"Ron leaving Harry and me." He froze against me before slowly pulling away and looking into my eyes.
"What?" His eyes had gone dark and flickered with an anger I had only ever seldom seen in them. I could sense his anger through the bond and the intensity of it frightened me.
"You have to understand, he didn't do it on purpose. He was wearing the stupid horcrux when he decided to. He had a really nasty fight with Harry about his family. He started yelling and threatened to leave. He headed out of the tent, throwing the horcrux down. His mind cleared almost immediately but he'd already gone too far. He couldn't get back to us through our protective charms. He got caught by snatchers almost immediately after that and ended up having to hold out in Shell cottage with Bill and Fleur. He regretted what he'd done with every fiber of his being, but he couldn't get back. He finally found a way to get back to us using the Deluminator. He actually saved Harry from drowning, and then he destroyed that bloody locket."
I spoke as swiftly as I could, holding on to Fred the whole time so that he couldn't apparate away, I didn't want to get Ron in trouble, but I didn't want to keep any secrets from my soon to be husband. Fred was breathing hard and looked like he was having trouble controlling himself he gripped my arms and pulled me down into a sitting position, sitting right next to me.
"Tell me everything."
And I did. I started with our leaving the wedding and how we almost got caught. He never interrupted once, not until I reached the point where Harry and I were attacked by Nagini. At that point he stood up and looked murderous.
"That little git." He hissed. I rose quickly and went up to him.
"No Fred, stop." I said, trying to get him to look at me. He was stiff and unyielding.
"How could he? He nearly got both of you killed! You need his help! The bloody little prat left you Hermione-how can you possibly forgive him?" His voice was low, and far angrier than I had ever heard it. I shook my head and made him look at my eyes, filling them with as much sincerity as I could. I could still feel his resonating anger through our bond.
"Because he came back." I reached up and brushed his hair behind his ear, letting my fingers brush over the shell of his ear as I did so. The anger didn't lesson, but I felt a slight surge of desire flash through our bond. I slowly let my hand drop so that it was cupping his chin and I stared into his eyes, letting myself get lost in their depths.
"He's not like you Fred. He's not as brave, or confident. He was constantly struggling with the fact that he would always be second fiddle to Harry." I brought my other hand up to cup the other side of his cheek and I looked at him earnestly.
"That's why he never told you or George. He knew you wouldn't understand. You're both true Gryffindors, but you've got the loyalty of a Hufflepuff. He knew you'd never let him forget what he'd done, you'd never be able to forgive his betrayal. I'm not asking you to forgive him, I know you will, and can. Which is another thing I admire about you, you never stop giving second chances. What I'm asking you to do is help me forgive him." My voice broke in the end and I dropped my hands to his neck and buried my face in his chest, letting the tears I had been holding in for so long finally crash down. He held me tightly and I could feel his emotions surge through the bond. I cried for a few minutes but eventually my tears ran out. I just couldn't do it any longer. I couldn't stay mad at him any longer. I had to let it go. The one thing that had kept me from truly being a friend to Ron the last few weeks just melted away as I finally forgave him for leaving Harry and me.
I heard a shuddering gasp come from Fred and I knew he must have sensed the relief coursing through my body as well as the forgiveness, joy and peace that I was suddenly filled with. He tightened his grip around my waist I leaned back and looked at his eyes. They were dark, but not with anger, it was desire. He looked at me for a second and then swooped down and claimed my lips with his own. He gripped my waist firmly with one hand, pulling me up and into him, and he tangled his other hand deep into my hair. I stopped letting my hands hang limply on his neck and ran them through his hair as he pressed his lips firmly against mine.
While our other kiss had been soft and sweet, this one was hard and intense. After a second he ran his tongue against my lips, silently asking for access which I quickly granted. I had never French kissed before, but I quickly learned what to do as Fred's and my tongue warred for dominance. The kiss was sweet, passionate, intense, in short, it was incredible. We broke apart a few long minutes later both gasping for breath. His lips were dark and swollen and he had a slightly wild look in his eyes as he peered down at me.
"What's your favorite quidditch team?" He asked. I laughed and just hugged him.
{}o{}o{}
I awoke the next morning tired and bleary eyed. Someone was bouncing excitedly on my bed and I had to blink my eyes several times before I could make out who it was.
"Ginny?" I asked sleepily. "What on earth are you doing?"
"It's the sixteenth! Come on you need to get up and dressed, today is Charlie and Brianna's wedding!" I shot up in bed so fast that I actually knocked Ginny off the bed. She fell to the floor with a disgruntled cry as I leap out of bed. I checked the alarm clock and noticed it was nine thirty. The wedding was in two hours! Why on earth had I slept in so late? That what I got for staying out till midnight with Fred. Ginny had gotten up off the floor and was giving me a murderous look.
"Oi! What was that for!"
"I'm sorry, you just caught me off guard. Come on, we need to get dressed, I need your help with my hair!" She laughed as she ran to the closet and grabbed out her yellow dress robes. I had a matching one, and I grabbed it out as well. We dressed hastily, pulling out two pairs of white high heeled sandals and putting them on as well. Ginny left her long red hair down, as I had told her Harry preferred it that way. She grabbed a bottle of sleek easy and the two of us headed to the bathroom.
We spent the next hour fixing my hair. By the time we were done my normally frizzy bushy hair was arranged in soft ringlets, one side pinned back while the other was loose.
"Merlin, I am good!" Ginny exclaimed as she examined her handy work. I just laughed and smacked her as we emerged from the bathroom. The Burrows garden had been completely transformed for the wedding. A huge canopy tent had been set up, with rows and rows of chairs. The gardens had been frozen in there blooming states, and the trees had been filled with little orbs or light so that the leaves sparkled in the wind.
Ginny and I joined the bride in a smaller separate tent, where the rest of the Brides procession was also waiting. Brianna looked breathtaking in her wedding gown. It was pure white, with a heart cut neckline, and full skirt. The top was covered in a delicate lace that curved into sleeves that covered her delicate shoulders and turned into soft points at the end of her hands. Her blond straight hair was left loose like Ginny's, but she had a wreath of forget-me-not's in her hair that her lace veil was hanging off of. Hannah was dressed just as Ginny and me, except she had a forget-me-not pinned up in her hair like her sister.
We all waited desperately for our cue, murmuring nervously as we waited. I could sense Fred's excitement through the bond and wondered if he could sense my emotions as well. Poor boy was probably confused if he could; I was feeling happy, sad, excited, nervous, exhilarated and petrified.
Finally the tent opened and the music started. Hannah, Ginny, and I started down the aisle and headed towards the men awaiting us. Percy, Charlie, Bill, Fred, and George, all smiled down at us as we walked down the aisle towards them. My heart gave a little lurch and I suddenly realized that in one weeks time I would be walking down this aisle with Fred, and we would be getting married.
The ceremony went by in a quick, romantic haze. I felt it had barely started by the time I heard Percy say: "You may kiss the Bride." I looked over and caught Fred's eyes. His were bright and happy, mine were to, but they were also filled with tears.
Another few minutes later and Fred and I were swirling around the dance floor.
I was leaning into him as the music was a slow, sweet song, and he was holding me close. I was cherishing the feeling of being near him and I could feel the contentment radiating through our bond. We danced like that for a long time, but then Harry cut in. After that I danced with Ron, Neville, George, Mr. Weasley, Percy, Bill, and even Charlie. By the time I finally got back to Fred my feet had started to hurt after from the hours of dancing.
Fred took me to a spot near the reception table and let me sit down while he went and got us some drinks. I watched him walk off and kept my eyes on him as he poured the drinks. Some very pretty witches were hanging around him and were starting to obviously flirt. My stomach twisted painfully and a surge of anger burned through me. I wanted, no, needed, to hex those witches.
I was not jealous.
"Hermy-own-niny?" a voice I hadn't heard in a year sounded behind me and I stiffened as I felt his arm rest on my shoulder. He stepped around in front of me, partially blocking my view of Fred.
"Oh!" I gasped, staring into the surly face of Krum. "I didn't know you were friends with Charlie!" I said in as much cheeriness as I could muster. My eye was still on Fred, he hadn't moved from the three witches. Another twinge of anger flushed through me and I had to resist the urge of hexing those witches again.
"Yes vot are you doing here?" He asked smiling down at me. I hated to do it, but I needed to ditch Krum and drag Fred away from those witches before I ended up hexing him with them.
"I'm here with my fiancé, Fred Weasley." His eyes grew wide and sad. It broke my heart but I couldn't help it. He turned away and started to walk away. The minute I had spoken and said no to him I felt a surge of excitement and happiness through our bond and looked up just in time to see Fred kissing the blond witch who'd been flirting with him.
My heart froze and all my breath left my body. In one horrible instant I felt my world shatter, and then I twisted and disappeared.
A/N: Wow! Thanks for the reviews! Please don't kill me for another cliffy, the next chapter will also probably be a cliffy, but I'll try and update quickly!