Vows

mathildabear

Rating: G
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 17/05/2008
Last Updated: 20/06/2008
Status: in_progress

Harry and Hermione along with their significant others decided to write their own vows for their respective weddings. This story has been changed, by reviewer demand, to a multi-chapter story.

Chapters

1. Author's Note

2. Ch. 1

3. untitled

4. Ch. 3

5. Ch. 4

6. Ch. 5

1. Author's Note

Author's Note:

I hate writing these things almost as much as reading them. But I decided by reading the reviews to make this a chapter story. Each chapter will be pretty short (around 1000 words each) because I'm keeping most of the original just as it was. What I'm changing is more emphasis on the Harry/Hermione relationship, and also some more explanation.

Hopefully, it will be better this way. Thanks for reading and (if you do) reviewing.

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2. Ch. 1

Summary: Harry and Hermione along with their significant others decided to write their own vows for their respective weddings.

Disclaimer: All characters are from Mrs. Rowling's mind.

Harry paced nervously in front of the café of where he was meeting Hermione for their weekly lunch. This had become their weekly tradition ever since Ron had asked Hermione to marry him and Harry has asked Ginny. Now there were only days before their double wedding.

“What had I been thinking?” Harry asked himself. His right hand came up to run through his jet black hair making it messier than normal.

“Wow,” a voice called out to him. He turned and found himself face to face with his best friend.

The first aspect of the women standing in front of him that Harry noticed was the overly bushy brown hair. Nothing, not even age seemed to tame the wild mess that was Hermione's hair. The next feature he noticed was her kind, brown eyes. Those eyes were the key to her soul, and possible held the key to his if he looked hard enough.

“Did you mess it up just for little old me?” She jokingly said as she ran her hand through Harry's messy hair trying to tame it. “I have to say I always loved the rugged look but tame it down a bit.”

He grinned at her. Harry was glad that after all these years of Hermione being serious and studious she had found a kind of peace. It had come after she graduate from Hogwarts. She was the only one of the three of them to go back and finish up. Harry said he would join her, but when push came to shove he found he could not attend Hogwarts without Dumbledore there.

Now three years later they were getting married. They were becoming grown-ups, and it frankly scared the hell out of Harry. If Voldemort came back to life Harry would gladly face him all over again then having to face the next few days. For the wedding was in four days three hours and sixteen minutes.

“So,” Hermione said as she led him to their table at the back of the quiet café.

It was a typical London café. Fashioned after the French style ones, but serving the usual English fare of chips and fish and ploughman's lunch. It was also Harry and Hermione's favorite place to meet. It had the built in charm of being slightly quirky and yet it was run by two squibs so there was no chance of them being seen by any wizarding press; not that there was anything to see.

“How is work going?” Harry asked as their usual waitress, Nancy, put two glasses of water down in front of them and then left to get their usual orders. “And how long have we've been coming here?”

“Work is good, and we have been coming here for about three years.” She said smartly back to him. “But, it has been more frequent since our respective engagements. And we always order the same thing.”

“Remember the time we brought Ron here?” Harry said with a grin as he remembered that day. Hermione also smiled at that, but to Harry her smile looked at little forced.

“Yes, I do.” She said, “Of course we also ended up having to pay for half the dishes he broke when he decided to accio himself a glass.”

Both of them ended up chuckling at the shared memory of Ron ducking under the table as close to 200 hundred glasses came flying his way. If it wasn't for Harry's quick thinking with a shield charm all three of them would have been sporting some serious injuries from that mishap. Not to mention it took them close to three hours to get all the memories modified from the muggles who witnessed what happened.

“How is work going for you, Harry?”

“I think I'm going to quit.”

Hermione took this declaration with her usual demureness. She waited for him to explain everything, and Harry took a breath before he dove in to what was becoming yet another huge mess in his life.

“How long have I been fighting dark wizards?”

“Ten years or so…” Hermione counted his six years at Hogwarts and the horcrux hunt.

“Exactly,” Harry slammed his right palm down on their table. “I'm tired of always being the one to do the right thing. I want something new. I want to be able to not be looking over my shoulder all the time. I want to relax.”

“So what do you have planned?”

Harry had been giving this a lot of thought over the past few months. He didn't vocalize it to anyone, but today he decided he had to. And the first person he wanted to tell his grand plan to was Hermione. She had been there for everything and helped him get through anything. It was the logical choice.

“Remember the DA?” Hermione let out a slight chuckle at his question. “Of course you do you started it. But remember how everyone thought I was so good at teaching them?”

“I was one of those people, Harry.” She smiled slightly at him and he grinned back at her. “Are you telling me you want to teach?”

At her question Harry could only nod. She knew him to well, he thought.

“Ah well isn't this perfect?” Harry looked questioningly at her for a second before she broke out in giggles.

Before either got a chance to explain their meals were set before them. Hermione had a cob salad and Harry had his traditional fish and chips. They had a rule of no talking during the actual meal portion of lunch. It was their time to reflect on what had been spoken and what would be spoken.

Harry usually used the time to think about his latest case, but lately he found himself thinking about what was going to be happening in four days three hours and four minutes. He knew he wanted to get married. It had always been something he pictured doing, but now as the day drew closer he felt like something was off.

Both couples last month had decided to write their own vows. Harry knew that Ginny already had hers written, but he couldn't figure out what to say. Maybe, he thought, Hermione would have some insight. She, after all, was much better spoken than he was.

Nancy twenty minutes later came and cleared the plates. She quickly came back with their tea and assured them there was no rush. They already knew this. Just as Nancy already knew that they would be spending the next hour and half talking. She would supply them with fresh tea every twenty-five minutes and Harry would leave her a generous tip.

“What were you going to say before our meals arrived?” Harry asked as he put two sugars in his tea.

“I was going to say,” Hermione said with a smile as she added just lemon to her cup. “That Professor McGonagall offered me the librarian position at Hogwarts starting this fall.”

“Did you accept?”

“Did you?” She asked over her tea cup.

“Yes…wait…how did you know I've already been offered the position of Defense Against the Darks Arts Professor?”

Harry watched as Hermione set down her tea cup. She smirked at him for a moment before she opened her mouth to speak. After a second she closed it with a shake of her head. Harry, for some unknown reason also found himself shaking his head.

“How are your vows coming?” She said after the moment passed.

“Terrible…you?”

“Same,” her nose crinkled at that thought. “I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to say but every time I start to write I find myself writing about something else, anything else.”

“You never answered my question?” Harry reached across the table and grabbed her left hand in his.

“Yes,” she said. “I'm going to be Hogwarts newest book keeper.”

“You'll make Madam Pince proud.” He teasingly said back to her.

“I bet I know that library better than her after all these years…” Hermione let out a sigh at this. “But I'm guessing you,” she drew out the last word for a second. “Need some help with your vows too?”

Harry didn't even need to answer her question. She was after all the smartest witch of their generation. For the next hour they talked about little things. From how they were going to tell Ron and Ginny their new careers to where they were going on their honeymoons.

“Ron has his stag night tonight,” Hermione said suddenly after they finished talking about Winky. The little house-elf had become rather attached to Hermione even though she now resided in Grimmauld place with Kreacher and Harry.

“Ginny has her hen night tonight, too.”

“When is yours?” They both spoke at the same time causing each other to laugh. “I'm not having one.”

“Okay,” Harry said after a pause from the laughter. “We have to stop speaking in unison.”

It was at this moment that Harry realized their tiny lunch café was empty. They had once again seen out the lunch crowd. Nancy smiled as she met his gaze from all the way across the room. She just nodded at him as he threw two twenty pound notes on the table.

“Well,” Hermione said with a sigh. “We did it again.”

Harry watched as she gathered her bag and coat. He realized with a pang in his heart that he was going to miss these Wednesday afternoon lunches. Nothing was going to be the same in four days two hours and twenty-seven minutes.

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3. untitled

Night had fallen on Grimmauld Place. Harry was cleaning the dishes as he chatted away to Winky and Kreacher. Both house-elves eyed his cleaning job warily and Harry knew they were just going to redo them, but it was the effort of their restraint that he acknowledged.

It was just as he was starting the roasting pan that Harry heard the chime of the magical doorbell. Reluctantly, Harry left the kitchen and the dishes to go answer the instant person at his door. He knew it could only be a handful of people, but each one of those persons would never ring the bell.

Never say never; Harry thought as he opened the door to see a drenched Hermione holding a box of pizza.

“I need help,” she pushed Harry aside and he dumbly followed her into the replica of the Gryffindor common room. “I can't seem to get these stupid words right. Whose brilliant idea was this anyway? Because it certainly wasn't mine. No, I wanted the words that everyone says. Nothing special or fancy. But then Ginny has to go and says she wants something original. HELLO, she is already getting the wedding she dreamed of. Well,” Hermione paused to take in a breath. “Not me. I wanted something small. Something where it was only friends and family. My family! Not that I don't love the Weasleys, but…URGH! I hate these stupid vows.”

Harry watched as she stopped suddenly and took him in. Neither of them said anything for several minutes. Hermione after a second flung herself down on the couch and opened the box of pizza. It took Harry a second but he quickly joined her.

“So, don't write new vows.” Harry said as he took a slice of pizza even though he was full of the roast beef Kreacher had made. “Pineapple and ham?”

“It's your favorite,” Hermione said with a sheepish smile.

“I know that,” Harry summoned them some napkins from the kitchen. “But why didn't you get your favorite?”

“Green peppers, onions, and chicken didn't seem right tonight.”

They sat in companionable silence for a few more slices of pizza. After his third slice Harry felt like he was going to explode. Hermione, he noted, was considering her fourth slice with a sour look on her face.

“What's wrong,” he threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in so that her back was firmly against his chest.

“You said earlier that I shouldn't write new vows.”

“I suppose I did,” Harry batted some of Hermione's hair out of his mouth. “Ron and Ginny would never know that you took vows from the muggle world.”

Hermione sat upright at this. She looked at him carefully before she leaned back into his warmth. “You right,” her voice sounded small. “Is that what you're going to do?”

“I'm debating it,” Harry answered her truthfully.

Both of them lapsed into silence. The only noise in the room was from the fire crackling in the hearth. Harry listened to it and to Hermione's breathing. It was slightly forced like when she was thinking of a hard problem. He knew better then to bug her now and waited patiently for her breathing to even out.

“If I use muggle vows it would seem like cheating,” she said forcing Harry from his halfway sleeping state.

“Maybe we are putting too much thought into this. After all it shouldn't be so hard, should it?”

Hermione sat up straight and turned to face him. Her eyes were wide with realization. They sat that way for many minutes before she spoke.

“I'll use muggle vows. After all that's what my parents used. `To have and to hold to death do we part. For sicker or for better…' all that crap.”

“If it is crap then why say it?”

“No one stays together until death do they part anymore.”

“My parents did,” Harry said after a moment.

“But look how little we know about them. Don't you wonder if there was no Voldemort would they have been happy?”

“I wonder about that a lot.”

“And for that matter don't you wonder if we are settling for something that doesn't exist.” She didn't give Harry a chance to question her, “I mean think about it? Ron and I have known each other since the beginning of Hogwarts. We haven't had the easiest of times together, but people still romanticize it. It shouldn't be this hard to write stupid vows about someone you've known that long.”

“I'm having trouble writing about Ginny and I've known her just as long,” Harry whispered.

“Yes, but you never gave Ginny a second thought until you were sixteen. I mean she came out of the blue as someone you suddenly started to fancy.” Harry opened up his mouth to protest but Hermione just kept on talking. “That's not to say you don't love her, but think about our lives back then and compare them to now. We were so young, still are, and yet everything we went through made us grow-up quickly. It was hard just to find time to have some fun. What if we fell in these relationships for the escape?”

“Hermione are you having doubts?”

“I've got to say this all now because there is no such thing as a divorce in the wizarding world. You are together until the end of time whether you like it or not,” she looked so confused in that moment. “No,” Hermione sighed. “Harry I'm not having doubts, but I do wish there was some sort of sign that would tell me everything was going to be okay.”

Harry nodded at her and she turned around and curled back into his warmth. Neither of them talked again for some time. It was only as Harry felt Hermione's breathing even out to her sleeping state that he spoke softly. He whispered goodnight in her right ear and then settled in to fall asleep himself.

But sleep did not come easy. He found himself studying his best friend. It was one of those rare moments, he noted, when Hermione's forehead was not wrinkled. She was always in constant thought when she was awake and it was only when she slept that she looked peace. Rested, Harry realized, like she was without a care in the world. He wanted her to always be that way, but Hermione was…well, she was Hermione, and nothing would stop her from thinking.

At this last thought Harry drifted off to sleep. He dropped a kiss on her bushy hair and pulled her close as the land of dreams took over.

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4. Ch. 3

Ginny had gone to her parent's house that morning. She had told Harry that she was not going to risk him seeing her on their wedding day until they were to be married. Harry didn't quite understand why she had to go one whole day ahead of time, but he gave up trying to figure out girls a long time ago.

Hermione apparently was being just as sensible and had kicked Ron out of their flat that afternoon. Ron had come to Grimmauld Place shortly afterward wondering if Harry wanted to go get a few pints, but Harry refused. Ginny would kill him if he showed up to their wedding hung over.

Now, Harry sat in his kitchen with Winky and Kreacher. His two house-elves were playing poker. Hermione and Harry had taught them one night. Harry sat off to the side listening to their banter about who would clean the bathroom. He was also trying to figure out his vows.

He had in front of him one blank piece of legal paper and the pen Hermione had given him for his 18th birthday. The pen went everywhere with him, and got him teased by some of his fellow aurors.

Make that former fellow aurors, Harry thought. For this morning he had told his boss, Kingsley, the Minister of Magic that he quit. Kingsley just nodded at this and then showed Harry the letter Professor McGonagall wrote. After a hasty explanation from Harry, which was laughed off by his boss, he went and packed up his office. Neville Longbottom, his partner and friend, had been the only one to see him off.

That, Harry realized, was exactly how he wanted to leave. It wasn't that he didn't love the job it was that he didn't want any fuss. Neville just patted him on the shoulder and told him that he would see Harry tomorrow.

Harry realized he was drifting and pulled his thoughts back to the pen. The pen Hermione had charmed to never run out of ink, and it also held the protean charm. It became warm whenever Hermione wanted him to know something. The engraving which normally read Number 1 Best Friend! changed to whatever the important news was.

“I win,” Winky let out with a squeal, and Harry glanced over at his two little friends.

He was glad that they got along. Harry smirked and then glanced down at the piece of paper. It was no longer blank, he noted. Instead of holding his vows it was now a picture of Hermione. For a second Harry thought he forgot to draw her eyes, but then he noticed he had drawn her asleep.

Getting up from his stool he stretched. The two house-elves stopped for a second and Harry smiled. “I'll be back in a little bit.” He said, “Winky don't take all of Kreacher's money.”

Harry grabbed his coat and walked out of the house. He went to the park across the street and found the apparition post. Closing his eyes he concentrated on his destination and with a small pop he was gone.

Opening his eyes Harry found himself before a kissing gate. He pushed it open and edged on through. He walked quickly through the graveyard. It looked nothing like the first time he entered it. That time it was covered in snow and a lot of the stones were buried. This time every stone would be easy to read but Harry was only looking for one.

The stone was white marble and beautiful in the starry night sky. Harry read the inscription for the millionth time and let out a shaky breath: The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

“Mom, dad,” Harry breathed harshly.

Every time he visited his parents graves it got a tiny bit easier, but this time felt like the first time all over again. He felt like something extremely heavy was pressing on his chest, and he let out a sob as he once more acknowledged that his parents were gone.

Silently, he waved his wand and a handful of lilies blossomed in the air. He gathered them into his hand and placed them on top of the stone. Turning he left the graveyard by the same path he took to get in. As he reached the kissing gate he noticed a man standing beside the church.

“Hello, son,” the man called out to Harry.

“Hello, sir,” Harry said cautiously. He fingered his wand thoughtfully for a moment before the man smiled.

“We get a lot of people visiting the graveyard but you are the only one that has ever left anything on that grave. Wait…” he paused for a second and it was then that Harry noticed he was the priest of the church. “Once there was a couple. They had placed a Christmas wreath on that grave about four years ago. Did you know them?”

“Sort of,” Harry said after a second not sure if he was talking about the couple or his parents.

“Ah, well, I always wondered what happened to the Potters. I came about a month after their untimely deaths. It was all anybody was talking about, but I never could gleam the whole truth from one of the villagers. Of course their son was the real mystery. Went off to live with relatives, or so they said, and was never seen again.”

Harry had to smile at this, “Well, never say never.” He let out a chuckle as the man looked shrewdly at him for a moment before dawning came over the man.

“Well, that explains your visits.”

“Sir,” Harry spoke suddenly. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did,” the priest let out a small chuckle. “But ask one more for the fun of it.”

“When you say vows during a wedding ceremony how significant are they?”

“Hmm,” the man looked at Harry for a moment as he pondered the question. “I would say they are pretty significant. This is because you are promising another person your whole heart. One must choose their words carefully.”

“I'm getting married tomorrow and I want them to be something special and I can't find the right words.”

“Ah…Well I have something that might help.”

“What?”

“What would you say to her if you were dying?”

“I'd…” Harry shifted his feet for a second. He was at a loss what to say. He had died, but hadn't told Ginny anything before entering the woods to go face Voldemort. Closing his eyes he saw Ginny's face swim in the front of his mind, but the image was quickly replaced with an image of Ron and Hermione.

“I've got to get going,” Harry opened his eyes, and the priest nodded at him. Minutes later Harry found himself at the edge of town near where Hermione and he had come in around four years ago.

“I miss you,” his voice carried on the wind, and Harry knew it would reach his parents wherever they were.

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5. Ch. 4

Winky had just finish pressing his tux, not that a snap of her fingers was hard work, but Harry was sure Ginny appreciated the helpful talent. He now had to put the blasted thing on. Originally, Ginny wanted him to wear dress robes, but he asked her if he could wear muggle wear instead. She questioned his choice at first but eventually gave in.

The one reason for his choice in dress wear was that Hermione knew Ron would wear a tux if Harry did, and that way she would be free to wear her wedding dress. Harry had been with Hermione the day she had picked it out. It was as they were walking down one of the more fashionable streets in SoHo London that Hermione stopped. Harry didn't notice her sudden fascination with the shop's window but he did notice when he collided into her.

She let out a tiny noise but never stopped staring at the dress in the window. Harry asked if she wanted to go in, and found himself being dragged into the store. Ten minutes later, after she found her size, Harry was sitting waiting for Hermione to appear.

“Harry,” she shouted out. “What do you think?”

For a second Harry was reminded of the Yule Ball years ago. Hermione was striking. It was a very simple white dress, but on her it was mesmerizing. He belatedly realized he should close his mouth.

“So,” she bit her bottom lip as he continued to stare.

“You look,” he tried but his voice cracked. “Wow.”

Now, as he put on his tux he sighed. Winky did his cufflinks for him, tiny snitches, and then Harry looked at himself in the mirror. It yelled at him to flatten his hair, but Harry just ignored it. This was it, he thought, and felt his stomach rumble.

“Would Master Harry like a sandwich?”

“I think I'm going to go and get something myself, Winky.” He smiled down at her, “Why don't you head over to the Weasleys and I'll be there in a jiff.”

“Don't be late,” she said in an overly stern voice which caused Harry to chuckle.

Harry walked out to the apparition point and closed his eyes. He opened them to find himself in the alleyway beside the café. All he wanted was a cup of tea. As he made his way to Hermione and his' table he noticed the stares he was getting.

“You clean up good,” Nancy said as she approached with water.

“Actually can I have a pot of tea?”

“Sure thing sweetie,” she said. “When is Hermione coming?”

“Just me today,” he said with a shake of his head.

He was halfway through his first cup of tea when the chair opposite of him scrapped against the wooden floor. Looking up Harry found his eyes staring at Hermione. She was sitting in front of him wearing what looked like one of his old ratty t-shirts and her hair was up in curlers.

“Well we make quite a pair,” she said as Nancy brought over another cup of tea. “Thanks.”

“Why aren't you getting ready? I thought it took girls hours to get ready for these things?”

Hermione heaved a sigh and pushed a piece of paper across their table. Harry looked at for a second before looking back at Hermione. “Please, read it.”

He opened the piece of paper and read out loud.

“Today and for the rest of my life I promise to love you. You have been my best friend and now will become my partner in this life. Without you I never would have become who I am today. I love you with all my heart.”

Hermione started to laugh as Harry read the last word. Harry placed the slip of paper down and came around the table and hugged his best friend. She continued to laugh as she flung her arms around his neck. Harry didn't care that his knees were probably getting dirty and that the floor hurt all he cared about was calming Hermione down.

“I needed that,” Hermione whispered into his ear. She gently pulled away and Harry wiped the tears from her cheeks.

He went back to his chair and she beamed at him. “It was the best I could come up with and I hate it.”

“Why?”

“Oh Harry,” her eyes soften as she reached across the table and clutched his hand in hers. “In the wizarding world you don't just give your heart to someone you also give them your soul.”

“Your soul?” Harry was suddenly very confused.

“Not in a Voldemort type of way,” she hastily explained. “But as I went to go put on my wedding dress I realized something. I can't give Ron my whole soul.”

“Okay, so don't,” Hermione let out a chuckle at Harry's simple statement.

“Oh dear,” Hermione's face suddenly went pale.

“What's wrong?”

“I left my mum alone in my apartment without explaining where I was going.” Harry started to laugh at this, “It isn't funny Harry. I just went into the bathroom to put on my wedding dress and I thought about everything.”

“That's a lot to think about,” Hermione threw her napkin at him.

“You know what I mean. I thought about Ron and you and Ginny and I just realized I needed to get out of there. Just for a moment to collect my thoughts.”

“And your thoughts brought you here,” Harry looked at Hermione across the table.

She looked so different then Ginny. Of course she looked different, Harry silently berated himself, they were two very different people. Hermione was caring, loving, and she was the smartest person he knew. Ginny on the other hand was outgoing and fun and she was such a talented witch.

“Why can't you give Ron just part of your soul?” Harry asked as he grasped to keep his thoughts under control.

“It isn't that simple,” she whispered as she grabbed his hand in hers.

He knew that she wasn't going to explain it anymore because it was her secret. As he sat there watching her try to figure out a solution to her vows Harry remembered his own. Or rather his lack of vows. He figured he would wing it when the time came.

“I quit yesterday,” He met Hermione's eyes as he spoke. “Neville is taking over.”

“Oh he'll be good at that,” Hermione's eyes lit up and Harry knew she was no longer thinking about her vows just as he was no longer comparing Ginny and Hermione. They spent the next few hours talking about their new jobs and neither noticed the time slipping past.

“Hey you two,” Nancy said as she approached their table. “Do you want some supper?”

“OH NO!” Hermione voice went all pitchy. She looked around the café for a second and Harry's eyes followed her gaze to the clock on the west wall.

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6. Ch. 5

The usual chaos of the Burrow was nothing to what greeted Harry's eyes as he apparated himself and Hermione into Ron's childhood room. Bright orange greeted their eyes and so did a lone figure on the solitary bed. Harry cringed as Ron glanced up from his comic book.

“So,” Ron spoke as Harry moved towards the door, “you don't want to go down there mate.”

Harry glanced from Ron to the door and then went over to the bed and sat down beside his best friend. Hermione quickly joined him and the three of them sat there staring at the orange plastered walls.

“This isn't going to work, is it?” Ron said suddenly and Harry felt like he wanted to be anywhere but in the room as they had this talk. “I guess the not showing up was a pretty good indication, but there were others. Weren't there?”

“I'm just going to…” Harry stood up but found himself shoved back onto the bed by Ron.

“No,” he said. “We have been in this together from the start and we are certainly going to get through this together too.” Harry looked over at his red headed friend. He looked just like the Ron he knew and loved but something was different. “We're still going to be best friends, Hermione?”

Harry watched as Hermione, who had been staring at the floor the entire time Ron was speaking, flung her arms around Ron. Her hair which was still in curlers came partly undone by the sudden movement. She was crying again, he noted, as he watched his two best friends turn from lovers back into his best friends.

“I'm so sorry, Ron,” Hermione voice came out hoarse as she pulled away and Harry could see that Ron was smiling slightly. “We lost track of time and then as we rushed to apparate over here I realized something…”

“What?” Harry interrupted her.

“I couldn't marry Ron.” Harry was very confused once again. “And it wasn't because I didn't love him, I do, but it was because at the age of twelve I gave my soul away to both of you.”

“I think Ginny was more pissed than I was,” Ron laughed as he spoke.

“I'll explain everything,” Harry said but he didn't move from his place beside Ron.

“She needs time to get over this, mate.”

“Get over what?” Harry practically yelled, “I'm still going to marry her.”

“Not today you aren't,” Hermione forced out between giggles.

“Well, yes not today.” Harry was getting frustrated with her laughter. “But one day.”

“Think about it this way,” Ron poked Hermione to get her to stop laughing. “Why were you late?”

“Ron, Hermione already told you why.”

“She told me you lost track of the time.”

“We did,” Harry nodded to reinforce his statement.

“So you're telling me that on one of the most important days of your life you lost track of time talking to another girl?”

“Women,” Hermione interjected.

“Fine, women,” Ron corrected himself. “Don't you find that odd?”

“No because it is Hermione. She needed me.”

“You were there first,” Her voice was a whisper but Harry still heard it.

“Er, I guess I was.” He felt suddenly lost. This whole week came crashing down on him. He couldn't find the perfect words for his vows and he quit the aurors to spend more time with Hermione.

Wait, he thought, what did I just think? I want to spend more time with Hermione, his mind was going crazy, Harry thought. It wasn't odd to want to spend more time with ones best friend, right?

“I'm not mad at you two, Harry?”

Harry had no clue what Ron meant but he didn't get time to ask either because all the sudden Ron held up his hand. After a moment all three of them heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Go,” Ron said. “You both should get away for a little while and I'll do my best to reason with my mum and Ginny.”

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand as he looked between Ron and Hermione. He felt like he was missing a very important piece of the puzzle. “And Harry,” Ron spoke, “you better take good care of her.”

“I think it is the other way around,” Harry said with a grin, that he didn't feel, as he looked to the women holding his hand. After a three way hug Harry felt Hermione tug on his arm and with a feeling of slight pressure he found himself in front of the gates guarding Hogwarts.

It had been two months since his almost wedding to Ginny Weasley. The press had gotten a field day out of Harry and Hermione not showing up, and Ginny was apparently still in an uproar. Harry at first wanted to go and make things right. After all, he reasoned, he did love her, but then as everything settled down he came to realize that he loved the idea of her much more.

Now, as he stood beside a shelf in the library at Hogwarts he knew that loving the idea of someone was a pretty idiotic reason for wanting to get married. Harry heard a distant humming and he knew it wouldn't be long before Hermione came into view. Ron and the other Hogwarts staff were the only people in the world who knew where they were.

Ron had written them a letter two days after saying that Molly had come to understand everything, but Ginny was pretty pissed. Apparently, she kept going on about how a hero isn't to leave the girl. Harry didn't know what she was talking about and he still didn't.

“Hello there Harry,” Hermione said and Harry knew he had been spotted. “Reading Rita's biography of Dumbledore again?”

“Nope,” Harry grinned at her.

“Then what do you have in your hands?” She tried to take the book Harry had out of his hands but he jerked it away causing her to stumble into his arms.

Harry looked down at her for a second, “If you gave your soul away to both of us then are you ever going to be able to get married?”

Hermione looked up at him with puzzled eyes, but she didn't push away. “Yes, I just have to give that person my whole heart.”

“Good to know,” Harry tried to keep his voice sounding casual. “And I'm reading Hogwarts, A History.”

At this Hermione let out a tiny laugh of disbelief. Harry looked down at the woman who was flush against his chest. One of his arms was wrapped around her waist and her arms were resting on his shoulders. Suddenly, as if something clicked in his mind, Harry leaned down and captured Hermione's lips with his.

She gave a little start at his motion but didn't pull away. After a couple of seconds Harry leaned back just enough to whisper, “Can I have your whole heart?”

“You already have it,” She whispered and captured his lips with hers.

~*~*~*~*~

Harry stood at the head of a church at Godric's Hollow. It was two years to the day since they shared their first kiss. He watched as his friends and family filed into the church. He watched as Hermione's friends and family did the same. Ron stood behind him yawning every twenty seconds.

As the last person took their seat, Harry noted it was Hagrid; music began to swell and fill the church. With a nudge from Ron, Harry looked up and saw Hermione slowly walking towards him. She looked absolutely stunning, and Harry felt like he was the luckiest man in the world. Plus, she didn't ask him to write their own vows.

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