A/N : This one is sort of a "fill-in-the-gap" for a segment of In Noctem (and by extension, In Mane and In Post Meridiem).


26. Wedding

Ron is sitting on the edge of his bed, looking through the window when she Apparates.

He jumps startled, his eyes wide and mouth open.

"Wha-"

"I can't do this!" Hermione announces as she sits ungraciously by his side and puts her head in her hands.

"What? You mean… you mean the- the wedding?" he asks uncertainly, his voice shaking more than he'd admit later.

"No, of course not," she cries out in frustration.

"Then why are you crying," Ron lays his hand on her tight soothingly.

"Because I- I can't stand being away from you when you're within reaching distance! And I know I sound like a lovestruck teenager and I hate myself for it," her hands are flailing around her as she pours her thoughts out. "But, it's- it's hard enough not being able to sleep in the same bed as you when you're on a mission, I don't see the point of doing it to maintain some kind of illusion that we're following traditions. And- stop grinning like an idiot!"

He can be so infuriating.

"What?! You're cute!"

And she loves him so much.

"But it's true! Surely everyone knows we're already sleeping together so why do we have to sleep away from each other the night before our wedding. It's ridiculous and it's a stupid tradition. And we shouldn't have to do it to please our parents. Clearly, they're delusionals and-"

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"I love you," he kisses her and she breathes a sigh of relief, "and you're being slightly mental right now."

He didn't just say that.

She stands stepping away from the bed. Is he really thinking that she is being mental when she finds the whole situation mental. Not her. She doesn't understand why he can't see that.

"Don't look at me like that! I meant that in a good way!"

"How can you mean it in a good way?" She paces around the room,"You know what? This was a bad idea, I'll go back to my room. Maybe that's why the groom and the bride are not supposed to spend the night together before their wedding."

"What? Because the bride is mental?"

"I am NOT mental! You are being insensitive," she huffs and turns away trying, without success, to hold back tears of frustration.

She hears him get up, his hands circle her waist as he rests his head on top of her right shoulder. She closes her eyes and melts into his embrace. Old habits die hard.

"Do you really miss me in the bed when I'm away?" he whispers against her hear.

She nods.

"Look, I'm sorry. You're right, those traditions are stupid." Hermione turns in his arms and her eyes fall into his. Butterflies turn her stomach upside down instantly. Her frustration fades and she smiles as Ron brushes her tears away.

"Stay," he whispers before she kisses him.