Say Yes Again
Chapter Two
Hermione does, in fact, say 'yes' to a dress which she absolutely loves. She is reminded of this fact when she steps into it for the last time on the morning of the day that she will be walking down the aisle in it.
"You are so, so beautiful, 'Mione," Ginny breathes as she finishes zipping up the back of Hermione's gown and places her hands on Hermione's shoulders. "Fred's not going to know what hit him."
Hermione smiles over her shoulder at her friend and attempts to fight off the tears which threaten to spill over her cheeks when she sees the same expression on Ginny's face.
"Don't cry. You'll make me cry," Hermione all but begs, turning to face her very-soon-to-be sister-in-law fully.
"I can't help it," Ginny argues, dropping her right hand down to her slightly protruding stomach, blaming her unborn child for her emotions as she is wont to do. "Blame Albus here."
"I will not blame my godson, thank you very much," Hermione huffs, standing with her hands on her hips– though her face likely betrays her playfulness.
Ginny raises an eyebrow, smirking at her best friend.
"Your godson, eh? You have one of those already. Shall I go find James and tell him that he's no longer special?" Ginny jokes, mirroring Hermione's position.
Hermione raises her hand to her heart and gasps, faux-scandalized.
"Absolutely not! But if you think that I intend to not be Albus' honorary godmother– whether you appoint me as such or not– then you have another thing coming."
Ginny shakes her head and laughs lighty.
"There will be nothing 'honorary' about your title, 'Mione. Harry and I already discussed it. You and Fred are going to be both James and Albus' godparents– and probably to any other children we might have, too. There's no one else that we would choose."
Hermione decides then to stop fighting the tears. She still has plenty of time to redo her makeup before the ceremony, anyway.
Hermione walks down the aisle on Harry's arm and she's sure that there are loads of witches and wizards surrounding her with their eyes following her every move, but she only cares about one wizard in particular.
Standing at the end of the aisle, underneath an arch of bright yellow sunflowers, is the man of Hermione's dreams– Fred Weasley. Fred is dressed in a traditional, black Muggle suit with a yellow silk tie and pocket square and he looks so incredibly handsome, but what Hermione notices first are the tears in his eyes.
If anyone had asked Hermione if she thought that Fred would cry on their wedding day, she would have scoffed and said, 'Absolutely not!'. Fred Weasley co-owns a joke shop, for Merlin's sake. She never would've imagined that he would shed even a single tear on this day– not because he wasn't happy to be marrying her, but simply because it is truly so out of character for him.
As Hermione finally approaches her fiance, Harry unwinds her arm from around his own as he leans to the side and presses a warm kiss to her cheek.
"Love you, 'Mi," Harry whispers in her ear as he retreats and shares a look with Fred which Hermione could not decipher even if she tried. Fred, for his part, seems to understand whatever Harry says, regardless of his lack of words.
Hermione hands her bouquet off to Ginny, who is just behind where Hermione finally comes to stand and reaches out to take both of her soon-to-be-husband's hands into her own.
"Why are you crying?" Hermione asks, her voice wavering with her own brimming tears.
Fred threads the fingers of his right hand with those of Hermione's left as he lifts his free hand to brush the newly overflowing tears from beneath her eye.
"Because I'm the luckiest wizard in the world. I'm still not sure how I've managed to convince you to marry me, but watching you walk down that aisle toward me– I love you, Hermione, so much."
Hermione barely contains her desire to launch herself into Fred's arms and kiss him hard– she manages, but only just. She promises herself that as soon as she is allowed to, she will be doing just that.
Hermione's eyes are locked with Fred's, but from somewhere to her left, she hears the voice of the wizard who is going to be performing their bonding ceremony address the crowd.
"Thank you all for joining us today for the wedding and bonding ceremony of Frederick Gideon Weasley and Hermione Jean Granger. You all may be seated."
"Are you happy, angel?" Fred– Hermione's husband– asks, draping his arm over the back of her chair and leaning close to her.
Hermione sucks the last bite of her delicious vanilla and strawberry wedding cake off of her fork before turning in her chair to more fully face the wizard whom she has just magically and legally bonded herself to for the rest of her life.
"So happy," Hermione replies, lifting her hand to caress Fred's cheek.
With that leverage, Hermione tugs her husband down toward her and brings her lips up to meet his.
"I love you," Hermione breathes against his lips when she pulls back, leaning her forehead against his before she gets too lost in kissing him.
"I love you, Mrs. Granger-Weasley," Fred smiles, enunciating Hermione's newly hyphenated surname heavily.
Hermione grins, positively loving the sound of his name attached to hers.
"Mm, say that again," Hermione bites her bottom lip to hide the way that she is reacting to the reminder that she is currently sitting at her wedding, beside her husband.
"Mrs. Granger-Weasley," Fred smirks, clearly knowing exactly how much Hermione likes hearing her new name.
Fred dips down once more, catching Hermione in yet another kiss, which she accepts happily. Hermione drapes her arms over the broad shoulders of her husband and just barely refrains from climbing into his lap and truly scarring their guests.
Evidently, though, George notices the newlyweds' public display of affection because the next thing that Hermione hears is her brother-in-law's voice shout, "Oi! Get a room, you two!"
Hermione breaks away from her husband on a laugh, shaking her head at her husband's twin, who is now standing directly in front of Fred and Hermione's table, arms crossed with a look of faux-chastisement on his face.
"Don't you worry there, oh-twin-of-mine. We will."
George mimes vomiting as he rolls his eyes before practically launching himself across the table to ruffle his brother's hair.
"Speaking of, since the pair of you aren't leaving for your honeymoon until tomorrow, Angie and I will be spending the night here– alongside approximately five-hundred other Weasleys, but I'll take my chances here over walking in on the two of you shagging in the kitchen again."
Hermione blushes but laughs all the same.
"Come on, Georgie, that was one time," she pouts playfully, shifting in her seat to lay her head on Fred's chest, her arms still dangling over his shoulders.
George visibly shudders as if involuntarily replaying the memory in his mind.
"No, the kitchen was one time. Then there was the time in the living room and the time in our office in the shop– and even if it was just once, once is more than enough."
Hermione rolls her eyes, snuggling further into Fred's side and placing a kiss to the side of his neck, just because she wants to.
When Hermione looks up at her brother-in-law again, his features have softened and he's smiling a half-smile down at her and his twin.
"You guys know how thrilled I am for you both, right? How much I love you both?" George breathes, his voice laced with absolute sincerity.
Hermione stands from her chair and rounds the table, coming face-to-face with George and wrapping him up in a tight hug.
"Of course we do, Georgie. We couldn't have done today without you. Thank you for being such a big part of this day."
George hugs Hermione back, squeezing his newly-minted sister-in-law firmly.
"Thank you for taking such good care of Freddie," George whispers in Hermione's ear. "I almost lost him and you saved him. You keep saving him. You'll never know how grateful I am to you, Granger."
Hermione pulls back, unsurprised by the tears which she feels gathering behind her eyes.
"Granger-Weasley," Hermione corrects, allowing the tears to spill over onto her cheeks.
George exhales, understanding Hermione's reasoning for her correction. As of today, Hermione has made a commitment– in front of all of their friends and family– to love, cherish and care for Fred Weasley for the rest of her life and has bound that promise both legally and magically. She's not going anywhere.
"Welcome home, angel," Fred smiles as he and Hermione step through the floo, landing in the sitting room of the flat above the shop.
Though Hermione had owned a small townhouse in Muggle London while she and Fred were dating, she had made the decision to sell it and move into Fred and George's flat fairly easily. Perhaps it's a side-effect of having attended boarding school or from spending so much time with the Weasleys, but Hermione thinks that there is just something special about living in a community, rather than as a single-family– and Fred being a twin and not wanting to be separated from his brother made the decision just that much easier.
Fred and George began remodeling their flat for her to move in several weeks ago– adding another bathroom and expanding the bedroom. Hermione would've been plenty happy with the flat as it was, but the boys and Angelina had insisted.
Fred had explained to Hermione that the renovations were completed a few days ago, but asked if they could wait for her to officially move in so that he could surprise her after the wedding. Of course, she had agreed and now finds herself excited to see which changes the three current residents of the flat have made.
"Would you like a tour?" Fred wonders, tugging Hermione against his chest by taking both of her hands in his.
Hermione stands up on her toes, completely incapable of not kissing her husband now that they have true privacy. Fred responds enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist and holding her close.
Hermione hums against Fred's lips, truly so content in this moment to be standing in her new home, kissing her husband and starting on the first night of the rest of her life.
Hermione pulls back, somewhat mournfully– though she has to remind herself that she now has this wizard to kiss whenever she wants. She can hold off for a moment while he shows her the changes he has made to his space to accommodate her.
"I'd love a tour," Hermione replies, pressing one last kiss to the corner of Fred's lips.
Fred unwinds his arms from around Hermione, instead wrapping one of his hands around hers and using it to guide her through the flat.
"The sitting room and the kitchen haven't changed much– really, we just added more bookshelves. George and I have been collecting more books for work, too, so it seemed like a good addition," Fred explains, gesturing to the two new bookshelves which have been added on either side of the existing shelves in the sitting room. Hermione isn't sure that the two new shelves will be enough to house her extensive collection, but she figures that she can probably make do and perhaps store some books at Harry and Ginny's when she isn't actively reading them.
After showing her the kitchen– which, as Fred said, hasn't changed much– Fred tugs Hermione toward the hallway which branches off into the bedrooms.
"George and Angelina's spaces haven't changed, and I doubt you're interested in them anyway, so next up is our room."
Our room.
Hermione bites her bottom lip to hide her slightly manic smile, following behind her husband gladly.
Prior to any renovations, Fred's bedroom consisted of a bed with mismatched sheets, a dresser and a desk and that was about it, so Hermione is interested to see what the twins have managed to work out to adjust to her presence. Magic can do much, Hermione knows, but she would've still been happy to move in even without any remodeling.
Fred pushes open the door to their bedroom and Hermione's breath catches in her throat at the sight before her.
In the center of the room is an absolutely massive, four-poster bed with cream linens. It looks so cozy that Hermione almost wants to throw herself into it immediately, but something else grabs her attention before she can.
To the left of the room, where a solid wall once stood, there is now an open arch, leading to a secondary space which makes Hermione's heart catch in her chest– a library. It's small, but it's a library. The room appears to be hexagonal in shape and from what Hermione can see from her current vantage point, the bookshelves inside are floor-to-ceiling and covering all of the walls. In the center of the room is a comfortable-looking armchair and a small side-table with a singular taper candle in a holder placed on top.
Hermione inhales a surprised breath. It's perfect. Her perfect little reading space.
"Fred…," Hermione breathes, dragging Fred along with her to investigate the new addition to what used to be his bedroom. "It's beautiful."
"It's smaller than yours was, but the shelves are taller. If you need more space, I can add more into the office in the shop for you– but I wanted you to have your own space here, I–"
Fred doesn't get to finish his sentence because Hermione launches herself into his arms and kisses him hard, pouring as much of her gratitude as she can into it. Her fingers thread into his shaggy, red hair as she pulls him as close against her as she can manage.
Fred responds quickly, walking Hermione backwards until her back hits the empty bookshelves, his lips slanting over hers hungrily.
"You built me a library," Hermione states, her voice cracking with lust as Fred descends to press hot, open-mouthed kisses to the side of her neck in just the way that she likes.
"I did," Fred laughs, lifting his head to meet Hermione's eye. "With George's help and a lot of magic– but yes. I also got you one of those clawfoot bathtubs that you wanted."
Hermione whines in the back of her throat, completely befuddled as to how she could've possibly gotten so lucky to be married to this man.
"There's also a shower that's big enough for two," Fred continues, dotting gentle but passionate kisses to Hermione's cheek and jawline. "And now we have our own bathroom like George and Angelina do, so we'll never be interrupted."
Hermione raises her hand and tucks it up under Fred's chin, dragging his attention back to her eyes.
"Help me out of my dress?" Hermione whispers, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip at the way that Fred's eyes flare with unadulterated lust.
Fred smirks, leaning down to press one firm kiss to her lips before responding, "I thought you'd never ask."
Hermione turns around, facing away from her husband as she smoothes her hair over her shoulder, granting him access to the buttons on the back of her dress.
"I just want you to know that it is taking everything in me not to just rip this down the back and tear it off of you," Fred says after a moment, chuckling lightly. "There's too many buttons."
Hermione huffs a laugh and rolls her eyes, not that Fred can see it.
"Don't you dare rip this dress, Fred Weasley. Choosing it was an ordeal and if you rip it, I'll become convinced that you didn't like it, which was one of my concerns when picking it– ask George, I cried. It was a process."
Before Hermione knows what has happened, she is being spun around with Fred's hands on her shoulders until she comes around to face him again.
"You thought that I wouldn't like it?" Fred asks, his voice soft as if he is simply asking for clarification. Hermione nods. "Hermione, I would've loved anything you chose as long as you loved it."
Hermione reaches up to place her hands on her husband's biceps, knowing that even that small bit of contact would bring her some comfort.
"I know that, but I– I just wanted you to think that I looked pretty and special and making a decision on a dress was more stressful than I had anticipated. I just wanted you to love it, too."
Fred leans down to press a lingering kiss to the crown of her head.
"Angel, I love you– and I love this dress," Fred assures her, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing. "I might love it even more on the floor, though."
Hermione rolls her eyes into Fred's chest but laughs all the same.
"So, then, finish the buttons, Freddie."
Some time later– after a joint shower which ran cold because the pair were decidedly unfocused on showering and a decision to enthusiastically break-in the new bed– Hermione is curled up beside her husband, their legs tangled together under the covers with his arm draped over her still-bare waist.
Hermione snuggles in closer, breathing in the scent of Fred's soap and sighing contentedly.
"Where's your head at, Hermione?" Fred mumbles into the curls at the top of Hermione's head. "I can hear you thinking from over here."
Hermione squeezes her arms around Fred's torso and buries her head in his chest.
"I'm just so glad that I said yes," Hermione smiles, kissing Fred's chest warmly.
Fred breathes a sleepy laugh before speaking again.
"To marrying me?"
Hermione shakes her head.
"To dating you. To marrying you. To the dress. To binding myself to you in every conceivable way for the rest of our lives," Hermione explains. "I'd do it all over again. I'd say 'yes' again in a heartbeat."
Fred drags his hand up Hermione's arm until he reaches her chin, tipping her head up in order to make eye-contact with her.
"So would I, angel. So would I."
Hi, again, friends! (: Here we are, the second and final chapter.
I hope you've enjoyed reading this short little fic because I really enjoyed writing it. I dunno, it was fun. (:
As always, thank you for spending a bit of your time here with me this week. I truly appreciate your support. Thank you so much. (: