Harry Keeps His Promise And There's A Trial
Aurors moved round the grounds, and began the grisly task of sorting through the scattered dead bodies, and trying to match various body parts together. Harry was spending time with Hermione alone in the Gryffindor common room which nobody seemed to mind all that much. The pair deserved all the happiness they could get, though Sirius was getting fed up with the Fat Lady who refused him entry to his old House. Harry and Hermione where curled up on the sofa, and watching the flames crackle in the fireplace while holding each other tightly. Harry used his free hand to gently stroke Hermione hair which he knew she liked.
"Harry?" Hermione said at last, "Why did you ask about my dress size?" she asked, and brushed a strand of her now returned to normal hair. The scar on her head had also gone, but not before Harry had had a photograph taken of Hermione for the photograph album he had.
"Because" Harry replied.
"Because what?" Hermione said, puzzled as to why Harry had seemingly stopped speaking the sentence.
"Because I wanted to know" Harry told her, and the door to the common room swung open, and in came Susan, Hannah, Ernie, Luna, Neville, Parvati, Padma, Lavender, Dean, Seamus. Sirius only just managed to get in before the door closed of its own accord, along with a short and dumpy witch that Hermione knew well.
"What is going on?" Hermione asked Harry. Almost all of the new arrivals carried parcels, though Luna and Susan carried flowers instead.
"I believe that when a man proposes to a beautiful lady, then it is the custom to get married" Harry said, putting on his best 'Hermione voice'.
"What?" Hermione's jaw just dropped down in amazement.
"Well you told me that you used to dream of getting married in a castle. I do believe that Hogwarts is a castle, unless it has changed into a very large garden centre while I have been away" Harry laughed.
"Are you serious?" his fiancée questioned him.
"That would be me actually" Sirius said, raising his hand.
"Never mind" Hermione replied. She thought about it for a few moments, and when she looked at the dumpy witch – Madam Malkin – she relented. "Let's do it" she told Harry. All at once, the girls swung into action and bundled Hermione up and into her dorm. Harry needed to be kept apart and so they went towards the Room of Requirement, picking up Remus Lupin at the same time. Trouble happened when some reporters pestered Harry for a statement. They spent a full five minutes pestering Harry for an interview, and he was quite calm and refused to speak until later. This didn't satisfy them however, and one of them shoved notebooks under Harry's nose, and prodded Harry with his finger.
"Just one, boy… everyone deserves this" he said. Harry had had enough of him, and dropped his hand to his belt. It swung back up and Harry held the .357 Magnum gun exactly 1 millimetre away from touching the man's forehead.
"Go ahead punk" Harry growled, "Make! My! Day!" and the reported wet himself and ran away screaming for his mummy.
"Nice" Sirius muttered.
"And who is my next contestant to play 'Grumpy Gryffindor'?" Harry asked the reporters. None of them answered. Now if you want some real news, then you have three hours to interview survivors and then you are all invited to my wedding which will be held in the Great Hall. Good Evening" and Harry replaced the gun onto his belt, and he walked away with his friends following behind him.
"Sack Fred and George" Dean said.
"Why?" Harry asked him.
"Those two where on Crowd Control" Dean replied.
"Leave them at it" Harry said, feeling slightly tired after the battle. Even though he had trained long and hard for the final battle, stepping into the path of a Killing Curse did tend to wind you somewhat. Harry did the necessary and the door appeared letting them all in to a large and well furnished room that resembled the Gryffindor Common Room. Other doors inside the room led to individual showers, and a start was made on them, with Harry taking both a bath and shower – the room providing him with a golden bathtub. Once he was out, Harry dried himself and then dressed in a Tuxedo before going back into the main room. He went straight into conference with Sirius, Remus, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Ernie and Justin concerning the arrangements for the wedding.
"Fireworks have been ordered, and the twins are setting them up now" Dean said.
"So who is on crowd control?" questioned Harry.
"Hagrid" Seamus replied.
"Enough said" Harry chuckled. If anyone got past the half giant, then that person or persons deserved the Order of Merlin – 1st Class.
"Everything else is being taken care of, and the elves in the kitchen have said they can cope with the sudden demand for food" Ernie said.
"I got the seating sorted" Neville added, "Though I had to ask McGonagall for permission to clear the house tables to the side" he finished.
"At least that helps with the after Wedding Reception" Harry commented. Harry spent the remaining time getting ready and rehearsing his own vows.
"I'm off" Sirius said, looking at his watch. He had a duty to perform that he didn't mind doing at all.
#
Hermione was dressed in the most beautiful white dress that had ever been created and she walked along the corridors with Sirius's arm in her own. The trail was carried by all of Hermione's female friends, with Luna acting as head bridesmaid for the occasion. As she walked along the corridors, the lucky girl thought about how much she loved Harry. She had fallen in love with him in their first year, though she had not been able to say it at the time. Hermione remembered the times that he would sit next to her bed while she was petrified in second year, even if Pomfrey tried to shoo him out of the Hospital Wing. Although they had argued for a lot of the third year, Harry still helped Hermione over her fear of flying while helping Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup. How Hermione got through their fifth year, she would never ever know the answer, she feared.
"You alright?" asked Sirius quietly as they neared the hall.
"I'm nervous" Hermione admitted.
"I would have been surprised if you weren't" the man replied. "Everybody is nervous on their wedding day… I know that I was" Sirius added after a moments pause. They sat while they waited for the doors to open in order to admit them entry to the hall.
"You never told me or Harry that you got married" Hermione said. Sirius sighed deeply before answering the girl's question.
"Her name was Annie Braiedy, and she was one of the most beautiful people you have ever seen. Long golden and red hair which was always past her shoulders when undone. She was as sweet and as kind as you – you reminded me of her actually" Sirius said.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"Annie was killed by the Death Eaters while I was away working" Sirius said, running a hand through his flattened hair.
"HEY!" Luna protested, she had spent five minutes, two spray cans of hair care products and several charms getting Sirius's hair into something dignified for a wedding.
"Sorry" he said, and the hand retreated from his head. "Funny thing is that I haven't thought about Annie for nearly eight years or so" Sirius said, "If only I had stayed at home that night…" he stopped as the doors opened, and he put his arm through Hermione's and together with the bridesmaids, they went inside. Stains of Felix Mendelssohn's 'The Wedding March' started to fill the hall, and everyone inside rose to their feet as Hermione made her way with Sirius and bridesmaids to the front where only the teachers' table remained in it's normal place. Harry and the boys all stood in suits or tuxedos – the exception being Ernie Macmillan. As a true Scotsman, he was wearing a kilt. As a true Scotsman, he wasn't wearing…
"Wow" Hermione breathed as she glanced upwards and saw the ceiling with the stars in the night sky replicated inside the castle.
"You might want to look back at the front" Hannah whispered. Hermione looked back to the front and slightly to the left where a bunch of women stood dressed in black with a bit of white surrounding their faces and head – though the youngest looking woman was wearing something slightly different, and Hermione blessed and cursed her Husband-To-Be silently. Harry James Potter had seemingly kidnapped the entire cast of Sister Act. One thing that Hermione kept a closely guarded secret was that she was one of the few students at Hogwarts to be able to leave every Sunday morning and go into the Muggle world. Nobody knew that every Sunday, week in and week out, Hermione Granger would go to church along with Harry. Hermione had always gone with her parents, but had fallen out of practice after starting Hogwarts, then when her parents had died, going back had been one of the things that had helped her deal with the lost, and now she went more out of habit then anything else. Harry went for three reasons. He could spend time with Hermione afterwards anyway. He got out the castle, and was able to purchase a new book or two for his collection. Harry was determined to own a full original set of the 'Famous Five' series. After getting to the front, the nuns did a rendition of 'My Girl' before falling silent so McGonagall could do her part.
#
McGonagall watched as her two favourite students came together to get married. She let out a smile that could have powered half of Inverness if it had been tapped.
"Ladies and gentlemen" she began, "We are gathered here after a difficult and terrible battle to celebrate the joining of two lives in marriage. Mr Potter and Miss Granger have known each other for a number of years, and I can not think of a better couple in my life" she stopped for a second, before looking at Harry. "I believe that you have your own vows" McGonagall said smiling. Harry nodded before turning to look directly at Hermione.
"Hermione" he started, "From the moment I saw you on the train ride here, I knew that I was in love. When you went off and kept in the toilet after Ron insulted you, all I cared about was you. When the Troll entered the bathroom, my first thought was that you had to get out of there – that's why I charged the bugger" Harry listened to the chuckles before pressing on. "Whenever I have been in trouble, you have been there for me. I could not imagine a lifetime without you by my side" he finished, and a tear of happiness escaped from Hermione's cheek and down her soft cheeks.
"It is now time to exchange the vows and rings" McGonagall said, "Do you, Hermione Jane Granger, take Harry James Potter to be your lawfully wedded husband?" she asked.
"I do" Hermione said solemnly.
"And do you, Harry James Potter, take Hermione Jane Granger to be your lawfully wedded wife?" McGonagall asked Harry.
"Sheesh!" Harry said, "Erm… I'm not sure about that" and turned to the watching people. "What do you think?" he asked them.
"YES" was the instant reply.
"I do" Harry said, and Hermione found it funny and something that Harry would do.
"Then if no one has any objections, then I pronounce you husband and wife – till death do you part" McGonagall said, "You may kiss the bride" and Harry leaned in and cupped Hermione's head in his hands and kissed her. At that precise moment in time, fireworks went off and made everyone look upwards to see the fireworks going over the castle – courtesy of the Weasley twins. At the same time, the guests all stood and applauded the new couple. Nobody deserved more happiness then Harry Potter did, and Harry leant in and kissed his wife again.
"I love you" Harry whispered.
"So do I" Hermione whispered as they kept on snogging.
"Hey!" protested Hagrid, "We're wasting good drinking time" he said. Harry and Hermione looked at each other and nodded.
"BRING ON THE DRINK!" they said loudly, and the tables and chairs rearranged themselves to go round tables round the hall.
Harry and Hermione took the middle space of the top table, and their close family and friends sat with them. Speeches got made and everyone celebrated the wedding until, very much later, Harry and Hermione left the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and headed to the Head pupils's room which would serve as their suite until something better could be sorted out for the rest of the school year. It would only be for a few nights as Harry and Hermione had a honeymoon to go on, and Hermione made a note to clear out Pomfrey's Anti Pregnancy potions to use whilst on the Honeymoon. Harry and Hermione's first time as husband and wife wasn't what most would have expected. It was raw passion and out and out sex as both explored the other's bodies Hermione had to use one of the potions that night! The rest of the night was spent making love to each other sweetly, and the pair fell into an exhausting but dream filled sleep.
#
Courtroom Ten was filled to capacity as the defendants were led inside and sat in seats. Harry kept his calm for Hermione's sake, but inside he was a raging inferno of emotions. As Voldemort had killed most of the Wizendgamot in the process of his failed plan to take over, the temporary DMLE head (madam Bones being incapacitated), would be acting as judge, with the new head of the Auror Corps providing maximum security – though Sirius needn't have bothered with it as all three wore heavy duty magic suppressers. In order to save face, Arthur Weasley had tried to resign, but Harry had made it clear that he didn't hold him responsible for what Ron had done to Hermione and the others while he was 'away'. As he had more money then he could ever spend, Harry put together a crack team of brains to make a cast iron box for the defendants to be inside whilst in the stormy place known as Azkaban. There was no way that any of them could possibly get out of any of the charges. Apart from Harry and Hermione, there was also Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, the Patil Twins, the Weasley Twins and the assistance of two Slytherins – Tracy Davis and Astoria Greengrass – helping to put the case together. One side effect of the two Slytherins was that they had been cast out of their homes by each persons family, after giving them a large amount of money as demanded by old laws. As both where under age, Harry had gone to the Ministry and applied for custody of both – permission was granted before he had even sat down in the waiting room chair.
"Deloris Jane Umbridge, You stand accused of administering banned substances, child abuse in all three counts, intimidation, and the authorising of roving punishment squads" the acting DMLE head paused before looking at her. "How do you plead?" he asked.
"Not Guilty" she spat, and the judge leaned in.
"I know you'd say that" he said in a low voice, traced with Italian. He looked at Ron and Draco who both slouched in their seats. "Ronald Weasley and Draco Mustela Furo Malfoy. You stand accused of the attempted murder of students at Hogwarts, rape of students, intimidation and persecution of students, and of really pissing Harry Potter off. How do you plead?" the DMLE person asked.
"Not Guilty" Ron said.
"Not Guilty – on grounds that this is all trumped up charges" Malfoy said, but an Auror simply charmed him quiet.
A/N:
First of all, if any one can get what Malfoys middle name is in English, then you may get a cameo in the next chapter…
SO the wedding has taken place, and I hope you like it every bit.
If you can spot references to any TV shows and films then please say so.
Reviews and PM's in the normal manner,
Regards:
Pixel