Memories of a Headmistress: Wedding Day

A/N: This is another in my series. The timeline it follows can be found at http://fanfiction.portkey.org/index.php?act=read&storyid=5179. Again, I'm only playing with JK Rowling's characters. They belong to her, sadly.

November 2, 1999

Birds chirping woke me from a rather pleasant dream. It wasn't very often that I had good dreams with us being in the middle of the war. The first thing my conscious mind picked up was that the other side of the bed was rather cold. I wondered how long ago Harry had left his spot besides me. While we were engaged and shared a bed, we'd never fully consummated our relationship. I supposed it was that we still followed tradition despite this being a time where traditions were broken. Ron was evident of that as he and Luna already had a child and were only engaged as well. Molly nearly threw a fit when Luna made the announcement out of the blue last year. Though, she was quite happy to have something joyous happen during this gloom. It was hard to believe that Voldemort had taken over Hogwarts only a couple years ago, right after we graduated.

I finally stopped my musings when a sunbeam came through my window and reflected on my diamond ring. Harry had given it to me on our graduation. The glint of the diamond reminded me of what the day was: my wedding day. In this time of war, Harry and I had decided that a small formal ceremony would still be the best idea. Only a few family members were aware of what today was, as we couldn't afford to make an announcement. We knew that Voldemort would love nothing more than to ruin a festive and wonderful day for Harry. I threw the sheets off me, and slipped my feet into the slippers that lay by my side of the bed. I picked up a robe off of a nearby chair, tying it over my night gown as I slipped out of my room (well, mine and Harry's) at Grimmauld Place. This had been our base as soon as Hogwarts fell. Order members routinely traversed what had become our home, so I wasn't surprised to find an unofficial strategy meeting being conducted in the kitchen while I prepared something to wake me up.

Strings of conversation pierced my consciousness every so often but I paid no mind. I had been given strict orders to stay out of the fighting or anything fighting related today. My instincts tried to get me to pay attention as a good auror should, but a part of me wanted to be selfish and enjoy my day. A few people said their goodbyes as the meeting dispersed, but I could only offer a slightly distracted wave. I was running a mental checklist about the ceremony that would take place in only a few short hours.

My musings were interrupted again when I finished my breakfast with the arrival of Ginny Weasley. Ginny was never able to graduate from Hogwarts due to Voldemort, so she'd joined the order. A few of the older members tried to make up for her and Luna's missing last year, and it turned out rather well. Ginny was one of our best operatives in intelligence gathering. She was quite the natural actress, which had been valuable on a number of occasions.

”Good morning, Hermione. Are you excited?”

I cracked a smile at my best girl friend that only gave a slight indication of the happiness that threatened to consume me.

”More than you can know, Ginny. Did they send you to collect me?”
An enthusiastic nod was her response as she rushed over to hug me. It wasn't often we got to be really happy, so we indulged ourselves.

”Come on, mum's driving everyone mad. And before you ask, yes, Harry is already at the Burrow waiting.”

She finished her hug and then dragged me out of the kitchen. I tried to resist slightly as she began to head for the front door so that we could apparate out.

”Ginny!” I cried exasperated,”I can't exactly show up at the Burrow in my night clothes!”

That just seemed to encourage her to move faster. ”Oh lay off, Hermione. You needn't worry about that. Everything is ready for you at the Burrow. All we need is you. It seems that Harry is just as anxious as you because he apparated over early this morning with everything needed for the ceremony and bags packed for your honeymoon. I still think it's rather lucky that you get to go off for a week. Then again, you three have worked extra hard lately and it only seems fitting that the bosses give you time off.”

I wasn't able to get another word in as she pushed me outside, and apparated me to the Burrow. I hated side-apparition. It always left me a little queasy. However, the sight of the Burrow calmed me and quickly I became excited again as I saw a little pavilion set up and a lot of redheads running around. Ginny started dragging me towards the inside, but I was a little tired of being forced to go places. I planted my feet and didn't move, causing Ginny to stumble.

”I can walk on my own, Gin.” I winked at her before continuing on towards the Burrow on my own. Just before reaching the door, Ron came out, holding his couple month old son.

”Ah, there's Aunt Hermione!” He cried in a mix of a baby voice and his normal deep baritone. I smiled at him before leaning up and giving him a kiss on the cheek and then leaning down to look at the infant.

”Why, hello there little one.” I said in my babyish voice. I never did understand what it was about baby's that made people adopt silly voices like this, but I still couldn't help following in the trend. I wiggled a couple fingers in front of the babe's face and he giggled slightly, showing off his bright blue eyes and toothless grin. Straightening up, I looked at Ron a little more seriously. ”So, I understand everything's been taken care of. Where am I needed then?”

Ron laughed a little before leading me inside,”It's this way. You and Ginny are going to be getting dressed in her room, while Harry and I are getting dressed in mine. The seats are being placed in the garden as we speak and everyone else is starting to get dressed. Dumbledore is supposed to arrive soon as well.”

Somehow during his explanation, we ended up walking all the way to Ginny's room. It seemed that everyone else was outside already. Just as he was about to leave, I saw his eyes tear up a little, though he'd never admit it. ”Alright, I'll just let you get ready.” He turned to go back down the stairs, probably to take his son to visit his grandmother so that he could get ready, when he stopped to turn and look at me one more time. ”I'm really happy for you and Harry. Just think, in another hour or two, you'll finally officially become a Potter. That's every little girl's dream, you know.” He cracked a boyish smile before hurrying down the stairs. I sighed, shaking my head as I entered the room. My mirth was forgotten in astonishment when I saw my gown hanging up in the room. All day it'd seemed like a dream, and this finally made it reality for me. A few tears of joy escaped my eyelids as I danced around the room, full of excitement, love, and happiness. However, while I danced, I didn't miss Ginny entering the room.

”Well, you definitely seem excited. More so than you did earlier anyways.” she quipped as she moved around me to pick up her dress. ”Are you going to dance around all day or get dressed to meet your future husband?” Ginny asked while she put on her dress.

Feeling a little foolish, I stopped dancing around, and started to divest my clothing. I concluded that the Weasleys probably already planned everything out, even what to do with my night clothes that I'd inevitably leave here since Harry and I would leave on our honeymoon about two hours after the ceremony. I took a moment to daydream about Harry momentarily before Ginny flicked me on the arm to get me moving.

Once I got moving, it didn't take me long to get ready at all. I was just putting some finishing touches on my make-up when a strong knock came at the door. Ginny, who'd long finished by now, went over to answer it. My father stepped through the door, looking quite dashing in his tux. He carried my bouquet in his arms. Ginny slipped out behind him, leaving me alone with my father. ”You look gorgeous, darling.” he started in his rich voice. ”Are you ready?”

I gave him a gorgeous smile, as I slipped my arm through his. ”More than ready daddy.” He handed me my bouquet as we silently headed out the door. My dad led me down the stairs, and the first thing I noticed was how much the house had calmed down. A bundle of nerves began to settle itself in the pit of my stomach as we neared the door of the Burrow. Upon stepping outside, a wedding march began to play. I briefly looked around to see if I could spot the source, but was stopped when I saw Harry standing solemnly at the end of the aisle. Ron was next to him, grinning widely. Ginny stood across from him, also smiling. I took notice of a few of the guests, my mother among them, Remus, Tonks, and the rest of the Weasleys. However, my view quickly settled on Harry again. His eyes shone with pure, unadulterated love and happiness.

The walk down the aisle didn't take long, and before I knew it, my father was passing my hand to Harry. I barely remember handing Ginny my bouquet to hold as Harry and I faced Dumbledore, whom was officiating the ceremony. We stared back at one another, barely paying attention to our surroundings as Dumbledore went through the ceremony that would bind our lives and magic together forever. Absently, we recited our vows to one another, mostly speaking from the heart and exchanging rings. I came out of my trance as Dumbledore finally pronounced us husband and wife, and giving Harry permission to do what I'd wanted to since waking up this morning. Though I could hardly believe that had been a few hours ago. We had agreed that a chaste kiss was best in this situation as we could do more `personal' kissing later on in the evening. Still, we ended up putting on a minor display as we affirmed our bond as husband and wife, with only one way left to affirm it, which we knew would happen later in the evening. Harry led me down the aisle, while the few people around cheered.

Our reception wasn't that spectacular. Molly had cooked everything before hand so it was waiting and steaming after we mingled for a bit following our ceremony. Harry and I stayed glued together, which Ron enjoyed making fun of us for. The minor party passed in a blur and before I knew it, Harry and I were saying our goodbyes, our luggage sitting nearby. After we hugged and kissed our family and friends, the two of us linked hands, picked up our luggage, and then whispered the magic words to activate the portkey instilled in our luggage. In a moment we were gone to start our honeymoon, a one week respite from the horrors of war we'd grown accustomed to. For now, it would wait for us.

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