Football is a winter sport, not Quidditch. Harry thought as he dove for the Snitch, Angie Bright just centimeters behind him. Even with the new goggles Harry was using, the tears were blurring his vision and distracting him from a quick end to this drill. Just a few more meters... The Snitch turned and made a sharp dive toward the ground, then reversed its direction on Harry and Angie. Taking his coaches advice, Harry performed a quick barrel-roll and captured the Snitch as it tried to sneak beneath the two seekers. Harry triumphantly held the Snitch up and did another roll before landing next to the coaches, Angie just a few seconds behind.
“Nice roll, Harry, you looked great out there.” Angie smiled and slapped his back. The coaches did not need to say anything about the capture, Angie had said it all.
Harry knew the capture was perfect, but he had almost lost to Angie an hour earlier. During the first drill, her speed and ability to anticipate a maneuver allowed her to get in front of him. She had just missed the Snitch that time and Harry lucked into it while Angie tried to regain altitude. His personal trainer said much the same thing as they headed back to the classroom. Rubbing his arms and cheeks to restore circulation, Harry wondered if he should purchase a broom heater. It would certainly make him more comfortable, but it was expensive and would just slow him down more. Harry decided against it, hoping for a simpler solution, like capturing the Snitch sooner.
The autumn camp marked the beginning of Harry’s three month rotation among all the professional British teams. Running from early December through February, all British National Quidditch Team players not affiliated with a pro team would take turns practicing with them. Three days a week for eleven weeks the two National Team players selected, and their backups, visited various teams to keep their skills up. Fortunately, Harry was able to arrange his schedule so he could continue teaching at Hogwarts, something he was enjoying almost as much as Quidditch.
The camp had been difficult on Harry, but not due to any problems with his skills. Simply put, Harry was missing Ginny, Remus, Tonks, and the baby. Since James’ birth, Harry had spent all his free time at Grimmauld Place, cooking, cleaning, doing chores that Remus and Tonks were unable or too tired to do. James was wonderful his first two days, sleeping through the night, but starting day three he was up every two or three hours to eat or demand his diaper be changed. Seeing the Lupin’s after a week of this, Harry simply moved in and took over wherever he could. Ginny Floo’d in every so often, but school work and preparations for Ron & Hermione’s wedding took up almost all of her free time. Harry knew that a cousin of Tonks’ was going to come to assist after the first of the year, but that was still a few weeks away and he was glad to spend the time with the new family.
Remus had a good laugh seeing Harry walk around with James strapped to his chest in a “Snuggly,” he said it made Harry look “domestic.” Harry was experiencing feelings he had never imagined, it brought out his paternal instincts, Ginny told him. But Harry’s greatest satisfaction came from watching Hermione. After James was born, she had snapped out of her depression and regained all of the spirit she had lost with the miscarriage. She had a look of determination when talking about work; an appearance of confidence when looking after James; and the glow of love whenever she and Ron were together.
The December 26th wedding was quickly approaching and Molly Weasley had the entire family organized to accommodate the guests and help at the house. George or Fred spent more time at “home” than they cared to, but were helpful in their own unique way. Arthur had tried to get extra time off from the Ministry, but had only been partially successful. Deborah Fairling also helped out when she could, running errands and answering mail concerning the event. She found owl post particularly amusing and thoroughly enjoyed Hedwig and Pig’s company. Ginny was stretched thin between school work and helping at the Lupin’s, but she still managed to get the invitations out and tally the confirmations and regrets.
More than once a day just about everyone found themselves thanking Ron and Hermione for planning a small wedding.
In the final weeks before the ceremony the only real difficulty was a scrap Hermione had with Molly about inviting her parents. Hermione had had no contact with them in over four months and made it clear to Molly that she felt them lost forever, ”and if I don’t regret it I wish you wouldn’t either.” Molly hoped that at some point her future daughter-in-law would reconcile with Tom and Jeannie Granger, but she eventually gave up the idea of it happening by December 26th.
As for the practical part of marriage, Ron and Hermione had put off a search for housing until the last minute, but it worked out well in the end. Harry knew they were feeling guilty about bailing out of Hog House so he interrupted them “ intentionally “ in the midst of some heavy snogging one afternoon.
“Look you two, just keep the house until the lease is up. I can live at Hogwarts and you will have more time to decide where you want to live. It’s not that expensive here and you won’t have to move...and you can invite me over to dinner easily.” They both agreed and Harry left them to finish their snogging. Heading over to Hogwarts to register for a room, Harry found himself relieved by this change. Harry and Hermione’s friendship had deteriorated to the point of hostility after her August pass at Harry. He knew he was being pigheaded, but he didn’t dare talk about it with Ginny or Ron, so true to form, he buried his feelings and let them fester. On the way to Hogwarts, Harry realized that Molly was not going to be happy about him living so close to Ginny, but at that point he did not care.
Oddly, Harry’s secret feud with Hermione had strengthened his friendship with Ron. As the big day got closer, Ron kept telling Harry that he did not know how he would live without him around. Harry, in turn, told Ron to ”worry more about living with Hermione than not living with me.” Then, as a joke, Harry told Ron that he would be too busy with kids before he knew what was happening. Ron’s smile at this comment made him look like a kid in a candy store, with an unlimited budget.
“Yeah, Harry, YEAH! Wow, I forgot about that!” Ron exclaimed, and both laughed themselves silly. From that point on, Harry swore that every time he mentioned the wedding Ron’s eyes would open a little wider and his grin became a little broader.
The Canons final Autumn game was scheduled for December 19th, just a week before the wedding. Fortunately for Ron, after this game the team was on break until the end of January. Forty-five minutes into the game the Canons were again behind, 100-20; calling a time-out, the Canon coach told Ron to play keeper for a while. Mounting his broom, Ron flew up to his position in front of the three goals and prepared for the game to resume.
Following the game, the locker room of the Chudley Canons was again quiet, the players disappointed with another loss. Ron showered and changed quickly and found Hermione waiting for him at the front gate.
“Well, Maya, another loss, at least I got to play more.”
“Ron, you played very well, this is a team sport and you can’t blame yourself for every defeat.”
“Oh, I know, I was just blaming myself for this one.”
“That’s not fair, Ronald. Whichever team got the Snitch was going to win, you were able to keep the game close enough for that.” Hermione turned Ron to face her and put her arms around his waist, pulling him close and looking at his face. “Let’s go back to the Burrow, drop your gear off, and go into town for a while. I don’t think anyone else is about to have a baby and disrupt our plans this time.” Hermione kissed Ron then took is equipment bag. “C’mon, I’ll even carry your books.”
Apparating to the Burrow the two quietly set Ron’s bag in his room and headed down the stairs for their walk into town. This time, as Hermione had correctly predicted, no one was going into labor; but they saw a note from Molly saying she would be back at noon after visiting Percy. Seeing that it was almost noon, Ron and Hermione made a quick exit and ran down the road, hand in hand, until they were out of view from the Burrow.
“Can you believe it’s only one more week, Maya?”
Hermione said nothing, but she pulled Ron closer to her and held his arm with both hands, clinging to the man she loved. “I’m glad we planned the wedding like this. I had always wanted a big Muggle wedding, but now, well, this is perfect. Thank you, Ron.”
“For what, Maya?”
“For everything. Loving me, saving my life, putting up with me after I lost the baby. I did some really stupid things.”
“I don’t know, Maya, you taught me well and stuck by my side a few times when I didn’t deserve it. I’d have to be mental not to love you.” Ron looked down at his future wife and kissed her tenderly. “You know, next week at this time you’ll be Mrs. Hermione Weasley.”
“I know, and a few hours later we can take up where we left off in July.” Ron thought for a few seconds, trying to remember what had happened in July.
“Oy, Maya, that’s right. Maybe I’ll get it right this time.” An embarrassed smile crossed Ron’s face.
“I’d say you did pretty well the first time.” Hermione’s face was turning red. “Practice makes perfect, remember that, Ron!”
Resuming their walk into town, after a few minutes Hermione stopped and held both of Ron’s hands. “I’m so happy that we can learn how… I mean… how…” Ron was wondering what had Hermione so flustered. “You know, how our bodies work together.” Ron suspected she was blushing, but the cold wind had already reddened her cheeks.
“Maybe we should practice our silencing charms, do you think?” Hermione suggested, her face now obviously reddening.
Ron guffawed and stopped walking again, “We can practice as much as you like; how about now?” Taking her hand, Ron led an astonished Hermione into the woods, pulled her close, kissing her again, this time with more passion. Hermione responded immediately, returning the passion and parting her lips, offering her mouth to Ron. It did not take long for their excitement to awaken them to where this was leading, but neither was ready to stop, yet. Ron’s hands found their way under Hermione’s coat and to her chest, seeking both the warmth and pleasure it offered him.
“Ahhh, your hands...are frrreeeezing.”
“I can tell you’re cold.”
“Ron, you GIT, stop that!” Hermione’s giggles and kisses hardly indicated that she wanted to “stop” at all.
“NAG! Tell me to stop again and I will.”
Hermione could not believe how playful Ron acted at times. “Let’s go...on...to…town.” Between her kissing and laughing, Hermione could barely talk.
“Tell me to stop, Maya.” Seeing a pile of fallen leaves, Ron pulled Hermione down on them, but they both missing the soft pile and landing solidly on their side.
“Ouch! Ron, that hurt. The ground is hard.”
“Mmmm, yeah, that’s not the only thing that’s...”
“RONALD WEASLEY!” Still giggling, Hermione was truly tempted, but having lost control one other time with Ron had brought about a disaster, so she tried the most reliable distraction she knew. “Come on, love, I’m hungry, let’s get lunch.”
“Oh right, Maya, lure me away with food.” Both laughed at the old joke, but Ron did stop, slipping his hands from her chest to her back and pulling Hermione into an embrace, kissing her one last time. “Yeah, you’re right, but I really don’t want to move my hands, they’re quite warm here.”
The two broke apart, laughing. Ron reluctantly removed his hands and they starting out again for town.
The next day Hermione planned to meet with Ginny and finalize some of the plans for the ceremony, but before that she wanted to pin Harry down and talk to him about something she had been avoiding. By noon, Hermione was certain that Harry was dodging her, not that she would blame him; her behavior since August had been reprehensible. Finally she grabbed both their coats and cornered Harry in the kitchen. Harry was washing his hands and Ginny was next to him trying to do some dishes.
“Harry!” Hermione said it so loudly that Harry jumped and the pan Ginny was washing shot out of her hands and landed on the Floor, throwing water and soap all over the three of them.
“Hermione, what…” Ginny started, but before she could say anything else Hermione had dragged Harry half way to the back door.
“Gin, Harry and I will be back in a few minutes. Sorry about the pan.” Harry disappeared through the door being pulled by his hand.
“Maya, what are you doing? Give me my coat, it’s freezing out here.” Taking the coat and quickly donning it, Harry walked down the pasture road with Hermione while trying to figure out what was going on.
After a minute, Hermione put her arm around Harry’s back and started to talk. “Harry, sorry about that abrupt exit. I know you’ve been avoiding me for weeks, well, months really. I can’t say that I blame you. I want to apologize to you, when I’m not drunk or hung over. I was in really bad shape after losing the baby and…”
Tired of thinking about how others felt instead of how he felt, Harry just wanted to pile it on someone else and he vented four months of frustration and anger. “Hermione, you were in bad shape BEFORE losing the baby. Why did you do that to me? Did you ever stop and think what would have become of us if your had gotten your wish? Damn you, Hermione, love isn’t a game, and neither is our friendship.” Harry immediately regretted the tone he used and was surprised at his own loss of control, but he was also furious with Hermione for almost destroying their friendship.
Hermione stopped and listened to every word Harry said. When he was done all she could say was, “I know.”
It was such an unbelievably inadequate answer Harry had to turn away to keep from yelling again.
Hermione started to put her hand on Harry’s shoulder but stopped just before touching him. “Harry, I don’t know what else to say. I AM terribly sorry.” The full impact of Harry’s words were now hitting Hermione, at least the ones she could recall. Sitting on the frozen ground, not far from where she and Ron had lay together the day before, tears came in spite of how much she tried to hold them in. It was difficult to speak through her sobs, but Hermione knew she had to finish. “Harry, please! I love you more than anyone in this world except Ron. I don’t have a reason for my behavior and I don’t have anything I can say except ‘I’m sorry. I swear it will never happen again.’”
Harry was beginning to feel childish for his outburst and causing Hermione so much pain. However, he also knew that what he said, though perhaps not the way he had said it, was something she needed to hear. Turning and sitting on the ground next to Hermione, Harry put his arm around her and gently pulled her into an embrace. “Maya, I’m sorry for saying it that way, I shouldn’t have…”
“No, Harry, I deserved it.” Taking a moment to regain control, Hermione asked Harry a question that she thought may have been the cause of her behavior since July. “Harry, did you ever think of us, I mean, you and me, as a couple?”
Harry had a suspicion that this was at the heart of Hermione’s behavior toward him after losing the baby, so it was not much of a surprise. Thinking for just a second, for Harry wanted to word this correctly, he gave her the truth.
“Hermione, no, I don’t believe I did, at least not in any proper sense. I find you very attractive, you’re brilliant, warm, loving, caring, you’re going to make a wonderful wife and mother; but no. I think if something romantic had happened between us it would have just ruined our friendship. In spite of everything I just yelled at you, I do love you very much. You and Ron are my closest friends outside of Ginny and in some ways you two are closer to me than she is, with all we’ve been through. What scares me is losing you two after we’re all married. Ron told me the other day that he wasn’t sure how to live without me in his life almost daily; I feel the same about both of you.”
Then Harry did something he had never done with Hermione, Ron, or Ginny. He pulled her in close, and closing his eyes he whispered “Ligilimens” and looked into his friend’s mind, consciously using the skills Snape had dismissed so flippantly. The first thing Harry experienced was Hermione’s consciousness. He mentally “embraced” it to let Hermione know he was there and felt her body shudder slightly; but she did not pull away. Harry knew that Hermione had just welcomed him. Then Harry looked deeper and found for what he knew Hermione needed to see. Returning to her conscious mind, Harry opened up the barrier that Hermione’s pain, fear, and sorrow had created.
Harry showed Hermione exactly where her heart lay.
He instantly knew she had seen it, and as fast as he had entered her mind he exited.
A second passed, then another. Harry opened his eyes and saw in front of him Hermione’s smile, a smile he had not seen in years. “Harry, that was…incredible. How did you do that? I…I can’t believe how easy it was, like it had been before me all these months but I couldn’t see it.”
It did not happen very often, Harry thought, but Hermione was giving an amazing display of being speechless and talking at the same time.
Standing, then helping Hermione up, Harry had one more thing to do. He reached over to her face and held it up tenderly with one hand, with the other he set a finger on her lips as if the silence her from saying something. Then Harry brought his head forward and kissed Hermione’s lips, not with passion, but with love. Pulling back a little, he let their foreheads touch. “There, you got your wish. Now let’s get back inside, my bum is frozen.”
Their walk back to the Burrow was like one they might have taken at Hogwarts in years past; Hermione jabbered on about the wedding and Harry ignored most of what she was saying.