Hermione

Ginny: Final dress fitting at two today

Me: I'll be there.

Ginny: How are you doing?

I wasn't really sure how to answer her question, so I didn't. I was at the office trying to make up for the work I missed yesterday. It wasn't terrible since I'd done a lot of it at home the day before, but I had to get everything done by 13:00 to grab lunch and make it to the fitting on time.

Ron had left another ten messages here and Luna had plastered them all over my desk. He really needed to stop. I swore if he showed up at Ginny's dress fitting I didn't think I'd be able to restrain myself.

Lavender came in to check on me and make sure no one was bothering me about what we'd dubbed 'the incident.' Aside from the pitied looks some people cast in my direction, everything was fine. I was on a roll when Harry called me into his office.

"Listen, Harry, I just want to apologize. I had no idea what he was planning—" I said as I entered the office.

He motioned for me to shut the door. "You have nothing to apologize for. Are you okay?"

"I—yes, I mean, no. I don't know?"

Harry seemed to look genuinely concerned, which warmed my heart. What was weird was that I didn't feel the butterflies I normally did whenever Harry showed me any sort of attention. I wasn't sure what was going on. Maybe I was still reeling over everything.

"He was a jerk, and what he did was completely uncalled for," Harry went on.

I nodded lightly at Harry's words, only partially registering them. "It's over now. I just have to suffer through this weekend with him around and then I can forget he ever existed," I lied with a weak smile.

"Well, if you need to take any extra time to help out this week, that's fine."

"Thanks. I'm sure I'll be able to juggle everything easily, though." I said.

"Before you go," Harry leaned over and grabbed something from under his desk. "Which do you think would look better for the rehearsal on Friday?"

He was holding up two ties. One was a navy blue that had a soft shimmer, and the other was a silver tie with a navy and bright blue paisley pattern on it. I pointed to the simple navy pattern.

"Better to go subtle, I think."

"Thanks," Harry beamed at me. "I can always count on you, Hermione."

I was about to turn to head back to my office, but I stopped as I registered his words. I'm not sure what possessed me to ask it, but I did anyway. "What do you mean?"

"About…?"

"About always counting on me?"

"Oh. Er, you always have an answer I guess."

"An answer, or the right answer?" I was looking for more clarification.

"Er, honestly? You never say no, and I love that about you."

The realization hit me like a slap in the face. I'd been so infatuated with the idea of Harry as my ideal man that I'd let it dictate all of my actions over the past five years. I thought that by saying yes to everything, he might notice me. That he might fall madly in love with me.

"Is everything alright?" He looked concerned.

"Ye—I mean, no. No, it's not."

Harry gave an awkward snort of a laugh. "No?"

"No. I can't do this anymore. I can't be your assistant, Harry. I've spent the last five years nursing this ridiculous feeling, and I fed into it thinking that you needed me so I couldn't say no. You're fully capable of taking care of yourself, and honestly? You don't need me. I'm meant for so much more than being the boss's assistant."

Harry was gaping at me. It felt good to finally stick up for myself. I was remembering the dreams and ambitions I had once upon a time, when I was fresh out of university.

"You're right," was all Harry responded with.

I wasn't sure if I was expecting him to grovel. Maybe not, but he could have at least fought to keep me. There was a lurch of disappointment in my heart as I realized just how much time I'd wasted on this man and his company. Sure, it hurt, but now I was even more sure of my rash decision knowing he couldn't be bothered to even try to ask me to stay.

"Oh, well, I guess this is my noti—"

"No! I mean, you're right that you're meant for so much more, but I'd love for you to stay with the company. How would you like to be promoted to the lead editor?"

I was completely taken aback. That honestly was my dream; working my way up the ladder at a leading publishing company. I'd become complacent because of fancying Harry.

"R-really?" I asked.

"Yes. I can't run this company alone, and now that I'm going to be married soon, I'm going to need more help here—"

I opened my mouth to say that's not what I meant, but Harry cut me off.

"Not that I mean that you'd need to spend more time managing things in my absence. I know you have a life, too, so that's not what I'm saying. The company keeps growing, and I need more management at the top. You'd be a perfect fit, and we'll find you an assistant that makes sure you're out the door at 17:00. No more waiting on other people for you."

I was floored. He really valued me as an employee of the company and didn't want to lose me. I nodded as I ran over to him and hugged him. "Thank you," I said as he hugged me back.

"No, thank you for finally speaking up. You deserve this, and I've been a prat for not seeing it sooner."

I couldn't believe it. I was going to be made partner with Second Chance Publishing. I pulled away from Harry and beamed up at him. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"

"I trust you'll take charge of everything while I'm on my honeymoon, and then we'll begin the transition. Friday's your last day as assistant, so you'll probably want to get a posting out there for a replacement," he said with a genuine smile.

"I'm on it, but I do have to leave—"

"At 13:00. I know," he finished.

I couldn't help the grin that escaped my lips as I walked out of Harry's office and back into my own. Things were finally looking up, and it was all because I'd gathered the nerve to speak up and finally say no. It wasn't until I sat back down at my desk that I realized I'd just hugged Harry, and I'd only felt camaraderie.

I looked back over towards his office, and didn't feel any pang in my heart or longing for him. I closed my eyes and attempted the day dreams I'd engaged in countless times, and there was nothing. I couldn't picture his face at all. Someone else had replaced him entirely, despite my best efforts to remove that particular person from my mind.

~o~

I met Ginny at the bridal salon, and she wrapped me in a hug before I could even say hello. "I know you don't want to talk about it, so I won't."

I smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks. Are you ready to try on your dress?"

"Yes! Oh, I can't wait for you to see it. I absolutely love it. It's not entirely traditional as it's actually ivory with a rose colored tint to it, but it's gorgeous! But anyways, let's get you fitted into your dress first!"

We were led to the back of the shop by the attendant, and I was shown into my dressing room where my dress was already hung up. I slipped out of my clothes and changed into my dress. It was ironic, really, that this was the first bridesmaid dress that I truly felt beautiful in.

It was an A-line chiffon dress in hunter green that would complement Ginny's hair beautifully. The bodice was ruched in a criss cross pattern, and the spaghetti straps connected to a keyhole back. It was simply stunning, and it was the first time I wished I'd have a date.

I opened the door to my dressing room, and walked out for Ginny to see. Her hands clasped against her mouth. "Oh. My. God. Hermione, you're gorgeous! I'm so glad I went with this color! You are going to break some hearts in this."

What did she mean by that? I gave her an odd look, but didn't press. I had no idea how close she and Ron actually were, but that statement made me wonder.

I stood on the platform so the seamstress could double check the hem job, and after she was satisfied, I stepped down and went to go change. After I was done, I hung my dress on one of the racks and waited for Ginny. She came out of the dressing room soon after, and she looked completely radiant.

Her dress was a timeless ball gown made of tulle in the exact color she'd mentioned earlier. The bodice had a deep V that showed off just the right amount of cleavage, with spaghetti straps and a similar keyhole back to my own dress. It wasn't until I was observing the skirt that I realized this was the exact dress that I'd had my own heart set on. The one who's cut out was in my 'dream wedding shoe box.'

"Well, what do you think?" she asked.

"No—" The words escaped my mouth without me meaning to.

Ginny frowned. "W-what?"

"I mean, you look beautiful! Absolutely stunning. Harry's going to be blown away. Truly," I insisted.

"Really? Hermione, what was the 'no' for? Please tell me."

"It's nothing, Ginny. Really," I assured her.

Her face froze as she looked at me. "What did you just call me?"

Oh, no. I just said Ginny, didn't I? Well, there wasn't any point in hiding it now. I tried to give a look that I hoped was between sympathetic and annoyed. "I know. He told me, though I wish you'd trusted me enough to tell me yourself, but nothing in my life ever seems to go as planned, so... Listen, I have to run. Your dress is perfect, it really is. You're going to be the most beautiful bride. I'll see you on Friday."

I grabbed my dress off the rack and high tailed it for the door. Ginny was calling after me, but I didn't want to have a showdown in public. That would completely defeat the purpose of her trying to conceal her identity.

Instead of returning to the office, I went home. Harry had made it clear that it was fine if I took the rest of the day, and I wasn't about to feel guilty for doing so. I hung my dress in the closet, and then sat down to read a book to distract me from the thoughts of my dream dress on Ginny when there was a knock on my door.

"Hermione? I know you're there." I heard Ginny's voice from the other side of the door. "Harry said you didn't come back to the office. Can you please open up? We really need to talk."

Ginny was right. I set the book down on the coffee table and answered the door. She came in and I offered to take the dress from her and hung it in the closet. I had the space now so I didn't mind. We both sat on the sofa, neither of us knowing where to start.

"How much do you know?" she started.

"That your real name is Ginny Weasley, you play for Glasgow City as their star forward, and you're Ron's sister. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me." Now was not the time to bother with hiding the hurt anymore.

Ginny took a deep breath. "I was new to London, and skeptical of everyone. I honestly wasn't sure how long I planned to stay, and I wasn't expecting to make any friends. By the time I realized how important your friendship was to me, I was already in too deep."

"Is that why you were always closed off about sharing information with me?" I asked, and she nodded. "Did you really think I'd betray you?"

"No, of course not! I just didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want to risk losing your friendship. I was going to tell you on Sunday until—"

"Your brother decided to make a fool of me for all of the UK to see? Yeah, thanks for waiting."

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I'll understand if you don't want to be part of the wedding."

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't let you down now. Although, I hope you'll understand if I'm wary for a while."

"I promise you'll always get the truth from me."

"Does Harry know?"

"Yes, actually," Ginny looked incredibly sheepish. "I told him everything that first night. Who I was, what I did, and how guilty I felt that I'd lied to you. I've never felt the impulse to be so honest with anyone in my life, but Harry's different. It's funny, listening to you prattle on about finding and waiting for your true love to come along, and it really just hit me so suddenly."

Hearing Ginny talk about Harry was heartwarming. She really, truly loved him. I could see that. And he loved her. There was no doubt that they were meant for each other.

"Well, I'm glad you told him, even though everyone seemed to be in on this lie but me."

"And I can't tell you how sorry I am for that. I promise the Weasleys aren't usually liars."

I smiled at her, but I knew it didn't reach my eyes. "I appreciate your honesty now, and I'm glad you were up front with Harry. Marrying someone on a bed of lies is unforgivable in my book."

She glanced up gratefully at me. "Speaking of, what had you so rattled at the salon?"

I knew Ginny had finally been honest with me, so I needed to be with her. I stood up and went into my bedroom, where I dug out the shoe box from under my bed and brought it back out to the living room. As I carefully removed the top, I explained the significance.

"You know I've been in a lot of weddings," I chuckled, "and I've saved a lot of snippets and reminders to help me plan my own wedding someday. This box holds what I've always thought to be my non-negotiables." I handed Ginny the box.

She gingerly began working her way through my color scheme, which was a deep plum paired with blush pink, floral arrangements and bouquets, the wedding cake, and finally, the location and dress. Ginny looked up at me, a look of understanding in her eyes.

"The Winchester in Putney.."

"I told you that's where my parents got married. In my mind, it's always been the most romantic venue, and I've always wanted a wedding just like my parent's. Mum died when I was young, but seeing pictures and hearing the way my family talked of their wedding made me believe it was a love to last a lifetime. I think that's why I'm holding out for a love like that myself. I'm convinced he's out there."

"And the dress?" Ginny asked.

"Is the closest one I've found that is updated to fit the times, but also reminds me of my mum's wedding dress."

"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"I know, and that's why it wasn't fair for me to say anything. How could you have known? I suppose I could have told you about the venue, but that was before I realized I was terrible at saying no."

We both laughed at that.

"I won't be upset if you still wear this dress if you really wanted it in the white color."

"No, it's okay. I think I need to forge my own path. That's if I ever find a man who's genuine, and won't break my heart. I'm sure there's a perfect dress out there for me, and it will be waiting for me when it's my time."

"That's a brilliant way to think about it. Listen, Hermione, about Ron…" I was wondering how long it was going to take her to slide him into the conversation.

I held up my hand to stop her. "I know he's your brother, but he really hurt me. Even if the article didn't cast me in a negative light, he still deceived me. He looked through my Filofax, which I'm sure gave him the idea, and then did everything he possibly could, including using you and Harry, to get close to me."

"Yeah, but —"

"I was stupid to think that maybe we were starting to become friends. Or maybe even—" I shook the thought from my mind. "He never would have wanted that. He got what he needed from me."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ginny said quietly.

I looked at her sadly. "It's too late now. Is there any way you can help me avoid him this weekend?"

"I mean, if it's what you really want. You aren't even going to talk to him?"

"Well, if I'm being honest, I was hoping to get him back with a few digs of my own in my dress rehearsal speech…"

Ginny's ears perked up. "I'm interested," she said, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Do we have a speech to plan, then?" I asked, feeling excited for the first time since Sunday morning.

"Absolutely. Let me call Harry and tell him he's on his own tonight."

Ron

I dug my hands in the pockets of my trousers as I steeled myself to enter the restaurant for Ginny's dress rehearsal. My stomach was in knots as I anticipated seeing Hermione for the first time since Sunday morning. It'd been the longest week of my life since she wouldn't return any of my calls. I had half a mind to show up at her door several times before taming my impatience.

I tried not to look as dejected as I felt, but I knew my shoulders were still slumped. After a quick scan of the room, I determined that maybe she wasn't there yet. I was a bit early, after all.

"Ronald, how good to see you!" I flinched at the sound of Aunt Muriel's voice. I should have been looking out for her, but I was too distracted.

"Er, hi Aunt Muriel," I said disinterestedly.

"It must be embarrassing for you, knowing that your younger sister is getting married before you've found yourself a proper bride," she criticized haughtily.

I really wasn't surprised by her comment. She always acted so prim and proper, and there was nothing any of us could do to meet her approval. Ordinarily, I would have just let her comment roll off me, but I wasn't in the mood, so I decided to call her out on her own shit.

"Yeah, it's bollocks, but there are benefits to being single, you know. Like going home with random women any time I want."

I smirked at my condescending aunt, who looked completely disgusted and taken aback as I turned to walk away. And that's when I saw her. Hermione was gaping at me as she stood a few feet away, her nose scrunched up in detestation. When she saw that I'd noticed her, she turned quickly on her heel and walked away.

Bloody fucking hell, she heard that. Of course she did! Well, if that was any indication of how my night was going to go, I should probably just fake sick and go home. Now, I not only had to explain myself regarding the article, but also that what I'd said to Muriel was a joke, meant to rile up my aunt.

I walked over to the bar to get a drink. I was going to need several to get me through tonight. My twin brothers Fred and George were there, and eager to take the mickey out of me.

"If it isn't the city boy. How nice to see you!" Fred said sarcastically.

"Yes, it's so good to know you're still alive. If it wasn't for your name in the contributing editors section of The Telegraph, we wouldn't be so sure," George agreed.

"Oh, shut it," I muttered as the barman handed me my drink.

They weren't wrong. I used to go home for Sunday dinner at least once a month, but ever since the broken engagement with Romilda, I'd shied away from family events, save for holidays.

I was ambushed by various nieces and nephews on my way over to the table before they were shuffled away by Fleur and Angelina. I really did miss them all and I swore they grew up more and more from the last time I saw them. My eyes drifted around the room and settled on Hermione again. Her wild curls were pulled back so that they were out of her face, but the majority of her hair was still down. She was wearing a modest cocktail dress in a burgundy color that hugged her curves and immediately brought me back to that night.

The twins and my oldest brother Bill sat down at the table with me and their gaze followed mine.

"Isn't that the girl who was in that newspaper article last weekend?" Bill asked.

"Er, yeah, it looks like it," I said, not giving away any more information.

Mum, Dad and Ginny were the only ones who knew my pen name. My brothers would never let me live it down if they knew I wrote the wedding announcements column. As far as they were concerned, I was one of the main editors for the Sunday paper.

"You should go for her, Ron," George said as he nudged me.

"Yeah, it's about time you found a nice girl to settle down with," Fred said in his best impersonation of Mum.

"I don't know, would you really want a woman who spends all her free time helping other women get married? That seems like a red flag to me," my other brother Percy had joined us now.

The only one missing was Charlie. Where was he anyways?

I could feel my face getting red. "Oi, bugger off, will you?" I said, feeling the anger rise.

There was so much I wanted to set them straight on, but I couldn't without revealing a number of things. Instead, I flipped them off.

"Can't I trust you all to behave for a few hours when you're together. It'd be nice if you could give off a good impression for my fiancée."

"Hey Gin, blink once if you're being forced into a marriage against your will," Fred said.

"Yeah, who rushes a wedding in a month? Did he knock you up or something?" George tagged on.

"What? No! Absolutely not! You know I've got trials for new prospects in a month, and then training sessions will be here before we know it. I'd rather not have to plan a wedding during the season," Ginny scoffed.

"Harry's cool, leave him alone," I defended my sister.

"Thank you, Ron. We're about to get started in a mo'. I'll bring Harry 'round after the speeches and when dinner is served."

I watched Ginny saunter back up to the main area where there was a small podium. Hermione and her friend, who was Ginny's second bridesmaid, were up there with her. The other bridesmaid, Lavender I think her name was, gave Hermione a concerned look as she slammed a drink. I was curious about what they were planning.

My sister picked up her glass and clinked it with a fork to get everyone's attention. "Hi, everyone! Thank you all for coming out tonight. I know that all of this happened fairly quickly, but the stars seemed to align for us." She paused and looked up to Harry, who was beaming back at her. "We're just really glad you could all be here to celebrate, and before any one of my brother's decides to berate me on my choices again, they should be fully warned that I can kick their—"

"Ginevra Weasley!" Mum interrupted her.

"Sorry, Mum! Anyways, before we eat, we do have a few words from my maid of honor, who has been an absolute godsend during this process. I don't know what I would have done without her, and she's honestly the best friend a person could ever ask for! I definitely don't deserve you." Ginny hugged Hermione, who returned her words with a weak smile.

I held my breath as I waited to hear her voice. "Er, hi. I'm Hermione and I'm the maid of honor. You've probably heard of, or at least know of me, thanks to that lovely article that completely took me by surprise in The Telegraph last weekend."

"She didn't know?" Bill murmured, looking confused.

"How could you not know when you're being interviewed for an article?" Percy scoffed.

"Attention?" Fred suggested.

"Doesn't seem like an attention seeker to me. Not in that dress, anyways," George countered.

I wanted to kill my brothers and their scathing comments, but I didn't want to miss a word she was saying either. I was surprised at how brazen she was already. She was avoiding eye contact with me at all costs.

"—So, I'll start off by saying that I'm not getting paid for this particular wedding. I'm honored that Ginny's one of my best friends, and that I get to stand by her side. After all, I am the reason these two are together in the first place. I hope you all think that's a good thing," she laughed nervously. "I guess what I wanted to say is that I'm so happy you two found each other. I know it hasn't been very long, but you're a perfect match and I'm so happy for you both. It must be a wonderful feeling to find someone who understands and respects you, and doesn't use you to get ahead in their own career."

She paused and looked directly at me. Oh, fuck this wasn't going to be good.

"So, thanks Billy Weston, or should I say Ron Weasley, for making me out to be the hopeless romantic who'll never find a love of her own, and for the constant reminder that I'll never have this."

She gestured at Harry and Ginny as Lavender cut in, and pulled her off to the side. "Alright, alright, thanks for those lovely words of, er, encouragement?" Lavender held up her drink. "Here's to finding love in the most, um, unexpected of places!"

Everyone cheersed, and then Lavender invited Teddy up to say a few words before escorting Hermione out into the garden. I looked at Ginny and Harry to gauge their reactions. Harry looked uncomfortable, but Ginny seemed smug, almost as if she knew something like this was going to happen.

I was so focused on what was happening on the other side of the room that I didn't realize all my brothers were staring at me.

"You're Billy Weston?" Percy's eyes were bugging out his head. "But Audrey reads those articles religiously."

Bill let out a blast of air through an exhale while the twins laughed.

"How are you not married yet? Or getting laid?" Fred asked seriously.

"Yeah, Ron, with those articles, you probably have women lining up at your door."

"Fuck off," Ron said. "Why do you think I use a pen name to begin with?"

"Well, it seems like you certainly pissed off the wrong woman, ickle Ronniekins," Fred sniggered.

"Don't you think I already know that?" I shot at him angrily.

That shut them all up. Bill was looking worriedly at me. "Ron, you don't—"

"I'm not talking about this with you lot. And especially not here."

I stood up and took off for the nearest exit. Some fresh air would do me good. I thought I'd be more upset that my pen name had been revealed to my family, but I wasn't. Maybe it was because I was finally getting out of commitments, or maybe because I knew Hermione's actions were partially justified. I wasn't sure what to feel.

My feet brought me to the doors that led me to the garden. I opened the door and paused when I saw Hermione out there talking to Lavender. I watched as Lavender hugged her and made her way back in. She gave me a shake of her head and said "good luck" under her breath as she went back inside.

Hermione's back was to me, as she was leaning against a lamp post. I was making my way toward her when she turned and noticed me.

"Ugh, go away," she said scathingly.

"Hermione, just give me a chance to explai—"

"No! Don't you get it? I don't want to talk to you. If it wasn't for Ginny and Harry I wouldn't even be here! I got carried away and I shouldn't ha—"

"I deserved it." I felt bad for cutting her off, but she needed to hear it.

"W-what?"

"I deserved what you did. What you said. I was a jerk and you called me out on it in front of my entire family. Did Ginny help give you the idea? She's the only one who knows, aside from my parents."

She ignored me. "Well, I still shouldn't have stooped down that low."

"I was going to tell you," I told her, changing the subject.

She looked up at me, tears in her eyes as she shook her head. "Right, I'm that was your intention, until we got drunk and you took advantage of the situation. It's too little, too late, don't you think?" Sarcasm dripped from her voice.

Her words stung. "No, I went to the venue so I could talk to you about it, but then I saw you there with Harry and I damn near lost my mind. So, yeah, that sidetracked me, and the alcohol didn't help, but don't you think for one second that it didn't mean anything to me. Last time I checked, you wanted it too, so don't even accuse me of taking advantage of you!"

I couldn't help the anger in my voice. Sure, there was plenty I was to blame for, but she wasn't exactly innocent, either.

"There was still plenty of time for you to tell me something! Anything!"

"I asked my editor to delay the article to give me more time. She said she would. I wasn't expecting it to drop on Sunday! Fuck, Hermione, I didn't want her to run it at all! I'd spend the rest of my career in bloody commitments if it meant—"

I stopped myself. I wouldn't go there. Not when she was refusing to listen.

"If it meant what?" she asked.

"Look, for the first time in years I finally want to be there for somebody. Even if I didn't have to be here because Ginny's my sister, I would have come. I knew how hard this was going to be for you, with Harry and everything."

"Ron—"

"No, Hermione, I'm not going to chastise you anymore about it. Maybe this—whatever this is or was—was nothing, and I know you totally called me out and exposed my own secret to my family, but I'm still proud of you."

"You're supposed to be pissed at me. Like I am at you," she said in disbelief.

"And I am, a little. It's going to be a never ending shit storm from my brothers when I go back inside, but you know what? It was worth it. I got to see you finally stick up for yourself and not take anyone's shit anymore! Was it crazy? Yeah. But it was also bloody brilliant!"

"You are unbelievable," she said.

"Listen, Hermione, if you never want to see me again after tomorrow, then that's fine. I'll understand. And just on the off chance you completely avoid me tomorrow, too, I want you to know that you deserve the happiness you give to other people. Don't be afraid to put yourself first. Someone's out there for you and you need to open up and let them take a chance on you, and you on them. Just, promise me you'll open up and let them in. Let yourself love and be loved, Hermione. That's what you deserve."

I stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to say something. Anything. But she just stood there as the tears cascaded down her cheeks from the pools that had filled in her eyes. I wanted to hug her, to comfort her, but I was afraid she'd slap me if I got too close.

Taking the hint, I finally turned to walk back inside. It hurt me just as much to leave her there, knowing things weren't any better than before, but I wasn't sure what else I could do. I couldn't push her anymore. Maybe time would heal things and we could rebuild some semblance of a friendship, but I wasn't holding my breath.