A/N: Hey guys…Sorry it took me little longer than usual to update. I've been having some personal problems. I miss my boyfriend! But I take solace in Ron. He's the perfect guy, in my opinion. I know you don't care, so…ON WITH THE STORY!
For a whole second, Ron glared at Krum. Harry didn't move. He really didn't want to be caught now. Hermione was looking anxiously at Ron. She moved as though to get up and walk to him. Harry's invisible jaw dropped as Krum grabbed Hermione by the arm with one hand and pulled her back into a sitting position. With the other hand, he touched her face. He was completely ignoring Ron who was becoming progressively angrier. Harry thought that Ron's face was mirroring the way Harry had felt last year when he had walked in on Ginny and Dean kissing. The thought still made Harry's blood churn. Ron had nothing to stop him killing Krum where Harry had not been able to murder a fellow student and teammate without suspicion. Krum held Hermione's face in her hands and said,
"Hermy-own-ninny, I need to know how you feel."
Hermione was looking from Krum to Ron, her eyes silently pleading with Ron.
"Do not look at him, Hermy-own-ninny, please answer me."
That was apparently the last straw for Ron.
"Oi! Krum! I don't care if she wants to marry you and have twelve kids. I want your hands off her. Now!"
Krum got slowly off the sofa and walked towards Ron. His brow was furrowed and he looked confused. Hermione remained on the sofa, looking over the back of it, clearly wondering what Ron was going to do.
"I do not understand. Are you and Hermy-own-ninny together?"
In answer, Ron growled low in his throat, and taking Harry, Hermione, and apparently Krum, entirely by surprise, he took a swing at Krum's head.
Hermione gasped as Ron followed up with an uppercut to Krum's jaw. The series of blows that followed caught Krum completely unguarded, and his unconscious form fell to the floor. Ron was panting and he looked angrily up at Hermione, who was now rushing around to Krum's limp form.
"That felt really good," Ron said, the anger not fading from his voice, "Been dying to do that for years now."
Hermione knelt by Krum and looked up at Ron, her expression furious,
"Have you lost your mind, Ron? Are you so uncivilized? Why did you have to hit him? He didn't do anything to you!"
Ron had clearly not expected this. He was equally as angry, however, and with them both this angry, only bad things could come out of this.
"Oh, that's right. You were just about to admit to dear Vicky that you love him, weren't you. So sorry I interrupted!"
"Not that it's any of your business, especially now, but I was going to politely turn Viktor down. He's a friend, nothing more."
"Oh, sure! You say that now, but what if I hadn't walked in. 'Oh, Viktor, that's so sweet.' You're telling me you would have followed that up with "but I just want to be friends"?"
"As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I was planning on saying." She was in tears now, "Why do you do these things, Ron? Why do you hate Viktor so much?"
Harry knew that Ron would never admit his jealousy, especially after knocking Krum out.
"I just think he's after you for reasons that aren't so honorable, that's all," Ron said indignantly.
Hermione laughed a cold, bitter laugh,
"Ron, he told me he was in love with me. It's been nearly three years since I saw him last. He's a world famous Quidditch player, and you think he had to wait that long to come to me with his 'dishonorable intentions'? That's ridiculous! But it's nice to know that that's the only way I could get a guy. I'm only good for one thing, right, Ron?"
Harry saw Ron grimace, and he knew that the sincere regret on Ron's face would not hold much weight with Hermione right now. She was pretty angry.
"Hermione, that's not what I meant- I- that's not what I think of you."
"You know what, Ron, just stop. Don't speak to me right now, because I'll just regret what I'd say. I'm taking Viktor up to one of the bedrooms to lie down before the wedding. And I don't want to see you right now."
Ron sank weakly into a chair by the door as Hermione whispered,
"Ennervate," and pointed her wand at Krum's chest. He came round groggily, and Hermione helped him out of the room, muttering apologies under her breath to him.
When Hermione and Krum had left the room, Harry figured he should come out from under the cloak, at least to help sort Ron out. He took it off, and walked towards the door. He shut it, and then sat on the floor beside Ron's chair. The fact that Ron hadn't even reacted to Harry's sudden appearance told Harry just how upset he was.
"Ron," he said tentatively, "are you okay, mate?"
Ron shook his head and whispered,
"So you saw that, then? Total disaster."
"Well, I reckon hitting Krum wasn't the way to go."
"I wanted to kill him, Harry. Something inside me was cheering for his death. Then he put his hands on her, and it was like something snapped."
"I know how it feels. Really. That's how I felt last year when we walked in on Ginny and Dean."
"Yeah. I don't think she'll ever forgive me. Harry, does she love him?"
"No," Harry thought he should tell his friend what he had heard before Ron had walked in, "He told her that he couldn't stop thinking about her," Ron's fists clenched, "but she told him that she didn't think of him that way. That was when he asked her to reconsider. That's where you heard from."
"I blew it," Ron buried his head in his hands, "I'm never coming back from this. But, Harry," Ron lifted his head and a small smile graced his lips, "it felt really good."
Harry smiled too.
"Look, we'd better see if there's something else we can do to help. This whole thing with Hermione will sort itself out later. There's always the reception."
"Yeah, I guess," Ron replied, and he stood up.
All the women in the wedding party were upstairs getting ready, so thankfully, the boys didn't have to deal with them. They puttered around the house making idle chitchat. Harry figured that he should after witnessing a scene he should not have. That was the price of being invisible; sometimes you see things that you never want to see. Half an hour before the ceremony was about to begin, the guests filed out to the hundreds of chairs in the orchards.
Harry was told to wait for Mrs. Weasley. He would walk out with her and Mr. Weasley to find his seat. Ron had to wait, unfortunately, for Hermione. They were, after all walking down the aisle together. Charlie and Bill waited with Harry and Ron in the living room. Apparently in magical weddings, the bride and groom walked down the aisle together. It was symbolic of their "walk through life together". The men waited for the full half hour until Bill shouted up the stairs,
"Hate to interrupt your female rituals up there, but there's a wedding that's supposed to be happening right now. I wouldn't bother you, but…IT'S MY WEDDING!"
Harry and Charlie sniggered. Ron didn't. He had been very stoic since the fight. All the men in the wedding party were wearing scarlet and gold dress robes. Harry was reminded of what a very fancy Gryffindor party might look like. Harry had asked Bill why Charlie and Ron had to wear the same colors as Bill himself while Harry got to wear his green dress robes. Bill rolled his eyes and told Harry that Fleur had decided on these colors and insisted that the wedding party had to match. He told Harry that it had to do with Ginny's hair color. Harry snorted. Hair color, in Harry's opinion, was not a basis for clothing color. Harry's thoughts were interrupted and wiped completely from his head as Ginny and Hermione made their ways down the stairs.
Harry was fully unaware of the fact that Mrs. Weasley, Gabrielle, and Fleur were walking behind them. Harry only saw Ginny, and he watched his best friend only to note how different she looked. Both girls were stunning. Ginny wore a dress that was a slim column of shimmering gold silk, held up by thin straps over her shoulders. It reached down to her ankle, but had a slit all the way up to her knee. Her flaming red hair was tied back in an intricate knot. Harry could barely keep his jaw off the floor, and he wiped his mouth idly, hoping he wasn't drooling.
Harry saw Ron standing next to him with a similar expression, and Harry took his eyes off of Ginny long enough to look at Hermione. She was wearing the same dress as Ginny, except that hers was scarlet. Her hair was tied up in the same knot, and it was sleek and smooth as it had been at the Yule Ball. She smiled at Harry as she came down the stairs. Harry smiled back, and then returned his glance to Ginny. She, too, smiled at Harry, and Harry thought he might melt into a puddle of mush at her feet. Harry now saw that the three women behind Hermione and Ginny were waiting impatiently for the two girls in front to climb down the last step so that they could get a move on. Harry noted, very half-heartedly, that Gabrielle was wearing the same red dress as Hermione. Mrs. Weasley was wearing a gold set of dress robes, and Fleur was dressed in a white dress with a very large circumference.
The women came down the last step, and Charlie gave a wolf-whistle. He walked to Ginny, and grabbed his sister's hand, twirling her in a circle.
"Ginny, you are NEVER, I repeat, NEVER allowed out of the house ever again, do you hear me? You look way too good, and I just don't have the strength to beat up all those boys."
Ginny giggled and muttered,
"There's only one you have to worry about."
"What's that?" Charlie asked
"Nothing, but we're late, so we should go!"
Harry wrenched his gaze from Ginny to see Ron still gaping at Hermione, Bill gazing at Fleur as if they were in their own little world, and Mrs. Weasley calling for Mr. Weasley.
Mr. Weasley came down the stairs, and he said, jovially,
"Are we ready, then? You all look beautiful," he added, smiling at his wife.
"Harry, dear, come out with us, and this lot will follow."
Harry nodded and followed. He gave a last look at the group left in the living room and gave Ron a reassuring smile; Hermione was ignoring Ron.
As they were walking down to the orchard Harry was suddenly puzzled,
"Mrs. Weasley, if Hermione and Ron are walking together and Ginny and Charlie are walking together, who's walking with Gabrielle?"
"She follows the rest, right before Fleur and Bill. She's been given special permission to use magic today and she was taught the spell that's only taught to use at weddings. She's to roll out a special runway, of sorts, for the bride and groom to walk on."
"Oh," Harry said, contemplating just how that would work. He sat down next to Mr. Weasley, and he looked down the row to see Fred and Angelina who both waved at Harry. Harry made a note to talk with Angelina later; she was a great Quidditch player, and Harry had missed her last year. Next to them were George and a girl with long, curly black hair and a kind smile. George waved to Harry and bent his head to whisper to the girl, who Harry assumed to be Brooke. She looked up, as George apparently had just explained who Harry was, and she waved also. Harry smiled at her as music cued up. It was light and had the sound of a harp, chimes, and a flute all intertwined. It was very peaceful, and Harry turned with the rest of the crowd to watch Ginny being accompanied down the aisle by Charlie.
She looked stunning, and she smiled at all the guests, as did Charlie. As she passed Harry, she gave him a small wink. Harry's heart did a back flip. Then Ron and Hermione followed. Though they walked arm in arm, they could not have been farther apart. Harry gave an inward sigh. He couldn't take this. They made their ways to the awning that stood in front of the chairs and Hermione moved to stand with Ginny while Ron moved miserably to stand with Charlie. Ron kept his eyes on Hermione as if silently willing her to look at him. She did not, but it was not because she was ignoring him. Gabrielle was halfway down the aisle, Harry realized. Indeed, she walked gracefully backwards, her wand in front of her, and she was procuring a runway that stood up a foot off the ground. Harry saw small steps at one end and it was woven with tiny fairy lights and flowers. Gabrielle finished her runway right at the awning. It ended in two small steps. The music changed and Fleur and Bill came into sight. As was tradition in magical weddings, Bill swept Fleur into his arms and carried her up the steps. He set her down and they walked arm in arm smiling down the runway until they reached the awning. Bill swept her up again and put her down only when they stood in front of a kind old man that was certainly the Ministry official.
The official spoke about love. How people of the wizarding world tended to find it early on, and what it meant to go through life with someone whose life meant more to you than your own. Harry's mind wandered as he watched, not the official, but Ginny. She was smiling, clearly over her ill-feelings towards Fleur in light of how happy her brother was. His eyes then found Hermione. She had tears in her eyes, and Ron continued to watch her. The official talked for a few more moments and he finished with,
"So these two have found love, and they wish to announce to the world their feelings for one another. They found love, and they aren't going to let it go."
Harry saw Hermione finally meet Ron's eyes. Hers were full of tears, but they had most definitely made contact with Ron's worried ones. He mouthed,
"I'm sorry."
She mouthed back,
"I know." And nodded fervently.
"With the power that has been entrusted to me by the Ministry of Magic, I can now legally present to the public, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Weasley."
Mrs. Weasley was in tears and the whole orchard rose to its feet, clapping. Bill kissed Fleur, and wiped the tears from her eyes. Hermione was now crying silent tears with a smile on her face. She was not watching Bill and Fleur. She was looking at Ron. Ron was smiling stupidly back at her, and Harry thought that, finally, the two had reached a point where their feelings could come out. Thinking of love made him look at Ginny, who was not crying, but smiling happily. She was watching Harry, and Harry met her gaze, a smile on his face as well. The guests began to move and Harry felt himself being jostled to the edge of the orchard.
"What's going on?" Harry asked Mr. Weasley, but found that he was no longer there. Fred appeared at Harry's elbow and answered,
"Well, they'd set up the reception area, then put a spell on it so that when the ceremony was over, a group of them could just cast the spell and this," he gestured at the chairs and runway, "would just turn into the reception tent. Saves time and hassle."
Angelina walked up to Harry then and said,
"Harry! It's so good to see you! Heard you were captain last year. And we won the Cup, too! Well done!"
Harry smiled ruefully,
"Yeah, but I didn't get to play in the last match."
"I know, Katie told me. What'd you have to go and get detention for anyway?"
Harry shrugged. This was still a sore topic of conversation. Harry caught sight of Ginny and excused himself. He walked towards he, and she ran to hug him. Harry caught her and held her in a tight hug, the smell of flowers that followed her everywhere reached Harry's nose, and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed to let her go.
"Great ceremony," Harry said, covering up the sudden attack on his emotions.
Ginny nodded, smiling,
"It was, wasn't it? And these heels barely hurt. Fleur put some sort of charm on them."
Harry looked down and noted the gold, spiked heels on Ginny's feet.
"Oh, that's why I can nearly look you in the eye."
Ginny laughed,
"I s'pose so, yeah. Because goodness knows you usually tower over me. I never minded much, though. But it's nice to have the height. Passing over my shoes, where're Ron and Hermione? Did they have another row? She came upstairs earlier and she looked like she'd been crying."
As the sound of multiple witches and wizards enchanting the orchard was heard in the background, Harry told Ginny the whole story.
"Frustrating, those two, aren't they?" Ginny said, "But I watched them during the ceremony, and they seemed to have made up."
"Yeah, I saw it too. But we should find them."
"Maybe we shouldn't find them, if you catch my drift."
"I get it, but we don't have to worry about that. Hermione's with Bill and Fleur and Ron's over there with Fred, George, Angelina, and Brooke."
Ginny looked disappointed,
"Oh, look! The tent's up. Shall we gather Ron and Hermione, and go in then?"
"Good idea. You get Hermione, I'll get Ron."
"Right. Oh, and Harry?"
He stopped walking and looked at her,
"Yeah?"
"Save me a dance, alright?"
Harry smiled and nodded. Ginny returned his smile and headed towards Hermione. Harry didn't think that a dance with Ginny would lead to anything else. He didn't let himself. Tonight, just for tonight, Voldermort was not going to rule his thoughts.
A/N: The reception will be a fun time for ADMISSIONS! Will it be Ron and Hermione or Harry and Ginny? Hmmm…and will the admission lead to more, or will it cause more problems than it solves? Find out…as soon as I update. I planned on getting the reception into this chapter, but I just can't. So, please review. Tell me your predictions if you wish, or you could just yell at me for drawing this out so long. I apologize for that again, but I write at night, and it's 1:30 now. I'm so tired!
