Five ways for fiery_redhead_w
Five ways Harry didn't propose to Ginny, and one way he did.
1. Harry had always looked forward to Kings Cross station, but now he was dreading it. He had promised Ginny he would escort her to the train. Saying goodbye was not something he was looking forward to at all. Hadn't they had enough goodbyes as it were?
Loading her trunk up on the train while her parents had a moment to say goodbye, he watched as some familiar faces waves and then disappeared on board. Ron was right, the first years really did appear to be getting smaller. Once Ginny excused herself from her parents, he placed his hands on either side of her waist and snogged her thoroughly.
"That's right, Potter, make it count," someone yelled as others laughed. He ignored them all.
"You'll come and see the first Quidditch game?" She asked as he ran his fingers through that long red hair he adored.
"Of course."
"Everyone on board," was shouted through the station and he heard Mrs. Weasley urge Ginny not to be late.
"I'll write loads. There will be an owl for you tomorrow," he promised as he watched her step on to the train. A moment later he was running behind it as she looked out the window, and the words escaped before he could stop himself, "Ginny, marry me!" She didn't have time to answer because the train was already gone. He wasn't even sure she heard him, but when he turned around he caught the looks on Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's faces and knew they had absolutely heard him. "Er...well not until after she finishes school of course."
2. He's in the stands watching her play her first professional quidditch game. He and her family make an impressive group all decked out in her team colors. Harry can't remember every being more proud of her. All right, there has been many times he's been proud of her, but watching her on the field makes his heart swell up with pride.
"Oh she's so good. I think she's the best on the team," Hermione said. Harry agrees of course. Ginny Weasley is a natural at Quidditch.
After the game, when the team is celebrating, and family and fans are crowding around, Harry makes his way through to catch up with her. She's beaming a smile that is so radiant even her sister-in-law would be in awe of it. "I heard you cheering," she tells him as arms wrap around his neck and lips press against lips.
There's a ring in his pocket and he thinks about sneaking her off so he can ask her properly. Problem is he told Ron he planned to ask her. His best mate and one day future brother-in-law appears with his arm around Hermione's shoulder. "Oi, enough of that. We want to see the ring."
Harry shoots him a shut up look, but it's too late. Ginny is already looking at Harry with questioning eyes. He plucks out the ring from his pocket and asks softly, "Will you marry me, Ginny?"
3. He's fine. He's fine. How many times does he have to say he's fine? His temper is a little out of sorts, but that is to be expected after being knocked off his broom while chasing down a criminal.
"I can't believe someone got the drop on your, Harry," Ron says in a low tone as he catches the glare from his best friend. Harry will be fine. A few days at St. Mungos and he'll be good as new.
"How did it happen?" Hermione asks gently. She looks so worried and he wants to tell them both to go away. He's fine.
Ginny rushes through the door, still wearing her uniform, and stops suddenly as she sees the gashes on Harry's face, and his arm in a sling. They're working on a cure for his arm as it was dark magic that hit him before he fell off the broom.
"You went by yourself." It's not a question. Her eyes lock with his and for a moment he isn't sure he can handle the weight of her stare. "After you were warned about how dangerous Donovan was, you went by your bloody self."
"Ginny."
"Don't Ginny me, Harry. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get information on you? I'm not family. They gave me a bit of the run around at the Ministry until my father managed to get answers and place the calls to all of us. This was stupid. Look at your face. How far did you fall?"
Hermione and Ron have backed out of the room leaving Harry and Ginny to sort this out together. His temper is getting the best of him. "Sorry for the inconvenience then. Guess I should have made sure they knew to tell you everything if I got injured. I'm fine, Ginny. I'm fine."
Red hair swished in all directions as she stalked over toward him. Her brown eyes were flashing with concern and anger. He hated that she was upset, but he hated being scolded like a child too. "You're not fine! They have to find an anti-curse for your arm. Your wand arm. Harry...do you have any idea how frightening it was to try and get answers and have no one consider me important enough..."
"Fine, Ginny, fine, let's fix that now. Marry me and be done with it."
4. "Let me get this straight," George said slowly as he leaned on the counter at his joke shop and studied Harry's face. "You want me to make you a bit of magic that will allow you to propose to my little sister?"
"It won't allow me to propose, George. I'm going to do so regardless. But that surprise party box you came up with is quite brilliant. She could open it and instead of the glitter spelling out 'Surprise, Happy Birthday' in the air, it could say..."
"Surprise, Harry Potter is a the prat who wants to marry you? I don't know. That will require a lot of glitter." His lips twitched a bit as Harry scowled at him.
"I was thinking more along the lines of 'Will you marry me, Ginny?' " He noticed Ron wasn't speaking up so he kept his attention focused on George. "I want to make it special."
"Right, right. Maybe use Gryffindor colors or do you want the colors of her team?" He was making notes now which made Harry relax.
"Gryffindor colors."
"Do you want me to enchant it to so it plays your song too? Do you have a song?" He paused and then looked at Ron. "It's a bit disgusting asking these questions about our little sister isn't it?"
Harry rolled his eyes and mumbled out the song. The roaring of laughter filled the joke shop and for a moment he wondered if The Weasley's would still be all right with him marrying Ginny if he happened to kill George and Ron.
5. "They look so happy don't they?" Ginny asks as they dance together at Ron and Hermione's wedding. It was one of those perfect evenings where absolutely nothing could go wrong.
Her head on his shoulder, his hand resting on the small of her back, Harry felt like they were the only two on the dance floor despite being surrounded by various family and friends. "They do, yeah. Took them a bit to get there, but once they did it all feel in place." He thought about the ups and downs his best friends had while they working out their feelings for each other. To think he once worried if they dated he would end up losing them when they broke up. Now they were married and neither had ever looked happier.
"I want that you know. What they have." She sounds almost dreamy when she speaks. Harry has to look down to make sure her feet are even touching the ground as she danced with him.
"We'll have it. Not exactly what they have, but we'll have it. A family and all that comes with it." And he realizes what he's saying even though it isn't how he planned for it to come out.
"You want to marry me, Harry?" She asks, looking up at him with a smile that makes his heart skip a bit.
"Yeah, Ginny, I do. But did I ask you or did you ask me?" That will be something they debate for years.
And the one way he did:
When they took the walk after Ginny lead the Gryffindor team to the house cup victory in Harry's sixth year, she placed the golden snitch in his hand. "It should have been yours. It's not right they didn't let you play just because of what happened with Draco."
He wasn't going to accept it, but it seemed important to her. After he made the choice to not return to school and to break up with Ginny so he could go after the horcruxes, one of the first things he did was go to his vault at the bank. He took some money out, and he placed the snitch inside. He told himself it was to keep it safe until he could return to her, but really it was about keeping some part of her safe completely.
It took him a year to master the spell that Dumbledore had used to enchant the snitch that he gave Harry. Inside that snitch had been The Resurrection Stone. There had been writing on the outside that said, 'it opens at the close.'
Inside the snitch he took from his vault was a ring that he planned to put on her finger if she'd allow him too. They were out of school now. No longer children, yet still completely wrapped up in each other. He had been right when he thought that he loved her. Now he realized it had always and only been Ginny.
The snitch was wrapped in a simple gold box with a red bow tied around it. They were walking out of a muggle picture, a tradition they had picked up after their first proper date, and headed toward a pub to grab a drink. He picked this particular theater because of the park not too far away from it. Instead of taking her to a pub, he took her hand and lead her over to the park inside. She sat down on one swing and he sat down on the other in the opposite way so they were facing each other. It was a cool night, lots of stars in the sky, and he couldn't stop grinning at her. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the box and handed it to her.
"What's this?"
"Open it and find out."
The present was opened quickly and the moment her hand wrapped around the golden snitch the writing appeared. "Will you marry me, Ginny?" was scribbled across it on one side. On the opposite it said, "It opens when you say yes."