Pending Bliss
Summary: The rain brings out many things in a mans mind. Sometimes it even brings unknown feelings, especially when that man reminisces on very unexpected and surprising news…about the love of his life…getting married.
Disclaimers: If these characters belonged to me, I would probably be rich and not writin' these little stories. Although, that is probably a lie.
Claims: I guess I can claim the idea for this story…except for the part that came from a song…"Songs About Rain" by Gary Allan.
Thanks: I wanna thank everyone who reads this story and the people who review to it and like it of course. And a special thanks to Molly, for believin' that this story will be good when I didn't, and I hope it is as good as you believed it would be. :)
Extras: I am sorry if the characters are a little "out of character" but you know, for this kind of story I guess you have to do it. And please don't yell at me for the country song that this story is based on! I AM SORRY! I LIKE COUNTRY MUSIC! Oh and everything in italics is a flashback. Just thought y'all would like to know.
The slam of the door. The jingle of his keys. Rain poured down in sheets against the ground and windows of his country flat as he stormed through the door, throwing his soggy jacket towards the hanging rack, he missed.
He could not believe it. How could something like this happen and how could be so oblivious to it? Harry didn't know, he did not know how he could be so stupid, and why he was feeling this way. He should be happy, but for some unknown reason he was not. The feelings in his stomach and in his heart were something he could not even attempt to ignore, although he tried.
"How could she do something like this to me?" He asked himself through his rage as he started pacing the hallway. He loosened the tie around his neck and took of his blazer, throwing it onto a chair.
The clatter of glasses, the sound of a classic guitar and the fluent singing voice of the golden brown haired girl on the stage intrigued Harry to enter the Ol' Time bar, he has known real well the last couple of years, called 'Moonshine' on this stormy night. Not to his surprise he found that it was filled with drunken men surrounded around the stage where the young lady was belting out the words to Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman."
Harry walked over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. He waited as the aged, white-haired, friendly-faced bartender came over to him with a neighborly smile upon his features.
"What can I get for you, Harry?" The man behind the counter said as he wiped his hands on a towel he had sprawled over his shoulder.
Harry sighed before answering with a smile. "I'll take…I'll just have a beer, Austin, thanks."
"Rough day?"Austin asked as he reached under the counter and pulled out a beer.
"Yeah, I guess…" Harry answered as he took off his cloak and set it on the chair next to him.
"Bein' and Auror has its cons, Harry, and you knew that goin' in," Austin said in his southern accent, being as he was from the American state of Texas He popped the top off the beer and pushed it over to Harry. The chorus to the song "Break Down Here" echoed from the mouth of the girl on the stage and into Harry's ears.
"I know, I know…I love my job, I really do…it's the only thing that gets my mind off the reason I am so miserable…" Harry said in a drained voice just before taking a gulp of this beer. The older man instantly grasped what Harry was talking about.
"Oh, I understand…why don't you just go after her?" Austin asked as he leaned over onto the bar.
"The same reason I have told you ever other time you asked," Harry smiled, "she doesn't have the feeling for me, as I do for her." Harry sighed and took another drink of his beer.
"How do ya know that, son? Have you ever asked the poor girl?" The sweetening man asked curiously. Harry looked up and stared up at the shelves behind the man thinking about her with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye that he only got when he spoke or thought of her.
"No…I never did ask her," Harry came back to reality. "But…I haven't heard from her since the summer after graduation, so I thought it might've been a bit obvious." A blank expression took over Harry's face as he listened to heart wrenching words of "Me and Emily" being sung behind him.
Austin shook his head and chuckled. "Back in my day, girls did that just to play hard to get, must be different now though. Modern day romance…I'll never understand it I suppose. But, you can never be to sure that you're right," he finished with a twinkle in his eye. Harry was just about to ask him what he meant when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
"Harry, man! Why didn't you tell me you were comin' here tonight?" A tall, red-haired man asked as he sat on the stool next to Harry.
"Hey Ron…sorry, I didn't think I was gonna come here tonight. I just was walking past and thought I'd come in for a drink," Harry told him in a distressed tone. Ron, who was a few drinks from being smashed, called Austin down for another shot of whiskey.
"You sound miserable mate, what's up?" Ron drank the shot and punched the counter, causing another shot glass to come soaring down the bar into his hand.
"Oh nothing…just thinking," he responded, taking a quick swig.
"You need to stop thinking about her now…Harry," Ron said as he looked over at the girl on the stage, who now singing "If My Heart Had Wings" by Faith Hill. Harry arched and eyebrow at him questioningly.
"W-wait…w-why?" Harry asked looking strait at Ron. Ron chuckled at him drunkenly.
"You haven't heard? Dude…she's getting married."
Harry's heart stopped for exactly five seconds he estimated. He could not breath, was this really happening? This cannot be, he was lying. Ron was just trying to make him angry, just pulling his sting. The room began to spin and then Harry realized that he has not taken a breath for about twenty seconds.
"M-married?" Harry asked after taking a long slow breath.
"Yeah, didn't you hear?" Ron said as he stood up.
"Ron…who is she marrying?" Harry asked sternly.
"Oh…it's that guy…um…what is his name…OH YEAH…it's-oh hey baby!" At that exact moment, Ron's dirty-blonde haired girlfriend of five years came up to Ron. Luna Lovegood was more drunk than Ron was and she showed it.
"Hey sugar…" Luna said in a soft dreamy voice that would drive any man crazy, every man except Harry that is. Ron fell for it though and showed it by smashing his lips into hers. Harry sighed and anxiously waited for them to part.
After a minute or so Harry got impatient and tapped Ron on his shoulder.
"Ron…who is she going to marry?" he asked with a sense of anger in his voice. Ron parted quickly but Luna didn't give up, she was rubbing her body up and down his, pulling on the button of his pants, wiggling his zipper and slowly unbuttoning her extremely tight shirt that did not leave much to any mans imagination.
"Oh…right…sorry m-man-WOA…Luna baby…calm down a sec…oooooh," Ron moaned as Luna whispered something in his ear. "Y-you sure…n-now? Oh…yes…sorry Harry, I have to go." Luna unbuttoned the last button her shirt and took it off, just to wrap it around Ron's neck so she could pull him towards her.
"NOW! RON! COME ON! I NEED TO KNOW WHO SHE IS MARRYING!" Harry yelled at Ron as he watched as he tried to prevent Luna from taking of her bra.
"Harry…I am sorry man…really I am…I wish you luck-"
"RONNY BEAR! We need to go…now…I can't wait…I need you…you want me…" A drunken Luna interrupted in a sexy whisper as she pulled Ron's arm and started dragging him out the door towards their car.
"Sorry Harry, I got to go! Bye! LUNA BABY…RUN FASTER!" Harry watched as they ran out the door, Ron lifting up Luna's skirt and Luna giggling dreamily.
Harry sighed angrily as he grabbed the shot glass Ron drank out of and threw it against the wall.
That memory, he remembered, was the worst day of his life. When you get news like that you just want to die and that is what Harry felt. Even remembering it now, Harry felt as though he should just end his misery now and take the offer that the back of his mind was proposing.
Harry turned the radio on and tried to drown out the memories of what happened after he discovered her secret. But the radio was not helping matters at all.
"Dang it, does everyone WANT me to be miserable?" Harry shouted to no one in particular as he listened to the sorrowful words of "Bring on the Rain" being sung by Jo Dee Messina and Tim McGraw.
"No I'm not gonna let it get me down…I'm not gonna cry…I'm not gonna loose any sleep tonight." Harry threw himself onto a couch in the living room, rested his head on his fist, and kicked off his dress shoes. "'Cause tomorrows another day…and I am not afraid, so bring on the rain…tomorrows another day…and I'm thirsty anyway, so bring on the rain." His mind started wander again, as he remembered the next horrible day in this chain of events.
It was a cloudy day in the middle of February and the sun was just barely peeking out behind the graying clouds as Harry went outside to get his mail.
He listened to the birds chirping and the wind howling, just trying to find peace in his state of mind.
"Let's see what we have here." Harry sighed as he opened the little door of the wooden coop Harry had built for Hedwig to live in. Behind the little door was a shoot and landing where a white envelope with a fancy pink boarder lay.
"What is this?" Harry picked it up and took a look at the writing on the front. It was hers. He had known this writing for so many years and had been longing to see it again.
Harry stroked Hedwigs wing and gave her a treat before retreating into the house, not taking his eyes away from the letter and the elegant lettering that was his name.
When inside the dimly lit house he tore open the letter, careful not destroy it, and began to read.
Dear Harry,
Hello, how are you? It has been so long since we have spoken to one another, and I don't like that. I know I should have written you sooner, but for some reason I was always expecting you to be the first to write.
Well anyway, I have written to you to invite you to my wedding. It will be on April 15 at the Church on Columbia Hill in London. The ceremony will begin at 5 o'clock and the reception will be at 7 o'clock at the dance hall on ShadowIsland
Harry, I do hope to see you there and I am looking forward to reuniting with you. I must be going now. Good bye.
Love,
A old friend
Harry flipped over the letter hoping to see something written on back. But there was nothing.
'That's it?' He thought to himself in disappointment. 'How is that all?'
"I don't get any clue of who man she is marrying is? No other subjects other than her stupid wedding? I don't even get a explanation of where she has been these past five years!" Harry snapped and threw her letter onto floor and walked over to a near closest, pulling out his broomstick.
'I need to get out of here.'
That night, he remembered, he flew all around London until he couldn't see a inch in front of him because it started raining down in drops the size of golf balls.
Harry ran his hand down his face and decided he needed a shower.
As the warm water ran down his masculine body and he tried to wash himself clean of these nightmares, he thought of the next thing that happened. Once again, he attempted to drown it out with the sound of music.
He opened the curtain and switched on the radio. His ears were displeased to hear another song that made him flashback to his grieving memories, although this memory was one of his better ones.
"And the thunder rolls…the thunder rolls and the lightning strikes…" Garth Brooks sang into Harry's ears. "Another love goes cold…on a sleepless night…as the storm blows on out of control…deep in her heart, the thunder rolls."
He heard the crackle of the fire as he walked down the stairs into the common room. 'This is gonna be one of the last times I see this room,' he thought as he remembered that graduation is in a week. He sighed.
As he made his way over to the chair nearest the fire he was surprised to find a person already sitting in the chair, asleep. When he was close enough, he found that it was exactly who he hoped it was.
As he looked at her beautiful figure and at how the light of the fire glistening on her face, his breath became caught in his throat as it has done for the past few years whenever he looks at her. 'Why do I do that?' he asked himself as his knees became weak and he had to grab the back of the chair to hold himself up.
Harry took a deep breath and tore his eyes away from the girl in the chair, just so he could grab a blanket, cover her up, careful not to wake her, and fix his eyes back on her again.
Just as he was about to walk away he heard her stir and he paused just behind the chair.
"Harry?" He heard her elegant voice whisper. He spun around and strolled back to his previous place in front of the chair.
"Did I wake you?" Harry asked softly. She smiled.
"No, I was hardly asleep," she said as she sat up. Harry sat down on the arm of the chair.
"What were you doing?" he asked. Then he suddenly felt as if the heat had been turned up and he was running a 110 temperature. 'What is wrong with me?' he asked himself trying not to show any emotion on his face.
"Oh…just reading," she leaned down and picked up a fairly large book that had obviously fallen on the floor. "But I didn't get very far." A smile came upon her face as she looked into his eyes, revealing her distracted gaze.
"Why not?" Harry asked breathlessly. 'Ok, there is something seriously wrong with me. Why am I feeling like this?' He took one deep breath to prevent him from fainting because of his lightheadedness.
"Oh, I was just thinking about stuff," she told him with a smile and something glazed across her eyes, but it left as soon as it came, which disappointed Harry.
"I see." This had never happened before, why was this awkward silence coming over them? There has never been a moment between the two of them, ever, that was this quiet… 'Well, I guess there is a first time for everything-wait…what am I thinking? Her and me have never had this happen before. There is something seriously wrong, I am sure of it now.' He thought, troubled.
"Yeah," she smiled. "So why did you come down here?" She stood up and Harry finally got to see her whole body, which did not help his problems of figuring out what these bizarre feelings were. This was mainly because her outfit just roused these feelings.
He looked her body up and down observing her blue, black and white plaid skirt, 'man those legs go on forever' he thought as he looked at her left over tan legs. Her tight white short-sleeve U-neck shirt, 'wow…I never noticed how well endowed-NO! Harry you can not think that about her, no you can't!' Then there was the sterling silver heart-shaped locket that was fastened around her neck. 'Dear Lord, why does she have to be so gorgeous?!' And then her face, 'oh I can't get started on that now…look away Harry, just look away'. But he couldn't, he just stared at her, trying to find the words to answer her question.
"W-well…um…I just…I was gonna." 'Harry, get a hold of yourself! Answer the girl already!' "I was gonna go outside and fly around a little bit before bed." Harry lied, although, flying did sound pretty good right about now. 'Fly away from these feelings, yes, that does sound about right.' She smiled at him.
"Well…" she giggled. "Don't you think you will need a broom to do that?" She shot a look down at Harry's empty hands, Harry blushed.
"Right…well I guess I better go get it then, shouldn't I?" Harry smiled, then laughed at himself. She laughed and nodded.
"I think you should."
"Ok then, I will be right back."
"You do that!"
Her laughter rang in his ears as he ran up the stairs, glad to get away from his embarrassment, but he longed to hear her elegant voice again. 'Huh? Gosh…why did I think that? Why am I reflecting on such feelings?' But it was so true. Every word she uttered gave his heart the feeling as though it could take off and just fly away and he loved it, he just did not realize it.
After quickly grabbing his broom and pulling himself together again he walked back down to the common room, ready to again be faced with unfamiliar feelings. But they never came, only because the girl he had been longing to see for the past two minutes or so had left.
"Dang it, where did she go?" Harry looked all around the common room but found no trace of that girl anywhere. He then gave up and exited the castle, heading for the Quidditch Pitch.
The feeling of the wind in his hair and the taste of the fresh air let Harry be himself again as he flew through the moonlit Quidditch Pitch. He played his last game here just a few nights ago against Slytherin. Gryffindor won and they once again took the title of winning the Quidditch Cup. 'Wow…that was a game no one would forget, he thought as he recalled two people getting knocked out by bludgers and another suffering a very odd condition where sparks would fly out of their hands whenever they would hit a bludger with their bat. He chuckled. But the best memory of that game was when he finally caught that Golden Snitch, after a few minutes of pushing and shoving between him and his rival Draco Malfoy.
"Serves him right to be in the hospital wing with a sudden shrinking condition that came over him after he made fun of Dobby being short," Harry said to himself with some pride as he remembered how angry Dobby got.
Harry stopped in midair and looked up at the moon. The clouds had moved out from in front of it for a few moments and he decided to take advantage of it. The giant orb in the sky was one of the most memorable things about this place. It seems at it is bigger here than anywhere else in the world. 'And I'll never forget it,' he thought with a shiver. Bulky dark gray clouds took over the moon again and sent a threatening chill through the air that predicted rain.
Not longer than a few seconds later the air around him was filled with raindrops that were falling at lightning speed. Harry became soaked in a matter of seconds and decided to go down to the changing rooms and dry up rather than making a bolt through that castle and chance being seen by Filch. 'Although it wouldn't matter really, I am Head Boy.'
The warmth coming from inside the changing rooms brought much comfort to Harry as he stepped in. The walls plastered with lockers and hanging racks and a few stray brooms leaning against the wall brought Harry to remember all the good times he spent in here.
Harry sighed and walked over to the locker with the name Potter carved at the top. He opened it and looked it over top to bottom. Up in the little compartment at the top were a few towels and some deodorant, Harry laughed and grabbed a dry towel. Hangings on the hooks were his Gryffindor Quidditch robes and a spare cloak. Harry stripped off his wet shirt and hung it next to the robe. And finally, at the bottom of the locker lay a neatly folded white shirt, something plaid and a white lacy bra. 'Wait?! What?' Harry squatted down to get a closer look at the clothes at the bottom of his locker. He picked up the bra. 'Ok, this definitely is not mine.'
Suddenly, Harry became aware of distant melody being sung from somewhere in the back, near the showers. Harry's curiosity once again got the better of him. He set the bra back in the locker then stood up starting to make his way towards the back, leaving the locker wide open. As he got closer he heard water running and began to see steam.
"Watchin' every motion, in my foolish lover's game…on this endless ocean, finally lovers know no shame…" Harry heard this mystery voice sing. 'Wait, I recognize this voice. Oh, my…' Harry stepped around the corner and then froze when the scene he had not been expecting came into view.
In front of him were the shower stalls, the same ones he has always seen. The ones with the obscure glass, silver metal lining and the high rise walls. But now, they were different. Because now he was seeing, or almost seeing, something he never thought he would see.
Harry, standing some feet away from the shower door, saw shadowed outlining of a woman taking a shower. Not just any woman, but the only woman he would ever want to see taking a shower in front of him. He studied every curve of her body and listened to her angelic voice as he tried to regain his breath.
"Turning and returning to some secret place in time…watching in slow motion as you turn around and say…my love…take my breath away…take my breath away." The fullness of her voice flew through Harry and landed in his soul. This was something he had never felt before, and he liked it. 'What is wrong with me?'
Her body began to sway as she sang more of the lyrics to her song and washed the soap out of her hair at the same time. Harry could not look away if there was a dancing cow next to him. Harry was mesmerized and he had the sudden urge to yell out the words 'I love you,' but he couldn't, his speaking abilities were abolished for the time being.
"Take my breath away…take my breath away…through the hourglass I saw you, in time you slipped away, when the mirror crashed I called you, in time to hear you say, if only for today…I am unafraid," she began to rub the soaps all over her body. 'What I would give to be that soap,' he thought. 'WHAT? Oh dear…what is wrong with me?' But he meant what he thought, and he could not deny it.
The next thing that happened brought Harry back to reality. He heard the water shut off and watched her hand reach out and grab a towel.
"Oh no…" he whispered to himself as he subconsciously. 'Oh gosh…what am I gonna do? Move Harry! MOVE YOUR LEGS! THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE THEM!'
But it was too late. Before Harry was able to find his mobility, a gorgeous girl came out with dripping curly hair and just a towel wrapped around her petite figure. 'Good, she hasn't seen me yet.' He watched her turn her back to him and grab a brush and begin to brush her hair as she hummed the melody to the song she was once singing. 'Alright, this is my chance, move…' he tried. 'MOVE!' But having the girl open her towel tighten it around herself again did not help matters. Even though he didn't see anything, it still gave him the effect it would have if he had seen something. 'Oh come on…move…please!' Harry then decided the only way he would be able to move is if he took his eyes off her. So he quickly closed his eyes and spun around on his heels. But the squeak that he made gave him away.
Suddenly there was a scream from the girl a mear fifteen feet away and that made Harry almost fall over in shock. But instead he fell towards the nearby wall so he could catch himself and turn towards her.
"H-Harry?" The girl said in a shocked voice.
"Y-yes…it is me…I am sorry…I didn't see anything, I just came in here to dry off…" Harry pleaded in a fast and nervous tone. He heard her sigh a sigh of relief and then let out a chuckle.
"Oh, it is ok Harry, calm down. I am just glad it was you and no one else," she said as she set the brush down and made her way towards him. Her towel, he noticed, was not doing the best of jobs at covering her chest, which made him again immobile.
"You're…you're what?" he asked, unbelievably. He thought he saw a faint shade of pink appear on her cheeks.
"I-I said that I am glad it was you and no one else, because that would've been…um…weird." She said weird in what sounded like a questioning tone but Harry could not understand why, he thought it might have been as though she was trying to convince herself of something, but he let it pass.
"Oh, yeah," he let out a fake chuckle. "I can see how that would be weird." He brought his hand up and ran it through his hair as he often did when he was nervous. He heard her giggle.
"What's so funny?" He asked seriously.
"Oh…nothing." She laughed again. Harry arched an eyebrow.
"Well, considering that we are the only people in here, that would intend that there is no one else for you to laugh at other than me, unless you were laughing at yourself but I find that there is no reason for that, so that would mean there is something funny regarding myself," he said in all one breath. She laughed again, harder this time.
"It is nothing, really…it's just," she giggled again and her cheeks definitely turned red this time. "Well, you always run your…um…you always run your hand through your hair when your…nervous." She finished and then bit her lip, as she did when she was nervous. Harry took note to this.
"Oh…yeah, I guess I do, don't I?" Harry let out a nervous chuckle and then caught himself as he almost ran his hand through his hair again. She saw this and covered her mouth as she giggled, thinking he would not see.
There were a few minutes of silence before anyone said anything. But when she did, it took him by surprise.
"What are you nervous about?" she said with a completely serious look in her eyes. Harry gulped. 'Well isn't it obvious? I mean hello, you are standing in front of me in nothing but a towel…wait, why should that have any effect on me?' He only confused himself more.
"Uh…well…er…I don't know…" He spit out. She looked at him for a moment with a questioning look that quickly turned into what looked like a disappointed gaze. This made Harry quite confused.
"Oh, ok then." She sighed. "Um…Harry, do ya mind if I…um…get my clothes out of your locker?" She nervously pointed to the open locker down the way from them. Reality shot right back into Harry.
"OH! Oh yes…I am sorry, you probably want to do that don't you?" He laughed nervously, resisting the temptation of running his hand through his hair. She laughed and nodded with a small smile.
They both made their way over to Harry's locker where she retrieved her clothes and placed them on her body, without the supervision of Harry. While she was doing that, amongst their conversation, Harry grabbed his towel out of his locker and began to dry himself off.
When both of them were dry, and clothed, Harry grabbed an umbrella and they started outside where it was still raining down in sheets. Harry covered both of them with the umbrella as they stepped out onto the field. He was not surprised when she put her hands on the handle and clung a little closer to Harry, the umbrella was quite small.
They made it out of the stadium without getting wet but when they had just began to walk up the grass towards the castle there seemed to be a spot that was a bit slicker than most, and they hit it.
Harry had just spotted the beautiful moon through the rain and the clouds when there was a sudden shift in weight.
"AH! HARRY!" She had clung onto his arm as she stepped onto a particularly wet piece of grass and began to fall. Harry had no time to react, because he was suddenly on the ground with a beautiful girl on top of him.
Their laughter only stopped when they heard a sudden rumble in the distance and saw lightning strike through the sky.
"Are you ok?" Harry asked her as he looked into her eyes and watched as the rain trickled down her cheeks. She laughed.
"Yeah, I am fine, and you should not be asking me, I should be asking you! I am the one who landed on you! Are you ok?" She asked him as she wiped away a drop of rain from her cheek.
"Yeah, I am…just fine," he reached his hand out and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen into to her face behind her ear. He slightly brushed her cheek and could have sworn he saw her let out a shiver and heard her let a small gasp out from between her lips. Harry himself had felt that if he was cold before, he definitely was not now. The slight connection of his skin on hers brought the most surprising feeling of warmth that spread throughout his whole body.
"O-ok, that is g-good," she replied with a smile.
"Yeah, m-maybe we should go…inside?" He suggested.
"Yeah, maybe we should."
She slowly got off him and stood up, offering him a hand. He took it and, with his help, pulled Harry up so he landed beside her. They then began to walk inside again. The pair of them were quite the sight having Harry's back covered in mud and with the girl beside him soaked to the bone, but everyone should be asleep so that would make it an easy get through.
Harry's arm had become occupied as they walked the rocky trail leading up to the castle. But then soon became unoccupied when the girl that was on it unleashed it and began to spin around in the rain.
He watched her as she giggled like a little girl who had just seen snow for the first time and could not believe how beautiful she was. 'Beautiful? Yes she is and you know she is! But I can't think that! Don't argue with me! Oh shut up!' Then he really began to scare himself. But all the things he was thinking were true and as he watched her spin around and dance in the rain. And all those thoughts that were screaming at him portrayed the same thing.
"I love her…" Harry said out loud in a whispered tone as if to convince himself. But he did not need to anymore, he was completely won over. "I love her! I…love…her!" He said in a tone that portrayed that he could not believe what he was saying.
Harry walked into his room and the towel he had had wrapped around his waist fell to the floor. Quickly, he pulled on a pair of red boxer shorts and walked over to the bay window at the far end of his room. He watched the rain fall down from the dark sky as the words to "Like the Rain" by Clint Black made their way into Harry's soul.
"I-I have to go tell her…" He turned around and ran his hair through his hair as he looked around his room frantically. "I have to go find her…I-" His thoughts brought him to a halt. He could not find her and confess his undenying love to her now. She was married now…married.
He sank down onto his bed and fell back bringing his hands to his eyes. 'How could I be so stupid? She would never love me…she can't love me…' He sighed deeply as his thoughts wondered back again, but not as far this time.
'I can't believe I am here, why am I here?' Harry thought to himself as he stepped through the big oak doors at the church on Columbia Hill. The scenery was beautiful, just as any girl would want, any girl but the one that was getting married.
Harry looked around at the peach and white colored flowers that were nicely put at the end of each pew and at the lace and bows that decorated each women's dress and the men's suits. As beautiful as this was, he knew something was wrong.
"I must've come on the wrong day, this isn't right," Harry whispered to himself as he pulled the invitation out of his jacket pocket. He read it over. 'April 15…' he looked at his watch, 'yep, that's right…5 o'clock…' he looked at it again, '4:58.' His brows came together and he looked around in confusion again. 'Something isn't right.'
This wedding was beautiful and something any girl would dream of, but not the girl that was getting married this evening. No, Harry knew better than that. Back at school she had told him her dream wedding and how she pictured that day.
"Red and white roses at the end of each pew, and my bridesmaids would be wearing white gowns and carrying red roses. My maid-of-honor would wear a red gown and carry white roses. And I…I would be wearing a beautiful…elegant white gown with a trail so long that it would still be at the beginning of the aisle when I was at the front. But it would have a thick red ribbon tied around my belly and fastened as a bow in the back of me and trail down to the floor. And I would also carry red roses, tied together with a white ribbon and I would put one single rose in the pocket of my husband-to-be as I came to the front. Oh! And I would be married in a church up in the mountains somewhere where it snows all the time. The church would have a huge window at the front and it would be open so the scenery of the snow could be seen. It will be beautiful…" He smiled as her each and every word about her dream wedding rang in his ears. But the wedding scenery he stood before now was nowhere close to her dream.
Harry looked around once more after rubbing his eyes. There was no snow, no red and white anywhere, no roses, no ribbons, just a normal, average wedding.
He took his assigned seat in the third pew from the front on the left side, her family's side. The lady dressed in a peach gown sitting behind the organ spread her fingers across the keys and began to play. Everyone watched and 'awed' as a little girl, about the age of two, came strolling down the middle aisle. Everyone laughed when the she took out one single flower pedal and placed it on the floor, walked a step further and did the same. She was so adorable.
After a long wait and a few more laughs the little girl pranced off and sat beside her mother in the front pew. Everyone turned their heads and watched as the three bridesmaids walked through soon followed by the maid-of-honor.
Harry took in a deep breath as the music became more sound and the doors opened once more. 'This is it, you are gonna watch her get married. Your best friend, finally going to be happy…so why am I not happy?' He thought to himself as he caught a glimpse of a white lace, short trailed gown. 'I can't do this.' Harry looked down and spotted a door on the side of the church. No one would see him if he quickly snuck out. 'That's the plan.'
He reached down and grabbed the program he received and then quickly, but quietly, left his pew and headed for the door. He quietly opened it and set foot outside on a wooden porch. He shut it silently and booked it down the stairs. He was free.
As he reached his car, he sat down in the driver's seat and let out a sigh of relief. As he gripped the steering wheel his eyes began to feel wet and something trickled down his cheek. He reached his hand up and touched the drop just as more began to fall. 'How could she do this to him…how could he do this to himself?'
But that was over now. She was married and he had gotten away, away from the misery of seeing the girl he loved be taken away by some guy he did not even know. He could not bear to look at the program that had been given out to see who that man was, in fear that it would be someone he knew and he would attack them out of rage.
"It's over now…I will never have to see her again, or that retched man she married. It is over…" Harry walked down the steps from the second level of his house and landed in the hallway where he watched the rain fall outside from the dark cold sky. 'It had rained…on her wedding day.' He mentally filed away sadly.
As he started a fire in the fireplace that was placed in the living room he listened to the heartbreaking words of "Songs about Rain," by Gary Allan. It seemed like Harry wrote this song, by the feelings he felt right now. It was almost as though someone read his mind.
"It would be easy to blame all these songs about rain…" The voice singing rang in his ears, tearing at his heart and the tossed another log onto the fire.
Outside, a shot of lightning was seen through a nearby window and not much later thunder rumbled and comforted Harry somehow. It made him think that somewhere, somehow, someone was having a worse day than he was, and that made him feel the slightest bit better.
Ding, dong
Harry's head shot towards the door so violently his neck prickled with pain. He got up off the couch, not aware that he was still in his boxers, and started toward the door. His heart raced as he gripped the door handle. 'Who could be coming here this late?'
His question was answered as he pulled open the door. He gasped at the sight infront of him and his heart melted.
"Hermione?" He said breathlessly.
Yes, there she was. The girl he had been best friends with, then lost touch with. The girl he almost had to watch be taken away with a man that wasn't him. The girl who had stolen his heart and not even known it. Here she stood, soaked to the bone, standing before him in her wedding dressed that was now clinging to her and showing something red underneath. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were puffy and red. She had no sign of regret on her face, only the look of longing and relief in her big beautiful brown eyes. Her long brown hair, which looked as thought it had been curled into locks that hung past her shoulders, was soaked and her veil was no where in site.
"I-I couldn't do it…" she said shakily as tears ran down her face.
"Couldn't…couldn't do what?" he asked in confusion.
"I couldn't marry him…Harry…" she breathed in shakily. "I love you! I-I don't love that jerk…I was too afraid to tell you…afraid you would reject me…oh how can you forgive me…oh ple-"
But she could say no more, as she was now being picked up around her waist and her lips were pressed against the man's that stood before her.
As the couples lips fought with one another's with so much passion that they both new they were going to be bruised, the pair of them felt the same outcome. The fireworks played somewhere unknown and the sparks were felt as they touched so tenderly. She had wrapped her legs around his waist and he had let his hands roam around her back as they kissed what seemed like the only kiss either of them had ever had. It was a first for both of them, not their first kiss, but their first kiss of true love. The bond between them was uncanny. There was no way to describe their feelings other than…unbelievable.
They soon had to part because of lack of air but the feeling of finally finding the love of their life never left them as they stared deep into each others eyes, reading each others souls and seeing their future.
"Harry…I am so sorry-" He put his finger to her lips.
"There is nothing to be sorry about Hermione, nothing at all…we are together now, and I love you, and that is all that matters." And with that, he pressed his lips against hers again and proceeded to take her breath away.
The door had managed to get shut, the vase on the corner table had managed to get broken and the dress that was once displayed by Hermione had managed to come off and be tossed upon the stairs as their first night of never ending romance began.
And their love would last forever. The love that they had once never knew, but now they knew and would never forget. And those rainy days would never again feel the same.
A/N: Thank y'all for readin' this! I hope y'all liked it! Please tell me what ya think in a review! Thank you all!!
Love Always,
TennesseeSweetheart