Then There Was You

There he was. The love of my life stood before me, a somewhat mischievous grin spreading across his handsome features as he took my hand in his and started walking.

I didn't know where we were going, or what we were going to do once we were there, but I didn't care. Anywhere with him was perfect and anything we did together, more so.

He lead me forwards through the field in which he had flown me to moments before on the broom I had bought him for his last birthday. His treasured broom now strapped to his back, we began picking up the pace and soon we were dashing through an unfamiliar meadow.

The grass was tickling my ankles as I went and the wind whipped my long hair. The world was passing by in flashes of colour and my heart was beating like a bass drum in my chest, but still we ran. On and on we went until finally, unable to run no more, I let go of his hand.

He stopped immediately and made an about-turn so that he was facing me. His usually pale face was flushed from running and his grey eyes alight with excitement.

'What is it?' he asked softly.

In between gasping for breath, I replied, 'I'm exhausted.'

A grin spread across his face once more. 'It's not much further now. I promise.' He held out his hand again. I took it hesitantly.

'OK, but can we go at a more leisurely pace? I'd rather not have a cardiac arrest, if it's all the same to you.'

He sniggered. 'All right. I'm sorry, I just got caught up in the excitement.'

We resumed our journey, walking rather than running.

'Why couldn't we just have flown all the way to wherever you're taking me?' I asked, having finally caught my breath.

'Because it's hard to land where I'm taking you.'

I frowned slightly, wondering just exactly where we were headed if he, a talented flyer, couldn't even land there.

My frown quickly turned to a smile though; the feel of his hand squeezing mine was making my heart soar. I had never loved anyone the way I did him. We'd had a lot of ups and downs and our relationship had taken countless twists and turns over the years, but I loved him more than anything in the world. Not that I'd ever told him that. I'd never really been able to find the right words to tell him how much he meant to me. Plus I didn't want to make a fool of myself; he hadn't said 'it' to me yet either, and what if I said it and he didn't say it back? No, for the time being, just feeling the way I did was enough. I didn't need to say it out loud. The day would come for that.

After another couple of minutes walking through the luscious green field, we came to the edge of a forest.

'Is this is?' I asked uncertainly, wondering what all the fuss had been about if all he wanted to show me was a bunch of trees.

'Of course not!' he said with a laugh. 'No, it's just through here-' He began leading me forwards into the forest, weaving in and out of trees and undergrowth until finally, we emerged on the other side and I saw what he wanted to show me - we were standing on the very edge of a cliff, peering out across a beautiful, vast countryside that stretched as far as the eye could see.

I gasped, clapping a hand to my mouth at the sight before me. I could now see why it would have been hard to land here; there was only a couple of metres ground at most to stand on and there was a canopy of leaves and branches sheltering what little ground there was.

'What do you think?' he asked softly, wrapping his strong arms around my shoulders and hugging me from behind.

I smiled at the wonderful view, leaning into him. 'I think it's well worth almost collapsing.'

He laughed quietly and kissed the back of my neck.

Taking in the view, something caught my eye in the distance. 'Hey-' I pointed to what I'd seen, '-is that Hogsmeade?'

'Yeah,' he replied as he nuzzled my neck playfully with his nose.

'So that dot in the distance must be Hogwarts?'

'Could well be.'

'Wow.' I stared at the dot on the horizon. 'It's been ages since I've seen that place.'

'Hmm,' was his absent reply as he continued to burrow his nose gently into the crook of my neck.

I stared thoughtfully out across the picture perfect scene. It was the most incredible sight I'd seen in a long time and I wanted to make sure the beauty of it got imprinted in my memory forever. My eyes came to rest on Hogwarts again. Even after everything that had happened there, I still loved the place and missed it like crazy. It held so many memories for me. It was where I'd met him. Where I'd frequently stolen secret glances at him for months before realising that he liked me too. It was where we had had our first kiss, under the stars one night in the middle of a deserted, moonlight lit Quidditch pitch. It was where I had fallen in love with him. And for that reason alone, Hogwarts would always be sacred to me.

Just as my mind was wandering to other pleasant memories of my teenage school years, he suddenly stopped caressing my neck, put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around so I was facing him.

'There's a reason I brought you here,' he said, removing his hands from my shoulders and instead gently cupping my face with them.

'I love you more than life itself, Gin,' he said softly. I swallowed a gasp as my brain processed what he had just said and my heart gave an odd sort of flutter; he'd said it. He'd actually said I love you. I had to stop myself from throwing my arms around him and confessing my undying love for him on the spot and instead tried to concentrate as he continued.

'I never thought I could feel this way about anyone. My life had always been so dark and cold... there was no goodness where I came from. But then...' he sighed and a small smile played on his lips as he looked deep into my eyes. 'Then there was you. My life started the night we had our first kiss on the Quidditch pitch. You brought me to life. And I can't ever imagine being without you.'

'What are you saying?' I whispered.

'I'm saying...' he suddenly let go of my face and dropped to the floor.

'What are you doing?' I asked, giggling nervously, but then I realised exactly what he was doing; he was down on one knee and reaching into his robes. I gasped as he pulled out a small blue velvet box.

'Virginia Weasley,' he said as he opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring that sparkled incredibly as the dappled sunlight hit it, 'Will you marry me?'

'Oh my God,' I said, suddenly feeling extremely light headed as I looked from the sparkling diamond ring to his grinning face.

'Y-you're p-p-p-' I sputtered.

'Proposing, yes,' he said, laughing at my obviously shocked expression.

'But... But...Oh my God!' was all I could manage to say.

'That's not really an answer,' he pointed out, grinning even more broadly.

'You're asking me to marry you?'

'Haven't we already established this?' he said, getting to his feet and taking the beautiful ring from its box.

'But what about your parents? What about my parents? And my brothers! No one will approve of this!' I said, frantically gesturing at us both.

He grabbed my flailing hand and held it still. 'No one matters to me but you Ginny. You're all I need.' He slipped the ring on the correct finger and took my other hand in his.

I stood still, silent, and looked at the ring on my finger. 'Perfect fit,' I said softly.

He smiled and lifted my chin gently with a finger.

'Is that a yes?'

My heart was pounding in my chest, much as it had done earlier, but this time it wasn't running that was causing it. It was a mixture of the most explosive excitement, astonishment and joy that I had ever felt. It was the most perfect moment of my life.

'Of course it's a yes. I love you Draco Malfoy.'

The most incredible smile spread across his face and he leaned in to kiss me in a way that made my knees go weak. As our lips parted, I finally threw my arms around his neck, unable to resist any longer and snuggled into his warm body, knowing that I needn't imprint the moment in my memory, as there would be millions more like it in the years to come.