Work Text:
THC Secret Santa 2025
For BC5!
I hope you enjoy it!
Prompts used:
Meal Type: Picnic, dinner
Time: sunset, noon, 5:59 PM.
Honeydukes catalogue,
Characters: Harry, Luna, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny and Neville mentioned
Non romantic pairing:
Ron/Luna
Romantic pairing: Harry/Hermione
Genres: romance
Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Shared Apartment Romance
Words: 1675
Beta: THANK YOU SO MUCH DR CHRISSY
Alpha: THANK YOU KEREN
Harry paced back and forth. Where were Luna and Ron? It was already noon and Hermione was going to arrive soon to go to her lectures.
He sighed. He really hoped they would manage to pull it off without him. No matter how much he wished he could arrange everything himself, he couldn't. Hermione was a genius and in all the years he'd known her both at Hogwarts and ever since they moved in together during her university years and his Auror training, he'd never once been able to fool or surprise her. It was like she could read his mind.
He'd been really careful this time and hoped beyond hope that she would indeed be surprised, otherwise all his efforts were for nothing and he'd given up on the chance to create the special moment himself.
Harry looked at the basket in his hand. He hoped everything was there. Hermione's picture was on top of everything. He'd snapped it the night she'd studied for her Transfiguration Mastery exam. Her hair was in a messy bun and her face had worry lines all across, the t-shirt was stained with days old pizza and she was drooling a bit. That was when he realised he wanted to marry her. That she was the most perfect, beautiful and amazing girl in the world and he wanted her to be by his side forever.
It felt like yesterday that they had moved in - just as friends - and it felt like yesterday when they had their first kiss.
…..
Harry had been walking aimlessly around the grounds. He was both shocked and thrilled that Ginny had found her happiness with her husband, but where did that leave him?
“Hey, what's happening?” Hermione came. “I thought you weren't upset about Ginny.”
He shook his head. “I'm not, but I realised I would either have to rent out by myself or stay at Grimmauld Place. And I don't know, I can't really justify spending money on a rental in the same borough as my house if I am alone.”
Hermione grinned. “I could stay with you!”
Harry looked at her in confusion. “What? Ron said you were going to Cambridge Institute of Transfiguration!”
“I am, but I can Apparate or Floo! I much rather stay with you than in the dorms. Or rent alone.”
“I thought you and Ron were going to live together?”
Hermione nodded. “We were, but that's because we thought you were going to live with Ginny, you know …. the old dream while we were horcrux hunting and living in the tent. But once we realised Ginny found her happiness we had a chance of plans. Ron is planning to stay with his family to help with the shop and defer next year for Auror training and it didn't make sense for him to live in Cambridge anyway. He's going to room with Luna for the time being!”
Harry blinked. “Luna?”
“His new best friend.”
He frowned. “What?”
Hermione laughed at him. “Don't worry, no one can replace you Harry!”
….
“I don't want to go to this ball!”
Hermione crossed her arms. “I know you don't, but it's raising awareness for orphans and it celebrates the lives we lost! You're the Deputy Head Auror!”
“One of them, one of them! I am not even sure I should be one anyway! I'm too young.”
“Maybe you're young, but you definitely deserve it!”
“Gosh, I have to find a date! I can't even ask Ginny since she's already going with her husband.”
He turned to her, pleading. “Hermione, I know you told Ron no last minute, but since you're making me go, could you do me the honour and accompany me please?”
She nodded.
As the sunset came, she arrived dressed in a beautiful strapless blue dress with a little butterfly necklace hanging just above her chest.
She was glorious. They danced all night and he'd never felt like that before.
As they got home, before he went to his room, he took her hand and said: “I've never had as much as today. You're amazing.”
She grinned. “So are you.”
….
Harry didn't know what possessed him, but he’d kissed her. She'd kissed him back. And now he was going to propose to her.
“Earth to Harry!” Ron snapped his fingers in front of him.
Luna chuckled. “Harry, Hermione will be here very soon. Give us the instructions.”
Harry realised he had been in such deep thoughts he'd not even noticed when his friends had arrived. Thinking about Hermione tended to have that effect on him. Oops.
“Ah, yes. The instructions. Come back to Grimmauld Place and arrange a picnic. Be done by 6 pm because we're going to arrive around that time. Kreacher has agreed to help with the snacks and dinner so just call him when all is set up. I've ordered cakes from the Honeydukes catalogue. Kreacher also has those. In this basket there's the pictures and further instructions and as well as everything you need to set up. Now go! She said she'd be back by noon and it's already half past!”
They hastily took the basket and Apparated away and not a moment too soon, Hermione appeared.
“Were that Ron and Luna?”
Harry sighed. “Yes. Neville is busy so Ron is accompanying Luna in trying to find some new animal, I think the green-eyed sea star nargel?”
Hermione stared at him. “That doesn't exist.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You know Luna. Ron wanted me to come with, but I said I was accompanying you to your first guest lecture of the semester!”
Hermione grinned. “Yes. I still cannot believe Isle of Man Magical Institute asked me to do this!”
Harry smiled at her. “I can; you're brilliant!”
She blushed and went to get ready.
“Man, I can't wait to marry her,” Harry thought.
Half an hour after Harry and Hermione Portkeyed to Isle of Man, Ron and Luna came back to the house. They were greeted by Kreacher.
“Dinner will be ready in about two hours. Everything as Master Harry said. I will bring out the snacks when you say you're finished,” Kreacher said before disappearing with a pop.
Ron nodded. “I cannot believe Hermione got him speaking full sentences with correct grammar.”
Luna smiled. “It's Hermione. She can do anything she puts her mind to.”
He grinned. “Indeed. Let's go and arrange this proposal.”
Slowly, they set to work. The garden had to be trimmed and arranged. Harry had ordered extra flowers to arrive which Kreacher had also handed over to them. Things needed to be planted, and lights had to be installed. Harry hadn't been able to do any alterations to the garden since Hermione lived with him.
Both of them looked at the pictures. Harry knew what he was doing.
Over the next couple of hours, the entire garden changed. Whereas it was just a cold December day and the garden had few evergreens, now it held roses, tulips and lilies. It was filled with flowers and life. There were magnolias and daffodils, hyacinths and carnations. The trees had blossom flowers in them to make them seem as in spring.
Harry had gone all out. He'd given them fairy lights in the basket, enough for every single tree and bush.
They'd banged the pictures he'd given them around and they had put the softest blanket in between the four evergreen trees, fairy lights hanging above.
The basket was set on one side and the snacks Kreacher provided inside. They were the appetizers. He'd made stew and polenta with some really nice treacle tart for main course and dessert. The basket also held a multitude of cakes from Honeydukes.
“I can't believe we're done,” Luna said.
Ron nodded. “It was harder than I thought. I genuinely believed we'd be long finished by now.”
He checked the time. 5:59. Only one minute till six pm.
His eyes met Luna’s. “We have one minute to get out of here.”
She took his hand and both Apparated away.
Before the clock turned six, Harry opened the door to the garden, leading Hermione out.
When she noticed the flowers, and the blanket, and the lights she stopped right in the middle of the doorway.
“Harry,” she whispered. He took her hand and led her as if in a trance to the blanket.
He stretched out his hands and pointed towards the pictures.
“Hermione Jean Granger, ever since I met you my life completely changed for the better. You've always been one of my best friends, the one I could always count on. I didn't realise how fundamental you were a part of my life until you were so far deep I didn't want to get you out. Ron is not the only one that got jealous with Krum. I did too, but I didn't know it yet at the time what I was feeling. I think I've always been afraid of losing you. I don't know where I would be without you. I had this all speech planned out and I rehearsed so many times, but my mind is currently not remembering anything. What I remember is the first time I wanted to marry you.”
He pointed to the sleeping picture and Hermione snorted, but there were tears in her eyes.
“That's when I knew I wanted you to be mine.”
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a beautiful silver box with a ring inside.
“Would you do me the greatest honour and marry me?”
“Yes!” she said and kissed him.
He slid the ring on her fingers before kissing her back and pulled her into a hug.
“I take it, Ron and Luna set this up.”
Harry nodded.
“I ordered everything, including the flowers and cakes from Honeydukes! Kreacher cooked, but I couldn't figure out how to set up without you knowing so they helped me. I wanted to surprise you for once.”
Hermione shook her head. “I cannot believe you. Consider me surprised,” she whispered and kissed him again.