Kiss Me

Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight

Lead me out on the moonlit floor

Lift your open hand

Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance

Silver moon's sparkling

So kiss me

It was a beautiful night, the crickets sang and summer night air was just a bit cool, cool enough so that they weren’t stifling. There were butterflies in his stomach as he watched her, smiling and laughing at George who had set off a firework for Angelina, his new bride. This was love, this was where he belonged, and this was home.

There was a pleasant warm feeling around Ron’s heart as Hermione approached their table, her glass full of pink, sparkling champagne nearly spilling onto the grass. She settled down next to him, her smile bright and her eyes sparkling with merriment as she took a sip. The butterflies started anew when he remembered his plans, remembered what he was about to do. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, Harry had proposed to Ginny just fine and George had proposed to Angelina with all the finesse and humor expected of him. But the lump in Ron’s throat made it difficult to speak as they watched George and Angelina take their first dance as a married couple.

Ron found her hand in the semi-darkness and squeezed it tightly, hoping that skin to skin contact might quell the raging butterflies; sadly it did not and when she turned to him, resting her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh, they doubled. God, did he ever love this woman, but then, why was it so hard to ask her to marry him? It seemed fairly strait foreword.

“Maybe I’m doing it wrong,” Ron mused as the first song ended and the next song started and other couples walked out onto the dance floor.

Ron watched as Bill led a very pregnant Fleur out onto the dance floor, and then quickly followed by Harry and Ginny, mum and dad, Percy and Audrey, and Charlie and his current girlfriend (who Molly had high hopes for). Even four year old Victoire dragged a very struggling six year old Teddy out onto the dance floor for an exaggerated waltz.

“Dance with me?” Ron asked, standing and holding out his hand.

She smiled again and accepted his hand, letting him lift her to her feet. They walked out onto the dance floor which was bathed in the soft light of the full moon and they began to dance slowly, Hermione’s arms around his neck.

“This is it,” Ron thought as leaned his head down close to her ear.

“Marry me,” he whispered softly, his hand flexing absentmindedly on the small of her back, pressing her closer to him.

She looked up, her eyes shining in the light as tears welled there. Her fingers played with the curly hair at the nape of neck as she replied, her own voice soft: “It’d be my delight to marry you Ron Weasley.”

His grin matched her own wide one as he lifted her a little, her feet a few inches off of the ground; then he kissed her with everything he had inside of him, all of the love and the wonderment. He could hear his family stop dancing and he could feel their own smiles as they gazed upon the newly engaged couple kissing under the waning twilight.

Ron only remembered the ring when all of the congratulations were over and the dancing had stopped for the time being. He pulled Hermione aside, into the house where the lights were still on. He pulled the ring box out of his cloak pocket and opened it, showing her the small white gold band inside, there was a shiny sapphire blue stone in the middle and around the sapphire there were tiny diamonds.

“Oh, Ron it’s beautiful,” she murmured, holding out her hand so that he could place it on her finger.

She gazed at the ring for a moment before looking at her fiancé again. “Kiss me,” she whispered.