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Lia hadn't been this nervous in a long time as she stood in front of the front door to the Burrow. When was the last time she'd had to knock? She hoped they were at least home. Wouldn't that be embarrassing? She had no reason to be nervous, either. She knew what they would say. She knew what Ginny would say, but for some reason, standing here in front of the door, it finally hit her.
After taking a deep breath and counting as she let it out, she finally knocked. A few seconds later, it was Molly who answered. She wasn't sure if that was her preference over Arthur.
"Lia, what a surprise!" she said with a genuine smile, pulling the blonde into a hug. As she pulled away, though, her eyebrows furrowed. "Ginny's not with you?"
"No, she's off training this week. Doesn't stay put these days, you know," Lia chuckled, then remembered that she was nervous, and cleared her throat. "I… eh… I'm actually here to… I wanted to talk to you and Arthur, actually. If I could."
A flash of confusion took Molly's eyes before she nodded. "Of course, of course! Come in. Is everything all right?"
"Yes, everything's great. I… well, I just wanted to talk to the both of you about something, that's all. But it's nothing bad. Promise."
Molly took a couple seconds to try to figure out the meaning behind her words, looking her over, which made Lia's heart go into overdrive. She hated being scrutinized like this, and Molly Weasley's gaze was not one to mess with. Lia couldn't help but gulp.
"Let me just go get Arthur. He's in the shed, I think, so there's no telling what he's working on," she chuckled, then moved to the side so Lia could enter the house. "Would you like something to drink? Tea?"
"Tea would be great, thank you." Molly just nodded and told her to make herself comfortable, which wasn't hard in this house. It never had been, even the first time she'd visited after her and Ginny's first official date. She still remembered coming through the Floo and wiping the soot off Ginny's cheek, using it as an excuse to look at her for just a few seconds longer. To touch her just once more before they had to pretend neither of them noticed the flicker of flame between them growing. Something about the warmth of the Burrow calmed her even now as she sank into the sofa. Only a few minutes later, Molly was handing her a steaming mug. The same yellow one with the chip in it that she chose every time she was over.
"Be back in a pinch."
Lia could only nod. As she took her first sip, she could immediately tell by the way her shoulders moved further from her ears and the way she slouched a bit more on the couch that Molly had put her signature calming draught in her tea—just a few drops. Of course she had, and Lia was grateful for it. It would make this conversation a bit easier, lower the stakes.
It took long enough that she knew Molly was probably talking to Arthur, letting him know how nervous Lia was and trying to figure out what she was here to discuss, but it didn't show when they came back into the living room.
"Good to see you, Lia! Sorry for the wait - I was actually putting together that model airplane you got me for Christmas. It's quite something!" He greeted her with a hug as well, leaning down so she didn't have to get up, then took a seat on one of the armchairs across from her while Molly sat down in the chair by the couch. "Molly said you wanted to talk to us?"
There went her chance to procrastinate. She slid the ring on her thumb up and down it a couple times, reveling in the way the metal crawled over her skin. "I did. Yes. It's, em… well…" They were looking at her expectantly. Her heart was pounding. Her palms were sweating. God, why was she so nervous? She just needed to spit it out.
"I… I want to marry Ginny."
Molly and Arthur were silent, then exchanged a glance with each other. The corner of Molly's lips quirked up in a smile. "Well, I'd hope so," she said. "It's been five years, so I don't think you wouldn't have held out this long if that wasn't the plan."
It was true, though she'd known she wanted to marry Ginny a long time ago. She let out a nervous, breathy laugh. At least they didn't seem to be upset about it. Of course they weren't, she chided herself. Lia had been part of the family since day one. They loved her. "Well, right. Yes. But… I… I want to ask her to marry me."
"Lia," Arthur started, looking nearly as excited at the thought as Lia was, "you know you don't have to ask for my permission, right? Not that she'd take my word either way."
"No, I know. It just wanted to tell you. It… felt right to tell you."
"And why in the world were you so nervous?" Molly asked with a laugh. "Did you think we'd be upset?"
"No! I don't know!" Lia laughed, now that the hard part was over and they were both smiling, looking at each other like they'd placed bets on when this day would come. "I've never asked anyone to marry me before!"
"Do you have a ring?" Molly moved from the chair to sit on the couch next to Lia.
"Yes." It had been getting heavier and heavier in her pocket since she arrived, but she hadn't let it out of her sight since she bought it two days ago. She'd had no plan to actually purchase anything when she went into the jewelry store in London, just to browse, to take in the feeling of having made the decision to finally ask her in the first place, but the ring had called to her like there had been a light shining down on it from above. She knew she had to see it on Ginny's finger.
Lia pulled the box out and handed it over to Molly, who opened it and nearly began tearing up. "Oh, Lia, it's beautiful."
It was. In the middle sat a stunning, sparkling sapphire, surrounded by a silver band encrusted in tiny diamonds that weaved through sapphire leaves. She'd never seen anything as beautiful before in her life. She thought she would be getting a diamond in the center, but—
"Just like Ginny's eyes," Molly commented, and Lia nodded.
"It's all I could think of when I saw it. Do you think she'll like it?"
"She'll love it." Molly handed it over to Arthur, who was fighting tears as well. Of course Lia had known she didn't need their permission, and she was sure she'd have their blessing, but with Ginny being their only daughter, this was probably going to be the only one of these moments they'd get. Unless Claire proposed, which, admittedly, wasn't outside the realm of possibility. But it wouldn't be the same. Ginny was special to them, even if they never admitted it aloud. The youngest, the one with the most fire, the most difficult of them to wrangle.
And yet, for some reason she was still trying to figure out, Ginny had chosen Lia. Over and over again, she'd chosen Lia. Their relationship hadn't always been easy, but in the moments it counted, in the moments where they had to stand with each other, in the moments where arguing felt silly, in the moments where she just looked over at Ginny and wondered how the hell she'd gotten so lucky, it was. She'd learned so much about herself, who she was, and who she could be. She'd learned what it felt like to be unconditionally in love with someone. She'd learned how to fight for that love and to not give up, because giving up would have meant losing the best thing that had ever happened to her. In moments like this, for Lia to know she had to spend the rest of her life with Ginny Weasley, there had been no doubt about it.
"Do you have a plan?" Arthur asked, giving the ring back to Lia for her to replace in the box, then set back in her pocket.
"Not yet, no. I, eh… I have no idea when or where or how, but… I just know I want to."
"Well, the rest will come." Molly patted Lia's hand comfortingly. "But if it makes you feel any better, I don't think she'll care at all about the when or where or how, just that you do. It won't be easy hiding it from her, though, so you might want to think about that."
"I know." It was fine now with Ginny in Scotland for the week, but once she got home, Lia knew she'd have to hide it and hide it well—there was no place in their flat Ginny didn't see. But she'd find a way. Or if not, she'd get down on one knee the second Ginny walked through the door. Maybe she'd let her take a shower first, or maybe she wouldn't. Maybe she'd join her as her fiancée. Maybe she'd slide the ring onto her finger and make sure that was the only thing she was wearing.
Maybe she should get flowers. Chocolates. Wine. Definitely wine.
"And thank you," Molly continued, "for telling us. And letting us be a part of it. And for… well, just for loving her. You came into her life at the perfect time, honestly. She needed someone, and clearly that someone was you. I couldn't have asked for a better partner for her. I really mean that."
"Couldn't have asked for a better one for myself, either."