The sun finally set high up on the hill top, casting the forest into a dark night and disappearing from view. It was now completely dark, the only light from the stars and moon above. The centaurs trampled on, and they had now formed a path in the woods, one that animals would later follow. They weren't even that far from the grounds where they had set up camp days before. The soft hoot of an owl sounded from a tree far up towards the top branches, of which seemed to touch the moon shining above.
"Hush now, my brethren. We are nearly upon our campsite, and mustn't alert the other creatures of where our hiding place is." Alexio said, and from the first day that he had spoken to them in words of wisdom while standing atop the rocks, the clan had looked to him as a new sort of leader, but he knew all too well that as soon as they got Sibelius back, all of his glory would be taken from him. But he didn't care about that- the only thing he wanted as to have his ruler back.
The soft murmuring voices that had been following him were now silent. They marched silently through the trees, tails swishing, faces set in blank confidence, the sound of their hooves hitting the hard ground echos through the night, until they finally come to a small clearing in the trees. The campsite.
* * *
It was finally the weekend.
The day that everyone had had their blowouts with each other, yesterday, had been Friday, and now Saturday was finally upon them. Hermione was more tired than anyone of them, or so it seemed. She fell asleep late that night to the sound of Ron's loud snores, and to the thought of all of the things that Lee had said the day before.
When she woke, the warm sun was shining through their curtains on her face. She stretches, groans, and turns over, pulling the white comforter over her face and sinking into the pillows. She sighs and lets her mind fall back into her dream that she couldn't quite remember- though she remembered something about pizza, and she was almost positive that it included Harry and Ron.
Thinking of Ron, she stretches her fingers out towards Ron's spot on the bed. Her fingers brush cold, empty sheets, and she frowns, opening her eyes to see that Ron wasn't there. She sits up in bed, putting her arms on her comforter. Her hair was a mess, which she knew, because it had been put up in a messy half bun the night before. Normally Hermione showered at night, but after her time at the pizzeria with Harry, she hadn't felt like showering, and so she just went to bed.
She clambers up out of bed and yawns, rubbing her eyes and stumbling out into the hall.
She and Ron were currently renting a small two bedroom apartment, with Harry and Ginny next door to them. Their room was at the end of the hall, right next to the bathroom, and there was a spare bedroom right in front of theirs. The hallway opened up into the living room, and there was a dining room and tiny kitchen to the left.
Ron was in the kitchen when she entered it, listening to The Weird Sisters on the small kitchen stereo and flipping pancakes. He turns and grins when he sees her, breaking away from the frying pan to give her a hug.
He wraps his arms tightly around her, but when he goes to give her a peck on the lips, she ducks away from him. "What's wrong?" He asks her, frowning.
"Morning breath." She turns and moves towards the frying pan. "What's all this?"
"Well." Ron said, moving to stand next to her and flipping the last pancake. "Some people call this breakfast."
He hands her two plates with a stack of pancakes on them. "Can you take these to the table? I have to get the syrup."
Hermione nods and carries the plates to the small dining room table and sets them down across from each other. She starts to work on her pancakes as Ron comes in and sits down. "What's your plan for today, Ron?"
Ron shrugs, shoveling pancakes into his mouth. He swallows, and then responds. "I'm meeting with Harry to make sure that our wedding stuff is all set."
Hermione stares. "Wedding stuff?"
"Yeah." Ron says. "We're doing our double wedding with Harry and Ginny when you two come back from your mission, remember?"
She nods. "Oh- that's right. I'm supposed to go with Ginny to get our dresses. I forgot about that."
"Have you already picked them out?"
Hermione nods. "Yeah, we're just going to pick them up. We'll get the cake and stuff too."
Ron glances over at their calendar that was hanging on the wall beside the dinging room table. "You and Harry are going to meet with the centaurs on Monday, right?" She nods. "Okay. How long should it take you?"
She eats the last piece of pancakes and picks up her plate as well as Ron's. "Shouldn't take longer than a day. We have to be back in time to get married on Tuesday."
Ron grins. "You have no idea how excited I am."
Hermione laughs. "Actually, I think I do." She rinses off the plates and sets them down in the sink. "Can you wash those for me? I have to go get dressed."
"For?"
"Meeting Ginny. Duh."
* * *
Harry and Ron both shivered, exhaling into the cold, bitter air.
They had bid goodbye to the girls long ago. Hermione had showered this morning, due to her laziness of not showering the night before, and then had tied her hair in a long plait. Unfortunately for her, as soon as she stepped outside, her hair was-
"Frozen." Ron comments, touching Hermione's hard, crunchy hair. "Now I see why you shower at night."
They parted ways once Ginny came outside- the girls to get the dresses and the cake, and the boys to get... everything else.
"So, what do you reckon we should get first?" Harry asks Ron. They had already entered Diagon Alley, and they were walking through the cold and flooded streets that made up Diagon Alley.
The pair were going to get married to their girlfriends on October twenty-ninth, and so, being a few days before the wedding, the streets were packed with people shopping for Halloween decorations and candy.
"Well, Hermione was generous enough to make us a list." Ron says, pulling out a long, rolled up strip of parchment, which was filled with Hermione's neat script. At the tip she had written List For Harry and Ron. Harry stared at his name on the paper- she wrote it really lovely. It was neat and small, and he could practically see her hand passing over the paper, drawing the double 'r' and the 'y'...
"So I thing we should get the flowers first." Ron says, interrupting him from his thoughts. Harry could practically feel his train of thoughts crashing into the side of his head. "What do you think- Wilfred's or Lacy's?"
Harry frowns. "What? Who's Wilfred and Lacy?"
"They're stores, moron." Ron says. "The girls chose red and gold for the wedding colors, and so we are supposed to get a matching bouquet for each of them... I'm thinking red. Then we can do roses." He puts the parchment back in his pocket. "So- Wilfred's or Lacy's?"
"Wilfred's." Harry says, gesturing to a little further down the street. "Because it's right there."
Ron grinned. "Wise choice."
They made their way through the people, accidentally stepping on someone's feet and almost losing Harry's scarf. "Is this where you got those flowers?" Harry asks Ron.
"What flowers?"
"The ones you gave Hermione a month or so ago, for her twentieth birthday."
Ron nods. "Oh. No- those ones came from Lacey's." Ron pauses before opening the shop door. "I feel like we're really young to be getting married, don't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we're all nineteen except for Hermione, and Ginny is eighteen. And we're getting married." Ron says, and he starts to look around at the display of flowers. "You don't think that we're a little young?"
Harry shrugs. "Yeah, I suppose, but I feel like if anything tested our love for each other, it was the war. We all made it through it."
Ron raises an eyebrow in half-agreement. "True. I bet you, whatever feelings we had for each other during the war were true."
For an odd reason, Harry thinks once more of Lee's comment, and the night at the pizzeria. "Yeah... you're right."
* * *
Hermione and Ginny entered the store, still cold from the outside air. "It's really cold today." Hermione commented, and Ginny nods.
"More than usual."
A perky looking man in about his twenties comes out from behind a counter, a smile already bursting to life on his face. "Welcome ladies, welcome! You're Miss Hermione Granger- I could recognize you anywhere! I bet everyone could though, you're very famous, just like Harry Potter and Mr. Ron... And if you're in here, then this must be Ginny Weasley. And if I remember correctly, my boss said you two would be here to pick up your dresses?"
Hermione nods. "Yes, we are."
The man claps his hands. "Excellent!" He brings out two white dresses on metal hangers, wrapped in plastic and holding them high off the ground. "You can try them on one more time, if you'd like."
The two girls happily take their dresses.
"I want to see you in yours." Hermione says to Ginny, who nods.
"And I want to see you in yours... we should try them on one at a time."
Hermione smiles and takes a seat in one of the waiting chairs. "You first."
Ginny beams and rushes into the dressing room.
Hermione knew all too well that when Ginny came out of that dressing room, Hermione would be jealous. Ginny was always prettier than Hermione, and skinnier than Hermione... the only thing she wasn't was smarter. But that didn't take away much from Hermione's envy that she constantly shoved down.
Ginny came out, and, per usual, she looked stunning. Her dress, bright white and sleeveless, clung to her figure until about her hips, were it blossomed out into a flowing skirt that just brushes the floor. It was swept elegantly to the side, and the top was bright and covered in tiny sparkles. It made everything about Ginny pop- her bright red hair, her attractive features, her envious body.
Hermione smiles. "You look so beautiful- I'm honestly jealous."
"Oh quit- you have nothing to be jealous of." Ginny says, lightly taking Hermione's hands. "I'm going to go change, and then I want to see you!"
When Ginny was done, Hermione entered the changing room and pulled on her soft and smooth dress, looking in the mirror.
Though Hermione was deeply jealous of Ginny, she did like her dress. Hermione's dress wasn't strapless like Ginny, it had one strap the crossed over her chest, concealing everything, and crossed over her left shoulder to connect with the rest of her dress at her mid-back. It was pearly white, and the top of it had rhinestones embedded into the fabric. The skirt spiraled out around her in long, flowing waves, and she planned to wear the necklace her mother had given her to match- the one that her mother had worn to her own wedding.
As soon as Hermione stepped out, Ginny gasped. "You- you look stunning! Hermione..." Ginny shakes her head. "No way should you be jealous of me. You look truly beautiful."
Hermione's face burns. "Really?"
"Yes! You have to get that one- you have to."
Hermione grins. "I was planning on it." She gestures to the man. "Come on Gin- let's go pay."
* * *
The next morning, Hermione got a text from Luna.
"Hermione, thank you for the wedding invitation, and I'm sorry that it took me so long to reply. It's the Nargles, I swear... but Neville and I will be coming, I promise. See you Tuesday!" Hermione read aloud for Ron.
"Maybe Luna will help Ginny and I get the wedding all set up for when you return." Ron replies, grabbing the remote and starting to flip through the channels. "What time do you reckon you'll get back tomorrow?"
Hermione smiles, and shrugs lightly, leaning back against him. "I dunno... probably around three or four in the afternoon. Harry and I are leaving in the morning at like eight."
Ron nods. "Just make sure you're back in time for the wedding."
"I'm positive I'll be back before the day after, but okay. I'll be there, Ron. I don't know why you're so worried about me not making it."
Ron shakes his head. "I've... I've just got this feeling, you know? Like something is going to go wrong."
Hermione frowns. "Well, don't. We'll be perfectly safe."
"But you won't even let them send Aurors with you."
Hermione smiles thinly. "That's because coming as a group would be too threatening. And all I need is Harry- I've got his back, and he's got mine. That's how it's always been with the two of us- you know that." Hermione looked over at the table next to their couch, and picked up a picture frame that was standing up there.
It was a picture of the three of them- Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It was a wizard's photo, so they were all moving and talking. They were laughing at some joke Ron had said, and Harry's arms were around both of their shoulders, their bodies standing out sharply against the white, snowy background.
Ron nods stiffly. "Yeah."
* * *
Ginny hung her coat up on the rack mounted on the wall near the door, and entered the kitchen to see Harry seated at the table, staring at a photograph. He stuffed it hastily into his pocket when she came in.
"So Harry, I was thinking about going and having dinner tonight with Ron and Hermione. You know, to celebrate the two of you going off on that mission." She says, taking out a carton of milk and pouring herself a glass. "And to celebrate the both of our marriages."
Harry grins. "Yeah... that's a great idea Ginny. I'll text Hermione." He whips out his phone, his fingers brushing the picture in his pocket.
Ginny laughs. "Why bother? They're right next door, and these walls are so thin you could literally just holler to them." She takes a large gulp of milk, wiping her face off. "Or maybe we could come up with a code. Like, three bangs on the wall means 'hey'." She bangs her fist against the wall three times, making Harry laugh. "And four bangs means 'no' two means 'yes'..." She kept demonstrating, until finally there was a fierce pounding on the front door.
"Look at that, Gin. Someone's answered you." Harry says, getting up and walking towards the front door. He swings it wide open to reveal Hermione standing there. "Hi Hermione."
"What are you two banging about?" Hermione demands.
Ginny appears at Harry's side. "Oh, Hermione! I was saying we could make a secret code. See watch..." And then she went on to demonstrate everything that she showed Harry, and even did the correct bangs on the wall.
Then, a man appears red faced behind Hermione. "IF I HEAR ONE MORE BANG, THE LOT OF YOU WILL BE KICKED OUT!" He screams, and he reminded Harry nastily of Uncle Vernon.
Hermione wipes his spit off of her cheek. "By whom?"
"BY ME!"
"Actually, you can't just kick out your neighbors. I read the apartment complex's rules. You have to in fact, file a two page complaint to the manager of this apartment complex, who will start off by giving the person who is causing the problem a strict verbal warning, and if the situation repeats itself, they are then asked to leave the complex. However, if you wish to not go through in all of that stress and paperwork, then you are welcome to simply ask the producer of said problem to please stop the ruckus they are causing." She states in a matter-of-fact tone, before proceeding to apologize and shut the door in his large, purple face.
She turns back to the pair of them. "Well. That went over well, don't you think?"
Ginny smiles and turns back to her glass of milk, thanking Hermione, while Harry flops down onto their leather couch. "Hey Hermione, Ginny and I were thinking-"
"Which is never a good idea to begin with." Hermione says with a half smile.
"We were thinking," Harry repeats, the side of his mouth tilting up at her comment. "that maybe, as a celebration of our marriages and our mission tomorrow to go see the centaurs, we could all go out to dinner."
"It was my idea, actually." Ginny pipes up, rinsing the glass in the sink and placing it in the dishwasher.
Hermione frowns. "I don't think we can."
"It was all Harry's idea." Ginny recovers, joining Harry on the couch.
Harry stares at Hermione, confused. "What? Why not?"
Hermione shrugs. "I dunno. I haven't really had a romantic moment with Ron in a while, and I'm leaving tomorrow..."
"But you're only leaving for a day! And you'll be with Harry!" Ginny says. "You two promised Ron and I that you would be back Monday night."
"Actually, Gin," Harry says. "we said we'll probably be back Monday night- we promised we would be home in time for our double wedding. Speaking of which," he turns to Hermione, "you're getting married on Tuesday, and having a week long honeymoon in the Caribbean. What could you need besides that?"
Hermione shrugs. "I don't know, you guys. I've got this weird feeling, almost like cold feet, and that's the last thing I want right now. I think a night out alone with Ron will make it better."
"Hermione-" Ginny says.
"Look, I'm sorry. I want to spend the night with you too, but... I need to fix whatever this is, before my sudden cold feet turn to ice." She says regretfully, and Harry can tell that she really is sorry. Something about the way she held her words, and the way they spilled out, showed her emotions plain and open. She felt bad not coming, but she wanted to be with Ron.
The best thing Harry could do for her right now was to be supportive. "It's alright Hermione, we understand. You go have your night with Ron, and I'll text you tomorrow about the mission. Meet me in my office at eight, okay?"
Hermione beams, and surprises Harry with an enormous hug. "Thank you so much. It means a lot to me, Harry." She whispers, and then gives Ginny a quick hug before exiting.
Ginny stares at the door for a long time after Hermione had left.
Harry catches on and pokes her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
She shakes her head. "I just wish Hermione didn't hug you as much."
Harry shrugs. "Why? Her hugs are the best- if there was a career on hugging, she would be the best at it."
Ginny frowns. "How are her hugs any different than mine?"
Harry picks at a loose thread in his jeans. "Hermione sort of... radiates warmth and comfort. Or at least, I think she does. And-"
"She radiates warmth and comfort even when she's blasting Death Eaters to smithereens?"
Harry smiles. "Nah, she's scary when she does that. But when she isn't fighting, she's just warm and comforting. And so when she hugs people, or at least, when she hugs me, I feel like she's transferring all of that warmth and happiness to me." He glances at Ginny. "Don't tell me her hugging me makes you jealous."
Ginny stays silent, and her cheeks burn.
Harry puts his arm around Ginny and squeezes her shoulders. "Ginny, if we're going to be together, you can't be jealous of Hermione hugging me. I'm marrying you, need I remind you."
Ginny smiles, nodding. "You're right. I shouldn't be jealous- you guys are like brother and sister, aren't you?"
Harry nods. "Yeah. Like brother and sister."
* * *
"He has come, sir."
Alexio looks up from carving his bow and arrow to see a man standing before him. Alexio wants badly to take in his every feature, but most of him is blocked by the darkness of the night. The centaur gets to his feet, his tail brushing the rocks as he clambers up. "Have you found out news of their arrival date?"
The man nods nervously, and the two centaurs behind him stomp their hooves against the hard ground. "Yes, I have. They will be arriving tomorrow."
Alexio's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline in surprise. "So soon? Why did it take you so long to gather this information?"
"The plans have only been recently made."
Alexio nods in satisfaction. "My brethren- ready the camp for our visitors! They will be coming tomorrow morning! And as or you, Vincent Crabbe, you may go. You have done me a great service."
Crabbe nods stiffly, before turning and dashing from the woods.