Picnic in Hyde Park

From their window she stared up into the clear blue sky. It was an unusually warm day for November, perfect weather actually.  Gazing out at the busy streets of London, Rachel West couldn't help but smile recognizing some familiar faces in the midst of the crowd. It was easy to spot a brunette woman, a tall male with messy black hair, and two heads of blazing red hair making their way up the sidewalk.

"Babe, they're here!" Rachel called over her shoulder into the townhouse.

Footsteps approached the muggle from behind. Within a few seconds an arm was around her waist as she was joined at the window by her girlfriend. Hermione Granger smiled see her oldest friends has finally arrived. It had been almost a month since they all had been able to get together outside of work.  Life was hectic as the golden trio all had new adventure to carry out as young twenty somethings. So of course when Rachel had phoned everyone for an impromptu picnic earlier in the week everyone instantly agreed.

"I am so happy you arranged this," Hermione said as she hugged her partner of four years. "But I still don't understand why..."

Letting out a frustrated laugh Rachel wrapped her arms around her. "Must there be a reason behind ever nice thing I do for you?" she asked burying her nose into Hermione's curly brown hair. "Can't I just be an amazing girlfriend who does thoughtful things for the person I love?"

Giggling, Hermione looked up into the blue pools that were Rachel's eyes. In those eyes she saw the spark, the spark that was the cause of her very reason for breathing. If one would have told her that the batter and beaten muggle she met at school nearly five years would become the person she couldn't live without, she would have called them mental. A chime of the doorbell pulled Hermione from the almost hypnotic pull of Rachel's eyes. With a quick kiss she scampered like a small child to answer the door. Rachel giggled as she watched her disappear around the corner to greet her friends. Placing her hand in her pocket she inhaled deeply to steady herself before joining them in the foyer.

After multiple hugs and a quick glass of wine the three couples left Hermione and Rachel's home to make their way to Hyde Park. The group intended to enjoy the weather before winter struck. There was something in the autumn air that day that they all felt.  Seeing each other on a regular basis was becoming a difficult task, and they didn't want to waste a moment of the day. Ron had been working with Harry at the Ministry full time as an Auror. In addition to the long hours hunting dark wizards he spent time at the joke shop with George. It was amazing it had he had any time at all to spend with his girlfriend, Nicola.

Nicola Williams, muggle born witch and former university roommate to Rachel, had met Ron right before the final battle with You-Know-Who.  It was she who helped Ron the most when he lost Fred. It was in the months following the war he realized that she was his soul mate.  Plus, Nicola shared the same passion for quidditch as he did. In fact this love of the sport recently helped her acquire her new job of quidditch correspondent for The Daily Prophet.  They truly were a match made in heaven. It also worked out that since they also lived in London, Rachel could hang out with her best friend, and the only other American she knew, whenever she wanted.

London was ablaze with colors as the remaining colorful leaves clung to the branches. The reds of the double-decker buses, yellows of a New York taxi, and browns of the stone mason work all swayed in the breeze trying desperately not to lose its hold onto the tree. Walking along the sidewalks they chatted about random topics: work, recent news, and the Holyhead Harpes shot at making it to the quidditch world cup.

"If I keep playing like I did against Chudley, I wouldn't put any galleons on it," Ginny said brushing her hair out of her face causing the sun to catch on the latest addition to her left hand.

 Harry and her had recently gotten engaged and all were ecstatic to help them prepare for the wedding. "I called it the first time I met you!" Rachel had shouted when they shared their exciting news with them.

"Oh come on Gin, you played brilliantly," Harry said wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I missed three shots," she sighed, "we should have won easily!"

"Can win 'em all little sis," Ron stated as Nicola intertwined her fingers with his. "You'll get 'em next time."

"That reminds me...Ginny would you mind if I interview you for an article I'm writing? I'm trying to see how one player on each team prepares for their games," Nicola asked.

Smiling, Ginny nodded, "Of course Nic."

It was still odd for her to be interviewed for her role of chaser on the all-female quidditch team; most of the time she turned them down. She wished to keep her life as quiet as possible, being in a relationship with the famous Harry Potter made that challenging enough.  If it had been anyone else but Nicola asking she would have said no.

The laughter and conversation continued on with one voice missing… Rachel. Turning toward her girlfriend Hermione noticed something appeared to be off with her. Beads of sweat were clinging to her forehead and she seemed to be in her own little world. Even her eyes didn't seem focused on her current reality. Gently, Hermione touched her arm causing her to jump slightly. "You okay?" she whispered.

"I'm fine," she smiled, "Why?"

"You haven't said two words since we left," Hermione replied as they walked off the path toward a patch of still green grass.

"I just said three actually," Rachel joked, setting down the picnic basket with a wink.

"Smart ass," Hermione laughed, lightly kicking her in the butt.

"Better than a dumb one."

Within a few moments the picnic area was set up and a bottle of wine was uncorked. It was nothing extravagant, just a group of friends together creating memories. Rachel had prepared a variety of sandwiches and side dishes, which where all but devoured by the group. With full bellies they all sat on the blanket and talked. The type of talks that people who have been friends for more than half their lives have; stories of the past and talk about the future.

All the while the sun trekked across the sky following its normal path toward the horizon. As the festivities began to wind down, Rachel suddenly cleared her throat. Everyone fell silent as the twenty-three year old stood up. Even though she was addressing a small group of her closest friends Hermione couldn't help but notice how nervous she appeared.

"Um I just wanted to say, well, thank you all for coming today. It means a lot to me to be surrounded by my best friends.  As you know today is Thanksgiving back home, and even though we technically don't celebrate it here, I wanted to say that I am incredibly thankful to have all of you in my life," Rachel paused to remove a piece of paper from her back pocket. "As you know, I've been trying to pursue a career in criminal justice, and I hope ultimately to be a detective. I figured I might as well put this soul piercing thing to good use. But, in order to make that happen I need to become a police officer before I would be eligible for the additional training. I've been applying to different forces for a while now, and I finally heard back from one this week. .."

Hermione sprang from a sitting position to a kneeling one in a flash. "Rachel, you didn't tell me you had heard anything," she whispered, her voice trembling with excitement.

"I know," Rachel nervously laughed, "I wanted you all to hear it at the same time…"

Pausing for dramatic effect Rachel looked into the faces of the people she cared about most, her best friends. The people that have been there with her through battles, war, bloodshed, tears, laughter, and on a few occasions near death experiences. Each one of them held a special place in her life, and memory in her heart that she saw the moment they made eye contact. Lastly she gazed into Hermione's brown eyes, and didn't break their hold as she finally spoke, "I begin training after the first of the year."

There was an explosion of cheers as her friends began to celebrate her good news. They all knew what it meant for the soul piercer to be able to become involved in the criminal justice system. No one was more excited for her than Hermione, who leapt to her feet and threw her arms around Rachel's neck. "I am so proud of you, Rachel," she whispered into her ear.

"Thank you, baby…this would not have been possible without you. Which is why…" Rachel broke from Hermione's embrace and reach into the pocket of her jacket.

The cheering of her friends ended as they watched Rachel drop to one knee in front of the dumbstruck witch. Hermione's heart raced as she stared down into the tear filled blue eyes of her beloved. "Rachel what...what are you doing?" she stammered.

"Something I have wanted to do for some time now. I told myself if I got into a police department that I would do this, and it's been killing me waiting for that letter to show up," Rachel laughed something she always did when she was extremely nervous.

"Hermione, you are my everything. You have saved me figuratively and literally on several occasions. You are an amazing human being inside and out. There are some days that I wake up and wonder what I did to deserve you picking me all those years ago. Your existence has made my life so much more than I could have ever imagine it could be. My star, my life, I vow to spend the rest of my life loving and looking at you the same way I do today,"  Rachel said and opened the tiny black velvet box, "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

The setting sun's rays caught the one karat princess cut diamond inset into a 14 karat white gold band, accented by several round cut diamonds. For possibly the first time in the witch's lifetime she was rendered speechless. Before her was the most beautiful ring and human being she had ever seen. Her words were failing her, so through her glistening tears she nodded and finally managed to squeak out, "yes!"      

Rachel released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding upon hearing her answer. Excited giggles, escaped the muggle as she tried to operate her quaking fingers to remove the ring from the box without dropping it in the fallen leaves. After a bit of effort, and with her friends looking on, she placed the ring on its final resting place. Dropping to her knees Hermione hugged her fiancé and passionately kissed her. Rachel returned the kiss and the rest of the world seemed to disappear.

Leaning back Rachel placed her forehead against Hermione's. "I love you," she breathed, closing her eyes and inhaling the smell of fall. "I love you, I love you, I love you…"

"I love you more," Hermione smiled hugging her tightly.

"I don't think that is even possible."

After a moment they remembered that they were not alone and turned toward their friends.
One could tell instantly that they were overjoyed at the surprise proposal, especially Ginny and Nicola who both had tears in their eyes. A silence settled over the group, no one wanting to potentially ruin the moment. Finally, Rachel looked at Ron and laughed, "Now the pressure is really on huh, Ron?"

Laughter erupted amongst the young adults as Nicola hugged her boyfriend's arm. "Oh shut up, Rach!" she laughed kissing Ron's blushing cheek.

"He knows I'm kidding!" she laughed, finally managing to get her legs to cooperate and allow her to stand, "just as long as he takes care of my best friend that's all that matters to me."

The moment that she was standing she was immediately nearly tackled by congratulatory hugs. The group long been waiting for this moment, especially with everything they had been through together. It was obvious to anyone who knew them or even met them briefly that the two women belonged together.  

"Come on drinks on me!" Harry stated as the group began to gather their things. "After all it's not every day that a soul piercer and a witch get engaged!"

A night in the city of London appeared to be in everyone's immediate future as they all began to leave the park. But at that moment the only future that Rachel wanted to think of was her's. Her future looked bright, with the potential for an amazing career on the horizon, but what mattered to her most was that Hermione would be by her side. They would spend countless autumns, winters, springs, and summers together. Both were going to have the lifetime of happiness they deserved.

The others walked ahead leaving the future Mrs. and Mrs. West-Granger to have a private moment. Hermione wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist to hug her tightly. "You make me so happy," she sighed resting her head against her shoulder, "Do you know that?"

"I hope so, you just agreed to be stuck with me for the rest of your life," Rachel joked kissing the top of her hair.

"I wouldn't call it being stuck; I call it creating a new adventure."

Turning Rachel and Hermione faced one another. Staring into Rachel's eyes she beamed. "And I don't need to be a soul piercer to know that."

"Oi you coming?! I have to purpose to Nicola in the pub!"

With a laugh they grasped each other's hand and followed after their friends. It wasn't the normal Thanksgiving celebration Rachel has grown accustomed to growing up in the states, but she knew that this would be the one Thanksgiving that she would never top or forget.