Disclaimer: JKR owns the characters, not me.
The Bad Assumption
Chapter: 4 Awkward Proposals
Harry stood there quietly for several moments in deep thought, but never broke his gaze into Hermione's brown eyes. Normally she could look into his eyes and see what he was feeling, but she couldn't tell now, he wasn't letting any of his feelings show this time. She was looking for any hint of what he was thinking or feeling, but in the next instant she saw a little smile appear on his face.
"Hermione, that's exactly what I am doing. If you can see in your heart to forgive me for wasting so much time we could have been together I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. You know I love you, you heard me confess that earlier. If you will have me, I promise to take care of you and make you happy the rest of your life," said Harry hesitantly.
Hermione couldn't help but smile at Harry's awkwardness in the moment. She loved him so much and knew he had a hard time expressing himself sometimes. Of course, the large amount of butter beer he had consumed didn't help matters very much.
"Harry, just relax and tell me exactly what it is you are trying to say," she said soothingly.
She knew very well what he was trying to say, it was rather obvious. But, she wanted to actually hear him say it properly. She had hoped that one day she would hear what Harry was trying to say. For a time it looked as if it would never happen, but with a little help from a good friend, it looked like it was going to happen in just a few moments.
Harry gently broke the embrace they had been in and took both of her hands in his. Yet, he still kept the gaze he had on her eyes.
"Hermione, my love, I've never been very good at truly expressing myself, but I will try. Because I have learned the hard way about assuming anything about you, even though I think I know the answer, I will ask just to make sure. Hermione Jane Granger, I love you above all else, even life itself, if you will have me, I would like for you to be wife. In other words, will you marry me?" said Harry nervously.
She smiled at him sweetly at hearing his wonderful words. When she was young she had hoped that some time in her life someone would love her enough to ask her that very question. But, with it coming from Harry, the young man she loved so fiercely she would give her life for him, it just made it a million times more special. With their eyes still locked she didn't hesitate to give him her answer.
"Mr. Potter, I would be more than honored to be your wife," she said lovingly.
She saw the happiness explode on Harry's face as a look of utter joy came over him. He took her into his arms in a bone crushing embrace and kissed her more passionately than he ever had, not to be outdone she returned his kiss with equal intensity. She knew he desperately needed love and happiness in his life for he had lived such a horrible existence for so long that she was bound and determined to devote the rest of her life to making him happy. She was going to do her best to make him so happy that he would never remember what it was like to be unhappy. They stood there losing themselves in each other, enjoying being so close. Unfortunately they were brought back to reality by the sound of Tonks returning to the kitchen with the papers for Remus in her hand.
"Oh my! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything," said Tonks turning a bright red.
"That's okay Tonks, Harry and I have the rest of our lives for, uhm, for such enjoyable activities. It seems that while you were upstairs looking for Remus' letters, Harry, uh, well, he asked me if I would marry him, to which of course I said yes," said Hermione beaming brightly at Tonks.
"Oh Harry, Hermione, that's wonderful news," said the young Auror.
She walked over to the couple and hugged them both at the same time. It was a hug Mrs. Weasley would have been proud of.
"I better go now, I've done enough damage here for one day. Plus, I need to get these papers to Remus, and if I hang around here too much longer I'm going to turn into a human hosepipe. I'm so happy for you two, maybe we can get together sometime soon and make plans for each other's wedding. Bye now," she said cheerfully.
At her last words, Tonks waved at them, wiped a few more tears on her sleeve, then she disapparated. This left Harry and Hermione alone for the first time since they had realized their true feelings. They stood there for quite some time enjoying the close, comforting feeling of being in each other's arms. Suddenly, Harry tensed as a troubling thought ran through his mind. Hermione noticed the troubled look that now covered Harry's face.
"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Hermione a bit concerned.
"Hermione, I just proposed to you. This is suppose to be a very special event in a young woman's life and I didn't even give you a ring," said Harry sadly.
"Harry, that's okay. Seeing that this whole thing was quite unexpected and spontaneous, it's not a problem that you didn't give me a ring. We can go out some time at our leisure and pick one out. I don't think it's written anywhere that you have to give a ring when you propose to someone. Just because you didn't give me a ring doesn't make the proposal any less official," she said softly.
In an instant she saw his wonderful green eyes light up and a bright smile came across his face.
"Hang on, I almost forgot. Love, stay here a moment and I'll be right back. Oh, and help yourself to a butter beer. I don't think I'll be wanting one for quite a long time," said Harry happily.
Harry gently separated himself from Hermione, smiled at her brightly, and immediately disapparated with quite a loud crack. Hermione was right curious now as to where Harry had gone. She absentmindedly walked over to the fridge and, as Harry had offered, helped herself to a butter beer. She returned to the beautiful mahogany table and sat down.
Surely Harry hadn't gone to Diagon Alley now to get a ring, she wondered. Knowing Harry, he very well could have. Once Harry set his mind on doing something it was nearly impossible to dissuade him.
While still wondering where he had gone, she was startled by the loud crack of Harry reappearing before her. She was quite confused now. She knew Harry was a very powerful and capable wizard, but there was no way even he could have gone to Diagon Alley, picked out a ring in the proper size, pay for it, and come back in the short amount of time he was gone. She wondered if he even knew what her ring size was, not to mention that it was a bit late in the day and most of the shops would already be closed.
Regardless of where he had been, he was now standing in front of her with a very happy satisfied look on his face as he smiled at her brightly.
"Harry, where did you go? You didn't have enough time to go to Diagon Alley and buy a ring," said Hermione curiously.
"That's very true, love. I may be fast, but I'm not that fast. I was just upstairs in my bedroom," said Harry matter of factly.
"Oh, so as part of the renovations to the house they added a jewelry shop in your bedroom," said Hermione with a smirk.
Harry looked at her lovingly and chuckled then explained what he had done.
"Not exactly, love. When I turned seventeen and officially took ownership of Grimmauld Place, Professor Dumbledore dropped by that very day with a sealed box. He explained to me that the box contained all of the personal affects that they could find at my parent's house after it was nearly destroyed the night Voldemort killed them. He said it was time he turned it over to me because I was now at the age where I could appreciate the items inside," Harry said solemnly.
Hermione suddenly felt very upset with herself. She had been cheeky with him and here he was talking about a very serious and emotional part of his life.
Harry took in a breath and continued," Not all of the items belonged to my parents, some had belonged to my paternal grandparents. Some of the items included my grandparent's wedding and engagement rings."
As he finished speaking, he produced a burgundy velvet bag with a leather cord tied around the top to keep it secure. Harry gently untied the cord and opened the bag. He reached inside and removed something from the bag that Hermione couldn't see from where she was sitting. He re-secured the bag and placed it securely within the folds of his robes. He walked over to his love, looked deep into her eyes and spoke to her softly.
"Hermione, let me do this the proper way, the way I should have done it in the first place."
Hermione, who was now at a loss for words, just gazed back into his eyes and nodded.
"Hermione, because of my ignorance, we have wasted too much time we could have spent being closer than we were. For this I ask your forgiveness. I love you more than anything in the world, and that includes life itself. I couldn't bear to live if I couldn't be near you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Hermione," said Harry with great feeling.
For a moment they just shared a glance, and he could see her eyes filled with love and tears. Harry knelt down beside her taking both of her hands in his. Gathering all of his courage, he looked deep into her beautiful brown eyes and asked her the most important question of his life.
"Hermione Jane Granger, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Tears were now pouring down her face, but she never looked away from his intensely green eyes as she answered firmly.
"Yes, Harry James Potter, I will gladly be your wife. I have dreamed about this moment many times not knowing if it would ever happen. You just don't know how happy you have made me, Harry, by making my wish actually come true."
At this time Harry removed something from the end of his little finger, gently raised Hermione's left hand, and slipped a ring onto her finger. Once it was in place he leaned forward and kissed it. She slowly brought her hand up so she could get a good look at the ring. It wasn't an exact fit, but very close, and she wouldn't have taken anything in its place.
She could tell it was very old, the band was a little wider than most current designed bands, and the diamond that was set in it was absolutely beautiful, as it appeared to be glowing. Not being an expert, but giving an estimated guess, she put it at nearly a full carat. Another feature of the ring that caught her attention was the ancient runes engraved along the band.
While Harry was still kneeling beside Hermione, she carefully slipped out of her chair and knelt in front of him. She took him into her arms in a firm embrace as she started to sob softly into his shoulder. After a few short moments that she allowed herself to release some of her emotions, she finally spoke.
"Harry, the ring is beautiful, I've never seen anything like it. The stone is so brilliant and clear, and the band is engraved with a number of ancient runes. I tried to translate them but I've never seen any that look like these."
"When Professor Dumbledore turned the box over to me, he talked about the items that belonged to my grandparents. The ring on your finger has been in my father's family for nearly ten generations. According to the headmaster there's a bit of a legend surrounding the ring. Supposedly, the wizard that crafted the ring placed a powerful charm on it, and according to the legend, the couple who has the ring, as long as their love remains true to each other and never falters, will live a long, happy, and very productive life," explained Harry.
"Harry, I feel very honored you love me so much that you trust me with such an important piece of your family's history," said Hermione.
"Hermione, I trust you unconditionally with my life, don't you understand that?" said Harry.
"Yes, I know, and I trust you too, Harry, not only with my life, but also with my heart. I know we will be happy together for the rest of our lives," she said beaming at him.
Harry continued to gaze at Hermione. He couldn't believe the turn of events that had happened in the course of just a couple of hours. He hoped with all his heart that this wasn't some cruel dream where he'd wake up any second and find things had gone back to the way they were before Harry and Hermione found out how they really felt about each other.
He prayed it wasn't a dream for he had never experienced such a feeling of sheer joy as he was right then. The young woman he had loved for so long, the one he just knew didn't feel for him the way he did for her, was going to be his wife. He couldn't believe how much his life was turning around now with so many of his wishes falling into place.
Harry leaned forward and gave his love a quick but gentle kiss, then slowly stood up. He offered his hand to Hermione who accepted it immediately and he helped her to stand up. They went back to sitting across from each other at the table.
"I guess, uh, we, hmmm, have quite a few plans we have to make now, said Harry quite nervously.
She had to stifle a giggle as she looked at her future husband and thought how utterly adorable he was with such a genuine clueless look in his face.
She knew he had no idea what was involved with planning a wedding.
"Yes, I'm afraid so Harry. A wedding is a very large undertaking and a very important event in the life of a couple. Many, many decisions have to be made. We will need to decide where to have the ceremony, who to invite, who your groomsmen will be, who your best man will be, who my attendants are, what kind of flowers we want, what colors to use, and of course when to have it. That's just to name a few things we have to decide on. I'll eventually have to give up my flat as it gets closer to the wedding. It is a lot to do, but it really is worth it. Hopefully, it will be a very special, wonderful, once in a lifetime event," said Hermione matter of factly.
Hermione noticed that Harry suddenly had a look of deep concentration on his face, his brow was deeply furrowed as if he was thinking very hard about something.
"Harry, is something wrong?" asked Hermione a bit concerned.