Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and I'm merely allowed to play around with them. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 36
-o-O-o-
The next month or so passed in a blur. It passed so fast that Hermione found herself hyperventilating at Lily's doorstep, on April 3rd, claiming that she had not yet found her wedding dress.
"What?" her friend asked, her hand on her now very large belly. "You haven't found a dress?"
"Erm," Hermione stammered. "I haven't actually looked for one yet."
She cringed, waiting for another outburst, but there was none. Lily just sighed. "Let's go then." she declared. They had to take the Floo, but otherwise, everything turned out fine.
"So," Hermione said once they were walking the streets of Diagon Alley. "What's up with your life these days?"
Lily huffed. "You mean apart from the fact that I am six months pregnant, my best friend is getting married and my husband is getting on my nerves?"
"Really?!" Hermione asked, surprised. "James is getting on your nerves?" To tell the truth, James got on almost every one's nerves, but the way
Lily said it... It implied something more.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he keeps going on about 'staying hidden' so as to assure our 'protection' but, really, are we safer in a street full of witnesses or in a house, alone, in the middle of nowhere?"
Hermione had to admit that she had a point. "But won't he be mad at you when he finds out you left today?" she asked.
"Sure he will." Lily shrugged. "But I have leverage over him, so he can't stay mad at me long."
"Leverage?" Hermione was confused.
Lily turned and smiled brightly at her. "Sex, Hermione, sex." she said, as if it explained everything. "I'm in an awful mood all day, so I'm not often up for it, and I can restrain myself much better than he can."
"Ugh!" Hermione scrunched up her nose. "Never mind."
"What?" Lily asked. "Don't you use that when you fight with Reg... I mean, when you fight with Hershel?"
Hermione looked a little bothered. "You see, Lily... Hershel and I don't fight."
Lily looked at her as if she had just seen an alien. "You guys don't fight?"
Hermione shook her head. "Nope. Not since we're together, at least. And I mean the second time."
Lily shook her head. "I don't believe it. Oh, well, it's going to start soon enough, believe me."
Hermione smiled brightly. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."
-o-O-o-
The turncoat was walking through Diagon Alley, trying to clear his head of all the crimes he'd committed, when he heard a familiar voice. "Sex, Hermione, sex." the voice said, before it faded in the background.
He spun around as fast as he could, but didn't see anyone he knew. He started running one way, hoping to catch the person who was speaking, but he didn't go far. Soon enough, he was out of breath and bent over, desperately trying to fill his lungs with air.
He knew that voice. He hated that voice, and he hated the person to whom it belonged to. But that was not what had caught his attention.
The person had said 'Hermione'.
So, Granger was alive, then, eh? But then again, why had she wanted to hide in the first place? Unless...
He smiled.
Unless she had something that she wanted to hide from him, him and his brothers. Now all he needed to do was to find out what. And his master would reward him. His master would reward him beyond his wildest dreams.
He needed to find Hermione Granger, and capture her. But for that, he needed to find the person who was with her. The person who made his blood boil the most when he saw her, whose voice was enough to fill him with rage...
He needed to find Lily Evans.
-o-O-o-
"How's this one?"
"Good..."
"And this one?"
"Okay..."
"How about this?"
"Hmm..."
"And that one, do you like that one?"
"..."
When Lily heard no answer from behind her, she turned around, only to find that Hermione was fast asleep in a plush armchair, seemingly bored with all these wedding dresses. Lily huffed and walked over to her friend, poking her harshly in the rib. Hermione groaned and popped an eye open.
Lily glared at her. "Do you want to marry in rags or what?"
"Maybe..." Hermione mumbled, closing her eye once more.
Lily stared at her. "What?" she demanded. "What am I going to look like if I don't have an appropriate bridesmaid dress?"
"I don't care."
Lily rolled her eyes. "You should." she told her friend.
Hermione sighed and sat up. "Fine. What should I wear?"
Lily thrust a dress into her arms and pointed to a changing room. "You go try this on right now, while I look for another one."
"But if you're going to look for another one, what's the use of me trying this one on?" Hermione complained.
Lily glared at her again. "If you don't do as I say, I'm going to kill you."
Hermione scowled. "What more could you do to humiliate me?" she asked.
Lily smiled. "How about... I do your hair and your make up on the big day?"
Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't." she hissed.
Lily smiled again. "Try me."
-o-O-o-
I'm gonna die.
I'm gonna die.
I'm gonna die.
"Hermione, stop stressing, I swear I can hear you heartbeat racing from here." Lily scolded, pulling a strand of hair to pin it artfully against her temple.
"I can't believe this is happening." she said. "I'm going to be sick."
Lily scowled. "You'd better not, because I'm not cleaning your dress. You'd have to marry dirty and smelling like puke. Then I'd look beautiful next to you."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You'd look beautiful next to me no matter what, anyway."
"Nonsense, Hermione. Not with the make-up that I am going to plaster on your face, anyway." she smiled.
Hermione's eyes widened. "You're not going to put too much, are you?" she asked, obviously worried.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course not. I'm going to put just enough."
"You're scary when you're pregnant."
"You'll be the same."
Hermione gulped. "I... won't be..." she croaked, her voice becoming thick.
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Won't you?"
"No." Hermione sighed.
"Why not?" Lily asked. "Is it Regulus? Doesn't he want it?"
"No, no, it's not him..." Hermione amended. "It's me."
Lily froze. "You're not... Hermione, you're not barren, are you?" she whispered, as if afraid to hear the answer.
She shook her head. "No, but it's... It's complicated."
Lily didn't resume doing Hermione's hair. "You're still hiding stuff from me, aren't you?" she asked icily.
The time-traveller sighed. "I'm sorry."
Lily pulled at Hermione's hair, maybe a little bit too harshly, because her friend winced. "Whatever." Lily huffed. "I just thought that, after everything our friendship has been through, you, at least, would understand that I need someone that I can trust, and who will trust me back."
"I trust you Lily." she whispered almost inaudibly.
"Really?" the red-head huffed. "Then why don't you tell me everything?"
"It's not a question of trust." she explained. "It's a question of what's right and what's wrong. I can't tell you everything, because... It might get the whole world in danger."
Lily snorted. "The whole world? I'd bet it's just the mundane British countryside you mean."
"It's still a lot." the bride-to-be answered.
They were silent for a couple of minutes until Lily asked. "How about Regulus?"
"What about him?" her friend retorted, not liking the way this conversation was heading.
"Do you trust him?"
"With my life." she answered immediately.
Lily gave a small smile away. "Did you tell him everything?"
Hermione thought about it for a while. She had told him much, much more than she had most people, just about as much as Dumbledore knew. But had she really told him everything?
She sighed. "No." she gave in finally.
Fortunately, Lily didn't press the subject any further. "Well," she said after a couple of minutes. "You're all done! Now's my turn to prepare."
Hermione groaned. "I am never going through all this trouble again." she said.
Lily laughed. "Hopefully you'll only need to get married once."
-o-O-o-
Regulus was fidgeting.
He hated to admit it, but he was nervous.
Severus stood by his left, sitting on a side of the aisle, while the groom himself had to stand, waiting for his future wife. Fidgeting. Once in a while he tapped his foot, or twisted a button on his sleeve, gave his wand a swish and fidgeted.
"What time is it?" he asked to no one in particular.
"You know, Black," Severus drawled. "Time doesn't change all that much every three seconds."
His friend glared at him and resumed his fidgeting.
On the other side of the aisle, Remus and James sat, equally bored. "Ugh!" James said, running his hand through his hair. "This is so long!" he turned to his friend. "Why are we here that early anyway?"
Remus shrugged. "You didn't want to let Lily out of your sight, and I wanted to go to Hogwarts." he answered.
James scowled. "I'm bored." he declared. They stayed like that for a while until he stood up abruptly, almost knocking his bench backwards. "Soup!" he yelled.
"What?" Remus asked, very surprised.
"First year, first Charms lesson!" James yelled again. "We were flooding the kitchens with soup!"
Remus sighed. "You really have to find something to do with your life, James."
James was about to retort that he was almost a father, starting responsible family life and all, but then, Dumbledore waltzed in, soon followed by Hermione.
Regulus gulped. She was dressed in a floor length white dress, which hugged her curves until her hips, and then fluttered around her legs so as to allow her some mobility. Her bare arms were folded against her stomach and holding a bouquet of white roses. Her hair was pinned around her temples, but the rest flowed down her back in smooth, chocolate curls, bringing out her eyes. Her makeup seemed light, with only a little of bronze eye shadow to emphasise their beautiful brown colour.
She looked like fallen angel.
She walked down the aisle, while Lily had done some march in front of her, but Regulus had not noticed. All he saw was Hermione. She was more beautiful than he'd ever seen her be, and that was saying something. 'She gets more beautiful every day.' he thought, amazed.
She went to stand next to him and they both faced a smiling Dumbledore. "We are gathered here, today, in the Great Hall of Hogwarts," he started, but the couple wasn't listening. Even so, the Headmaster continued. "To celebrate the union of these two people."
"Reagulus Arcturus Black, will you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, promise to care for her, love her and cherish her, 'til death does you apart?" he asked the young man.
Regulus was stiff as he answered: "I do."
Dumbledore nodded and turned to Hermione. "And do you, Hermione Jean Granger, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, promise to care for him, love him and cherish him, 'til death does you apart?"
Her voice was thick as she tried to restrain herself from crying. "I do." she declared.
Dumbledore smiled brightly. "Then I now pronounce you husband and wife." He looked at Regulus, an amused glint in his eye. "You may now kiss the bride."
Finally smiling, Regulus pulled Hermione into his arms and kissed her. And what a kiss it was! It was like they had never kissed before. Everything felt so brand new, so marvellous, and so very, very perfect. This kiss promised so much, only beautiful things too, and, for a couple of seconds, Hermione forgot about Voldemort, about time travelling, about all her problems of trust, her timeline... She forgot about everything but Regulus, and the fact that he was there, with her, and he was never letting go.
And, for the first time since Cedric Diggory had died, Hermione felt safe.
-o-O-o-
Well, that wasn't too horrible, was it? I'm just kidding, I know it was awful. In any case, I'm glad I managed to update this fast, and I have my boss to thank for that. She's just way too busy at the moment, so she forgets to give me work to do, and so I end up writing this story. Next chapter should be the long-awaited wedding night and honeymoon, so don't worry.
Some of you might be sad, but there only, like, seven chapters left to this story, and an epilogue... I think. But that's just because I'm going to write a sequel, called 'The Wrong Way', about the story from Harry's first year at Hogwarts until the very end.