Chapter 10 – June

June first heralded in a new sensation. Sleeping in! Our tests were finished. There were no classes to attend. No Quidditch matches to practice for. Just me and blessed sleep.

Some of the seventh years were leaving the next day. Bob and I were going to Apparate and stay with Lud to plan our wedding. Most of our year, however, were staying to speak with the career liaisons that were coming to take applications and advise what the next steps would be. There were even department heads from the Ministry of Magic, and recruitment personnel from well known companies.

Ron had an appointment to talk to a recruiter from the Chudley Canons and could talk about nothing else.

Bob had already talked to Professor Dumbledore and Madam Hooch about being a teaching assistant. Madam Hooch was glad to have her. She was going to allow Bob to take the first years while Madam Hooch focused on the Quidditch teams.

Bob and I decided that by the time September first rolled around, we wanted to be well established as a married couple. In Bob's mind, that translated to a July wedding, an August honeymoon, and a comfortable two weeks to settle into our apartments in Hogwarts to work on lesson plans.

My mind stopped working when she mentioned the honeymoon, and drifted to untested activities.

I sat up and looked at her, dumbfounded, when she whomped me upside the head with a pillow.

"Harry Potter, will you pay attention, please?"

"Ah… sorry." She was holding up two cloth swatches. I looked at them, then back at her.

"Well?"

"Well… what?"

"Harry, did you hear even one word that I said?"

I smiled. "Oh yeah." I gave her an evil grin and received another whomp for my trouble.

"Hey! Watch where you are aiming that thing." I pointed to the cloth swatches she was still holding. "Why are you waving little flags around anyway?"

"They are the color choices for our wedding." Then she had the unmitigated gall to roll her eyes at me.

I can be taught. I've learned all sorts of things over the years. Messing with Snape's potion ingredients is a top notch way to get detention – never trust Dumbledore when his eyes are twi… never trust Dumbledore – don't fold, or in any other way mutilate a library book. Madam Pince regards each one of them as her children. And first and foremost, do not look at your bride-to-be, shrug your shoulders and say, 'Does it really matter?'

She dropped her arms to her side and scowled at me. Me! Harry Potter! Love of her life. Then she threw the swatches on the floor, spun on her heel and headed out the portrait hole.

That caught me off guard. But I recovered quickly, picked up the swatches and caught up with her before she left the alcove where the tower entrance was located.

"Bob, what's wrong?"

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "You don't care about ANY of this, do you?"

I took her in my arms and pulled her closer. "Of course I do. But you should know, I wouldn't care if we got married in Bermuda shorts and t-shirts just as long as the end result is that you are my wife. THAT is the important part. The rest of it is just… window dressing."

Wrong thing to say!

She pulled away from me, narrowed her eyes and huffed. She then spun around and stomped away again.

"Bob! Wait!" Then I chuckled. "What did I say?"

She spun on me again. "You don't care about my feelings."

I know I must have looked confused. "What? Bob, how did we go from talking about the wedding to me not caring about your feelings?"

She began poking my chest with her finger, but I would swear it was a rock… I have the bruise to prove it.

"The wedding is important, Harry. We are promising to love, honor and cherish for forever. You are Harry Potter. The entire wizarding world will be watching – if not from the wedding itself, then in the newspapers and magazines. It has to be PERFECT, you moron! And you are standing here making jokes and not taking anything seriously."

I know my face must have looked like I had been Stunned. "I…I'm, ah… sorry?" I ended with a question because, by this time, I was completely confused. Somewhere along the line I lost the thread of the conversation.

She had her arms folded and was glaring at me. "Well, are you or aren't you?"

"Huh? Am I, or am I not… what?"

"SORRY!"

"Um… yes?"

"Honestly, Harry, you are the most exasperating man I've EVER MET!"

She stomped away and left me standing there in a state of confusion that at the time, I had no way of knowing would stay and camp out in my brain until all this wedding fiasco was over with.

Then I remembered the swatches and ran after her. She was half way down the staircase when I finally caught up with her. I stood at the top and yelled down and waved the cloths at her. "Bob… not the pink!"

She stopped and turned to look at me. "What's wrong with the pink?"

"I don't like it. Pink, that is."

"Well, I happen to like the pink. No, more than that. I LOVE the pink!"

She turned and stomped away from me again. I let her go this time. I couldn't handle anymore at the moment.

I turned around to go back to the tower and walked straight into Hermione. "What did you do to her, Harry Potter? You should be ashamed of yourself."

I furrowed my brow, once again, in confusion.

"What?"

She threw her arms in the air. "Honestly… men!"

I watched, thoroughly gobsmacked as she ran after Bob.

Draco was leaning against the wall looking at his nails when I finally turned around again. I looked at him and indicated Hermione's retreating back. "What the hell was that?"

Draco snorted. "It's the wedding, Harry. It makes them crazy."

I looked at him suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

He stood and indicated for me to follow him. "I knew a guy once."

Truth be told, that was good enough for me. Draco suddenly became the number one expert on weddings… at least in my eyes.

Stupid mistake!

I soon learned that if I did the exact opposite of what Draco told me to do, then I was on safe ground.

The following morning, Bob and I had said our goodbyes to everyone, walked to Hogsmeade, and Apparated to Lud's home.

You might think that since Bob's mother was not around, that she was at a disadvantage.

You would be wrong!

Bob had more help than I had ever imagined. Of course there was Hermione and Ginny. But, before long, there was also Pansy and Milli Bulstrode. Mrs. Weasley even got into the fray.

I learned very quickly to agree with everything Bob said, whether or not it went against what anyone else said. Lud, Draco and I just sat back and paid the bills.

The only thing that I put my foot down on was that the original date was to be my birthday.

"No, Bob. Either before, or after. Not on."

"But, why?"

I grinned at her, then leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Presents!"

She looked at me and smirked. Well, she was a Malfoy, after all.

"Presents?"

I grinned. "No combining presents every year."

She giggled. "Greedy much?"

I kissed her cheek. "Very."

"How about the twenty-sixth? That's a Friday."

I kissed her nose. "Perfect. Just like you."

Other than that, it was her deal. If she did happen to ask my opinion, I gave it to her, knowing that she would do whatever she wanted anyway.

Toward the end of June, the invitations had gone out, most of the wedding had been planned out, and the girls had us all making cutsey little favors with netting and candy and bows and… I just shudder when I think of it.

As Draco, Lud and I sat tying little bows around sacks of candies, Draco asked a fateful question.

"So, where are you going on your honeymoon?"

I looked at him. Again the Stunned look took over.

"Honeymoon?"

"You have planned your honeymoon, right?"

"Ah… no, I thought Bob…"

Both Lud and Draco started shaking their heads.

Lud started laughing. "Harry, you have to get working on that. You have less than a month."

"Well, where do you think I should take her?"

Draco grinned. "Somewhere romantic."

Lud frowned at him. "That's my little girl you're talking about." Then he looked at me. "Maybe somewhere… you know… fun!"

Draco looked at Lud. "Uncle Ludwig, if you want Harry to be around after the honeymoon, he needs to lay off the 'fun' and stick with the 'romantic.'"

Lud frowned at him. "What do you know about it? You aren't married."

Again, Draco shrugged. "I have a friend."

I laughed at him. "Is this the same friend, or a different one?"

"The same."

"Hmm. I'm not sure I trust him." I looked at the pile of ribbons, lace, netting and candies and shuddered. "Gentlemen, are we wizards or not?" I waved my wand and instantly, all the favors lay on the table in a neat pile. "Now, I have a honeymoon to plan. I'll talk to you both later."

I hadn't a clue! Not that that was any different than anything else in this whole wedding debacle. So, I did what I should have done long before, I went and got professional help. I went to a travel agent.

I told the woman what I wanted, what the advise I had gotten from my friends and family was, and let her make the suggestions.

"Well, Mr. Potter, if you want fun and romance at your fingertips, there is really only one place to go."

"Where is that?"

"Euro Disney, of course. Or if you want to go farther, there's Disney World and Disney Land."

"Disney?" I looked at a brochure she handed me and after a moment, smiled. "And this can be romantic?"

The woman smiled. "Of course. We can arrange for the Cinderella suite and VIP treatment. How long will you be staying?"

"Two weeks. Our wedding is on July 26th."

"Hmm. It might be tough to get it for the whole two weeks, but maybe several nights. Then we can move you to another suite in one of the hotels."

She showed me the pictures of the Cinderella Suite and I decided right then and there that Bob deserved to stay there. I nodded at the woman. "Absolutely. Just tell me what you need from me."

Within two hours, we had the entire time planned. This was going to knock Bob's socks off.