Ron's Valentine

Ron was worried. Extremely worried, in fact. It wasn't that he didn't have everything all mapped out in his head. This was just different...more important. In fact, this was quite likely the most important thing he'd ever done his entire life. As he sat by the fire in the Common Room, going over his plan in his mind once more, he let his mind wander back over the last few years.

The first time he saw her, he knew there was something different about her. Alright, so she was a bit bossy, and a right pain with her know-it-all attitude. But he was used to that, wasn't he? Just look at his mother and sister, after all. Not to mention having five older brothers. He was used to getting bossed around. No, it wasn't that. There was something intriguing about her that he couldn't place at the time.

Over the intervening years, he had finally figured out what it was. It was her easy grace and the little things that intrigued him. It was the way her brow furrowed when she was trying to figure out a particularly puzzling bit of an assignment. It was the way she could quell any of his arguments with just a single look. It was the way her whole face lit up with a radiating glow when she smiled.

She'd changed, grown, over the years. Well, to be honest, they both had. Where she'd grown into a beautiful, intelligent young woman, he'd grown as much emotionally and mentally. No longer did he think of her as bossy or pushy. Things he used to find irritating, he now found rather charming, because he knew she did it out of love and affection.

They'd started dating about this time last year, after he'd finally gotten up the nerve to send her a Valentine's card. He'd told her precisely how he felt about her, but he hadn't signed his name to it. She'd known right away, though. He could tell from the way her eyes kept flicking to his face as she read it. Later, she'd managed to corner him alone. "It's about time," was what she'd told him, before confessing that she'd known she loved him for nearly three years, and had only been waiting for him to realize his feelings. They'd been practically inseparable since then.

That was what had made lying to her last weekend so hard. He'd told her he was staying behind at Hogwarts to practice flying with Harry while everyone was at Hogsmeade, and insisted that she go on without him. Which, he reflected, was really only partially a lie. They had practiced flying, but only after a quick trip to and from Hogsmeade to visit the jeweller's to pick up the item he'd ordered back at Christmas, and had been saving for ever since. Surely that would make up for his little white lie?

So lost in his own thoughts was he, that he didn't hear her approach until she cleared her throat to get his attention. "A sickle for your thoughts?"

He started, and peered up at her, then slid over on the sofa to make room for her to sit beside him. "Erm...Hermione? I have a confession to make," he started after she was seated. "About last weekend. You see, practicing flying wasn't the only reason I wanted you to go on to Hogsmeade without me."

"Oh?" she inquired, brow furrowing somewhere between worried and irritated. "So, what? You just wanted to be rid of me, then?"

She looked on the verge of tears, and he hurried to explain. "No! That's not it, either. Erm, Hermione?" He fumbled to take the small box from his pocket as he spoke. "We've been through a lot together these past few years, right? And, well, what I'm trying to say is that I love you, and I can't imagine going through the rest of my life without you being there with me. Will you marry me?" He finished in a rush, opening the box to reveal the ring within, and holding it out to her.

The tears that had been threatening fell in full force as she threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. "Oh, Ron! Of course I will! This is the best Valentine's Day, ever!"