Chapter Six
Setting Dates, Charming Muggles
Author's Note: I was hoping Ms.Rowling would provide a little more insight into a magical wedding
in DH, but since she didn't, I'll be making up a little. Anybody else mad at her? I know I am. I hope you like
chapter six! Please review!
"October first."
"September first?
"August first."
"No, July first."
"June?"
"Right now," Harry replies, rolling over so that he's hovering above me.
I laugh, "You want to elope now?"
He shrugs, "Why not."
"We can't, Mrs. Weasley would kill us," I say.
"You're right," he nods, moving so that he's sitting on the bed.
I sit up too and put an arm around his back, resting my cheek against his shoulder. He kisses the top of my head and then says, "It's May now, how long do you suppose it takes to plan a wedding?"
"Well, let's see," I sit back. "The last time I planned my wedding it only took a week."
He looks at me and narrows his eyes, "Funny."
"Six months, at the least."
He nods, "The end of October?"
I get up and find my bag on the floor, after rummaging through it for a minute I find my planner and flip a few pages to October. I flop down on the bed with the planner in my hands and Harry leans close to look at it.
"October thirtieth is on a Saturday," I offer.
He looks at me and I look at him.
"October thirtieth it is."
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"Hermione! Ooh! Hermione, let's go in here!" Robbie pulls me into the tiny, little shop.
"What are you? Two?" I ask when he lets me go.
I look around and I realize we're in a bridal boutique.
"Robbie," I say beratingly, rolling my eyes, even though the vision of wedding and bridesmaids dresses have been dancing in my head since Harry proposed. "I've only just gotten engaged."
"So?" he bobs his shoulders as means of a shrug. "It'll be fun."
"Robbie, we're meeting Ron for lunch. Do you remember, or has your attention deficit addled brain made you forget where we were going?"
Robbie wheels on me and points in my face, "You know," he says, meaning to be threatening but he's laughing behind his front, "You could be a little more sensitive to me. I just got dumped- AND- I did have a little ADD problem when I was younger."
I laugh, giving him a hug, "All right, I'll be nice."
"Good, ya bitch."
"And when I do pick out my dress, I promise you'll be there."
He nods, "Damn right."
"But right now, we really have to meet Ron for lunch."
It only takes us five minutes to reach Jumpin' Jack's, a muggle-born wizard-owned restaurant that is popular in both the muggle and magical world. When wizards enter and they want to be treated like wizards they ask to be seated in the W section, it's that simple. They go into a separate part of the restaurant where they can talk and eat without worrying about muggle's hearing them. But they're still in the same environment they prefer. All the staff is muggle-born or very muggle conscious witches and wizards.
Ron is already seated in a booth by one of the windows, he smiles and stands up when we get to the table. He kisses me on the cheek and gives Robbie one of those quick, manly hugs and we sit down.
"How's work today?" he asks.
"Horrible!" Robbie instantly puts in.
I look at him and shake my head, "It wasn't that bad, I helped a teenager who's been doing serious drugs for almost two years reconnect with her parents and agree to go to rehab."
"Ah the job of a social worker," Ron sighs.
"No," Robbie cuts in again. "It was horrible, really. Except the embarrassingly enormous bouquet of flowers Hermione got in the middle of the day."
Ron smiles, "Harry?"
I nod.
It's true, Harry sent me a large bouquet of red roses and white calla lilies to my desk today. The card read
158 More Days....
Are You As Excited As I Am?
in his slanted, scrawled handwriting.
It had made me smile, and it's still making me smile, it was so sweet of him to think of. Robbie, though, makes a gagging sound. I playfully hit his shoulder and he ducks away from me just as a young witch walks up to our table and takes our drink order. When she walks away we begin to scan the menu for the rest of our lunch and Ron speaks up again.
"So what is this lunch about?" he asks. "Hermione, you said you had a question for me."
I look at him over my menu and say, "Well, yes. Seeing as Harry and I were both raised in muggle households and we've only been to a few magical weddings..... Well, we're not exactly sure how to go about it."
He nods, "Well, you want to have a magical ceremony, right?"
"Yes."
"Luna actually has a friend, Amber Deyn, she was born into a magical family but she's a consultant for magical weddings," he tells me. "You know, she helps couples who were muggle-born or are marrying a muggle- you know, any circumstance."
I nod in interest, "Really?"
"Yeah. I'm sure Luna could get you guys an appointment with her if you want."
"She's not like a wedding planner, is she?" I ask.
He shakes his head, "No, she's only there for questions and any help you might need."
"Oh! Sounds great!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
It only took a few days for Luna to arrange an appointment for Harry and I to speak with Ms. Deyn.
She sent us a very friendly letter, via owl, giving us her address, and saying that she was looking forward to meeting us. She also mentioned that we could reach her house via the floo-network if we liked.
So, this is how Harry and I find ourselves, since we much prefer the muggle way of things sometimes, parking along the sidewalk and looking up at the flat building that houses Amber Deyn. It's a nice building, situated in Fulham, made of white bricks, with a small garden along the building, and a sort of shiny black door in the front.
"What if she's a little loopy?"
I laugh a little, "She's not permanently attaching herself to our lives, she's just here for help whenever we need it."
Harry shrugs with a suspicious look, "Whatever you say."
We get out of the car, making our way to the front door. Harry opens the front door and we enter into a small vestibule. Along the wall are mailboxes and a bell system with names and numbers under a small speaker. Deyn is the first name, number 4B. We press the button beside her name and a low growl of a buzz sounds behind it. A second or two later a chipper voice is resounding through the speaker.
"'ello?"
Harry and I exchange a look before I reply, "Er- Hello. This is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, we have an appointment for two-thirty."
"Oh yes! Right on time!" the voice says back. "I'll meet you on the landing."
A buzz sounds again and I look at the second door in front of us, opening this one next. Harry and I walk up the four short flights of stairs and meet Ms. Deyn at the top of the four set of steps. She smiles down at us, friendly and bright. She has a sort of square face, creamy skin with a nice rosy blush to her dimpled cheeks. Her hair is blonde, with brown on the underside of it. I think I would have normally disliked this effect on some people, but on Amber Deyn I think it's very pretty. She's sort of big, tall and wide, but she's as pretty as any super model I've ever seen. She's dressed in a belted, purple blouse and nice pleated pants, with black square glasses and a cheerful smile.
"Sorry about the steps," she says when we're all standing on the landing. "I usually like the extra exercise, visitors tend to feel differently."
I smile at her and shake my head, "It's fine."
She leads us down a hall, towards a door at the end of the corridor, talking as she goes, "It's so nice to meet you both, Luna talks so fondly of you."
Harry puts a hand on a the small of my back as Amber leads us into her apartment. This is a habit he's picked up, I've noticed, to touch me in some way when we enter an unfamiliar or closed building, as if by keeping this contact he can protect me from any evil that might be lurking there.
"It's great to meet you as well, I've heard wonderful things about you," I reply, taking in the flat around me.
We're in a nice, clean kitchen with gleaming granite counters and white cabinets. She walks us through it, offering us refreshments which we decline, and into a nice living room. There are book shelves rising up to the ceiling, filled with books and plants and little figurines. A beautiful picture window sits at the far wall, looking over the street below, with gauzy white curtains fluttering in the breeze. She beckons us to sit on a comfortable gray suede couch and she sits opposite us in a matching armchair.
"Now, tell me a little about your engagement," she says, a pen poised over a pad in her lap.
Harry and I exchange a quick glance before he begins speaking, "Well, we've both been raised in muggle households- before Hogwarts- but we both want a magical ceremony."
Amber nods, scribbling on her notebook.
"But we need something that is muggle-friendly, I have to be able to invite my parents friends and my relatives that don't know about me being a witch," I add.
"That's simple," says Amber. "A simple memory charm will fix that."
"But," I start, "I don't want my relatives having a warped memory of our wedding!" I nearly cry.
She smiles sympathetically, "Don't worry, they'll only forget anything magic-related, they'll remember the rest."
Something within me disagrees with this, a little tug at the bottom of my stomach. The idea of charming my relatives and muggle friends without them knowing sets my mind slightly reeling. Guilt seeps under my skin. But maybe I'm being paranoid. I don't have much choice either, do I?
Author's Note: I know, I know, I haven't updated in so long and that was fairly short, but next chapter longer and will be up sooner!