His Angel

His Angel

Christmas day at the burrow was like none anywhere else. Small explosions came from every corner of the house compliments of Fred and George. Mrs. Weasley bustled around the kitchen preparing Christmas dinner while Mr. Weasley grilled Harry about muggle holiday traditions. For the past 5 years, since their leaving Hogwarts, Harry and Hermione had stayed at the burrow every Christmas. Ron and Hermione, who had been officially "together" since the end of their sixth year, sat in front of the fire amongst torn paper and open boxes. Hermione rested her head on Ron's shoulder and released a light sigh. Ron kissed her forehead and whispered "I love you" in her hair. She looked up into his eyes and whispered "I love you" back to him as they leaned in for a kiss.

"Dinner!" shouted Mrs. Weasley, causing the two to spring apart in surprise. Ron stood up, grabbed Hermione around the waist and quickly picked her up and draped her over his shoulder. Hermione let out a scream as Ron spun around once, laughing.

"Put me down Ronald Weasley!" she shouted. He gently placed her on her feet and kissed her cheek.

"Just having a bit of fun," he told her innocently, looking at her angry face.

"Prat," she called him and immediately burst into a fit of giggles. Glad to see that she really wasn't angry, Ron chased her into the kitchen where the rest of the household was assembling.

After everyone had been forced third and fourth helpings by Mrs. Weasley, Harry and Hermione offered to do the dishes.

"Oh, no. Ginny will help Harry. Hermione, you're a guest." Ron said. Ginny didn't protest, but looked angry.

"So, what's that make me, then?" Harry asked, pretending to be hurt. Ron shot him a look that clearly said he wanted to be alone with Hermione. Harry got the hint and started to clear off the table with Ginny. Ron grabbed Hermione's hand.

"Let's take a walk," he said, giving her hand a little squeeze.

A few minutes later, they were both dressed in their warmest cloaks and headed out the door. They walked silently, hand in hand, up the hill away from the burrow. When they reached the top, Ron stood behind Hermione and wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder and pressed his cheek against hers, barely feeling her hot breath. They looked down at the house and surrounding trees. Lights shone through the windows onto the snow covered ground.

"Its beautiful," Hermione said.

"Not as beautiful as my angel," Ron replied, nuzzling her face with his nose. Her cheeks flushed, but Ron couldn't tell if it was because she was blushing or because of the cold. They swayed back and forth in the breeze as snow began to lightly fall. Ron kissed her cheek and inhaled deeply. Hermione turned to look at him, but Ron didn't meet her eyes.

"Hermione, I..." Ron started, taking her hands in his. She looked at him more closely trying to figure out what was wrong. He started again, "Will... Can...". He stopped and took another deep breath. "Ok," he said to himself. He reached into his pocket and got down on one knee in the cold snow. Finally, looking into her eyes, he pulled a small box from his cloak and opened it. "Hermione, will you marry me?"

Inside the box was a silver band with a small pearl on top. On either side of the pearl was a tiny ruby. Ron remembered when they had first started dating when Hermione had told him that she liked pearls better than diamonds; they seemed more elegant to her. Hermione looked from his eyes, to the ring, then back to his eyes. She tried to speak, but no words came out. As she mouthed wordlessly, her eyes began to fill with tears. She was in shock until she thought He's proposing! Do something, stupid! Losing her battle with words, Hermione smiled and nodded her head vigorously, tears streaming down her face. Ron's face lit up and he took of Hermione's mitten and slipped the ring on her finger. She stood there, staring at the ring with her tear stained face, until she lurched forward, throwing her arms around him, both of them tumbling into the snow. New tears fell from her eyes, and Ron's, as she kissed every part of his face. They both laughed and wiped the tears and snow from each others faces.

"I love you," Hermione said, leaning her head towards him.

"I love you back," Ron said as they shared a passionate kiss. Hermione giggled and squeezed Ron tighter.

"C'mon. Let's go tell everyone," she said, helping him up. They walked slowly down the hill, with their arms around each other, Hermione releasing a small giggle occasionally.

They walked in the back door, faces red and wet, and were greeted by all the Weasleys and Harry standing around the kitchen sink, watching them come through the door. Ron cleared his throat.

"Um, hello, I just, well... See the thing is... Hermione is..." Ron stumbled over his words, grinning like a madman. "We're getting married," he said in a rush, Hermione letting out another small giggle and showing her ring. Everyone let out a cheer and rushed over to congratulate the pair.

Later, after the celebration had died down and everyone had gone to bed, Ron and Hermione settled down on the couch in front of the fire again.

"Let's go tell my parents tomorrow," said Hermione, snuggling into Ron's side.

"How do you think they'll take it?"

"What do you mean, Ron? They adore you as much as I do. They keep asking when they can expect grandchildren."

"As soon as possible! Why don we get started right now?" Ron wiggled his eyebrows, sending Hermione into another fit of giggles.

"Soon enough, lover boy. Goodnight." She gave him small peck on the lips and made her way up the stairs.

"Goodnight," Ron called after her. He fell asleep on the couch soon after, dreaming about his angel.

~Fin~