A/N Welcome to 1000 Words! this is a series of 1000 word one-shots about some of my favourite Harry Potter Pairings. As anyone who's been here for a while will surely have figured out, I've been suffering from EXTREME writer's block. Think of this as something to keep you distracted until I finally write a new chapter.
DISCLAIMER - Harry Potter and all his wonderful adventures do not (sadly) belong to me. Full credit is given to JK Rowling for her incredible mind.
As she walked up the aisle, Hermione found herself wishing that Harry would come. That those big, oak doors would swing open so she could see the man she loved one more time before she married the wrong person. She shook these wishes from her head. It wasn't right, not today, to think of Harry. She turned her attention to Ron, who truly did look dashing in his suit. Step after step brought her closer to him, as she convinced herself that Harry wouldn't arrive. There would be no fairytale for Hermione Jean Granger. Even if she cried, everyone would think it was because of her wedding, not that she was crying because she had married the wrong man. She stepped up the two short platforms to take her place at the side of her husband-to-be. A tear slipped from her eye and slid down her face. Ron reached out and wiped it from her eye, a reassuring smile on his face. Murmurs, surely about how sweet he was emanated from the crowd. Hermione looked back at Ron, but instead, she imagined him as Harry. Yes, this would work. No more tears, she told herself as she stood up straight. Yet still she hoped. Suddenly, the two doors burst open! Standing there was Harry, tie undone, buttons unclipped, hair dishevelled. She didn't care how bad he looked, all she knew was that he was there and that it felt like his green eyes could see through her to her heart. Hermione knew she could have burst into tears of happiness, right then and there, but she had to keep her composure.
"Sorry I'm late, Ron," he said, grinning. Ron was grinning back, and she could tell that what would surely happen next would crush his heart. That was if Harry felt the same way.
"Sorry, 'mione," he said, and she could hear the warmth in his voice even from all the way at the front of the hall, standing on the altar. She smiled at him, before turning back to the man that she told herself she loved.
"Before we continue," said the reverend. "Is there any reason these two people should not marry?" Hermione knew exactly what came next (she had always been very prepared). Her heart was beating quickly, and she swore it was practically bursting out of her chest. If Harry looked at her now, she knew her eyes would be windows to her emotions. All her barriers had fallen away, as she waited for the next words from the reverend's mouth.
"Does anyone object to the marriage of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley?" Blood was rushing through her, she could hear it swirling even without a sea shell. Her heart pounded against her ribcage, and she couldn't hear anything but the inner turmoil in her head. She heard a chair scraping against the church floor, and she hoped the man standing up would be the one person she truly loved, without lying to herself. She turned, and suddenly everything was quiet. It was him. Harry. Standing up. Objecting.
"I object," he said quietly. Ron's mouth had formed an almost perfect circle. "I'm so sorry, Ron." Hermione could tell that Harry was on the brink of tears.
"I can't bear to see you there by her side, each day." A tear slipped from his eye. This must have been unbearable for him, and he was clearly at his most vulnerable.
"I… I love her, Ron," he said, bowing his head. "I don't care if she doesn't love me, but seeing her with you kills me inside, more and more each day. Every kiss. Every touch. Please." Hermione knew Ron was close to tears as well. Harry had never been this open with him, and he clearly had no idea what to do. He looked from her to Harry, and back to her.
"If you'd just told me, Harry," said Hermione softly. "You would have avoided all this." Harry shook his head, running a hand through his jet black hair. He raised his eyes to look at her.
"It isn't that simple, Hermione," he said. "We were always friends. I just didn't want it all to fall apart because of stupid teenage feelings, even if I knew somewhere that not telling you how I felt would just lead to heartache." Slowly, she felt herself being pulled towards him. All she wanted to do was run to him, to kiss him, to tell him that she loved him, but she knew she couldn't. Walking down the stairs again, she knew that walking slowly away from the altar was worse than walking towards it could ever be. As she drew closer, it felt like his emerald eyes were melting her, his gaze upon her exposing her true feelings. She reached him, close enough to see every single detail of his face. His nose, slightly crooked from a bludger to the face at a practice game with the Weasleys. Those emerald green eyes, pools of sparkling green that looked like they were from the Wizard of Oz. His mouth, slightly parted as if he was surprised that she hadn't rejected him. Hermione lifted up her hands, and placed them around his neck, drawing herself closer. He lowered his head so that their foreheads touched, and she closed her eyes, preparing to say the words that had been on the tip of her tongue for about 3 years.
"I love you, Harry Potter," she said, pouring her heart into one small sentence.
"I love you, Hermione Granger," he said, and she knew the smile that came from him was genuine. Slowly, her lips touched his. They kissed, as neither of them had kissed before. Harry put one hand in her hair, which was flowing down her back, and one on the small of her back, pulling her closer towards him as their lips clashed. Breaking apart, they looked into each other's eyes, and Hermione knew she was the luckiest girl.