A Lovely Morning

A Lovely Morning

Author: Vickles

Disclaimer: Okay, you know what? I love those characters just as much as JKR does, and no one even pays me to do it, so there! *sniff*

Rating: PG

Summary: The title is pretty explanatory. Fluffy little ficlet that I decided to finish while taking a short break from Triptych.

Enjoy! :)

~*~

As they lay intertwined on the bed, Harry couldn't help but feel as if he were the happiest man alive. Her body next to his was rising and falling slowly, marking the heavy breathing of deep sleep. While the sun began to peek over the windowsill, he gently brushed her curly brown locks out of her face, waking her from her slumber.

“Harry…” He heard her whisper. He'd been with her four years and still her voice made his heart flutter inside his chest.

“Good morning,” he whispered as he brushed his lips against her forehead. “Did you sleep well?”

She smiled and sighed lightly in response. “Very well, indeed.” She rolled over, turning to face him, both propped up on their elbows. “And what, Mr. Potter, are you smiling about?”

Harry tried to wipe the scheming grin from his face, but failed miserably. He told her to stay put as he rose from the bed heading towards the closet, clad in red silk pajama bottoms alone, the ones that she had purchased for them on impulse. He turned on the closet light and walked in, closing the door behind him.

As she heard the sound of things falling from a high shelf, and the clear sound of Harry yelling curses in frustration she got up off the bed, wearing matching pajama bottoms and identical tank top, and knocked on the closet door. “Harry? What's going on in there?”

“Don't come in!” His voice was strained, meaning something heavy had undoubtedly fallen on his foot.

“Harry? Did you hurt yourself?” She reached down to the handle, but couldn't turn it, feeling his grip on the other side. “Harry, let me in!”

“I said don't come in! Now go back to bed!”

“Harry, come on…”

“No! Now do you trust me?”

Hermione giggled slightly. “Yes, of course.”

“Do you love me?”

“No.”

“What?”

“Yes! As if you needed to ask!”

“Then show me you love me and go back to bed where I left you!”

Hermione left and plopped herself back in the bed, listening as the fumbling inside the closet continued for another minute or so. “You are a silly man!” She called at the door just as it opened.

Harry peeked his head out, his hair messier than ever after a night's sleep. He gave her a lopsided smile. “And you love me for it.”

Hermione looked at him in a mock stern fashion. “Not if you don't tell me what you were doing in that closet that was so secret.”

Harry smiled wickedly as Hermione felt the ever-familiar butterflies in her stomach. He ran a few feet and then jumped on the bed, sitting Indian style in front of her. He pouted a little as she got up and sat in front of him. “I didn't plan on having my Quidditch trunk fall on my toe.”

Hermione kissed her hand and placed in on his reddened toe. Then kissed him on the lips, just barely teasing her tongue against his bottom lip before retracting, “All better?”

He smiled warmly. “Much.”

“So what is this you are hiding from me, the woman you love?” She asked as she poked him playfully on his bare stomach.

He grinned again, reaching into the pocket of his pants, pulling out a jewelry box. “Now, whatever makes you think I would hide something from you?” He held it out for her, and she snatched in, ripping off the paper in seconds as she popped it open.

She gasped as she looked inside. Laying on a bed of ruffled silk was a set of sapphire earrings with a matching necklace. The earrings hung with a single sapphire dangling from each of them, surrounded by small diamonds, and the necklace was a simple and delicate sapphire hanging on a thin white-gold string with three miniscule diamonds triangled at the top, making the illusion of a teardrop.

She looked up at Harry, who was wearing a smile. “Do you like it?”

She could hardly speak. “I love it,” she said so quiet she wasn't sure he heard it, but knew immediately when he beamed happily, like a young boy would when his mother said she liked the card he made for Mother's Day. Of course, Harry had never done such a thing for his mother.

She reached out and engulfed him in a hug, squealing happily like a little girl. “Thank you, Harry!”

He smiled after she released him and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Happy Anniversary.”

Hermione looked at him astonished. She had forgotten it was their anniversary for a moment, but then smiled as she remembered the gift she had for him stowed out in the trunk of the car. (Which she used for her job, as a muggle ambassador.)

“Happy Anniversary! Let me go get your gift!” She jumped up from the bed and ran out of the room and out of the small house, to her car. As she opened the trunk she looked at her hand, noticing the lack of a ring, as she did every time. Having been together for four years now, most people would expect to be engaged, but Hermione didn't. It wasn't that she didn't want to be engaged or that she wasn't ready. In fact, the reason they weren't engaged was Harry.

While they had talked about a future of marriage ad kids on occasions, it had never been really serious. She sensed Harry's hesitation of commitment and creating a family, and understood, thinking of his childhood.

That was why she had gotten the gift she had gotten him, hoping it would help him realize that he already had a family and that getting married and someday having children would only make it even more wonderful.

She grabbed the gift bad she had stuffed it in with mounds of tissue paper and ran inside. She jumped back into her place on the bed and handed the bag to Harry. “Happy Anniversary!” She bounced about as he slowly took out one piece of tissue paper at a time, clearly teasing her. Finally she couldn't take it.

“Oh, for crying out loud!” She grabbed the bag as Harry laughed and she pulled out the photo album, handing it to him.

“My Family” He read aloud the title on the cover, written in Hermione's beautiful handwriting.

Looking at her curiously, Harry opened the leather-bound book. The first few pages were dedicated to his birth-family, pictures of his mother and father from childhood up through their marriage. Then came pictures of Sirius and Dumbledore, his departed surrogate family. After them were an assortment of pictures of him, Hermione, and Ron, soon to be joined by the Weasleys and Remus and Tonks, as well as Neville and Dean and Seamus and Luna. There were group photos and individual photos, packing the book completely. It had taken Hermione two months to gather and put together all of the photos, but seeing Harry's face now made it all worth it. “So do you like it?” she asked.

Harry nodded, tears forming in his eyes. “Thank you so much. I love you.”

Hermione smiled, “I love you, too. Will you help me put on my present?” she asked, picking up the necklace and earring set.

Harry smiled, “Well, actually, that's not your entire present.”

Hermione looked at the box confused, “It's not?”

Harry shook his head, “Look under it.”

Puzzled, Hermione carefully lifted the velvet piece of cardboard up, and under it found a matching platinum ring that bore a large sapphire that was surrounded by tiny diamonds. Gasping, Hermione looked up to see Harry on the floor on one knee. He gently took the ring from her hands and gazed up at her, smiling bashfully, “I actually only got the necklace and earrings because I knew you didn't have a lot of jewelry that would match the ring.”

Hermione bit her lip, not quite believing that this was really happening.

“I don't really have a speech prepared,” Harry told her, embarrassed, “or any proclamations of love, because, well, I'm pretty sure you know how I feel about you by now, that when I wake up every morning and see your smiling face, I can't believe how lucky I am, even after all this time. I want to be able to tell everyone that I'm going to spend the rest of my mornings waking up with you, because that's exactly where I always want to be. And, well, I guess there's nothing else left to say except… Hermione, will you marry me?”

Hermione beamed and jumped from the bed tackling him on the floor, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes…” she repeated over and over again as she squeezed him tightly, “Yes!”

“Really?” Harry asked.

“Yes, really!”

Harry smiled, “Good.” He took her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger, “Perfect.”

Hermione smiled softly and kissed him, “I couldn't have said it better myself.”

~*~

A/N: *Happy sigh* Writing Triptych is great, honestly, but I just have to say how nice it is to go back to fluff for a day. The world is such a pretty place when an evil warlord isn't after you, isn't it? :) That said, I hope you all enjoyed it. Reviews/criticisms/random messages are all always/eternally/forever and ever/infinitely appreciated!

Oh my goodness! I forgot to thank my lovely beta Lady Starlight! (What kind of a horrible author am I?!) Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

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