Author's note: Sorry for the long wait for this one, ya'll. I apologize! You can thank the Olympics for that…it had me a bit preoccupied! But, here's the latest update. And for those of you who thought the worst, I hope you are going to be pleasantly surprised!
Also, if you would like to read something else while you wait for your next update, please read the story I am currently co-writing with Heaven. It is the sequel to Dirty Dancing called The Time of their Life . We're having a lot of fun writing it and if you liked our first collaboration together, I am sure that you'll like this one…at least I hope so. And please leave us a review and let us know what you think!
Chapter 13
About Last Night…
This "saving people" thing that had worked for so many people in the past was now coming back to bite Harry on the arse and he knew that someday it would. Hermione had been right that time during fifth year when she'd called him on it. He did have a need to save people. It was what he basically did for a living, but helping Rachel last night could now cost him the love of his life.
He wondered at the justice of it all. He finally had what he'd always wanted; what he'd always needed. And with one kind act, he was going to lose it all.
Would it have been so terrible for me to have just left Rachel on that patio chair? Why did I stay in her room last night? She was so pissed out of her mind she wouldn't have even noticed if I hadn't. Yet, she'd asked, and I stayed. Maybe I'm one of those people who don't know how to be happy so I just screw it up before I even get a chance.
This wasn't the time to throw a pity party for himself and Harry knew it. Hermione was still standing in front of him. She hadn't bolted back toward the bedroom and slammed the door shut in his face and yelled that she never wanted to speak to him again. There was always a bright spot to everything and this, while quite small, was something and he decided that he was still in with a chance.
If only she'd say something so I know what's going on in that beautiful, intelligent head of hers.
Harry wanted to talk to her and tell her that whatever she was thinking was all wrong. But, he didn't want to do this standing outside her cousin's bedroom.
"Come with me," he said softly, taking her hand and leading her back toward their bedroom. He closed the door firmly behind him and watched as she sat on the edge of the unmade bed. Nervously, he ran a hand through his already mussed hair. In his head, he tried to formulate the right words to say to her to make her understand. Thinking he had something, he opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Hermione.
"I, um, was worried when I woke up and you were gone," she said quietly, her eyes fixed on his. "But, you never came back last night, did you?"
Morosely, Harry shook his head.
"But there's a good reason for that, Hermione," he said quickly.
She said nothing, just stared back at him with that infuriating, unreadable expression.
As he tried to think about what to say, he wondered how he'd feel if the situations were reversed.
I'd probably be thinking the same thing she's probably thinking now. But, Hermione has always been more sensible, logical and grounded than me. She knows better than to jump to conclusions, doesn't she? She's always been one to step back and analyze the situation before making rash decisions. When Ron and I were ready to strike first and ask questions later, she was always the one reining us in and reminding us that things weren't always what they seemed. Please tell me that she hasn't decided to change her tune now.
"I found her out on patio all alone," Harry explained. "She was pissed. I helped her back to her bedroom. Believe me, it was all I could do to keep her on her feet. When we finally made it upstairs, she asked me to stay until she fell asleep."
"And you did," Hermione interjected.
Harry nodded. "I sat down in the chair and I was so damn knackered that I fell asleep, Hermione. The next thing I know, the sun is shining through her window and I have this bloody crick in my neck."
He closed the distance between them and sat down beside her on the bed. Putting his hand on her chin, he turned her face toward him.
"Hermione, nothing happened," he whispered, his face serious.
There was that same unreadable expression again. He found himself getting angry that he didn't seem to be getting through to her.
"Hermione, you know me. You know me better than I know myself," he said steadily. Do you really think that I'd sleep with you and then go shag your cousin, too?"
"I-I never accused you of doing that," Hermione replied.
"You didn't have to!" he said, shaking his head. "You didn't say a bloody word and just kept looking at me as if you knew I was guilty. Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"
He got to his feet and paced in front of the bed.
"I mean, for Merlin's sake, Hermione! I'd rather eat Christmas dinner with the Dursleys, Snape and Voldemort than shag your cousin!" he said shaking his head.
Giggling filled the room. Harry turned to see Hermione giggling.
"What?" he asked, wondering why she was laughing now?
"I'm sorry," she said, biting her bottom lip to get control. "It's just that right after you said that, I had this vision in my head of such a meeting…you, Voldemort, the Dursleys and Snape at Christmas dinner…"
The sudden image of such a dinner party came into Hermione's head at that moment and she started to giggle. Within seconds, she was laughing so hard tears were in her eyes. When Harry realized she wasn't laughing at him, but at what he'd just said, he too started to laugh. He fell onto the bed until he was laughing so hard his ribs hurt.
""I'm sorry," she said, hiccupping. "But I just pictured that in my mind. It's just…"
"The most unlikely dinner party in history?" Harry finished for her, propping himself up on his elbow.
"So," he said looking at her as their laughter began to ebb, "does this mean you believe me?"
She nodded. "I didn't know what to think at first. I mean, I walk out into the hallway and then you come out of Rachel's bedroom in your boxer shorts…it was just…the thing is, Harry. You were right. I do know you. I know you wouldn't have done that, especially not after…"
Her voice trailed off and she was glad that her cheeks were already red from laughing so he couldn't tell she was blushing.
"Not after last night?" he asked, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.
"Did something happen last night?" she asked coyly.
"Yes, something happened last night," he said pretending to be affronted. "Of course, I'd be willing to refresh your memory…"
His words were cut off this time by Hermione pressing her lips to his. She put her hand on the nape of his neck and brought him down on top of her. Harry deepened the kiss and slowly brought his hand under the t-shirt she wore and Hermione gasped into his mouth.
Harry groaned as there was a knock on the door.
"Ignore it," Hermione whispered, kissing his neck.
But, the person on the other side of the door apparently wasn't going to give up that easy.
"Bugger," Hermione said, as Harry rolled off of her and she got to her feet. Since she was the more presentable of the two of them, she walked toward the door. She paused at the mirror and smoothed down her hair and t-shirt.
Swinging open the door, she saw Aunt Catherine.
"Hermione, sweetheart," Catherine said. "We really need you this morning. That daughter of mine hit the sauce a little too hard last night. She's in the bath right now, but I'm going to need you to help me out this morning."
"Oh," Hermione said, nodding. "Of course."
"She knows better than that," Catherine said, shaking her head. "But, you can never tell Rachel anything."
"I'll be right down," Hermione said.
"Good," Catherine said, kissing her niece on the cheek. "There are some bagels and pastries and coffee downstairs if you and Harry want to grab something."
Hermione closed the door and sighed.
"Raincheck?" she asked, smiling at him.
"Definitely," he said, getting off the bed. "Go be the good cousin and I'll grab a shower."
"I'd rather grab a shower with you," Hermione said, looping her arms around his neck.
"We'll get to go home tonight," he said huskily. "And we can stay in all night."
"Promise?" she asked, leaning in for a kiss.
"Promise."
*********
***********************
Hermione was in what she had taken to calling bridesmaid hell. For the past hour, she'd listened to Rachel whine about everything from her hair, to her makeup, to how pale her skin looked. Rachel kept saying how she'd spent all this time working on her tan so she'd be beautiful for her wedding and now she looked pasty and pale.
Hermione wanted to point out that Rachel shouldn't have decided to drink herself into a stupor the night before her wedding, but she'd done what she'd always done where Rachel was concerned. She bit her tongue and kept quiet. Rachel, however, wasn't making things any easier.
The ceremony was nearly an hour and a half away and Rachel was no where near ready. The professional hair stylist who was doing her hair had already done and redone Rachel's hair and each time Rachel would shriek that it was terrible. Hermione could tell the stylist was about at her wit's end.
At the moment, Rachel was sitting at her dressing table, nibbling on some saltines and drinking soda water, hoping to settle her stomach. When Hermione had arrived in Rachel's room, Rachel was hunched over the toilet in her bathroom, dry heaving.
If this had been anyone else, Hermione would have felt compassion for them. She might even have whipped up a quick hangover potion, but this was Rachel. Besides, Hermione thought, Rachel didn't know Hermione was a witch. Why should she get to reap the benefits of it now?
"God, I look so awful," Rachel said, staring at her reflection in the mirror. "I shouldn't have drunk as much as I did last night. I wish Mummy would have stopped me."
"You're a grown woman, Rachel," Hermione heard herself saying. She was sitting on Rachel's bed flipping through a magazine. "Your mother never has been able to stop you from doing whatever it was you wanted to do."
"You're right," Rachel said, nodding. She pinched her cheeks trying to bring some color back to them. "Hermione…how do you do it?"
"Do what?" Hermione asked absently.
"You're always so pale and pasty," Rachel said. "And you seem fine with it…"
Hermione seethed.
You only have to get through this last hour and a half and then the ceremony and the reception. In a few hours, Harry and I will be on our way home. I won't have to worry about Rachel. Just keep quiet and ignore her comments for a bit longer and I'm home free.
"I'm not pale and pasty," Hermione said, looking at her arms. She'd caught quite a bit of sun the past couple of days and she had a healthy glow about her.
"Well, not now," Rachel said, shrugging. "But you usually are. I just wondered how you can live with it day in and day out."
"I just do," Hermione said. "Look, Rachel. You've got to start getting ready. You're ceremony is in less than an hour and a half. Your mum is trying to appease the stylist. Just put your makeup on and let her fix your hair and I'm sure you'll look as great as you always do."
"Great?" Rachel said, staring at her cousin openmouthed. "I can't look bloody great on my wedding day! I have to look beautiful! I have to be stunning!"
Hermione turned away from Rachel and rolled her eyes.
"Look," Hermione said, trying to keep her emotions in check. She was a patient person, but this was above and beyond what any normal, rational person was expected to deal with. What Hermione needed was a break. What Hermione wanted was to see Harry. Even if it was only for a couple of minutes, at least it would boost her spirits.
"I'm just going to pop down the hall and get into my dress," Hermione said sighing.
"Just make sure you come back," Rachel said, turning back to her dressing table and picking up a cracker.
Hermione nodded and quickly walked out of Rachel's room and toward her own bedroom. She prayed Harry was in there. To her delight, he was.
"Hey," he said, smiling at her. He was dressed in a charcoal grey three-button suit and blue dress shirt.
"Don't you look handsome?" she asked grinning.
"I hate getting all dressed up like this," he admitted, turning around and trying to straighten his tie. Hermione walked over to him and turned him around. She smoothed down his suit and straightened his tie.
"That's a shame because you look really scrummy all dressed up," she said, kissing him.
"Thank you," he said, holding onto her. "And what about you…surely Miss Rachel isn't going to let you walk down the aisle in jeans, a t-shirt and your trainers, is she?"
"No, of course not," Hermione answered with a laugh. "She'd not have that, would she? I just came back in here to get my dress, which to Rachel's credit isn't all that hideous."
Hermione walked over to the closet and pulled out her bridesmaid dress which was wrapped in plastic. It was a very nice dress actually and Hermione knew it had more to do with Rachel wanting everything to be perfect for her wedding rather than picking a dress that she knew would suit Hermione. The dress was a cornflower blue satin strapless Princess-line dress with silvery embroidery and beading.
"You lot sure are cutting it close aren't you?" Harry asked. He looked down at his watch. Ceremony's in a little over an hour."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Typical Rachel. She's still coping with her major hangover and making everyone else pay for it."
"Sorry you have to go through all of this," Harry said sympathetically. "How about you and I skive off the wedding and hit the beach again."
"You have no idea how much I'd love to take up on that offer," Hermione said wistfully. "Have you been alright by yourself?"
"Yeah," Harry said, nodding. "I had breakfast with your dad. I think he likes me."
"My dad has always liked you," Hermione said. "You know that."
"What's not to like?" Harry asked puffing out his chest proudly. "No, he and I had a nice little talk and he told me that if I hurt his daughter he'd kill me. …which is pretty much the same thing Ron said."
"Hang on a minute!" Hermione said, staring at Harry. "Ron knows?"
"Yeah," Harry answered. "That's okay, isn't it? I mean, he doesn't know that you and I have …you know…yet…but he knows that I have feelings for you. It was his bright idea for me to come along with you to the wedding. Anyway, he told me if I broke your heart, he'd cripple me."
"He did, did he?" Hermione said with a giggle. "That's so sweet. Scary, of course, but sweet."
Harry laughed. He moved closer to her wanting to give her a kiss. Just before their lips met, a shrill voice called out in the corridor.
"HERMIONE!" Rachel screamed. "I NEED YOUR HELP!"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Foiled again."
"Temporarily postponed," Harry said, giving her a quick, chaste kiss.
"Right," Hermione said softly. When Rachel screamed again, Hermione reluctantly gathered her dress and shoes together.
"You're riding over to the church with my parents, aren't you?" she asked. Harry nodded.
"I'm going to try and see if they'll give up any cute, embarrassing Hermione stories," Harry said devilishly.
"On second thought, maybe I could ride over to the church with you and my parents," Hermione said. Although she was very glad that her parents and Harry were obviously getting along, she didn't like the group of them telling embarrassing tales about her to each other.
"No can do," Harry said, pushing her out of the bedroom. "You have to ride over with Rachel."
"You know how to kick a girl when she's down, don't you?" Hermione asked, the serious expression she'd had on her face fading into a big grin. She couldn't help but smile when she was so happy.
"See you at the church," Hermione said as they reached Rachel's bedroom. Although her hands were full with her dress and shoes, it didn't stop Harry from leaning in and giving her a deep kiss.
"See you at the church," he whispered before leaving Hermione feeling a little dazed as she walked back into
Rachel's room.
*******************
Miraculously, the bridal party made it to the church with at least twenty minutes to spare. In total, there were three bridesmaids including Hermione. The two girls seemed to have no other purpose but to boost Rachel's ego. Every few seconds, one or the other would compliment Rachel on her hair or on her nails or on her shoes. Hermione shuddered as she remembered how the two girls had squealed when they'd seen Rachel in her dress.
Rachel was using one of the anterooms of the church as her makeshift dressing room. Hermione, at the moment, was getting her hair done by the stylist in an adjacent room.
"Thank you," Hermione said, admiring the stylist's work in the mirror. "I love it."
"You're quite welcome," the stylist said warmly. "Good luck, today."
"Thank you," Hermione said, getting up from the chair and walking out of the room. She took a deep breath and reminded herself not to pay much mind to anything Rachel had to say. Rachel was just being who she always was and Hermione wasn't going to let her get to her. Taking a deep breath, she made for the door to open it, but what Rachel was saying stopped her from pushing the door open all the way.
"His name is Harry Potter," Rachel was saying in a tone that implied she and Harry were old friends. The two other bridesmaids, Millie and Tina giggled.
"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" Rachel continued. "And quite the gallant gentleman if I must say so myself."
"But isn't he dating your cousin?" Millie asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said with a dismissive laugh. "But she's not really his type, is she? I don't see that lasting too long."
From just outside the room, Hermione sighed. Keep control. You only have to put up with this for another couple of hours.
"He's in law enforcement. You know all that cloak and dagger stuff, right? And he personally saved me last night. I drank a bit too much and he helped me to my room." Rachel said conversationally.
"Helped you to your room?" Tina asked intrigued. "Rachel, you are so bad!"
Rachel grinned. "Well, you know I'm not married yet. And he's been flirting with me since he arrived. I'm telling you, there was chemistry between the two of us right from the start. And I figured, Theo and I aren't married yet…I owe myself one last fling, don't I?"
"Raaaachel!" Tina squealed. "How was he?"
"Fantastic," Rachel bragged.
Hermione fumed. She wasn't about to let Rachel get away with this. She didn't care that the wedding was about to start or that a church probably wasn't the best place to read your cousin the riot act. She'd taken it for years from Rachel and she wasn't going to do it anymore.
Pushing open the door forcefully, Hermione walked inside. Sure enough, Tina and Millie gasped and Rachel tried to play it off as if they weren't talking about Harry.
"Hermione…" Rachel began, but Hermione held up her hand.
"Enough, Rachel," she said loudly. "I heard what you just said…"
Rachel's smile faltered a bit, but she covered. "We were just having a laugh before the ceremony, Hermione."
"A laugh?" Hermione repeated. "A laugh, huh? So, you were with Harry last night, huh? Telling Millie and Tina here all about it, right?"
"Hermione…"
"No," Hermione said with a laugh. "I think Millie and Tina deserve the full details, don't you? I mean, we're all friends here, aren't we?"
"Uh, of course," Millie said, but her voice trailed off when Rachel shot her an irritated look.
"Well, I'm sure Rachel told you all about how she got pissed on the night before her wedding," Hermione explained. "And how she passed out on a patio chair at around 2 a.m. and Harry found her, but he didn't do anything but help her spoiled, drunk arse to her bedroom!"
"Okay, Hermione," Rachel hissed. "That's enough. This isn't the time or the place-"
"Oh, now you care," Hermione retorted. "You're in a church lying about shagging your cousin's boyfriend and I'm the one who should stop?"
"Hermione…"
"No," Hermione said sternly. "I'm sick of sitting and taking it. You are nothing, but a spoiled,
wretched person who wants to make everyone feel bad so she can feel better about herself. Well, I'm not going to
listen to it anymore!"
"Fine!" Rachel exclaimed, getting to her feet. "I didn't even want you in my wedding! Mummy made me ask you!"
"Ask yourself if I care," Hermione said going over to the sofa and picking up her bag. Without even a backwards glance at Rachel, Hermione stormed out of the room, feeling much better than she had in hours.
She pushed through the double doors leading to the chapel and saw that there was a large crowd gathered. She caught sight of Harry sitting a few rows back with her parents. His eyes found hers and he looked at her with a bewildered expression on his face. Hermione knew everyone in the chapel was looking at her and wondering why one of the bridesmaids was walking into the chapel moments before the ceremony began carrying a bag.
"Hermione?" Harry asked when she reached him.
"I have to get out of here," Hermione whispered in his ear. "Now."
"Now?" he asked her. "Is everything okay?"
"Bloody fantastic," she said with a secret smile at him.
"Hermione?" her mother asked a concerned expression on her face. "What on earth is going on?"
"I'll explain later, Mum," Hermione said softly. "I just need to go."
"But you're in the wedding…you can't leave," Karen said to her daughter.
"I have to, Mum," Hermione said apologetically. "Really."
"Okay," Karen said flummoxed. She sat back down beside her husband and watched as Hermione took Harry's hand and he led her out of the church.
When they were standing on the steps in front of the church, Harry stopped. "Hermione, do you mind telling me what's going on?"
"It doesn't matter," Hermione said beaming at him. "Will you do something for me?"
"Anything," he said, stroking her hand.
"Take me home," she said softly. "Please."
Author's note: One more chapter left….