Oh man, I'm so sorry for the radio silence. Life, unfortunately, kicked my butt this week.

Thank you to all the Followers, Favorite-ers and Reviewers for last chapter. Guest, Jily71102, jillcovey, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx; you all are incredibly wonderful.

Chapter 21- Married Life

"Ginny, you look beautiful. Now stop pulling at the gown," Hermione tried to sooth her friend's anxious nerves as she grabbed the redhead's hands.

"I just… I can't believe we let this get so out of hand…" Ginny squeezed the other witches hands tightly and closed her eyes in an attempt to collect herself. "I mean, my entire team is here!"

Hermione tried to cough to cover her snort, "Well, Harry wanted you to be able to invite all your friends."

"I know that." Ginny pulled her hands back and began picking at her newly manicured nails, "I just didn't think that they would all agree to come. That's six, plus the four we currently have in reserves... and Harry even convinced his Aunt and cousin to come... and my family is basically never ending. Almost everyone we knew at Hogwarts is here, because Harry's too kind to leave anyone out. And I know I was the one who suggested such things… I didn't realize he would just go along with everything!"

"It will be fine, I promise," Hermione offered Ginny one of the untouched glasses of champagne.

"No, just the thought of food and drink is making my stomach do somersaults," Ginny frowned deeply and placed a hand over her stomach as she took measured breathes to help with her abdominal issues.

"Well, when Luna gets back with the water you better drink some of that then," Hermione narrowed her eyes playfully, but hoped that Ginny would still take the threat to heart, "I won't have you fainting in the middle of the ceremony due to dehydration."

Ginny exaggeratedly rolled her eyes, "Look, I know I should have had more to drink during the engagement party… but it was just so hectic. And that was just with family! What on earth am I going to do now?!"

"What if we talk about something else to get your mind off of all the people at this wedding then?" Hermione offered with a kind smile.

Ginny nodded her head, "Alright, what should we talk about?"

"What about… Oh! Eliza decided what she wants her birthday party theme to be this year," Hermione chuckled as she thought about the eccentric little girl that her daughter had become.

"From that look, I'm guessing nothing normal like princesses or fairies," a smile pulled at Ginny's lips.

"Of course not!" Hermione threw her hands up in defeat, "This is the same child that decided that her fourth birthday was going to be a proper English tea!"

Both witches broke-down into laughter; the impending walk down the aisle, in front of hundreds of people, was temporarily forgotten.

"So what does she want to do for her fifth birthday then?" Ginny took a tissue and lightly dabbed her laughing tears away; being careful not to smear the hard work she and Angelina had done earlier with the makeup.

Hermione smirked and shook her head, "Elizabeth wants dragons. She's made a long list of every single dragon she can think of and she wants Charlie to have a story ready for each one of them."

"Oh! Charlie is going to adore doing that!" Ginny exclaimed with excitement.

"I know; but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to explain to some of Eliza's preschool friends why her uncle acts like he's an expert on mythical creatures," Hermione sighed heavily but still managed to smile.

"Who needed water?" The conversation was halted by Luna floated into the room and carefully handed Hermione and Ginny each glasses of chilled water. "I thought maybe the cold water would help in balancing out your cold feet and help you realize that all these feelings are perfectly natural."

Hermione laughed at the confusion on Ginny's face, "I do not have cold feet. The only thing I'm terrified of is all those people I was daft enough to invite to this wedding. I have absolutely no reservations about marrying Harry."

Luna didn't seem fazed by the defensive edge the bride's voice had taken, "Of course you don't have cold feet over Harry. But it's perfectly normal to have nerves before an event like this. Even if you're completely prepared and at ease over the marriage, the wedding can still be quite hectic and frightening."

The dreamy eyed blonde had been married for a year and a half now, so she spoke from experience. Luna had invited many of the same people to her own wedding, though not as many had been able to attend.

"It will be fine Ginny, just drink your water and try to take some deep breathes," Hermione offered as she sat down on one of the small couches in the room.

"Oh, what would you know Hermione? Your and Fred's wedding was tiny in comparison to all this. You got to have the perfect small wedding that everyone insists that they want but never end up having," the redheaded witch huffed a bit as she perched on the stool in front of the full length mirror.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she reminisced about her and Fred's wedding. It had been perfect, at least to her. They had only invited immediate family and a handful of very close friends to the little chapel, and they had set up a decent sized tent in a nearby park to house the reception. Everyone had been asked to dress casually and just enjoy themselves. Fred had looked so handsome in his tan slacks and a simple white button down. And Hermione had been overjoyed with her unconventional, dusty pink, flowy gown; though Fred had suggested that the dress looked far better on their floor…

They had married the summer immediately following their engagement and had never looked back. There were a few scandalous reports in Witch Weekly and the Daily Prophet, but Fred made it easy to forget about the harsh words and judgments that had been thrown Hermione's way.

Ginny sighed heavily again, "Someone please talk to me. Say anything, really. I just need to get my mind off of things until I absolutely have to think about walking down the aisle."

Luna had just begun rambling about the Crumple-Horned Snorlack that she had been searching for with her father last summer, when there was a knock at the door.

Hermione stood and cracked the door open slightly to see who it was.

"Mummy!"

Elizabeth squeezed through the tight opening and jumped into Hermione's arms, "Hello, Darling." She kissed her daughter lightly on the forehead, "What are you and Daddy doing here? I thought you both were waiting with the rest of the boys until the ceremony began."

"We might have had a fight with Teddy," Fred explained as he affectionately tucked a strand of the little girl's curly auburn hair behind her ear.

The young witch nodded her head, "Teddy's being really mean to me. He said I had cooties and he said that he won't hold my hand when we have to walk down the hallway before Aunt Ginny."

"Aisle, Love. Not hallway," Hermione corrected gently. "And it's alright, I'm sure it will all be sorted before we know it. Why don't you go talk to Aunt Ginny and Aunt Luna for a minute? Don't forget to tell Aunt Ginny how pretty she is."

Elizabeth skipped over to her aunts after Hermione placed her back on her own feet.

When their child was completely occupied with her aunts, Fred pulled his witch into the hallway, "Hermione will be right back." He captured his wife's lips in a searing kiss before she could protest. The wizard was a bit surprised when Hermione reached up and laced her fingers through his hair and deepened the kiss. Fred smirked as he pulled away from her mouth, "You better not let your husband catch you kissing me like that. I've heard that he's the jealous type."

"Is he?" Hermione playfully batted her eyes, "He's never seemed the jealous sort to me. He's almost faultless in fact; loving, helpful and always making me laugh. What of your wife though? I've read that she's some horrid gold-digger who burdened you with someone else's child?"

"Oh, her? She's gorgeous and as sharp as a tack; absolutely brilliant in fact," Fred leaned down and pressed his lips to Hermione's once again. "Oh, and that daughter of hers; she's completely perfect. I'm lucky to have them in my life."

"Then why are you kissing me?" Hermione tried to keep a stern face and continue to play along, but she broke down into peals of laughter. Fred's broad grin only made her laugh harder.

He gently cupped the witch's cheek as she finally caught her breathe. He lightly grazed his knuckles along her abdomen, "Everything going alright... with Gin?"

Hermione nodded, "Everything's fine. Ginny's just a bit anxious about all the people. I don't quite understand it since she's fine when thousands of strangers watch her chase a little winged ball; but put her into a long dress in front of a hundred or so family and friends, and she's basically pulling her hair out." She shrugged, "But I'm being supportive regardless and trying to get her to stay hydrated so we don't have a repeat of the engagement party."

Fred snorted and shook his head, "Yes, that would probably be a bad idea."

"So what's all this about Teddy?" Hermione settled against Fred's side as he protectively wrapped his arms around her middle and leaned his head down on her own.

"Teddy was telling some of his friends at his prep school about what he was doing in his godfather's wedding. He was apparently very excited until those friends began teasing him for having to hold Lizzy's hand. The other little boys said that girls have some horrible thing called cooties… Elizabeth was completely heartbroken when Teddy refused to take her hand when we asked them to practice walking together," Fred smirked and shook his head, "Harry's talking to him right now; but trying to reason with an almost six year old…"

"That's too bad, they used to be so cute together," Hermione glanced sadly at the closed door next to her.

"Yes, well I haven't lost hope. I'm sure Teddy with smarten up," Fred squeezed his wife gently to reassure her. "I still have faith they'll end up together sooner rather than later."

Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes, "They're only four and five years old right now. Don't go putting together a dowry for our daughter just yet."

"I would never do such a thing…" the wizard answered with such a shocked expression, Hermione was concerned that she had offended him somehow. "I was actually thinking of what kind of dowry Teddy could bring if they got married. I mean, the Black fortune has been in dispute for years now, but Teddy is the first born grandchild of Andromeda… and she is the technical heir after Sirius and Regulus."

"Seriously?" Hermione burst out laughing and tried to cover her face with her hands. "Merlin… you are ridiculous sometimes."

The genuine smile on his wife's face made Fred snicker, "And yet you seem to like having me around still."

"I do; very much. And I plan on keeping you around for quite some time… obviously," Hermione leaned up so that her lips were dangerously close to her husband's, "But right now we need to help Ginny and Harry. This will have to wait until later."

Fred narrowed his eyes at the witch, "Teasing hurts, Hermione." He swept her up into his arms, careful not to squeeze her too tightly, and kissed her briefly before spinning her around, "But have it your way; later then."

Hermione was still a little dazed as she reentered the bridal suite and called for her daughter, "Daddy is going to take you back to the boy's room. I'm sure Uncle Harry has taken care of this silliness with Teddy by now. Alright?"

Elizabeth silently nodded her head. She did not look excited by the prospect of going back to see Teddy, but the little girl was trying to be on her best behavior for her aunt and uncle. She kissed her mother on the cheek and ran into Fred's open arms.

Fred kissed his daughter on the forehead, "Ready, Lizzy?"

"Ready, Daddy," Both Fred and Elizabeth offered farewells before returning to the boys room.

"She's getting so big, Hermione!" Luna exclaimed with a wistful look, "She looks so much like Ron."

Hermione found her smile easily, "Yes, she does. Has a bit of his temper at times, but Fred helps her stay positive and I try to teach her how to express herself better than her father did."

"Alright, I'm going to sound like a complete arse," Ginny's smile was a bit strained, "But I really don't want to talk about my dead brother right now. I love Ron and he better be here in some form or fashion, but I need something to distract me… Please?"

"Honestly, Ginny…"

"I'm serious! I've only five more minutes until my Dad is supposed to come get me… haven't you anything to divert my thoughts?" the look in the redhead's eyes were pleading now.

Luna and Hermione glanced at each other and smiled.

"Fine. There's one thing I think might completely distract you, but I want you to keep in mind that I wasn't going to tell anyone this until after you got back from your honeymoon," Hermione rung her fingers a bit nervously, "I wanted today to focus on you and Harry, but if you need a distraction… and I know this will distract you, you were a bit obsessive last time…"

"Out with it, Hermione!" Ginny threw a bobby pin at the stammering witch. Luna tutted at the bride and waved her wand over the redhead's hair to temporarily freeze the remaining pins in place.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the smile that was creeping across her face, "I'm pregnant. Fred and I are going to have a baby."

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Luna stepped forward to embrace her friend and offered more congratulations.

"Thank you Luna. We're very excited, but we wanted to keep it to ourselves for a bit, so please don't tell anyone just yet," Hermione turned her attention to her sister-in-law. She was surprised to see utter shock written all over Ginny's face, "Is… are you alright, Gin?"

The redheaded witch's expression wavered from shock to confusion to anger all within the span of a few minutes. "Why on earth… how in Merlin's name... that doesn't make me feel any better, Hermione!

"Ginny, that's uncalled for. You're the one who asked…" Luna began to softly defend Hermione as Ginny crumpled to the ground.

"Gin?!"

"Ginny?!"

Luna and Hermione rushed to the bride's side and were relieved to find that she was still conscious… and she was laughing.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for acting completely mad today. It's just that the wedding became so huge, and I'm terrified by the thought of people watching me get married, and…" Ginny raised her eyes and gazed at the two witches beside her, "And of course I'm happy for you and Fred, Hermione. It's just that your story didn't exactly distract me from my nerves."

The dreamy blonde's smile was almost blinding as Luna realized what Ginny was hinting at a second before the realization hit Hermione.

"No... really?" Hermione tried to not sound too excited.

Ginny nodded her head and held up three fingers, "Three month along. I've been out of my mind with worry... terrified that the dress wouldn't fit, that my mum would ask too many questions and then my whole family would begin figuring it out…"

"Well, we will make sure that no one finds out," Hermione grabbed hold of Ginny's elbow and helped her stand up. She and Luna straightened out the gown and vail and fixed the bride's makeup until it was flawless again. "Just tell us if you need anything, and we will cover for you."

"Of course we will. Everything will be perfect tonight," Luna happily agreed, "But first you have to proclaim it like Hermione did. It's very bad luck for the baby if you don't, especially with all the stress you've been under."

Ginny felt a small tug at the corners of her lips as she thought about the little child growing inside of her; the baby that was half her and half Harry…

"I'm pregnant."

Really wanted to show off some of the couples around Hermione and Fred as well as showing the ease of their own relationship.

Just to confirm; Ch. 20 - Happiness was 1 year after, and this chapter is four years after CH. 20.

Please let me know what you think! There is still one more jump after this one. =)

Please Follow, Favorite and Review!

Always,

Misha

Ps. Check out my other stories too; 'Thrown Back', 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief' and especially 'The Bookworm and The Prankster' if you're a Fremione shipper!