The Wedding

The hustle and bustle that was so often associated with life at the Burrow increased over the next few days. Bill and Fleur’s wedding was to take place within the week, and preparations were to be made. Hermione was all too glad to help with the arrangements, but it meant that she and Ron had less and less time to steal away and be with one another. Due to this, they had only managed a few short kisses before having to break apart. It wasn’t that they didn’t want anybody to know about their budding relationship, it was just that they enjoyed keeping a secret to themselves. They knew that when the time was right, Harry and the Weasley’s would find out, and with time word would spread. But until then, Ron and Hermione would have to continue to sneak glances and find excuses to wander off together.

“Oh, Messez Weezley, zeez flowers are just goorgeous,” Fleur drawled, her speech still heavy with an accent. “Zey will look lovely when Bill an’ I are walking down ze aisle, no?” Mrs. Weasley smiled at her soon-to-be daughter in law. The entire family was warming up to Fleur, albeit slowly, and nobody could deny the fact that she made Bill extremely happy.

“Yes, dear, they will look quite lovely. Oh, good, you boys have got the platform for the archway. Fleur, dear, where would you like it?” Harry, Ron, and the twins had appeared on the scene, each supporting one corner of an enormous wooden platform. “Why we couldn’t magic this from there to here, I don’t know,” Harry whispered under his breath, obviously straining to keep the platform up.

“What was that, Harry dear?” Mrs. Weasley called. Harry looked around before grinning sheepishly and mumbling a reply. Fleur hurried over and directed them another few meters before she was satisfied with the location and the boys were finally allowed to set it down. It was the first time Hermione had seen Ron that day, and the sight of him made her heart stop.

She had never understood why the other Gryffindor girls were so swoony when the Quidditch team came back in from practice. To her, a group of sweaty boys was hardly enticing. But now, seeing Ron wearing a thin white cotton t-shirt soaked with sweat was enough to make her mouth dry. It stuck to the muscles in his back, outlining each hard detail. She wanted so badly to rip it off of him and trace each line, but she resisted, due to the fact that his family was surrounding them. She settled instead for a slight wink at him when he looked her way, causing his face to light up with a smile.

Harry saw the way his two best friends were looking at each other. Finally! he thought. I hope they don’t think that it’s a well kept secret, though…I’m fairly certain that everyone else knows, too. A look at Fred and George confirmed what he suspected. They were smirking at each other, no doubt silently conspiring ways to torture Ron about his newfound relationship with Hermione. He chuckled, wondering what the twins would do if they found out about the secret rendezvous that he and Ginny had been having.

Wiping his forehead, Harry thought back to their last little meeting. It had been a few days before, the last time that they had a chance to sneak away under his invisibility cloak. He smiled, remembering the way she looked, lying in her bed with her eyes wide open, waiting for him. From there they moved silently through the house and out into the back garden, barely able to refrain from touching one another. When they reached their final destination, the broomshed on the edge of the clearing where they played Quidditch, they left the cloak at the door, forgotten.

Harry had ached for her since Dumbledore’s funeral. The short amount of time they spent as a couple at Hogwarts confirmed what he had thought he felt for her before they even started dating: he loved her. He wanted to spend forever with her, but he was so scared that something was going to happen to her. He was, after all, the one that Voldemort marked as his equal…the one that Voldemort was destined to try to destroy. He couldn’t take any chances; he couldn’t risk Ginny being hurt. So he once again began practicing Occulumency (not without protest from Snape, but he had become increasingly less hard on Harry as their lessons continued) so that Voldemort would not have access to his mind. Therefore, his mind could play home to a myriad of thoughts-thoughts concerning the Order, thoughts concerning his future, and thoughts concerning Ginny.

Harry excused himself from the crowd in the garden, politely bowing out of the conversation to move into the kitchen for a tall glass of Mrs. Weasley’s delicious lemonade. As he walked past his two best friends, he noticed that Hermione couldn’t keep her eyes off of Ron’s chest, and that Ron was very busily staring at Hermione’s legs. He laughed, happy for his friends.

As he entered the kitchen, his thoughts turned again to Ginny. Merlin, he loved her, and he was willing to do anything he could so that they could be together again. He smiled, once again recalling the events that took place the last time they were alone together. He grew harder just thinking about Ginny’s kisses, so full of life and love and laughter, all contained in the massages of her tongue against his.

That’s it, he decided. I’ve got to see her, now. “Ginny!! Ginny….Genevieve Weasley, where are you?” He called out to her as he took the stairs two at a time to her room. When he got there, he saw that the door was closed. He nudged it open gently, only to find Ginny stretched across her bed, sleeping. She looked so beautiful he didn’t want to wake her up, but he couldn’t stand it. As he moved across the room toward her, he heard her mumble something in her sleep. It sounded a lot like-

“Harry. Oh, Harry,” she moaned. He bit his lip, unable to believe that she was dreaming about him. It looked like a good dream, too, judging from the way her hips moved against her bed. It was almost all he could do to not pounce on her right then and there, but he decided to see instead how well he could mix her dreams with reality.

Settling his weight on the edge of her bed, he ran his fingertips against her arms and neck, being careful to not wake her. He bent his head and ran his tongue across her earlobe, making her whimper. He groaned into her ear, unable to help himself, and she stirred. Before she could open her eyes, however, he leaned in and kissed her, hard and fast and full of longing. “Oh, Ginny,” he breathed against her lips. She brought her arms up and ran her fingers through his dark hair, pushing his mouth into hers and shifting them so that he lay on top of her.

Normally they would take their time with one another, as though they had never seen each other’s bodies. This time was different, however-Ginny and Harry both could feel the urgency in the air. They needed each other desperately-Harry could feel it in the way that Ginny’s hands held his head possessively; Ginny could feel it in Harry’s kisses. This wasn’t a time for sweet and languid touches, no. This was a time for them to let each other know just how badly they needed one another.

Harry pulled his wand from his back pocket and pointed it at the door. With a small click it locked shut, allowing the two a little more privacy. Ginny broke their kiss and smiled at Harry, pushing his hair out of his eyes before reaching for the hemline of his t-shirt. Her shirt quickly joined his on the floor, followed by two pairs of trousers and one simple black bra. Harry moved his kisses from her mouth to her earlobes, then to her neck and collarbone. She moaned his name when his teeth nipped at the hollow at the base of her neck. There’s that spot, he smiled to himself. That spot that drives her absolutely mad. He kissed it a few more times before kissing down her chest and bringing one hand up to move across her breast. She arched her back against him, her pale skin filling his hand and causing his already throbbing cock to grow harder. He moved his head lower, his tongue tracing a flaming line against her skin, all the way to her nipple. He felt it pucker under his tongue, and smiled to himself. He loved making her react this way. He loved her, period. He raised his head and looked into her eyes, wide with passion.

“You know I love you, don’t you, Ginny?”

“I know. You know I love you too, don’t you, Harry?”

He smiled. “I know. And you understand why I had to end our relationship, don’t you?” She laughed at him, her hands tracing the lines on his back and shoulders. “Um, Harry, it doesn’t quite seem as though our relationship is completely over,” she replied. He smiled, knowing that she was right, but that to continue on the way they were was dangerous. But she leaned her head up and kissed up, dispelling away any negative thoughts and allowing Harry to sink back into the feeling of being with Ginny.

She moved her hands across his back, slowly, until they reached the elastic waistband of his boxers. He raised his hips to allow her to slide them off, his erection springing forth and grazing against her inner thigh. She wasted no time in pulling down her underwear and wrapping her legs around Harry’s waist, giving him complete and total access to her.

As she pushed inside of her, they both moaned. It had been so long since they had been intimate, and it felt just like the first time. Harry soon had a steady rhythm going, thrusting deep inside of her and pulling out slowly, each push causing Ginny to gasp and pant. He could feel her tighten around him as he slid himself deeper and deeper into her hot wetness, and he knew that neither one of them would last much longer. The urgency with which they needed each other increased, and she cried his name, throwing her head back and pushing her hips against his. The contractions of her walls against his cock drove him over the edge, and he spilled inside of her. He moaned, welcoming the sweet release that had been pent up for the past few days. She smiled at him, pulling his head to the crook of her neck and running her fingers through his hair.

“I love you, Harry Potter. No matter what.”

-*-

Ron looked up when he heard Harry and Ginny coming down the staircase. He noticed that both of their faces looked a flushed and they were breathing a little heavy. He soured a little at the thought of his baby sister growing up to become somebody’s girlfriend, but he knew that Harry loved her. Besides, he thought, at least it’s not that prat Dean Thomas. Stupid git, as if it’s not obvious that now it’s over with my sister he’s moved on to my Hermione. He blinked, realizing what he just said to himself. His Hermione.

Just then, she walked into the kitchen, looking a little frazzled from having to arrange and rearrange seats, flowers, and ribbons until Fleur was satisfied. We would probably still be out there, she thought, if it wasn’t getting dark outside. She pulled her hair up into a bushy ponytail, curls flying everywhere. She always felt like she looked a little ridiculous with her hair pulled up, but to Ron she looked like an angel.

A chorus of pops notified them that Bill had arrived, as well as Charlie and Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley bustled about, making sure everyone’s hands were clean before they all sat down to dinner. The atmosphere at the dinner table was soon loud and lively, exactly the way it should be. Charlie was busy telling the twins and Bill about his latest Order assignment, but not in too much detail. Fleur wasn’t involved in any conversation, but instead running a slender finger along the scars on her fiancée’s face. Hermione's face grew hot with anger when she remembered how Bill had received those scars. She whispered a silent oath to Bill, a man she didn’t really even know, that she would do everything she good to help him get his revenge on that foul Fenrir Greyback. She turned her eyes from the foursome and to her three closest friends, only to find that they were in the midst of a heated argument about Quidditch. She smiled, knowing that she would be no useful contribution to the conversation, and sat back to enjoy the treacle tart she had just picked up.

A sharp peal of the doorbell silenced the table almost immediately. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley glanced at one another worriedly, before they both rose from their seats and disappeared into the entryway. “Oh, Remus, it’s just you. Hello there, Tonks dear, won’t you two please come in and join us for dinner?” Mrs. Weasley bustled back into the kitchen, followed by a smiling, blue-haired Tonks and a very tired looking Lupin. They smiled at the group assembled at the dinner table, but waved off the food piled high upon it.

“No thanks, Molly, we’re just here on Order business. Some pretty significant…uh…events have taken place, and we need to discuss a plan of action. A few other members will be here soon-I figured this would be the easiest place to assemble…ah….everyone.” As Lupin spoke these words, he glanced at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They looked at each other, and then to Ginny, before looking back up at Tonks and Lupin. Tonks gave them each a small wink and added, “And we also brought Bill his potion. If he hasn’t been affected by Greyback, then it will do him absolutely no harm. If he has, however, he’ll be able to keep his sanity while he transforms, just like Remus here.” She smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Lupin’s shoulder, smiling up at him. She had been in a much better mood since Lupin had pushed aside the risks of a relationship and admitted his feelings for her.

The foursome moved out of the room, followed closely by Bill, Fleur, and Charlie. The rest of the group looked a little downcast at being shut out of Order business yet again, but Fred and George suggested a game of Exploding Snap in the living room. Hermione gathered by the look on their face that this would be no ordinary game of Exploding Snap, but would more than likely feature some new products of Weasley’s Whizarding Wheezes. She declined participation in the game, but agreed to join the others and watch. This gave her the perfect opportunity to devise a way to spend some time with Ron alone, too.

As they passed by the closed doorway of Mr. Weasley’s office, Hermione paused. She could clearly hear the voices inside, talking in a rushed and urgent sort of way.

“Yes, we should tell them, but they might not understand. He did something pretty terrible, you know.”

“But Arthur, they deserve the right to know. Especially Harry, seeing as how he’s the one that our fate falls on.”

“Well, Remus, I still feel as though they’re children and information such as that will do them no good. They have enough problems of their own, Heaven knows, without worrying about the Order!”

“But mum, it’s going to come out sooner or later. You can only keep secrets for so long, you know.” Hermione heard a sigh, then footsteps towards the door. She tensed, ready to run at any sight of the door coming open, but stood her ground. “Tonks, Lupin, say thank you to him for the potion. Goodness knows what I would do without it-the thoughts keep me awake at night. And mum, make sure you wrap up some food for the two of them…where they are, they might not always manage three square meals a day.” With that, the doorknob began to turn and Hermione scampered off.


A/N: Well, what do you think? Not all 200+ hits from this story have been from me, so please, let me know if you like it or hate it or couldn't care less. Definitely do let me know if you're liking what you're reading, and I promise that I'll continue getting chapters up so fast!! I have a hard time finishing a story without some positive feedback, so please, FEEDBACK! Thanks, I love you all. =)