What A Girl Wants

Chapter Twenty-Two: What A Girl Wants

            Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

            It was close to seven-thirty at night when Lily finished ringing up a father and his young daughter at the register. The older gentleman whose hair was dark brown, had a tanned complexion and dark ember eyes, had just purchased a copy of "The Rainbow Fish" for his daughter who looked to be about six-years-old. The little girl looked at her father with so much love and content as he handed her the brand-new book.

            "Thank you, Daddy!" the little girl squealed in excitement.

         "You're welcome, Pumpkin. How about we head on home for dinner and then I'll read it to you at bedtime?" Her father asked as they began to walk hand in hand out of the bookstore. Lily watched as the pair left the bookshop and walked down the street, smiling and laughing. She sighed as thoughts of her time with Harry plagued her mind. She missed her father terribly, but she knew she had made the right choice to leave with her mother and return home.

          How could they have possibly stayed and watch him marry Ginny? She was the worst woman that she had ever met, aside from Mrs. Weasley. As her thoughts turned back to the little girl and her father, she couldn't help but wonder if that's how she and Harry would have acted if Molly hadn't sabotaged her parents relationship years ago. Lily stepped from behind the counter and began to place all the books that were laying on the floor, back in their rightful place.

       Lily had just finished placing the last of the books on the shelves, when she heard the bell ring and the door close shut. 'Damn, I forgot to lock the door and switch the sign'. Lily thought to herself as she closed her eyes. She opened her eyes as she turned around and said, "Sorry, we're closed for the night." But as the last word left her lips, her breath hitched in her throat. 'I'm dreaming, right? Harry's back home and married to Ginny right now, isn't he?' She thought as Harry stood in front of her, his hands sitting in the pocket of his dress pants.

      "Hello, Lily." Harry told her as he gave her a big smile.

        "Dad? Is it really you?!" Lily cried as she ran to her father and jumped into his arms. Harry wrapped his arms around his daughter as though he hadn't seen her in years, rather than two days.

       "I've missed you." Lily whispered as she continued to hug her father.

        "I've missed you too, sweetheart."

        "What are you doing here? I thought you and Ginny would be half way to your honeymoon by now?" Lily asked as she pulled back from her father, giving him a confused look.

          "How could I marry her, when my family was half way around the world?" Harry asked as he took his hand and placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Lily beamed with joy as Harry spoke those words to her. 

      "Where's your mum?" Harry asked as he glanced around the front of the bookshop, looking for any sign of Hermione. As if on cue, Hermione entered from a backroom, with her inventory book in hand.

      "Lily, did you remember to lock the door? I thought I heard someone talking-"Hermione's words were cut short as she looked up from the inventory sheet. She let out a small gasp, causing the book to fall from her hands and onto the floor. "H-Harry?" She asked dazed. Her chocolate brown orbs met with his emerald green eyes, as neither one moved from their spot. They stood, facing one another like they had at the airport merely days ago.

       Harry took one step forward and spoke, "Hello, Hermione. I should have known you'd be doing inventory on a Saturday night." He chuckled as he continued to inch closer to his lost love.

      Hermione continued to stand frozen, not knowing what to say. She felt a lump begin to form in the middle of her throat. 'What is he doing here? Surely, he didn't come to New York with Ginny on his Honeymoon? No, of course not. Harry wouldn't hurt you like that.' "Wh-what are you doing here?"

      "Isn't it obvious, Hermione? I'm here for you. For Lily. For our family." Harry said as stood directly in front of Hermione, placing his palm on her cheek.

        "But what about Ginny and the baby? Surely, you didn't leave them behind in London." Hermione asked as she searched his eyes for answers.

      "Well, yeah I did. She lied to me 'Mione. She lied to all of us seeing as the baby was never mine in the first place. She used a memory charm on me to make me think the baby was mine and not Draco Malfoy's." Hermione and Lily's jaw dropped slightly.

      "She did what?" Lily asked as her fist balled up, nostrils flared. 'That bitch! I swear if I ever see her red-headed ass again, I'll hex her all the way to Romania!'

        "She lied about the baby?"

         "Among other things. She knew about Molly encouraging you to leave me behind while you were pregnant with Lily and never bothered to tell me. Luckily, Amelia listened in that night and told me about it today before the wedding. And to top it off, not only is Draco the father of Ginny's unborn child, but Amelia as well."

         Lily smiled at the thought of Amelia finally finding her own father, along with telling Harry the truth about Molly and Ginny's secret. If not for her, Lily didn't think Harry would be standing here now.

           "I'm so sorry, Harry. I wanted to tell you many times about why I left but I thought you would hate me. I was a coward for leaving you without a word and not trusting that you'd be there for me and Lily. Leaving you was my biggest regret." Hermione told him as tears began to fall down her cheeks. Harry took his thumb and brushed them away.

             "Oh 'Mione, I could never hate you. Never in my life do I ever think I could hate someone as loving, smart, and outright gorgeous as you. You are my life, my world, my other half. Without you and Lily in my life, I'm incomplete. I never want the three of us to be without one another again." Harry told her as he dropped down to one knee and pulled out a black, velvet box causing Lily to jump up and down silently as she witnessed her father proposing to her mother. Hermione stood silent and surprised that Harry was down on one knee at this very moment. She smiled brightly at him and let him continue to speak.

          "Hermione Jean Granger, when you first walked into the train compartment that Ron and I were sitting in, I thought you were completely mental. But when I heard about the troll being let loose in the castle, I knew I could never let anything bad happen to you. From that moment on, I knew I had gained the most precious friendship any bloke could ever ask for. Because from the bond we created, sprouted a love so deep and from it, came the most wonderful daughter any man could ask for. For too long has the world kept us apart from one another, along with the hole that's been in my heart for nineteen years. So, I kneel here before you to ask you, to please marry me. I'm nothing without you and I promise to always be there for you, for better or worse, for sickness and in health, for richer or poorer until death parts us. 'Mione will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Harry Potter?" Harry asked her as he opened the black, velvet box to reveal a beautiful one Karat, princess-cut diamond and sapphire white gold engagement ring.

      "Yes! Yes of course I'll marry you!" Hermione exclaimed as tears of joy streamed down her face. Harry stood up and placed the engagement ring on her finger and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss before spinning her around in the air, causing Hermione to break their kiss and giggle. 

       Lily watched as her parents celebrated their new-found engagement, knowing she couldn't be happier for them. If you would have told her a couple of months ago that her journey to find her father would cause her parents to get back together, she would have thought you were mad. But to her, this is all a girl could ever want.