Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's note: I am soooooooooooooooooo sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Feel free to flame me for that. Things have been quite hectic and I was a little (okay-a lot disheartened) by the fiasco that was HBP. But I really do love writing and I love these two characters. I'm not going to let the undelusional people get me down or stop me from doing something I enjoy. So here's the latest chapter. This is a nice fluffy one and it does have a cliffie---you knew it was coming! Thanks to Kelly & to Curt for doing their beta thing for me.

Chapter 24

"You Set Me Free"

Can't you see?
There's a feeling that's come over me
Close my eyes
You're the only one that leaves me completely breathless

'Cause I wanted to fly,
so you gave me your wings
And time held its breath so I could see, yeah
And you set me free

(Michelle Branch)

Speculation on the ceremony began as soon as Harry's engagement to Hermione made headlines in virtually every wizarding news publication. Where would it be held? What would the bride wear? Where would they go on their honeymoon? Would the bride's jilted ex and Harry's former best friend be invited? How many guests would there be? Would the Boy Who Lived-who was notoriously shy of the press-allow coverage of his wedding?

Lavender Brown had become their unofficial spokesperson, a role she was clearly enjoying. With the bride and groom sequestered away, teaching at Hogwarts, she was the one the reporters went to for answers. Hermione had to hand it to her best friend. She certainly handled the job with aplomb.

According to Lavender, reporters were camped outside their flat going through the skip trying to find out any information they could. Hermione apologized for putting her best friend through this, but Lavender dismissed her apology and said that she was having a good time sending them all off on wild goose chases.

Planning the wedding and settling into her new job at Hogwarts proved to be quite a challenge. Most people would have fallen apart with the sheer weight of the intertwined tasks. Hermione thrived under pressure. Weekends were spent on the wedding preparations and she coordinated plans with Lavender and Eva. She and Harry tried to make good use of their free time despite the fact that they weren't allowed to share their quarters. They did, however, find ways to sneak in and out of each other's rooms. If anyone knew about it, nothing was said and the couple never flaunted their relationship in front of the students. Although, there had been some close calls when Harry would surprise her in the halls and pull her into a dark corner and, despite her predisposition to follow the rules, Hermione couldn't help losing a little control whenever Harry was around.

Time together had become somewhat of a precious commodity towards the end of the first term. They became quite busy the last couple of days with exam preparations and queues of students for extra instruction stretching down the halls long enough that it felt as if the lines ended at the Quidditch pitch.

After her last class of the day, Hermione was looking forward to a long, relaxing bath. She had just tidied up her classroom when she heard a knock at the door.

"Professor Granger, would you fancy a walk around the lake?" Harry asked from the doorway, a mischievous grin on his face.

Hermione looked at him as if he'd gone mad. "Harry, it's freezing out there."

"It's not that bad," he said dismissively. "Come on. I know for a fact you've already prepared your exams. You have nothing else to do this afternoon and what better way to spend your free time than huddled close to your fiancé while we walk by the lake on a beautiful, crisp winter's day?"

Hermione looked thoughtfully at him. "How about sitting in front of a warm fire with hot chocolate and biscuits and..."

"We can do both," Harry said coming around her desk and putting his arms around her. "Please? Please come with me? I promise I will make it worth your while. What do you think?"

Looping her arms around his neck, she smiled. "I think I left my heavy cloak in my room."

"That's my girl," Harry said kissing her softly. "Need some help?"

Hermione laughed. "I've been getting dressed by myself for quite some time now. I think I've got it."

"You sure?" Harry asked. "Because I know how tricky it can be..."

"I'm positive," she said nipping at his lip. "You and I both know that if you went upstairs with me to 'help me change', we'd never leave."

"I'm starting to rethink this whole walk by the lake thing," Harry said.

Hermione shook her head. "No, no. The more you talk about it the more lovely it sounds. How about I meet you outside the Great Hall in about ten minutes?"

"Perfect," Harry said giving her one last kiss. "You sure you don't need any help?"

Hermione stepped away from him and quickly threw some papers and books into her bag. "I'm positive. I won't be long."

"If you're not back in five minutes, I'll send me as reinforcements," he joked.

"I'll keep that in mind," Hermione said, laughing as she walked out of the classroom.

A few minutes later, she came back downstairs dressed in her favorite apple red jumper, jeans and her snow boots. She was pulling on her red wool cap and heavy, grey cloak when she caught Harry staring up at her while she descended the staircase. He had a funny look on his face.

"What is it?" she asked. "Do you think I won't be warm in this? I know I said I was just going to get my cloak but I didn't think the blouse I was wearing and my robes would be enough..."

Harry shook his head then kissed her softly. "I was just hoping you would've taken a bit longer so I could have gone up and helped you is all."

Hermione laughed. "Come on then. Let's go brave the elements..."

It was bone-chillingly cold, but Hermione liked how peaceful, quiet and beautiful the grounds were. She hadn't much time over the past several weeks to just enjoy the scenery. When they came back from their honeymoon and the Christmas holidays, she made a silent vow to take more leisurely walks like this with Harry.

They walked slowly and huddled close together. Hermione did most of the talking. She told Harry about her classes that day and how she had to give two Slytherin third-years detention for making paper airplanes in class and yet another after mouthing off to her when she'd told them to stop. She also told Harry about Lavender's latest owl concerning the wedding preparations and, of course, the latest details about her friend's burgeoning relationship with one Seamus Finnegan.

"You're awfully quiet," Hermione said nudging him with her elbow.

"Hmm?"

Hermione grinned. "You wanted to come out here for a nice walk and then you clam up on me. What gives, Harry?"

"Just thinking," he said quietly.

"About?"

"About getting married in less than a fortnight..."

"Ah," Hermione said nodding. She felt a pang of apprehension at the look on his face. Did he not want to get married? Did he suddenly realize that they were moving too fast? Did he want to postpone the wedding? Things had been moving fast, but she knew that she wanted to be with him more than anything. "The dreaded cold feet…"

"No," he interrupted with a laugh. "I've got cold feet at the moment, but that's not because of the wedding. That's because it is bloody freezing out here."

"So if you don't have cold feet about the wedding, what are you thinking about?"

"How unbelievably happy I am that I get to marry you," he replied with a grin. "I can't believe my luck."

Hermione felt a wave of relief wash over her. "I was afraid that you were going to tell me that you wanted to back out…"

"Not a chance," Harry told her. "You're not getting rid of me."

"Always the sweet talker," she said softly. "Always knowing what to say…"

"I don't know about all that," Harry said truthfully. "Most of the time I'm just playing it by ear. Sirius used to tell me that a good woman can see right through all the bullshit so I shouldn't bother feeding her corny lines. I thought that was good because I can't really spout off lines..."

"That's one of the reasons I love you so much," Hermione said, putting her arms around him. "You don't need all that, Harry. You're real. You're you. You don't need to feed me any lines."

Harry smiled. "That's good to know. I don't think I could say any of that cheesy romance novel stuff with a straight face."

"Read a lot of cheesy romance novels, have you?" Hermione asked while raising an eyebrow at him.

"No," Harry said, vehemently shaking his head. "I have NEVER read any cheesy romance novels."

"Oh," Hermione said with a laugh. "You've just read the ordinary romance novels then."

Harry groaned. "Okay, Granger. You want to know the truth? You want to know how I know about this?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm dying to know."

"Okay," Harry said looking down so he didn't have to meet her gaze. This was embarrassing enough as it was. "There was this one summer before fourth year when I was staying with Ron at the Burrow. We were straightening up in the sitting room and we came across one of his mum's books that was hidden behind a pillow on the sofa. It had some wonky title like 'The Scarlet Woman' or something mad like that. Ron opened it up and read a few pages..."

At the mention of his former best friend, Harry's eyes clouded over.

"What?" Hermione asked touching his arm. "What is it?" It suddenly dawned on her that he wasn't sure he could or should talk about Ron in front of her. Truth be told, they'd avoided the topic over the past few months.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said quietly.

"It's not your fault, Hermione," Harry said, his eyes trained on hers. Despite the number of times he told her this, she couldn't get past the feeling that she was. If not for her, Harry and Ron would still be best friends.

"He was my best friend," Harry said matter-of-factly, as if he could sense her thoughts.

"You miss him," Hermione argued. "I know you do."

Harry sighed. "I do miss him, but so much has happened. Even if both of us wanted to, we can't go back. He's going to see this as yet another thing I swept in and took away from him... And I can't forgive him for what he said."

"I know you can't go back," Hermione said. "But you two have been through so much together. He was a big part of your life, Harry, and I want you to be able to talk to me about him without getting that stricken look on your face. Maybe if you tried talking to him again..."

Harry shook his head. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Hermione. But it's not going to work. "

"Why not?"

Harry was silent for a few moments and Hermione wondered if perhaps he was constructing his argument. No matter what he said, she knew that he would like nothing more than to have his best friend stand up with him at the wedding. She couldn't imagine getting married without Lavender. Of course, she and Lavender hadn't had a massive row about shagging the other's significant other either.

"I thought of him like a brother," Harry finally said. "The first person my own age that I was friends with..."

"He thought the same of you," Hermione said.

"But something happened," Harry continued, "before you even entered the picture, Hermione. It was like we grew apart. We'd owl each other, of course, but it wasn't the same. We weren't a part of each other's everyday lives anymore. Hell, I didn't even tell him where I really was. I just thought I owed it to him to..."

"Part of the reason you left was because of Ron, wasn't it?" Hermione asked, the picture suddenly becoming crystal clear to her. "One of the reasons you left London was for him, wasn't it?"

Harry looked over at her in surprise. "I-I never told anyone about that, not even Sirius. All throughout our friendship that was our one bone of contention. He couldn't understand why I got everything he wanted and he had no idea how jealous I was of him. He had the one thing I'd always wanted-a family. He had a mother and father and brothers and a sister. I'd have given everything up to have that; to have my mum and dad back."

Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes as she listened.

"And so after the war, I just decided I'd leave this world behind," Harry said motioning absently toward the castle. "I'd give him the chance to shine in the spotlight. I'd let him have his moment in the sun. He needed that, Hermione. He needed to be seen as something other than Harry Potter's best friend and sidekick. He needed to be something other than the youngest Weasley brother."

Hermione nodded. This was the same thing Ron had told her when he'd confessed his inadequacies about being Harry's friend and why he felt guilty for being happy that his best friend wasn't around anymore. It couldn't have been easy, Hermione knew, but Ron honestly had no idea what a sacrifice Harry had made for him.

Hermione leaned in and kissed him softly. "I love you, Harry."

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Do I need a reason to kiss my fiancé?"

Harry laughed. "No, you never need a reason."

"Okay then," Hermione said, wanting to get his mind off Ron. "Come with me, Professor."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to make snow angels," she announced excitedly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Snow angels," Hermione repeated. When she was met with a blank expression, she stared at him. "You've never made them before?"

Harry shook his head.

"Not even when you were a kid?"

"I never really had the chance to play in the snow when I was a kid," Harry replied. "The only time I was ever in it was when my Uncle Vernon made me shovel the walk and front steps or when I had to walk to school."

Hermione scowled. She hated the Dursleys for how they'd treated Harry. If she ever got a chance to meet those horrible people, she made a promised herself that she'd give them a piece of her mind.

"Surely you played out in the snow when you were a student?" Hermione asked.

"Sure," Harry said with a shrug. "We used to have snowball fights all the time."

Hermione laughed. "Well, today you, Harry James Potter, are going to make your very first snow angel."

"Okay..."

"Lie down," Hermione ordered pointed to the ground.

Harry grinned like a kid opening up his presents on Christmas morning. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," she said rolling her eyes. "Lie down."

Harry obeyed and lay down on the cold snow. He looked expectantly up at Hermione. The ground was cold and wet and he was starting to think that perhaps her idea to spend the afternoon curled up in front of the fire had been the better suggestion.

Hermione positioned herself a few feet away from him. She turned to look at him, her cheeks red and her eyes shining from the cold.

"Okay," she said. "You're going to just brush your arms between your head and waist in a sweeping motion. Like this...and then you'll just make your legs go apart and bring them back together...just like this..."

Hermione was laughing as she demonstrated what he was supposed to do. Harry had never seen her look so beautiful, carefree and happy.

"Come on Harry!" she called out breaking him out of his reverie. "You can't just lie there!"

"Okay," Harry said then mimicked her movements. He too started to laugh and they were both in hysterics as they made their snow angels. Tears were streaming down Hermione's cheeks as she gently stood up to survey their work, Harry followed after a final sweep of his arms.

"Yours is much better than mine," Harry commented thoughtfully.

"Yours is nice too," Hermione said pretending to examine it very carefully. "The wing span leaves something to be desired..."

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed. "This was my first time! I'm sure with practice, I'll be much better! Even better than you!"

Hermione shook her head. "You have a long way to go..."

"You should be very afraid, Granger," Harry said, sliding his arms around her waist. "I've got your number."

Hermione smiled and kissed him. "I've got yours..."

"You sure do," Harry whispered, resting his forehead on hers. "What do you say we go back inside?"

"I'd say 'What are we waiting for?'" Hermione answered.

They somehow made their way back to the castle; a task that was made even more difficult because they kissed nearly every step of the way. A little voice in the back of Hermione's head tried to remind her that anyone could be looking out the window at this very moment and see how they were carrying on, but she could care less at the moment.

They did manage to control themselves when they got back into the castle and up the stairs to the staff quarters. Once they were in Hermione's bedroom, Harry kicked the door shut with his foot and then took Hermione's mouth in a fast, hard kiss. Their self-restraint puddled to the floor in much the same way as their clothes, they stumbled backward and fell in a tangled heap onto the bed.

Hermione laughed. "This is what we should have been doing all along."

"That's what I tried to tell you," Harry said looking down at her. "But did you listen? No..."

"I can be quite stubborn," she admitted.

"I know," Harry said kissing her again. "One of the many things I love about you..."

"One of them?"

"Aye," he whispered. "And there's something else I love too..."

************** ******************** ********************

A few days later, the Christmas holidays were in full swing. Wizards and witches of all ages, sizes and shapes were packed into the stores all along Diagon Alley, as was most of the cobblestone-lined street. It was the kind of atmosphere that Ron Weasley usually detested. Shopping wasn't his thing, save Quality Quidditch Supplies where he always stopped to look over the latest in racing brooms.

But today he hadn't stepped foot in his favorite shop and found that he really didn't mind. Ron and Luna struggled through the crowd in Flourish & Blotts so she could purchase some books for her father. Apparently, he was really into paranormal theory which prompted the purchase of four large tomes on the subject.

Ron struggled with the bag, wishing he'd thought to shrink it down, but he couldn't reach his wand at the moment where it lay dormant inside his cloak pocket. It seemed fate had it in for him but he wasn't about to let Luna know he was having a problem, that was, until he nearly spilled the contents of both bags when he opened the door for her.

"I can carry some of those you know," Luna said as she walked past him.

"I've got it," Ron said, forcing a smile. "No worries."

Luna didn't look so sure, but she didn't say anything. She pulled out her shopping list and crossed off a few more names. She usually wasn't one to leave her Christmas shopping until the last minute, but getting settled back in London then back into her normal routine had kept her preoccupied.

Ron had stopped by the Quibbler offices and asked if she'd fancy coming to lunch. Luna had told him that, in actuality, she was done for the day and had planned on doing a bit of last minute Christmas shopping. She'd been quite surprised to hear him volunteer to tag along but it had been nice to have the company.

Ron, however, had been mostly quiet throughout the day.

"You're being such a Scrooge, Ronald."

"I'm not," Ron said defensively. "I'm just a little knackered from trailing after you all day. I never would have pegged you as a shopaholic, Loony."

"I'm not usually," Luna replied. "But I like shopping for my friends and family. I usually like making things for them, but I didn't have the time this year."

"What sorts of things do you make for them?" Ron asked.

Luna looked thoughtfully at him. "I've made some nice little bracelets for some ladies in the office and I'll make biscuits for some of the blokes. My peanut butter chocolate chip biscuits are always a big hit."

"You can bake?" Ron asked smiling at her. "Ron couldn't believe his luck---she was beautiful, smart, and she could cook.

"Yes," Luna said. "Ever since I was little, I kind of had to. My dad's not much of a cook. We'd have had to exist on takeaway alone if I'd not learned a thing or two in the kitchen. I'm nowhere near as good as your mum, of course."

"Maybe someday I can come by and let you know," Ron asked feeling a little bold. He'd asked her out a few times now and each time she'd gingerly put him off. He knew she was reluctant to get involved, but he knew his reputation had a great deal to do with that.

Luna had made it quite clear that she wanted to remain just friends. The more time Ron spent with her, however, the more he came to realize how much he wanted to be more than that with her. She was unlike anybody he'd ever met before. Why had he not noticed it before? Why had he been such a jerk when they were at Hogwarts?

"That'd be nice," Luna answered, surprising him. "Maybe we can get together after the holiday when things aren't so hectic?"

He'd gotten so used to hearing her say no that at first he wasn't quite sure he'd heard her correctly.

"I understand," he started to say. "Maybe some other time..."

"I said yes, Ronald," Luna said looking quizzically at him. "I think it'd be lovely to have you over. Daddy would certainly love to get to know you."

"He knows me by now, doesn't he?"

Luna shook her head. "Not really. Right now he just knows you as this crazy bloke who keeps skulking around after his daughter."

"Is that what you think too?" Ron asked.

Luna looked thoughtfully at him. "No. Of course I don't think you're crazy."

Ron beamed at her.

"Just a little strange," Luna said dryly.

"Gee thanks," Ron said nudging her with one of the bags. "Well I must be crazy to be traipsing around after you all day..."

"It could have been worse, Ronald," Luna pointed out. "I could be trying on dress robes in one of those posh shops while you sat outside holding my bags."

"Thank Merlin for small favors, eh?" Ron said with a laugh. "So, uh, where to next?"

Luna slowed her pace so Ron could catch up. "Well, we could either go into Madam Malkin's to try on dress robes or we could go grab a bite to eat."

"Oooh!" Ron exclaimed. "I vote for getting a bite to eat!"

Luna laughed. "You sure you don't want to go and try on dress robes?"

"Positive," Ron said. "I want fresh bread and beef stew. Come on, Luna, I'm dying here."

"Okay then," Luna said, pushing her way through the crowd toward one of the restaurants. The place was full and Ron wondered impatiently how long they'd have to wait for a table.

"I'm sorry sir," an old witch with long curly hair told them. "We're quite busy today. Let me just check and see if we can fit you in..."

The woman disappeared behind a curtain and Ron heard his stomach growling. He turned bright red when Luna looked at him with an amused expression on her face.

It seemed to take forever for the witch to come back and when she did, Ron took her smile as a good sign.

"We do happen to have a table in the back. There's a young couple willing to share their table with you. He's quite famous actually," the witch said with a wink.

"Really?" Ron asked with a smile. "Cool. Perhaps we'll be able to get an autograph."

Luna giggled and they set off behind the witch through the crowded restaurant toward the table.

"Who do you suppose it is?" Ron asked Luna.

"I don't know," Luna said. "Maybe it's Stubby Boardman!"

Ron laughed and was about to turn around to tell Luna that she couldn't possibly believe Sirius Black was still Stubby Boardman when his eyes fell on the two people sitting at the table with two empty chairs. He blinked several times to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. This couldn't be happening. What were the odds that something like this would happen?

"Only to me," he grumbled under his breath.

"Here we are," the witch said brightly. She set their menus down at the table. "Sir?"

Ron couldn't move.

"Hello, Luna," the bloke said with a weak smile. "Hello, Ron."

Ron glared at him. "Hello, Harry."