Chapter 78: In Which We Gather Our Glorious New Finery

October 8th, 8:00 AM The Granger-Snape House

Ginny was over bright and early with the sketch of the wedding tattoo. Snape looked sleepy and tousled, Hermione rather bright and fresh. This may have had something to do with the fact that for her, it was a morning where she had two extra hours of sleep, whereas for him, it was a day where he had to get up an hour early.

Snape eagerly drank his coffee while Ginny explained how her tattoo spell worked.

"Usually, when I do a tattoo spell, I draw the tattoo, and then say 'Duco charta' with this motion." She waved her wand over the drawing on the paper. "Then, I say, 'Duco dermis' and perform the same motion over the skin." She took Snape's arm and did the motion with her wand again. The tattoo appeared on his wrist. His eyes widened.

"Don't worry, it's not permanent. This time tomorrow it'll be gone. So, all we need to figure out how to do is set this up so it works with your vows."

"All we need to do…" Hermione said wryly. "Well, what we want to happen is for each vow to create a line in the tattoo."

"Which means this isn't going to work. At least, not the way I do it," Ginny said.

"We can do magic with or without a wand. Let's combine the two," Snape said, eyes warm. "We'll use our wands for the binding. That's established magic, and it's usually cast non-verbally. We'll mark each other without the wands. If we can't quite get it, Willow can help, but I think…" He stood up and went to the fridge. A moment later he returned with a chicken breast. "We can do it. I don't want to practice on one of us in case this is permanent." He stared at the tattoo Ginny had placed on his wrist for a long time, at least five minutes, memorizing it's lines and curves, the over and under of each intersection. Then he focused on the piece of chicken. One after another each line of Ginny's design graced the chicken.

"If we practice, we should be able to get the timing down well enough to do this." He touched his wand to the chicken breast and it glowed for a second, then another copy of the tattoo ended up on the chicken breast. "The timing was a little off, but you see what I mean. The glow from the Unbreakable Vow will look like it created the line of the tattoo." Severus looked quite satisfied.

"Who knew you were such a showman?" Ginny asked.

He cocked an eyebrow at Ginny. "I'm sorry, weren't you in my Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts class? I've got a memory of a certain little girl with bright red hair and I Luv Harry Potter doodled in what she thought was invisible ink in her textbook. Maybe it was someone else? But, I'm sure if you had been in my class you would have noticed a certain flair for costuming, voice, and subject matter."

"I always thought you didn't own a mirror and were cranky due to lack of sex. I never dreamed that anyone would choose that persona as an act."

Snape glared at her. Ginny smiled back, with what Hermione considered the Innocent Weasley Look Number Two. Then they both laughed.

"You might have something with that," Snape said.

October 8th, 10:30 AM Patils' Pretties

"Come on Hermione, get out here and let us see you," Willow called.

Ginny, Molly, Jean, Willow, and Buffy had all decided that they needed to come along with Hermione for her last bridal gown fitting.

"Give me a minute. The veil is being stubborn," Hermione replied.

"I'll go help." Ginny hopped up and joined her friend.

The other four women sat on the sofas conjured by the Patils and chatted with them about the wedding.

Ginny slid into the fitting room and sighed softly. She had seen Hermione in the dress over the course of her two other fittings, but it still made happy tears come to her eyes.

"You look so lovely, Hermione."

"Thanks, Ginny. Can you help me get this pinned properly?" Hermione gestured to the tiara on her veil.

"Sure, bend your knees a bit so I'm not working over my head." In a moment she was finished. Hermione stood up and looked at herself in the mirror.

"It's pretty good isn't it?"

"Oh, Hermione." Ginny swatted her friend on the arm. "You look perfect. Let's go show the others."

When Hermione stepped out of the changing room most of the women went silent. Molly Weasley gasped loudly and said, "How pretty!"

Once Hermione was standing on the platform in front of the mirrors both of the Patils came over to critically check their work. It was almost perfect, a slight tuck here, a little gather there, and it was done. As they pulled back the other women came closer.

Ohhs and Ahhs enveloped Hermione. Even Jean looked impressed.

"I like the green," Jean said, gesturing to the tiny, sparkly green crystals that adorned the bodice of the dress and the hem of Hermione's veil. "I always thought you looked lovely in green."

"Thanks mum." Hermione gave a little twirl, watching as the dress spun around her. "It's real isn't it?"

"It's real and it's gorgeous," Buffy answered, something akin to envy in her voice.

"Thinking you might want one of these someday?" Willow asked Buffy while Hermione returned to the dressing room to change.

"Yeah, I just might. You ladies wouldn't happen to take long distance commissions?"

"No one's ever asked before, but I don't see why we couldn't," Padma answered.

"How about you, Willow? Any possibilities on the horizon?" Ginny asked.

"No, maybe someday, but not now. Got any hot brothers in the market?"

"Depends on how you feel about co-wives."

Willow shook her head. "Nah… I'm the jealous type."

Hermione re-emerged from the dressing room. "Any special instructions for the dress?"

"You might not want to apparate in it, besides that, no. Just be nice to it. We'll be at the wedding, so if you've got some sort of dress emergency we can fix it for you. So, we'll see you tomorrow night?" Parvati asked.

"Hen Party, tomorrow at eight. Our place. Mum's kind enough to take the kiddies for the night. Harry will be at whatever mischief Arthur and George have thought up for Severus. We've got the house to ourselves." Ginny's eyes sparkled.

October 8th, 2:30 PM Patils' Pretties

"Well Arthur?" Severus asked from his place in front of the mirrors.

"It suits you." Arthur smiled at his cleverness.

Severus rolled his eyes. Both of the Patil twins groaned. That was just possibly the worst pun they had heard in weeks. It was, however, true. The light gray suit was snug where a suit should be snug, loose where it should be loose, and a color that made its wearer's skin look bright and alive. (The extremely subtle glamour that Padma had enchanted it with actually provided the effect, but the color would have looked good on him without it.)

Parvati gave one last flick with her wand and a tiny thread snipped off of his left cuff. "I think we're done with you Severus. Let's get Arthur into his suit and finish him up."

Severus changed back into his street clothing, and Arthur vanished into the fitting room with his version of the suit. Several moments later Arthur emerged, looking positively fashionable.

"You know, there may be something to suits," he said looking at himself in the mirror, "I don't think I've looked this good in a robe since I was twenty."

"Our husbands have been saying it for years, 'Men belong in trousers'. Do you mind if we get a picture of you to put up on our wall of fame?" Padma asked while raising the hem of one cuff slightly.

"What, no shot of me?" Severus asked.

"You aren't a well known pure blood who wears muggle clothing once a decade." Snape nodded when Parvati said that. "Having a senior ministry official on our wall doesn't hurt either. Having one endorse suits for our menfolk is even better."

"You do know they still call me the 'Muggle Loving Nutter,' at the ministry?"

"Fine by me," Parvati answered.

"And me," Padma chimed in. "After all, we married muggles."

"In that case, I'll be happy to be on your 'Wall of Fame.'"

The Patils finished up with the suits, snapped a picture of Arthur, and the men left. As they were walking towards Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Arthur said, "So, tomorrow night, after the rehearsal dinner, you and the rest of the guys are supposed to come with me."

Snape smiled. "I remember. Stag party?"

"You'll just have to see. I have it on good authority that I'm supposed to make sure you don't get home tomorrow night, though."

"Won't Hermione worry?"

"No. We've got that taken care of. I understand Ginny has something planned."

"Oh my."

"Exactly."

October 8th, 4:30 PM The Burrow

Molly Weasley placed her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Hold up for a second, dear."

Hermione paused, and saw Molly summon a nicely wrapped package.

"It's a wedding present, but you have to open it by yourself, before the wedding."

Hermione looked around and saw they were alone. "How about now?"

Molly smiled in a way Hermione had never seen before. Well, never seen on her anyway, she had seen it on her sons and daughter. Had she seen it on the face of George or Ginny she would have recognized it in a second. On Molly she had to think about it. Was that wicked glee? "Now would be fine."

Hermione ripped through the paper, lifted the top of the box, and found a delicate scarlet negligee, made all of lace. Her eyes widened to the popping point as she lifted it from the box.

"Ginny had that same look on her face when I gave her her's. Look, I know you kids think of me as being a dried up prude. I'm guessing I got that reputation when I didn't let you all engage in orgies under my roof. But, just because I didn't want you shagging each other silly when you were unmarried teens, doesn't mean I don't want you shagging your husband silly."

"It's beautiful Molly." Hermione held it to herself, and then gave the older witch a hug. "And I never thought you were a prude. You had seven kids! There had to be something going on with you and Arthur. Granted, I was annoyed at the 'no sleeping with your boyfriend rule' but it made sense."

Molly gave her a disbelieving look.

Hermione sighed. "It makes sense now, at the time when I was sure we were all going to get killed next week, I thought it was stupid." Molly nodded at her. She had managed to overhear one rather long and profane conversation between her daughter and Hermione on the subject of wanting to be sleeping with their respective significant others, and how the stupid rules (and eight warding spells) prevented them.

Hermione looked at the lace very closely. "Are those little books, cauldrons, wands and flasks, worked into the lace design?"

"Never let it be said that all I can knit is sweaters!" Molly grinned. "Now, off with you. Have fun with your friends."