She stretched against the satin sheets, her nude body sliding effortlessly along the fabric. She looked to her right, the clock said 12:23 pm. How in the hell did she sleep half the day away? She was on day thirty one of her and Sirius' trip around the world, her graduation present from her fiancé. Sirius had woken her up every morning by ten, wanting sex first and then breakfast or lunch, depending on how long their activities lasted. But waking up so late in a hotel in Las Vegas? Something was wrong.
She turned over to give Sirius a hard time about sleeping in, but the bed was empty. She sat up in surprise, looking around. There were no other signs of life in the suite they were staying in- no running water in the bathroom, no sounds of clinking plates or glasses in the dining area, no soft murmur of the television. She grabbed her robe from the floor, then ran through the suite looking for Sirius, but saw nothing. She dashed back to the phone, meaning to call the front and ask the clerk if they had seen him leaving when she noticed the small note posted next to the phone.
Kitten,
I hope I didn't cause too much of a panic when you woke up next to nothing. I didn't mean to cause alarm, but I wanted you well rested for our day. So, why don't you start off with a nice bath, I left everything ready for you in the bathroom. At three you can go pick up your next note from the clerk downstairs.
Don't worry, love, I promise nothing bad will happen to you. I just want to make this the perfect day for you. I'll see you around eight thirty.
Love always,
Sirius
"Good thing I didn't sleep too long," she said to the empty room, walking towards the bathroom. The large bath was already filled with warm water, candles glowed lightly around the room, rose petals floated gently on the water, a plate of fruit, scones, and cheeses and a glass of wine sitting next to the tub. Liking where Sirius was going already she slipped out of the bath, letting the still-warm water envelop her and start releasing her tension. Normally she would be on-edge about Sirius' latest bizarre scheme, but for some reason she was more than ready to roll with his flow.
After bathing she got dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt. At exactly three she approached the front desk, where the clerk was beaming at her, reaching for another note.
"Good luck," the clerk beamed as Hermione tore open the note.
Kitten,
Hopefully the bath was good, and you are nice and relaxed. It's time for a little pampering. Outside is a limo waiting for you, you're booked at a top salon in the area for the full package. Just like old times, right?
Can't wait to see you. Love,
Sirius
She walked out the front door to find a black limo waiting for her, the driver holding a placard with her name. The driver helped her in, and she sat in the back, feeling kind of silly riding around in such a big car all by herself. It took twenty minutes to get to the salon, and as soon as she was inside she was whisked to the back for a massage and aromatherapy. After two hours of complete relaxation a stylist named Marco led her to the front, sitting her in a chair and starting to play with her hair.
"Mr. Black was quite specific that you are to have something drop-dead gorgeous," Marco said, studying her hair. "Do you have any ideas?"
"I don't even know what I'm getting a drop-dead gorgeous hairstyle for," she chuckled, starting to feel the stress trickle back up.
"Oh, I see," he said with a knowing smirk. "Well, I think I have the right idea for you."
His hands were quickly pinning up sections of her hair as he worked without telling her what he was doing or why. She just let him go with it, everyone else who was leaving the salon was looking fantastic, and now she was starting to wonder more and more what in the world was going on.
"I saw Mr. Black when he came in earlier. He is quite the handsome man," Marco said as he worked out a tangle.
"Yes, he is," she said, avoiding the urge to nod enthusiastically.
"How long have you been together?"
"A year."
"Is that an engagement ring I see?"
"Yes," she said, glancing down at the sapphire and diamond ring sparkling brightly on her left hand.
"So, any wedding plans yet?"
"No. I'm sort of putting them off. I just finished school, I need some stress-free time before I start worrying about white dresses and floral arrangements. It's just one day, and I do want it to be special, but I don't want to have a breakdown because the table linens are a shade off or something."
"That's a smart girl. I've seen so many girls come in here just after getting engaged, and they're talking about the dresses they've already tried on and how many appointments with vendors they've already booked. By the time they've come in here for their wedding day styles their hair is falling out. They put too much emphasis on their special day and not on the marriage afterwards."
"I'm actually excited to be married. I'll be nice to live together formally and start building a life together. Plus I'll get his playboy behind all to myself."
"Amen to that, dearie. I've been trying to get my boy to settle down for years, but he won't give up that bachelor pad of his..." he chuckled before launching into a story. Hermione couldn't remember a time she enjoyed getting her hair done more, Marco was a great conversationalist and she wasn't surprised to hear his wait list was incredibly long. By the time he was done chatting, brushing, styling and pinning she had an elegant knot on the back of her head, and while she was overjoyed with his work she was starting to get confused. No one wore their hear this well done, even for the nicest of dates. And it was even more confusing when a woman showed up to do her makeup.
She didn't have time to waste as the limo driver whisked her away to a designer boutique. She was greeted by an over-enthusiastic sales woman named Karen pulled her towards a rack that she said Sirius had picked out personally. There were seven dresses, each white or with a white-black pattern. Karen was convinced that they were going to an exclusive nightclub that was having a white party that was going to be well attended by celebrities. Hermione found an all-white empire waist flowing dress that she loved, wondering why Sirius would want to go to any kind of party with Muggle celebrities. She wore the dress out of the store at the insistence of another note from Sirius, along with a pair of white heeled sandals.
At seven forty five she left the boutique and climbed back into the limo, but this time there was a small, wrapped box sitting on the seat waiting for her. She turned to ask the driver where it came from, but he had already closed the door and was walking towards the driver's seat. She quickly unwrapped the box and opened it. Inside was a pear-shaped sapphire and diamond necklace and a matching pair of diamond earrings. Her suspicions were growing by the minute, but as the clock neared eight thirty she knew that she would soon be finding out.
They pulled up at the Paris hotel, and Hermione was shocked to see someone standing under the awning waiting for her.
"Daddy?" she asked loudly to herself, opening the door the second the car stopped and flinging herself towards her father.
"Hi, Sweetie," David said, opening his arms wide as she rushed to him for a hug. He was dressed in a modest suit, which was very unlike him, but she didn't think about it too much in her excitement of seeing him.
"What in the world are you doing here?"
"I wouldn't miss this for anything," he replied, holding out a final letter from Sirius. Her hands were shaking as she opened it.
Hermione, my love,
I'm sure that you've figured things out by now, but if you haven't let me enlighten you; It's your wedding day. At least, I hope it is, because I don't want to look like a complete prat waiting for you at the top of the tower waiting for a bride that's not going to come. If you're ready, come on up. Your Mum, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Kia are waiting, but none more anxiously than I.
Love always,
Sirius
She was breathing too hard to say anything. She looked back up at her father with tears in her eyes and could see his eyes were also misty as he held a small bouquet of roses out to her.
"Are we going upstairs, sweetie?" he asked, offering her his arm.
In a daze she allowed him to lead her through the lobby to the glass elevator at the base of the Eiffel Tower. People watched her as she passed, and she couldn't help blushing.
"I'm the stereotypical blushing bride," she muttered, the last word sounding unreal to her.
"This is it," he said, stopping at the doors of the elevator. "Either we go up, or we run for it."
She responded by mashing the button repeatedly and impatiently. The stepped inside, and her dad pulled her into a hug as soon as the doors slid shut.
"Feeling robbed of the ability to say goodbye?" she said, trying not to cry.
"Sirius asked for permission to do this at the same time he asked for our blessing," he replied.
"So you've known this was coming since before Christmas? And you went along with it?"
"He did it for you, and to take the stress off most of us. Sirius refused to have anyone else pay a cent for this. He wanted to take all stress off you, since he knows you're getting ready for university and worried about establishing yourself."
"Well, this is very sweet of him," she muttered as they caught their first glimpse of Las Vegas through the glass of the elevator.
"Just don't forget your parents, alright? I know we haven't been as close since you were eleven, but please don't make this the loss of our daughter."
"Nope. You're gaining a son-in-law, who will be a very colorful addition to our family."
"I know," he said, hugging her one more time as the elevator lurched to a stop. She clutched his arms tightly as the door opened. Sirius was wearing a pinstriped suit and bright red vest, and smiling widely at her. standing next to an excited looking Charlie Weasley, who was holding the ceremony book and dressed in a simple black suit. Harry and Ron were also wearing black suits, Harry standing next to Sirius, Ron standing where she would be in a few seconds. Ginny, wearing a gold dress, and Kia, wearing a red, were standing to the side, smiling and holding each others hands and looking excited. Her mother was by the elevator, waiting to give her a hug.
"You managed to keep this from me?" she managed as she clutched her mother tightly.
"It wasn't a challenge. Just keep talking about NEWTs and I had no problems keeping you too occupied for wedding talk," she replied.
"I love you, Mum."
"Love you, too, sweetheart."
She took a deep breath, and turned to Sirius, who beamed even wider as she stepped towards him.
"Everything good, love?" he asked, reaching for her hand.
"It's perfect. I can't believe you planned all this behind my back."
"I told Rosmerta I would marry you by the time the year was out. That would require doing it as some point on our travels. And seeing as I wanted to get this ring on your finger sooner rather than later, I looked for a place where it would be easy to plan this without your knowledge. You wouldn't believe how easy this was to set up."
"Okay, now it's time for you to shut your mouth and marry me."
"Yes, kitten," he chuckled, and they turned towards Charlie, overlooking the brightly lit city below.
The ceremony was short and Muggle, as the guitarist and photographer were Muggles. In the end it took them fifteen minutes to get to the 'I do's'. They recited the traditional vows, as Hermione didn't have time to write her own, and Sirius seemed anxious to get to the 'kiss your bride' part.
After the ceremony they wandered down the restaurant below them, where Sirius and Hermione received a polite round of applause as they walked through to their table.
"We're going to have to do a reception after you return from your trip," Jean said as they were served a round of champagne.
"I'll think about it when we get back," Hermione said, placing her bouquet on the table.
"And you'll get our present when you get back," Ginny said, nudging her with something under the table. She looked down and saw an envelope and a beautifully wrapped parcel she knew were the pictures. She slid the parcel behind her back, then looked down at the envelope.
"What is that, sweetie?" Sirius asked, looking down at her hands.
"If it's what I hope it is, it's the answer."
He looked at her in confusion. "The number forty-two is in there?"
She chuckled, "Good Muggle reference, but no. The answer to why you're back, why you came out of the Veil."
"Open it," he hissed excitedly.
She tore into the envelope, opening it under the table to keep from everyone else's eyes. She scanned it, and a smile crossed her face before her lips straightened into a line again.
"What's is it?" Sirius asked.
"They have a strong suspicion I'm right, but there's no way to prove it."
"Okay, I'm happy they think you're right. Who are they, and why are you right?"
"The Department of Mysteries. Ginny gave me the idea, and I went to the library, and I found some vague references. So I wrote them to get some confirmation, and they said that they've heard of it, and there's a good chance there's one on the Veil, but they've never seen one, and they're not willing to do any tests, for obvious reasons, of course."
"I love you, baby, but you've lost me."
"Okay, people have life debts. I save your life, you owe me, right? And some objects have blood debts, there's a curse on them that won't be settled until they claim enough blood or lives. What if the Veil has a soul debt? You went through while you were still alive, but the Veil had your soul, and it wasn't going to release it until the soul until it was repaid with the soul of the one who sent you through. Bellatrix died, her soul goes through to the afterlife, and yours can finally be released. They won't test it, because testing would obviously require at least one death. But they think that I'm on to something."
"So... I'm alive because my bitch of a cousin is dead?"
"That's the general idea."
He let out with his bark-like laugh. "She must be spinning in her grave! First I marry a Muggle-born, then it's all the biggest Pure-Blood loving creature to ever come out of the Black family's fault I'm even alive to sully our good name. Mum will love to hear this one, too."
Hermione had to quickly explain to the rest of the group. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Charlie found it just as amusing as Sirius did. David, Jane, and Kia acted as if they knew what was going on.
Later that night Sirius, still ecstatic over getting married, carried Hermione over the threshold of their suite. His lips crashed into hers as his hands reached for the zipper to her dress.
"Wait a minute," she muttered.
"Are you joking?" he growled, his lips moving to her neck as he deposited her on the bed.
"Just a minute. I want to give my gift to you."
"Gift? So you did know..."
"No. It was something Ginny talked me into a while back. She brought it with so I could give it to you," she said, putting the wrapped package in his hands. He eagerly ripped it open.
"Merlin's saggy right... is that my bike?" he shouted in excitement as he opened to the first page.
"I borrowed it," she smiled sheepishly.
"Borrow it whenever you want if this is what I get to see," he growled, flipping through the pictures quickly. "Holy dragon dung.! Are these you and Ginny Weasley?"
"It was her idea," she muttered, blushing furiously.
"Harry getting a set as well?"
"Yeah."
"Well, turnabout's fair play. Any way I can get some of these on a calendar? Hang them above my desk at work..."
"Sirius!" she scolded. "These are for your eyes only."
"Some are for Potter's, too."
"The ones of just me are for you and you alone. Would you really want to share me?"
"Never," he growled, and the book was discarded as he pushed her back onto the bed.
