The Deciding Moment

For Hermione's 20th birthday, Ron took her for a holiday to a surprise destination. He made her apparate alongside him, and when they arrived, she had no clue where they were. Hermione got the shock of her life when she realised she didn't even recognise the accents of the locals, let alone any of the animals. Nervously stepping closer to Ron and taking hold of his arm, Hermione asked "um, where are we?"

Ron laughed "Australia, of course! We have a Mr and Mrs Wendell and Monica Wilkins to visit!"

At first she thought he was joking, but the look on his face was deadly serious, and slightly amused at her disbelief. He led her down a street to a little office. Peering closer, Hermione saw "Granger Dental Office" embossed on a gold plaque on the blue door. For a moment Hermione's hopes soared. Her parents remembered! But then she saw the smaller print underneath "Monica and Wendell Wilkins." Sighing, she realised it was just a "memory ghost". She had read about this happening. When the victim (or in this case victims) of the obliviate charm were forced to use their imagination, they often thought up things from their past, not remembering the significance. To her parents, the name Granger was simply a made up name for a dentist office.

Hermione looked sadly at Ron. "Why are we here?" she asked forlornly.

"Why do you think?" was the response. "We're going to get our teeth fixed!" And he pushed open the door, pulling Hermione inside before she could protest.

Over the next half an hour, Hermione (under the name Weasly, even though she and Ron were not yet married) got the simple pleasure of watching her parents work as happy, ordinary muggle dentists, completely satisfied with their lives. When it was time to go, she could barely tear herself away. Ron's gentle hand on her arm, guiding her as they walked back to their arrival point, was her only grip on reality. He held her hand as they disapparated.

When seated once more back in the comfortable kitchen of their little house on the outskirts of Hogmeade, Hermione turned to Ron, tears pooling in her eyes. "Why did you take me there?" She asked. "You know we can't bring them back."

Ron gave her a knowing look, as though he, too, felt her pain. "You had to know" he said simply. "You had to know they were safe and happy."

Those words, the look on his face, and all the work he had done to make her happy was the deciding moment for Hermione. Things had been shaky recently, and that was the one thing he could have done to make it right. That was the moment she said "marry me".

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-Badger Xx