A/N: Thank you for all the amazing reviews! And a special thanks to my wonderful beta, KT.

Chapter 19

"Tell Katie that I…"

"I told you that she can hear you, idiot," Draco snapped at George as they waited for Dumbledore to arrive in the infirmary.

"Besides, you haven't apologized for hitting me with that stunning spell. I don't see why I should do anything for you…" Draco drawled with a smirk.

George jumped to his feet, his hands clenched into fists.

"You will cooperate or I'll tell Ginny. I might not be able to touch you, but she knows how to do some pretty mean jinxes," George threatened.

"She wouldn't hurt me," Draco insisted, but he was obviously unsure of himself.

Katie snorted.

"No, she'd probably just kick you out of bed," she said, grinning.

Draco glared in the direction her voice had come from.

"Shut it, you…"

"DON'T TALK TO KATIE THAT WAY!"

"That is quite enough, Gentlemen."

The bickering pair looked up to see Dumbledore enter the room with Snape trailing him.

"Now, I believe we have a floating soul that needs to return to her body?" he asked Draco.

"YES! Please say you can help me," Katie cried making Draco flinch with her screeching.

"Um, yes Headmaster. She really wants to wake up."

"Okay," Dumbledore nodded and turned to face the room.

"Katie, can you hear me?" he asked.

"Of course I can," she said, exasperated.

"Headmaster, I believe we already established that she can," Draco said a bit impatient for all of this to be over.

"Right, right. Katie, walk over to the bed that your body is on," Dumbledore instructed, walking over himself.

"Alright I'm here. Now what?" she asked.

Draco nodded at the Headmaster.

"She is there, Sir."

"Good. Now, lie down."

Surely it couldn't be that easy.

Katie slowly sat on the bed and leaned back so that she was lying on top of herself. A second later, she felt herself begin sinking and the world went black.

"Katie? Can you hear me?" A voice asked her, but it sounded very far away.

It was George, and she wanted to answer him, but she felt so heavy and sluggish. A good five minutes of struggling passed before she was finally able to pry open her eyes.

The world around her was bright and blurry. She quickly shut her eyes again and groaned.

"Katie? Open your eyes," Rachel commanded a few minutes later.

She tried again, and was relieved to see that the lights had been dimmed, and things were in much better focus.

Headmaster Dumbledore was off to one side slightly humming and rocking on his feet, while Snape crossed his arms and rolled his eyes looking bored and put upon. Rachel flitted around her, casting diagnostic spells as she went. Katie's eyes finally found George who had been shoved out of Rachel's way. He was looking at her in a way no one had ever looked at her before, and she could feel herself blushing.

She smiled up at Rachel, feeling truly grateful to be alive. Why on Earth had she wanted to die in the first place?

Rachel smiled back at her and said, "Well, it is a good thing you are awake, Katie. You've only got three days left to plan your wedding."

Oh, yeah.

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Later that evening, Hermione stormed into her rooms furious. A piece of parchment clutched in her hand.

"I am going to kill him," she growled, handing the letter to a startled Severus who had been reading in the sitting room.

Upon scanning the letter he looked up at his wife and smirked.

"Who? Weasley, Potter, or Malfoy? And can I help?" He teased, smoothly.

Despite her anger, Hermione had to bite back a smile as she snatched the letter back, and read it for the fifth time.

Hermione,

Fred dropped by for a visit today and brought us up to speed on a few things. I do hope you had planned to warn me before I returned. But it is okay. In fact, Melanie had the idea that we should invite Ginny and Draco to dinner tomorrow night and I was wondering if you and Ron could come to. Let me know as soon as you can. And please don't worry. I promise that everything is fine.

Love,

Harry

Hermione plopped down in a chair with a sigh.

"Should I go?" she asked her husband, tiredly.

Severus gave up on getting back to his book and tossed it onto a table.

"Why are you asking me?" He wondered.

Hermione shrugged and sighed again.

"I'm starting to think that maybe you were right," she said, finally.

Severus gave her a suspicious look.

"What exactly was I right about?"

"About spending more time taking care of my friends than myself."

"I said that?"

"Well, something like that. It was what you meant though. Lately I feel like that even though I'm newly married and pregnant, my life is second to everyone else. First it was Harry and Melanie, then George and Katie, and now Draco and Ginny. Maybe I should back off and let them work out things for themselves."

Severus remained quiet, not sure what she wanted him to say to that.

"But then, what if things go really horrible? I love them, well most of them anyway. I would feel so guilty not even trying to help them out. But then, I'm just so tired all the time now. Did you know I've had to take a nap every afternoon for the last week? Rachel is constantly ordering me off my feet and to bed. It's almost as if she can see right through my glamour…" she stopped, suddenly realizing what she had just revealed.

Her husband's face remained impassive, but his voice was dangerously quiet and she knew that he was mad at her.

"You have been covering yourself with a glamour?" He asked, silkily.

Hermione quickly got to her feet and faked a yawn.

"It's nothing, Severus. I'm going to go lie down for a little while," she said, and hurried to the bedroom.

Hermione quickly removed her shoes and slid into bed. For a moment, she believed that Severus was actually going to let her be. However, she didn't feel relieved. In fact, she actually felt a little disappointed in him. Had their situation been reversed, she would have at least insisted that he start taking better care of himself.

She was about to get up and go accuse him of neglect when she felt the bed dip behind her as he sat down.

Hermione was thankful that she was facing away from him, or he would have seen her smile.

"Hermione?"

She did not move.

"I know you are awake. Sit up, we need to talk," he commanded.

She still did not move.

He made an exasperated noise, then angrily stood back up and walked around to her side of the bed. Grabbing her arm he hauled her up into a sitting position and glared at her.

"Take it off," he demanded.

At first Hermione was going to refuse, but it had been a long time since he had turned his anger onto her directly and it made her cringe.

Pulling her wand from beneath her pillow, she ended the glamour spell.

Snape shut his eyes and counted to ten, hoping to control some of the anger that had flared upon finally seeing her deteriorated state.

He wasn't sure who was the most angry at: Hermione for hiding it, her friends for causing it or himself for not realizing it.

"Have you been eating?" he asked.

She blinked then nodded.

"I eat all time. You see me," she pointed out.

"Yes, but I also see your face every day and it has never looked like this. For all I know you could be faking the food as well," he snapped.

Hermione hung her head. When she had started using the glamour it was not her purpose to lie to him. She just did not want him or any of her friends to feel bad relying on her. Now, it seemed a rather foolish thing to do.

Severus seemed to know exactly what was going through her mind.

"It isn't like you to put yourself ahead of your friends. I understand that, but you have to. If not for you, then for o-our baby," he said, the anger gone from his voice.

Hermione felt a warm burst of pleasure at his words. Up until now he had always referred to the baby as 'it', 'the baby', and once he had even called it 'your baby'. This verbal claim seemed to hearten her. It gave her hope that they might end up as a normal family one-day. Well, as normal as a witch and wizard living in the dungeons of a school castle could be.

"I'm sorry. I have been doing my best to continue on as if nothing has changed, but I see now that it is all a lie. Things have changed. I'm pregnant, and I am pushing myself to hard. Yes, I'll feel a tad guilty if my friends' love lives fall apart, but I don't even want to imagine the pain if anything happening to our baby."

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest.

"I promise you, Severus, and you too little one, that I'll start taking better care of myself," she said and smiled when she felt his hand slide into her hair.

"We'll hold you to that," he said, his voice sounding curiously thick.

She lifted her head for a kiss, tugging on his robes until he joined her on the bed.

"Hermione, you need rest," he protested feebly as her hands started unbuttoning his robes.

"What I need right now, is you," she insisted and kissed him again.

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"You look nervous," Melanie commented to her husband as they dressed for dinner the following evening.

"I'm not," Harry insisted, and cursed at his sixth unsuccessful attempt at tying his bow tie.

Melanie walked over to him her navy blue dress robes swishing as she went.

"It's okay, you know. I won't get mad," she told him, expertly tying the bow tie on her first try.

Harry studied her for a moment.

"Thank you. You've been really good about this…" he began, but she waved a hand to cut him off.

"You cared about her. You thought she was dead, and now you know that she is alive. You have every right to be happy about that, regardless of me," she said, looking at the floor.

He gently took her arm and tilted her chin up to look at him.

"I do care about her, but I love you."

"Regardless, of her," he added and they both smiled.

She hugged him.

"I know. After tonight, it will all be over with, and neither one of us will have to worry about it anymore," she said, staring up at him with her head on his chest.

The ringing of the doorbell broke their moment.

"They're early!" Melanie exclaimed, hurrying out of the room.

Harry put a hand to his forehead.

"I forgot to tell you, Mel. Fred and Ron are coming early to discuss some things. Draco and Ginny won't be here for another half-hour," he confessed, sheepishly.

Melanie took a deep breath to calm herself and sent her husband a glare.

"Okay then. You go greet them, I'll be down in a minute," she said and turned back to the bedroom.

Harry frowned, but left to answer the door. This was obviously bothering Melanie more than she admitted.

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George was staring out the window with a vacant expression on his face while Katie and Hermione twittered on and on about the upcoming wedding.

At least they weren't asking his opinion anymore. When Katie had asked him if he preferred carnations or roses, he had answered her by saying, "Let's just elope."

He was going to have a bruise on his face where a book had struck him, courtesy of Hermione Snape.

The sun was just starting to set when there was a knock at the door. George had never been so happy to see Professor Snape.

"I've come to collect my wife," he said, giving George a bored luck.

"Please, take her," George replied, this time it was Katie who hit him with a book.

"Severus, just another hour or so…"

"Need I remind you of your promise?" He asked, abruptly.

Hermione paled and shook her head.

"I'm sorry Katie, but we'll have to finish this tomorrow," she said, giving her a hug.

"That's alright, Hermione. I know you need your rest," Katie said, smiling at her.

Once the Snapes had left, George turned to Katie expectantly.

"Let's get out of here," he pleaded.

She blinked and shook her head.

"George, we are getting married in two days! There is just too much to do before then," she explained.

"One hour, Katie. That's all I ask. Please?"

She tilted her head to the side, resisting the urge to smile at his 'puppy-dog' eyes.

"What did you have in mind?"

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Melanie entered the parlor to find Fred, Ron and Harry laughing over Fred's latest invention.

"George and I will make a fortune off of it," he was saying.

Upon seeing Melanie, Ron immediately went over to her.

"Melanie, you look very well," he said, kissing the hand she offered him.

"Thank you, Professor," she said politely.

Ron laughed.

"I never was your professor, but even so. You are married to my best friend, call me Ron."

Then he leaned in close to whisper to her, his face turning slightly pink.

"I'm under strict orders of Hermione to inquire if Harry has, er, mistreated you in any way," he said, embarrassed.

Melanie giggled, and turned a loving gaze to her husband who was watching them suspiciously from the other side of the room while Fred rambled on.

"He has been perfect," she said, her voice taking on a dreamy quality.

Ron smiled and the two of them walked over to join Harry and Fred.

"George is getting married day after tomorrow," Fred said suddenly.

"But I thought that Katie was in a coma," Melanie said, confused.

Ron shook his head.

"She woke up yesterday. It's a bloody good thing too. If she had still been in the coma after the deadline, she would have had to marry Flint when she woke," Ron said, shuddering.

Fred was starting to look a little depressed.

"George is marrying Katie, Ron is leaving. Now I'll be the only bachelor," he whined.

"I can set you up with someone if you'd like," Melanie offered and laughed when she saw the horrified expression on his face.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Harry asked Ron.

"Dumbledore wants me to run an errand in Argentina. I thought I'd spend a couple of months there. I miss traveling," he said.

The doorbell rang again, and all four of them visibly tensed. It was time.

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All in all it had been an okay date. George had whisked Katie away to the Leaky Cauldron for a delicious meal by candlelight. He had been charming, and had her laughing practically the whole time. As they walked out of the Inn and into Diagon Alley, Katie grabbed his hand and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, George. I'm glad we could get away for a little while," she said, smiling.

He blushed and squeezed her hand tighter.

"We, er, you have been so busy with getting ready for this wedding, I just didn't want you to forget," he said.

"Forget what?"

"That I love you."

Her heart melted and she leaned forward to kiss him. Just before their lips could meet, a loud voice suddenly boomed from behind them.

"Weasley!"

Katie watched in horrified shock as Marcus Flint's big meaty fist hurled itself into her fiancé's face.

It never occurred to her to be afraid as she deftly whipped out her wand, and sent the worst hexes she could think of at him.

Flint went down like a rock, and was now swelling in several unpleasant places.

Realizing what she had done, and how much danger she had been in, Katie started to shake.

She looked down on George's unconscious form, worried that Flint had done some real damage. It suddenly occurred to her that if George was not able to marry her in two days, she would have to marry Flint.

This hideous thought spurred her into action, and she quickly apparated them back to Hogwarts, yelling for Charlie, who wasn't far, to help her.

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Ginny did not know what exactly she was expecting, but it certainly was not the tiny pixyish woman who Harry introduced as his wife.

Melanie was the epitome of etiquette, and before Harry or Ginny realized what had happened, she had whisked everyone but them away for some wine in the parlor.

Ginny found herself alone with Harry, and quietly followed him to his study. She was grateful that Melanie understood that some things needed to be said and allowed them to get it out of the way.

When they were seated, Ginny finally broke the silence.

"You look well, Harry."

He gave her a quick grin.

"You look very good as well. It seems that marriage really agrees with us," he said.

Another silence descended.

"Yes, I am very happy with Draco," she said, watching his face carefully.

"I didn't ask…" he began but she cut him off.

"You wanted to."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Ginny, when I thought you had died, I was devastated. I thought I had failed you, and that haunted me for a very long time. It was only after you had gone that I realized I was in love with you. I am so sorry I hadn't sooner."

Ginny shook her head and placed a hand over his.

"I'm not. And you shouldn't be either. I loved you once, Harry. But it wasn't meant to be, I see that now. I love Draco. I was already in love with him before the final battle."

He gave a sigh of mock-exasperation.

"Why does it always have to be Malfoy?"

Ginny smiled.

"I know you aren't happy about that. You aren't the only one. He was wrong to hide me from my family, and he has admitted such. Sort of. Oh well, some things never change. Like the fact that I love him with all of my heart. You gave him a chance once, and it proved to be invaluable to the Order. I'm asking you to do that again. He's not -all- bad. And just look what an excellent role model you'll be for him!"

Tears rolled down their cheeks they were laughing so hard.

Harry stood and pulled her into a hug.

"I can't tell you how wonderful it is that you are okay," he whispered, holding her tight.

"I am glad that you are alright too. Now, I think we should go rescue Melanie. I don't know how long Draco and my brothers will be civil to each other," she commented.

"That bad huh?" He asked.

She gave him a tired smile.

"Just be glad you weren't there the day I had to tell them!"

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"George? Can you hear me?" Katie asked, hopefully as she clung to his hand.

A few hours had passed since she and Charlie had got George up to the infirmary. Rachel had fixed him up, saying he would be fine and to let him sleep.

"Katie?" Came his croaky reply.

"I'm right here," she said, kissing the hand she was holding.

"Did anyone get the license number of that hippogriff?" he asked, dazedly.

"It was Flint, George. But don't worry. I took care of him," she said, smiling.

He nodded and looked around.

"Well, talk about roll reversal," he said chuckling.

Her smile widened.

"Right, this isn't fun. Let's not end up in the infirmary anymore, deal?"

"Deal."

A few moments of silence passed.

"Katie?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember what we were doing when Flint so rudely interrupted us?"

There was no more talking after that, as the two conveyed their feelings for each other without using words.

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Charlie sighed at the sound of another loud moan coming from the infirmary.

"It probably isn't very wise to have sex right after a concussion," Rachel said, fretting.

Deciding to distract them both from his brother's rather noisy activities, Charlie picked his wife up and carried her into the bedroom.

Everything was going really nice, and Charlie had finally managed to put his brother's moans out of his mind when Rachel suddenly pushed away from him.

She ran from the room and he could soon hear her vomiting in the bathroom. When she emerged a few minutes later, her smile was so bright it lit up the whole room.

Her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she walked up to him.

"Enjoyed that did you?" He asked, bewildered.

"Charlie! I'm pregnant!"

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"You were wonderful tonight," Harry murmured into Melanie's ear.

He stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a giggle as one of his hands started wandering.

"I'm just helping my lovely wife undress," he said, pushing the material of her robes away from her shoulder and placing a kiss on the skin there.

Melanie turned in his arms, giving him a serious look.

"You are really okay with me? You don't want Ginny back?" She asked, determinedly.

He gave her an annoyed look.

"No, I'm not 'okay' with you! I am the happiest I've ever been in my life, with you. And you can't have something back that you never had to begin with," he said, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her to the bed.

He sat down with her in his lap, and proceeded unzip her robes.

Melanie blinked away tears leaning forward to give him better access.

"I used to dream of her, every night without fail. Either I was trying to save her from Voldemort, or she was calling to me to come find her. She haunted my every waking and sleeping, moment for six years. Do you know when my dreams stopped?"

He turned her so that she was facing him, and saw her shake her head no. He smiled and caressed her cheek with the back of his good hand.

"It was the night I stayed in the infirmary with you. After the attack, remember?"

She nodded, unable to help the tears that escaped.

His other hand came up and he cradled her face, looking into her eyes.

"The only reason I ever wanted Ginny was because I didn't know you. If I had, it wouldn't even be an issue. And, I don't know what else I can say or do to convince you of that."

Her hand came up to touch his face.

"Oh, Harry. Just love me. Just love me," she whispered, and titled her head up to receive his kiss.

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"I've decided I like keeping promises," Hermione said happily as Severus fed her a slice of orange.

They were lying in bed, naked, with a bowl of fruit in between them.

"You look much better. No glamour, right?" He asked, suspiciously.

She shook her head.

"Severus, I am really sorry about that. It was never my intention to lie to you. And I swear I have not lied about anything else," she said, solemnly.

He looked back at the fruit to avoid her eyes.

"And what is it that you think I think you might lie about?"

She grabbed his chin, and forced him to look at her.

"I want to be here with you. I am ecstatic about having your baby, and I adore making love with you. Those aren't lies, Severus. I- I love you," she said.

His eyes went wide and she smiled.

"You don't have to say it. I can see it in everything you do. I am happy with you. I love you."

Several emotions through him: Nervousness, embarrassment, pain, anger, and finally hope. Not knowing what he could say that could possibly top her declaration, he simply pushed the fruit bowl out of the way and pulled her against him. He spent the next few hours showing her through his caresses and kisses that he felt the same way.

That was good enough for her.

End Chapter 19

A/N: We are approaching the end 'sniff'. I will probably add one more chapter, and then an epilogue. But I must return to 'Dragon of Hogwarts'. It is a Hermione/Blaise story I have about half-way finished.