The Sun, Moon & Stars

85. Proposal Anxiety

Hi everyone! You can disregard this message if you want to get on with this chapter (which begins after the ... below) but I just wanted to apologize for the lack of updates. I hadn't realized it had been so long & I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! At first I took a break to finish some assignments for school, then I had lots of final tests and wrap-up tasks to finish the semester and then I just decided to take a break from everything for a bit since it had been a tough school year. I hope to be back to updating frequently now, but again, it is summer and I'm at my cottage so I'll try my very best, but I don't know how quick they'll be in all honesty. Thank you for your patience and the 100k reads this week (wow!) & I hope you like this chapter!

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Harry was sheepish the next morning around Ophelia. Perhaps he had decided he shared too much the night before, or maybe he was embarrassed he had sobbed in her lap for a good hour, but Ophelia — as always — was respectful.
She didn't mention anything related to their chat at the breakfast around the others, or even in private. She went on as usual, gave him his space, and decided if he wanted to talk more — he would come to do so. After all, that's what the three of them had done for her when she had secrets of her own last year. She didn't appreciate the prying then, so she didn't do that with him now.

There was only a week until Christmas on top of that, but for select teachers that didn't mean lightening the workload much at all. Snape, for example, took pride in making the Gryffindors stay inside during lunch breaks to finish their final Potions report before the festivities could begin. Which led them to where they were now: sitting at a long mahogany table in the library with their textbooks propped open, parchment sprawled out, and quills in hand.

"This is ridiculous. A week until Christmas and we have to stay in here all of our lunch breaks." Ron muttered, which elicited a hiss from Snape to be quiet; who stood at the front of the room, nose high in the air, inspecting them all.

"Yes well, if we finish this, we're done with Potions for this term." Hermione reminded them all in a hushed voice.

That seemed to brighten Ron up ever-so slightly. The thought of not having to return to Potions for two weeks was one they all took delight in wishing for as they continued writing their reports, the scratching of quills the only sound in the otherwise silent library.

"If only I had a date." Ron went on.

"Still haven't recovered from Fleur's rejection?" Ophelia teased, though it was perhaps too soon.

Ron had rather boldly decided to ask Fleur Delacour to the ball a couple days ago, which seemingly didn't go too well, since he refused to tell them the whole story and reddened whenever it was mentioned.

Ron flushed, "I thought we agreed to not talk about that ever again." He muttered.

"Right." She said formally, "I apologize."

He brushed it off, "Anyway. Hermione. I've been thinking..."

"Yes?" Hermione hummed, not looking up from the parchment she was furiously scribbling on.

"You're a girl." Ron said bluntly, and Ophelia wasn't sure if he was asking for confirmation, or simply stating a fact. Either way, she had to stifle the laugh she almost elicited for Hermione's sake.

"Well spotted." She replied heatedly, putting her quill down.

Ophelia and Harry exchanged a nervous glance.

"Well. You're a girl, and I'm a guy..."

"Really?" Hermione gasped in mock-astonishment, "I had no idea. Thank you for enlightening me, Ronald."