A fic I wrote for my sister, who waswishing there were moreRon and Hermione stories. So here you go, "little dutch boy", Ihope you like it.
Disclaimer: The characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Naturally any event involving the entire Weasley clan would be akin to a three-ring circus. Ron and Hermione's wedding was no exception. Bright and early at The Burrow, the house was alive with commotion.
"MUM! I can't find my bowtie!" Ron shouted down the stairs to his mother, who was preparing eggs and ham at the stove.
"For crying out loud, Ronald! Didn't I ask you to get your tuxedo ready last night before you went to bed!" Mrs. Weasley shouted back fiercely.
"I DID! But now the tie has disappeared!"
"Well you better find it in two shakes; we're leaving in one hour with or without it!"
Upstairs Ron was making a mess of his room, throwing everything out of his closet willy nilly onto the floor, searching for the missing bowtie. Harry entered, having just gotten out of the shower, with wet hair and a towel around his waist.
"Bloody hell, Ron, what are you doing?"
"Can't. Find. Bowtie." Ron abandoned the search of his closet and dove under his bed. Old school books flew out one by one. Harry ducked as The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6) whizzed by his head.
"And you think that it is going to be under there?" Harry asked, amused. He quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt as Ron switched from kicking up dust bunnies under his bed to frantically throwing clothes out of his dresser drawers. A pair of polka dotted boxer shorts landed on Harry's shoulder.
"Has to be here someplace… just saw it last night… where on Earth… oh, Merlin, Hermione's going to be furious…" Ron muttered to himself.
"Hey, mate, you've got to calm down, don't worry we'll find it," Harry tried to reassure his best friend, but Ron wasn't listening. Harry turned around and was about to re-search the closet when he heard two distinct snickers outside the door. He poked his head out into the hall way and saw Fred and George doubled over and holding their stomachs, doing a poor job of laughing silently.
"I should have known you had something to do with this," Harry accused them with a large smile forming on his face. He walked out into the hall. "Cough up the bowtie, please."
George straightened up and held up his hands. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Harry!"
"Yeah! How dare you insinuate that we would try to play a prank on our dear Ronnikins' wedding day!" Fred answered, still doubled over.
"Riioght. Do you think I was born yesterday?" Harry said, crossing his arms, but fighting back laughter of his own. "Give back the tie; do you want him to have a heart attack?"
"That's kind of what we were going for, yeah."
"Can't we let him carry on for just five minutes more?"
"Ah, no, sorry, hand it over now," Harry commanded firmly. Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out the tie.
"You're losing your edge, Potter," he teased.
"Yeah, we liked you better when you were in on our jokes,"
Harry just shook his head and turned around to return to Ron's room. Suddenly, he turned around again as if he had had an after thought.
"Anything else you guys want to give back while you are at it?" He asked, holding out his hand.
George sheepishly pulled a piece of paper from his pockets and handed it over to Harry. "How did you know?"
"Let's just say I've known you too well for too long," Harry said, taking the paper and looking at it. His eyes bugged out. "Ron's vows? Wow, that took some balls."
"Oh, hush, Harry, you're making us blush!" Fred said. The twins turned and went downstairs for breakfast.
Inside his room, Ron was now throwing everything back into the closet, but not before inspecting every single article of clothing for the tie.
"Ron, I've got it- Fred and George had it," Harry said, giving Ron the tie. "Here, they also stole this."
Ron's ears went pink. "Those prats! I should have known! I'm gonna get them! This isn't funny; they've finally gone too far!" He was shouting and made to run out of the room after his two brothers.
Harry held Ron back. "Let it go, Ron. Let's just get everything ready to go. I'll look after them at the wedding and make sure they don't pull anything else."
Ron let out an exasperated sigh out of his nostrils, "Fine. C'mon, let's pack up the tuxedos."
In the kitchen Bill, Charlie, Percy, and the twins were gobbling down breakfast, and Mrs. Weasley was talking to Ginny's head, which was floating in the fireplace.
"…We're right on schedule, Mum, Hermione and I are leaving in fifteen minutes for the church."
"Splendid, dear, we'll see you shortly!" Ginny's head disappeared from the fireplace and Mrs. Weasley turned around to face the table.
"Where is your father?" she tsk-tsked. Her sons shrugged as she yelled up the stairs.
"ARTHUR WEASLEY! Get downstairs for breakfast!"
"Right-o, Molly, dear!" Mr. Weasley said joyfully, coming down the steps. He jumped the last three stairs and landed with a "TA-DA!", flourishing his arms wide. Everyone groaned. He was wearing a baby blue tuxedo and a white dress shirt with a large and frilly front ruffle.
"ARTHUR!" Mrs. Weasley shouted once again.
"Isn't this spiffy? It's all the rage with Muggles!" Mr. Weasley plopped down at the table and began to devour his breakfast.
"Arthur, Ron and Hermione decided on black tuxedos, remember? What happened to the one we rented at the Muggle store?" Mrs. Weasley said in a dangerous voice.
"Nonsense, my dear! Upon further research, I've discovered that blue is just as acceptable!" Arthur pulled a magazine page out of his back pocket and held it up for Molly to see. "And much more stylish, in my humble opinion!"
Mrs. Weasley snatched the page out of his hands and looked it over. "Arthur, this is from 1975! Where on Earth did you get it?" The Weasley sons burst into laughter as Mr. Weasley looked dejected.
"A Muggle library. I went with Hermione last month." He said amidst the gales of laughter.
"You better change that back to black before Ron comes down, or I'll turn you into a toad!" Mrs. Weasley fumed.
"Oh, very well," Mr. Weasley sighed as he touched his wand to his chest. The tuxedo returned to a modern black version.
Harry and Ron came downstairs at last, both with their tuxedos in suit bags.
"Oh, there you are! Good morning!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, rushing over to hug Ron. "I just can't believe my little Ronnie is getting married!"
Fred and George snickered
"Aww, witle Wonnie is all growed up and getting married!" Fred mimicked his mother.
"Shut up, Fred! Leggome, Mum!" Ron tried to wrestle himself from his mother's grasp.
Harry sat down at the table and helped himself to some fried eggs and toast. Mrs. Weasley released her grip on Ron and let him do the same. She was sniffing and held up her dish towel to her wet eyes.
Mr. Weasley put a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder. "Don't cry, Molly. Think of it not so much as losing Ron, but that we're gaining a daughter! A Muggle daughter!" He added the last sentence with glee.
Ron choked on a bit of toast. "For heaven's sake, Dad, please don't make a fool out of yourself in front of Hermione's family! I know they're Muggles and you find them fascinating, but can you just act like you've at least seen and been around Muggles before!"
Mr. Weasley looked slightly hurt. "I'm around Muggles allofthetime at work, Ron, and I think I know how to act around them- I've never make a fool of myself yet."
Ron shook his head, "Oh, right, Dad, like the time you went with Hermione and I to the Muggle bakery and blew up all of the sample wedding cakes?"
"I was merely trying to charm the bride and groom figurines so they would move- I thought Hermione's family would get a real kick out of that."
"Uh-huh, and the time you followed Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. Granger, and me to the bridal shop and tried on a dress?" Mrs. Weasley jumped in.
"Hermione said I could come! And I didn't know then that Muggle men didn't wear dresses to weddings!"
"And don't forget about the time when you tailed us in that Muggle department store while we were trying to register for our gifts, rode up and down the escalators shouting "Weee! Look at me!" then you meandered into the appliance section and started that electrical fire!" Ron added.
"Well, I hadn't been on escapaters that large before! And how was I to know that eclectic plugs and magic don't mix?" defended Mr. Weasley. "And I did put out the fire before the Muggle firemen arrived, you know."
"The point is, Dad, can you please just play it cool today? For me?" Ron asked pleadingly.
"Sure, son, of course!" Mr. Weasley said cheerfully. Ron looked relieved, but Harry wasn't sure he quite believed him.
The Weasley's grandfather clock chimed and the hands clicked noisily to "Time to get married". Mrs. Weasley sprung up from the table and started shouting orders.
"Bill! Charlie! Percy! Grab your things and get going! We'll be apparating shortly as well!" The three eldest sons obeyed their mother and disappeared with three separate cracks.
"Fred! George! Are you ready?"
"For what Mum?"
"Yeah, where are we going again?"
"This is no time for jokes, young men! You two get your miserable little butts to the church right now or I'll give you what-for!"
"Yikes, Mum! You've got to calm down!"
"You're not going to have a good time if you don't relax!"
With that the twins grabbed up their suit bags and disapparated away.
With everyone but Harry and Ron gone Mrs. Weasley relaxed.
Harry picked up his and Ron's suit bags. "Let's go, Ron" He grinned at his friend.
Ron sighed as if he were trying to build up his courage. "It's now or never, I guess!"
At the church Ron and Harry changed into their tuxedos with the rest of Ron's brothers in the Groom's dressing room. Ron looked himself up and down critically in a full length mirror.
"I look like a stupid git in this thing," he muttered, trying to tie the bowtie.
"No you don't, you just aren't used to wearing suits," Harry said, pulling out his wand and pointing it at Ron's neck. The bowtie tied itself perfectly.
"Thanks." Ron looked back into the mirror, scowling at his reflection. "What if I forget my vows?"
"You won't. And anyway, it doesn't matter- you have them down on paper." Harry said.
"I bet Hermione didn't even show up."
"She did, I talked to Ginny when we first got here, she helped Hermione get dressed."
"Oh, bloody hell, I forgot the rings!" Ron clapped his hands on his head. "I'm such a loser! She's going to leave me at the altar!"
"I've got the rings right here in my pocket. Get a grip on yourself. Everything will be fine."
Just then Fred and George came into the room.
"What are you guys doing in here?" Harry asked. "You're the ushers! You're supposed to be ushering the guests to their pews!"
"Uh, yeah, about that…" Fred started.
"Dad fired us- said he wanted to usher the guests himself." George finished.
"Whaaaat!" Ron wailed.
"He was doing really great too…" Fred said.
"Until he tried to complement Hermione's great-auntie Enid on her lovely hat and pulled it off- wig and all." George laughed.
"I'm going to be siiiiiiick!" Ron cried and ran from the room.
Harry followed him into the hallway. Down the hall near the entrance to the actual church room a small crowd of people was in chaos. Harry could hear Mr. Weasley's voice above the din.
"Awfully, sorry about that, honest mistake! No hard feelings I hope? You're hat and h-h-hair really do look splendid today, Auntie Enid!" He sheepishly held out a hat and wig.
A very bald woman shakily took her ensemble and righted them on her head. Harry chuckled and turned around to see about calming Ron, but Ron had disappeared.
Ginny had left the Bride's changing room to wait at the church's front entrance for the florist to bring the flowers. Hermione was checking her reflection in the mirror and smoothing the front of her sleeveless A-line wedding dress, admiring the way the crystal beading shimmered in the sunlight, when Ron, mistaking the room for a bathroom burst in.
"RON!" Hermione shrieked. "What are you doing in here? Don't you know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!"
Ron, who already looked miserable, now looked perplexed. "Says who?"
"Err, I dunno- it's an old Muggle saying."
"So, uh, do you want me to leave?" Ron said pathetically, backing towards the door.
Hermione laughed. "NO! I don't really believe in that superstitious junk, you know that! You just startled me, that's all." She finally noticed how wretched Ron looked. "Ron! What's the matter!"
"Dad-knocked- off- Great- Auntie- Enid's- wig- and- I- look- horrible- in- this- tuxedo- and- I- just- know- Fred- and- George- are- going- to- pull- some- awful- prank- and- I- forgot- the- rings- but- Harry- didn't- and- oh- wow- you- look- amazing- but- if- you- don't- want- to- marry- me- anymore- I'll- understand!" Ron cried in one breath.
Hermione smiled and took Ron's right hand in hers, pulling him close to her. She dusted off his shoulders, re-buttoned a few buttons on the front of his jacket that he hadn't fastened correctly, and smoothed a few wrinkles. She grabbed both of his hands and looking up into his worried blue eyes.
"Of course I want to marry you, Ron, I love you. Don't worry about anything else today, crazy things are bound to happen- it's those crazy things that I love most about your family. Just sit back and enjoy our wedding day- we only get to experience it once!"
For the first time that day, Ron was calmed. He looked back at Hermione and felt all of his anxiety wash away. Before him was the young woman he loved- the grown up version of the girl with bushy brown hair and large front teeth he had fallen for when they were children together at Hogwarts, and she was telling him she loved him. He had never truly believed it when she had said it before- he had always been waiting to wake up from a wonderful, but unrealistic dream, or for her to take it back. But today was proof that she would never be taking those words back.
Great emotion swelled up in Ron's heart and he wanted to express exactly what he felt, but instead all he could say was "I love you too, Hermione."
It seemed to be enough for Hermione to hear because she tilted her head up and gave him a quick kiss. Just then Ginny came back with the bouquets.
"Ron! What are you doing here? Everyone is looking for you; they think you've skived off or fainted and are lying unconscious somewhere or something! You need to get to the front of the church right now!" Without a word, Ron ran off.
Harry was already standing at the altar when Ron got there. The two friends stood looking at each other for a few moments, then Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder.
"What can I say, mate? You two are my best friends in the whole world- I'm glad that if I have to see you married that it's to each other."
"Thanks, Harry, that means a lot."
"So, are you going to be alright?"
Ron took a deep breath and looked out at the sea of people sitting and waiting to watch him marry Hermione.
"Yeah- yeah, I am. I'm great."
The rest of the day went off without a hitch unless you count Crookshanks the Ring Bearer's refusal to walk all the way down the aisle (halfway down he freaked out and jumped straight into the air and onto Auntie Enid's head, knocking her hat and wig off for the second time that day), Fred and George almost objecting to the wedding (fortunately Harry, who was on the lookout for more ill conceived pranks, hit them with a Silencio spell and watched, amused, as they pretended to proclaim their "love" for Hermione), Mr. Weasley going around at the reception personally introducing himself to every single member of Hermione's family and interrogating them about all things Muggle ("So, Great-Grandma Granger, do you know the function of a rubber duck? Harry Potter- the best man- didn't know…"), or finally, Ginny catching the bouquet, and all of her brothers cheering and running up to shake Harry's hand (Mr. Weasley was cheering too. He poked Great Uncle Basil, Great Auntie Enid's husband and said, "Harry Potter and my daughter Ginny will be next! Harry defeated Lord Voldemort, you know! And he's a Half-Blood! Not as exciting as a Muggle, but well what can you do?).
A/N: Of course, we don't really know the color of Ron's eyes, but I took a guess.