The war may have ended months ago, but after a summer spent rebuilding Hogwarts, and their time following the NEWTs working at the Ministry, Harry and Hermione were finally alone. Saturdays spent in bed together or out exploring London left the two lovers closer than ever, and now, just six months after the fall of Voldemort, Harry Potter had put a ring on her finger. As an Auror, Harry spent a majority of the last months in the field rounding up the remaining Death Eaters and Hermione, working under Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic, created a new department for the rehabilitation of Death Eaters and their families. Monday thru Friday her routine was set in stone. Wake up at 6, get dressed, make coffee and breakfast, eat with Harry and head off to work. She'd come home every evening just to make dinner, watch some TV or read before going to bed to do it all over again in the morning.
While eating breakfast on this specific Saturday morning, Hermione was spreading jam on her toast when a tawny owl swept in through the open window, dropping a letter right onto her plate. The envelope, now tinged pink with raspberry jam, was addressed to the couple in Ginny's neat handwriting. Hermione quickly scourgified the letter before opening it.
"Ginny's engaged to Zabini," Hermione barely got the words out before Harry choked on his bacon, reaching for his coffee and quickly burning his tongue as he tries to wash down the crispy food stuck in his throat. Hermione sighed as she watched Harry deal with the idea of his ex-girlfriend engaged to a man who he despised. "She wants me to be her maid of honor."
Her fiance let out a bark of laughter, similar to his godfathers. Time seemed to stand still as the couple sat in silence.
"She wants me to help her find a dress next Sunday." Hermione was attempting to relay the information to him as gently as possible. She seemed to be asking for his permission, something she rarely felt the need to do. "As you normally spend that day out, I guess I could join her."
The following day Hermione woke later than usual. Harry was out, as he tended to take Sundays to himself, and Hermione tried not to ask questions, figuring it was his way dealing with the past. They rarely spoke of the war and the many times they battled Voldemort and his Death Eaters in their days at Hogwarts.
She lay on her back in the sunny room they shared contemplating the past. She knew the physical scars from the war were obvious in the morning light, and only now, when Harry was gone, did she have the chance to review them.
Her fingers traced them. The scar between her breasts puckered from where Antonin Dolohov had split her ribs open in her fifth year, at the battle in the Department of Mysteries. Madame Pomfrey had told her multiple times that the wound would never heal completely, but she was remiss in not explaining that a Glamour Charm would never be able to hide it. The mark on her knee was from the Troll attack her first Halloween at Hogwarts, a broken pipe in the girls bathroom had left a silvery scar just under the joint. The broken mirror from her petrification second year gave her a raised mark on her left wrist, and the dementor attack her third year placed another on her side from a stick. Her body was riddled with these silvery-white patches of scar tissue, one for every injury sustained through her friendship with Harry. The only one from before her time at Hogwarts was from when she had her appendix removed. Otherwise her constant reminder of her past could be traced like a roadway over her body.
She fingered the bite-marks left by Bellatrix during their time in Malfoy Manor, trailing her fingers over the scars that had affected her the most psychologically. Mudblood.
She didn't feel beautiful anymore. As a war-hero she seemed hardened in comparison to the young bookworm that had started at Hogwarts eight years prior. Even in comparison to the young woman who had danced with Ron at Fleur and Bill's wedding a year and a half ago.
She didn't feel like she was 19. Perhaps Harry was dealing with similar issues.
Her heart ached for a moment, hoping that was all that was happening with him. He didn't deserve anything more.
The next week passed in a flurry of paperwork, she was busy at work preparing the rehabilitation program, hoping for the first ex-Death Eaters to start at the beginning of the summer. The Wizengamot and Aurors were sending her cases that they believed might excel in her program, but she was having difficult weeding through the folders on her own, and her assistant was on maternity leave and the two case managers she had just hired were having background checks in order to receive clearance and had yet to be allowed on the premises of the Ministry let alone to start their work.
In the past year the security at the Ministry had changed, implementing a clearance check and badges to ensure no other break ins or governmental coups would occur. Harry had headed the new changes and had happily listened to Hermione describe the way Muggles had added these same security measures.
Together they made a great team.
By Friday night Harry and Hermione were so thoroughly exhausted they ordered takeout and spent the evening in with Star Wars, she didn't point out the obvious comparisons to their own lives, instead enjoying the chance to take on a new world and escape from her own problems. Saturday was spent cleaning the house and a nice evening at the pub with Ron and Luna, Hermione was surprised to see how large Luna's belly had gotten since they got together the following month, her pregnancy seemed to be progressing rather quickly considering they had been married for a little over four months. But she had no plans to comment on the obvious premarital conception.
Hermione woke up on Sunday to sunlight seeping through the gauzy cream-colored curtains, reaching over to Harry she was surprised to find the sheets cold and the bed empty. Listening closely for sounds in the apartment she was annoyed at the silence. Huffing at Harry's early exit she turned on her side to find Crookshanks curled up beside her pillow.
"Well," she spoke softly as she pulled the sleeping cat towards her. "I guess its just you and me this morning."
Crookshanks opened one feline eye at her, obviously irritated with her decision to disrupt his sleep so early in the morning, especially on a Sunday.
"Or perhaps it's just me."
She slowly maneuvered herself out of bed, careful not to disturb the familiar anymore than she already had, and took a quick shower. Not even bothering to look for a note from Harry about his disappearance as this was his one day to himself.
After a small breakfast of fruit and yogurt, Hermione wrote a quick note to Harry to leave on the kitchen counter, explaining her absence for the afternoon, before heading out of the apartment and onto the streets of London.
Living in a Muggle area had been a condition Hermione had set when she and Harry were looking for a place to live. She loved being able to have access to her Muggle heritage every time she walked out the door, while keeping her home full of magic. They had talked about redecorating Grimmauld Place, but Harry had decided to offer the home to Ron and Luna when they got married so soon after Hogwarts, especially after he revealed her early pregnancy to his two closest friends, as it held too many memories for him to live there.
Meeting Ginny at Harrods rather than Diagon Alley had been the perfect idea for dress shopping, especially because Ginny had expressed an interest in a Muggle design for her wedding dress. Stopping at a coffee shop on the way she ordered a togo cup of the morning brew for herself, and a mocha-cappuccino-whatever for Ginny.
Standing outside the store, ten minutes early, Hermione finally had the chance to think about Harry's absence that morning. As this seemed to be happening quite often on Sundays, it wasn't as surprising to wake up and find him missing, but she was still upset with his frequent disappearances. He'd been staying at work later than usual for a case, and sometimes wouldn't crawl into bed until the early hours of the morning.
She trusted Harry so thoroughly she couldn't even think that he was cheating on her, though the possibility nudged at the back of her mind. Harry had been absent mentally as well in recent weeks, forgetting little things and staring into space. He'd been taking much longer in the shower lately and hadn't touched her in a way that sparked any passion, at least not without prompting from her. She hoped he was just overwhelmed at work.
"Hermione!" a voice called her out of her reverie as Ginny rushed down the block towards her, a binder stuffed full of magazine cutouts gripped tightly in her hands as she came towards Hermione. They hugged quickly before Hermione offered Ginny her coffee and they entered the store.
The mixed scents of different perfumes tickled her nose as they walked past the makeup counters. Ginny's eyes darted around, taking in the splendor of London's department store. Blaise had handed over a credit card he had obtained specifically for his soon-to-be wife and Ginny was only too happy to have access to anything she wanted, a far cry from growing up a Weasley.
Hermione had scheduled a consultation with a stylist specifically to help Ginny dip her toes into the Muggle designer fashion world. After checking in the two were offered a glass of champagne and a seat on a cushy white couch in a large dressing room. On multiple racks, beautiful dresses in different shades of white waited for Ginny to try on. The stylist had already been given Ginny's measurements and Hermione had offered an idea of her taste to the woman over the phone.
Eyes wide and glistening with excitement Ginny talked her ear off.
"I hope your mum knows where to go, I'm afraid she'll get lost with all of the different departments. I can't imagine trying to find her in the Home Goods section, or the Appliances." Hermione quickly interrupted her friends one sided conversation. "Perhaps we should have waited outside for her as well?"
As soon as Hermione had voiced her concerns, the two young women could hear Molly's voice as she came towards them, the door was opened by a chic woman in a darling lavender sundress and a simple t-strapped heels, her red-velvet cupcake coloured hair was cropped in a pixie cut and her green eyes lit up.
"You must be our bride!" the woman exclaimed hugging Ginny enthusiastically and then Hermione as Molly followed into the room. She grasped her daughter tightly and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
The women sat down again as Ginger, as the stylist had introduced herself, explained how the consultation would go.
"In front of you I have fifteen dresses of different styles and shades of white. Were going to go down the rack until we find the dress that is perfect for you. Did you have any ideas of what you wanted?"
Ginny quickly pulled her binder of cutouts onto her lap, planning to show Ginger her many ideas, but Hermione interrupted her.
"Perhaps we could hear what you think first?" Ginny nodded in response, finding Hermione's input to be of use.
Ginger proceeded to pull four dresses of different styles in an ivory, and four similar to the others in creme.
"Lets start with these."
Ginny tried on the eight dresses, one after another, slipping into a pair of heels to ensure the dresses wouldn't be too long on the actual day of her wedding. And while each were beautiful in their own way, they didn't fit her idea of the perfect gown.
Finally after the sixth dress she decided that the ivory was the color she would wear, as the shade made her skin glow rather than washed her out. When she finally showed Ginger the book, they had decided that the scoop neck she preferred would be substituted for a sweetheart neckline, and now Ginger was pulling dresses that matched those requests.
The first dress Ginger pulled for her was a silk strapless Alexander McQueen dress. The sexy sweetheart neckline and delicate empire waistline hugged her curves perfectly.
Ginny stared at herself in the mirror, her eyes were clouded with tears and the slight intake of breath she had released when she turned to look at herself marked the dress as her favorite of the bunch. Even Molly who had loved every dress her daughter had tried on let out a sniffle as Ginger laced up the bodice-noting the magnificent embroidery and the pearled and beaded neckline. She never would have been able to give her daughter such a beautiful dress and was happy to know that her future husband would be able to give Ginny all she wanted.
While the dress was everything she dreamed of, Ginny hadn't noticed until she adjusted her skirts that the tulle skirt was doused in silver glitter that shined with each move she made. While it would be beautiful when she walked down the aisle, she wasn't she how she felt about it for the rest of her wedding. Ginger left the room quietly while the three women gushed over the dress and came back with a diamond and sapphire tiara and veil. It wasn't until Ginny had the veil covering her face that she burst into tears.
She had found her dress.
After getting situated into her street clothes Ginny had insisted that Hermione and Molly take the remaining hour of time to find their own dresses. Ginger had already pulled a few in the emerald green and gold colors that Ginny and Blaise had chosen for their wedding, and Hermione was immediately shoved into a short green dress with a circle skirt. The neckline dipped low enough to see her scar and despite the affirmations from all the the dress looked incredible on her, that one flaw made her nix it in a took a few tries, but finally on the fifth dress Hermione couldn't say no.
The dress was gorgeous. The scoop neck concealed her scar, the emerald color complemented her skin tone and the gold sash brightened her tan. The colors, a mixture of Ginny and Blaise's Slytherin and Gryffindor past meshed well in the above-the-knee flared dress. Molly had also found a wonderful dress that complimented her generous figure and brought a youthful color to her face.
Ginny had explained to Ginger that the groomsmen were wearing emerald green vests, ivory shirts, and a black suit and gold bow tie and had planned Hermione's ensemble to match, including a gorgeous gold and emerald hair comb, black and gold striped pumps and jewelry to match.
Following the appointment, Ginny and Molly were heading to the Burrow to prepare for the Weasley's weekly Sunday dinner and Hermione headed to the grocery store and then home.
It wasn't until seven in the evening that Harry had made it home, and by then, Hermione had cleaned the house, made dinner and planned the following weeks meals. She was sitting at the kitchen table with her plate in front of her and a book in her lap, feeing her fork into her mouth mindlessly as she concentrated on her reading. She didn't even notice Harry had come in until he had kissed her cheek, after he had made himself a plate and sat beside her.
"How'd shopping go?" He asked her after interrupting her concentration.
"It went well, we all found dresses and Ginny and Molly didn't cry too much."
Harry watched her as she spoke of her day, but he didn't pay close attention to her words. He nodded in the spaces in between sentences and marked that he was interested with affirmative noises and the occasional 'you don't say.' But his mind, as usual, was somewhere else.