Disclaimer: As hard as I try, I'll never be JK Rowling. She's a genius, alas I am not. It all belongs to her.
Chapter One: Happy Together
Seven long years had passed since she had heard the word spoken, since she had seen the people, since she believed it was real. She had spent too many years in that dream world and it was time to get on with her life. Magic was a part of her past that she had long chosen to forget. The wizarding world as she knew it was gone, and it was her fault. All this seemed correct in the scholarly mind of Hermione Granger, but even she was unable to see how much magic was an integral part of her. Her mind was made up the moment the last shot was fired. She never cared to hear the word "magic" as long as she lived.
Twenty-four year old Hermione Granger was still as brainy as the seventeen-year-old student. She wouldn't ever be able to change that part of her, even if she tried. She had grown to love her comfortable Muggle life. No one would ever had known she was a witch, the way she would put all her energy into every task when a witch could save hours of labor with the flick of a wand. The only proof she had of her teenage years was an old yellowed photograph of her, Ron, and Harry holding up large bags of sweets outside of Honeydukes. The photo, once a magical moving snapshot, did not move anymore. Ron's goofy smile would always be permanently plastered across his face as he reached over and put bunny ears on a scowling Hermione. Harry laughed behind them, his scar peering out through the mess of dark hair covering his forehead. That scar had started everything. Hermione had been the unfortunate one to finish it. She ran away from the wizarding world and never looked back.
Hermione anxiously attempted to tame her wild curls in order to look somewhat presentable. Today, her cousin Clara was to be married, and Hermione had promised to be in attendance for the special occasion. She carefully held the last of her curls in place as she reached to grab the can of hair spray.
Clara was two years younger and had always looked up to Hermione as a role model. She was actually the one who convinced Clara to take the job as a waitress two years ago. It was that day that Clara met Paul, a new customer to the little diner. He came back every Thursday to visit Clara at the restaurant. Paul was a marine biologist, who often took Clara out on the boat with him. He proposed to her about six months ago and Hermione felt she couldn't possibly be happier for her cousin.
"Arrrrgggggh!" The bulky, large can of hairspray slipped out of Hermione's fingers and fell off the end of the dresser. Hermione tried to catch the can, but the sudden shift in weight caused her to fall of the chair and throw her arms out to break the fall. Hermione's nearly perfect bun spilled down once again over her shoulders into a sticky tangled mess.
"What's the matter, pumpkin?" A tall skinny man with dark hair neatly slicked back strolled into the room. Robert Meyers was Hermione's boyfriend of eight months. They met each other at an office picnic. He was what Hermione would call a nice, normal guy.
"Just my hair, I wanted to look nice for Clara's wedding, but it's a mess!" Hermione sighed and tried to brush the sticky mess back off of her face. Robert took the brush from her and tried to help with the untangling. Hermione decided to save time by applying her make-up while Robert busily tried to remove the pins embedded in her hair.
"You can always tell Clara that this is the latest fashion in London." Hermione scowled at him. He chuckled timidly and grabbed the brush off the dresser table. "We can get this fixed up in a minute." He ran the brush through her thick hair. The brush suddenly snagged a huge knot, causing Hermione to yelp and jab at her eye with the mascara wand. "I'm so sorry sweetheart!"
"It's not your fault." Hermione tried to remove the trailing black mascara line from the side of her face. "I guess I am just a little too anxious about the wedding."
"Why on earth are you anxious? They have known each other two years now. Clara and Paul are perfect for one another."
"I guess it's the fact that the wedding is actually today. I want the day to go perfect just as much as the next person. I am probably more nervous than the bride!" Hermione giggled nervously.
"Just calm down apple tart," Robert had a horrible habit of making up ridiculous pet names for Hermione. She always laughed at him when he did this, though a small part of her mind was thoroughly annoyed. "I can hardly imagine how nervous you will be on our wedding day. Paul is in love with Clara, he told me so himself. They are going to live a long, happy life together." He smiled down at her.
"I guess they are." She said quietly. Robert finished taking the pins out of her hair and brushing most of the knots out. Hermione twisted her hair into a knot behind her head and fastened it with a barrette. He gave her a peck on the forehead to keep from smudging that perfectly painted lipstick pout and walked downstairs.
"I'll meet you in the car." He called from the doorway. Hermione closed the door and slipped on the pale green dress she had picked out for the occasion. She finished applying her make-up and grabbed her high heels. She looked over the dresser to make sure she had not forgotten anything. The seventeen-year-old girl in the photograph stared up at her menacingly. Hermione picked up the photograph and noticed the image of the trio was fading. Hermione sighed loudly, and placed the picture frame facedown on the dresser.
The wedding was beautiful. Not that this fact was much surprise to Hermione considering she helped organize most of it. Hermione felt her job was to oversee and make sure everything was undeniably perfect for her cousin. Clara wore the most extravagant dress Hermione had ever seen. Paul looked exceptionally handsome in his tuxedo. The church sanctuary had been inundated with roses. The ceremony was like a dream, and the reception was simply perfect. Clara's vivid smile was contagious as her father toasted their happy life together.
"To the most charming and wonderful friend I've met. And we just so happen to be related on top of things. Fancy that?" Hermione raised her glass with the others at the table.
"To my wife," Paul said nervously. "The woman who has made all the difference in my life. If I hadn't gotten lost and asked for directions I would never have met this little lady. Clara I hope we have many happy years together." He smiled happily at the beaming bride.
"And to Paul - the one who has made it worth getting up every morning just to spend time with you." Clara answered. "The person who taught me how to scuba dive." Hermione giggled with a couple other people in the crowd. "The person who taught me to laugh again. I'll love you forever."
Clara and Paul looked incredibly happy as they cut the wedding cake, and as they danced together across the floor.
Hermione was happy for her cousin; Clara and Paul would be happy together forever. She hoped that someday she would be happily married as well. Hermione went off daydreaming about her proposal. The proposal would take place in a beautiful garden. Her love would get down on one knee and present her with the wedding ring he had been saving so much of his earnings for. She would happily accept and he would sweep her off her feet and take her home where they would immediately start organizing her fantasy wedding. (Organizing was still a hobby of Hermione's.) All of her family and friends from work would be at the wedding. They would be married in a picturesque church, its aisles covered with flowers and -
Hermione's train of thought was broken when something hit her square in the forehead. She caught the menacing object and rubbed her head.
"Carrot cake! You caught it!" Robert yelled excitedly. Hermione looked down at the object in her hands. She held a large bunch of flowers. She had caught the bouquet.
Work the next morning was hell on earth. Hermione had taken off Friday in order to make it to Clara's wedding. Monday morning, her desk was flooded with papers. Hermione Granger was an editor for a prestigious newspaper. She had stacks of articles that had to be looked over by three o'clock that afternoon. Marty Binns was a terrible speller, Hermione had to repeatedly change the word "there" to "their" or "they're" or add and extra p to "suposedly". She was becoming thoroughly frustrated after the seventeenth red mark she had put on the article. She was not hired to be a grammar teacher. She carelessly brushed a thick strand of hair off her face as she circled the word "melowierest" having no idea what the real word was supposed to be. There was a small knock on the partition wall that boxed in her cubicle.
"May I come in?" Robert stood in the doorway holding a bunch of wildflowers. Hermione looked up from behind a stack of papers and smiled. "I need to talk to you honey." That was probably the most normal name he had decided to use yet.
"Have a seat." There were no other chairs in the cubicle, so Robert perched himself upon a large stack of books in the corner next to the desk.
He cleared his throat loudly. "Hermione, I have been meaning to tell you this for a long time." He started. "Or I guess the proper statement would be 'to ask you this for a long time'." Robert was quite a perfectionist. Hermione was a bit of a perfectionist and a know-it-all herself.
Hermione stood up in her chair and walked over towards him. "What is it? We could go out to dinner tonight if you would like."
"It isn't that kind of question Hermione." He said sternly. "I have been thinking in my office all morning and decided now is as good a time as any."
"For what?"
"How would you like to marry me?" He said brightly thrusting the flowers at her face. Hermione's smile slowly faded as the words sunk in. He was proposing to her from on top of a stack of books in an office cubicle. And the question is supposed to be "Will you marry me?" not "How would you like to marry me?" Aren't you supposed to be down on one knee?
"Oh and I got a ring too." He reached into his pocket and grabbed a little case. He opened it revealing a simple gold ring, with a large diamond in the center. "Here you go." He tossed that over to her as well. What happened to the rose garden, and the ring that he saved all of his earnings for? The ring he gave her was gorgeous, but the proposal was all wrong. Hermione still stared at him, bewildered.
"Hermione? Ginger Snap? Are you going to answer?" Hermione could not make the words come out. She loved Robert, she always had, but something was preventing her from answering. "I knew it, my timing is horrible."
Hermione agreed totally but she did not want to admit it. She smiled weakly at him and put the ring on her finger. It was silly of her to try to plan a proposal anyways. The wedding on the other hand would have to be extra special just to make up for this.
"Hermione I want us to be happy together, just like Clara and Paul. Is it too soon to ask?"
"Of course not." Hermione grinned and held her hand to the light. "It's beautiful Robert. Of course I will marry you." He gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"I'll see you at three." He said cheerfully.
"See you." He walked out of the office and back to his cubicle.
That was not a proposal. Hermione did not know what to call it. It was like a typical work conversation at which one happened to carry flowers and diamond rings to. She picked up the stack of papers and one of the books that Robert was sitting on. She walked over to the empty cubicle next door. The nameplate read "Marty C. Binns". Hermione walked into the office, dumped the edited articles and a dictionary, and took a walk down the long hallway.
Seven years ago, she had given up her childish belief in magic. Those seven years did not stop her from dreaming. Time to grow up Hermione. Reality is always disappointing.
Authors Note:
Violets are blue
Roses are red
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