Oblivious

Chapter 3: Popping the Question

~H~

When Ron catches up to Harry and me, he seems somewhat nervous. I smile warmly and release Harry, reaching out to embrace Ron. He hesitates but lets himself into my embrace. Then I hold him out at arms' length and say, "Look at you, Ron. You thought this day would never come. You thought you'd never graduate. But you did, and with honors!"

He blushes fiercely, saying, "All thanks to you," as Harry and I smile.

"Oy! Harry!" calls Seamus, motioning him over.

"Be right there, Seamus!" Harry replies. He excuses himself after congratulating Ron and me and goes to join Seamus, Dean, and Neville.

After Harry leaves, Ron fidgets horribly and shuffles his feet, carefully avoiding my eyes all the while.

"Ron, what's the matter?"

He takes my hand, quietly says, "Come with me," and leads me away from the crowd.

As we walk, I survey the darkened grounds, admire the turreted castle, and gaze into the sky dotted with spots of silver and the huge white ball that is the moon. The chattering of the other graduates dies away, enveloping Ron and me in a comfortable silence.

When he finally stops, I see that he has led me to the lake. The moon is reflected in the placid, black water, fairy lights dance in the trees, and a beautiful melody softly plays from some invisible source.

He gestures to a white stone bench and I sit down, gathering my formal, dark scarlet Gryffindor robes around me. He sits down, turns to face me, and immediately drops his eyes to his hands, which he is wringing nervously in his lap.

I place my hand on them and he stops, looking up at me. "Ron, I've never seen you so nervous. What's the matter?"

He diverts his eyes to the moon's reflection, looks back, and takes both my hands in his. Taking a deep breath, he begins.

"Most men start these kind of speeches with, 'From the first time I saw you, I knew I loved you,' or something cliché like that. But it would be a lie if I said that. From the first time I met you, you angered, infuriated, and annoyed me more than anyone, especially my family and, at times, even more than Malfoy. Some of my worst rows ever have been with you."

Here, I blush slightly and lower my head. He lifts my chin and gazes into my eyes, his clear blue ones sparkling, all his nervousness forgotten.

"But you also make me feel the most wonderful, most satisfied, and most complete. When I'm with you, I forget all the darkness in my life. You are my light, my life, and my love."

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, black velvet box. Grasping my left hand with one hand, he opens the box with the other, revealing a beautiful wizard wedding token. A wizard wedding token is like a ring, but it is enchanted so that once it's placed on the finger of the bride, no one else but the two can see it. It becomes a part of the bride, never to be removed, unless the enchantment is broken by one of the two meetig someone who is better suited for them. Combined with the vows at the wedding ceremony, this is what bounds the two forever. This wizard wedding token is a ring of golden light that surrounds a dazzling white gemstone that changes colors when the light reflects on it at different angles. Getting on one knee in front of me, he continues.

"Hermione Granger, will you accept my proposal and be my wife?"

His eyes are gazing unwaveringly into mine. The courage, the strength of character that he emits amazes me. I am shocked and at a loss for words, something that doesn't often happen to me.

I open my mouth to answer, but no sound comes out, so I close it again, like a fish out of water gasping for air. He patiently waits, kneeling and smiling slightly, while I fumble around for an answer for him. I want to accept so badly, but the words just won't come out of my mouth.

I begin to cry, throwing myself into his arms.

-R-

Oh, Merlin! I've made her cry! I think to myself as I hold her.

"Hermione, please don't cry," I say into her hair. "I know it's sudden, and you don't have to answer right now. I just --"

"Oh, Ron . . ."

I lift my head and meet her eyes, still shining with tears. "I love you, Hermione. I always will. I may not be able to ever offer you a manor or a fancy car. All I can offer is myself and my love."

She wipes her eyes and smiles.

"Ronald Weasley, I accept," she says finally, giggling despite herself. She holds out her arms, saying, "I'm all yours!"

A great sigh of relief washes over me as I put the wedding token on her left ring finger and hug her.

"I swear to you, Hermione," I whisper as we embrace, "you won't regret this. I'll do my damnedest to make you the happiest woman, witch or Muggle, in the world."

"I know you will," she whispers back, locking me in a passionate kiss.

-H-

The day after I kissed Hermione, she took me aside to talk to me. Luckily, it was a nice day ,so the Gryffindor common room was fairly empty. When we found a corner far enough away from the few first years that they wouldn't hear, Hermione looked at me seriously and sighed.

"Harry, this isn't working out. Yesterday when you kissed me, it just felt odd. I'm pretty sure you feel the same way, but I just have to tell you how I feel. You're one of my best friends, Harry, and I love you to death, but not that way. Nothing more is ever going to come of this but a great friendship, and I don't want to ruin that by trying to keep up this romance that isn't meant to be. I'm sorry, Harry." She stopped and gazed up at me cautiously, waiting for my reaction.

I let out a huge sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you so much! I felt the exact same way, but I was afraid to tell you. What a relief to finally know --"

"Harry," she said, lowering her eyes, "there's something else."

"What is it?"

"I just kissed Ron, not five minutes ago. And Harry," she says, looking to the wall opposite her and smiling dreamily, "it was the most amazing kiss! It was just so perfect . . ." She directed her eyes back to mine. "I think I love him."

I smiled and took her hand. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so happy for both of you."

"Thank you for understanding, Harry! What would I do without you? I must go find Ron!" She jumped up from her chair, kissed me on the cheek, and bolted from the common room.

I smiled after her, thinking, It's about time those two figured it out.