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Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing I tell you! All the characters, places etc. belong to JKR.
*** HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
*** The training ground for the England Quidditch Squad was rather impressive. It was what had been the World Cup stadium several years before. It was absolutely huge - there was no other way to describe it. One could easily get lost inside it, and several frequently did. Once, a game against Sweden had been postponed for half an hour when one of the Swedish played got lost on their way from the changing rooms to the pitch. Hermione stood on the pitch waiting for the players. The people who were paying her to take the pictures had specifically asked for action shots and pictures on the pitch. She was just setting up one of her cameras when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see the grinning face of Draco Malfoy. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I'm fine, thanks, how are you?" "Oh, sorry," apologised Hermione. "I'm fine. I suppose your significant other is around here somewhere?" Hermione was, of course, referring to Padma Patil who was one of the Chasers for the England Squad. She had been at Hogwarts and was a friend of Hermione's. She and Harry were a couple of the best players to come out of Hogwarts for several years. She had been the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain and was now a valued member of the England Squad, not to mention a huge hit with male Quidditch fans. "I believe she's getting changed. So how are you coping now your dirty secret's out in the open?" "Which one?" asked Hermione cheekily, placing the cap on her camera lens. "The engagement," said Draco rolling his eyes. He knew Hermione was just teasing him. "I have had fifty Howlers this week," Hermione told him with a wry smile, picking up another camera. She held it up to her eye and fiddled with a few things. She took a picture of Draco and grinned at him. "Harry has had roughly two hundred love letters." She shrugged. "It's been a pretty normal week." "I don't think I want to know what an abnormal week is!" said Draco. "Are you hitting on my fiancee, Malfoy?" asked a voice behind the two of them. "I hope he isn't!" piped up another voice. "He told me he was in love with me!" "He probably says that to all the pretty girls," said the first voice. With a sigh, Hermione turned around. Harry and Padma were standing three, decked out in their Quidditch robes. The England kit consisted of navy blue trousers and a navy jersey with a red stripe running through it, underneath a set of white robes. The robes proudly displayed the three lions insignia, which was also worn by the Muggle football team and various other Muggle national teams. Harry was clutching his highly polished Firebolt Infinity, while Padma held her regular Firebolt, something she was paid to advertise. "Why would I hit on her when I have you?" asked Draco, putting a protective arm around Padma. "Hi, Harry," said Hermione as Harry placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "How are you?" "The same as when you asked me half an hour ago," said Harry. Hermione smiled and allowed herself to be drawn into a deep kiss. "Hey Potter!" a cheeky Scottish voice called over the pitch. "I'd take your hands off that photographer if I were you - anyone would think there was something going on between you!" "We can't have that now, can we, Oliver?" Harry called back. A smirking Oliver Wood, England Keeper, ambled over to them. "Hello again, Oliver," said Hermione. "Ah, Hermione! As ravishing as ever. How long has it been since I saw you last? Two, three months?" "Five days. I was here last Wednesday." "Ah." Padma leaned over to Hermione. "He got hit in the head with a Bludger a couple of days ago. His short-term memory is a bit dodgy. Bear with him. He keeps calling me Parvati!" Parvati was Padma's twin sister, though Parvati had been in Gryffindor with Harry, Hermione and Oliver while Padma had been a Ravenclaw. Draco had been a Slytherin. The rest of the England team arrived shortly. They comprised of the two Beaters, a couple of solid men in their late twenties and two other Chasers, one male and one female. The captain of the team was the male Chaser, a chirpy Geordie by the name of Ed Leigh. "Oh, Oliver," said Hermione suddenly. "The Daily Prophet want me to do an interview with you, is that all right?" Oliver shrugged. "Sure, whatever." He was just about to ask when she wanted to do the interview when Hermione whipped out a pad of parchment from her robes. "Tell me, what's it like being the only Scottish member of the team?" asked Hermione. "And while we're on the subject, how did you get onto the team if you're Scottish?" Oliver had only recently joined the team, slightly before Harry and Padma. The last England Keeper had retired and was currently living somewhere in the Caribbean, glad to be away from the Bludgers. "It's okay," Oliver replied. "Some of the fans think it's a bit unfair, but since my grandparents on my mothers side are English I'm perfectly eligible to be on the team." Someone hollered across the pitch to the three teams members, and reluctantly they had to leave, so that they could practise. They had an upcoming match against Wales, and were anxious to beat them. The Quidditch World Cup was to be held in two months, slightly later than normal, but only because it was to be held in Australia, and it was currently winter over there. Ginny Weasley arrived at the house two weeks later, having finally completed her last year at Hogwarts. She had been Hermione's successor as Head Girl, and like Hermione had been just after leaving the school, was slightly depressed for a couple of days. Harry and Hermione were rather amused to see that Ron had placed his sister in the bedroom furthest away from Seamus's. When she finally started to perk up, she began scouring the Daily Prophet and any other newspaper she could for jobs. She was perfectly qualified for several jobs, though deciding what exactly she wanted to do with her life was a hard choice to make. Eventually a job caught her eye and she soon started working at a publishers in Diagon Alley as an editor. When she wasn't working, however, she would be busily discussing Harry and Hermione's wedding with Lavender, Ron and Seamus. Preparations for the big day were starting to come along nicely, although things could get a bit heated at the Cottage sometimes when Lavender and Ginny would argue about arrangements. When they argued, Hermione tended to slip quietly from the room and do something more constructive, like develop photos or watch paint dry. Luckily for Harry and Hermione, the World Cup came around quickly. The two of them were incredibly glad to be going to Australia, not only was it a place Hermione wanted to go, but it gave them a chance to spend some time together without their interfering housemates around. Hermione had been appointed as one of the official photographers for the World Cup, though she wasn't sure whether this was because of her skill, or because of her proximity to Harry. The competitors were housed in several large mansions around the Australian bush. That was one of the advantages of hosting the World Cup in Australia - there was plenty of space to hold the games and build a proper pitch without Muggles noticing. The England team had a very large house, and Hermione was staying with them. She and Harry had practically a whole floor of the mansion to themselves, except for one bedroom which was occupied by Trisha McLean, one of the Chasers. Off the pitch she was rather timid and shy, but once she got on a broomstick she was as agressive as anything and obviously one of Englands best. Near the end of the World Cup, England were doing amazingly well - much better than they had at the previous World Cup. They had alreadybeaten the reigning champions, Ireland, and the team which they had beaten to win the title, Bulgaria. This had given Hermione a chance to meet up with an old friend, not to mention boyfriend, of hers, Viktor Krum. During a day when England wasn't playing at match, Harry and Hermione took the oppourtunity to do some sunbathing. Hermione was wearing a pair of navy shorts and her shimmering sky blue bikini top as the weather was incredibly good. Harry, on the other hand, wore a pair of khaki shorts and a cream coloured shirt which he had left unbuttoned because of the heat. The high stone wall which surrounded the mansion provided plenty of privacy for their sunbathing, and Harry had hung a hammock between two of the apple trees. Their leafy shade cast a dappled light on him as the late afternoon sun beat down. Hermione joined him on the hammock and they lay there in quiet contemplation, just enjoying each others presence. Sometimes they didn't need to say anything just to enjoy being around each other. "Do ever feel that this is going beyond our control?" Hermione asked. "Huh?" asked Harry absently as he gently stroked her exposed stomach. "The wedding." "Definitely. I think they've forgotten that we're involved." "It's like..." Hermione thought for a second, "it's not our day any more - it's Ron and Lavender's day." "And Seamus and Ginny's," Harry reminded her. "And Seamus and Ginny's," she agreed. She sighed deeply. "I wanted to keep things simple, but this is turning into a bloody circus! You know, I walked into the living room the other day and Lavender and Ginny were discussing how many doves they should release as we leave the church. I don't even want doves!" "Well, apparently Ron is going to be my Best Man and all his brothers are Usher's along with Seamus and we shall be leaving the church in a classic Rolls Royce." Hermione laughed. "Ha! I think I've got it worse though. The dress Lav and Gin are currently saying I'm wearing looks like a meringue!" "Aww, poor baby!" said Harry, kissing her forehead. Hermione groaned. "This is too much! I wish there was some way we could stop all the nonsense and just get married!" "Well, there is one way," said Harry slowly. Hermione turned slightly so she could look Harry in the face. "How?" she asked curiously. "Let's elope." A/N: Here's a thanks section for Chapter Two:
Review, Flame, Whatever. silverphoenix |
Happily Ever After?
By: silvernatasha
***COMPLETED*** The sequel to 'So What Now?'. After seven years at Hogwarts the gang are ready for the real world, but is the real world ready for them?
Rated: Fiction K+ - English - Romance/Humor - Harry P., Hermione G. - Chapters: 21 - Words: 50,369 - Reviews: 458 - Favs: 74 - Follows: 9 - Updated: Oct 31, 2002 - Published: Mar 20, 2002 - Status: Complete - id: 669417
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Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten
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