Chapter 11: Birthday Girl

Waking Hermione up had never been what one would call an easy feat. Ron had learned this a long time ago, and that's why it had always amazed him that she could find a way to get herself out of bed day after day before the sun even rose--to do work, of all things. For once he was the first to wake today; he propped himself up on his elbow and watched her quietly, transfixed by the sight of her chest rising and sinking in that slow, peaceful rhythm, memorizing each curve and angle of her face as the dying moon's last gasps of light danced across it. It was an image he never tired of, nor one that ever failed to amaze him. In those rare instances when he did manage to wake before she did, the sight of her sleeping next to him evoked a feeling in him so overwhelming that he could never possibly put it into words.

Harry was right, he thought, listening to the sound of her steady breath. Everything else is rubbish. All that matters is what's right here...

He knew she would probably want to sleep in today, as she rarely ever got a chance to do so, thanks to him. But he was also quite anxious to give her her surprise, and so he decided she'd have to sleep in some other day--just not this morning.

"Hey," he murmured, running his hand gently up and down her arm, "wake up, birthday girl..."

She let out a quiet moan of protest, her eyes still shut as if in defiance. Ron laughed and lightly shook her. "Come on... enough sleep..."

"Ron," came a muffled sound that he thought sounded close enough to his name, "what time is it?"

"Early," he told her.

At least she was talking now--sort of--but she was still refusing to open her eyes. This was starting to call for some drastic measures.

"Hermione Granger, I'm telling you right now, you have to wake up!"

One eye fluttered open, then the other, and she did not look too happy. "Please tell me you didn't just give me an order, Ron Weasley-"

"Shh!" He tried tugging gently on her arm to pull her up. "You'll wake Harry, come on..."

"What? Wait, what d'you mean, wake Harry... What are we doing?"

She was sitting up now, that was progress. Ron reached down and kissed her temple. "You ask too many questions," he told her, and he could see her fighting a smile. "You trust me, don't you?"

She was probably making him wait on purpose for an answer, just to relish in the sight of seeing him sweat this out.

"God knows why."

He responded with a mischievous grin.

"Because you love me so much. Now for the last time, come on, would you?"

It took a few more minutes for her to dress. He decided that after the unpleasant way she had had to wake, he could give her a little more time to get ready. He paced back and forth as he waited for her, stopping every so often by the window to look outside.

"Please," he said, watching the clouds break apart as the sun emerged from the horizon, "not today... please don't let it rain today..."

"Who are you talking to?"

He turned around and saw her looking at him, smiling in amusement.

"To whoever it is who's in charge of the weather," he quipped. "Ready?"

She looked at him questioningly. "I think so. Of course... I don't exactly know where we'll be going, or what we'll be doing--perhaps you'd be a better judge of whether I'm ready or not."

"You're perfect," he said. "Come on, then, let's go..."

He took her hand and led her out of the room, careful not to bump into anything in these unfamiliar surroundings, so they wouldn't wake Harry. It was a more difficult task than he expected, as both of them were still a bit groggy from being up at such an ungodly hour, and were fighting hard to stay upright. "One minute," he told her, leaving her in the hallway while he went to fetch a blanket from the closet, and a basket from the kitchen.

When he returned, she was smiling, apparently having watched him as he was taking care of the last minute details.

"What?" he said.

"Nothing," she said. "Just that... you're amazing." She reached up and kissed him, and he was glad it was still so dark inside the house, because he was sure his face had deepened to a few different shades of red.

It was freezing outside, far colder than the crisp September mornings they were used to when they were in school. At least the wind was cooperating, though; it wasn't quite the screaming gale it had been last night, when he thought the branches from the tree right outside the guest room would break their window open. Now it was only a gentle breeze that tickled their faces as they walked across the wet grass.

Hermione had stopped asking questions, letting him lead her to their destination. It was probably more due to her still being sleepy, rather than having lost interest in solving this mystery though.

"Almost there," he told her, feeling her grip his hand tighter as they wound around the school grounds. The sun was almost fully out now, sending down precious rays of warmth that were much appreciated.

"You went to a lot of trouble, I see," she said.

"I had to get a little creative, yeah," he said. "I have to share you with everyone else at The Three Broomsticks tonight. I wanted to make sure I'd get to spend some time alone with the birthday girl."

She laughed. "Oh, so that's why you dragged me away from bed this early!"

"What," he said, flashing her a wicked smile, "did I take you away from some lovely dream you were having about me?"

"Well, as a matter of fact," she said, "you did..."

"Reckon I'll have to make that up to you later, then."

"You'd better, Ron Weasley."

They had come to a stop. Hermione hadn't noticed at first where they had arrived, until he set the basket and blanket down on the ground.

"Well?" he said. "Nice spot for a romantic picnic, don't you think?"

"Oh, Ron..."

He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Lot of memories at this lake, aren't there?"

"Mmm..." He felt her nod, and he gently laid his chin on top of her head.

"Fact, I remember one particularly memorable detention we had out here."

She laughed and tilted her head upwards to look at him. "I was so mad at you for getting me into trouble..."

"Me?" he said. "You're the one who got Professor Sprout all upset..."

After a pause, she shrugged and looked out at the lake once again. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that," she said. "Besides... in the end, I got you to admit how you felt about me."

He smiled, and he knew even though he wasn't looking that she was smiling too.

"That was my first kiss, you know," he said. She looked up again, and he met her gaze. "I never told you that, did I?"

"But... what about... Padma? You... you never kissed Padma?"

He laughed. "My history with Padma Patil consisted of one date, Hermione--and you were around to witness most of it, if you recall. I most certainly never kissed her."

"Oh," she said, smiling at the revelation. "Well, I... I never kissed Viktor either."

"Yeah, that I knew."

"You did?" she wriggled out of his arms and turned to face him. "How did..."

"Harry."

Her eyes widened. "Harry?? He told you? Oh, I'm going to kill him-"

"Relax, Hermione," he laughed. "It's not his fault--honestly. I made him tell me. I was being such a pain in the arse, he finally had to shut me up somehow."

She shook her head, but soon she started laughing as well. "Well," she said quietly, "I'm still going to kill him when we get back..."

"Hermione..."

"Yeah, Ron?"

"D'you remember what I asked you? That day... after you told me how you felt?"

"Yes," she said softly, her face brightening with that smile she reserved only for him. "You asked me... why you..."

"Yeah... Why me..."

He laid down the blanket and pulled her down with him to sit on it.

"You see... the truth is, Hermione, I don't know that I ever really understood it then, even after you told me why. I reckon that's why I've been so daft at times since then--that's probably why I've been so daft lately too..."

"Oh, Ron, you haven't been-"

"No, wait," he said, "let me finish... You need to hear this..."

She nodded and let him speak.

"You know, when I first met you, I thought you were this bossy, arrogant know-it-all..." He smiled, seeing her eyes narrow dangerously, and he went on before she could say something in reaction. "I thought, I couldn't possibly be friends with this girl... But you know, you proved me wrong. Not only did I become friends with you, but I became best friends with you. And then I fell in love with you..." He reached up and gently brushed a stray lock from her eyes. "Or maybe I was always in love with you and just didn't know it until much later..."

"Ron..."

He put a finger on her lips and smiled. "I haven't been perfect. I know you'd never argue that for a million years. I haven't always been a good friend, or even a good boyfriend. But I want you to know, it is certainly not for lack of trying. I love you, Hermione. I always have, and... and I know I always will... And I'm sure I'll stumble again in the future, but I hope you'll always remember that I would never hurt you for the world. I'd rather die than hurt you."

She nodded. "I know that," she said. "I do..."

"I know these last few weeks have been a little strained between us--and probably mostly because of my own doing... So I was thinking that... if there's ever a perfect time to make up for that, it's on this day of all days..."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Hermione's eyes flickered to it, then back to him again, and the realization must have dawned on her, because tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Ron," she breathed. "What-"

"Shh... For once in your life, let me get a word in edgewise, all right?"

She laughed, tears falling down her cheeks as she did.

He tried to steady himself; his heart was beating so wildly in his chest that he was surprised it hadn't burst through his ribcage by now. "Five years is a long time to wait," he said. "But I hope it's worth the wait..." He opened the box and took out the ring. "Hermione, I think we always knew all roads would lead to this... Will you marry me?"

Somewhere between her cries of joy and his, he thought he heard a yes, but the kiss she gave him was all the answer he needed.

She laughed shakily as he slipped the ring onto her finger, watching him as if it were the most wonderful action in the world. "I know it's not a diamond," he said, "but it's your birthstone-"

"I love it," she said, before he could even finish. "I couldn't love it more, Ron Weasley..."

"You're sure?" he said. "I promise... someday I'll get you a real diamond-"

She shook her head. "No. I don't need it. Don't you see, Ron? Only you would give me a sapphire as an engagement ring. Only you would take me to the lake where we had our first kiss to propose to me--only you would kiss me for the first time while we were on detention..." She laughed, crying all the while as she did. "If you haven't figured out yet, why you... I hope you understand it now."

He smiled, wiping her tears away with his thumb, and pulling him towards her for a kiss.

"Yeah," he said, "I think I finally do."