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Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing I tell you! All the characters, places etc. belong to JKR.
*** HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
*** Harry was awoken from a peaceful sleep on Christmas morning by pillow making contact with his face. He sat bolt upright, rummaging around for his glasses while squinting through the darkness to see who had attacked him. Placing the cold metal frames on his face, he saw Hermione kneeling on the bed beside him, grinning and clutching a pillow in her hands. "Are you going to sleep all day?" she asked. "What time is it?" Harry enquired, still not one hundred per cent awake. "Half past seven," Hermione informed him with a smile as she climbed off the bed and wrapped her dressing gown around her. She tied up the belt and looked at her husband expectantly. "What?" Harry asked, falling back on the pillows, forgetting what day it was. "Presents!" Hermione exclaimed. Harry sat up again, and in seconds he was racing Hermione out of the door and down to the normally vacant room, which they had dubbed the 'other' room. This was where they had set up their Christmas tree and were keeping the presents. To Harry's surprise, the other house mates were already up and waiting. By the smell of it, Ron had already started cooking a full English breakfast. A pile of discarded wrapping paper was building up on the floor, though knowing Hermione it probably wouldn't be there for long. Seamus seemed to have been designated the 'present-passer-outer' and barely a minute after stepping into the room, Harry had been given an armful of presents. Lavender seemed to be giggling about something with Ron, though Harry suspected this was something to do with the lacy lingerie that was in a pile at her feet. Harry settled himself down next to Hermione in a large chair which she had conjured, and around half an hour later, Harry had a variety of presents surrounding him, including a book entitled 'How to be a Father'. This was, of course, a present from Sirius, who was having great delight in taunting Harry and Hermione about their prospective parenthood. Sirius had also given Hermione a set of maternity robes, which hadn't amused Hermione very much. She had, however, been delighted with the books that Ron had given her and almost crushed him in a hug. It was her hormones playing up, apparently. "Is that all the presents?" Ginny asked after a while, when they had examined their new belongings. "'Cause I'm starving." "Yeah, get in the kitchen, Weasley," Seamus ordered. Ron scowled at him and got to his feet, preparing to go into the kitchen and finish making breakfast. "Wait, I have one more," Harry announced. "I'll be right back." He sprinted out of the room and appeared a minute or so later with small box, wrapped in gold paper with a red ribbon. "It's for Hermione," he explained. Hermione looked confused, and Harry saw her eyes dart to the present which he had given her already, which was a Muggle laptop - something she had wanted for a while. "What is it?" she asked as he handed her the box, slipping back into the chair beside her. He gave her a look, urging her to open it. She carefully took off the wrapping, leaving it in one piece. After all, this was Hermione. She looked into the box and cast Harry a puzzled glance. "It's a key," she told him. Harry nodded. "There's something else as well." Hermione looked in the box again, and pulled out what appeared to be a photograph. "And a picture. Of a..." she trailed off, her eyes glancing at Harry who grinned and nodded. "What is it?" asked Ginny impatiently. "I'm hungry," moaned Seamus. "Shut up!" snapped Ron. "Is this a joke, Harry?" Hermione asked. He shook his head vigorously, messing up his hair more, if that was possible. Hermione beamed at him. "It's ours?" "Will you just hurry up and tell us?" Lavender asked. Harry placed an arm around Hermione and looked at the others. "Um, I don't quite know how to put this, but, um, we're moving out." "Are you okay, Ron? Not upset about me and Hermione moving out, are you?" Harry asked Ron who was busy preparing some vegetables for their Christmas lunch. The goose they had decided on was already roasting in the oven. Ron grinned at his best friend. "Nah - that means me and Lavender can have a bigger bedroom!" Harry rolled his eyes. "You really should get your mind out of the gutter more," he told him. "Speaking of Lavender, do you remember that conversation we had a while back?" "Which conversation?" asked Ron, wiping his hands on the colourful apron he was wearing, which had the words 'Kiss me quick, squeeze me slowly' emblazoned across the front of it. Harry had the feeling that this was Ron's Christmas present from Seamus. "The one where you said you were thinking about proposing to her at Christmas?" Ron stopped what he was doing and stared at Harry. "Not happening," he said after a moment before continuing to peel some potatoes. Harry was a little shocked. "Why not?" "It came up in a conversation the other day, and I got the feeling that she wasn't interested." "But you're still going to ask her, right?" The redhead shrugged. "I suppose," he said. Then he added, "When the time is right." "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked. Turning around, Harry noticed that she was standing in the doorway, a curious expression on her face. Harry also noticed that she had a hand on her back. "How long have you been listening?" he asked, as she walked into the kitchen. Harry pulled out a chair for her and she sat down, smiling gratefully. "Long enough," she said, shifting about in her chair, trying to get comfortable. She had been experiencing bad back pain for the last few days. "Eavesdropping isn't exactly polite," Ron grumped. Hermione shrugged. "I couldn't help it. I was coming into the kitchen for a drink and I heard you." "Heard him say what?" Lavender had appeared in the doorway, now fully dressed in a long charcoal grey skirt and a white blouse. Her hair was currently a dark brown, giving her complexion a paler look. This was enhanced by the dark red lipstick she wore. "Why does everyone keep coming in here?" Ron moaned. Until Harry's arrival it had been rather quiet and peaceful in the kitchen. "Do you need any help, Ron?" Ginny inquired, coming in from the garden. Her face was flushed from the cold weather and she was shivering slightly. "Right!" Ron yelled. "Everybody out! I am trying to cook!" Stunned by Ron's sudden reaction, every left the kitchen as quickly as possible and headed into the other room where Seamus was adding some finishing touches to the Christmas tree. "That's why you should never upset a redhead," Seamus commented as they all took seats. Ginny scowled at her boyfriend as Harry summoned a bottle of champagne. A couple of seconds later a tray of glasses flew into the room as well. "I propose a toast," he said, pouring out the champagne, and passing the glasses around. "To friendship." He grinned around at them and they echoed his words. "And to love," added Ginny. Once again, they lifted their glasses repeating her words. "And to getting absolutely sloshed on expensive bubbly!" Seamus said. "I'll drink to that," said Hermione. "Are you sure you should be drinking?" asked Lavender. Hermione sighed. "It's only one glass. Trust me, Lav, I've done all the research." "Now there's a surprise," muttered Seamus, causing Ginny to hit him with her free arm. Stood outside the bedroom door, Draco Malfoy tapped his foot impatiently. Why on Earth was Padma taking so long? "Are you nearly ready?" he called. His fiancée's muffle reply came back. "Yes, I'm just finishing my hair!" She appeared a few minutes later. "Right, I'm ready," she announced. "Are you sure?" Draco asked with a smirk. "I've spent the last two hours getting ready for this party," Padma informed him. Draco smiled at her. "Are you sure it was long enough?" "Of course," she snapped. "And stop grinning at me like that, Draco. Do I have something on my dress?" "I don't know. Why don't you put it on so I can see?" Padma looked confused, but a quick glance at herself told her that she was still in her underwear. She scowled at Draco, and stormed back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her and muttering something under her breath. Draco took this opportunity to check out his reflection in the full length mirror that hung in the hallway." "You look dashing, dearie," the mirror told him, and Draco smiled slightly. He straightened his tie and made sure that his hair was behaving itself. The party at the Cottage had a formal theme, which mean tuxedos for the men, and evening dresses for the women. After a couple of minutes, Padma re-emerged, and stood there, waiting for Draco's approval. She was wearing an evening dress in a dark teal colour, which matched Draco's cummerbund. It had a plunging neckline and she was a silver necklace with a pearl hanging from it. "How do I look?" she asked nervously. "Stunning," Draco told her. He kissed her gently and smile reassuringly. He then held out his arm to her, and she took it, still looking slightly apprehensive. "Shall we?" Padma nodded and replied, "We shall." With a couple of 'pop's' they Disapparated. If the party that had been held at the Cottage before was good, then this New Year's Eve party was amazing. Amazing probably didn't even cover it. You could turn one way or the other without spotting a Quidditch star, or an author (Ginny had become friends with several other writers apart from Eva) or some other celebrity. Milling around somewhere was even the Australian Minster of Magic, who, barely six months before, had conducted the marriage of Harry and Hermione. Hermione was enjoying playing the hostess. Wearing a black dress which sparkled in the fairy lights (real fairies were buzzing around near the ceiling), she was wandering around talking to various people. She had pretty much come to terms that this was probably the last chance she'd have to go to a party before her stomach started to reveal her condition. Harry had been quite surprised to see Oliver Wood with a girlfriend at the party. Oliver had been single for as long as Harry could remember and there were even rumours every now and again that Oliver was... 'playing for the other team' as the tabloids liked to put it. What was it with Wizarding tabloids and bad puns? The girlfriend, who seemed to be attached to his arm and was smiling brightly, was just as surprising. "You looked lovely tonight, Trisha," commented Harry. "How are you?" "Wrong question, Harry. You don't want to know how I am, you want to know how long we've been dating." Trisha McLean, one of the England Chasers, grinned at him, then looked up at Oliver. She looked quite short next to Oliver who was just over six feet tall, even though she was actually five foot seven. "Sorry, it's just a little surprising," Harry admitted. "So... how long?" "A couple of months," Oliver said, grinning sheepishly. Harry was amazed by this. "How exactly did you keep that a secret from the press?" Oliver wouldn't say, but instead asked, "Are they still hounding you and Hermione?" Nodding, Harry replied, "We'll probably have to make an announcement soon, though. I don't want Hermione getting stressed." "Is me being stressed a bad thing?" Hermione asked cheekily, standing beside Harry. Harry wrapped an arm around her, almost by instinct rather than anything else, and she leaned on him, still holding a champagne flute which was full of orange juice. Actually, it could have been pumpkin juice but in the room's lighting Harry couldn't tell. There was a loud crash and a the tinkling of broken glass from the next room. The hum of chatter stopped briefly, followed by laughter before people went back to their conversations. Hermione frowned. "I'd better go and see what that was," she explained and darted off to see what the commotion was. It turned out that Ginny and Seamus had been having a premature New year's kiss and it had become rather heated. Subsequently, a rather tasteless vase given to Lavender by her grandmother ended up in pieces. Rather than be upset with them, Lavender actually thanked them, and encouraged to kiss around more of the tacky presents she had been given by relatives. Ron hadn't looked too pleased about Lavender's suggestion that Ginny and Seamus kiss more, but Lavender had, quite sensibly, ignored him. "You really shouldn't encourage them," Ron warned her when they were alone in the kitchen. As per usual, Ron had been put in charge of the food. "Why not?" asked Lavender, placing her hands on her hips and staring at her boyfriend. "Because she's my little sister, that's why," Ron replied. Lavender's expression softened. "She's not a little girl any more," she reminded him. "She's woman, a very feisty woman with a mind of her own and who is very much in love." Ron frowned. "Is it wrong for me not to want her to grow up?" he asked. "To me she's still the little four year old who gave Bogey to Fred for Bludger practise." He finished arranging the food on the tray and turned to Lavender. "She's younger than me - if she grows up the that means I have to grow up, too." Smiling, Lavender placed a soft kiss on Ron's cheek. "We all have to grow up sometime, Peter Pan." "Who?" Lavender said nothing, but ushered him out of the kitchen so he could distribute the food. For a moment she lingered in the kitchen, one of the only quiet places in the Cottage, thinking solely about Ron. And their future. She was snapped out of her daydream when Parvati came into the kitchen looking for her, and dragged her away to talk to someone. Midnight was met with a cheer that could probably have been heard several miles away. Added to this, the ever-mischevious Weasley twins had snuck some of their ultra-loud party poppers into the party, and a few of the guests lost their hearing for a couple of minutes when they let them off. After the traditional rendition of Auld Lang Syne, someone yelled, possibly one of the twins or Nathan Huxley (one of the England Beaters), "Speech!" The guests all turned to Harry and Hermione who were trying to get in a belated midnight kiss. Blushing slightly, Harry cleared his throat. He cast a quick look at Hermione who gave him a slight nod. Harry smiled and began to talk. "Uh, well, I guess the year 2000 is finally here," he was interrupted by a cheer from a couple of guests who had evidently had too much to drink. "I'm not really sure what I should be saying, so I'm going to take this opportunity to wish everyone good luck in the year ahead. I hope the Quidditch season is as prosperous as ever..." "Go Cannons!" There was a slight chuckle at Ron's interruption, especially from Christopher Hedbury, the other England Beater, who also played for the Chudley Cannons. "I think you mean Magpies," Harry said with a grin. A cry of "Go Arrows!" rose from Oliver and Padma, whereas Trisha McLean let out a cheer for the Holyhead Harpies and Ed Leigh, the England Captain yelled a Puddlemere United chant. When everyone had quietened down so Harry could continue, Nathan Huxley shouted, "Wasps for the Cup!" starting a ripple of laughter. "Er... yeah," said Harry, looking slightly uneasy. "Anyway, I also hope that we have the authors of some of the next years best sellers and I wish everyone the best in general. I have a feeling that this year will be full of love, marriage... and children." A slight muttering broke out among the guests. Harry heard Ron, or possibly Seamus, tap on the side of a glass to get silence. Harry felt Hermione, who was stood next to him, grip his hand tightly. "As none of you have been living in caves for the last few weeks, I'm sure you've heard the rumours about myself and Hermione. We'd like to confirm what the press is saying; yes, we are expecting a baby. Baby Potter should be joining us in late July." By now Hermione was blushing a bright red, and Harry was beginning to lose the feeling in his hand. The reaction was tremendous; the cheering was almost as loud as when midnight had struck. Excited chatter broke out among the guests, and people started to coming forward to shake Harry's hand and congratulate Hermione. Harry grinned as he shook someone's hand (he wasn't really paying much attention) - this was certainly going to be an interesting year. A/N: Obviously I would have got this chapter posted sooner, but with ff.net being down, I haven't had a chance. I apologise for the long gap between this and the last chapter. Luckily I have only a few more weeks until my school breaks up for summer, so I'll have more time for writing then. Here's a thanks section for Chapter Fourteen:
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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