Last chapter from stupefy-my-senses!
It was her best idea yet, she thought. By using the room of requirement, it would be perfect, exactly how she pictured it. And there would be no work involved, which was just as well, seeing as they decided to have the wedding so soon. Harry had suggested it, of course. Hermione would have preferred more time to plan, make sure everything was perfect, but agreed that it would be better to marry sooner, when people were still actually interested in going to the forced weddings. He had first suggested it the night of Ginny and Lee's wedding.
Hermione had been reading her favourite book, enjoying the familiarity of it, when he cleared his throat. She rolled her eyes and looked up at him, only slightly annoyed that he was interrupting her whilst she was reading.
"We should get married." To this Hermione only raised an eyebrow, laughing slightly.
"Well Harry, we already are, remember?" She placed down the book on a table and folded her arms.
"No, I mean soon. As soon as possible."
"Harry, these things take months to plan." He nodded and explained his reasons for wanting to marry so soon, and Hermione eventually agreed that getting married soon could only be a good thing.
It was three months after Lee and Ginny's wedding. Few people had married since, seeing as it was autumn. Most either wanted a summer or winter wedding, not that there was much difference in the weather in this part of Scotland. Ginny was pregnant, though she hadn't told anyone yet. Hermione realised only a few days before Harry did, and they had conspired about it. Hermione thought Ginny would have a boy, whereas Harry swore it would be a girl. When Hermione confronted the red headed girl, she said she didn't care, as long as he or she was happy. She was hardly showing yet, and not many knew. This was a good thing, according to Ginny, as she didn't want to look fat in her bridesmaid dress.
"If this baby makes me fat, I'll make it fat. I'll feed it from dusk to dawn when it's born. Call it Karma." Of course she was joking, but Hermione still wouldn't be surprised if she found Ginny overfeeding the baby when he or she was born.
As it were, the dress looked lovely on Ginny, and it looked lovely on Luna. The dresses were light green and reached the floor. They were strapless and both girls wore a thin white belt with them, along with white flats. The green was part of the theme, along with purple and white. Though the colour combination was pretty, that wasn't why Hermione chose it. These were the colours of muggle suffragettes, who fought for women's votes and independence. Hermione thought it was humorous, considering the whole wedding was forced and completely not independent. Hermione's own dress was white, with purple accents. She wore a purple flower in her hair, which was down and naturally curly. The train of her dress was considerably short, thought it was still irritatingly long, she thought. She was a big fan of tradition, and so she went with the old saying "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."
Her old thing was a string of pearls, which had been her grandmother's. The new article was her dress, whilst the borrowed was the same as the blue, an anklet she had borrowed from Ginny.
Her morning had started like any other, that was, until she remembered what day it was. She brushed her hair and dressed before remembering she was to marry her best friend that very same day. Right at that moment of realisation, Ginny burst in with Hermione's dress over one arm, and hers over the other. She dressed herself quickly and then set about dressing Hermione. Hermione herself didn't see why she needed to be dressed; it wasn't like she couldn't dress herself. They made small talk as Ginny fastened the dress.
"So, have you given the baby's gender any more thought?" Hermione asked, smiling down at the pregnant girl.
"Nope." She carried on tying ribbons for a moment. "But I think its twins." She laughed at Hermione's shocked face. "Yeah, if it's boys I'm thinking Damien and Dimitri."
"What about if it's girls? Or a girl and a boy?"
"I'm thinking Primrose and Paige, or maybe Primrose and Parker. Though I haven't asked Lee yet." Ginny laughed and stood, messing with loose bits of hair.
Petunia Dursley wore a pink dress, and she didn't care if it wasn't what folk here wore, it was what normal people wore. She kept her son Dudley close to her at all times, after all, the castle was huge and she didn't want to lose him. A ginger girl in a green dress met them at the gates. She was quite short, though she would probably grow some more as she aged.
"Hi! I'm Ginny. You must be Mrs Dursley and Dudley." She waited for Petunia's nod of confirmation, before leading them inside. It was extraordinary, with moving staircases and portraits. She could see immediately what Lily had fussed over all those years ago. It was, for lack of a better word, magic. The girl, Ginny, chatted away to Dudley all the way through the castle. It was certainly a lovely place to hold a wedding, even if it was forced. Eventually, they reached a room, where the door was wide open, with an elderly woman sitting at it, holding a blue haired baby. She asked for their names and crossed them off on a list, smiling up at them. The ceiling of the room was high. You could probably fit three houses from Privet Drive in this room with no problem. They were led to a bench, quite near the front of the room, close to a babble of red heads, which Petunia presumed were Ginny's family.
"Now, Mrs Dursley, I have to go help Hermione get ready, but this is where you'll be sitting during the service. If you need anything at all, my mother's sitting right next to you." She grinned again and ran off, holding up her dress so as not to trip up on it.
When everybody eventually sat down, a plump lady sat beside Petunia, Ginny's mother. She made the mistake of trying to make conversation, though her husband often interrupted, asking questions about the simplest of devices, like televisions. Petunia decided to ignore the questions; she had come for a wedding, not an interrogation. The old lady with the baby was sat on the other side of Dudley. She informed us that the baby, Teddy, was Harry's godson. Harry had never mentioned anything about a godson. Petunia wondered if the old woman was the child's mother, after all, she didn't know how old these people lived to. They could be reproducing way into their hundreds for all she knew.
After about half an hour of sitting, waiting, Harry entered the room. He looked nervous, though this didn't surprise his aunt, after all he was about to marry. He looked around the room and seemed satisfied with the people in it, though he wasn't looking at anyone in particular. He took his place at the front of the room, rubbing his hands together, and laughing at something a ginger boy whispered into his ear. Petunia vaguely recognised the boy; he had been in the car when Harry escaped when he was twelve or so. Harry glanced around again and then whispered back to the other boy. His friend simply smiled and pointed toward the door Petunia had entered through. Petunia turned to see what they were looking at and saw her, the bride. An organ began to play as she entered slowly, at the pace brides usually did.
It was perfect, exactly as she had envisioned it. Large drapes of purple silk hung from the high ceiling, closing in the room slightly, so that it was more intimate. The aisle was a deep brown, which made the light surroundings seem lighter. Her handiwork had looked nice when the room was empty, but full of their friends and family, it seemed magical. The moment in which she waited for the organ to begin seemed to be the longest of her life. She looked around, taking in the room, before looking to the front and seeing Harry, nervously waiting next to Ron. She was so glad Ron had agreed to be the best man, and that Ginny had agreed to be a bridesmaid for that matter. Before they had asked them, she was a little anxious that they would refuse.
Startled by the sudden chime of the organ, Hermione plastered on the biggest smile she could manage, not exactly faked, and just exaggerated to cover her nerves. She took a tentative step forward, almost scared she would topple over. As people spun in their seats to catch a glimpse of her, Hermione could feel the heat rushing to her face from all of the attention. Blushing bride, indeed. Attempting to keep up the pace of her steps was more difficult than one would imagine, but she could barely hear the music over her mind screaming at her. Eventually though, she reached the alter and Ginny took the bouquet, grinning by her side.
The ministry official, who had tired of such things weeks ago after the first couples of weddings, seemed on the verge of sleep as he read the vows for the future spouses to repeat.
"Do you, Harry James Potter, take this woman, Hermione Jean Granger to be your lawfully wedded wife?" He glanced over his glasses to Harry.
"I do." Harry smiled in relief at Hermione.
"Very well, and do you, Hermione Jean Granger, take this man, Harry James Potter, to be your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." They exchanged rings, which were simple silver bands and looked to the official.
"Excellent. I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." The old man sauntered off, presumably to the next wedding he had. All eyes were still on her and Harry though, waiting for the expected kiss.
What was he going to do? He hadn't kissed Hermione before. Of course, he had kissed her forehead and on the cheek plenty of times over the years, but never properly kissed her. Fortunately for Harry, Hermione seemed as wary as he was. Realising everybody was still staring expectantly at them though, he leaned in. Her eyes fluttered shut as their lips met. He put on the smallest amount of pressure, cupping her cheek, before pulling back and meeting his wife's eyes. Hermione just smiled back at him.
The reception was held in the forbidden forest, in a patch which had lost all of its trees in the battles. It was beautiful, really. It was dark by the time the party started, so candles floated above them, lighting the ground. Harry and Hermione arrived a little before everybody else, and took the opportunity to discuss what had transpired.
"So... um... I guess we're married then." Harry laughed, running a hand through his raven mop of hair.
"Yeah, I guess we are." Hermione smiled back at him. "If somebody had told me a few years ago that today, I'd be stood here, married to you, I'd have worried for their sanity. No offence, though."
"None taken, though I don't think anybody would have said that, if I'm honest. Most people thought you'd end up marrying Ron."
"Except perhaps Rita Skeeter." Hermione smirked. "She'll probably apply for the post of Divination, claiming she predicted this whole thing." They both laughed, happy that nothing was overly awkward for either of them.
Before they could continue with their conversation, George Weasley apparated a little distance from them and began towards them. Since Voldemort's downfall, the wards had been a lot more lenient, and were let down for weddings, to allow guests in and out at their will. George quickly joined them and clapped Harry on the back, congratulating them both.
"So, Hermione, how does it feel to be Mrs Potter?"
What do you guys want to see in the wedding reception, seeing as that will be the first chapter I've written;)