Unofficial Portkey Archive

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document.write(''); chapter eleven: Something Blue

It was a beautiful wedding, to say the least. The backyard of the Burrow had been virtually transformed by the help of the Weasley family: the grass was green, the flowers were in full bloom, and there was a tangible feeling of magic in the air. Harry and the Weasley brothers looked quite dashing in their tuxes, and Ginny was lovely as usual in her cranberry red bridesmaid dress.

The true focus of the day, however, was Hermione. With her gown of pure white and her long golden-brown tresses, she truly resembled an angel. Harry had scarcely been able to stop staring at her all day, along with most of the other males in attendance. Despite this newfound attention, Hermione only had eyes for Harry; it was almost sickening how very cute they were with one another.

They made their rounds through the crowd, thanking everyone for coming. Practically all of their old friends had turned up-Hagrid, Professor McGonogal, Lupin, Tonks, Neville...the list went on and on. Only one person was noticeably absent: Dumbledore.

" He probably thought we wouldn't want him here after what happened," Hermione informed Harry softly, sensing that he was upset. Even after everything that had happened, Dumbledore was one of Harry's mentors, and his absence was keenly felt. " And look-he sent a gift along with Professor McGonogal."

Wordlessly, Harry pulled out the card. 'Congratulations', it read simply, 'What will be will be.'

" Nice and cryptic," Harry said without emotion, and stuffed the card back in the envelope. He forced a smile at Hermione. "Come on, let's get some punch..."

Ron met them at the punch table, accompanied by Lavender. He grinned at Harry and shook his hand eagerly, then kissed Hermione on the cheek " Congratulations, both of you. I can't believe it-my two best friends married. I'm either incredibly happy or wickedly drunk."

" A little of both, I'd say," Lavender said fondly. She smiled tentatively at Hermione and gave her a hug. " Congratulations. You too, Harry."

Hermione smiled at Lavender. Over the past few weeks, she'd come to the conclusion that Lavender wasn't really so bad. She seemed to understand Ron and Hermione's friendship a bit more now and didn't glare at Hermione nearly so often. And it definitely helped that Kimmy was no longer around to exercise a bad influence on her.

At the thought of Kimmy, Hermione's face darkened. Harry turned to her inquisitively. " What is it?"

" Just thinking about Kimmy," Hermione admitted. "I was afraid that she was going to try and ruin things today."

Harry smiled. " Well, she didn't. You're my wife now, and no one on earth can take you away from me."

" Care to challenge that?"

Harry and Hermione turned to see Draco, who looked quite handsome in his suit and seemed fully aware of that fact. " Nice wedding, Potter. Mind if I steal the bride for a dance?"

" Sure," Harry said, his voice a bit tight. Hermione had explained to him that she and Draco were never really engaged, but Harry still didn't particularly like the other man.

Hermione laughed as Draco moved in to dance with her, perhaps a bit closer than was necessary. " You're bound and determined to make Harry hate you for the rest of his life, aren't you?" she inquired.

" Some people collect stamps," Draco returned, grinning, " I collect arch nemeses."

They were silent for a moment, swaying to the music. "It really was a beautiful wedding," Draco complimented after a moment. " I can't believe that you're an old married woman now, Granger."

Hermione merely smiled. " It's Potter now, thank you very much. And besides, matrimony isn't all that bad. You should try it sometime. I'm sure a certain Weasley would be a willing accomplice."

Draco feigned surprise. " Really? I never thought Fred liked me all that much."

" You know what I mean," Hermione scolded gently. " When are you and Ginny going to come out into the open? Come out of the closet, so to speak?"

" I happen to like the closet," Draco said defensively. " People are always giving it a bad wrap, but it's actually quite cozy."

" Draco..."

Draco grinned at her. " No more questions, Miss-ur, Mrs. Potter. Just dancing." And with that, he spun her around and dipped her low, eliciting a gleeful laugh from the blushing bride.

When the song came to an end, Harry appeared, grinning the same goofy grin that he'd been wearing all day. " I'm cutting in, Malfoy," he announced, and swept Hermione into his arms.

They proceeded to dance, clearly enjoying the closeness. " Hello, Mr. Potter," Hermione said demurely, grinning at him.

" Hello, Mrs. Potter." Harry returned gamely. " Has anyone ever told you that you are quite the dancer?"

" Oh, yes, all the time." Hermione informed him. " You, on the other hand, could use some a few lessons. You keep stepping on my dress, and it's such a lovely dress..."

Harry grinned. "Can't wait to get it off."

"Harry!"

Harry's smile only broadened. "How much longer do we have to stay here?"

Hermione tried to look stern, but couldn't help the mirth that crept into the corner of her lips. "At least another half an hour, I'd say."

" Darn."

Smiling now, Hermione leaned up and kissed him quickly on the lips. " I'll make it worth your wait." she promised.

Harry had just opened his mouth to reply when suddenly, his gaze fixed on something behind her. He tensed. " I don't believe it..."

Curious, Hermione turned to see a large, bulky man, flanked by a rail-thin, horse-faced woman on one side and a younger, heavily corpulent man on the other. She turned back to Harry questioningly. " Who...?" All of a sudden, it clicked. " The Dursleys."

There was no trace of a smile on Harry's face now. " I only invited them out of politeness...I didn't think they'd actually come." He looked down on his new wife grimly. "Well? Ready to meet the family?"

Hermione took his hand and squeezed it encouragingly. " Whenever you are."

They made their way through the crowd, stopping about three feet from the Dursleys. They looked decidedly uncomfortable and even a bit fearful amongst the wizarding crowd, as though they expected someone to jump out of the cake at any moment and hex them into oblivion.

" Harry." Vernon Dursley said finally.

" Uncle Vernon."

Vernon cleared his throat, tugging a bit at his collar. " Well...ur...congratulations."

Harry gave a forced smile. " Um, thanks." He glanced at Hermione. " This is my wife, Hermione. Hermione, this is Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and my cousin Dudley."

Hermione smiled at each of them in turn, not receiving much of a response until her gaze landed upon Dudley. He was perspiring buckets and leered at her crudely as their eyes met. Still forcing a smile, she stepped instinctively toward Harry.

" It was so nice to meet you all," she said, wrenching her gaze away from Dudley. " Harry's told me so much about you."

This seemed to make Vernon even more uncomfortable. " Yes, well...we can't stay. Just stopped by to give you this." He thrust a card into Harry's hand and then abruptly walked away. Petunia hurried to follow him, but Dudley gave Hermione one last lingering glance before turning and hobbling away.

Harry stared after them in wonder, then glanced down at the card. " I don't believe it," he said again.

" Do you want to open it now?" Hermione inquired.

"Later." Harry said, stuffing the card into his pocket. He grinned at her. "Now, how much longer do we have?"

Hermione sighed wistfully. " A good fifteen minutes, at least..."

They proceeded to do all of the normal wedding things. Hermione threw the bouquet, and it was caught-rather prophetically, she thought-by Ginny, who blushed as red as her dress and hair. Harry removed the garter to various catcalls and whistles; it was caught by a very flustered-looking Hagrid.

Finally, it was time to leave. Hermione glanced at Harry and nearly laughed aloud at the jubilation on his face. " Come on!" he instructed, taking her by the hand and nearly pulling her arm from its socket in his enthusiasm.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Grand Fudge Hotel, named after the former minister of magic. Harry rushed to the front desk, practically out of breath by this time. " Reservation for Potter, please."

The clerk didn't even glance up. " I'm going to need to see some identification, please."

Harry stared at her for a moment, and his green eyes filled with shock. " I left my wallet at the Burrow!" he realized aloud.

" Can't let you have the room without identification," the clerk said in a bored voice.

Harry glanced at Hermione, clearly flustered, then back at the clerk. "But...I'm Harry Potter! You know, the most recognizable wizard in the world?!" He pushed up his bangs. " I have the scar to prove it!"

"Identification, please."

Completely desolate, Harry lowered his head onto the desk. Wordlessly, Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out Harry's wallet, nudging him with it.

"I saw you leave it on the punch table," she informed him.

Harry promptly kissed her and then quickly fished out his I.D. " There? See. Me. Harry Potter." He wrapped an enthusiastic arm around Hermione. " And this is my wife."

The clerk yawned. " Room 314. Here's your room key. The Daily Prophet will be delivered to your door every morning and there's a complimentary chocolate frog on your pillow--"

Harry didn't bother to listen to the rest. Once again, he half-dragged Hermione to their room and eagerly pushed open the door, rushing inside. It took him a moment to realize that his bride hadn't followed. He turned, surprised to see Hermione still in the hallway. " Aren't you coming?"

She smiled at him. " I believe you're supposed to carry me over the threshold."

Grinning gamely, Harry moved out into the hallway and easily swept a giggling Hermione into his arms. " So sorry, milady...it won't happen again."

And he kicked the door shut behind them.

***

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