Shadows were lengthening in the late afternoon sun when Arthur and Molly finally announced (to a chorus of groans) that the day's festivities were nearing an end.
"Harry and Hermione have a long journey ahead if they're to spend the night in their new house," Arthur said reasonably. "Scotland may not be far by Apparation, but travelling by flying car is another matter entirely."
"As my husband can attest first-hand," Hermione said, raising one eyebrow meaningfully, "having made the trip once before. Right, Harry?"
The newlyweds were now dressed in casual Muggle attire, their wedding robes having been folded and packed with care by the Weasleys before being loaded into the car. As though still not reconciled to the fact that Harry had even considered something so foolish as to fly an enchanted car from London to Hogwarts six years ago, Hermione punctuated her remark with a hard jerk on the collar of her husband's shirt. Harry rolled his eyes, making strangled choking sounds as he clutched his throat dramatically. Tugging his shirt down with a laugh, he let his hand rest for a moment on his left breast, relishing the tiny, embossed image thereon. It had originally been a polo player on a horse, but his then-fiancee had used a clever Stitching Charm to rearrange the threads into a red-robed figure on a broomstick, its outstretched hand clutching a tiny Golden Snitch. It immediately became his favorite piece of Muggle clothing.
"Not to worry," Fred announced as he and George finished loading the grandfather clock into the magically-enlarged boot. "This car has an overdrive that can fly circles around the old Anglia. With a good tailwind, you might even beat the Hogwarts Express."
"That reminds me," Ron said to no one in particular, "how is Ginny getting to school?"
"And what about Hagrid?" Seamus added. "He has to be in Hogsmeade when the train pulls in, to take the First Years to the boats."
"Oh, I'll be there," Hagrid said happily, "never you fear. Perfesser Dumbledore fixed me up with a portkey. I'll have plenty a' time ter feed Fang an' raise a glass er two at the Hog's Head before the Express rounds the last curve."
"So, Ginny's going by portkey, too?" Ron said brightly.
"No," Dumbledore said. "I thought it would be less than egalitarian were she to arrive without any fuss at Hogsmeade Station after her classmates had made the long journey by train. Moreover, my own school days -- which I do still remember, by the way -- " he added with a twinkle in his eye as some of his former students chuckled, " -- taught me that the journey on the Hogwarts Express is every bit as significant as the Welcoming Feast and the Sorting Ceremony. It allows friends separated by the Summer holidays to reestablish their fraternal bonds before settling into their familiar pattern of classes and activities. I did not want to deprive Miss Weasley of that experience, especially as this is the last such journey she will ever undertake."
"So, you'll be taking Ginny straight to the train?" Ron said. "Apparating?"
"Ginny's not licensed to Apparate," Lavender reminded Ron with a trace of impatience.
"But Dumbledore could use his magic to Apparate the both of them onto the train, couldn't he?" George reasoned.
"No, he couldn't!" Hermione said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "The Hogwarts Express is protected by the same Charms as the castle. I mean, how safe would the train be if anyone could Apparate onto it at will? Honestly! Am I the only one here who's read Hogwarts: A History?"
"YES!" her classmates shouted together. Even most of the Weasley siblings joined in, though not Percy -- nor, Hermione was pleased to note, Ginny. To his credit, Harry had refrained from joining the chorus. But the smile he gave his wife was laced with the same guilt both he and Ron used to evidence when she would catch them hurrying to finish a homework assignment that should have been completed a week earlier. Somehow, the realization that the hero of the wizarding world, the conqueror of the Dark Lord, still harbored a shadow of that innocent schoolboy made Hermione's heart flutter in her bosom.
"So, what's the answer?" Ron smiled, his hands spread helplessly.
"Floo powder," Ginny said, which reply turned the heads of more than a few guests.
"Can you do that?" Fred asked, looking puzzled.
"Not under ordinary circumstances, no," Dumbledore said. "But the Floo Regulation Board was kind enough to suspend the rules for today and permit the furnace of the Hogwarts Express to be linked to the Floo Network. This 'window' will remain open for five minutes only, for reasons of security. Thus, we must depart shortly, even as Harry and Hermione."
"But so much trouble to go to," Seamus put in, eyeing his two Gryffindor classmates. "I still don't understand why you wanted to get married on September First. Why not in July or August, when there'd be no need to hurry?"
"Because," Harry said as he caressed his new bride with his lambent green eyes, "today is the anniversary of the day we met, on the Hogwarts Express. And you're right, Albus. Ginny shouldn't skip that experience, even on a day like today. You never know what's going to happen on that journey. Maybe something that will change your life forever."
Harry took Hermione's hand in his as she smiled through cheeks suddenly the color of rose petals. Dumbledore beamed down on his Head Boy and Head Girl of the year past, his blue eyes shining like stars.
A last round of tearful goodbyes was now exchanged. Up until now, everything had been possessed of an air of festiveness and celebration. But reality began to set in at last. Their school days forever behind them, Harry and Hermione were about to embark on a new life as husband and wife. Not a female eye was dry, though Professor McGonagall maintained her severe facade until the very last moment. Even the Gryffindor boys embraced Harry in a manner they would have regarded as unmanly under any other conditions. (The hugs and kisses they rained upon Hermione, however, were devoid of any such reservation.)
Harry thought Percy had a slightly haunted look in his eyes as he kissed Hermione's cheek before shaking Harry's hand one last time.
"He's still upset about Penelope," Hermione said softly, seeing the questioning look in Harry's eyes.
"Why did they break up?" Harry asked. "The time never seemed right to ask."
"Penelope told me that Percy's career was becoming more important to him than their relationship," Hermione said. "Ambition can be a seductive mistress."
"That's not going to happen to us," Harry said firmly. "I know where my priorities lie."
Hermione nodded, squeezing her husband's hand resolutely. "No success is worth having if you can't share it with someone special."
When Parvati, Padma and Lavender said their goodbyes, Parvati cast a glance after the departing Percy. "What I don't understand," she said to Hermione, "is why you'll be interning at the Ministry, while Percy started out as a departmental assistant."
"It was my own idea," Hermione said. "I'm going to intern in every department over a period of eighteen months. I'm going to learn how the Ministry operates, from top to bottom and back again. That way, I'll know exactly where I can do the most good. And then, watch out, wizarding world! Hermione Potter is coming to kick arse and take names!"
"You go, witch!" Parvati laughed, the four girls swapping high fives preliminary to a round of tearful hugs. Harry looked on smilingly, his eyes reflecting a mixture of pride, respect and love.
When Ginny exchanged a double goodbye with the newlyweds, each bestowing good wishes upon the other ere they began their separate journeys, she whispered excitedly in Hermione's ear, her eyes bright as polished bronze Knuts.
"I've finally convinced Neville to put the Hermione Beauty Rose on the market!"
"Excellent!" Harry said, seeming more pleased even than Hermione.
"How did you change his mind?" Hermione asked.
"Bill and Percy helped," Ginny said. "And, indirectly, Harry."
"Me?" Harry said in surprise.
"Neville didn't want to make any money on the Rose," Ginny said. "So I convinced him to set up a charitable organization, like the Cedric Diggory Fund. Percy is drawing up the papers, and Bill will work out the details with the bank. All profits from the flowers will go to a foundation that will help Muggle-born witches and wizards blend into magical society. There's also a fund for students who can't afford proper school supplies."
"Like those bloody overpriced Lockhart books," Harry snorted as Hermione went slightly pink.
"And," Ginny added, "no one will ever have to be tormented like Ron was because of those grotty dress robes he had to wear to the Yule Ball four years ago."
Harry and Hermione both smiled at this.
"What's the official name of this foundation?" Harry asked.
"The Hermione Granger Foundation," Ginny said with a smile at its namesake.
"Dead on," Harry said with a firm nod. "She wouldn't listen to me when I suggested that we hyphenate our names. Harry James Granger-Potter! Sounds aristocratic, don't you think?"
"Hyphens just seem so...snobbish," Hermione said defensively. "Like Justin Finch-Fletchly, or Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington."
"But now the name Hermione Granger will live forever," Harry said proudly.
Hermione had no opportunity to reply, as they were interrupted by the kindly but authoritative voice of Albus Dumbledore.
"It is time, Miss Weasley," the Headmaster smiled. "Our 'window' opens in five minutes. As the Muggles say, the clock is ticking."
Ginny hugged Harry and Hermione one last time before straightening her robes. She was wearing her plain, black Hogwarts robes now. As she was going straight to the train, the Muggle clothing she usually wore when going to King's Cross was unnecessary.
"You'll be returning to Hogwarts as well, won't you, Albus?" Hermione said.
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Once I have seen Miss Weasley off, I shall be popping straight into Hogsmeade. I may even have time to share a drink with Hagrid at the Hog's Head. Though I am not overly fond of that establishment," he admitted. "I greatly prefer The Three Broomsticks. A much more congenial atmosphere, if I may say so. Alas, Hagrid finds their mead substandard at times. However, their wine is beyond reproach."
"As is Madam Rosmerta," Hermione said slyly, eliciting a bright smile from Dumbledore. But Harry's brow had wrinkled above his emerald eyes, which mirrored the question to which he gave voice.
"You're not accompanying Ginny to the Hogwarts Express? That sounds like a tricky business, Floo-ing onto a moving train."
"Just so," Dumbledore said. "However, Miss Weasley will not be travelling alone."
As if on cue, Neville appeared, his eyes darting from his watch to Ginny. "It's nearly time," he said anxiously. He seemed to be trying to avoid Hermione's eyes, but she was having none of it. She drew him into a crushing hug, making his eyes bulge like those of Trevor the toad as Harry laughed and Ginny giggled lightly.
"Thank you again, Neville," Hermione said as her old schoolmate's face began to resemble a sunburned radish. "You're accompanying Ginny to the train, then?" Neville nodded, his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth.
"How come you're not Apparating straight to Hogsmeade?" Harry asked. "That's where your shop is, isn't it?"
"I...can't," Neville said weakly, clearly embarrased. "I can't...Apparate. Failed...the test...three times..."
"That's alright, Neville," Ginny said soothingly. "Lots of witches and wizards don't like to Apparate."
Neville smiled gratefully before looking at his watch again, panic suddenly spreading across his round face. "It's time! I'll -- take your trunk for you. Hurry! Don't want to miss the train!"
As Neville sped off for the Burrow, Hermione told Ginny, "Don't worry. If you miss the train, Harry and I will give you a lift in the car. Right, Harry?"
"Hurry, Ginny!" Harry said, pushing Ginny with both hands. "Remember what Dumbledore said, great experience and all that! Go!"
Ginny waved a laughing goodbye as Harry pulled out his wand and conjured a sign which read, "No Riders."
"This goes straight on the back bumper," Harry stated emphatically.
"Do you think there's room?" Hermione said, her eyes darting toward the car as the last of her giggles subsided. Harry's eyes followed his wife's, and he whooped with amusement.
"Like it, Harry?" Fred asked genially. He and George had attached hundreds of streamers to the back of the car, framing a sign which read, "Just Married."
"All Muggle-safe," George assured them. "Hand-made, Muggle-fashion. Guaranteed, no enchantments."
The twins hugged Hermione and clapped Harry on the back. At some point, either Fred or George magicked a sign onto Harry's back which announced, in flashing green letters, "Kiss Me, I'm Horny!" When the sign was discovered, Hermione laughed as loud as anyone. She was still laughing when Fred's and George's chortles suddenly turned to squeaks of shock and amazement, which sounds issued from a pair of red-furred guinea pigs huddling precisely where the twins had been standing. She restored them a moment later amidst gales of laughter.
"Never mess with a witch who scored 312% on her Transfiguration Final, boys," Hermione warned, her brown eyes twinkling merrily. Harry hugged his wife, tears of laughter wetting his cheeks. Even Professor McGonagall was laughing behind her uplifted hand.
Good sports to the last, Fred and George both bowed to Hermione, who acknowledged them with a nod and a smile before returning her wand to a cleverly-concealed pocket of her skirt.
Molly Weasley, her Cheering Charm having worn off, hissed, "No more funny business!"
"We promise," the twins said together as they exchanged a sly, knowing look. Both then grinned at Sirius and Remus, who gave them an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Following a final round of hugs (the most tearful coming from the Grangers and the Weasleys), Hermione slid behind the wheel of the car as Harry closed the door for her and quickly rolled over the bonnet to the passenger side.
"Honestly, Harry!" Hermione said, grinning as she shook her head. Harry, closing the passenger door with a resounding slam, flashed her his best puppy-dog eyes, drawing the fangs of her annoyance with an effectiveness her dentist parents would have admired. Waving her hand through the open window, Hermione put the key in the ignition -- which, like the gearshift, was on the left side of the steering column because of the Mirror Charm -- and started the car. The engine roared to life, and Harry saw Fred, George and Arthur cheering as Molly inflated herself with something less than approval.
As the car pulled out of the driveway, a raucus clattering echoed from the walls of the Burrow and its garage.
"Fred!" Molly snapped, her eyes spitting flames. "George!"
"Not us, Mum!" the twins pleaded, their hands in the air, palms forward. "See, no wands!"
Angling himself to look in the side-view mirror, Harry saw his godfather pocketing his wand quickly, an innocent look on his face, as Remus laughed out loud and pounded his fellow Marauder's back in appreciation.
"Shall I use a Severing Charm?" Harry asked, drawing his wand from a pocket of his sport jacket.
"No," Hermione said, her face glowing brightly. "Tying cans to the bumper of a car is a time-honored tradition. Besides, I want everyone to look at us as we drive by. I want the whole world to know that I became Mrs. Harry Potter today."
A more explosive noise was now reverberating behind them. The fireworks which Dobby had helped Fred and George prepare were now lighting the sky with a rainbow of colors. Leaning out his window as the car backed onto the road, Harry smiled up at the dazzling bursts of smoke and light that filled the afternoon sky. Every boom and flash seemed to echo inside his chest. Every cell in his body was tingling in a sort of empathy. He felt light enough to fly without benefit of either broomstick or enchanted car.
The car surged forward abruptly, throwing Harry back onto his seat. He flung an accusatory glance at Hermione, who smirked at him before returning her eyes to the road.
A few minutes' driving brought them to a secluded stretch of road which they knew well from many a Summer walk on past visits to the Burrow. Surrounded by hills and woodlands, they pulled off to the side of the road and listened intently. The car motor was quiet as a whisper. The only other sounds they heard were those of songbirds in the trees on either side of the road.
"Do it," Harry said.
Hermione engaged the Invisibilty Booster. The car vanished. But, to Harry's astonishment, he and Hermione did not. He could still see the entire inside of the car.
Before Harry could give voice to his confusion, Hermione threw a switch on the dashboard. The car rose straight up, like a yo-yo jerked by an unseen string, finally levelling off at what must have been many hundreds of feet above the woods and houses below.
"This isn't the way it was in Arthur's car," Harry said in amazement. "Are we invisible?"
"I asked Fred and George about the enchantments they used," Hermione explained. "While you were busy making love to your new play-toy," she added meaningfully, patting the steering wheel for emphasis.
"You're my favorite play-toy," Harry said with an exaggerated leer that reminded his wife of a hungry wolf. Hermione giggled before continuing.
"It's not an Invisibility Charm so much as a Concealment Charm. Like the one Flitwick used to hide our presents from us."
"What's the difference?" Harry asked. Hermione gave him a cross look.
"Something that's invisible can't be seen at all," she explained. "But a Concealment Charm sort of erects an invisible 'fence' around something. Someone on the outside of the fence can't see what's on the inside."
"This I have to see!" Harry said. And before Hermione could make a move to stop him, Harry was leaning out his window to look at the outside of the car. His jaw dropped.
There was no front to the car! His left hand was braced against the car door, but though he could feel the smooth metal against his palm, he could not see it! Craning his neck, he saw that the window through which he was leaning was a rectangle in the midst of an empty sky. He felt a sudden jerk on his sleeve as Hermione pulled him back inside the car, genuine anger on her face.
"Bloody Hell, Harry!" she grunted. "Am I going to have to but a Body-Bind on you? Honestly!"
But Harry was busy looking out through the windshield. The front of the car was there, in plain sight. He turned to his wife in wordless bafflement.
"The invisible barrier is on the outside," she said, reading the question in his eyes. "we're on the inside, so we can see everything."
Before Harry could respond, Hermione engaged the forward drive, and the car shot through the sky like an arrow.
"Are we going North?" Harry asked.
"I may not be Ferdinand-bloody-Magellan," Hermione laughed, "but I do know that the sun sets in the West. That is the sun on your side of the car, isn't it?"
"Blimey!" Harry said, goggle-eyed. "Is that what that is?" Hermione smiled, hissing a response which Harry could not make out.
Looking down now, Harry saw a thin, dark thread wending its way through woodlands and around the shoulders of low, green hills. Somewhere ahead of them on that steel ribbon, he knew, the Hogwarts Express was puffing its way toward Hogsmeade with its cargo of students bound for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry felt a tug inside his chest. Had it really been seven years since he had first boarded that train to begin the journey that would change his life forever? It didn't seem possible that the insufferably bossy girl he had met on the train that day was the beautiful young woman sitting beside him now. Dumbledore was right. There was more magic to be found on that train than lurked in the pages of the spell books tucked into its passengers' school bags. Harry reached out and covered his wife's left hand with his right. They exchanged a smile of love as Hermione, perhaps thinking thoughts similar to her husband's, turned the wheel slightly as they foll owed the railroad tracks North toward their shared destination.
As it had been with Harry and Ron during their own ill-fated flight to Hogwarts, the thrill of staring out at a blue, cloud-flecked sky soon lost its charm. Harry slid along the seat until his hip nudged Hermione's.
"What do you say we try out the Automatic Pilot Fred and George mentioned?" Harry said.
"Good idea," Hermione said. She found the appropriate switch and engaged it. Immediately the dashboard lights blinked.
"Destination?" came a musical voice from nowhere and everywhere.
Momentarily startled, Harry said, "Uh -- Hogsmeade?"
"And you, my dear?" the car said, clearly addressing Hermione. "The driver's authority supersedes that of the passengers."
"Yes," Hermione said, grinning delightedly. "Hogsmeade."
"Done," the car said. The dashboard lights blinked again. The car shifted slightly, the wheel turning itself under Hermione's hands.
"Now," Harry said, scrutinizing the dashboard once more, "where's the overdrive?"
"I can engage that for you," the car said helpfully. But when no change in speed was forthcoming, Harry glanced at Hermione promptingly.
"Yes, please," she told the car. "Overdrive."
The car took off like a bullet, momentarily slamnming Harry and Hermione back against the seat.
"You do have the Deflector engaged, right?" Harry said cautiously. "We don't want to slam into a 747 coming in to Heathrow."
"Of course," Hermione said, in a tone as if she were only stating the obvious.
"Well, then," Harry sighed, relaxing visibly, "nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the ride." Shifting sideways so he could reach over the back of the seat, he muttered, "We still have a ways to go. I know Ron put a cooler filled with sandwiches and pumpkin juice back here. We did learn something from that bloody flight to Hogwarts."
But Hermione's hand was suddenly alongside Harry's head, her index finger tracing lightly over his ear. In a very sultry voice, she said, "Oh, I'm sure we can find somehing more...interesting...to do in the back seat...don't you?"
Harry jumped as if stung by a bee. There was a devilish look in Hermione's eyes that made Harry's blood boil like a cauldron under a white-hot flame.
"You wicked witch," he smiled appreciatively as Hermione began to toy with his glasses.
"That's what it says on the lingerie box, lover," Hermione breathed, removing her husband's glasses and folding them in a slow, suggestive manner.
"You're not..." Harry said slowly, his breathing growing ragged. Sliding away from the steering wheel, Hermione lifted her right leg and placed it over Harry's. Her skirt was riding up tantalizingly, revealing a hint of black lace. "I mean...you don't really...?"
Her arms now around Harry's neck, Hermione leaned in until Harry could see his reflection in the dark irises of his wife's fathomless eyes. "No," she admitted with a smile. "You're right. It was just a fancy. But -- " she added in a throaty whisper, " -- that doesn't mean we can't get in a bit of practice before the...main event..."
Neither knew afterwards if it was just a coincidence, or if the car had been listening to their conversation and taken a hand on its own initiative. But for whatever reason, the seat against which they were leaning flattened without warning, somersaulting Harry and Hermione onto the back seat. The front seat then snapped back into place with an audible click. The two of them stared for a moment, then fell laughing into each other's arms.
As Harry showered kisses over every inch of his wife's face and neck, his mind sought for the proper words to express the depth of the love he felt surging through his body like an electric current. Abandoning the effort as foredoomed, he simply repeated the same tired phrase he had used so often, chafing at its feebleness.
"Do you know how much I love you, Hermione?"
Panting in the grip of her own passion, Hermione rasped, "Yes. I do know. I've always known. But...don't let that stop you from reminding me...every once in a while..."
"Every minute," Harry breathed into a kiss. "Of every day. For the rest of our lives.
"'And if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.'"
"Browning," Hermione whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I've loved that poem forever. Mum gave me that book for my birthday."
"Your tenth," Harry said. "I saw it in your mind today. In that moment when I 'became' you, I felt the thrill that you experienced the first time you read it. It was a bit like the way I felt the first time I rode a broomstick. I was never able to understand before just how deeply one can be moved by words on a page. But now, because of what we shared today, I'll never forget it. It's part of me now. Just as you are part of me. The best part."
They melted into each other, their explorations awkward, occasionally tentative and a bit uncertain. But there was no hurry. They had a lifetime to learn the arts, and the mechanics, of love. But of its purest essence they harbored no doubts. It flowed through them like the blood in their veins and the air in their lungs. In the heart of the Soul Chamber they had been tested, and found true. Now and forever, they were One. One in truth. One in hope. One in purity, and in selflessness, and in trust.
And One, ever after, in love.
Author's Note: I hope everyone has a good imagination as regards any furtherance of this story, because this is all there is. I never officially rule out sequels, but don't expect anything soon, if at all. I presently have too many other ideas bouncing around in my head, as well as an inventory of completed stories waiting to see the light of day.
Time now to let the brain cells cool off until January. I hope everyone enjoyed the ride. Thanks for reading, and for all the kind feedback. See you soon.