Chapter 29: Wedding.

"WAKE UP!" Hermione's eyes flew open, and she sat up in bed startled. Erik bounced on the mattress clinging onto his snake; he grinned at her alertness, then roughly jumped on Severus who awoke with a winded grunt. "It's Christmas! Can we open the presents now!"

Hermione pulled him off Severus who rubbed the sore spot on his chest. She chuckled at Erik's excitement then caught sight of the clock on the wall. Six o'clock in the morning.

"Mummy, everyone's up now, so we can open all the presents, play with them, and have Christmas dinner," He started to wiggle on her lap and Severus narrowed his eyes at him.

"It's six o'clock in the morning son! Come back in two hours," He turned away from them both with a huff and Erik's bottom lip started to quiver.

"D-Daddy, I'm just excited to 'ave presents," Hermione saw him stiffen beneath the quilt; he turned back around to see Erik's sad face, and she laughed some more when Severus cracked under his watery eyes.

"Fine."

"Yay!" His face lit up without a trace of tears, and he jumped down from the bed. "Come on!" Erik fled the room leaving them both to look at one another.

"We've got many more years of this," She said with a yawn, and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Merry Christmas," He pulled her against him and pressed a firm kiss to her lips.

This is our first Christmas as a family. As a couple, they'd had many peaceful Christmases that consisted of waking up whenever and lounging about all day. However, the day is very different with a child involved.

Hopefully, it will stop when he gets older.

They got out of bed and slipped on their dressing gowns. Severus went into the kitchen to make them some tea while Hermione lit the fire and watched Erik fidget in front of the Christmas tree. He looks ready to burst.

He kept looking around for Severus, and he squealed with delight when he walked into the room. "Can I open them now?!" He bounced on his knees and Hermione nodded.

Erik dived into the presents and started to rip open anything that had his name on while tossing the others to the side. Hermione relaxed on the sofa next to Severus and sipped her tea. They observed Erik closely, and he didn't stop to read the labels. Hermione didn't correct him on it as she could see he was overwhelmed by everything around him.

He received a bunch of toys, more colouring and picture books. Harry and Draco got him a black cloak which Severus scoffed at, but Hermione laughed at how much Erik looked like Severus when he put it on. James had written his own Christmas card for Erik; it was obvious that one of his fathers had helped him out, yet Erik placed it carefully on top of his pile of presents.

After a while of grinning over his new toys, he finally took notice of the few left behind, and he brought them over so she could help him read the labels.

"Whose is this?" He asked, and Hermione nodded her head in Severus' direction. "Oh, daddy, this one is yours. Open it!" Erik sat down on his lap and held up the present.

"Thank you," He removed the green wrapping paper to reveal a knitted scarf.

Severus smiled and looked over at Hermione. "I know you get cold, so I thought I should finally finish making one for you," He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you, Hermione."

"What did you get Mummy?" Erik beamed up at him, excited to see what he could have possibly got his mother.

"That's a present for after you go to bed-"

"Severus!" Hermione blushed and hit his arm lightly.

"What does that mean?" Erik stared at them.

"It doesn't matter son," Severus said. "Do you want to collect the other presents?"

Erik ran back over to the tree, and they opened the rest as a family. They received a variety of festive treats and biscuits which Erik couldn't wait to try for the first time. After a while, Hermione moved onto the floor and helped set up Erik's wooden train track. Severus moved into the kitchen to start preparing the vegetables for later on.

Hermione couldn't wipe the smile from her face as Erik giggled in her lap when she charmed the train to move on its own. This is perfect. Everything is as it should be. Her happiness glowed on her skin, and she kept missing the times Severus would stand in the doorway smiling at them.

Christmas always had the desired effect of lifting any mood. They were now at peace as a family, and it didn't matter that the new year was approaching. I will return to the bookshop and Severus will be at Hogwarts. He'll come back here every weekend since he will no longer be head of Slytherin, and on the weekdays, Erik and I will stay in his quarters in the evening.

It may get a little hectic at times, but things will work out for us.

The day progressed quickly, and they enjoyed a warm meal and snacks by the fire. Erik loved everything and by six o'clock he had passed out on Severus' shoulder wearing a flimsy crown from a Christmas cracker. Severus put him to bed while Hermione cleaned up the mess under the tree.

She awaited his return as she knew he had something planned up his sleeve. Over the years of them being together, she could identify the mannerisms that pointed out he was hiding something. They hadn't said anything about getting one another presents since this Christmas was to be about Erik and him being spoilt rotten.

Hermione got to her feet and stretched just as Severus walked into the room.

"Tea?" He flashed her a small smile and she nodded.

They soon found peace once more in front of the fire, and Hermione draped her legs over his lap while he rested a hand on her thigh and sipped his drink. She stared at him in an attempt to figure out what was rushing through his mind; he kept moving beneath her, but not in discomfort.

"Are you all right?" She asked, and he turned to look at her.

"I'm perfectly well," His sigh afterward didn't do well to convince her. She placed her mug on the side table then reached up to stroke the side of his face.

"Tell me," She whispered and his jaw tightened beneath her touch.

"How would you feel about marrying me again?"

The one thing she could never accuse him of was being too vague. Straight to the point as always.

Hermione bit her bottom lip and dropped her hands into her lap. "I would like that very much."

"Good."

They fell into an awkward silence, then Hermione started to giggle uncontrollably. Severus grumbled in response, and she soon wrapped herself around him. He started to smile eventually, his nerves left his body, and he responded by kissing her gently.

...

Hermione straightened out the front of her white dress and sighed. Her hands trembled as they moved, and she couldn't look away from her reflection. Harry and Ron stood behind her, both of them cringing at the sight of her tears.

"'Mione, please don't cry," Harry placed his hand on her back.

"This is the happiest day of your life," Ron rubbed the back of his neck.

"I am happy," She sniffled and wiped her tears away.

"You weren't this bad the first time you got married," Harry held out a whiskey glass for her. "Firewhiskey helped last time so drink this."

"I'm not making that mistake again," Hermione laughed and walked closer to the mirror to clean her face.

Today is Valentine's Day. The day held terrible memories for them both, which is why they wished to replace it with something good. Right now, Severus is standing in a meadow with the rest of our wedding party and Erik.

She was nervous but elated at the same time. Things would be officially settled after today, and she would have her husband back by wizarding law. Hermione felt more excited about getting married a second time, butterflies fluttered in her stomach at the thought of seeing Severus and Erik waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

"Are you ready to go?" Ron asked and she turned to them both.

"I am."

They disapparated together and reappeared at the treeline which led to the meadow. She could hear the harp charmed to play a light melody, and the buzz of voices made her smile. Everyone is there. Those I have forgiven, a friend I gained along the way, and old ones who are now more prominent in my life.

Ron and Harry linked their arms through hers, and they started to walk over. The talk came to a halt, and only the harp could be heard. Erik and James stood next to one another in matching white suits. He whined out a quiet "Mummy," then James' hand covered his mouth.

Severus turned to look at her with a small smile on his face. She hadn't expected him to show too much of a reaction, but the slight sparkle of his eyes made her heart beat faster.

Minerva and Dumbledore sat at the front with Neville, Sam, and Luna on their left. Draco sat the closest to James so he could easily pull him onto his lap after he'd given Hermione Severus' ring.

They reached the end of the petal trail, and she took Severus' outstretched hand. Ron and Harry moved to sit by Draco, and James waved at his dad in excitement. Severus' grip tightened around her hands, and she beamed up at him.

There was a chill in the air since the February day was overcast, but it didn't matter to any of them. The Minister got on with the ceremony, and Hermione kept zoning him out and losing track of where he was in the passage. She couldn't take her eyes off Severus, he stared back at her with a passive look, but occasionally he would smile and make her heart beat just that little bit faster.

Soon after, James raced over and held up Severus' ring for her to take. She thanked him with a smile, and he went to Draco and sat on his lap. Hermione repeated the bonding words and slipped the gold band onto his finger.

Next, it was Erik's turn. He held up the ring for Severus to take — Hermione had discovered early this morning that he'd chosen the ring for her — then wrapped his arm around Severus' leg with a smile.

Severus slipped the gold band onto her finger which supported the weight of a small amethyst. She ruffled Erik's hair, and he squeaked in response. "Thank you for the ring sweetie."

"That's OK, Mummy," His grip tightened on Severus' leg, and she returned to gazing up at him.

The ceremony came to an end and Severus kissed her tenderly on the lips while the small group clapped. Erik was quick to separate them and immediately wanted to be picked up by Severus.

He smiled at them both. "Can we have food now?"