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Chapter 19
Hermione's POV
I took the official looking letter from the owl with its leg sticking out at me, and paid it.
I tore open the letter, and read:
My Dearest Hermione,
It is my wonderful pleasure to inform you that I'm to be wed to Carlotta Kira Asparouh, and it would be an honor if you would attend. The wedding will be March 14, at the Quidditch field where the Quidditch World Cup was held the year Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament, and the year I met you. If you have a family that you would like to bring with you, you may.
If you can attend, or can't, either way, please send a letter back. Send it to the address of: 2286, Everwild Dr, Pensacola Beach, Florida. Yes, I'm on vacation in Florida, and it's wonderful here!
I've invited some others from your school. They are: Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Fred and George Weasley, and Oliver Wood.
Send a reply soon,
Victor Krum
I grinned, and scribbled a reply quickly on the back of a piece of parchment. It said:
Victor,
I would be ecstatic to come to your wedding! I can't wait to meet the lucky bride. It's wonderful that you're on vacation during this long winter. I'm sooooooooo jealous!
I might be able to bring my daughter, Cassidy, but I'm not sure whether she can be out of school then or not.
Either way, see you on March 14th!
Love Always,
Hermione Granger
I sealed the letter, and gave it to my owl, Bubbles. (Cassidy named him when she was around 5 years old.) I watched him fly away until he was just a tiny speck against the big, blue sky.
Then, I called Cassidy.
"Cassi?" I asked when she answered.
"Yeah, mum, what's up?" She replied, slightly breathless.
"Are you going to the Greenhouses?" I asked, slightly suspicious.
"Yeah, we were late, so we had to run for it." She said, breathing heavily.
"Oh. So, I just got an invitation to Victor Krum's wedding. I was wondering if this afternoon, during lunch, if you could ask Dumbledore to let you take the week of March 14th off. If you want to go to the wedding, I mean." I said, hoping she would want to go.
"Sure! Great! Okay, I've got to go, because if I'm late for potions, well, you know. I'll see ya later, then!" She replied.
"Okay, good. Well, call me when you get an answer from Dumbledore." I said, grinning.
"Kay." She hung up.
Cassidy's POV
I ran down the corridor to the potions classroom, and hurried in. But I almost had a heart attack when the person staring at me from the teacher's desk wasn't Snape, but a strange woman. She looked young, with curtains of short, ringlet curled, sandy colored hair, and warm, black eyes, almost like Hagrid's.
"Hello, please take a seat, everyone." She said in a smooth, kind voice that made me feel strange because I had heard nothing but Snape's cold voice coming out of a teacher's mouth down in this dungeon.
Lindsay, Austin, Shane and I all took seats toward the front of the room, looking apprehensively up at the strange new face.
"Well, I'll start off by saying my name is Professor Kailani Snape. I am Professor Snape's sister, and I despise him. I think he is scum for choosing the dark side, even if he did come back after. I will be your new potions teacher." She finished cheerily.
"Um, Professor Snape, ma'am, where is the other Professor Snape?" A Slytherin girl asked.
"First off, please call me Kailani. Just Kailani. I don't believe in all of this 'ma'am' or 'professor' junk." She said.
"Was he murdered?" Someone else asked hopefully. (A/N: I just had to do that…LoL Kailee)
"Did he retire?" Austin asked, grinning. Lindsay, Shane and I dissolved into fits of laughter. Few others seemed to have gotten the joke.
"No, he didn't retire. He did quit, though. Wanted to stop working here because he said the Gryffindors were finally getting to him." She said, smiling slightly.
It was the best potions class that I had ever had! We spent about half of the class learning about Kailani, and the other half learning how to brew an antidote. After potions was lunch. As soon as I walked into the Great Hall, I walked up to Dumbledore to ask him about March 14th.
"Professor Dumbledore? Mum was wondering if I could take the week of March 14th off of school to go to Victor Krum's wedding. Can I?" I asked.
"Well…I suppose." He said, smiling.
Lindsay opened her mouth to ask also, because her parents had been invited too.
"And Miss. Potter may go also." He said, eyes twinkling.
"Thank you, sir!" She grinned.
January faded into February, which very quickly became March. Lindsay and I picked outfits for the wedding. Lindsay picked a spaghetti strap, peach colored, silk, fitted dress that went down to her knees, with a white silk sash, and a pair of white strappy sandals. I picked a knee length, tan, pleated skirt, a jade green cami and a jade green, white, and navy blue striped silk blouse. (I decided not to fight with Lindsay when she picked out the outfit this time. Hey, it may even look kinda cute!) (A/N: This is March 14th, but when I go to Hermione's POV, I go back a little.)
"Bye, Austin! I'll miss you," I said, holding Austin's hand as I looked at the Hogwarts Express that was to take Linds and I to the wedding location.
"I'll miss you too," he said, giving me a kiss.
"Now don't get all mushy on me!" I exclaimed, grinning.
I waited for Lindsay to finish saying good-bye to Ian, and then we boarded the train.
Hermione's POV (March 14th, 6:30am)
I tried pulling myself up into a sitting position in bed, failed, and rolled back over onto my side.
Then, realizing that it was Victor's wedding today, I pulled myself out of bed, and stood.
I woke up today
Woke up wide awake
In an empty bed
Staring at an empty room
I shuffled downstairs, and made myself a cup of coffee, and put some waffles in the microwave.
I have myself to blame for the state I'm in today
And now dying
Doesn't seem so cruel
And oh, I don't know what to say
And I don't know anyway
Anymore
As I sat in silence, drinking my coffee and occasionally picking pieces off of my waffle to eat them, I caught sight of something glimmering.
It was a picture of Ron and I. My arm was slung around his shoulder, and he was holding up the quidditch cup. We were in our 5th year…the year that I realized that I had more than a crush on Ron.
I hate myself for losing you
I'm seeing it all so clear
I hate myself for losing you
What do you do when you look in the mirror
And staring at you is why he's not here
I was staring blankly at the picture for a while before I realized what I was hearing. The phone was ringing. I stood, and picked it up.
"Hello?" I asked, groggily.
"Hermione? Hi, it's Parvati." Said a hushed voice. My heart stopped. Why was she calling me?
"Hi, Parvati, what's up?" I asked, completely nonplussed.
"I…I wanted to apologize…I don't think Ron handled his feelings like he should've. I don't think he should've told you what happened like that." She whispered, and I could tell Ron didn't know she was calling.
You got what you deserved
Hope you're happy now
Cuz' every time I think of you with her
It's killing me
Inside, and now I dread each day
Knowing that I can't be saved
From the loneliness of living without you
"Um…thanks…Parvati." I said, feeling a bit better.
"I just wanted to make sure everything was cool between us. I don't want to be your enemy forever." She said, and I smiled slightly.
I hate myself for losing you
I'm seeing it all so clear
I hate myself for losing you
What do you do when you look in the mirror
And staring at you is why he's not here
What do you say when everything you said
Is the reason why he left you in the end
How do you cry when every tear you shed
Won't ever bring him back again
"Okay, Parvati, thanks. Well, I've got to go get ready for Victor's wedding." I said.
"Okay, see you there!" We hung up.
I walked back upstairs, Parvati's apology still ringing in my ears. Well, I guess she's not as bad as I thought…
I pulled open my closet door, and pulled out a light green dress with spaghetti straps and a white polka-dot pattern around the top and hem of the dress. I also found my pink flip-flops, and my pink sash to tie around my head.
When I had taken a shower, painted my toenails, and gotten dressed, I Apparated quickly to the field.
The second I spotted the train, I also spotted two blurs hurtling themselves at me. But they were small blurs, so it couldn't be Lindsay or Cassidy…it was-
"Aunt Hermy! Aunt Hermy!" Yelled Fred and Angelina's two children, a two-year-old girl named Karla, and a 4-year-old boy named Dante.
"Hey, guys!" I said, wrapping them up into a huge hug. Fred and Angelina followed behind them, smiling.
"Hey, never thought I'd see the day, huh?" Fred said, grinning and giving me a tight, one-armed hug.
"What day?" I asked, as Angelina hugged me also.
"The day when my little bro would be going to a wedding with someone other than my preferred sister in law!" Fred exclaimed, putting an arm around my shoulder. I grinned, but Angelina frowned.
"Fred, that's not very considerate of Hermione's feelings!" She said, plucking Karla up into her arms before she jumped into a mud puddle.
"That's okay, really. I'm trying to move on." I lied, as Fred opened his mouth to apologize.
"Oh…well, just so you know, I think Ron's a huge wart not to have stayed with you." Fred whispered glaring at something, and following his eyes, I realized it was Ron.
"Well, thanks…for your…um, support…I think." I said, and Angelina laughed.
Trying to get off of the subject, I picked up Dante and started tickling him. He giggled, trying to pry my fingers off of his small stomach.
"Where are George and Alicia?" I asked, letting Dante down so he could run around with Chase, Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's little 4-year-old boy.
"Right here, Hermy!" I heard a voice behind me. I whipped around, and grinned at the sight of George, who was holding a little 2-year-old girl named Avril, and her sister, standing at George's shoulder, 7-year-old Cadence. Alicia smiled at me, but it was almost a smile that said 'I know what happened between you and Ron, and if you need me, I'm here'. Geez, will these people give it a rest!
"Hey, Alicia!" I said, grinning.
"Hey, how's it going?" She replied, taking Avril from George as she started pulling his hair.
"Not bad," I said, and she looked at me disbelievingly, so I said "Seriously, I'm fine! I'm just trying to kind of get over it." I said, looking at her with what I thought was an unworried look. She didn't buy it. I didn't think she would.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. I nodded, grinning at her.
"Oh! The wedding is about to start! Let's go get some good seats!" I said, as Cassidy and Lindsay came running toward us.
"Hey, guys! Cassi, you look so cute!" Katie said, walking to the stands with us, Harry tagging along behind.
"Thanks, Katie." She said, smiling slightly.
"EVERYONE! FIND SOME SEATS, IT'S ALMOST TIME!" Boomed a voice from the top box.
"Let's go." I said, gasping suddenly when I saw Ron and Parvati sitting next to our seats in the stands.
Oh, cliffie! Okay, not really the best cliffie, but hey, I try. Anyways, please REVIEW! Will have the next chapter up faster the more reviews I get!