Part Fifteen:
As soon as Mrs. Weasley Apparated to The Burrow, she was in a rush to get the reception prepared. Before she knew it, all the guests had arrived, even the Muggles. Mr. Weasley had politely accompanied Hermione's relatives by Muggle transportation to the Burrow, and everyone was settling down for the post-wedding supper.
Hermione and Ron took their seats at the end of the long table in the garden, Harry at their side. Next to him, to Harry's delight, sat Ginny. All the other guests took seats at the huge table. The garden knomes, that Ron's brothers had spent the morning getting rid of, had snuck back into the garden. Mr. Weasley was throwing scrapes at them until Mrs. Weasley scolded him. "Arthur, it's no wonder that they keep coming back! For once, can you PLEASE not treat them like pets?"
After the feast of turkies, chickens and hams with wonderful side dishes, everyone agreed that Mrs. Weasley's cooking was matched only by the Hogwarts house elves, and she was beaming with almost as much pleasure as the bride and groom. The dishes were cleared away, and everyone began talking, laughing, and drinking champage and firewhiskey (the ones still suffering from a hangover from the night before refused the latter). At one point, some music began playing, and Hermione and Ron had their first dance as husband and wife (though they were both only doing it for their parents: they weren't too fond of dancing themselves). After that, everyone was dancing and talking and congratulating the new couple.
Hermione and Ron were standing by the table, talking to Fred and Angelina, when someone said, "Well, well, I should've known: Weasley and Granger, married." The newly weds turned to see who'd spoken. To their utter horror, it was Professor Snape. Hermione pretended to be happy to see him, letting him graciously (but coldly, of course) kiss her hand. But Ron couldn't hold back the hostility he still felt for the most hated teacher at Hogwarts. "What're you doing here?" he demanded harshly, getting a swift poke in the ribs from Hermione's elbow.
"Why, he came as my guest." Appearing behind Professor Snape, with a blond-hair Tonks hanging on his arm, was Professor Lupin. He kissed Hermione's cheek and shook Ron's hand. "Congratulations. Though Severus is right: no one is really surprised about this."
"Congratulations!" Tonks threw her arms around Hermione in a tight, sisterly hug, then gave Ron a tight hug that nearly broke his spine. Then she turned back to Lupin. "Come on, Remus! Let's dance!"
"Oh, I suppose..." the older man said, looking helplessly at the rest of them as he allowed Tonks to drag him to the part of the garden set aside for dancers.
Ron looked back at Professor Snape. Oh, what the hell, he thought. Bygones be bygones and all that happy bullshit. He offered his hand to Snape for a shake. He was sure that Snape saw the gesture, but he didn't take Ron's hand. With one last cold congratulations, Snape went off by himself, leaving Ron to mutter, "Basturd."
"Ron!" Hermione hissed, though none-too-harshly. She'd never been fond of the greasy old man herself.
"He's just jealous that he never got married," Ron said with a spiteful grin. "Greasy old git, nobody want him."
"Enough," Hermione scolded gentely, holding back a smile. "It's our wedding day, no bad karma."
"Karma?" Ron grinned. "Our children are going to be Muslim, eh?"
Hermione smiled. "It's the Hindu that believe in karma," she said in her miss-know-it-all voice. "Or maybe the Buddists, but definatly not-" The rest of what she said was cut off as Ron kissed her.
"Darling?" he whispered. "The one thing I don't like about you is that you're a smartass. So kindly shut up."
"I'll correct you if I please," she replied, smiling sexily. They were about to kiss again when Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time to cut the cake.
Meanwhile, Harry couldn't find Ginny anywhere. He'd wanted to ask her to dance, to make up for the balls at school that he'd never taken her to...and regretted. But he couldn't find her. He danced a little with Lavender Brown, Parvati and Padma Patil, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley and even once with Mrs. Granger, though she'd kept trying to flatten his hair. "Honestly, you'd be a very handsome young man if you could control that hair of yours. Who knows, maybe this would be YOUR wedding day instead of Ron's. But I love Ronnie to death, I really do..." Harry couldn't take much more of that, and spent more time hiding from Hermione's mother then he did looking for Ginny.
When Mrs. Weasley announced the cutting of the cake, Harry gathered around the table. Hermione and Ron, in traditional Muggle wedding style, cut the cake and fed each other a piece. Then everyone dug in. Just as Harry was grabbing a plate with a slice on it, a hand cut him off on the way to it. Harry looked to see Ginny, who smiled at him. "Hi," she said. "Do you want...?" She held up the piece of cake.
"Oh...no, take it. I'll get another." They got their cakes and went off together to eat them. "I've been looking for you," Harry admitted. He wished he hadn't, until she smiled at him.
"Oh, sorry," she said with a sheepish smile. "I was talking to Professor McGonagall."
"Oh." What business did Ginny have with his boss. Well, she HAD been the head of her house, too... "What about?"
Ginny smiled. "I'm thinking about taking a job there."
Harry gaped at her. "But...there aren't any open positions...are there?" He remembered, with a sudden rush of terror, what Snape had said at the last staff meeting: "Last one hired, first one fired." But he shook it off quickly: he'd done nothing to deserve termination.
Ginny grinned at the worried look on his face. "I'm not teaching...yet. I was talking to McGonagall, and she was mentioning that Professor Sinistra needed an assistant."
Harry couldn't argue that. The Astronomy teacher was becoming more careless by the month. But she stubbornly refused to retire this year. "I've got a few more left in me!" she said in a dignified tone at the last meeting. Yes, a teaching assistant would be the perfect thing for her. But...
"What about your job? At the "Daily Prophet"?"
She snorted. "Yeah, whatever."
"I thought that you wanted to be a reporter?"
Ginny sighed. "I'm no closer to be a fucking reporter then I was when I took the stupid job. And besides, all those "superiors", so high and mighty, are so fake. I'd rather die then be like them." She looked up at the evening sky, where the first stars had begun to appear. "Besides, Astronomy was always my favorite class. I even got my N.E.W.Ts for it, just for fun. I'd love to take over the class one day, when old Spinistra gives it up." She looked at Harry again, and he recognized the look in her eyes. She'd worn it the night before, before they'd made love on her bed. And she may have been wearing it during their first time together, if he remembered. "And, I'll be closer to you."
Harry leaned in, ready to kiss her, when the yelling of Mrs. Weasley filled the garden: "They're leaving!" Everyone crowded to the front yard, where a rented Wizard Taxi was waiting. Ron's brothers had decorated it with traditional Muggle decorations: tin cans tied to strings from the bumper, whipped cream that read JUST MARRIED in huge letters on the back window, and countless streamers. There were hugs all around and everyone wished the newly weds a good time in Greece. Harry kissed Hermione and hugged Ron. "Have fun, mate," he said, patting his best friend on the back.
"Yeah," Ron said, glancing at his sister, who was standing at Harry's side. "You, too."
Hermione and Ron got into the back of the taxi, and as it drove away, they leaned out of the windows and waved goodbye. When it reached the end of the road, it disapeared with a loud BANG. The wedding party began to go back into the Burrow or Apparate home, until Ginny and Harry were the only ones standing on the road. That's when Harry finally got the courage to kiss Ginny.
After it was over, Ginny stared down the empty road with a little smile on her face. "Maybe that can be us someday."
"Yeah," Harry said, taking Ginny's hand. "Maybe."
The End.
****************
Hope you all enjoyed "Nuptials"! I'm working on a semi-sequal (no title yet, but look for it under my profile soon), taking place 15 years from now. It will be about all their kids at Hogwarts, and I hope you all check it out. Big thank you's to everyone who read this.
As soon as Mrs. Weasley Apparated to The Burrow, she was in a rush to get the reception prepared. Before she knew it, all the guests had arrived, even the Muggles. Mr. Weasley had politely accompanied Hermione's relatives by Muggle transportation to the Burrow, and everyone was settling down for the post-wedding supper.
Hermione and Ron took their seats at the end of the long table in the garden, Harry at their side. Next to him, to Harry's delight, sat Ginny. All the other guests took seats at the huge table. The garden knomes, that Ron's brothers had spent the morning getting rid of, had snuck back into the garden. Mr. Weasley was throwing scrapes at them until Mrs. Weasley scolded him. "Arthur, it's no wonder that they keep coming back! For once, can you PLEASE not treat them like pets?"
After the feast of turkies, chickens and hams with wonderful side dishes, everyone agreed that Mrs. Weasley's cooking was matched only by the Hogwarts house elves, and she was beaming with almost as much pleasure as the bride and groom. The dishes were cleared away, and everyone began talking, laughing, and drinking champage and firewhiskey (the ones still suffering from a hangover from the night before refused the latter). At one point, some music began playing, and Hermione and Ron had their first dance as husband and wife (though they were both only doing it for their parents: they weren't too fond of dancing themselves). After that, everyone was dancing and talking and congratulating the new couple.
Hermione and Ron were standing by the table, talking to Fred and Angelina, when someone said, "Well, well, I should've known: Weasley and Granger, married." The newly weds turned to see who'd spoken. To their utter horror, it was Professor Snape. Hermione pretended to be happy to see him, letting him graciously (but coldly, of course) kiss her hand. But Ron couldn't hold back the hostility he still felt for the most hated teacher at Hogwarts. "What're you doing here?" he demanded harshly, getting a swift poke in the ribs from Hermione's elbow.
"Why, he came as my guest." Appearing behind Professor Snape, with a blond-hair Tonks hanging on his arm, was Professor Lupin. He kissed Hermione's cheek and shook Ron's hand. "Congratulations. Though Severus is right: no one is really surprised about this."
"Congratulations!" Tonks threw her arms around Hermione in a tight, sisterly hug, then gave Ron a tight hug that nearly broke his spine. Then she turned back to Lupin. "Come on, Remus! Let's dance!"
"Oh, I suppose..." the older man said, looking helplessly at the rest of them as he allowed Tonks to drag him to the part of the garden set aside for dancers.
Ron looked back at Professor Snape. Oh, what the hell, he thought. Bygones be bygones and all that happy bullshit. He offered his hand to Snape for a shake. He was sure that Snape saw the gesture, but he didn't take Ron's hand. With one last cold congratulations, Snape went off by himself, leaving Ron to mutter, "Basturd."
"Ron!" Hermione hissed, though none-too-harshly. She'd never been fond of the greasy old man herself.
"He's just jealous that he never got married," Ron said with a spiteful grin. "Greasy old git, nobody want him."
"Enough," Hermione scolded gentely, holding back a smile. "It's our wedding day, no bad karma."
"Karma?" Ron grinned. "Our children are going to be Muslim, eh?"
Hermione smiled. "It's the Hindu that believe in karma," she said in her miss-know-it-all voice. "Or maybe the Buddists, but definatly not-" The rest of what she said was cut off as Ron kissed her.
"Darling?" he whispered. "The one thing I don't like about you is that you're a smartass. So kindly shut up."
"I'll correct you if I please," she replied, smiling sexily. They were about to kiss again when Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time to cut the cake.
Meanwhile, Harry couldn't find Ginny anywhere. He'd wanted to ask her to dance, to make up for the balls at school that he'd never taken her to...and regretted. But he couldn't find her. He danced a little with Lavender Brown, Parvati and Padma Patil, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley and even once with Mrs. Granger, though she'd kept trying to flatten his hair. "Honestly, you'd be a very handsome young man if you could control that hair of yours. Who knows, maybe this would be YOUR wedding day instead of Ron's. But I love Ronnie to death, I really do..." Harry couldn't take much more of that, and spent more time hiding from Hermione's mother then he did looking for Ginny.
When Mrs. Weasley announced the cutting of the cake, Harry gathered around the table. Hermione and Ron, in traditional Muggle wedding style, cut the cake and fed each other a piece. Then everyone dug in. Just as Harry was grabbing a plate with a slice on it, a hand cut him off on the way to it. Harry looked to see Ginny, who smiled at him. "Hi," she said. "Do you want...?" She held up the piece of cake.
"Oh...no, take it. I'll get another." They got their cakes and went off together to eat them. "I've been looking for you," Harry admitted. He wished he hadn't, until she smiled at him.
"Oh, sorry," she said with a sheepish smile. "I was talking to Professor McGonagall."
"Oh." What business did Ginny have with his boss. Well, she HAD been the head of her house, too... "What about?"
Ginny smiled. "I'm thinking about taking a job there."
Harry gaped at her. "But...there aren't any open positions...are there?" He remembered, with a sudden rush of terror, what Snape had said at the last staff meeting: "Last one hired, first one fired." But he shook it off quickly: he'd done nothing to deserve termination.
Ginny grinned at the worried look on his face. "I'm not teaching...yet. I was talking to McGonagall, and she was mentioning that Professor Sinistra needed an assistant."
Harry couldn't argue that. The Astronomy teacher was becoming more careless by the month. But she stubbornly refused to retire this year. "I've got a few more left in me!" she said in a dignified tone at the last meeting. Yes, a teaching assistant would be the perfect thing for her. But...
"What about your job? At the "Daily Prophet"?"
She snorted. "Yeah, whatever."
"I thought that you wanted to be a reporter?"
Ginny sighed. "I'm no closer to be a fucking reporter then I was when I took the stupid job. And besides, all those "superiors", so high and mighty, are so fake. I'd rather die then be like them." She looked up at the evening sky, where the first stars had begun to appear. "Besides, Astronomy was always my favorite class. I even got my N.E.W.Ts for it, just for fun. I'd love to take over the class one day, when old Spinistra gives it up." She looked at Harry again, and he recognized the look in her eyes. She'd worn it the night before, before they'd made love on her bed. And she may have been wearing it during their first time together, if he remembered. "And, I'll be closer to you."
Harry leaned in, ready to kiss her, when the yelling of Mrs. Weasley filled the garden: "They're leaving!" Everyone crowded to the front yard, where a rented Wizard Taxi was waiting. Ron's brothers had decorated it with traditional Muggle decorations: tin cans tied to strings from the bumper, whipped cream that read JUST MARRIED in huge letters on the back window, and countless streamers. There were hugs all around and everyone wished the newly weds a good time in Greece. Harry kissed Hermione and hugged Ron. "Have fun, mate," he said, patting his best friend on the back.
"Yeah," Ron said, glancing at his sister, who was standing at Harry's side. "You, too."
Hermione and Ron got into the back of the taxi, and as it drove away, they leaned out of the windows and waved goodbye. When it reached the end of the road, it disapeared with a loud BANG. The wedding party began to go back into the Burrow or Apparate home, until Ginny and Harry were the only ones standing on the road. That's when Harry finally got the courage to kiss Ginny.
After it was over, Ginny stared down the empty road with a little smile on her face. "Maybe that can be us someday."
"Yeah," Harry said, taking Ginny's hand. "Maybe."
The End.
****************
Hope you all enjoyed "Nuptials"! I'm working on a semi-sequal (no title yet, but look for it under my profile soon), taking place 15 years from now. It will be about all their kids at Hogwarts, and I hope you all check it out. Big thank you's to everyone who read this.