All Bets Are Off

Chapter 21

May 2004

On May fourteenth, the entire Weasley/Granger clan gathered at The Burrow for the rehearsal dinner. Hermione was trying to remain calm. Her stomach was queasy and the fact that the officiant had canceled on the rehearsal at the last minute wasn't helping. It was made worse by the fact that she hadn't even met the man yet, as Fred had been the one to hire him.

"He'll be here and ready tomorrow," Fred assured, rubbing her back. "Are you feeling okay? You look a bit peaky." He brought his hand up to her forehead.

Hermione brushed it away and nodded. "I promise, I'm fine. I'm just a bit anxious about everything coming together as we planned."

Fred laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Darling, it's us. Nothing ever goes as planned. But, it always ends perfectly."

He placed a light kiss on her lips and she looked up. His brown eyes were sparkling with excitement and it gave her a sense of calm. No matter what happened the next day, at the end of it all, she would be married to this amazing man and that was all that mattered.

"Thank you," she said, kissing him again. "I can't wait to give you your gift tomorrow."

Fred looked at her confusedly. "Wait, we're supposed to get each other gifts?"

"No, but I couldn't really say no to this one and I thought it would make a perfect wedding present."

"Can I have it now?" Fred asked.

"Is it our wedding day?"

"Can I have it at midnight?" he persisted.

"Only if you want to be hexed by your sister."

Fred groaned and Hermione sympathized. Ginny had talked Hermione into spending that evening at The Burrow with her. She insisted it would make the wedding day much more magical and special if Hermione and Fred didn't see each other before the ceremony. Hermione had agreed, figuring it made sense, but she didn't like the thought of spending the night, in a different bed, without Fred by her side.

"Fine, I'll wait," Fred said, with a pout.

They spent the next hour walking around the back garden, finalizing where the tent would be placed and chair placements for the ceremony. Hermione and Ginny coached Victoire on her flower girl duties, showing her how to slowly walk down the aisle and letting her practice throwing flower petals by giving her a bowl of dandelions to toss around.

Afterward, they all gathered around enlarged picnic tables, heaped with platters of food made by Molly and Magaret. A bottle of wine was passed around, but Hermione immediately handed it to Ginny when it came her way.

"You're not having any?" Ginny questioned, pouring herself a generous glassful.

"I'd rather keep my senses clear for the next twenty-four hours," Hermione explained, filling her glass with sparkling water.

Before anyone could start eating, Arthur stood up and clinked his fork against his glass, quieting the group and refocusing their attention.

"Tomorrow is going to be a special kind of crazy and I'm sure there will be much toasting of the happy couple," Arthur began. Fred wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder and smiled up at his father. Arthur cleared his throat and continued. "I wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words of my own. I was pondering on what I wanted to say last night and my instinct was to, of course, welcome Hermione to the family. But then I realized, I couldn't do that."

"Hermione, I'm sorry I cannot welcome you to the family tonight. You see, you were already part of this family long before knocking sense into our son. Molly and I have had the honor of watching both of you grow over the years, both individually and together."