Title: True Happiness
Pairing: The usual
Category: Drama/Romance
Spoilers: The books in general, but no specific giveaways.
Rating: PG
Summary: Hermione gets cold feet on her wedding day. Like, seriously cold. Frozen over. Walking around with blocks of
ice for shoes cold.
Disclaimer: Not mine, plain and simple.
~
He walked into the room and his heart stopped beating.
She was beautiful.
It was her wedding day to another man…and she was so, so beautiful in that white dress, pooled all around her.
And then she looked up at him with two large, tearful brown eyes, choking back a sob. He went to her, like he always had, and held her close until she calmed herself enough to speak.
"Oh, Harry, I can't…please, please don't ask me to do this, I can't breathe when I think about it…"
This was all so surreal…this beautiful woman crying in his arms while her betrothed, his best friend, stood waiting to take her away from him forever….
"If I go through with this, we'll never have our chance, Harry, and I just realized I really want us to. I can't…I can't marry him."
Harry rested his forehead against hers, feeling not for the first time that he'd do anything for this woman, whatever she asked of him…he would steal, cheat, lie, kill…whatever was necessary to make her happy.
"Hermione…just tell me one thing. Are you sure it's me you want? Absolutely sure? If you would be happy with me - really and truly happy - then I'll walk out of here with you, consequences be damned. But I need to know."
She clutched the lapels of his tuxedo as she kissed him, desperately and demandingly - but this was not like the kiss they'd shared last night. This was not goodbye…not goodbye at all.
"Yes, Harry," she said breathlessly. "You're all I want."
Despite his fear and apprehension, despite his guilt at what he was about to do to Ron, he knew he'd never been any more alive, never more eager to take the next step forward, and the next, and the one after that.
"All right," Harry said when he found his voice again. "How do we tell him?"
Hermione took a bracing breath. "I'll tell him. This is my burden - I shouldn't have kept this going as long as I did. But…would you do something for me?"
"Of course," Harry said, holding tight to her still.
"Will you go to my apartment and pack up my things, quickly? I…I don't want to have to go back there, after I tell him. He'll need time and space to cool down."
Harry kissed her one last time and stood to leave. "I'll take them to my flat - you can come there when you're done, if you want. Or I can take them to your parents', if you'd rather -"
Hermione smiled a watery smile. "No, take them to your place. I…I'll be home soon."
No, he couldn't suppress the flood of warmth that filled his soul when she said the word "home."
~
He'd already unpacked all her things, placed all her books on the shelves, made room in the dresser and closet for all her clothes, set out her photographs, and tucked away her keepsakes with his. Now he had only to wait for her to return, to place within the apartment the one thing that was still missing.
How long had it been now? Three hours, four? Ron wouldn't have taken it well at all, he supposed…nor the Weasleys, nor Hermione's parents who'd been so thrilled to see her settling down. He might have returned, to help her, but he didn't know whether his presence would help or simply escalate the tension.
Harry waited, and waited, and some time later, he heard the front door gently open and close, followed by soft padding footfalls. He looked up to find her still in the dress, her white shoes in her hands, her hair falling from its bun, her makeup untidy. Nevertheless, she smiled when she met his eyes.
"How did it go?" he asked, rising to greet her. She came into his arms a little too eagerly, nestling there with a sigh.
"I think…I think he was more angry than heartbroken. I hope that's the case…I mean, I'd rather he was hurt because his friends lied to him than because he lost me. I have to believe that if he really loved me, I wouldn't have needed anything else."
Harry kissed her temple. "He'll be all right, and he'll be happier in the end if he finds someone who's truly in love with him."
"I didn't think I was going to get out of there alive, between Mrs. Weasley and Ginny," she sighed, "The former, especially. I don't think she'll ever forgive me."
"Don't worry about her," Harry said. "She'll come around when Ron does."
Hermione nodded as she continued to lean tiredly into him.
"Are you hungry?"
She shook her head. "No. No, I'm just tired. I think I'd like to just get some sleep."
"Okay." Gently, he steered her to the bedroom - their bedroom, now - and helped her out of her dress…such a waste of a wedding gown, really. Once changed into a long T-shirt, she slid under the covers and he followed after her, eager to hold her, to know she was real, that this was real, and that it was worth it.
He listened to the sound of her breathing growing slow and even as she fell asleep beside him - not for the first time, but certainly the first time when she was his and his alone, and he knew. She was worth everything.