CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
Summary: Nine years after the war, Hermione's the Head of the Auror Department that specialises in dealing with Magical Creatures and fugitive Death Eaters that are loose in the Muggle World. With the fugitive Death Eaters no longer hiding in Britain, she's tracking rogue Death Eaters in the United States, which leads her to The Winchester brothers. The Witch and The Hunters are a dynamic trio that no creature, being or beast wishes to mess with, Magical or Supernatural. Hermione/Dean pairing. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I don't own original canon characters or events, just those that I create myself. Everything belongs to J.K Rowling and the creators of Supernatural. I am not making a profit posting this fanfic.
Page count: 12
Rings.
Three of them.
That's what met her eyes.
One was obviously a man's, given the width of the simple silver band. The other two were women's. One had a thin silver band with a square diamond sat in the centre with a halo of smaller diamonds around it, and the second silver band was a little thicker with small diamonds encrusted into the band around the entire length of the ring. They were simple, but beautiful.
Her eyes filled up with tears and when she pulled her gaze away from the rings, she became aware of Dean, who was now on the ground on one knee and her breath caught with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
"I know neither of us had a choice in our marriage, and I know we're both happy despite the circumstances that brought us together. I know we're married in the eyes of the magical law and Heaven, but we're not in the Muggle World. Now that you've had my criminal record cleared, I want your name to be tied with mine in all worlds. I want for you to have the ceremony you deserve with the people we care about supporting us. So, will you be my willing and knowing wife?"
By this point tears wear falling down her face and she nodded silently. All of the tension left Dean and he visibly sighed in relief, before standing up and pulling her into a kiss and then hugging her to him tightly.
There was a flash of light and Hermione pulled back from Dean to look over her shoulder, seeing everyone gathered behind them. Mrs. Weasley had a magical camera in her hand and was crying, as were the rest of the women, whilst the men smiled and the children old enough to understand cheered. Harry was grinning at her widely, Draco was smirking and Bobby and Sam both looked surprised, before a small smile broke out on Bobby's face and Sam grinned widely.
Hermione gave a sob-laugh, before Dean took the rings from her, slipping the engagement ring onto her right ring finger, not wanting to cover her fated marriage band. They were pulled away from each other to be congratulated and hugged by everyone.
"I'm proud of you," Bobby said gruffly, pulling back from Dean. Dean let out a sigh of relief.
"So this is why you've been acting so weird," Sam laughed. "You had us both worried. And it explains why you made me change shirts."
"Alright, everyone, we have a wedding to prepare for!" Mrs. Weasley called.
"What!" Hermione said in surprise.
Dean grinned. "We're having the ceremony today, why do you think I asked you to change the colour of your dress?"
She blinked, before turning to Harry, Draco and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "You knew, didn't you?"
They all nodded. "He asked for our permission to formally marry you the last time you visited," Mr. Weasley said.
"Yes, and we agreed to help with the set up. What better time to get married than today, when everyone is already present," Mrs. Weasley said, still with tears in her eyes. "Now, we need to get a move on. We're going simple, but the others will take care of it, we have to get you wedding worthy, let's go." Mrs. Weasley grabbed her by the hand and dragged her towards the house, the women all following after a dazed Hermione.
"Dean's been planning this for a while," Harry said to the surprised looking Bobby and Sam, before turning to the face the men and the children. He clapped his hands, getting their attention. "Alright, you all know your jobs; we have an hour, let's get moving."
~000~000~000~
Hermione stood, staring at herself in the mirror. She barely recognised herself.
She still wore the same dress as before, only it had been altered to appear more bridal, and with Fleur's Alteration Charms you would never even know.
Where her dress had once fallen to her mid-thigh with pleats, it now flowed down to her feet and it had been altered to have a long train to follow behind her when she walked. The neck line had been altered to have a sweet heart neckline and the bodice was fixed with an Illusion Charm to make it appear as though it sparkled. Her long sleeves had been removed and she now had capped sleeves that sat off her shoulders, and her boots had been changed to silver heels.
Ginny had gone to work on her makeup, applying a small amount of mascara, adding a nude glittery eye shadow and she applied a red lip stick to her mouth, perfectly outlining her bow shaped mouth and making her ivory skin stand out. And Hermione was glad Ginny had her back, since she glamoured the phoenix tattoo on her shoulder before Mrs. Weasley could see. They all hid them for a reason.
Once her makeup had been completed by a crying Ginny, Angelina stepped forward and took charge of Hermione's hair, pulling it up into a bun made of her mass of curls, but leaving a few curls to frame her face. She interwove a few small roses through her hair and a halo of red and white roses was placed on top of her head.
Luna then stepped forward and removed the simple gold studded earring she hadn't removed in as long as she could remember, and she swapped them for a pair of dangle, round diamond earrings, whilst Audrey fastened the matching necklace around her neck, the diamond falling and resting in the cleavage of her breasts. Claire lifted her left wrist and fastened the matching tennis bracelet in place, before handing her a bouquet of white and red roses and they all stepped back from her.
"Beautiful," Mrs. Weasley said, wiping away her tears. "I've been waiting for this moment for almost a decade, the last of my daughters getting married."
Hermione had to force back her own tears. "Molly, if you don't stop, I'm going to start crying, too." They laughed.
"Sorry, Dear," she sniffled.
They all pulled themselves together long enough for them to head down stairs and out of The Burrow, before photos were taken of Hermione and everyone together.
"You look beautiful."
Hermione turned to see Harry and Draco approaching her.
"Thank you, Harry," she smiled.
"He's right, you clean up nicely, Granger," Draco said.
She rolled her eyes. "It's Winchester, we may be having the ceremony today, but we've been married nine months."
"You'll always be Granger; Winchester doesn't have the same ring to it."
She snorted.
"You ready?" Harry asked.
She took a deep breath and nodded. The women disappeared and Draco and Harry both put her arms through theirs, since they would be giving her away.
"We're happy for you, Hermione," Harry told her as they approached the ceremonial site.
Hermione didn't say anything for fear of crying and ruining her makeup.
"And my great-great-Grandmother's diamonds suit you," Draco said, surprising her. "She must be rolling in her grave right now," he smirked. "It took months for Bill to remove the black magic on them."
"Months?" She spluttered.
"Months," Harry nodded with a smile. "Dean's been planning this for a while."
She blinked. "Who knew?"
"Not many of us, only Draco, myself, Molly and Arthur, and Bill was clued in so he could sort out the diamonds for you. We told the rest of them last night so we could delegate responsibilities in getting the ceremonial site ready in time."
She blinked again, before her breath was stolen when they reached the frozen lake. It had grown dark and orbs of white and blue lights floated about, along with the fairies. A carpet had been laid for the aisle to prevent Hermione from slipping, despite the charms already in place on her heels. White chairs sat on either sides of the aisle with red and white roses tied to them, and the altar was an archway made of red and white roses. She expected to be cold, but she wasn't, meaning the area had been charmed to protect them from the cold.
It was a winter wonderland wedding. It was beautiful.
She spied the guests and aside from those she expected to be present, there were a few surprise visitors with McGonagall, Kingsley and Hagrid, as well as Neville and Hannah, Dean and Seamus.
She caught sight of Sam standing at the altar and she was surprised to see that he was dressed in the suit she'd bought him during their first visit to London. The black tailored fabric fit to his frame perfectly, he wore a white shirt beneath it with a black tie, and a red rose pinned to his jacket. Her eyes then landed on Dean, and she felt tears welling up.
He wore the suit he'd worn for their photo shoot that went with The Daily Prophet interview, with a white rose pinned to his jacket and as usual, he was so bloody handsome he made her dizzy. His eyes caught sight of her and she felt her stomach flutter at seeing his mouth fall open. It wasn't often he was speechless. His face split into a wide smile that must've been painful and she felt her knees go weak.
She felt Harry grip her hand and she blinked, coming back to herself, realising that the wedding march had started. She took a deep breath and took her first step towards her husband, her eyes were focused on him and his were focused on her.
Her breath caught when she was handed over to Dean and Ginny took her bouquet from her. The music stopped and silence fell upon them.
"Words can't describe how beautiful you are," he leaned over and muttered into her ear and when he pulled back, he smiled at the blush that covered her cheeks.
"There's no point in complimenting you, you already know how bloody handsome you are," she grumbled and he chuckled. "Not to sound like a pain, but who's marrying us?"
Dean smiled, before there was a sudden flash of light and everyone shielded their eyes, and once they light faded, Castiel stood at the altar.
"Castiel?" Hermione said in surprise, though with a smile since she was happy to see them.
"Hello, Hermione, you look lovely," he complimented and she grinned at him.
"Thank you, it's good to see you, it's been a while."
"Who better to marry us than your Guardian Angel and a Son of God himself?" Dean grinned.
"You knew?" Hermione turned to Castiel.
He smiled and nodded. "Yes, Dean called me some time ago and asked for my assistance; all I had to do was be here at the right time. How did I do?" He asked Dean.
"Perfect," Dean spoke. "Now, let's get a move on."
Castile nodded, before turning to address the crowd staring at him in awe since his Angel wings were on display, which Hermione thought a tad overdramatic, but she didn't complain.
"Witches and Wizards, children of my Father, we are all gathered here today to witness the love and bond shared by Hermione and Dean. You have been asked to be in attendance to support the coming together of Witch and Hunter."
Those that weren't in the know about Dean's profession gasped in surprise, though it was only five people so it didn't disrupt the ceremony.
"My Father has created many things in his existence, but humans are his most prized creation. He wished for you to grow and learn, to live and love, and the ability to love is his second proudest moment for human kind. He has witnessed the love Hermione and Dean have for each other, he has witnessed the love they have for others and he has witnessed the great sacrifices they have made in their lives to protect the world from evil. I am honoured in saying that my Father has blessed this union in life and death."
Tears were gathered in Hermione's eyes and it was hard for her to hold them back, though by the sounds from the crowd, others weren't doing too well either. Mrs. Weasley was sobbing her heart out, bless her.
"And before I complete the ceremony, I believe it is time for our couple to say their vows."
The crowd went silent, waiting for Dean to speak first.
He took a deep breath and said, "I love pie."
A sob-laugh broke free from Hermione. Dean wasn't a man of many words when it came to his feelings, but those three words, she understood his true meaning, and even if she didn't, his eyes spoke for him.
"I love pie, too," she replied through a sniffle.
She heard the confused murmurs of the crowd and the snort from Sam, but she didn't care. She turned to Castiel and nodded her head, letting him know they were done.
"Do you, Dean Winchester, take Hermione Winchester, to be your lawfully wedded wife? In sickness and in health? For richer or for poorer? For better or for worse? For being a Witch?"
"I do," he said the two words he never thought he'd say in his life, and with no hesitation. He took her ring from Sam and slipped it onto her finger, settling it in front of the engagement ring he'd given her.
"Do you, Hermione Winchester, take Dean Winchester, to be your lawfully wedded husband? In sickness and in health? For richer or for poorer? For better or for worse? For being a Hunter?"
"I do," she said instantly, taking the ring from Ginny and slipping it onto Dean's right ring finger, so his fate marriage band wouldn't be covered.
"By the power invested in me by my Father, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife, Hunter and Witch. You may now kiss the bride."
Dean pulled her closer to him, before taking her face in his hands and wiping away her happy tears. He smiled at her softly and his mouth touched hers in a soft kiss.
She was vaguely aware of the crowd cheering and camera flashes going off, but Dean occupied her attention. He pulled back from her when they felt something cold hit their cheeks. They looked up at the sky, seeing that it was snowing and they both laughed.
"May I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Winchester," Castiel called and Dean took her hand in his as they walked down the aisle and back to the marquee.
Hermione smiled; it hadn't been changed much, only now there were red and white roses scattered about and the remaining food from the feast had been removed and exchanged for finger sandwiches and cakes. An area had been cleared for a dance floor and the musical instruments had been charmed to play magically.
Once everyone arrived, Dean wasted no time in pulling Hermione to the dance floor, and she blinked in surprise when the soft music turned to a tune she'd recognise anywhere.
"Seriously, Aerosmith?" She said amused, listening as 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing,' started playing.
"It's a great song," he defended and she laughed at him, as he pulled her against him and they shared their first dance.
They were interrupted though when a loud 'bang' sounded and they looked to the sky, to see 'Congratulations, Hermione and Dean,' written in large gold lettering, before another 'bang' sounded and an image of a witch flying on a broom appeared, followed by an image of a man with a gun in his hand. They could visibly see the gun being fired, before it went straight through the witch's heart. The witch fell off the broom and was caught by the man, before another 'bang' sounded and a love heart appeared around them.
The crowd cheered and the Hunters stared in awe, having never seen magical fireworks before. Hermione turned to George in surprise.
He shrugged. "What? The Hunter stole the Witch's heart," he said, and the crowd laughed at him. "By the way, "I love pie," amazing vows, Mate. I know it must've taken you ages to write them. I wish I was as eloquent as you."
Dean just shrugged and Hermione scowled at him.
"You don't know the meaning behind those words and I do. That's all that matters," she said.
"Fair enough," George held his hands out in surrender.
Dean snorted, before pulling Hermione off the dance floor and over to Castiel, who stood in the corner of the marquee with a muggle marriage certificate in his hand.
"This is dated for March 27th," she said confused, after signing her name.
"Cas is going to work his Angel magic and have our marriage filed for the day the bond was sealed. Today may have been our ceremony, but we were married on March 27th," Dean shrugged.
Hermione blinked.
~000~000~000~
They floo'd into the Cambridge apartment and they had no idea what time it was, when they left The Burrow it had been the early hours of the morning they celebrated till.
Hermione, Dean and Sam were still in their wedding attire and Hermione made to make for her bedroom, but Dean stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"Mimsy," he called, and the little house-elf appeared.
"Master, Mistress," she bowed, smiling up at them and seeing their attire. "Everythings is readys, Master."
"Thank you, Mimsy," he smiled, ignoring a confused Hermione, and turning to Bobby and Sam. "Right, Sammy, we'll be gone a couple of days, you and Bobby are going to wait here until we get back. Give Bobby the tour and don't go near Hermione's potions lab or library. Why don't you show him the Hunter's library, I'm sure he'd love it? And the armoury?"
Before anyone could speak, Mimsy had taken a hold of Dean and Hermione and they disappeared.
~000~000~000~
They landed on their feet, Mimsy was gone in the blink of an eye and Hermione instantly noticed the change in temperature and that it must've been late evening judging by the sky.
She looked around, seeing that they were in a bedroom. It was decorated in light colours with wooden flooring and a large four poster bed with the curtains tied back. There were two bedside tables and the two doors in the room led to the bathroom and the walk in closet. She turned around, seeing the beach style doors open and the curtains blowing softly in the breeze.
"Where are we?" She asked.
"I remembered you telling me about the beach house you bought, and it had never been used. So, I figured, we might as well use it now for a weekend away."
"We're at the beach house in Costa Rica?"
"Don't you recognise it?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I've only been here once and that was to view the property, I had contractors and designers in to remodel the whole house, I never saw the finished product since I had no reason to come here."
"Well, I guess we can explore together." She yawned. "You tired?"
"Exhausted," she said through her yawn. She saw his disappointed pout and she chuckled. "But I suppose I have just energy for that."
"Then let's make a baby," he grinned.
She laughed loudly when he scooped her up into his arms and he walked them over to the bed, placing her in the centre and climbing on after her.
"You know, I've never had sex on the beach," she said thoughtfully.
"Neither have I, we'll have to change that. Now, use your magic to get us naked so I can put a baby in you."
"Such a charmer," she teased, laughing when he attacked her neck with kisses.
~000~000~000~
"How long have you been up?" Dean questioned, leaning against the wall.
He walked into the kitchen the morning after their wedding ceremony, watching Hermione happily pottering about without fear of Mimsy appearing and scolding her for doing so.
She turned and smiled at him. "About an hour."
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"You looked like you needed your rest."
He snorted, coming up behind her and wrapping himself around her, watching as she mixed some pancake batter in a bowl.
"I'd say, despite your assurances that you were too tired for another round of baby making, you wore me out after the third go."
She snorted. "Is old age catching up with you, Mr. Winchester?"
She laughed and almost dropped the bowl when he turned her around and lifted her to sit on the counter.
"Old age?" He questioned, taking the bowl from her and moving it off to the side and out of the way.
"That's what I said, is your hearing going as well as your stamina and recovery period? Do I have to buy you hearing aids for your birthday, too? It's only around the corner, so I suppose I could give them to you early," she mused.
"Cheeky witch," he muttered, his face close to hers. "May I remind you that I'm only two years older than you?"
"Physically, mentally I'm older than you."
"That's true," he chuckled. "So, how are you feeling?"
"Not hung over, you?"
"Me too, though I imagine George's in a state."
Hermione laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Yes, I imagine so, especially since Angie gave away his entire stock of Hang-over Potion to everyone else."
"That seems a bit cruel."
"Well he turned her hair blue last week; she's only repaying him in kind by allowing him to suffer with a monstrous hangover. I imagine he's going to be out of commission for at least two days."
"With the amount he drank I'm surprised he's not dead," Dean snorted.
"Fair point," she nodded.
Her eyes caught sight of the sun shining through the window and onto her rings and she felt a smile pull at her mouth. Dean looked over his shoulder to see what she was looking at, and then he turned back to her.
"You like them?" He asked her.
She nodded. "I love them. The simplicity is what makes them beautiful."
"I didn't think you'd want anything too flashy."
"I'm not really a materialistic person," she nodded. "I prefer simple over gaudy. They're perfect." He smiled. "Do I even want to know where you got the money from? I know for a fact you didn't take any from the vault, despite you having access to everything."
"That's your money..."
"Our money," she corrected. "And now that we're married I'm going to need your opinions on future investments and purchases."
He raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, I got the money from pool hustling, it took me months to save up."
"The others told me you'd had the ceremony planned for months? How long exactly?"
He frowned. "I'm not sure to be honest; it was around the time Sammy was taken by Crowley. After what you put yourself through for us, magically draining yourself, I wanted to give you everything you deserved, and that meant giving you a wedding with our family and friends supporting us. I just wasn't sure when to do it. When we visited England I spoke with Harry, Arthur and Molly and they suggested we do it at Christmas since everyone would already be gathered."
"So you knew we were going to The Burrow for Christmas?" He nodded. "You know, you're not a bad actor, I genuinely thought you were surprised. Though I'm glad it's all over now, you we so antsy it was winding me up."
He chuckled, before leaning forward to kiss her. They heard a 'ding' and Hermione pushed him away from her and hopped off the counter.
"Pie's done," she said, grabbing a tea towel and making her way over to the oven.
"Pie?" Dean perked up.
"Yes," she replied, pulling one out and placing it on the cooling rack, and then pulling another out and doing the same. She turned to him with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Which would you like? Apple or cherry?"
He took a deep breath and clenched his hands into fists.
"Witch, don't tease," he warned her.
"Have I ever not pleased you?" She asked innocently. "You didn't answer my question," she said, picking up a knife and cutting a slice out of the apple pie, placing it onto a plate, and then doing the same to the cherry pie.
She picked up both plates and moved over to the breakfast bar, sitting on a stool and picking up a fork, she took a small forkful from the cherry pie slice and popped it in her mouth, fully aware of Dean's heated gaze on her.
She pulled the fork from her mouth and lifted her eyes, seeing that his eyes had darkened and his breathing had picked up. She licked her lips, catching a crumb from the corner of her mouth.
Suddenly she gave a shriek and her stool scraped across the floor as she darted out of it and Dean chased her through the kitchen, through the living room and out of the doors, straight onto the beach.
She headed for the water, only she didn't make it as Dean tackled her to the ground. He landed on top of her and she laughed loudly as he settled himself between her legs and he held her wrists to the ground, peering down at her.
"It's not nice to tease," he muttered.
"Tease? Me? Never. I was merely enjoying myself a slice of cherry pie."
He narrowed his eyes on her and she rolled them until she straddled him, his hands gripping at her waist and her hands pressed on either side of his head, looking down at him.
"You still haven't answered my question. Apple or cherry? I know which I'd prefer," she muttered against his ear and his grip on her tightened. "So, Winchester, what is it going to be?"
"Cherry."
She smirked.
~000~000~000
"God! I love your apple pie!" Dean sighed, shovelling another forkful into his mouth.
"Not as much as you love my cherry," she smirked behind her tea mug.
Dean chocked.
~000~000~000~
"What are you doing in here?" Dean asked, walking into the bathroom and leaning against the wall, as Hermione sat on the closed toilet seat with her wand in her hand and the tip pressed against her stomach.
"My period's due tomorrow."
She looked up at him, and with her eyes locked on his, she muttered the incantation under her breath. A soft glow emitted from the tip of her wand and her face fell.
"Not pregnant," she said quietly.
Once again, Dean felt disappointment fill him before he pushed it down. He pushed himself off the wall and moved so he crouched down in front of her.
"Not everyone has the fortune of getting knocked up on their first try, Sweetheart," he said softly.
"But it's not our first time, Dean. For the last nine months we've been having unprotected sex more times a week than I can bloody count. It's a wonder I can still walk properly."
She looked down at the ground, and he brought his hand to her chin, tilting her head so she was forced to look at him.
"It'll happen when it's meant to. When you get pregnant you're going to be out of commission for a while, we'll be a Hunter down. Maybe it hasn't happened yet because the world still needs you to continue doing what you're best at."
"Or we're not meant to have children," she said sadly.
"We are."
"You don't know that."
"I do, I promise you we are meant to have children."
"How do you know?"
"Remember what Cas said, we can have as many as we want. He wouldn't tell you that if you couldn't have kids."
"There's something else, there's another reason you're so sure," she said knowingly. "What is it?"
"I can't tell you, I've tried several times."
She frowned, before the light bulb went off. "Oh My...Did the unicorn tell you we were going to have children?"
"Yes,"
"In the future?"
"Yes,"
"We're destined to have children?"
"Yes, and even though I'm disappointed you're not pregnant now, you will be in the future. We just have to continue trying until it happens."
~000~000~000~
"I want to see your library."
Hermione snorted as she appeared in the living room with Mimsy and Dean.
"Yes, thank you, Bobby, we had a lovely time. It's good to see you, too. How are you?"
The brothers snorted and he narrowed his eyes on her.
"Follow me," she rolled her eyes, leading the way.
"So, you have a good time?" Sam asked, handing Dean a beer and they both took a seat.
He nodded. "We stayed at her beach house in Costa Rica."
"She has a beach house?" Sam said in surprise.
"Yes, she does."
"What is it? You seem distracted," Sam spoke, seeing the way Dean's eyes were locked on the hallway Hermione had disappeared down.
He sighed. "It's nothing. She did another test yesterday."
"And?"
"Not pregnant."
"I'm sorry, Dean," Sam said quietly.
Dean nodded. "I know we'll have kids, we just have to keep trying. And in the meantime, I need to keep her distracted, so, any cases?"