Something Old, Something New
Set: Post-Hogwarts
Rating: PG-13 for cracks about Seamus's "uncontrollable monkey" ;p
Pairing: Hermione plus Mystery Groom
Genre: Romance. We're talking fluffier than a duckling's backside here.
Dedicated to: a life verbatim on Livejournal
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: It's Hermione's big day, and she's suffering from nerves. Which aren't exactly being settled by Seamus and his insane monkey familiar. And just who is the lucky bloke? Gryffindor-centric, with various cameos from a variety of characters.
Author's Notes: Various people need to be mentioned for this. Firstly, nekiko27 for providing the inspiration for Seamus and his bedamned monkey. Secondly, the actress Rebecca Romjin provides a quote Ginny makes involving underwear which I couldn't possibly take credit for. Thirdly, a life verbatim for it being her birthday in the first place. NB: Written prior to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Ginny Weasley gazed at her friend's reflection and grinned. "I never thought that this day would come."
"I never thought that it would either." Hermione Granger – for the time being anyway – adjusted her veil and tucked a stray curl behind one ear. "And now that it's arrived, well, it just feels so soon and sudden."
"You're not having second thoughts, are you? You are having second thoughts. Here, this is what you need." Ginny poured a flute of champagne – real champagne from the Champagne region of France, not just the "sparkling wine" stuff – and pushed it into Hermione's hand. "Alcohol. The answer to half of lives problems, as Seamus would say."
"And the cause of the other half of them," Hermione said firmly. She'd only drunk on three other occasions: the Yule Ball during her fourth year, when she had come of age – and when she had got engaged. "After the ceremony I'll have a glass. I just haven't been able to eat anything all day and I don't want to drink on an empty stomach. Vomiting all over the priest's shoes would not be the most promising of starts to our new life together."
"So you do plan on going through with it after all." Ginny almost exhaled in relief. "You know," she added more seriously, "if you hurt him, I'll have to hunt you down and kill you."
"I'm not going to hurt him," Hermione laughed. "And of course I'm going through with it. It's just that after months of planning, it seems to have come around so quickly. But this is the best day of my life. I've been dreaming of this since I was a little girl. Well, not so much the wedding in itself, but the marriage to come and meeting someone who I could grow old with. And it's all that I expected and yet somehow different, somehow more."
"And he's the best thing that ever happened to you and whatnot," Ginny added with a smirk.
"No, dear, I'm the best thing that happened to him," Hermione corrected. Both girls burst out laughing.
There was a knock at the door. Ginny swooped across the room as if she was after the Snitch back in her school days. "Oi, you!" she hollered. "You're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding. It brings bad luck."
"It's only me, Neville," a nervous voice spoke up through the keyhole. "Are you two – er – decent? Can I come in?"
Ginny glanced over at Hermione, who nodded. She opened the door.
"Sorry!" Neville cried, floundering into the room. "I had to get out – someone fed Seamus's monkey familiar some mead and now it's started to hump my leg." He stopped. "'Mione. You look beautiful."
Hermione winced. "Don't call me that."
"Not even on your wedding day?" Ginny grinned.
"Not even," Hermione confirmed. "Neville, pull yourself together, then go back outside and tell Seamus to get his monkey back under control. Gabrielle doesn't even arrive until the reception, after all." Fleur Delacour's sister had grown into a very pretty girl of seventeen.
"Er, right." Neville gulped. "See you soon, Hermione. And you really do look amazing."
Neville hadn't even reached the door when it swung open and Mrs Weasley bounced inside. She was wearing a gown of dark blue velvet and the jewelled witch's hat that Fred and George had given her all those Christmases ago. "Ginny, dear, you look beautiful," she said. "I don't know what Fleur was thinking when she said you couldn't wear pink. The right shade-" She broke off as she took in Hermione and promptly burst into tears. "Oh, and I promised myself that I wouldn't cry! Ron will have my head."
"It's alright, Mum," Ginny said. Neville was patting her shoulder awkwardly.
"We won't tell him," Hermione said, trying not to smile him. Mrs Weasley was really an old dear. "You look quite nice yourself."
"Oh, thank you, dear." Mrs Weasley straightened up, wiping her cheeks. "I was wondering if velvet wasn't too much of a winter fabric, but it did go well with the hat and I supposed that early summer mornings can still have a bit of coolness to them." She was right – the air did have a bit of a bite to it. Not that Hermione noticed. Her hands were sweating madly and the bodice of her simple ivory gown seemed far too tight. "Anyway, what I came in to tell you is that the service will start in five minutes. Now don't panic, dear. The two of you will have a wonderful life together. Who knows, perhaps there might soon be another wedding on my cards?" Her bright eyes shifted between Ginny and Neville.
"Neville, why don't you go outside and calm Seamus's monkey down?" Ginny suggested pointedly.
"But it's got a mind of its own," Neville protested.
"Neville," Ginny warned. At the look on her face, Neville quickly exited the room, herding Mrs Weasley out with him.
Previously Hermione's dress felt as if it was constricting her stomach. Now she felt as if she didn't have one. "Oh Merlin," she said, sinking onto a padded stool. "It's finally happening. It's actually happening. Oh my goodness. I can't imagine why I'm so nervous," she wailed. "It's not like the old days – as if I'm still a virgin or something."
Ginny pursed her lips at that unwanted snippet of information but otherwise made no other comment. "Well, it is a big change," she said, pulling up another stool and sitting down next to Hermione. "I mean, I suppose. Not that I've ever been through it myself. Bill said it took him a while to get his head around it too, and as for Ron-"
"I can't believe it's happening," Hermione repeated. Her lower lip trembled.
"Now look," Ginny said, pulling her to her feet. "Don't you start crying. Lavender and Parvati will have my head if you ruin your make-up before the ceremony. Besides, you'll get me started, and that wouldn't do. Wait until the reception-"
"When it's too late for him to change his mind?" Hermione joked, giving a watery laugh.
"Don't be silly. You two are perfect for each other. Not a couple I would have picked, but it works anyway. Now pull yourself together."
Hermione gazed at her anxiously. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Why would I mind?" Ginny shrugged. "It happened a long time ago, and as Mum's certainly noticed, everyone's moved on. Anyway, I have something for you." She reached into the little purse that accompanied her dress and pulled out a thin silver bracelet with one solitary sapphire hanging from it. "Mum's very superstitious about these things and she's got to me too. Neville gave me this for our anniversary. So I think that Sorts it into the "something borrowed" and "something blue" houses." Her nose wrinkled. "Better the "something borrowed" for jewellery rather than – say – your knickers."
"Ginny," Hermione pleaded, trying to stifle her laughter yet look disapproving at the same time.
"I am Fred and George's sister after all," Ginny shrugged. "So, what do you have on that's old and new then?"
"Old? The wedding dress." Hermione ticked off items on her fingers. "It was my mother's when she got married. New? How new does it have to be? My shoes, I suppose. I've never worn them before. Or if it has to be really new, my underwear. I only picked it up yesterday. I never thought of what would go under the dress until Lavender asked."
"Lavender would ask," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.
"I don't see what the big deal is," Hermione shrugged. "After the reception we'll probably be so exhausted that we'll just tumble into bed and fall asleep. And it's not stuff that I can wear under my normal clothes. He'll probably never get to see it. Waste of money if you ask me."
"You'll see," Ginny smirked. "Boys can have surprising reserves of energy in that area. Although I agree with you – to a point. I've never understood why some girls spend a lot of money on lingerie. If it's doing its job, it should be off as soon as possible anyway."
Hermione once again reflected how at ease Ginny was at discussing this particular topic. Which wasn't remarkable in itself, but given just who she was about to embark upon holy matrimony with…She was startled out of her reflections by another knock on the door.
"Ladies," came Seamus Finnegan's voice, "you're on."
"Is that monkey of yours under control?" Ginny called back.
"It would be much happier if you only paid some attention to it," was the reply. Even through the oak door Hermione could detect the Irishman's mirth. Ginny rolled her eyes and reached for her wand, which Hermione quickly snatched up. "I'll be seeing you after the ceremony, Freckles."
"No you bloody well won't," Ginny muttered. At the look on Hermione's face she quickly sobered up. "You'll be fine. I have to go now. Just remember what Fleur said about it being fine once you get to see the other person's face as you walk down the aisle. She's a twit but she can occasionally say some wise things."
"She's not that bad," Hermione murmured distractedly. Her stomach felt as if it was eating itself alive.
"Perhaps not." As they were talking Ginny had taken Hermione's elbow and steered her out into the foyer of the church. The main room, which had been full of chatter before, had now died into an expectant hush. "I'm walking down the aisle now," she added softly, "and I expect you to follow me. Remember what Fleur said." She arranged the train of her dress, then touched Hermione on the shoulder one last time and stepped through the entryway leading to the cathedral.
Hermione's heart thudded under her breastbone. She ached to wipe her hands on something, but was afraid of ruining her mother's dress. A dress that she had seen for years growing up, standing in a photo on the mantelpiece with her father's suit and that would now have a new set of memories. Ginny had walked down the aisle ahead of her, the pale peach-like pink of her dress disappearing from sight around the corner. Now it was her turn.
For all her brashness Hermione hated crowds. Particularly if those crowds were assembled with the purpose of watching her do something. Just take one step, she told herself. Just one after the other, and then think about the second one. Somehow she made it to the entryway of the church. Neville was the first person she spotted, attempting to hold on to an enthusiastic monkey who was playing with the peacock feathers of Luna Lovegood's overlarge hat. Luna herself was staring vaguely ahead at the front of the church, completely unaware of the scuffle taking place beside her. Zacharias Smith was seated next to her, wearing a suit of subtle grey and glowering at Seamus's monkey. The twins were in the row behind him – but for once they were managing to behave themselves with Zacharias within range of their wands. Ron was seated close to the front, the former Miss Parkinson at his elbow. She nodded haughtily at Hermione, then turned and faced the priest. Lavender and Parvati were across the aisle in shades of lilac and apricot respectively, beaming up at Hermione like proud parents. Seamus was at the altar along with Ginny. He gave her a knowing wink.
Then she saw his face and all nerves, all thoughts of fleeing to Alaska or eloping somewhere equally remote fell out of her head. She couldn't believe how easy this felt, how right it seemed. As the priest spoke she noted every word, but in a distant way, as if it was only background noise for the man in front of her and the steady way he looked into her eyes. She had always been aware of how much taller than her he was, how safe and small she had felt when dancing that one dance with him at the Yule Ball during their fourth year, but now that and every other facet of information that she had noticed during the last several years seemed familiar yet new, as if it had somehow been washed over with a fresh coat of paint. She almost started when the priest asked if he would take her to be his lawful wedded wife, his deep, steady voice confirming that was indeed his wish as he smiled down into her eyes.
"And do you, Hermione Jane Granger, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband, until death do you apart?"
"I do," she beamed. "Except it's Hermione Thomas now, actually." The applause from the congregation dimly roared in her ears as Dean Thomas scooped her into his arms for their first kiss under her new name.
The End