The Wedding Planner

Chapter - 2

Understanding Harry

Harry never did. He never stood a chance against the veritable lioness and her friends of the animal kingdom. The whole conversation went along expected lines with Hermione conceding not one point and Harry gaining none either. At the end of it all, Harry solemnly swore on his friendship to
(i) make sure the press kept out of the wedding (a Himalayan task given the couple's war hero status as well as Harry's personal involvement).
(ii) keep Hermione posted on all matters of importance (Hermione found everything from the officiator's experience to the wedding honeymoon car a matter of great importance, so there).
(iii) keep the Weasley twins from showcasing their products at the wedding party (he could truly sympathise with her there).
(iv) try and get Ron the recluse cum Casanova to attend (that seemed like a carefully worded afterthought).
And when the tornado ended, Harry was left with whole load of things to perform,arrange or order and no free time at all for the next month.

But of course, he loved it. Though he never showed it, he thought Hermione understood him. He had always been enchanted by weddings. It wasn't the ceremony, the party or the get together, instead it was the very act of marrying that was so fascinating and reassuring. He had himself lost out twice too many times but couldn't get himself to stop hoping that perhaps, there was somebody out there...

Somebody to warm your feet with along the fireplace, somebody to fight with knowing full well they wouldn't think any less of you, somebody to sit in silence with cause there is nothing to say when the mind speaks for itself. His parents, he knew, must have had something like that. Atleast he hoped so.

Harry had been terribly wounded when Ginny didn't turn up on the wedding. He had waited, as the church bells tolled,waited as the guests got restless, waited as Arthur Weasley went over to Ginny's single flat to check on her and waited after they realised she had left him for another. So soon after the war, the 19 year old wizard's wedding had been hailed as an event to herald the new era of peace and progress.

But he remembered Ginny as she looked when she returned with Neville. He had seen the truth there, that she loved Harry and would always do so, but she loved Neville more. He had read the guilt in Neville's eyes. For a moment, he had been tempted to tell Neville he hated them and then realised that he would hate himself if he did that. This couple was so obviously in love. They had been reluctant to tell him, fearing he would be hurt. They had made a clean bone of it all and now, of all the people here, the only person who could put them at ease was Harry himself.

He had made his decision then. He had gone out to face his guests and welcomed them all to join the feast and toast the newlyweds. He had never regretted his decision. It had spared all three of them a life of 'what if's. Yet it had hurt so much, like something was sucking your heart right out of you. And he had been gracious through it all, assuring people, reporters and friends that he wished the two of them all happiness. Not that he fooled Hermione or the Weasleys any.

The affair with Seamus started then as an attempt to alleviate the pain. He was a sports columnist and had the maximum contact with Harry among his mates. Hermione was slowly getting to know Snape while Ron was nursing a broken (by Cho) heart. Harry had slowly come to depend on Seamus. They spent a lot of time together and oneday, they found themselves making away on a couch. A few more days and Harry proposed. It was all a heat-of-the-moment thing and by the time the Dday came up, both of them had their doubts.

Malfoy, with his easy looks, limitless wealth and fast life had breezed his way in as Snape's friend and godson (no surprise there). Harry had earlier reached a truce with Malfoy over his nuetrality in the war and had now welcomed him as a means to become better acquainted with Snape (on Hermione's request, of course). He didn't realise he had dug his own grave till Seamus and Malfoy eloped leaving him the wedding guests, the feast and the bills. Apparently, the one time lovers had found a new spark in each other. This time it was easier to face the same people and their sympathy. Practice sure enough made one perfect.

Strangely, Harry had felt relieved after the whole episode. Like some miracle had derailed him from doing something he would have regretted. He had sworn himself off further affairs for a year or so and thrown everything into his games. Seamus and Draco had apologised, Ron had drunk a few more bottles of Firewhisky, Hermione had yelled at Snape (she felt it was all his fault Malfoy "stole" Seamus), the Wizarding press had hunted and haunted him Harry for a fortnight and now after almost an year, the whole businss lay forgotten as old news. Life had moved on...Now Hermione's strange quirk at making him work over her wedding had brought back memories best forgotten.

Harry shook himself out of the reverie. There was work to do. Hermione had fixed a date a month from now. The first order of business was to book a church and get a licence. A marraige officiator was to be sought. She had made the right choice in Harry. Who better to arrange a wedding than one who has arranged and cancelled his own weddings twice. He knew just the right people for the food and decorations, a couple who specialised in both wizarding and Muggle celebrations. The wedding dresses should be fixed up as early as possible. There was always some last minute problem in the fitting. It wouldn't do to look like an ill dressed guest in your own wedding. Oh, and then they would have to make a guest list and make sure about the bride's father, the groom's best man, the maid of honour and a few other details.

Glitches all, really. A marraige was really not as difficult as people made it out to be. The Muggle world had lots of people who actually took contracts to fix it up. The truly difficult part was the very decision to marry. It was a surrendor of freedom, a delightful yet momentous commitment of sorts. Harry often wondered why he was still hopeful. Twice a failure and yet he wished for another ...

Hermione had wanted Ron to make it for the wedding. Harry felt sure that at some point, Hermione must have wanted Ron. She had always been so tolerant of his goofiness. Yet, they hadn't even made a move towards each other. He wondered if her insistance on getting Ron to attend was her own way of coming to terms. Oh well, Ron's loss.

Without much hesitation, Harry wore a robe and apparated over to his second home to meet his other best friend, Ron the recluse (atleast, that is what he called himself).

AN: Hi, I know this chapter didn't come out like the other chapter. I actually wanted to get on with my story and realised later that it wouldn't make sense withoutexplaining Harry's life in there. Iam optimistic myself and would like tosee a similar Harry. Hope you see him the way I do.
Thanks for the reviews. I appreciateall. Reviewwhether you like it or not. If you really want some changes, do tell.And if you have any ideas about this story, do share. I would love to discuss.
Luv,
Vila