Disclaimer: I did not create any of the Harry Potter storyline, or characters.
A/N: This is another ficlet for portkey.org 7 before 7 challenge. I really recommend you check out the other fics there, as they are really great!
A Mistake Worth Making
Hermione flopped against the comfy chair in her living room, a cup of steaming hot chocolate in hand, and picked up the Daily Prophet. Her eyes flicked over the articles until they paused, widening in a split-second as hot chocolate sprayed out of her mouth splattering against the black and white pages of the Daily Prophet, as she stared in disbelief at the offending article.
"WHAT?" Hermione shrieked in dismay, re-reading the headline of the article:
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, Soon to be Married?
Her eyes flicked to the article and she began to read, a heavy frown descending on her face with each new word that passed her eyes. She read:
Your Daily Prophet reporter, Josie Nozie, is delighted to break the news that our very own saviour of the Wizarding World, Harry Potter, is soon to be married to the rather plain, but ever-so-talented Hermione Granger; a woman who has stood by him for many years as a friend, and now it seems lover. We discovered this very exciting news by a chance encounter with the couple, just as Harry was proposing. I'm sure all of you faithful readers will join with me as we celebrate this lovely couple's coming nuptials and….
Hermione stopped reading, her face going bright red. She stared at the picture above the article, noticing that Harry was on one knee, smiling up at her. On the angle the picture had been taken it almost did seem like Harry was proposing, but in actual fact he had just dropped his wallet and was picking it up. This was going to lead to a lot of uncomfortable queries, and Hermione could feel her face heating up at the thought of what people would say, and what crazed-fan girls would threaten her with.
Suddenly the flames in her fireplace glowed a brilliant green, before Ron and Luna walked out, brushing off the soot on their robes. Ron beamed at Hermione, his blue eyes lighting up with good-natured humour, but it was Luna who spoke.
"Oh Hermione, why didn't you tell us that you and Harry were getting married? I would have thought you would tell your friends before you tell the Daily Prophet."
Hermione blinked, wiping off the hot chocolate from her face, as she stared at Luna dumbly. How could she actually think this article was the truth? Surely Luna must know she and Harry were just friends?
"Harry and I aren't getting married, Luna-" Hermione began, but Luna didn't want to hear it, as she continued to ask questions, not even giving enough time for Hermione to answer. The fire flared green again and more people came in with well-wishers and exclamations of surprise, until Hermione could barely think because of all the words being shouted at her. Nobody seemed to want to hear that she and Harry were not engaged; they were too busy congratulating her to even take notice of her.
"ENOUGH!" Hermione shouted and picked up her wand, dissapparating with a loud crack to escape the tide of voices and people, the offending Daily Prophet still clutched in her hand. Through the few seconds of uncomfortable compression that her body faced, Hermione felt her rage bubbling to full surface at the nerve of the Daily Prophet fabricating such a lie. How dare they embarrass her like this, embarrass Harry! To make things worse, nobody seemed to care that she and Harry were not engaged. They were so overjoyed to hear the news that they couldn't even see the absolute horror she felt knowing that such a lie had been made.
Hermione materialised into the dark flat, feeling a slight twinge of annoyance that he was obviously still asleep. She pulled back the curtains in an irritable manner, feeling her frustration rising with each stomp of her feet.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled. "Get out of bed. You and I need to talk!"
The door to Harry's bedroom opened, and Hermione saw Harry walk out, his face squinting at the sudden light. She found herself staring at his bare chest for a moment, but then she quickly shook her head and brought her eyes back to his face, noticing how different he looked without his glasses. He looked younger, more defenceless for some reason. His black hair was messier than ever, and his emerald-green eyes looked bleary with sleep. Hermione would have thought he looked rather cute with his grumpy expression and messed up look, but right now she was fuming.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, running a hand through his hair. Hermione walked forward and shoved the hot chocolate stained Daily Prophet in his hands, a scowl on her face.
"This is what is wrong?"
Harry sighed and walked back into his bedroom. Hermione fidgeted with her hands for a minute and watched as Harry walked back out from his room. He yawned slightly, putting on a dressing gown and placed on his glasses. He scanned the Daily Prophet, but unlike Hermione, Harry's eyes did not narrow with annoyance; instead, Hermione noticed they were sparkling with what looked like amusement. Finally he placed down the newspaper and stared at Hermione, a half smile on his face.
"I don't see what the problem is." Harry said with a shrug.
"What!?" Hermione cried disbelievingly. How could he act so carelessly about this? "What do you mean there is no problem? Harry that newspaper just said we are engaged to the whole of Wizarding England! It's a problem because it's a lie!"
Harry laughed and walked towards Hermione, placing his hands gently on her shoulder. "Then why not make it the truth?"
"I….what?" Hermione said shocked.
Harry laughed lightly, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "I'm asking you to marry me Hermione."
Hermione felt her jaw drop. Could he be serious? She stared into his green eyes, seeing the sincerity of his words reflected within. He was actually serious. He wanted to marry her. She felt her brain whirling with confusion with what this meant.
"But you don't even love me!" Hermione stated, still too shocked to even think properly. Why would he suddenly do this now? Why would he ask her this after that ridiculous article? They had never even kissed before for goodness sakes.
Harry shook his head, reaching up his hand from her shoulder to cup her face, his eyes staring intensely into her own, a warm smile on his lips. "Hermione, I know right now you are going to find every excuse for ways to tell me how I don't love you, but what you and I have is more than love. You're my best friend; you're the woman who has stood by my side when no one else would. You've seen me at my worst, and yet even then you stayed by me." Harry placed his other hand on her cheek, tilting her face towards him. "I'm not asking you this because of some fleeting fancy that popped into my head. I'm asking you this because if I could spend my life with any woman, it would be the one who has never given up on me even when she had every good reason to."
Hermione could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her mouth was growing dry, and all she could do was stare into his green eyes, watching as they came closer and closer.
"Marry me," Harry whispered before finally his lips covered hers. Her eyes widened slightly at the contact, but as his hands trailed from her face to pull her closer towards him. Hermione closed her eyes, allowing her hands to wrap around him as she surrendered to the kiss. It was the most beautiful, comforting kiss she had ever experienced, and in that moment Hermione found herself letting go of the belief that they were just friends, for she had never felt so complete, so safe, as she did in his arms.
Harry pulled himself away, an almost shy smile coming to his face; Hermione could have kissed him again then and there, he looked so adorable.
"Well," Harry said quietly. "What do you say? Could you marry someone like me?"
"Yes." Hermione said with a small laugh. "Yes, I think I could."
Harry grinned and pulled her back into his arms, giving her a quick kiss on the head as he held her close to him. Hermione smiled as she leaned into his chest, feeling an unexplainable joy growing inside her. She couldn't believe that an article filled with lies could give her so much happiness, but it seemed to be true. For once the Daily Prophet had made a mistake worth making.