It had been a disaster. Draco had just wanted to give Rosie a proper proposal but somehow, he had managed to get it all so wrong.

The problem was, it just wasn't him. These big sweeping romantic gestures made him cringe. If he had it his way there would be no 'proposal'. He would just one day marry her. Nothing fancy, just an intimate ceremony - preferably just him and her.

And then Pansy had to get involved. God, the horror he had felt at the things she had said in front of Rosie. The thing was it had all been true - he did use to take Pansy to that place, and he did encourage her to tell him stories of how she had tormented Rosie. But the sex - well it was just sex. He was a horny teenage boy. And Pansy was willing.

Rosie had to know he wasn't that guy anymore. She just had to.

And now she was standing in front of him, her mouth wide open in shock at what he had just announced.

"You were going to propose?" Her voice was no longer laced with fury, but quiet - incredulous.

"Yes. No. Wait - I am proposing. Right now." He held out the box to her, not quite sure what he was supposed to be doing with it.

She didn't move to take it - she just looked at him, looking utterly bewildered. He held his breath - he couldn't bear the tension.

"What do you want me to say, Rosie?" He spat, suddenly feeling furious. "Yes - I hated you. I hated you from the moment I first saw you; from the moment I realised you were a Muggle-born. I was disgusted that you were allowed in Slytherin, disgusted that you were in my year. I couldn't even look at you!"

He paused to take a breath, looking defiantly into Rosie's eyes; eyes that were full of pain and hurt. But he had to say this. He had to make her understand.

"But then- but then I fell in love with you," He continued, his voice softening. "I didn't want to - it went against everything I was brought up to believe in. But you- you made me see the world differently. And I saw you, and I saw that you were beautiful. In every way. Suddenly everything I thought I was had changed. You made me want to be a better person, you made me want to be the person I am now. Rosie, I love you, I love you with every fibre of my being, with every breath of my body, and I couldn't imagine not spending the rest of my life with you."

He looked at her pleadingly. He had nothing else he could say to make her believe him.

She took a hesitant step towards him and he breathed a sigh of relief when she gingerly took the box from his outstretched hand. He could barely watch as she slowly opened it. Her expression was unreadable.

"It's- it's beautiful, Draco," was all she said.

Their eyes met and his heart twisted with longing.

"Please don't listen to Pansy," he implored one last time. "I'm not that guy anymore. I'm not."

Her expression softened and her blue eyes twinkled as a small smile tugged at her lips.

"I know."

His heart flooded with relief and he couldn't help but smile back.

"And, yes," she continued, her smile growing wider. "I'll marry you, Draco."

He never thought it was possible that such a sentence could ever make him feel so happy, but coming from Rosie, it was the most joyous sound he had ever heard.

He instantly closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around her, crashing his lips down on hers, revelling in the taste and scent of his dear, sweet Rosie; the woman who stole his heart.

***

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