Chapter 81: In Which You Are Cordially Invited...

Hermione stretched languidly. The light sliding in from her window told her she had slept though the morning. A glance at the clock confirmed that, 11:55. Sunset was a little over six hours away.

Six hours. Well, four really. I need to get to the chapel early. Make sure everything is all set and ready. Four hours…nothing to do. Lunch, there's something.

She tossed on her robe and puttered down to the kitchen. She knew Kreacher would be at Alhana's Haven already, so she was on her own for lunch. Hermione listened carefully as she moved through the house. It sounded like Harry and Ginny were still asleep. First lay in since… God could it really have been five years? She thought about it. More probably. Ron's a bit over five now, and Ginny didn't really sleep well toward the end of that pregnancy. Hermione sighed.

She was at home in Harry and Ginny's kitchen. Over the course of the seven years they had lived in Grimmauld Place she had spent many a night, and even more evenings and mornings.

What to eat? She peered into the fridge. The bacon caught her eye, so did the eggs, and if she wasn't mistaken there was a carafe of orange juice. Perfect.

The smell of frying bacon got Harry and Ginny down the stairs. Hermione had made enough for the three of them and was plating up as her friends sat down.

"A little b and e?" Hermione asked while placing the plates in front of her friends.

"Sounds great. Pass the toast," Harry said.

Ginny looked about and got some coffee started.

The three of them sat and ate quietly for a bit.

"So, now what?" Hermione asked.

Ginny grinned. "Wash up, check the clock about nine hundred times, twiddle your thumbs, act jittery, check the clock some more, get a shower, get dressed, check the clock again, pace, try to read, put the book away, check the clock again, see that you've got two hours to go until you've got to be at Alhana's, groan, pace some more…"

"Bugger that! Let's go to the cinema," Hermione said with a gleam in her eye.

"A much better plan. Mum's got the kids all day, until the babysitters come and relieve her for the wedding, so we're free for anything. Heck, we could see two movies…" Harry said.

"Don't get too wild on me," Hermione replied. Besides they really didn't have time for two movies.

"Let's meet back here in twenty minutes: dressed and showered and ready to go." Ginny the General had spoken: a plan was ready, and the soldiers went off to implement it.

A rhythmic banging sound kept pulling at Snape's sleep. It happened twice, and then he heard muffled voices, the sound of someone moving around his house, and then it went quiet again. Part of him wanted to jump up and see what had happened. Part of him, the winning part, decided he was too damn tired to do anything about it. So he went back to sleep.

Later, hours later to judge by the light, he awoke and went downstairs. Sitting on his kitchen table was the wedding cake. A feeling of relief washed over him. Arthur saved his life on that one. Hermione wouldn't have been thrilled to find that he had slept through the cake delivery.

The sight of the cake reminded him that he was rather hungry. It also made him very, very happy that he and Arthur could shrink it, because the idea of trying to move it full sized made him want to break out into a cold sweat.

The cake was white. Smooth white icing. Perfect, fingerprint free, white icing. Each of the three tiers had a red ribbon wrapped around the base. Each tier was supported on thin crystal pillars. The top of the cake was covered in white roses, as was the top of the second and third tier. The tray the cake was resting on was strewn with black calla lilies. It looked very, very intricate and fragile.

Snape stopped looking at the cake and went to start some coffee and breakfast. Several moments later Arthur joined him.

"Thank you for getting the cake," Severus told Arthur.

"No problem. I'd actually woken up a moment or two before they came; it just took me a little while to work out how to open your locks."

"Oh. Sorry about that. Have you been awake all this time?"

"No, went back to sleep after they left. I need to be sharp for tonight."

"Yes. And we really need to be sharp to figure out how to get this," he gestured to the cake, "to the wedding in one piece."

"No problems. A little shrinkage, a levitate spell, and my Anglia, and it'll be a breeze."

"You sound like you've done this before."

"Well, not precisely this, but I've had some similar jobs over the course of eight weddings."

"So, that was interesting," Hermione said to Harry and Ginny, more than a bit of sarcasm edging her voice, as they walked out of 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.'

"Yep." Ginny nodded.

"Hey, I liked it," Harry said adamantly.

"I'm glad one of us did." Ginny poked him while talking.

"I didn't hate it. It was just, odd," Hermione said. "On the upside it ate up an hour and a half, almost two if you count getting here, getting tickets, getting popcorn, and watching the previews. It's almost time to get to Alhana's Haven."

"It did do that very well. I only noticed you checking your watch four or five times," Harry said as they turned into an alley to apparate back to Grimmauld Place.

As they lowered the cake to its spot of honour in the middle of the long buffet table, Snape started to breathe again. He had been having images of it smashed to pieces running through his head since Arthur started his car with a jolt.

Under other circumstances a ride in a flying Ford Anglia would have been a blast for Snape. This time he was looking over his shoulder every two seconds to see if the cake was in the same condition he had received it in. Now that it was safe, the weight lifted off his shoulders and all that was left was to get dressed and stand around the chapel waiting for people to arrive.

He and Arthur went to the rooms that had been set aside for them. One of the house elves joined them within seconds, offering beverages and snacks. A pot of tea, a tray of fruit, and another tray of sandwiches appeared on one of the tables, and both men had a bit of a nibble.

"Now what?" Snape looked about the room, and at the clock that showed him they had two hours until the wedding began.

"We get dressed; then we stand around the chapel waiting for people to show up," Arthur told him.

"Sounds fascinating."

"This part always is. It'll be boring going through it, but you won't really remember it after."

"Always a silver lining." Both men sat and ate for a few more minutes. When he finished his sandwich, Snape grabbed his suit and went to change. Above him he heard footsteps and muted voices. Hermione's here. Part of him wanted to go bounding up the stairs. Part of him realized that bounding half dressed up the stairs to enthusiastically greet a woman he had just seen the day before was a bit too much the lovesick fool. He grumbled about having too much pride while putting on his trousers.

Ginny popped into the room a few moments after Severus realized the other half of the wedding was upstairs.

"Oh, you two look so handsome." She kissed her Dad and hugged Severus.

"Whereas you look a bit underdressed," Severus said.

"I told you I wanted to do something casual." Ginny grinned and gestured at her outfit, the same muggle clothing she had worn to the movie. "I wanted to see how far along you were, and inspect everything before I got changed. Harry and Hermione are upstairs. They're getting dressed, and then they'll realize exactly how dull it is to sit and wait in the 'Bridal Chamber.' Hopefully some of the others will be here soon to keep them company.

"So the plan is: You two get dressed and then head to the chapel. You greet guests, make sure everyone is seated, and make a lot of small talk. A little bit before sunset we'll start with you two walking down the aisle and then once the light hits the windows properly, we'll get Hermione and Harry started."

"Yes, Ma'am." Arthur told his daughter while giving her a hug. "We'll be in the right place at the right time. No worries."

"Wonderful. I'll be floating around making sure everything is set up. I'll see you again in a bit."

It had taken Harry seven minutes to change out of his street clothing and into his formal dress robes. It had taken seven minutes for Hermione to arrange all of her makeup and hair stuff on the table in front of the lighted mirror.

They didn't talk much while she worked on her hair. Harry had lived with a woman long enough to know that most women didn't like to be distracted while they did this. So he sat quietly on one of the sofas and pondered the idea that his best friend was marrying a man who had been one of his personal demons for years. That took all of one minute. Pondering that said demon had actually turned out to be a pretty good man; a man whose company he actually enjoyed, took longer.

"What do you think?" Hermione pulled him out of his reverie.

He eyeballed her hair and face. She hadn't done the make-up yet, but it looked like her hair was finished. She had straightened it out and pulled some of it back into a knot studded with little, green, sparkly jewels. The rest was allowed to cascade down her back.

"It looks nice."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Nice?"

He grinned at her, stood, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "It looks nice. Very nice. If I say too much more, what words will I have when I see you all put together?"

"Good point. Now for make-up."

Harry returned to the sofa, and Hermione to her mirror. He wished Ron could be here. He would have liked to share Hermione's wedding with their other best friend. He knew that it wouldn't have worked out this way if Ron had been here, and he was used to not having Ron around for important moments, but he still felt the wish for his friend when something especially joyful was about to happen.

Hermione watched Harry in her mirror; she saw the melancholy on his face. She knew that look well, and had worn it more than once herself. "Thinking about Ron?" Hermione asked while she started to apply her foundation.

"That obvious?"

"To me or Ginny. I'm not sure about the others."

"Is it horrible to wish he was here?"

"I don't think so. I miss him most at the happy times."

"Me too."

They were both quiet. Hermione brushed powder onto her face.

"I had a dream about him awhile ago. He was telling me that he was okay with Snape."

Harry looked incredulous.

"Yeah, that was my response, too." Hermione turned to face him. "I know he wouldn't have been okay with this."

"He would have wanted you to be happy and get married and have lots of kids."

"Well, yeah, he'd be fine with that. It's the Snape thing that would have soured the deal."

"I think he would have come around eventually."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. He loved you. Loved you more than anything in the world. Especially that last month. He grew up a lot that last month, and he got a lot of things straight in his head that month. The man he became would have come around. I'm not saying it would have been fast or easy, but he would have come around. Hell, I did."

Her smile was bright. "And that you did."

Severus and Arthur sat in the back pew of the chapel. Arthur was carefully studying the flowers on the end of the pew. Severus was staring off into space. Ginny had popped in a few minutes earlier with news that people should start coming soon. But for the time being it was just the two of them and an empty chapel. Severus looked up as the sharp popping sound of apparition hit his ears.

Two more quick pops told the men that it wasn't just Ginny stopping by again. Voices began to filter towards the chapel. Severus checked his watch. Forty minutes to go, and finally someone was here.

Someone turned out to be Neville, Daphne and Luna. Severus was never so happy to see anyone named Longbottom. The greetings were correct, even verging on personable. Neville almost smiled at Severus. Luna placed a brightly wrapped box on a table by the door of the chapel. Daphne led her husband and wife around the chapel to show off her handiwork from the day before.

A moment later another pop signalled the next set of guests. Molly came in with Jean and Robert. She gave her husband a hug and kiss and followed that with a hug for Severus.

Then she stepped back and looked them over. "I like the suits. Very, very sharp."

"How did last night go?" Arthur asked her.

"You mean with the kids?"

"Yes."

"The day five kids are trouble for me is the day you need to shovel dirt on me because I've died. Compared to Fred and George, these five are a breeze."

"That's good."

Jean and Robert held back. Severus walked to them. "Would you like the tour?"

"We saw it yesterday," Jean said, and then looked like she regretted it.

"Oh. Of course."

"I'm sorry that was short. I didn't sleep well last night. The time difference is really starting to get to us," Jean explained while looking at the chapel. "This really is a lovely spot of a wedding. I can see why you'd want to show it off."

Snape looked for something to say. "Would you like to see Hermione?"

"Yes, I think that would be good," Robert replied.

"She's in the house. I'm not allowed to get too close, but I think Arthur can lead the way for you."

Arthur offered Jean his arm. "I'd be delighted."

Hermione's natural parents came into her room accompanied by her adopted parents. Harry hugged his in-laws while Hermione hugged her parents. Then she hugged the Weasleys, and Harry shook the Granger's hands.

Everyone cooed about how lovely Hermione looked, and Arthur made sure to get a photo of the six of them together. Then one shot of Hermione and her parents, and another of just her and Harry.

For several moments the six of them chatted about how handsome Snape was looking, that the chapel was gorgeous, and the cake was beautiful. Then Jean asked if they could get a minute alone with Hermione.

Harry and the Weasleys left the room. Jean sat next to Hermione on the sofa and put an arm around her. Robert pulled up a chair and sat across from her.

"We love you so much," her mother started.

"And you know that we're so proud of you," Robert continued.

"But we want you to know you don't have to go through with this." Hermione was about to speak, but her mother shushed her.

"If you've got any second thoughts, any uncertainties, it's okay not to do this," hHer father looked earnestly at her as he spoke.

"There's nothing worse than a bad marriage," her mother chimed in.

"And we don't want that for you." Then both of her parents stopped and waited for her to respond.

Hermione took a deep breath, and tried to think of it from their point of view. "I know you want what's best for me, and I'm certain that this is it."

Both her parents looked at her. Her mother kissed her on the forehead. Her father stood up. The ladies did as well.

"We'll head back to the chapel." Her father wrapped her in a bear hug. "I'm happy for you, dear." Hermione felt tears threaten to spill down her cheeks.

"Don't say that, Dad, you'll make me cry."

"It's good to cry at weddings, Honey," her mother said. "Sometimes the joy just needs to spill out." Her parents left her and sought out Ginny.

"We've got the ribbon, and we're in on they handfasting," Jean told Ginny.

Ginny smiled at her. "Lovely. You'll come up after Mum and Dad. It'll be a great surprise for Hermione."

The chapel was full. Everyone had arrived and been seated. All they were waiting for now was the sun. It was slowly creeping into the correct position, inching its way down toward the tree line. Finally Ginny nodded to Spike, who switched from random music to 'A Warm Place.'

Arthur looked over Severus, reached out, and adjusted his tie. "All set?"

"All set. Let's go wait for Hermione."

The two of them walked to the front of the church, smiling, nodding, and shaking hands with the some of the guests.

"Nervous?" Arthur asked quietly as they stood at the front of the chapel.

"Not really," Snape replied, looking at the doors, waiting for the music to change and Hermione to enter. "You?"

"I've got the easy job. All I have to do is stand here and look pretty."

Snape smiled, never taking his eyes from the door. "Got your speech ready for after dinner?"

"That I'm a little nervous about."

Severus smiled. Arthur smiled back. Both waited for their first sight of Hermione and Harry. 'A Warm Place' ended, and Spike began the 'Angels in America Theme.'

"Are you ready?" Harry asked her.

"Just about." Hermione gave herself one last look in the mirror, flicked an all but invisible piece of fluff off of her veil.

He turned her to face him, and gave her a very careful, non smudging kiss on her forehead. "And once more we walk together to face our fate."

"Once more. I'm thinking this might be a bit easier than entering Gringotts."

"Or the Battle of Hogwarts. Or the Forbidden Forrest."

Ginny popped her head into the room. "Give it about five more minutes, the sun's just about in the right place. The light should be perfect soon. When you hear your music, in you come."

"Okay," They said in unison. Hermione fiddled with her engagement ring. Harry paced the length of the room.

"You can still back out of this."

"God, my parents said that, too. I'm not backing out of anything."

"Okay," Harry said. They sat quietly for about thirty seconds, which felt like three hours.

"Did you ever think it would be us?" Harry looked like he couldn't quite believe he said that out loud.

"A moment here, a moment there, mostly no, though."

"Yeah, that's pretty much where I was. That moment third year, after you punched Malfoy, you were the most beautiful girl in the world that day."

"By that logic, Mad-Eye Crouch was the greatest thing on Earth after the ferret transformation."

"And he was. Closest I ever came to being gay." They both broke out into peals of laughter. As they calmed down, Hermione heard the first notes of her processional music begin.

"Time to go." She took a deep breath. He took her hand.

"I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Harry."

"Let's go get you married."

Hermione and Harry walked slowly down the aisle toward Severus and Arthur. Ginny was standing facing the room, a huge, happy grin on her face. Severus realized why there are clichés. Because when the woman you love walks toward you dressed in white and radiant there was a certain way you feel, and a finite number of ways of describing that feeling. So he was willing to be a cliché for a moment, it just felt too good to try and be otherwise.

Hermione walked with Harry, trying very hard not to cry. The feeling in her chest was almost too big to keep inside. It wanted to leak out in tears or burst forth in peals of laughter. She started to whisper to Harry, nonsense words, just something to keep her tears in.

Harry squeezed her arm. "You're doing fine," he whispered. When they reached the altar, Harry lifted Hermione's veil, kissed her cheek, and took her flowers from her.

She turned to face Snape, and he mouthed the word, "Hi." She grinned at him, mouthed "Hello," and felt her composure return.

Ginny began. "We've come here to act as witnesses for the binding of Hermione Jean Granger and Severus Chauncey Snape."

Hermione's eyes went wide, and Snape mouthed to her, "Groom's gift to the bride."

She smiled back at him, and Ginny, who had paused to watch the exchange, started speaking again.

"They've asked me to say something about love and marriage, and to more or less keep this moving along. I spent quite some time trying to think of what to say. Here goes:

"We're here for a wedding, which is a fairly common thing. But like many common things, it's a symbol for something extraordinary, for something that makes our lives richer, deeper, harder, and easier, than they would otherwise be.

"Anyone can love. Love's the easy part. Love's the fun part. And really, that's not what a wedding is about. It's about taking that love, and making a pledge to keep it going. It's about providing a space where love can grow, a place where love can make us better than we were before, and better than we are alone.

"A wedding is about keeping going between the easy bits. It's the difference between the amateur and the professional. We are here to watch these two people sign up for the long race, and we are here to pledge ourselves towards helping them make it.

"A wedding is a birth. It marks the beginning of a new life, and a new family. By the time tonight is done Severus will have become part of our family; he will be our newest brother, son, or uncle. By the time this night is done Hermione and Severus will have become a family of their own. They will have taken the first step of becoming something bigger, greater, than either of them was alone.

"Having said that, let's all stand and watch them make their vows. As they speak, let us bless their union in our hearts, and by our wands.

"Okay, Severus. The show is yours."

Hermione and Severus both smiled awkwardly. Severus looked at Hermione's hand in his. His voice started quietly, almost tentative, but grew in strength and volume as each vow passed. "I Severus, bind myself, to you, Hermione." The magic began to glow on her left wrist, leaving the first line of their wedding tattoo visible.

"I bind my life to yours." With each vow another line of the knot tattoo became visible, and the glow brighter.

"I bind my joy to yours.

"I bind my sorrow to yours.

"I will honour you.

"I will cherish you.

"I will comfort you.

"I will love you." Hermione felt happy tears spill down her cheeks. She smiled radiantly at him. He smiled back at her.

"I will be your husband." The tattoo burst into flame, and then faded to the colours it would be for the rest of her life.

Then she began her part of the ceremony.

Hermione spoke, her voice unsteady. "I Hermione, bind myself, to you Severus." The first line of his wrist tattoo glowed into life.

"I bind my life to yours." She sniffled, took a deep breath, and continued with a stronger voice.

"I bind my joy to yours.

"I bind my sorrow to yours.

"I will honour you.

"I will cherish you.

"I will comfort you.

"I will love you." And now it was Snape's turn to look radiant.

"I will be your wife." Once more the glow burst into flames, finishing Severus' wrist tattoo with its eighth strand.

They held each other's hands, and Severus wrapped a white ribbon around both of their wrists. She took the ends of the ribbon from him, and finished the knot.

Hermione spoke: "We are now Snapes."

Severus gave her a questioning look, his right eyebrow high. She mouthed back, "Bride's gift to the groom."

Ginny stepped forward and held both of their hands. Harry joined her and wrapped a green and gold ribbon around them. "You are now Potters," Ginny said, and then gave both of them a kiss. Harry hugged Hermione and slapped Snape on the shoulder, and then he stepped aside for his father-in-law.

Arthur held his hand out to Molly, who joined them from her seat in the front row. He held his arm around her, and gave her a quick kiss. She took a white and red ribbon out of her sleeve and handed it to Arthur. Molly held their hands while Arthur tied the ribbon.

"You are now Weasleys." As Arthur said the words, George provided a little wand work. Both of them startled when their hair went bright Weasley red for a moment, and then faded back to their normal colours. The rest of the audience laughed. Arthur gave Hermione a kiss while Molly hugged Severus. Then they switched, and Molly returned to her seat while glaring at George, who looked the picture of innocence.

Hermione's eyes widened when her parents walked up, a violet ribbon in hand. They tied their ribbon around Snape and Hermione's hands and said, in something approaching unison, "You are now Grangers."

Her parent's kissed her. Her mother hugged Severus, and her father shook his free hand, and then they too retreated to their seats.

Ginny cleared her throat. "And, you are now married." The assembled guests cheered. Then Snape and Hermione were kissing, and there was clapping, and at some point, they turned, walked down the aisle, and into their new life.