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TRUST IN ME
by Tyde

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Chapter Nine

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A giant workman's tent covered the entire area of the field out the back of the Burrow. The words Weasley Constructions glittered on the side. From inside of it bangs, exclamations of surprise and twinkling could be heard on and off during the day.

All of Ron's crew had been given photos of Hermione and told that under no circumstances was she to be allowed inside the tent. He'd also had all potion ingredient shops swear that they would not let her buy Boomslang skin or lacewings because he knew from experience that would help her make Polyjuice Potion. It was driving her mad not to see what Ron and his workers had devised as the wedding venue.

She'd already tried unsuccessfully to sneak in under Harry's cloak, another attempt with bewitching one of them with a rendition of the Seven Veils dance and surprisingly a well directed glare almost worked on one of the younger workers who was shaking in fear and needed to be given a stiff drink afterwards.

But still Hermione had not gained entrance to the building site and often she'd sit on one of the picnic tables in the backyard of Ron's family home hoping for a long distance glimpse of anything. Obviously as it was magical construction and not Muggle construction there were no giant cranes being ferried in or large trucks dropping off supplies. Ron's construction company had been established for the last few years and she knew that supplies could be shrunken down and brought in matchbox sized so she still had no clue about the materials being used. This was the biggest job Ron'd ever undertaken (having specialised mainly in sheds, barns and small cottages) and he really wanted to blow her away with it.

The puffs of smoke that came out of a small hole in the top of the tent also charged her curiosity up. She sat now at one of the tables out in the back yard, wrapped up in a thick fur cloak and sipping some hot honey and lemon tea. For the past hour or so her voice was going in and out and she was worried that by Saturday it would be gone completely! And that just wouldn't do.

Hermione shuffled through the parchment pieces in front of her. She was trying to think of a way to somehow keep all the wizard aspects of the ceremony a secret from her Muggle relatives. It was nigh impossible and she'd given up.

As her mother had said "It's nothing to be ashamed of darling, we love you the way you are as do your aunties, uncles, grandparents, everyone" and she'd hugged her daughter tightly. "Arthur was telling me that he could just obliviate parts of their memories or something if they seem to not want to keep this quiet. Your cousin Lloyd for instance" and Hermione had groaned in frustration, "can be a little devil and I wouldn't put it past him to do something terrible".

Her cousin Lloyd who was two years younger than her had been a bratty kid and now he was a spoiled adult. She'd considered leaving him off the guest list but loved her Aunt Michelle and Uncle Michael too much to do that.

Her mum had been a great rock to stand on through all the preparations. There was one thing for the wedding though that she didn't want to tell anybody because surprises can be wonderful and exciting and as Ron already knew about the Chudley Cannons coming she'd wanted to keep something else secret at least.

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They had both made a pact to not go to clubs that could endanger their health. Ron agreed to hex the boys if they tried to drag him into Volumptuous Veelas and Hermione swore up and down that Parvati, Ginny and Lavender would pay dearly if they took her into Amorous Aleevs (the male version of Veelas that hailed from the mountains in Uzbekistan).

Harry decided to take Ron and the rest of them to the Go-Broom track outside of Hogsmeade. They were a fairly large group, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Charlie, Bill, Percy, Bruce, Gary, Fred, George and Lee Jordan. They could only race in groups of six (the air would get too cluttered otherwise and too many instances of nasty accidents had occurred) and Lee was quite happy to relive his history at Hogwarts by commentating on everything. They'd retired to the Hogs Head for lagers with Hagrid.

Lavendar had suggested a night at a bar followed by drunken karaoke at a place she knew outside of Hogsmeade. Hermione had looked positively mortified at the idea of singing and once again could be seen drinking a hot honey and lemon tea to calm her voice which seemed to be hiding of late.

She looked forward instead to the next day, the day before the wedding, when Ron had promised to show her the completed chapel and reception venue ahead of time so she wouldn't be too mesmerised the next day and forget the whole ceremony.

It was Harry that had used the word mesmerised, because that's exactly how Ginny had looked the night before when he'd snuck her in to inspect it. She'd also been speechless which he found worked perfectly as getting her to shut up sometimes was quite difficult. He found it considerably easier to kiss her when she wasn't talking.

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Hermione laced her fingers with Ron's as he opened the door that led out of the lounge room and into the backyard of the Burrow. He could see a few fluffy garden gnomes getting around (they grew fur in the winter and it was a sight to see) trying to find a warm place to roost. The pitch-black sky glittered with stars thrown haphazardly across it. There was no wind but the freezing cold December weather took care of the idea that it could be a balmy night.

"I hope you've installed fireplaces in the chapel Ron," said Hermione, her teeth chattering as he led her towards the tent she'd been trying to sneak into the past 11 days. With a rather dramatic sweep of his wand the flap of the tent flung back and allowed them entrance.

A gasp that seemed to suck in all the air around her was the best way to describe Hermione's reaction. The chapel was made entirely of glass. Two 12 foot high panels with scalloped edges that curved outwards seemed to draw you straight inside. The pews were also made of glass, carved as if they were wood just like the ones in Grandma Granger's local church.

A few glass angels hung in mid air and she saw that the ceiling was covered in mist. Several large silver columns stood along the aisle and in the corners of the chapel. Looking flustered Ron quickly pointed his wand at them and muttered an incantation. The tops of the columns exploded with life and soon a warm fire of bluebells shone in each one of them.

"Oh Ron, you thought of everything!" Running her hand along the pews she was delighted to find that they had been infused with a cushioning charm.

He lead her up the aisle, towards the altar which she hadn't yet had the chance to notice, her eyes instead feasting on the intricate details of every little nook and cranny. He'd really outdone himself. Carved from ice and hanging in mid air above the altar were two coats of arms.

One was the Weasley family crest with three Fleur-de-Lis in yellow and with a blue background. The other was the Granger family crest, three black griffins, each clutching a sheaf of wheat in their claws on a white background. Engraved below the crests, in a shimmering silver colour, were the family mottos

"Condonatio absisto adytum potissimum alius absisto sinus" as the Weasley motto translated roughly as "Giving from the heart is far better than from the pocket" and the Granger one, highly appropriate in Ron's opinion was "Honestas optima politia" – "Honesty is the best policy!" Hermione smiled at Ron.

"I'm guessing you had a little help from my Dad on that one?"

"Yeah" he kissed her and she reciprocated, too happy to speak. "Plus with the carving, did you know George was a brilliant ice carver? Wouldn't have thought it myself. Of course Fred kept trying to convince him to put a "Ron is an idiot" in latin but Mum sorted that out. So what do you think?" he gestured around to the whole chapel that glittered and shone from all angles.

Hermione snuggled into his chest and looked up into his eyes, a sort of dreamy expression on her face.

"Magical, absolutely magical" Their cold breath fogged around each other as the temporary fires went out. "I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect".

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Author's note: Yay my first flamey, mild though. Nothing is ever what it seems. If anyone thinks it's a Hermione/Percy romance then you'd be wrong and if you're looking for Hermione/Percy then may I suggest you go elsewhere. It will all be explained in due time. The summary of the story does say she's acting secretive and it does make mention of Ron and his habit of flying off the handle. Look to the title people – Trust in Me.

I tried to find the coat of arms for Weasley and Granger but I couldn't find anything for Weasley so instead I used the Burrows one. The motto is made up. The Granger one I managed to find (there were three versions) but I combined it with the Watson crest and the motto is the actual Granger motto. Coincidence? I think not.

Maggie – Have you got a little Ron in you? :o) You're jumping to conclusions my dear. He's helping her out with something, I just made it sound like something else cause it adds mystery. Plus I sometimes just do it to get a reaction. I'm evil like that. I'd say it worked pretty well :o) If you did a maths equation of Hermione + Love it would always equal Ron, in my opinion anyway.

Cosmoz – Yes, they are hiding a secret! No, they are not embroiled in some torrid affair. Hermione is so in love with Ron that she wouldn't dream of doing anything to jeopardize that. It's another surprise for the wedding. There are clues that I've dropped, ultra subtle though.

Li-chan – nope it's not dangerous (but if it was me it would be, danger to the general population that is). Kinda made it sound like drugs though didn't it? Getting a boost from something. You'll laugh when you find out what it is. In typical Hermione style she's panicking because it's not something you'd find in a book. And I am a big fan of twists. Sorry this chapter didn't reveal so much, but the wedding will go off without a hitch, this I swear.

Me – So not! But you used the word kewl associated with something I wrote so I'll forgive you for that :o)

Blank Space (you know you really ought to put something in that box cause Blank Space just sounds so general and it doesn't really rhyme with the other names of my reviewers that I've made into a little song...okay shutting up now) – Not doing anything to Ron (although if he was my age I might want to hehe). He's happy, Hermione's happy and Percy is still a big nerd that wouldn't know his way around a bra clasp. Trust in me.