Hallelujah! Hallelujah! MY WRITING MUSE HAS RETURNED! I CAN WRITE AGAIN!
Okay, I HATE school. I can only get on my computer once a freaking week now. Oh, and before I forget: this chapter is dedicated to Annabel-lurvs-purple for being the best fan ever!!
Harry woke the next morning with the worst headache in the world. Beside him, Ron was sitting up and groaning. "My head hurts like hell," Ron complained.
"Join the club," Harry mumbled. "You had more than I did!"
"Mum is going to kill me," Ron moaned. "She told me to never get drunk."
"Too late for that one, mate." Harry shook his head violently to get rid of some of the bleariness he felt. Ooh, bad idea. He resisted the urge to stagger to a bathroom and throw up. Ron, on the other hand, did not. He rushed out of the room.
Harry managed to compose himself and ignore his pounding headache, as used as he was to pain. Then he remembered that he'd have to deal with Fleur for one more day, and the headache returned. One more day, he thought hopefully, and then tomorrow's the wedding and she'll be gone!
Ron staggered back into the room, his face green. "I hope no one heard that," he mumbled. He squeezed his eyes shut tight as the sunlight poured into the room. "Ack! That's bright!"
"Open your eyes, let them adjust," Harry suggested as he pulled on some Muggle clothes to work around the house in.
"Why do you sound so perky?" Ron asked enviously. "I feel like crap."
"I've learned to ignore pain," Harry replied simply.
A timid knock sounded on their door. "Ron? Harry? Are you alright?" It was Hermione, calling softly from on the landing.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry replied. "Not so sure about Ron here."
The door opened, and Hermione entered, dressed but hair still up in a messy bun from sleep. "What's wrong? What did you two do?"
"Nothing!" Harry protested this lack of faith in them. Well, they had done something, so that was technically a lie. "Ron's just a little under the weather."
Hermione peered at him. "It looks like you have a hangover or something, but that's impossible! Where would you even get the alcohol?" She laughed, but stopped when she saw Harry's guilty expression. "No. You didn't."
"I'll tell you if you swear not to tell," Harry bargained. Ron looked back and forth between the two with a mixture of hope and apprehension on his face.
"Is it something you guys planned on your own?" She asked suspiciously, obviously thinking they'd stolen the firewhiskey or something.
"No."
"Okay, then I'll swear."
"We threw a bachelor party for Bill – well, Fred, George and Charlie set it up – and there was firewhiskey there. Do I need to say more?" Harry told her.
Hermione shook her head in half amusement, half exasperation. "You two had too much, didn't you?"
"Hermione, you're the smart one. Surely you know the symptoms of a hangover," Harry said, raising an eyebrow.
She shot him a look and sat down next to Ron. She took out her wand and tapped it against his forehead lightly, letting it rest there. His face glowed a brighter green and then went back to its normal color. "There," she said, satisfied.
"I love you, Hermione, you know that?" Ron said gratefully. "What would we do without you?" She blushed a bright scarlet, but Ron didn't notice.
Hermione turned to Harry, who managed to hide his grin at the two friends in time. "What about you, Harry?"
Harry shook his head, but Hermione noticed the accompanying wince and set her wand to his forehead as well. "Honestly," she sighed, smiling slightly, "the two of you… what would you do without me?"
"Die," said Ron simply. He was already more active, getting up from bed and slipping a clean shirt on over his head. "How many times have you saved us now?"
"Too many to count," Hermione teased him. "I'm going to let you both get dressed. See you down at breakfast." She gave them a last half amused, half exasperated smile, and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Harry looked at Ron, who was still staring at the door she had exited by. "Admit it, mate – you love Hermione Granger."
"Hermione Jane Granger," Ron corrected, then seemed to realize what he'd admitted to and looked at Harry apprehensively. "How'd you know? Are you a Legilmens now or something?"
"It's so obvious," Harry said, shaking his head. "And no, I'm not. But mate, everyone knows."
Ron groaned. "They do?" When Harry nodded in confirmation, he groaned again and dropped his head into his hands.
"Everyone," Harry continued, "except her."
"Well, that's a relief," Ron said, missing the significant look Harry was giving him.
"Why don't you…I don't know…change that?" Harry suggested casually, pulling on trousers.
Ron snorted. "What? And tell her? You're off your rocker."
"No, I'm not," Harry said. "I think you'll be pleased with the results."
"Whatever, Harry," Ron said, rolling his eyes.
After a hearty breakfast cooked jointly by Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, they headed outside once more to put the finishing touches on the decorations. People were beginning to arrive that lived far away, and Mrs. Weasley kept Harry and Ron busy by gong back and forth laden down with flowers.
"I don't know what everyone was thinking, expecting to stay here!" she said, harassed, "There's absolutely no room for everyone! No, I won't allow it! They'll just have to stay in the wizarding inn down the road! Oh, my word…" She kept running her fingers through her hair.
Fleur was no better. She took over Mrs. Weasley's job of ordering everyone around, and greeted the many French people arriving at the house. "Je vous ai manqué tellement! Comment allez-vous?" She exclaimed in French each time a new person arrived. (Translation: 'I've missed you so much! How are you?' No, I don't speak French. Spanish all the way!)
It would be worse when one of her good friends arrived. She would burst into grateful tears and exclaim, "Je ne peux pas croire que vous êtes ici! Allait-il comment votre voyage? Comment allez-vous? Qu'est qu'il y a de neuf? Dieu, je vous ai manqué!" (I can't believe you're here! How was your trip? How are you? What's new? God, I have missed you!) Harry resisted the urge to cover his ears as her friends responded in much the same way. Great…nine more Fleurs.
Ron sneezed into his armful of flowers as they strung them around the awning that the ceremony was to be held with. "From now on, I officially hate lilies."
Harry pretended to be offended. "Steady on! That's my mum's name!"
"Oh, right…sorry," Ron replied, looking sheepish and slightly guilty. Harry clapped him on the shoulder to show him that there was no harm done.
"After all this is over," said Ron three hours later, as they trudged toward Mrs. Weasley's beseeching voice, "I am going to murder Mum."
"Dibs on that," said Fred, coming up behind them. (FRED!!! Sorry had to do that). "She's made us clean the entire yard. The entire thing! The woman's lost her bloody mind over this wedding. I swear I'm never getting married."
"I'm with you there, mate," said George, on Harry's left. "That'll save us tons of money and time."
"I knew you'd understand."
"Always do, Fred." Harry left them to their twins' banter and followed Ron through the front door of the Burrow.
"Oh, you can go, Harry dear," said Mrs. Weasley, darting past one of Fleur's friends to reach them from the crowded kitchen. The entire house was filled with early guests, which was most likely the reason she looked so stressed. "I only need Ron - why don't you go get washed up for dinner? It'll be early tonight since the wedding is tomorrow…"
"Sure, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry gratefully, hiding a grin at the sight of Ron's pleading face. "Are you sure Ron can't come too?"
"Positive, Harry. Now go." She shooed him away with little waves of her hand.
He rushed up the stairs two at a time before Mrs. Weasley could call him back, and ran once more into Ginny. This house was way too small to avoid her. "Oh – hello, Harry. Running from my mum?" she asked, her brown eyes smiling. It was all he could do not to take back everything he had said, for every thing to go back the way it had been before that fateful night –
"No, I was sent to get washed up for dinner, actually," he said, looking at the ground. "Ginny-" he began on impulse, and then cut himself off. "Never mind," he muttered. "See you later." He brushed past her and hurried up the stairs.
Her glare was like fire on his back.
The morning of the wedding, Harry was woken up by a shrill female voice. "Get up, both of you! Right this instant! We're not nearly ready and the wedding is in one hour! Up! Up!" Mrs. Weasley left the room after opening the curtains, flooding the dark room with bright white light.
Ron threw a pillow at the shut door. "Stupid controlling b-"
"Ron," said another disapproving voice. "Quit talking that way about your mother."
Ron shot bolt upright. "Hermione! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing in here?"
"Waking you up," she said pleasantly, "and we need to talk anyway." She sat gingerly on a rickety chair in the corner of the room that looked about ready to fall apart. "We don't know when we're leaving yet, do we?"
"Tomorrow," said Harry immediately, "or tonight, whichever one is most convenient." The matter of the Horcruxes had been eating away at him ever since June, in the darkest corner of his head. He'd planned what they would do immediately after they'd left – go to Godric's Hollow and visit his parents' graves underneath the Cloak – and then….it was all black – unknown.
"I think that we should search for the Horcruxes immediately," she said urgently under her breath. "You Know – oh, alright, Voldemort – could be getting stronger every day, and the sooner we stop him, the better." Harry raised his eyebrows at the 'we'. Hermione didn't miss it, as she'd turned toward him to give Ron privacy as he yanked a shirt on over his beet red ears.
"We are going with you, Harry, you can't talk us out of it," she said, heading him off swiftly. The expression in her eyes changed to defensiveness. "I've already been planning for ages, and I know my plan's good, so don't even try to contradict me with that hero side of yours, got it?"
"Fine," he grumbled, the words stolen out of his mouth. "But-"
"No."
"Hermione-!"
She held up a hand. "Not another word, Harry Potter. We're going. We've already agreed on this subject. Now get dressed."
"Do you, Bill Weasley, take Fleur Delacour to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
It had seemed to take forever to reach this point. Harry hadn't taken his eyes off of Ginny the entire ceremony, only half of his mind on the proceedings. Her dress was a shimmering gold that set off the lights in her red hair. Fleur, in her white dress, was even more breathtaking – but Harry could care less. He could distantly hear the minister saying, "Do you, Fleur Delacour, take Bill Weasley…"
"Oh, hurry up," whispered Hermione beside him, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm going to break down right here, I swear." Harry smiled.
"You may kiss the bride." Showers of confetti rained upon the newly wedded couple. Fleur beamed around at the crowd and her sobbing friends, looking absolutely radiant. The wedding party marched back down the aisle towards a different awning underneath which the reception would be held. Ginny grinned at Hermione and gave Harry half a glance. He sighed ruefully, knowing that there was nothing he could do to change how she felt. Worse, he knew he deserved it.
He and Hermione stood and followed the last couple of the wedding party (Charlie and one of Fleur's equally breathtaking friends). Music was beginning to play from enchanted balloons under the second awning. Harry was reminded of the last time he had listened, really listened, to music – at Christmas, listening to Celestina Warbeck with the Weasleys and Hermione and Fleur…when Dumbledore was still alive, when he hadn't realized he loved Ginny, when the war against Voldemort was faring better than it was now…
"Harry. Snap out of it!" He blinked twice and looked at Ginny. His feet had taken him under the awning already, and Ginny was looking at him with something between concern and teasing in her eyes. "Daydreaming?" she asked, her bad mood apparently forgotten for the moment.
"Kind of," he replied, unable to stop himself from grinning down at her. "Care to dance?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but he didn't exactly regret it either. Ginny looked at him suspiciously now, but consented by taking his arm and letting him lead her onto the dance floor.
She closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest as the fast song changed to a slower one. Harry had not expected this, and she felt him tense slightly. She lifted her gaze to his after the song ended. "We need to talk, Harry."
He didn't try to contradict her.
He let her lead him to a secluded spot away from the party and behind a maple tree. "This is my favorite spot," she said, "my hideout. Of course, I sat in the tree-" she pointed, and Harry could make out apple cores and a comic book obviously stolen from Ron's room – "but we can't really do that, can we?"
"No," Harry agreed, wondering why she was telling him all this, "we can't."
She took a deep breath. "Harry, please tell me what you're going to do."
He tried to play dumb. "Do what?"
"Don't play stupid with me, Harry Potter, you know exactly what. You're going to fight Voldemort, aren't you?"
He made the mistake of looking at her. Her hair was wind tossed, her eyes beseeching. "Don't you think I have a right to know?" she whispered. "To know where you're going when you suddenly disappear? To know why if you-" she gulped before saying the next word like it was poison – "die?"
"You were right," he said, the words falling out before he could stop them. He mentally smacked himself. Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot. But once they were out, he might as well continue. "I have to. There's a – a prophecy, you see…" he recounted it to her, watching as her eyes went wide with fright and awe.
"Neither can live while the other survives…" she whispered to herself. "Harry…please be careful. Don't leave me here alone."
He swept her into his arms, holding her tight. "I won't," he whispered back. "I will get back if I have to lose all my magic to get back to you. You will never be alone."
She looked up at him, her eyes miraculously free of tears. "I want to come with you."
"No," he said immediately, getting a mental image of Ginny captured and killed because she was associated with him. "Absolutely not."
"But Ron and Hermione are, they're in on everything, and I was in the dark, probably still am!"
"Don't you get it? Ron and Hermione don't mean half as much to me as you do! I don't want them to go either, but they absolutely refuse to be left behind. And Dumbledore wanted me to take them."
She just looked at him. "I can fight, Harry. I can take care of myself perfectly well. I was at the Ministry too, don't forget, and escaped with nothing more than a broken ankle."
"It might be more that that this time, though," said Harry, trying to make her understand why she couldn't come – that he was terrified that he would lose her, that she would join his parents and he, Harry, would be left all alone…
The fire in her eyes dimmed slightly. "I know that."
"Please, Ginny," he murmured. "Just…please. Do this…for me. As an early gift."
She raised an eyebrow. "Gift?"
Harry nodded. "If I get through this-" Ginny winced at the 'if' – "I will shower you with anything and everything you want. Call them wedding gifts, if you want to."
She couldn't speak, for a moment. "Wedding gifts?"
"Did you really think that I would marry anyone but you?" he asked her, pretending to be hurt. It was so easy to forget when he was with her that a war was raging just outside of their little world here under the tree.
She kissed him lightly, before he could put out a hand to stop her, but her lips left his in an instant. "Thank you," she whispered.
Harry looked back toward the awning, imagining an indignant Ron wondering what Harry had been doing with his sister. "We should be going back," he said.
Ginny nodded, evidently thinking along the same lines by the blush in her cheeks. "Let's go." He started to walk forward, but Ginny caught his arm. "Harry?" she started, sounding truly worried for the first time.
He looked at her. "Yeah?"
"Stay safe."
A/N: Hope that thing about the wedding wasn't too cheesy. But it seemed to fit!