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pt. one Harry to Ron
Harry loved his job. Loving being back at the castle, teaching students all the skills he wished he’d been taught himself. He even welcomed the uncomfortable questions that they asked, curious about events that occurred when they were barely old enough to understand. It was his duty to teach them not only about the theory of spells and how to cast but of the horors of magic, the great responsibility that they had to make the right choices.
Even so, as was with any job, there were days he wished would go by quicker. Remarks he wished he didn’t have to adress. And coming down with a cold hadn’t helped these matters. He always looked forward to going home at the end of the day, but that Wednesday the end of the day couldn’t come soon enough.
The sun always set early at the castle, being so far north, and this was one of those times that coming home meant the late afternoon light, bathing their home in Godric’s Hallow in a golden hue. He breathed in deeply, the smells of their home, of someone cooking in the kitchen.
“Hey,” Ron said brightly, popping his head out from the other room. “How was your day?”
It was clear he’d been home awhile, already out of his work things and in comfortable clothes. He smiled brightly at Harry as he took off his cloak and let his bag drop to the floor. Harry stumbled over to him, wasting no time in wrapping his arms around Ron, exhausted from having to keep the attentions of equally ill students.
Ron chuckled, embracing him. “I made soup.”
“Soup sounds brilliant,” Harry muttered.
“I thought it might,” Ron answered, “You were sniffling this morning and I heard there’s a nasty bug going around. Hermione said she’d pick up pepper-up potions on the way home just incase you weren’t feeling better.”
It was the strangest thing. He could feel tears welling up behind his shut eyes. It wasn’t as if the gesture should’ve been unexpected. They always took care of one another, but Harry found himself touched that even without having told them they’d known.
“Ron?”
“Yes?”
“I’m in love with you.”
“Is that so?” Ron let out another amused chuckle. “Well good because I’m pretty fond of you myself.”
Harry looked up, not removing his arms. “I’m being serious.”
“And so am I.,” Ron told him, bending down his head and kissing him even though it was likely that Harry was contagious.
He smiled at the sudden gesture but then remembered what he’d needed to say so urgently.“No, Ron. I love you, more than I ever thought capable of loving someone.”
“I love you too Harry, you know that, right?”
And he did. Harry knew how much Ron loved him, cared for him, protected him. The gesture, so unassuming, had erased all of the exhaustion of the day; how excited he’d been just to see Harry walking through the grate. It was a life Harry had never hoped for growing up.
Suddenly, Harry knew what he needed to do. And the words he’d been daydreaming about, trying to prefect ever since they’d all sat at Neville’s wedding and agreed to agree to, came to him all at once.
“You were the first person who ever liked me for me. You took me in to your family, accepted me, defended me. You’ve always had my back, I’ve never questioned who I was when I was around you. And I’d say these past few years have been the best of my life, and they have, but the truth is every moment I spend with you has been the best moment of my life. Spending time with you is just about my favorite thing in the world-“
“Just about?”
“Yes, well your mum’s cooking is up there.”
“Ouch.”
“You asked.”
They smiled stupidly at one another.
“I realize that I don’t know a whole lot about proposals but I know that I love you.” Harry told him earnestly. “What I’m trying to say is that I’d like to keep spending my time with you. Keep loving you. Forever.”
Ron looked touched, his eyes wet and he struggled to speak for a moment. “Forever sounds pretty good to me.”
“Marry me?” Harry asked, wanting to be clear.
“Yeah, I’ll marry you.”
pt. two Hermione to Harry
I made us reservations at that new Italian place my parents were talking about. Seven on Friday. -Hermione
She wanted to make it special. Something they’d remember. When she’d come home a fortnight ago and found Harry and Ron clinging to one another, kissing each other desperately and Ron had shared the news she’d been jealous, eager for the moments she would get with them both. A dedication to their friendship and love.
Can’t wait. -Harry
Eating out at muggle restraints had always been something they’d enjoyed more than Ron. So afraid he might say something wrong or embarrass them
The sight of him made her nerves disappear, and when he saw her, the scowl disappeared from his face. And sitting there, under the gentle light of candles made her almost forget her intention, what she’d brought him here to do.
“Could I impose on you for a nightcap, or are you hiding a jealous boyfriend at home?” Harry teased.
“I think I should be more worried about yours, he seems pretty protective of you,” she quipped back and he snorted into his drink in a way that made her feel fifteen again.
“I’ll get the check,” Harry said softly and she reached for his hand as he raised it.
“Before we go, there’s something I’d like to say,” Hermione said, her butterflies rushing back.
Harry looked surprised, but not upset to have their fingers intertwined.
“Running out on the wedding with you was quite possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I didn’t know what I was missing, but you did. You’ve always been there for me Harry, I know you get tired of being called a hero but you are mine. You’ve saved me in more ways I can count and I don’t know that I could ever repay that.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “You repay me every day, Hermione.”
“I want to live my life with you. I want you to be the father to my children. Be my husband. The spouse to my spouse.”
“Hermione-“
“Let me get through this,” she said, feeling suddenly nervous. He smiled at her, nodded, and enraged her silently.
“Harry being with you it’s been incredible. Half of our lives, together. People don’t get that. And to spend it with you. You have taught me, pushed me to become a better person. I can’t imagine, don’t want to imagine, the person I’d be without you. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he told her fondly, misty eyes.
“Marry me?”
“Yes, Hermione. Of course.”
pt. three Ron to Harry
“Do you ever miss being an Auror?” Ron asked Harry.
“Not really, you?”
“No, at all. Strange thing is I thought I loved it until I stopped.”
“I do missing being with you though.”
“Hogwarts isn’t as fun without me?” Ron teased
“No,” Harry said frankly, looking up from the essay he’d been grading. “nothing is.”
“Yeah,” Ron agreed, it hitting him suddenly. “Nothing is. Everything’s always better with you.”
“Alright,” Harry said, sounding a little annoyed, “if you’re trying to seduce me—“
“No, I’m not, I-“ It overwhelmed him, the feeling that Harry and Hermione had described, realizing suddenly that they need then and there to know. He stood up, crossing the room with an intense look in his eyes, and crouched down beside Harry. “My life began the day I met you. No—hear me out! The first day on that train. That’s when my life began. I was no one, nothing and then I had you and everything was better.”
Harry turned towards him, the alarmed look fading from his face and he put his hand on Ron’s cheek. “That’s sweet Ron.”
“I love you, Harry, you mean so much to me. I don’t know who I’d be without but I know that person wouldn’t be happy. Nothing compares to this feeling.”
“I love you too.”
“And I could go on about how brave and kind you are —and you are, don’t get me wrong— but there’s so much about you that the world doesn’t get. The side of you that other people don’t see, how sweet you are, how you take care of me, bloody hell, who gets this lucky?”
“This lucky?”
“Lucky enough to fall in love with this best friend. To have someone who they love being around who loves them back. Who gets that?”
“Not many people.”
“Marry me, Harry. Promise me we can spend the rest of our lives together.”
“Yes.”
pt. four Hermione to Ron
They’d arrived a day early, decided to make the most of the fact that Harry couldn’t join them until he finished his Friday afternoon classes. It’d been a lovely dinner, walking back to the beachside hotel at sunset, and now we're enjoying the last rays of the brilliantly red setting sun on the water.
“Dinner was nice,” Ron murmured, his voice low and slow in her ear, their legs tangled together on the couch.
“It was,” Hermione said appreciatively, “You always pick the best places.”
“Too bad Harry couldn’t come until tomorrow,” Ron said frowning.
“Mmh,” Hermione agreed. “Though it’s been nice, just the two of us.”
It didn’t matter how much time she had with him it was never enough. They’d been spoiled in school, anything less than every moment of every day made her feel cheated.
He smiled down at her, playing with a strand of her hair which had already acclimated to the humidity by expanding twice its size. “That it has.”
She looked up, her heart fluttering a little at the intensity of his eyes. His hair glowing like fire in the setting sun. Looking at him now she wondered how anyone could ever see him and not fall in love instantly.
The words slipped from her lips before she knew what she was doing.
“Marry me.”
“Oh?” he asked, a crooked grin spreading across his features.
“Oh,” she said, realizing what she’d said. “no I-“
“Taking it back are you?” he joked, looking a little taken aback. “Thought you wanted to participate.”
“No! I mean it, of course, I mean it, it’s just-“ Panic was coursing through her. “I had this plan—ask Harry— I was going to take you to dinner and I’ve been writing you this letter but I—“
She paused, catching the sight of his amused smile, the crinkle of his eyes, the way his cheeks filled as he was doing his best not to laugh at her panic. Hermione sat up, taking both her hands in his, and forced herself not to think.
”But I can’t think of anything more perfect than this moment, right here. I was just sitting here thinking that this is how I want it to feel when I propose to you.”
His face softened. “It is a pretty perfect moment.”
“So, yes, I do mean it.” She said confidently. “Will you marry me? Because right here, right now, I need you to know how much I love you. And that I will always love you.”
“I love you too Hermione,” Ron answered and she reached up, stroking his cheek as tears came to her eyes.
“I’ve loved you for so long that I’m not even really sure when it started.” She said, channeling all the words she’d spent hours obsessing over. “Being with you, falling in love, was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. And I want the rest of our lives to feel like this, right here, right now. You and me and Harry, of course. Together, the way it should be.”
“Of course, Hermione.”
Unable to resist any longer she threw her arms around him, falling onto his chest and quite possibly knocking the air from him in her need to kiss him.
“You will?” she asked several breathless minutes later.
“Marry you? Yes.”
pt. five Harry to Hermione
“Tea?” Hermione asked as she stood up to refresh her cup.
Harry nodded, distractedly as she walked out of the office.
They were taking advantage of the rainy day, a fire roaring in the fireplace, the gentle patter against the windows. Ron not due back until later, a mountain of paperwork between them.
“I always liked it when professors left remarks on my papers,” Hermione commented as she walked back in the room to find him scribbling a revision.
“Really?” Harry asked, giving his thanks as she settled back down in the chair next to his. “I always hated getting corrections, I’d barely read them. Half of Snape’s essay’s a pitched without bothering to look at them.”
“If you never like it then why do you do it?” Hermione asked innocently.
Harry shrugged. “Feels like the proper thing to do.”
She smiled at him. “The kids are lucky to have you, Harry.”
The tea was already cooled and prepared to his liking. Harry felt a rush of warmth and when he looked up she was still smiling proudly at him.
“What?” he asked.
“This suits you,” Hermione commented. “If you would have told me in school you’d be a Professor I would have said you were mad but…it suits you.”
Harry felt a rush of affection for her.
“Hermione?” he asked, diverting her attention before she could pull the massive text back towards her. “I never would have made it through school without you.”
“Well that’s understating it.” Hermione teased.
“You’re more than a friend, Hermione.” He went on, stammering. “You looked after me, even when I didn’t want looking after. You were always so determined and brave. So bloody brilliant.”
“Harry,” she sighed happily, reaching out for his hand and he grasped it, amazed, even still, that she had stuck by him.
“I love you, Hermione,” he said with tears in his eyes. “So much. And that you’ve welcomed me into this, to this relationship, allowed me to love you-“
She shook her head, her own eyes dripping. “We were nothing without you.”
“Marry me?” he asked, “Make this forever?”
“It’s always been forever.”
pt. six Ron to Hermione
Ron had really thought he’d be the first one of them to finish asking. He’d always been the one with the plans and the romantic gestures, well, they all had their own way of being romantic, so he’d been convinced that he would get his proposals finished long before Harry or Hermione dropped to one knee.
But then again, he hadn’t really considered how cooperative they both were…hadn’t taken into account how smitten they both were. Which left him, weeks later, fretting over how exactly to close the loop and ask Hermione—again—to take his hand and agree to run off into the setting sun.
It wasn’t that he thought she’d say no. It was that he wasn’t sure how to live up to what she’d offered him, the picturesque moment, sitting together on the balcony, watching the sun set. Looking back he realized that he could have—should have—planned something. And every moment since felt like a letdown.
Like last Friday when they’d been working together in the garden to harvest the last of the pole beans and she’d smiled over at him and told him she’d found a smudge of dirt on his nose. Or when at Halloween she and Harry had insisted on telling the story about how he’d saved her from the troll. Or all of the tender moments which were a given, insignificant in the tales of their days where he was filled with gratitude that he had this life and he owed it all to her.
Their wedding was being planned without him, had to be if they wanted it to be next summer. And while his lack of proposal certainly hadn’t been forgotten, it hadn’t been lingered on either.
“I’m planning something, I swear,” he told her one
“I know,” she told him, stroking his face with her thumb. “I can’t wait.”
But every plan he made fell through and the mounting pressure he was placing on getting it just right wouldn’t stop.
“Will you help me?” he asked Harry desperately.
Harry wasn’t in his office when they stepped out and Hermione frowned, looking around. “Is everything alright?”
“Er-Harry needs some help,” he lied, pulling on her hand before she could ask too many questions.
“Alright,” she answered, amused as they left the warmth of his office and into the chilly halls. “I forgot how cold they kept the castle
“I’ve been trying to make this just right, seeing as my first proposal was a-“
“Mistake?” she teased.
“Well,” he sighed and Hermione chuckled. “I wanted it to be intentional, us. I wanted it to mean something, something you’d remember.”
“And how could I forget coming from you.”
He grinned and shook his head. “Come on, I want to do this right.”
They hurried along, Hermione not complaining about the frantic pace he set although she often nagged them about slowing down for her to keep up.
“Bloody hell I forgot there were so many stairs,” Ron panted as they arrived at last on the seventh floor, staring at the wall opposite the tapestry showing Barnabas the Barmy and his dancing trolls.
“No wonder they never had a physical education course,” Hermione sounded just as breathless. “With all these stairs it would have been overkill.”
Ron let go of her hands, pacing back and forth, thinking frantically of the time he’d stood in the room last. When Hermione’s lips had met his for the first time. A memory that he’d borrowed dozens of times to fuel his patronus. At the third pass, he opened his eyes, before them a door that he pushed open for Hermione to enter.
He heard Hermione’s soft gasp as he entered behind her, the tall ceilings lined with hanging beds, though free from the smells and litter that the students had left accomplished their years residing in the space.
“Ron.” She whispered, turning to look at him.
“Too much?” he asked, suddenly conscious of her trauma that they all associated with the day.
Hermione shook her head and he gently took her hands in his, falling to one knee and peering up at her. “When I was eleven I thought you were the most insufferable person I’d ever met.”
“Great start Ron.” She interrupted, sounding annoyed.
“Let me finish.” He told her sternly and she conceded, shutting her lips into a thin line. “Little did I know that a know-it-all with all the answers was exactly what I needed. Hermione, I’ve never met someone I’ve been so unafraid to speak my mind to. Even when I’m wrong and I’m not afraid to be with you because I know you’ll be there to set me right.”
Her lips turned into a smile.
“I owe this all to you, Hermione, everything. You are brilliant and brave and, God, Hermione I just love you.” He said and with a sudden inspiration, dropped to one knee. “Say, yes, Hermione. Please?”
Her smile might have inspired a thousand patronesses. “How can you even ask?”
And, just like all those years ago, she launched herself at him, kissing him deeply and easing away every worry. And, just like before, it was the clearing of a throat that interrupted them. Shyly, half-hidden, Harry stood, watching them fondly.
“Come’mere,” Ron called to him and Harry joined them, completing them. They all ducked into one another’s necks, breathing each other in, and in that moment, he knew he had done everything right. All these years later, everything had fallen into place.
“Well,” Ron said happily, “That’s it then? We’re all properly betrothed.”
“Yeah,” Hermione agreed, tears in her eyes she let out a giggle, burying her head into Harry’s chest and he patted her back soothingly.
“All that’s left is to get married,” Harry said.
“No,” Ron corrected, cupping his cheek, “All that’s left is to spend the rest of our lives together.”