Hello, darlings. First, this chapter does include a lemon half way through. If you are underage, you know, skip it. If you don't like lemons, again, feel free to skip it. Second, the Thai restaurant is named after my favorite Thai place in St Louis. They have won several awards, including at least two from the Thai government because of the authenticity of their menu. Gingerpotter79 we need to go soon. I hope you enjoy the surprise at then end.
Chapter 20 Firsts
After sending Ginny bouquets of snapdragons, orchids, and lilies for three days, Theo arrived at the Burrow with another and a small posy of peach and pink roses for Molly. He asked to speak with Arthur briefly, then returned to the kitchen and proposed to Ginny with a family ring. He insisted on taking Ginny and her parents out to dining. "It was so posh and Hermione later. "I mean, we could afford to now, but none of us would have suggested it."
"There is something to be said for the simple pleasures, though the finer things are so enjoyable," she sighed.
"Why so glum, Mione?"
"Nothing I can put my finger on, just the doldrums, I suppose."
"We spent so many years waiting for the other shoe drop to be able to just relax and wait for things to work out."
"More like the shoe already dropped, just I don't know exactly what the shoe was."
"For the record, I think the marriage law is the other shoe." Ginny shrugged.
"You're probably right."
"And now we're about to go into the worst kind of battle, fighting rapid brides all determined to do anything to make their perfect day."
"There are ways around that," Hermione offered.
"I'm listening."
"Assuming who wins the battle of the venues, adjust the wards, and have things like flowers delivered a day or two early by muggle florists. Same with the cake. Lee Jordan has been trying to introduce DJs instead of live bands."
"I like it. I'm trying to get Mum to warm up the idea of a wedding gown instead of formal robes, especially her robes."
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks. So what are you doing here?"
"Making a list of things I want in a wedding. Elegant decorations, no pastels, white roses with pink and red tips, things like that."
"Well, I can tick off one box," Ginny smiled. "Be my maid of honor?"
"Of course. Be mine?"
"At all your weddings."
"Hannah demanded I be one of her bridesmaids since I helped Neville woo her."
Are you ready for Viktor to meet your parents as your fiance?"
"Ready or not it happens in five hours."
That evening the five wizards met the Grangers outside King and I Thai. The Grangers greeted Hermione and Harry with hugs. "Mum and Dad, allow me to introduce Nevena Mihov and Sigurd Holgersson, my mastery mentors. You two, my parents, Martin and Helen Granger."
Nevena shook their hands politely. Sigurd, however, surged forward to hug both Grangers at the same time. "Hello, wonderful peoples. You raised an amazing daughter. You must be so proud, and if you are not, then be."
"We are," assured Helen, awkwardly patting Sigurd's arm. "We always have been."
"Even when we had no real understanding about the what or why," Martin added.
"Splendid," Sigurd stepped back.
"And you know Viktor." She took his left hand and tugged him forward.
"Dr. Granger, Dr. Granger," Viktor extended his hand to Hermione's father.
Martin made a show of examining Viktor's hand before grasping it and jerking the younger man forward into his chest. He clapped him once on the back. "Welcomed to the family."
"Tank you."
Martin released him and stepped back allowing Helen to embrace him as well. "Shall we go in?"
Looking over the menu, Nevena confessed she had never eaten Thai food. Harry, Sigurd, and Viktor admitted the same. Helen clapped her hands in delight, "Let us order for the table. Everyone can sample a little bit of all our favorites."
Amongst themselves, the Grangers ordered fish cakes, grilled spring rolls, the seafood hot pot, satay, larb gai, pad kra pao, and drunken noodles. Harry added the red curry duck, something he had heard Hermione mention liking in the past. As they ate they discussed numerous generalized topics before Helen turned the conversation to weddings. "If you still want, Martin and I decided we would like to give you the kind of wedding we dreamed of for you when you were small."
"And by that, she means one where she cried about how beautiful you look in the gown and I walk you down the aisle. That's really all we ever envisioned," Martin chuckled.
Viktor nodded, "Mama and Tate adore the plan. They agreed I will set the budget to keep Mama and Baba from going off ship."
Hermione giggled, "Overboard, you mean?"
"Da, overboard."
Helen turned to Harry, "Any wedding plans, yet?"
Harry blushed, "Uh, not, not as of yet, as far as I know. I told Annika whatever she wanted within reason. We're supposed to get together soon."
"You don't have any opinions?" Nevena inquired.
"I would like something simple, what Mione calls understated, but I want her to have the wedding she wants."
"No matter what?" pushed Sigurd.
"Well, I'd appreciate getting to pick out my own clothes for the day, not having a media circus, but a wedding is only one day. What matters is what comes after. And my only absolute is that Ron and Hermione have been my best friends since we were eleven. They are the siblings I never got. They walked into hell for me, at times when leaving me would have been easier." He ignored Hermione's raised eyebrow, both remembering the time Ron wavered. "They aren't going anywhere. They are both welcome in my home. So is Annika's family as long as they support our relationship."
"And your friends will?" questioned Nevena.
"Yes," Harry answered instantly.
"Well, so long as she doesn't hurt Harry." She looked at him, "And I include trying to spend through your money as hurting you. You've been warned." Harry nodded.
Sigurd beamed broadly, "Welcome to the family, both of you."
"Thanks, what family?" asked Harry.
"Annika is my youngest great-grandchild. We lost her parents and grandparents to the same dragon pox pandemic in 92. She and her siblings lived with me until the marriage law."
"Again, thank you. And I meant what I said about having a place."
"I appreciate that, but I think Annika will appreciate finding her place without her older siblings hanging about."
"And I'll support that, too."
"Good, good, so is this lettuce thing. Where has it been hiding all my life?" Sigurd took another lettuce wrap. And the conversation turned back to less emotional topics for the rest of the meal. Hermione promised to send her mother their wedding lists soon.
In the office, Monday Cassius approached Hermione, "All of the runes in the Lansra house are beneficial: tranquility, harmony, and peace."
She nodded, "My advice will be to leave them if the house feels welcoming. If it makes them feel uneasy remove them. I wanted to give you the practice, some of those runes were rare."
"Do you think the placement is significant?"
"Not really. None of them seem to be paired. Gives me hope about our experiment, magic not having to be in the ritual space for the runes to be beneficial."
"This is all brilliant, you know."
"Only if we get positive results."
"Why are you hedging so much?"
"I don't want to get our hopes up, only to hit a brick wall."
"I can understand that."
"Artfully changing the subject, how did proposing go?"
"Miss Mallory Thatcher has agreed to a full marriage ceremony providing, and I quote here, 'my family doesn't turn out to be a bunch of wankers.' To be fair, she says I can back out if her family isn't better," he shrugged.
"I don't think I know her."
"She was a Hufflepuff a year ahead of me, muggleborn so she hid during the war. So, I doubt you crossed paths."
"Highly unlikely. Are you planning two ceremonies?"
"Nah, she says the only people she wants at her wedding know she's a witch."
"Lucky you."
"I know, though her parents are throwing us an engagement party. As my boss, and friend who knows the muggle world, expect an invite."
"If you need to flush out your side of the invites don't forget Harry."
"You think he'd come?"
"Why wouldn't he? He likes you well enough, and he'd do it just because I asked."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"You do that."
Hermione flooed home, calling out to her housemates, "Hello? Anyone else home?"
Kreacher greeted her, "Master has gone out and asked Kreacher to let Mistress Hermy know he will not be home for dinner. Master Viktors be in his room."
Hermione eyed the ceiling, her eyes moving towards Viktor's room. "Thank you, Kreacher. Why don't you take the evening off? We'll fend for yourselves."
"As Rune Mistress wishes."
"Have a good evening, Kreacher." She headed to her room. It had
been two weeks since Viktor moved in. They had yet to spend any alone time. Mostly due to her friends' horrible timing. Harry was by far the worst offender, and Hermione looked forward to returning the favor in the near future. But Ginny often fled there from Molly's wedding planning, and Ron came to avoid Ginny's wrath when deflecting attention from his wedding to hers.
Before going in search of her finance she closed the floo.
On the first landing, she erected wards only Harry could pass through. Stopping by her room, she changed her clothes, opting for a strapless sundress and sexy lace knickers. She crossed the hall to Viktor's room.
She leaned against the frame of the open door watching him. Viktor stood with his back to the door arranging small curios on a bookshelf. "Merlin's pants! Are you really him? Can I touch your muscles?" she exclaimed in a shrill voice. Viktor jumped and whirled around. Hermione laughed quietly before continuing, "I'm just your biggest fan."
"Sorry, have fiance. Terrifyingly powerful witch. They would never find either of bodies."
"Damn straight they wouldn't," she said dropping the fake voice.
"You look beautiful if a little underdressed for November."
"I don't plan on wearing it for long." She stepped fully into the room and kicked the door closed behind her.
He approached her, his eyes roaming over her. "Is that so?"
"It is," she smirked at his reaction.
"I approve of tis plan."
"The ending will be more fun if you're on board."
He rested his hands on her hips, "What is ending if I say I was busy?"
"I would, of course, leave you to what you needed to do, retire to my room and be naked solo." Viktor's hands flexed, and his grip on her tightened. He groaned. "I'd rather you help me get there, but I can finish things myself. I've done it before." She kissed his cheek, ghosting her breath across his lips as she pulled back.
"Cruel woman," he told her, brushing his lips along the shell of her ear.
"You like it."
"Da," he began nibbling his way down her neck to her shoulder.
"You aren't too busy, are you?" she asked innocently, pulling back a bit.
He growled and pulled her back to him, "Never too busy for you, sunshine." He returned his attention to kissing his way down her body.
"Hmm, I like the sound of that." She snaked her arms around his neck, her lips claiming his in a searing kiss.
Viktor moved his hands, one coming up to cup and squeeze her arse through her clothes, the other caressing her back. He broke off the kiss, "Minx, where is your bra?"
"Somewhere on my bathroom floor. Did you want me to go get it?"
"Fuck no." He kissed her fiercely, dominating the kiss this time. He tugged down her dress top, exposing her breasts. He ran his fingertips over her exposed skin. "So beautiful."
"You like what you see?" she teased.
"Da, need to see more," he breathed.
"Me, too." She gripped the hem of his shirt and yanked it over his head. "Mmm, lovely."
"Lovely?" he questioned sounding slightly insulted.
"You heard me." She unbuttoned his trousers. "I bet the rest is lovely, too."
"Lovely?" he questioned again.
"Are you going to get bogged down by my choice of adjectives?"
"Possibly."
With a raised eyebrow, Hermione dropped her dress, revealing the lacy navy blue and yellow string thong. "If that's the part of this you want to focus on."
"I, uh, I," Viktor stuttered before he began to swear under his breath in Bulgarian.
"Such language choices, Mr. Krum." She grinned, "I suppose I could go, leave you to think about adjectives."
"Ne. Stay. Lovely is good. I like lovely. You are lovely." He ran his hands over her shoulder and down her back, finishing the sweeping caress over her bare bottom. He groaned when hers returned to his waistband.
"Are you sure? I have a prodigious vocabulary, if I concentrated I know I could find better words. But then I wouldn't be able to focus on doing things like this." She slipped her hand into his pants, wrapping it around his member and pumping it up and down.
"Lovely works," he ground out, dropping his head to her shoulder when she added a twisting motion on the upstroke. She smirked in triumph. He let her continue unchallenged for a minute before rubbing his finger along her slit through her knickers, earning himself a moan.
"Need you." she moaned again tilting her head back.
He nibbled down the exposed neck. "On bed then." They both shed their remaining clothing on the way. Hermione scrambled up the bed, Viktor swiftly following. He balanced on his forearms, hovering above her. "Simply gorgeous." The tip of his cock nudged at her entrance.
She smiled up at him, running her finger through his hair, "And you are stunningly lovely, but I really cannot wait and would prefer not to beg right now." In response, Viktor surged forward filling her. "Oh, gods, yes!" She thrust her hips up to met his thrusts. She circled her hips eliciting a groan from Viktor. Weeks of teasing and interrupted tension caused both of them to crash over the edge. Viktor slumped onto his side next to her panting.
She took several deep breaths in an attempt to slow her racing heart. "Just lovely."
"That word again."
"I think it might be my new favorite word," she admitted with a giggle.
"Mine, too." He brushed her hair away from her face. "Should we dress before someone bursts in on us?"
"I closed the floo and set upwards. Harry is the only one who can get to this floor. And he won't be home for dinner. I told Kreacher to take the night off."
"So we have the house to ourselves?"
"That we do."
Viktor pulled her closer to his body. "We should make the most of it."
"We should, shouldn't we?" Those were the last full sentences spoken for the remainder of the night.
Upon learning of Hermione and Viktor's plans to simply marry and celebrate later, Arthur insisted on hosting the small ceremony. When Hermione protested they didn't have to, he gave her a long look. "You're a member of our family," and that was that. The next Friday evening, dressed in a bright yellow dress standing in the Burrow's orchard surrounded by family and friends Hermione and Viktor exchanged vows and had their marriage sealed by Kingsley Shacklebolt, the minister of magic himself. Both Helen and Molly shed a tear or two at the love shining in the bride and groom's eyes. The Weasleys hosted a small dinner afterward.
"Any honeymoon plans?" Fred questioned wagging his eyebrows suggestively.
"Research and experimentation," Hermione answered him.
Viktor laughed at Fred's confusion and kissed Hermione's forehead. "Be nice," he told her. He addressed Fred, "Hermione is in the middle of an important project."
"We also don't want to miss the other weddings, so we can't go once the experiment is completed," Hermione added. "Most likely we'll go somewhere after the muggle wedding in April."
"What happened to waiting until after the six-month deadline?" Ron asked.
"Doesn't give us a lot of time until the have to be pregnant deadline. And I would prefer to not be pregnant at my wedding in front of my muggle relative."
"Solid reason," he agreed.
"And somewhere in that time, we're going to Bulgaria for a wedding there. That's kind of like a honeymoon."
"A honeymoon to get married again?" Ginny questioned.
"Sure, why not." Hermione laughed.
A/N: Surprise!
