A/N: Originally published August 20, 2010 for hp_canon_fest at Livejournal
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Thanks to my excellent beta Urbanmama, she is the queen of my universe
Prompt: "It was your mother's idea"
"Mum!" Ginny shrieked from the kitchen. "Mum! This is an absolute bloody disaster!"
"Ginny, please!" Molly shouted back, rounding the corner. "Language! And calm down. I'm sure it isn't that bad."
Hermione kept an ear on the conversation while she stared at her book from her favorite chair in the sitting room. Ginny was not to be crossed these days, and Hermione had already learned she was excellent at accidentally setting her off.
"All the embroidery on these robes is the wrong color!"
Molly took the fabric from her daughter and held it up to the light, "It looks like the color you wanted, dear."
"It's supposed to be the same green as Harry's eyes. This is too dark!" Hermione could tell she was trying not to cry. "This is not supposed to be so difficult!"
Her mother gathered her in her arms, "I know dear. It's going to be fine." She stroked Ginny's long hair, "I'll go up to my sewing room and see what I can do, all right?"
Ginny took a deep breath, "That's fine." She straightened her back, "I think I'll just go have a bath now."
"Yes. I think that's a good idea." Molly agreed.
Hermione didn't at all blame Ginny for acting so crazy. She never faired well when Harry was gone, and trying to plan their wedding while he and Ron were out of the country for who knew how long was frankly insane.
It was the first time Ron had been on a mission for longer than a couple of days since he'd finally joined the Aurors. Hermione had decided to temporarily stay at the Burrow with Ginny. Even after all the years she'd been the girlfriend of a dedicated Auror, Ginny insisted that staying in her childhood home made it far less lonely when Harry was on a mission.
It had helped. Getting wrapped up in all of Ginny's drama had kept Hermione's mind off Ron's absence. She'd also been working even longer hours than usual at the Ministry, saying yes to every project that came through her department. But still she missed Ron terribly. They'd been gone almost 20 days now. She'd hoped that the feeling of overwhelming longing would fade even the slightest as the days passed, but it didn't.
Molly followed Ginny out of the kitchen and watched her sniffle her way up the stairs. Arthur came around the corner and put his hands on Molly's shoulders.
"Tired of planning weddings yet, my love?" he joked, placing a kiss on her cheek.
She leaned back against him, "Just once I wish one of my children would be smart enough to elope like we did."
After Arthur and Molly had both disappeared to their room, Hermione spent a few more minutes in her favorite chair, finally enjoying the quiet necessary to finish her first book of the weekend. But soon enough there was a rap on the kitchen window. She looked up to find an owl in the windowsill, a Ministry owl. Hermione unsuccessfully attempted to swallow her fear as she reached for the envelope in the owl's beak. She saw her name scrawled on the front of the envelope: Ron's handwriting. Her heart soared as she quickly opened the envelope. The note inside had been written hastily.
H-
Come home! I'm waiting.
Love, R
She folded the note and wasn't at all surprised when Harry burst through the door.
"Oh! Hello, Hermione, I didn't expect to see you here." Harry said, quickly throwing his arms around her in the briefest of hugs.
"Go on, she's upstairs." Hermione said with a smile, before he had the chance to say anything else.
Harry grinned at her before rushing past, and she smiled back. Hermione was relieved that Ginny would soon have better things on her mind than less-than-perfect wedding preparations.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::
He was pacing around the living room, constantly reaching his hand into his left pocket to make sure it was still there. He was silently rehearsing everything he wanted to say, but when he heard the pop of Hermione Apparating in the foyer, he could focus on nothing else but her footsteps. He couldn't catch his breath when she appeared before him.
She stopped, suddenly. "Finally," he said and was rewarded with the most beautiful smile he'd seen in three weeks.
He rushed toward her and scooped her up into his arms. He kissed her fiercely, reveling in how amazing it felt to hold her again.
When he set her back on her feet and pulled away, she smiled again, "So, how was your first big mission as a full Auror?"
"Exhausting," he sighed.
She toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck, "Not too tired, I hope."
He growled and leaned in for another kiss. "You know that I'm never too tired for that," he whispered onto her still-parted lips.
He started to walk them toward the sofa, hungrily devouring her lips the entire way. When her knees hit the front of the couch and she sat down, he suddenly remembered the night's mission.
She pulled his body closer, and he felt himself getting lost in the sight of her again. "Wait, Hermione. I-have-something-important-to-say," he managed to slur together quickly.
"Remember Harris, the chatty bloke from my recruit class?" he asked solemnly. "He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He made it out, but just barely. He's gonna be at St. Mungo's for a long, long time."
"Oh, Ron, that's terrible." Hermione said weepily, reaching up to caress his cheek.
He took her hand into his, "I was thinking about you every moment, you know."
He slid down on both knees on the floor in front of her and set their hands on her lap. The familiar warmth of her body and loving look in her eyes helped him go on.
"I couldn't stop wondering what might happen … if I never made it back home." He saw her flinch slightly at the mere idea, and his heart pounded harder in his chest. "And you know if we were married, the Ministry would take care of you as an Auror's widow."
Hermione gasped, and Ron immediately corrected himself, "Not that you need taking care of! I know you're capable, I just…" He took his hands off of her lap and rubbed them anxiously through his hair before covering his face.
"This is not the way I wanted to do this. Droning on about widow's benefits," he sighed.
"Ron," Hermione said, "Breathe." She rubbed her own hands reassuringly up and down his forearms. "Go on."
He lifted his head out of his palms and looked directly at her, "I love you so much, Hermione."
"And I love you so much, Ron," she said, her eyes beginning to water.
"You're the first and only woman I've ever loved. I don't know how to live my life without you in it. So I need to be with you forever. I can't be leaving you all the time without making sure you know that." With shaky hands he pulled the black-velvet ring box from his pocket and opened it. "Stay with me forever, Hermione. Say you'll be my wife?"
A single tear slipped down her cheek as Hermione reached up, cupped Ron's face with both hands, and said "Yes, Ron, yes!"
Ron didn't say anything in response but lunged forward and captured her lips. He frantically pushed Hermione on her back and himself on top of her, his long legs still dangling off the side of the sofa. "I was hoping you'd say that," he laughed sweetly as they caught their breath.
She smiled and kissed him even more desperately than he'd just kissed her, pawing at his back under his shirt, while his hands slid up her sides.
When his lips began caressing and nipping at Hermione's neck, she suddenly said, "Ron. Do you want to get married?"
He looked up slightly and grinned at her, "Didn't we just discuss this a moment ago?"
"No, I mean now."
"Now?"
"Right now. Tonight."
She sat both of them up and began tenderly rubbing the collar of his shirt. "I don't want to wait one more moment, Ron. I don't want to go to sleep tonight until I'm your wife."
The words struck Ron like a bolt of lightning in the chest. This was really happening. He'd feared all day he'd have to convince her to agree to the engagement, but now she had not only accepted but wanted to get married immediately, and he wasn't sure it was possible to breathe.
He forced himself to exhale, and then it was perfectly clear to him. He dug around in the cushions for the ring box and slipped the ring on her finger. He nodded and smiled, "Let's do it."
She kissed him hard before standing up and skipping – skipping - down the hall, "Come on then!"
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Where is it?" she groaned, pulling back the shirts on the rack in the wardrobe, when Ron pressed himself behind her and ran his hands up her stomach, working his way up to trace circles on her breasts. "Cant we just finish what we started before we run off?" he murmured into the crook of her neck.
She laughed and reluctantly lowered his hands, "No, you have to wait for the honeymoon now."
She turned around and handed him the blue button-down shirt her mother had bought him for his 20th birthday. "Please put this on. It makes your eyes look so lovely. And pack a few things, I'll be out in a minute."
"Wait, what am I packing? Where are we even going?" he called after her, as she sauntered toward the bathroom.
"You'll find out soon," she called before shutting the door behind her.
Hermione bustled around the bathroom, flinging open cupboards, purposefully using her left hand to reach for the hair crème from the muggle salon. She continued with her beauty regimen in a dreamlike state, carefully planning their romantic escape.
When Hermione finally stopped fussing with her hair long enough to meet her own eyes in the mirror, she was smiling so wide the sight caused her excitement to bubble out of her in a fit of girlish giggles. The giggles seemed uncontrollable as well as the tears that were quickly streaming down her face. She was so happy she couldn't possibly contain it anymore.
Soon enough, Ron had burst through the bathroom door, only one arm through his shirt, his unbuckled belt clanging noisily. "Are you all right?"
Hermione turned around and swiped her tears from her cheeks, still giggling. "Yes, Ron. Everything's perfect."
They stared at each other so long they knew exactly what the other was thinking. Hermione leaned back against the sink in her bra and knickers. Ron looked at the ground and continued dressing himself, mumbling quietly. When he looked up to meet her eyes again she stopped laughing. Her eyebrows rose into her hair, "What?"
Ron simply shook his head and continued to focus on his buttons. "Trust me Hermione, if you knew what terribly dirty things I want to do to you right now, I think you might change your mind about marrying me."
She continued to grin at him, this time with a wicked look in her eyes. "Ron, believe me, I know they can't be any dirtier than the things I want you to do to me," she replied. They locked eyes once more, before Ron let out a frustrated growl and turned on his heels.
A few moments later she heard him shouting from the hall, "Oi woman! Let's go get married!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::
His stomach was turning over and over when they Apparated under a small clearing of trees. Hermione took his hand and began to lead him across the field toward a small cottage in the distance. "Where are we?" he whispered.
"Scotland." She said in an equally quiet voice, "Right outside the village where my Nan was born."
"Oh really?" he asked, spinning her engagement ring around with his thumb.
"It's quite an interesting story, actually. My Nan passed when I was nine, I didn't see her very often. But I remember she would always tell me the story of the old village "witch." She said there was an old woman who lived up on the hill outside of town. No one ever saw her but sometimes people in town would whisper that if you went up to her house in great desperation, she'd make potions and do spells. And, my Nan said young lovers would come from other villages to secretly elope in her garden." She pulled her cloak tighter around herself and continued to pull him through the grass. "When I first got to Hogwarts I looked her up in the library, and she's real! Got in trouble with the Ministry countless times for using magic in front of muggles. I don't even know if she's still alive but… I just wanted to try." She stopped and looked up at him shyly, "Do you think I'm silly?"
"I think you're brilliant."
As they approached closer to the old wooden cottage up an overgrown path, Hermione seemed to pull on his arm harder. He'd stopped dead in the middle of the road.
She turned around, "Ron? Are you all right?"
"Fine." He said, still unmoving.
She stepped forward to stand in front of him, "You don't want to do this tonight, do you?'
The look of fear and hurt in her eyes stabbed him in the chest like an icy knife. He grabbed her hands and tried his best to backtrack. "No, that's not it at all."
He sighed heavily, shuffling his feet on the loose gravel of the path. He tried his hardest to swallow down the self-loathing part of him they both hated so much. But he didn't know of any way to say, "I'm scared you don't really want to marry me." Instead, he said, "I just want to make sure that you've thought about this. There might be a whole host of people – starting with our mums – who will be angrier than a bothered Hippogriff in the morning. I don't want you to regret this."
"I can't believe I'm saying this," he could hear the tears in the back of her throat that she was trying to push down, "I don't need to think about this at all Ron. I've never, ever been more sure of anything in my life."
She placed her hands tenderly on his chest; "We can let our families throw us a small party at the Burrow soon. But I don't care about dress robes and dance floors. I just want-" She was clearly intent on continuing to tell him all the reasons she was ready, but he lunged forward to capture her lips with his own. Hermione melted into his arms. He felt her wrapping tightly around his torso while she leaned into his arms and let his kisses wash over her lips, her neck, her face.
"Come on. Let's get married." He said against her forehead. She took his hand and continued leading him down the path.
The cottage at the top of the hill was hidden amongst dozens of twisted old trees. The faintest light left behind from the sunset was washing the stones and vines that covered the small home in a pink glow. A few lights were on inside and Hermione squeezed his hands for reassurance before she knocked twice.
The door opened slowly and standing before them was a witch who looked older than Dumbledore, with a long white braid that hung past her round waist. She squinted at them in the fading light, "Yes?"
"Hello ma'am," Hermione began, clutching tightly to Ron's hand, "My-my name is Hermione Granger and we-"
The woman pulled the door open further and straightened her crooked back a little, "Hermione Granger? The one I read about in tha Prophet?" she said slowly in her thick Scottish accent. She squinted at Ron, "And yer Ron Weasley, eh? What are ye here for? I haven't done a thing wrong! The Ministry knows perfectly well tha-"
"Oh no!" Hermione stopped her. "We aren't here for anything like that."
"Could you marry us?" Ron interrupted.
"Yer here to elope?" The old witch looked shocked, and shook her head "Oh no. No, no I haven't done a binding spell in at least 30 years!"
The couple's shoulders slumped slightly, but before they could turn around the witch shouted excitedly, "I'll go find the spell book! Come in!"
Together they stepped into the strange little cottage and were immediately taken aback. Though the room was small and contained only a few chairs and a large fireplace, the shelves that lined the walls were cluttered with hundreds of dusty books, jars of strange colored ingredients, old photographs, and unfamiliar artifacts.
The old witch Summoned a worn book down from a high shelf and headed for the back door. "Come on!" she commanded over her shoulder, "It's a lovely night. Wedding in tha garden, I think."
Outside, Ron and Hermione didn't exactly see a romantic spot. The yard was mucky and overgrown; it was clear that no one had been out there in years.
"Not ter worry. I go' it" the old witch waved her wand and all of the leaves and dead brush was whisked away over the trees, revealing fresh spring grass and a small stone patio. At the back of the garden stood a wedding arch made of twisted branches, covered in vines.
"We got ter do this proper now. Mr. Weasley, go wait over there, I got ter get yer bride all fixed up. And I reckon you need a ring fer him," she said, pushing a slightly hesitant Hermione back into the house. Hermione gave Ron one last smile before the door closed after her.
Ron walked across the stones and waited under the makeshift canopy for Hermione to reappear. His hands began to shake at his sides. Sweat started collecting at the top of his head. His lungs grew tight. He couldn't figure out where his anxiety had come from, but it had surfaced as soon as he was alone in the garden. He was about to run, or at the very least Apparate directly to Harry and tell him about the elopement, but before he could give it another thought, Hermione reappeared in the doorway, and his heart soared.
One glance at Hermione, and all of the anxiety floated away. She was walking toward him slowly, in his favorite dress - the blue one he'd given her with his first big Wheezes bonus. Carrying a bouquet of Charmed flowers that made her face glow – or maybe that was just how beautiful she looked – she was a vision that would surely fuel his Patronus for years to come. There was no one else in the world but her.
Hermione continued toward him with her glowing smile and bright eyes. He hoped he was smiling back at her, because he couldn't feel his face at all. His heart continued to race when she reached him at the altar, but for an entirely different reason. When Hermione reached out to take his hands he noticed she was shaking as well. But the minute their fingers touched, the whole universe went quiet.
The old witch had silently appeared on the other side of them, her wand in her hand and the old spell book floating in front of her.
"Is there anything ye'd like ter say before we start?"
Ron looked into Hermione's big brown eyes and for an instant he could see the snooty 11-year-old who infuriated and intrigued him and the teenager who challenged and aroused him. The girl who had to grow up too fast but always faced every danger with unwavering courage. The witch who had wrapped herself so tightly around his heart that he was sure he could never live without her.
He cleared his throat and two fat tears rolled out of the corners of his eyes, "I love you, Hermione. You're all that I want."
Hermione took a shaky breath, "I love you, Ron." – his name spilling out of her mouth in a sob.
They stood under the trees, happily dazed and drinking each other in, until the old witch began to speak: "Ronald Weasley, do you promise to love and honor this witch, Hermione Granger, from this day until your last?"
"Of course I do," he answered with a grin.
"And Hermione Granger, do you promise to love and honor this wizard, Ronald Weasley, from this day until your last?"
She reached up to wipe tears from her cheeks, "I do."
The old witch smiled, raised her wand and began to recite a complicated spell. Hermione squeezed Ron's hands, and a moment later a shower of colored sparks was raining down on them. They both felt it instantly, a deep fluttering that made them tingle with warmth and love and happiness. "I declare you bonded for life," she said in a surprisingly powerful voice.
They were standing still, frozen in their joy until the old witch added, "Go on and kiss her, son!"
Before Ron could snap back to life and reach for her, she had leapt into his arms. He held her tightly around the waist and kissed her so passionately he couldn't register whether the teeny old witch had Charmed some fireworks, or if that was just how good the kiss felt. He finally set Hermione back on her feet, leaving her flushed and gorgeous.
"Do ye have a place ter stay tonight?" the old witch asked.
"No, I don't think so." Ron answered, his forehead pressed to Hermione's.
"Then ye'll have to go stay with ma nephew!" she said insistently, shuffling them toward the house. "His inn isn't far from here. He'll take good care of ye."
Just before the newlyweds left the cottage, the old witch pressed the dusty spellbook into Hermione's hands. "I think ye will enjoy this. I don't think I have much use for it anymore."
Hermione looked from Ron back to the witch, "I couldn't..."
"Ye could! Consider it a wedding present."
"Thank you." Hermione said softly as Ron put her cloak back around her shoulders.
"Go on now!" the witch cracked a smile, "An' take good care of each other. Always."
::::::::::::::::::::::
Hermione was sitting cross-legged in front of him on the bed, crouched over an old, dusty spell book by wand light. He'd seen her do this hundreds of times of course, but this was different. She could barely read a line without looking up to smile at him. His eyes focused on her left hand when she swept the curls out of her face and fiddled with the tiny loose straps on her nightgown. God he loved that nightgown, and as her finger came into view again, he saw the sapphire ring - proof that the night wasn't a dream - glinting softly in the dim light.
And he couldn't bloody believe it.
They had already consummated their marriage on the floor… and against the bureau, followed by a bit of fun in the soaking tub. Emerging only when the innkeeper sent up a tray of sweets and champagne, the honeymooners had finally made their way to the bed.
Ron scooped some cream out of the pudding dish with his finger, "Interesting book Mrs. Weasley?"
She looked up and beamed at him, "It's nothing but love spells."
"I think after three times in two hours, you'd realize you don't need any of those," he laughed.
"Well," Hermione licked her finger and began slowly turning pages, "there are some very naughty ones back here…"
Ron leaned back against the headboard. "By all means, please continue then."
But she closed the book around her wand and crawled up Ron's body to place it on the night table. She took a moment to suck on his earlobe before explaining herself. "I can do more reading when you inevitably pass out from all the shagging and champagne."
"Mmm, you know me too well."
She raised her eyebrows expectantly
"Mrs. Weasley." He finished.
She kissed him hard and straddled his lap, "I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of hearing that."
:::::::::::::::::
The newest Mr. and Mrs. Weasley opened the front gate at the Burrow on Sunday with rings on their fingers and smiles on their faces.
Hermione felt like she was floating across the grass. The past few days with Ron had been like a dream. Even though the following day they'd have to return to the world of Ministry work and domestic obligations, Hermione was at peace, ready for the world to know she was spending the rest of her life with the man she'd loved since she was 15. She looked up to grin at her husband, but found his brow furrowed in worry.
"What are you frowning about? It's your fault we're late."
"My fault?" he laughed, "You're the one who was making breakfast in just an apron. You couldn't have expected me to just sit at the table."
"Fine. I'll take the blame then." She stopped him a few feet from the door, "Are you worried about telling them?"
"I just don't want mum to hit me or anything." He shrugged
"I think if anyone's going to be swinging at you it'll be Harry or Ginny because they didn't think of it first." She reached up to brush his fringe out of his eyes, "It's all right, Ron. They're your family, and they love us. Everyone is going to be thrilled. I promise."
He nodded slowly and leaned down to give her a tender kiss, "I think you're the most wonderful woman in the world, d'you know that?"
"Yeah. I do." She grinned, letting her excitement bubble through her again.
As soon as Ron opened the back door into the kitchen, he heard his mother shriek, "Where have you two been? Everyone's been looking for you for days!"
His entire family was looking up expectantly at them from their places at the table. Hermione held her breath until Ron straightened his back and announced, "Honeymooning."
Ginny dropped her fork loudly on her plate, and Harry was the first to exclaim, "You got married?"
Hermione smiled shyly and held out her hand for everyone.
There was an immediate uproar of cheering and chairs scratching against the floor as everyone leapt up to congratulate the couple.
In all the commotion of hugs and squealing, Molly threw her arms around Hermione before patting her cheek. "I hoped you might have overheard me, you clever girl" she told her quietly with a wink. "Welcome, officially, to the family, my dear."