13Chapter title; Well Worth It
Word Count; 2,125
Disclaimer; No, sadly I do not own Harry Potter. Copyright laws are to JK Rowling and schoolastic and WB I think... I'm not completely certain... but yes. You get the idea.
Warnings; none I don't think. not really. i mean, yes. none.
Authors Note; If you make sense of the title in relation to the story I will be very proud, because its 1:25 AM here and I don't tend to be the brightest girl so late at night, or is it early in the morning? Hmm. Ponders. Okay, thats enough! On with the story, then.
The crowd was so loud and boisterous that Hermione had to hold her mitten covered hands over her ears. Beside her Ron was banging on the railing and whooping right along with them, just like he did at every game. It didn't matter that there was no way Harry would be able to hear him over the rest of the screaming fans, although Hermione didn't bother pointing it out. Instead she settled for just smiling to herself as she watched Harry and the rest of the team zoom around on their broomsticks, soaking up the crowd. It was as if she was back at school again in first year, only with out the worry Harry would be jinxed and fall to his death on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.
"Ron!" she called, tugging on the sleeve of his coat.
He turned round to face her, still beaming from ear to ear. "The teams looking bloody good today!" he said.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You always say that right before the game starts!" she hollered.
"Well, its good luck, isn't it."
Rolling her eyes, she persisted with her attack on his jacket as he turned back to watch the game again.
"Ron! I'm going to go get a drink. I'll be back in a minute!"
Suddenly the Weasley's eyes flew open and he reached out for her shoulders. "No, no, no, no! You -er- don't want to miss the game!"
"Honestly, Ron, I'll still be able to see, I'm just going down to..." she trailed off as Ron turned so that he was blocking her way, laughing nervously as he did so.
"Hermione, just wait here. I'll... er..." he said, before turning and grabbing the drink of a man standing behind them, much to his resentment. He handed it to Hermione, his ears as red as his hair.
She snorted at him, took the drink and handed it back to the man while trying to push past Ron, who seemed to be having awful trouble getting out of her way as the game began.
"Please, Ron, I don't want to miss anything important!" she said angrily, about to bring out her wand and jinx him into oblivion.
He seemed to notice her change in facial expression and moved out of the way, letting her by. "You'll be back soon right?"
"Of course Ron! Whats gotten into you!" She had to laugh, even with him dangerously close to stepping on her last nerve. Ever since the time they had had a yelling match at one of Harry's games and Hermione had stormed off to find a seat else where and had not returned, Ron had been a bit off key when it came to her walking away before the game was even over. In a way she sometimes found herself thinking that it was because he didn't want anything to happen to her...
As she wove her way between the frantic crowd to get her ice tea, Ron was up in the box. He had opted for sitting down instead of standing now, and was currently waiting impatiently for Hermione to return. Every once in a while he would reach inside his pocket and his heart would speed up again; and it had nothing to do with the Quidditch game before him.
Harry had managed to get him and Hermione seats to all his games, including Ginny when she could come. She was very busy at the ministry these days, just starting out she didn't have as much leeway as to when she could take time off yet, although more often than not she would call in sick. Ron felt himself highly relieved that she had not been able to attend that night however, as his hand once again found its way into his pocket.
By the time Hermione had returned and taken her seat beside him on the bench, Ron was a complete nervous wreck. She took hardly any notice however as she watched Harry jet around looking for the snitch with a curiously excited look on her face. She had always thought of Harry as good at Quidditch, but it just became one of the many things she was used to about him, she never thought he would make a career out of it. As if it didn't hit her until that moment, all of her friends at that time had great jobs, pleasant lives, and she was for once one of them. No more running around looking up things for Harry, no more fighting with Ron since they had started dating... well... no more fighting with him more then usual. It was all so perfect at that moment, even if she was dangerously close to becoming deaf from all the cheering.
Beside her she took no notice of the look on Ron's face as he watched her. Even under the ridiculous green hat he had bought her as a souvenir, she looked completely radiant; smiling at the oddest moments and pointing up to the game that he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention too. He would look up and laugh with her, but only so that she didn't catch him staring. It didn't matter how long they where going out, if you stared at Hermione Granger too long she would at the very least make a hollow threat about horrible things she could do to him while he slept which would surely result in an inability to have children.
The first time she had said something like that, Ron had stayed awake all night, feinting sleep and watching her in the moonlight, brushing back a few ribbons of brown hair once he was certain she was actually off in dream land herself. He couldn't help feeling very brave while she was a sleep, and in turn a little bit cocky sometimes.
"Hermione." said Ron, feeling the need to talk about something to keep from going crazy. "Are you cold?"
Smiling absently, she replied, "No, Ronald, not really. Don't tell me you are? You've got two hats on for goodness sake!"
"No, no, not at all." he said, swallowing hard.
After a silence that seemed to last an eternity Hermione asked gently what had gotten into him, and if he was feeling ill.
"No, not that... But Hermione, when we get home I really have to -er- talk to you about something, if you don't mind..." he trailed off.
"Is uh." she nearly choked. "Is it something important?"
Just like that her perfect world was forgotten as a child's outgrown blanket. The tone in Ron's voice made her fear the worst. What had gotten into him so much as to ask to talk to her? If it wasn't important wouldn't he just mention it and not bother asking? Instantly she was reminded of the Goblet of Fire and how important that had been, and finding the Horcruxes, and fighting, constantly for so long, loosing so many. Important didn't mean good in her books, in fact, just the word sent shivers of worry up her spine as her heart pumped a little faster, determined that if it did so fast enough whatever was going to happen would just pass.
"Yes -er- it is quite important."
"Whats it regarding?" she asked in an unnaturally high voice.
It was that instant that Ron realized Hermione had caught on that it was something life altering to them. He felt horrible for the look of worry and fear that dashed her pretty features, but if he said anything to prepare her for it she would know right away, and he couldn't have that happening. No. She has to find out all at once, doesn't she. This has to be said right, Ron, don't bugger this up! said a voice in Ron's head.
"Erm." Ron stuttered. Bloody Hell.
The game was suddenly over, and neither knew when it happened. Per usual, Harry caught the snitch in the end, sending his team into a landslide victory. They had joined half heartedly along with the other spectators in a cheer as the teams both circled the pitch one last time before landing on the neatly trimmed green grass below. He had to tell her now.
When Hermione looked beside her it was only with shock that she found Ron at her waist level, staring up at her with slightly nervous looking blue eyes. He looked down to cough mildly to the floor, then took both her hands in his and looked up at her again.
"Hermione, your the best witch I've ever met in my whole entire life." he said earnestly.
"Honestly, Ron, you mean the entire twenty years you've lived?" she joked, still using her high pitched voice, as she tried to pull her hands back -feigning that she was reaching for her ice tea, even though her heart was racing in her ears.
"No, I mean it." said Ron, not breaking eye contact. "I've never met anybody like you in my entire life, and I never want to meet anybody else... like you... because -er- not because your bad! But because I like you and I wouldn't want.. oh bloody hell, Hermione, just say you'll marry me."
"Ron." she breathed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that on the other side of the stadium they were being broad casted across the stands. "Are you sure, Ron?" It felt a completely foolish thing to say, but at the same time it just seemed to slip out as she bought for time, trying to make this moment last for as long as it possibly could before he stood up and told her he was joking and she hexed his insides so that they became his outsides.
"Well... yes... I am." said Ron, releasing one of her hands to dig in his coat pocket; his hands finding the ring he had been fumbling with all night. He gently slipped it onto her delicate finger and looked sheepishly back up at her, his ears as red as a tomato. Please say yes, was the only thing that ran round in his head. It was chanted like a mantra in his ears,
"Oi! What are you waiting for!" screamed a lady dressed in tartan. "Say yes already!"
Looking quite taken aback, Hermione looked back down at Ron and said very hurriedly, "Well of course, yes!"
Ron looked more relieved than he had ever been in his entire life as he stood and picked Hermione up, twirling her around and around, her goofy green hat flying off and falling down the stands. When he finally put her down, it was only to see that they where still being projected on the side of the stadium, and he let out a triumphant howl of "She said yes!" his fists punching the air. She said yes.
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Woah, look how much I've improved since my last stories! No, wait, its a bird! Its a plane! Its Kat when she doesn't get enough sleep! Hope you enjoyed it even if it crap and was written when I was an inch from falling asleep on the keyboard, and as always, please review:)
PS! you know that part at the beggining where Ron didn't want her to go get that drink? He was so frantic because of the whole proposing part... not really mental... but yes.. just thought I'd mention it. nervous laugh okay, the end.