Disclaimer: Again, not my characters!
The next morning, Hermione woke to the melodic noises of the ocean emitted by her alarm clock. It was something she found relaxing when she was stressed out. With all the work the Ministry was piling on top of her, she had really been stressing out. On top of that, she had been planning Ron's and her wedding and that was taking up a lot of her spare time as well.
Hermione dragged herself wearily out of bed and her feet trudged along the wood floor until they met the ceramic of the bathroom. She looked up into the mirror to see not a reflection of Hermione, but of Medusa. Her eyes were encased in black circles from lack of sleep and appeared to be very heavy.
Hermione rubbed her eyes viciously to see if that would help, but the attempt failed so she stripped herself of her clothes and heaved herself into the shower. The cold water trickled down her soft skin as she lathered the soap gently into her hair and onto her scalp. The fresh aroma intoxicated her lungs with fruitful smells.
She ran her fingers through her hair as the water rinsed away the soap. Hermione then lathered shaving cream on both of her well-defined legs and dragged the razor over each carefully. When she was finished, she turned off the taps and stepped out onto the carpet that lined her ceramic-tiled bathroom. Slowly, she dried her body off with a towel, coral in color, and towel-dried her hair.
Hermione then got dressed for work. She walked out into her bathroom and put on a summer dress as she always did. This one was not as bright however because the dress requirements at work stated so.
When she finished getting dressed, she picked up her briefcase and purse and walked out to the nearest apparating portal. Hermione arrived at the Ministry seconds later and was greeted by all her colleagues with warm smiles.
"Good morning" said her boss.
"Good morning to you as well. How are you?"
"I'm fine thanks. And you?"
"I'm a little tired but other than that....I better be going. I have a lot of work left to do before the day is through."
She nodded and Hermione sat down at the desk in her office. Her quill and bottle of ink sat adjacent to each other on the corner of her desk. As she unpacked her briefcase of files to be sorted through, she reached for her quill. After about an hour of sorting the papers, her eyes began to droop and she put the quill down on her desk.
Moments later, she thought to herself, "A small nap couldn't hurt."
So, she leaned her head back onto the back of her chair and let her eyes fall closed. After what seemed to be only minutes, she snapped her head up and looked at the clock. An entire hour had passed while she had slept!
She frantically looked around the room to make sure no one had found her asleep and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She just had to call Ron.
Off the top of her head, she dialed the number where Ron would be and the phone began to ring.
"Hey! I miss you so much" she whined.
"I know, I miss you more!"
"Never, I miss you the most!"
"I love you. How are things at work?"
"Stressful. I'm covered up to my head in work here. I'm never going to finish it seems. The minutes just seem to drag by. You see what you're doing to me?"
"Me?"
"Yes you. You know I still love you."
"I love you too. Well I must be going now. I loved hearing from you because I miss you and can't wait to get home."
"I can't wait for you to get home either."
"Love you, bye!"
"Love you too!"
With that, she hung up. Hermione began sorting through the cases again and she finally got to the last one a couple hours later. The clock read three o'clock as she glanced at it and packed her briefcase up.
Hermione had finally finished and figured that she had best work on the wedding plans. She apparated herself back home and placed her briefcase on her untidy desk.
Hermione slipped out of her sun dress and threw a pair of capris and a t- shirt on. She slid her delicate feet into a pair of yellow sandals and made her way into town of the Muggle world.
First she visited the dress shop. As she walked in, the bells that hung on the door clanged and the saleswoman approached her.
"How may I help you today?"
"Well, I am having a wedding in two weeks and I would like to select a dress for the occasion."
"You've come to the right place"
You think?!? That's why you have wedding dresses here! Hermione smiled to hide her internal sarcasm and replied, "I believe I have. I'm looking for something that's not overly decorated or extravagant...."
She was cut off by the saleswoman, "On a woman that is extravagant, only a quality of extravagance should be worn."
"Well, thank you. I would prefer that it would be just simple. I was thinking..."
Once again, she was cut off. "What about this??"
The woman dragged her to a dress in the back that was one of the most magnificent dresses she had ever seen.
"It would look amazing on you and your lucky fiancée would just die. You would look just fabulous."
Hermione looked it over. It was a fitted dress and the top came across the chest and over only one shoulder. The bottom flowed freely and widely to the floor. The top was also covered in beautiful white beads. As her eyes examined it, the price tag caught the corner of her eye.
"200,000 Galleons?!?!"
"It is quite expensive..."
Hermione cut her off. "Expensive? That's just ludicrous. Who's wearing the dress here, me or you?" she snapped.
The woman looked taken aback and responded, "Well, you are."
"Well, will you kindly let me describe what I am looking for and then maybe you can help me out. Maybe something a little more in my price ranges."
"Alright dear. Don't have a hissy fit. I didn't mean to anger you."
"I'm sorry too; I didn't mean to explode at you like that. Would you listen to what I have to say first?
The lady nodded in compliance.
"Well, I was looking for something simple; I don't want to be extremely long or puffy, something that flows nicely to the floor; for the top I would like some sort of netting and the sleeves that way as well."
"I think we have the perfect one for you. It matches your description almost perfectly."
The lady led her to the right-hand side of the shop. On a manikin to her left, was a dress that looked exactly like she had described.
The top was cloth up until the breast-line where there was a transition to netting. The netting continued its way down the sleeves of both arms; an occasional bead thrown into the netting here and there. The bottom half was also white silk that flows freely to the floor yet did not look overly extravagant.
"This is perfect. How much is it?"
"3,000 Galleons"
"That's more my price range. It's perfect. May I try it on?"
"Of course!"
The woman went into the back to get her size and led Hermione back to the dressing rooms. After several minutes, Hermione emerged from the changing room and stopped in front of the mirror.
"Perfect!"
"It needs to be fitted a little around the waist, but it looks beautiful on you."
"Thank you."
The saleswoman retrieved her tape measure and began taking measurements to fit the dress properly to Hermione's curves.
"I remember when I looked as youthful as you do now. Those are days long past gone."
Hermione looked at the woman who stood before her and said nothing. When she was finished, Hermione got dressed once again and placed a down payment on the gown.
"Thank you for all your help."
"Your welcome. It should be ready this coming Tuesday for pickup."
"Okay. Have a nice day!"
Hermione turned and left the store. As she walked, she took the list of things she needed to accomplish out of her pocket and checked to see what she should do next.
"Off to plan the reception" she said to herself.
As she continued walking down the street, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to find Ginny and Seamus smiling at her.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey! What are you doing out and about?"
"Oh, I'm just planning Ron's and my wedding. I'm off to plan the reception."
"What do you say to a double wedding?"
"Hey, that's a great idea!"
"I know, I know. I'm brilliant" retorted Ginny.
"I just bought my dress."
"Really? I bought mine a couple of weeks ago."
"I was just off to plan the reception, want to join me?"
"Of course! How are we supposed to have a double wedding if we don't have the reception at the same place doofus!"
"Well...."
"Come on, let's go. Where did you intend to have it?"
"I was thinking at the little restaurant by the shore...."
"Sounds great....I've never been there before, but I heard they were extremely good and the prices were reasonable."
The three of them walked towards the shore and spotted the delicate restaurant just a mile down the sandy beach.
They walked inside after they had reached their destination and asked the hostess to speak to the manager.
"May I help you?"
"Yes" the three of them said in unison.
Ginny took charge of the conversation.
"We are looking to see if there is a possibility of having our double wedding reception here...."
"How many people are we looking at?"
"About 200 people" replied Ginny.
"That's going to be tight to accommodate but I think we can manage. A double wedding you say?"
"Yes. Ginny and I have been the best of friends for a long time and thought it was appropriate" responded Hermione.
"That certainly is something special. What date did you have in mind?"
"Well, we were thinking about the Saturday after next."
"Let me check the book....let's see....no reservations for that day yet so we'll be able to accommodate you and all your guests."
"Thank you very much; pleasure doing business with you."
"The pleasure was all mine" said the manager as he kissed the back of Hermione's hand.
The three turned to walk out of the cozy confines of the restaurant and stepped out into the glorious sunshine.
"This is so exciting!" exclaimed Ginny as Seamus wrapped his arms around her small waist.
"I miss Ron so much you guys" said Hermione as she sighed.
Ginny smiled at her. "He'll be back before you know it 'Mione. Think, you guys will be married in a week and a half!"
"I know, and I can't wait for the honeymoon either" said Hermione with a wink. "Well, I better head home..."
"Okay" said Ginny as she gave Hermione a warm hug. "Talk to you soon!"
Hermione turned in the opposite direction of Ginny and Seamus who walked hand in hand and walked back to her apartment. As she looked off to her right, the elegant sun had just begun its descent behind a distant mountain. The sky was accented with varying colors of orange, pink, and purple.
When Hermione opened the door to her apartment, she set her things down and sighed. She then walked into her bedroom to change when she heard a sudden knocking on the window. Low and behold it was an owl probably for Ron she figured.
Hermione drew the curtains to one side and the owl fluttered onto her shoulder. Hermione carefully untied the note attached to its leg and opened it despite its indicated receiver, Ron.
As the parchment slowly unrolled, the ink written on the paper became revealed. It read:
Ron,
Did you receive the shipment of potions? If the thought ever crossed your mind that this might be intercepted, have no fear. I have taken care of all of that already. Please owl me back when you receive this.
Nameless
Hermione's jaw dropped in shock and her whole body felt as if someone had just dropped a ton of bricks on it. She collapsed onto the nearest chair and kept the letter tightly grasped in her right hand.
The next morning, Hermione woke to the melodic noises of the ocean emitted by her alarm clock. It was something she found relaxing when she was stressed out. With all the work the Ministry was piling on top of her, she had really been stressing out. On top of that, she had been planning Ron's and her wedding and that was taking up a lot of her spare time as well.
Hermione dragged herself wearily out of bed and her feet trudged along the wood floor until they met the ceramic of the bathroom. She looked up into the mirror to see not a reflection of Hermione, but of Medusa. Her eyes were encased in black circles from lack of sleep and appeared to be very heavy.
Hermione rubbed her eyes viciously to see if that would help, but the attempt failed so she stripped herself of her clothes and heaved herself into the shower. The cold water trickled down her soft skin as she lathered the soap gently into her hair and onto her scalp. The fresh aroma intoxicated her lungs with fruitful smells.
She ran her fingers through her hair as the water rinsed away the soap. Hermione then lathered shaving cream on both of her well-defined legs and dragged the razor over each carefully. When she was finished, she turned off the taps and stepped out onto the carpet that lined her ceramic-tiled bathroom. Slowly, she dried her body off with a towel, coral in color, and towel-dried her hair.
Hermione then got dressed for work. She walked out into her bathroom and put on a summer dress as she always did. This one was not as bright however because the dress requirements at work stated so.
When she finished getting dressed, she picked up her briefcase and purse and walked out to the nearest apparating portal. Hermione arrived at the Ministry seconds later and was greeted by all her colleagues with warm smiles.
"Good morning" said her boss.
"Good morning to you as well. How are you?"
"I'm fine thanks. And you?"
"I'm a little tired but other than that....I better be going. I have a lot of work left to do before the day is through."
She nodded and Hermione sat down at the desk in her office. Her quill and bottle of ink sat adjacent to each other on the corner of her desk. As she unpacked her briefcase of files to be sorted through, she reached for her quill. After about an hour of sorting the papers, her eyes began to droop and she put the quill down on her desk.
Moments later, she thought to herself, "A small nap couldn't hurt."
So, she leaned her head back onto the back of her chair and let her eyes fall closed. After what seemed to be only minutes, she snapped her head up and looked at the clock. An entire hour had passed while she had slept!
She frantically looked around the room to make sure no one had found her asleep and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She just had to call Ron.
Off the top of her head, she dialed the number where Ron would be and the phone began to ring.
"Hey! I miss you so much" she whined.
"I know, I miss you more!"
"Never, I miss you the most!"
"I love you. How are things at work?"
"Stressful. I'm covered up to my head in work here. I'm never going to finish it seems. The minutes just seem to drag by. You see what you're doing to me?"
"Me?"
"Yes you. You know I still love you."
"I love you too. Well I must be going now. I loved hearing from you because I miss you and can't wait to get home."
"I can't wait for you to get home either."
"Love you, bye!"
"Love you too!"
With that, she hung up. Hermione began sorting through the cases again and she finally got to the last one a couple hours later. The clock read three o'clock as she glanced at it and packed her briefcase up.
Hermione had finally finished and figured that she had best work on the wedding plans. She apparated herself back home and placed her briefcase on her untidy desk.
Hermione slipped out of her sun dress and threw a pair of capris and a t- shirt on. She slid her delicate feet into a pair of yellow sandals and made her way into town of the Muggle world.
First she visited the dress shop. As she walked in, the bells that hung on the door clanged and the saleswoman approached her.
"How may I help you today?"
"Well, I am having a wedding in two weeks and I would like to select a dress for the occasion."
"You've come to the right place"
You think?!? That's why you have wedding dresses here! Hermione smiled to hide her internal sarcasm and replied, "I believe I have. I'm looking for something that's not overly decorated or extravagant...."
She was cut off by the saleswoman, "On a woman that is extravagant, only a quality of extravagance should be worn."
"Well, thank you. I would prefer that it would be just simple. I was thinking..."
Once again, she was cut off. "What about this??"
The woman dragged her to a dress in the back that was one of the most magnificent dresses she had ever seen.
"It would look amazing on you and your lucky fiancée would just die. You would look just fabulous."
Hermione looked it over. It was a fitted dress and the top came across the chest and over only one shoulder. The bottom flowed freely and widely to the floor. The top was also covered in beautiful white beads. As her eyes examined it, the price tag caught the corner of her eye.
"200,000 Galleons?!?!"
"It is quite expensive..."
Hermione cut her off. "Expensive? That's just ludicrous. Who's wearing the dress here, me or you?" she snapped.
The woman looked taken aback and responded, "Well, you are."
"Well, will you kindly let me describe what I am looking for and then maybe you can help me out. Maybe something a little more in my price ranges."
"Alright dear. Don't have a hissy fit. I didn't mean to anger you."
"I'm sorry too; I didn't mean to explode at you like that. Would you listen to what I have to say first?
The lady nodded in compliance.
"Well, I was looking for something simple; I don't want to be extremely long or puffy, something that flows nicely to the floor; for the top I would like some sort of netting and the sleeves that way as well."
"I think we have the perfect one for you. It matches your description almost perfectly."
The lady led her to the right-hand side of the shop. On a manikin to her left, was a dress that looked exactly like she had described.
The top was cloth up until the breast-line where there was a transition to netting. The netting continued its way down the sleeves of both arms; an occasional bead thrown into the netting here and there. The bottom half was also white silk that flows freely to the floor yet did not look overly extravagant.
"This is perfect. How much is it?"
"3,000 Galleons"
"That's more my price range. It's perfect. May I try it on?"
"Of course!"
The woman went into the back to get her size and led Hermione back to the dressing rooms. After several minutes, Hermione emerged from the changing room and stopped in front of the mirror.
"Perfect!"
"It needs to be fitted a little around the waist, but it looks beautiful on you."
"Thank you."
The saleswoman retrieved her tape measure and began taking measurements to fit the dress properly to Hermione's curves.
"I remember when I looked as youthful as you do now. Those are days long past gone."
Hermione looked at the woman who stood before her and said nothing. When she was finished, Hermione got dressed once again and placed a down payment on the gown.
"Thank you for all your help."
"Your welcome. It should be ready this coming Tuesday for pickup."
"Okay. Have a nice day!"
Hermione turned and left the store. As she walked, she took the list of things she needed to accomplish out of her pocket and checked to see what she should do next.
"Off to plan the reception" she said to herself.
As she continued walking down the street, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to find Ginny and Seamus smiling at her.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey! What are you doing out and about?"
"Oh, I'm just planning Ron's and my wedding. I'm off to plan the reception."
"What do you say to a double wedding?"
"Hey, that's a great idea!"
"I know, I know. I'm brilliant" retorted Ginny.
"I just bought my dress."
"Really? I bought mine a couple of weeks ago."
"I was just off to plan the reception, want to join me?"
"Of course! How are we supposed to have a double wedding if we don't have the reception at the same place doofus!"
"Well...."
"Come on, let's go. Where did you intend to have it?"
"I was thinking at the little restaurant by the shore...."
"Sounds great....I've never been there before, but I heard they were extremely good and the prices were reasonable."
The three of them walked towards the shore and spotted the delicate restaurant just a mile down the sandy beach.
They walked inside after they had reached their destination and asked the hostess to speak to the manager.
"May I help you?"
"Yes" the three of them said in unison.
Ginny took charge of the conversation.
"We are looking to see if there is a possibility of having our double wedding reception here...."
"How many people are we looking at?"
"About 200 people" replied Ginny.
"That's going to be tight to accommodate but I think we can manage. A double wedding you say?"
"Yes. Ginny and I have been the best of friends for a long time and thought it was appropriate" responded Hermione.
"That certainly is something special. What date did you have in mind?"
"Well, we were thinking about the Saturday after next."
"Let me check the book....let's see....no reservations for that day yet so we'll be able to accommodate you and all your guests."
"Thank you very much; pleasure doing business with you."
"The pleasure was all mine" said the manager as he kissed the back of Hermione's hand.
The three turned to walk out of the cozy confines of the restaurant and stepped out into the glorious sunshine.
"This is so exciting!" exclaimed Ginny as Seamus wrapped his arms around her small waist.
"I miss Ron so much you guys" said Hermione as she sighed.
Ginny smiled at her. "He'll be back before you know it 'Mione. Think, you guys will be married in a week and a half!"
"I know, and I can't wait for the honeymoon either" said Hermione with a wink. "Well, I better head home..."
"Okay" said Ginny as she gave Hermione a warm hug. "Talk to you soon!"
Hermione turned in the opposite direction of Ginny and Seamus who walked hand in hand and walked back to her apartment. As she looked off to her right, the elegant sun had just begun its descent behind a distant mountain. The sky was accented with varying colors of orange, pink, and purple.
When Hermione opened the door to her apartment, she set her things down and sighed. She then walked into her bedroom to change when she heard a sudden knocking on the window. Low and behold it was an owl probably for Ron she figured.
Hermione drew the curtains to one side and the owl fluttered onto her shoulder. Hermione carefully untied the note attached to its leg and opened it despite its indicated receiver, Ron.
As the parchment slowly unrolled, the ink written on the paper became revealed. It read:
Ron,
Did you receive the shipment of potions? If the thought ever crossed your mind that this might be intercepted, have no fear. I have taken care of all of that already. Please owl me back when you receive this.
Nameless
Hermione's jaw dropped in shock and her whole body felt as if someone had just dropped a ton of bricks on it. She collapsed onto the nearest chair and kept the letter tightly grasped in her right hand.
