A/N: Hey all! This one's short and sweet, and was begging to be written as soon as I finished reading Deathly Hallows. Enjoy!

The Wedding

For a male Weasley, the beginning of the ceremony was holding my attention pretty well. It helped that Fleur seemed to be more radiant than usual, but like always, I was distracted by the radiance sitting next to me. A sideways glance revealed her to be rapt in what was happening at the front of the tent. To avoid suspicion I turned back to the front, when an image hit me with the strength of a hammer between the eyes. Hermione's brown curls replaced Fleur's waves of silver; Bill's scars disappeared and his face became my own. Hermione was slipping a gold band onto my ring finger, and smiling at me like I was her own personal sun. We kissed and looked out at our friends. I turned to face Harry, my best man, whose eyes shone with approval and joy. I turned back to find Ginny laughing and clapping directly behind Hermione, her maid of honor. We ran down the aisle, hand in hand…

The image dissolved. I found myself staring, once again, at the object of my affection. She stared back, eyes a little surprised, but one half of her mouth went up, as if she knew I had just come out of my daydream. My lips found the other half of her smile, and we both turned away when her cheeks reddened. The priest was still droning on, so hopefully I hadn't been staring for too long.

I listened for a short while longer, then, as I readjusted my sweaty palms, my pinkie accidentally brushed hers. We both froze, looking straight ahead. I didn't dare turn my head an inch in her direction, but I let that terribly innocent yet oh-so-intimate gesture run its course. She hadn't pulled away- that barest contact lingered. I chanced a peek in her direction. She was still looking ahead, but her expression revealed that she was all too aware of my now-deliberate movement. She was mostly smirking, but in her eyes was surprise, overshadowed by utmost happiness. The ceremony was almost over; I tried to steel myself and make my suddenly unresponsive hand take hold of hers. Come on… come on… "…then I declare you bonded for life." The moment shattered.

I stood up with the rest of the guests, my internal struggle unbeknownst to them… well, perhaps all but one. She turned to Harry, and I lost sight of her expression. Ah, well… I surveyed the rest of the crowd, all applauding the brand new Mr. and Mrs. William Weasley. Fleur Weasley. I snorted, as I followed the rest of the guests out of the tent.

After managing to secure a Krum-free table, we chatted with Luna… that is, until she got up to dance by herself. Always good value, that one is. Then, the devil himself made an appearance, sitting in Luna's empty chair. I checked Hermione's reaction to the uninvited guest- there was a hint of red in her cheeks- not good.

"Who is that man in the yellow?" Krum asked with his perpetual scowl. Maybe the faster his questions were answered, the faster he would leave.

I replied promptly, "Xenophilius Lovegood, he's the father of a friend of ours." I wasn't about to defend Father Loony, but after all, the enemy of my enemy is a friend of my friend… or something like that. I looked to Hermione once again; she was smiling at Krum. Again, not good.

"Come and dance." The words were out of my mouth before I knew I was speaking them. She looked as surprised as I felt, but she scooted her chair back and walked out into the middle of the floor with me.

My heart was suddenly beating double time. McGonagall's waltzing lessons were nowhere to be found, though I racked my brains. As it turned out, I didn't need them. I felt a slight tremor in her hand as she grabbed my right and placed it very businesslike (or perhaps it was Hermione-like) on her waist- my knees nearly buckled on the spot. Her other hand went to my shoulder, our free hands met, and suddenly we were dancing. Not well, mind you, but I managed to only step on her foot once, and keep some semblance of a tempo. We were both looking at our feet at first, but once I got comfortable, I let myself gaze down at her.

"You know," she began, "You're not actually that…" She looked up and met my eyes. "Bad," she finished in a whisper. What had she seen in my gaze? The intense longing I only just managed to keep at bay when we were in close quarters? The tender things she made me feel but I'd never disclose? Whatever it was, she didn't say anything else for a long few moments.

"Thanks," I responded, my voice embarrassingly tight; she gave me a weak smile that I returned. Abruptly, the song ended, and we clapped with the other dancers, though we didn't break eye contact. The drummer counted off a slower beat, and the band began a song my mother often sang along to on the Wizarding Wireless. A slow dance. Nothing at the Yule Ball had prepared me for this.

"Do you –erm- want to?" she asked, her voice sounding strangely vulnerable.

"Sure," I tried to sound enthused rather than frightened, and the look of relief on her face told me I had the right answer.

The singer crooned into the magical microphone as her hands looped around my neck. I brought my hands to her waist with a telling smile that I instantly regretted. My ears must have turned a famous Weasley shade of red, but if she noticed, my only indication was her smile widening even further. We swayed from side to side, like most of the couples who hadn't grown up needing to know how to foxtrot. Was it just wishful thinking, or were we getting closer? I wrapped my arms around her further, trying to be discreet. She folder her arms more tightly about my neck; I shivered as her fingertips brushed the nape of my neck. We rocked back and forth, and the world fell away. All that existed was her- the soft brown waves framing chocolate eyes and full red lips, not to mention the color in her cheeks. We were so close now, I could feel the heat radiating from her body towards mine. I took a deep breath, and closed that infinitesimal distance.

We both allowed ourselves a small intake of breath as our bodies fitted perfectly together. Her cheeks stained a deeper pink before she buried her head against my shoulder. I grasped her to me fully, no longer worrying that she would figure out how much I cared for her- as much more than a friend, that is. We now touched virtually from head to toe, and I was enjoying every possible second of it. When I felt her lightly fingering the strands of hair that lay on my neck, I took it as a sign that she wasn't caring what kind of message she sent either. Her touch made my stomach clench with familiar desire. I closed my eyes, laid my cheek against her sweet-smelling hair, and let the moment take me, holding tight to the only girl I could honestly say I loved.

The song trailed off, but it wasn't until people started clapping again that we were snapped out of our own private universe. I let her go just enough so that she could stare up into my face. She took a gulp and began, "Ron? I think-" And then she had to show up.

"RONNIE!" one of my numerous aunts all but screamed from a few dance partners away. "Is that you? You've gotten so big!"

I did my best to smile at her, though it may have been more of a grimace, then turned back to Hermione. Her face had fallen, completely different from the nervous hopefulness of a few seconds before. I leaned down so my lips barely brushed her ear as I whispered, "When I'm done with her, I'll get us some Butterbeers, and then why don't you find us someplace to sit down so we can talk?" I pulled away to gauge her reaction; the hope was back.

"'Kay," she replied quietly, with a smile that lit up her features, and turned to find a path through the other dancers.

"I love you," I added silently to her retreating figure. If only I knew then where I would be now…

I was startled out of my trip down memory lane when my infant daughter made an insistent noise that very obviously said, "pay attention to me!" I brought my hand up to tickle her, but she grabbed my thumb with her tiny fist, utterly defeating me. She smiled up at me, too-intelligent chocolate brown eyes laughing, and I gave her arm a little shake. She giggled as I looked up into those same eyes in a very different face.

"What were you thinking, at the wedding?" I asked.

Her eyebrows raised as she replied, "Which one?"

Of course. In the years following Voldemort's (I was proud I could now say the name without flinching) demise, it was nearly impossible to keep track of who was marrying who. George and Angelina, Hermione and me, Harry and Ginny, Neville and Hannah, even Seamus and Lavender (good luck to him).

"At Bill and Fleur's, right after we danced, you said 'Ron, I think,' and then my aunt interrupted us," I ended with a scowl.

"Oh! Umm," her eyebrows furrowed into "thinking" position as she tried to recall her exact thoughts that night. She nodded and smiled when it came to her, "I was going to say 'I think there's a chance that I might possibly love you.'"

"That's quite a lot of uncertainty, don't you think?" I asked Rosie. She responded by smiling a toothless smile.

"Well I wasn't about to come out with 'Ronald I've been in love with you since before I can remember let's go have some wild animalistic sex in the bushes,'" she returned. My eyebrows went up. She shrugged, "Though that wouldn't have been the worst line, now that I think of it."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "After we lived through that disaster of a mission, that's basically what you said."

She snorted, "And that's basically what we did!"

"Hey, it was a deserted corridor behind a tapestry, much more elegant," I said, filling my voice with an obviously false hurt. She narrowed her eyes at me, grinning wickedly. I returned it, letting my mind wander again, and wondering how in the world I got so lucky.

A/N: Yep, that's it! But fear not, for I have two or three (or six) more HP fanfics in the works, so keep an eye out! If you want to see a really lovely fanart that goes PERFECTLY with this fic, please visit lillywmw on DeviantArt- her work "Let's Stay Together" is amazing!