A/N: Here it is, the final chapter (except for maybe an epilogue). Thanks for sticking with me throughout the story and leaving me awesome reviews! I'll miss updating this every few days, but make sure to look out for my next one!
Chapter 15 - I Only Want You to Know How Much I Love You
Raven and Jade looked at each other teary-eyed as Hannah said, "I do."
They had seen their professor run out of the closet with tears running down her face, and their dad had slowly sank down the wall onto his butt before quietly crying into his arms. It seemed that their plan had failed miserably. Their dad was now literally only two simple words away from marrying one of the biggest gold diggers on the planet.
"Do you, Harry Potter, take this woman, Hannah Abbot, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
Raven and Jade sucked in a breath, already grimacing.
It was his wedding day, the happiest day of his life. Harry couldn't believe he was standing here in front of Hannah Abbot, holding her hands at the altar.
Too bad she doesn't love you back, Hermione's voice told him in his head.
The woman he was going to be spending the rest of his life with said, "I do."
You know she's only in it for the money, right?
Raven and Jade were crying in the front row, but they didn't seem to be happy tears.
Do you want to know how I know I love you?
"Do you, Harry Potter, take this woman, Hannah Abbot, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
Because I know your favorite color is brown.
Hermione's favorite color was green.
"Mr. Potter?"
I could see myself spending the rest of my life with you.
"Harry?" asked Hannah, looking up into his eyes. And Harry saw lust, and that look one gets when they're so very close to getting what they want.
That's how I know I love you.
What if Hermione was right? Maybe it was just cold feet, but Harry wanted to be 100 percent sure that he was marrying the true love of his life, and she truly loved him back. So…he used legilimency.
Those little brats, I beat them in the end, he heard Hannah thinking to herself. As soon as he says the words, his fortune will be all mine! What an idiot. I can't wait for this blasted thing to be over, my face is starting to hurt from smiling. Money, money, money. Why is Harry looking at me like that? Is he…using…oh Merlin!
Harry's hands fell out of Hannah's and he whipped out his wand, pointing it at her face, which elicited gasps from the crowd.
"Harry, darling, w-what are you doing?" Hannah asked weakly.
"I don't know, sweetheart, why don't you tell everyone what I'm doing?" Harry said, grinning maniacally.
"You're…er…pointing your wand at my face…at our wedding," she said, the forced smile still on her face, though it was quickly turning into a grimace.
"So why don't you tell everyone why I'm doing it?" Harry said through clenched teeth. "Based on your thoughts, it sounds a lot like money, doesn't it?" More gasps came from the crowd.
Hannah looked down at her hands, which were shaking and clenched into fists. She had been so close…so close! But she wasn't going to go down without dragging someone with her. "God dammit, I'm in it for the god damn money! Are you happy? I hate you Harry Potter, I hate you so much! You're annoying and pathetic, not to mention the fact that you're…you're…lousy in bed!" She sucked in a deep breath, wishing she could've come up with a better line.. "All you go on about are those two girls all the time. Well, here's a newsflash for you: they're brats! They're spoiled little brats, and they've spent every second since they got into school trying to break us up!" When she finished, she was huffing and puffing and the guests were completely silent.
Harry glanced over at Raven and Jade, who were looking at their dad with wide eyes. Harry winked at them and smirked. "Well, it seems they were smarter than I was, doesn't it? And since most people who know me don't find me annoying and pathetic, I think I won't take your word on that one. Unfortunately, you're the only woman I've slept with, so what you say about me being lousy in bed may be true…but then again, you did say you hate me, so I think I'll pass on that one, too," he said as he smiled at her. That smile quickly turned into a menacing look, his green eyes flashing and his hair rustling as his magic built up. Soon it seemed as though a strong wind was racing through the room, and Harry seemed to have petrified Hannah much like a basilisk would. "Oh, and one more thing…don't you dare speak of my daughters that way. They're ten…no, ten thousand!...times the people you'll ever dream about being." By now, little sparks of magic were shooting away from Harry and hitting Hannah, giving her little shocks. "If you value your life, you'll leave right now and never enter my sight again."
There was complete silence as Harry and Hannah stared at each other before the front of Hannah's dress at about hip level seemed to get wet on its own. "Three," said Harry. "Two…"
Hannah bolted, running down the aisle and out of the doors.
And just like Hermione, out of Harry's life.
And when you pull your head out of your arse and realize that Hannah doesn't love you, don't worry, I won't be waiting.
Raven and Jade grinned at each other and high-fived as Hannah ran from the room, their dad's wand trained on her the whole time. It seemed as though their plan had worked better than they thought.
Their dad came up to them and hugged them both, saying, "Thanks for looking out for me, you two." They each kissed one of his cheeks, and he said, "I'll talk to you two right after I take care of something."
"Go get her, daddy," said Jade, grinning up at Harry.
"Go…what?" asked Harry, blushing. "How did you two…?"
"We're eleven, dad," said Raven. "Not five."
Harry laughed and said, "I'll try to remember that," before running out of the room faster than Hannah did.
Harry ran to just past the apparition wards before apparating straight to Hogwarts, just outside of Hermione's room.
Who was he kidding? He had never stopped loving her, and no matter how many times he told himself he loved Hannah, he really didn't.
And now he was here to rectify his mistake. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach.
He lightly knocked on the door and, getting no answer, opened it quietly in case Hermione was sleeping for some reason. What he saw made his heart shatter into a million pieces. Ron was snogging Hermione for all he was worth, crushing Hermione's body tight against his. Hermione had her hands fisted in Ron's hair, her eyes shut in ecstasy.
Harry turned and ran, not paying attention to the desperate cries of his name from behind him.
He knew what Hermione would say. He was too late, and she had warned him. She would tell him to understand it from her point of view.
But Harry didn't want to understand any point of view. All he wanted to do was go outside, throw up, then breathe in the fresh winter air.
He hated himself and he hated Hermione. He wished he had never met her.
That's how I know I love you.
Approximately 5 Minutes Earlier
Hermione was sitting on the side of her bed, unable to believe that Harry was getting married to Hannah at that very moment. She was looking down at a picture of her and Harry in sixth year smiling and hugging, silent tears blotting the photograph.
"What did I tell you?" asked a voice from the doorway.
Hermione sat in silence, unable to meet Ron's eye. Ron sighed and sat next her, rubbing her back with his hand. "I told you he didn't really love you," he said.
Hermione clenched her hands into fists, crumpling the picture. "Do you really think that's the right thing to say at a moment like this?"
"It's really the only thing," said Ron, shrugging. "And now that he's married, how about giving me a chance?"
Hermione looked at Ron, shocked. "How dare you! He just got married today! You can't just expect my heart to be healed that quickly!"
"I don't give a bloody damn about your heart," said Ro, temper rising. "All I care is that you're with me. Whether you want to be or not," he said before pressing his lips against hers with such force that she was sure they would bruise.
Ron pulled her tight against his body and she squeezed her eyes shut in disgust, pulling his hair to try to get him off of her. His lips were chapped and rough, his hold on her painful.
As she battled against Ron, she heard a noise and opened her eyes just in time to catch sight of Harry running out of the room.
This was bad.
It definitely looked like she and Ron were sharing a passionate kiss. He wouldn't stick around to hear the truth. He would leave, and the longer she waited the less likely Harry would believe her. And he had ascertained the truth and skipped out on his wedding to be with her! If only…she could…get away…from Ron…!
With a burst of magic Ron was propelled backward, smashing into the wall on the opposite side of the room. The force of the impact knocked him out.
"Harry!" Hermione cried, getting up and dashing in the same direction as him.
He didn't look back-he only started running faster.
"Harry!" she called again, already panting in effort. She wasn't a natural athlete like Harry was.
She kept calling his name until he got outside. Hermione stopped at the doors and took careful aim before firing a tripping jinx at Harry, sending him sprawling in the snow, and by the time he had stood up again she had reached him, tackling him to ensure he didn't get away.
"Harry, please stop," said Hermione, gasping for breath.
"Oh, I know," said Harry, sneering. "It wasn't what it looked like," he said mockingly.
"It wasn't!" exclaimed Hermione. "I was trying to pull him off of me!"
"Right," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "I should've guessed."
"Stop being an arrogant prat, will you?" Hermione shouted in his face, tears collecting in her eyes. "I didn't want him to kiss me, okay?" she said quietly before beginning to cry, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
Harry's arms tentatively made their way around her back, keeping her safe as his heart twisted with guilt for being so mean to her just now. They were silent but for Hermione's soft sobs until Harry spoke again a few minutes later. "You were right, Hermione," he said quietly.
"When am I not?" she whispered back against his neck, still crying.
"That one time you were wrong," said Harry quietly, half a smirk on his face.
Hermione looked up at Harry, smiling through her tears even though her lips were still quivering. "When have I ever been wrong, Harry James Potter?"
Harry smiled at her. "That time you said you wouldn't be waiting for me."
"Technically, I wasn't wrong. That would've only started once you got married to Hannah," said Hermione, no longer crying but still smiling.
"No, instead I pointed my wand at her face when it was my turn to say 'I do'," said Harry, grinning at her.
Hermione shook her head before the smile slowly slid off her face and she whispered, "Harry. I think you're the most handsome and amazing guy a girl could know and I'm completely and utterly in love with you."
"You totally copied that from me," said Harry, grinning at her again.
"What can I say?" said Hermione, batting her eyelashes at him. "It's a good line."
"Please excuse me if I don't copy you copying me," said Harry, taking a second to clear his throat afterwards. "Instead, I'll say this." A deep breath. "I love you too, Hermione, I never stopped loving you, and most important of all…I'll never stop loving you."
"Harry," breathed Hermione as she tilted her head and her lips parted.
"Hermione," whispered Harry, his lips a hair's width from meeting Hermione's.
They fell together, their lips meeting, their love melding in a perfect kiss.
"I love you," breathed Harry against Hermione's lips.
"I love you too," she whispered back, smiling.
I can see myself spending the rest of my life with you…that's how I know I love you.
A/N: D'aww, they're in love!
I hope you found the ending to your liking, and if you didn't…well, I'm very sorry to hear that.
I hope you enjoyed the story, and I'm pretty sure I'll be posting an epilogue in a few days. Pretty Sure.
Please review and let me know your thoughts! (Reviews are my secret addiction)