"Love Almost Lost"
Chapter 14 Future Plans and, THE RING!
A/N: I own none of these characters, they belong to JKR. As always, I appreciate all who read, and all who review. Hope you like the two chapters at a time.
When they returned to the Gryffindor common room, they found Madam Pomfrey waiting there, and she was not happy.
"Miss Granger, you are twenty minutes late for your potion," snapped Hogwart's Chief Healer.
"I'm sorry Madam Pomfrey, I completely forgot," said Hermione sheepishly.
"Hermione, uhm, you take your potion while I go up to my room for a minute, I'll be right back," said Harry.
Hermione nodded, then made her way towards the couch by the fireplace.
He ran up the steps to his room, went over to his school trunk, and dug out a little black box. He sat down on his bed, opened up the box, and stared at the dazzling diamond ring within. The diamond was so brilliant it almost seemed to glow. As he gazed at the ring he thought to himself. Was it time? Should he give it to her now? She had been through so much in the last few days, was she ready for this? Could she handle it? Would it be too much too fast? Harry felt deep in his heart that she could handle it. He knew Hermione could be a bit emotional at times, but, he also knew she was exceptionally tough, as he'd seen many examples of that over the years, but not like he had this year. He closed the box and put it in his pocket.
Harry looked at his watch and was quite surprised at the time, for it had taken him a half an hour to decide to take the ring with him. He raced down the steps back to the common room. He saw that Madam Pomfrey was gone, and Hermione was curled up on the couch. Harry went over to join her, but as he approached he could hear her sobbing.
"Hermione, what's wrong? Is the potion okay?" asked Harry with great concern.
"Harry, the potion is fine. It's not that," she said through her tears.
Harry was now sitting on the couch with Hermione held tightly in his arms. She was still sobbing.
"Then what's wrong, Hermione? Please tell me, it pains me when you're like this," said Harry.
Unconsciously he began to stroke her hair.
"Harry, I haven't said anything because I didn't want to worry you, but ever since I lost my parents I have periods of feeling completely alone in the world. I've never experienced such a powerful, overwhelming feeling of loneliness in my life. My parents were always there for me and now they are gone. I'll never see them again, or talk to them, or hug and kiss them. I never even got the chance to tell them good bye. Because of these feelings, I'm having a very hard time dealing with their loss. Harry, I can't bear to be alone anymore. What am I going to do when school is over? I don't even have a home to go back to," said Hermione through her tears.
Harry's heart was breaking seeing his love this way. She had buried her face in his chest sobbing uncontrollably. He held her tightly hoping this would comfort her. If he had any doubts about the ring earlier, they had now vanished. He had never been so sure of anything in his life as he was right now. He just hoped she was ready to accept his proposal.
Slowly, after several moments, her sobs subsided. He gently loosened his hold on her and lowered his gaze so he could look into her eyes. Softly, he brushed away some stray tears with his hand, then he lovingly caressed her cheek.
"Hermione, as long as I live you will never be alone. I love you with all my heart and soul, and I know you feel the same about me," said Harry.
She nodded and gazed into his beautiful green eyes as Harry continued.
"On the day you were attacked, I had been waiting for you to return so I could tell you some wonderful news, important news that would greatly help us with our future. Professor Dumbledore told me that they were just about finished with the cleaning and renovations they had been doing to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and that it should be finished just before my birthday. We will soon have a beautiful home in which we can live and raise a family together. The headmaster told me the whole house has been refurbished, and they were even able to remove Mrs. Black's portrait from the house. Also, Hermione, with what my parents left me, combined with the Black family fortune, we will never have to want for anything."
Hermione couldn't help but smile at what Harry had said, remembering some of their experiences at Grimmauld Place during their fifth year. It must have taken some very powerful magic to overpower Mrs. Black's permanent sticking charm. She remained gazing into Harry's eyes as he spoke again.
"On my eighteenth birthday I plan to take up residence at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and I would like to ask you now, if you would like to share it with me? I would like to ask if you would spend the rest of your life with me?" asked Harry softly.
Hermione could tell Harry was very nervous for some reason. She had never seen him like this, and she couldn't quite understand what he was trying to say.
"Harry, what's wrong? What are you trying to say?" asked Hermione
Harry gently separated himself from her, got up off the couch, and stood directly in front of her. She was a bit confused at his actions, but not as much as she was at his next move as Harry knelt down right in front of her. He gently took her hands in his, looked right in her beautiful brown eyes, and nervously said,
"Hermione Jane Granger, what I'm trying to say is, would you honor me by becoming my wife?"
Hermione was in shock. Surely she hadn't heard him right.
"What?" she asked incredulously.
"I said, would you honor me by becoming my wife?" repeated Harry.
This time he had remembered the box in his pocket. He produced the box, opened it, and held it out to Hermione. For the first time she was speechless. She had never seen a more beautiful ring in her life. Tears started pouring down her cheeks and for a moment Harry thought she was upset. But suddenly, the brightest smile he'd ever seen appeared on her face and she finally found her voice.
"Yes, Harry, yes! I will marry you!" she cried.
Without warning, she launched herself off the couch to embrace Harry which caused him to fall over flat on his back. However, this didn't seem to deter Hermione. She had followed him down as he had fallen, and now had him pinned to the floor, kissing him like he'd never been kissed before. His body was tingling all over as feelings that had long been dormant were now awakening. He was experiencing the most comforting feeling of warmth invading his body and enveloping his very soul. The feeling of every square inch of Hermione's body pressing down on him almost made him lose his hold on reality. He tried to talk, but this was quite difficult with Hermione locked to his mouth. He thought about trying to gently pull her loose, but wasn't sure where to grab hold of without becoming very embarrassed. But, everything came to a screeching halt as they heard a very familiar voice.
"Oy! You two, get a bloody room, will you!"