So, here's the WEDDING. I know you've been waiting for it, and I hope you've all had a good time reading this story, because after this chapter, there's one more, and it's over. I'm sorry, but it's true, dear readers. BUT, I may possibly write a few one shots after it just to keep some of you happy. xD
Chapter Twenty-five
Hermione woke on her wedding day and sat bolt upright. "Oh SHIT." She said loudly. "Oh Merlin." She sighed. "I'm getting married." She whispered. Then Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She smiled.
"Wake up, DARLING BRIDE!" Ginny poked her head in. "You're getting married today!" She exclaimed, jumping on her bed and effectively making Hermione fall off said bed. "Isn't it exciting?" She asked, pulling her up from the floor.
"Ginny!" She groaned. "You're infuriating. You know that, right?" She asked, pushing her hair out of her face. "Gosh, I'm so nervous." She admitted.
"I know." Ginny smirked. "Look, Hermione, I've been the bride before, and trust me, it's scary, but I know, oh trust me, when you get in front of your groom, it all melts away." She hugged her friend comfortingly and led her out into what was now dubbed the 'Bride Breakfast Room' or BBR.
"Hermione!" Arwen exclaimed, hugging her fiercely. "Aren't you excited?" She asked, pulling her and Ginny down to the bench next to her.
"Yes, and you have been spending too much time with Ginny." She pointed out, smiling as Mrs. Weasley shoved bacon and eggs on her plate. "Thank you, Molly." She said.
Eowyn came in then, looking quite queasy. "I'm getting married!" She exclaimed, worriedly. "Oh GODS. I'm getting married to a man I hardly know. But I know that I love him and he loves me. I hope. Goodness me. Oh wow." She ranted, plopping down next to a grinning Ginny.
"You're a shocker." Ginny stated. "Honey, Sirius is a wonderful man, and he'll make you so happy. Trust me. You don't need to know Sirius to love him; he's just like that." She said wisely. "Besides, I've seen the way he looks at you, and if that isn't love, let me divorce Harry." She declared.
Hermione and Molly both spat out their juice. "YOU WILL NOT!" They both yelled, shocked.
Ginny laughed. "Of course not. I love Harry. I'm just saying it to prove a point." She looked back to Eowyn, who looked as if she was going to be sick. "Just you wait. You know you love him and he loves you. That's the only thing you don't have to worry about." She told them, taking a bite of toast.
"Oh, Ginny!" Molly cried, hugging her daughter. "You've become so wise." She stated, overly happy. Everyone else chuckled as Ginny batted her mother away with a scowl.
"Anyway, darling brides, shall we?" Ginny stood from her seat and gestured to the door. "You can eat while we do your hair." The three brides rolled their eyes and stocked up on breakfast. "C'mon, c'mon." Ginny urged with a smirk.
Hermione laughed as Molly shook her head and began to clean, muttering things about ridiculously impatient daughters. "Honestly, Ginny." She said with a roll of her eyes.
Soon enough, though, chaos reigned. Ginny was running around, trying to organise three nervous brides into their wedding gowns and get their hair and make-up done. She was running out of breath by the time Harry popped his head in to see how everyone was doing.
"Well, darling." Ginny sighed. "We're a mess." She laughed. "But an organised mess. Eventually, we'll be an organised bridal party." She nodded and Harry simply chuckled.
"Well, you're doing better than the grooms." Harry rolled his eyes. "Sirius has gone to get himself ready and no one can find him." Ginny's eyes went wide. "But, he will be ready." Harry added hastily. He pecked his wife on the lips and left without another word.
"Men." She sighed.
Eowyn appeared just then, attempting to lace the side of her dress with no success. Ginny obliged. "So, what's happening with the men?" Eowyn asked once the lacing was done.
"Well, apparently, they're worse than us. And Sirius has decided to get ready on his own and no one can find him." She sighed, fixing little bits on the dress.
Eowyn whirled around. "He's missing?!" She asked, her eyes watering. "Missing? Oh no. He doesn't want to marry me!" She exclaimed, sitting on the ground and putting her head in her hands. "He doesn't love me!" She wailed.
"Eowyn? What's the matter?" Hermione asked, limping over with one leg covered in knee-high-stocking, while the other was in the process. "What's happened?" She asked.
"Sirius doesn't want to marry me!" She sobbed.
Ginny interrupted as she was about to start ranting hysterically. "I said, Eowyn, that he's gone to get ready by himself and no one can find him. It doesn't mean he's going to stand you up. He's probably just so vain that he needs his own bloody room to get ready in." She said impatiently.
Eowyn sniffled. "Really?"
Hermione and Ginny nodded and helped her up, dusting off her wedding dress. "Come on, now we've got to fix your make-up." Ginny said, leading her to a chair. She turned to Hermione. "And get your dress on, woman!" She barked.
Hermione sighed and pulled the other knee-high stocking up and walked off to get changed out of her bath robe and into the dress she had picked. The dress was already in the dressing room and Molly was waiting with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.
"Come here dear, I'll help you with your dress." Hermione nodded and let her robe fall to the ground, revealing her in the very lingerie Molly had bought for her. Molly chuckled with delight and helped Hermione into the dress.
Once she the sleeves were over her arms, Molly began to work on the back of the dress, where the ribbon held it together. When she was in the dress completely, she looked in the mirror and smiled. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Legolas seeing her in this dress.
It fit her perfectly. He would be breathless.
The dress was made by the elves from silver silk that made her brown eyes stand out with its creamy-gold lining. It flowed out from under her breasts and was bunched at the back to leave a smooth front and a flowing train of material. It was an off the shoulder gown with long sleeves that flowed out at the wrist.
Molly gave her a pat on the back and took her arm, showing her to a chair, where they would fix her hair again. This time, with loads of hair-stay charms.
Meanwhile…
Legolas was nervous. So was Aragorn. And Sirius probably was too, it was just that they couldn't find him, so they had no way of telling.
Harry and Ron smirked at them as they tried to put on brave faces. "C'mon guys don't be nervous. You'll be fine…"
"Unless you leave them standing at the altar. Well, if you do that, then you'll have to do some running." Ron added to Harry's reassurances. "But you won't do that, right, Legolas?" He narrowed his blue eyes at the elf.
Legolas raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Never." He amended to Ron, feeling himself calm. "I'm just worried she'll decide not to marry me."
Harry laughed. "Mate, if Hermione doesn't marry you, I'll behead myself." He said, making the hand sign of chopping one's head off. "You'll be fine. Now, Ron, go help your dad find Sirius." He instructed, much like his wife.
Half an hour later, at about twenty minutes until midday, the three (Arthur had found Sirius to be completely ready, ego and all) grooms were standing in the middle of the semi-circle, next to the altar, where Elrond was supposed to stand. Elrond arrived minutes later, smiling in his fatherly way.
Luna came over to them and fixed up Ron's tuxedo. "Ronald, will you stop playing with your collar?" She asked, fondly. "It doesn't help their stress levels if the ring boy is nervous." She chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, before sitting in her place.
At that moment, Galadriel arrived, glowing in her unearthly way and smiling a friendly smile as she gave kind words to Legolas, Aragorn and Sirius. "You have all done well, and I foresee bright futures with your loves." She sat next to Luna, who struck up a friendly conversation on the topic of Arden flowers and plants.
It wasn't long until the voices of the Elvin singers filled the air with a heavenly melody and Ginny entered, along with two more bride's maids, one Elvin and the other, a pretty woman from Rohan.
In their slow walk, the grooms twitched anxiously, to see their brides. The first bride to come out was Arwen. She smiled beautifully, her blue eyes trained only on Aragorn, who was completely mesmerised.
"You look beautiful." Luna encouraged as she passed.
Hermione was the next to come out, looking radiant as she did. Her eyes were trained on the petal-coated ground as she walked down the path through the semi-circle. Finally, she looked up and Legolas felt his breath leave him in a rush. Her hair was piled on her head in graceful curls, with a few stray curls framing her face. She smiled as she gazed him in his Muggle-style suit.
Last, but not least, Eowyn walked out and everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as they realised both bride and groom were present. She let out a little laugh and the butterflies in her stomach erupted into millions.
Each groom had to swallow to find their voices before the ceremony, both Elfish and Human, commenced.
Elrond grinned at his daughter and cleared his throat, surveying each of the six in with genuinely kind smile. "Everyone has come here today to see these six people unite into three couples. If there is anyone who does not wish this to be, speak up now, or stay silent for eternity." Silence. Elrond nodded. "Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Murkwood, do you hereby give up your immortality for this witch from Earth, known as Hermione Granger, also as the love of your life?" He asked, looking at Legolas, who was holding Hermione's hand.
The blonde elf looked Hermione in the eyes and smiled. "I hereby give up my immortality for Hermione Granger, the woman I love." He said, letting out a breath as Hermione smiled lovingly at him.
Elrond smiled. "Now, for the, ah, Earth part; do you, Legolas Greenleaf, promise to love and to cherish Hermione Granger?" He asked simply.
"I do." Legolas said, his grin getting wider.
"Do you, Hermione Granger, promise to love and to cherish Legolas as his wife?"
"I do." She sighed dreamily.
Elrond said and Elfish prayer and held their hands together. Immediately, Legolas' skin dimmed in the slightest and Hermione's began to glow a little. A light encircled their hands and they were bound. Their rings suddenly appeared on their fingers; Hermione's a small gold ring with a white stone of diamond in the middle, Legolas' a plain gold circle with a silver line running through the middle.
The whole audience heard Mrs. Weasley give a sob of happiness.
Elrond then turned to his daughter and Aragorn, who were exchanging loving glances as he sighed happily. "My daughter, you are truly beautiful." He said, before continuing. "Arwen, Princess of Rivendell, do you hereby give up your immortality for Aragorn, King of Gondor, the mortal you love?" He asked with a slight pain in his voice.
"I hereby give up my immortality for Aragorn, the man I love." She said, squeezing her fiancé's hand.
"Do you, Aragorn, King of Gondor, promise to love and to cherish Arwen, Daughter of Rivendell?" He asked, looking his soon to be son in-law in the eyes.
"I do." Aragorn said, smiling evenly at Elrond.
Elrond smiled. "Same question for you, Arwen." He stated looking to his daughter.
She said, "I do." She smiled. The same thing appeared to happen with Aragorn and Arwen that had happened with Hermione and Legolas. Arwen's skin dimmed and Aragorn's began to glow slightly, just as this happened, their rings appeared on their fingers and it was done.
He then performed the ceremony on Sirius and Eowyn, who smiled nervously at one another and said their 'I do's. This was followed by the appearance of rings on their fingers and cheering erupted throughout the audience as Elrond announced, "You may now kiss your bride."
Mrs. Weasley was crying again with happiness and hugged them all tightly, after wiping away her tears, of course. Ginny and Harry hugged them all, followed by Ron, who didn't hug, but merely shook their hands. Luna, with the way she does things, used her wand to have rose petals sprinkle on the three couples and then turn into sparkling dust.
Galadriel blessed them with her powers for safety and happiness, followed by Gandalf, who gave them all mini-crystal balls to communicate with.
Once all of the gift giving was done (including some potions from the Twins, of which the couples were cautious to put on the table), they all headed to the hall for the reception, where the first song came on for the couples to dance to.
"Everyone, this is a Muggle tradition from my world, where the bride and groom share their first dance. Well, in this case, it will be the brides and grooms. So, come on you five get up." Hermione announced.
Legolas took Hermione's arm and led her to what was now dubbed as the dance floor, and the music began to play from some magic speakers that Arthur had given them.
She put her arms around Legolas' neck and smiled as the other two couples followed suit. He began to sway with her to the music as they (cliché, I know) stared into each other's eyes.
"Legolas?" Hermione asked, gazing at him from under her loose curls.
"Yes?" He asked, smiling.
"I love you. So much. And when I promised I'd love you and cherish you, I meant it." She said, grinning at him as he kissed her nose.
"I know, and Hermione, I meant it too." He said and she kissed him lightly on the lips.
Suddenly, they heard a loud bang and some woops chorus through the air. Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled as the fireworks went off.
This was followed by, "Fred and George Weasley!!" Mrs. Weasley scolded, taking them by the ear. And also a, "Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck!" This was Gandalf, and soon, all four were sentenced to washing dishes and re-filling glasses.
All together, it was a wonderful night, which turned out to be a wonderful life. For everyone; even those dish-washing trouble-makers.