She was the perfect woman at the wrong time of his life. They met the week of the wedding a former classmate of his was having. He was one of the groomsman and she, the maid of honor. She had a pretty busy and stressful week before the wedding day. Always running around, helping the bride.

The best man had to leave a day after he arrived, a family emergency. He was asked to fill in as the best man, and couldn't turn down the stressed groom, he'd known since First Year at Hogwarts.

"Please, Tom. You're the only one, I can ask. I'm begging you," Harry said. "You just gotta stand there, then hand me the ring. It's just a few days," his green eyes underneath the round spectacles were practically in tears.

"Okay," Tom gave in.

"maid of honor is Hermione Granger," Harry informed. "She's the brunette with curls."

"Hermione Granger, her name sounds familiar," Tom said.

"She's a renowned author. She wrote that huge children's fantasy. I wouldn't mention it, though. She's trying to keep a low profile for the wedding. They were childhood friends. Promised they would be the maid of honor at each other's wedding."

There was silence between the two men. An awkward pause when their eyes met.

"Sorry to hear about your engagement being called off," Harry finally broke the silence.

"It's for the best. Bella and I, are not entirely broken off. We're just taking a break."

"I hope it works out, Tom."

"Me, too."

The week was stressful for the bride, groom, maid of honor, and newly appointed best man. Flowers came in early. The venue had a flood in the hall they rented. There wasn't enough room for the guests and catering in the new hall that was available. The photographer got sick last minute. Nothing seemed to be going right. Thankfully, the hotel was able to dry the hall they rented just in time and the photographer had a friend that could fill in.

"We should have eloped," Harry said, during dinner, the night before the wedding, with his soon-to-be wife, maid of honor, and best man. "Thank you both for everything you've done. Ginny and I appreciate it."

"Not like I had a choice," Hermione teased, as she swirled the wine in her glass.

"I know I didn't," Tom added, and gulped the rest of his martini. "I just came for the free drinks."

"Same," Hermione smiled, and finished her wine. "We have an early morning and a long day tomorrow."

Ginny sighed. The exhaustion showed on her face. "Thank you, the both of you. I don't know what I would have done without your help."

Harry paid the bill, and they all left the hotel restaurant together. They took the lift together and the happy couple got off on the 8th floor. Tom and Hermione were on the 10th floor. Too tired and tipsy, they didn't say much. It had been one long week that seemed to stretch on.

Her room was a few doors down before his. They bid each other goodnight, and he walked to his room.

Stressed couldn't describe what Tom was feeling. With all the issues that suddenly came up before the wedding, he didn't get the chance to write his best man speech. He was too buzzed and exhausted. The alcohol made him feel good and sleepy at the same time, but knew he had to write one. Tomorrow he would be too busy. He was horrible at winging things, and didn't want to make a fool of himself, or ruin a close friend's wedding.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but he walked up to her room and knocked on her door, with a pen and notepad from his room with the hotel logo. Hermione opened the door wearing grey joggers and a matching jumper.

"I know it's late, but I need your help with the best man speech," Tom pleaded and pouted his lips. He had no idea where he learned it from.

"Come in," she opened the door wider for him. Her room was clean even with their chaotic week. She had a book opened on her bed. She pointed to a chair and sat on her bed.

Tom pulled the chair and dragged it close to her bed. "I've got nothing," he fessed up.

"If it helps, I mostly talked about our dream wedding and husband, and how it came true for Ginny. I've only met Harry a handful of times, but given how happy Ginny is and how she constantly talks about him, I know he's a good guy. The day is about them and their love for each other."

"I'm not exactly the right person to be talking about love right now."

"Have you never been in love?" Hermione asked.

Tom scratched his head with the tip of the pen. "I have, and I am, but I don't know."

"You don't know if you're in love?"

He looked up from his paper and met her golden brown eyes. "I'm not sure about anything at the moment."

She nodded in understanding. "I was the happiest when I was in love, but it's been a year or two. Now, I'm just perfectly happy being able to do something I love. Looking back, I was young and loved the idea of being in love. Still, I was happy for that time."

"This might be personal, but do you regret it, breaking up? I'm not trying to pry, I just, I guess I just need a different opinion."

Hermione crossed her legs as she sat more comfortably. "I think it was inevitable. We both knew we were growing apart. It was difficult at first. We both tried to make it work, but we were becoming miserable together. The heartbreak hurts and it sucks. We knew it was for the best. He's happy with someone else. I have my career. We're friends."

"Thank you," he answered. "I guess I have a lot to think about."

"Sorry," she shook her head. "I didn't mean to make you second guess anything."

"No," Tom sighed. "You just put a lot of things in perspective. Everyone I know just keeps saying hang in there, it'll get better. We've tried again and again, only to come back to square one. We were happy, but not anymore."

"You might not want to put that on your speech," she teased.

Tom cracked a smile. "Might put a damper at the reception."

"Talk about the happier times of love. You've known Harry longer. You've seen him before he dated Ginny."

"We were boys being boys. Teenage stuff. You say things to boast with friends," Tom replied.

"What's your perspective on love?"

Tom shrugged. "I thought I knew, but I'm not sure anymore. You?"

"It's what makes the heart beat. The reason to wake up every morning, makes one smile, and makes one unbelievably foolish at times. It's also the small things for me. Seeing or hearing from him when I least expect it, and how happy it makes me. The best part to me is being able to talk to him all day and not getting tired of it. To just be able to talk all night about the little things, our dreams, and every thing in between," she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I got carried away. It's the writer in me. It takes off at times."

Tom smiled. "It's okay. I find it interesting. You're a writer and reading late at night," he pointed at the book beside her.

"It's an escape for me, and I'm reading the last book of my series. I need to get back to writing after the wedding. Back to reality."

"You're done with the series, aren't you?" Tom asked.

"Yea, but sometimes it feels incomplete, like something is missing, but I don't know what. The epilogue just felt rushed."

"Sometimes, life feels that way. You blink and it passes by. You're engaged before you know it, and it's over faster than you imagined. Everyone says give it time without even asking how I feel," he sighed. "Sorry."

"It's okay. How do you feel?"

"Like I'm breaking at the seams trying to hold it all together for everyone's sake," Tom answered, running his fingers through his hair.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked.

"For things to not be so complicated," Tom paused, and stared at her. "Thank you for your time. I'll see you at the wedding tomorrow," he stood up from the chair and placed it back underneath the desk. "Goodnight," he stopped in front of her bed where she sat.

"Goodnight, Tom."

end.