Hello, my freaky darlings. Forty-nine chapters, fifty weeks, almost an entire year together! Where has the time gone? As always I hope you enjoy. I own nothing and have to put everything back where I found it.

Chapter 49 Wedding Things

The shop girl returned, "I have two gowns in champagne and three that can be ordered in the color."

"Let's start with the two. That should give her an idea if she even likes it." Harry responded taking them. He went back to where Hermione waited.

She looked at the gowns in his arms, "What are those?"

"Dresses similar to the one you described. Try them. If you truly don't like them we'll try again another day." He handed her the first gown.

. The shop girl accompanied her to help with the zip and ties. Hermione purposely avoided her reflection in the mirror. Once the girl secured the dress, she emerged. She glanced at Harry, who nodded, grinning at her. She made her way out to the rest.

Narcissa clapped her hands, "Oh, darling, you look stunning."

Luna nodded, "Just perfect."

Hermione looked in the mirror. The dress fit her nearly perfectly. She looked like a bride, a real one, not someone pretending. Except, "Too brown," she decided.

"Huh?" questioned Alexandria.

"The tan of the dress with my hair is too much brown."

An older woman stopped at the group, "Have you considered ivory or shell pink? Neither is the bright of pure white, and both should compliment you well." She considered something. "I have just the one. She returned with an ivory gown. "This one has a pink layer under the tulle. The sleeves are shorter, but I think you'll like to contrast."

"Let's try it," Hermione followed her to the fitting room. This time she looked in the mirror. "Yes, this is the right color."

"But is it the right dress?" asked the woman.

She examined her reflection from several angles. The skirt billowed out, the pink layer peeking out from under the sweeping fabric. Pearls and crystals created swirls on the bodice and down the skirt. The sleeves ended at her elbows, they were not as flowing as the other dress but felt right for that one. Pearls and crystals decorated the cuffs. Finally, she answered, "Yes, yes it is."

"This dress has a matching veil with pink piping. Want to give the assembly the full effect?"

"That sounds lovely."

"Be right back." She popped out, flashing Harry two thumbs up.

This time Hermione emerged beaming, full of confidence. He nodded his approval shining in his eyes.

"Oh, Hermione, you looked stunning," Vanessa exclaimed.

Luna clapped her hands in delight, "Simply perfect."

Narcissa looked at the older shop clerk, "How soon can you get a dress in Hermione's size delivered?

"This one fits her nearly spot on, and we only have it because it was ordered last season for a bride who changed her mind after the dress came in. You can have this one." She frowned, "Though, even after the discount since it is last season, this isn't a cheap dress."

Hermione chuckled, "Harry, would you get my black card out of my purse." She looked at Bellatrix, "I know Daddy wants to pay for it, I'll send him the bill."

"Of course, sweetie, whatever you think is easiest." Bellatrix faked a smile for the shop employees. Alva glared at Hermione's display of wealth.

Narcissa nodded, accepting the white garment bag, "Next Saturday we'll meet and get the bridesmaids' dresses. Friday, Alva, Bella, and I can get dresses."

Alva left with barely a nod. Hermione looked at Narcissa, "Would you discretely inquire if Esme and Cressida have the available funds for new dresses? The last thing we need is for the Clearwaters to make gold-digging comments."

"And those hypocrites would," Narcissa frowned.

"How soon until they discover the apothecaries are pretty much defunct?"

"And day now, I'm sure," Bellatrix laughed.

Harry lead the way to the realtors, "There is a chance he will assume you are my pregnant wife, I may have let slip about expecting a baby. Then I never corrected his assumptions when I said we wanted to look at some properties today."

"You owe me," she told him.

"I know."

Ian Sebring greeted them warmly, "Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, how lovely to put a face to the voice on the phone."

"Hello," Harry replied as they sat.

"If you would go over the things you want in a home, I can narrow down the selection."

"As I said before, we want to stay in London. A townhouse, rather than a flat."

"We would prefer to purchase rather than rent," Hermione added. "And a garden in a must."

"Yes," Harry continued, "and five to six bedrooms, we want family to be able to visit and stay. And a garage, we don't drive often, and would like to not have to be constantly moving the car."

"An open floor plan would be nice, but isn't a deal breaker."

Ian shuffled several files on his desk. "I have a few properties that may fit your needs. Are you sure about purchasing? Financing can be difficult for young couples."

"Purchase," Hermione told him, "In cash, today if needed."

Harry handed him a fresh copy of his financial records, "My banker prepared this for you."

Ian's eyes grew as he perused the paper, "Th-thank you," he struggled to keep a professional mask up. "This will help immensely."

"As your price range doesn't exist, I have three properties for sale in London with your specifications that we can look at today. If none of them tickle your fancy, I have two more we can look at before I reach out to other agents."

"Sounds like a good start," Hermione smiled at him politely.

The first townhouse stood sandwiched between two others in a row of five. The bedrooms were on the small side, the garden barely more than a patch of grass. The stone walls dividing them gave no privacy, and worst of all: the houses attached in the attic. Both gave it a hard pass.

The second was in Kensington on Warwick Gardens. The townhouse stood on the corner, detached from the two rows lining both streets it connected. The two-car garage entered in to the house. The vast garden included a small pond. The six bedrooms had large windows and plenty of floor space. "We don't need to look any longer," Harry declared, slowly spinning in a circle, "this is it."

"Agreed," Hermione looked at Ian. "Offer them 500,000 less than the asking price and we'll pay cash today."

"Let me make a few calls," Ian pulled out his mobile and stepped into the next room.

Harry wandered around looking out the windows. Hermione frowned, "Have you considered what you'll do if the baby is Rowle's?"

"Live in my amazing house and perhaps someday start a family with someone."

"Just checking."

"Thanks."

Ian returned, "Do you like the furnishings?"

Harry looked at Hermione in confusion, "They're okay. Why?"

"Full asking price and they are yours. The house belonged to the seller's father. He died suddenly and in debt. She hates to sound vulgar, but she needs every penny to pay it all off. She lives in New Zealand and neither needs any of it nor can afford to ship any of it."

"Deal then," Harry agreed. "Anything we don't want, we can get rid of easier. Saves me from having to redecorate."

"You think that," laughed Hermione. "But I agree. Some of these are antiques that deserve more than ending up in a landfill."

"Splendid, I will draw up the papers and get this ball rolling."

Harry focused on moving. Narcissa kept Hermione's attention on wedding plans. Which caused her to be surprised by the newspaper article announcing changes to social obligation laws. Smirks were exchanged over the breakfast table. Nor were they the only ones feeling smug. Miles away near the village of Ottery St. Catchpole a pregnant witch also felt triumphant. Under the changes, Rowle could be made to marry her and provide for their child. That the baby could belong to two other men was of no consequence. This was her ticket out of the Burrow and having to keep working.

Arthur refused to enter the petition, so she went to her mother. Seeing her dreams of her daughter marrying well, and financially taking care of her parents, rising from the ashes, Molly raced to submit the paperwork. Rowle fought her every step of the way, warning her this was a mistake she would regret. But she refused to be intimidated. A late October wedding was planned at the Burrow as soon as her petition was granted.

Despite her demands for a quiet birthday, the girls turned Hermione's birthday into a bachelorette party. "I didn't want one of those either," she grumbled to Marcus.

"Ades told me I had no choice in the matter. The most I could get out of him was no strippers and that's because he's afraid of you."

"Smart man, I knew I liked him."

Angelina excitedly offered passes to the VIP lounge of Wizarding Pleasure's, her business with Seamus, newest nightclub, Liaisons. "Only thing to determine is which party Harry attend?" laughed Britta.

The wizard in question shrugged, "I can come with you lot to ogle the men with you lot."

Hermione smiled, "Your choice, love."

In reality, it ended up not mattering which party Harry chose because he attend both, they all did. Adrian had made arrangements with Seamus for the exact same passes. Cheerfully, Hermione celebrated the end of her single life by grinding on her fiance. Much to Adrian's displeasure. "You're supposed to be mixing with strangers!"

"Why? Everything I want is right here," Marcus gestured to Hermione.

"Exactly," she agreed, rewarding him with a kiss.
"You two are killing me," Adrian grumbled. "You get to have each other for the rest of forever. Go dance with someone else."

With a wicked gleam in her eye, Hermione advanced on Adrian, dipping her hips seductively with each step. "Let's dance then, sexy." She ran her hand down his chest.

"Uh."

"None of that," she tapped his nose. "You said to dance with someone else. You are someone else."

"Not me!" he protested. "Marc, help me." He looked at this best friend.

"Next time be more specific. Hermione likes exploiting loopholes."

She gave a low husky chuckle, "I really do." She fisted the front of Adrian's

shirt. She tugged on it, urging him to follow her.

"You know what? You should dance with Marcus. Tonight is about having fun."

"Too little, too late," she cooed at him. With a last wicked glance, she whipped around and began to gyrate in front of Adrian, who stared at the ceiling trying to keep from touching or being touched. When the song changed, Marcus saved him.

"The naughty wizard learned his lesson. Come dance with me, he's learned his lesson."

She pretended to pout, "Are you sure?"

"I am. If you want tomorrow I will regal him with all the dirty things the hot witch I took home did to me."

"Deal." She gave Marcus a sultry look of promise.

"You wouldn't," Adrian protested. "You refuse to talk about Hermione."

"That is so sweet, but you can make an exception this one time," she purred. "You should give him all the details."

"You're bluffing," Adrian said harshly.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Am I? You'll never know. Tomorrow Marcus will tell you all kinds of stories, and you won't know what is or isn't true."

"You are a horrible person."

"I know," Hermione smirked.

Eventually, Marcus left her to dance with her friends. He joined Peregrine at the bar, watching the girls dance outrageously together. He glanced at one of his best friends since childhood who simply shrugged, "That's your woman out there."

Marcus smirked, "Yep." He silently sipped his drink, noticing Potter might be appreciating all the sights on display, but he danced the most with the female Krum. He wondered if anything was going on, not that it was anyone's business, just a passing thought. Finishing the drink, he saluted Peregrine and went back to join Hermione as she and Luna played a silly game of striking suggestive poses. Graham gave him a stupid grin when he noticed Marcus's return. They closed down the club, shuffling towards the floo at 2 am. Yells of birthday greetings filled the air over the noise of the crowd.

Harry turned to Hermione as they arrived home, "Happy birthday. We'll have lunch, or dinner, later. Please use silencing charms."

"Excuse me? You use silencing charms, it's my house, you know."

"I know, but still," Harry sighed.

"Just for that we're having sex on the kitchen table," she shot back.

"If you do that you'll just break the table," smirked Harry.

"And fix it with magic again." She took Marcus's hand and lead him towards the kitchen, leaving Harry to question the again part of her statement.

"Um, are we actually going to have sex on the table?" asked Marcus uncertainly.

"I don't know. Do you want to?"

"Not particularly," he answered.

She nibbled on her bottom lip, "Is there somewhere you do want to?"

"Are you sober enough to go swimming?"

"Most of this is just adrenaline high. I drank very little."

"Go swimming with me then?" he breathed the question against her neck.

"Absolutely." They left a trail of clothing as they made their way through the house, undressing one another as they went. Completely naked Hermione sashayed over to the diving board. Smoothly she jumped in, sending ripples through the water. He stood watching her swim on her back, her slender body on display just for him. "Planning on joining me anytime soon?"

"Just admiring the view."

She made a show of slowly looking him over, leering at him, "It is nice. But I wanted to explore it up close, not just look at it."

He cannonballed into the pool, splashing her. "Me, too." She retaliated by splashing back. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. "None of that now." He kissed away her protests, nipping on her lips and licking the sting away. She kissed him back matching his fervor.

Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist, breaking their snogging off to trail small kisses down his neck, across his chest, and back up the other side. He dropped his head back allowing her better access. He stood supporting their weight in the pool, groping her arse. Hermione moaned and wiggled until she aligned their body parts. Slowly she sank onto him, then raised herself. She repeated the process moaning at the pleasurable sensations. Marcus's hands on her hips urged her to increase her pace. She ignored him, keeping up her leisurely speed. "Little dove, you're killing me."

"But in a good way," she kissed him.

"In the best way," he assured her. "But I'm not going to cum like this."

"Me, either. I just wanted to enjoy this before we move elsewhere."

"Did you have a suggestion?" He squeezed her hips.

She leaned close to his ear, pressing her breast against his chest. "I want to be bent over the stone fence in the garden and be taken from behind, hard and fast," she whispered huskily in his ear. His hands gripped her hips crushingly. "Interested?"

"Fuck yes. Apparate us." She dropped her legs and spun in the pool, taking the two of them and a decent amount of pool water. The second they landed next to the wall, he turned her around and pushed her shoulders down and over the wall. She silently cast softening and cushioning charm on the top of the wall. Swiftly Marcus entered her, the momentum pushing her forward into the wall.

He set a punishing pace, barely giving her time to respond to his thrusts. She braced herself against the wall on her elbows, moaning loudly. Each push in and pull out hit and dragged across every nerve inside her. Her breathing grew ragged and her cries louder as the delicious tension tightened. She clenched down on the upstroke, eliciting a deep moan from Marcus. He increased his strokes. Hermione arched her back, keening as she came, "Holy fuck, Marcus!" She slumped forward back onto the wall, her thighs and knees trembling. Marcus groaned, then roared his climax. He sat on the ground, pulling Hermione into his lap. "How did that match up with the fantasy?"

"Beyond imaging," she sighed, leaning on his chest, snuggling into him.

"I aim to please," he gave a little laugh. "Any other fantasies?"

"Numerous, but none tonight."

"Yeah, that was amazing," he paused.

"But we're both exhausted," she finished.

"You said it. We should head to bed."

"And collect our clothes, wouldn't want to traumatize Harry too much." She stood on shaking legs. "But feel free to tell Adrian every detail."

Marcus climbed to his feet, "No, talking about you like that feels wrong. You're not some desperate groupie. I'm going to let him torment himself by just telling him we had sex somewhere in the house and he should be careful where he sits. Hopefully, Harry frightens him with the kitchen table suggestion."

"Nice," she laughed.

Hand in hand they entered the house and began collecting clothing items as they came to them. "So, Hermione, that was a very specific fantasy."

"It was."

"Can I ask where it came from?"

She looked away, embarrassed briefly. "Promise not to laugh or take the mick?"

"If I laugh you'll never tell me another one. And I can't imagine anything worse than that. So, I will not laugh."

"It was from a scene in a smutty romance novel. And let me tell you, the reality was hotter than the fiction." She kissed him. "I hope it forms a pattern."

"Me, too."