Reply:
June: Yes, the diamond is small, but I really think Hermione would prefer it that way. And besides, I have some things planned for said ring-things aren't always what they seem P
And a big THANKS to:
violavampire, Bobbi, Transylvanian, angelkeety, Natsuyori, DemonofDoom, Tamsin1, Irish Princess II, pi-nk23star, Misty-Eyed Pixie, and xiaoj. You guys are awesome!
Also, I'd like to extend a special thank you to my lovely Sarah (angelkeety) for proofreading this chappie for me! I love you!
Without further adieu, Chapter 3!
Go on, get out of my head
I'm on the wrong side of a parallel universe
Am I alive or just dead
I've been stumblin' in the dark
Livin' in a crash world
It was a blustery, cold Saturday morning the following weekend that Hermione found herself and Ginny walking briskly down the path towards Hogsmeade. She had been woken all too early by the effervescent redhead, who was eager to get shopping for a wedding dress. She hadn't said it directly, but Hermione had an inkling that Harry had provided at least some amount of money to assist with buying a dress, and she imagined that Ginny was excited at being able to buy something extremely fine, new, and completely her own. So it was that she was walking into the town of Hogsmeade with her friend, smiling indulgently at Ginny's happiness. However, she was still the same, stubborn Hermione, and insisted that they visit the bookshop first, reminding Ginny that it was only ten in the morning, and they had plenty of time for dress shopping.
"But Hermione," Ginny whined, "You have so many books already! What in the name of Merlin are you looking for?"
"A book called 'So You're Marrying a Snarky Git,'" Hermione replied dryly. Ginny stopped whining and waited patiently after that until Hermione had picked out what she'd actually been looking for, an Arithmancy Theory tome, and then the two exited the shop.
"So," started Ginny after a few minutes of silence. "Any idea what kind of dress you're going to get? I mean, sure, you're marrying Snape, but at least you get to look good doing it, right?" Hermione winced at the mention of her impending nuptials, but pondered for a moment before replying.
"I don't know, actually…I hadn't really given it any thought. I don't suppose traditional white…I've never favored the color, and I don't think Sev-err, Snape, would, either."
"You can call him by his name around me, you know," Ginny said soothingly. "I mean, I wouldn't recommend it around Harry or my brother, but I understand you need to get used to it, so it's okay by me." Hermione smiled gratefully, appreciating for the first time in a while what a great friend Ginny was.
Soon they were approaching a quaint little store with a creaky wooden sign reading 'Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions' hanging above the entrance. Sighing, Hermione pushed the door inward and held it for Ginny, following her reluctantly inside. The girls were surprised to find the store relatively empty, and very quiet. Both had expected to find it teeming with Hogwarts' females, giggling madly and trying on wedding dresses. Apparently most of them were either shopping elsewhere or waiting until closer to the actual wedding date.
'All the better,' Hermione thought bitterly to herself. 'don't really feel like explaining my betrothal to our Potions Master, anyway.'
Before long a plump, red faced woman bustled from the back room and asked how she could be of assistance. Ginny took the liberty of explaining the situation, and the woman squealed and clapped girlishly.
"Ooh, I just love helping wedding shoppers! Sylvia! Come up here my girl, we have customers!" She called toward the back room. A thin, dark haired woman looking to be in her thirties came forward from the back room and stood by Madame Malkin's side. "These girls need wedding dresses, Sylvia. You help Miss Granger, and I'll help Miss Weasley." Hermione smiled obligingly at the woman called Sylvia, who bid her to follow Madame Malkin and herself into a back room. She gasped.
The room wasn't all that large, perhaps the size of the girls' dormitories at Hogwarts. However, 3 of the walls were completely lined with hundred of glittering wedding dresses. There was every color imaginable, from dark, earthy tones to bright, cheery pastels. Ginny positively squealed with glee and ran over to the nearest rack to begin her search.
"Come on, Miss Granger. Let's start over on this side," Sylvia suggested. Hermione nodded dumbly and followed her over to a shelf of dresses in her size range. "Now, what color did you have in mind?" The woman asked politely.
"Oh, well I wasn't really sure…just not white." She pondered for a moment. "Or black." Sylvia chuckled, and Hermione decided that she was a rather pretty woman. She wondered if she had gone through this same ordeal, with the dresses, and preparations and whatnot. In the meantime, Sylvia was walking briskly along the shelves, picking dress after dress off and tossing them on a nearby chair. Hermione watched the growing pile in awe, barely registering the fact that she would have to try each and every one on. She didn't bother picking any off the shelf herself, as she noticed Ginny was allowing Madame Malkin to make her selections as well. Finally, Sylvia seemed satisfied, and ushered the bushy haired girl into a changing room at the same time as her friend moved into the next one.
The first dress She tried on was really a lovely color, like a fine merlot wine. She had a difficult time of getting into it, however, as it was extremely strappy in the back. Once she had finally succeeded, she stepped out of the stall to show it to Ginny, who appeared impressed.
"I like it, 'Mione," she admitted. However, the spoken to shook her head.
"It's far too complicated," she turned around to show Ginny, who nodded. Sighing, Hermione stepped back into the stall and selected a new dress from the pile. This one was a cheery pastel yellow that she knew would not suit her, but she didn't want to be rude. Pulling the lump of taffeta and lace over her head and stepped out, but Ginny shook her head vigorously. Ginny, on the other hand, was wearing a particularly nice midnight blue piece, Hermione raised her eyebrows in approval, but Ginny shook her head and turned around, revealing a far too low cut back. Both marched back into their respective changing stalls to try again.
It went on in this fashion for nearly two hours, with each dress as much of an ill-fit as the next. After returning to the changing stall for what felt like the fiftieth time, Hermione heard the door to the room open and a man's voice speaking in hushed tones with Madame Malkin. She paid it no mind, it was probably just one of the Hogwarts boys looking for wedding robes. She selected one of the last dresses from the pile, on of her personal favorites. It was green satin, and a full-skirted floor-length gown. The very top of the skirt section was pleated underneath, causing it to ripple and shine prettily all the way down. The bodice was almost corset-like, with the satin fabric wrapped around her stomach and up to the shoulder to make the strap part. Since the satin was wrapped both ways, one over the other, it was slightly low cut, bust tastefully so as not to show too much. Her favorite part was the color, however, It was a sort of dark, forest green, that made her seem to glow, and accented her brown eyes perfectly. Smiling slightly at her reflection, she opened the door and stepped out.
"Ginny, I think I found-" she stopped short and stared at the opposite side of the room. Standing there next to Madame Malkin, looking sourly around at the dresses and then equally shocked to see her, was Severus. She opened her mouth and shut it again several times in quick succession, embarrassedat him finding her here for some reason. Finally, he spoke.
"H-Hermione, you look…beautiful" he breathed, and then blushed as if suddenly realizing what he'd said. She blushed a deep shade of red as well, looking at the floor. Ginny, who had been in the dressing room during their exchange, burst through the door and looked right to Hermione. She squealed delightedly.
"Hermione, that's it! You look brilliant! Wait-What's wrong?" She asked, noticing Hermione's flushed face and downward gaze. She whirled around and gave a soft, "Oh."
Severus, finally able to gather his voice again, muttered something along the lines of, "Come back later…didn't know you were busy," to Madame Malkin, and hurried out the door. As soon as he was out of earshot Sylvia launched herself at Hermione.
"Miss Granger, it's positively exquisite on you! Nothing else has looked quite so…stunning." Hermione nodded her thanks and then turned to see Ginny's latest selection, giving a soft gasp herself.
"Gin, it's perfect!"
Ginny had on a brilliant white gown, with full length sleeves that clung to her arms and had bits that hung about a foot off of her hands for decoration. The neckline was modest, but not too, and the entire thing was covered with tiny pearls in swirling patters, from the neck all the way down the skirt. Ginny positively beamed, and both girls headed back into the stalls to change into their normal clothes.
Carrying their selections, they moved to the front of the store to pay. Ginny gaped at the price of her dress, but Harry had provided her with more than enough. Hermione found that she also had change after the stupefying price of her own gown, and so suggested that they head to the Three Broomsticks for a drink to celebrate their good fortune in dress-hunting. Ginny wholeheartedly agreed, and the two set out the door.
The Three Broomsticks was packed with the usual crowd, and the pair had to search around a minute before spotting Ron, Harry and Ron's fiancé, Hope, at the largest corner booth. Smiliging brightly, they grabbed their drinks and jostled through the crowd, slumping exhaustedly into the booth.
"Alright, girls?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, just tired," Ginny replied.
"Oh, of course, cause shopping is an absolute wipeout," Ron joked. Hermione slapped him playfully on the arm.
"Dress shopping is bloody hard! I must have gone through at least fifty before I found a suitable gown!" Ginny nodded her wholehearted agreement. Hope just shook her head and smiled.
"That's the beauty of wearing an inherited gown, girls," she teased. Both of the aforementioned girls stuck out their tongues in a most immature fashion, causing the entire table to erupt in laughter. Finally they sobered themselves and managed decent conversation. Hermione smiled dolefully to herself, reminded that these times would soon end. Once she was married to Severus her time with her friends would be sorely diminished. Shaking that thought from her head, she focused on the present, and did her best to enjoy the time she had.
The following morning dawned gray and cloudy. Hermione was undaunted, however, and carefully opened the window in her dormitory and breathed in the fresh air. It was cold and crisp, pregnant with the promise of impending snow. The girl smirked slightly; she loved snow. She was about to close the window back up again when an all-to-familiar gray owl swooped inside, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin. Taking the note from its leg and shooing it back out the window, she sat down to read her betrothed's message.
Hermione-
Would you please join me for lunch today? We can go to Hogsmeade, as it's still considered part of the weekend. Meet me at La Lune Argentée at 12:30.
Sincerely, Severus Snape
Shaking her head, Hermione headed into the bathroom to shower. It was 11:30 now, so she had exactly one hour to bathe, tame her hair, find something suitable to wear, and get all the way to Hogsmeade.
She wasn't sure why, but she took extra care in preparing herself for their meeting that day. Spending almost fifteen minutes, twice her normal time, trying to do something with her hair, she finally managed at least semi-tame curls. She applied a small amount of very low-key makeup, finishing up with a subtle lip gloss. Finally, donning a pair of black jeans, a red camisole, and a black corduroy blazer, she rushed out the door and toward the village and the expensive French luncheon.
Severus Snape was sitting impatiently at a table in the nicest restaurant in Hogsmeade, drumming his nails in an increasingly annoying manner. The waitress who would be serving them kept telling him to relax, obviously not knowing who he was or the situation he was in. Finally, at exactly 12:35, the hostess led a very pretty girl back toward him. It took him a moment to realize that said pretty girl was none other than his fiancé.
Hermione tugged nervously at the sleeves of her blazer as she was led to the table where Severus sat waiting. She thanked the hostess as she sat down, and finally brought herself to look at the man across the table. To her surprise his hair looked extremely clean.
"Sorry I'm late, Severus. Your owl only came an hour ago and then I had to find something to wear and the walk took forever."
"It's quite alright, Mi-Hermione," he quickly corrected himself. "You're only five minutes overdue." She smiled and blushed before looking down at the menu.
"I've never been here before," she confided quietly. "It's so fancy…" His brow furrowed.
"Would you rather go somewhere else? If you're uncomfortable…"
"No, no!" She amended. "No, this is fine, Better than fine, actually, it's brilliant." She gazed around at her opulent surroundings. He smirked a bit to himself, before returning to his menu.
"What'll you have then?" The waitress had appeared from nowhere, startling Hermione. Severus ordered something in fluent French, and then both looked expectantly at her. She had no idea what she wanted, so she figured the safest thing right then was to go with the flow.
"I'll have the same," she said quietly, and the waitress nodded before bustling off. Hermione shifted her gaze to Severus, who was staring at her with a look of intense curiosity, one eyebrow raised.
"I didn't know you liked duck," he said finally. She gaped.
"Neither did I," she confessed. "I just can't read French, so I went with you." He stared at her for another moment, before breaking into a wide smile.
"You are something, Hermione Granger." She smiled and looked down.
The rest of the meal was spent in quiet conversation which Hermione, much to her surprise, found scintillating. The food was also quite good. Severus, astonishingly, also found their time together enjoyable. He discovered that Hermione was really quite interested in Potion-making, and knew quite a bit on the subject. Enough to entertain them throughout the entire meal, in fact. When they finally finished, he paid the check and then stood, offering to walk her back to the castle.
Hermione was taken aback by his offer at first, but she figured that no one from Hogwarts would be out today anyway, and they were in the middle of a fascinating conversation on the properties of merscales. So, they strolled out the door together, into the now-snowy weather.
The walk back seemed ages shorter than the trip into the village had been, and Hermione found herself almost sad to end their conversation at the door. Until then she hadn't even noticed that her arm was looped through his, and she withdrew it quickly. Blushing bright red and nodding goodbye, she hurried inside and off toward Gryffindor Tower.
And as Severus watched her go, he couldn't help but think that perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.
A/N And so ends the third installment! Hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to review!
Also, La Lune Argentée means 'The Silver Moon' in French, in case you wondered.