, you are always in the picture and any future without you is not living. So with that, I have a very important question to ask you. And if you answer is no, I don't know what I am going to do, and I hope I don't have to find out what my future holds without you."
Harry then stood up from his chair and kneeled on one knee pulling a small velvet box out of his jacket. Opening it quite dramatically he asked Hermione the one question he needed to ask, "Hermione, will you marry me?"
Hermione lost her voice. She was in complete shock that Harry would do this. Then he had to be all charming and say all of those sweet things. Her eyes looked over Harry's face whose features looked quite anxious, yet his eyes were totally sweet and caring. It shocked Hermione. Lastly, she looked at the ring and her breath was taken from her. The ring was breathtaking, literally.
The band was an oval band that was dull silver that brought out the diamonds. In the middle was a blue diamond with an almost heart shape. On each side of the blue diamond was a smaller plain diamond. It glittered and sparkled by the candlelight giving it a magical glow.
After a few minutes of thinking, Hermione came back to her senses and decided it would be for the best if she started speaking, "Yes, of course I will."
Harry took her hand that was clasped on her lap and gently slid the ring on her finger. Then each leaned into each other and hugged each other tightly. Neither would really admit it, but both wished with all their heart that this whole relationship was real. Of course they both thought they just really wanted to have that security of finding that one. Neither could really imagine or comprehend that maybe they had already found the one.
A/N My dad was the one that asked what the difference between lavender and purple was. Guys are impossible sometimes. C'est la vie. So, please take the time and review because it makes my day. Thanks again for all the reviews I have gotten. I get those warm and fuzzies inside because of all of you.
Btw. It took me forever to figure out an engagement ring for this chapter. I didn't want your typical plain diamond and band. I wanted something dazzling. So, I hit the web and surfed until I found the perfect ring. So, If you want to see the ring check out this site.
http://www.jewelryexpert.com/catalog/Breathless-Blue-Diamond-Ring.htm
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