A/N: This is it.
Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone. -C.S. Lewis
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," Dumbledore exclaimed, smiling brightly as the two kissed.
The whole place erupted in applause, wolf-whistles and thunderous shouts of joy rattled the window panes of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Fred and George grinned at each other.
"I hope the baby doesn't have his ugly mug. With a scar like that, he'd be the laughing stock!" Fred said rather loudly, causing others to laugh as well as they watched the two exit the Great Hall while everyone else prepared the Hall for the reception.
Entering an empty classroom, the two fell against the wall, lips moving against each others heatedly, the groom's hands moving over his new wife's body with growing eagerness. He pressed himself closer to her, his heart soaring when she pulled him closer, moving her lips down his jaw and up to his ear and whispering certain promises of the night to come in his ear.
They were about to delve into this new found freedom when someone coughed and the bride nearly screamed in surprise.
They turned around to see a couple sitting in the front desk chair. Or rather, the man was sitting in the front desk chair and the woman was sitting in his lap, a smile teasing both their lips. The man in the chair raised an eyebrow.
"Enjoying my sister, Potter?"
The woman frowned and turned to the man.
"That's not appropriate, Ronald," she told him.
The man turned his gaze upon her, an amused smile on his face.
"Ronald? You weren't calling me Ronald a minute ago. In fact, I think you were telling me to-"
The woman shot him a nasty look and stood up from his lap, quelling his gusto to tell everyone about their previous antics. Harry tried to hide a smile while he glanced over to the blushing redhead, whose eyes were on an imaginary stain on his robes.
"I didn't see you when I came in," she whispered.
The woman bit her lip and glanced down at Ron.
"I… I wasn't feeling well," she whispered.
Ginny's eyes grew slightly and she paled.
"Oh… Hermione-"
"Harry, Ginny, come on! The Hall's ready for… oh Ron! Hermione, dear! We didn't see you come in to the Hall… earlier," Mrs. Weasley finished, glancing over to her daughter, who was still staring at Hermione.
Hermione put on a bright smile, knowing that this was Mrs. Weasley's moment.
"Oh, I was in there," she said.
Ron stood up.
"We stood in the corner. The lights were bothering her," he answered smartly, moving over to where Harry was standing and placed a hand on his back. "Hermione needed to take a breather."
Harry couldn't help but let out a snicker, knowing that the two had been in here for more that a breather. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but decided against saying anything, knowing that this was a touchy subject for both Hermione as well as Ginny, who was once again, fiddling around with Harry's robes.
"Well, come on them. Everyone's waiting for the happy couple!"
Ginny smiled and nodded. "We'll be there!"
Mrs. Weasley beamed at the two and left, a skip in her step. Hermione turned to Ginny and her smile became even more genuine.
"Oh Ginny! You're married!" she squealed before unceremoniously shoving Harry out of the way and pulling Ginny to her, hugging her tightly and crying.
Ron smiled at Harry's indignant look at being shoved to the side and clapped him on the back.
"Don't worry. You'll forget about it by tonight," he whispered, causing Harry to go red.
Hermione and Ginny were now babbling incoherently, crying and hugging.
Harry took Ginny's hand and smiled.
"Gin, I don't think your mum's going to appreciate you appearing in front of everyone sobbing," he muttered.
Both women shot him a look and Ginny sniffed, fixing her hair before giving Ron a quick kiss before leaving the room. Harry offered them a shrug and followed his new wife out the door. Hermione was about to follow when she suddenly stopped and touched her head, teetering to the side. Ron frowned, moving over to her and placing a hand on her arm.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
She looked up at him and tried to smile, taking deep breaths as she balanced herself out.
"Yeah… I just…" she drifted off, the memories of three years ago still evident in her mind.
Ron looked away, unable to meet her pained eyes.
"You still hear the voices," he whispered.
Hermione could see that this occurrence was bothering him greatly, but she couldn't let this happen. Taking his hand, she led him out the door and to the Great Hall.
"Come on," she whispered.
As they entered the Hall, people were already applauding and telling funny stories about the happy couple. She turned slightly and looked up at Ron, observing his face as he watched Harry and Ginny carefully.
"Do you hate me?" she asked.
Ron looked down at her, obviously confused.
"What?"
"Do you hate me? For not wanting to get married…"
She felt him stiffen beside him and she knew she had upset him. He remained quiet for a while, watching as everyone around him smiled and enjoyed themselves.
"I don't hate you, Hermione… you have every right to-"
She turned herself around so that she was facing him fully.
"But you want to get married," she interjected, not wanting him to make excuses for her sake.
Ron returned to silence for what seemed like ages before he spoke again.
"Hermione… I…" He looked straight into her eyes and tried again, his voice filled with so much emotion that Hermione would have started crying, had the room not burst out into laughter from something George had said. "Hermione, I love you," he told her. "I just thank God that you're alive and that you even remember who I am."
Hermione took his hand, a small smile now on her face.
"I can hardly go anywhere without you without… hearing him…" she whispered.
He lifted his hand up to her cheek.
"But it's getting better, though," he said hopefully.
Hermione bit her lip. She looked over to Harry and Ginny, who were grinning stupidly.
"What if it never gets better, Ron? What if I'm never well enough to get married?"
Ron shook his head, kissing her cheek.
"That doesn't matter. I don't care if we never get married. I just need you here with me… as long as you're here, I'll be ok."
"But you… you've always wanted to get married…"
Ron shook his head again, pulling her to him.
"I don't need to get married as long as you promise not to leave," he whispered.
Hermione rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes as she felt the tears come to her. He loved her so much, he was willing to wait for her.
"But… we might never be able to… make love or… have kids," she whispered into his robes.
Ron pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
"I love you, Hermione," he whispered before pulling away and moving down to the front of the Hall where Harry motioned for him to sit beside him. The two were soon in a heated conversation with a few other men, leaving Hermione by herself in the corner. He had just ended all conversation quickly with her with those three simple words and she could feel herself feeling warmer inside.
"Not meaning to sound selfish, but I seem to remember this being my wedding and you are not smiling."
Hermione turned to see Ginny standing there, a bright smile on her face.
"I'm just thinking, that's all," she whispered.
Ginny bit her lip and glanced over to where Ron was sitting.
"Do you love him?"
Hermione was silent for a moment then nodded slowly.
"I still love him."
Ginny then smiled again and took Hermione's hand, leading her through the happy crowd.
"Then don't think. Just enjoy. It may not be the right time, but trust me. The two of you are going to get married someday," Ginny said as they approached the table. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm supposed to have my first dance with a certain Mr. Potter," she said rather loudly.
Harry looked up and grinned. Standing up, he went around the table and took her hand, leading her to the middle of the Hall. Hermione watched them as they moved to the music that was now playing over them, the candles and enchanted ceiling setting an ambiance of love.
"That will be us, I know it," Ron whispered into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"How are you so certain?" she asked, leaning into his chest as they watched the two on the floor. He stayed quiet for a while then Ron tightened his grip on her.
"Because I promised I'd never leave you. That also meant that I was going to marry you," he whispered.
She turned and looked up at him. Standing on her toes, she brushed her lips against his, feeling his arms pull her closer.
"Thank you," she whispered into his lips.
"For what?"
"For saving me…"
The End.
A/N: I have finished Deathly Hallows and I LOVED IT! It was much better than the last one and although it had a lot more language than any HP book I thought would have, (Cheers to Mrs. Weasley!) I am very excited to see how the movie turns out. I hope you all enjoyed this story.
marauders rox: Not neccesarily better as in the sense that they're happily married with two kids, but I would consider this a happy ending.
mione-ron-4ever: Oh, don't feel sorry for them anymore!
tefy: I don't plan on seeing the movie anytime soon. Maybe when it comes out on DVD at Blockbuster or something, mostly because I heard they altered a few things, especially the whole Cho thing. I heard they made her the one who ratted the Army out. Anyway, as for the book, it is awsome! I thought it was really good.
HpC0ldplay: I decided to end this peacefully.
greenbean16: Here you go!
NairobiDawn: Well, it wasn't really that I was busy but I just couldn't bring myself to write much more of this story. This is an incredibly emotional story for me to write and I'm more of a prefectionist, so I have to have it right in my mind before I even start writing. I'm horrible because even after I've updated, I have at least two other alternate ways that situation could have gone and it sometimes upsets me. Sometimes I feel that I haven't put enough detail, or like in the 11th, 12th and maybe 13th chapter of this story, I might have put too much detail. I have an ongoing war in my head.
Coconut Girl: That's good! I'm still so excited! Have you read the Deathly Hallows book yet? Anyway, I'm just trying to get through the rest of my stories. I think I'm running out of ideas!
cellogirl: Don't worry, I think I almost cried after writing the last story. It was hard to write that one, though, because I didn't want it to mimic the hospital scene with Ron and Hermione in Vindicated. I think I ended up doing that anyway.
Mione-Girl.x: Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed this story.
I am running out of ideas. I think it's because of Deathly Hallows. If I do continue to do the stories after I'm done, it will most likely not follow the last two books, like I usually do. I would, however, consider any ideas from my reviewers, as long as you know it's something I'll consider doing.
BYE!
HAPPY READING!