Author's Note: Thank you for reading! I really hope you like this, even though it's not canonical. Please leave comments! I'll try to update by Tuesday at midnight every week if you guys like it!
Chapter 1: The Wedding
Hermione was in her soft pink dress, almost ready to go. She wore silver strappy sandals with a kitten heel and silver jewelry to match. Her heart pendant matched her dress perfectly. Her hair was styled in a way similar to how she wore it for the Yule Ball in her Fourth Year at Hogwarts. She smiled as she fondly reminisced of the time she danced with Viktor Krum, and then frowned when she remembered Ron's jealousy. "I should have known," she thought to herself. She turned to her mirror and observed her reflection. "You're better off without him," she told herself sternly.
She then noticed that her makeup was unfinished. She just needed lipstick, now. Still thinking about her recent breakup with Ron, she carefully selected a shimmery lip stain and applied it. "See, Hermione, you don't need a stupid boy. Get over it," she voiced in frustration at her lingering feeling of sorrow.
Glancing at her alarm clock, she realized that the wedding would be starting soon. She picked up her clutch, threw everything she might need into it, and Disapparated.
She arrived in Ginny's bedroom to see the poor girl struggling with her necklace. Dropping her clutch, Hermione was at Ginny's rescue. "This necklace is so beautiful," Hermione said.
"Oh, thank you. Fleur is letting me borrow it. It was an anniversary present from Bill, but it goes so perfectly with my dress," Ginny smiled fondly down at the necklace, now lying serenely across her upper chest.
"Ginny, you are so gorgeous. Harry doesn't even realize how lucky he is, does he?" Luna piped up.
"Of course he does. He loves Ginny more than anything," Hermione replied.
Ginny suddenly looked concerned. "How are you managing, Hermione? Is this wedding happening too soon after the breakup?" She briefly turned and selected her earrings, and began putting them in while waiting for Hermione's response.
"No," Hermione shook it off, "Ron made his choice, and I can either cry about it, or get over it. You made sure Harry invited his cute Auror friend?"
Ginny laughed, "Duh!"
Luna just seemed puzzled at this. "What does he have to do with anything?" she asked over the top of the latest edition of The Quibbler.
"Rebound sex!" Ginny and Hermione chorused. Ginny slipped her shoes on while Hermione became fixated on a loose thread of her dress. She quickly cast a charm to remove it safely, and then returned her attention on the two girls.
"Are you ready to walk down the aisle?" Ginny eagerly asked Hermione and Luna.
Hermione and Luna both looked somewhat apprehensive at this, but still agreed. They followed Ginny out of the room and to the wedding. Hermione, of course, had mentally rehearsed the procedure dozens of times and was overly prepared, but still nervous, so she rehearsed once again. All she had to do was follow the flower girl, four steps behind her. She needed to take short steps and walk slowly, to the music. When she reached the altar, she needed to turn to her left and walk to her x on the ground, and then turn to face the audience. It wasn't complicated at all, but she was still worried.
Ginny accepted her bouquet, the music started, and the flower girl started walking patiently down the aisle, tossing flower petals behind her. Hermione counted her steps carefully, and when she reached the fourth, Hermione began walking next to Luna.
As she knew Ginny began following her, Hermione saw in Harry's eyes one of the happiest looks she had ever seen him wear. She knew instantly that this would replace any previous memory he had used when conjuring his patronus. His eyes only followed Ginny, the whole way down the aisle. When they reached the altar and Hermione turned to face the audience, she caught a glimpse of Ginny and saw the same look on her face.
"I remember when I imagined experiencing this day with Ron. It would be smaller than this wedding, but still perfect and romantic. And now, he won't even look at me when we're in the same room. I still wonder what I did wrong." Hermione shook herself. She shouldn't be thinking of this when two of her best friends were getting married. Blinking back tears, she refocused on the ceremony.
As Harry and Ginny shared their first dance as husband and wife, Hermione found the "cute Auror friend" she had asked Ginny about.
When she spotted him, she made her way to him casually. "Hey, I'm Hermione," she introduced herself as though she met extremely handsome men all the time.
"Casey," he replied, Irish accent lilting even in only two syllables. His dark eyes carefully searched the area continuously, like most Aurors. Hermione noticed this and then noticed how beautiful his eyes were. And his cheekbones were pronounced, creating a very angular face. Hermione's eyes trailed down his body, noticing how his abs fades into—
Wait, she hasn't responded yet. Casey was just watching Hermione admiring his body. She blushed, a rarity for her, and stuttered out, "beautiful wedding, right?"
"Yeah, definitely," he chuckled, looking down Hermione's body too. She blushed again, realizing how well the dress fits on her curves. Wherever his eyes touched, she felt a burn. "Should I go get us some firewhiskey?"
"Yes, please," Hermione let out a girlish giggle, completely out of character for her. Casey walked away, and as Hermione watched his hips, someone else ran into her.
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention—" the person who bumped into her began, until realizing he had run into Hermione. When Hermione saw who it was, she was extremely confused.
"What are you doing here? Who invited you? Why would you think it was okay to show up here?" Hermione's confusion quickly turned to anger.
"Harry wanted to work on bridging the gap between us. He invited me. Even before Voldemort's downfall, I wanted to join you, but my family was so devoted to Voldemort that I couldn't escape. And then Dumbledore died, and I had no hope of safety from them. I had to continue to pretend I was on his side until that final battle."
Hermione's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't realize."
"I'm used to it," Draco replied. "I just have to work to change everyone's minds. It'll be hard, but it's worth it." As he said this last statement, his eyes lowered and then turned back up to Hermione sheepishly. At this, she noticed for the first time how beautiful his blue eyes have become now that the coldness has left them.
"Is there any way I can help?" she began trying to make up for her earlier animosity. And to be completely honest, her intentions weren't entirely good. Spending more time with Draco suddenly seemed like a great idea.
"Actually, do you want to get out of here?" Draco asked.
"Um, sure," Hermione smiled. She grabbed Draco's hand, and together, they Disapparated, Hermione forgetting entirely about Casey, who was on his way back to her with the drinks.
