A/N: Big thanks to all those who are reviewing this story! It makes my day, warms my heart and makes me want to keep writing!
The movie quote from the last chapter: "I'm a snow beast" from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Nia Vardalos' character Toula Portokalos says this when she sees herself in her entire wedding ensemble. I didn't expect many to get that one! Gold stars to: MapleMountain, SmileyRhi, flamingo, and good old Anonymous (I suppose you know who you are, since I sure don't).
I had a request by a reviewer to see a picture of Hermione's wedding gown. Ask and ye shall receive! Go here to see that. And go here to see her engagement ring. Try to imagine one ruby and one sapphire as the side jewels. And I know none of these rings are finished, but feel free to pick a ring for her. I personally prefer the gold ones with a round stone. But choose your own for the story! Don't forget, this is an old ring. A Potter family heirloom.
Oh and you'll notice that a character is in this chapter that shouldn't technically be here. Well, I can't get rid of him; I just love him too much. Sorry!
*****
As I slowly wake, I begin to curse sunlight. It's too bloody bright in here! But the question becomes, why? I know I shut the curtains …
"Rise and shine, beautiful!" Harry yells from the window. Why is he opening those?
I express my annoyance at him, but I doubt he understood my grumble.
"Hermione, it's time to wake up! You'll be late for work!" he says.
With that, I fly out of bed only to find him standing there, holding a breakfast tray and laughing at me.
It takes me a second, but then I realize, classes are not in session. It's the summer holiday. Hogwarts employees only report to the castle a few days a week and this is not one of them.
"Harry James Potter!" I scream. "Why did you do that to me?"
I'm back in bed now, preparing to bury my head in the pillows and forget that I'm engaged to this man for a few hours of blissful sleep.
"First of all, you've slept a great deal, since it's about 11 o'clock. And second of all, I would think you would like a nice breakfast - or should I say brunch at this point - in bed."
"Oh! Well, in that case, you're forgiven!" I say, sitting up and looking at the wonderful breakfast he made. Harry really is a great cook. I hate that it probably stemmed from the Dursleys making him cook so much, but Harry insists that it's good he can take something positive from that experience. Leave it to Harry.
After he gets the breakfast set up, he begins to feed me.
"Harry, I'm not a child," I say.
"No, but this is just me being nice. What's so wrong with that?"
"Nothing's wrong with that. It's just that a girl could get used to this," I say as I accept another bite of eggs.
"Well, get used to it, because I love you so much that we can do this any day you want."
"Well, not everyday," I tell him. "Wouldn't you rather sleep in?"
"Perhaps. We shall see, I suppose." He's barely paying attention to what we're talking about since he seems to engrossed in me. A girl could definitely get used to this.
Far too soon, breakfast is over and it's time to get ready. Today is going to be a roller coaster of a day. We're going to lunch with my mother, the biological one. Then we're heading to Grimmauld Place for dinner with Sirius. At least we're ending the day on a good note.
Once it's time to leave, I feel the nerves kicking in.
"Harry, maybe we just shouldn't go."
"Hermione, this was your idea. Besides, it might be nice to show the woman how wonderful you turned out … without her. The birthday and occasional Christmas cards do not count as raising. Your father did that with some help from Emily."
"I know. Maybe this will be practice for when we see the Dursleys."
"Yeah, right."
I can tell he's just as thrilled about seeing them as I am about seeing Miranda. But I guess it's one of those things. Family makes you do strange things, even if they are estranged. (Or just plain strange)
"Well, we'd better get going. Don't want to be late," he says, adopting a far too cheery tone.
"Yes, right," I say, mocking him. "God knows we'll have to Apparate somewhere safe and walk in. No magic near the Uber-Muggle!"
"Uber-Muggle" was a term that Harry coined one night when he was beyond drunk, beyond pissed, beyond anything you can imagine. It was right after graduation and we were all out celebrating, forgetting for just a few hours that Voldemort still didn't make his big move. We were discussing the events of the day and our families that were there for us during graduation. Needless to say, Miranda was not in attendance.
"You know, Her-buy-for-me," he began with his drunken nickname for me since "Hermione" never seemed to come out right. "I can't believe your mother didn't come to your graduation. Your mother is beyond Muggle. And I have nothing against Muggles! My grandparents were Muggles! Your parents are Muggles! But, Her-buy-for-me, your real mother is an Uber-Muggle! She wouldn't know magic if it bit her on the nose!"
We all laughed and laughed at that and the name stuck.
"Very true," he agrees with a kiss on my nose. Then we Apparate to the nearest safe zone, walking 5 blocks to get to a very awkward lunch. It really didn't seem worth it.
When we get there, of course, Miss Prompt is already there and looking ready to order. Perhaps I got my punctuality from her.
"Hermione! Here!" she calls. Of course, all eyes fall on her (which is just what she wants since she's in her "I'm independent, pay attention to me!" phase) as she calls her me over like I'm a dog.
"Hello, mother." I choke out the words as we sit down.
"Hermione. And this is?" she asks, condescendingly.
"This is Harry, mother. I know I've told you about him. Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter? Oh, you went to school with him, didn't you?" she asks, narrowing her eyes as she looks at him.
"Yes."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Harry," Miranda says as she extends her hand like she's meeting a new colleague or one of her patients.
"And it's nice to meet you as well," he replies in the same cold manner. He knows that she has met him before at the train station after our first year, but of course she wouldn't remember that. "Hermione has told me so much about you," he adds.
That was very true. So many nights I would cry to Harry that my mother, once again, didn't return my letter, or didn't send me a Christmas card.
"I wish I could say the same," she says.
"Mother, I have told you! I wrote to you about Harry and Ron and my Gryffindor friends all the time!"
She brushes me off and turns back to Harry. "And I assume that you're the same as Hermione, since you went to that school?"
"Why yes I am," Harry answers. "And I'm very proud to be a graduate of Hogwarts. For many reasons."
She humphs and the conversation dies.
The waiter comes and takes our orders. We all order small lunches in the hopes that they'll be ready sooner.
It's dreadfully quiet as we wait for our meals. Finally, lunch arrives and we each tear into our food to get this over with.
Once the feeding frenzy is almost over, my mother speaks.
"Well, I suppose there's a reason that an owl delivered an invitation to this lunch and I doubt it was to catch up." She whispers the word "owl" as if it were a dirty word or something that shouldn't be spoken of.
I smiled. Harry insisted that we send Hedwig to "invite" my mother to lunch, knowing that it would annoy her to no end.
"As a matter of fact, there is a reason. Mother, Harry and I are getting married," I blurt out.
"What?!" she screeches.
"Married. You know, becoming husband and wife?" Harry explains like she's a toddler.
"Thank you, Harry, I know what it means! And I completely disapprove!"
I roll my eyes. No big shock there.
"Well, I didn't come to ask for your opinion! I came to tell you because I thought you might care since you're my mother. But, of course, I was wrong."
"Oh, I care! Hermione, you are too young!"
"I'll be 20 in September! I can make my own decisions! You have no idea what Harry and I have been through to get to where we are and we think - no, we know that we are ready to take this step! But you wouldn't know, would you, since you haven't been a part of my life for years."
"Hermione, think of the children!" she snips.
"Don't go there!" I bark at her.
"Children? What about them?" Harry asks, apparently forgetting for a second that my mother regards us as abnormalities.
"Well, they'll probably be like … you," she says, careful not to let the other restaurant patrons know that her daughter and future-son-in-law were freaks of nature.
"You know what? I don't care if they are or they aren't! I'll love my children unconditionally, unlike you! Whether they take after their father and I or not, fine! As long as I have healthy, happy children, I could care less where they … go to our school." I had to be careful with my choice of words as well, but only to keep myself out of a Ministry of Magic office.
"And since I didn't come here to get your blessing, or opinions, I think we're done here. I knew this would be a mistake," I mutter as I begin digging through my purse for money, but Harry already has some out. He's put his hand on my arm to stop me from rushing out.
"Miranda, before we go, I think you should know something. Hermione didn't have to tell you any of this. But because she's a good person, she decided you should know. We could have gotten married, moved to China and you would have never known any differently because you barely speak to your only child."
I knew Harry was furious at this point. It was always very eerie to hear him speak like this. He sounded so calm, but his eyes showed such rage.
"Now, I know you don't like me, solely because I am one of 'those people,'" he adds with finger quotes. "The ones that only serve to interrupt your normalcy. Well, I'm sorry, but normal to Hermione and I is to carry wands and do spells. Ok? You don't like it? Fine! I don't give a damn! Hermione and I have been through hell in the last few weeks. Did you know she almost died? Probably not. Let me tell you then. She almost died trying to save me. I almost died trying to save the entire bloody planet. If not for us, you would probably be enslaved under the most evil wizard the world has ever known. Or you may very well be dead. See, he didn't take too well to non-magic folk, just like you don't take to us. And you know what happened? Pain, death and tragedy. And that pain could have been a hell of a lot worse if not for your daughter. But, since you never put forth the effort to have a relationship with her, you wouldn't know that. So, go ahead, forbid our marriage! Whatever. But know that your words mean nothing since she means nothing to you. Her father gave me permission to marry her. And I respect his opinion because he respects ours. And he has been there for her when she needed a parent. He was her mother and her father for a while there and that, I think, is a pretty damn important piece of her life. At least she had someone tell her that she was loved. It's hard for me to respect anyone who wasn't there for their child -- their only child -- because it would have been hard for them to stay. Now, if you even want to be invited to this wedding, I suggest you shape up and start thinking about your daughter. Be the parent you never were. Be the adult for once and stop making your daughter take the high road for you. If you want to get in touch with us, my owl will know and she will come to fetch a letter. Now, good day, Miranda. Think about what I said."
And with that, Harry pushes up a bit on my arm to signify we're leaving. I would have realized this myself if not for the fact that I am sitting in awe. That was amazing!
He tosses down the money and takes my hand.
I wave goodbye with my other hand and say, "Goodbye, mother."
Once we get outside, I am laughing like an idiot.
"What are you laughing at?" he asks as we begin walking back to the Apparation point.
"Harry, that was brilliant! You rendered her speechless!"
"Yeah, but what if I just ruined any chance you may have had to make things up with her."
"Any chance there may have been, she ruined a long time ago," I tell him, hoping that he really doesn't feel too bad about this.
"Are you sure? I shouldn't have gone off like that."
"You were defending me, Harry! If anything, she should be happy that her daughter's fiancé will defend her against anyone. Including herself!"
Harry smiles.
"And what's this that you asked my father for permission to propose? When did you have time?" I ask as I suddenly remember that he said that.
"I sent him an owl probably 4 months before the battle. I was so lucky that you weren't home when Apollonia flew in with his reply."
Apollonia is my father's owl. He got her when I was in school to make correspondence easier. He named her after the Patron Saint of Dentists. We're not even Catholic. I don't ask.
"Do you know how many brownie points that must have scored for you?" I ask him.
"Quite a bit from what I can tell."
"You cemented your place in this family."
"I guess you're right and that feels wonderful. So, to Sirius'?" he asks as we get to the safe Apparation point.
"Please! I need a friendly face right about now."
And with that, we're whisking ourselves to Harry's godfather's house.
"Harry! Hermione! Wonderful to see you again!" Sirius cries as he runs towards us and pulls us into a group hug.
We cleared his name towards the end of our sixth year, but Sirius still tends to shy away from public. I can't blame him, since not everyone believes his innocence. That is why we're having dinner in tonight.
"Sirius, it's great to see you too," Harry says. "What's for dinner?"
"You tell me, you're our resident chef," Sirius replies.
Harry gives him a blank stare and then catches on. "Right, Sirius, what's for dinner?"
"Ok, ok. Never could get anything by you. Bloody second generation Marauders. Well, since I'm not the culinary genius of our Mr. Potter, we are having your basic spaghetti and meatballs. And for a bonus, garlic bread."
"Did you bake it or did it come from one of those cans that pop when you open them?" I ask sarcastically.
"Harry! When did your lovely fiancée become so feisty? No wonder we made her a Marauder as well!"
I smirk at him and he kisses the top of my head. "You would do Lily proud, my dear! You can keep even us original troublemakers on our toes! And to be honest, those cans hold some wonderful bread dough. As I am sure you will find out tonight! Come on, into the dining room, I'm starving!"
We follow him in and take our seats. And as he finishes making the dinner, Sirius notes the look on my face.
"Hermione? Is everything ok? Are you finally figuring out that you're shouldn't marry this one?" he jokes.
"Hey!" Harry says pretending to be offended.
"Nah, I think he's stuck with me," I reply. "We had a run in with my mother today."
"Emily? What did she do?"
"No, her biological mother. Miranda," Harry explained.
"Oh, that one. Well, my dear, consider the source. Harry has told me all about her and as far as I'm concerned, you're better off without her. I think Emily is a much better mother and you've got Harry here, not to mention all of the Weasleys, Remus and myself. So, don't see one bad apple as ruining the bunch, ok?"
"Sirius, you know me better than that," I say. "It's just hard. I mean, she actually doesn't want us to have children for fear that they're magical."
"Oh Merlin! This woman is a trip!"
"Imagine knowing that you're a blood relative of hers," I mutter.
"Well, let's forget all about her for tonight and have that delicious dinner I promised you," Sirius says while pulling me into a hug. I love this man; I don't know how anyone could have thought he killed his friends. If you know him at all, he's really a funny teddy bear.
"That sounds great! And I'm starving!" Harry announces. "I didn't have much lunch since I wanted to get out of one the most uncomfortable places I've ever been."
I look down, knowing that it was my fault.
"Mione, it's ok. At least I got to give that woman a piece of my mind. Sirius, you should have seen it! It was brilliant!"
Sirius gives a small chuckle not knowing if it was ok to laugh at my mother or not.
"Let it out, Sirius," I tell him. "It really was hysterical. The look on her face was priceless as Harry let her know that she had better … what was the term? Oh yes, 'shape up and start thinking about her daughter.' Oh Sirius, you would have loved it!"
Sirius finally let's out the laugh he was holding in, probably wishing that James could be here as well to laugh at his son doing that.
"You've done you're father proud," Sirius tells Harry as he motions for us to sit at the table. "He would have loved that!"
"He probably would have," Harry says with a bit of sadness.
"Oh, he saw it, Harry. And so did you mother. I'll bet right now she's torn between wanting to yell at you and wanting to praise you," I laugh.
Harry smiles at me and Sirius puts dinner in front of us.
"Ok, if it's terrible, eat it anyway because I slaved over a hot stove for it," he says as he takes his seat and begins to eat.
"Sirius! This is actually good!" Harry exclaims.
"Well, don't sound so shocked!" Sirius replies. "Hermione, help a man's ego. Is it ok?"
"It is really good, Sirius. Don't let Harry tell you otherwise!"
Sirius sticks his tongue out at Harry and we begin a wonderful meal. This completely makes up for lunch with my wicked mother. I begin to feel a lot better knowing that we've got family that loves us both so much that a few bad relatives won't ruin things for us.
After dinner is over, Harry and I are getting ready to leave.
"So, Sirius, we'll see you tomorrow, right?" Harry asks.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world. From what I hear, Emily and Molly are a bit fanatic about this wedding."
Tomorrow, all the families are getting together to get a planning session in. Locations and times and such. It's going to be an event.
"They are. I warn you, it's going to be dangerous," I say placing a kiss on Sirius' cheek.
"I thrive on chaos, my dear. I'll be there to keep everyone in line for you," he replies.
"Thanks, Sirius. We'll need it," Harry says, hugging his godfather.
"It's what I'm here for. Ok, you two, see you tomorrow. 2 pm sharp at the Burrow," Sirius says as he stands back a bit for us to Apparate.
"Right. See you then. Thanks for dinner," I say before I leave.
Harry doesn't arrive right behind me and I know that he and Sirius were having a bit of a moment, probably talking about Lily and James.
I take that moment to think about the day. While talking with my mother was pure hell, meeting Sirius was great. It reminded me that even with all of the bad that we'll have to go through with this wedding, the end result will be so worth it. It'll be a beautiful day and at the end of it all, I'll be Harry's wife. I'm willing to go through whatever is necessary to get to that point. Yeah, Emily and Molly are a bit crazy about the planning, but they'll get better. (Hopefully) And even if they don't get better, I now know that Harry can show that Boy Who Lived power to make people back down. We'll be fine and I know that now. As long as we have each other, we'll be fine.