A/N: So, I did better than I thought I would on my self control. I guess I have Soul Bound to thank for that. When I set out writing this fic, it was untitled and had no real direction. When I had the first few chapters done, I found my awesome beta, Frogster. But I had already decided to wait until I had 10 chapters written and beta'd to post. I will, however be posting one chapter weekly. I made it to nine. But Soul Bound allowed me to write and post immediately while continuing to keep my promise to myself on this one. So, with no further blubbering on my part. I give you, chapter one of Say You Won't Let Go.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

I hope you enjoy!

XoXo,

Elle!

The Daily Prophet was calling it, "The Wedding of the Century!" But to Hermione, it was just her best friend's wedding. As she stood beside Ginny, holding not one, but two bouquets, she couldn't help the stray tears that leaked down her cheeks. The innate happiness she felt hadn't left her since the war had ended, and seeing Harry so unbelievably happy only continued the elation. Around her, the crowd erupted in cheers and catcalls as Harry dipped Ginny back and kissed her soundly. There was a loud bang as George's fireworks display lit up the late July night sky, the glittering embers spelling out, NOW PRESENTING: MR AND MRS. HARRY POTTER!, for all of the guests to see. The newlyweds danced down the aisle laughing the whole way as the wedding party followed. Hermione gave Ron a bashful smile as she walked next to him after the couple. It had been over two years since the war had ended, and they still hadn't discussed the only kiss they had ever shared.

As Ron gave her an awkward smile, she started to open her mouth and say something but Ginny snagged her away. "Hermione, we have to go and take pictures now!" Hermione barely held back her groan. They had already taken pictures before the ceremony, sans Harry. What with the no seeing the bride before the wedding, thing. Which she didn't understand at all, well, okay maybe she did. She was just tired of the starburst of lights the flashes left on the back of her eyelids for minutes after.

A round of fake smiles and awkward poses later, Hermione was finally free and she went into the large tent set up for the reception. As she had predicted, Ron had already made his way to the buffet table, loading a plate high with food. Her heart skipped in her chest at the sight of her childhood crush. She cleared her throat and grinned sheepishly, "Hi, Ron." He startled, almost dropping his plate, a baby carrot rolling free and falling into the grass. He already had a mouthful of something and as he moved the half-chewed food to his cheek, he managed another awkward smile, "Hey, 'Mione."

"Beautiful ceremony, wasn't it?" She picked at an invisible fiber on her dress, mentally kicking herself at her question. Why in Merlin's beard was she so awkward around him now? He dipped his head in a nod, "It was." They turned and walked towards their designated seats and sat down among the other guests. Hermione felt like there were a million butterflies in her stomach as she watched her other best friend shove food into his mouth. "Listen, Ron. I, er, I know we haven't talked about it much, but, um…" When she realized he wasn't listening, she sighed and reached up to smack him on the back of his head. "Would you quit stuffing your face you, git? I'm trying to talk to you!" And just like that, his familiar shocked expression drained the nerves right out of her. "It's been two years since our kiss, Ron! And we haven't even talked about it!"

He blinked myopically at her, his mouth hanging open, bits of chicken clinging to the corners of his lips. She rolled her eyes and handed him a linen napkin, watching as he wiped his mouth. "I, uh, we...well, shit, Hermione. I didn't know. You didn't say anything, so I didn't say anything. We've all been busy rebuilding the wizarding world. You went back to Hogwarts, and I went into my auror training. We can talk about it now." Though he didn't look entirely comfortable with the idea of it. In fact, he looked positively green at the mere mention of it.

Which stung, tears prickling at Hermione's eyes quickly. She ducked her head so that he wouldn't notice and spoke, "Was it just a spur of the moment thing, or was there more to it?" She had changed a lot since the end of the war. Normally, she would have met him eye to eye when asking this question, but now, she couldn't bring herself to lift her head. "I don't know, 'Mione. I guess a bit of both. Bloody hell, we were in the middle of a battle. Neither of us knew if we'd survive and we both needed a connection of some kind. I mean, I'd be a right git, if I didn't say I was completely daft for not realizing you had, have," at this point he gave her a questioning look, "feelings for me."

She stared at the man in front of her, drinking in his familiar features. From the freckles dusted across his cheeks, to the light red eyelashes framing his blue eyes. The look in them so sincere that she couldn't help but feel that familiar quiver in her gut, and squeeze of her heart. "I do still have feelings for you, Ronald Weasley. But the real question is, do you reciprocate those feelings?" Hermione had to bite back the giggle as she watched the wheels turning as he searched for the definition of the big word in his brain. His shoulders lifted in a shrug, but he gave her a light smile, "That's not a question I can answer easily, because we both know I have the emotional range of a teaspoon." He winked at her and continued, "But how about we try? Hermione Granger, would you like to go out on a date with me?"

As her giggles died down from their joke and the realization of his question dawned on her, the goofy grin on her face slowly faded into a radiant smile that lit up her face. "Why yes, I do believe that I would like that, Ronald Weasley." He smiled his familiar lopsided grin at her and returned to his plate of food. "'Morrow good?" He asked around a fresh mouthful of food. Would he ever learn table manners? Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, tomorrow is good." She still couldn't wipe the smile off of her face, even if he was being a bit of a prat about setting up their first date. But after almost a decade of friendship, she was used to it. It was just Ron. "Great. I'll pick you up at 7 then." He looked over at her, before turning and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

She could feel the blush blooming from her chest and working it's way up her neck and into her face, which she hid in her hands. Ron didn't notice though, because he had immediately tucked back into his food. When she looked up, Ginny caught her eye and gave her a questioning look with a tilt of her head. Hermione mouthed at her, Later. As Ginny nodded and returned to her food and talking to Harry with a lovesick expression, Hermione got up to make herself a plate of food. In her head, she was mentally rehearsing her maid of honor speech that would be given when most everyone had finished eating.

An hour later, Hermione looked around and saw that nearly everyone, save Ron, had finished and rose from her chair. As she cast a Sonorous charm on herself, she cleared her throat. "May I have everyone's attention, please?" She waited for the last of the chatter to die down as she smiled a little nervously at everyone. "Thank you. On behalf of our newlyweds behind me," she turned and smiled at Harry and Ginny, gesturing to them, "we would like to thank you for coming to celebrate. We hope you enjoyed your dinner and there's still a lot of fun to be had. Now, as maid of honor, Ginny thought it would be fun to torture me and make me give a speech." At this point, she gave a pointed look at her red-headed friend who had the decency to blush.

"While I may have been, well, I still am, really, a know-it-all as so many have put it, I absolutely loathe public speaking. But, since it is for this very special occasion, I decided to suck it up." There were laughs and chuckles from the crowd at this point and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Ginny, while it took us a while to form the friendship we have now, I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. You have been my rock when Harry couldn't be, or when he didn't want to be…" she gave Harry a pointed look, who groaned and hid his face, then a wink at Ginny, who giggled.

"And I couldn't be more grateful for that. With that being said, as of tonight, I am officially handing off the torch. It's now your responsibility to keep him from being a git and getting himself killed." The crowd roared with laughter behind her as Harry blushed from their table. "Harry, my dear friend." Hermione's eyes started to mist over as she turned away from the crowd to face her best friend. Their eyes locked and she took a deep breath, "No one here, can know the depth behind the friendship that you, Ron and I have. A friendship that has stood the most trying and stressful tests. We have been through so much together, and to see you come through it the way you did, with my help of course." The guests laughed again behind her back, but she was oblivious to it, as the tears started to roll down her cheeks. She jumped when she felt an arm slide around her shoulders, looking to her left, she smiled up at Ron and leaned into his side, grateful for his support.

She only just now realized she was shaking. "To see you now, so happy and...and free. Harry, this is the greatest blessing that anyone could ever ask for…" She had to stop again, the only sounds audible were the sounds of the insects in the night. At this point, Harry stood up from his seat and came to her, wrapping her in a hug. Ron lifted his wand and whispered, "Finite Incantatem." With the Sonorous charm lifted, Hermione's choked sob was lost in the collar of Harry's dress robes. "I love you, Harry. I'm so happy for you." She felt his lips against her temple in a gentle kiss. "I love you too, 'Mione. I wouldn't be here without you. Thank you."

A half hour later, it was time for Harry and Ginny's first dance. The music started and Ron scooted his chair closer to Hermione's. As his arm draped across her shoulders, she tried not to smile like a loon. She rested her head on his shoulder as she watched her friends move around the dance floor to their chosen song. Soft applause sounded as the music came to a close and other couples made their way onto the parquet floor. Hermione felt Ron's nose against the top of her head, her ear vibrating as his voice rumbled in his chest, "Would you like to dance?"

She sat up in surprise and looked over at him. "Really?" When he simply nodded, her smile grew. "I would love to." He stood, his hand extended, waiting for her. Hermione raised her head, brown eyes meeting blue, butterflies taking flight in her stomach as she placed her hand in his and stood. She let Ron lead her to the dance floor, as they came face to face, her cheeks flushed.

Her nerves had kicked in again now, they had never been in such an intimate position. One of his large hands came to rest on her hip, the other grasping her hand. She placed her free hand on his shoulder and he started to move them around the dance floor. She was pleasantly surprised at how well he danced. He was so gangly that sometimes he could be quite uncoordinated. Her face must have betrayed her surprise because he mumbled, "Mum made us all take lessons before the wedding." She laughed softly, how could she have missed that? It must have been while she and Ginny were doing the planning. "Well, you're doing brilliant." She could feel many pairs of eyes on them as they moved about the floor, her blush returning to her cheeks.

Ron's hand slid around from her waist to the small of her back, pulling her closer, he lifted the hand he was holding, placing it around his neck. His now freed hand moving to join the other, and Hermione linked her hands behind his neck, resting her head on his chest. The music drifted into a more up tempo song, but she and Ron never changed their pace. Instead, they just made a slow turn in the same spot they were occupying, lost in their own world as she listened to the steady beating of his heart.

A few songs later, Hermione jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder, her eyes flying open to look at who had touched her, but it was Harry, who chuckled at her startled expression. "Sorry, but mind if I cut in, Ron?" He asked, looking up at his best friend. Ron shook his head and handed Hermione off, "It's my turn to dance with my sister anyway." Ron leaned in and kissed Hermione's forehead before going to cut in on Ginny and George. Harry placed his hands on her waist as they started to dance in time with the moderately paced song with a smirk on his face. "Someone looked content." Hermione flushed a deep red and mumbled, "He's taking me on a date tomorrow night." Harry blinked, clearly astonished. "Well it's about time, the thick-headed git. I'm happy for the two of you. It's been a long time coming for the both of you. Besides, you've not been the same since the war. Ginny and I worry about you."

Hermione sighed and rested her head on Harry's shoulder. "I know. It's like the war took all of the confidence I had and just stripped it away. I mean, I failed to keep my parents safe, Harry. I charmed their memories, made them forget me. They were supposed to go to Australia, and build a new life…" She trailed off, not able to finish what she was saying. But Harry knew. Instead of leaving immediately, like she had hoped they would, they'd taken a week to put the house up for sale and pack all of their necessary belongings. The day before their departure, Death Eaters had found them, and tortured them for information about Hermione.

When it had become evident to them that her parents had been memory charmed, they tried to reverse the charm unsuccessfully, which had driven her parents mad. Much like had happened to Neville's parents, when Bellatrix had tortured them with the Cruciatus. Then, when they weren't useful to Voldemort any longer, they were killed. Hermione was grateful though, that she hadn't learned of this until after the war had ended.

"Shhh, Hermione. You tried. You did what you could. It wasn't your fault that they didn't leave right away." His hand had moved up to rub her back gently. "Don't think about that now. Think about tomorrow. You're going to have a great time. Now, you'd better go and dance with my wife. She's been chomping at the bit to find out why you and Ron have been so touchy tonight." Hermione laughed as Harry released her with a kiss to her cheek and shooed her off in the direction of said red-head who was giving her pointed looks. But instead of staying on the dance floor, the two women moved to a couple of abandoned chairs.

Ginny didn't waste a moment, "Spill." It seemed as if all Hermione could do tonight was blush. "We're going on a date tomorrow night." The high pitched squeal emitted from the girl had Hermione covering her ears and grimacing. "It's about bloody time! He's such an arse! I've been nagging at him for two years! TWO YEARS!" Hermione laughed hard. "Harry said the same thing. Well, that it was about time. Wait...you have?" Ginny nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! I'm not the only one either! Mum has too." "Well, your nagging didn't work all that well, since I'm the one who broached the subject basically." Ginny's jaw dropped. "You asked him? That...that...PRAT!" Hermione snorted and shook her head. "No, he actually asked me. But I'm the one that brought up the fact that we had never talked about our kiss. We both said we had feelings for each other and that we would try our hand at something and he asked me for a date." Ginny shook her head with a grin. "At least he finally got the bullocks to ask. Even if you did have to basically persuade him into it."

Hermione glanced out at the dance floor where Ron, Harry, George and a number of her other male ex-school mates were in the middle, dancing like wild men and laughed. "Yes, well, in between stuffing his face with chicken and potatoes. But it wouldn't have been Ron if he hadn't." Ginny followed her gaze, a snort of agreement leaving her nose. "If that isn't the truth, then I'm a weasel." It was Hermione's turn to snort. "Not anymore you're not. Now you're a Potter." Both girls dissolved into giggles as they continued to watch the boys make fools of themselves.

A couple of hours and quite a bit of firewhiskey later, it was time for the bouquet and garter toss. Ginny was going first, and naturally the crowd of giggling women were pushing and shoving each other to try and get the best position, arms outstretched above them. Hermione stayed on the outside edge of the group, not intent on catching the bundle of flowers at all. It was much too soon for her to be thinking about marriage, thank you, very much.

Ginny, looking over her shoulder, did a couple of practice swings, before clenching her eyes shut tight and turning forward, launching the bouquet end over end. At just the perfect moment, a long, dark skinned, slender arm jumped above the rest, fist clenching around the stem with a triumphant yell. Angelina had caught it. Hermione immediately turned to find George in the crowd, only to burst out into a fit of laughter at the look of utter mortification on his face. He quickly masked it with a grin as his girlfriend made her way to him with the flowers, giving him a swift kiss before he made his way to the middle of the floor.

The girls cleared out as Ginny was maneuvered into a seat, while Harry stood next to her, already blushing furiously at the prospect of what was coming next. The men were boisterous in their taunting of him as he got down on his knees and started working his head and shoulders under Ginny's dress, keeping her modesty intact. She was blushing a deep scarlet as no doubt, Harry's lips were moving up her thigh to find the garter on her leg. Hermione was blushing herself as her brain sprouted up a vision of Ron one day doing the same to her.

Ginny's leg kicked out as Harry began his retreat, emerging from the folds of her skirting with the elastic band in his teeth, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. He hooked the band around his fingers and aimed it at the crowd of his now family, and former classmates and let it fly. Heads tilted back as eyes watched it fly, and as it reached its peak and started to descend, Ron's eyes started to widen. There were multiple hands reaching for it, but with his height, it was making a beeline straight for him, and it landed, right across his unblinking eyes.

Hermione gasped, staring wide eyed at him, the whole crowd was laughing, and she soon joined in as Ron stood there in abject shock, before he snatched the garter off his face. He was blushing as red as his hair as his eyes connected with hers and she stopped laughing. There in the blue, was another dimension that she wasn't used to seeing in his eyes, want. And he wanted her. Everyone else had gone their separate ways to enjoy the reception, oblivious to the moment they were having.

Ron was stalking towards her, purpose in every stride, a smirk pulling one corner of his lips up. Hermione backed away with a grin, she felt she was being hunted, and if she was honest with herself, she kind of liked it. They quickly left behind the lit area of the Burrows backyard and were nearing Mr. Weasley's workshop, where she backed against the side of it, her eyes on Ron. When he caught up to her, his hands immediately cupped her face and brought his lips to hers in a bruising kiss, her arms winding around his neck. This kiss was just as good, if not better than the first time they had kissed, and she found herself stretching up onto her toes to pull closer to him.

His tongue darted out from his mouth to trail along her lips and she obligingly opened her lips for him. This was new territory for her, she was unsure what to do, so she tentatively ran her tongue along his. With an answering growl, he pushed her further against the wall of the shed, his fingers threading into her hair. Who needed air when kissing was this pleasurable? She felt her body starting to heat, her arousal beginning to bloom between her legs, and it startled her. With her hands on his chest, she pushed Ron back, panting heavily, rasping out, "Ron, wait."

A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please review and let me know how much you loved it!

XoXo,

Elle.