A huge thanks to James, one of my reviewers. I had forgotten all about the locket. The other Horcrux. Or at least, what most people think is the other Horcrux. That gave me a great idea to stop this mushiness and really end this story with a bang! So thank you so so much. Also, the one anonymous reviewer who keeps copying and pasting my work into her reviews and never saying anything that I didn't write, if you don't stop, I am going to file a complaint with Portkey. What you are doing is ridiculous, and plagiarism. I hope you remember that this time. It's unacceptable, and I won't take it. So, here we go, the wedding! Oh, and while I did request a girls' name for Harry and Hermione's baby, I never said that the first child was going to be a girl. Their second one will be, and I already picked out a name for the first.
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Hermione woke at six thirty on her wedding day. She stretched, noticed briefly that she'd decided to stay in her quarters at Hogwarts and wondered if she had any clothes in her quarters. She didn't normally stay there, and didn't remember stocking the room. It took her a full thirty seconds to realize that it was her wedding day, and that that was why she was there and not in her house.
With a strangled yell, Hermione leapt from bed and dashed into the bathroom. Around the room, Ginny, Alisa, Luna, Penelope and Katherine all woke, and watched Hermione with amusement. They could see her in the bathroom hurriedly scrubbing her face with one hand while her charmed toothbrush brushed her teeth and brushing her hair with the other hand.
Ginny managed to drag herself from her bed first and stumbled into the bathroom. "Herms, it's six thirty. You've got eleven and a half hours. The wedding doesn't start until six."
"Not enough time. Not nearly enough time. There was a schedule. We're behind on the schedule. My alarm was set for four thirty. I'm two hours behind the schedule. Ginny, did you turn off my alarm?"
Ginny didn't answer either way. "There was absolutely no reason for you to get up at four thirty. Look, let me get an elf to bring up breakfast and we'll eat, lay around for a little while and then start getting ready around noon. We can go for a swim."
Hermione glared at her Maid of Honor. "Would you have let anyone see you in a bathing suit at five months pregnant?"
Ginny acknowledged the point. "All right then. How about a movie? There are plenty of Muggle movies around here? We'll watch a movie or two and then get ready. Give you time to relax and think about your lists before the hairdresser and makeup artist gets here. And then your parents are going to be here at two. Your Mom's going to get ready in here and your Dad is going to go torture Harry."
That made Hermione giggle. "Dad really likes to torture Harry. But he loves Harry like the son he never had." Hermione quoted in a fair impression of her father.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Isn't that the truth? Okay, come on, let's go get breakfast. I know I'm starving, and I want to eat before Carys wakes up and insists on being fed too."
Hermione sent one longing look at the sink and the rows of makeup the artist had sent for her to look at, then nodded. "All right. Breakfast it is, but I want French toast."
"French toast coming right up."
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Harry tossed and turned, plagued by a dream. Voldemort was alive again, coming back, killing Hermione and their baby. And then there was darkness, a cold, unending blackness that surrounded him, pressing down on him, smothering him. He wasn't alone, though he couldn't see anyone.
"Harry."
Harry, consumed by his dream, whirled around, and all his mind was telling him was that the voice was real. It was as if his brain couldn't distinguish between the dream, and reality. "Who's there?"
Dumbledore appeared, resplendent in flowing purple robes, hair swirling around him, looking much healthier that Harry had ever seen him. His hand was no longer withered, but strong and healthy. "There is one more, Harry. The sixth Horcrux still exists."
Harry shook his head, denial rushing through him. "We destroyed them all."
"No. The cave. The one in the cave is still intact. Slytherin's locket. It belonged to his only daughter. You must find and destroy it."
"But Voldemort is dead!" Harry yelled, unwilling to believe that there was still danger to be faced. "I killed him!"
"In body yes, as you did many years ago. But his spirit will always exist so long as there is a Horcrux left intact. It must be destroyed or there is a chance that he can find a corporeal form again."
Harry shook his head in a last ditch effort to make it untrue. "It's over, Professor! It's been three years!"
"Three years during which there has been a gathering of those Death Eaters left alive. During which Voldemort has regained enough strength to show himself as a ghost. He has no soul, Harry. And that makes him more dangerous than ever he was before. But if you find and destroy the locket before he regains a body, he will simply cease to exist. But you must go quickly. For the Death Eaters are already looking, and they know who took it."
Resigned that his destiny was not yet completed, Harry plowed his hands through his hair. "Who took it?"
"Regalus Black."
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Harry woke, his breath coming in sharp gasps, sweat running down his neck and back. He tossed the blankets aside and ran into the common room of the dorms where he and his groomsmen has spent the night before. A quick glance told him that he was the last one up.
"I need to see Hermione. Ron, Draco, you have to come too."
While Ron thought that Harry was just missing his fiancée and dismissed the demand with a chuckle, Draco recognized panic on his friends' face. "What's happened? What's wrong?"
"It's Voldemort. He's back."
That got everyone's attention. Draco held up a hand to silence them. "What do you mean, he's back?"
"I mean, we missed a Horcrux. The one we thought was destroyed. The one that Dumbledore and I went after in the cave. It's still intact. Which means…"
Draco finished the sentence. "That Voldemort's essence still exists and that he can eventually get another body like he did before unless we find it and destroy it."
Harry nodded. "Exactly. And I know what it is."
Ron waved his hands impatiently. "Well, what is it?"
"A locket that Slytherin had made for his daughter."
Draco nodded. "I remember that. Dad had it at one point in time. Mom was a descendent of Slytherin, and got the locket when she was married. It got lost in a move though, before I was born. I just remember Mom complaining about it when they had a fight one time."
"Sirius' brother was the one who took it." Harry looked at Ron. "We saw it the summer before our fifth year. That huge, heavy old locket in the closet of the Black place that we found when we were helping Sirius clean out the house at Grimmauld Place."
Ron nodded. "That big old thing that looked like a cheap piece of costume jewelry?"
"That's the one." Draco agreed, heading up the steps. "I'll go get dressed and then we'll go see Hermione. Harry, Ron, I would suggest the two of you changed out of your pajamas as well."
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Hermione was going over her lists for a fifth time and studiously ignoring the movie playing on the screen, when someone knocked on the door. Ginny had chosen Sweet Home Alabama, and the other women were immersed in it. Seeing that no one else had even heard the knock, Hermione heaved herself off of the couch and walked to the door. When she saw her fiancé on the other side, she slammed the door in his face.
"Harry James Potter! You know very well that you aren't allowed to see the bride on her wedding day!"
Harry sighed. "I know that, Hermione, but this is an emergency. And Draco and Ron are here too."
"That doesn't make a difference."
"You aren't in your dress yet are you? The wedding isn't for eight hours."
"No, I'm not in my dress. And you still can't come in."
Draco elbowed Harry. "You're just going to have to tell her what's going on. Then she'll let you in."
Harry nodded. "Herms, we have a big problem."
"What?"
"I had a dream last night."
Hermione huffed. "That's a big problem? Everyone dreams every night Harry, there's nothing unusual about that."
"No, Herms, it was like the prophetic ones I had when we were in school about Voldemort."
Hermione was suddenly scared. "If you had a dream that we won't make it, then I swear to God I am going to kill you and be rid of you. There is no way in heaven or hell you are going to dump me on my wedding day. Not and expect to live through it."
"I'm not calling off the wedding. Voldemort isn't dead, `Mione."
"Of course he is. You killed him. I gave you my power, and you killed him. Simple as that. I watched you."
"No, not simple as that. The Horcrux we thought was destroyed? The one Dumbledore and I went after in the cave? It's still out there. It's a locket that Salazar Slytherin had made for his only daughter. It's the one we found at Sirius' house that one summer that we couldn't get to open."
Hermione opened the door, resigned. "All right. When do we leave?"
Draco preempted Harry. "After the wedding. Tonight is soon enough. There's no reason that you two can't have your wedding. After all, there're nearly a thousand people coming. This is the biggest wedding since that of Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor. There's no way you can just call it off or postpone it on the day of the wedding."
Hermione tossed her arms around Draco. "Thank you! I would've gone, but I really want to have my wedding before we go off and save the world again."
Draco patted her back. "No problem. Now, let's discuss what we're going to do about this, and then get the wedding on the road."
Hermione shook her head. "No. You guys go get Sirius, see if he remembers where he put those boxes that we threw out. That'll save us a lot of time and effort. And I bet he remembers. Draco or Ron can come up and tell me. Harry, you stay away." She shied back when he started to reach for her. "Oh, no Casanova. You can't touch me."
Harry looked at Hermione. "Herms, it's sounding like we don't get a Honeymoon. Let me at least kiss you good bye."
Hermione considered that for a few seconds, then shook her head. "Sorry. I'll see you in eight hours."
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Hermione was stressed to the max. However, not because of her wedding. That was pulling together wonderfully. Her hair was magnificent, curling around her face, and piled in an elegant twist at the back of her head. The highlights she still wouldn't admit she liked were gorgeous, accentuating her caramel eyes. Her makeup was wonderful as well, light and natural, with her eyes lined in emerald to make them stand out, copper on her lids and mouth, and peachy pink on her cheeks. She looked dewy and glowy, with impending motherhood and marriage.
The dress was a creation Hermione hadn't thought possible. Even with her burgeoning belly, which still wasn't very large, but big enough to impede the fit of her pre pregnancy clothes, managed to make her look like she wasn't pregnant. The waist was empire, set just beneath her breasts, which drew the eye to the neckline, which was low, and square across her breasts.
The skirt was full, flowing out from her body in a cloud of satin and lace. There was a train, embroidered with flowers that stretched a couple feet behind her. The bodice was snug, sucking her belly in even further, but not tight enough to hurt her child, and spattered with the same flowers that decorated the train. The skirt was much the same. The dress was strapless, and Hermione had hit the gym six times a week for three months to tone her arms and shoulders to wear it. She'd always been slim, but never toned. She'd wanted to look perfect for her wedding.
The Maid of Honor was dressed in green. It matched her hair and her eyes, and was deep and beautiful. The dress was floor length, Ginny had insisted upon it, and a halter style. It showed off her back, and her shoulders, both of which were perfect. Hermione had growled over that for a week while working out with Ginny. Ginny's hair was in a French twist at the nape of her neck, with tendrils framing her face. She was gorgeous.
The Bridesmaids were wearing similar dresses, but they weren't identical. They were all deep teal. The color was rich, and the dresses were long. That was all they had in common. Alisa had gone with strapless and a high slit to show off her legs. Penelope, the most conservative of the three had decided on spaghetti strapped, and no slip. The dress relied purely on her shape to make it beautiful, and Penelope had a wonderful shape. Katherine had taken her queue from Ginny and worn a halter dress. Hers was plain, other that the sequins scattered over the skirt.
They all looked wonderful, and Hermione was very happy with the way that everyone had turned out. She had less than half an hour until she was to be married, and she was sitting on the couch in her quarters, Draco on one side, Sirius on the other, and they were developing a plan to get back the last Horcrux. That was where the stress came in.
"Okay, Sirius, you took all the boxes and donated them to the Organization to Assist Disabled and Underprivileged Witches and Wizards?"
Sirius nodded. "And now I wish I'd have just put them in storage like I thought about doing."
"That isn't a huge deal. It's better for us actually. I have a friend who works there. She'll let me see their records. That way I can find out if it's still sitting on a shelf somewhere, or if it was distributed." Hermione patted her hair absently, making sure it was still in place. "Seeing as it's a Slytherin artifact, it may just be lying around somewhere, or have been given to the Ministry."
Draco nodded. "That, I agree with. The OADUWW doesn't like to give out things that might possibly be dangerous to anyone."
Hermione ran her hand over her skirt, checking for loose threads or any smudges. "So we'll head over there as soon as we're done here. It's a Saturday, and it'll be in the evening, but I think I can get Lavender to let us in."
Draco choked on the drink of Pumpkin Juice he'd just taken. "Lavender Brown works in the OADUWW?"
"Yeah. She's the vice president. I'll contact her after the wedding. She's supposed to come." Hermione consulted her guest list. "Yeah. She RSVP'd already. She'll be here." Hermione looked up as her father walked in. "Is it time?"
Blake Granger nodded. "Yup. It's time. Draco, you need to go join Harry and the groomsmen in the Great Hall. Sirius, you need to take your seat as well. Ladies, let's line up."
Hermione hadn't had time to be nervous until that moment, as she slipped her hand into her father's arm. "Who's marrying us again?"
Blake laughed as they took their place behind Ginny. "That would be Arthur, sweetheart. The new Minister of Magic."
Hermione nodded. "Right. Are we ready to go?"
Blake watched the bridesmaids move down the hall to the door of the Great Hall. At McGonagall's direction, they each walked down the aisle and took their place. It had been less than two minutes since Draco had taken his place next to Ron. "We're ready." Blake looked at his daughter. "Are you sure you want to do this? It isn't too late to call it off and come home and live like a Muggle. You could have your old room back."
Hermione smiled up at her father. "I'm sure, Daddy. I love him, and I want to marry him."
"Okay then. Here we go."
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Harry couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione. He barely noticed the other bridesmaids as they lined up, but nothing could have torn his eyes off of his bride. Then before he knew it, Hermione's hand was in his, and Blake was sitting down. The couple turned to Arthur Weasley, who was still looking quite uncomfortable in his Minister's robes. Arthur cleared his throat.
"These two people are standing in front of you today to make a commitment to one another. A commitment to love, honor and cherish. But much more than that, to trust, to help, to rely on one another. This is a union that should not be taken lightly, and is of much more than the body. It is a union of the heart, the soul. If there is anyone here with a reason why these two should not marry, please speak now, or forever hold your peace."
Hermione wanted desperately to look around. Though she was pretty positive that no one there was going to object, she was terrified that someone would. That Voldemort would burst in and kill them all. That something bad would happen.
And then, Arthur was continuing. "Very well. Harry and Hermione have written their own vows. Harry, you will go first."
Harry cleared his throat, not entirely sure that he could talk. He locked his eyes onto Hermione's. "Herms, we met when we were eleven years old. We didn't like each other then. I thought you were a brainiac know it all, and you thought I was an annoying famous boy with a hero complex." Hermione laughed, and Harry gained a little confidence. "Well, we were both right. You are a know it all, and I suppose I do have a hero complex. But together, we always managed to muddle through everything that came at us. We always had help from Ron, but over the years we were in school, we learned to depend on one another, to trust each other with our very lives. I think I fell in love with you in our second year when you got frozen by the Basilisk. I remember sitting by your bed, holding your hand and wishing that you were there so that you could tell me the answers. You always had them, `Mione.
"Whenever I had a problem, it was you I went to, you I trusted. You were always more the hero that I was. You used that infallible logic of yours to get us through every problem that we had. What we went through together in the last twelve years is more than most people go through in a lifetime. And it's bound us together. You taught me what it was to succeed. To be good at what I loved, to pursue my dreams. You showed me that I could do what I needed to do, even when the odds said I couldn't. I don't think I ever heard you say can't in all the time I've known you. From Polyjuice Potion at twelve, to gilly weed at fourteen. Timeturners, and hippogriffs, and the Department of Mysteries, to the battle our sixth year. The challenges to get my parents and Sirius back, defeating Voldemort. Having a baby, a career, planning a wedding. You took everything on and refused to admit you couldn't do anything. And it was that determination that allowed you to do it all. It's part of what made me fall in love with you.
"I promise I'll always be here for you. That I'll love you no matter what, and that you're my world. You're the woman I love, and the only one I'll ever love. You've saved my life, in more than one way. I love you Hermione, and sometimes, when things got really bad, you were the only reason I kept going. The one reason I kept fighting a battle I didn't think I could win. You scared me to death every time you fought. I was so afraid to lose you I couldn't breathe. You made me the happiest man on the planet when you said you'd marry me. And standing here, in front of all these people, to think that the most incredible woman that has ever been born is willing to spend the rest of her life with me? It just blows my mind, and makes me feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest at any second. For a long time, you and Ron were my family. The only people I knew would always be there. And I never felt alone with you there. I always felt like I had a place. And it took me a long time to realize that that place is right here, with you, pledging our lives and our love to one another. I love you, Hermione. More than I've loved anyone in my entire life. And I am staggered that you would marry me. Thank you, `Mione, for loving me, and seeing more in me than the scrawny little boy with a hero complex that didn't know where to go next. It's because of you that I'm where I am today, and I am so thankful that I get the chance to spend the rest of my life with the one woman that I have ever loved."
Hermione was crying by the time that Harry finished his vows, and damning him for making her ruin her makeup. She decided that protocol could go to hell. She reached out and hugged Harry, holding on to him for a long minute while she got herself back under control. When she released him, she felt steady enough to recite her own vows.
"I had this whole speech planned, about how much I loved you, and how far we've come, and all the things we've been through making us stronger. But darn you, Harry, for writing something that good. Everything I had down seems inadequate now." Hermione smiled through the tears, and managed a laugh.
"You're right. I was a brainiac know it all and you were a scrawny little famous boy with a hero complex who didn't know where to turn next. Add in the best friend a boy or girl could ever possibly want, as well as one of the bravest people I know who was suffering from a bit of a case of her worship, and you've yourself a team. But we didn't do it, Harry. You did. You defeated Quirrell in the chamber with the mirror of Erised. You killed the basilisk. You saved Buckbeak and helped Sirius escape from Azkaban. You won the TriWizard Tournament, and defeated Voldemort in our fifth year. You destroyed the Horcruxes and saved all our lives more times that I can count. And you could have done it all alone. Ultimately, Ron and I were just your friends. Friends who loved you, and would have died for you, certainly, but you were the hero. But the hero isn't who I fell in love with.
"I love you because of who you are, not what you are. I love the boy who stumbled over his Potions homework, and was always breaking his glasses. I love the man who still mixes up ingredients in potions and can't scramble an egg to save his life. I fell in love with the Harry the world doesn't get to see. The one who struggles with what's right, and what has to be done, because we realized long ago that those two aren't always the same. The one who always watched a Quidditch game and yearned to be out there playing, not because of the fame or the money, but because you loved the game. The one who loves me despite the fact that I'm bossy and an insufferable know it all. Because I am, and everyone who knows me knows it.
"You aren't the only one who was scared. I ran to you plenty too. For advice sometimes, but mostly because you were the one person in the world who I would believe when they'd tell me that it would be okay. You'd hug me and say that everything would work out and it would all be fine, and I always believed you. And it was always okay. It always worked out. I trusted you with my life and my heart and my love, and you've never put any of those in danger. I fell in love with you, Harry, when you saved me from that troll. I'll never forget how you looked, up in the air, sticking your wand up its nose and nearly dying yourself because you wouldn't leave me there. That's when it occurred to me that you didn't have a hero complex. You were, you are, a hero.
"You're going to be a wonderful father, and a terrific husband. You're incapable of being selfish, and you never take anything for granted. I love you, Harry, and it should be me thanking you for loving me. Because I'm the one that's blessed. I fell in love with a hero. And somehow, he loves me back. And I'll thank fate for that all my life. The life that I get to spend with the only man I've loved, the father of my child, and the man I will love even after I die."
Arthur was tearing up himself. He sniffled before continuing the ceremony. "Hermione, do you accept Harry's vows and take him as your husband?"
Hermione's voice was somehow strong. "I do."
"Harry, do you accept Hermione's vows and take her as your wife?"
Harry nodded. "I do."
"Then by the power given to be by the Ministry of Magic, I pronounce you husband and wife. Harry, you may kiss your bride."
An army of Death Eaters couldn't have stopped him from doing just that. He took his wife in his arms, and kissed her lavishly. When he released her, she simply threw her arms around him and kissed him again, deep and passionate. She pulled back and tucked her arm through his. "That was for not letting you kiss me earlier."
Harry grinned. "It was worth the wait."
Hermione sensed that he wasn't talking about the kiss. "It certainly was. Now, let's go save the world. Again."
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I hope you liked it. I had originally planned for the next chapter to the about the births, but as you can probably tell, there's a new spin that I hadn't intended upon. So it might take me up to thirty chapters or so. Maybe a little less, but probably no more. Don't forget to send in your name suggestions, vote in the competition, and review! Next chapter up tomorrow!
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