The Music of Love

1. Prologue

A/N: This was a plot idea that popped into my head while I was writing “All I Want for Christmas.” Hopefully this one won't take as long beyond the holiday it's written for to finish. Needless to say, this is a Valentine's fan fic. For the record, this is NOT the sequel to “All I Want for Christmas” (I'm just saying that now to diffuse any questions on that front). I'm grateful to all those who read and reviewed my first attempt as writing fan fiction. This is my second attempt. Hopefully it will turn out as well as the first one did.

Lots of side-ships in this one. Let's see if I can remember all of them that will come up…we've got: Ron/Luna, Neville/Ginny, Lupin/Tonks, Bill/Fleur, and references to Lily/James. This story is slightly AU, but only in the sense that I've added some characteristics to some characters.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. All I own is the plotline and a song that will appear later on in the story.

The Music of Love

Prologue:

Harry was pacing the floor of the flat the Trio shared in Hogsmeade for the third time in two days.

“Blimey, Harry,” Ron said in bewilderment from his chair. “You must be seriously be going mental. There's nothing about teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts that should have you this stressed out.”

Harry looked over at Ron, in his orange and black Chudley Cannons assistant manager robes. “I don't know why you're so relaxed,” he said bewilderedly.

Ron got up slowly and limped over to Harry, the ever-present reminder of the quidditch career-ending injury that Ron had suffered in the final battle with Voldemort. He put his hand on Harry's shoulder and sighed in bewilderment. “Harry,” he stated firmly, “I'm going to go make us some reservations over at The Three Broomsticks for the two of us for lunch. I'll drag whatever has you so bloody stressed out of you then.”

Before Harry could respond, Ron had disapparated to make the reservations.

Harry sighed in frustration. The one person that he typically turned to for advice in situations like this was exactly the one person that he couldn't turn to this time.

Hermione.

His Hermione.

The Hermione that had been his for almost two years now.

Harry smiled in recollection. They had finally realized that what they shared was more than friendship during the Christmas holidays of their last year at Hogwarts, when they had gone to stay with her folks. Since they got together late one night while they were there, the two of them had been nearly inseparable. They had even fought Voldemort side-by-side, and she had played a large role in his final defeat.

It was her idea that the three of them get a flat together in Hogsmeade, which wasn't too inconveniently out of the way of any of their jobs.

To the surprise of some, Harry said that he'd had enough fighting after defeating Voldemort, and took the DADA position at Hogwarts. Hermione was also still in the castle regularly, as she took Professor McGonagall's place as the Transfiguration professor, and she still spent a lot of time in the library, which is where she is on this beautiful Saturday morning. Ron's injury in the final battle kept him from his dream of playing quidditch professionally with his beloved Chudley Cannons, but their manager caught wind of Ron's skills at strategizing and asked him to be his assistant. The Cannons have improved drastically since Ron's come aboard, and it's widely believed that Ron will someday have the Cannons managerial position.

A year after they moved in to their flat, a fourth person moved in.

Luna Lovegood.

Harry smirked a bit when he thought of her. Ron had fallen hard for her during their seventh year, and at the Halloween Ball he had even worked up the nerve to ask her to be his girlfriend. She was overjoyed…putting it mildly. She immediately leaped into his arms and gave him a big kiss—right smack dab in the middle of the Great Hall—much to everyone's amusement.

Harry had been there with Hermione that night, and gave her a slight squeeze when Luna leapt into Ron's arms. Hermione had looked up at him with a big smile on her face before leaning her head on to Harry's shoulder and saying “I'm glad he's found someone that will make him happy.”

Harry was honestly a bit surprised that Ron and Luna hadn't gotten married yet. Of course, Ron had to propose before that could happen, but everybody, including the wizarding tabloids expected that to happen before too long.

Marriage. Harry thoughts drifted to the numerous discussions that he'd had with Hermione on the subject. They both knew that they wanted to get married eventually, but they didn't feel like they were ready quite yet. Over the past couple of weeks, though, Harry had started to get the sense that they were close enough to being ready to marry to start seriously thinking about proposing.

Of course, he hadn't mentioned that observation to her. He wanted to surprise her when he proposed.

That was his problem.

Harry has absolutely no idea of how to propose to the love of his life, despite the fact that he's known her for nine years. Not even figuring out how to beat Voldemort had been this baffling.

He walked over to the window and looked down at the street, with the light layer of snow covering it. There were numerous Hogwarts students wandering around, as this was the last Hogsmeade weekend before the Christmas holidays, and the students were taking advantage of the opportunity to do their Christmas shopping for their friends. The occasional couple would pass by, holding hands.

Harry smiled slightly, then turned and walked away from the window and into the bedroom that he shared with Ron. It was pretty obvious which side of the room was Ron's, because it was a big mess. Hermione had rubbed off on Harry and had helped him to become a cleaner person than he had been before they had finally gotten together.

Ron's bed had unwrinkled sheets on it. Proof that Ron had not slept in his bed the night before. Not that Harry needed a reminder. They were making plenty of noise in Luna's bedroom.

Harry felt bad for Hermione, her room was right next door to Luna's, so she would have heard even more noise than Harry did from across the hall. Not to mention the thumping of the bed frame against the wall.

Harry figured that maybe that was why Hermione had gotten up so early to go to the library this morning. They had shared a cup of coffee before she had left, and she clearly hadn't slept well.

Luna had left an hour ago for The Quibbler's offices, where she had taken her father's place as the editor after graduating. The Quibbler had become a more respected publication after Rita Skeeter's interview of Harry had been published during his fifth year, but many still looked down upon it as nonsense.

Harry walked over to the closet and pulled out a hard black case and carried it over to his bed and laid it down. He opened it quickly, and carefully picked up his guitar. He tuned it fairly precisely, but wasn't skilled enough yet to tune it exactly.

Harry started to play some simple songs that he knew to help take his mind off of his troubles. Eventually, he started to sing love songs. He smiled dreamily as he thought about Hermione. He could see her nibbling on the end of her favorite quill while she worked.

“That sounds beautiful, Harry,” a dreamy voice came from behind him.

Harry stopped playing and turned around to face the door. “Hi, Luna,” Harry replied. “What are you doing back here so soon? I figured you'd be at the office for a couple more hours yet.”

“I realized that I forgot to grab an article that I want published in the next edition, so I had to come get it,” Luna replied dreamily.

“I'm sorry I distracted you, then,” Harry said apologetically.

“You have no reason to be sorry, Harry,” Luna told him. “Girls really like guys who play the guitar. If we weren't already in relationships, then maybe we would have gotten together.”

Harry's eyes grew wide in alarm at the thought. “We'll never know,” Harry offered weakly in response. “I don't want to delay you any longer than you have to. We can talk later. I hope things go smoothly at work for you, Luna.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Luna said dreamily. “I'm sure they will. Don't worry. You'll figure out how to propose to Hermione sooner or later. I'll see you when I get off from work.”

Harry's mouth dropped open at Luna's comment about his proposal troubles. He has never ceased to be amazed at Luna's ability to know exactly what's troubling people before they had admitted it to anybody else.

Once he regained his composure, Harry resumed playing his guitar softly. After a few minutes, he put it back in its case, which he returned to the closet.

Harry sighed in frustration as he got dressed for lunch with Ron. He then walked out to the living room and sat back down. He was surprised that Ron wasn't back yet. Surely it didn't take this long to make reservations for lunch.

“Why does it have to be so bloody confusing figuring out how to propose?” Harry muttered aloud to himself. “It's only Hermione. It's not like she hasn't been my best friend for the last nine years or anything like that.”

Harry paused to think about what he had just said.

“The only way that one can legitimately put `only' and `Hermione' in the same sentence is to say that Hermione's the only woman for me,” Harry mused to himself. “I can't imagine what my life would be like without her there beside me to share every moment with me. Not that I'd want to, either.”

Harry knew that proposing to Hermione without her figuring out what he was up to eventually was going to be extremely difficult, if not downright impossible.

“How in the world am I going to pull this one off?” he murmured to himself as he got up and started to pace again.

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2. Chapter 1: No Matter What

A/N: This was a plot idea that popped into my head while I was writing “All I Want for Christmas.” Hopefully this one won't take as long beyond the holiday it's written for to finish. Needless to say, this is a Valentine's fan fic. For the record, this is NOT the sequel to “All I Want for Christmas” (I'm just saying that now to diffuse any questions on that front). I'm grateful to all those who read and reviewed my first attempt as writing fan fiction. This is my second attempt. Hopefully it will turn out as well as the first one did.

Thanks to everybody who's reviewed so far. I'd enjoy hearing from more of you.

Lots of side-ships in this one. Let's see if I can remember all of them that will come up…we've got: Ron/Luna, Neville/Ginny, Lupin/Tonks, Bill/Fleur, and references to Lily/James. This story is slightly AU, but only in the sense that I've added some characteristics to some characters.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. All I own is the plotline and a song that will appear later on in the story.

The Music of Love

Chapter 1: No Matter What

A soft pop behind him told Harry that Ron had finally returned, but he didn't look up and kept pacing.

“Mate, you seem determined to dig a pit in our rug,” Ron observed.

“What took you so long?” Harry demanded.

“Sit down and I'll tell you,” Ron insisted.

Harry grumbled, but did as Ron asked. “Why in the world did you want me to sit down?” he inquired.

“So you wouldn't drive me mental with your pacing. Now, do you want to know why it took me so long to get back or not?” Ron demanded.

“I know it wasn't that you went to shag Luna in her office, because she stopped back by here for an article she forgot while you were gone,” Harry informed him.

Ron laughed. “Thanks for the idea, mate. Maybe we'll do that sometime,” he said.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Don't count on me or Hermione to come bail the two of you out for indecent exposure and lewd conduct,” he stated in disgust.

“I was just pulling your leg, mate. Don't get your knickers all twisted up about it,” Ron retorted.

“Umm…Ron? Women wear knickers the last time I checked,” Harry informed him. “Or have you been wearing them and not telling me about it?” Harry added sarcastically.

Ron threw a pillow at Harry. “Don't be such a git,” he muttered. “It took me longer than it would have to get back because I ran into Lupin and told him that Mum wanted me to tell him that him and Tonks were invited to Christmas with us at The Burrow. Then we got to chatting, and Dean and Seamus showed up, as did Parvati and Padma a few minutes later. So, we were catching up with each other on what we've been up to.”

“Did you find out anything interesting?” Harry quizzed.

“Nope. Nothing that we didn't already know. The twins did seem to be a bit flirty with our old dorm mates, though.

“Does that surprise me? Not really,” Harry responded disinterestedly.

“Of course that wouldn't surprise you, all the girls wanted a piece of you while we were in school, mate,” Ron pointed out. “Of course, that's when they didn't think you were totally mental. You probably left more broken hearts in the corridors of the castle than I did, and the ladies loved me.”

Harry pelted Ron with a pillow. “Only in your wildest dreams maybe, mate,” Harry said laughing. “You didn't have nearly the problem I did with girls following you around in the halls all the time.”

“They don't follow you around anymore, do they?” inquired Ron.

“It would be a scary thought if they did,” Harry said flatly. “After all, they're a little young and they know that I'm taken.”

“Ah, yes…” Ron piped up. “Who could forget Headmistress McGonagall having to lecture two of her professors about proper conduct because they were caught snogging in the middle of the hallway? Before breakfast…on Valentine's Day at that!”

Harry's cheeks turned bright red. “How were we supposed to know that a pair of Ravenclaw first-years were in the library before breakfast and decided to take a roundabout route to get to breakfast that morning?” he pleaded in his defense.

“Didn't foresee that one coming, did you mate?” Ron needled him.

“Please, don't talk like that,” Harry pleaded, cringing. “You sound like Professor Trelawney when you talk like that.”

Ron shuddered. “She was mental. It seemed like she predicted your death every other week,” he said.

Harry nodded. “What time did you make the reservation for anyway?” he inquired.

“12:30,” Ron told him.

“You do realize it's 12:15 now, don't you?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, I suppose we should get a move on. We don't want to be late. Besides, that way we may be home when our women get home, right mate,” Ron added, elbowing Harry in the ribs.

Harry cuffed Ron upside the back of the head. “You might get some action if that's the case, but you know perfectly well that Hermione wants a ring on her finger before she goes there.”

“I don't know how you can stand it, mate,” Ron told him. “Don't you want to know what it's like?”

“I don't need to do it to know what it's like,” Harry retorted. “All I have to do is listen to you and Luna going at it from across the hall.”

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry and cuffed him upside the back of the head. “We aren't that loud!” Ron pleaded in his defense.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron, but chose not to reply to Ron's defense. “Seriously, of course I would like to, but I love Hermione too much to try to force her into doing something she doesn't want to do.”

“How do you cope, mate?” Ron inquired.

“I've got a method for relief whenever things get too frustrating,” Harry said with a smirk.

Ron covered his eyes. “Please mate, I didn't need to know that,” he pleaded.

Harry laughed. “You asked, mate,” he pointed out. “Besides, I'm not the one that seems to be trying to beat Bill and Fleur before getting married.”

Ron smiled embarrassed. “Come on, mate. Be fair. We don't do it that often.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Only every other night,” he said sarcastically.

“What time is it now?”

“12:25.”

“Blimey, we better get going then,” Ron said in surprise. “I'll see you in a moment.”

“Yep,” Harry said before disapparating.

Moments later, he was in the entryway of The Three Broomsticks. Ron appeared a moment later.

“The usual, boys?” Madam Rosmerta's voice rang out as the boys made their way to their typical booth in a quiet corner.

“Of course,” Ron called out in response as they sat down.

A few minutes later, Madam Rosmerta brought out two plates of steak and mashed potatoes with a pair of butterbeers. “Enjoy,” she told them as she placed the food in front of them before returning to the kitchen.

Harry and Ron made short work of their meals. “Now, down to business,” Ron said, “What has had you so riled up recently?”

Harry stared at the table, struggling to try to find an answer that wouldn't reveal too much about his troubles. “Nothing,” he finally said, trying to keep a straight face.

“That's hogwash, and you know it,” Ron said pointedly. “Are you going to tell me or do I have to ask Luna what it is? Because I'm sure she's figured it out.”

Harry glared at Ron for a moment. “You don't fight fair,” he muttered. “You know perfectly well that I know that Luna can put her finger on what's bothering a person before they've admitted it to anybody.”

Ron smirked. “Why else do you think I said it?” he replied cheekily. “Now are you going to tell me or do I have to go ask Luna?”

Harry sighed in defeat. “I've been trying to figure this out on my own because I don't want anybody to know what I'm thinking about.”

“Why don't you ask Hermione for help?” Ron demanded. “I'm sure she'd love to help.”

Harry glared at him. “She's the one person I absolutely can't go to for help this time,” he retorted. “With all due respect, none of your family would be able to keep my thoughts a secret. Lupin and Tonks are too busy with their baby. Hagrid wouldn't have any idea of how to help me.”

“What about Luna?” Ron interrupted.

“Trust me,” Harry replied, slightly annoyed at the interruption. “Luna's not the person to help me out with this problem either. She pretty much admitted that to me herself this morning.”

“Wait a minute, mate. Why the need for secrecy?” Ron replied with a blank look on his face.

Harry stared at him for a minute, letting Ron think. “Why do you think I'd want secrecy?” he asked softly.

Ron's blank expression didn't change. “I still have no bloody idea what you're getting at mate,” Ron said after a couple of minutes.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Are you seriously that daft?” he asked in bewilderment. “I know that you can be a bit dense at times, but this is ridiculous!”

“Okay, so I'm a little slow today,” Ron acknowledged. “Are you going to tell me straight out or do I have to go to Luna?”

“Maybe it'll be easier if I show you this,” Harry said, pulling a small black box out of his pocket and setting it on the table where only the two of them could see it.

Ron stared uncomprehendingly at the box for a few seconds, before his eyes started to widen. “Is…Is…Is…that what I think it is?” Ron stammered in disbelief.

“According to every wizarding tabloid in the world, you've got one of these hidden around somewhere too,” Harry said bluntly.

“You're going to pro…pro…propose to Hermione?!” Ron stuttered in shock.

Harry quickly slipped the box back into his pocket. “Now you understand why I can't turn to her for advice in this situation?” he asked.

Ron smiled sheepishly and nodded. “I can be so bloody dense at times, it's amazing that I didn't fail a year in school,” he admitted.

Harry smirked, “You have Hermione to thank for that.”

“Yeah, I'll have to remember to do that sometime,” Ron said quickly before turning serious. “Mate, seriously. She's been our best friend for the last nine years. How can it be difficult to figure out how to propose to her?”

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron. “You know, we said you had the emotional range of a teaspoon for a reason. It's for things like what you just said. Proposing is something you want to make memorable. Something you want to make as romantic as possible. You don't want to do something like propose just after you've shagged her or something like that.”

Ron turned a brilliant shade of red. “Well, there goes that idea,” he said disappointedly.

Harry glared at him. “Mate, please tell me you weren't seriously going to do that,” he pleaded.

Ron suddenly became very interested in his now empty plate. “I can't believe you, mate,” Harry said in disbelief. “You want to do something romantic for her. Take her out for a moonlight broom ride or something. I'd consider doing that myself, but we both know how much Hermione hates flying.”

Ron smiled gratefully. “Thanks, mate. I'll have to think about something a bit more creative than a post-shag proposal.”

“Do you even have a ring yet?” Harry demanded.

“Well…umm…to be perfectly honest…nope.” Ron stammered. He quickly recovered and countered, “we aren't here to talk about me and Luna. We're here to talk about you and Hermione. Any ideas, mate?”

Harry sighed dejectedly. “Nope, not a one,” he said deflatedly.

Ron rolled his eyes. “It can't possibly be as bloody tough as you're making it, Harry,” he insisted. “You must be thinking about it too much. Just do it.”

“There's that little thing about making it as romantic as possible, Ron,” Harry reminded him.

“Seriously, mate. You don't need to worry about that,” Ron retorted. “Hermione loves you so much that she'd say `yes' to you no matter what you do. She'd probably even say it even if you did something like ask her after the two of you shagged.”

“There's one problem with that theory,” Harry pointed out. “She doesn't want to shag until we're married. I'm going to honor that because I love her.”

Ron sat there shaking his head as Harry continued. “Besides, she's so special that I want to make it something that neither of us will ever forget…”

“One problem with that idea, Harry,” Ron interrupted. “How in the world are you going to come up with some really special proposal and not have Hermione figure out what you're up to. She's not the brightest witch of our age for nothing.”

Harry sighed in frustration. “I know. That's part of the reason I'm having so much trouble thinking of a way to propose. I want it to be something that she doesn't expect.”

Ron raised his eyebrow. “If it wasn't for the fact that you defeated Voldemort already, I'd say that this is the toughest thing you've ever tried to do. You know how Hermione sees everything,” Ron pointed out.

“I know,” Harry told him. “I want to try, anyway. I realize that I might not be successful, but I'm going to make the effort to do the improbable.”

“She knows you're going to propose sooner or later, so why don't you just do something predictable? She'll expect you to do something unique, being predictable may take her by surprise,” Ron suggested.

Harry glared at him. “You're not being much of a help here, Ron,” he said bitterly. “Hermione's too special to do something predictable for. Besides, since when have I taken the easy way out of something?”

Ron looked down at the table and thought for a moment, then looked up at Harry. “You're right. You always insist on living an eventful life,” he admitted. “I don't mean to sound so critical of you, Harry. I'm behind you all the way. Hermione loves you for who you are. As long as you stay true to yourself, I'm sure she'll love however you choose to propose.”

Harry smiled gratefully at Ron. “Thanks, mate. I appreciate your support,” Harry said relieved.

Ron smiled back. “No problem, mate. I'll try to think of something that may help you.”

“Just do one thing for me, Ron.”

“What's that?” Ron asked.

“Promise me that you won't tell anybody about what I'm planning,” Harry requested.

“Sure thing,” Ron said, looking Harry in the eye.

Ron put some galleons on the table to pay for their lunch, and they both stood up. “Let's go see if our girls are back at the flat now,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Don't call them girls to their face, or you may end up on the business end of their wands,” Harry said with a wink.

They walked to the entrance and disapparated.

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3. Chapter 2: The Voice of Experience

A/N: This was a plot idea that popped into my head while I was writing “All I Want for Christmas.” Hopefully this one won't take as long beyond the holiday it's written for to finish. Needless to say, this is a Valentine's fan fic. For the record, this is NOT the sequel to “All I Want for Christmas” (I'm just saying that now to diffuse any questions on that front). I'm grateful to all those who read and reviewed my first attempt as writing fan fiction. This is my second attempt. Hopefully it will turn out as well as the first one did.

I'm so sorry for the lengthy delay in getting this chapter out. School has kept me extremely busy the last couple of months, so I haven't had time to write. Fortunately, I just finished for the summer, so I might be able to update more regularly. I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of reviews for the last chapter. I know there have been a fair number of people that read it. I would like to see more people review this chapter.

Lots of side-ships in this one. Let's see if I can remember all of them that will come up…we've got: Ron/Luna, Neville/Ginny, Lupin/Tonks, Bill/Fleur, and references to Lily/James. This story is slightly AU, but only in the sense that I've added some characteristics to some characters.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. All I own is the plotline and a song that will appear later on in the story.

The Music of Love

Chapter 2: The Voice of Experience

Harry was shifting nervously in his seat.

Ron smiled knowingly at Harry and headed out to the kitchen to look for more food.

Hermione looked at Harry curiously. “What's the matter, Hun? You seem a bit tense.”

“Nothing, Sweetheart,” Harry answered quickly.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, while Lupin quietly stood up and slipped into the kitchen.

“How's work been lately, Harry?” Molly asked.

“Fine,” Harry said. “The first years are obviously still a bit overly cautious after meeting The-Boy-Who-Triumphed, but they're getting used to the idea of having me as a teacher. The older students are really attentive and enjoy having the supposed expert in defending against the Dark Arts as their teacher for that subject.”

“Are the students treating you the same way, Hermione?” Arthur inquired.

“Not to the same extent as they treat Harry, but they do to some extent. Both for being The-Girl-He-Loves and The-Girl-Who-Helped-Him, but they're still great to work with.”

“Eat up. Both of you,” Molly commanded. “Neither of you look like you're eating enough.”

“Do you ever get out of the library when you're not teaching, Hermione?” Ron asked teasingly.

“Oh yes, Ron,” Hermione said. “Harry makes sure of that,” she added with a wink.

It was Ron's turn to raise an eyebrow. “I thought you wanted to stay a virgin until you're married.”

Hermione smirked at him. “There's a whole lot more to do with the one you love than just have sex,” she pointed out.

Ron turned as red as his hair. “I hope you already knew that, Ron,” Tonks added, cradling her two-month-old baby girl in her arms.

“I don't know ow you manage to teach and raise an infant at ze same time,” Fleur said while running a hand across her five-month pregnant belly and keeping an eye on her one-year-old son.

“I work really hard, and it helps that Remus got some time off from his job at the Ministry,” Tonks said.

“I've had the privilege of seeing it first-hand, and I admire what she's done. I hope to be like her someday,” Ginny said admiringly, then looked affectionately at Neville, her boyfriend of the last six months, and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“Now don't you two go and do something that Headmistress McGonagall will have to lecture to you two about too,” Tonks said to Ginny and Neville, while looking at Harry and Hermione, “or McGonagall may have you teach a refresher course in Sex Ed to the fourth years and above.”

Everybody but Harry and Hermione had a good belly laugh.

“Honestly,” Hermione started indignantly, “you'd think people would have enough empathy not to rub a complete accident in somebody else's face.”

Having said that, she stormed outside as everybody watched.

“You better go after her, Harry,” Ginny said. “Tell her we're sorry for teasing you two.” Everybody nodded in agreement.

“The only reason it's so funny is that it's you two that it happened to,” Neville added, drawing another round of nods.

Harry smiled grimly, nodded in acknowledgement, and headed outside to take on the unenviable task of dealing with a mad Hermione.

He found her in the farthest corner of the garden, sitting on the bench. Harry slowly approached her, placed a loving arm around her shoulder, and pulled her close to him.

Hermione placed her head on Harry's shoulder. “I don't know why I let it bother me so much,” she said softly. “I know that I'm overreacting but I couldn't but I can't help myself.”

“Because you don't like being seen as a rule breaker,” Harry said just as softly, “and that incident made you look more obviously like a rule breaker than you had since seventh year when we left to destroy Slytherin's locket.”

Hermione smiled at him. “You know me as well as I know myself,” she said.

“Maybe even better,” corrected Harry.

“I'm glad that you know me well enough to come out here yourself instead of having one of them do it. I probably would have taken anybody else's head off,” Hermione said.

Harry kicked at some loose snow at his feet. “I was going to come anyway, but everybody inside asked me to come too…They asked me to apologize to you for them. They really are sorry, Sweetheart. There's so few things they can tease you about that they insist on running with any thing you give them. I'm sure they'll apologize to you themselves when you get back inside.”

“I suppose I should go back in before they get too worried about me still being mad at them,” Hermione said, getting up and starting to walk towards the house. “You coming?” she added when Harry didn't follow her immediately.

“I'll just be a minute,” Harry promised her. “I just want to think about something.”

“Okay,” she said. “Don't take too long.”

Harry watched as Hermione walked back towards the house before turning around and walking off a little ways further. He was most certainly in love. If only he could figure out how to propose without her realizing that he was trying.

Harry hummed to himself as he admired the peaceful wilderness surrounding him.

After about 15 minutes, Harry turned and started to slowly walk back towards the house. He took his time, wanting as much time as he could get to think about how to propose to Hermione.

Harry slipped in to the kitchen quietly, to try to avoid drawing attention to his return and questions as to why he was gone for so long.

He paused just outside the door to the living room to compose himself before walking in, so he didn't blurt out a proposal that he hadn't fully thought through.

Just as he was going to walk in, Harry heard a voice behind him say, “What kept you, Harry?”

Harry turned around quickly to see Lupin standing in the shadows where he hadn't seen him. “Don't scare me like that,” Harry said breathing a little heavier than usual.

“Sorry, Harry,” Lupin said, “but I wanted to catch you before you went back in to the living room. We need to talk.”

Harry gulped nervously. He hadn't heard Lupin use a tone so serious since the War. “What about?” he inquired.

“Let's go upstairs,” was all Lupin said.

Harry followed Lupin up the stairs, pondering what Lupin might want to talk to him about. He didn't think that he and Hermione actually were having sex…Did he?

Harry was so lost in thought he didn't even realize immediately that Lupin had led him all the way up to Ron's old room. Once Lupin closed the door behind Harry, he gestured towards the bed. “Sit!” he told Harry, gesturing towards the bed Harry used when he had stayed at the Weasleys' during the summer during his Hogwarts days.

“Why bring me all the way up here?” Harry asked.

“I figured that you'd feel more comfortable talking about this up here instead of down where it was more likely that somebody would eavesdrop on us,” Lupin explained, casting silencing and locking charms before sitting down next to Harry.

Harry looked at Lupin, still stumped as to what Lupin wanted to talk about. “Why would you want to avoid eavesdroppers?” Harry asked in confusion.

“I know how much you despise people snooping for information on your private life, even though I'm going to do a bit of prying myself. I have the best of intentions, though. I'm not prying to try to find something to tease you about like Fred and George.”

“What are you talking about?” Harry asked.

“Hermione certainly is rubbing off on you,” Lupin observed. “A couple of years ago, you would have continued to let me beat around the bush out of nervousness.”

Harry smiled fondly. “She's an amazing woman,” he said affectionately.

Lupin smiled. “I don't even have to ask if you love her,” he stated. “James talked about Lily the same way you talk about Hermione.”

“Did he really?” Harry asked in pleasant surprise.

“He did, but that's not what I asked to talk to you about,” Lupin said.

“What do you want to talk to me about?” Harry asked.

“You're clearly stressed about something. I want to know what has you so stressed out,” Lupin told him.

“Oh,” said Harry, shifting uneasily. “It's nothing.”

“I can tell it's not nothing, Harry. You don't get this worked up over nothing.”

“Do you want me to go ask Ron in front of everybody?” Lupin demanded. “He told me he knows what it is and that he'd tell me if you didn't.”

“You guys don't fight fair,” Harry grumbled. “Ron threatened to ask Luna to get me to tell him.”

“Hermione's been such a big help to you over the years,” Lupin pointed out. Why haven't you asked her for help with whatever's stressing you out?”

“You know,” Harry mused, “Ron asked me the same thing just before he forced me to tell him what's been on my mind lately.”

“Really, maybe I should tell more people to threaten to talk to somebody who knows about what's bothering you,” Lupin suggested.

“Don't you dare!” exclaimed Harry. “I'm trying to keep it a secret for a very good reason.”

“What's that?” Lupin demanded.

“I have my reasons,” Harry said firmly.

“Like what?” Lupin asked.

“That I don't want people to know because they can't keep their mouths shut,” Harry said.

“That still doesn't explain why you can't turn to Hermione for help,” Lupin said. “I'm sure she could keep it a secret.”

Harry sighed in frustration.

“Did you consider that maybe there's a reason that I don't want her help?” Harry demanded.

“Why wouldn't you?” Lupin asked in bewilderment.

“Why do you think I wouldn't?”

“I don't know,” Lupin said. “It's highly unlikely that you'd be able to pull a prank on her or something.”

Lupin paused for a minute to think.

“There's really only one possible reason that I can think of that you'd want to keep Hermione from knowing what you're up to, but that's not a possibility right now considering what she said when we talked a week ago.”

“And what is that?” Harry inquired curiously.

“That you were planning on proposing to Hermione,” Lupin responded.

“Why is that impossible?” Harry asked.

“Hermione told me herself that the two of you have talked about the idea of marriage and agreed that you want to marry some day, but you aren't ready to do so now,” Lupin answered.

Harry chuckled. “What she told you was based on a conversation we had about a month and a half ago,” he said. “I realized about a month ago that we're more ready than we thought.”

“So, you're trying to find the right time to propose to Hermione?” Lupin asked.

“Well…” Harry said, “first I have to figure out how to propose.”

Lupin gave Harry a puzzled look. “What do you mean, Harry? It shouldn't be that hard to figure out how to propose to Hermione. After all, you've only known each other for what…nine years? What could be so hard about figuring out how to propose?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at Lupin. “I want to make my proposal something that neither of us will ever forget. I don't want to do something that everybody else does. I don't want to do something like a post-shag proposal, like Ron was considering doing, even if Hermione was willing to have sex before marriage. How did you propose to Tonks, anyway?”

Lupin's face turned as red as the Weasleys' hair. “Um…there's a reason that we haven't told people that story. I popped the question after the first time we slept together.”

Harry buried his face in his hands. “Please tell me you're joking!” he pleaded with Lupin.

Lupin didn't respond.

“Do me a favor, Professor,” Harry said. “Never tell Ron how you proposed.”

Lupin laughed. “Sure thing, Harry.”

“I wish I knew how to propose to Hermione. I've been thinking about it for a few weeks, but I'm still stumped,” Harry said.

“You know, Harry,” Lupin said, “James had all sorts of problems figuring out how to propose to Lily too.”

“Really?” Harry said. “What did he end up doing?”

“He certainly didn't propose after sleeping with Lily. She, like Hermione, insisted on getting married before they had sex. Eventually, he ended up taking her on a moonlit flight to some location he never told us about just before graduation. He struggled to come up with a way to propose for weeks before he finally figured it out.”

“Wow!” Harry said in surprise.

“You and Hermione are more like your folks than you know,” Lupin told him.

“How's married life treating you?” Harry inquired.

Lupin smiled broadly as he stared off into space. “It's incredible. I keep falling loving her more and more every day,” he said affectionately.

Harry smiled. “You've got it bad, Professor,” he said.

Lupin placed his hand on Harry's shoulder. “Please, call me Remus, Harry. And from what I've been told and what I've seen, you do too,” he said, smiling at Harry.

Harry smiled fondly. “You'd better believe it,” he said as affectionately as Lupin had moments before.

“Harry, I'm not going to lie to you and say that proposing isn't something to be nervous about, because it is. However, you don't need to stress out about it as much as you are. Relax, Harry. Things will turn out just fine. I have faith that Hermione will accept. I hope you do too.”

“I do,” Harry said. “It's just that I'm so used to things being difficult that it's hard to imagine something going easily.”

“I understand, Harry,” Lupin reassured him. “You've lived a life far harder in your 19 years than most witches and wizards experience in their lifetime. Nothing has come easy for you. You don't need to make this difficult though, Harry. Don't stress out about it. You'll think of a way to propose eventually.”

“Thanks, Remus.”

“You're welcome, Harry.”

“Promise me something, though.”

“Sure, Harry.”

“Don't tell anybody what we talked about,” Harry requested. “I want to try to propose without Hermione finding out what I'm up to.”

Lupin smiled. “Sure thing, Harry,” he said. “It'll be hard to pull one over on her. She is the brightest witch of your age, after all.”

“I know,” Harry said. “I at least want to try.”

Lupin smiled and stood up. “Good luck, Harry.”

“Thanks.”

Lupin removed the silencing charm and unlocked the door.

“You ready to come down?” he asked.

“No, I want to sit here and think for a bit. I'll be back down before too long,” Harry said.

Lupin nodded and quietly left the room, leaving Harry to his thoughts.

Harry stood up and walked over to the window, looking down at the soft layer of snow that covered the ground. As he stood there, he let his thoughts carry him away.

Suddenly, a soft hand gently touched Harry's shoulder.

“Hey, there,” a soft, feminine voice said.

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4. Chapter 3: Ex-tra Perspective

A/N: This was a plot idea that popped into my head while I was writing “All I Want for Christmas.” Hopefully this one won't take as long beyond the holiday it's written for to finish. Needless to say, this is a Valentine's fan fic. For the record, this is NOT the sequel to “All I Want for Christmas” (I'm just saying that now to diffuse any questions on that front). I'm grateful to all those who read and reviewed my first attempt as writing fan fiction. This is my second attempt. Hopefully it will turn out as well as the first one did.

I struggled through this chapter a bit, especially as I neared the end, but it came together quicker than the previous chapter did. I'm still a bit disappointed and discouraged by the lack of reviews, but at the same time I realize that not every story is going to get the number of reviews per chapter that “All I Want for Christmas” did. Please read and review!

Lots of side-ships in this one. Let's see if I can remember all of them that will come up…we've got: Ron/Luna, Neville/Ginny, Lupin/Tonks, Bill/Fleur, and references to Lily/James. This story is slightly AU, but only in the sense that I've added some characteristics to some characters.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. All I own is the plotline and a song that will appear later on in the story.

The Music of Love

Chapter 3: Ex-tra Perspective

Harry jumped in surprise. He hadn't even realized that somebody had come into the room while he was standing there, looking out the window.

“Hi, Ginny,” Harry said without turning around.

“What's the matter, Harry?”

“Nothing.”

“That's hogwash and you bloody well know it,” Ginny said in frustration, turning Harry around to face her. “Something's been off about you for about a month now, and I want to know what it is.”

Harry remained silent for a couple of minutes, hoping Ginny would go away.

“I'm sure Professor Lupin knows what it is,” Ginny said, “after all, he was up here for quite a while and I passed him on the stairs on my way up. I could go ask him.”

Harry glanced at her and tried to keep a straight face as he replied, “you can't prove that that's what we were talking about.”

Ginny raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Harry figured it'd be best to tell a half-truth to try to get her to back off. “We were talking about my folks.”

“And just what did he tell you about your folks?”

“That's not any of your business.”

“Uh huh…you were probably told something along the lines of how they got together or something about their love life.”

“Why do you say that?” Harry asked incredulously.

“Because you generally aren't so secretive to what you're told about your parents.”

Harry shook his head at her. “You're becoming another Hermione,” he said.

“No, I've just spent enough time with you to know you well enough to catch that.”

Harry smiled grimly.

Ginny smirked. “I was right, wasn't I?”

Harry smiled slyly. “Sort of.”

Ginny raised an eyebrow. “How was I off?”

Harry sighed deeply as he contemplated how much to tell Ginny. “I suppose I could use a woman's perspective on this,” he muttered before casting locking and silencing charms on the room.

Ginny smiled and leaned forward eagerly.

“Ron and Lupin have already drug it out of me, and Luna was Luna and figured it out before Ron drug it out of me, but she didn't offer me any help. So, if you have to talk to somebody about what I'm going to tell you, talk to one of them, but under no circumstances is Hermione to find out what I'm about to divulge.”

Harry glared at Ginny, who nodded.

“I've been trying to keep this a secret because I want to do something without Hermione finding out.”

Ginny gasped and raised her hands to her mouth before squealing. “You mean, you're planning on proposing to Hermione?!”

Harry glared at her. “Good thing I put a silencing charm on the room, because they would have heard you on the far side of the moon if I hadn't.”

Ginny slunk down a bit. “Sorry.”

Harry smiled his acceptance of her apology before continuing, “Yes, I'm planning on proposing. Remus told me how my father was stumped at how to propose to my mum for a while, just like I'm stumped at how to propose to Hermione. That's why I've been so stressed for the last month or so. I've realized that we're more ready to get married than we thought we were when we last discussed it. For the life of me, though, I can't figure out how I should propose to her.”

“You're really thinking hard about this, aren't you?”

“I'm assuming that that's a rhetorical question.”

Ginny chuckled. “I suppose so. Any ideas so far?”

Harry gave her a “you've got to be kidding me” look. “Do you I would be so worked up over it if I had thought of something already?”

Ginny turned a pale shade of red as she smiled in embarrassment. “I suppose not. Ron or Professor Lupin have any ideas?”

Harry laughed softly. “You could say Ron had an idea deflated.”

“How so?”

“Apparently he was thinking about proposing after shagging Luna at some point, but I told him he should think of something a bit more original.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Count on my brother with the emotional range of a teaspoon to think about doing something like that. What about Professor Lupin?”

Harry paused for a moment. “I didn't really ask him for ideas, though he did tell me how he proposed to Tonks.”

Ginny's eyes widened in surprise. “They haven't told anybody that story! How did he propose?”

Harry hesitated for a moment. “You have to promise not to tell anybody this, because they've been trying to keep it a secret for a reason.”

“Sure thing, but why would they want to keep it so secretive?”

“Probably not to give any of us any ideas. He proposed after the first time that they slept together.”

Ginny laughed so hard she ended up rolling around on the floor. “Professor Lupin seriously proposed in the same way that Ron was considering?!”

Harry rolled his eyes at Ginny. “Not really. Considering that your brother and Luna go at it like a couple of bunnies, Ron won't be able to propose after the first time they shag.”

Ginny covered her ears and winced. “I seriously did not need to hear that about my brother!”

Harry smirked. “Just like he doesn't like to hear anything about your and Neville's sex life.”

Ginny glared at him. “I suppose it's safe to assume that you won't be proposing the same way Professor Lupin did.”

“Yep. Hermione and I talked it over and we want our wedding gifts to each other to be our virginity,” Harry said with a dreamy smile on his face.

“That's so sweet! As dense as you may be at times, you can still do the sweetest things on occasion.”

Harry's face turned as red as Ginny's hair. “You still haven't really offered your two Knuts about my struggle.”

“Well, Harry…as a girl I can tell you that being sappy can be a good thing when you propose, as long as you don't go overboard with it.”

“Sappiness is good?” Harry asked in bewilderment.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “You boys can be so bloody dense at times it's sad. It may not provide a great story to tell your single mates, but sappiness isn't as bad as you boys make it sound like at times.”

“I wasn't exactly very sappy with you, was I?”

“We weren't together long enough for you to have the chance to do any sappy things for me.”

“True. Besides, we were a bit…distracted when we did get some time together.”

“We sure made good use of the broom closets around the school, didn't we?” Ginny said winking at him.

Harry's face turned bright red again.

Ginny laughed at Harry. “Oh, Harry,” she said, “you look positively adorable when you're embarrassed.

Harry grimaced momentarily. “I still have no bloody idea how to propose.”

Ginny put a hand on his shoulder and looked in his eyes. “Harry, you should do something for her that you wouldn't do for anybody else.”

Harry thought about it for a minute, then smiled at her. “Thanks,” he told her.

She shrugged. “I'm just glad I could help one of my friends out.”

“I'm glad you're as mature as you have been about our relationship.”

It was Ginny's turn to grimace. “I know I was an immature prat about it at first, but that was before I realized that we wouldn't have worked anyway. Now I get to be glad that you're going to end up with one of my best friends, so we'll be able to stay close. I may get to serve as a Maid of Honor in the near future too.”

Harry chuckled. “Once I figure out a way to propose, you can take that idea up with Hermione…assuming she accepts.”

Ginny raised an eyebrow at Harry. “Why do you think she could possible refuse you? She's clearly mad for you, always has been.”

Harry smiled grimly. “One thing I've learned over the years is to never assume anything is a forgone conclusion, because life is too unpredictable to assume anything.”

Ginny nodded. “That's a good point.”

“They're probably wondering where I am and why I've been gone for so long,” Harry said. “I should probably get back downstairs now.”

“I'll pass along any ideas that I think of that might help you,” Ginny told him.

“Thanks,” Harry responded, wrapping her up in a hug before removing the silencing and locking charms.

He followed Ginny down the stairs. As they walked into the living room, they were greeted by catcalls from the twins and anxious glances from Neville.

“What were you doing?” Neville demanded, the fear evident in his voice.

Ginny walked up to him with a smirk on her face. “Oh, I just went upstairs, seduced Harry, and then shagged him senseless,” she said sarcastically.

Neville's face went pure white as the twins busted up laughing.

Everybody else in the room turned a curious eye towards Harry.

He shrugged and said, “we talked, nothing more.”

The other Weasleys all relaxed noticeably while Hermione smiled slyly, as if she knew that was what had happened upstairs all along.

Neville looked at Ginny with raised eyebrows, and she winked at him to promise she'd make it up to him later.

Ron paled upon noticing the exchange. “Don't you two get started now! At least wait until you get home before doing that stuff. Or better yet, don't do it at all.”

“Now, Ron,” Hermione interrupted, “Ginny's of age now and can take care of herself.”

“I'd warn you too, Hermione,” Ron countered, “except I know that you and Harry are at least courteous enough to wait until you're married before shagging each other's brains out.”

Harry draped his arm around Ron's shoulders. “You should talk,” he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Even if we were shagging, we'd at least have the courtesy of putting up silencing charms so you wouldn't have to hear us from across the hall…or next door,” he added looking at Hermione.

Ginny covered her ears while the twins started catcalling at Ron and Luna, who sat there with a dreamy smile on her face.

“Fred, you know what Luna's smile means, don't you?” asked George.

“It must mean that our ickle Ronniekins is a real Gryffindor lion in the sack,” Fred responded.

Ron turned bright red at the twins' remarks.

Mrs. Weasley's face paled. “Ronald Bilius Weasley,” she chastised him, “if that's true, when are you going to find your Gryffindor courage and marry Luna?”

Ron looked down at his lap and mumbled something incomprehensible.

Harry smirked at Ron before winking at Ron when he finally looked up.

Hermione stood up and looked at Harry. “We should be making our way back to the castle now,” she stated in a tone that implied that she had work to do.

Harry stared at the ground for a moment as he thought, then said, “yeah, I've got work to do too.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “She's really got you whipped, mate,” he said softly to Harry to try to avoid Hermione overhearing him.

Unfortunately for Ron, he forgot to consider the twins, who started doing a whip cracking imitation.

Hermione glared at Ron, having pieced together what happened. “Ronald Bilius Weasley!” she reprimanded him, “I do not have Harry whipped!”

Hermione turned away, allowing Harry to whisper cheekily to Ron, “and I enjoy every minute of it.”

“Happy Christmas!” Mrs. Weasley said to Hermione and Harry as she wrapped them up in one of her big hugs.

“Happy Christmas!” they responded together.

Harry and Hermione went around hugging or shaking everybody's hands and wishing them a Happy Christmas before departing. Ron, Lupin and Ginny all gave Harry significant looks as they exchanged farewells with him. Hermione was too wrapped up in her own farewells to notice though, much to Harry's relief.

Having said their farewells, Harry and Hermione walked outside before apparating to just outside the gates of Hogwarts. They then proceeded to walk into the castle and Harry escorted Hermione through the quiet corridors to her office, where he kissed her cheek and told her that he'd see her at home.

Harry then proceeded to his office to try and get some work done. It wasn't as easy as he figured it would be. His thoughts kept drifting to the beautiful bushy, brown-haired witch in her office…or likely the library by that time, he thought to himself with a smile.

After trying to work for a couple of hours, without having accomplished much, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object, tapped it with his wand, and watched his guitar return to its typical size.

Harry smiled as he softly began to play. His guitar was proving to be his release from the tension of figuring out how to propose to Hermione, as he would think of her and how much he loved her while he played. It kept his thoughts from drifting to his problems, as he had to focus on his playing. He could tell that he had clearly gotten better in the past month, as he had played his guitar a little bit every day.

“Somebody's been practicing,” came a very familiar voice that he would never grow tired of hearing.

Harry turned around to face the door with a big smile on his face. “Get much work done?”

“Not as much as I would have liked, but I got some done,” Hermione told him.

“Same here. I eventually gave up on getting any work done and decided to play for a bit to see if it would help me focus better.”

“I was on my way back to my office from the library when I heard you playing, and I know that you're the only person in the castle plays the guitar.”

“Ready to go home?”

“I was just about to ask you the same question.”

“You know what they say,” Harry replied. “Great minds think alike.”

Hermione smiled as Harry reshrunk his guitar and put it in his pocket.

He then put on his coat and offered Hermione his arm and together they walked to the gates so they could apparate home.

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5. Chapter 4: Giant Advice

A/N: This was a plot idea that popped into my head while I was writing “All I Want for Christmas.” Hopefully this one won't take as long beyond the holiday it's written for to finish. Needless to say, this is a Valentine's fan fic. For the record, this is NOT the sequel to “All I Want for Christmas” (I'm just saying that now to diffuse any questions on that front). I'm grateful to all those who read and reviewed my first attempt at writing fan fiction. This is my second attempt. Hopefully it will turn out as well as the first one did.

5 reviews for the last chapter?! If I wasn't so close to the end of the story and so determined to finish what I started, I'd consider abandoning this story or taking it down. I know there are a lot of people reading this story without reviewing it. Please review if you read it! I know that there are probably some of you that are disappointed that this isn't the sequel to “All I Want for Christmas”, but I would hope that you don't look down on this story because of that fact. This chapter is a little shorter than I would like, but I came to my ending point sooner than I expected and couldn't find anywhere that I could slip something more in without going off on an unimportant tangent. The next chapter will likely make up for it, as I've got a lot to do in it.

Lots of side-ships in this one. Let's see if I can remember all of them that will come up…we've got: Ron/Luna, Neville/Ginny, Lupin/Tonks, Bill/Fleur, and references to Lily/James. This story is slightly AU, but only in the sense that I've added some characteristics to some characters.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. All I own is the plotline and a song that will appear later on in the story.

The Music of Love

Chapter 4: Giant Advice

Harry sighed as he put his guitar back in his pocket and looked out his office window at the snow-covered grounds. The kids would be returning from the Christmas holidays tomorrow and Harry still had quite a bit of work to do before they returned.

However, Harry couldn't keep his attention on his work because his thoughts kept drifting to Hermione and wondering how he could propose without her catching on to what he was doing.

Harry figured that a nice walk around the lake might do him some good, so he grabbed his coat and made his way outside. As he got halfway around the lake, Harry heard some noise from the trees to his right, so he stopped and drew his wand.

A moment later, Hagrid came stumbling out of the woods and fell down in front of Harry.

“Hi, Hagrid.”

“Hiya, Harry,” Hagrid responded, picking himself up off the ground and wrapping Harry up in one of his trademark hugs. “It's bin a long time since I've seen yeh `round here alone. `Mione's always with yeh. Yeh havn' problems with her?”

Harry smiled at him. “No, Hagrid. Hermione and I are getting along very well. When I'm not with her, I've been too busy to come out and walk by myself.”

“The two o' yeh havn't bin by ter see me lately either,” Hagrid observed.

“Sorry about that, Hagrid. We've had a lot to do since we're both teaching.”

“Yeh don' have ter tell me tha', Harry. I know how much us teachers have ter do. Come back ter my house. We'll have a spot of tea and catch up.”

Harry willingly followed Hagrid back to his hut, where Hagrid put on a pot of water.

Harry took off his coat and sat down, and Hagrid soon did the same.

“How're the kids treating you, Hagrid? Still as reluctant to help as ever?”

“The three of yeh were the most willin' students I've ever had to help me with ma examples. Except Ron when we were dealin' with spiders o' course…”

Harry chuckled. Ron had gotten better about his fear of spiders, but it would still show itself on occasion.

“But the little tykes seem to like ma class,” Hagrid continued. “How about yeh? How's teachin' treatin' The-Boy-Who-Triumphed?”

“It's going well. I like what I'm doing, even though I don't know if I'm the most qualified for the position.”

“Not qualified?! Yeh defeated You-Know-Who! How're yeh not the most qualified person ter teach Defense Against the Dark Arts? Yeh're the best who's ever lived a' defendin' the Dark Arts!”

Harry turned slightly red in embarrassment. “Please, Hagrid. You know that I don't like the fact that I got lucky and beat Voldemort played up like that.”

“Lucky?! Yeh was destined ter beat You-Know-Who. Just like yeh was destined ter end up with `Mione,” Hagrid stood getting up to pour the water for their tea.

D...D…Destined?” Harry sputtered. “What makes you think that Hermione and I were destined to be together?”

“What the two o' yeh had when yeh'all were tykes has only been seen once before…and that was between yeh mum and dad. All the teachers saw it…except Snape, o' course. He thought all three o' yeh was gonna get yehselves killed.”

“Really?” Harry asked in amazement. “We were that obviously interested in each other while we were students? I didn't realize that I saw her as more than my best friend until just before Remus and Tonks' wedding, just after we graduated. That's why I asked her to go with me that day.”

“And it was `bout time the two of you figured it out too,” Hagrid said, handing Harry his cup of tea.

“Is that why everybody kept telling us that it was `about bloody time that we noticed each other'?”

“That's right.”

Harry sat back with a stunned look on his face. “And I thought Ron was a daft git at times,” he muttered.

Hagrid laughed heartily. “Love can be a right sneaky thing when it makes up its mind ter be.”

Harry couldn't help but smile. “Like when you fell for Madame Maxime?”

Hagrid turned bright red. “I reckon so, Harry,” he said as he smile faded a bit.

Harry smiled sympathetically at Hagrid. “I wish she was still here with you, Hagrid. There's nothing you could have done, though; just like there was nothing I could do for Sirius or Dumbledore.”

Hagrid wiped a tear from his eye. “She was the best thing tha' ever happen'd ter me. I wish I coulda've done somethin' ter save her.”

“I know, Hagrid. I wish I could have done something too.”

“So what's new with yeh and `Mione? Can we expect ter have a weddin' sometime soon?”

Harry looked down at his feet and scuffed his feet along the ground while he debated how much to tell Hagrid. Harry took a deep breath and said softly, “there is something I'm working on trying to do for her without her finding out…”

“And what might tha' be, Harry?”

Harry cringed and looked up at Hagrid. “With all due respect, Hagrid, you know that it's really hard for you to keep a secret, so I'm not sure that I should tell you because I really don't want Hermione to find out what I'm up to.”

Hagrid nodded guiltily, but said, “I promise yeh, Harry, I won' tell a soul.”

Harry took another deep breath. “I suppose you'd eventually hear anyway, considering who's dragged it out of me, so I probably should tell you so you get an accurate version of events.

“A little over a month ago, I realized that Hermione and I are more ready to get married than we figured we were. So, I've been trying to figure out for the life of me how to propose.”

Hagrid's face lit up. “Yeh're actually gonna propose ter `Mione?! Tha's wonderful news!”

“You'd like to think that thinking of a way to propose to my best friend of nine years would be easier than it has been.”

“I'm not gonna claim ter be an expert, Harry. I don' have the experience tha' Remus has in love.”

“I know, Hagrid. I wasn't asking you to offer advice or anything; I was just giving you the correct version of the story.”

“`Mione is somethin' else, ain' she?”

Harry smiled dreamily. “She sure is.”

“I don' have ter ask if yeh love her. Yer dad talked about yer mum the same way.”

“I know. Remus told me.”

“'Mione's a special gal. Yeh should do somethin' special for her.”

“I know, Hagrid. I want to. I just can't figure out what that is, though. It would be even better if I can pull it off without her realizing what I'm planning.”

“I wish I coulda bin more helpful, Harry,” Hagrid said apologetically.

Harry stood up placed a hand on Hagrid's shoulder. “Don't worry about it, Hagrid. This is something I need to figure out on my own.”

Harry's eyes lifted as he saw movement outside. The coat and bushy brown hair were very familiar to him.

“Hermione's coming! Remember Hagrid, not a word about what I told you.”

“Upon my honor, Harry. My lips are sealed on tha' subject.”

Harry sat back down and tried to look as calm as possible while they waited for Hermione to knock.

About a minute later, she did so.

“Come in!” Hagrid called towards the door.

Hermione opened the door, walked in, and hung her coat up. “Hi Hagrid, Harry,” she said without turning around.

Hagrid chuckled as Harry shook his head in amazement. “How did you know I was here, Sweetheart?”

“Besides your coat hanging over here, I could smell your scent when I walked in, Hun.”

Harry stood up and walked over to Hermione and gave her a hug and a kiss. “That's my Hermione,” he said affectionately.

Hermione smiled up at him.

Hagrid let a tear drift down his face. “Yeh two look so good together. The two o' yeh look like yeh should get married tomorrow.”

Harry glared at Hagrid, but it went unnoticed by the slack-jawed Hermione.

She turned to look at Harry with an amused expression on her face. “Did you tell him that we were talking about getting married eventually?”

Harry chuckled. “I think it's probably a forgone conclusion that we'll eventually get married, just like Ron and Luna,” Harry said with as straight a face as he could muster.

“It's bin a long time since yeh've been to visit, `Mione,” Hagrid said, handing Hermione a cup of tea.

She took it with a smile of thanks and sat down. “Sorry, Hagrid. Between working and a certain somebody, I've been pretty busy lately.”

Harry whistled innocently, earning an amused glare from Hermione while Hagrid laughed heartily.

“Yeh don' need ter hide it from me, yeh two. I've known for a while tha' the two of yeh are together. The tykes on the other hand…”

Harry reassuringly squeezed Hermione's hand and smiled at her. She leaned her head on his shoulder as she took deep breaths to try to keep herself calm.

Harry looked apologetically at Hagrid. “Touchy subject,” he informed Hagrid.

“Sorry, `Mione. I didn' realize yeh get so worked up about it.”

“That's okay, Hagrid. I tend to overreact to mentions of that incident.”

“So, why'd you come here, Hun?” Harry inquired. “I'm sure you've got a lot of work to do in the castle.”

“I'd stopped by your office to see if you wanted to get some lunch, Hun, but you weren't there and your coat was gone, so I figured you'd be here.”

Harry gave her a squeeze as he smiled at her.

Hagrid smiled as he gazed at them. “Dumbledore always knew tha' the two of yeh would end up together. Too bad he aren' here ter see it for himself.”

Hermione slipped her hand into Harry's and gave it a gentle squeeze, earning a smile from him. “He was a great man and mentor.”

“Yeah, he was,” Harry added.

He looked up at Hagrid. “What do you remember most about him?”

Hagrid sat back in his chair and stroked his beard, then he looked up at Harry. “Dumbledore had a love of all types of music. Magical and Muggle alike. He said tha' music could speak things we didn't have the words to express ourselves.”

Harry leaned back in his chair as he took in what Hagrid had just said. He closed his eyes to think for a moment.

Suddenly, Harry's eyes sprung open and he leaped to his feet.

“Sorry, Hagrid. I just thought of something that I've got to do and I've got to go do it now.” Harry grabbed his coat and quickly put it on.

“Do you want me to come with you, Hun?”

“No, Sweetheart. You can stay here and catch up with Hagrid for a bit. I'll meet you later so we can get a bite to eat.”

“See yeh, Harry. Take care of yehself. Don' be a stranger.”

“I will. I'll be back by sometime soon.”

Harry smiled internally at the look of confusion on Hermione's face as he quickly left Hagrid's hut and hurried back to his office.

Harry softly hummed to himself as he made his way quickly through the corridors.

Once in his office, Harry cast locking and silencing charms on the office. Then, he dug out a clean piece of parchment and began to write frantically as he hummed to himself, occasionally scribbling out something before continuing on, with only the briefest pauses for thought.

A/N: The moment the few of you who've read my story have awaited is near. That's right, folks…the proposal is only an update away! Please let me know what you think Harry's going to do. I enjoy reading guesses by my readers as to where I'm going with my story.

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6. Chapter 5: The Music of Love

A/N: This was a plot idea that popped into my head while I was writing “All I Want for Christmas.” For the record, this is NOT the sequel to “All I Want for Christmas” (I'm just saying that now to diffuse any questions on that front). I'm grateful to all those who read and reviewed my first attempt at writing fan fiction. This is my second attempt. Hopefully it has turned out as well as the first one did.

Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter written and posted. I got really busy and had a bit of a case of writer's block when I did get time to work on this story. I was originally planning on putting a tune to the song lyrics I wrote for this chapter, which might have slightly altered the wording of my song, but I opted to do that later so I could get this chapter to you without further delay.

Worthy of noting: for the first time in one of my chapters, I'm skipping between times, which I've hopefully made clear where the breaks are. I forgot to do this earlier, but am remembering now, a big thanks to those in the Harmony Forever chatroom when I came on looking for help writing Fleur's line in an earlier chapter, while portraying the accent as accurately as possible.

Thanks to everybody who has made this journey with me. The response to the last chapter was quite pleasing to me. There's a lot to accomplish in this chapter. I hope that you all enjoy the conclusion to this story. I have started working on my next story; I'll say more about it in an author's note at the end of this chapter (I have a hunch it'll get me a number of reviews for this chapter). Please read and review.

Lots of side-ships in this one. Let's see if I can remember all of them that will come up…we've got: Ron/Luna, Neville/Ginny, Lupin/Tonks, Bill/Fleur, and references to Lily/James. This story is slightly AU, but only in the sense that I've added some characteristics to some characters.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. All I own is the plotline and a song that appears in this chapter.

The Music of Love

Chapter 5: The Music of Love

Harry sighed again as he looked down at the messy piece of parchment in front of him. It had so many scribbles on it that it was hard to tell what he had written.

He looked down at the picture of him and Hermione taken at Remus and Tonks' wedding. Smiling he held it in his hands as he thought about her.

Hermione.

His Hermione.

The Hermione that was the only woman that he could see himself spending the rest of his life with.

He gently put the picture down and picked up the piece of parchment again.

He nibbled on the end of his quill as he thought about how he could best express his love for her.

His gaze shifted to the rubbish bin, where he had already tossed four pieces of parchment that he had crumpled up in frustration.

Sighing, he leaned over and pulled them back out, uncrumpled them, and spread them out next to him on his desk.

“This song writing thing isn't nearly as easy as I thought it'd be,” he muttered to himself.

As he gazed at the pieces of parchment, Harry saw phrases that he liked, but nothing seemed to be coming together for him.

Harry sighed again as he stood up and walked over to the window and looked out at the beautiful early January snow. He could see students having snowball fights and chattering excitedly as they caught up on one another's Christmases.

Upon walking back to his chair and sitting down, Harry pushed the piece of parchment that he had been writing on aside, and pulled out a fresh piece.

“Oh Hermione,” Harry said softly to himself, “I wish you knew how much I love you.”

Harry stared at the blank piece of parchment for a few minutes, as if willing for his heart to write what he was trying to say.

Suddenly, Harry's eye's grew in excitement.

“That's it!” he cried out and began to write quickly, glancing over at the other pieces of parchment at times, before returning to the sheet he was working on.

Half an hour later, Harry picked up his guitar and began to play a few chords.

**********

That Friday, Hermione pulled Harry aside during dinner in the Great Hall.

“What're you up to, Hun?” she demanded.

“What makes you think that I'm up to anything, Sweetheart?”

Hermione glared at him. “Because you're going around the corridors humming constantly, and from what I've been told, it's always the same tune that you're humming, but nobody recognizes what it is.”

Harry tried to hide his discomfort as best he could. He certainly didn't want Hermione finding out like this…it would be best to try to distract her. “Geesh, it sounds like somebody's stalking me,” he said with an eyeroll.

Hermione cuffed him in the shoulder. “Nobody's stalking you. I've gotten reports from several different students, as well as a couple of our friends. It seems like the only time you're not humming is when you're around me?! Why is that, Harry? What are you trying to hide from me? You know perfectly well that I'll figure out what you're doing is eventually, so you may as well tell me now!”

Harry wrapped her up in a hug. “Nothing, Sweetheart. It's an unknown song, that's why people can't figure out what it is.”

Hermione's ears perked up. “Oh, really?! What's it called? Who's it by? Why haven't you played it for me if you like it so much that you're humming it in the corridors? Why don't you hum it when…”

Harry cut her off with a kiss. “Hush. I didn't realize that I was humming it that often, that's all.”

“That doesn't answer why you don't hum it around me.”

Harry pondered his response for a minute. “Well, Sweetheart…we're either generally talking…or doing other things,” Harry added with a wink.

Hermione's face turned a pale shade of red. “Honestly, Harry,” she whispered to him, “don't say things like that when the students are around. You'll give them the wrong idea as to what we do behind closed doors.”

“Seriously, Hermione. None of the students are able to hear what we say up here at the staff table with so much talking going on...”

Harry picked that moment to look out at the Slytherin table, where he saw a group of fourth-year girls whispering excitedly and taking occasional glances at himself and Hermione. On the table, he realized there was a pair of Extendable Ears that Fred and George had created and were their best selling item, especially to Hogwarts students.

Harry looked back at Hermione and turned a brilliant shade of red.

She then looked at what Harry got so embarrassed about, and then her face turned the same shade of red as Harry's.

“You do realize that the student body's now going to think that we shag like a couple of bunnies. Right, Harry?” she said with as much dignity as she could muster.

Harry mumbled an apology.

Suddenly, Pigwigeon landed next to Harry and stuck out his leg, revealing that he had a letter for him.

Harry smiled as he untied the note that he knew was from Ron.

He smiled as he thought about how much Pig had mellowed over the years, as he looked at him sitting there patiently, waiting for Harry's response.

Harry unfolded the note, without letting Hermione see it and read:

Hey Mate,

I need your help with something very important. I know you'll be done with classes by the time Pig gets to you, so this note will turn into a portkey two minutes after you fold it back up. Say hello to the missus for me. Have you finally done it, mate? Or do I need to Imperius you to get you to go ahead and propose, mate? I'll see you soon.

Your best mate,

Ron

Harry folded up the note and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek.

“I have to go,” he told her, nodding a dismissal to Pig. “Ron needs my help with something that he says is important, and I need to get out of here because the note is a portkey and the students shouldn't see me taking it. I'll see you when we get home, Sweetheart.”

Hermione kissed his cheek. “See you at home, Hun.”

Harry strode out of the Great Hall and found an unoccupied area to wait for the portkey to take him to wherever Ron set it for.

Soon enough, Harry felt a familiar tug in his naval as he was whisked off to an unknown destination.

**********

Two weeks later, Harry and Hermione were enjoying a quiet late dinner in their flat, since Ron and Luna were out on a date.

“Harry, do you know why Hagrid keeps suggesting to me that we should get married?” Hermione inquired.

“Sorry, no I don't. Strange that he hasn't suggested it to me, considering that he should know that you're too traditional to propose to me.”

Hermione smiled at him. “I know. It's almost like he knows something that I don't. Just like Ron and Luna…and Ginny too, now that I think about it.”

Harry suddenly found himself being grateful that Lupin worked at the Ministry, and not at the school.

“I'm not sure why they seem to be acting differently, Sweetheart.”

They stood up and magically sent their dishes to the kitchen to wash themselves, and made their way to the loveseat in the living room.

Hermione leaned her head on Harry's shoulder. “Evenings like these are wonderful; sitting around our flat with nothing to do and the love of my life to share it with.”

Harry smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “This is definitely a great way to spend an evening,” he said, giving her a kiss on her cheek.

“Have you given any more thought as to our getting married?”

Harry leaned his cheek on the top of Hermione's head. “Yeah, I've thought about it a bit,” he admitted.

“Maybe we should get married soon,” Hermione said thoughtfully, “after all, we know that we want to and that we can certainly afford to. We can help each other grow in other areas, and our weaknesses are covered by the other's strengths.”

“It'll happen when it happens.”

Harry watched as Hermione's eyes slowly closed in sleep as he felt his doing the same thing.

**********

On the morning of Valentine's Day, Harry got up before the crack of dawn, and well before the other three in their flat. He silently went about his routine and left for the castle before anybody else was awake.

Upon arriving at the castle, he quickly made his way to his office—after making a quick stop by Hermione's office to leave a bouquet of roses and a card on her desk, where he checked to see that everything he needed was there.

After casting silencing and locking charms on his office, Harry made sure his guitar was as precisely tuned as he could manage. Then, he started to sing some of his favorite love songs, that reminded him of Hermione.

He then shrunk his guitar and put it in his pocket, along with something else that he'd been wanting to give Hermione for quite a while.

After putting on his invisibility cloak, he silently crept out of the castle unnoticed.

**********

“Where have you been?” an angry Hermione demanded as she barged into Harry's office late that afternoon.

Harry gulped nervously. An angry Hermione was not something he needed to have this afternoon.

“I've been busy all day, Sweetheart.”

“Busy? Doing what? Why weren't you working on some of the stuff you've been doing today last night when you were bored out of your mind?”

Harry grabbed his cloak. “Let's take a walk, Sweetheart. The rest of the castle doesn't need to hear this.”

Hermione huffed in frustration. “Why won't you tell me what you've been doing all day?”

“I will,” Harry reassured her. “Just give me some time.”

Then Harry resorted to a trick that he knew wouldn't fail, he looked at Hermione with puppy dog eyes.

It only took a minute for Hermione to cave. “Oh, alright. We'll need to drop by my office to get my cloak. I know you'll tell me what you've been doing later.”

Harry smiled and offered Hermione his arm, then discreetly turned and nodded to Hedwig, who flew out the window immediately.

**********

About ten minutes later, having collected Hermione's cloak and made their way through the corridors of the castle, they walked across the grounds as sunset approached rapidly.

“The roses are beautiful, Hun. Thanks.” Hermione said smiling up at Harry as they started to stroll around their favorite path around the lake.

Harry kissed her forehead. “You're welcome, Sweetheart. Any memorable incidents in your classes today?”

Hermione smiled sheepishly. “Other than several students asking when you were going to propose to me, nothing in particular. Did you have something happen?”

Harry chuckled. “Yeah, I did. In my fifth-year class, one of the Gryffindor boys asked out one of the Slytherin girls. The class broke out laughing, but she said yes.”

“That's so sweet. Who was it?”

“John Peters and Jane White.”

Hermione smiled at his response. “Those two'll be good for each other. They have more in common than they probably realize.”

“Yeah, they do.”

“So, why did you ask me to come for a walk?”

“Who says I need to have a reason?”

“I'm always the one suggesting we talk a walk.”

“I have to have suggested it once or twice before.”

Hermione smirked. “No you haven't.

“I still want to know why you think I have a reason for asking you to walk with me.”

“Call it a hunch.”

“Well, quit thinking for a bit and enjoy the beautiful scenery,” Harry said with a wink.

Hermione cuffed his shoulder. “I can think and enjoy the scenery at the same time.”

Harry chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I know you can, Sweetheart.”

They fell quiet until they reached their favorite spot to sit, and Harry helped Hermione sit on the side of the log that she always sat on before sitting down next to her.

Hermione leaned her head on Harry's shoulder. “It's beautiful here.”

Harry smiled at her. “Not as beautiful as you are.”

Hermione turned a pale shade of red. “No I'm not.”

Harry took her hands in his. “You're the most beautiful woman in the world to me.”

“Love must have blinded you then,” Hermione said teasingly.

“No, if anything, it's sharpened my sight, because it's helped me see what I really want in life.”

Harry stood up and walked over to the tree behind them and reached over and picked something up. Once Harry removed the disillusionment charm from it, she realized that it was his guitar.

Harry then pulled his pick out of his pocket as he walked back around in front of Hermione and started to play softly.

Harry looked down at his hands as he started to sing tentatively.

Your beauty shines from within

And it exceeds all others.

I have eyes for you alone.

He looked up at her and saw her smiling at him as his voice started to grow stronger and more confident.

I wish you knew how much I love you.

How much I need you.

How much I want to be a father to your children.

I want to grow old with you.

Watch you grow more beautiful every day.

I wish…

You knew…

How much…

I love you.

You know me better than I do.

I was lonely `til I met you.

You're the half that makes me whole.

I wish you knew how much I love you.

How much I need you.

How much I want to be a father to your children.

I want to grow old with you.

Watch you grow more beautiful every day.

I wish…

You knew…

How much…

I love you.

You are the world to me.

I'm amazed you chose to love me.

I love you more than words can say.

I wish you knew how much I love you.

How much I need you.

How much I want to be a father to your children.

I want to grow old with you.

Watch you grow more beautiful every day.

I wish…

You knew…

How much…

I love you.

Harry stopped strumming and sang a cappela while hiding the guitar pick in his hand and shrinking his guitar and putting it in his pocket.

I wish you knew how much I love you.

How much I need you.

How much I want to be a father to your children.

I want to grow old with you.

Watch you grow more beautiful every day.

Harry knelt in front of Hermione as he sang the last line.

Will you marry me?

Hermione's hands flew to her mouth as Harry sang the last line while opening the hand that had held the guitar pick to reveal a beautiful two-karat diamond engagement ring.

She leaped into Harry's arms, knocking him over on to his back, landing on top of him. She kissed him hard until they were both breathless.

“I take it that's a `yes',” Harry said as they both sat up.

Hermione gave him a big hug. “Of course, you silly boy,” she told him before kissing him again.

Once they broke apart, gasping for breath, Harry took her hand and slowly slid the ring onto her finger.

They were both admiring the ring when all of a sudden, they heard loud applause from a little ways towards the castle. They both looked over and saw the entire staff and a few of the students approaching, as well as several of their other friends, all following behind Ron, who had Hedwig perched on his shoulder, with his fiancé Luna right behind him as her engagement ring sparkled in the early evening moonlight.

“It's about time, mate!” Ron exclaimed, slapping Harry on the shoulder. “I thought you were going to chicken out on me.”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and laughed.

“I believe congratulations are in order, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger,” Headmistress McGonagall said. “Just don't make me have you two teach a refresher course in sex ed for getting caught snogging in the hallway again.”

Harry and Hermione both turned bright red and mumbled a response.

“I'm proud of yeh both,” Hagrid said before wrapping them up in one of his trademark hugs. “I'm sure the two of yeh will have many happy years together.”

“You two look so happy,” Luna said dreamily. “I look forward to having our kids playing together in a couple of years.”

Ginny squealed as she ran up to Hermione to get a better look at the ring. “Wow, Hermione! Harry must have really spent a lot on that ring,” Ginny told her. “You really got the best catch in the wizarding world,” she added, waggling her eyebrows at Hermione, causing Hermione's face to turn as red as Ginny's hair.

Lupin walked up to Harry and gave him a big hug. “Your mum, dad, and Sirius would all be really proud of you today, Harry. I'm sure your folks would have loved Hermione.” The last he said with tears in his eyes.

Hermione smiled at Harry after hearing Lupin's praise of her. Suddenly her eyes widened and she turned and looked at Harry.

“How long have you been planning this?” she demanded.

Harry looked sheepishly down at the ground and scuffed the snow with his foot. “Oh, since just before Christmas.”

“And they all knew you were planning on proposing to me today?”

“Most of them. I sent Hedwig off to Ron to let him know that we were leaving my office and headed in this direction and told him to gather up as many of our friends as possible and get them over here.”

Hermione looked at Harry in shock. “And the tune you were humming in the hallway?”

“The song I just sang to you.”

It was Hermione's turn to look sheepish. “You mean that you planned all this without me figuring out what you were up to?!”

If Harry's grin could have possibly grown wider, it did. “Yeah, I did.”

Hermione rewarded him with a big hug and a kiss. “Mr. Romantic, you realize that you're going to have to try to surprise me more often now that you've done it, right?”

Harry grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. “I certainly intend to try, Sweetheart.”

The End

A/N: Thanks again to everybody who followed this story, especially to those of you who left reviews.

Now, I bet you want to know about what I have planned next. Not knowing how much time I'm going to have to write in the future between work and school, I decided to rearrange my upcoming projects, and now I'm going to write the much anticipated sequel to “All I Want for Christmas” next. However, I'm planning on writing it and getting it betaed for consistency with both canon and “All I Want for Christmas” before I post it. So, if you want to have a chance to potentially beta it, I would greatly recommend that you read “All I Want for Christmas” and watch the discussion forums for my post seeking betas.

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