Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter Fourteen: The Wedding
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Hermione was surprised to find that weddings in the wizarding world were not unlike those in the Muggle world.

There were bridesmaids and groomsmen. The father gave the bride away, and the couple exchanged rings and vows. There were some differences, though. After the rings and the vows, there was the Binding Ceremony, in which the couple's souls were magically bound together forever. She'd read all about it, of course, but it was one thing to read about something and another thing entirely to experience it. One thing Hermione didn't know, but was pleasantly surprised to discover, was that divorce wasn't an option in wizarding marriages.

After the ceremony, there was a huge feast prepared by Mrs Weasley, followed by dancing. The altar and wedding layout in the backyard were gone now, replaced by several tables and chairs and an area for dancing. Ginny was across the backyard, chatting with Tonks and Professor McGonagall. Hermione, Ron and Harry were sitting at one of the tables when a tall boy with red hair and freckles approached the table. He was very good-looking, and he seemed to know it, too.

'Hello, Ron,' he said brightly.

'Eyeghun,' said Ron through a mouthful of food. Hermione shook her head at him but said nothing. Ron swallowed and smiled in what appeared to be a forced way. 'This is my cousin. Have you met my friends, Ian?' He pointed at Harry. 'This is –'

'Harry Potter,' Ian said quickly. He shook his hand eagerly and grinned. 'It's great to meet you, Harry. When I heard that you were here, with Ron, I thought for sure it was some kind of joke.'

Hermione noticed Ron narrow his eyes at his cousin, but Ian didn't notice. He was too busy going on and on to Harry about how badly he'd wanted to meet him.

'But,' continued Ian, who now turned to look at Hermione, 'Harry isn't the reason I came over here. You are.'

'I am?' asked Hermione.

'You are. What's your name?'

'Hermione,' she said quietly. 'It's, um,nice to meet you.' Hermione didn't think it was all that nice, though.

'The pleasure is all mine,' he said smoothly. 'I noticed you during the ceremony. You look very stunning in that dress. Would you care to take a walk with me, so we can get to know each other better?'

Hermione blushed at the mention of the word stunning. She smiled and nodded politely, but truthfully, she didn't want to go off with him. She was supposed to be at this wedding with Ron. At least, that's what she thought. He hadn't mentioned her going with him since the day he'd asked her. And even then, it hadn't been too clear as to what he had meant, exactly.

'I'm sure these two won't mind me taking you away,' Ian chuckled.

Ron was currently shooting daggers at Ian. His face was slightly red and he looked as if he was going to throw a punch at any moment. Hermione exchanged looks with Harry and hesitantly stood up. She felt a hand take hold of her arm. Ian gripped her arm tightly and she risked a glance at Ron as she was being led away from the table.

'Actually,' said Ron, stepping in front of his cousin, 'I do mind.'

'Well, Ron, that isn't really my problem,' said Ian.

'I can make it your problem.'

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked to Harry for help. Harry jumped up from his seat and approached them quickly. 'Ron,' said Harry, 'remember where you are.'

'Yes, dear cousin, you wouldn't want to make a scene at your brother's wedding, would you?'

Ron gritted his teeth, his face almost the same shade of red as his hair. 'You bet your arse I would.'

'Ah, yes, I'd forgotten how much of a temper your part of the family had,' barked Ian. He leaned in closer to Ron, his eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled into a smirk worthy of Malfoy. 'But you've got to have something, I suppose. Tell me ... what's it like to be best friends with the pretty girl and the famous boy and still be a worthless –?'

Ron was about to punch him when Harry reached out and caught his fist. Harry was too busy restraining Ron to pay attention to Hermione, however, and before she even realized what she was doing, she had slapped Ian across the face with her free hand. 'Tell me,' she said angrily as Ron and Harry gaped at her, 'what's it like to be so utterly jealous of someone that you feel the need to personally attack them with absolutely ridiculous accusations?'

Ian glared at her for a moment. There was the faint outline of her handprint on his left cheek. 'You're absolutely mad. And now that I think about it, you aren't even that pretty.' He spun around and almost bumped right into Ginny.

'Ian ... hello,' she greeted, though it sounded more like some sort of threat.

'Hello, Ginny. Lovely wedding, yeah? Well, I should go congratulate Bill. See you,' he said quickly. Without another look at any of them, he rushed off.

'He's always been rather frightened of me,' Ginny laughed. 'At first, I tried to correct it. But now, I like to have a little fun with him.' Harry smiled at her.

Ron was grinning, but not at Ginny. He was staring at Hermione with a look of awe and admiration on his face. 'I think I enjoyed that even more than when you punched Malfoy.'

'Hermione punched Ian?' asked Ginny.

'No, but she slapped him,' Harry grinned.

'And it was bloody brilliant!' exclaimed Ron.

'Oh, I wish I'd been here. I could've gotten a smack or two in myself,' said Ginny. 'I can't stand that git. I can't believe he's family.'

'Right, well, c'mon Hermione. Let's dance,' said Ron. Hermione tried desperately to hide her grin as she followed him out to the dance floor.

As they left Ginny and Harry, she heard Ginny say, 'Ron's always hated Ian.'

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'Ron's always hated Ian,' Ginny told Harry as Ron and Hermione left.

'I'm starting to dislike him myself,' said Harry. 'And I've only known him for five minutes.' He sat back down in his seat and sighed. Ginny was going to ask him now. They had agreed to wait until the wedding to talk about "them" ... and there they were, at the wedding, alone. It was the perfect situation to discuss what they needed to discuss.

'Phlegm looks rather nice in her dress, I have to admit,' said Ginny. She sat down in Hermione's vacant chair and stared across the backyard at Bill and Fleur.

'Er ... yeah,' Harry said awkwardly. Would she get mad if he said that Fleur looked pretty? She had said it, but would she care if he did, too? 'You look great, too, Gin.'

Ginny smiled. 'Thank you ... It was a lovely ceremony, don't you think?'

'Yeah ... very nice,' said Harry. Was she making small talk with him? Him? In some ways, this bothered him even more than if she would've brought up the question that was no doubt on her mind. Was she waiting for him to bring it up, perhaps?

Merlin, he was terrible when it came to girls.

No, he was fine with Hermione ... she was a girl. Andmost of the time,he was okay with Ginny. He had no problem talking to Mrs Weasley, Tonks or McGonagall ... they counted as girls, didn't they? They were female. They counted.

Harry had not felt this uncomfortable around Ginny since his first stay at The Burrow, when she spent the majority of her time watching him or hiding from him. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes before the blonde boy that had been one of Bill's groomsmen walked up.

'Ginny, 'ello. I 'ope I am not interrupting anything,' he said.

'Hey, Mason,' said Ginny cheerfully. 'No, it's fine. Would you like to sit down?'

'Actually, I was 'oping you would dance with me,' Mason said, casting a nervous glance at Harry. 'Unless ... are you and 'Arry ...?'

Harry felt a pang of jealousy when Ginny smiled at his request for a dance. He was tempted to tell him that they were, in fact, a couple, just to bother him and send him back to his table with a dejected look on his face. But then he realized that he was no say in anything Ginny did, because they were not a couple – not officially.

'No,' Ginny said quickly. 'I'd love to dance with you.' Ginny looked at Harry and raised her eyebrows, as if daring him to say something. She wanted him to stop her, Harry could tell. She wanted him to speak up and claim her as his.

He watched her and Mason go.

He didn't even know what he was going to tell her when she asked. He had been trying to come to a decision about "them" for an entire week.

When he had suggested waiting until the wedding to decide whether or not he was willing to put her at risk by dating her, he had thought that would give him a ton of time to decide. He hadn't thought that, in the time between then and now, he'd have found two Horcruxes, studied for his Apparition test, spent an insane amount of time at Grimmauld Place doing research and strategizing (despite their efforts, the Order's progress was at a standstill), and helped prepare for the wedding. In his head, he'd imagined the past two and a half weeks very differently.

Now, he was hoping that he'd be able to look at her and just know the answer. So far, he hadn't had that particular luck. In fact, he was looking at her now, and all he could think was about how badly he wanted to hex Mason for touching her, for even looking at her.

Was that a sign that he should be with her? Not really.

He was aware of his feelings for her. You couldn't spend twenty four hours a day with someone (an ex-girlfriend who you were not over, by any means, and want to be with more than anything) without falling in lo––

'Did you miss me?' Ginny asked, returning to the table.

Harry's throat was suddenly too thick to speak. He nodded and stood up. 'Dance ...' he forced out, taking her hand and leading her onto the dance floor.

Ginny smiled and put her arms around his neck. Harry rested his hands on her lower back and breathed in deeply. Her hair smelled like heaven. It was vanilla and strawberries and flowers mixed together with an extra special secret ingredient thrown in.

'Where d'you keep your wand in a dress like that?' Harry asked. The gold dress was (deliciously) tightand Harry didn't know where she would stash her wand.

'I don't know about the other girls, but I'm keeping mine in my room,' said Ginny.

'You don't have a wand? Is that safe?'

Ginny laughed. 'Of course it is. We're only in the backyard, y'know. Do you have yours on you?'

'Yeah,' said Harry.

'Why? Are you planning on being attacked today?'

'You never know,' Harry said jokingly. But it was possible. A big group of wizards, including Harry Potter, Aurors and many known Order members ...

'That reminds me,' said Ginny. 'I spoke to McGonagall. She had to go back to Hogwarts, but she said to tell you that there will be another meeting tomorrow at Headquarters.'

Harry nodded. 'You're taking this very well.'

'Taking what very well?'

'Well ... I've never really enjoyed my birthday but you always get excited when it's yours,' said Harry. 'Yours is tomorrow and we've got to spend it at an Order meeting. And that means that Fleur planned the wedding for the day before your birthday. Stealing your thunder, don't you think?'

Ginny sighed. 'To be fair, Fleur didn't know when my birthday was when she set the date.'

'But Bill did,' said Harry.

'I suppose I'll just have to hate him forever, then,' she said sarcastically. 'It doesn't really bother me, to be honest.'

'Wow. Little Ginny Weasley's all grown up.'

'Shut up.' Ginny rolled her eyes and rested her head on his chest. Harry sensed that it was about to happen. Sure enough, Ginny lifted her head again, took a few deep breaths, and asked, 'Have you – have you thought about what we talked about before?'

Harry paused before saying, 'Yeah, I have.'

She looked up at him expectantly. 'And ...?' They both stopped dancing.

Her eyes – her beautiful brown eyes – bore into his soul. He remembered the first time he saw her, at the train station. He remembered the way she looked, running alongside the train, desperate to get to Hogwarts and join her brothers. She was so free and happy and full of life.

Regardless of what she said or did, no matter how hard she tried, Harry could still see "Little Ginny Weasley" inside of her from time to time.

She was still the sweet little girl who put her elbow in the butter dish and would blush a furious shade of red whenever Harry entered the room or looked in her direction. She was the helpless child who had been possessed by Lord Voldemort. When Harry closed his eyes, he could still picture her there, lying on the floor in the Chamber of Secrets, incredibly pale and near-death.

And he couldn't do that to her again.

If something happened to her this time around ... something worse, and she lost the old Ginny, Harry would never forgive himself.

'I can't,' he whispered. Ginny's face fell. Harry brought his hands up to cup her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. 'Gin ... I...' Why couldn't he say it? It wasn't that complicated. He'd never done it before, but it had always seemed rather easy. His throat was dry and his tongue felt swollen in his mouth ... but he forced himself to say it. 'I love you.' Ginny's eyes were watered over and Harry could tell she wanted to protest, but she said nothing. 'I've never ... loved someone before – except maybe Sirius and my parents. And things didn't exactly turn out great for any of them,' he said. 'That's how things work for me. Anyone that I love gets taken away from me. I know that you probably hate me now, but I'd rather you never talk to me again than be taken away forever because I couldn't control myself.'

Ginny covered her hands with his and gently removed them from her face. She looked down at her feet. 'I don't hate you, Harry. I could never hate you,' she said quietly. She raised her head and her eyes met his. 'I ...' She shook her head sadly and gave a strangled sort of laugh. 'It doesn't matter now.'

But it did matter ...

She walked away, weaving in and out of people. She passed Ron and Hermione (who were still dancing) and Harry saw Hermione whisper something to Ron and follow Ginny. Ron came over to Harry and they walked back to their table, both sulking for a different reason. Harry didn't bother to ask what was wrong with Ron. He didn't particularly care at the moment.

It was a few minutes later that they heard Mrs Weasley's screams.

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Hermione and Ron joined the other dancing pairs and Hermione had to look away when Mrs Weasley nudged Mr Weasley and the two smiled encouragingly at Hermione as Ron put his hands on her lower back and pulled her close. 'I hate Ian,' Ron told her as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

'I can't imagine why,' she said dryly.

'He's not even a month older than me, but for some reason, he's got it in his head that he's superior. Every time I see him he points out that he's got something I haven't or done something I haven't. I'd love to see his face if I said, "Ian, last week I went on a mission with the pretty girl and the famous boy, and we destroyed part of You-Know-Who's soul. What did you do during that time?" That lousy git,' said Ron.

'Keep your voice down,' scolded Hermione.

'But I suppose,' Ron continued, ignoring her, 'he'd just tell me that while I was off gallivanting through a tunnel underneath some graveyard in Romania, he was playing Quidditch in his backyard with his brothers and sisters, and somehow try to convince me that he was still better.'

'I'm rather glad I slapped him.' Hermione smiled proudly.

'I am, too. Although I wish Harry hadn't stopped me from punching his lights out.'

'You can get him next time,' she said comfortingly. Ron laughed. Hermione caught a glimpse of Ian, about fifty yards away, staring at them as they danced. 'Merlin, he's watching us.'

Ron looked around, spotted his cousin, and gestured rudely at him. Hermione didn't even scold him. She considered giving him a gesture of her own, but decided against it.

Ian enraged her more than she had expected. He clearly thought that he was the most amazing creature to ever walk the earth. He was arrogant and rude. But that wasn't what bothered her. She couldn't stand what he'd said to Ron, the way he acted like Ron was something he'd scrape off the bottom of his shoe. And as she saw the look on his face as she danced with Ron, she felt the urge to slap him stirring inside of her again.

'You didn't, um, want to go with him ... did you?' asked Ron.

'No!' she said quickly. 'I just didn't want to be rude.'

'Good,' Ron said, sounding relieved. 'I know him a lot better than you do, and his idea of "getting to know you better" isn't exactly the same as yours, I'm sure.'

Hermione shuddered. 'No, I'm sure it isn't. He's ...'

'A huge prat,' Ron supplied.'And he's a liar, too.' Hermione raised her eyebrows in question. 'You are that pretty.'

She felt herself blush and gingerly leaned forward to rest her head on his chest as they danced. She spotted Ginny dancing with Fleur's cousin, Mason, and wondered where Harry was. When the table they'd been sitting at came into view, she saw that he was still sitting there, looking confused and slightly annoyed. They remained silent for a few moments before Hermione spoke.

'Since when do you know how to dance?'

Ron's laughter rumbled in his chest. 'I've always known how to dance.'

'What about the Yule Ball in fourth year? Padma said she had a horrible time because you wouldn't dance with her.'

'Wouldn't is the key word,' said Ron. 'I was too busy sulking over you.'

Hermione laughed softly. 'I get it,' she said. 'You were so shocked from the realization that I was of the female gender that you couldn't think straight, much less dance.'

'I knew you were a girl,' he said firmly. 'I just ... I didn't think you'd ever settle for going with me, so I didn't bother asking ...'

'I wanted to go with you.' Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could hear his heartbeat, which was strong but slightly quicker than it had been a minute ago.

'No, you didn't,' he said, though he didn't sound sure of himself. 'You had Vicky.'

She pulled away and looked at him. 'Viktor invited me to visit him in Bulgaria during the summer before fifth year,' she said. She could feel herself getting angry with him. Why did he always need to bring Viktor into everything? 'And do you know where I was during that summer? I was at Grimmauld Place with you. That's where I wanted to be. Not with Viktor.'

Ron smiled weakly at her. 'That's where I wanted you, too. And not just because I didn't like Viktor.'

'You didn't like Viktor?' Hermione asked, faking surprise. 'I'd have never known if you hadn't admitted to it now.' Ron laughed. Ginny, who had long since broken off from Mason, was now dancing with Harry. They appeared to be in heavy discussion about something. Hermione sighed and put her head back on his chest. 'Once we're done with this party, I suppose I'll have to pack my things.'

'Why?' Ron asked, sounding alarmed.

'My parents want me to come home, don't you remember?'

'Oh.' His face fell. 'Right ... I remember. But why now?'

'McGonagall sent them an owl about my injury and the next morning when they replied, they said that they wanted to bring me home immediately. I told them I wasn't leaving until after the wedding ... and the wedding's over now, so they'll be here tonight ...'

'You can't go home!' exclaimed Ron. 'Not yet! We need you here.'

'That's what I said, but they don't seem to care very much,' Hermione said sadly. She lifted her head off of his chest once more and looked at him.

'When am I going to see you again, then? We probably won't have any school in September ... are your parents going to make you stay with them until Harry gets rid of You-Know-Who and it's safe again?'

Hermione looked down at her feet. 'They don't really know all that much about Voldemort, actually. I've never given them too much information, and when McGonagall wrote them, she didn't mention anything about what I was doing when I got hurt because it was a security risk for us and them.'

'So how do they think you got hurt?'

'I'm not sure,' she said. 'But they're taking me back home, that's what matters. You and Harry will have to go on those missions without me, I suppose.'

'Maybe if we talk to your parents, they'll –'

'They won't listen, Ron. This is it, I'm going home.'

Ron sighed and put a hand underneath her chin, forcing her to look at him again. He looked nervous and slightly worried, and she wondered what would be the cause. 'Hermione, I – I ... um ...'

She was sure he was about to say something important, but it was at that exact moment that Ginny walked past them huffily, looking furious and slightly teary-eyed, heading toward the pond.

'I should go see if she's okay ...' Hermione said reluctantly.

Ron nodded and watched, concerned, as his sister disappeared from sight. Giving him one last look, Hermione let go of him and followed Ginny. When she finally found Ginny, the girl was sitting by the pond, staring angrily into space and sniffing.

'Ginny?'

Ginny wiped her eyes but didn't respond. Not caring if her dress got a grass stain on it, Hermione sat down beside her friend. 'He doesn't know anything about l-love,' Ginny wept.

It didn't take Hermione long to figure out who Ginny was talking about.

She put a comforting arm around Ginny's shoulder. 'He thinks he's protecting you,' she justified.

'From wh-what? Death Eaters? Voldemort? It's n-nothing I h-haven't f-faced before!' Ginny cried indignantly. She took a deep breath and crumbled into Hermione. 'He said h-he l-loved me and that he didn't w-want to lose me. I l-love him, but do I get any s-say in whether or n-not he fights? N-no!'

Harry loved her?

She knew that he cared about her, yes, but she hadn't known that he loved her.

And Ginny loved him, too. Hermione had already known this, but the enormity of Ginny's feelings for Harry hadn't really hit her until now.

'Oh, I'm so sorry,' whispered Hermione. She thought she heard a strange noise behind her, but couldn't turn to investigate because Ginny was now sobbing onto Hermione's shoulder. Perhaps Harry had come after Ginny.

Could Hermione ever love someone like that? Did she already love someone like that? She and Ron had been best friends for years and she loved him ... but she loved Harry, too. They were both her best friends. Harry was like her brother. She'd always felt something more for Ron, something different ... but did she love him as anything more than a friend?

She liked him a lot. But love?

Suddenly, it seemed like such a difficult concept to grasp.

There was another noise behind Hermione. This time, Ginny also heard it. The girl calmed down slightly and gave Hermione a curious look. They turned around and watched as three figures in black hoods stepped out from the trees: Death Eaters.

They both got to their feet instantly. Hermione reached for her wand – it wasn't there. Damn it, she had decided that she didn't have a place to keep it, so she had left it in her room at The Burrow. She hadn't thought anything dangerous would happen!

Ginny gasped and took a small step back. Hermione couldn't think of a way out. Nobody knew where they were. Nobody, aside from Ron and Harry, had even known that they'd left the backyard.

They were alone, far away from the rest of the wedding guests, without wands. And there were Death Eaters surrounding them.

'Well, well, well ... it looks like these two aren't so tough without Potter here to protect them,' one of the hooded figures said. It had a female voice – Bellatrix Lestrange, Hermione knew.

'Which shall we kill first?' asked Lestrange.

Ginny stiffened beside Hermione.

'We must act under the Dark Lord's orders,' another one said. It was Lucius Malfoy. 'You know what we are here to do.'

'Yes, although I'm quite sure the Dark Lord would be rather pleased if we got the other brat out of the way, too,' Lestrange muttered. 'But fine. You there –' she pointed her wand at Ginny 'get over here.' Ginny didn't move. 'Don't make me curse you, girl. Get over here now.'

Ginny gave Hermione a fearful look and took a few steps forward. Hermione wanted to cry, to scream bloody murder until Harry came and saved them, but she couldn't. She was frozen in fear.

'Very good,' said Lestrange. She grabbed Ginny's arm roughly and pulled. Ginny stumbled forward and wound up at Lestrange's side, unusually pale with her face scared and concerned. Lestrange turned to Hermione again. 'Now ... what shall I do with this one? We must make sure she doesn't talk.' She pointed her wand in Hermione's face and said, 'Cruc—'

'No!' the third Death Eater screamed, deflecting the spell with his wand. Hermione cringed and almost wished he hadn't stopped Lestrange from using the Cruciatus Curse. She didn't need him to do her any favours. She knew who the third Death Eater was. She knew that voice well enough. She had heard it far too many times for her liking.

It was Snape.

'We have our orders!' hissed Snape. 'We must only take the Weasley girl! Leave the Mudblood for one of the others!'

Take the Weasley girl?

They were going to take Ginny.

Hermione snapped out of her shocked state. 'No ... you can't take her ...'

'Silly girl,' Malfoy barked. 'We can do whatever we please. As you will soon find out, your side is outnumbered. You picked the wrong side, you filthy Mudblood. Not that our side would've ever taken you ...'

Hermione was suddenly aware of the shouts that were coming from far off in the distance – they were coming from The Burrow. There were more Death Eaters. They had attacked everyone at the wedding. They had attacked Ron.

'Hermione,' Ginny panted, wrestling against Lestrange's grip. 'Tell Harry that I –'

'Silencio.'

Ginny kept squirming. Her lips were still moving, but no sound was coming out anymore.

Hermione felt hot tears running down her cheeks, knowing that if she didn't think of something soon – that if Harry didn't come soon – Ginny would probably die.

'How touching,' Snape said, sounding disgusted. 'The Weasley wants to tell her little boyfriend something.'

'We need to go,' said Malfoy. He pointed his wand at Hermione. 'Be sure to tell Potter that my son and I look forward to seeing him soon. Say goodnight, Mudblood. Stupefy!'

Everything went black.

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