Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: Again, I beg for your patience, readers. I just wanted to remind everyone that Harry and Hermione are indeed getting together in this fic…it's not one of those where Harry and Hermione get married to Ginny and Ron and spend their lives in regret that they never revealed their feelings for each other. It's going to be a happy ending, trust me. We just have to wade through some more angst to get there. And remember, no flames, please!

Thanks to Charlotte, EmmaRadcliffe, justduck, Meli, Christy, noorelisa, and the Anonymous folks for your wonderful reviews!

Chapter 29: Letting Go

Harry dodged behind a tree as a red jet of light zoomed through the air. He felt the gust of wind made by the spell rustle his hair, but it collided harmlessly into the area behind him.

"You're gonna have to do better than that if you want any hope of hitting me, ickle Ronnikins!" he taunted loudly.

"That one almost hit you!" he heard Ron protest from across the clearing, where he had previously sought refuge from Harry's cascade of spells.

"Almost doesn't count for shit when you're face to face with a Death Eater!" Harry responded, peeking out from his hiding spot.

"Yeah, but you're not a Death Eater, are you?" Ron said. Harry could tell that he was hidden behind a boulder that was northwest of the tree he was standing behind.

"And besides," Ron continued, "I'm getting married tomorrow! Can't you give a bloke some sympathy? You've already beat me up enough!"

Harry shook his head even though he knew Ron couldn't see him. "Fine, I'm sorry your face looks like that."

"Nothing's happened to my face!"

"Well, excuse me for being thorough," Harry replied, then stepped out from behind the tree and whipped his wand in the direction of the boulder. "REDUCTO!"

The boulder exploded, sending rubble flying in every which direction and leaving a very exposed and very dazed-looking Ron sprawled in its place.

"Levicorpus!" Harry said.

Ron was instantly yanked up by his ankle by some invisible force and levitated in front of Harry.

"Merlin, I bloody hate when you do that!"

"You shouldn't make it so easy, then," Harry replied.

"Why d'you make me spar with you, anyway?" Ron said glumly, his face slowly turning red. "You know I'd be better off against one of the other guys. I can actually beat them!"

"There's no point in that," Harry said. "It's not a challenge. And the only reason you can beat them is because you've been practicing with me." He left out the fact that he wanted to release some of the frustration that had been building up for the last few weeks.

"I guess," Ron said sourly. "But like I said, I'm getting married tomorrow!"

Harry frowned. "I recall. What's your point?"

"You're gonna be sending Hermione a black-and-blue groom if you keep pounding me like this!"

"I'm not too worried," Harry replied. "Hermione likes blue."

Ron glared at him.

"Besides," Harry said, "you're Auror test's in two weeks. If you expect to pass you need to be ready."

"Geez, you're so uptight about this stuff," Ron said. "You're even worse today! And would you mind letting me down?!"

Harry waved his wand and Ron crumpled into a heap on the ground.

"Thanks," he muttered, rubbing his limbs resentfully.

"No problem." Harry watched as Ron pulled himself up and dusted off his clothes.

"I think that's enough training for today, don't you think?" he said in a voice that clearly indicated that he had no intention what-so-ever of participating in another spar with Harry.

"Whatever you say," Harry said. They walked together toward the edge of the clearing and stepped through a door back into the Auror office. Another young trainee approached immediately.

"Are you done using the Simulator Room, Mr. Potter?" the trainee asked.

"Yes," Harry stated wearily, in too foul a mood to insist the teenager call him by his first name. "It's all yours." He then strode back in the direction of his office with Ron at his heels.

"You finished up for the day?" Ron asked.

"More or less," Harry said stiffly.

"Great, because you have no excuse to show up late tonight at the pub. And by the pissed-off mood you've been in today, it seems to me that you're in severe need of a pint."

"I'm not pissed-off!" Harry growled unconvincingly.

"Right," Ron said with a smirk. "Either way, we need you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for tomorrow. Can't have an angry git walking my wife down the aisle."

This was doing nothing to improve Harry's mood.

"I'll meet you and the guys at the pub later," Harry said shortly. "I've still got to get a few things done."

Ron recognized the dismissal and left promptly, wondering what had gotten his best man into such a foul mood.

*************

Ginny zoomed across the Holyhead Harpies stadium, tossing the Quaffle back and forth among her fellow Chasers. Samantha and Keri had joined the team shortly before Ginny, but as they were multiple years her senior they had taken the young Weasley under their wings.

"Come on, Gin, keep up the pace!" Keri yelled, somersaulting in the air as she caught the ball Samantha had passed. She threw it has hard as she could at the right hoop of the goal and their Keeper, Jessie, caught it easily.

"Nice one, Jess!" Samantha yelled.

Ginny nodded her agreement and Jessie gave her the thumbs up. Jessie was the youngest and newest member on the team and the Harpies were pleased at their prospects in the upcoming season.

Jessie tossed the ball to Ginny, who was closest, but just before the Quaffle reached her she experienced a sudden wave of dizziness. The ball crashed into her arm and bounced outwards, but she lunged forward and pulled it towards her at the last second.

"Not-so-nice one, Butterfingers!" Samantha said good-naturedly.

"My bad," Ginny said, rubbing at her eyes. "Just got dizzy there for a second."

"You just need to get some more blood pumping," said one of the team Beaters, Gwyneth, who also happened to be the new captain of the team. "Run through that last tactic again!"

Ginny nodded as all three Chasers took off to the other end of the pitch, tossing the Quaffle leisurely between them. Once they reached the other end, they spun around and flew full speed towards Jessie once more.

Halfway down the pitch, however, the lightheadedness returned to Ginny once more, combined with an overwhelming feeling of nausea. The Quaffle zoomed right past her head without her making the slightest move for it.

Allyson, the team's Seeker, happened to be near the ground searching for the Snitch and caught the Quaffle before it hit the ground.

"Geez, Gin, what's up with you today?" Keri said. "You'd usually be on that pass like scales on a dragon. Heck, we were even thinking of changing that phrase just because of your mad skills. We were gonna start saying `like Ginny on a Quaffle.' What d'you think?"

Ginny responded by vomiting over the side of her broom.

"Okay, I know it's a bad line, but it's not that bad!" Keri said anxiously as the team zoomed in to hold Ginny steady on her broom.

"'S alright," she muttered as she wiped her mouth. "Must've eaten something bad at breakfast…"

"You should go home either way," Gwyneth said forcefully. "Samantha, would you make sure she gets there alright?"

"Of course," Samantha replied, and clutched Ginny's arm firmly as they drifted to the ground.

"I dunno what's wrong with me," Ginny said weakly. "I felt perfectly fine last night."

"You probably just caught a bug. A good day or two's rest should fix it."

"Yeah," Ginny replied. "You're probably right."

********

Hermione stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror.

She stood in her old room in her mother's house, clothed in a beautiful white dress. Her hair was pinned up in an intricate bun and one of her mother's necklaces was clasped around her neck. Her family - both Weasley and Granger - were all gathered outside, happily enjoying the celebration of her marriage with Ron.

Apparently she was the only one who wasn't.

She in fact felt rather miserable. And the fact that she felt miserable on her wedding day only served to make her feel, if possible, even more miserable.

Surely she was doing something wrong - it must be illegal to feel this downtrodden on your wedding day. She thought back to Ginny's radiant smile on her wedding day, the way she had twirled throughout the room and seemed to float rather than walk.

But Hermione felt no urge to twirl, and when she attempted it she simply felt silly. When she walked about the room, she felt if anything more solidly connected to the floor than ever before. Her smile was so completely fake she was sure others would see immediately through it. In other words, there was nothing radiant about her whatsoever.

Ginny had seemed like a diamond at her wedding - Hermione felt as though she were about as stunning as a polished chunk of rock.

Her brooding was interrupted, however, by Luna and Ginny stepping into the room. They both looked giggly and blissful and Hermione quickly rearranged her face once more into the painful imitation of a smile she had practiced earlier.

"Hey, guys," she said brightly.

"Oh, look at you!" Ginny said happily, circling Hermione. "You look amazing!"

"Yes," Luna agreed serenely. "You look wonderful, Hermione."

"Thank you, Luna," Hermione said, feeling tears prickle at the back of her eyes. "You both look beautiful as well."

"You're not supposed to remark on how we look," Ginny said, exasperated. "It doesn't matter how we look. It matters how you look. If anything, we're supposed to look horrible compared to you!"

"Really?" Luna said curiously. "I could always go change…maybe change my eyebrow color…?"

"No, that won't be necessary, Luna," Ginny said. "This is supposed to be a Muggle wedding. No magic allowed since Hermione's relatives are here."

"And I want you to stay looking just as nice as you do now," Hermione said kindly.

Luna smiled. "Rolf seems to like the dress as well."

"And he should!" Ginny said. "I'm glad you've hit it off so well with him." She turned to Hermione suddenly and gripped her shoulders.

"No one would blame you if you pulled out now, Hermione," she said seriously.

Hermione cocked her head to hide how much this plan appealed to her. "Random much, Ginny?"

She shrugged. "Not so much. I was thinking about Rolf and Harry and how in the world someone like Ron got someone as good as you."

"That's so touching, Ginny," Luna said.

"I thought so," Ginny replied. "And I was joking, of course." She lowered her voice and gestured toward the window. "I'll cover for you!" she whispered loudly.

Hermione couldn't help but giggle at her soon-to-be sister-in-law's crazy antics.

"You are something, Ginny."

"As are you, Hermione." She paused. "And Luna."

"Thank you, Ginny!" Luna said sincerely, beaming.

Ginny smiled at her in return and then turned back to Hermione. "Seriously, though, it is nice that we've all stuck together like this. One big happy Weasley family!"

At that moment Mrs. Weasley came bustling into Hermione's room. She examined her son's fiancé fondly and hugged her.

"You look so beautiful, darling."

"I've been told," Hermione said, smiling.

"The ceremony is going to be lovely," Mrs. Weasley said. "Everything is perfect. And I must say it'll be a bit of a relief to be done with all of this wedding business once and for all. It's so exhausting!"

Ginny laughed. "Oh, you know you're going to miss all of this!" she said. "I'm actually considering getting a divorce in the near future just so you'll have something to occupy yourself with."

"That's nothing to joke about, dear," Mrs. Weasley said seriously. "That would be absolutely horrible."

"Who said we wouldn't get remarried?" Ginny said.

"She has a point, Mrs. Weasley," Luna said, nodding.

"Either way, it can't be good luck to talk about such things on the day of a wedding. And I need you two to come with me to set up a few last minute things," Mrs. Weasley said, gesturing to Ginny and Luna. She then turned to Hermione. "Your mother should be up in a moment as well."

Hermione nodded. "Alright."

Mrs. Weasley smiled at her once more and then bustled the other two girls out of the room. Hermione's mother showed up moments later.

"Hey, honey," Katherine said, pulling her daughter tightly to her. She then held Hermione at arm's length and examined her intently. "How're you feeling?"

Hermione swallowed. So many choices really… Depressed? Miserable? Heartbroken?

"Nervous, I suppose," she responded, settling on the feeling that would be most appropriate for the situation.

Katherine smiled. "That's to be expected, of course. Everyone's nervous on their wedding day."

Hermione jerked her head in a noncommittal sort of way.

Her mother observed her sadly for a moment, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"I wanted to also apologize to you, sweetie."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "What for?"

"For… for being so harsh on you before. I was completely out of line -"

Hermione cut her off. "No, you weren't. You're my mother. Knocking sense into me is part of your job description."

Katherine laughed, wiping at her eyes. "I shouldn't have gone about it in that way though. It was just such a stressful time - "

"I know, Mum. It's okay."

Mrs. Granger smiled at her daughter again, sniffling. "I wish your father could be here. So much."

This caused Hermione to dab at her own eyes. "M-me too, Mum," she said shakily. "I miss him."

Katherine gripped her daughter's hands tightly. "I know he would've been happy that Harry's walking you down the aisle as well. You couldn't have picked anyone better."

Hermione nodded, still brushing at her eyes and not meeting her mother's gaze.

"Is it almost time?" she asked.

Katherine nodded. "Just about."

***********

Harry observed the bustle of the guests with a sense of both apathy and fascination. He had drunk very little the previous night at Ron's bachelor party and was therefore fit enough to converse with many of the Grangers. He had met no one from Hermione's family except for her parents and he found the opportunity to study her relatives quite appealing. It also provided the perfect distraction from the event itself.

He was absorbed in a conversation with one of Hermione's older cousins when Ginny and Mrs. Weasley arrived and pulled him away.

"What's up?" Harry said as they retreated towards the edge of the crowd of people.

"We should be starting quite soon," Mrs. Weasley said, her eyes darting methodically to the decorations to make sure everything was in place. "Best to be ready. Where's Ron?"

"Looking nervous as hell at the end of the aisle. As expected," Ginny said.

Luna walked up calmly a moment later. "They're lacking a seat on Hermione's side of the guests," she said.

"Oh, I knew we should've set out more!" Mrs. Weasley said. "Ginny, dear, would you go and collect a chair from our side and move it?"

"Why do I always have to get the extra chair?" Ginny groaned.

"Because you're just so persuasive, Gin," Harry said.

"True," she said, making a show of cracking her knuckles. "If you aren't willing to punch a relative for a chair, you don't belong in this family."

"Ginny…" Mrs. Weasley said warningly.

"Oh, Mum, relax a bit! I know there are some spare chairs over there," she said, and pushed her way back through the crowd to collect them.

"Believe or not, I actually am feeling rather relaxed," Mrs. Weasley said. "Katherine's been so helpful, and after four other weddings I've finally got it right!"

"And it's the last one, too," Harry said. "Pity."

Mrs. Weasley smiled fondly at her son-in-law. "Indeed."

She checked her watch and startled slightly. "Oh, we need to get ready! It's time to start!"

"Right," Harry said, swallowing loudly.

*********

Hermione swallowed nervously as her mother led her from her room and towards the door that led onto the porch. The house was deserted since the guests were all seated in anticipation of the start of the ceremony.

After one last embrace and peck on the cheek her mother walked briskly from the house and sat in the front row of the bride's section.

Unlike at Harry's wedding, every second was passing with extreme clarity. Everything seemed ridiculously crisp and bright, as though she had just put on glasses that were much stronger than necessary.

She was dreading the moment when Harry would come get her - if anyone would see through her bravado, it would be him.

She took a deep breath and composed herself as the door opened.

Harry closed the door quickly behind him and turned towards her.

**********

Harry practically felt his throat close as he took in Hermione's appearance.

She looked - was - absolutely beautiful, and it took him multiple moments to gather the voice to tell her so.

"You look…breathtaking, Hermione."

She smiled up at him, tears shining in her eyes, and Harry brushed them away when they began to trail down her cheeks.

"None of that, now," he said as jokingly as he could, still cupping her face. "I can't have you blubbering all the way down the aisle."

Hermione laughed softly and wiped impatiently at her own eyes. She pulled away as Ginny and Luna entered the room.

"Here," Luna said kindly, handing Hermione a bouquet of assorted flowers. She and Ginny each clutched a simpler bouquet of their own.

"Ready?" Harry asked, all traces of joking gone as he stared down carefully at Hermione.

She averted her eyes after a moment and gave a small nod.

"Ok, let's do this," Ginny said. The double doors leading to the porch and garden were thrown wide, and the traditional wedding march instigated the even more traditional twist of the guests as they turned to examine the procession.

Smiling radiantly, Ginny led the way onto the porch, down the steps, and along the stretch of white silk that lined the way to where Ron and a minister stood. Luna followed after a moment's pause and walked a few paces behind her. They both made their way slowly down the aisle and finally lined up in front of the bride's guests.

Harry extended his arm towards a rather pale Hermione and she laced her arm through it. He gripped her hand and could feel her shaking slightly as they stepped forward to begin their own walk.

Hermione shot Harry a nervous smile and then stared ahead of her determinedly. They both took a collective breath and finally walked onto the porch.

Harry blinked furiously as the sunlight pierced his eyes, but despite the strong sunshine he noticed how cold the breeze felt after the warmth of the house. He felt goosebumps erupt on Hermione's arm and reached over with his free hand to rub her forearm soothingly. Her shivering was more prominent than ever.

Strangely, he felt himself shaking slightly as well.

He couldn't quite put a finger as to why this was. He wasn't nervous…over a decade of fame had more or less deadened him to the stares of other people, especially since he actually knew over half of the individuals in the room. Nor was he necessarily cold. He was wearing a suit, after all.

But Hermione's arm did feel pleasantly warm, nestled as it was against his.

Actually, his grip on Hermione's hand soon became a rather important point of interest to him, and each step that he took seemed to make it all the more significant.

It fit rather well into his own, he thought. Perfectly, really. Her hand seemed small and warm in his, and Harry found that he quite liked the feel of it.

So much so that he didn't want to let go.

As he and Hermione inched closer towards Ron, Harry felt as though someone had pulled wool over his ears. Everything was very muffled except for the increasing staccato of his own heart.

Why was this happening now? In a few seconds he was expected to release Hermione's hand and allow Ron to take it. How could he do that when every solitary fiber of his being was screaming against that very action, bellowing at him to hold fast to her for all he was worth?

All too soon he noticed that they had reached the end of the rows of guests and that Ron had stepped forward, beaming, to initiate the event that Harry so loathed to complete.

But he had to. There was no question of it - it's not as though he could simply stand there in front of both Ron and Hermione's families (and technically his own) and refuse to release the bride…No matter how much he wanted to.

Hermione rubbed her thumb along the top of Harry's hand, as if reminding him of her presence. His skin tingled where her thumb trailed.

He closed his eyes for the briefest moment and loosened his fingers against all better judgment. Hermione extricated her hand gently and smiled at him.

Harry flashed her a reassuring smile (perhaps more for himself than her) and bent down to place a small kiss on the corner of her lips. Then, without a further glance, he hastily retreated to stand at the front of the groom's side of the family. He was grateful he wasn't forced to watch Hermione place her hand into Ron's.

**********

"Harry?"

Harry jolted slightly as Ginny spoke his name. "Hmmm?"

"You just completely tuned out," she said. Her hands were around Harry's neck as they danced to the slow beat of the music that emanated throughout the garden.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I'm just a bit tired, I guess."

Ginny laughed lightly. "Maybe you shouldn't have drunk so much at Ron's party!"

Harry didn't bother to correct her assumption and gave a silent nod of agreement.

They danced quietly for a few minutes, but it seemed as though Ginny were practically about to burst with suppressed excitement.

"I'm not the only one who's acting a bit odd," he said. "You look like you're about to jump out of your skin."

"I'm just….really really really happy at the moment," Ginny replied with a small shrug.

Harry frowned. "About what exactly?"

"Oh, about everything, really! It's a beautiful day, my brother just got married, it looks like the Cannons might actually have a shot at the Cup this year -"

Harry cut her off. "You wouldn't be this excited about that stuff. What is it really?"

Ginny gave a half-exasperated, half-delighted squeal. "I was meaning to wait until later, but…Harry, I'm pregnant!" she said, leaping at him to hug him tightly around the neck. "Can you believe this? We're going to be parents!"

Harry stood in shock as Ginny practically wringed his neck. "Merlin, holy - Gin, are you serious?!"

Ginny giggled as she pulled away from him. "Of course I'm serious, you dolt! You're going to be a dad!"

Harry felt two overwhelming emotions gush into his chest almost simultaneously: pure, absolute happiness and an unexplainable torrent of painful regret. Or almost unexplainable… the feeling of Hermione's hand in his had not yet abated.

"Don't tell anyone, though," Ginny said as she pulled Harry back into the motions of dancing. "This is Ron and Hermione's day, after all. We wouldn't want to take anything away from that."

Harry's eyes darted unwillingly to the newly married couple at Ginny's mention of them.

"Right," he said. "We wouldn't want to do that."

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