Undeniable Truths

32~ Awkward Speeches

"Hey, Herm, what's this?" I ask as I flip through the stack of mail I just pulled from her mail slot.

She walks toward me with a quizzical look, "How am I supposed to know? I haven't looked at it. Who's it from?"

"The Ministry War Recognition Department. I wasn't aware that was a thing," I question. "What do they do?"

"Silly Swedish people, the War Recognition Department is in charge of making sure those lost in the war are properly remembered. They have museums, and they put on balls twice a year. This must be an invitation to one. What day is it today?" she asks as she grabs the letter from me.

I check my watch, "September 28th. Oh Merlin, guess what that means..."

"What," she asks uninterested as she scans the letter in her hand.

I place my hand on her shoulder and turn her to look at me, "It's our four month anniversary in two days."

"No way.." She stops, "We went on our first date May 30th... oh. You're right. I'm so sorry, love. I can't believe I forgot." She says as she kisses me.

"It's okay, Herm. I didn't realize it until just now. And it's still a couple days away, so you haven't missed it. In fact, I forgot until just now also. Anyways, what was the letter about from the W.R.D?" I ask.

She chuckles, "The what?"

"War Recognition Department. W.R.D. Please, do keep up, dear."

"Oh, right," Hermione states as she rolls her eyes. "Anyways, the letter was a cordial invitation to the ball in memory of those lost in the first wizarding war."

"When is it?" I sigh.

"Don't sound so enthralled. It's on Halloween night, the 20th anniversary of Harry's parents' death," she looks down at her bare feet. "I have to go, Halloween is always a hard night for Harry, he's my best friend and the brother I never had. You don't have to go if you don't want to. I've never gone with a date before, which is highly frowned upon."

"I'll go," I state.

"You really don't have to, Percy. I swear."

"It could be our first public outing. You can show off your fancy foreign beau. Dress me up, dance around, and show me off to all the guys who want you," I kiss her cheek.

"You're so good to me," she pretend swoons.

I look her in the eye as I mess with the chain in my pocket, "I have a proposition for you."

She plops down on her couch, "Shoot it."

I sigh, "Well, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while. But I could never find the right time, or the right wording. You see, I'm not very good at forming words that are romantic. So, here," I say as I hold out a thin chain necklace.

She blushes, "A necklace? Percy, that's so sweet. But why does that need a romantic speech?"

I open my palm to reveal a key, "This is why the necklace needs a romantic speech. Hermione, love, I was wondering if you would move in with me."

Hermione's mouth falls open, "I don't know what to say... This is so sweet, and sudden."

I start to panic, did I do this wrong? This was a bad time, I should've planned this out better. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

"You don't have to. Maybe I'm moving too fast. Dang it, babe, I'm sorry. I'll just put this away, and we can forget this ever happened."

She stays on the couch but sits up on her knees and grabs my face, "Hun, I'd love to move in with you. You aren't moving too fast. I love you so much. After Weasley, I thought I'd never be happy again. Then you show up in my life, and everything seems perfect. I can see a future with you. Maybe not right away, but at some point. But in order to get there, we need to take this step. This is perfect."

I sigh, "You mean it? Because if you don't want to, you don't have to. I love you, but I don't want to pressure you into anything."

"Percy, my love, this makes me so happy," she chuckles. "I can't think of anything that would make me happier."

*+*+*

"Well, that's the last box," I state as I set down the box in my drawing room.

She comes up to me with a sly smile, "Can I paint?"

I roll my eyes, "You haven't even unpacked yet, dear. Once you're settled in, we can discuss paint."

She slings her arms around my neck and kisses me, "Thank you, love. Now, to unpack." With that she waves her wand, without letting go of me, and the boxes begin to unpack themselves. "So, about that paint?"

"We can go to the store tomorrow to figure out colors. Nothing too crazy, okay?" I reason.

Granger chuckles, "No promises, dear."

*+*+*

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Thank you for reading,

Astoria 🐍👑
(Slytherin_Princess32)